Alternate

Chapter 8

Slowly, the blurry figures started to sharpen. John blinked a few more times before recognizing the shape leaning over him as the woman Rand had been with. He was not all together certain where he was, nor whether having the woman so close was a good thing.

"Where am I?" asked John and looked around. All he saw was a small room with a fireplace at the centre of it and a table close by it with a few chairs. He saw Rand sitting at the table, which made him feel a bit better.

"In Siver," came the woman's voice as she stood up and walked over to the fireplace.

Rand soon replaced her by the bed. "You went unconscious during the ride here."

"You mean I went Dark," said John. His throat felt dry and he didn't object to it when Jen handed him a bowl full of steaming liquid. A careful sip later he had to admit it tasted better than expected. He gave the woman a careful look before returning to the broth.

"Yes, you went Dark," Rand admitted.

John chuckled. "So now what? I wait for the bounty hunters to come?"

"Is he always this spineless?" asked Jen with a disgusted voice. "I mean, you were whiny too, but him?" She shook his head.

"He's different from us, Jen," replied Rand and gave John an understanding look. "It wasn't his choice to go Dark. It was made for him, unlike on our part. He wasn't chased before this, but now he will be."

John shook his head and gave Rand a look. "All I wanted to do was see you again and ask you why? Why did you kill your wife? Why did you go Dark? Then maybe we'd have been able to help you. Maybe convince Vincent there was no need to kill you. And now here I am, looking down the same gun barrel as you are."

The questions posed were something Rand wasn't prepared to answer. Not that he didn't think John deserved answers, but because even he didn't have them. Everything that had happened had not given him much time to sort things out for himself and now there were greater things weighing on his shoulders.

"John, I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. Sometimes things just happen and the reasons behind them are left in the shadows. What happened with my wife is not something I'm proud of, but when it was done all I could think of was staying out of prison. I know I'd done wrong, but I wanted just a bit more freedom. So I came here."

Rand gave John a sincere look. There were no lies to be told now. "It was pure coincidence that I ran into Jen. She killed those bounty hunters and after that it was all over. I'd have been hunted just like she was. Going Dark was the only choice I could make to stay free."

John sipped the broth while thinking things through. Some of what Rand had said made sense and some didn't. He'd left out bits he'd wanted an answer to, like why he killed his wife. He wasn't a bad man, that much was clear from what he'd said and what John knew of him. But could all he'd done simply be counted off as the result of unfortunate circumstances?

"I was thinking that if you'd give good enough answers I might try and talk the others into letting you go," said John in a quiet voice and looked down at the bowl in his hand. "I suppose I'll have to plead my own case now and join you."

Rand smiled a sad smile and took the empty bowl from him. "I think we will need all of you before this is over. And more."

"You still need to explain what's going on," said John and threw his legs over the side of the bed. The wooden floor felt cold after the warmth of the blanket he'd been resting under. He took another look around. "And where I am for that matter."

"My hideout," said Jen and grabbed a cast iron pan from by the fire and set it on the table. "I hid here from the bounty hunters and others Vincent sent after me. It should be safe still."