The dry heat of the desert disagreed with Jackson. He had never been in such a dry place before. The bright sun struck him with its cruel yellow raise, and the sand made his mouth dry just looking at it. The skulls of long dead animals seemed to give an even grimmer feeling than the plane sand. When they stopped again, Jackson would ask Gypsy for a tarp.

It had been several days now, but little had changed. Barbara continued to hide herself from him and refused to stand her watch. This meant that Jackson was only getting a few minutes of sleep a night as he was constantly on duty. To say he was irritated by this was an understatement. Even now Barbara was hiding under his cape while she remained in a state of depression. Jackson took a sip of water as the wagon came to a halt.

Jackson jumped down to find Gypsy. She was talking with some other wagon leaders, whom all looked irritated. As he reached her, they left to complain elsewhere.

“What going on?”

“A wagon at the front broke down… What happened to you?”

“Never mind that. Do you have a blanket, or a tarp for the bird’s nest?”

“Yeah. We will be here for a while as they make their repairs. Do you need some rest, maybe a few minutes in a bath? You look like death. I do specialize in a field for helping men relax you know.”

“Na, I just need a few moments.”

That which Gypsy was referring to was the fact that Jackson was pale, had dark rings under his eyes, and his drying lips gave him a skeletal appearance. If he continued like this, Gypsy feared he’d become a mummy long before reaching their goal.

“I’ll get some girls to get a tarp. You come with me.”

She took his hand and led him inside one of the wagon’s back rooms. The room was a small bath, with a tub just larger than a normal man. She filled it with water and stopped Jackson from running away several times. With some persuasion, she got him to agree to some rest. She removed his dirty, sleeveless green shirt, the last item he had from his world. She was taken back that he had so many scars at his age, several deep ones in his back, one slicing into his stomach, cuts across his chest, all this hidden by one shirt and a cape. She took his false leg and finished undressing him. Jackson blushed, and tried to stop her, but she reminded him that this was her job. She then helped him into the water. Jackson instantly relaxed as the water touched his body. His sore muscles eased, and his mind wondered.

“Thank you. This is great.”

“No problem. I was thinking you might die at this rate.”

“I ain’t that easy to kill.”

“Give me a moment.”

Jackson laid back, and in the warm water his vision started to blur. He rested his head on the wooden tub, and his body floated in the water slightly. The room drifted to black, and Jackson failed to notice the extra weight laying on him.

In a town north of the Twin Peaks, Joseph and his party felt like they were getting head way. Several guards spoke of how they saw the Berserker in the next town south, and how scared they were. Some looked cheerful that the heroes were finally stepping in, while others didn’t think much of Joseph.

“The incident started after a guard killed a large man attacking her wagon. After that, people complained of loud noises, screams, and what not. By the time my unit got there, the other guard, some cripple, was leading his wife back to the wagon. She looked destroyed, while he was clearly a veteran. Poor things had to be about your age.”

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This guard’s story seemed to correspond with the others. Some guards even claimed this husband and wife fought the Berserker driving it off. However, before they could question them the wagon, they were guarding left.

“What type of wagon was it, who was paying these guards?”

“Madame Julia’s wagon. Did no one else tell you this?”

“No. I’ve been trying to get a name for a while now.”

“What is a Madame Julia?”

“Well, my captain took me there twice. For a fee, some cute girls will listen to you. They give a bunch of services, but I turned them down as I don’t have a lot of money. But to just sit with them was cheap. My captain always left satisfied, at least that what he’d say… I wish you could have met him… He supported the heroes even out here… Why did he have to die?”

“Don’t worry, we will avenge him! The Berserker will die, and soon!”

After the young guard left, Joseph leaned back and thought about what he was told. Franklin was blushing as something crossed his mind.

“Joseph, I think we should investigate this Madame Julia!”

“Joseph, he’s right. We should learn more about them…”

“You guys are right. We need to learn about their guards. If they can truly oppose the Berserker, then we could use them.”

“Right, that’s what we meant…”

Franklin looked down as his voice trailed off. Kevin didn’t look much happier. Both remembered how dense he was to thing like women. Speaking of women, those two felt cold glares coming from Alice and Carley. Angela leaned over to Joseph.

“Do you think these two could actually help us fight the beast?”

“They drove it off once, all the reports say it disappeared after they returned to their wagon. Nothing else, maybe they could give us some advice. Too bad the guild refused to give us names on them. It would be so much easier if we knew names.”

“Hey, what do they mean by cripple? This is the third guy to say it.”

“Perhaps he has problem walking? Maybe an injury?”

“We can ask around for description later. First let learn more about this Madame Julia, then we move to the crime scene!”

Kevin and Franklin both bolted from the room as they sought information. Joseph was taken back by their speed, while the girls looked in disgust.

“They must really hate the Berserker! Why are you guys holding your faces?”

Jackson eyes slowly opened. He knew he’d had been out for a few hours. His senses hadn’t fully returned, but the warmth of the water still felt amazing. He moved his arm and stroked the girl on his side. He jumped, waking Gypsy by accident. She looked groggy while she stared at him. She didn’t try to hide her naked body from him, but her green eyes looked irritated at him.

“Don’t jump.”

“Gypsy?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you in the tub with me?”

“Don’t complain! Many people would kill to be in your place. Listen, you’re not the only one who doesn’t get a lot of sleep. I saw how relaxed you got and wanted to rest to! Plus, the girls know not to disturb me while I’m with a client, so I got some good sleep.”

“Wait, I’m going to pay?”

“No, you make a good pillow, so not today. Consider this your free sample. Why are you so red…? Haven’t you seen…”

Gypsy eyes widened as she began to laugh.

“Wow, you must be the only pure guy left in this world. You never been this close to a woman before? Not even Barbara? With all those scars, plus your confidence… I thought you slept around a lot. Plus, with that time we met, and you said you were single… My gut hurts…”

“It’s not that funny!”

“I guess someone has to break you in. You’re not that bad looking, maybe for a discount I could show you the ropes?”

“Sorry, my aunt taught me not to sleep with anyone unless I planned to…”

“Wait, you’re turning redder! Wait are you saying if we slept together, you’d have to marry me? This has made my day… This really hurts… Maybe… for free… break that thought from your mind… This honestly hurts…”

“Must you laugh?”

“I’m sorry. It just I’ve seen boy’s half your age come to see the Madame… their fathers want to give them a present… Those boys don’t know what to do…”

“I think I’m going to be sick. With eight-year-old boys!”

“Sometimes. I refused when I was asked, but some of the girls like them young. They joke how the boys make the cutest sounds… wait now your green? Isn’t that frequent practice?”

“This is the most disgusting thing I’ve heard yet! What is wrong with this world?”

“Huh? As funny as this is… Let’s stop talking, just don’t move while I sleep.”

Jackson laid back again and tried to push the thoughts of legalized pedophilia from his mind. It was so disgusting that he honestly felt sick. And, if that happened to little boys, what about the girls. Jackson knew that young girls could get serious injuries from stuff like that. To force those thoughts from him, he focused on the feeling of a woman clinging to his body as he closed his eyes.