A Storm is Brewing

Old Western Township, Southern Nevada -Winter 2022

“I haven’t seen clouds this dark since I was a sprout”, Mary Adams says taking a seat at the Bar.

“Seems as if a storm is brewing”, Tom Kingsley suggests, drying off a clean glass behind the counter. 

Kingsley Saloon has been around for many generations and has been a townsfolk favorite fellowship spot.

“Seems as if everyone is running late to join us this afternoon” Kingsley glanced above the Saloon’s wooden double doors.

“It’s mighty weird, that’s for sure, being that it’s the weekend and all”, Mary says swallowing back the last of her whiskey. 

“Howdy y’all”, Franklin shouts tipping his hat and taking a seat at the bar. “How’s that lovely wife of yours Kingsley”?

“You know Barbra still Barbra. She’s looking forward to me finally retiring from my saloon and letting Johnny take over”, Kingsley answered.

“I can’t say I disagree”, Franklin chuckled removing his hat.

“How about you Mary, you staying on the right side of the law these days”, Franklin joked.

“Yes I am Sheriff, it’s hard to get into trouble in this sleepy old town” Mary answered.

“You’re right about that, we haven’t had any action since Sawyer last month”, Franklin agreed. 

“Is he still in that small holding cell”? Kingsley asked.

“Yep, we’re stilling waiting on Judge Conway’s orders, she’s just been busy in that little Lab of hers”, Franklin says sipping his whiskey.

“It seems Conway likes her Doctor role more than her role as judge these days,” Mary says patting her mouth dry. 

“Well, would you look at that, here comes the townsfolk”, Franklin uttered watching them come pouring into the Saloon.

Just as fast as the saloon filled and the conversations began to pick up, it fell dead silent. Coming up the road, a man in all black was slowly making his way into the Saloon, as the sky grew darker and the thunder roared. The man swung open the saloon doors, eyes pinned on his every move. 

“Hi stranger, could I get you something,”, Kingsley offers.

“Yes, I’ll take a beer please”, the man stated unbuttoning his long trench coat before taking a seat at the bar. The man was young but had a look of sorrow and darkness in his eyes. 

“You not from these parts are you,” Franklin asked moving toward the man, while the townsfolk retreated to the opposite end of the bar whispering to one another. 

“No”….. the man choked back his emotions. “I’m from a small town in Montana, it’s not that important. I came here because about a month ago my pregnant wife and her brother passed through this town and I haven’t heard from them since”. 

The man reached into his pocket and grabbed a photo of what seemed to be a happy pregnant blonde woman hugging a man that looked as if they were twins, in a desert landscape.

“Have any of you seen them” the man posed the question to them as he handed the photo to Sheriff Franklin. 

“She’s very beautiful, looks about eight or nine months pregnant, I haven’t seen them around here though”, Franklin said passing the photo to Kingsley and others. 

The townsfolk shook their heads as they observed the photo with wide eyes. 

“I’m sorry, none of us has seen these two people here before,” Kingsley said with concern, handing the photo back to the man. 

“What’s your name young man”, Mary Adams asks with concern in her voice.

“My name is Jack…. Jack Langston”.

“Well, Jack I have an Inn that you can stay at for the night”, Mary Adams suggested, “is that your car parked next to the Diner there”? 

“Yes,” Jack said glancing at the vacant Diner. 

“You can leave your car right there, the Inn is right up the road from here, just follow me”, Mary said making her way out of the Saloon. 

Jack got up and stumbled onto the Sheriff, and quickly got up and brushed himself off.

“I’m sorry”, Jack said straightening his coat out.

“No problem partner, we’ve all been down that road before”, Franklin declared with a smirk. 

Jack turns to leave the Saloon, giving it one more glance, taking in all the old faces filling it. All the people had to be in their mid to late 80s. 

 Stumbling, he followed Mary up the street, as the rain began to pour on the both of them. 

“It hasn’t rained here since I was a girl” Mary chuckled pulling out her umbrella. 

Jack, barely staying awake, catches a gleam from out of the corner of his eye. He turns to look and notices a vehicle parked inside an Auto shop. He squints to zoom into the car. 

 “A blue Chevrolet Tahoe, it looks just like the one my wife Katie and her brother Kyle drove down here”, Jack thought to himself. He quickly took out his phone and snapped a photo of the vehicle.

“Well,… here we are young man, the Old Western Inn”, Mary smiled. “Should you need anything, there’s a Gower-bell telephone in the lobby, just call the Saloon, everyone in town is there, and we’d be glad to help”. 

Jack nodded and grab the key to the room. 

“Hey….. Where’s everybody’s cars parked”, Jack slurred.

“Oh, we don’t use cars here, everything is within walking distance” Mary answered proudly. 

Jack watched as Mary disappeared up the street to the Saloon. He opens the door to his room and collapsed on the Bed. Unable to sleep, he pulls out the photo of his wife and her brother. With tears gently tapping on the photo, Jack blinks a couple of times and raises the photo to his eyes. 

“Wait, there’s the car,” he thought pulling out his cell phone and now observing both photo’s together. Just as Jack thought the tag numbers matched. His heartbeat began to quicken. 

“She’s here”, Jack whispered.

Jack quickly gets up and looks out the window. Across from the Inn was a small sheriff’s precinct.

“If I go there, I may be able to look at a few files, maybe get an idea of where Katie and Kyle might be”, Jack thought. 

Back at the Saloon, the townsfolk couldn’t stop talking about Jack. 

“I kinda feel sorry for the fella,” Kingsley says wiping down the bar counter. 

“Yeah, it is kinda sad, but what can you do”, Franklin reasoned standing up out of his chair, collecting his things, and placing his hat on his head. 

“Well, I best get going”, Franklin tipped his hat to the crowd. “Wait …… What” he panicked, patting himself down, “Where’re my keys?”

“Did you leave at the precinct” Kingsley suggested.

“I don’t know….I don’t think so”, Franklin said with worry in his voice. 

“You should go check, no need to panic just yet”, Mary said calmly. 

“Yeah you’re right, I’d lose my head if I could take it off”, Franklin laughed nervously. “I’ll be back”, he said pushing his way out the double doors. 

“Things just keep getting weirder and weirder around here,” Mary said chugging back another whiskey. 

“Lockdown… Lockdown” the townsfolk hear Franklin shout coming down the street towards the Saloon. Franklin rushes into the Saloon, pale as a ghost, wide-eyed, and completely drenched from the rain. 

Kingsley presses the button under his counter, releasing steel bars from above the door frame, closing everyone in. 

“What’s going on Franklin,” Mary said with concern. 

“SSS…Sa…Sawyer is gone,….he’s not in the holding cell, he’s gone”, Franklin stuttered nervously. 

“What!!!!! What about Jack, did you check on him” Mary says frightened. 

“NNNN no, I quickly ran here, you know how dangerous Sawyer is”, Franklin answered.

Coming from locking and securing the latch on the back door, Kingsley agreed to call to check in on Jack. 

“No answer, it might be the storm disrupting the signals”, Kingsley shrugged. 

“Well as soon as the weather breaks, we need to call Conway immediately. 

“What’s going on around here, why were you in the holding cell”, Jack asked putting the keys to the cell back into his pocket. 

“These people are crazy around here, we have to get out of here as soon as we can, where’s your car,” Kyle asked anxiously. 

“Wait, we can’t leave your sister, where is she”, Jack said with concern. 

Kyle turns to Jack and grabs his shoulders sternly. 

“Katie…..” Kyle’s voice broke with tears streaming down his eyes. He continued, “Katie is gone, she’s one of them now”, Kyle’s jaw clenched. 

“Wait…What…What do you mean she’s one of them, one of who” Jack asked gazing down at Kyle’s inner forearm. It looked as if he was a pin cushion in that area, it was extremely bruised possibly from many punctures from a needle. 

“Look, I’ll explain everything to you once we get in the car, I thought you said you parked by the Diner”, Kyle said looking around.

“My car, it was right here…. I left it right here”, Jack said running his hands through his dark hair. 

“Jack!!!! Look out” Kyle shouted pointing behind Jack.

Before Jack could look behind himself, he felt a rush of electric charges go through his neck, causing him to pass out. 

“Ohhhhhh”, Jack groaned, blinking his eyes open. 

“Well hello there Jack, I’m Lizbeth Conway, how are we feeling”, Conway says cheerfully.

Jack struggled to find his words. Looking around, he saw bright fluorescent lights above him in an all-white room. 

“Where am I, am I in a hospital” Jack uttered. 

“Well sort of, I’m going to let my nurse check your vitals and we’ll go from there”, Conway says getting up to leave the room. 

Jack grabs her wrist, “Kyle…..Kyle” he asked”.

“Oh Sawyer, yes, he’s just fine, back in the holding cell where he belongs,” Conway says smiling down at Jack on the operation table. 

“Sawyer, who’s Sawyer”, Jack thought. 

As Conway leaves the room another woman enters.

“Hello Jack, I’ll be your Nurse, my name is Vanessa,” the woman says wrapping a blood pressure cuff around Jack’s arm. 

“Ka….Katie”….Jack whispers as tears streamed down his face. 

“I’m sorry, who’s Katie” Vanessa asked. 

“You…. You’re Katie” Jack fumbled his words, reaching out to touch her now jet-black hair. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vanessa said writing down his vitals. She quickly turns to leave, but Jack gently grabs her wrist.

“Where’s the baby, where’s our baby”, Jack demands, now coming out of his groggy state. 

“I’m sorry sir, you got me confused, just let me go”, Vanessa says snatching her hand back and bolting out the door. 

Jack is stunned by Katie’s new look, her lack of emotions, and the coldness toward him that she displayed so easily on her face. Kyle’s words quickly echoed in his mind; “Katie is gone, she’s one of them now.”

“I have to get us out of here and find Kyle”, Jack thought sitting up on the table. He glanced over the room, finding ways to escape. 

“Prove to be trustworthy”, Jack read the words that were boldly quoted above the door frame. 

Jack cracks the door open and peeks through. 

“Hmmm, are we underground”, he thought.

The bunker looked busy, several youthful individuals looked to be in their late 20s to mid-40s, all lying on beds, not conscious of the world around them, hooked up to many tubes and machines. There were older individuals running tests and collecting samples of some sort. 

“Are you ready for the tour Jack” Conway said staring at Jack through the crack of the door.

“Ummm, sure” Jack answered startled, opening the door wider. 

“Okay, come with me”. “I created this lab when the first stranger stumbled upon Old Western Township. As you noticed the townsfolk is well in their late 80s, we even have some that are 100, and all are well and active enough to walk or run about our old town, without the use of meds. This is because the serum I’ve created, it’s connected to the Saloon’s Whiskey tap”, Conway says pointing at a huge tank filled with liquid.

The tank had tubes coming from the bottom, connecting to the tubes coming from the unconscious individuals. 

“Wait, what about Vanessa and Sawyer, they are young, why aren’t they hooked to the machine”, Jack asked. 

“Well, Sawyer is a hothead, he refuses to take the role I’ve tried to give him as my assistant, and now he is my backup. These young strangers on the tables here don’t last forever, we have to dispose of them after a couple of years, their youth runs out you know. And as for Vanessa, she proved to be trustworthy, so she’s now my assistant”, Conway answered.

Jack stands there shocked, with many disquieting thoughts rushing through his head. He quickly snaps back and asks;

“What about me, what are you going to do with me”?

“Well, if you prove to be trustworthy, I will make you my second assistant, if you don’t, well, you know what will happen,” Conway says nodding to the unconscious. 

It wasn’t long before Vanessa came to Jack giving him a shot in his inner forearm. That shot erased his past, leaving him with a new identity and role in life that Conway would approve of. 

“Alright Ryan, that’s your new name now. You will need to take this shot every week to keep you stabilized in your role. Are you ready to go to work” Conway asked Jack. 

“Yes Doctor Conway, I’m ready”, Ryan replied emotionless. 

Old Western Township, Southern Nevada -Summer 2023

“You and Venessa sure make a great couple. You two had quite the wedding last week”, Kingsley said enthused. 

“Yes, I couldn’t believe Conway brought her baby to the wedding, that was a treat”, Ryan answered. 

“Who’s that”, Mary asked pointing to a car driving up to the Diner. 

“Not sure” Ryan shrugged. 

An older woman walks into the Saloon, looking distressed.

“Hello, can anyone help me, my car is making funny noises”, she says fanning herself with her hand, as beads of sweat stream down her face. 

“Well, you came to the right place ma’am, Ryan here is our Mechanic,” Franklin says taking a swig of his whiskey. 

“Howdy Ma’am, I’m Ryan, let’s take your vehicle down to my shop”, Ryan said with a smile. 

“Wait, you look like my son-in-law, his name is Jack,” the woman said pulling out a photo of Jack and her daughter Katie at their wedding, with Kyle beside them grinning. “They’re missing, all three of them unfortunately. I’m not sure if any of you’ve seen them around here”.

“No, I’m sorry ma’am, if you follow me, we can get your car fixed and get you going on your way”, Ryan said tipping his hat to her. 

The woman shook her head and followed him down to his shop. 

“Are you sure you can watch Baby Issac while I step out for just a second, it won’t be long, I just need to register him, and being that I’m the judge as well, I will be brief” Conway says handing the baby to Vanessa. 

“Sure, please hurry back, I don’t know what to do if he starts to cry, Vanessa replied. 

“30 minutes tops” Conway shouts going into the elevator waving. 

Vanessa quickly puts Issac into his car seat, and storms into Conway’s office. She presses the lunch bell, triggering all staff on the floor to go to the cafeteria. Vanessa watches as the medical area clears out. Her heart booming out of her chest, she grabs Issac and makes her way over to the unconscious. She gently unstraps Sawyer and presses the wake button on his machine, waking him up instantly. Sawyer gasps for air.

“Shhhhh” Vanessa says pressing her finger to her lips, “it’s time,” she says gently. 

Sawyer takes Vanessa’s hand and grabs Issac’s car seat and goes into the elevator. As the door closes a staff member catches them and immediately calls Conway. 

“She seen us” Vanessa panicked.

“It’s okay, let’s just go to the garage, we’ll be fine, stick to the plan,” Sawyer said wrapping his arm around her.

“What’s taking them so long,” Ryan says pacing back and forth.

“They’ll be here, don’t worry,” his mother-in-law presumes waiting in the car. She continued; “I’m so glad you planned for me to stay in the next town over for a few months until you found them, I truly owe you” She smiled. 

“Let’s go, get in the car now,” Sawyer demanded helping Vanessa strap Issac into the car. 

In seconds, the family zoomed down the dirt road of Old Western Township, kicking up dirt while the car made skidding noises. The townsfolk ran out of the Saloon cursing. 

“Are you kidding me, how did this happen? Call Conway, we are in deep trouble”, Mary said with fury. 

Kingsley ran to the phone, “Do you think they will tell anyone about what they saw” Kingsley asked nervously. 

“No one will ever believe them”, Franklin chuckled shaking his head, “especially with all those track marks on their arms.”

Speeding by the Welcome to Old Western Township sign, the family began to breathe easily. It took them a couple of hours to reach Reno, Nevada, where they stopped to report the town to the cops.

“Hello, I’m Officer Jennings, what can I do for you folks?”

“Hello officer, my name is Jack, I would like to report a crime at Old Western Township, Nevada.”

Explaining to Jennings all that happened, Jennings scratched his head.

“You said Old Western Township, right,” Jennings asked.

“Yes,” the family answered.

“Well, I’d hate to be the one to tell you this, but that town doesn’t exist”, Jennings paused and pointed to the map on his computer screen. 

“See, nowhere in Nevada or the surrounding states is there an Old Western Township.”

The family stood frozen with their faces flushed, as chills began to trickle up their spines.