Little Bits of Dust

A smile. Sly and warm that made Ada feel like a chicken facing down the hungry fox. Eddy stood at her side with his chin up trying to match that smile but it just made him look young and stupid. Lenox Eldridge stood from the table and motioned to the pair.

"You found them?"

A man nearby grunted affirmative.

"Just two young boys lookin' for work." He grinned now nice wide and open.

Eddy glanced at Ada and cleared his throat.; "That's the truth of it, sir. We learn quick and we mind well."

"Your friend can speak? Or is he mute?"

"He can talk but he's the quiet type."

Lenox reached down for his cigar and took a long draw from it staring at the two thoughtfully. "I'm sure he is." Thick smoke coiled around his head. "Red get that one situated," he motioned to Eddy. "And get me Marta from whatever bed she's in."

Red stepped forward to usher Eddy away, "What about the other one?"

Lenox motioned to Ada to take a seat at the table. "Gonna just have a chat, is all."

Ada Dow

Age: 30

The daughter of a Fire and Brimstone preacher who was convinced his eldest had the devil in her, Ada left home at 15 to escape the various exorcisms from his devout congregation She managed to survive for years by pretending to be an orphan boy doing odd jobs and working as a ranch hand here and there until she met Lenox Eldridge. Eldridge ran a gang; a family, he called them. He took the girl under his wing and with him Ada learned the skills she needed to survive. For years Ada and her new family thrived and she was happy.

She was twenty nine when Lenox betrayed the family. The night was a cold one up in Tall Trees and the sky was vast and dark and deep. The fire ripped through the camp, the horses screaming in terror and pain. The family was twenty or so at this point and the marshals rode in grabbing many and shooting the rest. One of the men was able to get Ada and a few others into the forest but the marshals followed and gunned them down. Ada hid under the others as their bodies grew cold and stiff.

She heard the marshals’ laughter, the fire ravaging their tents, the birds crying out their warnings. She could smell the bodies, the mud the fear. In the morning, she searched for survivors but found none. She buried those she could and left. Lenox and his three brothers were not among the dead. Ada made her way to Valentine without any money, supplies, or direction. She was again alone with the words of her father echoing in her ears;

The storm came down from the mountain and spread over the Heartlands with all the ancient rage of some god no one remembers; flashing lightening and shaking the land with low thunder that rattled around for too long. The small shack had wood walls and more space than wood and now more rain than space. It was wet and Ada was miserable. She clutched the blanket tight about her shoulders, soggy hat low over her eyes. The boy next to her grinned. "It's solid. It's solid."

They were young; late teens thinking they were adults already and thus immortal.

"And if he kills us? She asked cutting her eyes to him but knowing already what he would say.

Valentine always smelled like piss and during auction you heard the cows and sheep even in the church during service. Father Osbourne never did mind but I saw him from time to time speaking to the ranch hands about God and His Kingdom. Whatever that was; wherever that was.