Paranormal Frontier: Greed that Glimmers Like Gold

Warning: This story contains violence and foul language.

“Human deparavity, it’s someth’in that’s in all of us. It circles around us like a vulture around a dying animal, hungrily waiting for the moment when we finally succumb to our ill-gotten fates.”

”We can’t escape it. It’s just part of our nature, and no matter how hard we try we’ll give in. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Eventually, we give in to our temptations, thinking “I can control it. There ain’t noth’in to worry ‘bout. It’ll only be this once, and I’ll never do it again.” Huh, that’s a bunch a balderdash.”

“But who are we fool’in? Only ourselves. Like a starving dog clinging to the first bone you throw at ‘em, we cling to our depravity, our sins, our pride, and our vices like they’re the only thing in the world that’ll make us whole. As if noth’in else can ever satisfy us.”

“And yet… those things we desperately cling to are usually what ends up driv’in is into an early grave. Or, at least they do in my profession. It certainly did it to me.”

”it honestly probably did it to the both of us. Yer the real monster here after all.”

”if the legends are true, you committed a pretty serious sin to end up like this.”

”well, guess that’s what happens when yer an eejit. Course who am I to talk.”

“My name’s William (Will) Cunningham, and I’m a deputy for the U.S Marshal’s Office in the great state of Ohio.”

“The 1860’s have been good to us with the completion of the transcontinental railroad cuz now we can go anywhere in the country in only a few days, or maybe even a few hours, rather then months, or weeks.”

“And for our job, time is of the essence.”

“Me and my partner, Roy Turner, are both deputies with the U.S Marshal’s department, the only caveat is we ain’t hunt’in men. No, we hunt monsters. Furocious, man eat’in monsters that could crush you with their thumb.”

“Well, probably not you specifically, but most people anyways.”

“Werewolves, vampires, skinwalkers, wendigos, you name it, we hunt it.”

“I thought we were just go’in on a regular job when we went to hunt a wendigo out here by Beaver Creek, but to our great fortune, and now that I’m look’in back it was more like misfortune, we came across treasure. “

“Gold, piles and piles of gold that people had been min’in. Unfortunately, you decided to use that gold mine as yer new home and eat all the miners for good measure.”

“Felt a bit sorry for the poor fellas. You tend to be sadistic creatures who like to play with yer food and torture ‘em a little bit.”

“Maybe the fear makes ‘em taste better or someth’in. At least that’s what Roy and I think anyways.”

“But you died at our hands with a silver bullet right through yer heart.”

“Oh, yer mighty strong, and fast too. Can’t even follow yer movements with my eyes, much less draw and shoot once we see ya com’in.”

“But my partner and I managed to kill ya before ya had the chance to turn us into yer next meal.”

“We came out with a few scratches. They looked worse then the felt, and probably would require some stitching, but we’d make it back to town without any problems, and with a few days rest we’d be back in the game chas’in down vampires and whatnot.”

“But that damned gold had to show up. If it weren’t for that damned gold, I wouldn’t be in this position.”

“When we saw it we talked about splitting it, but we both knew the other was too greedy for our own good.”

“We had always talked about how we’d live the good life one of these days surrounded by beautiful women, the finest budge money could buy, and we each live in a fancy house that would put our old lifestyle trudging through the wilderness, putt’in our lives at risk to hunt monsters with inhuman strength to shame.”

“And now there was enough gold in front of us for one of us to live the lifestyle we always dreamed, but not both.”

“No, only one of us would come out rich from this, and the other, they’d come out dead.”

“We both had the same idea, and we both knew it. As soon as we laid eyes on that gold we both drew our guns and pointed them at each other.”

“There were no words exchanged between us, no cries of betrayal, just a look of intent in each others’ eyes. We both knew that if this day ever came we’d stab each other in the back without a second thought. We were both deprived.”

“We stood back to back and began counting our oaces. We had already planned how we’d handle things if this ever happened.”

“A dual to the death, ten paces in the opposite direction, then we’d turn and shoot. But neither of us were will’in to play by the rules, even if we were the ones who set ‘em.”

“Before we even hit the third pace we both turned around and attempted to shoot each other in the back, but like I said, we both did it, and that means we both got shot.”

“Unfortunately, I was the lucky one.”

“My bullet went straight through his head killing him knsyantly. I was always the better shot between the two of us, so he was probably convinced I’d win in a fair fight.”

“However, his bullet went straight into my gut. It was a lethal shot, but it ain’t what I’d call a pleasant death.”

“Now, I’m sitting here bleeding out, wonder’in where it all could a gone wrong while talk’in to the goddamned dead corpse of the very wendigo that Roy and I both killed.”

“What the hell. Guess this is probably what I deserve. Whelp, if I’m going die. Might as well die drunk off my ass.” Will declared before chugging down his entire flask of whiskey.

He then continued to bleed out and would eventually die, drunk off his ass, just like he had intended.