The Wild West

People ran all around her. Shouting and cries of desperation rang through the deafening panic. The air, that was once balmy and still, trashed against Juniper’s face. It was only a matter of time before she herself would be swallowed by the horror that had taken her parents.

Though she was the heart of the action, Juniper heard nothing. She had once read that history repeated itself, she just didn’t know it would happen so soon. Shrinking, Juniper searched for something to stabilize her. She looked down at her boots, and then she was gone.

---

Juniper owned a pair of classic red Converse. They were two and a half sizes too big and the laces wrapped around her skinny ankles like ribbons on a package. They we a gift from her parents for her eighth birthday, but the sneakers didn’t actually fit until she was ten. Juni had never cared that they didn’t fit though; there was something magical about their red canvas and the way that they said “All Star” on them.

“Mom,” she would start innocently, as if she hadn’t asked the same question every morning, “Why do the shoes say ‘All Star?’” Juni’s blue eyes would grow wide with anticipation. Her mother was a woman of few words and Juniper ravished every kind word that left her mouth. A smile crept up on her mother’s face before she wiped her hands on the dirty kitchen towel. “Because my baby,” she said in that sultry voice of hers, “Because my baby is a star.” Juniper’s mother would then look over at her devoted husband and send him a wink or a smile, “and only stars get to wear the All Star shoes.”

---

Below her was a pair of red Converse, double knotted around the ankles. In front of her was a danger approaching at an unbelievable speed. Her mother and father were down the road, unaware of the dust storm that would eclipse them in less than thirty seconds.

“No, no, no,” she mumbled helplessly, unable to muster the strength to shout. A beat of bravery, or perhaps stupidity, burst through her. Juniper started to run toward them. It wasn’t until someone grabbed her, did she realize she hadn’t moved at all.

“Juniper, move!” said the man, but she didn’t know him. How did he know her?

“Wait, no!” she rebutted firmly. Her prowess grew as her panic mounted. Then she realized she was being dragged in the opposite direction. “Stop!” she shouting, now physically trying to get away from him.

”We have to move, or we die!” the man shouted back at her, taking her to the nearest shelter. In sheer hysteria Juniper realized that she would never see her mother and father again. “My parents! Please!” is all she could scream before have the door shut in front of her.

---

It was mid afternoon when it happened. Juniper had been released from school and she met her parents at the community woodpile like she always did. From there she would follow them down to the field and do her school work on a bail of hay while they finished up a hard days work. Her parents ran the stable, a plentiful business that would only last for three more years without their care, all of which the proceeds would go straight into Dust.

Her mother and father walked a couple of paces in front of her, hand in hand, and enjoying each other’s company. They always shared secrets, whispering and blushing and laughing in their privacy. Juniper never understood this, but one day she hoped that she would. Usually the spritely girl was right next to them, but a shiny coin had caught her eye. There in the middle of the road was a real life quarter! This was miraculous to Juniper, the use of the old American currency was just a blotted out memory in the town Dust. People traded goods and services; money was of no use to them. Finding a coin was like finding a piece of golden treasure to a child.

Yet, there it was, a 2005-quarter. Astonished, Juniper took an extra long look at its serrated edges before turning back to her parents. Her mother and father were now down the road, and just beyond them was the dust storm that would change her entire life.

---

With a rush of emotion, Juniper’s pity and terror turned into anger. If this man hadn’t stopped her she might have been able to do something! He still had a firm grasp on her as she wriggled forward, trying to escape the tool shed they were inside. “I’m not,” Juniper struggled, “Supposed to talk,” she tried a different direction, “to strangers.” Desperate, Juniper took to violence. “Now, let go of me!” she bellowed, before landing a good loud smack across his face.

Then it was over. In front of her was Robin. Her shoes were boots again, and they were inside of a dank shack just small enough to make two people uncomfortable. The thundering noise of wind swooshed over the tiny window, and sand plastered out the sunlight. They were in darkness now. It was only then that Juniper began to cry.

"You should go with her for now, Evanne." The fragile woman whipped her head around to look at him. She was surprised, yet at the same time not surprised he had been there to listen and tell her what to do. He hadn't once come to see her and yet he was there now to tell her what to do. "After all, she's right. You're in no condition to take care of a child on you're own right now. Cather anything that is yours or Evelyn's, though. There will be new arrangements by sundown."

Evanne opened her mouth about to say something- though she wasn't sure what- but he had already turned away and began walking to his office. It had been so much easier to talk to him before the truth had sprung free. She knew things would be different after he knew, but why was he avoiding her? In the hospital, he had acted like he wanted to move past things. Sure, it could have been the drugs. But most of the time when people are on drugs, that just helps people be more honest. That's at least what she had seen.

She let Jamie push her home, following her mother. She found herself going through the motions of what Noah wanted. He told her to pack her and Evanne's things and that's what she was doing. That and mulling over what he had said. Did he want them to live with him? If so, why not just ask her? He had never been demanding about most things in his life, but that didn't mean she had to do whatever he said, even though he was Evelyn's father. The more she thought about what he said the more she got frustrated and just plain pissed off.

Evelyn's soft snores came from her mother's bed. The little girl wouldn't let her mother put her down for a nap. So the only other choice was to let her play until Evelyn wore herself out. She glanced out the window. It hadn't been too long since they came home. She would have plenty of time before sundown to go and talk to him before whatever he was planning on doing.

Evanne stood up carefully. She was weak and tired easily but she could still walk. She made her out of the room. She leaned on the railing, supporting herself with her left hand as she went down stairs. She could hear her mother back in the kitchen but she didn't want to have another confrontation with her. Instead she called out as she opened the front door. "I'm going out. I'll be back before sunset!" She heard her mother's voice but not what she said as she slipped out and shut the door behind her.

Moving as fast as she could, the blonde hurried away from one of the larger houses in Dust. She stumbled up to another building as she headed towards his office. She caught herself with her right hand but do to her injury she just collided with the wall. She gasped in pain, closing her eyes as she pushed off the building with her left hand.

Evanne took a deep breathe as she continued on. She had to concentrate as she went. She had to be careful. It wasn't until she got to his building that she noticed anything was wrong. It wasn't the sky that gave something away. It was shouting... Robin was shouting. She frowned as she watched him pull Juniper along with him into shelter and that's when she saw it. She gasped, not even bothering to knock as she pushed open Noah's office door and shut it behind her. "Noah! There's a sandstorm!" She turned to face him. "Oh god, Evelyn's at my parents'."

"Why should I?" Rob said to his sister with a look that she only returned. Did he really think Ginny would just give up like that? "She's tough. You've seen her. I don't see why she'd need my shoulder to cry on."

"Why should you?" Ginny said and then did something that seemed like the most natural thing to her while holding a baby against her breast. She gave him a good whack on the back on the head. "You should because our parents and I raised you to be a gentleman and I shouldn't have to tell you what is the right thing to do." She told him in a motherly tone and with a look that dared him to ignore what she told him to do. Now, Ginny didn't hit everyone and she didn't do it often. It normally only happened when her brother had his head way up his bum.

She shook her head and looked at Owen while Dana Clay ranted at the crowd. She knew there was a point where she tried to say something judgemental about them but she didn't listen. She knew that she was doing what she could for her family. She shifted Micah in her arms and reached out and took her husband's hand. She lifted his hand, turning it so the back of his hand was towards hers and kissed his dirty hand lightly. She didn't know where she would be now if it wasn't for him and his strength. She rested her head on his shoulder.

The brunette may hate funerals for many reasons but there was one thing about them she appreciated. They made everyone think about their loved ones. With her husband, brother, and children, she would continue to live on even if they did have to eventually move on from Dust.

Ginny lifted her head and looked at her brother as he spoke. She gave him a half hearted smile and nodded. "Please go talk to Juni." She began to walk towards their little shack, or at least in that direction. She smiled more when Owen gave her a small peck on her forehead. "Come on, let's go talk to Marshal Carrie, or whatever his name is, I heard that he has a junk pile of some tires."

She smiled admiringly at her husband. "That sounds perfect. You know just how to cheer me up." She nearly jumped when she heard her brother shout her full name. That was never a good sign, and it wasn't like that little swat on the head would make him that pissed. She turned and looked over her shoulder at him, trying to make out what he was saying. But she didn't get a chance to see what she and her brother had seen. She was already being pulled along by Owen. "O-Owen! Did he say-" She broke off as Owen tried to get into a locked building.

Fear rose up in her as Owen turned to her with a serious expression. "Ginny, we need to run." Ginny just swallowed and nodded. She took off, though she wasn't half as fast as her husband no matter how much she pushed herself. She heard her baby cry and Micah was starting to cry as well. She could see the sand now. It was becoming dark.

It was like the distance of their house was getting even further away. "We're n-not going to make it, Owen!" She panted, having to stop. She looked around them. There were people running for cover. But where could they find shelter quickly. Everyone was trying doors. They were standing near a building but they would have to go all the way around the side to try one of the doors that was most likely locked.

But that's when her brown eyes fell on two doors in the ground. Most people, unless they like her had grown up with it, wouldn't recognise it for what it was. She handing Micah over to her husband and darted for the doors. There was no lock on the doors but they were chained. She tugged and pushed at the chains until they loosened and then fell free of the doors. It took a few moments of yanking but one of the doors creaked open. "Owen! Come on!" She took Micah back from him and stepped into the cellar. There were stone steps that led deeper into the earth. It might not be as comfortable as their house where they had supplies and blankets but they could wade out the storm in this. She climbed off the stairs, turning around to take Wren as well so Owen could shut the door behind him so the sand that was already pelting them wouldn't get in anymore. She backed up into the darkness more, shielding the babies from the wind and sand. She looked around. It was so hard to see after being out in the sun.

No one ever mentioned a place like this to her. Though it may of been her imagination, she felt like it stretched on. "Owen... where are we?" She asked her husband, slowly turning to face him in the darkness.

Relief flooded through Noah's veins at Juniper's agreement, and through this relief he couldn't help smiling when she teased him. As soon as she left, however, he was stuck wondering what had even come over him to request such a thing. He didn't know when he had decided to do it, probably somewhere between watching Evelyn play and watching Evanne sleep, but he did know that it was the right thing to do for the moment. As much as he wished it were different, Evanne and Evelyn had a life together that didn't include him. Hell, Evelyn didn't even recognize him as her father. It would be selfish to force his way in at a time when he couldn't give them the attention they deserved.

No, right now he would let Juniper take care of them, and Noah could take care of Dust. As soon as he proved himself a strong leader, as soon as Dust was out of this political firestorm, then he could work on becoming part of a family again. After all, it was Patrick that given him that piece of advice when he first stepped into this very office as the leader instead of a citizen: sometimes leaders have to sacrifice their personal lives for the good of the people they're protecting.

Suddenly, Evanne, pale and weak, burst into his office, looking for all intents and purposes as if she were about to collapse. In seconds, he was out of his chair to try to steady her.

"Noah! There's a sandstorm!" she announced.

His heart dropped into his stomach. "What?' he asked dumbly.

"Oh god, Evelyn's at my parents'." That launched Noah into action. Quickly, he guided Evanne to the chair in front of his desk.

"Stay," he ordered sternly. He sprinted to the staircase that would lead him to the warning bell. The stair were narrow and steep, and if he looked down he could see through them. He kept his head up. The town hall was one of few buildings with more than one floor, and Noah cursed his injury as his breath failed him on the second story. Just one more flight to the bell, he thought, as if to reason with his lungs as they screamed for more air, faster.

Using all his strength, he yanked the bell's rope, and a surge of pain ripped through his shoulder. He ignored it, ringing the bell until he lost count of how many times he had done it. His arm had come out of its sling, and the pain was intense enough to warrant checking to see if he had popped his stitches. He didn't bother doing that, though. He didn't particularly care at the moment if he bled a little.

Briefly, Noah considered staying in the bell tower to avoid the conversation waiting for him on the first floor, but Evanne had come all the way across town without the wheelchair for a reason. With everything that had happened, he figured he owed her at the very least a talk.

He took the stairs slowly this time,both feet on each step while he caught his breath. Noah had never been a Hercules of any sort, but he'd never felt as weak as he did in that moment, struggling for air as he inched his way to the bottom of a staircase he had climbed up and down thousands of times without issue. Finally, his feet touched down on the floor, and he took a couple more seconds to steady himself before facing Evanne.

"There's really nothing we can do except hope that your mother heard the bell," he told her, lowering himself gently into his chair with his good hand, "but you should've stayed there until someone came to get you."

Entry:
coming up

The intensity of the scene had Owen's mind scrabbled and hazy. In that moment all he knew was that he needed to keep Ginny and their children safe. His panic had turned into adrenaline, and though he probably would have been able to get home, Ginny was still healing from childbirth. There was no way to get all four of them back home without something awful happening.

Owen and Ginny always worked as a team, and when she called the shots Owen didn't even bat an eye. He retraced his footsteps to find Ginny hunched over a chain that intertwined what looked like cellar doors. Owen had no perception of where they were in town, but within moments he had handed little Wren down to his wife and was frantically trying to close the door behind them. A gust of wind, quickly followed by a suffocating amount of sand, snapped the door open and caused Owen to twist his arm at an awkward angle. He paid no mind the pain before putting all his strength into one last triumphant tug. The deafening noise was just slightly muted now, and some sand drizzled in the sides of the poorly constructed entrance.

Owen turned around to face Ginny, despite the fact that he couldn't even see his own fingers. A cough escaped him, his body now realizing how dry and exhausted it was. His arm throbbed in pain. Owen shook his head, ignoring his physical woes and searched in his pockets for a match. He knew that he had a couple on him somewhere. "I don't know..." he finally said in response to his wife. "Your guess is just as good as mine. This whole town has more secrets than I can even count." With that comment Owen finally found his matches and lit one.

The light was so dim that he could just barely see a foot or so in front of him. Owen shook his head again. This wasn't going to work. He would run out of matches in a half hour, tops. Owen looked around for a moment, trying to find something to make a light in. With great amounts of luck, something that Owen possessed, he found an old lantern on a nail. Carefully he lit the lantern, then he turn around to face Ginny once again. "At least we have this," he said with a weak smile. His eyes traced down what looked like a long corridor. Owen made a face, concerned about the safety of this place. "Looks like a tunnel," he said.

Tears gushed out of Juniper like a spigot and it felt like there would be no end to this flood of emotions. It wasn't until Robin had uttered his favorite four letter word that Juniper even realized where she was. Actually, she didn't know where she was, but she knew what was happening. Juni cautiously looked at Rob while wiping her face frantically, trying to stop crying. It was bad enough that Robin was here in the first place, and she loathed the idea of Robin seeing her in such a state.

Juni blinked slowly while taking in deep breathes, watching Robin come up with some light. Every time she brought in new oxygen she could feel herself just a little bit more. Slowly, she found her toes, and her feet, and her hands, and eventually everything else. And just as quickly as it had started, the emotions that were suffocating her dissipated.

Reminiscent, Juni scoffed at Robin. It was so typical of him to just sit there and watch her cry. Of course there were reasons for his behavior and he hadn't always been like this, but the idea put a sour taste in her mouth. The light that Robin had lit wasn't much, but it was just enough for the small space they were in. A gust of wind sent a howl past the shed and the tiny window rattled. Juniper shuttered, taking her attention to the sand that leaked through some rotten wood.

"So. I guess it's just you and me, Junebug," Juni looked back at him. She crossed her arms and said nothing. "You're gettin' good at the punchin'. Practiced on anyone?" A small smirk played on her lips as she shook her head.

"Oh, you know," she started weakly, not realizing how hard it was speak. Juniper took a moment to collect her thoughts as she leaned against the wall. "I'm practicing for the next deadbeat," Juniper said pointedly before sliding down the wall and sitting on the dirt floor.

"Though I wish I could remember doing that," she said, gesturing to Robin's reddened face. Quickly Juniper decided that if she acted like this episode of hers was perfectly normal then I would be. Juni leaned forward on her knees, smearing a hand across her face before muttering to herself, "Oh God..."

Aaron "Sullivan"

The wind picked up, spraying dust from the ground in every direction. The town went from a riot to silence in mere moments. Aaron soon realized why.

Picking himself up and turning away, there was a monstrous cloud of dust and sand particles; a storm was upon them and everyone was seeking shelter. The former town guard figured he should do the same, and he began dragging himself away from Patrick Clay's grave.

Aaron wandered down the nearly barren streets; the only sign of motion were a couple in the distance seeking shelter, and tow boys running past him to their house. Where would he go? His tent would work, but he couldn't get to it in time and set it up for shelter. He'd have to find a building. But, seeing as he didn't own any land, the question became where he could go and not be caught for trespassing.

The Mech Hall. It was the closest thing to him now. It wwas unlikely that anyone would be there, and the windows near the roof of the building were almost always open; he'd have to climb fast.

With the storm getting only worse, Aaron moved faster; a primal instinct of survival was kicking in. He was able to run at, and kick off a small cabin of a house to get on top of it. Pulling himself up, he began walking from rooftop to rooftop towards the Mech Hall. Eventually, he found one of the windows he was looking for. And lucky for him, it was open.

With a leap of faith, the mountaineer ran and leaped for the window, grabbing onto its bottom. It was easy enough to pull himself up and in. He ended up on a catwalk that overlooked the main work area of the Hall. Closing the windows behind him, Aaron went down to a stool at a work bench. He rested his arms and hunched over, resting his head on the counter.

"I'm just so tired of this shit..." Aaron said to himself. There was a hollow feeling in his chest that seemed all too familiar to him.

"This is only getting worse..."

Evanne didn't object to Noah guiding her to a chair. She sat, not even really hearing him when he told her to stay. Where else was she going to go? She'd die if she went outside and got trapped. And then... would Evelyn have anyone other than her parents. Her father she wouldn't mind, but her mother. Evanne would not let Evelyn grow up with that woman looking down her nose at everything her daughter did.

She could hear her heart thumping in her ears and took a shaky breath. It wasn't until she heard the bell ring overhead. She hadn't realized he left but she should have guessed. It was the right thing to do as the Mayor of Dust. He needed to protect the people.

It took him longer to come down than to go back up. Evanne couldn't imagine that he really wanted to have anything to do with her. He was giving off all the signals to just stay away but she couldn't let it go just like that.

Looking up, the first thing she was blood. "Noah!" She gasped. Her nurse instincts took over. She was leaning close to check his wound. "You ripped your stitches. Take off your shirt." she said to him.

She got up and went over to his cabinet. They kept emergency supplies there in case something ever happened. She may be weak and exhausted but she wasn't going to let that stop her. If she didn't stop the bleeding he could get infected or maybe even bleed to death.

She put the case of medical supplies under her arm and leaned on his desk to steady herself.

The case dropped very ungracefully onto the desk. She winced at the noise it made but couldn't do anything about it. She sighed. "Sorry."

Evanne turned back to him and helped him slip his shirt off of his injured shoulder and helped him rest his arm on the arm of the chair. She sat down in her own chair, out of breath but she couldn't stop.

She scooted her chair closer, having to use her right foot to pull the right side forward and closer to him. She opened the box with her left hand and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and some gauges. She turned back to him, "This is gonna hurt." She warned, wouldn't be very nice to lie to him.

Pouring the alcohol on the gauges, she pressed it into his wound and held it there, biting her lip as she waited for him to react.