Arc surveyed the landscape as the last of the light faded. All seemed quiet and there were no fresh tracks on the roads, so the small alcove in the cliff would be the best that he, Jack and Julie could do for the night. He limped over to it, silently beckoning the twins to follow and they did as he asked.

“We’ll rest here until we can travel by daylight again,” he said.

“No arguments here,” said Jack, walking over to the alcove, but Arc held out his arm to stop him.

“Not too hasty, lad. We’ve got some prep work to do before we settle down for the night. Do you normally sleep out in the open when you’re not in a settlement?”

“We try and find a cliff that we can climb to, but sometimes we just camp out under the stars.”

“Do you spend much time outside of the towns and villages?” asked Arc.

Julie shook her head. “Not if we can help it. We tend to move along every couple of months. We ran into you when we were on the move again.”

“The move to where?”

“We hadn’t decided yet,” said Jack.

Julie hastily added. “Only because we didn’t know where else there was within easy walking distance.”

“Understandable,” said Arc.

The bounty hunter pulled a tattered brown sheet out from his pack along with four rusty iron pegs and a hammer so well-used that it had dents and almost the entirety of the surface was covered in scratches, prompting raised eyebrows from Jack and Julie.

“You’re not going to murder us, are you?” asked Jack quietly.

Arc let out a dry laugh. “You think I would have gone to so much trouble saving you, almost dying in the process, only to murder you with pegs and a hammer?”

The twins looked to each other and Julie couldn’t help but laugh as Jack’s brow furrowed and his mouth pulled to one side.

“No…no, I do not,” the young man muttered. “Sorry for even suggesting it.”

“Don’t stress over it,” said Arc. “Now, give me a hand with this thing.”

Arc got the twins to hold the top of the sheet to the stone and he hammered two pegs into the top of it, pinning it into the cliff face. He then hammered two more pegs through the bottom of the sheet, fixing it to the ground with just enough slack that it was easy to slip behind while hiding them from anything that would follow their path.

“It won’t protect us from anything with a good nose, but it’ll keep us out of sight.”

The three ducked behind the sheet and into the alcove. There was just enough room for each of them to spread out and have somewhere to lay their heads. As they each took off their packs, they took a swug of water from their canteens before nestling themselves on the hard ground.

Arc sat much more slowly, grunting as he slumped down, still very sore after being caught in both an explosion and taking a severe beating from the horde of goblins. He continually repeated to himself that a good night’s sleep was all he needed to be back to normal and he believed that more every time he whispered it under his breath.

The walk from the cave the twins had dragged him to was exhausting, not least of all because of his injuries, but because he had been on the road for days already. He had heard from a reliable source that Colt the Scourge would be making his way towards Pembroke and, separated from the bulk of his forces, he was a much easier target. Arc had been right but, unfortunately, he had failed to glean beforehand that Colt was also a spellslinger.

“Now,” he said after propping up his pack and leaning against it to lessen the roughness of the wall on his bruises, “that conversation I mentioned an hour ago, Jack.”

“Yes,” said Jack with a heavy sigh. “I shouldn’t have held back the revolver ammo or the spell cartridges.”

“I don’t care that you held them back at first,” said Arc, “that was understandable when you knew nothing about me, but the fact that neither of you said anything when it was clear that I was going to stand and fight…that’s disappointing.”

“We’re sorry,” said Julie as Jack nodded along.

“That’s all I wanted to hear,” said Arc, leaning forward and holding out a hand for Jack to shake.

The young man was baffled, but he accepted the handshake. Arc then turned to Julie and offered his hand to her and she too shook it.

“Now, we’re all good,” he said.

“That easy?” asked Jack, expecting a catch.

“You came through in the end,” replied Arc. “You risked your own life for me. You had no guarantee that I would be able to save you, yet you took that chance. That’s a level of honour I can respect. I wouldn’t call that easy at all.”

“Honestly, Mr Hawk,” said Julie, looking uneasy. “We still know nothing about you. Yet here we are travelling with you.”

“Mr Hawk isn’t necessary,” said the spellslinger. “You can just call me Arc. So, you want to know more about me? Ask away. I’ll answer what I deem a fair and appropriate question.”

Jack and Julie exchanged glances, not sure where to even start. After a tense silence, Julie piped up.

“Is Arc the Hawk your real name?” she asked.

“Arc is a shortened version of my real name and Hawk is a nickname I earned from some old friends for my shooting accuracy.”

“And how old are you?”

“Twenty-three. How about you?”

“We’re thirteen.”

“I thought so,” said Arc, nodding. “I was tempted to guess twelve, but thirteen made more sense in my gut.”

Julie pursed her lips as she contemplated her next question. “What do you hate more than anything in the world?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Vampires,” said Arc, making Julie laugh, but when she saw the look in his eyes, she fell silent.

“Vampires?” asked Jack. “Care to elaborate on that?”

Arc tightened his scarf. “No,” he said bluntly. “Now, I’ve got a question for you two.”

“Shoot,” said Jack.

Arc made two guns with his fingers and pretended to fire, making Julie giggle but Jack didn’t react. “Not funny?” asked Arc. “Fair enough.”

“What’s your question?” asked Jack.

“What did you see when you found me?”

“Dead bodies and burning cars, I’m presuming that that was the way you left it.”

“How many dead bodies?”

“I’m not sure. We didn’t stay there long enough to check.”

“Why not?”

“We panicked when the cars exploded glass all over the road. After that, we dragged you away before things could get any worse. We didn’t even get the chance to take much.”

“How many cars did you see in total? Blown up or otherwise.”

“Four.”

Arc looked at the ground and smiled. “That slippery son of a bitch,” he said in amusement while shaking his head slowly. “You found Colt’s cartridges, but was there a spellcaster lying around? It would have looked like a long rod with a small handle and a trigger; very different from my model.”

“No, nothing like that,” said Julie. “What colour was it?”

“Copper.”

She shook her head. “Doesn’t ring a bell, sorry. I only found the cartridges and they were beneath one of the cars along with a small box of revolver rounds; the same ones we gave you.”

“Alright, that’s good enough for me,” said Arc. “If you have any more questions, go wild.”

“Where are you from?” Julie asked, cocking her head to the side.

Jack nudged Julie and shook his head. “You’re not asking the important questions, sis,” he said before turning to Arc. “You were hunting a man named Colt the Scourge, right? Stands to reason that you’re a bounty hunter by trade and you certainly have the skills for it considering how many people and goblins you killed today. Do you hunt solely for money?”

“What are you getting at?” asked Arc. “What are my limits of which bounties I’ll accept?”

“Something like that, yes.”

Arc scratched his blonde stubble and then reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out Colt’s bounty notice. He cleared his throat and then spun the notice around for Jack and Julie to see, but it was almost impossible to make anything out in the low light.

“The man who posted this bounty is called Rodney Millar. He has a daughter named Carolyn Millar, or I should say that he had a daughter named Carolyn Millar. Now, I’m sure you’ve worked out where Colt comes into this, but I assure you that the time between Colt and his men taking Carolyn and her final moments were not pleasant for her. What happened to her is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, and I’ve had a few worst enemies in my time.

“Colt has had bounties on his head before, but he tends to make sure that those who placed them are dead and unable to pay up. That’s just the way he operates. It’s smart on his part, no denying that, but it shows you that he is a man who has no qualms about cold-blooded murder to save his own skin.

“To answer your question, Jack, I don’t take bounties just for the sake of it, at least not unless I’m days away from starvation. I take bounties that removes a small patch of rot from this rotting corpse of a world because I can’t stand the fact that we’re in a constant state of decay with no sign of things getting any better.”

Jack and Julie sat in silence, avoiding eye contact with Arc, who watched the pair of them intently. After two minutes of silence, he took another swig of water from his canteen. After removing his jacket and folded it into a rectangle. He took a deep breath and held it as he shifted himself into a lying position and then finally exhaled.

“That was unpleasant,” he said as he shifted his jacket underneath his head to use as a pillow while moving the trail of his orange scarf over his eyes to shut out the pale moonlight coming in from the gaps in the sheet.

“Is there anything we can do for your injuries?” asked Julie, sounding genuinely concerned for the stranger.

“Nah, I’m good,” said Arc as he stifled a yawn. “Goodnight, you two. Don’t stay up too late because we’ve got a lot of walking to do tomorrow. If you go outside, make sure you’re not seen and do not tear my sheet. It’s kept me concealed in crevices like this for almost a year and I’ve grown to like it. I don’t much fancy buying a new one.”

Seconds later, Arc was lightly snoring, leaving Jack and Julie dumbstruck at the speed at which he could fall asleep. The twins stared at the bounty hunter for a moment before Jack climbed to his feet, grabbed Julie’s hand and pulled her underneath the sheet to go outside with him. As Arc had asked, the twins were careful not to tear his precious sheet as they stepped into the night.

“So, what do you make of him?” asked Jack, asking the question he’d been wanting to ask since the cave.

“I like him,” said Julie. “And I believe him.”

“About what?”

“About everything he’s told us. Even that weird comment about vampires seemed sincere.”

Jack nodded as he looked to the stars dotting the sky above. “I believe him too, but I think we’ll be far better off once we’re in Pembroke and away from everything trying to kill us out here. Maybe we can find something to do there and actually thrive.”

“Please don’t get caught stealing again,” pleaded Julie. “We can’t get thrown out of another town. We’re running out of places that’ll take us and the road between them is longer each time.”

“I know,” sighed Jack, looking despondent. “You’re right, but if it means keeping us fed then I may just have to take that risk again. I’m telling you this to be honest, alright? It’s not something I want to do, but I promised dad I’d keep you safe.”

“Can we not ask Arc if we can help him out? Maybe we can earn some money that way?”

Jack was so taken aback that he snorted. “You’re not serious, are you?”

“Of course, I am.”

“Honest as his intentions may be, the man is dangerous to be around. Need I remind you, Jule, that we found him surrounded by the bodies of men he killed? Bad men or not, he sought them out and almost died. And not only that, he caused so much destruction to those cars that the smoke drew in a pack of goblins. The last thing I want is for us to get caught in the crossfire and up with our brains splattered across the soil.”

“That’s an unpleasant image that I don’t want to think about,” said Julie with a frown.

“I’m serious, and the last thing I want is for that unpleasant image to become reality.”

“I know he’s dangerous, but…he kept us alive against the odds. If we hadn’t been holding out on him, he might have been able to kill all of the goblins before they reached him.”

“I’m not denying the man’s talent, Jule. But being able to look after yourself is not the same as being able to look after yourself and others.”

“Maybe you’re right…”

“I am right.”

Julie folded her arms and looked back towards the sheet a few feet behind her. “Can we sleep now? It’s been a long day.”

“Sure,” said Jack, pulling back the sheet slightly to let her go inside. With a last look across the land, the young man followed.

Neither of the siblings fell asleep at the speed of Arc, but they were out cold in minutes.

*

“Keep it moving, kids,” said Arc as he marched along the side of the road. “We can take a pitstop soon to fill up our water. It’s only a couple of hours until we reach Purdue and can take a real rest.”

“Purdue?” asked Jack. “I thought we were going to Pembroke?”

“Pembroke is still days away. Purdue is just a place we can take a breather while earning some coin.”

“And we can’t stay there instead of going all the way to Pembroke?”

“Purdue is an abandoned town,” said Arc. “You might find a few coyotes or racoons to keep you company, but you’ll not find any people. At least not any living ones.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? It’s a literal ghost town?”

Arc stopped and cocked his head to the side. “Yes, that’s a succinct way of putting it.”

Julie ran up in front of him. “You’re taking us somewhere plagued by ghosts?”

“Plagued seems a bit excessive. There are plenty of haunted places across the land that are far worse than Purdue. Even young’uns like you pair ought to know that.”

Jack shook his head furiously. “That may or may not be the case—"

“It is the case,” said Arc.

“—but that doesn’t mean we should go waltzing into haunted ground. What if the ghosts don’t like us and decide to attack us? What can we do against beings that we can’t even touch, but can certainly touch us?”

Julie’s expression was one of utter terror. “Or worse, what if we run away and they follow us out of town, never letting us have a moment’s peace for the rest of our lives.”

“Don’t worry that little head of yours,” said Arc, patting her on the crown. “The ghosts only come out at night, Julie, and we’ll be long gone by then. Even if we run a little off schedule, the ghosts won’t be a problem.”

The twins looked at each other, unable to believe what they were hearing.

“Enlighten us, wise one,” said Jack, scoffing pre-emptively. “Why will the ghosts not be a problem for us?”

“Because we’re going to make sure that they never awaken again,” said Arc nonchalantly as he continued to march.