I Sing Of Chaos And Eternal Night

0930

With a sack full of around a thousand wallets, we left the train and rode towards the east—towards the direction of Copper Springs. By the time we made it to the front of the train, Smokey Dan was already there beside it as if he knew to expect us. Several things could have gone wrong, but there he was on his mare, waiting for us.

"Hey!" He waved to us. "How did y'all do?"

"See for yourself!" Rusty Owens lifted up the hefty sack in his hand. But as I glanced over at him, movement from the front cart suddenly caught my eye. The engineer was inside, talking into some sort of device as he pulled a lever. The train roared back to life and started to roll forward over the tracks.

One of the men must have said something since they were all looking at me. They remained frozen on their horses—their only movement being their constant blinking as they waited for me to answer.

Ride for town.

"What? Y'all tired already?" I tilted my chin upward. "That was only small potatoes! The real goldmine is in Copper Springs!" I was forced to shout over the sound of the train.

Although robbing the train had been easy- not once had someone tried to fight back other than that one man, we couldn't stop there. We still had a whole town to terrorize.

Rearing back on his hind legs, Muerto gave a low whinny before breaking into a gallop. With me leading the line, we raced past the train chugging along the tracks. Turning my head, I caught a glimpse of those same smiling faces pressed against the glass. We had just robbed them, but they were still smiling.

The man with the glasses was among the faces, wearing a thin smile. His eyes met mine, but as soon as they did, I turned my head back around and rode faster until the train was far behind us.

Copper Springs was a decent-sized town. It had several hotels and restaurants, a bank, a selection of saloons and gambling halls, and even an opera house for those who could afford it. But the opera house wasn't where we'd strike today as a new command told me to head for the bank.

"You boys tired yet?" I glanced back at the four men behind me. Their eyes lit up at my voice as they snapped out of their blinking stare.

Nash flashed a toothy grin. "Hell naw! Are you?"

"You know I'll only sleep when I'm dead!" I turned back around, keeping my gaze straight ahead. Although it was still morning, the townsfolk strutted up and down the main street, wearing their fancy clothes. As soon as they saw us ride in, they came to a standstill and started gasping and squealing.

"Is that her? Is that the Lady in Black?" A girl child pulled at her father's hand.

"She's so beautiful!" An old woman exclaimed.

And yet, I just kept on riding.

After passing the gawking crowd, I hopped off Muerto and led him towards the side of the building where the other horses were tied up. "C'mon. It ain't even high noon yet. We still have a whole day ahead of us," I told the rest of the men as I began typing up Muerto. Once we tied our horses up good, we strode up to the pair of swinging doors that led into the bank. But before I could push them open, I received another command.

Stage a shootout.

"Smokey Dan, you still got room in that sack of yours?" I asked.

He nodded, swinging it over his broad shoulder. "Hell yeah. It's only about half-full."

"Alright, good." I yanked out my revolver from out of its holster. "Y'all know what to do. We've done it millions of times before. Get that coin and get the hell out."

They all nodded their heads in response.

With the gun held firmly in my hand, I spun back around and burst through the doors in one, swift motion. "Nobody move an inch."

The customers immediately froze in midair—some in mid-step, others in mid-transaction. But no matter what they were doing, they all had the same wide-eyed looks on their faces.

"Now, we could either do this the easy and clean way. Or the hard and messy way." My steps were heavy and deliberate as I started to stride forward. "Personally, the hard and messy is a helluva lot more entertaining." I approached the nearest customer and pointed the revolver at his wide forehead. But before I could pull the trigger, a gunshot rang out through the walls of the bank. I turned around just in time to see Rusty topple to the ground—a trail of red seeping out from under him.

Shoot the guests.

Spinning on my heel, I aimed the revolver at the same man and shot him squarely in the chest. He barely even flinched.

Gritting my teeth, I continued firing. But the man remained standing, taking the hits. "What the hell?!" I glanced at the men around me, seeing their expressions mirrored my own. Their jaws were clenched, and their eyebrows were furrowed together. None of the customers they shot were falling down either.

Yet, their bullets were making us keel over. In a matter of seconds, Smokey Dan and Fast Fingers Weston had collapsed—the same red fluid trickling under their bodies.

A bullet ripped through my pants and struck me right on the hipbone, nearly sending me to the ground. I staggered backward but managed to keep myself standing.

"Let's get out of here!" Nash shouted over the rapid gunfire. "Screw the cash! The devil can take it!"

I had just opened my mouth to answer when another gunshot rang through the air, striking Nash right in his skull. He fell down instantly.

I lowered my gun and stared at the bodies of my men lying around me. They were all I could focus on. Not on the advancing crowd, but on the crimson liquid that leaked out of them and onto the wooden floorboards. They were dead. It was over.

Continue to shoot.

No. It was not over. I was the doggone Lady in Black. An infamous outlaw, a blackhearted villain. I didn't run away or give up. Come hell or high water, I would see this shootout until its gruesome end.

Pressing my back against the wall, I lifted my revolver back up towards the dozens of gun barrels glaring back at me. My finger had barely pulled the trigger when several loud bangs went off all at once.

I crumbled to the floor almost immediately—my arms sprawled out from under me and my gun only inches away from my fingertips. My eyes were fixed towards the polished steel barrel reflecting the midmorning sun, but it was something else that held my gaze- that same red liquid slowly creeping towards the revolver. It was just about to reach the muzzle when everything cut to black.