Back in Time: Bulletstorm [Book 1]

Chapter 2

At full gallop, Nathan and his horse Jack darted over the plain, on their way home. They passed the O.K. Corral and the cemetery of Tombstone, otherwise known as the Boot Hill Graveyard. The name referred to the fact that many died 'with their boots on'. Basically meaning: you'll never know when it's your time to go. It was late in the evening when Nathan and his cavalier reached the farm, which they called home. It was located a few miles from the city itself, next to a humongous forest. 

Together with his mother, he had been living at the huge family acreage ever since he was a young boy. His father had left the living, only to enter the land of the death, when Nathan was only eight. The man had got it in his head to go after one of the escaped horses. Unfortunately he never made it home again. They had found him the day after, but not in the way you would like to find anyone, let alone your father. His lifeless body had been laying in the nearby desert, with no sign of the lost horse. Never did they found out what had really happened to him. Next, Nathan had played the part of breadwinner of the little family, which consisted out of more animals than actual family members. He had practically been forced to do so, as his mother herself was walking on the verge of life and death. The older woman had been diagnosed with Peripneumonia; an inflammation to the lungs.

Nathan had put his stallion - an Appaloosa - away after he had fed him. He entered the large white wooden house with a neatly but worn thatched roof on top. Around the building, you could find the outstretched lawns and corn fields, vanishing behind the horizon. Horses, cows, goats and sheep walked the lands. His dog came running to him when he had only just locked the door. Angel, as she was called, was full on barking when he had crouched down to give her some strokes.

"Nathaniel? Is that you?" His mother's somewhat weak sounding voice echoed through the immense space.

"Yes, mom. Coming."

In the living room, which was lighted by some candles and the big fireplace, he found his mother laying on the old green couch, a blanket covering her. Bethany scooted over, so her son could take place next to her.

"So, how is Rebecca doing?"