A Life Of 'Shine - Lem Fike

48

Lem hid, tucked away behind some boxes so he could not be hit by the bullets that showered down upon the homes.

With her revolver in hand, Nora crouched down behind one of the windows; peeking out occasionally to assess the situation.

Five minutes had gone by as the shooting started but it felt like forever, soon Arthur and Sadie had crawled through the trapdoor in the floor- sparing a moment to give Nora and Lem a look before each rushing over towards the door.

"Don't s'pose you'd be good in a fight against these bastards would ya, Nora?" Arthur asked, taking the weapon from Sadie as she threw it into his hands.

"Dealt with bigger problems before, I can help." She smirked, grabbing her second revolver so she could dual wield- having the ability to fire more quickly this way which she learned too be incredibly useful.

She quickly gave Lem a kind smile, watching as Arthur himself kicked open the door before shooting a few of the men at once. Both her and Sadie followed suit, firing at any lawman they had clear range of- with the three of them these badguys were already beginning to thin out and the gunfight begin to grow to a close a lot quicker; speeding up once Bill had joined them to help.

They began fleeing once Arthur managed to climb onto the wagon with the maxim gun, manning the deadly weapon. But running was of no use, especially since Arthur took half of them down anyway- those he missed were long gone and he hoped never coming back.

Once all four were satisfied that this fight was over they gathered in the centre of Lakay, surrounding an old stew pot- each holding small smiles of their own at their victory.

"Next time Bill, don't go askin' everyone where we are."

"Made up for it by helpin' didn't I, Arthur?"

Nora couldn't help but roll her eyes at the bickering, nodding at Sadie before walking away back towards the cabin her claimed quarters were in.

She slowly walked through the doorway, not to startle Lem in case he was no longer aware of the ceased firing outside. The boxes she had last seen the man sat behind was no knocked over with no Lem hiding behind them.

A little concerned she walked through the house, checking behind all upturned furniture in case the person she was searching for was behind them, but he was nowhere to be found in the old home.

"Lem!" She called, hands in a cone around her mouth to amplify the sound.

No answer.

"Lemuel!!" She called once more, running out into the night to see if by chance the man had decided to venture outdoors without being seen by her.

When she pushed open the double door's she saw how the only door to where everyone else had been staying was opened upon her calling. Abigail rushed out, Lem on her tail as they frantically looked at Nora thinking she was in danger.

She let out a long sigh, relieved to see her friend well and alive. "Holy shit you scared me." She chuckled, throwing her arm's around his body when he was closer.

"You scared us, thought you were in trouble or somethin'."

"Sorry, Abigail."

The woman only walked back in doors, pushing Sean away from the window as he nosed in on the pair.

"How'd you sneak away?"

"Through the trap door, waited for the shootin' t-to stop an' we were able to get in the h-house."

"So you weren't harmed or anythin? You're fine?"

"Of course.. don't worry about me, Morgan."

She nodded, confident that the male was fine but still a little worried. She wrapped her arm around his waist and walked him back inside, the rain just about starting to fall down upon them.

"Perfect timin'." She commented, closing the door behind her as the weather gradually grew worse. Inside was quiet and a little dreary compared to the other cabin that was bustling with noise, joy and laughter from inside as the gang celebrated yet another victory.

"Come on, get to sleep Lem." She instructed, gently pushing the man over towards the one and only bed in the entire house. He frowned, instead pushing her down on the mattress since it was only polite to allow for the lady to sleep in. However, he was not so polite and if he simply told her to take the bed he knew better than anyone that they would have a whole argument over who would be sleeping in it.

"I ain't taking the bed, Lem." She chuckled, trying to sit up once again but there was no arguing.. not tonight anyway.

He pushed her down once more, this time crawling on top of her to restrict most movements- smiling as she giggled underneath him.

The two didn't even noticed the position they were in for another couple minutes, both stopping their laughter and breathing heavily upon recognition. They stayed this way however, nobody moving out of this just yet.

"I.. I'm sorry." He mumbled, rolling off to lie down by side of her. She nodded gently, pushing herself up this time around to sit on the edge of the bed; sighing.

"How about we both take the bed." She offered, turning over her shoulder to offer him a warm smile. Even though he wasn't really looking at her, rather his eye's had focused on the crumbling wood of the ceiling.

"Sounds g-good."

He sat up, shuffling around to give her enough space to lie down correctly; his back turned to her and head placed on the firm, old pillow.

~

The following morning he woke up the bed was empty, no Nora who had stayed by his side during the night and no longer did he have a slender arm wrapped around his torso.

Reluctantly, he rolled over onto his side staring at the rotting wall as the wondered over where Nora could be. Thinking about possible locations she could be at and yet not having half the effort required to get out of bed and go find her.

He remained, sulking like a child until he had no other choice to get up from the mattress- the pounding on the door being enough to force him out.

When he opened the door he was greeted by a scowl, that of one Miss Grimshaw who looked as though she had grown irritated from a few seconds of knocking. "Mornin'." He greeted, being polite as possible even though admittedly this woman frightened him slightly.

"Mornin', Lem."

"S'Everythin' okay?"

Grimshaw chuckled, more forced and sarcastic at the question. All it needed was a look around at the camp, to see the miserable faces everyone wore to get an answer.

"'Course not, take a look around we're all miserable."

"I- I meant-."

"I know what you meant." She cut in, wagging a slender finger in his face as though disciplining him. "Nora told me to inform you that she's gone out."

"W-Where?" She shrugged. "That she didn't know herself, Arthur asked her to join him an' Charles."

"Oh." She said nothing more, walking away from the door and leaving the man standing there as he thought over the information taken in. Hearing she had gone out caused this worry for her to build up inside him, this dreaded feeling of danger irked at him and for what he didn't quite understand.

Nora was a strong individual, alway's came out in top. She was quick with a gun, never hesitated in most situations and deadly when armed with the right tools. But sometimes her mind wandered and she would be lost, blanked out entirely. He had witnessed it in the worst of situations and now while these moments had fizzled out, they were still there and they would act up on the rare occasion.

He just had to hope that she would be safe with Charles and Arthur, that these moments wouldn't come back to haunt her when they would only put her in more danger than need be. But, while he was not there, there was no telling on what could happen to his friend; no telling on the status of her safety.