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

We head back out of town, Josie on the back of my horse, her arms wrapped around my waist. I thought she might take her whipping a lot worse, but I guess she’s not as spoiled as I thought. I definitely don’t feel bad about getting the truth out of her. Now we have a plan that benefits the both of us.

Her stoicism lasts for about five minutes, then the whimpering starts. “Ow. Ow. Ow,” she gasps with every step the horse takes. “Could I get down and walk? Please?”

I’m not one for mercy normally, but I know what the state of her rear is, and I need to give her a break, or I think she’s going to break herself. For a girl who started the day tied up to train tracks, she’s handling everything in stride, but everyone has their limits, and I don’t want a hysterical female on my hands.

“Alright. Slide down,” I say, giving her my arm to help her get off the horse without falling.

“Oh yes,” she sighs as her feet hit the ground. “I don’t think I’m ever going to sit down again. I’m never going to ride a horse again. We’re going to have to walk to the ranch.”

“You could try doing as you’re told,” I say, slowing my horse to a walk beside her. I could hop down too, but I don’t see why the both of us should suffer for her mouth.

We both killed people today and now we’re delaying our arrival at the camp for her sore bottom. I’m going to have to come up with some kind of excuse for our late arrival. Can’t have the men thinking I’m soft on this girl. I’m going to keep being tough until we get to the other side of the continent. It’s four weeks ride, easily.

Josie

Better to live on your feet than die tied to train tracks, I tell myself as I try to push down the natural shame which comes from having been twice whipped and then as a consequence more or less made to walk while Orion rides next to me.

“If you were a gentleman, you’d walk too.”

He glances down at me, his eyes bright under the brim of his hat. “I ain’t never been a gentleman, Josie. Best you don’t start getting expectations of that kind.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t expect anything from you. Except lawlessness, brutality, and… er, crime… making.” I trail off, wishing I hadn’t tried to go for a third thing.

Orion does slow his horse which is nice because I’m having trouble keeping up. Every step makes the rough fabric of my britches rub against my skin, which is incredibly sensitive and very sore and… I shouldn’t have waited so long to tell Orion what he wanted to know. He was never going to stop until he found out.

“HELLO FRIENDS!”

A voice sings out from nearby. There aren’t many people out in the night like this, and those who are, aren’t the sort of people you want to come across. That applies to Orion and me as much as it does to the friendly man beaming from the middle distance. He’s standing dead in the middle of the road with a cart lit by several lanterns casting a golden glow around the general vicinity. He’s wearing a long velvet jacket and a top hat, under which stringy blond hair is quite evident. He has the look of a huckster.

“A gentleman and his… lady,” he says looking me up and down more than once to ascertain my gender. “You just got lucky.”

“You just got very unlucky,” Orion growls. “Move.”

“I can’t move. Not before I tell you about the majesty and magic and… ma… ma… majorness of Aidan Slitneck’s Miracle Tonic!”

“Aidan Slitneck?”

“That’s right. My family founded this town, and now every visitor to it is given the opportunity to purchase a box of twelve miracle tonics for the low, low price of four thousand dinari.”

I look at Orion. This skinny idiot is trying to shake him down. I guess he hasn’t seen the mechanical arm. Or the big gun. Or the ORION STEELBANE sitting on top of the horse.

“Move aside, boy,” Orion says. “We’ve got no time for this.”

“I’ll move aside as soon as we complete our transaction, friend.”

I’m about to watch another man die today. I’m not sure I want to see that. Any bloodlust I generated while being betrayed by Atticus Bunch has been thoroughly expunged, and I don’t have anything against charlatans per se, having had to resort to a few scams myself to stay alive in the past.

“You’ll move aside now,” Orion says, drawing his gun.

“Oh. You’re going to shoot me?”

“That’s the idea, friend,” Orion drawls.

“That would be a mistake. I have other friends in addition to your good self, and all of them have rifles trained upon you as we speak.”