Valley of Shadow (Extreme Western Horror)

[Quiet_Cool]

OOC: As always, check the casting call before jumping in, and have fun...

IC:
The horses drove forward on hooves that pounded the dirt and sand like thunder. Inside the stage coach, the women huddled together, peering out the window to see what had occurred. All they could see was the world outside bouncing up and down violently there.
The coach driver gripped the reigns, pulling back on them, but to no avail. The horses were lost in their fear, pressing forward with reckless abandon toward whatever lay ahead.
The man next to the driver, riding shotgun, raised his weapon and fired, striking the figure of a man ahead with one shot that sent chunks of flesh into the air, but left the man moving forward as though nothing had happened.
"What the hell, Zeke?" The man asked.
Zeke was bouncing in the seat, his hands no free to help hold him in place as the wheels struck ruts and stones in the path.
"Holy Jeesus!" Zeke returned, "How the Hell should I know?!"
A second later, before Shotgunman could ask what to do next, the front left wheel struck deep ina rut, sending Zeke flying overboard, falling hard to the ground beside the coach.
"Shit," Shotgunman shouted, looking back as Zeke rolled, brought to a stop near another manlike figure. They were everywhere, becoming more and more abundant as night fell. As Zeke tried to stand, the figure reached down and gripped his arm.
Shotgun man grabbed for the reigns, catching them just before they fell between the horses and the coach. He heard Zeke scream, not a manlike scream but more one of a child in terror. He didn't look back, but instead, tried to draw the reigns back to control the horses, as Zeke had been doing a moment before.
Looking ahead, one of the manlike figures stared at him from ahead, arms hanging lifelessly to either side.
"Get the hell out of the way!" Shotgunman shouted, before he stop himself. The figure just stood there, the horses bearing down on it.
"I said, get the Hell--"
'Thump' as the body fell under the force of one of the horses. As the wheels bounced upon striking the corpse, the wooden harness let loose, freeing the horses, which ran off on thier own, all four of them still connected together by the large wooden frame.
Shotgunman let loose the reigns just in time to avoid being drug along behind them.
He gripped the wooden seat with one hand and grabbed the shotgun with the other, watching ahead as the town they'd been headed for came closer and closer.
Desolation, New Mexico. It lived up to its name, located all alone, without the shadows of another town for what must have been hundreds of miles.
"We're almost there, ladies," he shouted into the coach, "But we're not slowing down any!"
The coach rolled into town, headed toward the stables without horses to pull it, or to slow it down. The girls screamed as it bounced into the air, then landed hard on the sandy hardpan of the main street only to bounce again.
As it struck the stable door, Shotgun man was thrown from the ront, smacking head on into the wooden doors and falling unconscious to the sandy ground. A loud crash from the contact, the a light one from the coach falling over onto one side, trapping Shotgun man's left leg beneath it, then silence everywhere.

 

[Firesprite]

Felicity, standing on the boardwalk outside her shop saw a horseless coach careening past the end of main street and smash straight into the stables. The horses that had somehow parted company with the coach continued thundering down the street, still harnessed together, lathered and with terrified eyes rolling in their heads.

Picking up her full skirts, Felicity sprinted to the fallen coach. A man, shotgun at his side was lying face down amid the rubble, blood flowing from a wound on his head, his leg pinned beneath the coach. From within, Felicity could hear people beginning to move. Soft whimpering that seemed set to be come full blown wails as soon as they came sufficiently awake.

Attending to what she could, Felicity eased the mans head around, hoping that his neck wasn't broken so she could stop the flow of blood creating a puddle under him.

Scanning the strangely deserted street, Felicity shouted for help.

 

[Khadgar]

Tex

Tex stumbled in a drunk stupor out of the bar "whaty the hell is going on out here? someone looking to die? damn i've got a splitin headache!"

Tex saw that there was an accident and managed to think himself into a heping mood. he walked over to the coach and kneeled down beside the lady helping the other man.

"something i can do miss?"

 

[Guest]

Doc Colt and the worlds first car accident

OOC: QC, is shotgunman your character? Or just a way to bring the trouble to the town??

IC:

Doctor Josiah Colt was in his store front giving the grocer a shave and a trim when he heard the commotion outside. He had a paying customer and a sharp straight razor in his hand, he didn't even look up. The grocer, knowing the razor was at his throat also chose not to move. Doc Colt could tell the man was curious though. Doc Colt was just finishing up the man's shave when a young boy came crashing through his door, yelling and hyper-ventilating. He could barely talk and couldn't stand still to save his own life.

"Doc..." He panted. "Stagecoach!" He panted again, taking in three quick breaths. "Broke free." Another couple of quick breaths. "Crashed into the stables!" The boy finishes. "I think," The boy pauses and finally takes a deep breath. "I think people are hurt." The boy finally gets it out.

"Son, calm yourself down!" Doc says calmly. "Let me get this right. The stagecoach broke free and crashed into the stables?" Doc repeats as he wipes the shaving cream off the mans face with a warm, damp towel. The boy flops down in one of the three empty chairs and draws another big breath before continuing.

"Yeah Doc. Tha's right." The boy finishes.

"Okay, let me finish up Old Tom here and I'll get my bag." He says and sit's the overweight grocer up in the chair. "We'll have to finish this later." He says and goes to the back room and gets his medical bag. The boy then leads him over to the stables.

When they arrive Doc finds Felicity, the towns pretty seamstress already on the scene and giving aid and comfort to the injured. DOc, being the true gentlemen, helps one lady, from the broken up carriage. She reports that she has no injuries except for a cut on her head. Doc checks it quickly and tells her to find somewhere to sit down. He then crawls into the overturned stagecoach to check on the other two ladies inside. The first is a fat woman with red hair and a round face. He leans close, placing his ear to her mouth. Nothing. He feels her neck and finds no pulse. With the fat red-head already dead he turns to the other young woman inside. The girl, and that's all she is, seventeen maybe, is screaming and crying and her left leg is twisted to a horrible degree. He smacks the girl hard and orders her to calm down. "Are you injured anywhere but your legs Girly?"

She whimpers and rubs her cheek, but manages to calm herself enough to answer his question. "No, but it hurts! Help me please."

Doc nods and checks the girls leg. "Relax child, I'm a doctor." Doc says as he moves down to inspect her leg. "Why is a sweet young girl like you out here in these parts?" He asks as he exposes her calf and thigh for a better look. He hopes talking to the girl will keep her from thinking about what he's doing. Doc quickly admires the girls leg. She had nice legs except for the horrid angle the leg was bent too.

"I'm comin' to marry." The girl begins. "I've been promised to one of the silver miners who live here. He'll never marry me like this!" She screams and starts crying hysterically again. Doc knows there's only one thing to do for the girl but he can't do it alone and he can't do it here. He tells the girl to calm herself and that he will return shortly. He then pulls himself up and out the door of the stagecoach. By this time, others have gathered. "I need some strong men to get this young girl out of here and take her to my office. She's got a badly injured leg but I can't treat her here." Four men all volunteer and begin to climb on top of the coach to help the girl out.

"What about the other woman doc?" One of the four men asks when he looks inside.

"She is in God's hands. I can do nothing for her." Doc says and climbs down from the coach. He finds Miss Felicity kneeling beside a man with a shotgun. He arm trapped beneath the overturned stage. "When those men get that girl out, we'll need to flip the stagecoach to free this man's leg." Doc yells to no in particular. He then turns his attention to looking for the driver. When he couldn't find him he went back to the man who'd been riding shotgun. "Where's Zeke, Man? What the hell happened?" Doc yells as the men raise the small girl from the carriage and lay her out on the door. Using the door as a gurney, they lower her to the ground and head off for his offices.

 

[poohlive]

Deputy Bernard looked out with a bit of confusion. Seeing all of these people on the street, and so close to dusk.
"Go on," he held up his gun, waving it around at most of the crowd.
"Go on, get out. You all know what comes in during the dark. You wanna be caught out here."
He could see a bit of recognition coming back into their eyes. As the women scampered, carrying their children, most of the men hurried back to the bars or down the street to the whorehouse.
He shook his head, looking over at the broken cart.
Seemed like most had gotten out of it, there was one more person left though. A guy seemed to be in a lot of pain.
"Doc's already been here," someone told him, and he nodded. Looked like he had.
Nothing much more to do here, except to make sure that everyone else was gone.
"Go on, get home," he yelled down the street at an impending figure. As it came closer though, he realized it wasn't someone he could boss around. Wasn't even someone he could kill.
Can't kill the undead.
"Holy shit," he glanced down at the guy, "You brought them all in didn't you?"
There were others behind him.
Before missing a beat, Bernard ran into the Sheriff's office.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Statler

OOC: he's just Shotgunman, no one else...he can be anybody, or nobody...

IC:
I stretched and yawned, getting up. My body still ached some, but all and all I'd be fine once I got moving. The guy could have killed me, but his shot had been a little off. Knicked my ribcage some, made me bleed, but did no real damage. Doc had patched me up and I was back at the poker table in no time.
I sat up, looking over at Marie, who sat in the chair next to the bed, her legs crossed, the hanging foot shaing like crazy. Her eyebrows were all bunched together and her lips pressed together so tight I could barely see them at all.
"What's the matter?" I mumbled.
"You don't know?"
I shrugged.
She was up in a second, moving toward me as though she intended to hit me. I knew better though. Marie was gentler than a spoiled pussy cat, no matter how threatening she tried to look.
"Look, whatever it is--"
Wham!
The left side of my face felt instantly numb.
"What the...?"Wham!Twice?
"Alright," I began. "Whatever it is, I'll make it up to you..."
"First off, you forgot to pay me last night. You know I need the money before closing time, even if you are spending the night," she shouted. "Secondly, I'm gettin' tired of hearing about you and this Felicity whore!"
Most women would intend that as an insult, but Marie meant it literally. The rumor was that Felicity, the seamstress, had some side business going on in the world's oldest profession. Even whores hate proper competition, it seemed. Felicity and I went back some ways, and...well...
I reached down to where my pants lay and pulled out a wad of cash, counting off what I owed her and handing it over. "I'm sorry," I explained. "I fell asleep before I got the money out..."
She snatched it from my hands.
"Now you'd better go, and next time, I want paid in advance!"
I got up and dressed, strapping my gunbelt around my waist and checking the pistols within it to ensure they were fully loaded. The saloon would be full of drinkers and gamblers, especially given how unsafe it was to be out in the streets after dark and how much safer people felt in groups as opposed to alone. Business here was booming, and I intended to make the most of it.
I reached the street within a few seconds and saw the commotion right off. People were eyeing the far end of the street, blocking my view of whatever it was that had caught their attention.
"What happened?" I asked, as Gabby walked by.
"Heen done runnin rabbin doden to riggen raffin..." Gabby muttered.
I glanced to his wife.
"Stagecoach crashed into the stables, a man was hurt, and a woman, and another woman killed. They say Zeke never come in..." She answered. "i wonder where he might'a gone...?"
Zeke, a whale. That was a shame. Maybe he'd show afterall. Regardless, I headed for the saloon.

 

[Firesprite]

Tex wandered ofer and breathed his alcoholic breath over her. He was usually a pretty good guy, but since Grant, she was leery of men who drank alot. "Can I help miss?" he asked her. Felicity looked at the strength in his arms and thought about the mans leg trapped under the coach. We need to get the coach off of him before people start climbing in and crushing the leg further. "If you find something to wedge under the coach so his leg isn't crushed more, I'm sure he'll be eternally grateful - if he lives"

When Doc came charging up, Felicity moved back, pocketing the thick wad of cash she'd found in the mans waistcoat, and allowed Doc to take charge of the wounded.

She wondered if anyone had headed out to recapture the horses. They, at least were worth saving. She checked the sky, night was not far off, she had time, maybe there'd be reward - money in it for her.

Felicity wasn't usually so money grabbing, but what with the things that roamed the night, trade was restricted and everything had become more expensive. Word was gradually spreading about her sideline business, and the whores at the saloon gave her a hard time when she was out and about, but Felicity did what she had to do to survive in such a dangerous world.

Getting Tex's attention again, she asked him if he would come with her to find the horses. Not waiting for his reply, she entered the damaged stable with its disturbed and restless horses and quickly saddled her mare. She hated riding side-saddle, but there was no time to change out of her skirts. Mounting, she hooked her right leg over the horn and rode quickly out of the stable, her pistol readily available in a holster attached to her garter.

 

[Khadgar]

Tex

Tex nodded and grabbed one of the poles that had snapped off the wagon. driving it under, he pried the coach up, and helped the man move his leg before setting it down again. he was trying hard to see through his drunken fog. "there ya go. doc's on the way."

Tex headed off after Felicity and sadled his own horse. then took off ater her. he listened for the quiet whinny of the horses.

 

[Firesprite]

Hearing Tex quickly catch up, Felicity increased her horses pace. Keeping one eye on the setting sun she galloped down main street and out the other side of town. In the far distance, near the foothills she could see a slowly moving brown blur. "There they are!" she shouted to Tex. Thinking to herself that the horses must have calmed down, she raced towards them.

As she came closer she saw they were agitated, but not nearly as frenzied as they must have been when they were spooked on the way into town. Finally she saw what had stopped them. The horse at the back on the left was down. Seeing the way its leg bent where it should bend at all, she knew what had happened. In their mad panic to get away, it had stepped into a hole and broken its leg, and the momentum of the other horses had dragged it further, still harnessed together with them.

Leaping off her own horse, Felicity reached the two horses in the lead. Calming them with words and pats, she looked behind them and saw the injured horse was still alive. They needed to free the horse from the harness and put it out of its misery.

When Tex came galloping up, she indicated the fallen horse. "See what you can do for that poor beast, Tex. Cut it out of the traces and I will lead these away from it"

 

[Khadgar]

Tex walked up next to Felicity "it's got a broke leg miss. least it looks that way. i donno what i can do fer it. most u'd put it out uvits missery. if we could get a cart it could make it back to town. what we'd do there i donno, but we'd be safe ourselfs at least."

Tex kneeled down and cutthe animal free, but kept the teathers on the other horse for Felicity to take.

 

[Guest]

Doc glanced behind him and saw the four men taking the young girl with the busted leg into his office. When he turned back around he caught a glimpse of something green in Felicity's hand as she moves out of his way. At the same time, Tex uses a pole to lift the carriage off of the man's leg. Doc reaches down, grabs the man under the arms and drags him out from under the stage. He lays the man down and checks his leg. As he cuts the pant leg up, he looks at the man. "What the hell happened out there?"

Doc looked down as the man started to talk and while he listened, he checked the mans leg.

 

[Firesprite]

A shuffling sound came from behind a nearby rock. The horses Felicity had managed to calm began to stamp, their eyes began to roll and their nostrils flare. Felicity again looked at the sky and saw the sun was about to touch the horizon.

"We cant wait for a cart Tex, put it out of it's misery. We have to go NOW!"

As she said 'now', a rock tumbled down to fall almost at her feet. She began to smell a putrid odor, and the horses began to pull away from her. Her own horse was getting wild-eyed, and she was having trouble controlling them all.

Felicity tried to mount her horse again, but it was skittish and dancing away from her. Another rock came tumbling down from the slope above, and a fresh breeze blew the rank sweetness of death to them. Pulling away in fear, her horse was backing away in one direction, the stagecoach horses pulling in another. Holding tight to the reins of one and the harness of the others, she tied a lenth of the strapping Tex had cut away from the injured horse. With a whinney of fear she was pulled off her feet and into the air as her mount reared in its panic. Her arms felt almost pulled from their sockets, but their fear lent Felicity strength. Dragging her horse, she brought it close. With a leap she made it to its back and immediatly it reared again.
Holding tight to the strap she'd secured to the lead horse still in harness, she managed to bring them under control again.

"Hurry Tex, they're coming!" she shouted over the horses squeals of fear.

 

[Khadgar]

Tex

Tex waited untill al the horses were faced back to him. he didn't want a riot, and then pulled the Rifle out of his coat. Firing a round into the horses head, he put it's frightened whinnying to rest.

Tex had no problem killing men who had the gall to oppose what was right. and what was right waswhat he thought. but no horse broke the laws. that was next to impossible. killing horses was wrong.

Tex ran up beside Felicity and nodded to her "yu'd beter give me some of them reigns. all them horses might be a little to much fer ya." Tex accepted the reigns of a couple horses and jumped back on his own. strong-arming them to stay, he and Felicity rode with some difficulty back to town, leaving the undead behind.

 

[Guest]

Back at doc's office

OOC: Where is everyone? Is it just Felicity, Tex and Doc(me)?

IC:

Doc had gotten both of his patience back to his office. He had listened carefully to shotgun mans story as he examined his left leg. Doc was amazed. "It'll be a while 'for you'll be running on it again. It's gonna be sore, but incredibly, It isn't broke. Badly bruised, but not broke." Doc told his rather impatient patient. When he was sure Shotgun would make it he moved over to his other patient.

Someone had thought to give the girl a couple shots of his whiskey to help her deal with the pain. Doc was happy to see, it had done the trick. The young girl, he realized he had never asked the girls name, was unconcious. He cut the bottom of her dress away to get a better look at the leg. He then cut the knee high leather boots and stockings off of the girl. Doc couldn't help but to admire the young lady's figure. She was an attractive, healthy young woman. Once the girls leg was fully exposed Doc started looking for where the break had occured. From the way the leg was twisted, it looked like it was right at the knee. Doc knew instantly that he had only two choices and niether of them attractive. A delicate surgery which he had never performed and did not have the manpower, time or resources to do correctly. Even he tried it, it would probably lead right to the second option anyway... amputation. Cutting off the young womans leg would make her life very difficult out here. For sure, her silver miner husband wouldn't want her anymore. No man would want a gimpy wife. Once he had dumped her, she would be left alone and without resource. She would be forced to find a job or send home for money. Either way, she would need somewhere to stay. If her family wouldn't or couldn't send money, she would be forced to get a job. What does a one legged young woman do for a living in this part of the country? Back east, she might have a chance, in Desperation though, the girl would be forced into beggary or prostitution. As he prepared to amputate the leg, Doc couldn't help but wonder what it would be like with a one legged whore. Doc smiled at himself as he put the young girl to sleep to begin the operation.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Statler

The commotion was taking a while. Tales were flying through the saloon about the horses escaping and the girl and man each having injured legs. I'd only seen the Shotgun man once or twice before, as he'd started here new a few weeks ago, and had only made three runs, including this one. Wasn't one for much conversation, but I guess that's how you had to be when you were working in a new town where you didn't know anybody, especially considering it was a long journey both in and out of Desoloation.
"So, are you gonna raise me or not?" Jesiah was getting impatient.
I tossed twenty cents into the pot. "How's that?"
"It'll do," Jesiah returned, matching that and thinking hard on what to add from his own stash.
"They say the girl's leg might be borken, and that'll be trouble for old Benton up there on the hill...he won't know what to do witha wife what can't walk so well..." Michael Davidson was rambling drunk again, and in everybody's business. That could be a death wish when dealing with the wrong people, especially rich miners. Why, they might even pay some heartless gun-for-hire, like say...Jesiah here, to take care of the trouble for them, to make sure that news does't spread any faster than they want it to.
Hell, people like Benton were used to being tended to, and the man was jaded because of it, might even blame someone in town for the troubles, like Zeke if they felt his driving had caused it. Or someone else, especially if they felt that the trouble of why his wife can't walk so well might be in the fault of the local doctor who might have set it wrong or whatever.Trouble was coming, more trouble than we already had, and this place was nothing but trouble as of late.
I met his wager, thirty cents, then called, laying down my full house and smiling. That was three hands in a row if he couldn't beat it. And by the looks on his face, he couldn't. He threw the cards down, staring at me. I reached out to pull the pot over in front of me and he grabbed my wrists with both hands.
"You got enough luck tonight, don't you?" He asked, shouting. The place grew quiet, the few patrons who weren't still down the street gawking at the fallen coach stopping to watch the scene as it escalated.
Jesiah hated to lose, maybe hated it enough that the cold-hearted gun-for-hire might like to kill over it.
I stood and eyed me, dropping both hands to his guns.
It looked like I was in some trouble of my own just then...

 

[Guest]

Doc stepped back from the young girl and looked down at the leg. The leg was now in a cast and would stay that way for a number of weeks, that is, if it didn't get infected. Doc let the girl sleep it off. A young woman had come in and offered to sit with the girl, so he let her and Doc dressed and headed for the saloon. He needed a drink right about now, real bad!

Doc stepped into the saloon and looked around Roberts was at his piano playing some song Doc didn't recognize. George was behind the bar and Statler, Jesiah and some drunk kid were at a table playing poker. He looked around for Thomasina, but he didn't see her. She must be upstairs with a customer. Doc walked over and ordered himself a whiskey. He took the glass and walked over to where Statler was. As he was arriving the Jesiah rose from the table.

"You got enough luck tonight, don't you?" He asked, shouting.

Statler rose from his seat and Doc noticed Statler's hands move to his guns. Doc walked up and stood beside the table where he was clearly visible to both parties. "Looks like you're gonna need a new player soon. May I sit down?" Doc asked pulling a chair out and sitting down. He wasn't to worried. Statler was fast enough to take Jesiah without question. Jesiah was drunk and stupid.

"Yeah Doc, go ahead, sit down. Statler here may not be playin' much longer." Jesiah said.

It was then that the drunk kid, Micheal Davidson, stood up and held out his arms. "Gentlemen," Doc didn't let him finish, he grabbed the guys shirt and pulled him down in his seat.

"This is a quarrel between these two gentlemen, why don't we let them finish it!" Doc said when the man looked at him. "After all, no sense in you getting hurt." Doc scooped the cards to him, stacked them and started to shuffle.

 

[Madcap]

Jake Dawson

Jake watched as the Deputy ran back into his office 'like he seen a ghost', he thought. Turns out this wasn't far from the truth. The zombies were comming into town! Quickly Jake ran into his own dwelling, but came out a moment later with his shotgun over his sholder, and a crate full of dynamite. The first of the zombies was approaching the saloon when Jake lit the wick and hurled the stick of dynamite at it. The walking dead exploded, sending gore in every direction, and imploding the widows of the saloon.
"Hoo yeah," Jake shouted "See ya in hell, ya bastards!" and continued his assult on the undead ranks.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Statler

I guessed things would calm down some once Doc came in, thinking that curiosity over what had happened would lead to a series of questions and the distraction would take the pressure off Jesiah and I. Things like that tended to change situations like this. I often wondered why people didn't realize that. When you stop and stare, there's more pressure in that than in anything we could have said to each other. Jesiah had drawn attention to himself, and if that attention had waned, then not many would have seen him backing down. That kind of pressure, the kind that taps into your pride, has far too much weight to just be ignored.
Luckily, though it wouldn't stay lucky, an explosion from outside tore through the windows of the saloon, sending glass into the room, followed by the shouts of a man, apparently happy to send the undead back to their resting places, in as many pieces as necessary.
Everyone looked to the sound, Jesiah and I included. Pieces of flesh were still falling to the ground oujtside, and the smell of decay wafted thorugh the windows in heavy gusts. I glanced back to Jesiah, who looked back at me, his face concerned now, priorities replacing pride. I nodded to him, raising my hand to show I meant no harm, but not so high that if I misread the situation, i couldn't reach the weapon at my hip in time.
He nodded back, then dropped his own hands and headed for the door, wanting to check up on what was happening outside.
"Keep an eye on my cash, Doc?" I asked, not waiting for an answer. I followed Jesiah outside, drawing a pistol as i went, and looked around. The explosion had sent up the sand and dust in the streets.
I squinted my eyes, trying to peer through it and to keep the combintion from getting in my eyes. As it settled some, I could make out human forms moving slowly toward the now exposed saloon.
"Who's there?" Jesiah shouted. "If yer human, give us a yell, otherwise, we're gonna let some lead loose..."
No one responded. I raised my pistol and took aim, then heard a familiar female voice shout "wait!"
I froze, peering through at what looked to be Felicity, moving among the staggering corpses toward us.
"Come on, girl!" Jesiah shouted. "Get in here, where it's safe."

 

[PmTick]

Fissuer Rameriez

I had been walking through the desert for nearly four days I figure. The smoke from the oil fires burnt my lungs, feels like I swallowed needles. Don't matter though, the lord will take care of me when it's time, it's an agreement he and I have. I met him once you know, the lord. Nice guy, very tall and very wise.

He told me I was a bad man on the road to hell, but if I guarded his creations from the demons that walk the earth, than I would be allowed into heaven when my time came.

I tasted my own blood in my mouth. I was so thirst that my tounge had started to crack and bleed. The lord must have taken care of me again, in the distance I saw a Saloon. Things were beginning to look up.

Then I heard a voice. Couldn't make out what it was saying but I yelled back, "Are you open?"

 

[Madcap]

The blast had left a sharp ringing in Jake's ears. He could hear a man shouting, but he couldn't make out the words. Then he saw the form of a girl running, surrounded by the undead, towards the saloon. "She'll never make it," he thought and jumped into the street and unloaded his shotgun at the zombie host. This did little other than cause superficial damage, a few zombies had less limbs, but it did allow the woman to reach the relative safty of the saloon.
By this time he noticed bullets were whizzing by him, comming from the door of the saloon. "Hey!" he shouted "Im a human, and i don't need killin'!" He had reached the front of the saloon by then and after fireing off a few more shots, dove through a broken window and inside.

 

[Firesprite]

"Who's there?" shouted a voice out of the dust and sand. "If yer human, give us a yell, otherwise, we're gonna let some lead loose..."
Felicity coughed, clearing her throat of the dust and shouted "Wait!"
A quick response came "Come on, girl!" Jesiah shouted. "Get in here, where it's safe."

As she rode closer to the saloon, Felicity had cause to doubt Jesiah's claim. The saloon certainly didn't look safe to her with all the windows broken in and the men standing around the door, bristling with their guns. It looked to her that the Zombies were going to close in on them, trap the bulk of the fighting men in one place and over-run them with numbers. Felicity shook her head, thinking that men never learn. In her years in Desperation, she'd learnt three things. Never look back, always know where the exits are, and Never let them back you into a corner.

Felicity swerved at the last moment, the horse she was leading, and Tex with his two following her closely. "Tex!" she shouted over the occasional gun-fire, "We have to get these horses to safety!"

Riding hard, she made for the stables. The walls and doors were reinforced. As long as no humans stayed in there, the Zombies usually left them alone. Riding straight in through the open doors, Felicity lept off her horse, ready to close the door behind Tex.

In a thunder of hooves, he entered and Felicity pushed shut the doors. The horses were beginning to settle as they put them into the stalls and brushed them.. Until..

A strange creaking noise emanated from the other side of the wall nearest Felicity, then a crash. It sounded just like a stagecoach being righted. Moments later something smashed against the wall. a pause. again something smashed against the wall. Dust began to rise from the impacts. The zombies were ramming the wall with the damaged stagecoach.
The door rattled. There were more trying to get in that way. The horses, yet again began to panic. But Felicity knew there was another exit. If she could get to it.

 

[Khadgar]

Tex

Tex jumped off the Horse just as the Undead began ramming the door with the coach. he turned to Felicity and tossed her a pistol. "Run girl, this is no place for you, i'll make sure they leave ya alone." then he pulled out a shotgun, over-stuffed and full of Slugs.

he kneled behind one of the feed troughs and turned to Felicity "Well? what are ya waitin' fer? run!"

 

[Firesprite]

Felicity caught the gun Tex had thown her way and ran to the back of the stables where barrels and crates had been piled. Picking them up and tossing them aside, Felicity quickly cleared a space, revealing an ancient rusted trap door. Finding a pick, left by some forgotten miner she slammed it at the lock, breaking it.
Wrenching up the trap door, she grabbed a lamp, and quickly climbed down the ladder.
Looking up just before she disappeard below, she saw the undead were almost through the door. "Tex!" she called as he fired his shotgun "Quick!"

 

[Khadgar]

Tex

Tex saw a biit of the wood break in and the form of some creature try to get through. Tex pulled the trigger and sent a heavy slug into the thing, seeing art of it explode in impact. Felicity called to him and motioned him through the trap door. so she was going under, not running in the open. plan change thought Tex, as he ran over to her and into the space, snapping of another shot as another creature climbed in.

 

[Firesprite]

Ducking down, Felicity quickly had the lamp lit and was moving fast along the dark tunnel.
She heard a thump and many crashes as Tex dropped the trapdoor behind them, and the battering and jarring of the structure knocked the remaining crates and barrels onto it. Felicity hoped that the trapdoor was far enough in the dark at the back of the stable that the zombies didn't see how they'd left.
She could hear the screaming of the horses, and hoped that they would be ignored by the undead.