Gold, Guns and Death in the West - A Wild West Story

CHAPTER 2 - The Town

Strapping on his boots, tightening the bandana around his neck, applying his belt, placing on his hat. The Boy woke up to a bright sunny day. As it always was, with the rare occasions of a cloudy day, even once in a blue moon rainfalls. With a stretch, he grabbed his guns. Slinging his rifle over his back and holstering his pistol. Last night he had a strange dream. At a train station with two other men, he waited for the train to arrive. He sighted a fly buzzing about, avoiding his attempts at swatting it away. The sounds of a distant whistle drew his attention to the left, a billowing cloud of black smoke arose into the sky as the train came closer and closer to the station.

The other two men he was with nodded to him, he unknowingly nodded back. The Iron Horse of the west finally halted with the piercing shriek of it's brakes echoing into the empty nothingness of the dream. He and the two other men watched closely as a young girl about his age walked off of one of the passenger cars. The dream ended with the image of the girl staring at him with an intense flair, before her face was decorated with a smile.

Leaving a tip for the owner, he exited his room to head over to his horse which he had stored into the stable the night before. Squinting his eyes a little from the bright morning sun, he took a stroll down the street to the stable. Encountering some citizens of the town along the way, most of whom just acknowledged him with a greeting.

"Morning." The stable owner said. "You leaving?"

"Yep, new job offer." The boy responded. "Security."

"Well, good luck with your endeavours kid." The man gave the boy a thumbs up as he saddled onto his horse.

"Hyah!" He cried out as Charger thundered out of the stable, and into the empty wastelands. Towards wherever this, Little Valley was.

*****

Someone who visited Little Valley approximately seven years ago would arrive at an almost unrecognizable location.

Three metre high walls surrounded the wooden buildings of the little town, preventing the employed inhabitants from leaving. A new train station meant for transporting goods in and out of the town. Armed gunmen from the small, but deadly Edwards Gang patrolled the streets, looking for any signs of revolt among the populace. Men, women and on rare but unfortunate occasions, children were forced to work in the nearby gold mine which was discovered by Little Valley's own civilians.

The pioneer for this travesty was none other than the  mining tycoon, Renee Haymond

Having smelled the scent of money from a little bird, combined with a sudden shortage of rare minerals in his company's mines gave him the resolve he needed for such a move against public freedom. Due to most of his mines going dry, Haymond had grown frustrated with the lack of monetary growth his company was experiencing. Having lost its credibility with the first-class and being unable to pay his employed miners their wages. His greed grew to insatiable lengths, supplemented only by dreams of future earnings.

Thus, when rumor had spread that a large deposit of gold and possibly other precious gems had been discovered near the town of Little Valley. His hungry gaze fell on the unfortunate people who inhabited the area. Along with the mayor of the town who had just refused to cooperate with him in a corporate seizure of what he saw as rightfully belonging to those that discovered it in the first place. It was a question with a simple, yet brutal answer that Renee took with little hesitation. His first choice was a notorious and deadly five-man gang led by the ruthless Eugene Timothy Edwards, who gladly took the deal as he found out the possible extent of the amount of gold and jewels found in the area. Now Edwards served as the town's brutal sheriff, carrying out his master's orders. As well as abusing the power he had over others to disgusting lengths.