VROLOK

by Nolene-Patricia Dougan

  “How?” Doc asked. Isabella looked up at him and said.

  “It turns out I wasn’t hurt at all.” Doc looked at his hands. Isabella’s dried blood was still on them.

  “I know that isn’t true…” Doc said. “You were dead.”

  “Not quite dead. It’s takes a lot more than a few bullets to kill me.”

  Doc smiled. He did not know by what miracle she was still alive but he was glad she was. Isabella mounted her horse again and turned back towards Doc.

  “Doc, I can call you Doc, can’t I?” she said.

  “You certainly can,” Doc said through a smile.

  “No one will remember my bloody demise in the morning except you.”

  “You’re an amazing woman,” Doc answered.

  “She definitely is,” Nicolae interrupted. Isabella smiled at the both of them. Isabella once more turned to leave. But then something made her turn back towards Doc again.

  “Doc,” she said, “try and take care of Kate a little better; you will lose her if you don’t and you need her.”

  “I will try, I will probably fail miserably but I will try.” Isabella turned the horse around again and both Nicolae and she rode off into the Kansas desert towards the sunset. Doc Holliday watched the pair as they left. He was bewildered, amazed, and somewhat amused by this couple. He walked back down the street with a newfound spring in his step and every few strides he would spin round to look at the backs of the two Vampires, wondering what their secret was and wanting to see them again and somehow he suspected he would. He knew that this woman’s involvement in his life was far from over.

  Tombstone was a prosperous mining town and was producing a steady amount of gold and silver. People were flocking to it. After they had been forced to leave Dodge, Tombstone’s prosperity and lawlessness attracted the two Vampires. In Tombstone, Faro dealers and gamblers were rife and earning a fortune. Isabella knew that the Earps and Holiday would eventually come here, for Wyatt was greedy and Morgan and Doc would follow him.

  Isabella was in the Oriental saloon the first time she saw Doc Holiday again. The Oriental was always empty and Isabella and Nicolae had just gone into get out of the hot sun; the new blue-tinted spectacles that Isabella had acquired for Nicolae were of no use today as a shield to the sun‘s rays. They were standing at the bar when they heard an argument in full swing behind them. Nicolae turned to see who was arguing and why.

  “Look who it is,” Nicolae said. Isabella turned around to see Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday arguing with the Faro dealer. Wyatt then dragged the dealer out the door by the ear. One of the Faro dealer’s friends reached down for his gun, but before he could even touch it, Doc thrust a knife at his gun hand, slashing it open. He would not be able to use that hand for quite some time.

  “This is an argument between Mr. Tyler and Mr. Earp,” Doc said. Not one of the other men made a move to help their friend. Isabella looked Doc over. A few years had passed and they had taken their toll on him. He was thinner and even more pale, if that was possible. However, there were two things that had not been marred even slightly by time or his failing lungs; he still had the power to intimidate the men around him and to Isabella‘s delight his clear blue eyes were still as electrifying as ever and still shone from across a darkened room. Doc saw Isabella out of the corner of his eye and smiled at her, tipping his hat as he did so.

  When he knew Johnny Tyler’s friends would not stand up to him, Doc followed Wyatt outside. The pair told Johnny Tyler to leave town. On seeing that both Wyatt and Doc were squaring up to him, he placated them and got all the way to county line before he reputedly stopped running. For years after this incident, hecklers would shout at Johnny Tyler.

  “Stopped running yet, Johnny?” This was a true testament to these men’s reputations and it was something that they both were proud of.

  After Doc had rid Tombstone of Johnny Tyler, he returned to the Oriental and called out to the bartender, “Get that lady a drink, she is a friend of mine.” Isabella looked over at Doc.

  “Still risking your neck for Wyatt, I see,” she said.

  “I am not risking my neck for anyone. Johnny Tyler is no threat. He’s just full of bluster.”

  “A bit like Wyatt,” Isabella said.

  “You could say that; the only difference is Wyatt can usually take care of himself.”

  “And when he can’t you step in because of Morgan?”

  “That pretty much sums it up.”

  Isabella smiled, “Is Kate with you?”

  “She is, regretfully; she begged me to let her come.”

  “And you still don’t think that a woman who loves you that much is worth anything?” Doc made no response.

  Wyatt then entered the Oriental and joined the conversation. Wyatt actually looked pleased to see Isabella.

  “I never got to thank you for what you did in Dodge,” Wyatt said to Isabella.

  “I think Doc is the one you should be thanking,” Isabella answered.

  “Oh, I do, daily,” Wyatt answered.

  Isabella still did not think much of him, but at least he was talking to her with some civility.

  The Earps and Holiday slipped into the same a pattern that they had done in Dodge. The oldest brother Virgil became Sheriff and occasionally he would deputise Morgan, James, and Wyatt, if there was trouble. And there was trouble often in Tombstone. The Earp wives were a bit like Kate; they seemed to like none of the Earps except the one they were married to and sometimes they didn’t even like their own husbands. Plus none of them seemed to like Isabella. She was not liked because she frequented the Oriental. This was a place where they were not allowed to be, and of course they did not blame their husbands for their lack of admittance, they blamed Isabella. However, over the past few weeks their enmity had shifted to another woman, Josephine Tull. They believed Wyatt was paying her too much attention. Josephine was the sheriff of Conchise County’s fiancée, so Wyatt’s attentions were causing trouble within another faction, the cowboys, and this was dangerous for all concerned.

  The sheriff was never one to face the Earps in person. Instead, he tried to get at them through their wives; he had little success with the Earps, but Kate, on the other hand, was quite a different story. He had gotten her drunk and convinced her to tell him her woes; she told him that Doc had threatened to kill her, but this was no surprise to anyone. Doc regularly threatened to kill Kate and she regularly threatened to kill him. However, Behan, the sheriff, convinced her to swear out a warrant against him and a month later in retaliation Doc returned the favour and swore out a warrant against her. This was the last straw for them both and the pair parted company. But before she left him Doc gave her a large sum of money to start a new life. He told everyone that she had blackmailed him into giving her this money, but Isabella knew this not to be true. He had given her the money out of guilt and some latent affection that he still had for her.

  Doc’s health deteriorated after Kate had left and he realised how much she had done for him when she had been with him. Doc’s health got so bad that every few nights he had to take a night off to rest and he hated having to do that. As far as he was concerned, by doing this he was admitting he was ill. Every night that he was able to come to the Oriental he stayed until the sunlight and crept through the curtains. Morgan was the only one who could make him go home to rest.

  Ironically his luck had never been better. He was winning every night, so much so that people were starting to say he was cheating, but although he had cheated in the past, he was not cheating now.

  “I only cheat when I am losing. Why would you cheat when you are winning?” he said to Isabella one night in jest.

  The cowboys spurred on by the county sheriff were still causing trouble for the Earps. Up until now the confrontations had just been minor arguments, nothing life-threatening, but when the Bisbee stage was robbed, accusations started to fly about Tombstone and these minor arguments were steadily getting more and more violent. No one really knew
who was involved, for the cowboys were blaming the Earps and the Earps were blaming the cowboys. It seemed that every night there was fight about it and Virgil was under pressure to issue warrants for the arrest of those involved.

  The rains had come very heavy that year and it had rained so hard that it pounded and bruised everyone’s skin as it fell. This did nothing for Doc’s condition or his humour; he was irritated very easily and flying off the handle even with Isabella. At a time when remaining cool and rational was crucial Doc, not Wyatt, was losing his temper.

  Doc was sitting in the Alhambra when he would have the fateful argument with Ike Clanton a cowboy known for his bad temper which often led to violence. Ike came in and sat beside him. Isabella had not seen Ike in a few days. Not that he was someone who warranted her attention, but today she was very attentive to him. She wondered why he had chosen to sit down beside Doc. Doc had beaten him too many times at poker for there to be any benevolent feeling between the pair. Isabella wanted to hear what they were saying. So even though she was sitting across a busy room filled with people, she used her unique ability to listen.

  “Doc?” Doc looked over at Ike and as he took a drink said, “Ike…what have I done to deserve the pleasure of your company?”

  “Enough of your smart talk,” Ike said in response to Doc’s belittling tone.

  “I forgot I was not conversing with an equal; I will lower the tone to suit you.” Doc was not even looking at Ike as he was talking; his eyes never left his poker hand.

  “Look at me when you talk to me!” Ike shouted. Doc ignored Ike completely and looked only at the cards he was now being dealt. Ike infuriated, lifted up the side of the poker table and overturned it. Doc, who was still sitting in his chair, finally looked up at Ike and said.

  “You have my attention, what is it?”

  “Your friend has framed Frank Stillwell.”

  “And what friend would that be?”

  “Wyatt Earp, the whole town knows he was behind the Bisbee robbery.”

  “Nonsense,” Doc protested.

  “I don’t think so; everyone knows he was in on it, him and his brothers.” Doc stood to face Ike. He staggered as he stood, and his legs nearly gave way underneath him; he hadn’t slept in days.

  “You are a liar, Ike Clanton.”

  Ike squared up to him, “Am I? We’ll see. We‘ll see, Holiday.”

  Doc set his hand on his gun. Ike could see that Doc was very ill. He leaned forward, pressing the tips of his fingers on Doc’s shoulders. Such a little amount of force was enough to send Doc crashing to the ground. Morgan who was having his lunch now became fully aware of the altercation. He leaped over the table where he had been sitting and hit Ike over the top of the head with his gun butt; Ike fell but got up again as soon as he hit the floor. Isabella knew not to help Doc up; he wouldn’t accept help from anyone. He was embarrassed enough that he had fallen in the first place. He struggled back on to his feet. Morgan had gone out to the street and was surrounded by John Ringgold, Ike Clanton, and the Hick boys. Doc, sensing the urgency of the situation, came out to help his friend, even though he knew he was in no condition to fight.

  “We’ll be coming to get you; we will be coming to get all you Earps,” Morgan shouted, drawing his gun.

  “You come near any of us and I’ll kill you. I will kill y’all!” Morgan shouted.

  Isabella came out and was standing behind Doc. She happened to notice one of the other men was reaching cautiously for his gun. She whispered in Doc’s ear, “Look to your left.”

  “I’d put that gun away Frank McLaury or you will be first to die,” Doc shouted. At this sheriff Behan came from around the corner.

  “Don’t cause any trouble today, boys; there’ll be plenty of time,” he said. With that the crowd broke up and walked away from the scene. Doc walked back towards his hotel and when he got to the door, using the last of his strength he shut it behind him. He could not stand up any longer. He collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.

  From then on there was a deep sense of tension on the streets of Tombstone. There had been no more confrontations between the Earps and the cowboys but everyone knew that the enmity between them would erupt, and when it did the result would be bloody.

  When no one had seen Doc for days, Isabella was concerned for him, so she went to see him. She knocked on his door. There was no answer, but Isabella decided to go in anyway; after all, he had invited her many times to come to his rooms. She pushed on the door and opened it as gently as she could. When Isabella entered the room it was in darkness.

  Doc was lying on the bed in the dark, opened letters lying scattered on the floor beside the bed. The letters where crumpled and yellow; they had obviously been read many times. Isabella opened the curtain and Doc opened his eyes.

  “Ah, it’s the lady who cheats death,” Doc said. The stench in the room was vile. Isabella proceeded to open a window to let in some fresh air.

  “I haven’t ever cheated death—I have just avoided it,” Isabella corrected.

  “Avoided it. I see. You will have to teach me how to do that someday.”

  “Perhaps I will…someday. Who are these letters from?”

  “Mattie.”

  “Why don’t you go back to her?”

  “Go back to her to cough and spit all over her?”

  “She has already seen you the way you are now, when Morgan rescued her and brought her back to you.”

  “She couldn’t bring herself to look at me.”

  “I am sure that is not true.”

  “No, I sent her home. I didn’t want her to know who I am. I wanted her to remember the eighteen-year-old that I used to be, before my lungs started to rot.”

  “She still writes to you. Do you think she would do that if she couldn’t look at you?”

  “She is too kind to stop; she writes to me only because she pities me.”

  “Nonsense. You are the only one who pities you…get up and go outside. I think your friends are going to need you soon.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The McLaurys and the Clantons are threatening to kill Wyatt and his brothers. He has caused yet another fight.”

  “He will get himself killed one of these days,” Doc said.

  “Or worse…he will get someone that is close to him killed,” Isabella said as she left.

  When Doc had a few minutes to think about what she said, he knew she was right and he was worried for Morgan. So he got up, got dressed and went outside. As he walked down the street he met Morgan, Wyatt, and Virgil; he joined them and headed towards the OK Corral. Isabella watched as they disappeared from her line of vision and went down the next street. She listened for the gun shots and waited and watched to see who would survive.

  “Why aren’t you going over to see what you can do?” Nicolae asked.

  “Have you forgotten I am a Vampire? I am not supposed to help humans—I am supposed to kill them.”

  “That has never stopped you before.”

  “I have saved him once─perhaps that was one more time than he deserved.”

  “There is more to it than that; you are not telling me something.”

  “The truth is he has a woman who loves him somewhere and he is too afraid to go home to her. He would rather stay here and defend Wyatt; even if it kills him.”

  “And that reminds you too much of yourself.” Isabella looked over at Nicolae and walked over to him; she laid her head on his chest and put her arm around him.

  “You are so like him.”

  “Who?”

  “Nicolae, my Nicolae, I try and remind myself that you are not him but the things you say. So like the things he would have said.”

  “And that is a bad thing?”

  “No. I suppose not. But you differ in one aspect; he would never have forgiven me.”

  “Yes he would have, Isabella, you underestimate yourself.” The shooting stopped and Isabella went back over to the side of the road to watch t
he survivors coming around the corner. Wyatt and Virgil were first to appear, Wyatt was holding Virgil up, then Morgan appeared; he had also been hurt but was able to walk by himself. Isabella’s grip on Nicolae tightened; there had been many shots fired, Isabella was frightened for Doc. Perhaps she should have helped him. But then off in the distance she heard a cough. She released her tight grip on Nicolae and ran across, leaning over the hitching rail to see Doc walking around the corner. It seemed that Doc was never going to die in a gunfight.

  The gunfight at Tombstone did nothing to dissipate the tension; in fact, it made it worse. For Vampires the threat of violence was always a good thing. If a few people died there were always plenty of people to blame. But for Doc and especially for Morgan the threat of violence was far from a good thing.

  Morgan was in Campbell and Hatch’s billiard parlour the night he died. Doc, Wyatt, and Virgil were with him. Morgan was in good humour, but then he always was. He relished the danger and loved Tombstone.

  “Stillwell and Clanton have been threatening us again,” Virgil began.

  “You worry too much. We are more than a match for any of them,” Wyatt answered. Morgan was up on his feet to take his shot.

  “We can kill them all, and the world would be better off without them,” Morgan laughed. Doc’s coughs could be heard from the other side of the room. “Or Doc can give them all consumption and we can get them that way.” Doc would have never allowed anyone else to say this except for Morgan.

  “For you, Morgan, I will try and cough on them as much as possible.”

  “Don’t bother Doc. Knowing our luck they would probably last as long as you have,” Morgan answered. The whole group of men started to laugh and Morgan bent down over the table to take his shot. The men jumped as they heard the glass of the front window break. It was raining heavily outside and Doc ran over to see why it had shattered. Whatever or whoever had smashed the window was no longer there.