Lucid Waking

Archive for January 1st, 2009

Appalacian Spring by Aaron Copland (AKA The Masked Savior)

        The sky burst into fantastic tangerine oranges, rosy pinks, and butterfly yellows as the sun slowly rose over the mountainous horizon, spreading its golden fingers over the rocks. Samantha Bean watched the sun as long as she dared, watching the dark navy of the night dissipate into oasis blue. Wind quietly blew dust through the valleys and a few buzzards floated on the air; their bodies were dark splotches in the blue sky. She strained her eyes towards the spot she thought they were circling, but she couldn’t see anything but the red-orange rocks. She whistled to her horse and snapped the reigns, leading her steed towards the spot she supposed something dead was laying.
        The buzzards had landed on the body when she got there, neatly picking away at the flesh. She got down quickly and walked over to their breakfast, trying to make as much noise as possible. The birds flitted from one place to another trying to maintain their grasp on the food while still avoiding danger. She ignored them and bent over their breakfast. What she first thought was an animal, ended up more human shaped than she would have liked. She gently kicked the body to roll it over so she could see its face.
        “Drew Parker?!”
        The boy looked parched and she easily surmised he had collapsed from dehydration. A pit of panic formed in her stomach as she shakily called over her horse and clumsily untied her water skin. She gently poured some into his mouth and tried to dust the sand off of his face.
        “Damn it,” she swore quietly and reached for a handkerchief from her sack to wipe the sand and blood away from his mouth and eyes. “If the sheriff saw you like this, he’d kill me.”
        Drew coughed. He tried to look up, but shut his eyes harder against the harsh mid-morning sun. Samantha sighed and took off her hat, placing it clumsily on his head.
        “Here,” she said handing him her water skin, “take a drink.”
        She sat him up so that he could regain his balance. After a few unsteady seconds he looked at her, his tired face turning to shock and then fear. He chugged down her water and handed it back to her quickly.
        “Ms. Bean…” He tried to stand up, but she put her hand out to stop him.
        “Don’t stand up yet, you’re not quite ready.” She put her water skin back in her sack and sat down next to him. “So, why are you here anyway?”
        He blushed. “I was looking for Will Carmichael, sort hoping to run into the Masked Savior on the way…”
        “You were looking for the most infamous criminal and bounty hunter in the United States…why?”
        “You don’t know how boring it is working in a bank!”
        “Maybe not, but it’s a lot safer than looking for danger.”
        He glared at her. “I’m sixteen, I can look after myself.”
        “And look at where that got you. The buzzards were starting to pick at you…I’m not even sure how you’re alive right now.”
        “Well, what are you doing out here?”
        “Scouting,” she said. “Don’t ask anything else, it’s none of your business.”
        He frowned, but didn’t ask. He stood up slowly and stared at the ground, obviously hoping his head would stop spinning.
        “Well what are we doing next?” Drew asked cynically. “I’m not going back to town.”
        “You’re coming with me,” she said in a tone that let him know he had no chance of arguing with her.
        “I…” he paused looking over his shoulder to the expanse of dust. He turned back to her and started to decline, but she had already gotten on her horse and started back the other way.
        “If you don’t come, you can keep walking.”
        Samantha felt a small pull in her saddle and an extra weight on her horse. She knew the going back to town was going to be slower, but she couldn’t risk having him come along. She didn’t want his death on her conscience, either. There was a lot of burden in being a natural hero. She hoped that Will Carmichael wouldn’t be too far away from her by the time she actually got around to pursuing him.
        “Ms. Bean, do you know the Masked Savior? Is that who you’re scouting for?”
        She rolled her eyes. Drew had always loved the stories she fabricated, and she shouldn’t have been so surprised to find him trying to have adventures of his own.
        “Don’t be silly,” she said. I am the Masked Savior.

(Although this piece is very loosely based off "Appalacian Spring," you can still listen to it here.)