Chapter 8: Old Friends Reunited/Brandon Goes To Cow Town
Out on the farther reaches of the Mesa, Brandon rode Ryder, his trusty horse, all the way to find Harmony and warn her of the nightmares he's envisioned from before. After a while of searching, he ultimately finds his new ally. "Harmony?"
From a few feet away, Harmony was getting close to Cow Town, ready to cross the bridge that led there, and thought she heard another rider on horseback. "Brandon?"
"Oh, thank gosh. Listen." Brandon looked slightly worried when he started to explain his nightmares without context to Harmony. "I think there's trouble coming your way. I mean... a HEAP of trouble in Cow Town's supposed to be coming soon."
"Trouble, what kind of trouble? Did you run into anybody over at Dog Town?"
"No, I... I had a nightmare that had to do with you, and Cow Town, and some... some wolves in cloaks attacking the town with fire and all, and–" Brandon paused when Harmony had replied in question.
"A nightmare? I know that most nightmares are just images of bad thoughts, but can you remember the details? I mean was Baron in it, or what about that Crowley varmint? If Baron is in Cow Town, he might be in danger. Try to remember what you saw." Harmony asks Brandon so that he could think back to what he remembers the most.
"Well, I didn't see Baron in Cow Town, and I don't know who Crowley is... All I saw was that wolf cultist leader in the cloak, and... I saw you."
"I'll tell you about Crowley later then. But to be fair, I ain't heard of no wolf cultist during my search for Baron. Have there been any reports of this?"
"Yeah, there have been some attacks on our town, but…" When Brandon is about to speak, he hears another set of hooves in the distance, getting closer until it reveals Ellie Redstone riding on a black and white stallion named Angus.
"Brandon! Harmony!" Ellie called out to the both of them, worried for the two.
"Who's that?" Harmony asked, not recognizing the border collie nurse on horseback.
Brandon saw his old friend arrive, wondering what the situation was about now. "Oh, that's–"
"My name's Ellie Redstone. I'm one of the nurses of Dog Town." She turned to face Harmony. "You're Harmony, right? I think Brandon was talking 'bout your friend and all…"
"Yes, I do recall telling Brandon about Baron. What did you wanna tell me?"
Ellie prepared to reveal the truth about Baron. "You ain't gonna believe this, but we actually have him in our hospital back in town. He's in our care…"
"Huh...? Then all that screaming back then was...-" Brandon was shocked to even hear about this. He too didn't know about the patient that was Harmony's old friend. "No way."
Harmony was overwhelmed with shock and relief. "What, are you sure he's back in there? I have to know it's really him."
"... He's... he's callin' out for his mama. That 'Baron' person's goin' through so much that I can't help but feel sorry for him…" She turned Angus around to face the direction of Dog Town. "We gotta head on back so you both can believe in me. C'mon!" She kicks Angus's sides for a gallop, leading him back to the town so that Brandon and Harmony could follow.
"Well now, whaddya say, Harmony?" Brandon smiled and waited for an answer from his new friend.
"If only I found him sooner. Please take me to him. Cow Town will have to wait for me to seek more answers."
"Okay, we'll go together this time!" He faced Ellie's direction, whipping the reins of his horse to follow. "Hyah! Giddyup, Ryder!"
"Let's go, Windstorm!" Harmony does the same too, catching up with Brandon on her own horse.
When they got back, Brandon, Harmony, and Ellie had put up their horses at a stable or hitched them up to their posts. Brandon, on the other hand, was excited to see that Ellie had gotten back in the saddle again after two years.
"I wasn't sure when you were gonna get back into riding, Ellie. Mighty proud of ya!"
Ellie blushed, replying back, "My horseback riding skills haven't faded away, but it was just this once… I think." Ellie is the first to go into the hospital, having both Brandon and Harmony go inside to follow.
Personally, Harmony thinks to herself as she mounts off of Windstorm at the post next to Ryder. "Please let it be Baron."
Brandon, Harmony, and Ellie make their way to Room 14, where Ellie is the one leading them over. There was no other delays, so nothing else was necessary enough to distract the three.
"Who's been looking out for him?" Before anyone could answer, they came across Dr. Maximus who seemed both surprised and relieved to see that Ellie managed to find Brandon and Harmony in time.
"Oh Ellie, thank goodness you found these two in time. I was afraid she'd be too late to reach Harmony." said Dr. Maximus, confident that Ellie could do it.
"Anytime, doctor." She would then look at Harmony. "Why don't you see how he's doin'...? After all, he's your friend, right?"
Brandon goes inside to see Baron on his bed with the bandages. He wasn't aware of the fact that Baron was the outlaw known as Boot Hill Buzzard. However, for Harmony… She entered the room to see Nurse Connie watching over Baron in the same deep sleep, having no objection to letting these two enter as she trusts them after everything Brandon said. "Is that...?" A wave of emotions started hitting Harmony when she took a good look at the buzzard in bed, his head all bandaged up, but responding to nothing around him. It felt like centuries since she last saw Baron, and now here he was. Her keen sight did not lie. "Baron?"
Connie saw that Harmony let out a horrified gasp at the sight of her long lost friend, now in a hospital bed. "I understand what you must be thinking Miss Harmony." The nurse dog put everything down for a moment so she could explain what happened now. "It was Ellie who told me of Brandon coming here not so long ago and mentioned your lost friend. But I never thought he'd be here all this time."
"How long has he been here?" Her lip quivering, she moved close to his bedside and took another long look to make sure that her long lost friend was really here. "It's been so long since I have last seen Baron, that this is not how I imagined ever seeing him again. Tell me he has a chance to wake up."
Brandon looked from a small distance to see Harmony interact with her friend, who was still asleep. "That's… That's Baron…? How did he get here?"
"He was attacked by an assailant who called himself Crowley. Marshall Moo found him lying in the snow unconscious and carried him over to Dr. Barker, only to be injured in the foot by Crowley himself who intended to swipe Baron away and claim his bounty. At least that's what the staff who brought him here said to me and Dr. Maximus." Connie answers Brandon's question honestly.
A sense of rage was now boiling inside of Harmony, hearing the name Crowley come up. "Crowley, you say... I should have known he had something to do with this?"
"Dr. Maximus had assigned me to watch over and take care of Baron when no friends or family dropped by for a visitation to be by his side. Our intention was to have someone be here beside him at all times in case he woke up."
"... Wait, THAT Crowley, Harmony? I didn't know why he had something to do with him. What did Baron do...?" Brandon wondered what this whole thing was about with the feud between the poor Baron and the villainous Crowley.
"I don't know, I heard the rumors of him being involved in a few criminal activities, but I didn't want to believe he would ever be capable of doing horrible things, not even when I questioned a few of the civilians from all those towns I visited. But he's still my friend. Whatever he might have done, I'm not ever leaving him. I know he needs someone, he needs me." Harmony believed that Baron needed her in his darkest hours more than ever, that all depended when he finally woke up and would be safe after everything was done.
Connie then added in on what she wanted to say, "Then while I'm gone, you might as well do it for spending as much time with him so he's not dealing with all this alone. But he's been hit pretty bad and might not wake up for a week or two, which I hope to be wrong about. Since we cannot get his mother in here, you'll have to do it."
Unfortunately, Harmony reveals the truth about Baron's mother. "Baron's mother is a federal prison Nurse." She shook her head sadly at the thought of Baron's mother still alone in that dank prison where she and the others fought so hard to get her out of there, but with no success. "If it were up to me, I'd do anything to get her out of there once and for all. She doesn't deserve that. Baron needs her as much as he needs me."
"She was in prison...?" Brandon was still confused about the origins of Baron's family. This means that there's gonna be a LOT of backstories throughout this whole fanfic about the lore of the buzzards, Baron's family, Harmony's journeys, Brandon's quest of overcoming fear and loneliness, and even more to come… "What happened to the family?"
"It's a long story Brandon, I might as well have forgotten to tell you everything about Baron, leaving out a few details. All I can say is Baron's mother fell into a deep depression after his father was killed in a game of poker gone wrong and she couldn't cope with it right that Baron wanted to stay with me and my family, which led my father to go and have a hard talk with her. But when he got there, she was being dragged away and placed in a prison wagon, where they told him that she failed to pay the mortgage on her house and everything. My Pa tried to stop it, but they'd never listen, and that's when he led a rebellion to drive out the corrupted scum." Rebellion was the only way to fight such injustice, but because of that happening in her town, there was a cost… "After my Pa died leading the rebellion, we all tried other ways of getting Baron's mother out of jail, but to no avail as they claimed tax evasion was a serious offense that resulted in 15 to 20 years, even longer. It took its toll on Baron and me after we both lost a father, but for Baron, he lost both his parents, one to gambling, and the other in federal prison." Being allowed to touch Baron's left hand, Harmony threw her hand to her eyes. "I never thought it would come to this. Now I wish that I found Baron sooner."
"So you both mean to tell me that this friend we're treating here is an outlaw?" Connie took a glimpse of Baron still sleeping, not responding to her voice. "If that's true, I don't know what I've been missing in the morning newspapers they hand out in Cow Town or anywhere. But let me promise you that we're not sending him away anytime. Not unless we had to transport him again for his own safety with Crowley out there, never knowing when and where he is going to strike."
"Thank you, Nurse…" Harmony looked over to Connie, grateful that she would never send her friend away like what happened last time. "Baron means a lot to me. So much to me…"
"Oh… I'm sorry about that, Harmony. I… I understand all of it now." Brandon listened on to the whole story. It wasn't fictional and wondrous like the ones his Momma told him, or adventures and true like the ones his Pa told him. The story Harmony told him was… serious, heartbreaking, and sad.
"I'm just sorry that I didn't tell you everything. I thought I would wait until I was ready. Me and my family did our best to help Baron cope with what happened. Only I suppose our best wasn't good enough to prevent him from being taken that night or becoming corrupted by his kidnappers." She threw her hands to her face.
"It's painful to hear and even think about it. Just like… like it's painful for me to remember how my parents died."
"How did your parents pass away, Brandon?" Harmony asked so suddenly.
"... Well, it was dark around that night when Ryder and I were heading home. I was only 16 by then. The family farm burned down, and… I heard my parents call for help until they dropped to the ground. Dead… They told me that they… they loved me." Brandon teared up once, but had to wipe it off of his eye. "After everything that's happened now, I don't know who killed them, unless… Those wolves in cloaks! I think they... they killed my family in the first place!"
"The same wolves from your dreams?"
"Yeah, those cloaked guys in my dream must've been the ones who burnt my home. And if I'm right, soon they might be back to try and attack the towns!"
"And we haven't even warned Cow Town about all this? What if it's too late to send another wire out?"
"We can still try to do so. But I think I might have to go over there to help. I've… never really been to Cow Town before, so I'll take it from here." Brandon had chosen to go to Cow Town alone, confident in telling the folks about the situation.
"If you're going there Brandon, please be careful. And if you find this Marshall Moo that I didn't have a chance to speak with, tell him everything if you can. I'd come along, but Baron needs me." Harmony adds, also concluding that– "Windstorm is likely all tired out from running here to there."
"Yeah, I guess that mare does need a rest for now." Brandon was about to leave for the door until Ellie stopped him at first. There was something she wanted to tell him.
"Ummm…" Ellie said, just a little shyly, "Good luck out there, Brandon."
"Thanks, Ellie. I'll see y'all later." Brandon smiles, leaving the hospital room as Harmony hopes and believes that the cowboy would succeed in his quest.
"I do hope Brandon will be alright when he gets to Cow Town and warns the Marshall in time. And I hope I'm doing the right thing staying beside Baron, even if he might not hear me like this." She didn't see that Ellie had passed by and accidentally heard what she said. "But hearing what Crowley did to him, I'm worried he might show up around these parts and I got to help stop him."
Before Ellie could leave, Harmony called out to her. "Ellie, wait, can I ask you something before you leave?" Ellie does stop in place and turns around to face Harmony, listening to her speak. "If you or the doctors get any word from Brandon and from Cow Town, I would like to hear it, just to know that he's alright."
I'll try my best. Thank you kindly, Harmony." Ellie would return to her quarters, leaving Harmony with her old friend. When Harmony and Connie are alone, they begin to talk…
Meanwhile, in the farthest reaches of the Moo Mesa, Brandon rode on Ryder all the way over near Cow Town, looking over the town in its glory.
"There it is, Ryder. Cow Town." When both Brandon and his horse looked at the town, they were surprised to see one of the buildings shaped like a cowboy hat. "What in the haybales...? I'll be darned…" Before leaving his hometown, Brandon made sure to pick up a map of the distant Cow-Town, and look at each of the uniquely shaped buildings. So there's one shaped like a cowboy boot, a hat, a wagon, a cup and a bottle... err... a pot, a cactus, a native tent, a bull, and... a saddlery built as a saddle! Huh, this here town sure is something, so let's ride on over! Yah!" By tapping Ryder's sides, his horse galloped all the way to town, before slowing down to a trot, going through the main entrance.
Their main objective was to find the Marshall of the place, who was named Moo Montana, the leader of the C.O.W. boys of Moo Mesa. Brandon had never heard of them before, nor had he seen them up close in person. Montana was the leader of the group, a trusty lawman who always reminded others about the Code of the West. Cowlorado Kid was the youngest member of the team, really great with his lasso and riding skills, as well as his many attempts of trying to woo over a heifer's heart. Dakota Dude was the last member of the group, and he was also the strongest one as well. He was a bull with only a few words at times, so it would be very difficult for Brandon to imagine what they all looked like and what they were. He patrolled on Ryder for a while until…
A schoolteacher sheep lady named Sarah Sheep walks down the street, holding a baby lamb named Taylor in her arms, wearing a shawl as she exits the school grounds where she had finished teaching with the help of Liza Lambert walking beside her. She noticed that there was an unfamiliar cowboy canine coming their way. "I wonder who that is, Liza."
"Maybe he is from Dog Town." said the elderly sheep named Liza, both looking at Brandon.
His ears perked up, sorta overhearing the two sheep citizens chat about his arrival. "Whoooaaa now." Brandon tugged Ryder's reins, and had him come to a stop as he turns to see Sarah and Liza. "Well, howdy there, folks. Do y'all mind knowing where the Marshall is? I gotta see him. It's something really important."
"Then you are from Dog Town, are you?" Sarah wondered, hoping she was right.
"Yep, born and raised. Well… on a farm near town, yeah."
Sarah sighed with relief. "Then you must already know about what happened to Boot Hill two days ago. How is he doing?"
"You're really worried about him are you?" Liza asked Sarah despite the condition Baron was going through back in Dog Town.
"He's at my town's hospital, and... yeah. I'm sorry about what happened. I don't know if he's doing fine as of now."
"I'm aware of his past Brandon, unless you heard of it from someone else. And as much as I don't like what he did, I do not wish ill will on him. But I do believe Marshall Moo and the others are searching for Crowley, ever since the attack. He's the one that broke into my bakery and started chasing after me, thinking I was trying to hide Boot Hill from him."
"Oh, Crowley…" Brandon remembers the name fairly well, then responds to Sarah about the bakery. "I'm sorry that he ruined your bakery, going after a helpless sheep like that. You were lucky that you didn't get hurt."
"If the Cowboys are back by now, you'll find Marshall Moo in his office over there." Liza pointed the way to the office, showing Brandon exactly where it was.
"Thanks ma'am." Brandon smiled at Liza, grateful that she had helped the collie out. "I'll make sure to check it out. After all, it's really important. C'mon, bud. 'Yup!" He turned around and spurred Ryder into a walk, going over to see the Marshal's office. When he dismounted his horse, he prepared to knock on the door…
End of Chapter 8
Coming Soon, Chapter 9: Meeting the C.O.W. boys/Visiting Lucky Horseshoe Ranch
Author's Notes: This is, so far, the longest chapter I've ever written in my fanfic yet. Like, taking everything from the discord roleplays is easier, and editing them a little to let it all flow in together makes sense, but I had no idea that it would be this long for each chapter I write in the fanfic. Even so, I'll do my best to try and balance them all out so that they give purpose to the title of the chapter. See ya later in the next chapter then!
