Introduction
It is a hot summers day, the
month of July day 16th the year 1900, A poor first time
mother was giving birth for the first time, her name is Francisca
Reaper, she is the granddaughter of Grim Reaper, for the first time a
Reaper is going to be born on the land that Grim has built with his
own hands, the land he has built is huge in size, on this land is 19
houses and 12 animal houses, the Reaper family owns this property,
not one Reaper is left out of the estate, the property is as
beautiful as the day Grim has left it, the only family who ever owned
this land is the Reaper family, the family was all crowded around the
house where Grim Reaper used to live his days, Francisca was
screaming in pain as she is delivering a new baby Reaper into the
family, nothing was told where my father was or who he is, they say
he had rapped my mother and I'm the products, the birth of a new
Reaper brings a lot of drunken fools and happy with rage, the smell
of whiskey fills the air, my grandfather the son of Grim Reaper
stands by my mothers side as she is his only daughter, the Screams
from Francisca could be heard from around the whole town.
There was a cry that was
heard about 8:15 am, it was the birth of the new born baby Reaper,
this was the first sound the family heard from the bedroom where
Francisca was giving birth from her own bedroom, the cries of a new
born baby fills the hearts with joy, grandfather Jim was going crazy
with joy, happy that his daughter gave birth to a new baby girl, the
Reaper filled the room with whiskey and cigar smoke and joy, the town
was at ease when the new baby was born, grandmother Fran was crying
with joy, she couldn't believe her eyes of the new life that she just
watched come into this world, the free world was yet to come, when
the baby came into this world, no one ever knew the trouble they were
in for, this new baby was going to give them the life of hell as she
grows, but that was yet to be discovered from the whole family.
As the new born baby laid
there in her bassinet, the room had gotten very cold, the time was
11:54pm, there was an unexplained light, a moment later a spirit
enters the room, Fran and Jim was wide awake with Francisca they all
seen the same spirit, the spirit was in fact the one and only Grim,
he had paid a visit to his family, he wanted the new baby to be the
very first female of t he Reapers to follow his foot steps he once
took, he would not allow the baby to lead his path of life with out
the rules of the family and the same death powers that Grim once had,
Grim was happy to see his son even if was the last time he would see
his son alive.
The words of Grim speaks to
the whole room, know one can actually make the words out, Grim does
the chant of death to give the new baby all his powers, the chant
also brought in the thunder and lighting, also came with dark black
clouds, finally the chant ends after a while, Grim looks around the
room, Grim looks at Jim, Jim looks back at Grim, Grim said, you know
the rules, you and your wife lived with the rules, you was raised by
the rules, I hope you never gotten the rules, she can take a life or
she can give a life at any given time, Grim looks over to the baby,
he noticed the mother never gave her a name, Grim asked, Francisca
may I name the new baby for you? Francisca said, sure Grim, and yes I
know the rules Grim, if you remember I was there with you while I was
growing up as well, Grim Smiles, Grim said, you sure were, I was just
so much in love with my career that I didn't notice who was around
me, I watched you grow up from a baby to the beautiful woman you are
today, I'll name the new one Rose Anne Reaper, Francisca said, what a
beautiful name I like that name.
There was one more crash of
thunder and Grim was gone, the room filled with tears as Grim had
left, they all miss Grim, the visit had brought Francisca feel very
loved by Grim, she never expected a visit from Grim, she knew Grim
for a very short time, but it was long enough to make her remember
the rules that is now passed down to her very own baby, the baby was
the first ever to get a visit from Grim, she was also the first to
get the same powers that Grim has, now comes the life of hard love,
but will Rose under stand the love she will be getting? The town had
come to give Rose new gifts and pay her a visit, the new Reaper had
made front page news, the new baby was talk of the whole county, the
rules had to be told all over the county and all over the states, the
new baby was now well known as part of the Reaper family, the most
perfect part of the month was when Jim had gotten a second job to
help out with the baby even though it was only a family member not
his baby, great love will be spreading for the new baby.
Francisca was a real good
mother, she worked two jobs and never worked on the weekends, the
woman works very hard and works over time when she can, her family
all helps with the care as well, some take care of Rose while the
mother is at work, some pick up extra jobs to help support the baby,
the time was well spent with everyone who took their place in the
care for Rose, the law officers took care of Rose as well, when it
comes to Christmas, everyone in the whole county brings three gifts
to Rose every year, Rose was a very happy baby, the family was very
close, thanks to Rose they even got even closer, birthdays everyone
brings in a gift, birthday parties was thrown by the whole county,
this was a time that was pressure to everyone, everyone felt pressure
that was involved with the care, even those who are not an actual
parent yet, the very moment that the town had found out that the Rose
has had a person visit from Grim, her own great grandfather, rose was
getting bigger and using her powers from time to time, her powers
never work on a family member unless the dead allows the powers to
take action.
The times the family had
taken care of Rose, not one family member would ever see her get hurt
by any man or woman, unless the woman her very own mother as
punishment, the mother has all rights to punish their children as
long as the child is their own child not someone else's child, the
law was very understood and very well respected, now that times has
passed over throughout the years, nothing really changed in here in
Shady Oaks, the Sheriffs office was just across the street from the
jail house, the court house was right next door to the sheriffs
office to the left, to the right of the of the sheriffs office was
the Mayor's office, the jail is next to the tavern to the right of
the jail, the food store is on the other side of the jail, next door
to the store on the left side is where the black smith works, he also
lives there as well, the fire department is in the west side of town
as you come in, across from there is the school, east of town is the
prison and the senior's home that also has a day shelter for the
elderly, while the seniors are there for the day they get the help
they need and if they like it so much they can move in as well, to
the north of town you have a nice quiet property better known as the
Reaper Estate, across the street there is a small farm house, they
don't make any money from their farm but they get a living from it so
they don't need any jobs, they make a decent living, the south of
town is the corners office, across the street is the town hall, then
surrounding the town are Native American Tribes, the tribes are a big
part of our towns history, and also family to the Reaper's.
No one comes around to Shady
Oaks With out the learning that there is history here, they wonder
what the history is and or they know what the history is, they want
to learn more or they don't, once the state learns that Rose has been
blessed with the powers of her Great grandfather, they come from all
over, miles away from home just to see this child that they can not
touch, just the view of the baby is all they want, Rose sure felt
like this was an invasion in her life, she was just a baby and she
didn't like people coming over to see her, people needed to leave her
and her family alone, the county soon charge of knowing this feeling
to well, like rose is supposed to be some kind of freak show, this is
the last straw that the family could take.
The legend of the Reaper
family is very well known, the Mayor was no big help for the Reapers,
the Mayor was a drunken man, how he can be in charge of the whole
Shady Oaks County is beyond anyone who lives here, the County people
decided to take this action to the Mayor one last time, if he does
not fix this problem then the county is going to bench the Mayor and
elect a new Mayor, that sure was the best idea yet that the Shady
Oaks County had yet, but this is the first problem they have ever
had, the thoughts of hanging the Mayor the old fashion way had run
across everyone's mind, it was the sparkle in Jim's eyes that gave
him the Idea to have the Mayor arrested, this was never going to end
very good, people didn't know what was going to be happening here in
Shady Oaks County, the edge of the tempers started to fly from the
Reapers as they felt like a freak show already, Gretchen was the only
Female of the Reaper still in office.
Gretchen had more power of
authority about what to do, she took charge over the Frank the Mayor
that was so drunk and everyone knew Frank couldn't tell his ass from
the snake pit hole in the ground, Gretchen got in her car taking Rose
for a little ride, she knows she needs the Mayors from the
surrounding counties on her side to get rid of old Frank, after all
Frank knew that Gretchen didn't like him, he didn't like Gretchen or
any of the Reapers for that matter, only Reason Frank is still alive
is the Reapers don't know that Frank is not supposed to be the Mayor,
he has bullied his way into the seat away from Gretchen, but once
the Reapers find out you can best bet there is going to be a hanging
the old fashion way, Rose loved her little ride with aunt Gretchen,
she loved it so much it put her to sleep, the final battle with Frank
was getting closer and closer, soon Shady Oaks will be where they
need to be once again.
The founder of Shady Oaks
was a man by the name John Shady, John Shady would had a good old
time if he known a man like Frank, everyone knows the story of John
Shady, back in march 14th 1717 John had gotten kicked out
of the state of California by a man named Cole Gore, Cole was a bully
that known John for years, has always bullied john his whole life,
John was out numbered and tossed out of the county and away from his
only family, his family was so poor they wouldn't have made it as far
as John did, even after John found Shady Oaks, his family was badly
sick and died from what it was they had, john was the only survivor
from his family, john made the Laws here, he started out sleeping
under the stars, building each and every building till the very first
person came into the land to help out John, later there came more and
more people, then before he knew it, john was the founder of his own
county, john made his own rules and his own laws, Grim Reaper came
into this world with only one goal in his life, the goal was to
uphold the laws and rules John had set for the whole county John had
built, Grim looked up to John more then you anyone has ever known.
The County had gathered all
around to see Frank be put out on his ass and out of office, there
was going to be an all out war here in Shady Oaks with Frank, Frank
was not going to give up his seat in office with out a fight, but
little does Frank know what is coming his way, Has to battle
Gretchen and all the surrounding counties, as Gretchen came back into
town with the other Mayors, Jim knew there was going to be big
trouble, he sat there on the bench just outside of the sheriffs
office with a big smile on his face, he knew there was going to be an
all out war with Frank and Frank will find himself kissing the dirt
on this fight, Gretchen gets out of her car, she calls out Frank in
front of the whole entire county, as angry as Gretchen is at Frank,
she is willing to get Frank out of the office by the hair if she
needs to, Gretchen is one tough woman, the whole county is depending
on her to take order of this whole county and she will be taking her
seat in office where she should be, when she does take her seat in
office you can best bet there will be changes all over this county,
Frank looks out the window but does not come out.
The county was standing
around waiting for Frank, Frank was not going to budge out of his
seat, the county is getting restless, they want action and they want
it now, Gretchen is getting pretty mad herself, Gretchen yells out,
Frank I'm giving you to the count of three to get out of the office
and come here to the street now, she begins to count, one, two,
three, she marches right on into the office and breaks the office
door down, frank hits Gretchen with a left hook, only to find out
that it will do nothing but make Gretchen very mad, she grabs for his
hair, she punches him three times in the face, breaking his jaw and
his nose, she pulls Frank out by his hair out to the street, the
county wanted blood, Frank was scared out of his mind, he did have
ever right by now, Gretchen was looking down on Frank as he was on
the ground, this is going to be one hell of a day, Gretchen looked at
the other Mayors, they nod their heads up and down with a smile,
these men wanted Frank along time ago, Gretchen hands Frank over
without a fight, Gretchen knows that there needs to be a hanging, she
tells Jim her brother to bring Frank to a cell until the county is
ready to hang him, it was only a matter of time till the judge orders
Frank to hang, the town takes the next few hours to get ready for the
hanging.
The county was ready, the
fire department held a barque, the judge comes and orders the
sheriffs to bring Frank to him, this is the first time that court is
being held outside, as the sheriff gets Frank out of the cell and
over to the judge, Gretchen looks around to see the children having
fun, the men start to drink whiskey, the women stay sober to take
care of the children, the mold men sit and relax to a nice song from
the live band, the town gathers around the judge, the judge orders
the hanging, the hanging is not justified by the judge, the town
folks watched sheriff Sam Miller bring Frank to the hanging stage,
Frank was in Drunken tears, the judge asks Frank if he has any last
words, Frank denies his rights to any last words, the judge yells
out, hang this man, the judge stands back to watch the hanging take
place, the pastor tells one more last prayer for Frank before he
dies, the stage door opens, Frank falls, you can hear Frank's neck
snap as he halls, Frank looses his boules, the corner comes in and
checks for any sign of life, Frank is pronounced dead, the corner
takes the body away, the town continues to the barque.
Rose was one of the few
children to never know about this day unless someone tells her about
this day, she will be raised to know her county history as it first
started all the way to the very present, the family was very proud of
Gretchen on this day, Rose was just a year old and her mother
Francisca was very happy to see the smile on Rose's face, Rose has
made a few friends of her own, not bad for a year old little girl,
she learned not to use the powers that Grim has given her, but
Francisca knows there will be a visit From Grim very soon, no one
knows when he will come again, if Rose leads a bad life Grim will
take her and Francisca will never see Rose again, but She has taught
Rose really well, Rose is very smart for her age, she is talking
little by little, the feeding of souls will soon start up for Rose,
Francisca knows how to feed her the souls.
Gretchen takes over the
Mayors office, Jim takes the judges bench as the previous judge
resigns, few of Roses family becomes officers and works for the
county, there was the bringing in cars and motor bikes, small
inventions to make life better for everyone, the Mayors office has
never spent a dime, the money Grim has brought in is still there, the
cash flow is still there as well, there is a new car that has never
been here in this town, Gretchen looks out her office window and can
see the new car, but she didn't see the car arrive in town at all,
the car is sitting in the jail house parking lot, Gretchen knows
everyone in town, they would home to see new people coming into this
town, Gretchen knows it will be a great idea to welcome the new
people into the town of Shady Oaks, the day was just so hot she
couldn't just sit inside all day, so she knew she had to get up and
take a walk and welcome the new people to Shady Oaks.
Gretchen looks around this
old town, she noticed the changes that has been going on, she does
like the change very much, so does everyone else, the changes are
making the town look better, new people are coming in, the black
smith was getting out of the business and a gas station was going in
his place, to bad he is out of a job, he was the best, I know we will
still need him, we need him for the local farmers that use horses and
cows and any other farm animals we have that need him, the year is
1901 and things has changed since Gretchen was a little girl, she is
only 26 years old, first woman to take the office as a female Mayor,
she watches the new family leave the jail house, Gretchen walks up to
the new family, Gretchen looks at them with a smile, she introduces
herself.
Hello I'm Gretchen, I'm the
Mayor of this town, we hope you enjoy your stay here at Shady Oaks,
we are the home of sheriff Grim Reaper, and the whole Reaper Family,
The man in this family
said, I am jack, we are only passing through and we just got a little
lost, we have found our way and we are leaving.
Gretchen couldn't believe
the way this man was acting, he was a very strange man, his family
was scared of him, you could tell by the way he spoke to them, he
yelled at them like he was in charge of the everything and wife has
no say what goes on, Gretchen just walks away and heads back to the
office, the eye's are all over this town, he puts a hand on her here
he is gone, these people do not want to ever see a man put his hands
on any woman or child, they will put that man deep into the ground,
she has seen it time and time again, life goes on in this town if the
man doesn't strike a woman, I recon this town loves a great dance as
well as a good show as well as the next town, Gretchen love's a good
show that's fore sure, she loves the love of a good man but the good
man never comes her way, she only gets the men who beat on her or
rape her, she has tried women before, but that is just not for her,
she came across away to get her cake and eat it too sorta speaking,
she makes love to men but she has rules.
Gretchen has lovers that she
calls her friends, but she will not ever date them, she just wants
them for one thing, these men know she is making love with others,
but they can't make her do what they want her to do, this town is
full of men who will take it if she is giving it up, some are married
themselves, the women knew their husbands been sleeping with
Gretchen, the only thing was no one really cared, they want Gretchen
as well, but they know Gretchen would never make love with them, Mary
smith has been after Gretchen for a long while now, she wants
Gretchen so bad she tries so hard to get Gretchen to make love with
her but it was always a no go, but the love she gives her man was
more then then him cheating on her, she loved it, she would smell him
to just get the smell of her, that's what she did like, she would
even make love to him just because he made love to her, she loves the
thought of Gretchen making love to her man, she even tells him to
make love with her, Gretchen has been trying to get rid of Mary but
nothing works.
The town has all kinds of
people, just not one person who hates Gretchen, not that anyone knows
anyway, the sheriff always comes with away to flirt his way into the
heart of Gretchen, always trying to find away to impress her, he
tries so hard that the rest of the town laughs at him, everyone takes
him as a joke, the town was getting ready for a dance at the town
hall, Gretchen does not go to any of the town dances at all, with her
reputation it is not a big surprise, this dance is put together by
the Native Americans in this county, Gretchen has been watching one
of the tribes men, she has been wanting him in her bed for sometime
now, Gretchen is always talking with him every time she can, his name
is Howling Wolf, he is a single father of a little boy, his name is
Thunder, thunder does really well in school and does a great job
staying out of trouble, thunder loves Gretchen, as Gretchen can see
thunder is going to be her new son one of these days, one of these
days Gretchen will be with that boys father.
Sitting there in the office
Gretchen looks around her office, she noticed that Grim loved
carving, the words Grim carved in the desk on the desk that used to
be his, there was one thing she noticed that Grim has carved in the
desk, she couldn't really make it out at first, it reads, first love
dies first loved lives in best friend, where did he come with this?
That was a question that laid on her mind, she knows she will never
find out, the news where Gretchen was going to be home and not the
dance hit Howling Wolf, he was sadden by the news, he likes Gretchen
much more then just a friend, but he doesn't know how Gretchen feels
about him, just as well as she has no clue how he loves her, she
would give up all her lover friends just for him, he is guilty as
well, he has lots of lovers as well, but for Gretchen he would give
up all the lover he has too, only one catch that he knows that she
doesn't, she would have to move out of the Reaper Estate and move to
his land, Gretchen looks over her shoulder, she thought she heard a
noise, it was just a mouse, there was a room that was filled with
papers, it was just down the hall from her office, it was filled with
cold cases, no one has done these cases since Grim had passed away.
Gretchen decided that she
will take one case on when she has nothing to do, the perfect thought
to Gretchen was getting to know Howling Wolf better, but she does
have to put her niece first, her niece needs her, Rose is becoming a
Reaper more and more, she is now two years old, Gretchen takes Rose
from time to time, today is not one of those days as she needs to go
on a bounty hunt, she doesn't have time for Rose and the man hunt
will have to start in the morning, it's just to late to start the man
hunt right now, Gretchen looks at the time, it is time for her to get
home, she needs to spend some time with Rose before Gretchen leaves
for the man hunt, she has no choice but to go on this man hunt due
to her being the sheriff of Shady Oaks, the president had made the
order that she takes this bounty on, Gretchen gets home and Rose was
outside playing with a few friends, Francisca is getting Ready for
the town dance, as looks around the Estate property she can see
everyone was getting ready for the dance, Gretchen takes a moment to
think she really needs a man in her life, as Gretchen walks up on the
porch of the house, Howling Wolf walks up the Drive, as Gretchen turn
around can can see him, the rest of the Reapers get ready for a war,
Gretchen calls them back, as the family back off Gretchen meets him
half way, she has a big smile on her face and so does he.
As Gretchen meets up with
Howling Wolf, Gretchen asks Howling Wolf what he is doing in her neck
of the woods, he brings up the dance, Gretchen knows why he is here
now, there was no way in hell Gretchen was going to end up at the
dance, but if Howling Wolf was asking she sure would go with him to
the dance and she will dance her but off for an hour or so, but she
couldn't stay for more then three hours, Howling Wolf looks at
Gretchen, wanting to hold her so much, he knows she is the Mayor, but
what he Doesn't know is she has along bounty hunt she is ordered to
go on, he would probably ask her if he could join her, she would let
him but she couldn't let him, Howling Wolf looks at Gretchen, she can
see the look in his eyes, he could see Gretchen has feelings for him,
so he thought he would like to see what she would say, so he asked,
would you mind being my woman? Gretchen said, sure I would love that,
but there is one thing you must know Howling is that tomorrow I will
not be in this county, I will be out on a bounty hunt, I've been
ordered by the president, Howling Wold said, okay I will wait for
your return if you wish? Gretchen said, now that we belong together
we both can stop seeing other people, Howling Wolf agreed.
The two of them sat on the
porch till it was time for the dance, it was not going to be along
dance for Gretchen, the dance was going to be long for everyone else,
this was not the way Gretchen wanted to start off her relationship
with Howling Wolf, the day will begin pretty damn early for Gretchen,
the sun will not even be up yet, the family didn't even know that
Gretchen was called on by the president, she wouldn't even be able to
see Rose for a few days, Francisca will be very upset when she finds
out Gretchen is leaving the county for a few days.
Rose loves Gretchen and
Francisca needs Gretchen's help, there is not one person other then
Howling Wolf knowing Gretchen will be leaving for a few days, the
town was going to be very upset that Gretchen would not be around to
baby sit the everyone in town, the town will not be the same with out
Gretchen being around, Jim will lose his mind when he finds out, her
brother jack will be needing someone else to take care of him for the
few days she was going to be gone, Francisca was going to need to
find someone to help take care of Rose, and on very short notice, who
would help care for rose while Gretchen is going to be missing, the
band drove by the Reaper Estate property, Gretchen knew the band very
well, the only band she really knows as she is good friends with the
whole band, now you could say she had made love to the members of the
band, the dance was going to be the best dance ever, this is the best
band of the whole county.
The dance was about an hour
away, the sun was starting to set, nobody was going to eat until the
dance, why not save your food if you can eat free later, everything
at the dance was free as the county paid for the food, the county
pays everything when it comes to the dance, love was always a plus at
the dance hall, that's the main reason for the dance really, for the
first time Gretchen was in love at this dance, she has gotten her
dream man finally, wait till the town looks at her walking in the
room with Howling Wolf, the women and men were going to be mad, the
time came when Gretchen knows she has to get cleaned up, Howling Wolf
is offered to join her, he couldn't pass it up, he took up the offer
faster then the lighting can strike, this was a dance that will not
be forgotten, Sam was the lead singer of the group, he knew how to
hit those notes with his voice, some say he was the first member to
have had a sickness, but now they are all sick and dying, this was
going to be the very last dance they will perform.
While Gretchen gotten
cleaned up with Howling, the two of them made love for the first
time, Gretchen would say it was like a dream, the dance finally came
up and Gretchen and Howling was late, but not to late, the night was
still young, there was a number of people at this dance who was only
looking to get the love of a woman no matter the price that came with
it, everyone knew not to mess with Gretchen, there is laws against
harming the Mayor of the county, two long has Gretchen had to wait
for her dream man, Gretchen was not going to let no one hurt her man,
the children was in total danger on this night of the dance, Howling
knew he better get him and Gretchen out of the town hall as fast as
he could, but truth is there is no way out, these people want blood
and it is blood they will get, just as they looked out the town hall
doors, Howling can see there was no way out through the front, they
go to the back and see there was no way out, Gretchen looks around,
there was way to much anger, how is she going to get the help she
needs, where was there away to get out of the town hall, Gretchen
didn't have her pistol with her, a fight breaks out in the middle of
the town hall dance floor, she knows she has to try to put a stop to
it, first she needs to get a dink to calm her nerves.
The fight had gotten worse,
blood was everywhere, no guns have been fired as of yet, the band had
stopped playing, Gretchen grabbed the attention of the whole town
hall, everyone stopped fighting to listen to Gretchen, Gretchen
looked around, she said, I need everyone to clear out, everyone needs
to go home and stay home for the night, any one staying here just to
fight will end up in my jail, if you hit me that is prison time, I am
not taking any names just bodies, Gretchen looks around and she can
see that Rose was present at the town hall, just Gretchen's luck, she
can use Rose as a shield, no one on this earth can hurt her, not even
by mistake, they will die if they try, the great granddaughter of
Grim Reaper, Gretchen just can't believe Rose has the same powers
like her Great grandfather, Gretchen knew something was about to go
on, she just didn't know what it was, the fact that the fighting had
went on, there was not going to be anymore dancing tonight, everyone
listened to Gretchen, everyone was leaving without a fight, this just
maybe the very last town dance if the town's people can not act
right, there will be one more dance but after t hat if there is
another fight there will be no more.
Howling looked at Gretchen,
he couldn't believe how Gretchen took charge of the people like that,
he was amazed, there was nothing more than just a few lost words as
they headed to Gretchen's house, Howling went home with Gretchen to
drop her off, the night couldn't get any worse for Gretchen, Howling
loved the evening she gave him, it was not her fault the town decided
to fight, it was not time to call it a night, Howling kissed Gretchen
good night, Gretchen shut the door as she walked into the house,
Howling walked home, as Gretchen passed by Rose's bedroom, there is a
light on in Rose's room, Rose was still awake waiting for Gretchen to
read her a bed time story, Rose was always happy with Gretchen
reading her a bed time story, Gretchen loved the time she could spend
with Rose, for a two year old, Rose was so sweet to everyone, Rose
shows some kind of disability, just know one really knew what it is.
The morning came when
Gretchen needed to take a long trip, she needed to catch this bounty
the president is sending her to catch, as she awakes she realized
that she never made it to her own bed but slept in a chair, her neck
hurt so bad, the smell of breakfast in the morning will be missed by
Gretchen, this is the very first time she waken to no smell of
breakfast to fill the house, the great good food that Francisca would
make everyday, she gets up out of that chair, she goes to her room to
pack her bags, Francisca just woken up, she is getting up to make
breakfast, as she passes Gretchen's room she noticed that Gretchen
was packing her bags, Francisca asked, Gretchen what are you doing,
Gretchen said, I have to leave for a few days, I have to go do a
bounty hunt as I am ordered by the president, I have to leave with
out breakfast this morning but I will be back, tell Howling that I
love him and I will see him when I get back home, Francisca said, I
will hope you make it back safe, I know Rose will be giving me hell
every night and morning as she looks for you, Gretchen said, I'll be
fine and tell Rose I'll see her when I get back.
Gretchen walks out the door
and packs her car, as it was time for her to get into her car, Rose
was wake and looking out the window, there was nothing more then the
tears that fell Rose's eyes, there was so much that Gretchen wanted
to say but she knew she couldn't leave with out telling Rose goodbye,
well she had a few minutes to waste at least, the job was not going
to go any where, Gretchen tells Rose to come out to say goodbye, Rose
heads out the door as fast as she can and runs to Gretchen, Howling
was right behind her to tell her goodbye as well, Francisca looks at
Gretchen knowing Gretchen will be safe, the smiles that filled the
faces was just enough to bring a very happy goodbye memory, just then
her family comes out to find out what is going on, when Jim finds out
that Gretchen is going on her first bounty hunt, he knew this maybe
the last time they just may see Gretchen alive, they took a little
more time saying goodbye, an unknown car comes pulling up, it was the
sheriff in his personal car, he said, Gretchen I bring you great
news, you don't have to go on this bounty hunt, they caught the man
he is now in jail, you get to stay home and take care of things here
in town, Gretchen was happy to hear the news.
As everyone learned that
Gretchen didn't have to go anywhere they all became happy, the words
of Rose made everyone break into tears, Rose said, please don't ever
leave me aunt Gretchen, the words made Gretchen really angry as she
knows she does have to do a bounty if she wants to be a great sheriff
for this county, the tears from Rose was more then anyone of the
Reapers could stand, Gretchen knows if she wants Rose to be happy,
she can not be the Sheriff, Gretchen would be the first Lady sheriff
but now she has to give that Dream up all for Rose, the more Gretchen
thinks about Rose, she realizes that Rose does come First in her
life, Francisca knew this was all for the best, it was meant for Rose
to be Mayor and the county sheriff, Rose could never see a life with
out her aunt Gretchen, everyone went into Francisca's house for a
morning Breakfast, Francisca asked the sheriff to join her and her
family for a bite to eat, the only way out was for sheriff to say
yes, as everyone went into the house a storm slowly came into town,
Sheriff was now stuck with the Reapers till the storm passes over.
The Reapers had a great
Breakfast, not one of them walked away hungry, sheriff Sam was more
then a sheriff in town, he was a close friends with the whole Reaper
family, the Reapers always invite Sam over when ever he wants, Sam
knows he is like family to the Reapers, but Sam is always busy, Sam
knows all the Rules for the Reaper's property, the rules are tough
for everyone else, get caught on the property you will kiss the dirt
with a bullet in your head, any man that hits a woman will have a
bullet to the head kissing dirt, no one has ever broken the rules,
Francisca knows the troubles Gretchen has had with men in the past so
she asked Gretchen to move in with her and Rose, everyone else that
lives on the property has a house of their own, all the houses here
are filled with the Reaper family, Grim built a beautiful home that
Francisca lives in with Rose and Gretchen, as the storm keeps making
the rain fall from the sky they keep conversation.
There was nothing more then
a nice hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate and a fire in the fire
place and great conversation, Gretchen was hardly home for this part
of life, as long as she was next to Howling under a blanket and next
to the fire drinking hot chocolate nothing else matters, the town was
getting flooded but the Reapers was having a great time, the Reapers
never had a dog or any other animals to take care of, when the cars
came into town they gave the horses to the farm across the street,
Rose was the only child on the property so she never had anyone to
play with, when children did come around to play, she never knew how
to play, Rose would tell the other kids to go home, the other
children would just pay her no mind at all, these are the days the
Reapers loved so much of, the rain went throughout the night, the
next morning as everyone wakes up, the rain stops and the flood is
still around, its a great day to get out on the front porch and sit
out side for a while, Francisca went to the kitchen to start
breakfast for everyone, the new was all around that the flood was
here to stay for about a week or so, this is the only flood this town
has ever had in it's history.
The day was nice and sunny,
it was also real hot, Francisca didn't even want to cook anything
after the breakfast meal, the day was to hot for any cooking for
anyone, the Natives been flooded out of their land as well, where
they knew they could go was to the Reaper's land, the land was well
protected from any flood, some took the houses while others took the
animal houses, you can actually continue the yard work the land is so
dry, there was animals everywhere on the land getting away from the
flood, Howling slept with his family at night and spent his time with
Gretchen during the day, Gretchen made lunch for howling and they
spent all day together, the grandfather enjoyed watching his grand
children, the houses was always filled with love, just the way
Francisca loved her house, she baked a pie on Sundays and cooked a
ham with sweet potato, the green beans always made a hit, the perfect
meal for a Sunday evening meal.
The life of the Reapers was
going very good, Grandfather was an atheist and grandmother went to
church every Sunday, the family spent Sunday's in church, well
everyone but grandfather, he always had a saying the day he goes to
any church hell will be froze over, he was always a joker, the family
all loved him and his jokes, he was more of a mountain man kind of
guy, the storm maybe over, but the day was just beginning and the air
was just so hot, the waters of the flood was going away, the animals
were gaining ground, the greater part of the day was the evening, the
whole family sat around the fire pit having a time of their lives,
everyone sang songs and told a story, the night sounds was loud, the
grandfather loved to see everyone having fun, Rose was hanging all
over Gretchen and Howling, the night was just so great that the
Reapers decided to take one more day off so they may enjoy the
evening, time off was something that the Reapers never did, this will
be the first time in history a Reaper took the time off, Gretchen
looks around the fire, she tried hard to keep her eyes open, but she
falls a sleep in Howling's lap.
The very next morning the
whole family woken up on the ground around the camp fire, sleeping
inside was just to hot, it felt better sleeping outside, the day is
going to be spent outside as it will get hotter, the town was getting
to work on their houses as the flood destroyed all their homes, most
the town is sleeping at the town hall as the natives are over at the
Reapers, you were considered lucky if you got to stay at the Reapers,
the more time goes by the days go faster, the town was frustrated as
the repairs was going to be taking a long time to get finished,
everyone was going to need the help to get things finished, this was
a sad time for a few families, those few families lost at least one
or two loved ones, the town was going to be busy over the next few
months, funerals is never any fun, Gretchen knows she must help pay
for the repairs as not everyone will have the funds to get everything
done, the Mayor's office was rich in cash, thanks to the money Grim
had made for this County, as everyone was working on their houses the
Reapers was watching as they sit under their shade tree, the family
was enjoying their last day off, the Reaper's was drinking lemon aid
under the shade tree.
Rose was enjoying her day
playing outside, the years have been good to her even though she is
only three years old, she is about to turn four, on the day like
today, as hot as it is, news spreads throughout the town, a serial
killer is on the loose, he or she is dumping the bodies at the creek
that is forbidden by any one but the Reaper family, this is a felony
if you're caught, Gretchen is going everything she can to catch this
killer, the word has spread across the town, no one knows who this
person is or even what the killer looks like, the answers Rose could
answer but she is unable to help out as she can not speak, doctors
say she will never speak in her life, the fact that she will be just
like Grim as she gets older helps out a lot, she will be doing the
cold case files when she is 13 years of age, this will help her in
training, Rose is already doing death row inmates, the return of Grim
has not happened just yet but everyone of the Reaper family does
wonder what has happened to the return, nobody knows at all.
Grim was no where to be
found, Rose was doing real good with the powers that she was given,
the killer has not given up and is still killing, the time Gretchen
tried to hunt him down she has failed every time, there is a wanted
poster of the killer, but no picture and no name, the grandfather
Reaper is real sick, he is getting real weak, sick with cancer is
getting to him, he wants to die more then ever, he is not expected to
last a week at this point, Gretchen and Francisca looks after him
just like the Grandmother, no one will take the time to watch these
two full time, just Gretchen and Francisca will, these two are very
busy and they both have jobs, Francisca has three jobs, Gretchen has
one looking for another, she was supposed to be a sheriff of the
county but she has no choice but to put that off for the love of
Rose, the most rose could actually see in this life time was not
seeing her family pass away, she is lied to most of her child hood
days for her own good, she thinks she is putting everyone to sleep.
The job of being a mother
and care giver is hard on Francisca, just as it is hard on Gretchen,
Gretchen's time was all taken up by the responsibility she has,
Gretchen was heading into the office when she seen the love of her
life getting shot by a bank robber, the robber has just robbed the
Shady bank, Howling tried to stop him, but in the middle of it all
had gotten shot, he is nothing like Gretchen at all, the death pole
just gets bigger, in tears as Howling died right in front of her, she
knows this is going to be hard, way to hard for her to handle, she
knows she will need the time off to heal from this, the robber is
still shooting out with the deputies, I told the officers to shoot to
kill, I do not want this man alive, Gretchen looks over the to her
car and grabs for her pistol, as she pulls the pistol out she needs
to get under cover to be sure she doesn't get shot, she does not have
the powers Grim and Rose has, gun shot after gun shot the fight goes
on.
The people of the town hear
the gun shots, staying away from the fight was a better choice most
have made, some gotten in the way and ended up shot in the process,
they hit the floor kissing the dirt, so meany lives this man takes,
Gretchen looks to see if she knows this man, Gretchen does not know
this man at all, the man has never been here before, there is a life
worth the taking and Francisca has a great idea, Gretchen can not say
anything, she knows if she does, Francisca will die, she can only
hope the rest of the officers will see what is going on and will not
harm Francisca at all, Gretchen watches as Francisca tries her own
idea, the idea is to let rose touch the robber so he kisses the dirt,
the moment Gretchen looked around, there was no way out for this man,
Rose touches the robber, the man falls to the ground kissing the
dirt, the body count for this fight is very large, Gretchen tried her
best to fight this guy as well as the officers, it was really hard
this time, good thing Rose has the powers of Grim, Rose was smiling
as she looked at Gretchen, here was the moment of truth for Gretchen,
would she be a sheriff? or stay Mayor of Shady Oaks? The town was
going around talking about the shootout, the killer is still on the
loose, Gretchen wonders if she will ever catch the killer going
around killing people.
The Tribes want answers,
Gretchen does not have all the answers just yet, who and why, they
know Howling was just trying to be like her, they are calling
Gretchen a bad influence on Howling, the tribes are demanding
Gretchen to be arrested, this was never going to happen as the
Reaper's run this town, now that Howling is dead the tribes have a
disagreement with the towns people, the tribes will have their time
in the Shady Oaks court room, this was just a lesson that has to be
taught to the local tribes that Gretchen has tried to do her best,
she has nothing to do with Howling's death, Gretchen is not scared of
these tribes as the judge is Gretchen's cousin, if only Gretchen knew
how to tell the tribe the correct answers that she never did anything
to Howling, the moment the town hears the tribes want to face
Gretchen in the court room, the town started a war with the tribes,
Gretchen has tried to call off the fighting with the tribes but no
one would stop the war, the town has faced enough deaths and facing
even more.
Over the next few weeks of
the war going on between the tribes and the Shady Oaks town people,
the tribes face even more deaths and so did the town, enough of the
fighting lets just get this in the court room people were saying, the
tribes and Gretchen went to court, this was not going to be pretty
for the tribes, it was just getting uglier, as Gretchen enters the
court room, the tribes wanted blood, Gretchen was was calm as she can
be, the town showed up, the war is now on hold as they are in the
court room, this was a day that the judge was going to have a very
bad day, he is known to hang the ones who are wrong, he even knows
the whole case is just rubbish, the tribes need to call a peace and
leave Gretchen alone, the judge was there when Howling was shot, the
chief was very up set with everything that was going on, grandfather
Reaper was very upset about the whole thing as well, but he knows the
faith in Gretchen was so real that she could have never been the
cause of Howling getting shot, look how meany people died by the gun
man, the officers never hit any of them, now court is in session.
The case took about four
hours in time, Gretchen won of course, the tribe has never had a real
fighting chance but everyone had time to speak, the chief calls out
Gretchen as she is walking out of the court house, the chief walks up
to Gretchen, Gretchen was ready for more fighting words with the
chief, the chief puts his hand out to shake Gretchen's hand, the
chief said, I am sorry for my people and myself, we were out of line,
Gretchen said, I'll do you all a favor, I will never date any of your
men in any tribe, Chief said, Gretchen you may date any of the single
men in our tribes, this will never happen again, I promise you this
from the bottom of my heart, Gretchen said, I have lost the man of my
life, I am just as upset as you are, I never had any time to heal
from this loss, and I never will have the time till I am old and
gray, I must go now I have work to do, the chief knows he must find
away for Gretchen to get time to heal from her pain, but how? That is
the question have an answer.
Well this is just the
beginning of the story, I am Rose Reaper, I just turned 16 today, May
16th 1916, I just woken up and I am being rushed to
school, this is my opening in this diary as Gretchen wrong the first
part of my life for me, I love my aunt Gretchen, they say I have the
powers of my great grandfather Grim, I never seen him in my life but
they say I will never remember the first time because I was a new
born, I hear I am supposed to have more visits with him as long as I
keep working for the law, I don't know about that but I do want to be
a sheriff, and I would like to be the Mayor someday, I was born a
Reaper and I know I can promise I will stay a Reaper, I can see this
is just a new part of my life, well this is my story in my words, now
I gotta go to school.
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