14 Chapter 14 - In Which A Tale Is Woven

"Not that I'm complaining, Locked in,-"

"Lozen."

"Yeah, yeah, but is this the whole plan?" Judas finished asking as he continued firing like a madman at the front of the car. There was no aim to his actions, just firing bullet after bullet at the front of the car which was slowly starting to fill with holes. Lozen wasn't certain any of his rounds were hitting people in the other car, but that wasn't the point. All the men Alberta had stationed in it must have been panicking as they saw the barrage of bullets come bursting into the room. Judging from the nigh unlimited rounds Judas kept firing away, they must have figured there was either a death squad or a tattling gun in the other car. They wouldn't dare come in here after that and if Alberta was as smart as she thought, then she would run from that car as soon as she could.

"No. Just keep shooting." Lozen shouted as she pried open one of the many crates surrounding them. Inside, stacking in dozens of columns, were tiny bricks of what had to be meat wrapped up into some sort of construction paper like material. The smell of salt and blood cane wafting up from the box with a few red droplets on the wrappings. Lozen snatch up one of them and tore the paper away until she held a slab of dried up meat.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm just wondering why you haven't told me the rest?" Judas asked as Lozen rushed through the jungle of boxes between her and the windows on the outside of the car. She tore the sheet of glass up and stuck the slab of meat outside, letting the racing wind carry it's scent down behind the train. "Because if I told you, then you would find a way to make it go south." She shouted behind her to which Judas said "Hey!...." He paused for a moment before saying "Oh, when are you going to let that go!! Miners get caught in cave in's all the time and you don't see them complaining!"

"Because they're dead!! And if they weren't, you'd probably ignore them because their stories were too boring!"

"Okay, that's-" Much to Lozen's eternal gratitude, before the deadman could finish, a burst of ammunition came tearing through the wall and not because of his weapon. They erupt into the car, fired from the otherside of the wall and started tearing apart the boxes covering the compartment. Lozen instinctively ducked down as she heard the bullets start whizzing through the air around her, but not once did she pull her arm back into the car. The crates around her provided a decent shrieks and absorbed most if not all of the rounds before they hit her, but her companion did have that luxury.

"Ow!!! Those assholes!!! What are they shooting!!? Salted nails?!" He cried out and Lozen cried out back, assuming he hadn't read the threat Alberta had sent them "Henry 1860 heavy repeating rifles. 16 rounds per clip and in professional hands, take ten seconds to reload between bursts. So keep firing before they can reload!!"

"Oh you don't gotta tell me!"

With that, the seamen resumed firing and Lozen turned her attention back to the window her arm hung out of. She wasn't sure how good Beatrice's sense of smell was, but there was some paranoid part of her mind that thought she would find her way to a price of fresh meat. Either by scent, sheer force of hunger, or some unholy sensation that she very much didn't want to know about, Lozen didn't about the ability of that horse to simply be horrifying. And at the moment, she couldn't think of anything more terrifying than confirming it loved meat to so much it would outrun a train.

Though, that is precisely what she got. She couldn't see a thing except what raced by the window or hear anything over the sound of train racing down the tracks, but she knew it was there. Call it some sixth sense or instinct, but she swore she could feel the very air quake and boil as the stead approached before she ever saw it. When she finally did get her eyes on the beast, it was in the exact worst way she could have dread. All she saw was a rotting, skeletal maw reached out from the edge of her vision, saliva dripping from it's yellow teeth and blackened remains of a tongue reaching out to her hand.

Out of an impromptu, yet not unreasonable fear that the beast was trying to bite down on her hand, Lozen dropped the steak and snapped her arm back into the protection of the train. Beatrice on the other hand didn't hesitate for a moment and snapped her jaw forward, snatching the meat out of the air before it could fall. Her hooves were beating down onto the ground so ferociously they seemed to blur together and her remaining eye was filled with a frightening, primal desire to simply eat.

Lozen hesitated for a second, thinking that maybe she had stoked the monsters bloodlust just a bit too much, but she forced down that fear before long. Keeping her head inside her car, she shouted out to the beast at the top of her lungs "BEATRICE, I NEED YOU TO CARRY ME TO THE OTHER COMPARTMENTS!!" The horse rolled it's head around on its neck and let out an angry neigh that Lozen didn't need translated. "THIS TRAIN HAS AN ENTIRE BOX FULL OF MEAT EXACTLY LIKE THAT ONE!!! DO AS I SAY AND YOU CAN HAVE ALL OF IT!!!"

Judas cried back at that "Hey!! Are you bribing my horse!!"

Before she had to say a word, Lozen heard another burst of rifle fire tear apart the front of the car and the deadman exclaim out "Son of a whore!! Right in the head!!" Beatrice let out a loud whiny that sounded close to being an outright cackle and to which Judas replied "Well if you wanted me to feed you, then maybe don't make me fish my hand out of your gut!!!"

Lozen let out a small groan before saying "Just keep shooting!! And when me and Beatrice move up, start making your way through the cars!!"

"Gladly, but why!?"

"Just do it! And make sure she sees your face!"

With that, she rested her hands on the edges of the window and placed a foot on the sill as tossed the hat off her head. She then ducked her head through the window and froze in place as she felt the air blasting against her face. Her ears felt like they were going to burst from the sounds assaulting them, but it didn't keep her immobilized for long. Through her squinting eyes she could make our Beatrice's body and in the one act of sheer stupidity she would ever allow herself to do, leaped from the sill.

Much to her gratitude, Beatrice adjusted her position so what Lozen managed to land well enough in her back to her a grasp on the beast. It took a moment of wild scrambling that made her afraid she would fall off, but eventually she managed to situate herself on the animal. "Now get me to car two ahead of us!!" She cried out right before the monster started racing forward at a truly ridiculous speed. Lozen's entire body lurched back as the seat felt as if it were trying to escape out from under her and it was by sheer luck she found herself still on it's back.

They out raced the train, passing by the interrogation car, thankfully without having to be noticed. Having no windows did indeed mean a better sense of privacy, but it also meant the gunmen on the inside couldn't see outside. They raced passed it with any resistance, but it was at the junction between that car and the next that they were finally noticed. Dozens of armed men were crossed over to the other car, some of which were being shot dead before they could even step inside. Something Lozen took note of in that moment was the fact that it appeared Judas's bullets didn't stop until they hit someone. Besides that, they just seemed to go through everything. No matter how many walls were put in their way, they never stopped until they hit a mark. She was sure there was some pompous metaphor or something in there that Judas would love to milk, but she was too distracted to figure it out.

Some of them caught their attention out of the corner of their eyes and for a single instant, were petrified in place. Not that Lozen blamed them. At least they stayed on their feet up until they were shot. Those that remained either dashed into the private car or took wildly misaimed shots at her before Beatrice raced out their reach. The rest of the car on the other hand was a different story. Inside, Lozen could see another assembly of luxurious furniture, but more impatiently, about a half a dozen guards armed to the teeth and the one they were protecting.

Alberta was slow to make her way through the car, mostly because she and the rest of her men had to spend every other second ducking down to avoid the glowing bullets. She entirely expect for them to pinned down by the glorified distraction resting in the other cars, but not to this degree. At least it kept them from firing at her and Beatrice. The horse may have been immortal, but judging from the rot sweeping over her, it seemed like she could still take damage. One misplaced bullet to the leg and she would go down. Though, with the amount of guards shooting at them, that was unlikely.

On the other hand, there were guards shooting at them. Lozen at first ducked down as some of them smashed through the window and started firing through the openings. Bullet zipped past her head with some getting dangerously to striking her. Before any of them could, she hugged her body close to Beatrice and slowly slid it herself down until she hung off the side of the beast facing away from the train. Her feet felt as if they were on fire as they tried to keep a grip around the monster's gut, but it was better than being shot at. The few bullets that were fired at them were either absorbed by Beatrice's gut or outright missed, making the trek just a little bit more tolerable.

Just before she ducked down, she noticed something out of the farthest corner of her eyes. A blue light radiating from the door to the compartment she had jumped out of and slowly, for theatrical effect or something, wandering towards the private car. Though Lozen didn't have time to confirm that, though she knew Judas wouldn't miss the opportunity to show himself off.

Beatrice's speed managed to pass the car with ease and the next with even less trouble, though the angry cries the horse told her the stallion wasn't enjoying it. Regardless, once they had arrived at the junction at the very front of the second car, Lozen cried out "Get me close and keep pace with the train!!" Beatrice gave a small neigh before Lozen pulled herself onto the back of the animal and slid her feet up with her. For a small instant, Lozen was crouching on top of the galloping creature and before she could lose her balance, leapt off the stead.

Her feet landed on the tiny platform stretching between the front door and the link between the cars. She stumbled around for a moment as a small burst of pain shot up before steadying herself and drawing her weapon. Keeping herself ducked down, she inched over towards the door and subtly peeked through the window taking up it's entire top half. Through the drapes covering the inside of the glass, she could make out yet another seating arrangement taking up the center of the car, but just to the left of the door appeared to be a large bed pressed up against her wall. One of the couches had been kicked over and slid over to the door in order to provide the guards with some sort of cover. Though, that didn't appear to be the reason they hadn't been shot yet,

She could still see the holes covering the front of the car she crouched against, each burning with blue light like superheated metal. Now, however, the dozens of stray bullets no longer flew overhead and she had a theory as to why. Judas should have been stepping out of the interrogation car by now and was starting to shoot dead the other guards. There shouldn't have been anymore stray bullets, but more importantly, Alberta must have gotten a good look at the deadman making his way through the train.

As if on cue, the door at the back of the car came bursting open and in poured three more guards, making the grand total four at least in terms of armed guards. With the patron they carried with them, there were five people in the car. Four of which were going to need to be shot. Lozen pulled her attention away from the window and hunched down out of it's view before shoving her hands into her pockets, fishing around for spare bullets. She swore to herself when she felt all of them were empty only to immediately remember where they were. This day was supposed to be one for recognizance, not combat, so she only carried the bullets in her round. Two of which were buried in two goons chests.

She swore to herself again. Her ideal ammo count was one more than necessary, but she could manage with this. Even if Alberta was armed, the patron didn't know she was low on bullets. She could use this, but she needed to be careful. Besides, she couldn't attack until Alberta did the only intelligent thing when an outright monster was marching up a train. "Don't just stand there, you troglodytes!! Disconnect the cars!!" The patron cried out as she stumbled behind the lines of mercenaries. Lozen stifled a smile as she heard that and her prediction was proven true. This Ms. Finch was as smart as she claimed. Though not smart enough.

One of the guards skittered outside and did as they were told, uncoupling the cars before skittering back inside. They all assumed a position behind the couch they had kicked over and placed the muzzled of their weapons on the rim. Alberta on the other hand, sat herself down on the edge of the bed. Just as Lozen wanted.

Now, with Judas providing a damn good distraction and motivation, the patron was completely isolated from the rest of her forces and Lozen had managed to make it to her without being shot off Beatrice. Perfect

Lozen checked her pockets for spare bullets one more time before taking a tiny breath and resting a hand on the doorknob. She turned it as slowly as she could and opened it just enough for her to slip through without letting the sound of the engines seep inside too much. Neither Alberta or the guards seemed to notice her approach as she creeped across the floor, keeping her body low to the ground and gun trained on the backs of the guards.

Everything seem hightjed to her, her pulse and breathing seeming to echo off the walls, and the smells of grim stuck to her radiating from her like heat from fire. Sweat started to trickle down her check as she stepped inside, every nerve under her skin a lit and ready to jump at even the slightest sound. However, there was only me thought rocketing through her mind and a rather simple one at that. Four bullets. Four guards. If she missed even once, it was over. She tried telling herself she was ready for this and reminding her of all the experience she had with her firearm, but it was never enough to quell her nerves.

Every single awful thing that could happen rushed through her mind, even ones she has grappled with before and might not even live long enough to witness. Her people lying in the dirt, holding their child in their arms as they slowly wasted away, claimed by the sands they had been forced into. It wouldn't even be quick. Just a slow, painful death thinking that at any minute, they were going to be saved, but she was starting to doubt that. Some wouldn't hold out hope. Some would realize what was coming before the end and they'd spend their last minutes knowing that not a single soul was coming to help. It wouldn't even be the adults. The children would know this. They recognized the fire that would take them. She certainly had. And they would know their story would end with a long, dry death that no one would even bother to remember. Before they even had a chance to live.

No. Maybe, just maybe, someone would

remember. Someone might come over that horizon, a deadman riding a rotting stead with a sack of food and a smile on his face. Maybe he'd save them even if she perished. Just that one, simple soul who took the time to look their way and give them a reason to look back. To keep their eyes on where the sky meets the earth. Because someone was coming to save them. Even when she slept under the earth.

That was all she needed. Just that one man, dead or otherwise, and the hope that for once he hadn't simply been telling a story. Her hand streadied, her breath slowed, the pounding in her chest reduced itself to a dull roar, and her body acted faster than her mind could process. She stood up on her feet, everything around her seeming to slow as the adrenaline pumped through her veins, and aimed her weapon at the first obstacle.

It happened in an instant, her hands racing across her weapon to slam the trigger and hammer in quick succession. Every shot seemed so simple as she fired them. A simple click, pop, click and repeat. Click, pop, click and after four repeats, it was done. Four bodies lay splattered on the ground, blood pouring from their wounds and guns lying scattered across the ground,

But it wasn't done yet. For an elderly woman, Alberta snapped onto her feet rather quickly, swiping something from under her pillow and aiming it right at Lozen. But the time she did however, Lozen pulled back the hammer of her weapon and aimed the barrel at the patron. "That's enough of that, Miss Finch." She said, seeing that the weapon Alberta had pointed wasn't even an impressive one. It was a Bond Arms pistol, smaller than a hand and carrying two, shorts barrels stacked on top of each other, but no other rounds. The weapon was good for one, maybe two shots if one was very clever and had an effective range of about five feet. It was not a very intimidating weapon, but at the moment it was the only one in the room both held by a living person and loaded. Though Ms. Finch did not know that yet.

"Put the weapon down. You're cornered." Lozen continued, making sure to keep her voice calm and low. She was supposed to be the one in charge and she needed to act like it. Though the problem was, while the wideness of her eyes and slight trembling of her wrist indicated she was startled, Alberta looked just as composed. "My apologies, my would be assailant. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask the same of you." She said to which Lozen replied "Bond Arms Pistol. Maximum rounds, two shots. Maximum range, five feet. That weapon is essentially a knife with a slightly longer range. If you kill me, the worst that happens is a troublesome gut wound. It won't stop me from shooting you in the meantime and I think you're smart enough to realize nothing good comes from that scenario."

"Indeed, but it's not mere intelligence that had kept me alive this long. I've killed more clever men then I can count, some admittedly more so than I. What's allowed me to survive this long is experience. You wouldn't believe the things I've been through, the idiotic plans I've had to survive. And in that time, I've seen down the barrel of more arms than I care to count. So I know when they are loaded and when they are not. Much like yours, savage girl."

It took Lozen a moment to register those words and when she did, a pit had been blown in her gut. She kept asking herself how somehow could see so perfectly down the barrel of a gun, but in the end it made some strange form of sense. Her grip readjusted itself around her weapon again as her mind raced trying to figure out what to do. Threatening was out of the way...or was it?

Praying Judas never found out about this, Lozen forced herself to crack a small smile like she had so often seen the arrogant fool do before saying "You think an empty gun is enough to save?"

"No. Just enough to kill you."

"Then why am I still alive?"

Alberta froze up for a moment before saying "Because, Miss, you're going to start giving me some answers."

"I figured, but why would I do that?"

"Because the only reason you are still alive is because you're useful."

"No, no, no." Lozen added, though she wasn't entirely certain why people thought repetition was dramatic. Whatever. Judas used it and as moronic as he was, he knew how to put on a good show. And that was her best chance at survival at the moment.

"That's not it." She continued, keeping her weapon pointed at Alberta. It may have been empty, but it was still a gun and on some subconscious level, the patron would be afraid of the symbol it was. "You saw that thing, didn't you? The one your man couldn't kill. You saw how easily it dispatched them and you wondered 'what is that monster?'."

"As any person would. And judging from that cocky tone of yours, I assume you must have the answer to that question."

"And why would I give that to you?"

The patron raised an eyebrow and gestures to the weapon in her hand before saying "And here I was thinking you had some more sense than the rest of your barbarians."

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

Alberta shuffled in place for a second at that, clearly confused as to what was going on. "Do you not know how this works?"

"Very much, but there is something you need to know. Even if you kill me, that creature out there won't stop. It has one job and it will never stop hunting you until it sees that to fulfillment."

Alberta kept herself as stiff as possible, but the way her eyes skittered transmitting her growing fear. "And what is that.....beast of yours, savage?" The patron asked and Lozen answered "So often your people call us that. Savages. Animals less than human who eat our own children and flay all souls that wander close to our lands. Admittedly, you were close-" It hurt to say that, but Lozen presses on "But you never saw anything. We opened our arms to you and you shot us in the gut. We smiled when you came over the sea and you burned down our homes, but it was never enough. We tried, you know. Lord above, we tried and gave you more chances than any of you deserved, but time and time again, you tossed it back in our faces. You all saw it as kindness to exploit or weakness to hunt down and you did. Just not from me. I want you to remember the times I came to you with an olive branch in hand, hoping that the only thing we would exchange were words. Because you didn't see my kindness then. No. You saw my mercy."

Alberta jabbed her weapon forward in an effort to cut Lozen off and then cried out "Just tell me what that monster is!?" Her hand was shaking. Not much, but it didn't need to be for Lozen to notice. Just that tiny gesture was enough for her spirit to lift just a bit. She kept the smile on her face as she continued, finally starting to lie her ass off "Your people believe in some big man in the sky. Mine know better. There is power in this world, a kind yours have yet to even learn of. I believe you call it 'Injun magic'? That creature out there is a prime example. I could bring any one of them back as those golems, but only one of them hated you above the rest. Their rage burned a path back from the great beyond. All I did guide them down it. Now, it will only ever do one thing. Hunt you down across all the world."

"And why would you do that?"

"At first, it made a good bodyguard. An unkillable beast with the ability to shoot anything dead in a single shot. Not much to fear with that at your side. Now, however, it's leverage."

Alberta shuffled again, readjusting her grip around her weapon as she said "And how might that be?"

"That creature is a monster beyond death. Even my own. You kill me, it'll never stop coming after you. The only one who can tell it to leave you alone is me."

"You're bluffing. Whatever you're being paid, you can't collect it if you're dead."

Lozen froze up at that. Her mind rushed around trying to piece something together, but the answer was obvious when she thought about it. Everybody loved a good revenge story. She narrowed her eyes and let her head drop just a bit before saying in what she prayed was a venomous voice "You think I'm here for some trinkets?! A couple hundred slips of white mans paper!! Is that all you think this is about!? Do you really think I am so shallow!?!!"

She hesitated only for a moment out of fear her voice would prompt Alberta to shoot, but she turned up still alive, continued.

"Do you know how many people you and your little business have slaughtered?! Not even god could count the amount of murderers and genocides were planned here, but I'm not here because of them!! Beduiat Kaywaykla!! Do you even recognize that name!!? The last time anyone ever saw him was being forced onto this damned train by one of your goons!! I don't even have a body to mourn, all because of you!!"

Alberta blinked away her confusion for a moment before saying "Oh. Of course."

"I see you're finally figuring it out. Did you really think you could though all of this and not have even one person come for your head? Never once did it cross your mind that you might be killing the exact wrong person?"

The patron didn't say a word, but she kept her weapon level with Lozen's heart.

"Keep pointing that peashooter at me if it makes you feel better, but it won't do you any good. You kill me and that monster will do worse. When it shoots you, you don't just die. You stay there, trapped in that one single moment of your death, all that fear and pain being repeated over and over again for all of time. That single second where your life ended flashing before your eyes, yet never once becoming standard. You will suffer my dear. Suffer like you deserve."

Alberta stringent herself out again and pointless jabbed the weapon at her "And why would you change that? Whether I kill you or not, you'll let that thing kill me regardless."

"Why would I change that? For the same reason I came to you before. Because I'm not here for simple revenge. I'm better than that. I know what justice is and I will give it to you because you never gave it to anyone. That creature is more than insurance for my life. There is only one thing you can do that will make me call it off. Turn yourself in, go on trial, and accept your punishment. With all your crimes, you'll only ever see the light of day through prison bars. But this is your last chance. If you don't surrender, then I'll finally let my monster do what he was made to."

Alberta seemed bewildered at that. Her eyes were wide again and her lips were parted as she very visibly processed what she had heard. Lozen on the other hand, really didn't know what to think at the moment. She hadn't really had to lie to this extent before. On a normal day, she just didn't correct peoples assumptions, but this was pulling a story out of literally nothing. She wasn't even sure if people even believed the whole "Injun magic" myth anymore. Although, up until five minutes ago, Alberta didn't believe in whatever hellspawn Judas was either.

The gears spun wildly through the patrons mind and Lozen was already trying to come up with a pack up plan. She could try making a run for it, but there were only two places she could run to and both of them weren't enough out of Alberta's range. Maybe the patron could have also been bluffing in regards to her weapon. That idea didn't even last a second before it was shot down. No. There wasn't much else she could do now except hope her story was good enough. After all, if it worked for Judas, it must have been doing something right. That band of blue blooded bastards must have been inspired somehow. Though then again, the deadman could afford getting shot.

Oh god, she was going to die.

However, before her nerves could lit themselves ablaze from the fear lashing out at her, she saw and heard just about the most miraculous things she had ever witnessed. And she was very much including the walking corpses she rode with. Alberta, after multiple minutes of clear deliberation, let her weapon fall from her hands and said without loosing an ounce of her composure "Very well then. Arrest me."

At first Lozen thought this was some sort of trick. Another gun must have been hidden somewhere on Finch's person or maybe there was another battalion somewhere on the train. Her eyes darted all over the car as she tried to find that one clue that solidified her suspicions, but nothing seemed to jump out at her. All that was left was her and the target who was now unarmed and all alone.

"Holy mother of god. That actually worked." She found herself blurting out in disbelief to which Alberta replied with a confused "Pardon?"

"Nothing. Just....if you tell him about any of this, I will kill you. He's already enough of a handful without more ideas for his little legends."

Alberta stayed motionless for a moment with an eyebrow raised the entire time before saying in a much more exaggerated voice "What?!" Lozen strood over to the senior, spinning her weapon around until the but was pointing where the barrel had been as she replied "Don't ask. You don't want any part of the conversation that will arise from it. Just close your eyes and start thinking of as many snake species as you can."

"Why would I-" Before Alberta could finish, Lozen swung the but of her weapon up and smashed it right into the patrons head. She went down like a ton of bricks with a satisfying crack ringing through the car, but no mortal injuries.

"Because that's much easier to go through when your mind is preoccupied."