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It was raining. The saloon was stuffier than usual, the warmth from the fireplace only boosting the humidity from the rain outside. The place was fairly empty, with only a couple of patrons and the Earp brothers. Wyatt was dealing to Morgan and a couple of other men, while Virgil watched over them with those sad hazel eyes of his.

"Gonna be one of those nights." the eldest Earp stated plainly, his grating voice the only sound in the saloon besides the patter of the rain against the roof.

Lina felt a sense of uneasiness as she sat behind the counter, running it while Sam was gone to Phoenix for a couple of days. She pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders, shaking her head at no one in particular. She'd always had this sort of thing, Stone Eyes called it "a second sight." Lina just thought it was common sense. She could always tell when something bad was on the horizon. She could figure it out in the way that the morning breeze felt on her face, and how the birds were singing to each other. Today was no different. An uncharacteristic silence has settled upon the town. Even when it was rainy, normally there would still be some hustle and bustle, the trademark of the boomtown. Not today. Today was too still and too damn quiet.

"Gettin' late. Guess I'll go ahead and turn in." Virgil rose with a yawn, placing his hat on his head.

"Bundle up, Virge. It's gettin' mighty cold out there." Wyatt replied with a curt nod as Virgil crossed the threshold of the door with a small wave.

A sharp crack of thunder disrupted the comfortable silence that had settled over the Oriental again. Lina jumped, her silver jewelry tinkling with the rapid movement.

"That thunder's sure somethin'," Morgan said to no one in particular. Lina's eyes were glued to the man's brother. Wyatt looked white as a ghost.

"That didn't sound like thunder."

As soon as Wyatt managed to get that grim sentence out, Virgil re-entered the saloon. Something was off about him. His steps were uneven, and he was holding himself sorta sideways. His face was stony as usual, but it held a certain pallor that wasn't characteristic of him. His hat was gone, his silver hair falling into his eyes. He shuffled toward his brothers, not speaking.

"Virgil?" Wyatt asked, looking at his kin with wide eyes.

"Wyatt..." Virgil said softly, his face suddenly contorted into an expression of fear and utter hopelessness. "Wyatt!" Virgil turned toward his brother, his arm coming into Lina's view.

Lina stifled a horrified gasp. The man's arm hung uselessly by his side, at an awkward angle. White flashes of bone could be seen in contrast to his dark coat, and blood dripped in a steady stream from his fingertips. He began to sway and his brother leapt to his feet, steadying the injured man.

Everything that happened next felt like an out-of-body experience for Lina Tso. Her feet moved on their own, rushing toward the silver-haired man. She braced his other side, meeting eyes with Wyatt.

"Come on, we need to get him into one of the rooms." her voice trembled but her gaze remained steady. Wyatt seemed to grasp her words, but he didn't respond, instead looking at the men who were still sitting at the Faro table.

"Dr. Goodfellow! Now!" he barked, his blue eyes on fire. He began to move, taking both Lina and Virgil with him, toward the rooms on the first floor. Lina fumbled with her keys, but quickly found the right one and unlocked the little room. Wyatt pretty much carried Virgil inside, laying him gently on the bed which was tucked into the corner of the room.

Moments later, Dr. Goodfellow arrived, a sheen of sweat already beginning to form across his forehead. He was a short and chubby man, with a full head of white hair and a beard to match. Despite the normal intimidation that came with knowing how to be a doctor, there wasn't anything threatening about Goodfellow. He might as well have been Kris Kringle.

Lina stayed back, biting at her fingernails. It was a horrible habit that she had developed when she left her home within the tribe, but it quelled the anxiety that was brewing deep within her right now, and that was all that counted.

"I should go..." she whispered to Morgan, the one least likely to overreact at this moment. She had to quickly side-step before the youngest Earp could respond, for Virgil's wife had found them and was currently rushing inside like a frightened buffalo. Lina regained her balance and met Morgan's eyes again, a gesture which he returned with a nod, shooting her his most sympathetic look. There was something about that boy that amused Lina, he was almost like a kicked puppy. However, it was certainly not the time to laugh.

Lina found herself back in the main portion of the saloon. It was too hot, and it annoyed her to an irrational degree. I've got to get out of here. She thought frantically, her breathing accelerating. Her heart beat quickly, thump thump thumping right out of her chest. Her eyes were wide and full of fear as she rushed to the swinging doors, the cool night air laced with rain hitting her face immediately after crossing the threshold of the door. She leaned against the saloon's exterior, trying to regain her composure.

There was something truly sinister about this night. She should have warned the brothers, she knew something bad was going to happen. But would they have believed her if she had told them? Many of the residents of Tombstone looked upon her with abhorrence, believing natives to be nothing but savage brutes, incapable of critical thought, placing their beliefs in the fantastical. Lina knew better than that, but it seemed that she was in the minority.

After a moment, her eyes were attracted to movement in the darkness. A flash of red. Voices, just barely audible above the howling wind. Laughter. It filled her with ice, colder than the air outside.

"Oh yeah, I got his ass. They can try to save him." laughter ensued. Lina clapped a hand over her mouth, almost in awe of what she was hearing.

"They ain't even gonna expect what's comin' to 'em next. We'll be rid of those damned Earps, you mark my words."

a/n: hope you enjoy this newest chapter! i'm happy to have some of my writing inspo back again. please consider voting, commenting, and dropping me a follow on my profile. not only does this really motivate me to update more consistently, but if you follow me, then you'll get progress updates as well! i thank you all for the continued support, and i look forward to providing you with more rewritten chapters :]

xoxo, orrin

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