Wild West - Chapter 3 - part 5 - 5 minute freewrite challenge

James looked up at the sky and saw the moon was half full. “Yeah, and with the night bright enough to ride – we’re not sleeping tonight. Not until we reach that dome.”

Tom nodded in response and the two both fell into the same state of serenity once again and just rode into the ever darker night without saying a single word.

Likely only 5 miles later, they noticed the sky glow in the distance. Tom raised his hand and pointed it out to his father. “Look! There! That could be it, right?”

“Could be. Let’s check it out!”

The two both kicked their horses, pulled on their reins and rushed toward the bright sky ahead of them. They rode for about a mile, then suddenly stopped.

They found themselves atop a hill, in front of them a steep descent, followed by roughly a thousand feet long level ground completely illuminated by artificial lights, and at the end of the plain – a fence, at least 20 feet high, with several guards seated in watchtowers no further than 300 feet apart. Not far from the wrought iron fence – two men were standing next to a fire, likely preparing food – sizzling bacon or something alike.

“What the…” Tom exhaled silently.

“This must be it. This must be the dome.”

“Looks like we missed the free entrance days, though.” Tom couldn’t help himself but make a joke and laugh.

James, however, was already thinking about their next move and didn’t want to waste any time with humor. He made his horse backdraft a couple of steps to make sure he was hidden from the watchtowers. “Alright, look, we’re on hostile grounds, sleeping here is very risky, so I propose we get our asses inside tonight and work it from there.”