by McCabe, R. J
That was until Gina’s face entered his mind. Ken began to imagine, what if it had been her they had carried into that tent and then something dawned on him. He realised that the three men must have been heading to Sundown and Ken thought that once this night was over and if all of those men survived, they would soon be in town and a whole lot closer to his daughter and the girls that worked with her. That was when Ken made up his mind.
Ken Murphy decided that the men he was with were big and ugly enough to go on without him and he left the group. He moved through a number of tents before he found the tent in which he had see the Hamilton’s enter. As he approached he saw that the two children were still outside the tent, both crying inconsolably.
Ken had almost reached the tent when he saw the scrawniest of the brothers, Dick, walk out and begin to shout at the children to shut up. The children, of course, did not stop crying and Dick struck the older of the two across the face. The child, fell backwards onto the ground and held the side of her face. The younger of the two children began to cry even louder. Ken was expecting to see Dick strike the boy in the same way but instead saw the man take his gun out from its holster. He then placed the gun against the child’s head and Ken knew that the man would kill the child unless he could stop him.
‘You piece of shit’ Ken shouted and this got the man’s attention.
Dick Hamilton turned to see Ken running towards him. Dick’s face turned to look of confusion for a moment and that soon turned to recognition and a grin began to appear revealing brown uneven teeth. Ken moved quicker than either he, or Dick Hamilton, had expected and was upon the man in seconds. Dick lifted his gun, the grin disappearing from his face when he realised Ken wasn't there to be part of their little party but he had realised that too late and before he knew it, Ken’s own pistol was raised and the end of the barrel met with Dick’s eyeball. That was when Ken pulled the trigger, shooting Dick at point blank range in his right eye and Ken saw red mush fly from the back of the man’s head and the now one eyed man stood for a few seconds, a look of total shock on his face before falling backwards onto the floor.
Both of the children had stopped crying and Ken tried to encourage this by placing a finger to his lips and making a shhh sound. The younger of the two children smiled at Ken. The deputy looked towards the older child to see if she was sharing the same sentiment and for a moment he thought she was but the girls eyes widened with an unmistakable look of fear on her small face. Ken realised she wasn't looking at him, but just behind him.
He turned slowly to see Abe Hamilton standing there. The man’s appearance was a mixture of his two brothers mixed in with a certain ratty look. He was standing there chewing tobacco. He looked at Ken and gave a kind of grin, seemingly not noticing the body of his brother lying on the floor but that didn't last long as seconds later Abe’s eyes flicked down to Dick and then back to Ken.
The deputy, for a split second, didn't know what to do and then he lashed out hitting Abe square on the jaw. The man fell like a downed tree onto the muddy ground not making a sound as he did so, he was out cold.
Ken was breathing heavy and looked down at the children before turning his eyes to the tent. He slowly lifted the tents flap that covered the entrance and stepped inside.
What greeted Ken was the sight of Ed Hamilton on his knees, britches down and kneeling in front of the woman he had taken into the tent. The Apache woman was on her back, the side of her face swollen and her right eye almost closed due to bruising. She seemed conscious but only just. Ed Hamilton was reaching into his long johns in an effort to remove his penis so that he could take full advantage of the Apache woman. Ken, who had replaced his pistol when looking at the children, slowly took the weapon from its holster and began to raise it towards the back of Ed Hamilton’s skull. The big bellied man was now muttering things to the woman in front of him concerning what he was about to do to her.
Ken could see the man’s shoulder moving and guessed that it was due to the fact he was playing with himself. Ed stopped when Ken clicked back the trigger of his pistol. He heard Ed Hamilton make a dry swallowing sound before speaking.
‘Hey, take it easy now. I just came in here to help this poor woman, I don’t mean you fella’s any harm.’
Ken realised that Ed thought he was an Apache and decided he would let him know who was about to kill him but before he could speak, he felt a searing pain shooting through his head. Ken dropped the gun and put both hands to the back of his skull, his vision was blurring and his legs were turning to jelly. He turned around to see Abe Hamilton standing just inside the tent, one hand holding his sore jaw.
Kens hands were exploring the back of his head until they reached something. His thought process was failing and he couldn't quite figure out what had happened. Abe Hamilton then started laughing, ‘It’s a knife you idiot, I put it in your head for punchin' me in the fuckin' jaw. I think you broke it you piece of shit.’
Ken fell to his knees and then found himself face first in the dirt. His body seemed to be doin' what it wanted and not what he was trying to command it to do. He heard Abe laughing and then from the corner of his eye he saw Ed Hamilton stand up, tucking his penis back into his long johns.
‘Fuck me Abe, that was a close one.’ Ed said and then joined in the laughing. He then dropped to one knee and bent to look Ken in the eye.
‘Looks like you’re fading there you old bastard. I can tell by the look in your eyes. You know, it’s the same look I saw in the eyes of your friend, that Sheriff Watts just before I blew his pisser off. Yep, you are dying alright. night asshole.’
Kens felt another surge of pain in his head as Ed gave the handle of the knife a smack. That was when Ken faded out.
29
Jack had almost reached Chief Eskadi’s tent and the Apaches that were guarding it. A couple of them became aware of him and began to run towards the oncoming cowboy, one holding a knife held above his head. It was a naive move on their part as Jack simply drew his gun and shot the first man in the chest. The second man stopped and raised his bow, firing an arrow which flew over Jack’s shoulder but Bill, who was close behind, wasn’t so lucky and the arrow thudded into his upper arm. Bill cried out and broke the arrow off, his arm took on a numb feeling but Bill knew the wound wasn’t life threatening. Jack meanwhile, had shot the arrow firing Apache and had continued to move forward until he was just feet away from the tent.
A tall thin Apache whose chest was painted with red and black appeared and raised a rifle towards Jack. Blackwater stopped and stood completely still, he knew that raising his own weapon would be pointless as he wouldn't beat the Apache to the trigger. Time seemed to freeze as Bill closed in on Jack, he looked towards the rifle wielding Apache, knowing that Jack was just seconds from death.
Then, from the left hand side of the tent came a horse with a man riding on its back. The horse was moving at pace and Bill looked up to see the rider was Trent. In the blink of an eye Trent had passed the Apache with the rifle and for just a few seconds the rifle was still raised but the big difference being now was that there was no longer a head on the Apaches shoulders. Trent had decapitated the man as he rode past and never even came to a standstill. He had just rode off back into the chaos.
Jack stood for a moment breathing hard. ‘Son of a bitch, almost had me there’ he muttered, before continuing to move forward towards the tent of Eskadi.
Another Apache appeared, drew and aimed a pistol at Jack but Bill was quicker and shot the man in the side of the face. Teeth, cheek and blood hit the side of the tent and the man dropped to the floor. Bill then noticed that Jack had reached the entrance and turned to look at Bill, a smile of satisfaction reaching his lips and then he stepped inside.
Bill was only seconds behind when he felt something pull on the back of his shirt. Then he was being dragged backwards with an insane amount of force. He flew through the air before his back hit the side wall of another tent, which collapsed under his weight and he hit the ground.<
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It took Bill a second to clear his head and then he saw, standing before him, the big undead Apache he had seen in the town, Eskadi’s son. It was grinning at him with a mouth that seemed much too large and it’s eyes glowed.
The thing roared before running at Bill and the Sheriff knew he didn't have enough energy left to fight the thing off. Bill half heartedly reached down for his remaining pistol, as the one he had been holding he’d lost during his short flight into the tent. The creature was almost upon him when it was hit from the side, the force knocking the big Apache off his feet.
Bill looked to see Joel standing there, his chest moving up and down as if taking deep breaths but Bill didn't understand how Joel could be breathing, considering he was the walking dead. Joel’s head and upper body had changed shape a little, seeming a little more lumped and heavy. He payed no attention to Bill and seemed totally focused on his undead nemesis. The two things were soon facing each other, drool spilling from both of their mouths as they circled and then, with what seemed like a synchronised roar, the two things ran towards each other and clashed.
30
Jack entered the tent to see Chief Eskadi on his Knees. His back was to Jack and he was muttering something and he didn't seem to notice that Blackwater had entered his home. Jack crept slowly up behind the chief, taking a knife from his belt as he did so. The chief didn’t flinch when Jack grabbed a handful of his long white hair and put the blade against his throat.
‘This is all your fault you selfish son of a whore. Now you had better tell me where the knife is that killed your boy.’
The chief did not reply, he was still and silent.
‘I don’t think you realise the gravity of the situation you are in here you old bastard. Now unless you want your head removed why don’t you tell me w…’
Jack stopped talking as something caught his eye. To his left, in the far corner of the tent there was a stand which had been carved from wood and painted in red. On top of that stand lay a knife, Joel’s knife and Jack recognised the Bowie as it was him that had given it to Joel.
‘Looks like I don’t need you after all shit dog.’ Jack said and started to laugh. He laughed until something heavy and blunt struck him across the back of the head causing his knees to give way and his black stetson to topple of his head onto the ground.
He hit the floor with a ringing in his ears and saw Eskadi reach for Jack’s knife and get to his feet. Jack’s head was spinning and he turned onto his belly and tired to crawl away from the chief but in seconds he felt Eskadi’s weight drop onto him.
‘You shouldn’t come here white man and now I will kill you just as I killed your son.’ Eskadi said whilst pulling back Jack’s hair to expose the throat area. Jack let out a laugh, which was not easy due to the tightness of his throat.
‘I knew you could speak English you dirty son of a bitch.’
At that Jack waited for the knife to be drawn across his throat but instead, felt the knife against his cheek, then raised an inch or so to his eyeball.
In one movement the knife slipped into the socket of his eye and with a wet plop sound Jack lost all sight in his right eye as it was popped from his head.
It hung on his cheek, still attached but was now useless and Jack felt a pain booming inside his head. The chief then cut the tendon that his eye was attached to and Eskadi began to laugh. Jack could feel shock overtaking his body and felt himself losing consciousness. He was about to pass out when he realised how close he was to the stand which held the Bowie knife and he realised if he could just get free for a second or two he would be able to get the knife and it would do something, at least, to even up the odds.
Jack felt his hair being pulled again and felt the tip of the knife on his other cheek, his blood ran cold in the knowledge that if his other eye was popped from its socket he would be completely blind and that, for him at least , was would be worse than death itself.
Jack made a quick movement with his shoulder and managed to get his hand up and to grip the hand of Eskadi, the chief seemed to laughed just a little, maybe finding some kind of sport in Jack’s efforts.
Rather than try and take the knife from the chief, Jack pulled Eskadi’s hand towards his mouth and sunk his teeth around the base of two of the fingers. Eskadi let out a howl of pain and let go of Jacks hair, instead using the free hand to punch Jack repeatedly in the back of the skull. Jack had always had a hard head and in the heat of the moment the blows did little to detract him from what he was doing. With a crunch he bit right through the two fingers, severing them as the chiefs hand pulled away.
Eskadi was muttering and Jack turned his body with all of his force. It was enough to throw Eskadi sideways and Jack managed to scramble from underneath him. He then went to the knife stand and removed the Bowie.
Jack turned and faced not only Eskadi but also another Apache, surely the man who had cracked him on the back of the head moments earlier.
That Apache was Zata and he stood looking at Jack, whilst holding a large piece of wood. The chief held out one dripping hand and in the other he was now holding Jacks knife. Eskadi crouched and then waved a little as if beckoning Jack to battle. Jack was a little disorientated given that he was now only seeing out of one eye but his adrenaline was through the roof and he took a similar stance to that of the chief. He thought it was going to be a fair fight until Zata ran towards him swinging the piece of wood wildly. Jack managed to avoid the first swing but the second thudded against the side of his face causing him to fall into the side of the tent. He turned and saw both men watching him and slowly closing in for the kill. Zata had a grin on his face that told Jack he was going to take delight in clubbing his skull to bits with that piece of wood.
Then Jack, even though his vision was blurred, noticed another figure in the tent. The figure drew closer behind the two Apache men and Jack realised it was Tatsu.
The tip of a Samurai sword burst through the front of Zata’s shirt and ripped through his stomach. Zata took a deep breath and looked down at the huge blade. His mouth was open in shock and his eyes went back towards Jack.
‘Oops’ was all Jack said and smiled a bloody smile at the interpreter. Another movement from the Samurai and the sword travelled from Zata’s stomach right up to his throat, releasing a spray of blood. The Apache fell forward, sliding off the sword and landed face down.
Tatsu then made to swing the blade at Eskadi but Jack held up a hand and called out.
‘No, not him, that bastard is mine.’
Jack realised he was in a bad way but he also knew he was a good fifteen years younger than the chief and Eskadi had also lost two fingers. He realised he wasn’t worried about dying but if he was going to go, he was going to take the old Apache with him.
Jack charged at Eskadi and in turn, the chief moved forward letting out a tribal scream as he did so. The two men met each other and the chief thrust his knife towards Jack’s ribs but Jack had been ready for that move and blocked the older mans forearm with his own before using the same hand to punch the chief in the face.
Pain shot through Jacks hand as Eskadi stumbled back and Jack was surprised at how hard the man’s face was. It felt like hitting stone. Jack then thrust his own blade forward towards Eskadi’s stomach but it fell roughly an inch short. Eskadi swung his knife, just enough to put Jack on the offensive and then the chief raised the knife above his head intending to bring the dagger down. Jack automatically raised his forearm to block the attack and on the first strike the blade sank into the meat of Jack’s arm. Jack grimaced and felt the blade being pulled out as Eskadi looked to bring it down again. Jack moved backwards and Eskadi struck again, using his bloody forearm to shield himself, successfully this time but then it was coming down again.
Jack was back peddling and trying to think of his next move when an idea popped into his head, a simple idea but nevertheless Jack decided to roll with it. He lifted one black leather boot and kicked Eskadi between the legs. He felt the squish of a good con
nection and saw Eskadi’s eyes rolled upwards for a second before he let out a low groaning noise. His hands went to his crotch and Jack took full advantage. He swung his knife in an arc and it sank deep into the side of Eskadi’s neck. Jack pulled the blade free and a jet of blood followed from the wound. The jet quickly slowed to a series of little squirts. The chiefs hand went from his balls to his neck wound, to try and stem the flow of blood that was leaking out.
Jack then thrust the blade three times into Eskadi’s stomach before stabbing him in the side of the face and then finally slammed the blade into the chief’s temple. It stuck out of the side of his head and the chief’s eyes seemed to glaze over. He sank to his knees and then in that very position, he died.
Jack looked at Eskadi. ‘Iron Dog my ass’ he said before placing a boot on Eskadi’s chest and pushed him sidewards onto the ground. Jack then looked at Tatsu. ‘I owe you one Samurai.’ And with that an exhausted Jack Blackwater slumped to the floor.
31
Moments earlier Bill watched as the two undead things clashed. There didn’t seem to be any advantage in the strength even though the Apache was larger. They threw each other around and bit at each others faces and necks, the strength of the other seeming to sap the energy from his opponent.
Joel, or the thing that used to be Joel, charged the Apache, carrying him towards Bill and the bodies of the two mutants hit the Sheriff with full force. Bill flew through the air yet again before skidding across the ground. He got to his feet and could hear the ongoing battle between the two even though he could not longer see anything.
He turned to see an oncoming Apache, teeth bared and eyes white. It thudded into him and made to bite Bill who had to use all of his force to hold the thing off. The weight of it forced the Sheriff backwards and then Bill toppled and was lying on the floor with the things teeth gnashing just inches from his face and getting slowly closer with every bite.
