Miss Morgan

Fifty-Two

July 1899
-Ivy-

BOOM!!

The building shakes around me from the explosion as I duck into an empty apartment and run down the fire escape, careful not to trip over my skirt. I get to the bottom and climb down a ladder to the sidewalk. Loose strands of hair stick to the sweat on my forehead as I run away from the mess. I run as fast as my feet will carry me in these godawful shoes.

I run down the street and when four lawmen come sprinting around the corner toward me. I keep running until one stops me.

"Did you see that explosion, ma'am? Did you see who's responsible?" He asks me with wide eyes, holding me by my shoulders.

"I didn't see what it was, I just ran when I heard it. It was so loud." I pant, looking back at the cloud of black smoke pillowing into the air.

"Get somewhere safe, ma'am." He points me in the direction I was already running and I keep running until the officers are out of sight and I jump into the passenger seat of the wagon where Hosea is waiting for me.

"Well done, dear girl." Hosea gives the draft horses a switch of the reins and pats me on the arm.

"Did they leave the bank?" I ask, gasping to catch my breath and wiping the sweat from my face. I miss the heartlands, it's so humid here.

"Yep. They left one guard at the bank which we could handle much easier than the five that were there before." Hosea explains. "Same as yesterday. I think we're good to move forward with our plan. Maybe one more test for good measure."

We've been running our little tests in town all week, letting off explosions in empty old buildings to watch how the law reacts. Saint Denis is a big town with a decent size law enforcement presence, so if we're going to hit the bank, we need to know what to expect from the law in order to get away. I'm nervous about the bank, but I've really been enjoying working with Hosea.

"You really think we can hit that bank?" I chew on the inside of my cheek just thinking about it, fighting the dread in the pit of my stomach.

"I think if we plan it right, yes." Hosea nods.

He quickly guides us over the bridge out of town and back toward camp. We pass the old abandoned factory on the corner and I notice a saddled horse standing inside the stone wall outside. I'm surprised to see anyone there.

As we drive, Hosea starts to cough again, lightly at first but it builds until his whole body is wracked with the nasty fit, unable to catch his breath. "Hosea?" I try to smack him on the back but it doesn't help. He hacks and coughs, covering his mouth with his hand, then I see a glob of blood in his hand. "Hosea! Pull over!" I yell at him but he only hands me the reins before toppling over the side into the grass below.

I stop the wagon and jump down, running to his side. His skin is so pale. "Hosea!" I shake him gently to try and wake him up. He gasps in a breath and I sit him up a little to give him some of my water.

His color starts to return to his face while we sit there a moment.

"Hosea?" I ask quietly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, dear. I'm sure it's just this humidity." He waves me off.

"No it ain't, don't lie to me. No one else is coughing up blood. We need to get you to a doctor." I pull him to his feet and he pushes me away.

"Just... leave it, alright?" He huffs, walking back to the wagon.

"No! You scared me. What the hell was that?" I demand, jumping into the wagon and taking the reins before he can.