Chapter Text
Earth-2016
Theon Greyjoy hawked and spat a wad of tobacco out his mouth as he straightened his coat, following the black man towards a saloon.
“You sure he’s here?” he asked.
Sam Chisolm turned to him. “I hope so.”
Theon smirked, fiddling with the pistol by his belt. It had been over a month since he ended up in this world and had decided to tag along with Chisolm, since he didn’t know where else to go.
The pair stepped into the saloon where several grizzly men were sitting, either drinking whiskey or playing cards.
“Wait here.” Chisolm said to him, walking towards the bar.
Theon leaned against the doorframe, scanning the room. His eyes settled on a man playing cards with two other men. He appeared to be in his mid-30s. He looked up at Theon and gave him a nod.
Theon returned the nod of acknowledgment, before looking back at Chisolm who was talking to the bartender. He leaned in to whisper something in the man’s ear and everyone slowly drew their guns.
Theon placed a hand on his pistol, ready to fire if he needed to. One of the men at the table drew a pistol but the man who had noticed Theon quickly brandished his own weapon and shook his head.
The tension in the room was so thick you could slice through it with a knife. Theon noticed the bartender reaching for his gun.
Before he could even warn Chisolm, the man had already brandished his pistol and shot the bartender, sending him crashing back.
Spinning around, he shot two other men. Theon drew his own pistol and spun to his right, blasting a man who was aiming a rifle at him. The shot cannoned him off his feet and into a wall.
As fast as Chisolm had drawn his pistol, he twirled and sheathed it.
“Go get me the sheriff.” He ordered to the remaining patrons. No one moved for a few moments before his hand moved to the sheathed pistol.
At once, everyone shuffled out of the saloon, except for the man Theon had seen. The two men he was playing cards with turned and glared.
“Gonna kill you, Faraday, this isn’t over.” The first man growled but he gave them a cheeky smirk. \
Even the hookers from upstairs came rushing down and exited the saloon. Chisolm looked at the man called Faraday, while Theon turned to walk outside.
Faraday looked at the cards of his opponent before smirking. Chisolm turned back to the bar and the whiskey.
“Dan dead?” Faraday asked. “Pity, I had just ordered a drink from him.”
Chisolm smiled and slid the glass of whiskey across the counter. Faraday continued looking at him.
“Money for blood’s a peculiar business.” He said.
Chisolm continued staring at him silently before walking out of the saloon where Theon was waiting. A crowd had formed and were shouting insults.
“There he is!”
“He killed that man in cold blood!”
Two men aimed rifles at him and Theon.
“Name’s Sam Chisolm,” he said. “I’m a duty sworn warrant officer. I’m a servant of the Wichitar Court in Kansas. I’m also a licensed peace officer in the Indian Territories in Utah, Kansas, Nebraska and seven other states.”
Some of the people began lowering their weapons.
“Now this man is wanted on charges in Nebraska,” Chisolm began taking out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Expedited under the common state law act.”
He handed the piece of paper to the man right in front of him. Theon looked at them. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a man wearing a dark trenchcoat looking at him.
Theon frowned and quietly slipped away from the crowd, walking in the direction of the trenchcoat man.
As he rounded the corner, he drew his pistol and aimed, but there was nothing there. It was as if the man was never there.
In the distance, he could see the trenchcoat man walking out of town. And next to him were some strange creatures that seemed to have tails.
“Hey!” Theon shouted, charging after him. The trenchcoat man didn’t notice and kept walking before seeming to vanish into thin air.
Theon stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. What in the Seven Hells was happening? He looked around, confused.
Suddenly, without knowing why, he shivered.
It was if someone had walked over his grave.
It was at least twenty minutues before Theon walked back into the town where he found Chisolm talking to a young woman in her early twenties and a man who looked slightly older, around his age.
All three looked at him.
“Where have you been?” Chisolm asked him.
Theon felt a shiver run up his spine as he thought of the trenchcoat man and the weird creatures that were with him.
“I…thought I saw something strange…but it was nothing,” he lied. He looked at the man and woman. “Who are they?”
“Emma Cullen and her asscociate, Ted,” Chisolm said calmly. “They’re asking for my help.”
“With what?”
“Defending our town from Bogue.” Emma told him.
Theon frowned. “Bogue? Like Bartholomew Bogue, THE Bartholomew Bogue, the industriliset tycoon Bartholomew Bogue?”
“That’s him.” Chisolm confirmed.
Theon groaned. “Are you considering this?”
“Already made up my mind,” Chisolm looked at him. “You are more than welcome to not join me, I can understand if you refuse to.”
Theon raised a hand in annoyance. “Don’t put words in my mouth, Sam, you know I hate that. I’ll join you. How many men do you have?”
“Less than forty,” Emma said. “Mostly farmers.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “We’re going to die.”
“As I said, Theon, no one is forcing you to join.” Chisolm said.
“Again, never said that. Well, fuck it, I’m in.”
Chisolm smirked and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
Theon shrugged. “Let’s go to war.”
The four of them rode their horses towards the exit of the town. Theon was in deep thought. Something wasn’t right, and it had nothing to do with Bogue. Something else was coming…something far worse.
“How much for his horse?”
Theon was broken out of his thoughts as the four of them stopped. He turned to see Joshua Faraday and what appeared to be a really short man facing each other, hands on their pistols.
“Five for the horse, seven and two bits for the saddle.” The short man said.
Faraday smirked. “Our paths cross again. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Got a job, looking for some men to join me.” Chisolm said.
“Is there money in it?”
Chisolm turned and Emma tossed him a bag full of coins. Faraday weighed the bag as Theon watched wearily, waiting to see what would happen.
Faraday looked past him at Emma. “Who’s she?”
“Joan of Arc.” Chisolm chuckled.
“My name’s Emma Cullen,” she said. “And this is my associate Teddy Q.”
“My name is Theon Greyjoy.” Theon introduced himself.
“Theon Greyjoy? What are you, English?”
“Something like that.” He shrugged, not in the mood to explain.
“He’s with me.” Chisolm said.
“Well I do have an affinity for shiny things,” Faraday tossed the bag back to Emma. “Is it difficult?”
“Impossible.” Chisolm said.
“How many you got so far?”
“Two.”
“Besides them?”
“You, Theon and myself.”
Faraday’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
The group of formerly four but now five rode out of the town and into the wilderness. They rode for miles, nothing but wild country surrounding them.
“Sending a woman to get guns is not very chivalrous.” Faraday commented.
“I volunterred.” Emma shot back, making Theon raise an eyebrow.
“You remind me of my sister.” He chuckled.
Faraday rode beside Chisolm. “That one’s got a fire inside her. Which begs the question- whose execution do we seek?”
“Bartholomew Bogue.” Chisolm replied.
“Bart Bogue?” Faraday choked. “The robber-baron? All that gold won’t do you much good when you’re dead.”
“You’re free to leave,” Chisolm said. “Just leave the horse. I paid for it.”
Faraday chuckled. “Just saying it out loud.”
Theon, Emma and Teddy rode beside the pair.
“Twenty miles east of here is a town called Volcano Springs. You look for a Cajun named Robicheaux.” Chisolm spoke.
“Goodnight Robicheaux?” Faraday asked in surprise.
“That’s right.”
“The Angel of Death.” Faraday muttered as Theon wondered who this man was.
“Meet me outside of Junction City in three days,” Chisolm continued. “If I ain’t there, then it means I’m dead and you can keep my horse.”
He looked at Emma. “You’re with me. Theon, go with Faraday.”
“On it.” He nodded.
He and Emma began trotting away as Theon straightened his hat.
“Well,” Faraday drawled. “Let’s ride.”
The two groups began galloping across the open plains in separate directions. All the while, Theon kept feeling a bad feeling in his stomach.
Something wasn’t right.
Unknown town
Two men were loading ice blocks into a carriage.
“Man, this shit stinks!” the first man complained.
“You’re telling me this?”
The first man was about to say something when something grabbed him from behind and dragged him into an alley.
The sounds of bones breaking and screams echoed through the town. The second man’s eyes widened in horror.
There was so much blood everywhere…
The creature resembled a cross between a wolf and a man, standing at least twelve feet tall. It looked at him and gave him a predatory grin.
“W-what are you?” the man fell onto the ground, gripped by fear and panic.
The beast salivated, saliva dripping from its fangs. It leapt at the man.
He saw nothing else.