Free How the Stars did Fall by Paul F Silva

her youthfulness and beauty now unmarred. Daniel sat next to her.
    “You need to leave this city. Tonight. It’s not safe here.”
    “Is my father dead?”
    “Why would you think that?”
    “He told me he would kill my father.”
    “The Good Man?”
    Molly nodded. “Told me how he would do it, too. Is my father dead?”
    “Yes, I saw him die.”
    Now Molly turned her face towards the fire and drank some more of her water.
    “Where will I go?” she asked.
    Before Daniel could answer there was a rap at the door. His hands went to his belt, where his black revolvers hung like dormant predators waiting for their chance to strike. Then he got up, expecting the worst, and when he looked through his window he saw assembled in front of his house the Good Man himself and a retinue of armed militiamen. Daniel told Molly to hide in a cupboard and opened the door.
    He was certain he had been found out and that he would die for his disobedience, but if that were the case he had no recourse. Instead, he acted cool and normal, betting on the chance that the Good Man did not know about the girl. His bet paid off, because as soon as he opened the door, the Good Man gave him a good clasp on the shoulder and came in. Alone.
    “I didn’t see you at the gathering,” the Good Man said.
    “I left early.”
    “Daniel, remember what I spoke to you about last night. It is a serious thing, The Way. It is a path with no return. No changing minds; no half-measures. Will you go forward with us?”
    Truly, Daniel was uncertain. Not only because he did not know what saying yes would entail but because the nature of the Good Man’s beliefs had heretofore been clothed in vague abstractions, playing more on populist sentiment than the intellect of those he would convert. But the Good Man had told Daniel more than once that there was a secret core to The Way which only a few received and only when they were ready. At the same time, Daniel was not so naive to believe he could say no. He had attached himself to the destiny of this strange and violent man and he could not turn back. Not without bringing death upon himself.
    “I am ready,” Daniel said.
    “Good. Very good. Come.”
    Outside another man had been waiting whom Daniel had never seen before. He was of short stature but strong, with prominent, aggressive facial features and a mustache thick as a buffalo’s tail.
    “Daniel, this is Adler. I want you to go with him, and do whatever he tells you to do.”
    Having said that, the Good Man took his leave without exchanging pleasantries of any kind as if something was making him deeply uncomfortable and he could not wait to leave. Daniel and Adler shook hands.
    “You need to grab anything? We got a long way ahead of us.”
    “Where we going?”
    “Mount Shasta, or at least close to it.”
    “A long way indeed. I’ll get my pack.”
    Inside, Daniel opened the cupboard Molly had been hiding in and let her out. Then he took up his pack and filled it with all the things necessary to survive on your own in the wild. Canteens filled with water, a kettle, a pot, a knife, a tin cup and a pair of plates. To the pack he added canned beans and dried meats and a couple slices of bread. And he gave the pack to Molly.
    “Some men have come to lead me away from here,” Daniel said. “Don’t know when I’ll be back. I can’t help you much anymore. Take this. Wait for the dark and then leave. This too.”
    He handed Molly a couple of coins.
    “Find a safe place. Believe you can make it and you will.”
    Molly began to speak but Daniel left before she could finish a sentence. He wished to make a clean break. Thankfully, she did not call out to him or otherwise try to hold him there. Before long he found himself on the ferry to Oakland with Adler, a cold breeze stinging his eyes. From Oakland, they took the train north.
    Their seats faced each other and for over one hour, while the train was loaded, they sat without speaking, one avoiding the eyes