Ren led the trio behind him down the path along the edge of the rift. The rift was so dark, even darker than the night. There was something hellish about the rift. It wasn't just the darkness, there were occasional howls and growls that echoed out from the rift.
The more he looked down there, the more he had a feeling that something would jump out of there to attack them.
'That rock monster probably rose from there,' he thought, still staring down at the bottomless canyon.
Ren was tired, his feet ached and he would appreciate a rest, but the Gunman hadn't given a command yet. There was no telling how far away they were from the monster and he couldn't tell if it was almost dawn.
Ren spotted a rock, large enough to cover them if they sat behind it. It was far from the edge of the rift, which made it a safe spot.
"I see a rock. Can we rest here?" Ren asked, hoping the Gunman would answer positively.
"I think we can stop here," Gunman said, searching for the rock with his hand.
The Gunman lit the torch. He walked to where the rock was and scanned the place first.
Ren lowered himself behind the rock and leaned. He exhaled, enjoying the feeling of having to sit on his butt and letting his feet rest. He was even more relieved that he wasn't in chains anymore.
The other prisoner sat beside Ren, before Brawly did. The Courteous Gunman took off his hat and sat opposite them.
He moved the torch from face to face before he quenched it.
Ren watched him as he slowly rested his head on a smaller rock, covering his face with his hat.
He loved the fact that his eyes were sharp enough to see in the dark when no one else could. Yet, he hated the fact he was in an environment that made him so prone to danger. Worst of all, he was in the midst of strangers.
There was no way he could sleep in such a place, even though his eyes were heavy and already kissing together.
He didn't know when he dozed off. He was woken from his snooze by a tap on his shoulder.
"Get up, sleepy head. We have a lovely day ahead of us," the Gunman said, smiling down at him in an angle that cringed Ren out.
The sun was climbing out of the horizon, its orange-yellow rays falling directly in Ren's face.
He slowly got up and saw the other two standing beside the rock.
"I would bind you all, but I ain't got ropes on me no more," Gunman said, pointing his gun in a playful manner at them.
The three prisoners glared at him.
"I would kill you, but I don't have much strength left," Brawly growled, breathing heavily like a beast.
The Gunman laughed hard.
"That's adorable for a threat. Let's not feel too big now, shall we?"
He patted Brawly on his shoulder, but he pushed his hand off with as grunt.
"Alright," he pulled out the folded paper from his boots. He stared at it for a while.
"I think we are close to where we can cross over the rift."
They followed his lead. The sun got hotter as the day progressed. Ren was drenched in sweat, his skin was sunburned, and his bare feet felt like they were being charred away by fire.
The third prisoner dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
"I can't... I can't go on anymore."
"What do you mean you can't go on? We are almost there," The Gunman frowned.
"That's what you have said for the last three stops," Brawly replied angrily.
"Look, I'm trying to help you here and if we don't move quickly, we might actually die here."
Brawly scoffed. "Yeah, right. A bounty hunter trying to help his bounty survive."
"Water... I need water."
The third prisoner looked pale, his eyes were sunken like he'd be dead in the next few seconds.
Ren crouched by the man's side. He hung his hands over his neck and helped him up.
"Do you know where we can find water?" Ren asked.
"When we cross the rift, we will find water. But..." The Gunman turned to Ren and the man he was helping, his revolver pointed at them.
"...I doubt he'll even make it to the crossing."
He fired. Ren fell in shock with the man. He turned to see the man's pale face staring at him with blood streaming down his forehead. Ren closed his eyes and tried to slow down his breathing.
A distant hum filled the air. Vultures scattered into the air like something had just disrupted their meeting.
Brawly watched the whole scene with contempt.
"Now that we've gotten rid of the load, let's get moving."
Ren and Brawly exchanged looks, the kind that felt like they had reached a certain uncomfortable agreement.
"Is anybody else thirsty? Or too tired to walk?"
Brawly clenched his fists before he turned and marched past the Gunman. Ren slowly got up, dusted his butt and followed his partner.
They had barely started walking when they heard a rumble. The ground quivered beneath their feet as the rumble grew louder.
Gunman readied his guns, Brawly took a stance and Ren simply did what Ren would do — stood hands akimbo, squinting to see what was coming.
A large ball of rock that they all recognized rolled over the corpse of the third man and came to a halt.
Their eyes widened with fear and a thousand volts of shock.
They tiptoed back as the monster slowly uncurled into its humanoid form, revealing its crimson eyes.
The Gunman fired at its eyes, but the bullet ricochetted off it like it was metal.
"Shit. Run!"
They darted off and another race for life began.
"I thought you said it was blind?" The Gunman shouted as they ran.
"Uh, yeah..." Ren said, glancing at the monster behind them.
"How the hell is it seeing us in daylight then?"
"I don't think it's nocturnal. It is blind and just reacts to sound and light. Your gunshot must've called it to us."
"Shit." The Gunman stopped and shot at its leg, right at the joints where the two parts of its leg merged together.
It took three shots to make it bleed. It slowed down but still followed them.
Ren's eyes drifted to the fresh, dark crimson lines running down its leg. Already, the blood was beginning to crust over, but not fully.
'Thirty seconds.' Ren nodded after his silent count.
"That's the ridge. We'll use that to cross."
The Gunman pointed at a thin, curved rock that connected one end of the rift to the other. The ridge was narrow and already crumbling. At the foot of the ridge there were some boulders gathered like someone had intentionally left them there.
"We can kill it," Ren murmured as they crouched behind the boulder.
Brawly scoffed. "Kill what? Are you mad?!"
"My guns can't shake it off," Gunman said, setting his gun for an aim.
"It has weaknesses."
The Gunman frowned. "Explain."
Ren pointed at the fresh crimson streak while the monster roamed.
"Its blood needs time to harden. While it's soft, it's vulnerable and it is always slower. Your bullets do nothing to the hardened plates, but I think they can hurt them when they are just new."
Brawly wiped sweat from his brow. "So what? We go and chip it away?"
'What an idiot.'
Ren shook his head. "No. We'll push it away, into the rift."
The Gunman nodded slowly, like he understood Ren's plan perfectly.
"We lure it up the ridge and force it into a stumble," Ren continued, "And for that we need bait."
They both glanced at Brawly in unison.
Brawly blinked, then glared. "Don't even dare!"
"You're big, loud, and annoying," Ren chipped in, smiling."You're the perfect bait."
Brawly growled, but the Gunman stepped between them. "He's right. Draw its attention and lure it to follow you to the ridge."
The Gunman flicked out the barrels of his revolvers.
"Alright, I got six shots left in each."
"So we are just going to listen to this cursed child? You are going to put me as bait because he said so?"
The Gunman sighed, spinning his revolver.
"If you want to die, you can sit there and keep whining about listening to a good plan."
He slowly raised his head, peeping at the monster. It immediately spun and the Gunman hid behind the boulder.
"If I die, I'm haunting you."
"Could you just die already?" Ren muttered.
The Gunman cracked his neck. "Gentlemen. Let's kill this nightmare."