Glitching.

Humble Beginnings.

A Glitch in the Matrix.

Do we live in a simulated reality? Scientists can neither prove it nor disprove it. But what happens if a bug gets into the program?

Fictional stories based on real accounts...

Humble Beginnings.

STORY 3

“Okay, Mister know it all. Where the hell are we? I told you that we should have asked for directions.”

None fitted the stereotype of being born with a silver spoon in their mouth more than Jeremiah Sheppard the fourth and his fiancee Meredith. Everything that Jeremiah owns he had inherited from his father who had come into it through his father and so forth. Meredith herself was from the same kind of 'old' money linage each generation adding onto the fortunes of the last. Now it was their time to build on the combined power of both lineages. Both were unwitting pawns in a game controlled by Meredith's father.

Jeremiah and Meredith had made plans to personally go out and look over some unused property on one of the many land holdings, that had been in the Sheppard family for generations.

“Getting lost on one of your own family's properties is a bit moronic isn't it?”

“Between boarding school and a company office in the city, there wasn't too much time in between to go sightseeing,” Jeremiah replied, in a dry tone.

In his mind, he was cursing the navigation unit for losing it's signal. Dust was gathering on the side of the black late-model sedan as the road changed from tar seal to gravel.

“Oh now what?” Meredith asked as the car slowed to a stop.

“Dunno?”

“Don't tell me that we have run out of gas as well?”

“Hard to say? The electrics have gone dead?”

No matter how many times Jeremiah tried the key nothing happened not even the familiar lighting up of the vehicle's neon fuel and speedometer readings?

“My phone seems flat? How's yours?” Jeremiah asked while holding his dead cell phone towards Meredith.

“That figures,” She exclaimed, before replying, “Shit! Mine seems to be as well?”

“What about our laptops?”

“Neither will come on?”

“Damn,” Jeremiah exclaimed as he pulled the hood release.

“What do you expect to find under there? Do you even know what you are looking for?”

“Oh give me a break Meredith!” Jeremiah yelled back, from behind the open hood.

“If it's electrical then it may have something to do with the battery? A cable may have come loose on this rough road or something?”

“Do you even know what the battery looks like?”

“Knock it off will ya? Things are bad enough.”

Meredith pulled her head back into the car window and muttered to herself, “Probably make things worse? Sometimes I don't know what daddy ever saw in him when he introduced him to me?”

“We may have to walk to somewhere? To find help.” Jeremiah mentioned to Meredith as he tried the key unsuccessfully again.

“Which way are we going to go?” Meredith asked as Jeremiah pulled the key from the door of the locked vehicle.

“Which way would you prefer to go Meredith? We can split up if you like?” he answered in a sarcastic tone.

“No.”

“Okay then. You saw how far back the last lot of houses were? That would take us most of the day and some of the night to walk back to. But according to the map back at the office, there should be a gas station further ahead? Can't say exactly how far ahead though, but it shouldn't be too far?”

Meredith had no choice but to try things his way.

After trudging for what seemed an hour Meredith asked. “are you sure this is the right road that you saw that gas station on?”

“It's the only road? It passes right through our property and comes out on the other side beside a gas station, You know very well that we hadn't turned off anywhere?”

“The only reason that I am asking, is that this doesn't even look like a road anymore? More like a goat track?”

She was right, they were now walking along the grassy center of a track that looked more like it had been produced by the continuous use of wagon wheels than a road. The forest had become thicker on each side of the track as they ventured further along with it. For the cooler climate, Meredith had worn a pants suit that was more suited to an office environment than the outdoors. Jeremiah was dressed in his normal three-piece suit. Both hadn't expected to venture farther than the outside of their car to maybe take a few pictures before heading back to the office.

“The dry cleaning will be going onto your tab when we get home.” Meredith groaned in a disgusted tone as she lifted her foot behind her to inspect her muddy shoes and trouser cuffs.

“Look. Smoke rising out of the trees ahead.” Jeremiah said while pointing in the direction of the smoke.

“What could that mean?”

“It could be smoke coming from some logging operations that we have going on around here?”

They picked up their pace to investigate the source of the fire. Both soon stopped in their footsteps to see a sod roofed log cabin built in a small clearing in the woods. This pathway that they walked led right up to it.

“Squatters?” Meredith asked.

“Dunno? Maybe we did take a wrong turn off somewhere? But I don't know where?” Jeremiah was confused. Then he added, “let's go and see if they can help us?”

“What kin I do fer you city folk?” A voice from the front porch called.

An elderly bearded man who was dressed in baggy trousers of a gray course fabric held up by two leather braces over a well-worn flannel shirt, and scruffy wide-brimmed hat climbed from a rocking chair to make his way towards them. He knocked his pipe on the palm of his hand as he walked emptying its contents from his palm to the ground with a brush of his fingers.

“If it's me, two sons, yer after? Then yer plain outta luck. They've gone on a huntin' trip fer a few days. It's only me and my daughter here,”

Jeremiah explained, “sorry to bother you sir, but we seemed to have gotten lost?”

“Who were ya lookin' fer?”

“Higgins Road? We seemed to have journeyed off it?”

“Well I'm Sam Higgins and them's the road that leads to my cabin?”

“Our car broke down, further back down the road and we were wondering if you could maybe help us out?”

Turning an ear towards them with a frown on his face as though he didn't hear too well, he asked, “yer carriage broke down ya say? If it's a broken axle, I can't help yer out there.”

“I'm sorry, you seemed to have misunderstood.”

Rather than repeat himself in more detail, Jeremiah just asked, “do you have a phone I can use?” at the same time holding his hand up to his ear to demonstrate one.

“A what?”

“A phone! A phone! A tel-e-phone!” Meredith interjected.

The man just stared at them with a confused frown on his face.

“It's okay Meredith, phones probably don't work around here anyway?”

“But surely he must have heard of a telephone?” Meredith whispered.

“It doesn't matter.” he said to her before turning back to address the old man, “do you know of anyone around here who could help us out?”

“There's no one around here for miles? Only me, my daughter and two sons, most times?” he answered.

“The injuns have long been driven out by the army and herded into reservations.”

Jeremiah and Meredith didn't know what to make of that? Native American tribes haven't lived in this area for generations?

“Would you two strangers like a cup of water or somfin? Sorry don't have much to give ya at the moment, but you are welcome to share in whatever we got.”

“That's very kind of you sir,” Jeremiah said, as they followed the older man towards the porch of the house.

“By the way, this is my fiancee Meredith and I am Jeremiah, Jeremiah Sheppard.” He said while he held his hand out to be shaken. But instead of taking his hand the old-timer grabbed Jeremiah by the scruff of his coat and ran him backward into a tree.

“What kind of game are ya playin' at stranger!?” the years of labor-intensive work showed in the strength of the old-timer as he held Jeremiah pinned to the tree. Meredith's weak attempts to pull his arm free was met with, “Lucille! Bring the shotgun.”

“Please sir let him go and we will be on our way.”

“Oh no, you won't. Lucille!”

Boom!... A shot went off into the air.

“Paw. Let the man go so's he kin explain his self.”

Lucille a pretty, dark-haired teenager dressed in a shirt and canvas dungarees was standing there with a shotgun aimed and pointed at them.

“Go and git me some rope so's I kin string em up here and now.”

“No Paw. Do as I say and let the man loose.”

The old man used Jeremiah's throat to push himself back to go and stand beside his armed daughter. Jeremiah bent down to loosen his collar and take a breath. Meredith had come beside him and placed a hand on either side of his body, holding him in fear for their lives.

“He's a god-danged Sheppard Lucille.” Her father tried to plead with her.

“Is that right stranger? Is that horse-thieving cattle rustler Jeremiah Sheppard your kinfolk?”

“I honestly don't know who in God's name that you are talking about?” Jeremiah replied as he straightened himself out and cleared his throat. “The only other Jeremiah Sheppard that I have ever met was my father, but he died over a year ago?”

“Well you had better state the real reason whys you are here afore we blows yer heads off.” the old man growled at him.

“Look, I tell you I know nothing about this man that you speak of? I will swear to that on any bible.” With a look of fear in her eyes, Meredith just stood there nodding approval with what he said.

“We got lost and broke down. Then we just followed this road looking for help?”

“Where were ya headin'?” Lucille inquired.

“To find a place to take pictures.”

Lucille lowered the weapon, “Are you those people who go around taking pictures of things with those new-fangled cameras?”

By the intrigued look in her eyes, Jeremiah thought it prudent to go along with it.

“Well in fact we are.” Jeremiah answered as he glanced a wink at Meredith.

“So yer not from around these parts?”

“No, Meredith and I both grew up in the city. Many miles from here.”

“I kin see thet by the clothes you're wearin'.” Lucille seemed a bit more relaxed in her tone of voice by now.

“We left our camera and gear where we had broken down.”

“Give me one reason why we shouldn't just shoot you fer trespassin' on our land?” the father asked.

Lucille spoke to her father in a lowered tone. “If he is a kin of that cattle thief then maybe showing them a bit of kindness might soften that crooks heart in his claim for our land Paw?”

Since first laying eyes on Lucille, Jeremiah couldn't help noticing how much she looked like someone that he knew. The granddaughter of a fierce businessman that had been his companies biggest competitor for years. The granddaughter now ran the company and proved to be just as fierce a competitor as her grandfather had been. She had been successful in deflecting all his company's take-over bids.

“Pft! I doubt if that crook has a heart?” her father answered in a disgusted voice.

“Trust me Paw I have a hunch,” she whispered to him.

“Okay, but I ain't lettin' em outta my sight,” he grumbled back.

“Paw the man can't help it if he was unfortunate to be born with the same name as Jeremiah Sheppard now can he?”

“What kinda help ya'll searchin' fer?” Lucille asked them.

“Well, we hoped that you could help us contact someone in the city to come out and pick us up?” Meredith spoke up.

“Dunno if we can help you there mam? Ain't no telegraph office in these parts.”

Jeremiah and Meredith looked at each other in surprise. Had they stumbled onto some kind of off-the-grid hippy commune or reality television show or something? Or was she just being sarcastic? Somehow Jeremiah didn't think so.

“Okay, we can't help ya so move on. Git the hell off our land and you can tell that kin of yours that we ain't goin' nowhere when you see him next.” the father glowered at them.

“Paw, look the storms a comin' we can't send them away in that?”

“Why not? We owe them nothin'?”

“Now would that be the right Christian thing to do Paw?”

Lucille was right the sky overhead was beginning to darken as the clouds closed in overhead.

“Considerin' that I won't be able to sleep at night knowing we sent strangers away who came askin' fer help and we refused em without at least tryin' to help?”

“Dang it girl, you sound just like your mother.”

They were escorted into the humble dwellings and given somewhere to sit while Lucille set about cooking up something to eat from pots hung over an open fire. Jeremiah tried to make the father believe that he knew nothing about the man that they had been talking about. But still, he seemed suspicious of him. After setting the shotgun down close to where Lucille was working the father headed outside to bring firewood in before the rain started. The cabin was one large room with a large fireplace at one end, beside which there was a door that led to the woodshed built against the outside wall.

A large wooden cross hung above the stone fire hearth below an Indian dream catcher. Rusting old animal traps lay on a workbench of sorts that was built into the corner of the room below a shuttered window on the other side of the large fireplace. Two bunk beds were built into the far corner of the room and a small slat bed opposite, all of which were covered with fur skins for blankets. The roof was high enough to allow a small loft to be added above the bunk beds. On the walls were pinned animal skins of various types.

“It smells in here,” Meredith complained under her breath.

“Would you rather be out in the storm?” Jeremiah whispered to her, “Don't be rude.”

“What is the problem that your father has with this other Jeremiah Sheppard?”

“You really don't know?”

“Ah, no we don't?” Meredith replied, in a sarcastic tone.

“Well, the Jeremiah Sheppard that we know was jailed back in the old country fer bein' a low down horse thief and cattle rustler. He was then sent over here to the colonies to do a penalty of ten years of hard labor with many other convicts. It gave the settlers cheap workers to help with breakin' in the land fer ranchin'. The government started selling off the land that they took from the Injuns around here at cheap prices, to encourage more ranchin'. By the time Jeremiah Sheppard had earned his freedom he had saved enough money to buy some of that cheap injun land.”

“Why does he want your lands so bad?”

“He thinks that there is gold on it? But I tell ya, there ain't nary a coin to be made off any of our lands. Not from gold, there ain't. Cause there ain't any gold here?”

“What kind of price is he offering you for the land?”

“Price?” Lucille swung back with a laugh.

“He ain't offering nothing. Claims that our land is part of the lot that he brought from the government land agents and had given us a month to pack up and move out.”

“How did you come to live here?”

“The Injuns gifted me rights to use this land however I pleased.” the father interjected as he entered the room with a load of wood in his arms.

“Here let me help you with that,” Jeremiah said, as he stood up to unload the wood that the old man was carrying in his arms.

“Your clothes will get all messy.” Meredith reminded him.

“That doesn't really matter now Meredith.” Jeremiah took off his suit jacket and hung it over the chair that he vacated. Unbuttoned his vest coat and then rolled up his sleeves.

“Me and Frank Tate were trapping in these parts when we came across a young Injun lad who had wandered away from his tribe and had gotten his self lost. Poor little varmint was half frozen to death when we found him. So Frank and I took him with us and looked after him. He came right before long, so we tracked where his tribe moved to hold out for the winter and took him home. The big chief was so happy to have the little fella back that he gave us this bit of land to build a house on. He even gave each of us a wife. Purdy little things they were too.” Old Sam snickered. Lucille slapped him playfully on the arm. That was her mother he was referring to. Then Sam added in a low almost angry-sounding tone, “Frank and his wife had lodgings across the river from us. Sheppard took his land.”

“Where are they now? Frank and his wife?” Jeremiah inquired.

“They were both found dead at the bottom of a ravine that their wagon had gone over,” Lucille replied.

“Sheppard's men killed them.” the father blurted out. “Spooked their horses. Everyone knows.”

“But no one can prove it,” Lucille added as she set the wooden trestle table for dinner.

Meredith whispered to Jeremiah, “If these Hill-Billys owned cars that would never have happened?”

“I don't really think that you're getting the picture here Meredith?” Jeremiah whispered back as he arose to go sit at the table after Lucille waved them towards one of the bench seats alongside it. Jeremiah could tell by the look on Meredith's face that she was dubious about eating from the plates that were set around the table. Even though the new aromas of cooked food had now permeated the air causing his own hungry mouth to water.

“The food comes boiling hot from the pot. It won't kill you?” Jeremiah reassured her under his breath.

“I am sorry but this chicken and vegetable broth is all we have to offer. You are more than welcome to share it with us.”

“You are very kind,” Jeremiah replied to Lucille. Meredith just smiled one of her fake smiles to prevent herself from showing her true feeling towards the food that she had been served. But on an empty stomach, the broth with its accompanying hot cornbread fresh from the Dutch oven soon changed her attitude towards the food.

“ Mm, Better than expected,” she said as she swallowed her first spoonful. The rain had started to pelt the outside of their glaze-less windows covered only by thin wooden slat shutters with animal skins stretched over them to cover as much of the small gaps between the slats as possible. The only light was from the fire burning in the hearth and a kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling above the table.

As the shutters began to rattle in the howling wind outside, old Sam mentioned, “looks like you two will be holed up here fer a while? Well, fer the night at least? No one be goin' anywhere in that downpour?”

A ladder was placed against the floor of the loft to allow Jeremiah and Meredith to climb into where Lucille usually slept. Tonight she will be sleeping on one of her brother's bunk beds. Old Sam dragged the slat bed over to the fire, his normal routine before going to bed. But tonight he removed the ladder and lay it down onto the floor,

“I'll sleep better if I know those two are up there and can't get down to cause any trouble,” he grumbled to Lucille.

As they lay on top of the furs in the dark, Jeremiah whispered to Meredith, “it feels though we are in some kind of time warp? Gone back in time a hundred years or so?”

“Well, it's not natural that people still live like this in this day and age on purpose? Disgusting,” she whispered back.

“That's beside the point, Meredith. There is something that I need to tell you. But you must keep it to yourself.”

“Okay? What?”

Keeping his voice low and close to her ear Jeremiah explained, ”my ancestor Jeremiah the first, made his fortune finding gold on a plot of land that he had purchased. He had worked for a rancher further down river before that who had claimed to find a few pieces of gold on the river bed shortly after a flood. The rancher soon disappeared along with the nuggets that he had found. Legend has it that he had left the area to go live the easy life in the city with his newfound wealth. The land that my ancestor bought later, was up river from that original find where he had discovered the source of the gold nuggets that were found.”

“So what your saying, is that if somehow we have slipped back in time, that the guy these two are talking about could very well be your, ancestor?” Meredith asked surprised.

“Shh, keep your voice down...but, yes.”

“Oh whatever. I think you're going as nutty as those two? We need to leave here as soon as possible you're getting bush fever or something? I'm going to try and sleep, I just hope that we are the only ones sleeping up here tonight?” she added with a shrug of disgust.

The rain and wind had eventually stopped by morning. Meredith had entered back inside from going outside after a breakfast of ducks eggs and cured meat followed by a mug of cider. She went and sat herself down beside Jeremiah who was sitting on one of the bunk beds tying his shoe laces.

“Oh my god,”

“What?”

“Do you know where I had to go?”

“Had to go? Go where?”

“You know...to go?”

“Oh, I see.” Jeremiah laughed.

“Whoever builds a house with no little room? They go outside? Like animals?” Meredith just wasn't amused.

Lucille approached them carrying a porcelain jug filled with water, a bowl, and a small towel over her arm.

“Thought you two might like to freshen up a bit?”

Jeremiah nudged Meredith with his elbow when she asked, “do you have a mirror at least?”

“Well, I do have a looking glass mam. I'll just go and fetch it for you”

Jeremiah looked at Meredith, then rolled his eyes.

“'iggins! Are you in there!?”

Everyone's attention went to the voice calling from outside. Old Sam swung open the door with the shotgun over his arm and yelled back. “Git tha hell off a ma property Sheppard! And take yer gang with you!”

“It's not your land 'iggins. It never was. I paid for it fair and square.”

“Off them who stole it from the Injuns.”

“That's all in the past 'iggins. Injuns word don't mean nothin' anymore.”

“I have prior rights to this land. And I ain't no Injun.”

“The land agents see it differently and they have the law on their side.”

Jeremiah spoke to Lucille, “ask your father if he will let me speak to them?”

“If you think it might do some good?”

Lucille called her father back into the cabin as Jeremiah donned his suit jacket, tidied himself up a bit before opening the door.

“Who the hell in tor-nation are you stranger?”

“I am their lawyer.”

“The law is the law stranger and no city-slicked lawyer can change that. I have a paper here from the judge telling them that their time here runs out today.”

“May I see it please?”

“Give it to that old coyote, he refused to take it from me the last time.” the gruff-looking rider in the saddle said to him as he leaned down to give him the sheet of paper.

Jeremiah skipped a breath as he noticed the date stamp on the parchment paper...1876.

Jeremiah entered back into the cabin as the horsemen turned and rode away.

“He said that he was giving you and Lucille till midnight tonight to be gone or he will be back in the morning to throw you out himself.”

“He can try!” Old Sam barked back in the hope that his antogniser could somehow hear him.

Jeremiah handed him the court order, which old Sam just screwed up and threw into the fireplace.

“Paw? What are we to do?” Lucille asked as she went to lay her hand onto the shoulder of the disgruntled man.

“I'm very sorry, I did try to reason with him but he didn't want to hear about it.” Jeremiah tried to explain.

“There's no reasonin' with a snake,” Lucille told him.

“Well, he did have a legal eviction notice with him?” Meredith answered from the bunk she was sitting on carefully wiping her face while looking into the handheld mirror that Lucille had given her earlier.

“Will you shut it, Meredith?” Jeremiah was getting frustrated with her.

Jeremiah sat down to consider the situation. Should he tell them about the gold on this land? If they took any, his ancestor could then accuse them of having stolen it? They could end up spending the rest of their days in prison.

“So none of you went and laid a legal claim to this land when you had a chance?”

“As far as we were concerned we had all the rights that we needed from the Injun chief who let us live here? We didn't know that they were going to come and drive them away?” Old Sam responded. Then he added, “besides, it would have been mighty rude to go and make legal papers for the property while the Injuns were still livin' on it, now wouldn't it? Could have been our hair hangin' from the walls in here.”

“Me and ma brothers were born and grew up on this piece of land. It's in our blood.” Lucille moaned.

Old Sam grumbled to himself, “if the South had won the war, things would be different. Danged city Yankees and their legal tongue-twisting.” After loading his pipe, taking a couple of puffs, he continued, “The Injuns didn't pick sides during the war, stayed out of it, didn't want any part of it. But that didn't stop those land-grabbing Yankees from accusing them of helping the confederate army for not stoppin' them from passing through their lands. Just so's they kin git their hands on their huntin' grounds for ranchin',”

Later on Lucille asked them, “can I take you somewhere? I can pull the buggy out and hitch her up?”

“Well, that sounds like the most promising thing I have heard over the last two days!” Meredith blurted out. Before adding, “I don't think I could spend another night in that loft?” she shivered to show her disgust.

“I'm very sorry that you didn't have a good night last night mam,” Lucille answered with sadness in her eyes.

“Oh, and the food was just...”

“Will you knock it off Meredith? We all know that you feel uncomfortable here. You do a better job showing it than hiding it. Be grateful that I didn't leave you stranded waiting in the car.” Jeremiah had just about enough of her attitude.

“And daddy will be hearing all about this.” She answered with her nose up in the air.

Lucille a bit embarrassed about starting a row between them interjected by asking,” Shall I hitch up the buggy now?”

“No Lucille I think another night here would do Meredith a world of good.”

Meredith's eyes and mouth dropped wide open.

“Jeremiah Sheppard. How dare you. Daddy will certainly be hearing about this.”

“Oh go ahead Meredith and don't forget to spice it up like you always do.”

Old Sam couldn't help snickering as he prodded Jeremiah with his pipe, “Yankee huh?”

Meredith wasn't amused, “mind your own business old man.”

“Jeremiah, I refuse to spend another night in this run-down shack.”

“There's the door Meredith, Higgins road is just outside,” Jeremiah replied, then his eyes lit up.

“That's it. The road outside. Has it been documented as being called Higgins road on any local maps? That could be proof of your prior ownership of this property. Especially if it is listed on any government or military maps before the date that Jeremiah Sheppard bought the property.”

All except Meredith, who sat sulking on the bunk bed, sat down around the table.

“How far is the next town? We need to visit a library.”

“About a day's buggy ride,” Lucille answered.

“We will have to go into town first thing tomorrow morning, it's a bit late in the day to go now.”

“Tomorrow morning?” Meredith sounded like she wanted to die.

“What about when that horse thief turns up?” Lucille asked.

“He may think that you have heeded his request and moved out if he shows up and finds no one here?” Then he added, “bring everything inside from off the porch this afternoon and when we all head into town tomorrow we will lock the place up secure.”

It was the middle of the night when they heard a voice outside calling, “It's after midnight 'iggins we're comin' in!”

Although the ladder had been left up this night Jeremiah didn't use it as he dropped down off the loft. In the dim light of the dying fire, he heard Old Sam yell out to his daughter, “Lucille the guns! Get them!”

She ran into the woodshed and came out carrying the shotgun and two other rifles.

They peaked through the small cracks in the wooden shutters. Jeremiah Sheppard and his men were on horseback in a row at the front of the cabin.

“Okay, boys take aim and fire at will.”

Old Sam, Lucille, and Jeremiah each held weapons as they ducked down below the cabin's log walls to shield themselves from the first volley of bullets. Meredith was on the other side of the cabin cowering in a corner. The bullets smashed holes in the shutters as they rained across the cabin. Whenever they could the three defenders returned the fire but the darkness had given them a difficult target.

“So? That's the way it's going to be is it 'iggins?”

Jeremiah watched as they lit torches and had turns riding over to throw them onto the roof of the cabin without getting shot by its occupants. “They're trying to set the roof alight.”

“Lot of good that will do them on a sod roof after a rain,” Sam answered.

Jeremiah thought, “surely those men outside would know that?” That's when he realized that the men out front could be just a decoy? He made his way to a window on the far side of the cabin. Peering through a hole that was made by a bullet exiting the building through it, he noticed a four-wheeled wagon on a slope above the cabin being set alight.

“They are burning something in a wagon out back here?” he yelled to Old Sam.

“Get back from there!” Old Sam yelled and at the same time ran to pull Meredith away from the corner that she was cowering in on that side of the cabin.

“The danged thing is full of rocks!”

Things started to make sense to Jeremiah as it came trundling down the slope at speed with its draw beam pointed towards them. A fiery battering ram to take the wall down and set the place alight from inside. They were trying to force them to choose whether to go outside into the incoming bullets or stay inside and burn to death.

CRASH! The wall of the cabin gave way under the weight of the rocks in the wagon. The roof collapsed down onto the flames of the burning wagon, its timbers catching on fire. They crawled through the front door out onto the porch coughing and choking waiting for their fate when.

“Paw! Lucille! Are you alright?”

“The boys! Paw! The boys are back!” Lucille cried out in excitement. In the time that their attentions were turned towards the burning wagon the two sons had come riding in from seemingly nowhere and had caught Sheppard and his men off guard.

“Lucille grab the buggy and we will round up the horses. We have to get out of here before they come back.” One of her brothers called.

Meredith seemed in shock when she was lain down onto the deck of the buggy. Jeremiah sat beside her. Once Lucille and her father were on board, Lucille shook the reins with a loud, “HA!” The buggy sped off down the wagon-worn track into the darkness followed closely by the two boys on horseback. It didn't take long for Sheppard to figure out what had happened when he rallied his men into a posse to go after them.

“I ain't taking any chances by leaving any of them alive or any foolish enough to be with them. Come on!”

The posse took off in the only direction that a wagon could go. Down Higgins road.

“Paw! They're a comin!” his son yelled.

“There's too much weight for this old buggy to stay ahead, so me an the boys are gonna try and slow them down. Lucille, try and get our guests as far away from here as possible.”

“Okay Paw. But be careful.”

Jeremiah watched with admiration for the old man as one of his sons took his arm and pulled him from the speeding wagon onto the back of his horse. Then the three turned and rode back into the darkness. They could soon hear gunshots in the distance behind them.

“I am so sorry that you two got involved in all this,” Lucille called back to them.

“It's okay Lucille it's not your fault.”

“Then whose is it?” Meredith asked, who had by now sat up and was clinging to the sideboard of the wildly rocking buggy.

“We went to them they didn't come to us?”

“A big mistake that turned out to be isn't it Jeremiah Sheppard the fourth.”

“Whatever you say, Meredith,” Jeremiah replied as he had noticed that Lucille had shot him an embarrassed look.

Just as they cleared the forest on both sides Lucille pulled the horses to a slower pace to rest them after their long run to safety. A shot rang out and hit one of the two horses pulling the buggy, causing him to stumble against the other horse. Jeremiah grabbed Meredith and jumped in case the off-balanced buggy flipped on top of them. Lucille had jumped in the other direction to safety. The one remaining horse stood itself back up whilst the other lay bleeding on the grass breathing heavily.

Lucille had grabbed up a rifle and had come around beside them hiding behind the buggy that was now laying on its side.

“I see the critter.” She said as she took careful aim with her rifle propped up on the side of the wagon and then fired.

“Got em.”

After waiting a bit they stood up and dusted themselves off.

“Told you he was a snake. Had one of his varmints waiting here ready to bushwhack us in case we got away.”

“We only have one horse between three of us. An the buggy looks in no shape to be goin' anywheres?” Lucille mentioned.

“I'll take it. I am sure that you country bumpkin types are more used to walking than I am? And Jeremiah is a man he should handle walking better than I do as well.” Meredith informed them in her usual airs.

“Okay, mam that sounds fair.” Lucille politely answered.

“Meredith I want you to do something for me?” Jeremiah said to her.

“What now?” she asked sarcastically.

“The ring, I want it.”

“This engagement ring you mean? The one I told daddy to tell you to buy for me?”

“Exactly.”

“Whatever for?”

“I want it back.”

“Oh Jeremiah you're embarrassing me, you don't really mean that do you?”

“Meredith I have never meant anything more in my life. Now you are making me angry.”

“Okay. Okay.”

Jeremiah caught her arm as she was about to throw the ring into the darkness. He knew her vindictiveness too well. After pulling the ring from her clenched fingers Jeremiah grabbed Lucille and told her to get her gun, take the horse and go help her family. He gave her a hug and wished her good luck. Before she rode off Jeremiah took her hand, he then wrapped her fingers around the ring that he had placed into her palm and said, “here take this. It's yours now, use it to get yourselves back on your feet. I paid over fifty thousand dollars for it. You deserve it more. Now go.” before he slapped her horse hard on its rump.

“You gave my ring to that Hill-Billy!? How outrageous. Wait till I tell daddy about this one.”

“Do you want to live to see your precious daddy? Well just shut up.”

It was almost morning by the time that they had reached their vehicle parked on the side of the road.

Jeremiah noticed that the road that it was sitting alongside was not the rough gravel road anymore it was tar sealed? He had a hunch when he turned the key in the ignition, the lights on the dash lit up before the car turned over and started running. All the way home Meredith was sending texts of complaint to her father as Jeremiah drove in a world of his own. She didn't even notice that the dead horse, the overturned buggy had disappeared. As did any trace of where a sodden roofed cabin once stood, only the slope that the firey wagon had once come tumbling down many years ago.

That evening Jeremiah made an important phone call to an old competitor's granddaughter.

“Hello? Lucy Higgins? This is Jerry Sheppard speaking, I am considering the sale of my shares in my father's company. I think that I can make you a very reasonable offer? When would you be free so that we can discuss the details over dinner?”

Like his father and his father before him, Jeremiah Sheppard's future had already been planned out for him by tradition. Until a glitch in the matrix took him to a time before his once cherished family traditions began.

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The Deadline. Story 4

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Wish the world would just...go away. Story 2