Erica sighed in the embrace. It wasn't fair... it just wasn't fair! Why was Samuel destined for death, while it was Keith's fate to live? Who decided that!
The truth was though, nobody actually decided anything... it was the events that occurred in her absence. Her presence was disrupting the natural events of history, and it didn't look like events were not allowed to change...
Did this mean there was no free-will at all? What of her own attempts to change history to her own favour? "Did... you give that letter to the church?" The skunk girl asked a little nervously.
"Yes... of course," Samuel said. Since Erica had admitted she was from the future, it didn't take a genius to work out she was sending fore-knowledge to someone... if this was true. It was still a very ludicrous tale, but Erica believed it. He wasn't sure he completely did yet...
Erica glanced down at herself, she was still a skunk and she had no memory of receiving any letter... was that because not enough time had passed? Was time still 'flowing' the same way in her future? How did this all work! Did that mean it didn't work? But... maybe that was a good thing. If she didn't exist now, then Samuel would die. She didn't want that...
Time travel was dangerous. Every action had consequences that could not simply be brushed aside. Time refused to allow a paradox to exist. She glanced up at the strange time storm, with curious holes. They were closing up now, their influence dissipating. If Keith had not escaped... what would have happened to them? Would a paradox really destroy... all creation?
All this made her head so dizzy, that she knew there was no way she could risk it now. Her attempts to change history were foolhardy and dangerous. What an idiot she was.. thinking it wouldn't be a problem.
"There is one thing missing in all this... the last of Keith's gold," Erica said looking at the ground.
Samuel nodded. "Well... lets dig and see what we find."
Nikki, Erica, and Samuel started to dig, eventually coming across a very small box. Could this really be Keith's gold?
Samuel tentatively opened the box. In an instant, all trace of doubt disappeared. "It's... a letter. Addressed to me."
Erica gasped. What could it possibly mean? "You best read it..."
Samuel opened it a little fearfully. God Almighty! Time travel? This was a letter... he was going to write in the future, Placed for him to read now? scary... He unfolded it and started to read."It says..." Samuel began drawing a breath "... Erica is telling the truth. Do not pursue Bandit Keith... Justice has been done. He will pay for every life he took by nurturing it from now on. Signed... Samuel." This was indeed his own writing and signature. There was no way around it..
"Justice?" Erica said wide eyed. "H-How?! It's impossible to bring justice to Keith!"
Samuel glanced to the skunk girl with a shrug. "Perhaps his justice could not be met by man, but by word o' God." He said looking sombrely a moment.
"You religious?" Asked the skunk curiously.
"Ma'am, this is the west. Ain't no such thing as atheists in a fox hole." he grinned a bit. "'sides... you saved my life against the Grim Reaper himself. That means... you're my angel."
Erica blushed heavily at those words.
Keith couldn't believe it! He lost the gold.. and the other men... well, he was going to kill them anyway. The Law can do his work for him instead.
He could always return another day to get the gold. There was indeed, still one last, final place. But with that smell and that... creature around, there was just no way to collect it yet.
These woods are ancient... spirits protect it
nonsense! Stories the natives say just to scare you
But what the hells was it! A polecat... that talked? A creature not of this world, that was certain. If he wasn't so scared he would try shooting' the thing. That strange storm hung over head, with it's curious lights...
He found himself in a clearing, seeing more strange 'lines' of light, all as if the world were a broken mirror. "What the hell's is going on..." He said taking a cautious step. All he had to do was get through this creek. He could rince out his clothes here and get rid of the smell as much as possible He could then travel into the plains and head far away.
One of those strange luminous cracks was very close... he couldn't help his curiosity and had a quick look, seeing what seemed to be a strange ball of light. It was like.. a rainbow? A very strange trick of the light. He had never seen anything like it. An alien sky... of some kind.
Everything seemed to go still. The flow of the river, the sounds of the forest.. everything. It was like the universe blinked, straining... stretching... history could not change by the actions of a man in the past, yet the future could not be changed either. Then, all of a sudden, the portal simply vanished.
Keith glanced around not sure what just happened... but there was a strange ball of light near him.
Impossible... it was some kind of... fairy? It was completely naked, and looked at him with big curious playful eyes. It appeared to be part butterfly, with strange antenna and wings. It's eye's were not those of something intelligent... at least as far as he could guess.
"What in the hells...?" He began, unsure what to even think about this strange sight. Did the chemical do something to his senses? Was he delirious?
The naked tiny girl just giggled and started playing in the air. It did a few circles around him. He tried to reach out and touch the fairy, as the creature played with him a little more before flying away.
Keith blinked dismissing what happened. Obviously he was hallucinating. He had to get out of here... but he swore he will return.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Asked Erica looking at the Deputy.
"I still have the rest of Keith's men.. seems, the storm doesn't mind these lot coming in with me," He said thoughtfully.
Nikki however looked very concerned. "Um... you really should stay with us," She said softly.
"Whys that Poppy?"
The little skunk girl blushed slightly at being called that but she couldn't help a smile grinning. However her face became serious again. "S-Something bad will happen..." She tried to say.
Samuel glanced to Erica. "You know anythin' about this?"
The teenager shook her head. "Nothing... she says her mother told her a few things."
Samuel nodded. "You know you can tell me right? I wont do anything silly..." Said Samuel. He really believed it now, given he had a letter to himself..
"Well... um. It's cause we're here your alive... if you go too far away from us..."
"I.. think I get the picture," Said Samuel thinking about his ill-luck on his journey. That still left the problem of the other people though. "Come with me to the edge of the forest, and I'll tie em up next to a logging site. We'll dress em up as a present," he chuckled.
Erica giggled a bit. Moving these men might be tricky... but with both her and Nikki, as well as the fear they seemed to project to them.. it should be possible.
The stench was still all over Keith. He had got rid of most of it by that creek, but it still lingered. He had roughed it before in the planes, and found a little shelter. A small tree... bunching up all his meagre belongings he tried to get some shut eye...
This was a strange dream....
He was falling... falling... falling into grass. He tried to get up, looking very confused. Even more confused to realise he was completely naked... and... a... girl?!
"What the?!" she said. She was back in the forest... and... everything was huge. The trees towered above her, she was only three inches tall! Panic set in quickly as she tried to process all this. It was just a dream! It wasn't real! It wasn't...
keith felt a splash of water and woke up. He glanced around, seeing a bit of rain water had fallen on his face from the tree. He vaguely recalled a strange dream but shrugged... it was already forgotten. He adjusted his sleeping position again, wiping away the water. Roughing it without a tent was quite annoying.
The little fairy didn't know what happened, realising she was now on the floor. Was this a new game? A fun new game! Something to play with maybe? She giggled a bit as her body was once more compelled to it's natural instinct. She would hunt, she would sleep, she would eat, and mate. A nest must be made before winter given it was already so late in the season. At the moment, hunting sounded nice as she was rather hungry. The berries called to her with their sweet appearance so she flew over, easily removing one and started eating it...
... when she blinked as the memories of being Keith reared itself. The instincts died away, replaced by higher thought and reason. Keith looked at her hand, eating the berry... what the hell was going on?! She didn't remember going to pick up the food... yet clearly, she had done so.
Worse... she remembered forgetting this dream- no nightmare! when she was back on the planes... it was like... she only could remember this when here. But when she wasn't here, the fairy body did what it desired to do. Furled only by her instincts... This dream felt so real... the breasts were bouncy and firm, and her body very shapely... her wings had curled downwards, as she didn't know how to use them...
This was a nightmare! She screamed as much as her little lungs could, as she tried to force herself to wake up. But it was no use... There was nobody to hear her.
Wake up damn it wake up!
Bandit Keith continued to doze.
