*sigh* Go ahead and laugh at my Outlaws…c’mon they were the best I could come up with…
That’s really bad ain’t it?
I am ashamed…
And this is a longer chapter then the others, just so yer know…
Taking The Plunge
Stranger led the way through the huge, warped trees, he had, after all, been doing this a lot longer then Bailey had. Bailey followed him silently, eyes and ears straining for any disturbances.
It was three days later. Stranger had decided that their best bet was to stay within a day’s journey of Birdington so they could pick up the bounties. So now the pair of them were hunting a couple of particularly nasty Outlaws, brothers, known only as Wart and Bunion.
Stranger stopped suddenly and Bailey came up beside him. She watched Stranger’s ears twitching and knew he’d heard something that was beyond her range. She tapped his arm, Stranger looked down at her.
“Outlaws?” Bailey mouthed and signed. Stranger nodded and grinning put a finger up to his lips in the universal signal for ‘Shh’, Bailey nodded. Stranger beckoned with the same finger and set off again, Bailey following. After a while the two hunters came to a pile of rocks heaped amongst the tree. Stranger climbed up with ease. Bailey had a bit more trouble. But she managed it without giving them away.
When she reached the top she found Stranger crouched behind a lip of stone, peering into a telescope. He ignored Bailey for a second before wordlessly handing her the spyglass. Bailey put it to her eye and directed the tube in the same direction Stranger had been looking. She saw a couple of Outlaws stomping along a twisted tree limb. She broke into a grin and handed the telescope back. Stranger crouched behind the rock lip and turned to Bailey.
“I think you better stay out of my way.” He said in a low voice after a pause. Bailey scowled,
“I want to help.” She protested in a furious whisper.
“Stay Here.” Stranger told her firmly.
“But-” Stranger tapped her chin with one claw and shook his head.
“It’s safer here.” Bailey growled in annoyance but nodded. Stranger grinned in relief. “I’ll be back.” He muttered and vaulted over the rock lip, sliding silently down and slinking after the Outlaws. Bailey breathed an irritated breath through her nose.
She unclipped the sniper rifle and followed Strangers progress through the scope. She considered slowing the Outlaws down with a couple of well placed bullets but decided against it.
Stranger would not be pleased.
Bailey contented herself with just watching.
¤§¤
Stranger padded after the Outlaws in a loping pace that Bailey could never have kept up with – she wasn’t built for it. Ahead of him the Outlaws had stopped and looked like they were discussing which way to go. Okay, so it was closer to arguing. Outlaws were
always arguing.
Stranger grinned ferally to himself and climbed up above them.
“We shoulda started going East when we got to that giant rock you idiot!” yelled one Outlaw, the bigger one – Bunion.
“Hey! I was following
you!” shouted the second, the smaller, younger one - Wart. “And now we’re lost thanks to you’re crap sense of direction! Sekto’s gonna have our hides!”
“Shut yer freakin’ trap!” snapped Bunion clipping the back of his brother’s head.
Stranger chose just then to make his entrance. He dropped down from the canopy above, right behind the Outlaws.
“Mornin’ ladies.” He smirked tugging on the brim of his hat in mock greeting. The Outlaws spun to face him. They saw Stranger and cocked and aimed their guns at the bounty hunter.
“Looks like yer outnumbered Kimosabi.” Said Bunion, smirking widely. Stranger grinned hugely, showing a mouthful of sharp fangs.
“Always liked a challenge.” He purred.
¤§¤
Bailey watched Stranger and the Outlaws’ exchange through the sniper scope with apprehension. She’d learnt from experience from the last three days that whenever Stranger and the Outlaw he was hunting started bantering, the Outlaw got extremely incensed and Stranger almost got himself killed. Every Single Time.
“Don’t talk, just bag ‘em you twit.” She muttered. After a minute or two Stranger finally attacked the two Outlaws, knocking aside their guns and decking the smaller one under the chin. Wart dropped. And Stranger faced the bigger of the pair, smirking smugly. He said something else and Bunion gave a roar of outrage and flung his considerable bulk at Stranger. Stranger dodged easily and ducked under the Outlaw’s huge fist, cracking Bunion’s chin with his own fist.
He was so busy fist-fighting that he didn’t notice the Wart get up and groggily aim his gun at the bounty hunter. Bunion saw it, and Bailey saw it too.
“Say g’bye Stranger.” Bunion growled in triumph Stranger froze in surprise. Bunion grabbed the surprised bounty hunter’s fist and walloped him in the stomach, light flashed on a blade as it came from nowhere and Bunion slashed at Stranger. Stranger gasped and keeled over, dropping to his knees. He heard Wart and Bunion cackling, heard the gun clicking and then a shot. He winced but felt nothing. Wart started screaming and Bunion yelled. “Hell! He’s got reinforcements, let’s git outta here!”
A few minutes later Stranger heard a very out of breath human skid to a halt and drop down to her knees beside him. He felt cool human hands touch his cheeks.
“Stranger, are you okay?” came Bailey’s concerned voice. Stranger looked up, grinned faintly.
“’Part from the bout of déj* vu, I’ll live.” Bailey smirked and hooked one of Stranger’s arms around her shoulders, helping haul Stranger to his feet
“C’mon, up yer get.” Bailey groaned as she helped him to walk. “Next time you can sit on the sidelines and
I’ll bag the bad guys.” She added.
“Yer’ll do no such thing.” Stranger growled, Bailey gave a sigh,
“How many times am I gonna have to save your hide, and how much am I gonna get paid?” Stranger swatted at her shoulder,
“Varmint.” Bailey sniggered.
“How’s yer gut by the way?” she asked after a moment. Stranger still had one arm across his abdomen.
“Hurts ter breathe.” Came the answer. Bailey stopped and frowned.
“Alright, let’s take a look at you.” And she made him sit down and take off his poncho. She pressed an ear to his chest and listened, frowning. Stranger blinked down at her.
“Er…Bailey…whadda ya doin’?”
“Breathe for me.” Bailey commanded. Stranger did as he was told. Bailey listened to his breathing. “Sounds alright…” she muttered. She pulled away and prodded his stomach. Stranger hissed.
“Tha’ HURT!” He snapped. Bailey ignored him.
“I think you’re just abit tender, nothing seems horribly wrong. Bad bruising most likely.” Stranger blinked green eyes at the small human.
“How d’you know that!?” Bailey shrugged,
“I was bored when I was left at home so I read a lot.” She answered. “C’mon, we need to get out of here before-” an angry voice cut her off,
“It’s only an Odd-damn kid!”
“We get company…” Bailey sighed.
Suddenly she felt an arm clamp around her middle and knock the air right out of her lungs in a whoosh. Then she felt a bump and found herself on a tree limb that was about twenty feet higher then she had just been a minute ago. Stranger let her go and dropped to his hands and knees, coughing violently. Bailey scrambled over and began rubbing his back to ease his breathing. Stranger slid onto his stomach and with an effort rolled over, groaning.
“You’re never going to recover if you keep pullin’ stunts like
that!” Bailey whispered furiously, “What were you
thinkin’!?”
“Savin’ yer hide, that’s what.” Stranger croaked hoarsely, he sounded like he wanted be angry but didn’t have the energy.
“Saving my hide won’t help me if you die.” Bailey said. “And I don’t want you to die.” Stranger watched Bailey with luminous green eyes and propped himself up on his elbows.
“I’m not gonna die Bailey.” Bailey went to answer but was cut off as the two heard the Outlaw brother’s below,
“Where in Odd’s name did they go!?” Bailey peered through the foliage and broke into a malicious grin. She began to creep past Stranger but he grabbed her shirt,
“Whadda ya doin’!?” Bailey turned and Stranger noticed the grin and her shining eyes.
“Payback.” She grinned, “Don’t worry, I got an idea.” She turned and put her arms around his neck momentarily, giving him a brief hug, carefully making sure she didn’t touch anything tender and then crept away, along the tree limb. She turned and grinned at Stranger again, “It’ll be a blast.” And then she hopped to another tree.
“Tha’s what’s worryin’ me…” Stranger muttered, keeping his eyes on Bailey.
Bailey made her way to a broad tree limb across from Stranger and then lay on her back to stay hidden while she got out one of the mini-Desert Eagle look-a-like handguns and loaded it. She leant over the side of the branch, took aim, and fired. Immediately the thick air in the forest was rent by wails.
“SHOT ME! SOMETHING ODD-DAMN SHOT ME!”
Bailey snickered and rolled on her back, Bunion was flailing around like a hoard of Fuzzles were attacking him...speaking of Fuzzles… Bailey looked over at Stranger, he was itching to join in.
“Oi, Stranger.” Bailey whispered to get his attention. Stranger looked at her with sharp eyes. “Fuzzles.” Bailey grinned. Stranger returned the grin and loaded his crossbow with two Fuzzles, he took a firm hold on the branch and hung over the side, aimed and fired. The Fuzzles hit Wart and he shrieked and began running around in circles like a headless chicken.
“GAAAAAH! GERROFF GERROFF!” he screamed. Bailey and Stranger were both stifling laughter by now.
Bailey lay on her tree limb, her snickering abruptly cut off when she heard a crack. She sat up quickly, leaning on her hands and looked for the source of the noise.
The branch was splitting…
“No way.” Muttered Bailey, “Oh
crap!” Cracks ran all through the wood with alarming speed and Bailey was too choked with fear to make a sound until, finally. “Stranger.” Her voice sounded odd, strained and choked. Stranger looked over, the grin on his face rapidly morphed into horror. He tried to get over to Bailey but his injured midsection impaired him and he wasn’t able to move fast enough as the tree limb that Bailey was perched on, fell away, taking Bailey with it. There was a crash and an explosion of dust and leaf-matter as it billowed up as Bailey and the branch hit a stack of dead leaves in the hollow between two other twisting branches.
The only pro to this horrible situation was that Wart was swatted by the debris brought down by the tree limb’s fall and put down for the count, which meant Stranger only had to deal with one Outlaw.
Stranger didn’t think. If there was any chance that Bailey was alive after that he needed to get the remaining Outlaw, Bunion, away.
Ignoring the pain that ripped through his stomach Stranger jumped down and grinned at Bunion. The Outlaw howled in anger and without Stranger provoking him, he charged at Stranger, swinging his rifle like a club. Stranger dodged and took off, dropping to all fours to move faster.
¤§¤
Bailey groaned, everything ached something awful. She dug her way out of the debris and sat up. She groaned again and put her head in her hands, leaning against the part of tree right next to her.
“Ug, jackhammer in the skull…” she moaned. She looked around. “Where is everyone? Stranger? Stranger!” No answer. Bailey pulled herself out of the rut between the two twisting parts of tree she had fallen into and staggered to one side into another tree trunk and put a hand to her head as a wave of dizziness swept over her. “Ug.” She muttered again.
All around her was a messy mass of dead leaves, sticks, other debris and the huge broken off branch. Bailey brushed the dirt from her clothes and picked fragments of bio-wreckage from her hair.
“Stranger?” she tried again, still no answer. Suddenly a groan made Bailey looked round. Wart sat up, he rubbed his forehead then shook his head to clear the stars, Bailey froze, just staring in horror. When Wart saw Bailey he gave a yell of anger and jumped to his feet, fumbling with his gun. He brought up the rifle…to find it too late, Bailey had bolted. Wart swore and lumbered after her.
Bailey tore through the dense vegetation like a mad thing. She wasn’t about to waste her time on Wart, she had to find Stranger. What if Bunion had taken him? Then where would an Outlaw take a bounty hunter? Bailey’s heart pounded in her ribs and her breath sobbed, panting, trying to take in more air.
And she had no idea where she was going.
She could hear Wart behind but she was confident she could outrun him. Her first worry now was Stranger. Bailey slid down a steep twisting tree fighting to keep her balance and hit the dirt at the bottom, no sooner had she hit the ground she was off again, small leaves and branches lashing in her face and whipping at her arms.
Finally she burst out of the dense jungle, tripped on a root and went tumbling forward, rolling over and over until she hit something. Bailey groaned and fell over onto her hands and knees. She looked towards the forest, there was no sign of Wart. Bailey grinned. She sat with her back against the thing she’d hit and regained her breath.
When she was calmer Bailey twisted around and looked past the thing, and proceeded to fall over again. The whole area behind her was filled with graves, the headstones made of grey rough stone and each one with the same message;
Cry not for us
Our souls survive
Justice awaits
The waters rise
Bailey just stared at them for a moment, her mouth open, she scrambled away from the thing she’d been leaning on, finding that that too was a grave. Bailey looked around. She was even more lost then she had been before. And even worse, she was officially Creeped Out.
“This sucks.” She whispered, “Really sucks.” All she could hear was the buzzing of the flies and the chirp of the small creatures in the grass. Suddenly she heard a voice, deep but breathy like a whispering of a soft breeze on grass. Bailey spun on the spot. “Hello?” she breathed, “Stranger?” the whispering continued and the first voice was joined by others, all whispering things she didn’t understand. Bailey was frozen in place, looking round slowly, the small hairs on her arms and the back of her neck rising.
Bailey shivered.
Swallowing Bailey began moving, weaving her way through the graves, the wild grass coming up to her knees in some places. She climbed up a slight slope in the graveyard and when she reached the top, bright sunlight seared into her dark-accustomed eyes. Bailey rubbed her eyes and blinking squinted down. What she saw made a pain lance through her chest and she put a hand on a stunted tree nearby to steady herself, one hand on her heart. Slowly Bailey sank to her knees.
“What
happened here?” she whispered. Below her stretched a long, deep valley. Everything was dry and dusty and dead or dying. Bailey could make out the faint remains of what once must have been a great river, but something, or some
one had drained all the water.
Bailey was used to seeing dry places, but this was different. The atmosphere was wrong here, water had been here and it had been taken, and it wasn’t natural. Bailey saw a settlement that would have been on the riverbanks of the dead river. Dimly she could make out a group of little figures with fishing nets.
This drought
was unnatural.
Bailey watched them crowd together to observe what she assumed was the pitiful catch. This was a fishing people, but the river was dry and the fish would therefore he dying right along with this valley.
Suddenly a gunshot shattered the brittle quiet. The whispers were silenced. Bailey watched the valley below like a hawk. A dark and familiar figure suddenly charged through the gathering of the short fishers.
“Stranger.” Murmured Bailey, a scant few seconds later the Outlaw Bunion crashed through the group, sending many on them flying, he levelled his gun and shot again then with a gesture of annoyance he tore off after Stranger, leaving Bailey line of sight.
As if someone had just unturned on the volume on a muted television set, the whispers returned, but this time Bailey understood them;
Go said the whispers,
Go now. Help him. Remember us. Bailey didn’t move for a second, the wind picked up and seemed to push her backwards.
GO! Bailey turned, and fled.
¤§¤
Stranger practically flew through the jungles of Mongo Valley, moving with that unique gait that Bailey had found so fascinating, utilising all four limbs to move, jumping from place to place.
Stranger turned momentarily to check if Bunion was still following. He was, and his pace was remarkably fast, every so often he caught up to Stranger and swung his gun but Stranger managed to dodge each time.
Stranger clambered up on huge tree root and pause for a second, letting Bunion take a swing at him, he dodged and changed direction, swinging himself around on a stubby protruding branch that exploded as soon as he’d let it go, the fragments flew in all direction and sprayed Stranger as the bullet it the wood.
He slid down another root and continued the deadly race, towards an old trap he’d built some time ago, avoiding the barrage of swings from Bunion. Stranger dashed through the ribcage of a giant animal, using the rib bones to swing himself into the air, sliding along yet another root like a skateboarder grinding down a rail.
He paused and turned back, watching the Outlaw fighting his way out of the ribcage, which had evidently collapsed on top of him into a pile of bones. It didn’t take him long and soon Bunion was barrelling towards him.
“That’s right.” Muttered Stranger jumped out of the way just as the Outlaw swung his gun.
Stranger vaguely heard a yell of ‘ODD-DAMN! GET OFF! GET OFF! GET OFF!’ before they was a crack, a splintering of wood and Bunion shot past him, covered in snarling Fuzzles.
Stranger unfolded his crossbow and loaded it with a Bolamite in under thirty seconds and fired. The arachnid hit the Outlaw and trussed him like a Zappfly caught in one of it’s webs.
Bunion hit the ground and the creatures scattered. Stranger dropped down in a perfect four-point landing, rose slowly and stalked towards the Outlaw.
“You jerk! You broke ma favourite gun!” hollered Bunion. Stranger bent down and picked up the gun, sniffing the busted gunpowder canister and shuddered at the disgusting smell.
“Never liked guns.” He grinned and snapped the gun in two, dropping the two pieces in front of Bunion.
“Aww
man.” Whined the Outlaw. Stranger bent down and grabbed hold on the Outlaw’s bonds and brought him almost nose to nose, his green eyes blazing.
“That was fer Bailey.” And then Stranger shoved the Outlaw away from him in disgust.
His ears twitched suddenly. He could have sworn he’d just-
“Oi! Stranger! You tryin’ ter get away from me or what?” Stranger looked up, ignoring the grumbling Outlaw.
Bailey was standing on one of the tree roots he’d led Bunion over. She grinned and waved. She suddenly stopped and her gaze snapped to her left. She then began climbing down the network of latticed roots and branches until she was on solid ground again. She cast an apprehensive glance upward before darting over to Stranger.
“Stranger, we got company. The lil’ scum-bag’s headed this way.” Stranger nodded and was about to reload his crossbow when he gave a gasp and bent over double, clutching at his stomach.
“Can’t,” he gasped, “Can’t take on another one.”
“Then I will.” Bailey said firmly, Stranger shook his head but it took him a few seconds to muster enough energy to speak.
“No.” Bailey looked like she was going to argue but just then a bullet exploded right next to her feet and they heard Wart yell,
“I got ya now yer lil’ freaks!” Stranger didn’t wait to give a comeback. Summoning all the strength he had left Stranger grabbed hold of Bailey and took off again.
“Stranger stop!” yelled Bailey, “You’ll do yerself in!” but Stranger didn’t listen, just kept running.
Then, abruptly the ground fell away. Stranger skidded to a halt and the two peered over the edge. At one point Bailey presumed this must have been a waterfall but the water had stopped flowing by now and Bailey was surprised that there was still a pool at all below.
Stranger finally let her go and Bailey dropped to the floor as Stranger fell to his knees, his breath coming in painful gasps. Bailey knelt beside him.
“C’mon Stranger, you can’t give up yet. We can make it.” Stranger didn’t even have the energy to answer straight away, and when he did he only managed a few words.
“I’m sorry Bailey.” Bailey laughed softly,
“What for?” she asked,
“I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough.”
And then Bailey knew.
This was the end.
Bailey put her arms around Stranger, pressing her forehead on his fur.
“It’s not your fault. None of it is your fault.” She murmured, she felt Stranger put his arms around her and she tightened her hold. He was shaking, Bailey realised. He didn’t want to die, neither did she, but there was no way out…
Or maybe there was…
“Stranger, you have to get up, we
can make it.” She tried to get Stranger up, he didn’t at first but then he managed, rising unsteadily to his feet. Bailey put his arm around her shoulder and Stranger sagged onto the considerably smaller human. His eyes were closed and his head rested on Bailey’s shoulder. Bailey got him over to the rim of the waterfall cliff and peered over. “At least it looks deep enough…” there was a crash of foliage snapping and being trampled behind them. Bailey looked back once before she took a deep breath.
And took the plunge.
Jumping from the cliff, dragging Stranger after her…the water rushed to meet them and there was a huge splash that knocked everything out of Bailey as she hit the freezing water.
Everything went black as she and Stranger sank below the surface…
Bailey's Profile
And leg cramps are pretty hideous aren't they, I wake up screaming blue murder as well...
Really, good thar, Lobo! 
All hail and bow to the almighty fluff! 
Although the action will be making it's appearance soon if that's what yer after. 
