I wince and get out that tent, Mama's vibrations poke against me. In earshot, that little one calls out, I find the two in an empty tent. "Norbert?" That Norbert smiles at her, "What is it?" "Will we be okay?" He runs his fingers through her hair rough, "We're pirates, aren't we?" I hold out my hand to the bags under his eyes, the hand on his holster and the other comforting Rose. "You must be tired." "Not even a little." Rose turns and smiles at me, "It's the stone man!" I smile as she rushes to me as he slowly reaches to pull her back. He's quite an idiot, he should just get some sleep. He shakes his head to stay awake and watches me as Rose spouts nonsense. "Rose? Could you get off me?" "Sorry." She gets off my leg and I kneel in front of him, "Do you trust me?" He dozes off and I tap him, He jumps awake and pulls his gun. Rose wails, "No!" His arm shakes from the fatigue, even with the barrel rested against my heart. "I'll keep her safe." He just lowers the gun and he passes out. "Will he be okay!?" "He's just sleeping, kid."

I holster his gun as Dave runs into the tent, "Mama sent me." "Yeah, help me move him." Soldiers walk in, "Hey!" Dave helps me up as they point their guns at us, "Step away from the Heiress!" I wave to them and grab my back, "Show us your hands!" "Sorry, her guard just entrusted her to me in his sleep." One steps forward and Rose hides behind me, "Orders are to take them to a safe location." "Touching either of them right now will be an act of war." They scoff, "Stand down, Demon. Lucky you're even here!" I clench my shaking fists, "You shoot, you both die." They look at each other, then into my eyes. "Step-" I shake my head, "Let the man get some rest." One of them taps the other, "Governor'll hear about this. We'll be back." They leave, I breathe heavy and Dave grabs me, "Could you have even hurt them?!” I shake my head, "My heart won't do it." He smiles, "Good bluff."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

We just about carry him back to Mama's tent. Jon takes over as Mama rolls up, "You're right, they want this guy dead." "I told you, the army's up to no good." Guns go off in the distance, "They're still coming in waves, but when you killed that big one, they all slowed down." "Are there more?" "I don't know, these ones just seem wild." I turn to Norbert, "He risked his life for this kid." I scoff, "He's paid to do it." "But he wasn't paid to treat her like his own daughter." I shake my head, "What do we do with him?" "We keep him safe, but keep an eye on her for me." I groan, "I'm old too, I almost dozed off on the way here." I dart around, "Where is she?!" She smiles, "Jean's with her. Speaking of, she's kinda off." I close my eyes and cross my arms, "She was in shock when I found her. She caused a ruckus in my barn and I ran in to see. Next thing I knew, I held a woman covered in blood at gunpoint." "Damn." "Something happened to her that night. She didn't eat for days. When she finally snapped out her funk, she put on that fake smile. Gettin' tired of that shit." She taps lightly on her armrest, "She has medical experience for sure, she wrapped your arms like the doctor in the medical tents does. I look at the bandages, no infection like that guy in the hotel. I rub my arm, it’s still dense like stone though. Dave walks up, “Hey, mama, we’ll be migrating soon.” I turn as he hands me a paper. Another draft? “We’re plowing towards DC.”