The voice’s bellowing drawl echoed across the dead silent cabin. The once rancorous mob now spoke to one another with a quiet murmur, their voices seemingly carrying a tinge of reverence. Those who actually looked to the figure were awe-stricken, some even quivering in its presence. Others dare not look directly at it, lest their gaze be perceived as a slight against it. At this exuberant display of veneration, the figure simply shook his head, somewhat perturbed by their overindulgence in structures it was not too fond of.

From the shadows, the figure stepped forth, paying no mind to the over eager devotion that surrounded him, much to the chagrin of the crowd. As it drew closer, Teddy, Kona, and Gears could better make out the visage of the silhouette, and realized that it was merely a man adorned in garb close in approximation to what a sheriff would wear. While imposing, as he towered above them, the trio could not help but detect a certain warmth emanating from him. Their looming sense of dread seemed to dissipate in seconds, as they took note of the tender and concerned look that the man wore. His eyes gleamed notes of fatherly worry while he inspected them in a strong, yet calming silence. It seemed as if he was probing them for questions without saying a word, coming to his own internal conclusions. Somehow, despite his solid presence, and unnerving penchant for non-verbal exchange, the silence did not agonize the three of them. Though they were not afraid of his presence, a certain uncanniness prevented them from completely trusting him. Something about his aura instilled within them the notion that, if he wanted them dead, they would have already been.

The man tilted his head in confusion at the trio, dumbstruck as to why these three inspired the ire of his charge. At a glance, they were certainly not worth the fervor spent, even if any slight was issued, her ascertained these three were of no threat to the peace. And, they couldn’t be, even if they wanted to. Something in particular caught his eye though. Nestled in the arms of Kona, he noticed the unconscious body of a young girl. And, while still breathing, seemed to be rendered inert by events that had unfolded prior to his arrival. He took note of the disheveled, yet unharmed state of the party before him, and figured that her state was not the fault of his cohorts. He figured he would have to further his investigation to ascertain what exactly had happened. Taking a step back, he shifted his gaze to the condition of the train car, finally noticing the disarray and destruction that took place. He knew what his folks were capable of, and the scarred, twisted gnashing of the ceiling and walls were far beyond that. Compounded with the small bubbled craters dotted across the floor, the scene was becoming all too familiar to him.

He stepped forth and loomed over Kona, and casted his paternal stare down onto the unconscious Kayda. Carefully, he brought a finger to her jet black hair and adjusted a lock of it back behind her ear. Kona looked up at him in stunned silence, unable to conjure a response worth eliciting. She looked down to Teddy, expending an expression that beckoned for assistance. Teddy simply gave her a confused shrug, as even he was incredulous to the situation. The man’s sheer exertion of will was enough to cloud Teddy’s judgment and delayed the formulation of any plan of action, much to his dismay. It was as if his mere existence instilled a primal sense of submission and adulation into everyone that crossed paths with him, even with those that lacked the human condition. Through this lapse in constitution, they were at the man’s mercy.

“I reckon none of you are the father?” Said the man flatly, his gaze unbreaking from Kayda.

“Right! I’m the mother though, birthed her from my own loins. Don’t know who the dad is! You lookin’ to pay some child support?” Responded Gears in his usual sarcastic tone.

“I don’t care much for that. You will stop,” retorted the man with a hint of annoyance to his voice.

Gears shook his head, “Ain’t you a basket of sunshine. Ya still mad they canceled Bonanza?”

The man furrowed his brow and silently glanced at Gears who stared back, anticipating his response. Shaking his head, he simply returned his gaze back to Kayda, the intent of his stare incomprehensible to the trio. Gears could feel himself growing more irate at the situation, tiring from the theatrics on the man’s part. Crossing his arms and tapping his foot, Gears attempted to make his ire known to the man.

“Hey, you know we don’t got all day here. Just tell us what ya want, and stop watching the kid sleep. We got places to be, so tell your little harem over there to get off our backs and we’ll be on our way,” said Gears.

“I don’t follow,” responded the man flatly, “Am I to understand these fine folks were causing the lot of you trouble?”

Gears nodded, “Yeah! They practically wanted to scalp the kid! She got so scared she passed out! And it seems you got them whipped, so can ya get them out of here? Chop chop!”

The crowd grew aggravated at Gears’s grating remarks, many of them befuddled someone would dare address an officer in such a way, let alone the sheriff of New Four Corners. The discontent erupted into a full on verbal deluge of hate directed to the party. Through their scathing words, one could detect an air of genuine confusion emanating from them. Such comments directed towards an authority figure were legitimately world shattering, as no one from NFC dared question the words of authority. And, to see it so flagrantly disregarded, they could feel the foundations of their world jostle.

“Hey, bot! That’s no way to talk to Sheriff Big Iron! You best learn some respect!” Yelled a nearby citizen.

Gears laughed, “Big Iron?! What, was Pistol Packin’ Mama taken?”

The crowd erupted into a fit of rage at this remark, many of them red in the face and readied their weapons, but lacked the ability to carry out their wish to maim them, as such a course of action was not approved by their sheriff. However, with one raised hand, Big Iron was able to silence them in an instant, without even shifting his attention to their direction.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Gears, I do not believe it wise to direct such comments at the man who seems to control the whims of the mob. May we put aside our misgivings until we find ourselves at a more favorable position? Despite his demeanor, I do not believe he means us harm,” Teddy whispered to Gears.

“Fine, but I ain’t gonna pretend to like the guy. He’s got schmuck written all over him. If he’s worth this much to these bozos, he can’t be good news,” retorted Gears.

Big Iron shook his head, “Alright, folks. While I thank the lot of y’all for doing your due diligence, I believe I’m going to handle these matters from here. Don’t let their transgressions get the best of y’all. They were simply looking out for their kin. And, we all know how that is, don’t we?”

The crowd looked at each other with disappointment. And though they did not vocalize it out of respect for Big Iron, their bemoaning at a lack of violence was palpable. Dejected, the masses began to exit from where their sheriff entered, many of them looking back to give the party one last vitriolic scowl. Bold in their escape from the mob’s clutches, the party partook in sophomoric displays of victory, as Gear’s flashed his middle finger one last time and Kona stuck her tongue out at them. Teddy, unrelenting in his pursuit of passivity, remained stiff as a board upon noticing their actions, hoping to not inspire future acts of aggression stemming from this interaction.

“Now, I am very much aware of the amber alert, and I have reason to believe that child there was the target. Am I wrong?” said Big Iron softly.

“You would be right in assuming such! However, before further conclusions are reached, I implore you to hear the reasoning for such matters!” Teddy replied.

“I’m listening.”

“What a welcome change of pace! You would not believe the lengths some will go around here to avoid simply listening to our own personal account of events transpiring-”

“Unless you’re aiming for me to go and take back what I said, I’d hurry it up,” interrupted Big Iron.

Teddy paused, “...Apologies. To surmise our plight, I am not too keen on the colloquialisms of The Vale. We lost our friend there, Kayda, and in our search, I accidentally declared an amber alert, and assumed its meaning in the Pre-Fall era had barring in our current time. I can assure you Miss Kayda is no threat to the Midnight Train, nor the inhabitants of The Vale. She’s just a little girl who wants to get home.”

“That’s the short version?” Jeered Gears.

Before the two of them could devolve into their usual antics of mutual bickering, Big Iron let out a booming laugh and slapped his knee in glee. Like his voice, his laugh was thick and gruff, as a distinct layer of phlegm could be heard ever so softly in the distance, likely stemming from years of smoking. His laughing sputtered, soon evolving into a full on cough. Arched over, he attempted to get his bearings while he held himself up by his knees. He brought a finger up to them, signifying he needed another moment before he was fit to speak once more.

“Pardon me, folks! Didn’t think I’d bust a gut at yer situation. Frankly, I didn’t expect it to be so asinine. You strike me as the fella that would make that mistake!” said Big Iron jovially, “I see now. What we have here is just an ol’ fashioned misunderstanding. Plenty of those where I come from, ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

image [https://i.imgur.com/xmAAy7o.png]

Teddy and Kona let out a nervous laugh at his reaction, the complete switch in demeanor befuddling them, to say the least. Gears was still apprehensive, despite Big Iron’s attempt to inspire a sense of levity. His arms remained crossed and he continued to not dignify him with a response, instead electing to stand idly by and further examine the situation.

“You folks are gonna have to pardon the mean-mugging on behalf of yours truly. Ya gotta put on a show if you want results round these parts. Plus, I didn’t know y’all were the victims of yer own… eccentricity,” Big Iron said, wiping a tear from his eye.

Teddy nervously chuckled, “Apologies are not required, your understanding of our predicament is good enough sentiment! It’s most appreciated, and a breath of fresh air amongst the ne’er do wells that saw it fit to impart harm onto us!”

Kona laughed and sighed, “Man, am I relieved you’re actually chill! I thought I was gonna have to take you out myself!”

Teddy and Gears looked at Kona, confused at her comments, knowing she was cowering along with them not a moment ago.

Big Iron smiled and raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Care to enlighten me on how you’d do that?”

“Easy. Pull the mustache, kick ya in the crotch, duck under, kick you in the back and somersault outta there!” Kona said proudly, fully believing in her wild assertion.

“Well, haven’t I gone and done found myself a barrel of laughs! Hey, I reckon the lot of ya are hankering something fierce with all this misadventure. Let me treat you fine folks at the train’s cantine. It’s the least I can do considering my flock paid ya such an unkindness,” Big Iron said with a fatherly smile.

Without hesitation, Kona responded, “Uh, yeah?! The best meal is the one you don’t gotta pay for! I need the fuel! Holding Kayda has been a workout! Gonna see if she’ll let me throw her around when she wakes up, I left my weights at home.”

Gears nudged Kona and whispered, “I ain’t too keen on this dude yet. You sure you wanna let this guy spoon feed ya this nice guy crap?”

Kona’s eyes widened, “You think he’s gonna feed us himself?! I never got that as a kid, so I’ve always wondered-”

“Forget I asked,” Gears interrupted.

Big Iron pushed past the party and opened the door they had their backs to for the length of the encounter, gesturing for them to go first. Though they were a tad bit apprehensive, he gave them no reason to think ill of him, or be on the defensive. They actually felt like they owed him this nicety, considering he was the one to dispel the passengers. Cautiously, Kona and Teddy walked past him and began their passage to the gangway. While they aired more on the side of caution, Gears was exercising a more apparent means of signifying his distrust. Something about Big Iron put him on edge, and he knew this wasn’t his typical detestment of authority. His demeanor screamed facade, yet, he couldn’t ascertain why this feeling was being instilled in him. Unable to find a reasonable cause to oppose their decision, he relented and followed suit. As he passed Big Iron, he couldn’t help but wish he could emote a scowl. In an attempt to circumvent this facial folly, Gears did not break his focus on Big Iron as he made his leave, hoping that he would take the hint of distrust. Either incredulously, or remaining steadfast in any face, Big Iron simply met Gears’s stare with a wide grin and a tender, knowing nod. The uncertain intent in his gaze deluged Gears with a sense of unease.