Colton Cyness and the Gunslingers (Children of the Empire Book 1)

by R. L. Wolf

  Toran entered the cave. The woman was standing next to a man with no shirt. The man’s skin stretched over his body like a dried out mummy. The man saw the unarmed Gunslinger, aimed the stolen rifle at Toran and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The safety was on.

  Toran ran at the man and drove his foot down at the inmate's kneecap. The man's leg snapped backward, and he fell to the ground screaming. Toran knelt next to the screaming man and grabbed the man's head. Toran twisted quickly—the man's screams abruptly ended.

  "Honey, we can work something out," said the woman.

  Toran said nothing while he picked up his gun belts and buckled them back on. He retrieved his field pack next, and then the long rifle.

  "With your guns and my brains we can rule this place," said the woman smiling. She pulled her blouse back to expose a breast for Toran to see. Toran ignored her, walked to the entrance of the cave, and stopped.

  "What's wrong with you?" shouted the woman. "Don't you like ladies?”

  "You are no lady," said Toran, his voice cold and dead. "Never steal from a Gunslinger."

  The woman never saw Toran's arm move. He drew his revolver and fired, and the woman fell back on the ground, blood pouring from the hole in her forehead.

  Toran sprinted along the path and nearly ran over Colt waiting around the corner of a boulder.

  "You didn't leave me," said Toran.

  "Of course not," replied Colt.

  "I'm sorry," said Toran.

  "I know what this place is, it could have happened to any of us," said Colt.

  The boys reached the far wall of the cavern and stopped. The wall was solid, and the archway to the next level wasn't there. Toran stepped past his team and faced the wall.

  "I failed this challenge!" Toran shouted at the wall. "I'm more ashamed than I've ever been in my life, but it was my sin, and I alone have to carry it forever."

  "No, you didn't fail. You were challenged, and you worked through the challenge and beat the sin." Colt looked up at the cliff wall and shouted. "Now open the archway, we beat this challenge."

  The archway opened to reveal the stairs up to the next level.

  "I don't even know what was going on this time," said Austin.

  The others laughed at Austin and Garth nudged his shoulder.

  "We'll get you a book to read," said Garth. "I don't think Wes knows what happened either."

  "Hey, I know what happened," complained Wes. "She wanted to get married, right?"

  Garth and Toran laughed and slapped Wes on the back.

  "Yeah, that's it," said Toran. "She wanted to get married."

  "Let's move out," said Colton.

  "Come on guys," said Wes. "Tell me what she wanted."

  The boys ran up the stairs. Torches lit the stone stairway as it wound upwards to the next level. Colt stopped the team at the landing that led to the next level.

  "Guys, we need to be smarter about these challenges," said Colt. "We have four more to go."

  "Does anyone feel hungry?" asked Austin. "Something smells good."

  "Do you guys want to stop and eat?" asked Colt.

  "No, let's push through," said Toran. "I'd like to get some distance from that last sin."

  Colt led the way through the archway to the fourth level of Hell and stopped. His jaw dropped open, and he turned and looked at Garth. The other boys stopped next to Colt and took one look at this new cavern and then at Garth.

  The cavern was a massive banquet hall. Thousands of tables for as far as they could see were covered with mounds of food. Garth walked ahead of the team and stopped at the first table covered with platters of turkey, chicken, potatoes, corn, hams, pies, cakes, and everything in-between.

  Chairs clustered at every table and piles of rotted food lay in piles around inmates no longer able to stand. Every table had, at least, one inmate stuffing their mouths full of food. The inmates were all grossly overweight.

  Garth looked up at the ceiling far above, ropes hanging over each table. Garth looked up at the ropes and then back at the food. The boys watched Garth, waiting for him to attack the food on the table. Garth surprised the team when instead of eating, he lifted his head and roared with laughter.

  "What's wrong with him?" asked Wes.

  Garth kicked one of the tables, spilling food on the ground, and then jumped up on the table and grabbed the rope.

  "This is supposed to be my sin," said Garth. "But the Eldest Mother misjudged me. I eat to be strong, not to stuff my face." Garth pushed the inmate sitting at that table with his boot until the overweight man tipped over and fell on the floor, flailing his arms and legs trying to get up. "Don't you see, brothers, up is out. The ropes are the way out of here, but they can't get past the food to climb out of Hell. Don't touch the food, it's nothing but poison."

  The boys looked at each other and laughed, and then each ran to a table, swept the food on the ground, and climbed on top of the tables. They grabbed the ropes and climbed towards the next level of Hell.

  Colt was not happy about the climb and tried hard not to look down, but he wanted to leave more than he was afraid of the height. The ropes were tied to metal catwalks hanging from the ceiling by chains. Colt climbed onto the catwalk and made the mistake of looking down. His blood turned to ice, and he wrapped his arms around the railing.

  Garth stepped onto the catwalk Colt was clinging to, and the metal catwalk swayed slightly. Garth stopped and stared at Colt, then nodded, he had seen this before. Some people froze when they climbed too high into the great trees of Cormon.

  "Guys, stop moving!" shouted Garth.

  "What's wrong?" yelled Toran.

  "It's Colt," said Garth. "Don't move, I've got this."

  Garth inched toward Colt. "You should have told us, brother," said Garth.

  Colt looked up at Garth, the panic in his eyes betraying his fear. Garth moved slowly forward until he was standing next to Colt.

  "It's going to be okay," said Garth. "Just focus on me." Colt's knuckles were white as Garth slowly pulled Colt’s fingers from the railing. "I saw the stable master do this, don’t see why it won’t work on a person.” Garth took his bandana and wrapped it around Colt's head, covering his eyes. "Just listen to my voice and follow, I won’t let you fall." Garth took Colt's arms and led him along the catwalk. "I can see the archway from here, only a bit further," said Garth.

  The others stepped aside and let Garth and Colt pass, then followed, walking lightly so not to make the catwalk sway. Colt let Garth lead him until they stepped through the archway and onto the stairs that went up to the next level. Garth pulled the blindfold off Colt's eyes. Colt blinked to clear his vision.

  "Guys," said Garth. "We can't let this happen again. We should have known about Colt's fear of heights, and we should know what each other's fears are."

  "Snakes," said Austin, shrugging.

  "Spiders," said Wes.

  Garth made a face. "I'm don’t like butterflies," admitted Garth.

  "Seriously?" asked Wes.

  "They're creepy," insisted Garth. "What about you Toran?"

  "Water," replied Toran.

  "Huh? You're an amphibian, how does that work?" asked Wes.

  "Not all water, just deep water," explained Toran. "I was attacked by a great white shark once, and I've never been back in deep water since."

  "Okay, that's not so strange," said Wes. "That would be like one of us getting attacked by a bear and being afraid to go back to the mountains."

  "No more hiding what we are afraid of," said Garth.

  "Got it, thanks," said Colt.

  "How'd Garth get so wise all of a sudden?" asked Wes.

  "He always was," said Colt. "We weren't paying attention."

  Garth nudged Toran’s shoulder. “I guess I was the good one, brother,” said Garth, grinning.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Sins of the Hero

  The third level of Hell stretched to the far walls in an endless field of rolling hills covered in
tall grass. If not for the occasional stalagmite, they would not even know they were underground in a maximum-security prison. They hadn't seen any inmates, or settlements, or piles of gold. The Pale turquoise light coming from above held a surreal quality of peacefulness, beckoning as if to a place time had left behind.

  Colt shook his head to clear the odd sensation to sit and rest from his mind. He had too much to do to bother with such nonsense.

  "Do you feel anything?" asked Colt. "You're the only one left without a sin."

  "Nothing," said Austin, running his hand across the tall grass. “You know, I’m not going to sprout horns and start talking in tongues, maybe we're too cautious.” He was flanked by Colt and Toran, with Garth on point, and Wes on rear. The boys were watching him closely for any early signs of something weird happening.

  “We’ve come too far to make any mistakes now, just stay in the center where we can see you,” said Colt.

  Toran pulled a long piece of grass and stuck it in his mouth. "So far we've been tempted by greed, anger, lust, and gluttony,” drawled Toran in his fake country accent. “What do you think is next?”

  "I don't know, I must have missed the class on walking through the seven levels of Hell," replied Colt, shaking his head again to clear the sleepy feeling.

  “You look ridiculous with that sticking out of your mouth,” said Wes. “I don’t know any real cowboys that stick weeds in their mouth.”

  “And why might that be?” asked Toran, chewing on the weed.

  Garth looked back over his shoulder. “It might be a poisonous plant.”

  Toran’s eyes widened, and he spit the weed out and tried wiping his tongue off.

  "I'm a little sleepy," said Austin. "Is sleepy a sin?"

  "I feel tired as well, but I don’t believe that’s a sin," replied Garth.

  "Look, I can see the next archway, it's already opened," said Austin. "Ha! I don't have any sins."

  The tall grass parted to a cobblestone path leading up to the archway. The boys boots clicked and echoed off the stones. They stopped and looked into the archway, and could see the stone stairs leading up to the next level, flickering torches lighting the way.

  "Well, what the heck, what was this level all about?" asked Colt.

  “This is too easy, it might be a trap,” said Garth.

  “What did we miss?” asked Toran.

  “Who cares?” asked Wes. “The door is open, let’s just go.”

  Austin turned around and walked back to the tall grass. The boys rushed to cluster around him.

  “Oh come on, I’m not going to burst into flames,” said Austin. “I don’t think we should leave a level until we understand it. What do you think a place like this is for?" asked Austin.

  "I don't know, it's peaceful. I suppose it would be a good place to rest," said Toran. "Do you think we are supposed to rest here?"

  "You’re right,” said Austin. “If you just walked through four levels of Hell, this would be a good place to rest and be lazy for a while."

  "Lazy is a sin," said Colt. "My Pa always said that."

  "Yeah, I remember Ma sometimes calling Pa a lazy sloth," said Wes. "Especially when he would get hold of a jug of old man Carter's special apple cider."

  Austin knelt down at one of the little rolling hills and laid his hand on top of it. Garth stayed next to him, watching for something to happen.

  "Lazy isn’t one of our sins," said Colt. "We run six miles before breakfast, study in the classrooms for ten hours, run another five miles before dinner, and then have six hours of range and field training."

  "Maybe that’s why the archway is open," said Toran. "The Eldest Mother knew we aren’t lazy, so she didn't even bother trying to tempt us."

  Austin stood and backed away from the mound he was looking at.

  "Guys, we need to go now," said Austin.

  "What's wrong?" asked Garth, removing his rifle from his shoulder and scanning for trouble.

  "The inmates are in here," said Austin. "They come here, they lay down, and they never leave. What do those hills look like to you?"

  "Ancestors preserve us, this is a graveyard," said Wes, jumping off a grassy mound he had been standing on.

  "Let's go," ordered Colt. "Get inside the archway."

  The boys rushed through the archway and up the stairs to the next level, leaving the graveyard behind.

  "Two more levels to go," said Colt. "Keep your eye on Austin, he's still the likely target of the next challenge."

  The team reached the landing leading to the second level of Hell Prison. The boys froze and stared, unsure of what to do. Beyond was a city, not a cave city, or a city inside the cavern, but a real city with buildings and Dart ships, and ground vehicles, and people.

  Colt walked out onto a sidewalk and looked up at the sky. It was pleasantly warm, and a light breeze blew across his face. He could hear the sounds of the city, and people talking and going about their business. The others followed through the door and stood next to Colt on the sidewalk. Toran put a hand out to touch the side of a building, his hand brushed along the brick, it was very real.

  "What is this?" asked Toran.

  "I think this is my city," said Austin. "This is where I'm from."

  A man and a woman were walking toward the boys. Colt stepped in front of them.

  "Excuse me, Sir," said Colt. "Can you tell me where we are?"

  The man and the woman walked into Colt and through him.

  "What?" cried Colt, jumping back.

  "Okay, the buildings are real, but the people are an illusion," said Toran.

  "Austin, do you know what's going on?" asked Colt.

  "I’m not sure yet," said Austin.

  "Let's start walking and see what happens," suggested Garth.

  The boys followed the sidewalk toward the center of the city, unsure where they were supposed to go, or how to find the next archway. Everything about the city seemed like a normal day; there wasn't anything unusual happening.

  "Austin?” asked Colt. "Do you feel anything yet?"

  "Yes, I know what's going on now," said Austin, looking across the street. "This is unfair."

  "What?" demanded Colt.

  "This is unfair," repeated Austin.

  "Just tell us," said Wes.

  Austin looked away from the building, searching for something. "I don't want to see this again. I've already failed this challenge."

  "Whatever this is we can work through it together," said Garth.

  "Hey guys, is that Austin?” asked Toran, pointing at a group of boys coming towards them.

  "Yes, that's me, three years ago, before I was a Merit. You might want to cover your ears,” said Austin, putting his hands over his ears and dropping to the ground.

  "Get down," yelled Toran.

  The boys threw themselves on the sidewalk next to Austin just as a deafening explosion inside the building across the street ripped through the air. The Windows of every nearby building and vehicle shattered and rained slivers of glass on the boys. The younger Austin and his friends down the street were thrown against the wall of the building next to them. Flames erupted from the building where the explosion took place.

  The street became a scene of chaos. People lay among the debris, crying for help. Colt’s ears rang. He could barely hear anything. He shook his head and the sound of kids screaming from inside the burning building broke through the ringing in his ears. The younger Austin heard the screaming also and got up to run toward the burning building. The boys he was with grabbed and held him.

  "No, you'll be killed if you go in there," yelled the boys with the younger Austin.

  "Let go of me," screamed the younger Austin, fighting to get free and go to the children screaming for help inside the building.

  Colt saw another boy running from down the street toward the burning building. Colt recognized the boy; it was Rex, a younger Rex. The younger Rex ran into the burning building while the younger Austin was being held down by his friends. Fi
re trucks arrived and started hooking up their water hoses. Colt watched the chaos. People were running towards the building to help, and with them, a Gunslinger Team. The younger Rex came out of the building leading a group of small children just as the Gunslinger Team ran up to the building. A little boy broke away from Rex and ran to the Gunslinger. The Gunslinger scooped the little boy up and hugged him tight. Colt guessed it was the Gunslinger's son.

  The deputies and firefighters collected the other children the younger Rex had led from the building. The younger Rex was coughing and the Gunslinger, still holding the little boy went up to check on the younger Rex. A moment later the Gunslinger ordered the younger Rex to kneel and laid his hand on the younger Rex's head.

  Colt knew the ceremony. He had gone through it himself. The younger Rex had just been raised to the rank of a Gunslinger.

  The illusion ended, and the city, the younger Austin, the younger Rex, the buildings and chaos, all faded away. Colt and his team were lying on the rock ground of a cavern only a few dozen feet square.

  "I've dreamed of being a Gunslinger all my life," said Austin. "Do you know what Rex wanted to be? I’ll tell you. Nothing. He was like most other kids and never thought about what he wanted to do. Rex was just an ordinary kid that had no idea what he wanted, and he stole what should have been mine."

  "Brother," said Garth. "You're wrong."

  "I was there, and Rex stole it," screamed Austin.

  "No, he didn't," said Garth. "Those friends of yours are the ones that held you. Those kids would have burned to death if Rex hadn't saved them. You've misplaced who wronged you."

  Austin glared at Garth.

  Garth nodded. "Very well then, you are my brother, and you have been wronged. I will go with you to Corvus, and we will track down those boys that robbed you of being a Gunslinger, and I will help you kill them. You will help too, won't you, Toran,"

  "Of course, we'll make them pay," said Toran.

  "I'm in," said Wes.

  "We need to plan it out, but I’m with you," said Colt.

  "What the heck is wrong with you guys?" asked Austin. "We can't just kill them."

  "Austin, I can't be the Gunslinger I am without you," said Colt. "So if I need to murder a couple of guys to keep you, then let's do it."