CHAPTER 1: Storms and Serpents
On a normal night the town of Mud, formerly known as Dirt, would be relatively peaceful. The shopkeepers would be closing up for the night, the little ones would be tucked safely in bed and some of the locals would be down at the Gas Can Saloon having a drink. But tonight was definitely not a normal night. It was almost 10:00pm and a fierce, howling wind was buffeting the silent town. The shutters on the old west-style homes were shaking, rattling and banging, almost threatening to fly off their hinges. The buildings started to creak and moan as the wind slammed into their sides. But what was making the town even more eerie, was the fact that the place was almost pitch black. All the other buildings were dark and seemingly lifeless. Only one building was bright with light, the sheriff's office.
Sitting by the front window of said office was the raven Wounded Bird. Despite the banshee like wind and shaking of shutters outside the feathered deputy was napping quite peacefully, with his bum-leg resting on a desk and bird himself leaning back in a rocking chair. That changed real quick when Waffles, a thorny lizard, crashed into the office. A normal person would have been startled awake by a racket like that. But Wounded Bird had come to expect this by now, after sheriff Rango appointed the clumsy lizard to be the town jailer a few months ago.
"Evening Mr. Wounded Bird," Waffles grunted cheerfully as he laid in an upside down heap against Bird's desk.
"Evening Waffles," Bird responded, fixing his hat so the brim covered his face.
"Phwooeee, what a night this one's turning' out to be," Waffles said as he untangled and brushed himself off.
"A storm is coming," Wounded Bird replied, "With wind like this, it's going to be a bad one."
"I know what ya mean," Waffles chirped as he grabbed a chair and sat down, "As I was coming down I almost lost my hat, twice, and nearly got blown into the lake myself. … Speaking of the weather, ya thinking we should lock up the office before the storm hits?"
"We wait for the sheriff," Wounded Bird answered as he settled deeper into his rocking chair," When Rango gets back, we lock up."
"Ya mean sheriff Rango's not here," Waffles asked as he scratched his head, "Where did he get to? Visiting Ms. Beans? Talking to that Hill Clan, again?"
"No, he's at the Town Hall,"Bird replied curtly, "Had something planned for the children."
"What the heck is he up to now," Waffles asked as he stared out the window in the buildings direction.
"Not sure," Bird replied calmly, "Something about telling stories to ghosts."
"G-G-G-ghost!," Waffles exclaimed as his chair fell back and knocked over the gun rack, "Oops… Sorry Mr. Wounded Bird…"
Watching the clumsy lizard, all Bird could do was shake his head and try to get some more sleep. As Waffles fixed the guns and gun rack, Wounded Bird sunk as deep as he could into his rocking chair and fixed his hat over his eyes. Though he didn't show it, the old raven could not for the life of him understand why the chameleon sheriff appointed Waffles as town jailer at all.
Meanwhile… At the Town Hall
A fireplace roared inside the office of the former mayor, Tortoise John. Inside the same room a group of children sat quietly, some of them clinging to each other, as a black cloaked figure moved around the room speaking in a menacing tone.
"As she stood upon the gallows, the judge announced the witches crimes and verdict to the crowd below," the cloaked figure said in a raspy voice, "'Katarina Mason, you have been found guilty for the murders of seven men and the act of cannibalism in the name of devil worship', the judge yelled, 'For these unspeakable acts, you are hereby sentenced to execution by hanging. On this night, you are to be hung by the neck until dead and your body burned til only the bones remain. Have you any final words before your demise?'
Katarina stayed silent for a moment. Looking over the silent crowd, she finally spoke.
'My final words are a promise,' she said calmly to the crowd, ' One, I swear that on the day of my death I will rise from the grave and burn down this entire town to nothing but ash and rubble…'
The crowd rumbled in fear at her words. Not because she said it so calmly, but that the young woman said it with such truth and conviction in her voice. But what she said next chilled them to the bone…
'And second, one way or another… I will find those boys who ratted on me, AND DRAG THEM DOWN TO HELL!'", the cloak figure roared, causing several of the children to jump and scream, "With those final words, the witch of McCoy Swamp, Katarina Mason was hung from the gallows that All-Hallows-EVE. But as time went on, the curse never came true and people forgot all about Katarina Mason and her heinous crimes. A few years had passed since Katarinas' death, and once again All-Hallows-Eve was around the corner. The town was in a festive spirit and the young boys who testified against her had become close friends after their ordeal. That All-Hallows-Eve the boys decided to have a last hoorah as that year would be the last year for them to be boys. Back then it was tradition for the whole town to celebrate holidays together in the Town Hall and, as part of that tradition, the Town Hall was decorated for that one holiday. That night, the boys decided to sneak into the town hall and set up a few pranks for Halloween night. Little did they know that as they entered the darkened building it would be their last day on earth.
The ballroom of town hall was still. So still, that you could hear a pin drop. All of the boys had brought an oil lamp and, once the coast was clear, decided to light the lanterns. Out of the corner of their eyes, the boys saw the various jack-o-lanterns and decorations all set and ready for Halloween night. The boys decided to split up, so they could set their pranks quickly. Just as they finished, an eerie laughter arose in the silent ballroom. The laughter was that of a young woman, but it was not the good intentioned laughter of All-Hallows-Eve. This laughter was darker, colder, and more menacing than anything the boys had ever known. Raising their lanterns, they looked around to see where the laugh came from. And then… out of the darkness, they heard a new sound…," paused the cloaked stranger, "it was a clattering sound, like that of a wooden wind chime. The clattering grew louder, and louder, and louder as the boys desperately looked about the ballroom to find the source of the deafening din. Their pranks forgotten, the boys scrambled back to each other for was little sense of safety a group could provide. Suddenly, the noise stopped…"
"W-W-W-What happened," a little renard fox asked timidly, " What happened next?"
"What happened next," the cloaked figure repeated, "No one knows for sure. A fire had broken out inside the town hall that night and quickly spread from one building to the next. Eventually, the entire town was on fire and nobody could stop it. When morning finally came the town was nothing but a pile of ash and rubble. As people were searching through the charred ruins, they came across something inside what had once been the town hall. Inside what had once been the Town Hall laid the corpses of several older boys. Their ankles were broken and their bodies were scorched black by the heat of the raging this day, no one know how the fire started or how the boys died. Some say that a lit jack-o-lantern fell over, setting one of the decorations alight, and that the boys died trying to put it out. Others say that one of the boys pranks went off and scared another boy into dropping his lantern, starting the fire and trapping the boys inside. But the story that most folks believe, is that Katarina Mason made good on her word. She dragged the souls of those boys down to hell and, using it's fires, burned the town to the ground…," the cloaked figure finished.
"Woooow," said a little cactus mouse in a sailor dress, "That was a real scary story, Sheriff Rango."
"Heh-heh-heh, glad ya think so little sister" the cloaked figure chuckled as he removed the cloak. Underneath sed cloak was a skinny chameleon in old-west style clothing, grinning ear to ear. "Pwhoo, this thing is hot," he muttered under his breath.
"Aw, please put the cloak back on Sheriff," said a little bunny with slacks and suspenders.
"Yeah, Sheriff," chirped a small mole in jean overalls and glasses, "Tell us another one."
"I'd love to, but," The chameleon replied as the grandfather clock chimed the hour, "It's gettin' late. Time for all you little ones to be headin' home."
A collective aw spread over the children. As Rango finished folding the cloak and cleaning up, the children kept begging him to tell one more of these "ghost stories"
"Sorry kids," Rango said, kneeling down to the childrens level, "But I promised all your folks that you kids would be back byー 'KA-BANG'!ー Gyaahh," screamed the chameleon as a bolt of lightning flashed outside. Running to the same window Rango could see the wind battering the houses and the thunder and lightning flashing off in the distance. "Looks like I finished that story just in time," Rango said as he went to douse the fireplace, "All you little ones need to get home and quick. There's a storm on the way, and it looks like a bad one."
A little while later… Back at the Sheriffs Office…
Rango continued to groan as he held a cool rag to the left side of his face. Laying down on one of the jail cots, the chameleon knew he was going to be nursing a god awful headache come morning. Waffles on the other hand was laughing his thorny ass off. As to why, well…
"Bwaaah-hah-ha-hah, whoo-heeh, le-le-let me get this s-st-traight," Waffles gasped between laughs, leaning far back in his chair, "Yer walking Miss Priscilla home, when a big gust of wind blows yer hat off. So, youse goes to chase it and almost catch up to it. But just as you make a grab for yer hat, a shutter comes out of nowhere and hits you right in your face! Bwaah-hah-hah-hah, he-he, oooh-he, waaaaah-ha-ha-ha! That's the best story I ever heard Sheriff!"
"Yeah, hardy-har-har," Rango growled as he sat up on the jail bunk, "You wouldn't be laughing if it happened to you, Waffles."
"Hee-hee, this is too rich," Waffles cackled as he held his stomach, "I mean seriously… You've faced down Bad Bill and his whole gang, survived a hawk attack, and saved the whole town from Tortoise John. To top all that off, youse also squared off against "The Grim Reaper" himself and lived to tell about it. But all it takes to take you down… 'snicker, snicker,'… is a rogue window shutter, yaaaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"Oh, shut your trap," Rango snapped, slipping out of his western accent, "Everything all boarded up for the night Bird?"
"Locked up tight," the raven said as he sat back down in his rocking chair, "Priscilla, you settled in for the night?"
"Almost," chirped a tiny cactus mouse as she poked her head out from a neighboring cell, "Gotta say, never slept in a jail cell before."
"Sorry bout the lack of accommodations, little sister," Rango groaned, slipping back into his western accent, "But I couldn't just send you home with that storm rolling in."
"It's a'right Sheriff," Priscilla chirped as she settled into the covers on her jail cot, "I'm sure my ma will understand. Good-night everyone."
"Goodnight little sister," Rango said as he laid back on his cot, "Good work today men, see ya in the morning."
"G-g-g'night," Waffles said as he finally got control over his laughter and laid his head down on a desk.
"Night," Wounded Bird said as he turned down the lamplight in the office.
Some time later… Near the edge of Mud…
A serpentine figure panted as it slithered across the dry, cracked earth. It was a rattlesnake, but this snakes' body was shorter and a little thinner. It wore a raggedy white wide-brim hat and had a pair of yellow lensed goggles over its eyes. Strapped to the snakes back was, what looked like, a knapsack for snakes and a large gun in a textured scabbard. It could feel the storm coming and the rapidly dropping temperature was making the snake even more frantic. An inaudible curse emerged from the creatures scaled lips when it felt rain droplets fall on its scales. All at once a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by the deafening boom of thunder. A feminine yelp emerged from the serpent as it jumped into the air. Desperation setting in, the female serpent knew that it needed to find shelter… FAST!
"What the hell," the lady rattler cursed in a thick cajun accent, "Nom de Dieu, I thought that it never rained in dis damn place!"
Then, the lightning flashed again. It was only for a brief instant, but she saw it. It the distance there was a small town with a lake. With the storm growing worse by the second, the lady snake bolted towards the darkened town. However, once she got into the darkened town, the rain started falling even harder. It almost looked more like a waterfall suddenly appeared over the town. Although the mystery snakes' hat kept some of the water off her, she was still getting soaked. What's worse, her body temperature was dropping even more and her vision was starting to become blurry. It was definitely not a good sign. Even the most idiotic of snakes knew that if they got too cold, they'd fall asleep and never wake up. Just as panic was setting in, a set of loud banging sounds rang out over the torrent of rain. Looking around, the lady rattler zeroed in on the source of the noise. A set of doors to a stately/mansion type building had been flung open by the force of the storm and were now banging against sed building. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, the lady rattler bolted for the buildings entrance and nearly slammed her rattle in the doors when she tried to close them behind her.
"Fwoo, Dieu merci," the rattler sighed as she shook the icey rain from her scales.
Task one, complete. She managed to find a place to bunk for the night. Even better that the place she found was so big. But even with all this space, this mystery snake couldn't relax yet. Her body temperature was still dropping, even inside the dry building. Flicking her forked tongue about the snake desperately started searching for some form, any form, of heat in the building. Then, as she neared the stairs, she smelled something. It was faint, but it was the unmistakable scent of burned wood. There was a fireplace upstairs! Fast as she could manage, she slithered up the stairs and followed the scent in the pitch dark building. When she reached the source of the smell, the snake found herself in a grand room that was much warmer than the rest of the building. As her body started to warm up, the snake explored the room and found more wood and matches to start another fire. Before she knew it, she had a roaring fireplace and a nice warm room to sleep in for the night. Placing one more log on the fire, the lady rattler removed her gear and coiled herself up for the night. Letting out a big yawn she drifted off to sleep, hoping to God that whoever lived here didn't mind having an uninvited guest for the night.
The next morning… Outside the Town Hall…
On her way to the Town Hall, Angelique was having trouble this wet and muggy morning. As she walked down the empty streets of Mud, the sophisticated vixen could feel the humidity from last nights storm making her fur frizz. As a, self-described, civilized woman she despised when her appearance did not cooperate with her as is should. So needless to say she was glad it was still early in the morning and that no one could see her, less than presentable, appearance. She liked order and a constant routine but, thanks to the storm, getting into her normal routine almost impossible. Opening the doors, Angelique was shocked by what she saw. The normally cleaned to a lacquered shine floors, were covered in mud!
"C'est quoi danse le monde," the vixen screeched.
Never in her whole life had she seen this kind of mess. Not even when Bad Bill and his boys would stay here, would the Town Hall ever get this dirty. Already, the vixen was regretting letting Rango and the children stay late last night. If this was what happened when he was left in charge of children for one evening, then she would remember make Rango to so somewhere else. Finished making her mental note Angelique started to survey the damage, and hoping Spoons could clean it up before things got busy. But once she got near the stairs, she smelled something burning.
"Ce stupide shérif," Angelique exclaimed, "He left the fire burning!"
Racing upstairs, the vixen followed the smell of burning wood to, what had once been, Mayor Johns' Office. Throwing open the doors, she rushed inside the room and made a beeline for the fireplace. Looking around, she saw a mop and bucket of soapy water near the window and poured the water onto the smoldering embers. Hearing a hiss, a flustered Angelique relaxed for a moment. That clinched it for Angelique, she was never going to let that bumbling chameleon have the Town Hall after hours ever again! In fact she was never going to let him into the Town Hall, period! Just as she thought she was going to break something, Angelique heard a rustling sound near the door. As she looked in the sounds' direction another hiss reached her ears. What met her eyes, was a sight she could not believe. Coiled up in a corner near the door, and still dead asleep, was a giant snake.
Angelique was petrified at the sight of the sleeping serpent. Then, it stirred again. As the serpentine intruder adjusted its coils the terrified vixen caught sight of that unmistakable rattle. In that moment, Angelique did the only thing she could do in a situation like this… She ran like hell!