Trap Sprung
Passing through a valley of hills, Rath and April arrived at Deadwood. The town lived up to its name. No one could be seen. Not a sound of life could be detected.
"Hello?" shouted April.
Echo of her greeting answered back.
"Dead town?" April asked.
"Let's check the lawman's dwelling for answers."
The hoofs struck the dirt as the wind blew across the street. Stopping in front of building with "Law" across a sign on the porch.
Sliding off the saddles and tethering their horses, they walked up the creaking steps and across the porch. The wind was blowing the front door open and close. It stopped when they got close to the door. Rath carefully pushed the door open. Creaking of door hinges was only sound of activity detected from the building. Boards revealed only their footsteps entering the room.
Heading towards the desk, "Kept guard, April," Rath said.
Opening the drawers, he discovered only cobwebs and dust. Finally the center draw, Rath discovered the lawman's ledger.
Flipping through the pages, he heard, "Any answers?" from April who still was staring out the door.
"Some pages are unreadable," he stated motioning with his thumb, "Check jail cells."
Her boots dreaked against the floor as he continued flipping through pages
"Nothing," she said leaning on her hands against the desk, "Anything useful?"
"Patches of information on recent events. Four riders enter town. They're spreading gold around. Saloons not closing. Guns shots into the air. People dying," face jerking back, "Lake on fire. A plague spreading through town. Green decaying skin on corpuses. Strange."
"What?"
"Corpuses rising from graves," closing the ledger.
Neighing sounds from outside drew their attention. Walking outside, stopped.
Walking towards them were a few people.
"How can they be scarying the horses?" asked April.
Slowly more people were coming.
"Hello?" greeted April.
Rath's eyes caught something on the crowds' skin. The tint of their skin was wrong. It was green.
Sending his hand towards his shooter, he drew it and send a bullet into a leg of the closest person to them. The figure fell flat on his face. No one complained or seems concerned that someone was shot. In fact, the figure got up and continued walking with a bum leg. The bullet in his leg didn't slow him down.
Removing the second shooter, "Saddle up!" he yelled aiming and firing at the closest walking bodies.
Sitting on her saddle, her shooter came out and fanning the hammer back.
getting on his horse, "Ride!" he ordered spurring his horse.
They rode through the thinned out line of corpuses.
Dust rose as they rode towards the edge of the hills.
April's horse fell forward. Her leg trapped under the dead horse. getting off, Rath pulled April out from under the killed horse. Before he could to his hore, bullets chased it off.
Bullets danced around them as he dragged her towards a boulder. Behind the boulder, bullets chipped at the edges.
"Anything broken?" asked Rath.
"Besides a woman's pride," she grimaced, "Left leg, not well."
Patting her legs, "You're right, the left does seem wrong."
Drawing her shooter, "Think we sprung a trap?" peering from the edge of the boulder, pulled the trigger.
Drawing his shooter and peering from his edge of the boulder, sent bullets in the same direction as her bullets were going
Emptying the chamber, "Town was properly already dead," reloading his shooter.
Reloading hers, "That plague?" pulling the trigger.
Nodding in agreement, he sent empty cases from the chamber dropping to the ground.
Reloading, "What magic did that?" she asked pulling the trigger.
Counting bullets, "Something beyond our knowledge," he answered.
Reloading, "Why didn't they follow?" she asked firing.
Reloading, "Who?"
Reloading, "The corpuses," she commented, "They're not here."
"Those pinning us down properly know necromancy."
Firing off some shots, Rath detected voices complaining about bullets nearly getting hit them.
"Getting close," he stated.
Firing few shots, "But your luck's same as mine," she retorted.
Splashing in his ears grew, but his mind returned to the shoot out.
"How's your ammo?" Rath asked.
Clicking of April's shooters answered his question.
Reholstering her empty shooters, "You?" she asked.
"Two," he answered.
Sliding to towards him, her back laid against his waist. Back of her head laid on his chest.
"You know something?" she asked.
"No, what?"
Turning and staring into his eyes, "The risks was worth it," kissing his lips and returning the back of her head to his chest .
Her hands directed his gun holding hand towards the side of her head. The barrel was aimed at her temple with the hammer cocked. Her body shook as the bullet entered her skull. Blood sprayed the surface of the boulder as life exited her body. His hand closed her eyelids.
He held her as his ears detected footsteps nearing him. Long barrels being loaded caused him to stare at four barrels aimed at him.
"One instead two," he remarked returning his eyes to the dead April Rivera.