Westward bound an incredible journey(Opensesame54321)

[mathpro18]

The dust hung thick in the air as the wagontrain passed through the wilderness. It was a warm fall day and most of the people in the train were happy to have summer behind them. Who ever decided to leave in August wasn't really that bright.

It had been a long hard month and they had their fair share of trials so far between the indians, the heat, and occasionally running short on food. But they have also been very lucky in that none in their train had gotten sick and that was a major accomplishment seeing how their train had 24 members in it ranging in age from infant to 35 at the oldest.

Scott Andrews was in the middle of the pack at 21 years of age. He was an aspiring mathematician back in New York but a few bad nights at the taverns out there and he was thrown out of Hamilton College and quickly run out of town as well for his short fuse while drinking. He hadn't had any issues out here though, mainly since there wasn't a drop of any alchohol to be found that he knew off. The time in the wilderness was helping to clear his head and he had kicked his addiction and his passions were starting to reawaken.

He helped pass the time at night by helping some of the school aged children with their lessons when the train stopped for the day. Reading and writing weren't exactly what he was passionate about but it felt good to be in front of students again, even if they were unseasoned compared to who he was used to working with.

Scott had just gathered the children around for another reading lesson before it had gotten to dark when he noticed her walking past.

"Excuse me miss, I could use an assistant to help me with my lesson tonight, if your not busy" he called out.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Abigail Parsons

Though only 20 years old, Abigail Parsons knew what she wanted and how to get it. At an age when most young ladies were married and starting a family, the quiet young lady knew what she wanted and how to get it. Quite against all odds she found herself alone in this world. While most young ladies might have folded camp and given up, Abby was a very unique and strong willed young lady. With her long blonde hair which she usually wore in a braid, and her clear blue eyes the color of cornflower, she had decided that she stood a better chance of being successful in whatever she decided to do if she went to California.

So, selling what she didn't want to keep, she used the money to purchase a team, a sturdy wagon, a gun, and what she would need to head west. She spent some time learning to shoot, drive a team, and talked to people that could tell her how to successfully make it to California. She wasn't the best shot, but during the Indian attack, she had managed to wing one.

And though she drove a team and occasionally wore pants, boots and a shirt, most days would find her in a skirt, boots and blouse, with a large straw hat perched atop the blonde braid in an attempt to protect her face against the sun. Despite the hat, her face was developing a light golden tan and a smattering of freckles had appeared atop her nose and across the tops of her high cheekbones.

Her voice was clear and light, and she seemed to frequently smile or laugh. There was one older man on the train that seemed to have his eye on her, but Abby had no interest in becoming wife to a man who was 30 something with 2 young sons from his second wife. The man seemed a bit rough and she suspected that he had beat his wife like he beat his children. The wagon master had already called the man, Jeb Clagg, to task one evening when he had been caught beating the elder of the sons, Deek Clagg, when he had forgotten to feed the horses. Good grief, the kid was only 7 and had been briefly playing with his 6 year old brother. Jeb had stopped, but she could tell that he was angry at having to stop the beating.

She was passing by one evening just before sunset when she heard a voice call out to her.

Excuse me miss, I could use an assistant to help me with my lesson tonight, if your not busy

She looked around to see who he was talking to before she realized it was she he was talking to. She looked to see who it was.

She knew his name was Scott. And that he was very smart, but that was about all she knew. She walked over to the small group.

"Sure. What do you need?"

 

[mathpro18]

Scott's face lit up a little as Abby stopped and said she would help.

"Thanks, we're going over our letters today and I was hoping you could help the younger ones learn to write."

He motioned over to a table of chidlren between the ages of 6 and 8 that were fighting over what little paper and pencils they had left. Amongst them were the Clagg boys, the younger of which seemed withdrawn tonight and sported a bloodied lip. His older brother currently had another boy in a headlock. Seeing this Scott rushed over

"Jeb you let him go this instant" Scott cried out as he rushed over towards the kids. "You know what I said there will be none of your rough housing here. Now let him go this instant."

Jeb let the other kid go with a shove and looked at Scott with a look that could kill. The other little boy ran off crying toward his parents wagon. 'oh thats going to be fun to deal with' scott thought as he dealt with Jeb.

"Yeah what are you going to do about it" The young Jeb said to Scott.

"I can send you back home, from the looks of your brother your father will be oh so happy to have you back tonight."

Jeb looked at Scott, a look of horror flashing over his face momentairly, before sitting down at the table with a huff.

"There all yours" Scott says to Abby as he runs a hand through his hair. "As you can see that one can be a bit of a hand full..."

 

[Opensesame54321]

Abigail crossed over to the older of the Clagg boys. The boy looked angry, hurt, all roiled into one.

"Now, what's the matter!"

"That man keeps calling me Jeb. Jeb's ma pa. I'm Deek!" The youngster pouted.

"All right, Deek. Then why were you beating up that kid?"

"Cause he thought it funny an started callin me Jeb. I'm nuthin like my pa!"

"No you're not, Deek. And I'm sure that that man didn't mean it. See, he's got a lot of kids to look after. But later, I'll tell him that he called you by the wrong name. Okay?"

Deek nodded, still pouting. Abby told him, "Since you're the oldest of this group, would you like to be my helper?" Deek nodded and brightened. "See, I don't know everyone's name. You can help me keep their names straight in my head."

The little boy agreed and, true to his word, helped her keep an eye on the younger kids. She found out that Deek's brother was named Luke. There were two other kids. One was a little girl, Hannah Peach, the other was another girl named Trisha. But she couldn't remember her last name.

She worked on teaching these kids how to count from 1-5. They all seemed to pretty much want to play rather than count. So she promised them that of they worked hard, she would tell them a story.

In a brief alone time, she asked Luke how he got his split lip. He said that his pa had got mad at him for sumpthin. She felt so sorry for these kids.

 

[mathpro18]

The evening passed with out any further inncodent and the kids headed home about two hours after they had gathered. It was hard to keep them focused out here and Scott found himself longing for the days of actual classrooms that at one point in his life he found mondane. Oh how things change...

As the kids headed home he walked up to Abigail "Thanks for your help today, got so much more accomplished than normal with you watching the young ones for me. And thanks for your help with the...well you know. Their father is a hand full which makes them a hand full when I can get them to show up at all. Rumor has it he was into the trains whisky supply again this afternoon when we stopped to water the oxen. I'm going to have to start keeping a better eye out I suppose."

 

[Opensesame54321]

Abby finally got a chance to get a good look at Scott.

His brown hair had a fair amount of wave to it, and though it may have been stylish once, being out on the trail has put him in sore need of a barber as the back was starting to hide his collar and the front kept getting in his eyes.

He was tall - over 6". When she first saw him at the start of the trip, he had been quite chunky, but all the work driving westward was starting to cut down his weight. Oh, he still had a ways to go, but the way his clothes hung on him, you could tell that he had lost weight. He did have a tendency to furrow his brow, making him appear stern and harsh but she suspected that underneath was a kind and caring man.

"You know why that one kid was so angry? You called him by his father's name. And he hates his father. Jeb Clagg beats both of those children; that's where Luke got the split lip. The man is a worthless drunk. And when he drinks, he's worse. Now that we know that he's been drinking, those kids could have a rough night. I'd say kick him off, but I would fear for the safety of those boys."

She took a deep breath. One could see the change of topic on her face, the worried features smoothing out and a playful but direct smile gracing her face. "Rumor has it that you are a professor heading west to open your own college. Any truth to that?"

 

[mathpro18]

"Aye I agree with you that he should be kicked out but the wagon leader doesn't. Like you said he's worried about the boys surviving with out our protection. At least know if he gets to out of hand we are here to knock him back in line. Though I think he's a little to thick headed and dim witted to figure out what we're up in arms about."

When she mentioned that he called the boy by the wrong name he covered his mouth in shock "I'm sorry...I'll appologize to him tomorrow. He should be getting to be tonight otherwise I'd do it right now. There is no excuse for that but with so many new names to learn it's been a bit of a challenge keeping everyone straight these last few weeks. I think I'm finally starting to get it down now though."

At her last question he threw his head back and laughed. "Starting up my own college? I'm smart but not that smart not to mention the fact that I don't have that kind of money. No I used to be a professor back in Boston but my demons got the best of me and they kicked me out. I've spent the last couple years getting a handle on things and it was time to get a new start now." He said, surprised at his honesty.

"Er...sorry...that was probably to much information...or not enough depending on how you look at it. I'm not some kind of sicko rapist or anything...just had a bit of a gambling problem...there I go oversharing again..." he says seemingly rambling now.

"So what brings you out here?" He asks trying to change the subject.

 

[Opensesame54321]

She smiled at him. He seemed a bit nervous.

So what brings you out here?

"A new life. Adventure. I was all alone back there. No family. No friends. Nobody. So I might as well be alone out here. So I sold what I did not need, learned a few things , and started out. I must admit that I am not quite sure of what to do once we reach the end of this journey, but I am sure that I will figure something out. I have some ideas but I need to wait and see what life is like out there."

"What do you plan on doing once this trip is over?"

 

[mathpro18]

"I don't honestly know...maybe research...maybe go back to teaching, its hard to say. I know I miss the life I used to take for granted but this new life isn't to bad. Especially when I get to spend time with you" he said with a smile.

 

[LizVegas79]

*subscribed*

 

[Opensesame54321]

"Well, that's sweet to say that." She smiled back at him. "Now, if we can just make it through the rest of the trip. We've been very lucky, haven't we?" She looked up at the stars that filled the sky. "Well, I'd better make sure that my horses are bedded for the night. Good night, Scott."

She headed back to her wagon, checking on the horses. Off in the distance, she could hear a coyote howl at the moon. It would soon start getting quite a bit cooler very soon. The slight nip in the air was just a prelude.