Zombie Wild West Read online

  Takoda was shocked. There had been tales from other braves over the past week of people who looked dead but continued to walk. That could be believed, maybe, since it wasn’t uncommon for people to get caught out in the desert sun. But then they told the tale of how they had shot numerous arrows into the people, and they never fell. Then everyone had laughed. This was not possible, they all knew. But the description of how they walked, stiff and stumbling, was the same way he would describe those people below him.

  He continued to watch in suspense and noticed something else. There was no talking. If he knew anything about the white people, they talked. But there was that sound again, a moaning, deep and foreboding, coming up the sides of the cliff face. He saw several people get knocked to the ground, stepped on and over by the others, only to get back up and continue as if nothing had happened.

  Then he remembered the lawman. Getting up, he ran to his horse. If the man could be saved, it would have to be soon. Takoda had scouted this area for years, and the end of the cut where the man was running had recently had a landslide. The exit was blocked, and there was no other way out. The man would either have to fight or climb. And climbing could be just as deadly.

  Mounting his horse, he raced to the landslide. There he could climb down far enough to cover the man while he climbed. Decision made, he kicked his horse forward.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The shot from the road startled everyone inside the saloon. Mayor Jackson Grieger was receiving a glass from Frank at the bar. The glass dropped to the bar top and splashed them both.

  Daisy Flowers was reloading her pistol by the bar. She kept an eye on the body of Hez, still lying where she had shot him earlier. If anyone had asked her this morning if she thought a dead man could get back up, she would have laughed. Now? She never took her eyes off him. At least, not until the shot sounded outside.

  Jackson was wiping the moisture from his hand and the front of his shirt when the second shot came. He looked at Daisy, who was staring at the front door. Then she straightened up and walked to the door. Jackson joined her, hand on his pistol, as they once again opened the doors and stepped outside.

  Jackson hadn’t been an athletic kid growing up. Nor was he one that enjoyed the rough and tumble life. But having grown up on a ranch, he knew how to take care of himself. Combined with a cunning business sense, his opponents quickly found out he was quite formidable. One other thing Jackson prided himself on - his ability to size up any situation in a second.

  Stepping onto the porch of the Cactus Saloon, Jackson’s heart felt like it dropped into his boots. There was still the obvious panic on the faces of the townsfolk still in the street. A family he remembered as living near the outskirts of the county was in their wagon looking just as terrified as everyone else - maybe more. And the head deputy was standing over the bloody body of a woman that Jackson had been on a date with. A woman that the deputy had apparently just shot down in the street.

  Head Deputy Josh Rickborn saw the mayor step out onto the porch of the saloon and assess the situation. Then he saw Daisy step up next to him, a small pistol in her hand. He noticed that both were poised to bring their pistols to bear. Interesting. Putting his own pistol away, he motioned toward another deputy to take care of the body. Then he headed to the saloon. Time to throw fuel on a very hot, very dangerous fire.

  Pastor Steve Daly thought he’d seen just about everything. Births, deaths, injuries, murder, redemption, and plenty more. Then the morning sun had brought more trouble to his small town than he’d ever seen. A ripped-out throat in the street this morning seemed to be the worst thing he could have imagined. But looking around the street now, with the dead and wounded scattered like so many tumbleweeds… well, he only hoped and prayed the chaos was over. Seeing the mayor on the saloon porch, next to Daisy, both looking worn out, he headed their way.

  Daisy looked around the area just outside the saloon. It may have looked calm, but there was an underlying tension. There didn’t appear to be an immediate threat, and for that, she breathed a silent prayer of thanks. It appeared that Eli’s head deputy, Josh, had returned to town none too soon. Seeing him walk toward her and Jackson, she headed back inside. But not too far. She wanted to know what they said. As she turned, she saw Pastor Daly walking their way. She gave him a quick smile and slipped inside.

  With the head deputy walking toward him with purpose in his stride and the Pastor also headed his way, Jackson took a moment to get himself together. Straightening his jacket, he moved to the edge of the porch. It was a strategic position, allowing the men to approach him but not climb the porch steps. The high ground was his, literally and figuratively. He almost smiled at that thought. He was back in his element. In charge.

  Josh intentionally slowed his walk to approach the mayor at the same time as Pastor Daly. Giving the pastor a nod, he turned to face the mayor. Just as he was about to inform the mayor of what he had seen on the road, he was stopped from speaking by the overly loud voice of the mayor speaking first.

  “Deputy! Glad you finally decided to join us. Our illustrious Sheriff appears to be off on some mission that I’m sure is important to him. What we need right now, though, is a lawman to step up and do the job. Can we count on you?” Jackson couldn’t resist throwing in a few digs at the Sheriff. Impugning his character and questioning his ability was a favorite pastime.

  Josh listened with disgust. He had little use for the mayor. Even less use for his henchmen, the Tibbs. But the way he talked about anyone that dared question his business and political dealings, especially the Sheriff, was about to reach the limit of what Josh could take.

  “Mr. Mayor, I appreciate your confidence. But right now, we have a bigger problem than what is happening here. This mess…” Josh swept his hand out to cover the bloodshed in the street. “… is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. And it’ll be here in a few hours.”

  Josh had trouble keeping his voice from revealing the contempt he had for the mayor. But he needed to get the town ready for the mob of people headed their way, and the mayor could make that happen quicker than Josh could by himself. That is, if the mayor wanted to help.

  “Well, now, son, I know that you may feel that a cattle drive or whatever’s headed this way is mighty important, but I don’t think you realize what we’ve been dealing with…”

  “Sorry, Mayor, but you don’t have a clue what is really going on. We don’t have time for me to tell this over and over.”

  With that, Josh turned and called over a few deputies, some of the more prominent townsfolk he saw standing around, and Doc. Then Josh surprised Jackson even more by stepping up on the porch, forcing Jackson to step to the side.

  Jackson felt his blood pressure go up when Josh turned his back on him to call people over. But when he stepped up next to him, Jackson nearly boiled over. Who did this peon think he was?

  “Deputy, I think you need to be more careful about the way you are talking to the man that runs this town. You’re about to step into something you won’t recover from.” Jackson kept his voice low, but the look of anger made the threat even more menacing.

  Josh looked at the mayor with a mixture of pity and sadness before addressing the assembled group before them.

  “Alright, people, what you see around you is just a sample of what’s coming. I was out at the Bascom ranch this morning on a rustling problem. I didn’t find any evidence of rustling…”

  “Deputy! Are you seriously going to talk to us about rustling when we have all of this…”

  “Thank you, Mister Mayor! As I was saying, I didn’t find evidence of rustling. What I did find was a body that should be dead trying to eat its way out from under a dead cow.”

  Josh let that sink in. Most of the people before him had just seen people get attacked in the street by other people they knew. He could see in their eyes that while they didn’t want to believe what he had just said, they couldn’t help themselves. Josh saw Doc shake his head, not in disbelief, but in resi
gnation. The problem was bigger than he thought.

  “That’s not all. As I headed back to the Bascom’s to let them know what I found, I came upon the Johnson family on the road.” Josh pointed back to the family, still on their wagon. “Their farm was overrun this morning by a horde of… well, it appears to be the same as whatever happened to these people. Savages, people out of their minds. Whatever you want to call them…”

  “Zombies!” A small voice called out from the Johnson wagon before his mother could hush him.

  “It seems I’ve read that somewhere, the dead brought back to life. Zombie is as good a term as any.” Josh nodded to the older son on the wagon, a reassuring gesture. The boy smiled at being taken seriously.

  “These… zombies… overran their farm. I headed that way to see what I could find and ran into the Tibbs brothers.” Josh looked at the mayor, who was looking the other way.

  “Together we approached a large group of people on the road. They had the same look as what I saw here.” Josh pointed at the woman on the road he had shot.

  “After the Tibbs abandoned me in the fight…” Josh again looked at the mayor who just spread his hands and looked surprised. “… I rode to the Bascom ranch, warned them and high-tailed it back here. We need to get ready because they should be here in the next few hours.”

  There was a moment of silence, then chaos. Everyone started talking loudly, each trying to have their say and nothing coherent being said - or heard - at all.

  “QUIET!” Josh used every ounce of his breath. Everyone stopped talking. Josh noticed that they had assembled quite a crowd from the rest of the town. Before he could begin, Jackson cut in, his politician voice cutting through the remaining grumbles and reaching to all those in the street.

  “Thank you, Deputy. Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that we have a very serious threat approaching our dear town. What we have already seen this morning will apparently be magnified by a large number. Now, I know that this is something we can handle, but first we will need your help. Everyone needs to begin the process of barricading their stores…”

  And that was as far as he could get. Everyone in the street left for whatever they felt was a safe location; a store, the hotel, anything but the street. Men jumped on their horses and headed away from town as fast as they could go. Within seconds the only people still standing in the road was Doc Peck, who looked amused, and Pastor Daly, who looked even more tired.

  Jackson watched the exodus with a stern eye. His temper once again flared. No respect. That’s what he got. After everything he did for this town. He turned to Josh.

  “Deputy, you will need to…”

  “I will need to get my men together with all the able-bodied people still left in town, form a line of defense, maybe at the hotel, and prepare to fight for our lives.” Josh nodded to the mayor and stepped off the porch, headed to the Sheriff’s office.

  Fighting back a retort, Jackson looked toward Doc.

  “Doc, if you will…”

  “I’ll set up shop here in the saloon. Most central location, easy access. Once I get settled, I’ll head to my office and get my bags.” Doc turned to his task.

  Jackson could almost feel the steam coming from his ears. He turned to Pastor Daly. The pastor just threw up his hands and shrugged before turning around, headed toward the church.

  ____

  Doc Peck paused to wipe the sweat from his face. What had the world come to? With people getting sick, going crazy, and attacking each other? Looking around the saloon, he could see the fear on the faces of the few that were there. He felt in his gut it wasn’t over.

  Without meaning to, his gaze lingered on the dead bodies in the corner. There was Hez, Lucy, the man Lucy killed, Blue, and Mickey. When he finished here, he would have to examine the bodies for any sign of what could cause the infection. He couldn’t suppress a shudder at the thought.

  He turned back to his patient, the man that had punched Blue while protecting a young lady from attack. Looking at the man’s hand, it was a mess of split skin from where he had hit Blue in the mouth. While he had most likely saved the young woman’s life, it was likely that his hand was infected. But Doc kept that information to himself, praying he was wrong. The black tendrils worming themselves from the cuts up the back of the man’s hands told a different story, though.

  “How are you feeling? Any pains other than your hand?” Doc looked up at the man’s face, noting the sweat dripping from his forehead. It could have just been the heat, but then again it could be something more.

  “I’m fine, Doc. Just hot and a little scared, I guess. And really thirsty.” The man wiped his brow for what seemed the hundredth time and licked his lips over and over.

  “Frank! Could we get some water over here?” Doc looked over at the bartender, then continued to clean the wound, making sure there was no debris inside it that could cause any more problems.

  Frank jumped at the sound of Doc’s voice and dropped the glass he was cleaning. The sound of the glass hitting the floor and shattering caused Frank to jump again, this time back into the drink rack. Bottles rattled and threatened to tumble as he turned and tried to steady them.

  “I’ll get the water for you, Doc.” Daisy helped Frank get the bottles of whiskey settled, then she grabbed the pitcher of water from under the bar. Pouring a glass, she put the pitcher back before making her way past Frank. Patting his shoulder to settle him, she gave him an encouraging smile.

  Walking over to Doc, Daisy forced herself not to look at the bodies lying in the corner. She handed the water to the man Doc was working on. Looking down at the hand Doc was cleaning, she almost let out a gasp. The black veins looked very much like the face, eyes, and lips of Hez and the two ranchers.

  “Thank you kindly, ma’am.” The man smiled politely before downing the water in only a few gulps. He handed the glass back to her with a wince as Doc dug into the wound a little deeper.

  “You… you’re welcome.” Daisy stumbled over the words, forcing herself to take the glass from the man’s hand. She backed away and headed toward the bar.

  Doc didn’t miss Daisy’s reaction. They both knew it might be too late for the man before him. He had already realized that he should have gone to his office before tending the man. He needed his bag, antibiotics, anything and everything he could get from his office. And he needed it now.

  Maybe with the right medicine, he could find something to fight off the infection. He might be able to save him. But he couldn’t do anything without medicine.

  So first, he’d clean the wound with whiskey and dress it as well as he could. Then he’d make a run to the office.

  ____

  Mayor Jackson Grieger was still fuming mad. How dare they? This town was his responsibility, and that stupid deputy and the old man treated him like dirt. In front of the others, no less. Why, without him there wouldn’t even be a town!

  The longer Jackson stood on the porch of the saloon, watching people running by on their errands for the deputy, the more he felt like his head would explode. Granted, he had never even thought about needing to blockade and protect the town. But it appeared the sheriff had a plan in place for just such a thing, he thought snidely. Probably included Daisy in that plan, too.

  At the thought of Daisy, all other thoughts cleared away. Looking down, he clenched his fists in frustration. She was right. He had a temper. He liked to think of it as righteous anger, but she even called him on that one. It wasn’t righteous, she had said. And it wasn’t just anger, but a combination of selfishness and an overblown sense of self-importance.

  He knew he didn’t have to be this way. The thought had crossed his mind often since he had met Daisy. He could change, he knew he could. Sometimes, he talked to people, and he saw the look of fear or distrust reflected in their eyes. It wasn’t something he liked very much. And then there was Daisy and the pastor, the look they had when they saw him: pity.

  Daisy was the only woman he’d ever dated that talked to him
without reserve. It almost seemed as though she felt she was his equal. While dating - if you could call it that with only three dates - he had felt that her candor was refreshing. But he knew if things progressed, she’d have to learn her place. There was only room for one person to be in charge of his life and that would always be him. He had relished the challenge and knew she would be a strong partner in business and marriage. Of course, she didn’t let it get that far. Not that he was giving up.

  Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts aside. There was a job to do, and no matter what other people wanted or tried, he would be the one to keep this town safe. He took one more look around. The town seemed to be quieter than normal, but a visitor wouldn’t notice anything amiss. Except that everyone seemed a little nervous. And that they were all carrying weapons.

  Turning on his heel, he headed inside the saloon. First things first: he’d get Daisy to safety. She wouldn’t be happy about it, but he’d make her. He’d even bring the sheriff into the conversation. Maybe that would convince her of his sincerity.

  Letting the door slam open, Jackson paused a second to let his eyesight adjust to the darker interior of the saloon. He saw Daisy at the bar, helping the bartender clean up. They both looked up at the noise, and when they saw him, they turned back to cleaning. Heading her way, he nodded to Doc, who was working on a man’s hand at one of the tables.

  “Daisy. I need you to come with me. Now.” Jackson knew a strong woman needed a strong man. And even though it hadn’t worked with her before, he still felt the need to assert himself.

  “Why, Mister Mayor.” Daisy drawled out his title sarcastically as she made another swipe with a towel across the bar. “This is quite sudden and unexpected. I thought you said you were going to wait until, how did you put it, I come crawling back to you?” She gave him a small smile that almost went to her eyes, but it was obvious she was baiting him.