Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Truth, Lies and Gunsmoke ❯ Family ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Trigun


Truth, Lies and Gunsmoke

Chapter 2: Family


The Uptown Saloon of May City used to be the best place to go for a decent meal and a good drink. Despite how anyone felt when they walked in, they would always leave the establishment with satisfaction, at the least. However, now it is the best place to go for a dance with death. The Sand Slayer Gang had stormed the place one day and claimed it as theirs. They chased away all of the regular patrons and forced the poor saloon workers into a harsh servitude. Ever since then, they were never allowed to leave. Their families had been worried sick, but there was nothing they could do. Not even the sheriff himself dared to enforce the law against the gang. Some rumors said that he was even on their payroll.

The gang is currently hanging about their forcefully claimed saloon with a new person. Said person is a mere sixteen years old. He is a bit on the skinny side, but his tough guy act is solid, telling by the constant ‘game face’ he would always wear around them. His hair is short and light brown with bangs hanging over his broad forehead. His eyes are of an aqua blue, which at the moment has a sharp and cold look to them. He sits at a dusty and cracked wooden table near the rear of the trashy saloon. A female servant stands nearby with a despaired expression on her face. The boy ignores her as he continues to space out into deep thought.

A burly and bald man with a long beard and filthy overalls with no shirt steps over to the table where the boy is sitting. With a cocky smirk, he casually slaps the female servant’s behind, getting a mortified cry from her in return and sits down with the young man. He grins as he nudges the boy’s shoulder. “Ya know, these women will do anything we tell ‘em to, kid. If you wanna know a bit more about the female body, here’s your chance!”

The woman’s body stiffens and trembles as the man’s words. Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she looks at the boy pleadingly. However, he doesn’t even bother to look her way. The burly man turns her way and grins maliciously. She shudders and turns away, her tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“Not interested.” says the boy. He turns toward the burly man with the same cold, yet calm look he has been wearing from the very start. The woman’s face shows a little relief as the boy says, “Besides, I’d rather be doing a bank run with the others. Tell me, why is it that I have to stay here?”

“’Cause,” says the larger fellow, “you said you wanted to get back at yer family for ignoring you, right? Well, the boss is gonna stage a fake hostage situation and make them pay a big ransom for ya. Then we’ll split all the money equally.”

The boy nods and finally smiles. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

The bearded giant grins. “Yeah, don’t it? This calls for a celebration!” He stands up and grabs the by standing waitress by the wrist. “C’mon, girlie! Time for a victory party, haha!” She screams as he drags her into the supply room located in the back of the saloon as the boy turns away, ignoring her plight. He looks toward the door, pretending that his large comrade’s sexually abusive behavior didn’t bother him. He shut his eyes tightly as the woman’s screams echo through the saloon along with the sounds of slaps landing and the burly fellow demanding her cooperation during her violation. However, at that very moment, James Marlon once again feels as if he has lost just a little bit more of himself.

As the Marlon brothers and Rebecca drive through May City to find the saloon of the Sand Slayers, multiple gunshots ring through the air. The sounds of gunfire are soon followed by gleeful shouts and fearful screams. It just so happens that they are driving by a bank that was being robbed.

“Pull over.” Frank commands while reaching behind his back. He pulls out a six shooter and quickly loads it as the jeep came to a complete stop. He then hops out of the car, runs out into the open, and points his gun at the three assailants escaping the bank with bags of money. With accuracy and speed, he fires three warning shots that hit the ground in front of their feet, causing them to stop in their tracks.

“I suggest that,” Frank says sternly, “you put that money back where you found it. I’m not in a good mood right now and your heads are looking more like bull’s-eyes to me by the second.”

Rebecca watches from the jeep with stars in her wide eyes. “Wow! I wish I could think of cool things to say like that!”

George shakes his head. “You really are a weird girl.”

The three robbers smirk as they drop the stolen money bags to the ground. Frank raises a brow quizzically at their reaction right before they each whip out an Uzi in each hand. Frank curses under his breath as one of the robbers says, “Time for you to die, old fool. Ya should’ve just stayed in your rocking chair today, gramps!”

Rebecca’s eyes narrowed as she reached for her cross, “God, I’m gonna need another miracle!”

Everything seems to go in slow motion for the young priest. She holds her breath as she lifts the cross up and says a silent prayer before throwing it forward. George screams for his brother to run, but it is too late. The Uzis go off simultaneously. The sounds of gunfire fill the air as Frank shuts his eyes, awaiting the inevitable. George turns away in despair as his one and only brother is shot at by a gang of bloodthirsty degenerates.

Rebecca stands in front of the jeep, panting with a satisfied smile on her face. She looks up toward the sky with a wink. “Thanks for the help. I’ll pay you back soon!” She then looks toward the scene where her massive cross is standing straight up, between Frank and the trio of robbers.

Frank slowly turns toward the smiling girl with a shocked look on his face and thinks to himself, “This thing is obviously made of pure steel and iron. How in the world could she have thrown it that far? What kind of priest girl IS she anyway?”

George shakes his head in disbelief. “What the..? Girl, who ARE you anyway?”

Rebecca smiles. “You have a short memory, don’cha, Mr. Marlon? I told you, I’m the priest from the East, who brings love and peace. Please excuse me.” She gives him a wink before hurrying over to her cross and Frank, who is standing behind it, as the puzzled gang members freeze in place, watching the young woman.

She stands in front of her cross and leans against it casually and sighs while looking over at the three robbers with a chastising expression. “Fellas, won’t you please stop this and return the money you stole? It belongs to the people of this town. Besides, I’m sure there’s plenty of honest work you can do around here to earn some money. Earning money holds much more of a moral reward than stealing it.”

They pause and then look at each other vacantly, before falling into a laughing fit. Rebecca pouts angrily before shouting, “HEY! What the heck is so funny? Thou shall not steal! That’s one of the Ten Commandments, you know! If you don’t follow that, you’ll be punished!”

One of the thugs chuckle. “So, God’s gonna march right down here and spank us? Yeah, right, lady! Hahahahaha!”

Rebecca smirks. “You are mistaken. I never said God was going to punish you.” She unsnapped one of the straps that bonded the sheets to her cross. It causes a domino effect as one by one, strap after strap whips free all around the covered cross until the dusty brown sheet is so loose that it falls onto the ground, revealing the Punisher Cross in its full, and justice serving glory. “Since you refuse to be convinced by words, I will have to teach you a difficult lesson. And that lesson is: bad boys get ‘spanked’.”

“Mr. Frank, I’ll take it from here. Please find some cover.” Rebecca says, keeping her eyes on her three opponents.

“You sure you can handle these guys alone?” Frank asks with a bit of skepticism.

Rebecca smiles with a nod. “I’ll be fine. I may not seem like it, but I’m still a priest and I have God’s protection. Also, I’m not a bad shot, either!”

“Die, you bitch!” One of the robbers shout as he fires off his Uzis at the priest girl. She turns and jumps behind her cross, along with Frank.

She sighs. “Geez, what a bothersome fight. I hate it when they shoot so recklessly. Guess I’ll have to come up with a strategy.” She shrugs.

Frank raised a brow. “I can’t see how you can take a life or death situation so lightly. What kind of priest ARE you?”

Rebecca’s response was cut short as two of the robbers ran to each side of the hiding duo, ready to blow them both away. “Holy shit!” Frank cries.

Rebecca then kicks the cross, causing two compartments on each side to open and fire off a couple rounds, when in turn, shot the weapons from each of their hands. They scream in agony as their hands are also shot in the process. She smiles at Frank, “What’s so holy about a turd?”

Frank frowns. “Bad joke!”

“You damned wench! Yer gonna DIE!” The final robber cries while shooting his guns wildly at them. He laughs gleefully until he realizes he’s out of ammunition. He then pauses and throws down his weapons in frustration before grabbing to bags of money and making a run for it.

Another gunshot rings out and hits the fleeing robber in the shoulder, causing him to drop one bag of money. He soon drops the other to hold his hand over his shoulder wound. Rebecca turns slowly toward Frank to see that his six shooter’s barrel was smoking.

“Wow! Nice shot, Mr. Frank!” Rebecca exclaims.

Frank nods. “It was nothing. Anyway, let’s get this money back to the bank.” Just then, Frank’s ear is pulled. “Ow! Who in the…? Maria! Um, Hi, honey!”

There stands an older woman, about Frank’s age with an angry and stern look. She tugs his ear once more and shouts, “Don’t you ‘Hi, honey’ ME, mister! I saw what happened! Are you crazy? I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t get involved in any more dangerous situations!”

“Well, I guess that’s my cue, hehe..” Rebecca begins to sneak away, but Frank’s wife was much sharper than she looked.

“And where you think YOU’RE going, young lady? You encouraged him!” Maria shouts hotly.

Rebecca smiles politely and says, “Well, actually, it was the other way around...”

“And I won’t even ASK why you’re dressed as a priest!” Maria continues, ignoring Rebecca’s defense.

“But,” Rebecca says, “I’m a priest…”

Maria huffs. “Do I LOOK stupid to you? What kind of priest carries a weapon like that? You’re probably just some murderous gunslinger! How many deaths is on your conscience, girl? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was someone like you who has our little Jimmy!”

Rebecca turns toward her cross and quietly wraps the sheets around it once more. The look on her face is emotionless and unreadable as she finishes securing the straps around the cross. With a serious tone, she turns to Maria. “Listen, I may be a priest, but I’m human as well. I bleed, I hurt, and I die like anyone else. I would appreciate it if you kept your ill thoughts of me to yourself, miss. I can understand you’re upset, but please do not take that out on me.” After speaking her mind, she turns away and leaves without another word, leaving the Marlons only watching in astonishment.

After twenty minutes of walking, Rebecca, reviews her past actions. "Aw, man. I really lost my temper back there. Then again, she did falsely misjudge me after I saved her husband’s life. A little gratitude would’ve been nice. I should just buy the rest of my supplies and leave. I’ve got to find him before he kills anyone else.” Rebecca’s stomach begins to speak its own mind as she walks by a saloon. She stops and takes a long look at it. The wood is broken and chipping off the building, the sign is aged and the swinging doors look as if a nation of termites had a block party on them.

“It’s a bit shabby looking, but at this point, I’ll eat anything!” Rebecca smiles as she walks in to see a trashy looking place with only three customers. A burly man with a large beard, a teenager and a familiar looking thug.

The thug points at Rebecca. “YOU!”

Rebecca sighs, disliking her luck, “Oh, crud.” Before she did anything, the large man attacks quickly, ties her hand behind her back, and then carries her to the back of the saloon, separating her from her cross. He roughly sits her down in front of the bar and grins at her suggestively while menacingly standing over her. Rebecca looks back up at him with a dopey, yet nervous grin. “Uh...hello there, large sir. Would you like a free confessional? On the house!”

“Dressed like a priest, huh? I wonder how big you are under that shirt.” He muses as her pulls out a large hunting knife. She gulps because she already knows that he means to make confetti out of her clothes.

She shouts out desperately, “If you do it, you’ll be punished! I’m a real priest you know!”

The man chuckles at her exclamation. “I don’t think so. I’m gonna take my time with you. He smirks excitedly as he uses his knife to cut the top three buttons from her shirt, exposing her cleavage. He grins with approval. “For a priest girl, you sure do have a nice set. Think I’ll try ‘em out.” Drool became visible at the side of his mouth.

Her expression becomes a bit more timid as she shouts, “H-hey! Stop looking at me like that! Don’t you understand that I’m a priest! What you’re thinking is a sin! A sin, I tell you! If you do this, then you’ll be cursed! Don’t you read the bible? Repent, you horn dog, REPENT!”

He ignores her and proceeds to do just the opposite of what she commands. He gently strokes her cheeks with his rough hand, as if mocking her. She suddenly has a flashback of when Andy mocked her the same way and reacts in a manner unlike herself Rebecca growls and then spits in his face. “You’re nothing but scum!” She then pauses, surprised at herself for doing such a thing.

“Heh. Fiesty, aren’t we?” He smirks as he slowly licks some of Rebecca’s saliva from his face. “Mmm, sweet.” He grins lustfully.

Rebecca’s face immediately sours in pure disgust. “Yuck! Th-that’s GROSS!”

The workers turned slaves watch with horror in their eyes as Rebecca struggles to keep the burly thug away from her. The apparent leader smirks while nursing the bullet wound in his shoulder. “Do what you want with that bitch,” he says, “I owe her little friend for this wound anyway. As for you, kid, “he points at the quiet teen who is still silently sitting in the back corner, “get ready for the plan. We'll milk those folks of yours outta everything they’ve got. We’ll all be rich and you’ll have your revenge.”

At this moment, the two other robbers stroll into the saloon looking sore. Their attitudes are grumpy until they see who is tied up with her full cleavage showing. They grin as they both rush toward her like a pack of starving wolves.

“Whoo-hoo!” One exclaims. “She got some nice ones for a weird little priest chick! Makes we wanna drink some milk! Just looking at her like this makes me excited.”

“Ugh!” Rebecca groans. “What is this, a pervert convention?”

“James!” shouts a voice from the door way.

The young teen looks up from the table where he’s sitting to see his grandfather glaring at him. He then looks away. The leader of the gang who Frank shot earlier grinned. “Good of you to come, old man. We were getting tired of waitin’ for ya. Now, here’s the dealy-o. You give us fifty thousand double dollars or we give you a reason to buy a pine box.” He shows his seriousness by aiming a handgun at James’ head.

Frank sneers. “I don’t have that kind of money, but I’ll give you everything I have. Just please let my grandson go.”

James stands up from his chair and shouts, “Shut up, gramps! Stop acting like you care! You never cared about me! You just ignore me and pretended that I’m wasn’t there!”

Frank sighs. “Maybe if you would stop acting so spoiled and stop hanging around this scum, I wouldn’t! I know what this is about. You’re still upset about me not giving you that gun, aren’t you?”

James growls, “So what? I could have used it to protect my older sister! She’d be alive if-“
“...if she had chosen another lifestyle! Your sister loved a dangerous man, Jim! She willingly followed him, knowing the danger. If I gave you that gun, I’d have TWO dead grandchildren instead of one!” Frank pauses to let the words sink in.

Rebecca watches the gang members carefully. “With the way they’re positioned, I may have a chance. Only one of them is armed and he’s aiming at James. He doesn’t seem like he’s going to shoot him, but I’ll try my best to be careful anyway. If I can take down the leader and the big guy, I’m sure Mr. Frank can get the drop on the other two.”

She narrows her eyes before stretching her legs forward and wrapping then around the burly man’s legs.

“What the…?” The burly man says as Rebecca rolls her body over, throwing his balance off and causing him to topple over into and through a wooden table. She quickly unwraps her legs from his fallen form and rolls behind the bar as the leader turns toward her and opens fire. Behind the bar, two of the waitresses are hiding as well.

Rebecca smiles sheepishly. “Um, could I bother you gals for a sec to untie me, please?”

They both nod and quickly comply.

Meanwhile Frank takes down the two others easily with two quick shots from his six shooter. One in the shoulder, the other in the leg. They both hit the floor, groaning in pain as he notices Rebecca in quite a pickle. He quickly aims for the man’s arm and pulls the trigger to only hear a clicking noise. He pulls the trigger again to get the same. He then slides the cylinder out to see that he was indeed out of bullets. The rest of his ammo sat idly in the jeep. He curses as he tries to rush forward and get the leader by surprise. As he closed in, the gunman quickly spins around and shoots Frank in the shoulder with a triumphant smirk.

“Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it, old man?” he chuckles as the burly man stands up and hands him and extra gun. He cocks the hammer back as Rebecca stands up from behind the bar only to have another gun aimed at her by the Sand Slayers’ leader. “As for you, priest lady, I’m gonna do you a favor and send you on a little trip to meet the God you idolize so much. I don’t even care about the cash anymore. I’m gonna kill you AND this old geezer! Which should die first? James, I’ll let you decide.”

James’ eyes widen as he looks at the leader with disbelief. “But you said that we were just gonna get the money and that’s it! You never said anything about killing anyone! All I wanted was to get back at my family for ignoring me!”

The leader smirks. “The hell are you taking’ about, kid? I said WE would split the money. I never said we would split it with YOU. You’re lucky we even let you live this long.”

Rebecca gasps upon hearing this. She looks at James’s faces as it frowns up in horrifying shock. She lowers her head slowly, making her eyes with her bangs. Her body slightly trembles as the conversation continues.

“You’re pathetic kid,” says the leader in a casual manner, “you live the good life for so long that you went through all this ‘cause you couldn't have one thing your way. Kids like you are so easy to trick. I should thank you, though. You lead me right to your family fortune. I’ll use your gramps as an example by killing him, and then I’ll get the rest of your family to pay the ransom. Once I have the money, I’ll end YOUR sorry life, too!”

James breaks down in tears soon after. “You said that you would take care of me now on! You said we were a family! I trusted you, no, I believed in you with all my heart! You’re liars! All of you! You’re nothing but TRASH!”

The leader hits the crying boy across the face with the barrel of his gun, causing him to fall to the floor. “Who are you talkin’ to like that? Just for that, I’ll let you taste a little pain before I kill these two.”

“That’s enough!” Rebecca’s voice booms through the room, capturing everyone’s attention. She is now standing in from of the bar by James, her head still hangs down, hiding her eyes away from all. “James, I don’t understand your view entirely, but it seems that it’s nothing more than a misjudgment on your part. Also, Mr. Frank, I think that it would have been better if you explained yourself a bit more to James so he could understand you fully. Her head slowly lifted to reveal a soft and pleasant expression. “It was all just a problem with communication and nothing more. I’m sure if you get together and work on it, things like this won’t ever happen again.” She turns toward James. “Don’t you think?”

James nods sheepishly with a little blush on his face. “Y-yes ma’am.”

Frank also agrees. “Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point there.”

“Gramps, I’m sorry about everything!” James cries. “I can understand if you hate me for all this.”

“Don’t be stupid, boy,” Frank says with a smile of assurance, “No matter what, we’ll always be family. Even if we argue or get mad at each other, nothing can change that. I can stop carin’ or worryin’ about you.”

James falls back into his chair and sobs, “I’m so stupid! I almost threw away the only family that I have for something false. I’m such an idiot! I..“

“Shh…” Rebecca places her hand on top of his head. “You don’t have to cry anymore, James. Your grandfather loves you and so does the rest of your family. You’re just a kid and are still learning how the world works. You’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

“Screw this sentimental crap!” the leader shouts as he aims both guns at Rebecca. “Die, bitch!”

“Miss, watch out!” James cries as Rebecca pushes him back.
“I won’t let you die.” Rebecca whispers to him as the gunshots ring out. She closes her eyes. “God, I ask you for one more miracle. Please don’t let me die before I can protect these people!”

A loud crashing sound is heard along with the gunshots as Rebecca stand tall, willing to give her life for the boy. She feels nothing, but she heard the guns go off. Daring to crack her eye open, she sees the leader on the floor with a broken table lying on top of him as he groaned in pain. Rebecca once again looks upward.
“Thanks, again!”

“You’re welcome,” says Frank from across the room. He’s breathing heavily while holding the lower part of his back with a smirk on his face. “It ain’t exactly a heavy steel cross, but whatever works, right? Ow. I think I threw my back out on that one.” He winces a bit before smiling again.

Rebecca smiles and pats James’ shoulder. “You see, James? Your grandpa really does care for you. During this whole situation, he never hesitated to act, even though it could have cost him his life. You are truly precious to him.”

James sobs. “Gramps…..gramps!” He ran to his grandfather with his arms wide open. He practically jumps into Frank’s arms and sobs, screaming out apologies.

“Easy there, Jim,” says Frank with a small chuckle, “I may be a tough old man, but I’m still and old man, you know.” He looks up at Rebecca and smiles to himself. “She’s a strange gal and a bit on the geeky side. But she’s brave and does what right…kinda like that blonde guy. The one who change my life.”

Rebecca smiles back warmly. “So, this is the Frank Marlon that Mr. Vash mentioned. He’s a pretty tough guy. Protecting those he cares about, even at the risk of death. He’s truly admirable.” She then turned toward the once enslaved workers. “Don’t worry. It’s safe now. You all can go home, you’re all free!” She grins grandly.

“Wait a second! This ain’t over yet, girlie! Nobody’s going anywhere!” The burly man shouts as he points a gun at Rebecca’s back. He grins. “It’d be a waste to fill you with holes before I have the chance to make you my little pet, but I don’t mind fondlin’ a corpse, either!”

“Leave her alone, you bastard!” James shouts as he stomps on the man’s toe causing him to howl in pain and drop his gun. Rebecca spins around with her fist reeled back and launches it like a surface-to-air missile. The last thing the burly man sees before total darkness is Rebecca’s flying fist slamming into his face. The blow is enough to send him crashing on top of his fallen leader.

Frank stares in astonishment. Sure, is normal to see a woman occasionally defend herself and maybe punch a guy out, but the fact that this girl is able to floor guy twice her size was just plain ridiculous. What made it stranger was that she was a real priest. If he didn’t see it for himself, he would have never believed it. “Nice punch, girl. Don’t tell me that priests these days are taught how to fight and shoot.”

Rebecca shrugged. “We can’t afford to be helpless. Besides, that bad man had it coming. You should never try to violate a servant of God. Or anyone for that matter.” She looks over the fallen pervert and then turns her nose up at him. “May you walk with God, my wayward friends. Well, when you wake up.” She then turns to the waitresses who were in captivity for so long. “You gals are free to go. I know that you have probably faced unbelievable hardships. However, please do not despair. There is always hope! Why, you ask? Because, even if times are hard, even if the chips are down, even if you feel like giving up....this world is made of.....LOVE AND PEACE! C’mon, say it with me! Love and peace! Love and peace!”

Soon, the waitresses start to chant along with Rebecca. After a few more chants, everyone, minus the gang members and Frank are chanting the famous slogan.

Frank watches the entire scene with a warm smile. “The blonde in red. That silly, geeky guy who changed me. It’s strange, but it’s like I can feel his presence.....within this girl. I’ve got no clue what these waitresses went through in here, but this girl stormed in and gave them something that no one else did. She gave them hope. Happiness, even. Just like he did with me. The nameless man in red who blew into town one day and gave everyone the courage to move on. Could she be...?”

“Grandpa?” James tapped his grandfather’s shoulder. “Hey, are you okay? You look like you’re thinking about something.”

Frank smiles and nods. “Yeah. I was just thinking about an old friend, that’s all.”

Rebecca grins as she pops up between the two. “Hey, don’t go slacking off on me, guys! One more time! LOVE AND PEACE!”

“Hey,” Franks says, “I need to ask you something about a certain blonde man with spiked hair in a red coat.”

Rebecca pauses for a second. “Uh, yeah. What about him?”

Franks smiles. “The next time you see him, tell him I said thanks. And let him know that he’s welcome to come and see me anytime.”

Rebecca’s eyes start filling with tears as she looks away.

“What’s the matter? Did I says something wrong?” Frank asks with concern.

Rebecca turns back toward him with a smile, but the tears are still unrelenting. “No, sir. There’s nothing wrong with what you said. It’s just....it’s just that....I get emotional during beautiful moments like this. It makes me happy to see people full of hope and joy. It’s beautiful thing. That’s all.”

Frank chuckles. “You know, you’re and all right gal. Hey, why don’t we all get outta here and go get some lunch at a decent place? My treat.”

His only reply is loud cheering from the waitresses.

Later that day, on the porch of Frank Marlon’s house, Rebecca and James sit on the steps. They both stare up at the sky for a little while before James breaks the silence. “Ms. Rebecca, can I ask you something?”

The lady priest turns toward him and nods with a smile. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

James sighs as he shamefully looks downward. “Well, after everything that has happened I feel ashamed. I know gramps forgives me, but I’m having trouble forgiving myself. What I did almost got all of us killed. I feel like the lowest scum of the earth.”

Rebecca smiles. “I can understand why you feel that way. However, you’re punishing yourself needlessly. The fact that you feel bad about what you did proves that you’re not a bad person. Everyone realizes this but you. Your heart is heavy because you haven’t let everything out yet.” She then pulls out the portable confessional and places over James’ head. “I’ll give you a confessional, free of charge.”

James nods and accepts. “Okay. Here goes. My sister, Marsha, fell in love with a bad guy. She followed him no matter what he did. One day they had a gang war and she was attacked one day while walking to the food market. Before that, I was asking gramps to give me a gun for protection, but he never did. I guess I was so frustrated about it all, I just threw all the blame on him without thinking. But now, I realize how much of an idiot I was being.”

It was as sad story to hear, but Rebecca understood that he needed to tell someone. After hearing his confession, she removes the tiny church and asks, “Do you feel better now?”

James smiles a little bit. “Yeah, I kinda do. I really did want to tell someone everything, but I never thought I could. I still kinda feel a bit bad.”

Rebecca stands up and chuckles. “Maybe you should just tell your grandfather the same story. That should clear your conscience.”

James smirks. “You’re probably just saying that ‘cause you’re a priest.”

Rebecca shakes her head. “Not at all.” She steps off of the staircase, her cross and confessional in tow. She turns her head toward James with a warm smile. “I’m saying it because a friend could use some good advice. Now, take care of your family for me, will you? Show everyone how strong you are.”

James asks, “You’re going so soon?”

Rebecca nods, “Yes, I am. My job is done here. Besides, Mr. Marlon has a good hearted grandson to help protect the family.”

James then asks, “You’ll come back to visit, won’t you?”

Rebecca laughs. “Sure, I don’t see why not. You have my word that this won’t be our last encounter. Take care, James.” She then walks off, whistling the tune of “The Messiah”.

James smiles as she walks away toward the setting sun. “Thank you, Ms. Rebecca!”

Just then, Frank steps outside and stands next to James, watching Rebecca leave. He shouts, “Hey, priest girl!”

Rebecca turns around with a quizzical expression. “Yes?”

Frank grins and holds up his crossed index and middle fingers and nods.

Rebecca smiles cheerfully as she returns the gesture. “Mr. Frank, you’re a good man. I wish you the very best.” She waves one more time before turning back and walking toward the town exit.

James thinks to himself. “It’s a promise. We’ll definitely meet again someday. When we do, I promise to repay you.”

Preview

Rebecca: Sometimes, a storm comes when you least expect it. The strongest storms come at the worst of times. The times you can’t afford to be wet, the times of pain. The water weighs down the body as one tries to wearily make it to the next destination. The only salvation is that no one can see the falling tears. God, please help me. I can’t make it alone.

Next Chapter: “Total Slaughter”