There’s A Storm Moving In
The sun beat down relentlessly over the prairie as Jack Rowley forced his horse to a stop under some shade; if you could actually call it shade. He was dying for a drink and even though he had a full skin of water tied to the saddle it wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. He saw a small town in the distance as he took his big black hat off his head and ran his fingers through his equally black hair. He hoped this little town had a well stocked saloon that he could spend the rest of the day in, drinking away the soreness from three months in the saddle.
“Pa?” a quiet voice called from a few feet behind him. Jack grunted to himself as he silently cursed the woman who left him this child. He was not the kind of man that enjoyed the company of children, even his own. He had left many babies in the cradles, and many more still in the womb, with their heartbroken mothers. And he still wasn’t quite sure how he got stuck with this one. This boy did nothing but slow him down, which was something very undesirable and deadly in his “line of work.”
“What is it boy?” he answered with an edge to his voice.
The boy seemed to lose his courage, but just as quickly carried on with his question. “Pa, I…I..I was just wonderin’ if we could stay in that town over yonder. Just for a coupl’a days. I sure am hungry.” The boy brought his horse up next to his father.
He looked up at Jack, and Jack couldn’t help but notice those dark eyes. The same dark eyes that he himself had been born with. Dark as coal, almost black clear through. His eyes were one thing Jack hated most. They were what always gave him away. “You can’t never forget them eyes,” he’d often heard. “Once you’ve seen ‘em, you’d recognize ‘em anywhere.” And being recognized was not a good thing when you were an outlaw by trade. And it seemed like his son would have to live with the same curse.
“Stop your whinin’. You sound like a little girl.” And with that, Jack and his son Luke, headed into the small town of Three Rivers.
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Love your Westward Ho! Challenge. I think I’ll give it a try but could I leave out the sheriff related jobs because I want to set it in 19th century Ireland. Your families are great, BTW!!!
Comment by Ruth — June 17, 2006 @ 9:33 pm
Hey Ruth thanks for the comment! Yes, it is perfectly fine for you to leave out the sheriff job. But think about having a constable, or whatever law enforcement job Ireland had in the 19th century. It opens up so much room for story growth, and it adds some realism to the whole challenge! I can’t wait to read all about your families!
Comment by Paige — June 18, 2006 @ 2:30 pm
Hi Paige! Wonderful start to your Westward Ho challenge! I love Jack so far — what a scoundrel. Nice eyes! And his son is cute, even if he’s a scoundrel-in-training.
Excellent job with the props, clothing, and buildings! I love the saloon! I can’t wait to read more.
By the way, I still plan on trying this challenge…I’ve been spending the past few days thinking of how I want to approach it. I hope you don’t mind if I do a little twist on it, just for kicks. I don’t want it to be too much like my Annabel Island stories, so that’s why I’m tweaking it a tad.
See you around!
Comment by jen — June 20, 2006 @ 3:13 am
Thanks for the comment Jen! And yeah, it is completely fine if you want to twist the rules any way you want! Creativity is the only rule that I had in mind when I first started it! I can’t wait to see what you do!
Comment by Administrator — June 20, 2006 @ 4:30 pm
Oh, yay! Your Westward Ho Challenge is a great idea! I wish I had time to participate.
I’m such a sucker for Westerns. I’m also a sucker for bad boys…so I love Jake. I can’t wait to meet the other characters.
Comment by Kara — June 21, 2006 @ 4:23 pm
This is a great story! I will be checking back for updates.
:-)
Comment by Jade — June 21, 2006 @ 6:54 pm
Can I ask a quik Question?!!! How do you spawn the teacher and the stundents onto a lot?
Comment by Ruth — June 21, 2006 @ 7:06 pm
Thanks for all the comments guys! It’s good to hear some feedback!
Ruth: I have a hack called “The Insiminator” and it has a function that lets you spawn any sim you want onto a lot. I’m not sure if there is a regular cheat for it, but I’ll check into it. And I’ll try to find where I got the hack also. =D
Comment by Administrator — June 21, 2006 @ 11:23 pm
Jake is soooo mean! Gee, hopefully your next family will be a little, happier or something of the sort. This “family” depresses me a little!
Comment by Queenofsimtopia — June 22, 2006 @ 1:34 am
Thanks! I’ve downloaded the insiminator. It’s a great help!
Comment by Ruth — June 23, 2006 @ 1:14 pm
Hey Paige! I noticed you added my blog to your roll, which cheered me up no end! I hope you don’t mind if I do the same? Anyway, I used to read your blog a lot and every few days I checked and checked to see if you’d updated. I thought that maybe you’d taken a oneway ticket to the moon or something, you were gone so long, but then you posted about your password and I was just so relieved.
I love your new challenge - since I’ve started a Victorian-y town myself, I may try my hand at it (IF my computer stops playing up!).
Can’t wait to hear more from your Sims!
Comment by amalinaball — June 24, 2006 @ 10:07 am
Hey guys! Yay comments! It makes me soooo happy! =D
Queen: Hehehe, they are outlaws! Of course they are mean and depressing. But yes, the other families are better (although still filled with drama!)
Ruth: So glad to hear you found it! And even happier to hear it works!
Amalinaball: Yay! Glad you’re back! I can’t wait to start reading more of your fabulous stories. I’ve got another update in the works; and no, I didn’t go to the moon!
Comment by Paige — June 24, 2006 @ 12:50 pm
Hey Paige! This Westward Ho! Challenge sounds like so much fun. Maybe I’ll start this challenge. It really looks like it’s set in the west…great job!
Comment by Rachel — July 3, 2006 @ 6:36 pm
Thanks, Paige, for your comment on my blog!!! I was on holiday for a while and couldn’t check it. It really cheered me up, seeing as I’ve had such a bummer of a day!!! Thanks again!
Comment by Ruth — July 4, 2006 @ 9:19 pm
Wow, Paige! This challenge looks awesome so far. I’ll have a go at it I think.
Keep it up!
Comment by Alex — July 7, 2006 @ 6:33 pm