Chapter 1. Rude Introduction
After her exciting time travel adventure to the 18th century Caribbean, Riley was eager to see where her intriguing machine would take her next. She still had no idea how it worked, or even if it would start up again, but when she pressed the on button on the side, the smartphone screen suddenly lit up, displaying the familiar image of the swirling funnel. As it began to shake violently in her hand, the funnel began rising above the glass surface. She could feel the power of the vortex pulling her toward it, and she reached out to touch her friend’s cheek before raising her other hand up to the edge of the cloud.
Suddenly, she felt herself pulled into the cyclone and tumbling through the three-dimensional portal, unsure where or when she would land. After a few minutes, she dropped onto a rickety bed in a small wood-framed room overlooking the main street of a dusty frontier town. Not long after, a man wearing a cowboy hat and a pair of Colt revolvers on his belt entered the room, closing the door behind him. When he saw Riley’s naked body lying on top of the sheets, he smiled and unbuckled his belt, advancing toward the shaking schoolgirl.
“I haven’t seen you around here before,” he smirked, stepping out of his cowboy boots and unstrapping his chaps. “But you’ll do just fine satisfying my appetite–”
“What? No...” Riley said, standing up to defend herself against the man’s advance. “I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not going to have sex with you.”
“No?” the man sneered. “You work in a brothel and you don’t want to have sex with me? We’ll see about that.”
As he moved closer toward Riley with his dick swinging at half-mast between his legs, she waited until he was within striking distance, then she kicked him as hard as she could with a snap-kick to his balls. The man doubled over in agony, grasping his scrotum, then he reached behind him for his pistol, turning around to point it toward Riley. She glanced around, looking for something to defend herself, noticing a broom in the corner. When she picked it up and swung the handle toward the man, he paused for a moment, laughing menacingly.
“You’ve got spunk, I’ll give you that,” he sniggered. “I’m going to enjoy taming you.”
As he advanced slowly toward her, Riley braced her feet the way Liza had taught her when they practiced sword fighting, then she swung the handle rapidly downward, striking the man on his right wrist. His pistol tilted toward the floor, firing a loud round into the floorboards, and he reared up, preparing to strike her with his fist. She lunged forward, driving the tip of the broom into his solar plexus, then she struck him as hard as she could on the side of his temple.
When he crumpled unconscious onto the floor, an attractive middle-aged woman wearing a push-up corset swung open the door, peering at the naked girl and the man lying on the floor with his bare ass pointing upward.
“Who the hell are you?” she said. “And what have you done to my best customer?”
“Um...” Riley stammered, unsure how to explain her mysterious circumstances. “My name’s Riley and this man was trying to rape me.”
The woman peered at Riley with a blank expression, then glanced downward at the prostrated man on the floor.
“You do realize this is a brothel?” she said. “And that this man was simply partaking in what call girls are expected to provide?”
“I’m not a call girl,” Riley said.
“Then what the hell are you doing buck naked in one of my private rooms?”
Riley stared at the woman for a moment, realizing she’d never believe her far-fetched story of traveling through time from a different era.
“To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how I landed here. It’s all a bit of a blur, really...”
“Well, this wouldn’t be the first time a drunken patron found themselves led upstairs unawares,” the woman chuckled, looking around the room. “Where are your clothes?”
“I guess they got lost somewhere in the shuffle,” Riley said, picking up one of the bed pillows to cover her bare midriff, noticing the edge of her smartphone sticking out from the side of the other pillow.
Suddenly, the man on the floor groaned, rubbing the side of his bruised head. The woman helped him to his feet, and when he recognized Riley, he stepped toward her threateningly. The woman grabbed his arm, moving between him and the schoolgirl.
“Whoa there, Amos. This girl doesn’t actually work here. There’s plenty of other saloon girls that can look after your needs if you’re still feeling in the mood.”
The man glared at Riley for a moment, then bent down to pull up his clothes.
“She has a funny way of showing it,” he said, running his eyes up and down the girl’s partly covered body. “This won’t be the last time the two of us have words. Next time, try locking the door if you don’t want any extra company.”
After the man exited the room, the woman closed the door behind him, latching it shut with an old key.
“You seem plenty sobered up now,” she said, turning back toward Riley. “Where is your home?”
“Somewhere pretty far away,” Riley shrugged. “I was just passing through...”
The woman walked over to a chest of drawers lining the opposite wall and pulled out some fresh clothes.
“Well, we can’t have you prancing around naked and distracting all my customers if you’re not going to service their needs. You can wear these for now.”
She held up a corset, petticoat, and camisole for Riley to put on, then placed the items on the end of the bed.
“Thank you,” Riley said, glancing at the old-fashioned garments. “But I’m not sure I’ll be able to find my way back home. May I stay here until I find my bearings?”
“I suppose so,” the woman nodded. “But you’ll have to earn your keep like all the other girls.”
“You mean as a–”
“We can probably find something for you to do downstairs if you prefer. Do you think you’ll be able to manage your temper if I set you up as a barmaid?”
“You mean serving food and beverages to your customers?” Riley said. “That sounds easy enough.”
“You’ll have to share a room with one of the other girls,” the woman said. “Room and board will be provided as long as you prove yourself useful. Get yourself cleaned up, then meet me downstairs, where I’ll introduce you to the kitchen staff.”
The woman placed her key in the lock and opened the door, preparing to exit the room.
“Wait!” Riley said, calling out to her. “I don’t even know your name.”
“You can call me Madame, like the rest of the girls and customers.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Riley said as the woman closed the door softly behind her.
Then she shook her head, peering down at the Victorian-era undergarments lying at the foot of the bed.
Next time, remember to put on some clothes before turning on the phone, she murmured to herself before placing the time travel device above the window valence, where no one would find it.
