Wooly Resolve

I woke up quite early for today. No, not to meet an Irish man again. But, to accompany a shepherd. I asked Lily to wake me up just in case I overslept.

She and I spent the afternoon and the early evening going around together. The town doesn’t have much to offer, but, she enjoyed it nonetheless.

I spoke to miss Shelly yesterday and she accepted my offer. Knowing things might get out of hand, I visited the general store right after and bought some ammunition.

The sun has not risen yet, I took Betsy and go straight to our agreed upon meeting point. Which is near a sweetgum that’s to the east of town.

The air is very chilly this morning. However, I paid it no heed as I approached a flock of sheeps and the shepherd that is leaning on the tree.

“Right on time, morning Marsh!”

Said the middle aged woman.

“Morning ma’am.”

She then grabbed the staff by her side and petted her dog, who is of the Collie breed.

“Well, we better get going then!”

She said as she fixes her bonnet.

The scenery changed as we entered a much more open area. The sun is rising, it’s yellow light began to illuminate the open woodland.

“I’ve seen this view so many times. Yet, it never bored me.”

She said, as we continue herding the sheeps.

“Yeah. The serenity of it made it more beautiful.”

“Seeing it together with someone else makes it even greater. I can’t describe it with words though.”

She said smiling.

“Joe and I watched the sunrise almost every single morning.”

“Speaking of him, where is he now?”

“He went ahead a bit earlier yesterday. However, when I tried to catch-up to him, a pack attacked me. So, I had no choice but to turn back.”

She said as she sighed.

“So, we’re going to linkup with him today?”

“Yup, he should be waiting at the usual spot.”

“The usual spot?”

“Yes. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve been with him for as long as I can remember.”

A sheep strayed from the herd. She gave a short whistle, and the dog then stopped the sheep and got it back in line.

“How did you meet each other?”

“Hmm? With Bob?”

She asked as she pointed at the dog.

“No. I meant with Mr. Joe.”

“Ah! Well, we met beside a lake. Though, I couldn’t remember where exactly. Sorry, that was a long time ago so I couldn’t remember it.”

“Right! So, when did you guys, you know... Started to have... Feelings for each other?”

Her eyes were wide open when she heard that. She gave out a laugh as she replied.

“Oh boy, how it feels to be young and falling in love. Well... It just sort of happened.”

After a while, we arrived at a grassy foothill. She then decided to let the sheep graze the area for a bit.

She’s resting under an oak tree, while I kept an eye out. I’m prepared if a pack wolves were to suddenly appear.

That’s because Lily gave me a few useful information about wolves. All I have to do is keep my eyes open and my ears perked up.

“Guess it’s my turn to ask, how did you met Lillia?”

“How? At a saloon. I was just drinking alone and then she suddenly sat next to me.”

“Hoo... What an interesting girl. Well, let’s continue!”

Herding the sheep through an open forest, we’re surrounded by trees. The forest around us started to get denser.

My body tensed a bit since I’m on guard duty. Miss Shelly, seems to be unaffected, continued our previous conversation.

“What do you like about Lily?”

“Huh? Umm... Her looks I guess?”

I couldn’t really gave an answer, as I’m far too focused checking our surrounding.

“Well, that should’ve been obvious. I never seen someone with such beauty before.”

“Yeah, like a princess from a far away castle!”

“You heard too many fairy tale Marsh. Though, I agreed with you.”

“Speaking of, have you heard about vampires?”

She put her finger to her chin and thought for a second.

“Vampires? One that drinks blood? What about them?”

“Yeah. Hope that you can keep this a secret, Lily is actu—“

A howling sound then came from behind. I stopped talking immediately and got ready.

“Go on ahead, I’ll take care of this!”

“I’m counting on you!”

She whistled and herd the sheep further ahead to create more distance.

I mounted Betsy and draw my revolver. In the distance, I saw the howling wolf and it’s pack. There’s five of them.

The bigger wolf that howled then began to lead the pack. Approaching fast, I then shot a bullet to the air as a warning.

However, they’re unfazed. Left with no choice, I then aimed at the alpha, the one that’s in front of the rest.

They’re slick and fast. Though, still unmatched against me. I shot and killed the leader.

The rest of the wolves stopped and faltered for a bit. But, not long after, they continued their pursuit.

Unfortunately, they now chose me as their new target. However, they’re less coordinated then before.

Despite that, they’re determined. Knowing that my life and Betsy’s is in danger the closer they get, I spurred Betsy to run the other direction.

I rode around for a bit and planned to drain their energy and hoping they give up. But, the distance grew closer.

I took no chances and fire another bullet to the other wolf, killing it an instant. The other three seems to get the message, as they retreated back to the dense forest.

While I felt bad killing these two wolves, I had no choice but to do so. The old me will probably shoot all five without hesitation.

I then went back to the main trail, and followed it. Not long after, I made it out of the forest. I was greeted by an open grassy plain.

Miss Shelly, her sheeps, and Bob are all waiting for me near a massive boulder.

“You alright Marshall?”

“Not a scratch.”

“Good to hear. Let’s rest here for a bit.”

We then eat our lunch under the cloudy weather, while she let the flock graze the surrounding area.

“Say Marshall. What is it that you want to say earlier?”

“Oh! Yeah, about that. Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course, so do tell!”

“It’s about Lily, would you believe me if I told you she’s a vampire?”

The lady then grinned.

“I think it would be easier to believe it. Beside, I know that you’re no the type to joke around.”

She then let out a little laugh.

“So she’s a vampire huh? That should explain why her skin is so fine.”

“Yeah, I didn’t believe it at first. But, here we are. To think that my first love is with a vampire, still felt surreal.”

She then stood up.

“So what if she’s a vampire?”

“It’s not like that, it’s just... You know. I wonder if she felt the same towards me or not.”

“Now’s not the time to be indecisive and second guessing Marshall! If you do, you’ll end up not doing anything.”

A broad smile appeared on her face.

“At the very least, you need to do your part!”

“My part?”

“Correct. Words can be used to get your feelings across. But, action will do the job much better!”

Somehow I understood what she trying to say. I then stood up, put on my hat and a smile.

“You’re right Miss Shelly. Now’s not the time. We better get going then.”

We continued our journey through the open plain. Not too long after, we saw a man standing under an oak tree in the distance.

There’s no mistaking it, the man is herding his flock, it’s none other than Mister Joe.

I thought the flock that Miss Shelly herded were big. But, now that I saw the two flock combined, my perception were wrong.

After that, Miss Shelly paid me the amount we agreed upon. It’s enough to cover the ammunition cost and still have some expense left for the next few days or so.

On the ride back to Pattinson, her words stuck in my head. I then thought of a good idea.

It’s the next day. When I woke up, Lily came back from her night shift as a bartender.

“Good morning Lily!”

“Morning Marsh!”

“Do you have any plan tomorrow morning? Just before sunrise that is.”

“No. Why?”

“There’s place I wanted to show you.”

She then tilted her head slightly, eyes filled with curiosity.

“That sounds like a plan, I’m looking forward to it!”

The room was dim, caused by the lack of sunlight since it’s not fully risen yet. However, her smile is as bright as ever.