Orion's Belt - A Dark Sci-Fi Western Romance

Cabbage Patch isn’t the official name of this colony, but it’s what everyone born here calls it. The history of this place is questionable. The unofficial line is that humans were brought here due to a temporal accident which pulled them from 1880s Earth, and then those unwilling settlers survived on what they happened to have with them, which was a load of cabbages, seeds, and a few stray slugs which had hopped time with them. A stallion and a mare came with them and interbred with the local equines, creating fast animals capable of carrying a man and also eating a dog.

I don’t know why I’m revisiting history in my head. Possibly because thinking about where this all started takes my mind off the fact that I’m being abducted by the most famous outlaw on the planet, and I have no idea what he’s going to do with me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been at the mercy of one man or another. First, it was my father. Then it was the man who helped my mother use her body to make dinari. Then it was the unspeakable bastard who tied me to the tracks. Now, it’s Orion Steelbane, the lowest of the low. If I make it out of this alive, I’ll be shocked as hell.

My stomach growls. In spite of my fear, I’m hungry. My fault for thinking about cabbages. Nothing better than some sautéed cabbage with salted slug to settle a stomach. I haven’t been fed properly in days. There wasn’t any point because my captor planned on killing me anyway. No use wasting good food on a girl who won’t be around for much longer.

Being made to dig a grave didn’t help that situation either. I could eat an entire bowl of cabbage and slug right now. It’s a complete food source, and utterly delicious, but I’m guessing Orion isn’t interested in stopping for a snack, not with the way he’s riding. It’s a bit late to be in a hurry now considering he spent the last hour wasting time making me bury a dead man, but I guess he reckons he has his reasons. Probably stupid male-ego based reasons, if I know anything about men.

As the heat batters my back and shoulders, I start to feel dizzy. This has been a hell of a day, a battle for survival from whoa to go, and I don’t think I can make it. I’m holding on to Orion as hard as I can, but the world is getting dark. I’m not as strong as I want to be. I’m not as strong as I need to be.

Orion

“She’s falling!”

Paris calls out just in time for me to grab Josie by the arm before she takes a tumble at high speed right onto hard rocky terrain.

“She’s unconscious!” I call back, slowing my horse as I swing her limp body around in front of me. I check her pulse. It’s there, but it’s rapid. Her eyes are fluttering and she’s making a weak moaning sound.

“Exhaustion, I reckon,” Paris says, pulling up alongside me. “She probably needs water, and food. I hear women need to eat as well as men.”

“I do not need your sass right now,” I growl. “Give me some water.”

He hands me his water skin with a smirk. “Try not to waterboard her.”

I pull the stopper and put the opening to her lips. They’re cracked and dry. Why didn’t I notice that before? I’m not used to taking care of soft little things, that’s my problem. Wouldn’t know how to nurture a… well, I don’t even know how to finish that thought.

“Josie. Drink.”

“You always talk to your women like they’re dogs?”

I ignore Paris. I’m worried about this girl. Not much point in having saved her life if I’ve worked her to death within the hour. I’m not accustomed to feeling guilty, but I reckon I’m feeling that emotion now.

“Come on,” I coax, dripping a little liquid into her mouth. She swallows reflexively, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Just a little more water and she’ll be right as rain.

“We need to get under cover,” Paris says. “There’s caves over there. Let’s ride for them.”

This girl isn’t even conscious and she’s derailing our entire lives.

We get to the shelter, and once we are there fifteen rough men stand around while we try to get this one girl back on her feet. It takes several minutes for her to rejoin us in the world of the living.

“Yer alright,” I say as she starts struggling. “You passed out in the heat. Got to keep hydrated, girl.”

“Hard to do that when you make me dig graves,” she says hoarsely.

“Yeah, so I’m told.”

Josie

Orion Steelbane has me cradled in his lap, and is pouring water slowly into my mouth. His big, strong arms are wrapped around me. Those stunning blue eyes are staring down at me with what I think is concern, and I’m now certain that I must have died on those tracks. There is no way a girl like me ends up in a situation like this.