Death Whispers In The Wind

Chapter 3

A savagely wild and rampant course of sheer terrorizing events were occurring in quick succession, one after the other and growing at an alarming rate, rapidly unfolding across the vast span of the southwest and all this ensuing carnage originated and had first bloomed when it stemmed from one man's unlikely case of recently adopted vanity, coupled with an obsessively compulsive need in the pursuit for gratification or maybe some kind of awarded vindication.

A ruthlessly violent, reckless and vulgar gang leader had recently become enamored with himself and his new-found, freshly-minted celebrity and fame. The gang leader in question had always held and regarded himself in such high esteem, only now he felt he also rightfully belonged in any and all upper-echelon of respectable class that was society. More importantly, he didn't give a damn if that society accepted him or not, just as long as they knew who he was and what he was about.

This gang leader suffered regular bouts of grandiose delusions that only seemed to cement an already unhealthy, nearly all-consuming and sizable ego, which only grew stronger and stronger with each newly-reported exploit and it all started with a newspaper. Possibly a strange coincidence as to when, in this juncture in his life, when he found this unexpected validation, to which revolved around and informed of his criminal exploits, his professed lifelong line of work. Upon his own discovery of this recognition, he started habitually fancying himself as the "most infamous outlaw of the entire southwest".

A stroking of a maniac's ego had started all this chaos and it was seemingly unintentionally spurred on by an upstart Alabama newspaper with high ambitions, yet was motivated with the intention on garnering more readers to its fledgling paper. Considered to be an alternative newspaper, 'The American Independent' would run a series of front page news stories, where the published article had been fragmented into 5 separate pieces that required the reader to buy 5 different newspapers, in order to get the complete story which profiled a group of bandit outlaws, the leader and his formidable gang of law-breaking misfits. The leader was none other than the fearsome killer, Calvin Bannister with his 4-man wrecking crew that made up the gang that bore his name, they were the 'Bannister gang'.

There'd been the notion that it was just a mere coincidence that Calvin Bannister himself had mistakenly stumbled upon the newspaper one day, then discovered the story was essentially a biography of him and his gang's exploits.

There was one single photograph, on the front page that accompanied the article and it was a photograph of Calvin Bannister, albeit a few years younger. Calvin instantly became obsessed with the article and would read and re-read it over and over again constantly. Something about seeing his photograph in a newspaper had sparked some sort of inner desire. The idea that anyone anywhere could be reading about the Bannister gang and their many exploits excited Calvin on numerous levels. For one, he thoroughly enjoyed the attention and two, perhaps he could use this 'fame', much to his benefit and create an endless amount of opportunities for him and his gang.

In order to bolster his credibility, Calvin and the Bannister gang had slowly set out to create widespread chaos from town to town. They started small by terrorizing the innocent townsfolk in one town, then they went on a binge of burglarising homes and businesses in another. They ratcheted up the level of chaos by robbing stagecoaches and eventually going so far as to leave their mark in each town they visited, a signature they'd abide by, this manifested into setting each and every town on fire that they passed through.

Each town wound up in flames, as the gang gleefully committed arson. This tactic had done it's job, as it only increased their fame and yet, it had started to create awareness to their possibly known whereabouts as well. Paranoia spread fast amongst the various locals of every town, who'd begun to live in a state of fear with each passing day.

The handful of local sheriffs that upheld the law in their respective towns had begun to pool together and set a plan in motion, where they could better anticipate the gang's arrival. A couple of confrontations between the two parties would soon play out over a series of months. After the Bannister gang managed to escape unscathed from their first encounter and then shortly thereafter, their second and third run-ins with the law, it routinely spun into a game of cat-and-mouse where, almost like clockwork every couple of weeks would, once again, lead to another group of states' law enforcement officials that felt determined and believed they could bring the gang to justice. Only then to have each band of local sheriffs foolishly finding themselves outgunned, outmatched and outsmarted. It seemed as though the Bannister gang were untouchable and couldn't be stopped by anyone as they managed to overthrow any attempt that was constantly thrown their way.

Now, it looks as if they've set their sights on the next town they're bound for and that town just happens to be Huxebee Creek. The town where the Bannister gang will meet its Sheriff of nearly 30 years. The town where they will come face-to-face with Castor Jennings Feenix. A town where the Bannister gang will also have likely met their match in the hands of one man, Sheriff Castor Jennings Feenix. A town the Bannister gang intend on burning to the ground, leaving it engulfed in flames.