Disclaimer: Not mine- will never be, but nontheless I´m still using them shamelessly to act out all my weird fantasies…. Mwuhahahaha…. *uh-oh*, nuff said.

Chapter 1

"There we go."

His `rescuer´from earlier smiled proudly up at him, gesturing with one hand forward. Kakarott`s face fell visibly when he set eyes upon his `new office´.

Under layers of dust- old, rotten wood was revieled. Broken windows and a couple of boards, slovenly nailed over the openening that had apparently once been the entrance, gave the house the impression of being utterly unoccupied - for a very long time.

He sucked in a breath and slowly let go of it, fighting the urge to scream.

With new forced calmness, he confidently stepped towards the building, removing the disturbing boards in the process.

Maybe it was just the outside that looked so - well, horrible.

He was right. The inside was not horrible- it was worse.

Sheets of paper, ropes, partly damaged chairs and a table with only one leg and a whole- neatly cut in the middle of it, were littering the ground. And covering the scene was that lovely dust that seemed to stick on everthing that dared to lay still for more than half an hour.

Kakarott gulped heavily, raising a hand to his forhead to wipe off an isolated bead of sweat.

"That´s the sherif office?" he asked incredulously, looking down at his companion. The other man seemed to ponder that for a moment, his countenance brightening all of a sudden.

"Of course not, we also have a prison.…" he lowered his head slightly. "…. sort of." he added quietly, quirking a grin and indicating the direction with a nod.

Turning to the right Kakarott stepped through another doorframe, hoping to find at least some decent prison cells.

His eyes threatened to fall out at the sight of the lonely cell occupying a far corner of the room. "Don´t tell me that´s the prison." He inwardly prayed to all the gods and, "It´s nice, isn`t it?!", cursed them viciously a second later.

His mouth worked soundlessly -openening and closing repeatedly: "There are no bars." He finally croaked out, shaking his head in denial. "Oh, yeah that´s right." The shorter man grinned, cocking his head to one side. "We were never in need of some." he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But…." Kakarott looked around , trying to ignore a particularly large whole in the wall that seemed to mock him with its mere presence.

"…. How do you keep the criminals. in. here?"

Large eyes locked upon his with a blank expression.

"How. Do.You. Keep. Them. Imprisoned?"

The eyes retained their emptyness.

"Huh?"

The new sheriff slapped a hand against his forehead, fighting to keep his exasperation in check. Closing his eyes, he held his breath, counting up to 10 and slowly letting go of it.

"Oh."

Kakarott swivelled around, eyes snapping open and staring down at the man. "You mean how we keep the bandits captured?" Kakarott´s head whipped up and down frantically in encouraging confirmation.

"Well, I guess we never had to before." He shrugged nonchalantly and turned his back on the sheriff, exiting the house through the non-existing doors.

"You say you don´t need prisons? What are you talking about?" Kakarott yelled, snapping out of his numbed state. "And what do you do about the criminals? Huh?" Before he could scream himself into a fit he was stopped by a pair of green-spotted eyes, glaring up at him in anger.

"Listen .boy." he grabbed the sheriff´s collar roughly to pull him down to his own level. "We have rules here due to …. arrangements. Actually we do not need a sheriff, but since you are obviously not leaving all to soon you could at least help us rebuilt the town," he indicated to the dilapidated houses standing right and left from a wide sandy `street´. "maybe keep the inhabitants in check, but…"

Green and black clashed.

"Nothing more!"

****

Kakarott let himself fall onto the narrow bed, almost falling over the other side in the process. His gaze roamed through the room he had been given, the house once having been a hotel. He was occupying the first floor- the top storey- and his room consisted of a small chair - a slightly torn cushion, covering it and a cupboard, standing neatly against the far wall.

There was a second door that led to the bathroom, though Kakarott rather not stayed for all too long in it, somehow feeling disgusted by the sight of mould and insects, crawling along the dirty ground.

Night had fallen a long time ago, submerging the barren landscape in heavy darkness. That was one of the wonders of that land- the all encompassing absence of light.

A small smile touched his lips, his brown orbs gleaming, never to be seen in the blackness of his room.

Soon law and order would reign that town once again. And there was nothing that would stand in his way; nothing strong enough to thwart his ambitious plans.

****

Voices....

The sound of hoofs galloping over sandy ground....

"Hah! Bring the sheriff! Hurry up!"

Loud pounding against his door brought Kakarott fully from the world of peaceful slumber into a much more vicious reality.

Throwing the blanket into a far corner uncaringly he jumped out of bed, rubbing tired eyes with the heal of his hand.

"Come in!" he ordered after the knocking wouldn´t stop, having become unbearable to his still sleepy mind.

A head poked in and Kakarott recognized the man from yesterday - his `rescuer´, who had also offered him this room, for he owned the `hotel´.

"What´s all that turmoil about?!" Kakarott asked, fixing the other man with a demanding look. "Some… men are asking for you." The older male replied, his gaze faltering.

"So what? They have to wait till…." A loud bang broke through his words, making him stop in mid-sentence. Turning around, he jumped towards the window, his facial expression becoming one of surprise and anger at once when his eyes fell upon a figure, sitting proudly on his horse, a bawling group of cowboys flanking his sides and behind, remembering the man from their first encounter the day before.

"Ah, good morning `sheriff´. Nice day isn´t it?" The group laughed, making noise for the whole town to hear.

"Are you responsible for all that racket going on here?!" It was more of a statement; not exactly meant to be answered.

The leader layed a hand over his mouth in mocking consternation, the top half of his face-starting at the aristocratic nose and upwards - hidden under the wide brim of his hat.

"Oh my, you were still asleep? Damn, I´m sorry! If anybody would have just said something…." he leaned forward on his horse, craning his head conspiraciesly as though nobody else would hear them, apparently not being aware of the 10 metres that were separating them from each other.

"Because you have to know, I never intended on stealing your beauty-sleep. I understand perfectly well that it´s normal to take one at where you come from." The `confession´ was accompanied with loud laughter and howls of approval.

Kakarott´s brows furrowed slightly, not being used to the harsh manners most of the men were displaying. "No, it´s all right. I guess I slept in, didn´t I? But very kind of you, to …. wake me up. If there is nothing else you want of me I´m going to get dressed and eat breakfast."

He stopped short in his little monologue, noticing the partly derogatory and partly bewildered looks he was receiving.

Tension grew and Kakarott shifted nervously on his feet, eyes going around erratically, trying stubbornly to maintain his sincere, confident smile.

"Ah well, just come to my …. office if you want anything or have any problems…." His voice sounded slightly forced as he spat out the word `office´, still not coping with the state his new workplace was in.

The leader cocked his head to side thoughtfully, staring up at Kakarott, keeping his eyes alertly on the other men´s face, never saying a single word.

Suddenly his silence errupted into ringing laughter, his slender frame shaking with the enormity of it.

"That´s a good, little sheriff, isn´t it?! I´m sure you´ll bring life back to that graveyard. I just hope you´re not loosing your optimism in the middle of it." His sentence trailed off, the last part ending with an almost undetectably sadness swinging in his tone.

He turned halfway on his horse, giving comand to leave. Casting one last glance at the sheriff´s uncomprehending expression, he directed his horse towards the head of the squad,

disappearing behind clouds of swirling dust.

****

Thanks for the nice reviews and I´m always welcoming more; just to hear your opinions (and strenghten that little self-confidence that still remains ^-^)

I hope there are still readers out there?!

I´m currently working on the character´s personalities, therefor they might sometimes act, well- out of character.

Don´t mind so, do you!? ^-^