Just Like Old Times

The Snow and the Cave

It was cold. Too damn cold. The spring of 1899 decided to hold off for one last snowy blizzard of the season and Lillian Rose O'Callaghan was not happy in the slightest. Not only was she stuck in what she described as a tundra of danger, Lilly had been separated from her group known as the Van der Linde gang. After a boat robbery had gone awry in Blackwater the posse had been forced north, chased and hounded by the law. Although Lilly was certain she was safe from marshalls and deputies, the wilderness was the forefront of her worries. And to make matters worse, her horse Holly had a broken leg.

While the humane thing to do would be to put the poor thing out of its misery, Lilly was torn. Having raised the Tennessee Walker as a foal, it was heartbreaking to see. Lilly had found what she hoped was an abandoned cave out of the storm and had coaxed her loyal companion inside. After having settled with a small fire, Lilly held the head of Holly in her lap, rubbing the horse's neck in affection and comfort. Holly nickered in distress.

"Shh, me girl," said Lilly, in a thick Irish accent. "I know it hurts. It's goin' tah be okay."

Lilly kissed Holly's head as tears welled up in her eyes. She knew her beloved horse would never be able to survive well with the broken leg, even when she had laced it up in a makeshift sling to keep Holly from putting weight on it. Even holding the leg steady while Holly walked on her other three limbs was physically taxing. Under different circumstances, Lilly would have stayed by her day and night to mend her back to health. However, as there was a horrible storm with snow up to the Irish girl's thighs, it was impossible to keep Holly alive let alone walk around without knowing where her group was. The black mare would have to be shot.

Lilly brushed her own auburn hair back and realized her braid had become disheveled. A silly thing to notice considering the situation and she put her head in her hands. For the first time in a really long time, she was alone. She'd been on her own as a kid once. Not for very long but, well, she didn't like thinking about that part of her life. Lilly placed a flat hand on Holly's neck, bending down to kiss the warm muscled flesh. Then she stood, turning to pull one of her revolvers out. She checked the chamber. Only four bullets left. Damn. She was low on ammo. She'd have to go outside to look for her crap.

Lilly clung to her white winter coat and pulled the collar higher. She got up, grabbing her repeater and lantern. She marched to the entrance, put the repeater on her back and lit the lantern. She almost lost her bulldogger hat when a mighty wind threatened to knock her over but she steadied herself. The Irish girl had pretty good balance. Lilly stomped through the snow, lifting her legs high. The hill wasn't far, thank goodness, but it'd still taken her a good half hour to get Holly after making a jimmy rigged sling and helping her along in the snow. The distance couldn't be more than fifty feet, she reckoned. Lilly held the light out in front of her, brushing a white gloved hand through the snow. Had it been that ridiculous to dress in white clothing since she was now lost from her adopted family? She missed them terribly, though she'd only been lost for what? Two days now? As she considered her conundrum, Lilly unfortunately couldn't find a god damn thing in the snow. Anything she had dropped in the fall was buried deep. Still, she kept searching for any lost items that had previously been in her possession.

Lilly heard a noise in the wind. An animal of some sort. A predator for sure. Lilly looked up and around, backing up to get a better view of the harsh and unforgiving environment. She could hardly see a damn thing in front of her, but then she saw a pair of bright blue eyes at the top of the hill. Was it a person? It couldn't be. Animals didn't have blue eyes. Not like these, anyway. Lilly grabbed her revolver and slowly aimed up at the unknown presence, the creature merely staring at her with curiosity. The eyes. They were bone chilling but beautiful. Stunning, even. Lilly had dark blue eyes and while she'd been told on more than several occasions how pretty they were, she was immediately jealous of the eyes at the top of the hill.