The house was a hovel. A well built hovel. Somewhere, in the past, perhaps the original builders gave a damn, the current owners did not care. The filth and contempt the current proprietors had for the domicile concealed the age of the building. However, in the cold and damp pre-dawn light it looked like a bastion of hope and safety.
Grey nudged his horse forwards, the chestnut mare responded to the gentle nudges. Slowly and painfully Grey slid off the beast and half hobbled and half fell towards the hitching post in an attempt at securing the faithful companion.
Snoring emanated from within the darkened building. A deep phlegmy snore that brought to overactive minds the image of a huge bear.
"Meryl!" Grey yelled, his voice breathless as he clattered to a prone position on the porch.
The great beasts snoring skipped a beat, like a piano missing notes. Grey shook his head and widened his eyes as he felt the darkness of concussion roll in.
"Meryl," Grey bellowed, feeling his world wobble.
"Who?" A petite female face filled his swimming vision, as her startled tone and Irish accent filled his ears.
The question confused Grey, the pretty, red-headed, freckle washed young woman was not usually what one found at Meryls. "Meryl. Shot. Bleeding out." Grey hoped that the stilted message would get through and the pretty young woman would understand.
The young woman regarded the man on the rotting porch. Dressed in plain but weathered workman's clothes he sported a heavy colt-navy pistol on one hip and a peacemaker on the other. Tools of a killer not a worker. His face a rictus of pain, she saw the wound on his left thigh and arm each was a bloody mess of flesh and pulped clothing.
"Meryl!' The young woman paused, her green eyes narrowing. "Who is this?"
"That," Meryl said quietly from behind her. "Is Grey Frost."
The young woman jumped in fright, Meryl for all his size and bulk, still startled her with his speed and silence even after all this time.
"The lad looks dead," the young woman said with a grim tone. Leaning forward to look at the wounded man.
"Take more than that to kill Grey Frost." Meryl said moving the tiny young woman out of the way and eliciting a startled yelp. The bear of a man scooped the wet, still form of the wounded man up.
"Ye mean, the real Grey Frost?." The woman said standing up. "He's a killer." The last part was said in a hissed whisper.
"Well he is my friend,'' the bear of a man said as he carried the dying man inside.
*****