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“Mmph. Hrghmph. Mmrrgh. Rrmmph.”
Tennessee managed to keep his grunts soft and quiet. He still rocked on his back, thumping and shoving his bundled-up knees against the tower of wood. By now, his whole body felt like it was in shambles, trying not to mentally snap from the thorough constriction and aggressive stinging. His sheer endurance and stamina kept him from taking breaks. Even as he had to keep repositioning himself, and even as pulse skyrocketed with each failed effort to stretch his limbs more than a useless amount.
It was working … The cane was shifting to the edge!
“Mmmnnn.”
And with one final thrust of his legs, the weapon finally dropped!
It landed squarely on Tennessee’s side, and he deftly managed to grab hold of the hook in his palm. He tightened his grip like he was holding the hand of an old, lost friend, before getting straight down to business. Maneuvering the gun in such a limited state was a bit awkward, but the Kid was nothing if not capable with his hands. With a few twirls of his fingers, a little shimmy of his waist, and just plain ignoring the claustrophobia brought on by his bonds, the raccoon soon got the cane in a position where it could begin sawing through the ropes around his parallel wrists.
But then …
“CURRY!!!”
Meeks’s scream had been so loud that it reached this very storage unit! As had the gunshot … leaving little to the imaginations of the evildoing trio.
Especially Carver. “BROTHER!!”
He finally threw all caution to the wind and sprinted out, with Miles and Milton staying behind and trying to avoid panicking as the situation just grew worse and worse by the minute!
“This is gettin’ out of control!” Miles paced in a circle, his hands clutching and pulling the red fur on his head! “Them guns are comin’ closer! If we stick around here, we’re gonna be sittin’ ducks!”
“What do they even want?!” Milton shouted! He was convinced by now that it was an opposing criminal operation behind all this. How else would their own group be failing so miserably?! “Did some snitch see us come on board!!?”
“Agghhh, I knew it! I knew we shoulda just cut our losses and rode away!!” Miles lamented!
“Don’t you be bailin’ out on us now!!” Milton grabbed his partner by the collar! “It’s do or die, partner! And I don’t plan on dyin’ today! Especially if we still gotta teach a lesson to … huh?”
As he took a look at their gagged little raccoon, he only saw empty space. Instantly fearing that they’d somehow lost him, he ran to the Cooper’s former position.
“Mmmmm …” Tennessee was getting somewhere! His squeezed arms were immensely sore, but his good ol’ cane was steadily sawing through the bindings around his wrists! He could feel it now … Soon he’d be loose, and then he’d high-tail it into the sunset with his dignity just barely intact-
“Whadaya think you’re doing?!”
His neckerchief was grabbed from the back, and he was thrown into the open! “Nnnnmm!!”
No!! His cheek smacked against the floor as he threw his middle up and down erratically! He’d been able to taste the freedom, so much that he’d have salivated had his gag not dried up his burning throat! “Gnnnmmghmph mmrrwwmh mrrrmggh!?” Can’t ya give a fellow a break!?
“We’re in enough trouble already, Cooper!” Milton said as he stomped on the outlaw’s stomach, earning an angered snarl! “I swear, one more wrong move, and the next rope’s gonna be around your neck!!”
By this point, Miles had already taken off to help out closer to the front. Not that it did Tennessee any good.
“Mmmph phrrmmh!!” Tennessee’s ringed tail thumped at the floor as his stress levels reached possibly their highest high! He was still hogtied and gagged, even after all this time! Even when he’d held his cane right in his hands!!
He was a master outlaw! Mere ropes shouldn’t be enough to stop him! Yet no matter how much he yanked his wrists, pushed his boots, wriggled his lithe frame, rubbed his head on the floor to undo the gag, it all held him with packaged security that would make the post office jealous! He couldn’t get out of this! Which meant no matter what, this ended badly for him. Whether it was another criminal or the law causing all this commotion, neither of them were going to free Tennessee Cooper!
He’d prided himself as a free agent. Always flying solo. That was how his life as a Cooper went, and he’d accepted that.
But now that his wings were clipped, it meant he’d left himself with no one to bail him out.
Carver was on a one-man rampage up the increasingly deadly train! All eight legs thrusted him past the crowds of terrified travelers, none of whom dared interrupt him or get in his way! Yet the scorpion didn’t even register half of them, so caught up was he in what fate may have befallen his kin.
When he found Meeks in the next car … he found out.
The roadrunner still had a firm grip on everyone’s lives, and they all knew it. But his aggressive, domineering stance atop the front seat dropped as soon as Carver entered. He watched as the scorpion walked over to the new, giant hole in the middle. He watched as he took steps back, reeling as he noticed it was roughly the size of Curry … who was nowhere in sight.
He then stared up at Meeks.
“Is …?”
Meeks solemnly shook his head. “I’m sorry … he’s … gone …”
There was nothing but silence that followed.
Raw, painstaking silence.
Though the engine still loudly roared as it carried their vessel forward, everyone felt as though their world had gone still. The onlooking hostages could tell this had just gotten personal, and they awaited whatever terrible action their captors were going to take next. Meeks took an audible breath, as if him saying those words had locked in the reality for himself that Curry was indeed dead.
And Carver …
… Carver broke the silence by charging Meeks and gripping him by the noodly throat.
“WHO DID THIS!!? WHO!!!”
He caught a few passengers trying to slip away while the scorpion was consumed by rage, only for Carver to take out his rifle and shoot a random civilian! “ALL OF YOU DOWN!!!!”
They obliged, though their collective onslaught of tears only riled him up more!
“CARVER, WHAT’RE YOU DOING!!?” Miles now joined the fray, hands over his mouth when he saw one of his friends’ necks being wrung out by another!
But Carver ignored the fox and squeezed the roadrunner harder! “WHO WAS IT, MEEKS!!! ANSWER ME!!!”
“Augck!!” Meeks curled his feathers around Carver’s arm, his stick-like feet kicking for freedom! “I don’t – nuaaachk! – kn-know! S-S-Some … gi-irl-! Raaa- …” His voice nearly shorted out entirely. “Rrraccoon …”
Carver still seethed venomously, but he ultimately threw his partner to the floor, with almost enough force to create a second hole.
Families, loved ones, and even strangers held each other close as this beast of a man turned back around to them. One of his large claws dug into the closest chair, grasping so tightly that a chunk of its leather came clean off. Miles took a single step back with his ears pressed against his head, wishing he’d just stayed back with Milton. As Meeks recovered and caught his breath, even he was taken aback by the hulking menace the scorpion was suddenly taking on.
Carver eventually turned back around to his fellow thieves. As the slowly descending sun broke inside through the windows, it shimmered off his pained, steaming eyes, setting them aglow to match the freshly lit fire in his heart.
“C-Carver …?” Miles nervously asked.
“Go pay a ‘visit’ to the conductor,” Carver uttered to his men, lowly enough for only them to hear. “Tell him to keep the train movin’. No matter what. No stops. No nothin’.”
Carver was done playing around. He’d tried to keep this whole operation on the downlow for as long as possible, and every single attempt had just resulted in the exact opposite … and now, it had cost the life of his own flesh and blood. So … now was the time to get hostile.
Meeks understood. It was about time they all uniformly got blood on their paws, or claws, or feathers. Miles, on the other hand, had obvious reservations. “And if … something’s in the way … Like another train …?”
“…… Same thing.”
They’d break however many eggs they had to.
With that, Carver abandoned them. He needed to take his anger out on someone.
And he knew just the candidate.
When Carver had rushed through the train to discover the demise of his brother, Darlene had been in the middle of crossing from the final passenger car to the first one used for storage. And with the scorpion already in her sight and charging fast, she had nowhere inside the train to run and hide in time.
So, she had chosen to press her back against the front of the car before her, grasp its rail, stand on the very thin ledge on her tiptoes, and pray to her deceased mother in the sky that the goon wouldn’t notice her.
Those prayers were answered. But the raccoon’s relief was minimal, as she was still precariously perched on the edge of a speeding train. She took her sweet time shifting herself back onto the more stable connecting platform, and she slid back inside.
She really didn’t know how Tennessee did this stuff like it was nothing.
This new car was filled with boxes and supplies, making the hallway so narrow that even her small frame was ill at ease. Worse yet were sharp chunks of wood littering the floor, appearing to have been pried off by a certain berserk scorpion … giving her a sense of how strong he was.
He was behind her now … but the final challenge was just ahead.
Through this last set of doors, she had seen Tennessee get nearly shoved out to his death. Unless he’d been moved, this was where she would find him. She formed a tiny smile at the thought of him seeing her come to his rescue, and of how much she would tease him afterwards for having so thoroughly returned the favor. How she’d tell him the tale of her bravery, the hits she’d taken, everything she hoped she could do now that she was free from her father.
In her mind, all of that happened well after just today … When, in reality, they would probably go their separate ways again once this was over. He the lone outlaw, and she the runaway, looking back at each other as nothing but fond memories.
She didn’t like that.
But it didn’t change the fact that he was right there.
She put her hand on the door.
Only to jump back with a startle as she heard thumping on the car from the outside!
Carver couldn’t bear to see another stupid, sniveling onlooker’s face without ripping it to pieces, nor did he want anyone to witness his turmoil! So, he didn’t travel back through the train’s interior. Instead, he let his core animal nature take over and crawled on top of the vessel. He stuck himself to its walls, scurrying along its length, heading back to the rear like he was outrunning a treadmill, breaking a few windows along the way purely out of spite!
Once he was close to his target, the scorpion crawled to the train’s underside. The sensation of zooming metal tracks and grinding sparks inches from his body didn’t faze him, and it certainly didn’t slow him down!
Not until he was right below his prisoner. At which point he crawled up and shoved the car door open, much to the jumpy shock of both Milton and Tennessee!
“Carver?!”
“Hhrrnnh!?”
“Get over here!” the scorpion yelled at Tennessee, who uselessly tried to rock himself away from the charging villain! Carver wrapped his tail around the bound outlaw’s neck and tightened, causing him to choke and sputter desperately! “Hmmghhh grrmmnggh!!”
Without another word, Carver pulled Tennessee out of the car, carrying him up to the top!
“Tennessee!” Darlene screamed, watching from the window!
The female no longer had time for stealth! She busted through the doors, running into the now-open storage car! And just as Milton had taken in the sudden change of plans from his own partner, he suddenly whipped around and dove to the floor to avoid getting a bullet in his back!
“NNNGHH!!” He collapsed onto his bad arm, firing back at Darlene, who then tucked and rolled under his aim! As the two kept firing, they were forced to crawl along the wood, each shot leading them further down a pair of rolling arcs that circled one another! Milton was soon able to take shelter behind a stack of boxes, ceasing his fire to simply get a grip on himself!
“Wait a sec- nnnnrrrrhhh!!” the fox cried out, reeling from the ever-growing toll of his wound! “YOU!!?”
“Yeah.” Darlene fired a spiteful shot at the edge of the crates. “Me.”
This had to all be made up, Milton was sure! As if his pathetic defeat the other night didn’t already linger enough against his fragile ego! So distraught was he that this raccoon was even partially giving him a run for his money, the bulky fox’s huge arm stuck itself out, hoping to get a lucky break for once and hit her.
But he was punished by taking a shot to the wrist.
“AAAGH!!!”
Out of patience, in grueling pain, and feeling the last of his pride flailing, Milton leapt out from his hiding place and chucked his gun at Darlene! His sheer strength gave the heavy projectile enough force to send Darlene reeling back with a brief but effectively fuzz infecting her vision. It bought him enough time to run to her, grab her with his huge arm, and drag her down by the skirt to trap her in a headlock!
“What is it with you blasted raccoons!?!” The fox bellowed, flexing his muscles to squeeze her further, the female’s fingers scraping and scratching at his throbbing veins! “When’re ya gonna learn ya can’t get the best of me?! I’m the biggest, the beefiest, the best dang vulpine crook this side’a Timbukt-”
BANG!
His whining was eternally silenced once the supposedly weaker raccoon sent a bullet through the side of his neck.
Darlene didn’t even give him the courtesy of any further acknowledgement. She just ran to the side, looking up to see a frantic stripped tail disappear from view above! She pounded the metal in anger! I gotta get up there! There had to be some way at the very back of the train, like a ladder on the caboose!
Up there … to the roof …
As much as she’d accomplished today, the very thought struck her to the core with fear. She trembled again, her gun rattling in her shaking hands at the thought of facing off against that much bigger, likely much angrier scorpion, in an arena that may as well be trying to throw them off to their deaths.
But every single second could be Tennessee’s last. If she stopped now, after how far she’d come, she’d never forgive herself.
She shook off the fright, steeled herself, and took charge.
However, she briefly paused when she spotted something laying on the floor. Something that may give her an extra edge … and which Tennessee would very much want to see.
“MMMMGH!!!”
Tennessee thrashed and reeled in the chokehold of Carver’s tail, totally helpless as he was taken up top!
“My brother is dead cuz of you!!” Carver brought Tennessee’s gagged face right up to his own, and the raccoon couldn’t even kick in defiance! “You and that stupid little stunt of yers!!”
“Wrrnnywwm nrrngnnmrmph!?” Tennessee garbled! What’re you talkin’ about!?
“If ya hadn’t blown up our ride, we’d be sittin’ pretty back home right now!! But nooo!”
The scorpion’s tail contracted even more! Tennessee couldn’t breathe! He twisted and tossed his head, shifting his jaws, squinting his nearly bloodshot eyes! Gotta … get … this … gag … off!
“You just had to get yer grubby little fingers involved!”
Those same fingers were curled behind him, twitching and fighting with the rest of him! His chest puffed out above the ropes, unable to get an ounce of air! “Mmmmmmhh! Mmmmhph!! Mmmmmphhh!!”
… need … help ……
“Puh!” Carver threw the smaller raccoon away from him, onto the caboose. For once, his bonds actually saved him, for his bent knees stopped him from rolling completely off the train. He instead slid to the edge, his eyes now peering down at the blur of railroad. He pulled at the bonds, but that only nudged him a bit closer to his doom!
“I tell ya, Kid,” Carver loudly spoke over the wind and chugging, slowly starting to skitter his way there himself. “You weren’t never gonna make it out here with that dumb heart of yers. Goin’ after your own kind, leavin’ the little guy alone … that ain’t how it works in this life!”
Tennessee tried to stay still as he wiggled his shoulders and wrists, hot pants escaping his nose! You ain’t my own kind! He regretted nothing about how he lived his life. Not his family’s boundaries, not even going after these thugs today. He was a Cooper; no matter how harsh these parts got, he would never lose sight of that!
“So why don’t I just put you outta yer misery now!” Carver proposed. “Toss you in the desert like the worthless lump of fur you are! And then we’ll see where all that big-man talk really gets ya!”
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Three shots fired from behind Tennessee.
From the back of the caboose, onto the roof, came a female raccoon in ripped, tattered clothing, wielding a certain rifle with a golden hook at its end.
If Tennessee’s eyes had gotten any wider, they’d have exploded like a keg of TNT.
… DARLENE!?
“Buddy … I seen some ‘big men’ in my time,” she snarled, marching to stand beside Tennessee. “You ain’t even scratchin’ the surface.”
Tennessee would have been speechless if his gag hadn’t done that for him.
What was she doing here?! How did she get here?! How was she standing up to a seven-foot-tall scorpion?!
And … was she using his gun??
He stared up at her. Watching as she glared daggers at his enemy, aiming his rifle at him with the confidence of a pure natural. He marveled at the way her eyes spoke their own language of unbridled passion and fury, just like they had the night he’d saved her. The way she stood, boldly like an immovable tower, her smaller body looking like the sturdiest thing on earth. Her thick, disheveled brown hair blew back, along with her dress, all silhouetted against the eternally orange glow of the sun behind her.
He could hear the pounding of his emphatic heart over all other sounds. Surely, he must have already been killed, and this was his dying dream of the one thing he didn’t realize he’d wanted to see.
Naturally, Carver had the opposite reaction.
“You …” he growled, ignoring the new wounds in his chest and torso. “I take it you’re the one who’s been shootin’ up my boys?”
The rush of Darlene’s bravery was at its fever pitch. “Ya mean like this?”
She fired three more shots, all of them hitting. Carver recoiled and gasped, but his large, sturdy build was barely moved! Drat! she thought! I need something stronger!
“Hmmh!! Mrrmmnh!!” Tennessee tried to get her attention, making himself sound urgent enough for her to reach down and remove – at last! – his gag!
She fired a couple more times, holding the scorpion back long enough for her to bend down and rip the cloth from his face! He spat out the other one stuffed inside before hoarsely saying, “In my holster!”
Her amber eyes made a beeline for the compartment at his hip, while Carver finally made his grand charge.
“What makes a lil’ princess think she can blow everything sky high, huh?!” he yelled! “Ya just lookin’ for a reason to find trouble?! Yer that pent-up an’ angry at home that you gotta take it all out here?!”
Shut it! Darlene thought as she rummaged through the male raccoon’s bag! They both ignored how much she was rubbing against his squeezed thigh to do so … until she found what she needed!
A set of rather large, silver bullets, at least three times the size of what she’d been shooting!
“Or wait!” Carver continued, making the leap from his car to theirs! “Don’t tell me ya thought you’d try and save him! Ha! My stars, that’s richer than I’ll ever be!”
“Hurry!” Tennessee shouted as she tried to load the bullets into his gun! “Ya just open up the … yeah, like that, and … there ya go!”
The scorpion was across and still moving fast, even using his meaty claws to shoot himself forward even faster! “Tell ya what, then! After I leave y’all to rot to bones in this here desert, I’ll bury ya both together with a nice set of headstones!”
Darlene felt everything click into place, just as Carver flung himself at them!
The female aimed.
“Quit yappin’ and git.”
And fired.
Every one of those supersized bullets hit the scorpion dead-on, square in the stomach. With a bloody cry, he was sent into a terrible tumble, unable to stop himself from falling off the back of the train, immediately left behind in the barren wasteland.
Darlene still didn’t lower the gun. She kept her eyes glued to the apparently defeated foe. She watched him lay still, waiting for any movements even as he became smaller and smaller in her view. She wasn’t taking any chances until he was permanently gone from sight.
Thankfully, that moment came when he was no longer visible. At which point she finally let out a couple of deep, relieved sighs.
“… Darlene …”
That voice, sweeter than honey, called to her.
“Tennessee!” She knelt down beside him, looking him over! “Are you alright?!” She felt around for anything that was broken, any wounds that needed instant tending to. But miraculously, though he had clearly been roughed up in many ways, nothing looked severe.
“I … umm …” The male didn’t know how to respond, aside from the blush that formed at being felt up further. He still couldn’t believe this was actually happening! “Where did you … H-How … you’re … here?!”
Darlene couldn’t help but laugh. Now that they finally had a moment, it dawned on her just how absurd this whole day was. How did she even begin to tell him about what she’d done back in town, or the freakish chain of coincidences that seemed like fate’s way of bringing them back together? Her smile grew as she heard the thief let out a brief chuckle of his own, if for no other reason than it was the only thing he could think to do.
“It’s … I’ll tell ya everything,” the woman finally said. “For now, let’s getcha outta that.”
That made Tennessee’s heels wiggle in excitement. “Oh, you read my mind!”
She turned the other raccoon around so she could get to his back. “Geez, excessive much?” she said with a cringe. She figured he was a slippery one, but this level of restraint was downright mean.
“Yer tellin’ me,” Tennessee snarked back.
She made quick work slicing through the hogtie, then the binds keeping his legs bent. The Kid gave them a big, immediate stretch, forcing Darlene to back up to avoid being accidentally kicked off board!
“Ahhh …” Tennessee groaned, before realizing what he’d done. “Uh, whoops … sorry …” he said meekly, his head ducking between his bound shoulders.
Darlene just smiled again. All that time tied up ain’t stopped his energy. She approached him again, and the outlaw kept still enough despite the itch to be instantly out of his remaining binds.
“So …” she said. “This yer first time havin’ a pretty lady rescue you?”
“Oh … yeah …” His ears went flat. “I reckon it is …” His voice was clearly very shy and embarrassed. And why shouldn’t it be? Here he was, the bold master thief in the role of the tied-up damsel, rescued from the big, bad villain, practically cradled in the arms of his grand lady hero. It should have demeaned the masked man at best, made him question his life choices at worse.
… And yet …
He kept looking at her face, framed by her hair, filled with a heavenly blend of compassion, wit, and unbreakable strength.
She was so pretty.
“Although …” he dared to admit with a face on fire. “… S’not as bad as I woulda thought …”
In the train’s locomotive, a Basset Hound engineer kept his hands firmly locked onto the controls … because if he didn’t, he would face the wrath of the fox and roadrunner whose guns were pressed against the back of his skull.
“Mmmh,” he whimpered through the bulky cloth tied firmly between his teeth. His hands had also been tied in front of him, giving him control of the vehicle but an inability to properly fight back.
“Just keep it moving,” Meeks said, a lopsided grin on his beak. “Simple as that.”
“Them folks at the station can wait another day,” Miles added.
What was supposed to be another ordinary shift for the poor engineer had been savagely disrupted when these two fiends broke in here and held him at gunpoint. Once they tied him up, their orders were indeed simple: skip over every single stop. Already, one had been passed. He’d run straight through Sans-a-Roo Station – which, from its run-down state, looked worth skipping anyway – meaning there was no telling if or when disaster may strike.
“How long you think we gotta keep at this?” Miles whispered to his partner, still fearful that they were just digging their graves deeper.
“Don’t matter none,” Meeks said. “I can do this alllll day.” He brushed the gun’s muzzle against the Basset Hound’s fur. The canine began welling up, constantly weeping and biting down on his gag. “Hhrrrmmnn …”
Please … stop …
But then, in a turn of the tables, the captors felt two more gun barrels pressed against their heads.
“Aw, no need for that,” a bold, thickly twangy voice said from behind. “I think we can call it here.”
Miles and Meeks, out of instinct, dropped their guns right away. Their firearms were quickly swept away by a familiar-looking boot.
“Now, back up,” the voice firmly ordered.
“Uhhh … Meeks?” Miles remained still. “Am I … Am I hearin’ this right?”
“He said move!” shouted the other, more feminine voice!
Miles finally did as he was told, pulling the bird with him!
“C’mon, foxy! We can take ’em!” Meeks barked! He turned around and shouted, “We ain’t gonna stop cuz a couple of coo-”
Tennessee twirled his gun around and rammed his cane’s hook into the thin creature, shutting him up instantly as he flopped to the floor.
Meanwhile, Miles turned around as well, gasping in disbelief as he saw the two raccoons that had now thwarted his gang’s efforts!
Tennessee and Darlene looked a bit worse for wear, battered and beaten. But they nonetheless stood tall and triumphantly even against his taller height. Tennessee, on brand, wore a cocky smile on his muzzle, gleeful to have the idiotic thugs who’d bound him at his mercy for a change.
Darlene, however, scowled with fury at the fox who’d victimized her as well … Although she couldn’t deny the thrill she felt from having this power over him. Not to mention wielding it side-by-side with Tennessee.
Especially when the fox finally recognized her.
“W-W-W-Wait a sec … A-A-Ain’t you …”
It was Darlene’s turn to shoot him the tiniest mischievous smirk. She lunged forward, whacking him with her pistol, sending the tall fox collapsing with his fellow fallen criminal.
As he watched, Tennessee felt his heart skip a beat.
Aw hell, he thought as he truly realized something.
He was falling hard for this girl, wasn’t he?
Once Tennessee and Darlene freed the engineer and tied up his former captors, they quickly went back and took care of an unconscious but still-breathing Jeffers. Tempted as they were to let him die a slow, painful death, the raccoons showed a bit of mercy and did the bare minimum to patch up his wounds, so he’d at least live to see the inside of a jail cell.
“Everything’s under control now, folks! Just roundin’ up the trash!” Tennessee did his best to calm the still-rattled crowds. It didn’t fully seem to work – he wasn’t exactly the most stable individual himself – but they could at least tell he wasn’t going to shoot them.
Darlene didn’t feel so bold. Not that she was used to receiving that kind of attention in the first place, but she still felt sour about the role she’d played in causing this chaos. Sure, she’d likely saved Tennessee’s life, but at the cost of a few others who would’ve been fine otherwise. Like that well-meaning mouse, whose body she left to a select few passengers as she slunk away, towards the back again.
Tennessee followed right behind her, keeping his cool the entire way. They reached the caboose, and he closed the door behind him to isolate the two. As he turned around, he saw the beautiful female’s solemn exterior finally begin to fall. She held her arms behind her back somewhat shyly, unsure of where to even go from here.
The Kid, however, rushed right at her and scooped her up in a hyper-enthused hug! He lifted her up off the floor, swinging and swishing her around with passionate gratitude! “YER CRAZY, Y’KNOW THAT?!!” he shouted through fits of rowdy, mirth-flooded laughter! “I ain’t never seen anything like that before!”
Darlene found herself snapped out of her weary state and laughed right back, the sound muffled as her face was smooshed into his shoulder. “I’m crazy?! Ha, you’re one to talk, boy!”
“Oh, I know I got a couple screws loose!” Tennessee said. “But you, you’re … you’re …”
He slowly set her down, disappointing Darlene a bit. But the male’s hands still lingered on her shoulders, softly but securely.
His beaming expression didn’t go away, but it became less pronounced and vivid as a new wave of bewilderment and disbelief overtook him … Those handsome chocolate irises were awestruck, staring as if she had just turned into the very treasure he loved to steal … no, more valuable than that.
It almost made the hardy woman well up. Not since her ma passed could she recall anyone looking at her like that. No lust, no selfish desire … he was just amazed that she even existed.
“You really shot up a whole train … just for me?” Tennessee asked, whispering in a doting voice that made her heart officially melt.
The tough-as-nails raccoon she was somewhat gave way to one with much more modesty. “Well … yeah … I-I couldn’t just let them do all that to you …” Oh, to even think about what would happen if they’d gotten away. If no one ever got to see that scruffy, infectiously charming face, or hear that silkily wild voice … or feel his strong touch …
“… Why??” the Kid asked. “I mean, thank you! From here to them pearly gates up top, thank you! But you didn’t have to stick your neck out like that!” Despite his words, his tone and still-smiling face displayed no condescension. “I-I mean … have ya ever gone on that kinda spree before?!”
“I …”
She stiffened as so many sour emotions suddenly came to mind. “… I can’t say I ain’t thought about it …”
How often had she wanted to take her father’s shotgun and blow the roof off their house? Or rip the invasive hands off some strange man who felt too comfortable with her? Or go up to a deputy, take his badge, and stick it where the sun didn’t shine until he made himself useful for once?
It was true … Her bravery had come from dark places. And she was sick of that fact.
“I just …” Tennessee, for once, was at a loss for words. “I didn’t realize I-”
“No, nonono, hold up.” Darlene held up a palm. “I did have to stick out my neck! Y’know what happens when folks just ignore ya? It lets all the scoundrels and monsters run these parts and know they can do whatever! Ya got someone here and there who says they care, but they ain’t gonna step outside their cozy little lives and-and rules when it ain’t their necks to worry about or their girl bein’ yelled at or-or beaten up or …”
She paused. As she let this flood of resentment out, the young lady clenched her teeth, not knowing whether to scream, cry, or punch the wall. “So then yer just alone, waitin’ for something or … someone to yank you out, give ya just a little bit of grace and show they’re lookin’ out for you …”
That was when her voice softened … and when her eyes took on a new level of longing as they gazed upon Tennessee again. He, for his part, would have been ready to lash out at something himself had he not felt so thoroughly stupefied. The master thief had been known to wriggle his way in to help the average citizen on occasion, but he’d never felt any responsibilities in his career. His aim was solely to better himself and his lineage, and to have the best of fun doing it. Any chance he had to perk up a few others was just a bonus in his eyes.
But now, this one girl, so affected by his help and outlook, was threatening to give him something he’d never had: someone to do it all for.
… Or maybe … with.
“But y’know what?” Darlene finished, “I’m done waiting. That’s why I left my pa behind … and that’s why I wasn’t gonna leave behind someone who actually gave a damn about me.”
If Tennessee had known what to say next, it would’ve had to wait. For the raccoons heard the loud whistling of their train, which they could then feel slowing down.
They stepped outside through the very back, peering around the caboose to see a proper station creep into view. The train slowly came to a halt, and before any announcement or greeting could be made, every passenger suddenly forced the doors open and frantically rushed out. Whether this had been their original destination or not, no one wanted to stay on the same train that had hosted a shootout, even if its perpetrators were restrained.
With that ruckus stealing people’s eyes, Darlene recognized the chance to slip away without being spotted. “C’mon!” she whispered to Tennessee as she hopped onto the tracks.
“Wha- Where’re you goin’?!”
She just gave a beckoning wave, keeping herself low while creeping past the open and stopping behind a wall.
Already realizing he wasn’t going to reel her back, Tennessee followed suit and joined her. From there, the male held a hand out in front of her, signaling that he’d be scoping out a way to fully sneak off.
Knowing he was the expert in that department, Darlene nodded and waited. She watched as he scoured past the clearing, to the first clumps of houses and shops, seeking out the most ideal yet unconventional route that could keep them hidden, but could also be reached quickly enough, and would have a window in which no one could pass by to see them.
He soon took her by the hand and hauled tail to the edge of a 30-meter-tall bluff that overlooked the station. Sitting on top was a house of three stories, with a thin pipe stretching from its roof gutters all the way down to ten feet above the ground.
Neither of them realized that a few select individuals had just managed to spot their striped tails slinking away …
Unfortunately, Jeffers, Meeks, and Miles just so happened to be in the grasp of law enforcement. Wrangled up in a pile of ropes that reduced them to worms, mouths sealed tight with brown cloths. As soon as Jeffers saw the raccoons, he instantly started freaking out in his bonds, trying to alert everyone to their presence! “HRRH!! MFFPHMM PHMMPH!!! GHMMNMM GHFF!!!”
“YMMPHNNMFRRMMWNF!!” Meeks yelled through the rag squeezing his beak shut! He shot his head in their direction, stretched his bound talons at them, anything to direct the coppers’ attention!
“Yeah, yeah, just sit tight,” the ram deputy carrying him teased. “We got a nice slammer waitin’ for you boys.”
“NMMMMMMMMMMHHH!!!!!!”
Once they arrived underneath, Tennessee pulled Darlene to him and again scanned all around them, making sure they were safe to make the climb. Darlene would have done the same, but she found herself distracted by the way his vigilant eyes narrowed, how his nose scrunched in an almost feral manner, how his chest went absolutely still as he breathed – though it was no less firm, as she could attest whilst she was pressed against it.
For all his manic tendencies, the legendary “Kid” Cooper could buckle down and focus when he needed to.
Without warning, he hopped up and grabbed hold of the pipe, holding a hand out for Darlene.
But the girl hesitated, running a hand through her hair.
Tennessee couldn’t help but find it adorable that the woman who’d just taken on and bested a bunch of armed thugs was still nervous about climbing a simple pipe. Something about these more acrobatic feats really seemed to get under her skin, it seemed. He let that amusement show as he stretched his arm in a comforting manner.
“Yer fine,” he said. “I gotcha.”
As he dangled there above her, his slim visage and welcoming smile blending into the shade … the height of this whole climb suddenly looked so small.
With a small nod, she grabbed his hand, letting him pull her up so she too could wrap her limbs around the pipe. And so they climbed. Remaining hand-in-hand, with Tennessee showing a surprising amount of patience as he let her take the time she needed for something so unfamiliar.
Once the Kid reached the roof, he stretched his legs up to grip the surface and twist himself onto solid terrain. From there, he used both hands to grab Darlene’s arm and haul her to the top as well.
In her haste and desire to get away from the drop, Darlene stumbled into Tennessee, and both of their noses met. They let out nervous chuckles, complete with wary smiles that made each look even more beautiful to the other.
They could have pulled away.
But they didn’t.
Tennessee instead brushed his lips against hers, lingering for a second before giving them space. Simply testing the waters. Waiting to see if she wished to dive in with him.
Darlene brought her hands around the back of his head and kissed him back, earning a surprised moan from the male who eagerly returned the favor. He cupped her cheek with one hand while the other lingered down to her bare shoulder, her fingers tightly gripping the back of his vest.
It was relatively brief. But they could both feel something stronger lurking underneath even as they parted.
“… Whew,” was all Tennessee could utter.
“You said it.”
This all still felt unreal to Darlene. She would have looked at you like you’d grown a horse’s head if you told her a week ago that she’d be gladly kissing Tennessee Cooper. Let alone while on the run …
… Possibly a wanted criminal herself, if it was decided she was partially to blame for the bloodshed on that train …
“So, uhhh …” Tennessee broke the silence. “What now?”
His first thought was that she’d be back on her merry way … but that simply didn’t feel right. For multiple reasons.
The feeling was mutual.
Where else would Darlene want to go? Who else would she want with her?
“Well … I was hopin’ I could maybe …” She ran a finger through a few of her messy curls. “… H-Hang around for a bit? I don’t know where I’m goin’, but it ain’t gonna be back home. I promise you that. And if I don’t keep my head down for long, someone’s gonna find me and try to send me back.” Or maybe somewhere even worse …
She made a valid point; it wasn’t like she could just walk back into the world right now. She was a runaway, one who’d made herself a very high-profile subject. She may have the money to find some cheap living space for a time, but how could she know what would be safe … or, more importantly, who would be safe?
Her face then became unexpectedly mischievous. In a way that resembled his own look far too well. “‘Sides … someone’s gotta be there to save yer skin for next time.”
Tennessee softly facepalmed. “You’re never gonna live this down, are ya?” he asked. Darlene’s laugh only made him pinch his nose harder, as much as his ears adored the sound.
“So … you’d be fine to shack up and get all dirty with me? Most wanted outlaw this side of the Mississippi?” He fought the upwards curl in his lips, trying to look serious in the face of such a proposal.
Darlene’s face heated up at his … suggestive choice of words. In the wake of her radical deeds and such intense emotions, she couldn’t even be sure if she was acting rationally. Maybe she’d wake up tomorrow and head for the hills, knowing she wasn’t fit to go down this path.
But for now … she took a hopeful step back to him. “… Would … you mind?”
Those amber orbs lit up, even in the house’s shadow. She tilted her head as she put the ball in his court … setting up a serve that the overly romantic, wide-eyed Tennessee couldn’t possibly counter.
… I’m never gonna be able to say no to her, I just know it.
For all the life-threatening stunts, ludicrous crimes, and even forms of captivity and peril the young raccoon had experienced in his life, it was that undeniable fact that intimidated him most of all. Because deep down in his gut, all his instincts were screaming that if he took her with him now, he may never want her to go … and he had a feeling she wouldn’t want to, either.
For all he knew, Tennessee “Kid” Cooper may have just gained a new partner in crime … as well as something much more.
But he was nothing if not up for a challenge. A wonderful, gorgeous challenge.
So, he stepped towards her as well, scratching the back of his neck.
“I … wouldn’t mind the least.”
The outline of a large, disheveled, black vulture soared diligently across the desert sunset.
Clive peered out at the horizon, following the trail of railroad tracks that bridged the bundles of civilization between which this empty brown gap lay. The scarcity of structure and utter lack of any advanced life were rather bleak in many cases … especially for him as he searched feverishly for any member of his crew.
Something had gone horribly wrong. He was sure of it. No one had made it to their designated hideout, nor had he received word of any change in their destination. On top of that, more trains that he passed had been idle than what was usually expected, meaning something had disrupted their schedule … something that may have done far worse to their own plans.
Just as the large bird was about to turn tail and take his search elsewhere, his sharp, red eyes spotted a familiar-looking patch of black near the tracks.
Shaped like a scorpion.
As Clive took a steep nosedive, he got close enough to see that it was Carver down there. Most importantly, he could see the scorpion’s small, slow movements better, letting the vulture sigh in relief that at least one of his own men was alive … if very much worse for wear.
“Carver!” he called.
The clawed creature wearily lifted his head up as the large bird came to a landing next to him. “What happened?!”
Carver’s claws clacked in the sand, crushing even the tiniest of grains under furious chitin.
He had rotted away here for hours. Forced to bear his many injuries, clinging to thin breaths, fighting the sun’s inescapable, unblocked assault of heat. Knowing that even if he survived, he would never speak to his brother again.
And, above all else, letting his simmering grief morph into sickening, white-hot hatred for the two raccoons responsible.
His low growl stiffened the down on Clive’s feathers. “C-Carver?”
“It’s all gone,” the scorpion finally spoke. “And that blasted ringtail is loose.”
Clive’s beak began spewing questions left and right, but Carver didn’t hear them. All he wanted was to get out of this desert. To heal. To raise his crime spree to new, undisputed heights worthy of a king … with a pair of raccoon skins as his throne.
Tennessee Cooper and his little mistress had a price to pay.
And Carver was coming to collect his payment.
Tennessee managed to keep his grunts soft and quiet. He still rocked on his back, thumping and shoving his bundled-up knees against the tower of wood. By now, his whole body felt like it was in shambles, trying not to mentally snap from the thorough constriction and aggressive stinging. His sheer endurance and stamina kept him from taking breaks. Even as he had to keep repositioning himself, and even as pulse skyrocketed with each failed effort to stretch his limbs more than a useless amount.
It was working … The cane was shifting to the edge!
“Mmmnnn.”
And with one final thrust of his legs, the weapon finally dropped!
It landed squarely on Tennessee’s side, and he deftly managed to grab hold of the hook in his palm. He tightened his grip like he was holding the hand of an old, lost friend, before getting straight down to business. Maneuvering the gun in such a limited state was a bit awkward, but the Kid was nothing if not capable with his hands. With a few twirls of his fingers, a little shimmy of his waist, and just plain ignoring the claustrophobia brought on by his bonds, the raccoon soon got the cane in a position where it could begin sawing through the ropes around his parallel wrists.
But then …
“CURRY!!!”
Meeks’s scream had been so loud that it reached this very storage unit! As had the gunshot … leaving little to the imaginations of the evildoing trio.
Especially Carver. “BROTHER!!”
He finally threw all caution to the wind and sprinted out, with Miles and Milton staying behind and trying to avoid panicking as the situation just grew worse and worse by the minute!
“This is gettin’ out of control!” Miles paced in a circle, his hands clutching and pulling the red fur on his head! “Them guns are comin’ closer! If we stick around here, we’re gonna be sittin’ ducks!”
“What do they even want?!” Milton shouted! He was convinced by now that it was an opposing criminal operation behind all this. How else would their own group be failing so miserably?! “Did some snitch see us come on board!!?”
“Agghhh, I knew it! I knew we shoulda just cut our losses and rode away!!” Miles lamented!
“Don’t you be bailin’ out on us now!!” Milton grabbed his partner by the collar! “It’s do or die, partner! And I don’t plan on dyin’ today! Especially if we still gotta teach a lesson to … huh?”
As he took a look at their gagged little raccoon, he only saw empty space. Instantly fearing that they’d somehow lost him, he ran to the Cooper’s former position.
“Mmmmm …” Tennessee was getting somewhere! His squeezed arms were immensely sore, but his good ol’ cane was steadily sawing through the bindings around his wrists! He could feel it now … Soon he’d be loose, and then he’d high-tail it into the sunset with his dignity just barely intact-
“Whadaya think you’re doing?!”
His neckerchief was grabbed from the back, and he was thrown into the open! “Nnnnmm!!”
No!! His cheek smacked against the floor as he threw his middle up and down erratically! He’d been able to taste the freedom, so much that he’d have salivated had his gag not dried up his burning throat! “Gnnnmmghmph mmrrwwmh mrrrmggh!?” Can’t ya give a fellow a break!?
“We’re in enough trouble already, Cooper!” Milton said as he stomped on the outlaw’s stomach, earning an angered snarl! “I swear, one more wrong move, and the next rope’s gonna be around your neck!!”
By this point, Miles had already taken off to help out closer to the front. Not that it did Tennessee any good.
“Mmmph phrrmmh!!” Tennessee’s ringed tail thumped at the floor as his stress levels reached possibly their highest high! He was still hogtied and gagged, even after all this time! Even when he’d held his cane right in his hands!!
He was a master outlaw! Mere ropes shouldn’t be enough to stop him! Yet no matter how much he yanked his wrists, pushed his boots, wriggled his lithe frame, rubbed his head on the floor to undo the gag, it all held him with packaged security that would make the post office jealous! He couldn’t get out of this! Which meant no matter what, this ended badly for him. Whether it was another criminal or the law causing all this commotion, neither of them were going to free Tennessee Cooper!
He’d prided himself as a free agent. Always flying solo. That was how his life as a Cooper went, and he’d accepted that.
But now that his wings were clipped, it meant he’d left himself with no one to bail him out.
Carver was on a one-man rampage up the increasingly deadly train! All eight legs thrusted him past the crowds of terrified travelers, none of whom dared interrupt him or get in his way! Yet the scorpion didn’t even register half of them, so caught up was he in what fate may have befallen his kin.
When he found Meeks in the next car … he found out.
The roadrunner still had a firm grip on everyone’s lives, and they all knew it. But his aggressive, domineering stance atop the front seat dropped as soon as Carver entered. He watched as the scorpion walked over to the new, giant hole in the middle. He watched as he took steps back, reeling as he noticed it was roughly the size of Curry … who was nowhere in sight.
He then stared up at Meeks.
“Is …?”
Meeks solemnly shook his head. “I’m sorry … he’s … gone …”
There was nothing but silence that followed.
Raw, painstaking silence.
Though the engine still loudly roared as it carried their vessel forward, everyone felt as though their world had gone still. The onlooking hostages could tell this had just gotten personal, and they awaited whatever terrible action their captors were going to take next. Meeks took an audible breath, as if him saying those words had locked in the reality for himself that Curry was indeed dead.
And Carver …
… Carver broke the silence by charging Meeks and gripping him by the noodly throat.
“WHO DID THIS!!? WHO!!!”
He caught a few passengers trying to slip away while the scorpion was consumed by rage, only for Carver to take out his rifle and shoot a random civilian! “ALL OF YOU DOWN!!!!”
They obliged, though their collective onslaught of tears only riled him up more!
“CARVER, WHAT’RE YOU DOING!!?” Miles now joined the fray, hands over his mouth when he saw one of his friends’ necks being wrung out by another!
But Carver ignored the fox and squeezed the roadrunner harder! “WHO WAS IT, MEEKS!!! ANSWER ME!!!”
“Augck!!” Meeks curled his feathers around Carver’s arm, his stick-like feet kicking for freedom! “I don’t – nuaaachk! – kn-know! S-S-Some … gi-irl-! Raaa- …” His voice nearly shorted out entirely. “Rrraccoon …”
Carver still seethed venomously, but he ultimately threw his partner to the floor, with almost enough force to create a second hole.
Families, loved ones, and even strangers held each other close as this beast of a man turned back around to them. One of his large claws dug into the closest chair, grasping so tightly that a chunk of its leather came clean off. Miles took a single step back with his ears pressed against his head, wishing he’d just stayed back with Milton. As Meeks recovered and caught his breath, even he was taken aback by the hulking menace the scorpion was suddenly taking on.
Carver eventually turned back around to his fellow thieves. As the slowly descending sun broke inside through the windows, it shimmered off his pained, steaming eyes, setting them aglow to match the freshly lit fire in his heart.
“C-Carver …?” Miles nervously asked.
“Go pay a ‘visit’ to the conductor,” Carver uttered to his men, lowly enough for only them to hear. “Tell him to keep the train movin’. No matter what. No stops. No nothin’.”
Carver was done playing around. He’d tried to keep this whole operation on the downlow for as long as possible, and every single attempt had just resulted in the exact opposite … and now, it had cost the life of his own flesh and blood. So … now was the time to get hostile.
Meeks understood. It was about time they all uniformly got blood on their paws, or claws, or feathers. Miles, on the other hand, had obvious reservations. “And if … something’s in the way … Like another train …?”
“…… Same thing.”
They’d break however many eggs they had to.
With that, Carver abandoned them. He needed to take his anger out on someone.
And he knew just the candidate.
When Carver had rushed through the train to discover the demise of his brother, Darlene had been in the middle of crossing from the final passenger car to the first one used for storage. And with the scorpion already in her sight and charging fast, she had nowhere inside the train to run and hide in time.
So, she had chosen to press her back against the front of the car before her, grasp its rail, stand on the very thin ledge on her tiptoes, and pray to her deceased mother in the sky that the goon wouldn’t notice her.
Those prayers were answered. But the raccoon’s relief was minimal, as she was still precariously perched on the edge of a speeding train. She took her sweet time shifting herself back onto the more stable connecting platform, and she slid back inside.
She really didn’t know how Tennessee did this stuff like it was nothing.
This new car was filled with boxes and supplies, making the hallway so narrow that even her small frame was ill at ease. Worse yet were sharp chunks of wood littering the floor, appearing to have been pried off by a certain berserk scorpion … giving her a sense of how strong he was.
He was behind her now … but the final challenge was just ahead.
Through this last set of doors, she had seen Tennessee get nearly shoved out to his death. Unless he’d been moved, this was where she would find him. She formed a tiny smile at the thought of him seeing her come to his rescue, and of how much she would tease him afterwards for having so thoroughly returned the favor. How she’d tell him the tale of her bravery, the hits she’d taken, everything she hoped she could do now that she was free from her father.
In her mind, all of that happened well after just today … When, in reality, they would probably go their separate ways again once this was over. He the lone outlaw, and she the runaway, looking back at each other as nothing but fond memories.
She didn’t like that.
But it didn’t change the fact that he was right there.
She put her hand on the door.
Only to jump back with a startle as she heard thumping on the car from the outside!
Carver couldn’t bear to see another stupid, sniveling onlooker’s face without ripping it to pieces, nor did he want anyone to witness his turmoil! So, he didn’t travel back through the train’s interior. Instead, he let his core animal nature take over and crawled on top of the vessel. He stuck himself to its walls, scurrying along its length, heading back to the rear like he was outrunning a treadmill, breaking a few windows along the way purely out of spite!
Once he was close to his target, the scorpion crawled to the train’s underside. The sensation of zooming metal tracks and grinding sparks inches from his body didn’t faze him, and it certainly didn’t slow him down!
Not until he was right below his prisoner. At which point he crawled up and shoved the car door open, much to the jumpy shock of both Milton and Tennessee!
“Carver?!”
“Hhrrnnh!?”
“Get over here!” the scorpion yelled at Tennessee, who uselessly tried to rock himself away from the charging villain! Carver wrapped his tail around the bound outlaw’s neck and tightened, causing him to choke and sputter desperately! “Hmmghhh grrmmnggh!!”
Without another word, Carver pulled Tennessee out of the car, carrying him up to the top!
“Tennessee!” Darlene screamed, watching from the window!
The female no longer had time for stealth! She busted through the doors, running into the now-open storage car! And just as Milton had taken in the sudden change of plans from his own partner, he suddenly whipped around and dove to the floor to avoid getting a bullet in his back!
“NNNGHH!!” He collapsed onto his bad arm, firing back at Darlene, who then tucked and rolled under his aim! As the two kept firing, they were forced to crawl along the wood, each shot leading them further down a pair of rolling arcs that circled one another! Milton was soon able to take shelter behind a stack of boxes, ceasing his fire to simply get a grip on himself!
“Wait a sec- nnnnrrrrhhh!!” the fox cried out, reeling from the ever-growing toll of his wound! “YOU!!?”
“Yeah.” Darlene fired a spiteful shot at the edge of the crates. “Me.”
This had to all be made up, Milton was sure! As if his pathetic defeat the other night didn’t already linger enough against his fragile ego! So distraught was he that this raccoon was even partially giving him a run for his money, the bulky fox’s huge arm stuck itself out, hoping to get a lucky break for once and hit her.
But he was punished by taking a shot to the wrist.
“AAAGH!!!”
Out of patience, in grueling pain, and feeling the last of his pride flailing, Milton leapt out from his hiding place and chucked his gun at Darlene! His sheer strength gave the heavy projectile enough force to send Darlene reeling back with a brief but effectively fuzz infecting her vision. It bought him enough time to run to her, grab her with his huge arm, and drag her down by the skirt to trap her in a headlock!
“What is it with you blasted raccoons!?!” The fox bellowed, flexing his muscles to squeeze her further, the female’s fingers scraping and scratching at his throbbing veins! “When’re ya gonna learn ya can’t get the best of me?! I’m the biggest, the beefiest, the best dang vulpine crook this side’a Timbukt-”
BANG!
His whining was eternally silenced once the supposedly weaker raccoon sent a bullet through the side of his neck.
Darlene didn’t even give him the courtesy of any further acknowledgement. She just ran to the side, looking up to see a frantic stripped tail disappear from view above! She pounded the metal in anger! I gotta get up there! There had to be some way at the very back of the train, like a ladder on the caboose!
Up there … to the roof …
As much as she’d accomplished today, the very thought struck her to the core with fear. She trembled again, her gun rattling in her shaking hands at the thought of facing off against that much bigger, likely much angrier scorpion, in an arena that may as well be trying to throw them off to their deaths.
But every single second could be Tennessee’s last. If she stopped now, after how far she’d come, she’d never forgive herself.
She shook off the fright, steeled herself, and took charge.
However, she briefly paused when she spotted something laying on the floor. Something that may give her an extra edge … and which Tennessee would very much want to see.
“MMMMGH!!!”
Tennessee thrashed and reeled in the chokehold of Carver’s tail, totally helpless as he was taken up top!
“My brother is dead cuz of you!!” Carver brought Tennessee’s gagged face right up to his own, and the raccoon couldn’t even kick in defiance! “You and that stupid little stunt of yers!!”
“Wrrnnywwm nrrngnnmrmph!?” Tennessee garbled! What’re you talkin’ about!?
“If ya hadn’t blown up our ride, we’d be sittin’ pretty back home right now!! But nooo!”
The scorpion’s tail contracted even more! Tennessee couldn’t breathe! He twisted and tossed his head, shifting his jaws, squinting his nearly bloodshot eyes! Gotta … get … this … gag … off!
“You just had to get yer grubby little fingers involved!”
Those same fingers were curled behind him, twitching and fighting with the rest of him! His chest puffed out above the ropes, unable to get an ounce of air! “Mmmmmmhh! Mmmmhph!! Mmmmmphhh!!”
… need … help ……
“Puh!” Carver threw the smaller raccoon away from him, onto the caboose. For once, his bonds actually saved him, for his bent knees stopped him from rolling completely off the train. He instead slid to the edge, his eyes now peering down at the blur of railroad. He pulled at the bonds, but that only nudged him a bit closer to his doom!
“I tell ya, Kid,” Carver loudly spoke over the wind and chugging, slowly starting to skitter his way there himself. “You weren’t never gonna make it out here with that dumb heart of yers. Goin’ after your own kind, leavin’ the little guy alone … that ain’t how it works in this life!”
Tennessee tried to stay still as he wiggled his shoulders and wrists, hot pants escaping his nose! You ain’t my own kind! He regretted nothing about how he lived his life. Not his family’s boundaries, not even going after these thugs today. He was a Cooper; no matter how harsh these parts got, he would never lose sight of that!
“So why don’t I just put you outta yer misery now!” Carver proposed. “Toss you in the desert like the worthless lump of fur you are! And then we’ll see where all that big-man talk really gets ya!”
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Three shots fired from behind Tennessee.
From the back of the caboose, onto the roof, came a female raccoon in ripped, tattered clothing, wielding a certain rifle with a golden hook at its end.
If Tennessee’s eyes had gotten any wider, they’d have exploded like a keg of TNT.
… DARLENE!?
“Buddy … I seen some ‘big men’ in my time,” she snarled, marching to stand beside Tennessee. “You ain’t even scratchin’ the surface.”
Tennessee would have been speechless if his gag hadn’t done that for him.
What was she doing here?! How did she get here?! How was she standing up to a seven-foot-tall scorpion?!
And … was she using his gun??
He stared up at her. Watching as she glared daggers at his enemy, aiming his rifle at him with the confidence of a pure natural. He marveled at the way her eyes spoke their own language of unbridled passion and fury, just like they had the night he’d saved her. The way she stood, boldly like an immovable tower, her smaller body looking like the sturdiest thing on earth. Her thick, disheveled brown hair blew back, along with her dress, all silhouetted against the eternally orange glow of the sun behind her.
He could hear the pounding of his emphatic heart over all other sounds. Surely, he must have already been killed, and this was his dying dream of the one thing he didn’t realize he’d wanted to see.
Naturally, Carver had the opposite reaction.
“You …” he growled, ignoring the new wounds in his chest and torso. “I take it you’re the one who’s been shootin’ up my boys?”
The rush of Darlene’s bravery was at its fever pitch. “Ya mean like this?”
She fired three more shots, all of them hitting. Carver recoiled and gasped, but his large, sturdy build was barely moved! Drat! she thought! I need something stronger!
“Hmmh!! Mrrmmnh!!” Tennessee tried to get her attention, making himself sound urgent enough for her to reach down and remove – at last! – his gag!
She fired a couple more times, holding the scorpion back long enough for her to bend down and rip the cloth from his face! He spat out the other one stuffed inside before hoarsely saying, “In my holster!”
Her amber eyes made a beeline for the compartment at his hip, while Carver finally made his grand charge.
“What makes a lil’ princess think she can blow everything sky high, huh?!” he yelled! “Ya just lookin’ for a reason to find trouble?! Yer that pent-up an’ angry at home that you gotta take it all out here?!”
Shut it! Darlene thought as she rummaged through the male raccoon’s bag! They both ignored how much she was rubbing against his squeezed thigh to do so … until she found what she needed!
A set of rather large, silver bullets, at least three times the size of what she’d been shooting!
“Or wait!” Carver continued, making the leap from his car to theirs! “Don’t tell me ya thought you’d try and save him! Ha! My stars, that’s richer than I’ll ever be!”
“Hurry!” Tennessee shouted as she tried to load the bullets into his gun! “Ya just open up the … yeah, like that, and … there ya go!”
The scorpion was across and still moving fast, even using his meaty claws to shoot himself forward even faster! “Tell ya what, then! After I leave y’all to rot to bones in this here desert, I’ll bury ya both together with a nice set of headstones!”
Darlene felt everything click into place, just as Carver flung himself at them!
The female aimed.
“Quit yappin’ and git.”
And fired.
Every one of those supersized bullets hit the scorpion dead-on, square in the stomach. With a bloody cry, he was sent into a terrible tumble, unable to stop himself from falling off the back of the train, immediately left behind in the barren wasteland.
Darlene still didn’t lower the gun. She kept her eyes glued to the apparently defeated foe. She watched him lay still, waiting for any movements even as he became smaller and smaller in her view. She wasn’t taking any chances until he was permanently gone from sight.
Thankfully, that moment came when he was no longer visible. At which point she finally let out a couple of deep, relieved sighs.
“… Darlene …”
That voice, sweeter than honey, called to her.
“Tennessee!” She knelt down beside him, looking him over! “Are you alright?!” She felt around for anything that was broken, any wounds that needed instant tending to. But miraculously, though he had clearly been roughed up in many ways, nothing looked severe.
“I … umm …” The male didn’t know how to respond, aside from the blush that formed at being felt up further. He still couldn’t believe this was actually happening! “Where did you … H-How … you’re … here?!”
Darlene couldn’t help but laugh. Now that they finally had a moment, it dawned on her just how absurd this whole day was. How did she even begin to tell him about what she’d done back in town, or the freakish chain of coincidences that seemed like fate’s way of bringing them back together? Her smile grew as she heard the thief let out a brief chuckle of his own, if for no other reason than it was the only thing he could think to do.
“It’s … I’ll tell ya everything,” the woman finally said. “For now, let’s getcha outta that.”
That made Tennessee’s heels wiggle in excitement. “Oh, you read my mind!”
She turned the other raccoon around so she could get to his back. “Geez, excessive much?” she said with a cringe. She figured he was a slippery one, but this level of restraint was downright mean.
“Yer tellin’ me,” Tennessee snarked back.
She made quick work slicing through the hogtie, then the binds keeping his legs bent. The Kid gave them a big, immediate stretch, forcing Darlene to back up to avoid being accidentally kicked off board!
“Ahhh …” Tennessee groaned, before realizing what he’d done. “Uh, whoops … sorry …” he said meekly, his head ducking between his bound shoulders.
Darlene just smiled again. All that time tied up ain’t stopped his energy. She approached him again, and the outlaw kept still enough despite the itch to be instantly out of his remaining binds.
“So …” she said. “This yer first time havin’ a pretty lady rescue you?”
“Oh … yeah …” His ears went flat. “I reckon it is …” His voice was clearly very shy and embarrassed. And why shouldn’t it be? Here he was, the bold master thief in the role of the tied-up damsel, rescued from the big, bad villain, practically cradled in the arms of his grand lady hero. It should have demeaned the masked man at best, made him question his life choices at worse.
… And yet …
He kept looking at her face, framed by her hair, filled with a heavenly blend of compassion, wit, and unbreakable strength.
She was so pretty.
“Although …” he dared to admit with a face on fire. “… S’not as bad as I woulda thought …”
In the train’s locomotive, a Basset Hound engineer kept his hands firmly locked onto the controls … because if he didn’t, he would face the wrath of the fox and roadrunner whose guns were pressed against the back of his skull.
“Mmmh,” he whimpered through the bulky cloth tied firmly between his teeth. His hands had also been tied in front of him, giving him control of the vehicle but an inability to properly fight back.
“Just keep it moving,” Meeks said, a lopsided grin on his beak. “Simple as that.”
“Them folks at the station can wait another day,” Miles added.
What was supposed to be another ordinary shift for the poor engineer had been savagely disrupted when these two fiends broke in here and held him at gunpoint. Once they tied him up, their orders were indeed simple: skip over every single stop. Already, one had been passed. He’d run straight through Sans-a-Roo Station – which, from its run-down state, looked worth skipping anyway – meaning there was no telling if or when disaster may strike.
“How long you think we gotta keep at this?” Miles whispered to his partner, still fearful that they were just digging their graves deeper.
“Don’t matter none,” Meeks said. “I can do this alllll day.” He brushed the gun’s muzzle against the Basset Hound’s fur. The canine began welling up, constantly weeping and biting down on his gag. “Hhrrrmmnn …”
Please … stop …
But then, in a turn of the tables, the captors felt two more gun barrels pressed against their heads.
“Aw, no need for that,” a bold, thickly twangy voice said from behind. “I think we can call it here.”
Miles and Meeks, out of instinct, dropped their guns right away. Their firearms were quickly swept away by a familiar-looking boot.
“Now, back up,” the voice firmly ordered.
“Uhhh … Meeks?” Miles remained still. “Am I … Am I hearin’ this right?”
“He said move!” shouted the other, more feminine voice!
Miles finally did as he was told, pulling the bird with him!
“C’mon, foxy! We can take ’em!” Meeks barked! He turned around and shouted, “We ain’t gonna stop cuz a couple of coo-”
Tennessee twirled his gun around and rammed his cane’s hook into the thin creature, shutting him up instantly as he flopped to the floor.
Meanwhile, Miles turned around as well, gasping in disbelief as he saw the two raccoons that had now thwarted his gang’s efforts!
Tennessee and Darlene looked a bit worse for wear, battered and beaten. But they nonetheless stood tall and triumphantly even against his taller height. Tennessee, on brand, wore a cocky smile on his muzzle, gleeful to have the idiotic thugs who’d bound him at his mercy for a change.
Darlene, however, scowled with fury at the fox who’d victimized her as well … Although she couldn’t deny the thrill she felt from having this power over him. Not to mention wielding it side-by-side with Tennessee.
Especially when the fox finally recognized her.
“W-W-W-Wait a sec … A-A-Ain’t you …”
It was Darlene’s turn to shoot him the tiniest mischievous smirk. She lunged forward, whacking him with her pistol, sending the tall fox collapsing with his fellow fallen criminal.
As he watched, Tennessee felt his heart skip a beat.
Aw hell, he thought as he truly realized something.
He was falling hard for this girl, wasn’t he?
Once Tennessee and Darlene freed the engineer and tied up his former captors, they quickly went back and took care of an unconscious but still-breathing Jeffers. Tempted as they were to let him die a slow, painful death, the raccoons showed a bit of mercy and did the bare minimum to patch up his wounds, so he’d at least live to see the inside of a jail cell.
“Everything’s under control now, folks! Just roundin’ up the trash!” Tennessee did his best to calm the still-rattled crowds. It didn’t fully seem to work – he wasn’t exactly the most stable individual himself – but they could at least tell he wasn’t going to shoot them.
Darlene didn’t feel so bold. Not that she was used to receiving that kind of attention in the first place, but she still felt sour about the role she’d played in causing this chaos. Sure, she’d likely saved Tennessee’s life, but at the cost of a few others who would’ve been fine otherwise. Like that well-meaning mouse, whose body she left to a select few passengers as she slunk away, towards the back again.
Tennessee followed right behind her, keeping his cool the entire way. They reached the caboose, and he closed the door behind him to isolate the two. As he turned around, he saw the beautiful female’s solemn exterior finally begin to fall. She held her arms behind her back somewhat shyly, unsure of where to even go from here.
The Kid, however, rushed right at her and scooped her up in a hyper-enthused hug! He lifted her up off the floor, swinging and swishing her around with passionate gratitude! “YER CRAZY, Y’KNOW THAT?!!” he shouted through fits of rowdy, mirth-flooded laughter! “I ain’t never seen anything like that before!”
Darlene found herself snapped out of her weary state and laughed right back, the sound muffled as her face was smooshed into his shoulder. “I’m crazy?! Ha, you’re one to talk, boy!”
“Oh, I know I got a couple screws loose!” Tennessee said. “But you, you’re … you’re …”
He slowly set her down, disappointing Darlene a bit. But the male’s hands still lingered on her shoulders, softly but securely.
His beaming expression didn’t go away, but it became less pronounced and vivid as a new wave of bewilderment and disbelief overtook him … Those handsome chocolate irises were awestruck, staring as if she had just turned into the very treasure he loved to steal … no, more valuable than that.
It almost made the hardy woman well up. Not since her ma passed could she recall anyone looking at her like that. No lust, no selfish desire … he was just amazed that she even existed.
“You really shot up a whole train … just for me?” Tennessee asked, whispering in a doting voice that made her heart officially melt.
The tough-as-nails raccoon she was somewhat gave way to one with much more modesty. “Well … yeah … I-I couldn’t just let them do all that to you …” Oh, to even think about what would happen if they’d gotten away. If no one ever got to see that scruffy, infectiously charming face, or hear that silkily wild voice … or feel his strong touch …
“… Why??” the Kid asked. “I mean, thank you! From here to them pearly gates up top, thank you! But you didn’t have to stick your neck out like that!” Despite his words, his tone and still-smiling face displayed no condescension. “I-I mean … have ya ever gone on that kinda spree before?!”
“I …”
She stiffened as so many sour emotions suddenly came to mind. “… I can’t say I ain’t thought about it …”
How often had she wanted to take her father’s shotgun and blow the roof off their house? Or rip the invasive hands off some strange man who felt too comfortable with her? Or go up to a deputy, take his badge, and stick it where the sun didn’t shine until he made himself useful for once?
It was true … Her bravery had come from dark places. And she was sick of that fact.
“I just …” Tennessee, for once, was at a loss for words. “I didn’t realize I-”
“No, nonono, hold up.” Darlene held up a palm. “I did have to stick out my neck! Y’know what happens when folks just ignore ya? It lets all the scoundrels and monsters run these parts and know they can do whatever! Ya got someone here and there who says they care, but they ain’t gonna step outside their cozy little lives and-and rules when it ain’t their necks to worry about or their girl bein’ yelled at or-or beaten up or …”
She paused. As she let this flood of resentment out, the young lady clenched her teeth, not knowing whether to scream, cry, or punch the wall. “So then yer just alone, waitin’ for something or … someone to yank you out, give ya just a little bit of grace and show they’re lookin’ out for you …”
That was when her voice softened … and when her eyes took on a new level of longing as they gazed upon Tennessee again. He, for his part, would have been ready to lash out at something himself had he not felt so thoroughly stupefied. The master thief had been known to wriggle his way in to help the average citizen on occasion, but he’d never felt any responsibilities in his career. His aim was solely to better himself and his lineage, and to have the best of fun doing it. Any chance he had to perk up a few others was just a bonus in his eyes.
But now, this one girl, so affected by his help and outlook, was threatening to give him something he’d never had: someone to do it all for.
… Or maybe … with.
“But y’know what?” Darlene finished, “I’m done waiting. That’s why I left my pa behind … and that’s why I wasn’t gonna leave behind someone who actually gave a damn about me.”
If Tennessee had known what to say next, it would’ve had to wait. For the raccoons heard the loud whistling of their train, which they could then feel slowing down.
They stepped outside through the very back, peering around the caboose to see a proper station creep into view. The train slowly came to a halt, and before any announcement or greeting could be made, every passenger suddenly forced the doors open and frantically rushed out. Whether this had been their original destination or not, no one wanted to stay on the same train that had hosted a shootout, even if its perpetrators were restrained.
With that ruckus stealing people’s eyes, Darlene recognized the chance to slip away without being spotted. “C’mon!” she whispered to Tennessee as she hopped onto the tracks.
“Wha- Where’re you goin’?!”
She just gave a beckoning wave, keeping herself low while creeping past the open and stopping behind a wall.
Already realizing he wasn’t going to reel her back, Tennessee followed suit and joined her. From there, the male held a hand out in front of her, signaling that he’d be scoping out a way to fully sneak off.
Knowing he was the expert in that department, Darlene nodded and waited. She watched as he scoured past the clearing, to the first clumps of houses and shops, seeking out the most ideal yet unconventional route that could keep them hidden, but could also be reached quickly enough, and would have a window in which no one could pass by to see them.
He soon took her by the hand and hauled tail to the edge of a 30-meter-tall bluff that overlooked the station. Sitting on top was a house of three stories, with a thin pipe stretching from its roof gutters all the way down to ten feet above the ground.
Neither of them realized that a few select individuals had just managed to spot their striped tails slinking away …
Unfortunately, Jeffers, Meeks, and Miles just so happened to be in the grasp of law enforcement. Wrangled up in a pile of ropes that reduced them to worms, mouths sealed tight with brown cloths. As soon as Jeffers saw the raccoons, he instantly started freaking out in his bonds, trying to alert everyone to their presence! “HRRH!! MFFPHMM PHMMPH!!! GHMMNMM GHFF!!!”
“YMMPHNNMFRRMMWNF!!” Meeks yelled through the rag squeezing his beak shut! He shot his head in their direction, stretched his bound talons at them, anything to direct the coppers’ attention!
“Yeah, yeah, just sit tight,” the ram deputy carrying him teased. “We got a nice slammer waitin’ for you boys.”
“NMMMMMMMMMMHHH!!!!!!”
Once they arrived underneath, Tennessee pulled Darlene to him and again scanned all around them, making sure they were safe to make the climb. Darlene would have done the same, but she found herself distracted by the way his vigilant eyes narrowed, how his nose scrunched in an almost feral manner, how his chest went absolutely still as he breathed – though it was no less firm, as she could attest whilst she was pressed against it.
For all his manic tendencies, the legendary “Kid” Cooper could buckle down and focus when he needed to.
Without warning, he hopped up and grabbed hold of the pipe, holding a hand out for Darlene.
But the girl hesitated, running a hand through her hair.
Tennessee couldn’t help but find it adorable that the woman who’d just taken on and bested a bunch of armed thugs was still nervous about climbing a simple pipe. Something about these more acrobatic feats really seemed to get under her skin, it seemed. He let that amusement show as he stretched his arm in a comforting manner.
“Yer fine,” he said. “I gotcha.”
As he dangled there above her, his slim visage and welcoming smile blending into the shade … the height of this whole climb suddenly looked so small.
With a small nod, she grabbed his hand, letting him pull her up so she too could wrap her limbs around the pipe. And so they climbed. Remaining hand-in-hand, with Tennessee showing a surprising amount of patience as he let her take the time she needed for something so unfamiliar.
Once the Kid reached the roof, he stretched his legs up to grip the surface and twist himself onto solid terrain. From there, he used both hands to grab Darlene’s arm and haul her to the top as well.
In her haste and desire to get away from the drop, Darlene stumbled into Tennessee, and both of their noses met. They let out nervous chuckles, complete with wary smiles that made each look even more beautiful to the other.
They could have pulled away.
But they didn’t.
Tennessee instead brushed his lips against hers, lingering for a second before giving them space. Simply testing the waters. Waiting to see if she wished to dive in with him.
Darlene brought her hands around the back of his head and kissed him back, earning a surprised moan from the male who eagerly returned the favor. He cupped her cheek with one hand while the other lingered down to her bare shoulder, her fingers tightly gripping the back of his vest.
It was relatively brief. But they could both feel something stronger lurking underneath even as they parted.
“… Whew,” was all Tennessee could utter.
“You said it.”
This all still felt unreal to Darlene. She would have looked at you like you’d grown a horse’s head if you told her a week ago that she’d be gladly kissing Tennessee Cooper. Let alone while on the run …
… Possibly a wanted criminal herself, if it was decided she was partially to blame for the bloodshed on that train …
“So, uhhh …” Tennessee broke the silence. “What now?”
His first thought was that she’d be back on her merry way … but that simply didn’t feel right. For multiple reasons.
The feeling was mutual.
Where else would Darlene want to go? Who else would she want with her?
“Well … I was hopin’ I could maybe …” She ran a finger through a few of her messy curls. “… H-Hang around for a bit? I don’t know where I’m goin’, but it ain’t gonna be back home. I promise you that. And if I don’t keep my head down for long, someone’s gonna find me and try to send me back.” Or maybe somewhere even worse …
She made a valid point; it wasn’t like she could just walk back into the world right now. She was a runaway, one who’d made herself a very high-profile subject. She may have the money to find some cheap living space for a time, but how could she know what would be safe … or, more importantly, who would be safe?
Her face then became unexpectedly mischievous. In a way that resembled his own look far too well. “‘Sides … someone’s gotta be there to save yer skin for next time.”
Tennessee softly facepalmed. “You’re never gonna live this down, are ya?” he asked. Darlene’s laugh only made him pinch his nose harder, as much as his ears adored the sound.
“So … you’d be fine to shack up and get all dirty with me? Most wanted outlaw this side of the Mississippi?” He fought the upwards curl in his lips, trying to look serious in the face of such a proposal.
Darlene’s face heated up at his … suggestive choice of words. In the wake of her radical deeds and such intense emotions, she couldn’t even be sure if she was acting rationally. Maybe she’d wake up tomorrow and head for the hills, knowing she wasn’t fit to go down this path.
But for now … she took a hopeful step back to him. “… Would … you mind?”
Those amber orbs lit up, even in the house’s shadow. She tilted her head as she put the ball in his court … setting up a serve that the overly romantic, wide-eyed Tennessee couldn’t possibly counter.
… I’m never gonna be able to say no to her, I just know it.
For all the life-threatening stunts, ludicrous crimes, and even forms of captivity and peril the young raccoon had experienced in his life, it was that undeniable fact that intimidated him most of all. Because deep down in his gut, all his instincts were screaming that if he took her with him now, he may never want her to go … and he had a feeling she wouldn’t want to, either.
For all he knew, Tennessee “Kid” Cooper may have just gained a new partner in crime … as well as something much more.
But he was nothing if not up for a challenge. A wonderful, gorgeous challenge.
So, he stepped towards her as well, scratching the back of his neck.
“I … wouldn’t mind the least.”
The outline of a large, disheveled, black vulture soared diligently across the desert sunset.
Clive peered out at the horizon, following the trail of railroad tracks that bridged the bundles of civilization between which this empty brown gap lay. The scarcity of structure and utter lack of any advanced life were rather bleak in many cases … especially for him as he searched feverishly for any member of his crew.
Something had gone horribly wrong. He was sure of it. No one had made it to their designated hideout, nor had he received word of any change in their destination. On top of that, more trains that he passed had been idle than what was usually expected, meaning something had disrupted their schedule … something that may have done far worse to their own plans.
Just as the large bird was about to turn tail and take his search elsewhere, his sharp, red eyes spotted a familiar-looking patch of black near the tracks.
Shaped like a scorpion.
As Clive took a steep nosedive, he got close enough to see that it was Carver down there. Most importantly, he could see the scorpion’s small, slow movements better, letting the vulture sigh in relief that at least one of his own men was alive … if very much worse for wear.
“Carver!” he called.
The clawed creature wearily lifted his head up as the large bird came to a landing next to him. “What happened?!”
Carver’s claws clacked in the sand, crushing even the tiniest of grains under furious chitin.
He had rotted away here for hours. Forced to bear his many injuries, clinging to thin breaths, fighting the sun’s inescapable, unblocked assault of heat. Knowing that even if he survived, he would never speak to his brother again.
And, above all else, letting his simmering grief morph into sickening, white-hot hatred for the two raccoons responsible.
His low growl stiffened the down on Clive’s feathers. “C-Carver?”
“It’s all gone,” the scorpion finally spoke. “And that blasted ringtail is loose.”
Clive’s beak began spewing questions left and right, but Carver didn’t hear them. All he wanted was to get out of this desert. To heal. To raise his crime spree to new, undisputed heights worthy of a king … with a pair of raccoon skins as his throne.
Tennessee Cooper and his little mistress had a price to pay.
And Carver was coming to collect his payment.
Category All / Bondage
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1102 x 1629px
File Size 915.2 kB
Listed in Folders
Ah, phooey, it was meant to be the "lawless heart", but I can't edit it now... eh, I guess it works either way.
But aye, I did. A delightfully more visceral tale channeling the Westerns a lot more than the games but still staying true to them and, in a way, setting up the future that is to be in time~
But aye, I did. A delightfully more visceral tale channeling the Westerns a lot more than the games but still staying true to them and, in a way, setting up the future that is to be in time~
Either works, but I credit you that "lawless heart" is a touch more meaningful.
Awesome, thank you! Much like the Shira fic, this story's distance from the "main" plot of the series let me play more fast and loose with the tone and style. The West was a very dirty, nasty place, and I loved capturing that unhinged energy in a good way with our lovebirds and a bad way with our villains and overall environment.
Awesome, thank you! Much like the Shira fic, this story's distance from the "main" plot of the series let me play more fast and loose with the tone and style. The West was a very dirty, nasty place, and I loved capturing that unhinged energy in a good way with our lovebirds and a bad way with our villains and overall environment.
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