Red Star Sheriff

by Timothy Purvis

  “What’s amazing is how much you don’t understand. We’re not the Union! We don’t force subservience and demand people kneel before the state. Everyone has a chance at prosperity.”

  “Prosperity!? With all this poverty? Do you people even have law enforcement? Or do you people even have laws?” Sam scowled and paced the floor as Garret furrowed his brows and stared. “The ‘sheriffs’ of your domains are woefully inept at dealing with outlaws, let alone the vagrancy growing in the colonies. Your people are starving. Your infrastructure, crumbling. The economy? Too dependent on those other traitors who declared independence. The trading routes are drying up.”

  “No thanks to the Union, I’m sure.”

  Berricks quirked a brow. “Perhaps. Even if that were the case, what’s the Council’s response? How are they fixing economic channels? What are they doing to keep the people employed? Anything? Nothing. With the Union, no one starves. No one is homeless. All prosper and share in our strength.”

  “So long as they bend the knee.”

  “A small price to pay.” Sam stopped in the middle of the room. Looked to Garret. Brushed his duster back and rested his wrist on his pistol grip. Garret sighed as Sam continued. “You going to do the right thing? Or do I need to lock you back up in your basement? Wait for your granddaughter myself?”

  Garret looked to both doorways to his den. Sam figured he was weighing his chances of escape. One of Sam’s men was standing at the front doorway keeping a close eye on them both. The hallway entrance guarded by two men, one to either side of the frame.

  The old man was trapped and he knew it. Sam kept his smile in check. Then, Garret grabbed his shotgun, cocked the hammer, and fired at Sam. He barely had time to register the motion as he flung himself over the couch behind him. The blast shredded the seat back as Sam pulled his revolver. But the old Chuhukon had already pushed through the front man and slit his throat with a tomahawk. Sam fired at the front doorway as Garret ducked out of the way.

  The soldiers outside opened fire on the house.

  “I’m still in here, idiots!” Sam shouted.

  By some miracle, someone had heard him and shouted to cease fire. As this happened, Garret raced down the hall towards the two men at the other doorway. They tried to open fire, but the tomahawk was thrown into one soldier’s face as Garret plowed into his body shoving him backwards into the second man. Less than a moment later, Garret had pulled free the tomahawk and decapitated the second sentry. Sam opened fire on Garret’s position and ran sideways. Bullets tore through the shallow wall but he was too late, Garret had already retreated down into the basement locking the door behind him.

  Sam pounded his fist on the door, standing over the bodies of his bloodied soldiers. “You gawddamned huuk! Garret! Be reasonable!” A tomahawk blade ground through the door mere inches from his face. He tried to keep the surprise from his eyes and stood back. “Have it your way, Garret! I offered you a chance to correct past mistakes! But you chose this!”

  There was a large curio next to the door. Sam pushed it over to block the door. The door opened inward but the unit was so wide Garret would have trouble climbing over it if he tried. Two soldiers rushed through the back door and up the hall towards him.

  “Get back to the doorway! Make sure no one comes out!”

  “Sir!” They saluted and rushed back.

  Sam headed back toward the front door and clomped down the porch deck steps. Riders ringed the front yard awaiting his orders, a few having dismounted. Lynch and her crew were staring down at him from where they sat astride their own mounts.

  “Hand me a thermo,” Sam demanded walking up to one mounted soldier.

  The woman pulled a device out of her saddlebag and offered it to him. Sam walked back towards the house, pulled a tab on the long bottle shaped cylinder, and prepared to toss it.

  Lynch growled as she dismounted and raced after him. “What the hell d’ya think yer doin’!?”

  “Never got the chance to throw Garret a housewarming party! Thought now was a good time!” He tossed the device through the front door and it exploded two seconds later.

  Fire erupted down the hallway where it landed. He turned to his soldiers. “Burn it all down! The barn! The crops! The house! Everything that man ever built!”

  “Ya fuckin’ sumabitch! Ah ain’ signed up fer any o’this! This ain’ what we came fer! We showed ya the way ta retrieve a book! Not murder a man, ya monster!” She reached for her gun and he glared at her as the mounted soldiers all cocked their weapons. She looked at her crew then at the soldiers and back to Sam. “We done wit’ this! Ya jus’ wanted a gawddamned journal! That old man ain’ never did nothin’ ta yer ass!”

  Sam grabbed her jaw and pulled her towards him. Being slightly taller, she fell into his grip. Her hands went to his wrist and her man reached for his gun and pulled it. Nobody fired though. Sam glared deep into her eyes, his lips twisted into a gnashing snarl.

  “He offended my delicate sensibilities. Now, I don’t give a flying fuck who the hell you are out in these regions. What you’re going to do next is get your posse and your own ass up over the ridge over yonder.” He pointed with his other hand up towards the far side of the property. “You’re going to dismount, and you’re going to wait. If you refuse, I’m just going to cut you all down now. You can resist if you want, but you’re just seven shits from a barren hellscape facing down nearly thirty trained Union soldiers. You want to tangle? Or are you ready to comply?”

  “Fuck… you…” she stammered, her eyes narrowed and her grip on his tightening.

  “Is that your version of, ‘yes, sir’?”

  After a moment of gasping, she nodded. He let go and she collapsed to her knees. Her man held his gun outward and Sam glared at him. He waited a second longer then holstered his steel and dismounted to come to Lynch’s aide. Sam turned to his soldiers.

  “Get the crew up over the rise and out of sight,” Sam mounted back up. “Make sure to get the whole property smoking as high into the sky as possible. Don’t hold back!”

  He turned his mount and headed towards the ridge. His soldiers went to work tossing thermos into every structure. Some soldiers broke off to fire at the loose riding Marsets, their squeals filling the air along with the animals now trapped in a burning barn.

  SMOKE DOMINATED THE horizon convincing Aidele to kick Mesmerize into a heavier run. Her heart threatened to leap out of her chest. Every thought was a blur with only one thought clear: hurry. Durante’s grip tightened on her waist as panic engulfed them both.

  It’s not the ranch, it’s not the ranch! Just a crop, dried up and caught blazes! Just like two seasons ago! Just like it!

  “Slow down!” Durante screamed. “You don’t know what we’ll find! Rushing into this like a maniac helps no one!”

  “Jus’ shut up an’ hang on!”

  Dust flew up in their wake as they careened over shallow hills and wide rusty plains. They still couldn’t see the ranch, but the tall plumes of smoke, thick and menacing, grew closer and closer, blacker and blacker.

  Oh, this is so not going to end well… Durante clenched his eyes and prayed that it wasn’t what or who he thought it was. It was fast approaching four weeks since he was supposed to have delivered the journal. The words of Mr. Berricks were heavy in his mind, fear holding his heart in a vice.

  ‘I’ll give you two days. After that, don’t bother coming back because I’ll be turnin’ my troops loose on that region. And nobody who ever laid eyes on that journal will be left to tell the tale.’

  Did he mean it? Is this his retribution? Would it have taken him this long? No… he wouldn’t do that. He was just bluffing. He couldn’t be so callous. The rhythmic pounding of Mesmerize’s hooves reverberated through their bodies as they rode up to the summit of the ridge overlooking Aidele’s home. They stopped and Aidele shifted to her side staring out over the raging inferno that was once the Lester ranch. The barn was collapsed, a smoldering husk. The fences were torn dow
n, the corral wrecked like a stampede had trampled it down. But it was the main house that held her attention fast. Large sections still stood, but it all looked like a bonfire lit in hell.

  “Grandfather!” Aidele screamed and pushed Mesmerize back into motion, nearly sliding down the slope of the inner walls of the rim surrounding the property.

  “Aidele, no! We have to turn back!” Durante yelled over the din of the flames licking the air voraciously.

  They were still hundreds of feet away from the house, yet the heat was stifling. Durante feared if they got any closer his flesh would broil off. There was also a nagging fear that this fire was still too new. Too fresh. What if they’re still out there, waiting? Those hunters might have set a trap. Or, General Berricks himself could be— “Aidele!”

  “Grandfather!” Aidele screamed ignoring his pleas as they rounded a corner of the building.

  The heat was unbearable as Aidele searched for any sign of her grandfather. However, the search came to a screeching halt when shouts echoed up from behind the ridges across from them. Riders rose up and rode over the rims from a dozen points and though there was still some distance between them, the shooting would soon start. Then Durante saw General Berricks himself coming up and over and that’s when he slapped her shoulders.

  “We have to turn around, now!”

  “I have to find Grandfather!”

  “Look around! You can’t help him now!”

  Gunfire erupted as the riders closed in on them. Aidele yanked Mesmerize around and fled behind the burning house. She was heading back up the ridge when half of their surprise party came racing along the outer rim to cut them off. She turned west.

  Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Aidele’s head was spinning. She tried to think of solutions, but none seemed to be manifesting. Awright! Hang on, Mesmerize! One more big push!

  They rode past the back half of the ranch and straight across trampled crops making a mad dash for the back end of the property.

  “Where are we going!?” Durante cried out seeing their exits vanishing as bullets danced all around them.

  “Don’ know! Gonna try’n out distance ‘em!”

  “That’s insane!”

  “Ya got a better idea!? Ah’m open ta suggestions!”

  Durante clenched his jaw. “Maybe Mr. Berricks will talk!?”

  Aidele scowled. “Ain’ none o’em look in the mood fer a chat!”

  She pushed Mesmerize harder than she ever had before and already the distance between them and their pursuers was broadening. However, Durante was doubtful how long they could keep the pace up. Mesmerize had already ridden hard for the last fifteen minutes and he was snorting loudly under the duress. He looked back and saw they had stopped firing and were now pushing their own mounts to their limits.

  Rested horses versus one exhausted Mesmerize… Yeah, I can see us getting away now. Durante looked back forward, his posterior bouncing maliciously in the saddle. He wasn’t sure he’d ever sit right again. That was, if they even saw another day anyway. They were heading for a ridge beyond the ranch and away from the southwest trail.

  “You’re not taking the path!?”

  “Jus’ thought o’something! Mesmerize can make it up this side! Then, we’re headed to the Dustlands!”

  “The what!?”

  “The Dustlands!” Mesmerize grunted as they reached the rim wall and pushed along a well-traveled trail up to the ridge summit. Durante looked back and saw the riders on the ridge struggling to cross some torn hills, while below, on the cavity floor, the riders there were pushing as fast as they could manage. He looked forward as they crested the ridge summit and onto a wide expanse that ran off into the far distance. There, the horizon line was dominated by what looked like a sandstorm running north to south. “At the edge separating the Sutures from the Dustlands, is a shed! Ah put yer buggy there! So ya didn’t get any ideas! Wasn’t sure if I’d be taking ya to jail yet or not! But we can use it to cross over to a science station in the center o’that storm!”

  “Are you crazy!? Alright, fine! Explains what happened to my buggy! But, not really looking forward to riding into… that!”

  She didn’t reply as she flicked the reins and pushed Mesmerize harder. He was panting heavily now and Aidele wasn’t happy about that. Her body ached, her thighs were on fire. They’d already ridden most of the day. Granted, not at full speed, but Mesmerize didn’t have infinite stamina and there had only been the one watering hole between the Pyre Trench and the ranch. Mesmerize was a special breed, lithe and muscular, but he wasn’t invincible.

  “So, what is the Dustlands!? Some sort of… sandstorm!?” Durante interrupted her thoughts.

  “It’s a duststorm! They’d be crazy to follow us! Without the proper gear, you’d be torn to shreds right down to the bones in minutes!” She howled as they came ever closer to the edge. Which now looked to Durante like a shallow bluff overlooking flat plains running out into the storm. He could see it better now. A massive horizontal funnel with a girth that rose straight up to touch the sky. It was a mucous yellow with tinges of scarlet chasing through it, the center almost red black. The sound was already growing into a cacophony. “If you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it!”

  He didn’t but he’d almost rather face the firing squad than the raging storm still just a few miles away. Mesmerize grunted loudly and seemed to be slowing.

  “Come on, ole boy! Ya can make it! Jus’ a little farther now! Ah can see the shed right there!”

  Sure enough, there was a structure in view that looked partially above ground and partially submerged. It was maybe half a mile away. Yet, the riders behind them were gaining. Durante looked back and saw a different kind of duststorm rising. The fallout of dozens of angry riders refusing to give up the chase. Then a thought hit him. He turned to Aidele and yelled in her ear.

  “What about Mesmerize!? What are we going to do about him!?”

  Fuck! Aidele chastised herself. How in the hell did you forget about Mesmerize!? Think, girl! Think! They’re gaining! Could just leave him inside… take the buggy out, come back around once they’ve left. Unless they wait us out! Gotta suspect I’d come back for my horse!

  She scowled. “Ah don’ know! Guess, damnit, I’ll just lock him inside! Come back in a few hours!”

  “And if they’re still here!?”

  Aidele didn’t respond as they covered almost the remaining distance in the next few minutes. They were fast approaching the building. Mesmerize slowing fast.

  “Jus’ a little farther! Jus’ a little—!"

  A shot rang out striking Mesmerize in his neck, his blood spraying Aidele’s face. They all went tumbling over and slid beyond and over the edge of the bluff the shed was built into. Aidele and Durante, tossed off in those sudden seconds, rolled head over heels down the decline towards the dusty ground below. Mesmerize’s lifeless form slid down just behind them and came to rest at Aidele’s head. His eyes already vacant and staring at her accusingly. She reached up, tears streaming, mouth contoured into a silent scream. She rubbed his neck where the bullet had entered, and her face, taut with the tension of rage, grew a darker red. Eyes narrowed into dark slits.

  Durante sat up and heard the roar of the riders fast approaching. He looked to his side and saw that the two of them were only feet away from the shed and the doors were right there begging to be slid open. He tried to catch his breath and stand, to say to Aidele there was no more time and they had to go. However, he froze in place upon seeing her standing up, neck corded, body shaking, her hands fists, arms raised like hammers before her, and she let loose the most horrifying scream he’d ever heard in his life. She pulled both of her revolvers and he took a step forward, hand raised pleadingly. No, no, no, no!

  Her thumbs twisted the discs inside the pistol grips and there was an unearthly whine.

  “Aidele! Wait! We, we, we can’t stay here! We gotta move!

  She ignored him and stepped towards the incline of the bluff and brought her
booted feet down into the rocky, dusty material hard like heavy balls of iron crunching into the ground. The stomps created purchase into soil that offered no resistance. And she walked up with a steady gait until she was back to the ridge summit, the riders only a few dozen feet away and slowing, weapons raised with intent to kill.

  Durante stumbled up after her, almost sliding back down several times. He crawled to the bluff edge and stared outward. She was standing there, duster billowing, guns held out to angles at her sides. Dark hair whipped wildly in the air and only then did he realize she’d lost her hat in their mad flight. She was a silhouette against the bright orange sky above.

  “You motherfuckers!” her voice rang through the air with all the intensity of a wounded tigress.

  Durante saw Mr. Berricks at the head of the group, his gun arm raised, a sick smile plastered across his walrus like visage. He looked on the verge of responding, but Aidele cut him off by raising her left gun arm. Everything seemed to slow down. Durante wanted to leave but was resigned to merely being an observer now as she aimed at a soldier to General Berricks’ right side and pulled the trigger. Several things happened nearly simultaneously in this moment.

  The first, as she pulled the trigger, was a bright flash of white light bathing the whole of the immediate area. Like someone taking a picture using an old camera flashbulb. With that light came the briefest hint of a thin, red stream of light that left the barrel and targeted the rider’s chest.

  Second, as the beam of light vanished, a deep resounding boom filled the air. Like some ancient god had dropped his hammer on the floor and sent quake waves quivering for miles around. Everyone seemed frozen in that moment.

  And then, the rider exploded.

  “Holy fuck!” Durante screamed.

  Blood, guts, viscera, body parts, fragments of what was once a man flew in all directions under a vaporizing mist like some sort of morbid fireworks display. The force was so great, the two riders immediately behind him were ejected from their mounts. Hitting the ground, they were crushed under the weight of their horses falling backwards on top of them. those horses stumbled back to their hooves and fled the scene as fast as they could. General Berricks almost fell himself but managed to drop his mount to the ground to use as shielding.