Shadowed Horizons

Episode 1

10:08 in the morning, the gleaming pocket watch read on its face, a creamy countenance with dark lines that mirrored the weary, yet earnest, expression of its owner. The young man slid his watch back into an inner pocket of the fine, gray coat, and let out a huff that mirrored the steam of the train he rode upon; he clapped and rubbed his hands as the train wheels scratched and rolled over the tracks. The traveler peered out the window of the train, watching the red-and-orange clay landscape speed past the locomotive, scraggly plants and desert life blurring into streams of dry hues.

The young traveler adjusted his clothes around him, wiping sweat from his brow. He supposed he would need to get used to the heat while in this "Wild West." Coming from the North East, he was used to colder temperatures and snow, not a blazing sun; his home grounds had been blanketed with snow when he received a certain letter in response to his job application, which his cousin-a good fellow, that one-spread far and wide. Acceptances for the man poured in, yet he had singled out this particular paper from the depths of the West.

It must be noted that this traveler was the very model of a sophisticated Englishman, a proper recently-graduated English professor straight from the land of gentlemen and still hot from university's intellectual ovens. His profession could be read all over his body: his avid reading had wrecked his green eyes, leaving the burden of a round pair of spectacles tucked away in his pocket or perching on his nose. His blonde locks had come acquainted to so many pens and pencils being tucked away into it. His arms or hands always seemed to be stained with some ink of another.

English professors, as a curse of the trade, are believed to be dreary, droning bodies who spend more time with hot tea and a good novel than other humans. This, however, is farthest from the truth, for in each English teacher burns a fire: the need for adventure, just like in their countless tomes. In nervous pursuit of such an adventure, this particular professor seized the opportunity-after much convincing by his cousin-in picking that particular letter from the West, instead of more local offers. It was for the dangers, mysteries, and heroics he would surely see from the dusty citizens around him, a chance most equally-advantageous teachers can only dream of. It was for this exact reason that he packed his bags, gave his farewells, and departed on the train, away from the aristocracy of the North Eastern U.S. to the anarchy of the South West.

After several days of letter-writing, reading, and constant observance-for the professor had an eager and analyzing eye-here he was, on the train, a bit tired and yet unable to sleep for jolts of excitement at his venture.

It was shortly after the professor checked his watch that the train began to slow. The wheels chugged along at a snail's pace and the white steam shot from the train's smokestack like water from the blowhole of a great whale. This was the timid professor's stop; he quickly gathered his own belongings, and shook hands like his hand was a brand-new water pump in a desert, pangs of nervousness shooting through him.

He shoved his anxious thoughts aside and politely thanked the train conductor as he stepped out of the car and onto the exit platform; the steps off the train were by no means sturdy, and it was certainly not his intention to break either the steps or his ankle. He noted, admittedly with a hint of disappointment and an eerie feeling of foreboding, that he was the only passenger to get off at the Diablo's Crossroad Train Station.

Putting down some luggage to free a hand, he shielded his eyes from the sun, which seemed to be much brighter than the one back at home. The traveler's face transitioned almost suddenly from an eager look to one of bewilderment. The train roared away from the station, sending huge clouds of dust over the professor and the wooden platform. Coughing into his hand, he glanced around shakily as he patted and smoothed his clothes to rid himself of the dust. Alarmed, he wondered what his cousin had gotten him into.