Chapter 4
Soft evening light was cast on the Autumn Woods outside the town of Fowlsburgh. Tall, gnarled oak trees dominated the landscape, casting long shadows over a small trickling stream. A single bolamite crept out from under a rock. It crawled forward cautiously, its beady eyes flicking from side to side, and, deciding that the area was safe, continued onwards.
SNAP!
Stranger pounced from the bushes and onto the ledge with ease, peering down at his feet. The bolamite lay on its back, twitching as volts of electricity from Stranger's freshly-fired Zappfly coursed through its tiny body. He reached down with a large, gloved hand and scooped the bolamite up, depositing it in his bag.
Stranger raised his head and cast his gaze all around, his ears pricked. The only sounds he heard was the quiet trickling of the stream and the drumming of his own heartbeat.
Is this forest really so empty? He wondered. If this is the only ammo i'll find here, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Stranger reached under his poncho and pulled out Buckner's wanted poster. One glance at the reward offered was all he needed. He had to do this.
Stranger leapt over the small brook and began running as fast as his legs would allow until he was bounding on all fours, trying to keep as quiet as he could. With the forest this silent, an outlaw could easily hear him coming. He had to be careful.
---
"You sure you're goin' the right way?"
"Of course i'm sure! I know where i'm goin'!"
"Then how come we ain't there yet?"
"We'll be there when we be there!"
"Thats improper grammar!"
"Huh, like I care!"
Charlotte stared unamused at the two outlaws walking in front of her, a look of anger on her face. Dumbasses, she thought. If they don't stop fighting and start moving i'll strangle them both.
"I told you, its this way!"
"That'll take us towards the town, idjit!"
"Ain't that where we're going?"
"What? No! Where the hell have you been leading us?"
"Towards the town!"
"BOTH OF YOU!" Charlotte exploded, her pupils dialated with anger. "Stop arguing like old ladies and move your damn legs, or i'll break em' off myself! Now which way to that wagon train you talked about?"
The outlaw to the left, a cutter, gulped. "Uh, uh, t-that way."
The outlaw shooter next to him nodded furiously. "Yeah, yeah! That way."
"Well get movin'!" She roared, kicking the cutter in the pants. The unfortunate outlaw yelped and hurried forward without taking his eyes from the path ahead.
"Idiots!" She hissed. "Complete idiots, thats what you are! How did I ever get stuck with you two?" Charlotte rubbed her eyes and groaned, obviously frustraited. The cutter had claimed that he had seen a wagon train full of moolah parked by the side of a trail out in the forest. The shooter backed him up, and Buckner made her follow them to the spot to see if there was anything worth stealing. Unfortunately these perticular outlaws had the shared attention span of a two-year-old and had already forgotten where they were going and what it was they had seen in the forest to begin with.
"I don't know if this is a good idea." The shooter piped up. "Its getting late, what if we get lost?"
"I'm not an idiot," Charlotte sighed. "We won't get lost."
Five minutes later the trio came to two seperate paths in the forest.
"Okay, which way?" Charlotte asked. The cutter stepped forward, examining each path.
"Uhm..." He muttered... "...uh..."
Charlotte slapped her forehead.
"Okay, look, just stay here." She said. "I'll go left and see where it leads."
The two outlaws huddled together inbetween the two paths as Charlotte trudged away.
---
Stranger skidded to a hault, suddently aware of a new sound; voices. Outlaw voices. He ducked his head and pushed himself through a patch of tallgrass, creeping closer to the voices.
"It was this way, wasn't it?" A cutter asked a shooter.
"I don't really remember..." The shooter admitted.
Stranger slowly placed a twittery little chippunk on the end of his bow and fired at the ground in front of where he hid.
---
Waste of time... Charlotte thought, returning to the path. There's nothing even around here... Some inner sense told her to hide. Charlotte looked back and forth quickly before noticing a tall oak behind her. The branches were low and thick with leaves. She clamored quickly up its side and hid among the plants, peeking through a small hole in the brush.
She watched the two outlaws, who were talking to eachother again.
What am I doing up here? She thought with a sigh. There's nothing to worry about. Its just two idiots...
A chippunk hopped out of the tallgrass. No, it was launched.
Before she could yell a warning the two outlaws scurried over towards the chattering rodent.
"Look at it, just babbling and babbling..." The shooter said.
"Yeah. But I wonder what its doing here. Chippunks don't usually live---"
As quick as a flash something tackled the cutter to the ground with minimal force, causing him to yell out in shock. Standing behind it was a tall man in a cowboy hat with a lionlike face, startling green eyes and a sun-bleached poncho. He held out his arm and a bolamite seemingly flew from his wrist, wrapping the outlaw in its stickly web. Taking a second look Charlotte realised that the man had a specially-made crossbow around his lower arm.
The outlaw shooter raised his rifle and fired two shots, each of which he easily dodged. The man grabbed the outlaw cutter in the web and swung him around, slamming the shooter to the floor. The shooter groaned softly, unconscious. Dropping the cutter the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small can. He pressed down on its lid.
Pop! Pop!
Both outlaws were sucked into his container.
Charlotte staired in horror.
Oh no, She thought. A bounty hunter...
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