Chapter13: Evils of Ghost Town

"But why would a witch like Callie want to make such a ridiculous law forbidding heroism?" Grace asked the stagecoach rider curiously as he still administered the wreck in his wheel.

"I don't know; it's just the way things are here," The rider scoffed trying to get his spectral horses together. "Now if you excuse me, I still have a job to do, now run along unless you wanna take the risk of attractin' Callie's attention." He shooed Grace away to allow her to go about her business. Helping one another in a big way counted as an act of heroism and the rider did not want anything to do with that. Grace sighed and went on her way. She didn't have time for any of this anyway. She had her own problems to solve; if it was even possible to do so. She didn't need her light crystal anymore now that she was close to Ghost Town.

Meanwhile elsewhere

"My Mistress, it appears that she has somehow made it through the perilous journey and is somewhere in town," Millicent bowed before her Mistress whose form was completely covered in darkness.

"She is more strong-willed than I thought. Yet she is still a considered a pest. See if you can find her; and if she commits an act of heroism in any way, bring her in!"

"Consider it done my Mistress." The witch left in a puff of smoke.

"So that wispy little brat still believes she can reason with me eh? And she seems the type to not abide by my laws and rules in this world. No matter what, she'll never see her home or her friends again." The Mistress laughed menacingly in the darkness of her lair.

In town

Ghost Town was not only frightening but it turned out to be the most violent and evil supernatural place Grace had ever visited. People who passed by would often push and shove without stopping to say "excuse me." There were brawls and fights on the street and in every building. Thievery and gun shots occurred from every cowpoke on the street. The stagecoach rider's words proved true; there was not a single sheriff or lawmen to settle everything. As she treaded through the dirt road, almost every citizen she passed stopped what they were doing to stare and point at her.

"Ain't that a real live cow passin' by? She should be dead like us," a bearded prospector pointed out.

"If that is a live cow, she sure is skinny and weak," a woman replied harshly.

"No other newcomer in this world stays alive for that long to make it all the way here. Has she come here to seek her own death?"

"I doubt she'll be welcomed in this town so long as she lives."

"Hey watch it Blondie!" a spectral coal miner rudely shoved Grace aside. Grace looked back with a sour expression. Even if this place is lawless, she knew that these people still had no right to do what that guy did. If only heroism wasn't illegal, then she would have given him a pretty good lesson about manners. She had no clue how long she would put up with these crude townsfolk. Everywhere she looked, there was either someone being bullied, robbed, yet no one had the guts (if they had any left in their bodies) to put a stop to it of course. Well, she couldn't really blame the victims since she might as well believe that the witch had the power over all of them. And who knows what other kind of dark magic spells she possessed. Handling outlaws in the land of the living was one thing for her and her friends, but witches are something else.

"Hey!" Grace shouted out as she was once again shoved aside by a male citizen in a gray torn suit. Irritated she was, but what could she do? She didn't look where she was going until she bumped into someone.

"Hey what the…oh it's ye again!" A cruel cold voice blurted. Grace stared with her eyes wide open horror stricken. She had just bumped into the same four evil outlaws who had robbed her of her light crystal. Wait a minute; didn't she just pass through one of them when she tried to attack? If so then how could she bump into them when she couldn't touch them herself?

"We thought we told ye to stay outta our sight bovine!" The outlaw she had bumped into leaned down her position with his angry red eyes gleaming madly. Grace backed away slowly feeling frightened. "Have ye come back for yer precious little crystal?" He dug in his vest pocket to take out the light crystal swinging it in front of her face.

"If you were smart enough…" Grace spoke in strict high tone, "…you would know that stealing from someone else is a serious federal offense. In other words, if you were still alive in my world, you'd be nothing but jailbirds behind bars! Me and my friends can handle you the way we took care of a cattle rustler and his stupid goons! Even if crime is allowed here, what you're doing is still wrong and dangerous!" Grace breathed heavily with an irritated expression on her face. Her shouting had attracted attention from a few citizens walking by. They stared as if she were completely out of her mind. Some of them snickered as they went on their way. The four outlaws were astonished by her foolish heroic words. How dare she speak to them in that tone of voice like that? That comment had cost her.

"So ye think yer purty smart DONTCHA!" It happened so quickly; Grace was grabbed roughly by the bell and lifted off the ground by the other three to be carried over to a trough filled with orange slime.

"No wait, I can…" too late. She was thrown aside into the trough covered in slime. Grace lifted her soaked head and shook off the remaining sticky substance. She even had to spit a few times when minimal drops entered her mouth. It almost tasted like a similar type of fruit or veggie, but it may have still been dirty. When she viewed the gang surround her, she had a bad feeling that her troubles in this town were just beginning. Her fears had increased in her body as they kept staring at her with their terrifying eyes.

"Now listen closely!" One of the outlaws seized Grace by her blond hair, forcing her head to move closer to his face so that her eyes were glaring at his. "We don't take kindly to weak intolerant loud-mouthed ruffians such as you. Like I said before, only crime runs this town, and there is nothin' ye or anybody can do to stop it; not while yer under Callie's commands. Just remember, there ain't no place to run or hide; those witches will be huntin' ye down till yer theirs. So what're ye gonna do about it?"

Grace tried to free herself, yet his grip were as tight as before. "I'm…going to…help my friends tonight." That was all she could think of as she still tried to break free of his grasp. The four outlaws looked at each other blankly. Why wouldn't this bovine give in to their threat?

"Why won't ye admit that yer weak?" The bandit released her head by slamming it back into the orange slime as rough as he could. For a moment he buried her head down to see what would happen. Grace spit and coughed out the orange slime onto the ground. From the looks of it, it seems she was not about to give in to them anytime soon no matter what they did. To Grace, she believed they were only taunting her with whatever evil deed to try and break her spirits.

"You're the ones who are weak minded and stupid!" she blurted out while still soaked in the slime. "You think that just because you're phantasmal and possess incredible strength, that it makes you stronger in picking on those weaker than you are. Well it doesn't; it just proves that you're nothing but cowards!"

She picked herself up and kicked the trough of slime on them in order to make an escape. None of them noticed her pacing past them to rush inside a small building with a sign labeled Undertaker hanging above the front doors.

"Alright Blackheart Bill, Heartless Henry, and Toothless Tim; it seems we got ourselves a trouble maker in this town. And if we don't find and stop her, Callie will be furious!" The leader squeezed the last bits of slime off his black hat and placed it back atop his head. "No mortal ever messes with me, Cliff Cleaver!" His eyes lit up like exploding candles. The other three followed behind him armed with pistols. The reason why Grace didn't touch them when she tried to attack was because of a ghostly magic trick. Ghosts are capable of doing whatever mischief they desire to cause. Yet other reasons remain unknown.

In the undertaker building

Grace was feeling scared as ever. Her heart began pounding loudly in her chest and she breathed heavily. She struggled to find a place to hide from those wicked bandits. Despite those being weak minded and cowardly, she knew that she was still no match for their macho or absolute power. Should she go up or down? Any one of them might have been a death defying choice, but she had to think fast because of the echo of footsteps approaching the wooden porch from outside. Quickly, she headed to the door leading somewhere downstairs.

Grace went down and down heading to a room deep below the ground. The air felt cold and damp and bats flew above her in the dark. She tried not to scream when a few of the winged rodents flew past her head. Downstairs there was room full of wooden boxes. She hoped those things weren't what she thought they might be. The floor was made of dirt from the earth. Some of the boxes had been filled with earth. It was hard for her to see what else was down here without the help of her light crystal.

"Down there, I think she went down there!" The voice of the bandits could be heard upstairs. Grace ran to the darkest corner and looked for a place to hide. She was panicking and scared, so she just hid in one of the wooden boxes sitting next to her, just barely missing the bandits' sight possibly. She listened as the footsteps grew nearer and nearer. Worse yet, she could hear the creak of wooden boxes being opened and any minute, her hiding place would be next. It was hard for her to keep her pounding heart steady and soft while sweat had been oozing down her forehead.

"Why would she be hidin' down here when she could be upstairs or somewhere else in town?" she heard one of them whisper dangerously.

"Alright, let's split up; you check the theatre, you check the hardware store, you check the hotel, and I'll check the general store; she won't get away that easy." Grace felt a sharp kick against the wooden box she hid in still. She waited until their footsteps fell softer every minute. And if it was completely silent then that would be her signal to escape.

"I hope I don't run into them for a long while," Grace whispered, dusting herself off from the earth in the wooden box. She began to rise out when something bony touched her shoulder blades and pulled her back lower. "OW, let me go!" Then the bony hand touched her chin to force her eyes to stare directly into the empty eye sockets of a dried up skeleton with no skin!

"Come to join us in eternal slumber?" the skeleton spoke in a dry hoarse voice.

"AAAWWWW!!" Grace screamed in utter terror and threw the dirt in the skeletons face. It shrieked and threw it hands to its face. Grace jumped out of the wooden box and back up the stairs after she saw the other boxes opening to reveal skeletal hands poking out. Those weren't just any boxes; they were coffins for the recently deceased.

Outside

"Now where do I hide?" Grace said panicking looking left and right. Those bandits could be hiding anywhere in town. But if she stood where she was any longer, it is likely that she will be dead meat. Her mind filled with more panicked thoughts as people kept pushing and shoving her aside calling her all sorts of rude names. She gazed at a building called Snake Eye Saloon. It didn't seem safe, but she had to hide somewhere. Picking up the pace, she flew through the swinging doors. Inside the saloon, there were arguments over who had been cheating at poker, brawls, and drunken zombified cowpokes yelling at the top of their lungs (if they had any). The glass bottles they drank from were actually labeled pumpkin beers. There were many different strange names for liquor such as batwing, vines snap, wolf claws, spider silk, zombie juice, gator scales, and snake venom. Even as they drank, the liquid could be seen running down their skinless bony torsos.

Not wanting to bother with any of them, she went to where the liquor bottles were placed on the other side. There were still a few questions she needed answered. She saw what looked like a woman wearing a purple dancing dress with a feathered head bang and a choker rummaging through a few cabinets.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you…"

"Now what in carnation is this?" the saloon manager interrupted sourly slamming the cabinets closed. She was a rotting corpse with green skin, bony hands, yellow eyes, but without a nose. "Here I am working' for all eternity in this hell-hole and some wanderin' livin' outsider comes askin' for a favor?"

"Actually it's about…"

"What do you want outsider; pumpkin beer, a game of poker, or a stage dance?" The saloon manager waved her arms madly in irritation. For anybody who would be forced to work for all eternity in a place at the time of their death would be grouchy too and possibly mad.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about Callie," Grace answered hesitantly. The manager gasped in shock as did the rest of the citizens in the saloon turning to her. The sight of them staring made Grace feel uneasy. Did she just say something she wasn't supposed to have said in public? She had almost forgotten about that.

"Did she just say what I thought she said?" a cowpoke turned from playing poker.

"No she didn't say it at all, she meant to say Cassie; yeah that's right, my cousin Cassidy" the manager clapped her hands over Grace's mouth to keep her from mentioning the name in front of them. She then flipped her over the wooden plank for a private chat.

"Don't you ever be mentionin' that name in public again! There are some of us who don't like how she is running' things here, but there ain't nothin' anybody can do. Her powers are much too great for us and for you, so I suggest you leave town."

"No, I have to see her. She's the one responsible for putting my friends under a sleep spell and I'm willing to take the risk of whatever spell she casts over me," Grace whispered back. "Tell me something, how can she create such a ridiculous law forbidding heroism?"

"The manager sighed in defeat. Even her words of advice would not change the heifer's mind. "From what I know, Callie cannot stand the thought of one day becomin' overthrown by whatever force of goodness might enter this world or what might pose a threat to her. That has never happened before, but Callie will do anything to make sure it never does; even if it means robbin' everyone of us of our free will. She's the kind of witch who enjoys seein' all of us suffer through her tyranny. It's just the way things are here."

"That's terrible!" Grace was stunned to hear that the witch would create such a law also proving as another act of cowardice. Still Grace was determined to make it to the mansion, even if it meant losing her own free will. Which was more important, her friend's lives or what? Grace was now confused with how to handle the situation.

The two heard the doors swing open wildly. The same four red eyed bandits entered the saloon demanding to know about the whereabouts of a bovine walking through town. Nobody paid any attention to their threat until the name Callie was mentioned. "We got word from the witches that this bovine is wanderin' round town commitin' all sorts of heroic acts in violation of Callie's law. All we have to do is bring her in and she won't be a problem."

"Just what we need, the Red-Eye gang," the manager whispered to Grace, "Stay here." She hopped over the plank to see if she could deal with them herself. "Well if it ain't the Red-Eye gang lookin' for more trouble. What else would ya'll want with a simple livin' bovine besides hand it over to the witch?" The manager threw her hands on her hips trying to act as tough as she could. The ghostly bandits were not the least bit frightened of her appearance.

"She has been warned several times to stay outta our site after we was robbin' the stagecoach she used to travel here. It turned out that she didn't listen to us; so we just wanna make sure she stays outta the way for good!" The leader Cliff Cleaver turned his attention to the wooden plank where the other liquor bottles were.

"What're ye hidin' back there miss?" he asked suspiciously walking over there.

"You can't walk on over there, only staff members are allowed!" the woman protested, but was held back by the other three. She watched the gang leader hop over the plank with his pistol in hand.

Grace thought quickly in the farthest corner; it was now or never. If she wanted to see the witch that bad, then she would have to commit the act of heroism. "Come and get me!" she shouted, heading for the stairs leading up. Cliff only chuckled when he saw her do so.

"Bovine, ye just headed into a trap!" He followed her up with the gang behind him. However, when they got upstairs, the window had been opened with the wind blowing in. Cliff threw his pistol on the floor in rage. "Darn that annoyin' cow pie!" he hollered with his feet stomping. "She'll pay for this!"

"She couldn't have gone far, maybe she's back out on the street," Blackheart Bill looked at the window, but he could not see her running anywhere. While they were all looking at the window for her, something moved under the bed. It was Grace poking her head out from under the covers. The bandits had crawled out of the window one by one to check and see if she had made it to the roof. Her plan turned out to be a great distraction. Hopefully it would be enough to keep them away from her for now anyways.

Downstairs

Going downstairs, Grace saw that the citizens in the bar had been staring at her completely cross-eyed. Even she had an idea what what they were thinking.

"Wait let me guess, I'm in trouble for committing an act of heroism am I right? She said sarcastically. She narrowed her eyes at them.

"Right you are my pretty," an old cackling voice answered her. A witch in dark robes with a pointed black hat and black shoes appeared before her in a puff of smoke cloud. Her skin was green, she had claws for fingers, her mouth had only three or seven teeth, her hair was white and shaggy, and she had a wart on her nose and chin. Grace shivered with fright as she stepped back slowly without noticing the Red-Eye gang behind her.

"Thought ye could outsmart us didn't ye?" Cliff taunted, pushing her forward. There was nowhere for Grace to escape as two more witches with the same appearance appeared beside the first witch. They all smiled wickedly.

"Time to go see the Mistress."