The brightest star amongst stars

Josie and Alice trudged along the arid desert. They were panting as the heat smothered them without reason or concern.

“Water...I need water!” said Alice.

She took out her canteen from her magic. When she attempted a sip, nothing came out.

“Do you have any?”

Josie checked her canteen. “Mine is empty too. I don’t think we can use water magic out here.”

“No way! Wha...What are we-”

Josie caught Alice before she collapsed.

“That town has to be here somewhere. Hang on!”

Josie flapped her wings as fast as she could. At the distant horizon, she could see what resembled wooden buildings.

***

Josie landed near a building titled, “Saloon” and placed Alice back on her feet. They pushed open the batwing doors. Josie helped her over to the bar stool. No customers were present except for a woman with long, red wild hair. She was seated a few seats down. The bartender handed them cold drinks of water.

"Thank you." said Josie.

The bartender nodded and continued cleaning the glass cup. Alice took a big gulp of her water. Then Josie did the same with her drink. Sweet relief washed over them so much that they shared a smile. Suddenly, three bandana masked Nightmares entered from the back door.

“Put your hands up! This is a stick up.” said one Nightmare who held a gun.

Alice, the bartender, and Josie raised their hands in the air. The woman didn’t react.

“Hey,” the Nightmare cocked his gun. “I said put your hands up!”

The woman slowly raised one of her hands. With her opposite hand, she turned around and threw her drink at the Nightmare’s face. He toppled onto the table behind him. She whipped out her gun and shot the Nightmare on the left. She stood up. The remaining Nightmare charged forward. She dodged his swipe and grabbed his arm. He came crashing down into the floor. The woman walked over and turned him to lay on his stomach.

“You’re under arrest!” said the woman.

She struggled to restrain him. The Nightmare who got shot earlier recovered. He ran for the back door. The woman fired again only to miss.

“Darn it,” she turned her head. “Scuse me. Could y’all tie up that guy over there?”

“Uh-” said Josie.

“Thank you,” she tossed her some rope.

Alice helped Josie restrain the Nightmare and said, “Ma'am, does your gun use dream energy for ammo?"

“Yep. Just like your swords, my gun uses my dream energy,” she tied a knot. “By the way, y’all new round these parts?”

“Yeah. My name is Josie. This is Alice.”

“Nice to meet ya! My name is Wendy. I’m the sheriff of this town. Willeyville ain’t much, but it’s a good place to live.”

Wendy created some kind of powder in her hand and blew it on the Nightmare’s face. After that, she picked up the Nightmare and slung it on her shoulder.

“Make sure to use sandman magic on your Nightmare. Don’t wanna see em’ bite or claw ya.”

“Ok. I can do that when you’re done.” said Alice to Josie.

When Josie finished getting the knot just right, she observed Wendy while she was talking to the bartender. Wendy was wearing clothes typical of a cowgirl - a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, shorts, and a buttoned-up shirt. Except some of the top buttons were undone. Freckles adorned the cheeks of her tan skin.

“Finished. Can I help and carry him for you?” asked Josie.

“Sure! Just follow me to my office.”

***

Wendy unlocked the door.

“The jail cells are over here. Careful of the stacks of papers. Been meaning to organize it, but I keep forgetting.”

Josie carefully maneuvered around the mess. Alice entered the building. She gathered some of the stray papers and placed them on Wendy’s desk. When Alice looked up, she noticed the corkboard with various newspaper clippings. Some of those articles were either crossed out or circled. A child-like drawing of a woman who rode a horse was pinned in the middle.

“Mighty kind of ya Josie to help me out. You didn’t have to go out of your way like that.” said Wendy after they left the jail cells and entered the office room.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Is there anything I can do for you folks?”

“Alice and I are trying to get to the Dream Kingdom. Do you think you can take us to the mountains?”

Before Wendy spoke, Alice interrupted.

“Sorry but...who is she? What is all this?”

Wendy walked towards Alice. She stared at the drawing.

“That’s,” her smile went away. “That’s Angela.”

“Is she an important person to you?”

“To me...she was the brightest star amongst stars. She had a passion for justice. A love of life and the world. But,” she began to cry, “someone decided to end her light! To rob the universe of such a kind soul. Why!? Why did Angela have to die!”

They gave her a moment to let her emotions out.

Josie stepped closer to Wendy. “Was Angela the former sheriff?”

“Yes. And I was her deputy. We worked together for a long time until I found her here...laying on the floor. Ever since, I’ve been investigating her death. Following every lead I can get.”

Wendy moved away from her desk and faced them. “After years of searching, I believe someone from a gang of Nightmares did this. The ones I caught at the saloon today might be the key to finding them.”

Josie and Alice glanced at each other and nodded.

“If they tell you where they are, can we help?” said Alice.

“y’all really sure bout helping?”

“Yes!” they both said.

Wendy laughed. “Alrighty then! Lemme do all the talking with the criminals.”

***

The office door opened. “Angela! Angela! Lookie what I made!” said the excited young Wendy.

“What do we have here?”

“It’s you riding your horse!”

She smiled. “Is that so? Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome!”

Angela pinned the drawing to the corkboard.

“Can I catch criminals like you one day?”

Her brown hair waved as she turned around. Her blue eyes took in the sight of the curious girl.

“Maybe. When you’re a little older, you can become my deputy. But you have to stay out of trouble. Okay? No more stealing fresh bread from the bakery.”

“Kay. But...that’s a long time! What if you are gone by then?”

Angela chuckled. “Don’t worry. I ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. Expect to see me lots in your life.”

Wendy snapped back to reality when she heard a voice.

“Wendy, are you alright? We called several times already.” said Josie from inside the carriage.

“Yeah...I was just lost in thought. Is something wrong?”

“We’re getting close to the mine. Maybe we should stop?” said Alice.

“Yep. I reckon we should. Don’t want to get too close and blow our cover.”

The horse slowed to a halt. Wendy dismounted and checked the entrance. Then she returned to the carriage.

“No guards. I think it’s safe to explore, but we should be careful.”

Josie and Alice nodded. They headed down the ramp and into the underground mine.

***

The hallways were shrouded in darkness. Minecarts, pickaxes, and helmets were left stranded. It looked abandoned, yet there were playing cards, half-finished food, and money to be found. Josie, Alice, and Wendy used fire magic to reveal these hidden secrets as they searched. They eventually discovered a long hallway that stretched into a bigger room. A brighter room.

When the group entered, they quickly hid behind crates. Footsteps echoed from another direction. It was a top-hatted man who carried a chest with him. He placed the chest on the ground and stepped back.

“I-I’m here!” he called.

Some sort of portal appeared. A twig-like Nightmare exited. He wore a fedora and a black suit.

“Mayor Willey! Nice to see you again. Do you have what I asked for?”

“Right here, mister Leon! Inside this chest. Do you have the money?”

He pulled out the bag of money. “Like always.”

Willey tried to grab it, but Leon pulled it away.

“Show me what’s inside.”

“Of course.”

Willey opened the chest. Leon took one of the dream potions out and inspected it. Satisfied, he returned it and shut the chest.

“Good work.”

Two Nightmares who had a similar body type of Leon appeared. They touched the chest and disappeared.

“Unfortunately, our dealings end here.”

“What are you- !?”

Leon whipped out his scythe. “I would have killed you back then, when we first met at City Hall. Though the offer you gave me was hard to refuse. Thanks to your help, I killed that nosy sheriff and evaded the new one for all these years…”

“W-Wait! Don’t do this! You need me to get whatever you want, remember? I can give you more valuables. Dream potions. T-Tax money!”

Leon laughed. “I don’t need you anymore! My dealings have expanded all over the Dream World. Which means you. Are. An insignificant ant in comparison!”

These words forced Willey against the wall. Leon approached and smiled.

“No hard feelings. It’s just business.”

When he was about to slash the mayor, dream energy soared and hit Leon right in the shoulder. Leon turned his head in anger while Willey escaped.

Wendy pointed her gun. “You,” her sadness turned into anger, “killed Angela!”

Wendy abandoned her hiding spot. Shots were fired like wild. Chaos ensued as shots ricocheted from Leon’s scythe and others were severed.

Alice ducked. “This is bad.”

“We have to help her!” said Josie.

They got their weapons and charged. From cover to cover, Josie and Alice worked their way forward.

Leon laughed. “Give up, sheriff. One gun is not gonna work!”

Wendy slid into cover. “Then probably,” she grabbed another gun from her magic, “it's a good thing I have Angela’s.”

The gun fired and bolted towards Leon. He teleported away. Wendy turned around. Shots resounded as the Nightmare sprinted after her, teleporting to dodge. Leon found an opening. He swooped in and was about to slash Wendy diagonally. Suddenly, Dragwind bounced his scythe away.

At that moment, Wendy let one loose from Angela’s gun. The direct hit jerked him backwards. Leon dug his scythe into the ground. When it slowed the momentum just enough, he flicked himself onto his feet. Josie, Alice, and Wendy surrounded him.

Leon smiled. “Sheriff. How about we cut ourselves a deal? If you turn a blind eye to everything here...I will give you the money the mayor was going to take. As a bonus, I will give you five times what's inside. whaddaya say?”

“No. Not in a million years!” growled Wendy.

Leon chuckled. “Have it your way!”

He slashed it against the ground. Nightmare energy erupted. Wendy jumped out of the way and barrel rolled. Leon teleported near Josie. He used a rapid spin attack. She switched to wide form and blocked it. Josie retaliated. While they were busy, Alice closed in. Leon spotted her. He stepped back and swung left. Alice ducked. She swiped him.

Anger swelled within Leon. He struck Alice and teleported. He almost stabbed her until Wendy discharged her guns. When Leon turned around, Josie appeared.

“Fire punch!”

“Uwahah-goof!”

He slammed hard into the wall. A moment later, Leon grunted and teleported out of the cracked mold.

“Why you little…”

Leon barreled towards them. Josie extended Dragwind and Wendy attempted potshots. But nothing touched him. Suddenly, the Nightmares from earlier appeared. Leon put the brakes then slid to a stop.

“Hey, can’t you idiots see I am in the middle of something?” said Leon.

They spoke to each other in hushed tones for a moment. Then the two Nightmares left.

Leon smiled. "Well, it's been fun but I wasted enough time here. Another business opportunity awaits."

"No. You can't leave," Wendy pointed her gun. "Stay here you coward!"

She fired only to inevitably miss. Wendy crumbled to her knees. Tears streaked her face.

"Aaah!" cried Wendy.

Josie and Alice stood there for a moment. Alice kneeled down and hugged Wendy's waist. Josie joined and placed a hand on Wendy's back.

***

Wendy steered her horse while Josie and Alice sat inside the carriage. No one said a word ever since they left.

“Um,” Wendy glanced over, “thank you Josie and Alice, for helping me today. I am sorry you had to see me like that.”

“No, it's ok! We understand.” said Alice.

“For me at least, maybe a little too well.” said Josie.

“How so?” asked Wendy.

“Alice was bullied as a kid. At the time, I punched him. And he left her alone. At first...I felt happy that he was gone. But sometimes, I wanted to find him again. To teach him a lesson so that he would never come after her again. When I told my mom about these feelings, she said: ‘I know it hurts. But you shouldn’t go after someone because your pain says so. It won’t change what happened and you could hurt yourself even more.’ So in my opinion, if you ever try to go after Leon again...choose what’s right, not what your pain says to bring justice.”

Wendy stayed silent for a moment. “Yeah. Maybe for too long I listened to my pain too much. Thanks for the advice.”

Alice observed Josie for a moment. Then she returned her focus to Wendy.

“About the mayor, how do you plan on catching him? I bet he is on the run now.”

“Oh. Well while y’all were tussling with Leon, I found the mayor’s hat. My plan is to use trace magic on it later.”

“What is trace magic?” asked Josie.

“You know how people have unique fingerprints? People who can use dream energy or Nightmare energy can leave a ‘fingerprint’ on things they touched or owned. Trace magic allows you to trace the energy back to its owner, no matter where they are.”

“Huh. Neat.”

“Yep. Magic sure is something. Anyhoo, I was thinking about what you asked at my office. Since you helped me, how bout I take ya to the mountains as thanks?” said Wendy.

“That would be great! Thank you.”

They made the journey beyond vistas of desert plains, colorful rock formations, and hills. The group reached a forest, where Wendy dropped them off.

“Till next time. See ya!” Wendy tipped her hat.

Josie and Alice waved goodbye. They turned around to see the magnificent mountains which greeted them with its great width and might.

“Nowhere to go but onwards.” said Alice.

Josie smiled. “Yeah.”