Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Dynamite Entertainment, Rockstar, etc.
Been a good run for movies as of late, saw Oppenheimer and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, both are excellent.
ian12091995: Thanks for the kind words. Hope you enjoy this one.
Lilspooky221: Much appreciated man.
Making progress now, this one is good fun I think, so I'll shut up and get on with the show.
She-Devil of the Frontier
Chapter 5: The Wicked
Securing her horse to the hitching post outside the building to which Walker had led her, Sonja looked it over with an appraising eye. The worn wood and fading white paint of the structure with its sloped roof and towering steeple topped with a cross gave it an unmistakable air of divinity. Around it was a low stone wall topped with wrought iron, some of which was missing, leaving gaps which the pair clambered through to circumvent the locked gate.
"What sort of help could we possibly find here?" asked the She-Devil as Walker pushed open the door that hung crookedly on one hinge. Instead of answering, the Bounty Hunter stepped inside and Sonja followed to find a large hall filled with benches, the air musky and stale as they walked down the aisle in the middle towards the pulpit at the front of the space.
The Gunslinger looked about, but he was relaxed, Sonja saw, but she kept her hands on her hips, close to her blade or pistol. It was soon clear that her caution was unwarranted as the building was as empty as it first appeared. "We're looking for someone who can help get us inside Fort Cassidy," said Walker.
Sonja blinked, "Who could help us with that?" she wondered. Shaking her head at the way Joshua had held that particular close to the chest, Sonja then stepped closer to the man and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him to face her. "Joshua Walker," she said firmly, "Who is it we seek?"
"One of West Dickens' friends," he admitted lowly, and Sonja couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know, I know," added a frustrated Walker, "But if this guy can help us then we could really use it."
As loathe as Sonja was to rely upon the charlatan merchantman, she could understand why Walker was determined. "Then let us search thoroughly for this 'friend' of his," she declared before stepping past him towards a door that led out the back of the hall and shoved it open, to be met with the bright desert sun. Squinting as her eyes adjusted, the Hyrkanian saw that she was met with a graveyard, stone markers stuck in the ground to indicate where the dead had been laid to rest. With a distinct sense of somberness and reverence, Sonja stepped forward and saw that those feelings were not shared by all, since there was a campsite erected in the middle of the cemetery, a small fire going under an iron pot.
Walker stepped alongside her, his head lowered so the brim of his hat shielded his eyes from the sun. When he strode forward, Sonja followed, and saw where he was headed, the one grave that was unfilled and the wisps of movement within. "Excuse me," began Walker as he loomed over the open grave, "Are you Seth?"
Peering down, Sonja was met with the sight of a pathetic looking man, a body of little more than skin and bone, covered in tattered, soiled, ill fitting clothes, a bit of rope keeping his trousers in place. When the scrawny man, 'Seth,' turned to look up, she saw his face was gaunt and eyes wide, his ghastly visage framed by wiry, tangled hair as he looked at his two visitors. "Who are you?" he snapped, revealing a set of crooked and rotting teeth.
"We're friends of Mr. West Dickens, my name is Walker, Joshua Walker. This is Sonja," introduced the Bounty Hunter.
After casting one more glance at each of them, with Sonja surprised that his eyes did not linger on her, Seth turned around and continued to claw at the earth with his bare hands. "Goodbye Joshua Walker. Goodbye Sonja. It's been a great pleasure."
Sonja could see the frustration on Joshua's face as he glanced her way before trying again. "I need your help, Seth. We need your help, us and Mr. West Dickens."
Turning back, Seth spoke, "Let me be frank, partner, I hate people. It was people who got me in this mess in the first place."
"Cease your riddles," hissed Sonja crossly, "What mess?"
An eerie, haunting giggle emanated from the man. "Look at me, look. Scrambling around, looking for maps, half insane. I ain't washed for six months, my hair's fallin' out, my mind's going," he exclaimed, arms flailing about.
Turning back to Walker, Sonja's eyes widened and she could not believe that the Bounty Hunter still had the same calm expression, as if he was willing to look past the ravings of this madman and actually work with him, much less rely on him. To her surprise, Joshua seemed intent on just that. Pulling out a cigarillo and match, the Bounty Hunter asked "What happened?" before striking the match on the marker and lighting his tobacco.
Seth leapt from the grave and turned to face the pair. "What happened?" he parroted, raspy voice rising, "My partner! He stole half my map! I never would have done that to him! Never! Look at me."
Sonja had her doubts, she had seen men succumb to a whole manner of things, and once they had, there was little they wouldn't stoop to in order to get them. There was no doubt in her mind that this man had succumbed to something, completely, and would be yet another 'ally' she would have to be wary of.
Walker let out a puff of smoke and stepped towards the grave robber, asking, "Who did this to you?"
"My partner. My boy. My man," rattled off Seth, arms swinging about, "Moses Forth." Distraught, Seth brought a filthy hand up to his face, trailing dirt across his forehead. "I don't have the facility to tell you what I would have done for that man," he said somberly before rage coursed through his tone, "And what I would do to him now!"
That he lacked the facility was not something Sonja doubted.
"Why?" asked Walker simply.
"Because he stole half my goddamn map!" repeated Seth angrily.
As Sonja had come to expect, the Gunfighter was unfazed. "What map is that then?"
"The map, partner!" repeated Seth, as if repeating himself would be answer enough. "The map that tells me where it is."
"You speak in circles like it will take you to what you seek! Cease, before my frustration outweighs my patience. Where what is?" snapped the Hyrkanian.
A dirt caked finger came up and pointed at Sonja. "I ain't telling you that. I ain't. Don't make me tell, partner," he begged before cowering behind the gravestone. "It's mine. It's mine. It's all mine!" cackled the man maniacally.
Sonja's hand went for her blade, she would see that this man aided them, if he was at all able. Only a gentle hand lay on her arm and stayed her hand as Walker stepped in front of her and said, "Sure. And where's this Moses now?"
A moment of silence passed before the unkempt face of Seth peeked out from behind the carved rock. "He's at Benedict Point," said the grave robber. "The law got him for exhuming."
"Marvelous," muttered Sonja under her breath.
"Some people… they feel differently. Not Moses," explained Seth as Walker crept closer to the scrawny man. "Him and me are the same. The self same."
Walker puffed idly on his cigarette, and Sonja hoped he wasn't considering lowering himself to aiding such a despicable man. "Well," Joshua began, "Come on, Seth. Let's go see Moses, get you your map back. Then, maybe you'll help us."
Seth stood, perking up as he smiled at Walker, "Alright, partner. Let's go."
He then walked briskly past the pair, who doggedly followed. "How can you sink so low?" asked Sonja, tone accusatory. Digging up graves and looting from the dead."
"Ah, hypocrites, the whole damn lot of you," dismissed Seth. "Are you saying it's better to steal from the livin'? They're corpses! They don't care none."
"These people have been laid to rest!" retorted the Hyrkanian.
Seth rounded on her and jabbed a finger at the Swordswoman. "You don't know nohtin'. I talk to 'em, long after they've been forgotten by every other fella. I tell 'em it's alright to be scared and alone. I embrace them when they're stinkin' and rotten."
Seth delivered the words with such conviction and determination that Sonja's skin crawled with each one. Her vitriol spat back out with her answer, "They have earned their rest, and if they are worthy then they will be embraced by their gods. And if they did not, then they do not deserve to be defiled by the likes of you."
Sonja was relieved that Walker had the same contempt in his voice that she felt. "I met some sick bastards in my time, Seth, but you're special."
"Folk is cold and heartless all their lives," he retorted, utterly unbothered, "To me, they gets warmer when they're actually cold and heartless. Surely that makes sense, to even you two?"
"It certainly does not!" exclaimed Sonja.
"Are we really livin' anyway? Do you exist outside my mind? Maybe we're all havin' the same dream and when we wake up we'll die?"
"This certainly feels like some kind of nightmare," agreed Sonja.
Walker stamped out his cigarillo before walking into the telegraph office at Benedict Point, casting a hard glance at the man working the machine, he made to the board on the wall and eyed the smattering of posters hanging there. One looked like it would serve his purpose, a man wanted for grave robbing, among other things, so Tombstone tore the paper down and rolled it up before heading back outside.
According to Seth, the man they were looking for was being held in a small hut at the edge of the outpost guarded by a deputy. So with the last thing he needed in hand, Joshua ambled up to the lawman until he was noticed, "What do you want?" asked the deputy, hand going towards his revolver.
"I don't want no trouble. I need your help," replied Walker, unrolling the poster, "I'm a bounty hunter, I'm looking for this man."
"Well, uh… I ain't seen him," replied the deputy, his gaze scrutinizing Walker more closely.
"I know," replied Joshua with a nod, "But that Mr. Moses you have in there, I hear he's an associate of this man. I just want to speak with him and see if he knows where I can find this fella." Stepping closer, Tombstone reached into his pocket and came back with a $5 bill, "Why don't you go get outta this heat for a bit, have a drink while I conduct my business, then I'll be on my way."
Walker saw the deputy's eyes fixate on the money, and he took that first, most critical step forward, not even speaking until his hand was on the bill. "You'd best not be up to nothin' mister. This man has to stand trial."
"He'll be at the trial," assured Walker, "I just can't promise he'll be able to stand during it."
The deputy paused for a second before a small grin appeared, "Works for me, friend," he said as Walker relinquished his grip on the money and watched the man stride off towards the small establishment that served the outpost. Walking around to the back of the shack that held Moses, he waved towards where he knew Seth and Sonja were waiting.
"I wonder how much more she hates him that West Dickens?" he mused quietly.
"Have you looked in the cave, Seth?" said the grave robber suddenly, before the man chittered and cackled out a reply to the question he himself had posed, "No, it's very dark."
"What did you say?" asked a bewildered Sonja, tearing her eyes away from Walker as the Bounty Hunter walked about the trading post.
"I-I didn't say nuthin," asserted the scrawny creep.
Sonja's expression hardened. "I heard you say something," she insisted.
"You're a crazy woman," retorted Seth, "You should get that head looked at."
Reaching out, Sonja grabbed a handful of the man's filthy shirt and yanked him off his feet until she was looking him in the eye, his feet flailing uselessly above the ground. "Understand me, cretin, I need someone who can get a wagon inside Fort Cassidy. Walker believes you can be of use, but I do not share his sentiments. If he is wrong, you had better tell me now so that I might save some time… and you can save your head," she hissed, jerking her blade partly free of its sheath so that the steel gleamed in the sun. "Presuming you even know what day it is."
"I don't," he admitted, "I don't even know what year it is."
"Then you are wasting our time," she snarled, throwing the grave robber to the dirt and drawing her sword.
Seth ignored her, "You two are going after Shane Simon, ain't ya?" he asked knowingly.
It was enough to stay her blade, at least for the moment. "You know this man?"
"Oh yes. I met Simon and Deek and all them boys." Sonja was genuinely shocked at the admission before she was appalled, she could not simply remove his head and bury him with his beloved corpses. Lowering her blade, the Hyrkanian listened to what the man said, "Sometimes they call me when they got some special job needs doing. I got a reputation as a man who do things most other fellas won't."
Sonja snorted, "That I can believe."
"I reckon I can get you two in there, no bother. Assumin' y'all help me find this map, that is," amended Seth.
"What is so important about this map?" asked the Hyrkanian.
"Nothin' much, just unimaginable riches and such like," replied the cretin. "A spark of hope that lit a ragin' fire I can't put out," he rambled as he got back to his feet.
"I thought as much," huffed the Hyrkanian, crossing her arms and looking down upon the miserable excuse for a man. "You are just another man to heed the siren's call of riches, throwing away all in search for nothing."
"Oh I've lost it all," confirmed the treasure seeker. "My wife, my children, my business. Good riddance to them all! I don't eat, I don't sleep, I don't wash, and I don't care. It used to be about the money, but now… I don't know who I am no more. I see myself but it's as if I'm lookin' at somebody else , only it's me. Ya' know?"
"I have never forsaken my vows. I do not know what you must be like to forsake your duties as a man in such a way," retorted Sonja, her eyes narrowing. "Why do you continue on this path?"
"No way I can stop now," he dismissed, "It's taken me over. There's no difference between night and day. Just darkness. I want to see the sunshine."
Snarling in contempt of this disgraceful man, Sonja turned around and saw Walker waving towards them, "Thank you Scathach," she breathed, reaching back and yanking on Seth's sleeve to drag him towards the Bounty Hunter.
"Moses… Oh Moses," called Seth as he approached the door of the shack and knocked, "You got a visitor."
Sonja could hear the man inside exclaim, "Oh my god. Seth? They arrested me. It weren't my fault!" he protested. Seth had a manic look in his eye as he rubbed his hands, the man inside, Moses, peered out the window before slipping away. The door suddenly burst open as Moses rushed out, knocking the sickly looking Seth to the ground. "Get the hell away from me!" shrieked Moses as he tried to run away, only for Sonja to extend her arm and clothesline the fleeing man.
Walker and Sonja scooped Moses up and dragged him back inside the shack by his arms, past the gleefully chittering Seth, and tossed him onto the floor. When he tried to get up, Sonja threw a punch into his face that sent him flopping back down. "Moses, you son of a bitch!" spat Seth as he produced a rusty, jagged knife from… somewhere, and pressed the edge against Moses' throat. "Where's my damn map!"
"Damn you Seth! Damn you Seth!" cursed Moses as he crawled back until he ran up against the wall of the cabin and had nowhere left to go. "You've always been a twisty little freak. I ain't telling you shit!"
Seth raised the knife, "Then I'm gonna cut you up, piece by piece, 'till ya find your tongue."
"Friend, this man's gone crazy in the sun," drawled Walker casually, the tall gunslinger looming over the frightened Moses. "I suggest you take my advice: start talking."
"Shut up Walker!" snapped Seth, "I wanna cut into a bonafide man's flesh! Ain't never cut into a live one before." With each word, the knife wielding dredge skulked closer to his one time partner, causing Moses to whimper and raise his hands.
Seth grabbed one and wrenched it away while Walker took a step forward and raised his boot, pinning Moses' other arm to the floor. Despite his attempts to squirm free, Sonja watched as Seth's knife crept closer until Moses cracked, "Oddfellow's rest! It's in Oddfellow's rest!" he squealed. Sonja could see the fear in the man's eyes as he begged, "Now get away from me, once and for all!"
"Well ain't that a damn shame?" asked Seth as he stood up, "I was starting to enjoy myself." The lunatic then looked down at what Sonja thought she could smell, the distinct dark spot that was spreading across Moses' trousers. "I think you've gone 'n pissed yourself, Moses!" observed Seth with a cackling laugh.
When the grave robber skipped back out of shack, Walker released Moses' arm and turned to follow, with Sonja not sparing the soiled man a second glance. Once outside, Walker shut and bolted the door before the trio returned to their horses when Seth spoke, "So… thanks for yous help."
"Don't worry yourself with thanks, Seth. Just help me when I come asking," intoned Walker.
Seth gave a crooked grin, exposing his yellow teeth. "Your lady told me what you wanted, don't you worry Mister, I'll come through."
"You had better," added Sonja darkly.
Moving with intent, Walker approached Cooper's office with Sonja hot on his heels. After helping Seth with his map, the duo had returned to Deming for lunch, and while eating had heard rumblings that the Marshal was up to something. Walker was thankful to see the horses belonging to the lawmen still outside the office, and he burst through the door to see that Cooper had opened his gun cabinet and was tossing Winchester repeaters to his deputies. All three turned towards the Gunslinger and Swordswoman standing in the doorway.
"Ahhh, since you two are here, wanna make yourselves useful?" asked Marshal Cooper as he retrieved a double barreled scattergun from the cabinet that the marshal kept for himself.
"Depends on the use," returned Joshua evenly.
Breaking the shotgun open, Cooper stepped closer, "Listen son, I know you two got a mission, but right now, I need all the guns I can get."
Cooper was stern, as always, but he was sincere and, to Joshua's ear, slightly unnerved. This wasn't the usual sort of thing they had already helped him with, whatever was happening had shaken him. "Why?" inquired Sonja, "What has happened?"
While he reached down for a pair of shotgun shells, the Marshal said, "We've had this problem for months with this group of bandits, who are getting drunk and murdering settlers." As he said it, the old lawman inserted the shells into his gun before reaching for more. While placing them in a pouch on his waist, Cooper grimaced and admitted, "Last night, they went and hit this big place up near Ridgewood."
Eli, the fat deputy, interjected. "They burnt the place down, killed the men, burnin' most of 'em alive, and then raped the women. The womenfolk then got their throats slit," he explained, drawing a finger across his own throat while the other deputy did the same. Beside him, Walker could sense Sonja tense, the She-Devil ready to jump on her horse and ride off without the rest of them. "One of them survived and walked in here this morning."
"Anyway," spoke Cooper, holding a hand up to silence his subordinate, "We got a posse that's gathering up near Ridgewood. Will you two ride with us?"
"We will," answered Sonja with fire in her voice. Walker simply nodded in agreement.
"Thank you both," replied the Marshal, snapping his shotgun shut. "It's going to be a bloody job," he warned.
Walker gave a wry smile, "I don't think either of us knows any other kind, sir."
"Look! Vultures!" called Cooper, and the group of horses slowed. Sonja raised her hand to shield her eyes, and spied the birds of prey circling in the distance, "Let's go check it out." Leaving the trail, the group rode across the desert, wisps of smoke rising into the sky and the flicker of a flame marking a campsite that was the focus of the vultures.
"There ain't no survivors here," observed Eli somberly. Sonja agreed with the man's assessment, there were bodies strewn about, laying in pools of blood. The wounds were not the work of swords and bows, but rather the gaping holes left by this world's firearms.
"Fire's still smoking," observed Walker, his voice as collected as it always was, even if Sonja saw the slightest bit of anger flicker in his eyes. "Those scumbags must still be around."
The Hyrkanian dismounted her horse and examined the campsite, trying to make sense of the mess of tracks that littered the soil. The deputies, who evidently were not used to this sort of violence, were clearly distraught. "How can somebody murder innocent people like this?" wondered the fat one.
"Kill a man the first time and it haunts you for days," answered Cooper with the certainty of experience. "Keep killin' and soon it don't haunt you no more at all."
"But you still gotta sleep at night!" insisted Eli.
"A good bottle o' hooch'll see to that," returned the Marshal grimly.
Searching the camp, Sonja could understand what happened, a small group, two men in a cart and two more on horseback, had made camp when a group of horses came over the hill and charged at them. Taken by surprise, those at the camp had reacted differently, two tried to run before they were gunned down, a third had been killed in his bedroll, and the fourth had been running towards the cart. When Sonja reached the cart, she understood what his intent was, seeing a holster in the footwell of the driver's position. It was a big, bulky thing, its leather strap at the top meant to hang from a belt and another at the middle to strap it to the wearer's leg.
Slotted inside was an arrangement of wood and steel that was somewhat familiar to Sonja, the pair of massive tubes, each with its own hammer not unlike her Rolling Block, reminded her of the 'Shotgun' Walker had in Hyboria. Only this one was cut down significantly, its barrels shorter and the stock removed, the wood put into a shape not unlike the grip of the revolver on her belt. Reaching out, she removed the weapon from the leather and got a feel for it, its heft and lack of balance were off-putting, but knowing what sort of power it possessed persuaded Sonja to take it. Flipping the lever and breaking the gun open, she saw the pair of shells already in their chambers before flicking the gun shut, noting the fine leaf pattern engraved on the shined metal and carved into the wooden stock. "I may not be your owner, but I will see him avenged, and I will use you to do it," she vowed in a whisper before replacing the gun in its holster and strapping it to her right leg along with a small pouch of shells.
With her new armament at the ready, Sonja followed the bandit's tracks before pointing off over a rise, "They went that way."
"Let's ride!" called Cooper before he led the group in the direction she had indicated, Sonja climbing back atop her mount and setting off after them. The group did not have to ride long before coming across a large farm sitting in a spot of low ground, not unlike the MacLaughlin Ranch. Despite the fields in place of stables and only a handful of structures centered around the farmhouse, the difference that set Sonja immediately on edge was the utter stillness before her.
"This is too quiet, I got a bad feeling about this," murmured Cooper quietly before shouting, "Come on boys, let's have a look around!" A short search followed, with nothing amiss except for the whole farm being, seemingly, deserted. Sonja rode around the farmhouse, keen senses trying to detect any sign of life, any hint of movement, the slightest sound carried on the winds, but there was nothing.
The group went around the whole farm once and started a second loop before Cooper came to an abrupt halt. "There's no good reason for that to be boarded up," he said and Sonja gave the barn more than a cursory glance for the first time to see that the lawman was right. One by one, each dismounted and gathered around the barn door until the Marshal asked, "Can someone break that door down?" Sonja drew her sword and approached the barn, prompting Cooper to say, "The rest of you, get your guns ready!"
While the deputies retrieved their Long Guns, Sonja pried the plywood off the door before sheathing her blade while the junior lawmen pulled the barn doors open. "Sacath have mercy," breathed Sonja, wholly unprepared for the grisly sight that greeted the group inside the barn. Bodies of men and horses were strewn about the ground, blood pooled and splattered in every direction, one body was pinned to a stable wall by large iron stakes and his throat torn out while another hung limply from the rafters. The butchery on display was some of the worst the Hykranian had ever come across, and was enough to stop her in her tracks.
"Holy sweet mother of mercy!" exclaimed Eli as the men took in the carnage, their faces either locked in open mouthed horror or brewing rage. Sonja's own fury burned in the core of her being, and every second she took in the sight before her only fanned those flames further. Whoever was responsible, wherever they had gone, Sonja would arrange their meetings with whatever gods they had with the edge of her blade.
A sudden burst of noise and movement startled the whole group, all of them going for whatever weapon was closest to hand. Pistols were drawn and rifles leveled at the battered woman in her tattered clothes that came rushing out, hands in the air and shouting, "Please! Please don't shoot me." Her breaths were rapid and heavy, and Sonja could see her torn dress and the bruised skin it revealed, including on her face. "Some bandits came by and took us hostage. They're holed up in the farmhouse," she explained. "Some of my family is being kept hostage inside," managed the poor woman before she broke down into tears, collapsing to her knees and burying her face in her hands, she began to weep profusely.
Sonja was the first to turn and sprint towards the farmhouse, her blood singing and soul demanding the vile men responsible for what she had seen face her wrath as her goddess had charged her with. "Follow her, boys!" shouted Cooper, and Sonja heard the crunching of gravel beneath boots as the men took after her lead, charging towards the farmhouse. When the windows of the farmhouse were thrown open and the bandits began shooting at the posse.
While the deputies dropped to the ground and fired back, Sonja ignored the danger coming at her and continued her charge, covering ground as fast as quickly as her lengthy strides allowed. Looking ahead, the Hyrkanian saw the curtains of a window draw back to reveal the snarling visage of a bandit on the other side, rifle in hand. Before he could draw a bead on her, Sonja ducked and a gunshot rang out close by. Twisting around, the Hyrkanian saw Walker only a few steps behind, smoking pistol in hand, following her to the wall of the farmhouse.
Upon reaching the structure, Sonja looked back and saw Cooper advanced more slowly, pistols in hand and firing back at every different window in the house it seemed, undaunted by the bullets flying back. While Sonja's mind raced to decide her next move, she saw Joshua dart towards the front porch of the home and moved to join him. When the Bounty Hunter kicked the door in, he did not rush in as Sonja expected him to, instead stepping aside just before a torrent of lead came flying out of the house.
The window behind the Hyrkanian opened and Sonja turned to see a rifle emerge and take aim at the Marshal before she leapt at it, wrapping her hands around the cold steel and pulled hard. When the gun fired, Sonja flinched, but held firm, pulling as the man on the other end held on stubbornly, but her strength outmatched his as she pulled the rifle and its wielder out the window. Bewildered, the bandit tumbled to the ground, wrenching his rifle out of Sonja's grasp and swinging it like a club. The Hyrkanian jumped back and reached for her sword, spinning it over and stepping forwards, driving the tip of the blade down through the bandit's chest and into his heart.
Looking to the doorway, Sonja saw Walker trading shots with the men inside and did not fancy her chances running through the narrow gap, so instead chose a different way inside. Grabbing hold of the windowsill, Sonja pulled herself up and clambered inside, boots landing on the floor as she locked her eyes on the bandit firing at the door just as he turned his head to see her.
Seeing red, Sonja let out a war cry and rushed the man down, sword held high as he tried to bring his rifle to bear. The Hyrkanian steel came around, tearing into his torso and ripping through his innards. The man screamed and tried to stem the bleeding before Sonja grabbed the blade of her sword and bashed him over the head with the cross guard, ending him rightly. While the bandit slumped to the floor, Sonja paid no heed to Walker as he entered, instead turning down the corridor and charging deeper into the house where she heard more gunfire.
Nearing a dining hall, Sonja came face to face with another bandit who rounded the corner and thrust her blade into him, savoring his screams as she twisted her blade and pushed him back into a table, where he tumbled, slipping off her sword. Ignoring him, the Hyrkanian stepped up onto the table and jumped to the gunman firing out the window, thrusting her blade upwards to slice through flesh before stopping in the hard ribs; the man was still driven into the wall and the rifle fell from his grasp. As the bandit struggled and bled on her sword, Sonja saw a flash of movement in her well-honed eye and turned, seizing the skewered man by the shoulder and wrenching him between her and his compatriot just as he fired. The bandit impaled by her sword spasmed from the new impacts before Sonja muscled him aside, reaching for the new weapon holstered on her right leg; the shotgun rose in a single, smooth motion, roaring its fury while her foe cycled his repeater. The buckshot blew through his legs and buried itself in the wood while the bandit screamed in agony, but as he was not dead, Sonja put her finger on the other trigger of the scattergun and pulled it, taking care to ensure this round struck him in the head.
Hearing more shots, Sonja holstered the shotgun and kicked a door open to enter the kitchen just in time to see a bandit stagger back, blood erupting from his chest as Walker pumped lead into him. When he fell dead, Sonja emerged, bloody blade in hand as Walker took in the sight of her, "Find the hostages?"
Sonja shook her head while the Bounty Hunter went about reloading one of his revolvers. "Me neither," he admitted, snapping the gun shut before setting about putting fresh bullets in the other one, "They must be upstairs."
Sonja nodded agreement, just as more gunshots rang out. She pushed Walker aside and moved towards the source, finding Marshal Cooper trading shots with bandits firing down on him from the second floor of the farmhouse. Sonja had no interest in this volleying and fearlessly charged up the steps, taking two at a time with her sword still in hand while ignoring the bullet that zipped past her head and buried itself in the wall behind her. Reaching the top of the steps, Sonja saw the nearest man to her aim his pistol at her and ducked, rolling at an angle before coming into a crouch and whipping her blade around, cleaving through the leg of the bandit. Pulling back, the Hyrkanian swung again, digging her sword into his gut until the steel ran right up to his spine and then drawing it back and coming at him from the other side, burying itself in his neck and causing an eruption of blood to spray across the wall.
The other two men standing before her raised their pistols only for one to stagger and scream as Marshal Cooper shot him. While the wounded bandit screamed and stumbled, the final man froze in indecision, Sonja had no such failings however, and leapt at the man, driving the tip of her blade into his gut and up under his ribs, driving him back off his feet and into the floor. Stepping over him, Sonja turned around and pulled on the handle of her blade with a furious yell, levering the sword back and shattering ribs as it broke free.
Cooper came up the stairs, but Sonja did not wait, instead rushing to the first door and sending it flying open with a kick. Inside, the Hyrkanian was faced with a terrified woman trying to cover herself, but Sonja saw her eyes flicker to her left and could guess what was around that corner. Drawing her pistol and cocking the hammer back, Sonja approached the corner and thrust her sword out around it. The bandit waiting for her fired, the gunshot deafening in such a tight space, but Sonja gritted her teeth and jumped out, leveling her own pistol and shooting the man in the gut. Wailing in pain, his weapon slipped from his grasp as he collapsed to his knees and Sonja swung her blade, powering through the resistance of his spine until she had cut through his neck and his head rolled from his body.
The thunder of more gunshots caused Sonja to rush to another door connecting an adjacent room and shoulder checking it, causing it to partially give. Whoever was on the other side answered with a quick pair of shots through the wooden door, but unscathed, Sonja snarled and hit the door again, bursting it open and seeing the pair of bandits inside. One faced her, pistol in hand, when shots sounded and he fell, Sonja spotted Cooper standing in the other door into the room.
The last bandit tightened his grip around a young woman's neck, knife in one hand and pistol in the other as he pressed her close to him, cowardly using the maiden as a shield. "Drop 'em! Drop your guns or I'll kill her!" screamed the bandit manically, but neither Sonja nor Cooper relinquished their arms.
Despite her bloodlust, Sonja would not see this woman pay for any rashness on her part, and she merely narrowed her eyes at the man, looking for any opening she could exploit. "Pl… please… I don't want to die!" begged the hostage, tears streaming down her face.
Cooper, undaunted, answer her calmly, "You won't, miss, don't worry."
"Shut up, law dog!" spat the bandit, "You say one more word, whore, and I'll tear your throat out!"
"Then yours will be next, cur!" shouted Sonja, her sword held level and the blood of his comrades dripping off the steel. As she made her promise, the Hyrkanian saw movement through the window and realized that someone was skulking about on the roof outside, heading for the window the bandit had his back pressed to. Unable to suppress a wicked smile, Sonja kept his attention on her, "The blood of a coward like you does not deserve to soil my blade, no, you harm her and I will see that you suffer tenfold by my bare hands!"
Her distraction worked, and she watched the man stare at her with wide eyes, totally unaware of Tombstone working his way around outside. The bandit opened his mouth to respond, but the only thing that came out was a bullet as Walker fired and sent the shot straight through his head, killing him instantly. As the dead body collapsed, the distraught woman squirmed free of the limp arm and scampered away to Cooper, where she broke down crying.
The burning rage Sonja had felt cooled to a simmering anger as she saw a bandits' discarded coat on the floor and used that to wipe the blood off her sword before sheathing it as Walker clambered in an open window. Moving briskly, the two hostages were collected and ushered outside, where the other survivor from the barn embraced them. Their reunion did not last long before one woman turned to the group of fighters, "Some folk tried escaping to the south, but then some robbers started chasing 'em down, like wild dogs. I thought you was supposed to protect us, Marshal?" Sonja heard the tumultuous emotions in the woman's voice, the pain, anger, and shame that the Hyrkanian had seen so many times before, and her heart ached for the women, recalling her own experience that was not so different.
Vitriol flowed from the beaten and bruised woman. "You folk ain't men! You ain't nothing!" she spat. Cooper visibly flinching at the rebuke while his deputies took a step back, as if the force of the woman's words had pushed them. "You're just some men on a government payroll, taking money that the rest of us have to pay for with our lives!" the woman shouted, shaking off one of the other women who'd been attempting to provide some comfort. "What is wrong with this country?"
Cooper, Sonja saw, had finally endured enough, "Mount up!" he called, turning to face the others. In his eyes burned the righteous fire of retribution, and his rough, calm tones were laced with a demand for violence that was music to Sonja's ears. "The one who kills the leader of that bunch gets fifty dollars!"
"It ain't about the money, Marshal," snarled the woman. "These are people's lives! People's homes!" The other women, just at battered and bruised, embraced each other as they cried.
There was nothing else to be done here, Sonja could not console them, that was between them and their god. All she could do now was what she had always done, punish the wicked and ensure that they could commit such crimes no more. Turning on her heel, Sonja made for her horse, intent to mete out the wrath of Scathach by blade and bullet.
From his perch on a ridge with binoculars in hand, Shane Simon shifted the cigar around his mouth, chomping on the well gnawed end tucked between his teeth. Lowering the field glasses, the cavalryman turned outlaw mulled over what he saw. "So the law's finally coming after me…" he mused lowly, the reputation of the Deming Marshal at the forefront of his mind. His deputies didn't concern him, but the other pair did. There were whispers that the man was Tombstone, a ghost from the northern part of the territory, this man used his name and carried his pearl gripped Schofields at least, and by all accounts, knew how to use them. As strange as a phantom was, all the talk inside Fort Cassidy was about the dame he rode with, buxom with blood red hair, she was dressed like a whore, but fought like a devil.
"She is a looker," admitted Simon to himself, hell, he'd like to have her for himself, which made what he was about to do such a shame. Turning to one of the leaders of his raiding parties, the man who had led the group out that morning to hit a few farms, Shane said, "Well Bill, looks like you got followed, after all. That lawdog from Deming's comin' with a few friends. Go get your boys and kill the lot of 'em."
"Shame to lose a woman like the one they got," Bill answered from atop his horse.
Growling, Shane looked the ruthless killer in the eye, "I mean what I said. You bring that whore back here and I'll shoot her myself, right after I shoot you."
After locking eyes for a moment, Bill looked away, not offering any argument before he whistled to get the attention of the dozen men he still had with him. As they started down the trail to meet the oncoming posse, Simon looked over to his right-hand man, Deek, "Go with 'em, and make sure they do what they're supposed to."
"Sure thing boss," answered the man dutifully before heading for his own horse and setting off after the cutthroats.
With his men on their way, Shane turned and retreated over the hill where he saw a man that the hardened outlaw was unsettled by waiting for him. Oddly dressed in ornate, brightly colored robes, the man had arrived at Fort Cassidy the prior day with a specific interest in the two odd additions riding with the Marshal. "They hath arrived?" he asked, his voice ringing with an unusual accent.
"Sure did," answered Simon gruffly, trying to brush past the man, but a frail, bony hand filled with surprising strength grabbed tight to his forearm. "My men are already on it, stranger. They'll handle it," assured the outlaw.
"You do not know the magnitude of the task before them," intoned the old man, voice placid, "And your ignorance will be your undoing."
"Then go ahead," snapped Simon, rounding on the oddly dressed stranger, "Enlighten me."
The bony hand released his forearm, but before Shane could walk off, the hand struck him across the face. "Know your place," hissed the old man, grabbing hold of the stone idol hanging from the bandit's neck, "You too are marked, and for that reason alone you would do well to heed my words, unquestioningly."
Head down and riding hard, Walker pushed hard to keep up with Sonja as she led them down the path like a bat outta hell. He understood that she was angry, hell, he was too, but Joshua had never seen her fly off the handle like she had in the farmhouse. The bloodbath they had left behind was bad enough, but seeing how hard she was charging into god knows what, that was what really had him worried.
"Look! Coming over the hill!" shouted Jonah, and Walker saw a group of horses coming down at them. If there was any doubt as to their intentions, the distant echo of gunshots and puffs of smoke coming from the galloping horses shattered it immediately.
They couldn't fight them on horseback, not with the number of bandits the posse was faced with. "Take cover in that shed!" roared Cooper, the Marshal put his spurs to the flanks of his horse and guided the bolting animal towards the shattered stone remains of a small perimeter outpost, with Fort Cassidy's towering walls visible in the distance.
Instead of veering off the road after the lawmen, Walker pressed straight on, closing in on Sonja, who rode straight at the oncoming outlaws. "Hiya," snarled the Bounty Hunter, burying his heels into Shelby, coaxing every drop of speed he could out of the animal in an effort to catch up to the Hyrkanian. "Sonja!" he called out desperately, but to no avail. "Sonja!" he repeated, drawing closer, "Sonja, we need to take cover!"
Stubbornly, the redheaded She-Devil ignored him, and so Joshua made a bold, almost desperate move to keep the woman from throwing her life away. Reaching for his lasso, Walker spun the rope before tossing it forward, slipping the loop around the neck of Sonja's horse and pulling hard, forcing the animal to follow his commands as he steered it off the road and towards the shed where Cooper and the deputies were dismounting. "Release me!" snarled Sonja over the pounding of hooves.
"You want to get yourself killed?" shouted back Walker, "At least make 'em work for it!" Sonja narrowed her eyes, but didn't resist when she saw that the group was not fleeing, but digging in and preparing to fight. The pair rounded the corner and brought their horses to a stop behind the intact brick wall of the outpost, hurriedly dismounting and grabbing the long guns on their respective saddles.
As bullets pelted the half-demolished building, the pair rushed into position alongside the Marshal and his Deputies against a half standing brick wall. "We'll make our stand here! Stay in cover and watch your heads!" barked Cooper as Tombstone slid behind the wall and worked the lever of his Winchester.
Sonja bothered with none of those things, standing in the middle of the former building with her Rolling Block tucked against her shoulder, taking aim at the charging bandits. Her rifle thundered as it sent its monstrous bullet down range, and Walker saw one of the oncoming men get knocked from his saddle while his fellows continued to charge, undeterred as the distance closed.
Walker joined the Deputies in unleashing a hail of repeater fire into the group of scoundrels, cycling the lever gun as fast as he could manage. Under the weight of lead coming at them, the bandits split, with three continuing right at them while the remainder peeled away. Taking aim, Walker pulled the trigger of his Winchester, only for the hammer to fall on an empty chamber.
Reaching for a Schofield, Walker watched the trio charge right at the fearlessly standing Hyrkanian, the report of the Rolling Block voicing her fury more completely than any words could. Her aim remained true, and the .58 caliber bullet sent the bandit cartwheeling off his horse, very nearly colliding with one of his fellows as they continued their charge while loosing revolver shots. Before Walker could answer in kind, Cooper leveled his scattergun and fired both barrels in quick succession, each blast killing a rider. "Reload!" hollered the Marshall as he broke open his shotgun and ejected the shells, "The rest'll be comin'!"
"Let them come," snarled Sonja, the redhead ramming a fresh cartridge into the breach of her Remington. The rest took after her, hands inserting bullets into the tubes of their long guns while scanning the desert ahead of them.
It did not take long for the Hyrkanian to get her wish.
A sudden volley of shots peppered the outpost, causing all to duck down and press themselves to the brick as chips of it flew over their heads. "We're coming for you! Especially the whore!" shouted a bandit, with Sonja rising to the barb.
"Come and get me then!" she roared, firing her rifle before reaching for her revolver. Walker, eyes wide, dropped his repeater and leapt at Sonja, pressing her against a brick wall as more bullets snapped past the pair. Meeting her gaze, Walker could see the fury in her eyes, but fixed her with a glare that cooled her fiery temper, at least long enough for the outlaws to grow impatient.
"They're comin' now!" drawled Jonah, and even Walker couldn't hold back Sonja as the Hyrkanian shoved him away and leveled her Colt, firing at the bandits. Picking himself up, the Bounty Hunter drew his revolvers and peered outside, seeing the outlaws coming nearer, using the remains of a low stone wall as cover.
His eyes drifted towards a boulder about fifteen paces away that would give him a much better angle, if he could get to it. After taking a moment, Joshua made up his mind and slipped out the back of the shed before sprinting to the rock, bullets flying past him. Once at the rock, Walker calmed his heavy breaths before emerging, Schofields leveled, and fired. Each gun alternated firing well aimed shots as Walker mercilessly gunned down the bandits, smoking them out from behind the wall and into the crossfire from the others in the shed.
By the time the cylinders of the Schofields were empty, the field had gone quiet, gunsmoke thick in the air as Walker took in the carnage, realizing there must've been twenty bodies on the ground, all unmoving. "Such a damn waste," muttered the Bounty Hunter as he holstered his guns and retraced his steps back to the shed.
The others emerged, "Check the bodies boys, see who we got," instructed Cooper, both deputies dutifully trudging away. "Gutsy move son, and good shooting," complimented the old Marshal as he looked, tight faced, at the corpses.
"And piss poor on their part, didn't nick any of us," observed the Bounty Hunter quietly.
Sonja, standing proudly, answered, "Cowardly brigands who prey on the weak, their craft is butcher and rape, not combat." The vitriol in her tone was unmistakable, and she spat for good measure, "May they suffer eternally in Erliks fiery pit."
"Amen to that," echoed Cooper, opening his mouth to speak again when he was cut off.
"Hey!" shouted Jonah, "Look what I got here!"
Turning, Walker saw a man in ill fitting, filthy clothes, crawl across the ground on all fours. Blood trailed down his right arm, but he was very much alive. Above him, the Deputy followed close behind, straddling the man's feet, and called out, "This sumbitch is still breathin'!" Taking a step forward, the lawman squatted down until he was sitting on the wounded bandit's back. "Come here, boy! Come on, Bessie, giddy up!" Jonah jeered until the man's limbs gave out and he collapsed to the ground. "Aw…."
Cooper, though stern faced and unamused, moved to take a closer look while Walker and Sonja watched the proceedings from a distance. Though Sonja did so with her hand on her sword, Joshua noted.
"Norman Deek," growled Cooper, hands on his hips as he looked down at the disheveled outlaw. Without further warning, the Marshal unleashed a kick at the man, his boot striking Deek in the sternum, sending him rolling onto his side.
The man coughed, hacking up a glob of blood that he spat onto the sand. "Fuck…" he cursed lowly.
"So… good to see you again," rasped Cooper through clenched teeth.
Sonja sprang forward, drawing her sword, "This man shall not survive this day, not after the suffering he has inflicted!"
Cooper put himself between the bandit and Sonja, staring the woman down evenly, "No," he said with a minute shake of the head.
"And why is that?" snapped Sonja hotly.
Walker stepped alongside the Hyrkanian, "Cause he's gonna help us," guessed the Bounty Hunter.
Cooper nodded once. Sonja, bewildered, said, "Why would the creature do that?"
"Because," answered the Marshal, "Either you get inside that Fort," he said, thumbing back at Cassidy in the distance, "Or he gets the rope."
"Fuck… you," rasped Deek, prompting Cooper to turn around and kick him again.
"Hogtie him," growled the Marshal, "And let's get him to jail."
Closing Notes: This was a fun chapter to write, with Seth and then Sonja going off the handle there was a bit of everything. Next chapter will have a bit less gunplay and the introduction of the last supporting character.
Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.