Sisika Penitentiary - 6:46am -1894
Another morbid day in prison for Ronnie Adler.
This was complete bullshit! She didn't shoot the guy, let alone know who he was, but to the Blackwater police she was prime target because she "didn't say too much."
*Ronnie view*
Still stuck in here. This is my 4th week in this horrible prison, maybe they ain't hanged me yet because they ain't got no real evidence that I shot him. UGH!
I heard that me and some other girls are getting transferred to another prison out west though, so now not only will I be stuck in another hell-hole behind bars but I'll be stuck in another hell-hole behind bars in the desert! Now that I think about it, I think I'd prefer to swing.
*3 days later*
Here we are, I'm being transferred to a new prison out in 'Austin. Great.
The other girls who are normally on my chain gang are also being transferred so I guess I won't be completely alone.
*3rd person view*
"Come on get on up here stumpy" a dark skinned woman said as she hoisted Ronnie up into the prison wagon.
"Thanks Danni" Ronnie replied with a defeated sigh.
Ronnie was the runt of the chain gang made up of Danni Darnell, who killed a slave plantation owner, Elizabeth Kinsley, she stabbed and killed her father in a blind rage and Emma Simpson who was accused of robbery and no one knows if it's true, not even her.
Ronnie, well you know her story, poor girl, she's only 18.
She was a newly unemployed ranch hand looking for any going ranch work in Blackwater when the incident happened.
"Where we goin'?" Emma asked "anybo'y actually know?" She continued.
"A federal prison out in 'Austin, don't know what it's called" came the answer from Elizabeth.
Then there was a repeated banging on the cage of the wagon,
"Be quiet!" One of the officers warned, it was only then that the girls noticed they were already on the barge to take the wagon to the mainland.
*5 hours later*
After miles and miles of empty land, bar a few ranches every now and then, the wagon stopped and shouting could be heard.
"LET THEM OUT!" Came a loud southern voice.
"Take one more step and I'll be forced to shoot you!" The officer warned, pathetically.
He then fell off the wagon with a thud after a single gunshot was heard.
The girls looked amongst other each other before the cage doors were opened and the masked man came over.
"Y'all get outta here" he said.
The girls quickly scattered from the wagon and climbed up on the wagon escort's horses since they won't need them anymore.
The girls turned to look for the man but he was gone.
"We should split up, find a place to live low and forget ourselves" Danni suggested and the girls nodded but before they all galloped off Danni said "If we never see each other again, I'm gonna miss ya girls"
"Us too, Dann" Elizabeth reassured and Ronnie and Emma nodded.
"C'mon let's get!" Danni announced and she rode off, Elizabeth turned her horse and snapped the reins, she rode the opposite way and Emma was gone before Ronnie could even tell.
She stood in the middle of the crossing with her horse and began trotting west. She knew where she'd be safe.
*3 days later*
Ronnie rode hard and finally found herself at the cliff edge overlooking New Austin.
She nodded to herself and spurred her horse on with a 'hyah'
When she was reached Armadillo she noticed it was still ridden with Scarlet fever and was careful to avoid people.
She stopped at the general store and bought some new clothes and some food with money she robbed from a guy off the trail a while back.
She left the store not looking like she just escaped prison and with some food, with that, she mounted on her horse and continued west.
Once it had gotten dark, she knew she'd have to camp somewhere so she rode off the trail and set up.
After about an hour she had her bedroll set up and a fire going, it had to be at least midnight by now and she was sitting comfortably by the fire reading a book, she was lucky her mother was a teacher so she knew how to read and write, not many girls did.
She jumped when she heard a stick snap behind her and turned over expecting to be robbed she aimed her gun at the sound, which turned out to be a young looking man, with black hair that was tied back and a mustache and goatie.
"¡Ay! I mean you no harm señorita." He said, his hands raised and his head lowered. Someone was clearly not native.
"What do you want?!" Ronnie asked, she couldn't trust anyone, not in her current situation.
"I was wondering if I could stay the night here with you, I have nowhere else to go, ¿por favor?, please?" He asked, Ronnie lowered her gun and looked at him closer.
He wore a blue jacket over a light brown vest. He also had a poncho, that solidified Ronnie's suspicion of his ethnicity, but she asked anyway.
She holstered her gun.
"Where you from?" She asked.
He looked up and relaxed noticing her gun was no longer pointing at him.
"My name is Javier Escuella. I am from Mexìco and I need to get away from there" He said, his accent joining him in words.
She stuck out her hand,
"Ronnie Adler"
He stepped forward and shook her hand, immediately feeling more welcome than moments ago.
Ronnie walked around the fire and sat down, she motioned for him to do the same.
As he walked forward she asked
"So what did you do? If you don't mind me asking" whilst resting her chin on her hand and watching him closely.
He sat down and looked behind him towards the other side of the San Luis River. Towards Mexico. Then he looked back.
"I was part of the Mexican rebellion, but there is a very high price on my head and because of my position in the rebel army, it got so high that I'm no longer wanted dead or alive, just dead. So I had to leave" he said and bowed his head in shame.
Ronnie looked at him with pitiful eyes, she really hoped he didn't ask what she was up to.
When he looked back up, he met her gaze and asked, "So, why are you out here all alone?"
Shit! Ronnie thought.
"Well... You ain't the only one on the run, I escaped from a prisoner transfer wagon a few days ago with my former chain gang" she said.
His eyes were wide.
"What?" Ronnie asked in an attempt to snap him out of it.
"How old are you?" He asked, still stunned.
"I'm 18" Ronnie answered and then returned the question.
"So?" She spurred him on, waiting for his answer.
"I'm 24, I'm sorry some of my English isn't perfect" he laughed, and Ronnie followed then she responded with
"That's okay, my Spanish isn't great so I guess we're even" and they both laughed.
After a while they were both sleeping by the fire without a care in the world.
Javier was free from Mexico for not even a day and he'd already found a friend.
And Ronnie, four days out of prison had also found a friend.
Strange.
