"Come on, you," Sam murmured, taking her stolen horse by the reins. She could kick herself for already growing attached to the overgrown mule, but Sam had a bigger heart than she liked to admit - especially in a world as uncaring and callous as the desert, ready to suck you dry and leave you for dead without a moment's hesitation.
She guided the horse to a post outside what appeared to be an old gunsmith shop. There, the horse immediately dipped his head into the trough in front of him. Sam was about to scold the beast for being such a dummy, but she stopped short as she looked down in the trough.
Completely filled with water.
Again the twitch was back. Her hands were on her holsters so fast, you'd swear they'd transcended space and time. Samantha looked all around, listening...waiting. She could almost feel a presence around here, watching her, but none of her senses could back it up. As far as she could tell, this town was as dead as dinosaurs.
But then where did this water come from...?
Sam started speculating about this as she headed cautiously towards the gunsmith's, her hands on her hips and her brow furrowed. Wild theories about underground water manes and deep desert wells came to mind, but Sam's thoughts were cut short as she stopped in front of the boarded up door to the gun shop. She was in dire need of more bullets and though there was a slim chance there'd be any in this heap of lumber, she'd be stupid not check with the journey she had ahead of her. Sam quickly made a mental list of her rations and decided that she'd better check around for some foodstuffs and water as well. If worse came to worse, she could always fill up her canteens with the water from the mysterious trough as much as the thought bothered her.
Taking a step back, Sam took careful aim at the door and launched herself into the air, kicking at the boards with such force that they easily splintered under her blow. She sailed into the darkness of the shop, landing easily in a hunched position before standing up to dust off her gloved hands.
Had Sam remained outside even a moment sooner, she might have noticed the outline of a man and his horse in the distance. As it was, Sam was preoccupied with what was inside the shop, gasping in disbelief as her eyes adjusted to the terrible darkness.
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