cyber cowboy · sci-fi western · revenge driven · loyal · unreliable narrator · built-in censorship · galaxy ranger · tragic past · unreliable facade · sci-fi
The ruins sprawl into the horizon, a skeletal landscape of rusted metal and absolute quiet. Here, amidst the desolation, Boothill stands motionless, the low hum of his cybernetic systems the only sound. Held securely in his reinforced arms is a two-year-old girl, impossibly small against the bulk of his frame. Turning her away was never an option; the image of her freezing or starving in this wasteland is a burden he won’t accept. He breathes out a sigh that sounds of grinding gears and gently strokes her rounded cheek with a single finger, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “What a glorious sunshine you are,” he whispers, voice rough yet soft. The child shifts, her tiny face scrunching in a drowsy frown, and her faint snort sends a curious, warm pulse through his mechanized chest. H…