End of the Road

The full moon rose high above the old church at the end of the road and cast shadows through the overgrowth of trees which landed on the stone path leading from the lake to the front entrance.

"Quiet now, Luke.” The rough voice belonged to William.

Soft moans came from his companion as he answered him, “Dammit all, I’m trying. You wasn’t the one shot!”

As he said this his weight shifted and William’s left arm went tighter around him in an effort to keep him upright, his eyes darting all around them.

“Yeah, I know, but I told you, watch those women!” His voice came out louder, harsher, than he intended and he silently cursed himself for it as the two continued towards the church.

Luke cried out as quietly as he could, his left arm pressing tightly into his stomach, his hand wet with blood. His foot slipped on a loose stone and the two fell.

William lifted him up and ushered him forward until a snapping branch drew his attention and he pulled a single action revolver from his holster and cocked it.

“Hush,” he began as his eyes scanned towards the sound. Their breath came out as little pockets of steam in the cold December air. He shook his head and de-cocked his gun as they moved forward again.

“Come on, lets go.”

Luke nodded and gripped him tightly around the waist with one arm.

As they moved William kept his revolver down towards his leg and out of the holster.

“You know, Mama always said you would die first, on account of your temper and all.” Luke tried to laugh but the pain in his chest caused him to stop.

“Yeah, well, she’s probably right, cause you ain’t dying tonight,” he started as they reached an iron gate set into a wall which led into the churchyard. The building itself loomed large in front of them and William laid Luke down to rest on the stone wall of the fence and set a saddlebag he’d been carrying beside him and stopped to catch his breath. He took a swig of whiskey from a bottle and offered it to Luke and as he took it William knelt down.

“Right, let’s have another look at you.” he said as he lifted open Luke’s outer shirt and gently moved his hand which was still pressed into his stomach.

“Well?” Luke asked as his stomach quickly raised and fell.

William took a deep swig and poured the rest onto Luke’s stomach causing him to cry out. William put a hand to his mouth for a moment until his cries subsided.

“It, uh, don’t look too bad, kid.” he lied. He knelt there a moment.

Luke stared into his eyes and slowly nodding he said, “You was right, I should’a watched the woman.”

William shook his head.

“No, you were right, not to take her necklace. Hell, how were you supposed to know an old lady’s gonna gut shot you with a derringer, anyhow?” He shook his head again.

“No, Mama raised you right.”

“Mama tried,” Luke offered and coughed. The pain was worse now and his breath started to come out more ragged.

William stopped a moment as a noise caught his attention.

Luke coughed again and tried to sit up more. “Hey, you think when we--”

“Quiet!” William cut him off, his revolver now cocked once more as he scanned ahead of him then off to his left. “Listen.”

Luke tried to turn his head but finding it difficult he paused a moment then somehow found the strength to, and he looked towards the old church. The grass was browning around the it, and his eyes looked at one of the stained glass windows and he tried to think on what it was depicting. He felt something wet on his face and looked up to see more flakes falling. A tap on his shoulder turned his attention.

“Hey,” William whispered. “Did you hear that?”

He shook his head. “No, what’s it sound like?”

“Like a groan, or, a howling maybe, I don’t know. Keep your eyes open, you hear me?” He looked right at Luke until he nodded he did and then turned back to look where they had come from. Darkness covered the path there now but soon a sound off towards his left, nearer the church, drew his attention and he turned his eyes there, his revolver pointed towards the spot.

His eyes squinted at the noise. Now, he heard what to him sounded like faint scratching noises. Like nails against stone. At first it seemed to play a waltz but then the noise disappeared and he strained his ears listening for more sounds.

No sounds came and more flakes fell and began to cover the cold, hard ground. Luke turned his head and asked, “Do you think it could be the posse?” He felt tired now and he wanted to sleep.

“Maybe, but I don’t really know.”

“Hey, hey, stay with me!” He set his revolver down as he took Luke’s face in his hands. “You’re gonna be fine kid, just keep your damn eyes open.”

Luke wrapped a bloody hand around one of William’s as he nodded.

William looked around briefly. They weren't exactly in the open but neither were they well hidden either. The church was on the outskirts of town and closest to the train tracks which ran just north of lake. If he remembered correctly the town was about three mile or so from there. He knew they had location on their side. On the other hand, they stuck out like a sore thumb in the open area where the churchyard lay. He looked off to his right and saw a cemetery and he shuddered, remembering the cholera outbreak a half dozen years ago. Movement out of his left eye drew him back.

He raised his right arm towards it but realized his gun wasn’t there. As he picked it back up and pointed it, he saw nothing. A moment passed and he heard the scratching sound again.

“Get your gun out kid, it may be the posse yet!” His eyes scanned around once more looking for movement. Scratching again, this time on the other side and he turned around and looked back towards the Church. A shadow seemed to fall against the upper part of the building and he pointed his gun there, as the shape disappeared again.

A sound like crashing footsteps sounded behind him and he turned again. “Luke, keep your eyes open, keep your guard up.” His breath stopped and he shivered. Close behind him he heard the sound of howling. He had been hunting up north before, where they had wolves, but he didn’t think they had them here. Anyhow, he thought, I ain’t never heard a wolf like that before.

He slowly turned back to the church. He heard the scratching again. This time it sounded rougher, nearer them. He looked towards Luke, “Kid you--” He knelt down.

“Luke…” he said softly as he looked into his eyes. They seemed to stare yet they looked at nothing. A hand went to close them when he heard a loud grunt in front of him and he quickly raised back on his feet his revolver held out in front.

Then he hear howling again, this time from above and he looked up, and there wrapped around the steeple of the church he saw a nightmare. A creature maybe seven or eight feet tall, covered in fur was hanging onto it, its red eyes staring directly at William.

‘What the…” Boom. Boom. The report of the .45 Long Colt was loud as he fired it. A few more shots seemed to do nothing as the thing just stared at him. Finally, it leaped and stood in front of the church door, about a dozen yards from him.

Boom. “Go back to hell…” he shouted. Click. Click. The revolver was empty and William leaped for Luke’s as the creature leaped for him, bounding fast towards him. As his hand reached the grip of Luke’s .44 Walker, William felt his back hot and wet and felt himself spinning around, fresh revolver in hand, as the creature pinned him down.

The weight of its limb pressing into his chest pained him and he struggled to lift the revolver. The thing hovered its mouth over him, its hot, foul breath pouring down onto him, and William looked over at Luke as the creature raised its mouth, jaws wide open, above his throat, and soon he and Luke were back home, on the farm, and not dying near some forgotten town for a few dollars robbed from the working class.

Snowflakes continued to fall to the ground and soon began covering the old church at the end of the road.