The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.

She walked out of the small cabin situated next to the river, ambling down to the water to fill her canteen and drink deeply before filling it again. She returned to the cabin, dumping out a few of the bottles of liquor that were scattered around the messy house- now messier with three dead men sprawled out inside- and soon a match hit the alcohol. She began following the trail of the man in black into the desert, as the blazing house behind her cast her shadow in front of her. 

As she walked, she thought about the beginning.

*

As far back as she could remember, she was fighting. Naive, usually wealthy people, sometimes picture orphanages as places where children have a community. But in her experience, it was more like a zoo, not that she'd ever seen a zoo at the time. The babies were usually better taken care of, for the relatively brief time they were there, but as soon as you start growing and you hadn't been adopted yet, you were fucked. Maybe if her parents had died a few years earlier, she would have been adopted by a nice family. But her parents had been drifters, barely able to survive. And young, half-feral children didn't have much hope of getting picked to land in a better situation.

She fought the other children constantly. Everyone did, in all the places she was bounced around between. She wasn't particularly strong, but she'd never met anyone who had better reflexes than her, and she was quick on her feet. She couldn't beat the bigger boys in a scrap- not even close. But after a few years of taking her lumps, she could dish it back well enough that she was at least perceived as a difficult target. It was around this time she chose a name for herself.  Did she see it on a scrap of paper somewhere? Did she hear it? Did she make it up? Had it been her name before? She could never remember; all she knew is that someday, her name would be "Kate Logan". It was what she thought about when she fell asleep, telling herself that, someday, it would be better.

The child who would become Kate Logan battled through the years, growing taller, growing faster, growing quicker. Things changed when she was around ten or eleven. No one knew her age for sure- when homeless nomads drop dead, they don't leave their orphans behind with birth certificates or inscribed lockets. She was outside, hiding in the yard, when she overheard the conversation: a man, talking about taking home some of the older children to work for him. She dropped to her knees, squinting to look through the fence where the matron who ran the place was speaking to the man.

He was rough looking, older, worn, but still with a certain strength. He was dressed simply, but his clothes didn't have holes in them. He didn't look evil, at least, and that was enough. She watched as he was led into the building and a bell signified that all the children had to line up near their beds. Usually, this was for an inspection. Rarely, it was for someone looking to take home a kid. She'd been through more than a few of those. Matron Willard spoke to the man as they walked in.

"And what sort of child were you looking for, John?"

"A couple boys. Old enough to work."

The usual. But his voice wasn't unkind. It was quiet, but powerful. Smooth.

"Well, we have several boys and-"

As the pair walked by, heading to the older boys at the far end of the room, the child who would become Kate Logan shot out her hand with her preternaturally fast reflexes- and her mouth dropped as the man caught her wrist. Still, she took her chance to speak.

"I'll work harder. For longer. I-"

The matron quickly inserted himself between the man and the child, apologizing and shooting her a bitter, frustrated look. There would be punishment later, when the stranger was gone. The pair moved down and eventually selected a couple of the older boys, 13 and 14. Matthew and Mark. Matthew, in particular, was trouble, and she had had to work hard to stay out of his way. In a few years, he'd be some errand boy in a gang, but for now he was the biggest shark in a very, very small pond. 

As soon as the office door closed behind the man, the matron, and the two boys, the child who would become Kate Logan took off sprinting through the open door. In a couple minutes, she managed to climb the fence and hide inside the man's truck under some empty sacks. A few minutes later she heard voices and, eventually, the opening and closing of the doors of the truck. As the engine rumbled and she felt the vehicle pull away, she couldn't help but smile to herself.

She woke up... minutes later? Hours? It was hot under the burlap, but the afternoon had started to lose its heat. She stuck her head out, looking around at the small farm in wonder. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen, and she approached the farmhouse cautiously to knock on the door.

The man answered, saw her, and cursed under his breath. Despite her protests, she soon found herself back in the truck, seated between a pissed off Mark and Matthew. It was a long ride back. 

When she returned the orphanage, she thought the look Matron Willard gave her would stop both their hearts. She was locked in the room with the other children as the matron, apologizing profusely, brought the man back to his truck, which was still running.

The girl was running herself, as soon as the door closed. She climbed up, removed the piece of wood that kept the window from opening fully, and wriggled outside despite the yelling of the other children. Some of them even tried to grab her, but she managed to slide through.

She hit the ground, stumbling, and moved quickly and quietly to the corner. The truck started slowly pulling away and, when the matron's back was turned, the girl made her move. She ran faster, harder, and longer than she'd ever had to before- and she got lucky with an intersection. Eventually, she was able to grab the the truck and pull her way up into the back.

This time, she didn't fall asleep, even as she lost track of the time looking up at the darkening sky and listening to her labored breathing return to normal. She planned out what she would say, rehearsed the long speech in her head. However long it was, this time she waited longer in the truck when it finally parked. Let him get comfortable. Let it get late enough that he wouldn't want to drive out again. She strongly suspected she wouldn't get a third chance.

When the moon was high in the sky, she made her move and knocked on his front door. After a minute or so of clicking, he answered, and she could see the glares of Mark and Matthew from the table behind the man. He swore as soon as he saw her, and her practiced speech vanished from her memory.

"Christ, girl! Why, do you know-"

"Please. Please, sir. Just give me a chance. One chance to prove myself, and I'll never bother you again."

That fact that she'd most likely never get another chance to bother him again if she was returned briefly crossed her mind. Hopefully it wouldn't cross his.

"A farm is no place for a girl. I'm no good with girls, and I don't know what I'd do with you."

"Treat me like a boy. I don't care. I wear pants anyways. Just please, give me a chance."

She looked up and made eye contact as steady as she could. She was desperate, but she wasn't afraid. The man didn't say anything for a long, long time. Then, miraculously, he stepped to the side and pointed at the table, sighing.

"One day to prove yourself. Tomorrow. At dawn, with these two. When you can't do it, I'll bring you back at the end of the day. You need to understand that the work I need doing isn't work you can do. It's nothing personal."

But she was already inside, barely listening. She'd worry about that tomorrow. For now, she took her seat at the table, ignoring the death glares of Matthew and Mark. The man closed the door and spoke to her as he brought her a plate.

"What's your name, girl?"

She looked up at him, green eyes flashing as a small smile cracked her face.

"My name is Kate. Kate Logan."