Earthbound

by Adam Lewinson

  Their doctor had been to see Pace and rightly couldn’t figure out anything wrong with him. So he chalked it up to psychological injuries. Nothing a good bath and a few days worth of rest couldn’t cure.

  “You okay, Lewis?” I asked Pace. He named himself after that Lewis and Clark guy. Name didn’t work for his horse but he still liked it. Whatever.

  “So… weak…” Pace moaned.

  “Let’s let him rest,” Mrs. Norris suggested. “Grace, why don’t you show this fine young gentleman where he can freshen up.”

  So the lovely young gal’s name was Grace. She smiled graciously and kinda batted her eyelashes at me as she led me back outside. As I followed her to the outhouse, I checked out her figure from behind. It was a fine fine sight to see.

  Grace led me inside what was perhaps one of the finer outhouses I’d ever seen. Perhaps the Norris family was of money, or at least modestly so. They didn’t seem to be starving. Grace had too curvy a figure for that. She laid out some towels for me, and then ran the water, soaked a washcloth and tried to get some of the grime off of my face.

  “You’re quite the mess,” she said, giggling.

  “No need for you to do that,” I protested. But then I hesitated. Why not let her?

  She removed my coat and got a look at my dirty shirt. “That looks ruined,” she said. “I’ll try to clean it but I’ll likely need to throw it away.” She started to unbutton my shirt. Yeah, I liked Augusta. Kind of a lot. When she got my shirt off, I caught her looking at my chest and muscles. She blushed a little bit. “I should leave you to bathe. But if you need anything…”

  Yeah, I could use something all right. But instead I just washed myself in their basin. I was a little too big to fit in it properly, but it was good enough. I was relieved to wash the smell off me, actually.

  Grace left me some clean clothes which were a little tight. Once belonged to her brother, I supposed. They’d fit Pace better but at least they were clean.

  After that I checked in on our horses. They were being well cared for in their stables. Charon was being re-shoed as I entered. I was glad too, after all that robot metal and broken glass he had stomped over recently.

  Then I joined the Norris family for dinner. Miraculously, Pace found himself well enough to join us at the dinner table. Must’ve been the fresh poultry he smelled cooking. Most of the dinner chatter was about the wonderful progress “Lewis” was making.

  “I owe it all to your kindly kind hospitality,” he said. What a kiss ass.

  Mr. and Mrs. Norris asked us questions about life back in Great Falls. Pace responded with some vague answers that didn’t give away too much information.

  “Are either of you boys spoken for?” Mrs. Norris asked.

  “No ma’am,” Pace replied. “Truth be told, we both met the right girl, but she turned us both down flat.” Vague but kind of true.

  “Sorry to hear,” Mrs. Norris said, but she didn’t seem that sorry. I could tell she was calculating something in her head. “I don’t suppose either of you boys would consider making Augusta your new home…”

  “That could be delightful,” Pace answered, taking in an eyeful of Grace. Oh boy, I had a feeling I was sunk with Grace. If so, I hoped she had some cute girlfriends.

  “Tell me,” Grace inquired, “did either of you know those bank robbers personally?”

  Pace and I shot each other a quick glance. He needed to answer. I didn’t want to bungle that one.

  “In a fashion,” Pace replied, doing his usual to mislead but not outright lie.

  “Did you grow up with them?” Grace persisted.

  “Intimately, I guess you could say,” Pace responded.

  “Did you always know they were bad men?”

  That question halted Pace for a moment. He thought about his answer before he gave it. “I’m not sure either of them is bad. Maybe just misunderstood. But definitely dangerous, no doubt about that. I’ll put it this way, Grace, you wouldn’t feel safe with either of them sleeping under your roof at night.” Let me just clarify what he meant. Grace’s chastity wouldn’t feel safe with Pace sleeping under her roof at night.

  Come bedtime, Pace was to get the bed and they laid out some blankets for me on the floor. It was good enough for me. But then Pace surprised me. He got out of bed, opened up the window and started to sneak outside.

  “You can take the bed. Don’t wait up.”

  I grumbled a little bit, knowing I’d lost a shot at Grace before I ever had one. So I took Pace’s bed and got under the covers. And well, you know. And if you don’t know then you probably haven’t hit puberty yet. Check back with me in a few years. Hah. Yeah, that’ll work.

  Anyway, Grace couldn’t hold a candle to Becca anyway.

  I wondered how she was holding up without us. And if she was okay.

  “She’s got a lot of cute girlfriends,” Pace whispered to me as we helped clean up the breakfast dishes.

  I whispered back so that the Norris family couldn’t hear. “Shouldn’t we be collecting some supplies and getting on our way?”

  “We have a few days. What’s the hurry?”

  That day Grace gave us a tour of Augusta. The town seemed a little more livable than Great Falls. Everything was a little cleaner, a little less run down. If not for the whole bank robbing thing, I could see myself living there. But the important test was meeting Grace’s girlfriends. And they were delightful, as advertised. My favorite was a girl named Cheyenne. Her skin was darker, more exotic than the rest. She said she had a part native Indian in her. She seemed strong. I liked that. She could handle me.

  That night the four of us – me, “Lewis,” Grace and Cheyenne – went to their version of Town Hall to watch one of their movies. The event was just as well-populated as the ones in Great Falls. But the picture looked much brighter. Pace told me they had a better projection system, whatever that meant. They even used it twice a month instead of once. I guess it was less broken down than ours back home. The movie was one I’d never heard of before. Casablanca, which I guess is some faraway foreign place. Wonder what it must be like now. In the movie it was black and white. Guess they couldn’t afford color. This guy’s ex-girlfriend shows up asking for help, but he won’t give it to her because she’s now married. Good for him. Eff her. But then they fall for each other again, and he decides to help her escape with her husband. What a sap. That’s not what I’d do. But when the lights came up both girls were crying. The power of the movies – whatever. Pace comforted Grace and put his arm around her. I just stared at Cheyenne. What was I supposed to do – hug her?

  The girls led us to some park where we sat under a tree and drank a bottle of whiskey that Pace had bought at their general store. It didn’t take long for Pace and Grace to be off by themselves, doing who knows what. Although I have some idea.

  “James?” Cheyenne was talking. But obviously not to me. “James? James, are you listening?” She elbowed me kinda hard in the ribs. Oh yeah, I forgot, I was James Monroe, U.S. President.

  “Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking.”

  “What about?” She looked at me like she was really interested in anything I’d have to say.

  “I was thinking why you aren’t already married.” I figured if I really wasn’t being me, I could pretend to be somebody who was a little more forward. So I tried to speak as if I was Pace, saying pretty much anything to reel her in. “A beautiful girl like you, I’m surprised.”

  “Not a lot of eligible guys here,” she explained. “It’s a generational thing I suppose. We lost a lot of good young men to the flu a few years ago. Girls too, but it really hit men harder for some reason.”

  “Sorry to hear. But even still, I’ve been here long enough to see you’re one of the prettiest.”

  She hesitated a little bit and looked down at the ground. Had I said something wrong? Then eventually she explained. “Lots of families take issue to my being part Indian. So they discourage their sons to… well, you know. There’s a lot of tal
k about keeping bloodlines pure around here.”

  “That’s stupid.” She looked at me eagerly, happy to hear I agreed with her. “You’re sturdy and capable. I’m sure you can handle a lot of work. And carry a lot of babies too.”

  “Gee thanks,” she moaned. That was not the kind of wooing she had in mind.

  “Sorry. I mean you seem like you’d be a great wife. Who cares about your heritage?”

  “Your family doesn’t care about bloodlines?”

  “My family? All dead. So no, they don’t give a shit.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, nudging a little closer to me. I knew I shouldn’t give her more information about how my parents died – that would be too specific and could easily trace back to the real me. So instead I just went ahead and kissed her. Yes I did. Anyway, her kiss was real forceful and purposeful. I liked that. So we fooled around for a bit. I did touch her breasts and all. But I left it there. Sure, I could talk myself into really liking Cheyenne, but let’s face it, there was someone else I was still thinking about. Someone I was attached to even though we really weren’t attached.

  I eventually went back to the Norris home to go to sleep. Pace didn’t show up before I fell asleep – no surprise – but he did wake me when he stumbled through the window, drunk. It wasn’t so much the rush of cold air as the window opened. And it wasn’t the thud as he missed the bed as he fell to the floor. No, what woke me up the most was him leaning over me as I tried to sleep. Shocker – he wanted to talk.

  “Are you awake?”

  “James Monroe is awake. I’m asleep.”

  “Ash, I just want you to know something. I think about her too.”

  “Who?”

  “Rebecca. Even when I’m fooling around with Grace. I can’t stop thinking about Rebecca.”

  I was surprised. I didn’t think he’d have the same attachment that I did to the past.

  Then Pace stumbled to the bed and passed out.

  The next day we spent an hour in the general store buying supplies. We had only fifteen gold coins between us, and it would’ve been easy to spend about fifty given what we needed. Pace needed a new coat, gloves and a bison-hair blanket. We both needed some proper leather holsters. And we needed supplies for the horses. Those were our priorities. After a little haggling, and throwing in some matchbooks and some boxes of rat poison, that left us with two gold coins left. And Pace knew how he wanted to spend it.

  “Hey, check this out!” Pace had a handsome white cowboy hat atop his head. It fit him perfectly. And of course, I had pretty much destroyed his old one. “Costs four coins but she’ll sell it to me for two, out of respect for the hardship we endured.”

  I weighed in my hand the container of salt I had picked up. Also two gold coins. That salt would help us out tremendously. I could cure any meats we caught so they’d last longer. I could make jerky. But any self-respecting outlaw needs a good hat to run around in. I put the salt container back on the shelf.

  We left the general store with our purchases.

  “I suppose that means we’re leaving,” I said. I was a little disappointed to go but it was inevitable.

  “Not quite yet,” Pace replied.

  I realized we weren’t walking toward the Norris home. Instead we were headed down their Main Street. We stopped and sat on a wood bench. I looked around, trying to figure out what the point was.

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” he asked.

  “Clearly I’m not seein’ what you’re seein’.”

  Pace pointed to a nearby building. I stared over and read the sign. B-A-N-K.

  I looked at Pace with confusion. “I kinda thought the whole bank robbing thing was one time only.”

  “We’re on the run anyway, so why not keep going? Besides, have you ever had such a thrill in your life?” I couldn’t respond. Cause he was right. “This is a perfect set-up. The lawman’s gone. So are most of the able-bodied men and their shotguns. They left Augusta defenseless.”

  “You planned all this?” Pace stared back at me with a smile, seeking approval. He didn’t get any. “These are nice people! They’ve been kind to us!”

  “Just like in Great Falls – we’re not stealing their money. It belongs to the bank.”

  “You don’t know the combination to the safe.”

  “I know. But I know how to get it.”

  “What about the robots?”

  Pace thought about that for a second. I could hear the wind whistling.

  “If the robots are here, we’ll deal with them. At least we won’t be taken by surprise.”

  I slowly nodded in agreement. I didn’t know why, but it just seemed inevitable anyway.

  That night we sat on the floor in our temporary bedroom to plot out our crime. But before we could get started, there was a rap on the window. It was Grace and Cheyenne. Pace had told them it was our last night in town. “But not our last night forever, if you know what I mean.”

  “But we’re supposed to plan!” I protested.

  “Oh,” Pace replied dismissively, “let’s just do what we did the last time. Seemed to work out okay.” And with that, he climbed out the window. I didn’t have much choice but to follow.

  Pace bought another bottle of whiskey. He was holding out on me – he had another gold coin in his sock. I was peeved, but I got over it after a few shots. We wound up back in that same park. Eventually we coupled off again and I was alone with Cheyenne. We made out for a while but, although I tried, to her credit she didn’t let things get any further. She actually wanted to talk a little.

  “How’s life in Great Falls?” she asked.

  “It’s okay. A little boring. It’s better here, I think.”

  “Oh.” She seemed disappointed by that. I guess wherever you’re from is never going to be as exciting as where you can go. “And you’ve got no one there waiting for you?”

  “Not really, no.” Knowing Becca, she wasn’t waiting for anyone.

  “So…” Cheyenne took my hands and stared at me with her big brown eyes. “Take me with you.”

  “Oh, I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well… the place I’m living right now, it’s not really habitable. Maybe later when I’m more established.”

  “You could always stay here.”

  Those words were so inviting. “A month ago I would have said yes. And now… how about this, Pace said this wouldn’t be our last night here forever, so…”

  “Who’s Pace?”

  I nearly choked on oxygen. Pace would kill me for effing up like that. “Sorry, I mean Lewis. I don’t know anyone named Pace.” It was a clumsy recovery, but it worked I suppose.

  Anyway, talking about the future kinda messed up the mood. I did go to bed that night – alone by the way, if you’re curious. But around four in the morning I did get woken up by Pace stumbling through the window again. Usually I didn’t much mind his spirited activities, but after mulling over my conversation with Cheyenne, I was pissed.

  Pace flopped on the bed. I stood up and goaded him to stand his drunken body up again.

  “You and me are gonna have some words, Pace. Better stand up for ‘em.”

  But instead of standing up, Pace grabbed his pillow and covered his face with it.

  “I think I’m better here,” he cowered.

  “I’m not gonna punch you. Not right now, anyway.” Pace cautiously moved his pillow. “It's nice here. Cheyenne is kinda nice. If we just came here instead of robbing that bank, everything would be fine." I was getting worked up. Talked so loud it wouldn’t surprise me if the whole house heard me. “I know it was my idea and all, and I know I didn’t think things through, cause I don’t do that, but you shoulda warned me of the consequences! You shoulda told me what a stupid idea it was. Cause now? We are effing screwed. Now we can’t stay here or anywhere. Things woulda worked out for us right here in Augusta.”

  Pace responded with calmness and quiet. "No. It wouldn't. For one reason. And you know it
as well as I do. Rebecca."

  Then he rolled over and went to bed.

  I stood there hovering over him for a minute, wanting to pull him up by his whiskey-stained collar and pummel the shit out of him. But no. He was right as always. Eff him.

  I laid back on the floor by the fire. And tried to go back to sleep. But of course I couldn’t.

  The next morning Pace and I packed up our belongings and said goodbye to the Norris family. They were sad to see us go, that’s for certain. Mr. Norris pulled me in close as he shook my hand. “Come back anytime. We need good men like you in this town. That’s for damned sure.” Then Grace walked us to the stables where we got our horses. They’d been well cared for, that’s for sure. Pace tipped the stable hands with two gold coins apiece.

  “I thought we didn’t have anymore!” I protested. “I wanted to buy salt!”

  “Oh, well now I’m out of gold coins for real.”

  “Are you sure? You didn’t stash a few up your ass?”

  Grace intervened. I think she had a peaceful streak that befit her name. “Let’s go back to my house. I can give you some salt.”

  “Thank you kindly,” Pace said, “but Grace I’m sad to say we do need to go. But it is a generous gesture.” Pace kissed her gingerly and then climbed up on his horse. I mounted as well, and noticed that Grace was crying. “We’ll be seeing you again soon.”

  I tipped my hat. “Thank you, ma’am, for your hospitality. And send my regards to Cheyenne.” Pace tipped his hat as well and we rode out of town. “Thanks a lot,” I grumbled. “I wanted that salt.”

  “I’ll buy you some in the next town, I promise.”

  We rode off until we were out of sight from Grace, and then we turned right off the road and hid in the weeds for a time. Pace kept looking at his watch.

  “What are we waiting for?” I asked.

  “Just timing is all.”

  “I thought we were gonna do it just like the last time. What are you timing for?”