Recent content by ArtBlott

People did not just "get shot". There were warning signs. A terse word, a tense conversation. Maybe a sudden hush, or sometimes an abrupt uproar. Almost always a few too many to drink. Then a lot of standing. Some posturing. Sometimes punches would be thrown first, sometimes not. Either way...

The main problem with the desert is that is can kill you in various and terrible ways. A sand storm could turn you around, rendering you lost, and therefore dead. Run out of water? Dead. Found by bandits? Dead. Found by coyotes? Dead. And if someone wanted to shoot you? Well, there wasn't...

One hour ago, the entire town learned of the murder of the sheriff, and the theft of the two emergency deputies. And apparently the sheriffs' horse. And one of the Johnson family's tractor wheels, but nobody really thought that was related. The news rippled quickly, as all news does in small...

It took her ages after Claudia and Nick had left, but Tinka had managed to get the worst of the grime off of her and slide into something a bit more public-friendly just in time to slide in to work. Her hair was up in a loose bun held by thin metal rods again, but she had changed out the blouse...

Tinka put her hands on her hip and tilted her head. "$60, if you let Claudia take that trip. $100 if you don't. Either way, that'll pay you off. If you can't afford it, we can work something else out." It was a bit of a steep price she knew, but those replacement parts weren't cheap...

Tinka watched as her new project was lead in, limping badly and beat all to hell. She whistled low. "Wow. A Higgs Trotter? I haven't seen one of these in years. Well, one that can actually move. I'd be impressed if it didn't look like you threw her at a train." Her fingers lingered over the...

Tinka pursed her lips. She'd decide if she would have to go with once she got a look at the horse, but first she needed a look at the damage. Her guests probably got a great view of her butt as she shimmied up the ladder to her loft. Against the metal siding where it met the wood, there was a...

"Aha. Then you are either very smart, or very stupid," Tinka replaced and sound reel and gently closed Edgar's face. He purred noisily as she grabbed his afflicted back leg. She rolled each joint individually, carefully feeling for a locked cog or loose nut. Tinka frowned and with a flip of her...

"Shoo dosh 'at meem I don't geh 'is horf?" Tinka emerged with two flat tines and a sharper needle gripped in her teeth. She spat them out into her free hand, the other clutching a razor thin screwdriver as she settled herself back in her seat. "Well, anyone who bleeds on my floor that much and...

Ah yes. Tinka smiled. Last time. Last time Uncle Buck not only paid her time and a half, but gave her a week off to try and salvage what was left of his Steam Stallion. She might have been able to do it flawlessly too, if he hadn't taken it to Marlon Jone's Mechanic Shop uptown first. In her...

"Aw, Claud, who wouldn't be just thrilled to see you?" Tinka smirked, sitting up and stretching out. Her spine gave a few alarming pops as she settled back into her seat, brushing aside the guts of the toy train, "Somebody shoved fairy floss into every dang crevice this thing has." She sighed in...

Uncle Buck was a fair man, and since Tinka closed, her next shift wasn't until lunch. Which was nice. It meant Tinka could sleep in, have a nice relaxing morning, and maybe shake off some of the previous nights' weirdness. Assuming she didn't have other plans. And she had so many other plans...

Tinka gave a wry smile at her friends' outburst. She wasn't too concerned with the city boy's attitude. The saloons TOM was set up with some aftermarket parts to help with disgruntled clients, and woe to anyone who made her wake up the Big Boss of the place, Uncle Buck. No, what bothered her...

Once, when Tinka was very young, she saw a train jump it's tracks. It was a blind turn, and a tree had fallen from a previous storm. Men were already trying to move it, the old rotten thing strapped to two Wainright Steam Stallions. She could hear the gears grinding as the mechanical beasts...

Tinka kept her face neutral as she swept the bills into her hand and counted out them, though there was a smile in her voice as she glanced at Claudia. "Bring him by before we open tomorrow, 'round the back, as usual. If I can ever get my hands on a decent spinner wheel, I'll be happy to fix him...