[Winter - Moonton]

Immersed in a devastating inferno and interwoven smoke columns, the locomotive slashed past J.J. and Wolf at maximum commotion. Poni led the way as the heat increased the sensation of speed. Sprinting to his limit in mere seconds, holding pace with the mechanical abomination’s caboose as much as they could.

“Don’t lose your breath, be ready for a scramble partner! Don’t take a tumble.”

Wolf was behind, unable to match the speed but he heard the instructions clearly. With a keen eye and spatial awareness, he raised his hand in proclamation.

“Watch out!”

As Jennings retrieved his forward-attention from the Native, a scarred, beaten, and charred corpse whisked by like a bullet in the passing winds. It had almost hit Poni, who maintained their pace, charging forward.

“Poni, they’re still coming!”

Out rolled another body, flung heels over head like a starfish being tossed back into the sea without care, they careened off the desert floor and thudded into the shrubbery that aligned the tracks. The rippling of the flames in combination with the mechanical malfunctions created a cacophony of horrid sounds for the pair in pursuit of their friend Anette.

Poni was beginning to lose all gains on the train, it accompanied his waning confidence, just before J.J. knew to pull the reins.

“Wolf, keep behind, Poni and I are taking this hill down. We’re gonna cut it off from below, but I don’t reck’n it's gonna be thorn-free.”

“Go!”

The levity eluded Wolf, as J.J. and Poni shared a nostalgic nod, speeding towards the closest treeline. Wolf gave up on catching the train, but stayed a healthy distance away to keep it within his frame. He hadn’t quite given up yet on his new friends’ ambition.

The outlaw and his childhood horse blended in, obscured into the woods. Wolf didn’t know the route, but he hoped to see them further along the tracks as he wasn’t sure of Anette’s appearance or motives. He did know however, that Lou Cooper and any Settler that believed the Ageast a non-threat needed to be stopped.

[Winter - Moonton]

“Sit down some place, else ya’ gonna get your temperature up again.”

Buck and Penny had yet grown tiresome of each other on their search for J.J., settling for another meal along the train tracks. In fact, they shared an unfeigned laugh before entering a quant wooden hut.

“I-I still don’t like going in first.”

Buck smirked, grabbing his shotgun.

“Don’t worry, I got any spiders in there with my trusty ‘shotty.”

Miss May was thrilled to know that she didn’t have to quell her arachnophobia. Buck lifted the gun before him, slouched for the tiny door frame. He was confident he’d fit.

Rubbing shoulders with the fixture, Buck slipped into the room, his vision relaying no signs of life within, just space for some storage, two seats and a table that only had one-half remaining due to a splintered fracture.

Buck emerged from the shadowed structure with a shotgun no longer visible, giving an all-clear. He stood aside an adjacent fire pit, pulling at his knapsack for rations.

“I’ll start the beans.”

Penny motioned for approval, breathed-in some fresh air and then retreated within the structure.

“”Can you hear me from in- here?

…”

Buck had removed his flint and tinder box, he had been prepared for a nice meal as showed haste. With his hands functioning as an efficient unit, he produced, arranged and responded.

“Yes, not a word missed.”

The hesitation was prevalent, Penny was about to confide in him again. He increased his dinner-setting momentum as he heard her murmurs stagger into a cohesive sentiment.

“Can I ask a question, Mr. Floyd? This is something I usually bug J.J. over, but since we ain’t got to him yet- I been sheltering it.”

“Spit it out, don’t be shy.”

“..."

It’s as if I was destined to be a chicken. Never once have I stood up and fought anything, always along for the ride.”

Buck had experience, knowing when it was best to play the pacifist and more specifically, when to stay mute and let Penny proceed. He almost let his mind wander to his family, but he culled it from developing into full reminiscence. From within she read the que, still muffled by hiding herself. The last syllables of each fragile statement fell off a verbal cliff.

“What is it that drives us to be strong in the moment?… Because, I think I’m lacking.”

The fire was lit, Buck dove back into his nap, retrieving two full cans of beans.

“You, what? Don’t got, ‘what it takes’.”

No answer was received from within the wooden hideout. Striking the silence, with aggression, Buck wielded his knife and smashed its blade into the first can. He winced as he grunted with force, peeling the top of their meal.

“You’re so quick to give yourself an answer, yet you don’t fight for it. Be careful with that, Ms. May. Sometimes, destiny sways the day.”

A sharp entrance into the second can, Buck continued to place the final ingredients in his stew pot. Without a follow up from Penny, he felt compelled to finish his advice for the young woman going through some mental anguish.

“Sounds like your morale got gobbled-up by your guilt on something kid. If I had to be nosy about it, I’d say you’re carrying something heavy like us all.”

“I just know, that if I would have said-”

Now standing, Buck stirred the pot.

“-No, no, no, sorry.”

As the ladle clanked against the side of the metal during meal prep, his voice was raised as if to show his uncomfortability with lacking manners and cutting her off.

“There’s no obligation for you to share your past with me. I’m just-”

“No, I do wish to get this out of my mind.”

The wooden door creaked as Penny exited the shelter. Buck wanted to welcome her but Penny found a log to seat themselves before he could play host.

“This is something I’d like to share.”

Buck didn’t have to respond with any words, just a simple shrug of defeat and he returned his vision to the food, but splitting his full attention. He gestured for her to find a spot to sit, she quietly refused.

“Not too long ago, before the dojo was hit, I saw a man walk up to it in a peculiar fashion. Got close enough to reach out a touch the door- but refused, instead high-tailed it back out with murmurs the entire way.”

Her eyes swelled. The confidence bestowed by the conversation was waning, yet Penny hadn’t finished. A grip formed, it was as if her fleeting courage was being wrangled by each collapsing finger muscle. Her head bobbed as she spoke firmly.

“My decision, my silence, almost got us all killed…

That’s just not something girls my age should think of, huh?”

The grub was complete as Buck appointed a giant scoop into Penny’s bowl. His arm outreached, he handed her the dinner.

“Here. Take a bite, then I’ll respond.”

The recommendation felt sweet, sincere. Almost as flavorful as her bite when it finally reached its facial destination. She would thank him for the meal in a bit, but first, she looked up at him for the renewal of their discussion. Holding melancholy in his voice, he spoke.

“I already shared with you that I’ve gone through loss, while gaining my freedom along the way. What I didn’t detail is that those same people I lost got to experience a taste of freedom with me, before they were whisked away by the threads of pesky fate.”

Buck poured himself some bean stew. As the saucey concoction sludged into his bowl and onto his spoon, he blew some air past his bite before ingestion, and spoke.

“You see Miss May, I got to see the worst that the Eastern Halfland had to offer. The wager was my family. Indentured, we taught ourselves what they refused and used it to escape with my love Lara Lynn, and our little angel Syndra by our side… but I was weak-willed. I lost em’ to disease, watched them wither on the long, long road here. We don’t have the luxury of choice, instead we take what’s dealt to us and never question why we react the way we do. We just keep living from one bite to the next.”

Buck took a bite and swallowed it.