Gunslinger's Moon (11 page)

With a single glance, Jed appraised the group. Most were older gentlemen, so perhaps some military experience could be hoped. Time would prove if he was right. Otherwise none stood out. Missing among the participants was no representative of the coal mine. While Beth was present, she hardly counted since she lived in the town. Henry, the butler, stood behind her chair.

Carter drew up close and whispered, “Everyone who volunteered. Well except for those bank men. I talked to the owner. We’re borrowing them. They don’t look like much,” he added.

The gunslinger moved to the center of the room. Crossing his arms, Jed said, “Y’all know why we need men. We’re mighty appreciative for your volunteering. I won’t lie to you, this will be dangerous as I am sure you’ve been told. As I understand it, Sheriff Carter will swear you in for deputies for the next couple of nights. Before that, I would like to ask a couple of questions. Raise your hands if you served in the war and have fighting experience. Don’t matter which side.”

Several hands came up from the bank guards standing apart from the rest of the volunteers. “Names?”

A blonde mustached man was called Grady Ford. He answered first, marking him as the de facto leader of the group. Samuel Hayback, who mumbled his name, seemed a silent reserved man. Tobias Gill was the last of the group.

After appraising each man, Jed asked, “How’d you serve?”

Grady hesitated. The other two glanced at each other. “Cavalry.” They nodded in agreement.

Clapping his hands together, Jed said, “Okay, here’s the plan. We will station men on top of the saloon, the sheriff’s office and the bank.” He turned to Carter. “Do you care who goes where?”

“I’ll take my office with my deputy.”

Casually, Jed asked, “Who wants the bank?”

Immediately, every hand rose up. The reaction was unexpected. Muttering, Jed rubbed his eyes, understanding the volunteer’s reasoning. They were all worried about the gold. The gunslinger almost threw his hands up in exasperation.

“Listen, the mutts aren’t after your gold. We don’t need everyone at the bank.”

Reluctantly, the hands were lowered. Taking charge of the deployment, which Jed realized he should have started with, he divided the men up equally between the two buildings. The ones with experience he wanted to have in both spots, hopefully they would strengthen the others.

Lastly, the gunslinger went over the abilities and power of the werewolves. The information on their capabilities also dispelled any unhelpful myths. The same things he had told Obadiah. The meeting did not last much longer, the volunteers filed out. As Jed coughed heavily, he poured himself a drink from the bar.

“You think they will be any use?” Ross demanded.

Obadiah beat Jed to the reply with a quick retort. “As useful as you are.”

Jed smiled in his glass as Ross looked surprised. Obadiah was probably as sick of the scornful deputy as he was.

Wearily, Carter pulled his subordinate away. “Come on Ross, we’ve got a long night ahead.”

As they left, Beth approached. “I want to wish you luck, gunslinger.”

“Much obliged,” Jed smiled. “I see Mr. Douglas could not make it. Nor Jonathon.”

Beth gave an apologetic grin. “They are confident in their ability to protect their interests.”

“Are you sure that staying in the house is a wise move?”

She patted his arm. “Worry not. I’ll be with Henry and Nadi.” She started walking off, her dutiful butler following behind. “Besides you are the one that has made them mad. Be careful.”

Obadiah sat down, sighing deeply, now that they were alone. Jed patted his shoulder, it would be a long night.

As the sun burning like a flaming torch descended, moods in the town also went down. The warnings had ended any night activities. The saloon remained closed to the consternation of those few who could not last the night without a drink. Gradually the streets emptied. People buying supplies from the general store left without buying everything they wanted. Red hot coals from the blacksmith’s forge was put out prematurely. Doors were closed and locked. Those men sleeping in their unfinished houses imposed themselves on those who had. For a fee. A bloody night was in the air. One which Jed was strangely looking forward to.

Standing in the middle of the street he and Obadiah watched the sunset. The scorching orb, whose fire had burned the sky, flared for one last moment. Briefly, Obadiah tensed, waiting for something to happen. Jed glanced upward. The moon now dominated the sky. They were the last people on the ground. Nothing happened. Obadiah relaxed somewhat, a low breath drifting past his tight lips.

Jed and Obadiah went to check on the outposts. Two men were atop the saloon’s roof. Several lanterns were lit around them. Shadows danced on their pale faces as they kept a tight hand on their irons. They were from the bank and this duty made them jumpy. While Jed’s presence calmed them a little, the gunslinger was uncomfortable around them. Nervous Nellies could be dangerous. Itchy trigger fingers always jumped early in his experience.

The bank covering the north and west side of town was the most fortified. Its thick clay walls were smoothed and few handholds existed. The ladder was placed on top with the two guards. Several more were asleep inside. Reinforcements and a strong position made them confident. Not all of them bank guards. Some of the townspeople had guns and eagerly volunteered to defend the bank. Not many wanted to be at the saloon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, gold was more valued than whiskey.

However, thoughts of werewolves could unnerve the untried. Or the tried. Obadiah was sweating in the cool night. Last night had not been the best way to face something so vicious and bestial. Jed had to hand it to the kid though, he sure had guts. Atop the bank afforded a good view. Space was given to the bank by the upcoming houses. And by the harsh triggers of its guards none wanted any misunderstandings. They were paid exceptionally well for security by the gold miners. They were also the rough men first to enter a new town. One bank, Jed did not feel would likely be robbed. Knowing he was outstaying his welcome the gunslinger left, heading to the final post. The sheriff’s office.

The deputy spotted Jed on guard. “Come on up if you must,” the deputy sighed.

Jed opened the door. A dim lantern lit the building and in its casting shadows a form moved. The Colt flew to Jed’s hands. He held fire as he saw Carter fumbling for his gun.

“Hello, sheriff.”

Carter cursed, “Dammit Jed. You’re supposed to knock three times. I could have shot you.” He might have, had he not fallen asleep. “Didn’t Ross give you the code?”

“Pardon.” An aside to Obadiah he muttered, “I’m gonna kill that deputy one day.”

In the second of quiet following his words there was a howl. The next moment Jed climbed the ladder to the roof. Ross was looking to the west the long rifle in his hands. Several other howls boomed in the night. Subdued howling indicated the calls were far away. At least several miles from the howling werewolf to their position.

“Should we go to the bank?” Obadiah asked. It was the closest to the howls. Exclaims came from the other sentries.

“No.” Jed said. Uncommonly smart, these beasts could be trying any tactics. They still had to wait. The werewolves could be trying diversions or flanking. All tactics wolves normally employed when hunting their prey.

Jed coughed. “Let’s all just keep an eye out.”

Practically every side was covered by the three watch posts. The north east had the worst angle. Houses partially obscured the vantage point from their roof. Any werewolves attacking from that side would obviously be heard, if not seen immediately.

Tensely, they waited. The level of anticipation dropped as time went by. Occasionally there would be another howl. Nothing ever came of them. More than an hour later a distinctive pop sounded, followed by a sharp howl. It sounded like a shotgun and it came in the general vicinity of Hick’s cabin. Jed wondered if the old man had just paid the price for solitude. He leaned against the clay border. Calmly he gazed around the land. Staring too hard made a man see things. Peripherals were better at spotting movement. He felt weary and his eyelids grew heavy.

It was still dark when his eyes opened. In fact it had gotten darker. Mumbling Jed lifted his hat from over his eyes and he squinted in the harsh light of a new dawn. He spat down below, clearing his mouth of mucus.

Ross was the only other person on top. “I was hoping you never woke up.”

Jed shook his head and climbed downstairs. The two beds were occupied by the sleeping bodies of Carter and Obadiah. Thinking about the harsh clay he had slept against, Jed went to the bed. Roughly he slammed a boot on the bed. Obadiah sat up blurting out a roar, fumbling for his guns.

Sarcastically, Jed said, “Good you’re up.”

Carter rose slowly. “We lasted the night,” he said gratefully.

“Something didn’t.” Jed kicked the bed again as Obadiah had lain back down. “We need to see what happened last night.”

Sluggishly they gathered their horses. They were not the only ones awake. People came outside complimenting each other on staying alive. Their mood was cheerful and excited. They had survived. Jed left them to their delusion. The same thing would happen the next night and the one after that. It would keep happening until all the werewolves were destroyed.

When they got to the mining camp they learned nothing had happened there. Gunshots were heard at the mine. Riding further on they discovered the remains of last night’s events. Behind the Douglas’ house and office was two bodies of werewolves. A small crowd had gathered around the bodies. Average height for a werewolf they were not anything special. Bullets riddled the corpse’s dozens of times. Jed looked around. Shell casings were lying around all over the place. A cursory study made it impossible to determine what happened. Jonathon Reed was nearby, looking haggard and tired.

“What happened?” Jed asked.

Jonathon said. “Late last night we was attacked by several of those things. We killed two of them.”

“Any casualties?” The gunslinger spotted a cave entrance nearby. It was small and well hidden.

“They ran off with two of the men. That is an old mine shaft. One of the first. We stopped using it after we found a better deposit.”

Jed turned around. “Fought well seeing you had roughly the same numbers as them.”

Jonathon shrugged. “They thought we could be surprised. Besides I’m a quick shot. Though Hicks got one of them as they were running.”

Carter went to talk to Douglas. Jed and Obadiah visited Hicks. The old man just stepped outside when they arrived. One hand held the shotgun and in the other was a large knife.

“Here to look at my werewolf?” Hicks chuckled. The dead beast was lying twenty feet away from the house. Most of its skull was gone.

“Jonathon Reed was telling me about it,” Jed responded.

Obadiah dismounted and grabbed a closer look. “Did you kill it yourself?”

Hicks had been staring at the figure of Jonathon. “Yes,” he said gruffly. “I gave it both my barrels from Betsy as it ran by. Never who what hit it.”

A lucky shot. The old man’s aim could not be great. Hicks stepped over to the body. Brandishing the knife he knelt down.

“What’s the knife for?” Obadiah asked, half sure of the answer.

“I need a warm blanket. My old bones get cold at night.” He cackled at Obadiah’s expression.

“That used to be a man,” the young apprentice protested.

Jed agreed. “Used to be.”

Above the sky was losing the blue. The dark storm clouds far on the horizon yesterday were approaching fast today. A quarter of the sky was the brooding gray. It might mean rain soon. Jed coughed. Rain that would end this drought and the heat.

Later in the day he met with Carter. The temperature had dropped considerably once the storm clouds had swallowed the sky. The sheriff had spent most of the last two days talking to folk, asking about any people they hadn’t seen in a few days and creating a list. Names had come up and crossed out later. Only for a select few to be left on the list. He handed the list to Jed and Obadiah. The names were all gold miners. None of whom had any friends still in town. The gunslinger was sure he knew who the werewolves were.

“Any chance they won’t come because the moon isn’t out.” Carter said talking about the sky. It had gotten prematurely dark. Everyone was preparing for a thunderous storm.

“The moon is out there, we just may not see it.” Jed said mildly.

A fat glob of water dropped on the list. It had begun to rain. Obadiah looked up. One fell right in his eyes and he muttered wiping it away.

“It will be a rough night for the miners,” Jed said. The tents would not hold up well against a serious storm, even if they had wooden boards for a floor. Before long the entire town would be on mud.

Obadiah commented, “Could you imagine getting off the train right now? Looking at those clouds I’d have taken the bed at the station.” It was a strange thing to think about.

“Yeah.” Jed said, thinking in the rain. His brain had hooked something like a fish from what Obadiah had said. He was trying to reel it in. Carter was moving to stand under a roof. The rain was increasing to a drizzle. Obadiah stopped when he saw Jed standing there.