Wild, Wild West
Texas, 1882
Part 1
The brothel is dark and almost empty. Two patrons drink silently at the table near the spiral staircase. Behind the bar is a slovenly dressed barmatron, who lazily wipes the towel back and forth along the bar. In the din, giggles from the working girls can be heard, as their men whisper sweet nothings into their ear. One of the more attractive blonde girls, known solely as Amanda, leads one of the patrons by candlelight up the stairs to her room. The patron stops and takes a deep swig of whiskey and places his hand on the girl's hip. She smiles and breaks free of his grasp. She looks back and entices him through the door. He laughs a bit, and closes the door.
Inside it's dark, the only source of any light comes from the moonlight. The girl is in the washroom, the man makes himself comfortable in the chair.
"So," the girl calls "You gotta name?" she asks
"Well, my dear, I don't reckon I should tell ya." he responds.
"Why is that, pray tell?" she asks curiously.
"'Cause I'm dangerous." he says back to her in a sloven tone.
"Oh, really," she says, emerging from the next room "What did ya do?"
"Well, you hear 'bout that bank heist in Abeline last month?" he asked, not waiting for an answer, "Well, that was me and my brother, took the whole lot with us."
"Wow, you are dangerous," she said, walking over to him, and sitting atop his lap.
"I like it with the lights off." he said, taking another deep shot of whiskey.
"Well then, why don't I slip into something a little bit more comfortable." she said, staying still for a time.
"Come, give a kiss darlin'." he says to her, the rancid scent of alcohol on his breath.
Suddenly, the girl leans forward, and in the sliver of moonlight, reveals a twisted and contorted visage of a face possessed. Her fangs glisten in the light just before she lunges forward, sinking her teeth deep into his neck.
Providence was your
average mining town. The city streets bustled with action, trade
posts selling furs and other goods to those who were brave enough to
face the elements and anything else that waited for them on the trail
to the coast. But now, the town was abustle with the news of the
murder at the brothel. The feeling of intrigue and excitement filled
the air. Who died, who was there, the cause of death all changed
depending on who was telling the story. Questions burned inside the
citizens of the town, like a phoenix blazes before it disinegrates
into ashes.
Lita Garren also was aghast about the murder at the
Two Pines Brothel. She tried as hard as could to avoid travelling to
dark corners where people were talking about the place she called
home. Lita just continued her brisk paces and kept her head down,
only looking at the gravel and rocks beneath her buckle shoes. She
glanced out of the side of her eye and saw two of the faithful
churchwomen shaking their heads and gazing in her direction. This
caused her to hurriedly walk into the General Store, where she hoped
for some solice.
"Well hello young Lita," said Mr. Smith, the shopkeep "I trust your aunt is holding up?" he asked.
"As well as can be expected I guess, now here is what I need." she said, handing him a list of goods on it. Mr. Smith turned and started to gather Lita's goods. Out of the back room came his wife, who was a bitter old woman dressed in black, and who was a devout christian and believed anything was a sin against God.
"Dirty girls," she began with a breaking voice "The devil has come to your little house of ill repute, and now I see him clouding your aura." she preached.
"Oh, Martha, quit torturing the poor girl," he said "Here is your parcel young Lita dear, and I threw in some candies for you, free of charge." Lita just smiled and turned to walk out the door.
"The day of judgement is coming! You will be cleansed of your sins!" Martha preached towards the girl, who simply turned a blind eye to her and walked out the door.
Back at the Brothel, Kate, the madame, leaned against the bar, her only company was Luisa, a mexican girl who spoke no english who was busily sweeping the floor and cleaning up. Kate looked up and saw Lita walk through the door and greeted her with a smile.
"Did you get everything?" she asked
"Yes." Lita said, handing the parcel to Kate. Kate put it behind the bar and walked back over to her neice.
"So, what does the old hag say today?" said Kate
"Well, she said we will be judged and that the Day of Judgement will come." Lita retorted. Their conversation was cut short when Luisa walked to Kate.
"¿Terminé yo el barrer, yo puedo ir?" she said to Kate, who was dumbfounded at her.
"Si," said Lita, a fluent spanish speaker "Sí Luisa, le ve mañana." Lita finished, and remained silent until the girl walked through the doors.
"Aunt Kate, you really need to learn more spanish, not just "No", "Yes", and "No I will not lower the price." " Lita told her aunt.
"And keeping with learning, the new schoolteacher arrives tomorrow, from New York." Kate said.
"But you need me around here, and I wouldn't want to go back to school, there is no point in it." Lita said.
"Lita, I promised your mother on her deathbed that I would give you a proper upbringing and make sure you remained in school, now, we open in one hour, so go." Kate said to Lita, who remained silent and walked up the spiral staircase to her room.
The night starts off with a bang. The regulars don't care about the murder, hell, why would they? Lita remains at the top of the landing, overlooking the mass. Off to the side, one of Kate's new girls takes a male companion into her arm and into the crowd. The piano player has moved on to his next number and the Sheriff, dressed in a full tux sits at Kate's private table. A mexican bandito sits near the stage and watches lustfully as a sexy dancer struts onstage with nothing between her and the audience except two giant ostrich plume fans. Tired of the spectacle, Lita drifts off to bed and quickly falls asleep.
In her dream, Lita is running through the narrow streets of a great city. She recognizes the architecture from a book as that of China. Her vision is blurred by a black veil about her head. She is haulted at the end of an alleyway, and reaches into a hidden pocket and withdraws a katar, throwing it into the shadows and hears the blade penetrate the flesh, she sees a beast of sorts fall into the illumination of the streetlight. She hears a low hiss behind her and quickly turns, only to be knocked into an adjacent wall. This beast has a more human guise to him. His face is contorted and he has the teeth of a wild dog. Lita kicks and tries to fend him off, but she is no match for him. She gasps as he wraps his cold hands around her throat, trying to force the life out of her. The vision ends. Many more follow but the end result is still the same. These girls, all strong and fearless fighters, all meeting their end at the hands or claws of things Lita could only think existed in fairytales. She felt something familiar in all of them, as though she is reliving their struggles, their lives, her life. She awakes in a daze, only to find that she was still in her room, safe in her bed. Though the assurance of safety was present, she felt a greater threat loomed still and stayed awake and awaited sunrise, gripping in her hands a pewter crucifix.
Edwin McCallister walked off the train and watched the other passengers pour out of the train. Some meeting friends or family, while others came alone, in the hopes of finding work in the town. But Edwin was shocked at how different country life was from the streets of New York City. I have an assignment, he reminded himself. He would finally partake in a sacred position that existed longer that the written word, as the guardian of the Vampire Slayer. Although, the assignment was bittersweet, because it had meant a Slayer had died. He was appalled at the fact that he was sent to oversee an untrained girl, whilst other girls in the world had recieved years of necessary training and preparation, he thought of a potential he had met a few months back while on assignment in Istanbul, she had been trained for many years and was looking to become one of the greats. But this girl, wherever she may be, was the Slayer, and he was her Watcher.
He trailed through the town, and had grown accoustomed to the looks he got because of the upper class attire he was wearing. He came upon the Two Pines and entered with the hopes of finding directions. Inside was empty, except a few girls who sat lazily in chairs. Kate came out from the back and saw the stranger who looked incredibly lost.
"Sorry, we're closed." she said
"Um, no, I uh seem to be lost," he said, fumbling his words about "I am new in town and was wondering where I might find a boarding house?" he asked
"Oh, your the new schoolteacher, my name is Kate, and this..." she trailed off as she directed his attention towards the teenage girl walking down the stairs "Is my neice Lita Garren." she said.
"Pleased to make your acquaintances." he said. The trio stood there silent for a time until Kate finally broke the ice, "So, when do you expect to reopen the school?"
"Well, I will prepare tonight and open the doors bright and early in the morning." he said "I must go find a place to stay and get settled in, and Lita, I plan to see you early in the morning, eh?" he asked. All she did was a coy smile in response. The big city gentleman let himself out of the brothel without a word.
Night came and went, and now the day was here. Lita was fascinated by the stories Mr. McCallister had told about all these historical battles that went on to change the course of history. He was a smart person, a practiced mathmatician, and an expert at languages and literature. It was close to nightfall, and the schoolhouse was empty, except for Lita and Edwin, who was cleaning up and preparing tomorrow's lessons. All of a sudden, Edwin pulled a satchel onto his desk from a drawer, and kept it closed and turned his attention to Lita, who only looked at him quizically.
"So," he began " Have the dreams started?" he asked
"What dreams?" she asked.
"Well, the ones about the vampires of course." he said as he stood and began to walk towards her
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked as she slowly inched away towards the door.
"I don't want to hurt you, Lita, I want to help you." he said stopping his paces.
"Well then why with the questions?" she interrogated.
"I just want to know if you have been dreaming of your past lives is all." he said
"What past lives?" she asked
"Well, they can span the world, maybe a magyar peasant? A uh, Chinese thief perhaps? Or maybe it was a Peruvian girl during the Incan Empire on the brink of destruction?" he asked. These words seemed to awaken something in Lita, thinking for a moment that these dreams had some sort of meaning.
"I have dreamt of a girl in China, fighting things that lurk in the shadows, and a peasant girl, and an exotic Peruvian girl standing atop an ancient temple, inflicting damage upon her homeland." she said "But I have not told a soul of these dreams, how did you come to know of them?" she asked.
"I think it would be best to show you than tell you." he said.
Edwin walked back to where the satchel sat. He opened it and withdrew a finely sharpened wooden stake, a silver crucifix, a white candle, a revolver, a box of bullets, holy water, and he also pulled an aged scroll from the satchel, and walked slowly over to the curious girl.
"Here, take a look." he said, handing her the scroll. She unrolled it, only to reveal a woodcarving of a vicious beast with an somewhat human appearance. This has an obvious effect on the girl, who started to breath heavily and pushed the scroll from her sight.
"What was that thing?" she asked.
"Well, in Germany, he is called Nosferatu, the Aztec called them Civatateo, the Aboriginies called it Yara-Ma-Yha-Who, Malaysia, the Penangglan, and of course we can't forget the Yakshis of India," he took a breath and continued with his point "But you might know them as the undead or Vampires."
"Vampires?" she said, taken aback.
"Yes, vampires." he retorted
"What do vampires have to do with my dreams?" she asked.
"This is where it turns to you, see, these dreams were a reminder of the rich lineage of which you come," he came closer to her "They are telling you what and who you are, the Slayer." he said.
"What's a Slayer?" she asked
"Well, as the story goes, 'Into every generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, one girl with the strength and skill to stop the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers." he finished.
"So I am this Slayer you are preaching about?" she asked.
"Yes, and 'tis time you embraced your destiny." he said
"Your insane!" she cried and ran out of the schoolhouse.
Lita ran down the dirt road, and towards town, tears welling in her eyes. She didn't see the other girl and walked into her. Luckily, it was Amanda, one of the girls from the brothel. "Hey, slow down there darlin', you okay?" she asked Lita.
"Yea, I'm fine." she said
"Well, come on then, let's go have some fun." Amanda said.
"No, I'm not into the kinda fun you are, i'm not that kind of girl." Lita said angrily. Realizing she offended Amanda, she apologized and it seemed that she had forgiven her.
"No, I know your not like me," she said, "But you will be soon." Amanda said, her voice deepened and her face contorted.
Lita screamed and when she turned to run back to the schoolhouse, she tripped over her dress and fell to the ground. Amanda hovered over her, like a vulture. She hissed and beared her fangs. Lita closed her eyes tightly and was braced for death. All of a sudden, a shot sounded from behind her and Amanda retreated back away from Lita. Lita opened her eyes and looked back to see Edwin standing there with his revolver smoking from the shot. Lita ran and stood behind him. He cocked the gun again and shot Amanda square in the chest, and forced Lita to watch her reduce to dust.
"Was she a vampire?" Lita asked still shaken.
"Yes, Lita, she was." Edwin said.
Out of the dark, Lita's Aunt Kate came running up to her. "Lita, are you okay?" she asked, assessing her for injuries, "I heard the gun while I was walking and came running, what happened?" she asked.
"Wild animal." Lita responded.
"Lita, I don't want you out after dark alone, okay? Now come, let's go." she said.
"Um, Kate" Edwin spoke up, "I could use an assistant to help me plan lessons and the like, and I was wondering if Lita could stay after with me to help out?" he asked.
She thought for a moment, and answered, "I guess so, but will you swear to bring her home safely?" she asked.
"I promise." Edwin answered. Kate left Lita there, and told her goodbye and that she would see her when she got back. Once she was sure Kate was out of listening range, she turned and looked Edwin square in the eye.
"Well, I guess I'm the Slayer." she said.
TO BE CONTINUED...
PART 2
The following evening, Edwin put his assortment of weapons on his desk again. Lita sat by the stove to keep warm, every so often tossing a log in the fire to intensify the flames.
"So what the hell was she?" Lita asked.
"It, more to the point, was a vampire." Edwin responded, "Vampires, while demons on the inside maintain the outward appearances of the poor soul they took over, and, they retain the memories of the person that it killed, so don't let your guard down." Edwin warned.
"This is all very confusing." Lita said with a small laugh.
"Yes, I know, but in time you will learn about these creatures, their weaknesses and whatnot." Edwin said.
"So, how long do I have to be the Slayer before I am done?" Lita asked.
"It's not really like that, there is no set serving time for any one Slayer, you are the Slayer for life." Edwin said.
"You mean to say that I am supposed to spend the rest of my days hunting beasts that lurk in the shadows!" Lita said, shocked.
"It's not just you, Lita, the Slayer before you served until she die-" Edwin cut off, the words tearing him inside.
"What happened?" Lita asked.
"Well, I don't really know, all I know is that she went out on a hunt and never returned, then the Council informed me that there was the presence of Slayer power here." Edwin said.
"Enough questions," Edwin said before Lita could utter another word. "We will first start out by studying methods for killing and maiming vampires." Edwin said, Lita turning her attention to the objects on his desk.
"Now, a vampire can be staved off and killed in many ways," Edwin said, the teacher coming out in him, "For example, to kill a vampire, you can impale it with a wooden stake through the heart," he said, showing her the stake, "The use of fire, sunlight, or decapitation will suffice as well." he said, lighting his white candle and showing her the blade on his belt.
"What about repelling?" she asked.
"Well, then we resort to holy articles, such as holy water, wafers, or a simple wooden cross." Edwin said. "Or, if need be, garlic is said to repel the demon."
"Where is your garlic?" Lita asked.
"Well, I used it on the voyage here." he said.
"Were you attacked?" she asked.
"Well, no, actually, the food on the train was too bland." he said.
"Oh." Lita said.
The pair continued the back and forth banter for nearly an hour, or until Lita realized the sun was growing closer to the horizon. Edwin, knowing that Lita had no proper training and would be defensless against an attack, sent her home, but gave her a very thick brown leather-bound book with the inscription "Vampyr" on the front embossed in gold. She stuck it into her knapsack and headed for home. For the entire venture back home, Lita felt as though a pair of eyes had watched her all the way to the front door.
Over the next four days, Lita was staying after almost every night with her nose in books and diaries and listening to Edwin tell of her predecessors. But tonight, she would start the physical portion of her training. She dressed in a light dress and wore one of her aunt's less stunning burlesque corsets and tied her hair in a tight bun. She saw that Edwin had attached a large grain sack to the ceiling for warming up.
"You're dead!" he shouted as she fell to the floor, sweating and out of breath. "You need to be able to atticipate my next move, now get back up and let's try again."
She regained her footing and put her arms up to defend her head. He swung for her and she evaded his attack and kicked him in the chest, but knowing the strength of a Slayer, he put mutiple layers of cloth under his shirt. He got his balance back and charged for her again, his arms flailing about. She managed to hold his arms steady about an arm's length from her head, but Edwin foresaw a vulnerability and brought his knee up to her abdomen and sent her falling to the ground again.
"Dead." he said "You can never under any circumstances get ahead of yourself, now try that in battle and you are dead, get up." he said.
"I'm tired, I need a break." she said.
"A break! Do you think a demon or vampire is going to give you a break whilst trying to rip your throat out?" he shouted again.
"No." she said, panting.
"Then what makes you think I will give you a break? Now back to your feet." he said.
She returned to her feet, and with an angry look in her eyes, she readied herself. He charged but she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back and kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying into the grain sack, busting it open.
"Good." he said dumbfoundedly. He got to his feet with a little trouble and hunched over for a time, allowing Lita some time to rest.
"To be a good Slayer in battle, you must channel all of your energy into strength, including pain." he advised.
Across town, in the abandoned Saloon, the bandito from the brothel, the Sheriff and a few other townsfolk sat around amidst a cloud of smoke and playing cards.
"So, you sure he's a Watcher?" asked the Sheriff, breaking the silence.
"Almost positive, he only just got here a few days ago and now he's spendin' alotta time with that girly whose aunt runs the brothel, and he killed Amanda a few nights ago." said the bandito.
"Well, that's her own fault, once they reach 150 they think they're invincible." the Sheriff said, taking a swig of the blood sitting next to him.
"Keep an eye on 'em, I want to be sure; 'cause if she is who you say he is, then I want to get the glory for her demise." said the Sheriff, leading the rest of his gang into a roar of laughter.
The next night, near sunset, Lita returned to the schoolhouse, dressed in her training dress and corset, and ready to resume her training. She had yet to see a real vampire, and wondered if she ever would, seeing as how Providence was a small community and if there were vampiric murders, some attention would have been called to them. She walked inside, and saw no signs of Edwin. From behind her, the door shut quietly, and Edwin, who had been hiding behind the door, snuck up on her. She sensed his presence and turned around and grabbed his throat, pinning him to the wall.
"Good." he said, trying hard to breath. "Your skills are improving, and your strength is remarkable, which is why you should let go now." he said, smiling slightly. Doing as she was told, Lita let him go and backed away from the wall. He got his bearings and was ready to start their training session.
"Now, tonight I want to focus on..." Edwin trailed off when he saw Lita's off-subject expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, sitting down on a nearby bench.
"What was she like?" Lita asked.
"Who?" he asked.
"The Slayer before me, I mean, you must have known about her right?" she said.
"Yes, I-I did." Edwin said, avoiding eye contact.
"Well, what was she like?" she pressed.
"I don't really think-" Edwin spoke, but knowing he would not win, he broke and decided to talk.
"She was, uh, a bright pupil, an excellent fighter, she was unique." he said, "But then again, all Slayers are." he said. He then reached down and pulled something out of his pocket, it was a small, crumpled, folded piece of paper. He handed it to Lita, who upon opening it saw a beautiful young woman staring back at her. Through the brown and sepia tones, she could see that she had a lovely complexion and raven hair, and yet, Lita felt as though this girl whom she never met, looked a little like her.
"You miss her don't you?" Lita asked.
"Yes, very much so." he said.
Before another word was uttered, a loud crash was heard from the rear wall behind his desk.