Gehenna Read online

  Gehenna

  Jason Brant

  Chapter 1

  "You need to control your whores!" the filthy cowboy said, shoving his way through the saloon doors.

  Ellis let out a heavy sigh as he watched another patron, who would likely never return, storm out of his saloon because of Karen. That made three this month. Shaking his head, he turned around and glared at her.

  "How is someone so smart so stupid? You can't make money if you always insult my customers. You got to be the worst hooker I ever had."

  "He smelled like shit. Even more than the rest of them," Karen said. She stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at Ellis. She considered him her closest friend, which she found odd because she considered herself little more than his slave. He treated her well, and he never hit his women. That was rare for a man who ran a brothel.

  "They all smell like shit. That's why they need to pay for it. If you would just drink some of this rotgut like the rest of the girls, you wouldn't care so much."

  The room grew silent as he finished. He looked back at everyone else drinking at the bar. Most of them were from other towns — just passing through as they headed further west. Anthony and Dave, the owner and his employee of the general store next door, stared back at him.

  "Not you guys. You smell like a bunch of roses," Ellis said.

  "Hell, I know we stink. But you serve us rotgut?" Anthony asked.

  Karen couldn't help but laugh while she descended the stairs, lifting her frilly skirt to keep from tripping. She blew absentmindedly at the long strands of auburn hair that fell across her brow. Leave it to Anthony and Dave to worry more about the quality of their whiskey than their stench.

  "Of course I don't; you get nothing but the best. I give the rotgut to everyone that comes in on the train," Ellis said, looking everywhere but their eyes.

  Dave, the short and jovial stock boy, didn't seem to believe him, and kept inspecting the booze in his dirty glass. Anthony watched him for a few seconds before cuffing him in the back of the head.

  "What're you looking at, dummy? Like you could tell if that was all whiskey."

  "Don't hit me, boss!" Dave said.

  Ellis used the distraction to get away. As usual, he struggled squeezing his heavy frame through the opening on the side of the bar.

  "I knew I should have taken those books away from you. Women got no place learnin' from those things. Nothin' good comes from it."

  "If it wasn't for those books, I couldn't have helped you with your books."

  Ellis glanced over his shoulder, ensuring no one heard her. "You know I can't thank you enough for helpin' me out around here. I know you're the smartest person in this whole town, but you can't keep makin' fun at everyone. People don't like their women learnt, especially not their whores."

  Karen let out a long sigh. She hated peddling herself to the stupid men who got off the train, but she refused to do what was expected of women in this godforsaken town. She would never marry a local man because she viewed it as the equivalent of indentured servitude. Cooking, cleaning, sewing, and worshipping at the feet of a man wasn't something that interested her. Being paid to perform the fun parts of a marriage could be tolerated. No man would marry a woman who was more intelligent than him anyway.

  "I'll try and behave, but do your best to send me men who have at least heard of soap. Give the dirty ones to Barbara."

  "I heard that!" Barbara said from the balcony at the top of the stairs. Karen didn't have to look up at her to tell that she had been drinking, again.

  "You don't care who Ellis sends to you."

  "Yeah, but you don't have to say it," Barbara said. She leaned over the railing and waved at a man sitting at a table, cradling a mug of beer. When he flashed a sheepish grin back, she broke into her patented routine of twirling red hair and fluttering eyelashes.

  Karen liked Barbara, but she was always drunk and had no self worth. Men wanted dumb women who were willing do anything, and Barbara fit that mold. Still, she treated Karen nicer than any of the other girls that worked at The Ellis Saloon. Karen often had long, semi-drunken conversations with Barbara about escaping on the railroad and taking it to the end of the line.

  While they both dreamt of that, Karen planned on following through. Gehenna not only served as a way station for railroad passengers preparing to continue west, but also for people's lives. It was the place where dreams and passions died.

  Karen saved most of her earnings, hiding them under a floorboard in her room, and would soon have enough to live on for several years. Barbara was content with her lot in life.

  Ellis looked at her for several moments, appearing to consider what she said.

  "Could you at least try the rotgut?"

  Karen rubbed her hands on his balding head and laughed. "You know bett−"

  Shouting from the street interrupted her. The first scream came from a woman, with several groans coming a few seconds later.

  Dave hopped off his bar stool and shuffled to the door, peering over the saloon doors.

  "Jesus help us! He bit her face!"

  Everyone jumped from their seats and rushed to the door and windows, squeezing against each other. Karen climbed onto the bar, giving herself a better angle to look out the door.

  What she saw made her stomach lurch. She didn't dare turn her eyes away from the horror as she fought against rising bile.

  Two men kneeled over a middle-aged woman in the dirt street, blood pooling underneath them, creating a reddish brown mud. Three arrows jutted out of the back of the nearest man, two more from his accomplice.

  They were eating the woman alive.

  Chapter 2

  "What the hell is going on out there?" Sherriff Stanley asked. He was trying to peer out the window without getting out of his chair. It didn't seem to be working.

  "Maybe you should go take a look," McCall said from inside the jail cell.

  "Shut up. Aaron, go see what the hell that noise is about," Stanley said to his deputy.

  Aaron, who was admiring McCall's Colt Peacemaker, didn't seem to hear his boss. He turned and gave McCall a sheepish look.

  "What are these notches on the grip? You really should take better care of her."

  "Deputy," the sheriff said.

  McCall looked back at him with dead eyes, ignoring Sherriff Stanley. He figured Aaron to be twenty years old, maybe less. His tight clothing suggested he wasn't done growing yet.

  "One notch for every heeled hard case that wanted a fight."

  "Deputy Aaron."

  "You killed that many men?" Aaron asked in awe.

  "More. No room left on the grip."

  "Deputy Aaron!"

  Aaron dropped the gun as he spun around, surprised at the anger in Stanley's voice.

  "Yeah, uncle?"

  "Go see what all that yelling is about. And you'll call me Sheriff when you're on duty."

  "Yes, sir," Aaron said. He bent down, his fingers fumbling around, trying to pick up the gun.

  "Aaron, forget the damned gun and get out there!"

  Hesitating for a second, Aaron looked back and forth from the sheriff to the prisoner, before putting on his brown derby and heading to the door. "I thought you'd be younger," he said to McCall before stepping outside.

  "If that boy weren't my sister's kid… "

  Stanley got out of the chair and walked over to the pistol, lifting it to inspect the handle.

  "There must be fifty marks here. The flyers around town say you killed a couple of men, but nothing like this."

  McCall said nothing. He'd made up the story about the marks on the handle just to scare the kid. He even changed the way he spoke to add to his outlaw aura.

  "If you read the sign coming into town you would have known you can't carry in Gehenna. No
one would have said nothing to you if you didn't have this big boy on your hip."

  He did know of Gehenna's gun laws but didn't bother abiding by them. That could be dangerous for a man like him. Judging from the hundreds of guns strewn around the sheriff's office, most people did though.

  Before Stanley could react, McCall sprang out of his cot and stood at the bars, barely more than an arm's length away.

  "I don't follow no bullshit laws and I expect to get that pistol back." He'd acquired the Colt years ago, and viewed it as a good luck charm.

  Though he was armed and out of McCall's reach, Stanley took a hesitant step back. Even seasoned lawmen like the sheriff were terrified of McCall's reputation. He tried to shield his fear by turning away from the cell.

  "The rail comes through tomorrow, so let's try and stay polite until then. Once the federal marshals get here you can take that up with them." Stanley walked back to his desk and dropped the Colt on it. "Why'd you let Deputy Aaron take you anyway? They say you're real fast; you could have taken him no problem."

  McCall went back to his cot and tipped his hat over his eyes. "Didn't see no point in killing a kid. I only shoot those who have it coming to them."

  That wasn't to say that McCall didn't think about it when that kid came up behind him. He had a feeling that he shouldn't stop in this damned town, but his horse had started to froth at the mouth and wobble at the knees. The kid had spotted him while he was buying some food from those fools in the general store. All these railroad towns had his picture up on every corner, but he still thought he could go unnoticed for a few hours.

  McCall probably would have made a play for his pistol if he hadn't seen the barrel of the kid's gun trembling as it was pointed at him. He appreciated the young deputy's bravery, even though he'd been shaking in his boots. Getting a peaceful night's sleep in jail didn't seem all that bad to him either.

  It wasn't until he woke up this morning that the sheriff told him that some federal marshals were due in the next night. If it weren't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all. They'd been after him for awhile now, and if they caught him he'd be strung up in short time. He killed one of them back in San Antonio a few months before and they'd been riled up ever since.

  McCall didn't plan on being around when they got here.

  "Been awhile since your boy went out there."

  "It has, but I'm not dumb enough to leave Mad Dog McCall alone in here," Stanley said as he squinted through the soiled window.

  A hint of a smile touched McCall's lips at the mention of his Mad Dog title. It had a certain resonation that he liked.

  "I'm getting out of here, whether you release me or I shoot my way out."

  The loud crack of a gunshot rang through the street. Several seconds of silence preceded two more.

  Sheriff Stanley walked across the room and grabbed his beige hat, which hung from a nail by the door. McCall noticed its flat top crown, sun faded color, and rusting badge, indicating the sheriff had been a law and order man for a long time.

  "For the love of God, Aaron," he mumbled under his breath. "I gotta see what that damn kid is shooting at. Don't try nothing funny," Stanley said, looking back at McCall from the doorway.

  Cries and screams erupted from the street.

  Chapter 3

  Karen couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.

  Even with arrows sticking from their backs, the men kept gnawing on the woman as if nothing was wrong. One of them peeled flesh away from her cheek, exposing too many of her teeth, as she tried to push him away with her free hand. The bigger of the two men held her other arm, chewing on a chunk of muscle and skin he'd bitten from her forearm. Her frilly taupe dress was soaked through with blood.

  The haunting screams coming from her made Karen queasy. She'd never heard a sound like that.

  Everyone in the saloon stood still, rooted in place from shock.

  Ellis was the first to react, pushing Dave and Anthony to either side as he stalked outside.

  "Get off of her!"

  His bellow jolted everyone else into motion. Anthony grabbed Dave by the collar and hauled him through the doors. Three other men that Karen didn't recognize followed them into the street. The women and most of the other men didn't move, too horrified to do anything but watch. Karen hopped off the bar and moved out to the porch, making sure to keep the railing between her and the violence.

  Ellis grabbed the closest attacker's shoulder and spun him around. A tomahawk stuck out of his chest. A long, watery groan escaped from his mouth as he staggered forward, reaching his hands toward Ellis' neck. Both of his lips were missing, revealing his red tinged teeth.

  "Lord in Heaven−" Ellis said when he saw the man's mangled face. As fast as his bulky body would allow, he shoved the man back, knocking him over the woman he was eating seconds before.

  Rushing past Ellis, the three men Karen didn't know grabbed the second attacker by the arms. Their similar appearances gave the impression that one was the father of the other two men. They were all large and had varied receding hairlines. The oldest was completely bald, while the younger son had half of his left.

  As they pulled the mad man away from his victim, he gnashed out with tobacco yellowed teeth and bit the hand of the father.

  When he jerked his hand away, a jet of blood erupted from the wound and splattered across the shirt of the probable son to his left. The man exploded with unexpected ferocity at the sight of the blood. His mouth opened and closed, his teeth clacking over and over as he strained against their grip.

  Dave, Anthony, and Ellis moved in on the first man while he clambered to his feet. They kicked and stomped on him, trying to keep him from standing up. The skin on his head split open from someone's spur, and Karen could hear ribs cracking from the repeated kicks.

  "Stay down, damn you!" Ellis yelled.

  The man managed to get a hold of one of Dave's legs and bit into the tan pants covering his shin. Dave howled in pain as he tried to shake his leg free.

  "He bit me, boss! He bit me!"

  Anthony stomped on the man's head, forcing his maw from Dave's leg. A piece of crimson soaked cloth hung from his teeth.

  "What the hell is going on?" Deputy Aaron said from behind them. He had to yell to be heard over the moans of the attackers and Dave's whimpering.

  Karen pointed at the two men, who were severely wounded at this point. "They were eating that poor woman!"

  The woman wasn't moving anymore. She just laid there, bleeding out in the dirt. Karen couldn't see if she was breathing or not.

  "Stop kicking him! He's had enough," Aaron said as he tried to pull Ellis away.

  Ellis shrugged him off and placed his boot on the man's face, pushing it against the ground.

  "Stay back, boy. It don't matter what we do to him, he just keeps coming. Look at them, they got arrows sticking out of their backs!"

  The other crazed man kept trying to get at the blood splashed across the shirt of the shorter son. From Karen's position on the porch, she could see into his eyes. They were overly black, like those of a wild animal. A shiver ran through her body despite the overwhelming summer heat.

  "Don't call me boy. I said that's enough. Let him up!" Aaron said.

  "He's biting everyone in sight. I ain't letting him up," Ellis said without moving.

  Aaron pulled his revolver from its holster and held it out in front of him. "If he goes after anyone, I'll put him down. Now step away from him."

  Karen knew that Aaron's toughness was an act. She could see his gun hand shaking even though she stood more than fifteen feet away. He was a good kid, but still wet behind the ears.

  Ellis considered the situation for a moment before lifting his foot and hopping backward.

  The man staggered to his feet while more moans escaped his mouth. A flap of skin, cut loose by a boot spur, partially covered his left eye. Dust and dirt filled part of the gash, but not enough to cover the exposed bone inside. His good eye never left Ellis as he stoo
d and took a shuffling step toward him.

  "Mister, I need you to come with me," Aaron said.

  At the sound of Aaron's voice, the man's head turned, tendons creaking, and took in the deputy. His uncovered eye widened as he hissed and moved in Aaron's direction on unsteady legs.

  "Stop right there."

  The wounded man didn't listen.

  "Stop, or I'll have to put you down."

  Aaron pulled the hammer back and pointed the wavering gun at the man's chest. The threat didn't faze him at all as he teetered forward.

  With the flesh eater only two feet away, Aaron fired a round into his chest. Other than a slight hesitation and pitch backward, the shot did nothing. The bullet punctured his filthy skin and exited his back, coming within inches of Dave's torso. Bits of bone and gore splattered the street behind him.

  He didn't seem to notice.

  Karen looked at Ellis, who stood motionless, his jaw slacked. Looking around at everyone else, she saw similar expressions. No one could believe what they were seeing.

  Deputy Aaron was the only person who kept moving, much to Karen's surprise. He put two more bullets into the man's chest, his expression growing more harried with each failed shot. The width of the street was dotted with splatters of blood.

  Even with the distance between them, Karen could hear the man's teeth clattering together as he tried to bite Aaron. Their arms locked around each other's as they stumbled around, one trying to push away and the other pulling. Aaron's feet tangled as he backed up, causing both of them to topple over with the lipless man falling on top of him, chomping at his face.

  "Help me!" Aaron put both of his hands under his attacker's chin and pushed his head up and away from his own. Dribbles of saliva oozed between the man's teeth and dripped onto Aaron's face. Drops of spittle fell into his mouth as he cried out, causing him to gag. "Get him away from me!"

  Ellis and Anthony sprang into action, grabbing the man by his upper arms and lifting him away.

  "I told you he was crazy," Ellis said.