Westley James Anderson's Story

Westley stopped for a moment. Panting, he sat beneath a big oak tree on some farm in the middle of God-knows-where Montana. He'd been on the run for the past three days, barely stopping to rest. Westley Anderson hadn't seen the cops for the past 24 hours, but he had kept running just in case. Better safe than sorry, right? He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the moon, saying a silent prayer to whatever divine being might or might not be out there. That's when he noticed the stars, which were a rare sight in the city. He decided to rest his eyes for a moment, but was careful not to fall asleep. After resting for a moment, he took his boot knife out and silently cleaned the dirt out from under his fingernails. His growled, breaking the kind silence of the night. He needed food and water, maybe shelter as well. He pulled off his practically soiled shirt and let the cool night air hit his chest. He needed to keep moving.

His eyes glanced around the farmland, his mind formulating the best way to go about things. That's when he noticed the small pond, which was a decent distance from the equally small farmhouse. They certainly made things small here. He walked quietly down to the water and got down on both knees, washing his face in the clear blue water. Silently, he looked into his reflection, which was now disturbed by small ripples going across the no longer smooth water. Then, he threw off his shoes and waded into the water, his pants clinging to his legs. The cool water helped wash the sweat off his body. Once he was completely submerged, he opened his mouth and took a big drank. He came up sputtering, having ingested a bit to much of the much needed substance.

After he had finished bathing, and drinking he got out of the cool water and dried off with his shirt. He hopped over a few horse fences and headed towards the brown barn on the property, doing his best not to startle any of the ranch animals. He liked the little farm and found it quite beautiful, it was to bad he couldn't stay. Running was the price he appeared to have to pay. Luckily, he could stay the night. He sagged into the barn and climbed the steep ladder into the hayloft. Spreading his shirt over some off the hay, he collapsed onto his makeshift cot and fell fast asleep.

A few hours had passed by, leaving the sun now peeking through the bedroom window shining onto Savannah's face. Her eyes fluttered open as she slowly began to sit up. Her head turned in the direction of her door as the noises from down stairs were somewhat a little too loud to ignore. Instantly, she swung her feet over the side of her twin-sized bed and walked across the wooden floors to her dresser pulling out a pair of faded darkwash jeans and a white tanktop. She got dressed quickly and made her way down the stairs to meet her father in the kitchen.

"Morning Daddy" She smiled innocently and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Savannah and her father has always been close, very different, but close. She put her hair into a high ponytail and pulled on her boots reaching for the doorknob. "Savannah-" Her father started making her turn around before she could reach it. "Yeah?" She asked in responce knowing what was coming. He sat forward a bit in his kitchen chair and took a small sip of his coffee before finishing "Chores before riding" He commanded making her automatically nod her head. "Of course, Daddy-" She replied but to once again be cut off. "I know you've been eyeing that new stallion from the day he arrived. I don't want you riding off the ranch today, got it?" He asked as she sighed intently and nodded once more "Yes sir".

As she walked outside, she inhaled the crisp morning air and smiled to herself as she made her way to the barn. The perfect morning for riding, but she knew better. The barn doors quickly swung open as she stepped in and grinned hugely. "Who wants to go running?" She asked looking around from horse to horse as if they would talk back. One horse in particular stood out, the bay stallion she had been riding since the minute he arrived just a short two weeks back. She walked over to the stall he was placed in and stuck her hand halfway through just enough to touch her fingertips to his nose. "After chores, I promise" She whispered so quietly it was almost impossible to hear. Sighing, she grabbed a saddle from one of the racks by the door and began unloading the saddles to the fence outside one by one airing them out before a wash. This whole time, completely oblivious to the fact that she had not been alone in the barn.

Westley awoke to the sound of the barn doors opening. He was no longer alone. He quickly ducked down behind some hay bales and put a hand over his mouth, making sure not to make any noise. Cautiously, he peeked around the hay to see what was going on, and there stood a pretty blond girl, who was probably not much younger than him. All of the horses stirred when she walked in, and his heart stopped. He thought for a moment that they might have been trying to alert her to his presence, but then he realized how ridiculous that sounded. She seemed oblivious to his presence, so it was okay. Silently, he waited for her to leave. Careful not to make any noise or sudden movement that might alert her to his presence. Eventually, she left the barn.

After waiting a little while longer to make sure she had left, he stood up and slipped his shirt on. He brushed the hay off his shirt and hopped down from the loft. Doing his best not to startle the horses. Unfortunately, his best wasn't enough. One of the horses started freaking out. Whinnying and bucking all around. He did his best to comfort it, and eventually it calmed down. Westley wiped the sweat from his brow and decided it was time to move on. Looking around the barn, he spotted an old plastic water battle. He grabbed it, and opened the barn door just a crack. Enough so that he could fir his body all the way through. He turned around and heard a click. The click of a gun.

"Stay where you are." said a masculine voice behind him. Westley flinched, his run was up. He'd been caught. He put his hands behind his head. "Damn." He thought. "You have one chance to explain why you're in my barn, on my property." said the voice, which he assumed now belonged to the farmer who owned the property. The property that he now had been caught trespassing on, illegally. That was a big crime, and that gave this man, the farmer, permission to practically do whatever he needed to do to get me off. Westley thought on his feet, "I apologize, sir. I am but a poor man in need of rest. If I have offended you in any way, I am truly sorry. I'll just be on my way now." He walked off towards the pond, but only managed to take a couple steps before he heard the man say, "What's your name, son?"

"Westley. Westley Anderson." he replied...