[Summer – Dew Fall City]

“Daddy… daddy please!?”

The words from Penny echoed in Jennings’ mind from the kitchen’s direction as Henry now held Jennings at gunpoint. “Daddy don't!”

“Penny, this man is a dangerous criminal. He- he's a murderer! How dare you bring ‘em here into our home!” yelled Henry towards his daughter, who was now hysterical behind him.

“Sir I-,” Jennings pleaded.

Apprehensively raising his hand only the slightest, trying to interject with no gained ground. He knew his usual decision in a scenario akin to this one. He hesitated.

“Shut the hell up!” Henry yelled, readjusting his gun. “You bastard, you think you deserve to live after the danger you've brought on my daughter? I can't have it, no: I won't fuckin’ have it,” the angry man replied.

His trigger discipline was strong, although his finger shook.

Jennings was allowed to shuffle backwards and stumbled near the front door, the same that he regretted having shut. Henry aimed with accuracy, raising his voice further to match the weight in the room.

“Try it motherfucker, I dare you. Just because those other lowlifes weren't able to get you outta' your misery doesn't mean I won't right here, right now to protect my family.”

Georgie whimpered in the background with her head buried against her webbed fingers next to the small stairs, offering minimal cover. Penny viewed the entire spectacle with a glazed expression, not knowing what to do next, but winsing to act in some manner.

“Run J.J!” shouted Penny. "He won't shoot- he can't, please!"

Her state of stupor was short-lived as she pushed her father aside and down to the floor. The worst possible sound followed next, with a loud bang, as the shotgun went off where the scuffle took place.

The shot had narrowly avoided them as Penny had directed the blast at their living room sofa. Fragmented pieces of hot metal struck the pleasant furniture with extreme force, exploding it in half, as shards flew across the room.

Jennings wasted no time before he opened the front door, running down the entrance to the home back to where Poni was stationed.

Georgie screamed in panic, scurrying to Henry as he attempted to regain his balance from off the floor with a shotgun still in one hand and his other on his knee for leverage.

Sneaking a quick glimpse behind him while jumping on Poni's back and evading capture once more, Jennings noticed what he feared at that moment, that Penny had followed him out the door and was running towards them.

With some quick thinking, Jennings attempted to buy her some more time to make it to Poni by conjuring up a layer of ice at the door. The layer of ice was quickly blown away by another shotgun burst.

"Get back here!!"

Henry wailed from just onto his doorstep.

Now situated on Poni and ready to leave, Jennings extended his hand to Penny to climb up without hesitation. She had a moment of hesitation where she refused to grab but still ran adjacent to it.

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Her father stood just outside the broken frozen door, reloading his gun and cursing at them indiscriminately. Penny grabbed Jennings’ hand and climbed onto Poni before they rode off together. Another loud bang accompanied their getaway as they rode to the outskirts of Dew Fall City.

Roughly an hour had passed since the group had left the May residence. They'd made it to the limits of the city, to a forest that isn't frequented often, according to Penny.

“We'll rest here,” stated Jennings while prompting Poni to stop.

“You think they gave up?” asked Poni.

“No, but we have to plan our next actions carefully buddy. I feel we have quite a lead on any pursuers but knowing Isiah, if he gets any type of word that we was here, he ain't gonna' hesitate to send a couple guys. That's a fight we just can't afford, right now” responded Jennings to his horse.

He glanced at the somber Penny, throwing rocks between her legs as she sat on a nearby tree stump. Her head perched on her arms.

They dismounted off of Poni's back, while Jennings rustled through his bag for something.

“C'mon-fuck-c'mon,” he whispered to himself, under his breath.

He eventually found a pack of rolled tobacco and took a step back from Poni, already seemingly more relaxed just by the certainty provided- the sensation of touch.

Jennings proceeded to place the rolled paper to his mouth as an attempt to unwind and escape the matter at hand. He patted himself down in search of something to light the joint with.

“Fucking great...Where's my sparker?”

After some further struggle and agitation, Jennings finally came to the conclusion that his cigarette-centric stress relief plan wasn't coming to fruition. He tossed the pack of them indiscriminately into the surrounding treeline, while letting out a displeased grunt.

“Should've learned fuckin’ fire Agi.”

A rustling sound was heard in the distance, as crunching leaves were smashed underneath unspecified steps. Penny looked toward the direction of where the sound came from. It would’ve been easy to read her face, as she was assuming the worst based on her expression.

She commenced her cowering and progressively inched closer to the fetal position on the floor, next to Jennings and Poni who were already back to being alert.

“Probably just a wild cat or something,” discredited Jennings, while plopping down to the floor next to her, letting out a dust cloud around him. “Shit, who knows, maybe it's a lusty, wild horse and lil' ole Poni here can get some tail. How long it's been since your little horse been in another barn?”

“Hey now, I don't know who you calling ‘little’, but I wouldn't be mad if that were the case,” replied Poni before he neighed as his form of laughter. Jennings joined in and let out a warm laugh in unison.

Penny seemed to be feeling better, but the overall improvement to her mood was negligible. She didn’t want to be the lime that soured the savory.

“I have to tinkle,” let out Penny, embarrassed by her own word choice.

Poni and Jennings both look at each other as if on queue, before breaking out in laughter. Jennings even slapped his knee every other chuckle.

“Wha-holy shit, whatcha' want me to do about it Miss May? I ain't holding it for ya', but there is plenty o' trees that way” Jennings couldn’t erase his simper before proceeding. “Just please, don't pee on Poni's future wife while you're out there, they may be future relatives of mine.”

“I'll try not to…” replied Penny unamused but giving into her bladder. After already having paced away, the trees offered minimal, but sufficient cover. She disappeared behind several thick bushes and shrubs and was at last, no longer visible.

“So Poni, while we got a minute alone, whatcha think about Miss May here? You think she still on our side with how things went down at her place? Can’t be too careful and all that.” Jennings asked Poni, without trying to be too conspicuous as he knew she may be listening in.

“Well,” Poni hesitated. “Huh, she did sorta’ help you get outta' there from what I heard of the scuffle. She doesn't seem to be pissed off at us. More confused about it all, which we get, don't you think?”

Jennings nodded his head in agreement.

“We get it too well...You know, you quite the wise-,” Jennings was interrupted by a Penny scream from her direction of the woods.

Jennings stood up and prepared to dash for the tree line toward the scream, until he heard further, familiar crunching. The crumbling of the leaves once again were made clear, something was in full sprint, headed their way.

Aim was unnecessary on this occasion, as Penny emerged from the shadowed foliage.

“I s-saw them! I saw some sick people watching I say!” yelled Penny, as she erupted into view from the forest scenery backdrop. "Can today end already!"

She clung to Jennings' back as she ran past him in dismay. Jennings redirected his consideration to the shadows where Penny had escaped.

“Don't just watch! You've come to get us right?”

Directed Jennings to anyone willing within earshot. Any non-hardened, unknown watchers would’ve been rattled by the sheer reverberation of his voice carried from the narrow voids within the trees. Jennings’ hands began to glow a stunning shade of blue before he spoke.

“Then come fucking get us, we’re done running for today.”