by McCabe, R. J
The figures turned fully and were now facing the two law men. Not for the first time that week Bill felt the moisture in his mouth run dry. The men that were facing him were not your average whore house customers. Their clothes were ripped and bloodied, their mouths gaping with drool dripping from either side, and the eyes were eyes Bill had seen before, on the mountain lion, they were pure white.
The figure on the left, the taller of the two, bared his teeth, then the other joined in, its face a mask of blood. Bill didn't move for a moment, shooting a wild cat was one thing but shooting people, whether they were crazy or not, was a different matter.
‘Why don't you both put your hands on your head and get down on your knees and then I'm not gonna have to open up on you?’ Bill said in a last ditch effort. The two figures simply swayed a little, one growled and the other snarled.
‘Are you for real Sheriff?’ Ken said. ‘Do they look like they are gonna give it up?'
‘I’m stalling,’ Bill said talking out of the side of his mouth ‘As I don't know what the fuck to do.’
It was at that moment that the decision was taken out of Bill’s hands as a piercing scream came up the stairs behind them. The two lawmen reeled around to see a figure running with a look of pure rage on its face. It was up on them in an instant and it reached Ken first.
Ken pulled the trigger of his gun, the bullet entering the underside of the attackers chin, sending brains and goo up onto the ceiling. The figure was stopped in its tracks, the eyes rolled up and it began to fall backwards, but not before Ken noticed something.
‘Holy shit Bill, Its Tom the store owner!’ Ken said as the figure fell backwards down the stairs.
‘Correction, it WAS Tom the store owner’ replied Bill.
Just as the words left his mouth he turned around and saw the two snarling men running towards them both. He let two shots off, one hit the first men in the chest sending him backwards and the second shot hit the bigger man in the side of the head causing his head to tilt and his eyes to roll in their sockets. The first man hadn't gone down and was now running towards Bill and Ken once again. Ken stepped forward and shot at him, blasting a large part of his neck away causing the thing to make a high pitch wheezing noise. The other man was advancing again now but his walk was odd and uneven, the shot to his head seeming to upset his equilibrium but he came at them all the same. Bill took aim and put a bullet in the big mans left eye, the force of the shot snapping the lumbering man’s head back before he dropped to his knees and then fell face first onto the red carpet. The man with the hole in his neck was still standing and was using the wall for support.
‘Ive had enough of these mother fuckers!’ said Ken and pushed forward. He ran at the wheezing man-thing and slammed his gun into its face again and again. The thing fell onto its back and Ken kept on hitting him. Bill watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust as Ken smashed its face over and over. Eventually the skull began to give and Bill’s stomach turned as the face began to fold inwards.
‘Deputy! That’s enough, Stop!’
Ken stopped as ordered and dropped the blood and mush covered gun onto the floor. He was breathing heavy. Bill approached him and tried not to look at the now faceless mess.
‘Damn Ken, what got into you?’ Bill asked. Ken looked up and gave the sheriff a harsh look.
‘Its just like the big Apache said Bill, these things aren't alive anymore, they are the dead and they are walkin' around tryin' to make us all the same as them. We gotta stop em cause they ain’t taking my fuckin' town.’
Bill looked at Ken and could see the older man couldn't be reasoned with, he believed what he believed but if Bill was honest with himself, he believed it too, even if he didn't want to.
Bill walked down to the door and tried the handle. A loud popping sound made Bill jump back and the two prone bodies exploded at almost exactly the same time.
‘Jeez, would you look at that’ Bill said at the bodies turned to mush.
‘God-damn, that’s gonna be a hell of a thing to clean up,’ replied Ken.
Bill shifted his attention to the room where he assumed the girls were hiding. ‘Girls? This is the sheriff, it’s okay, you can come out now.’
There were a few seconds when Bill thought he could hear whispering behind the door, then the handle turned and the door began to open. Five women were hiding in the room, they eyed the sheriff and he offered them the most comforting smile he could muster.
‘We need to get you girls somewhere safe, I don't know if there are any more of those things around so we have to be careful. Im going to let Ken take you up to my house. Gina is there so you can hide out until we sort this mess out, you got it?'
The girls all nodded and Bill guided them towards Ken trying not to let them see the piles of mush on the floor. One of the women looked down at the mess and screamed then covered her mouth in shock and started to weep.
‘Don’t worry, its looks bad but those weren't men anymore’ said Bill.
That didn't do much to calm the women.
‘Deputy, I want you to take these girls over to my house, I think its best if you stay with them and make sure they are okay. I need to check the rest of the rooms in here and then see if the rest of the buildings are empty.
Kens eyes widened. ‘Sheriff, I can’t leave you here, not with these…’
‘I gave you an order Ken and I really need you to follow it. Theres a saloon full of trained killers down the street, so if I need help I'll be callin' in there to get it. Do as I ask, please. I’m tryin' to keep order in a seriously fucked up situation.’
‘Okay Sheriff, Ken said reluctantly. ‘But, if things get too hot then you come up to the house. Let those fuckers come to us and we will take them one by one.’
‘You got it Deputy’ Bill said and patted Ken on the shoulder.
Ken began to usher the women down the stairs and out of the building.
‘Watch you don’t step in Tom.’ Bill called out. This was answered with another sob from the group.
Bill walked into the room where the women had been hiding. There was no blood in there or anything to alarm him. Then Bill heard a noise, it was coming from the outside the room. He reloaded his pistol before walking carefully into the hall. It was at that moment that a cold breeze swept through the hallway and froze Bill to the spot. The candles on the walls and in the room behind him went out and Bill stood in darkness with the only light coming from the large full moon that hung in the sky, shining through the window at the end of the hall.
Then the sound of footsteps which started slow but began to build speed and before Bill could react a large looming figure was almost upon him. Bill had just enough time to see the lumped face and heavily muscled torso, the torso of an Apache with eyes white and wide. The heavy figure hit the sheriff with immense force. Bill managed to stay on his feet but was pushed backwards towards the window.
The figure let out a scream and before he could do anything Bill heard glass shatter behind him and felt himself falling, though not for as long as he had expected. Bill landed on the sloped roof with the big, mutated Apache on top of him but now they were sliding downwards, head first. Bill managed to summon enough strength to flip the figure off him and over his head. Bill then dug his heels into the roof slowing him down but not stopping him completely. Then he was over the edge of the roof and falling towards the ground.
His landing was softer than he expected and the sheriff realised he had in-fact landed on top of the hulking Apache. It let out a grunt as Bill impacted onto his chest. Bill then span off the creature and quickly turned onto his back but was shocked to see the Apache was already up on his feet and leaning over him. It opened its mouth wide and Bill knew its intention was to bite and to turn him into whatever it was.
Two shots rang out and Bill felt the breeze of the two bullets as they passed over him and hit the undead Apache in the chest but it hardly had any effect. This one is much stronger than the others, Bill thought, and then i
t dawned on him that this was most likely the chiefs son. Bill looked around and saw his pistol was a few inches from his shoulder and grabbed for it before putting another four bullets into the thing, one hitting him it the underside of the jaw and that shot seemed to count. It let out a huge roar and stumbled and then, to Bill’s astonishment, it began climbing the side of the building, lizard like in its movement and then it was gone.
‘What the fuck was that?’ said a voice, Bill turned onto his front and got to his feet to see Jack Blackwater standing there with a confused look on his face.
‘That was one of the things we tried to tell you about, in-fact I believe that was the one who started it all, the chiefs son.’
‘I'll be dipped in shit. That son of a bitch just took two rounds from me as if it was nothin' and then just climbed up the god damn wall. Did you see that shit?’
‘I did and how the hell did you just happen to be here? Not that I'm not grateful’ asked Bill, shaking the shards of glass from his clothes.
‘I was on the way over to get me some sugar for the night and a place to lay my head. I head gunshots and then glass breaking round here so thought i’d come check it out. Well, it seems there is indeed somethin' pretty strange goin’ on Sheriff and now its seems that they have found this place, we need to decide what we are gonna do?’
‘Well,’ Bill started but he was interrupted by the sound of more gunshots. Jack span around and made his way back to the main street, Bill behind him.
The scene on the main street was insane. Jacks men were outside the saloon now. Guns drawn and a group of around fifty or more groaning, snarling bloodied people, if you could call them people, were closing in on them.
‘There’s loads of the bastards,’ said Jack. ‘Why aren't my men blowin' their fuckin’ heads off?’
‘As soon as one of one of your men pulls the trigger, all hells gonna break loose!’ said Bill eyeing the situation.
A sound made Bill look to his left and he saw that on the roof of one of the buildings opposite the saloon, two women being chased by what looked like two of the creatures. Bill saw one of the women was holding something and became pretty certain it was a baby. He ran over to the building and took aim at the first of the things that was in pursuit. He fired, hitting the thing in the hip and caused it to fall onto one knee and then, on trying to regain its balance, it fell from the roof and to the ground, landing about ten feet in front of Bill.
Bill watched the women reach the edge of the roof. They were huddled together as the other thing roared and approached them. Bill fired a quick, reckless shot and it missed, hitting a wooden beam. He fired again and the shot caught the thing in the side of the face. It slowed for a moment but then just carried on at a slower pace.
‘Throw the child down!’ Bill shouted.
‘I can’t,’ screamed the woman. ‘The fall might kill her .’
‘That thing will kill the her if you don't try now please, throw the baby down now.'
The woman looked to Bill then to the oncoming creature, she whispered to the child, leant over and dropped the bundle down to Bill who caught the baby and lowered his arms as he did so to cushion the child’s fall. Bill didn't know whether that would be enough to save the little girl but relief flooded him the child began to cry. Bill held her in one arm and then raised his pistol and prepared to fire, the attacker was almost upon the two women, the shot had to be good.
He was about to fire when the creature that had landed in-front of him rose to its feet and let out a roar. Bill aimed and fired at the thing which stumbled back but then came forward. Bill shot again but this time there was only a click and he didn’t know whether the gun had jammed or whether he had run out of ammo.
Panic filled him as the creature ran forwards, he was holding the baby and he had to protect it. Bill covered the child with his body and turned away from the thing as he had no time to do anything else. He waited for impact but it never came, instead he saw the creatures head roll past him. Bill looked, rose to his feet and turned to see Tatsu the Japanese man standing there, his blade covered with blood.
‘Thank you’ said Bill.
The Japanese man nodded. ‘No problem’ he replied and Bill then realised something was approaching the Samurai warrior from behind. It was the two women from upon the roof, only now they weren't the same women he had seen alive just moments before, there souls were gone and were replaced with the same evil that lurked within all of the creatures.
The two women were breathing heavy as they ran towards Tatsu. Bill was about to call out and warn the man when three horses came galloping through the streets and knocked the two women completely out of sight. Tatsu turned around to see what had happened but nothing was there, he shrugged his shoulders and walked away.
Bill walked over to the saloon trying his best not be seen by the undead. He was trying to think of something, some sort of plan. He was holding a baby, which thankfully wasn't crying now and he needed to keep her safe. His thoughts were interrupted as a shot was fired into the crowd. The creatures roared and screamed and then began to attack.
Bill stood for a moment, wondering how he could get the child to safety without being noticed but then a voice called out.
‘I suggest you move out of the way Sheriff, unless you want to be cut down’'
Bill turned to see Art the barber. He was outside his shop. Art had opened the door open and pointing through the doorway was huge a machine gun. Bill had seen them before used by the cavalry and had also seen the damage they could do. He turned and called to Jack, ‘Blackwater get your men out of the street, now!’
Jack looked at Bill and then to the gun. ‘MEN!’ he shouted ‘GET DOWN!’
The men hit the deck, all except for a feared gunslinger called Charlie West who, it turned out, was partially deaf. The men hit the deck and Art began to turn the guns handle spraying out bullet after bullet. The sound was deafening and Bill motioned to the barber to keep the aim high so’s not the hit the men that had ducked for cover. Rather than advance on the grounded men, the creatures turned in the direction of Bill and Art.
They looked dumbfounded and bullets hit them the chest and stomach. They were then pushed one way with the force of the bullets and then pushed back the other, bits of clothing and flesh flew off them. Charlie West, who unfortunately had not heard the command to get down, was hit four times, one of the bullets hitting him in the chest killing him before he had even hit the floor. The creatures began to try and walk forward, but couldn't make ground due to the force of the bullets. They were being torn apart but the injuries weren't high enough to kill them and their heads remained intact.
‘We got these bastards!’ shouted the Art and Bill shifted around to an angle where he could fire at the things unseen from the shadows. He reloaded and took aim at the creatures heads knowing the brain was the key to destroy these walking dead men. He fired of a few shots into the skulls of some of the things, the ones that went down exploded on the ground moments later.
Movement then caught Bill’s eye and he turned to see the thing he thought to be the chiefs son, hit the ground as it jumped down from the roof. He landed behind the barber, who had no idea the thing was there as he was far to busy spraying bullets into the horde of the undead.
The first Art knew about it was when large hands of the Apache grabbed him in a bear hug and lifted him up off the floor. The barber screamed but the scream was halted when the Apache bit into the side of the barbers face, tearing off a chunk of cheek revelling his set of gnashing teeth. His tongue was visible inside his mouth, moving and squirming. The barber was then thrown to the floor and the screaming stopped but his body began to convulse and vomit spilt from his open jaws. Art’s eyes shot open and white pupils were revealed, whatever human thoughts which had been there moments before were gone and now the machine gun barber had become one of them. The rest of the creatures became still, confused as the man they had been about to attack was now no longer a man but was one of them and t
hey seemed unable to decided what to do next. Bill saw this as his moment to get the child to safety and began to slip off into the shadows, taking the baby girl towards the house. He looked back and saw the big Apache command what was left of his army to continue to attack the gunslingers. Bill fled as fast as he could.
Bill reached the house, banged on the door and was greeted by a voice.
‘You ain’t one of those things are ya?’ it was Kens voice .
‘Yeah’ Bill said, ‘I'm a zombie cowboy and I've come to eat your brains am I out of luck?.’
There was silence from behind the door and then whispering. Bill couldn’t believe they might actually be discussing if he was intact one of the undead.
‘Ken you idiot its Bill, open the door.’
‘Oh Bill! why didn't you say for gods sake,’
The door opened and Bill quickly went into the house. Gina was standing behind Ken looking anxious.
'My god, is that a baby?' she asked looking at the bundle.
'Damn right it is and could well be an orphan one as the mother has been turned.'
Gina carefully took the little girl from Bill and walked over to a chair. She sat down looking at the child. The other women that were there crowded around to look at the little bundle.
'Whats happening Sheriff' said Ken 'It sounds like a god damn war zone down there.’
'Well, I suppose in a way it is. We managed to hold em off a little but I don't know how long for. I get the feeling it isn't done yet, not whilst the chiefs son is walking around. He’s much stronger than the others and theres a real power in him. I shot him full in the head earlier and he hardly flinched. Trent said that to kill him you have to use the same method he was killed with originally. I need to find a way to do it. Jack said he was killed by being stabbed in the chest by Joel, so I need to find that blade and put it back there.’
Bill looked at Gina and saw that she looked tired. ‘Gina, why don't you take the child into my room, the beds plenty big enough and you need to rest. The baby is gonna need us, at least for the near future. The girls here should be able to fit in there too if you top and tail. Myself and Ken will take it in turns to keep watch.’
