Lawless Lands: Tales from the Weird Frontier Read online

  The sun was low in the sky when Blue and Lotte started out toward the canyon. Both women had packed enough firepower to take down the devil himself if he should show up. Blue suspected whatever these things were, they weren’t going to give up Nellie without a fight. She looked over at Lotte and smiled to herself. She’d tried to leave the child behind at the settlement with the others, but the girl wouldn’t have it. She’d been insistent. “You the only mama I ever had, Nena. I ain’t lettin’ you go out there alone!”

  And they were alone.

  As Blue looked out across the desolate plain, looking like an ocean of fire in the failing light, she had never felt more alone in her whole life.

  Prob’ly shoulda waited until first light.

  Blue pulled up on the reins of her horse, stopping short when she heard the voices carried on the wind. She looked back over her shoulder to see two figures silhouetted against the gray and galloping toward them. Blue’s eyes might be old, but she would recognize the long, lean form of Alistair Bishop anywhere.

  “Thought y’all was too scared to come out chasin’ demons,” Blue said as they approached. She groaned when she recognized Sid the barkeep perched beside him. His smug grin had been replaced by a stern line, but his eyes were wide. Blue wasn’t sure which he was more afraid of: the creatures or the thought that someone might think he was scared. He gave a grunt of recognition.

  “The way I see it, those things out there nearly killed my boy. I can’t let that pass,” Alistair said. He hesitated, looking away from Blue toward the canyon. Blue nodded and spurred the horse, galloping toward the horizon.

  They rode in silence for hours, it seemed. Lotte and Sid galloped ahead, but Blue and Alistair rode beside one another. The air between them was heavy with things better left unspoken. So much had happened in the years since Blue had run away from Perdition, taking Nellie with her and retreating into the desert. She stole a glance in his direction, hoping he didn’t see. Even after all this time, she could see the shade of the boy she’d loved so long ago.

  “It’ll be gettin’ dark soon,” Alistair said, his voice jerking Blue from her memories. “Might want to make camp.”

  Blue nodded. “I figure these things move around easier at night. If we can make for the canyon before the sun goes down, we can hide out and wait for first light. Catch ‘em while they’re weakest.”

  “How many do you think there are?”

  “No idea. But it must be quite a few if they can snatch all them girls. Plus Nellie.” Blue paused, unsure what to say. She’d been too long in the desert, and talking wasn’t high on her list of priorities. “Thank you for comin’ with me, Alistair,” she said finally, and nodded toward Sid. “How’d you get him to come with you?”

  “I told him if we got out of this alive, I’d give him Betty’s.”

  Blue’s eyes went wide in disbelief. “What are you talkin’ about, Alistair? Your daddy left you that place!”

  “And a whole lot of misery to go with it. Truth is, Blue, I don’t blame you for runnin’ away like you did. My daddy… and me too… we treated you terrible.”

  “Now Alistair, this is not the time to go dredgin’ up old bones…”

  “I should have stood up to him, Blue. And I shouldn’t have let you go that night. I was a coward, and I’ve never forgiven myself.”

  Blue nodded, staring off into the darkness. She didn’t want to look him in the eye. There was just too much to say, she guessed. “But you did all right. Your boy turned out just fine,” she said finally.

  “True enough,” he replied. “I never wanted to be a bully like my daddy was. ‘Course, Charlie’s ma deserved better than me.” Before Blue could respond, Sid began shouting from where he and Lotte had stopped at the trailhead that led down into the valley below.

  “Alistair! You better get up here quick!” Blue kicked at the horse’s flanks and galloped toward where they stood. Before they could reach the trailhead, the horse pulled up short, nearly throwing Blue from the saddle. “Whoa,” she soothed, holding tight to the reins.

  Blood was everywhere, so deep Blue could smell it. It left the sand soaked red. The horses backed up, trying to keep their hooves out of the ghoulish muck that pooled around them. It was fairly fresh, but already flies had started to swarm in. Laying by the trail farther down was an unrecognizable mass. Sid slid down from his saddle and crept toward it with his gun drawn. Lotte started to follow, but Blue reached out and took the girl’s arm. “Stay here.”

  Blue dismounted and followed the trail of blood to where Alistair and Sid knelt. The smell of the thing almost knocked her down as she approached. An odor like rotting meat and sun-baked shit emanated from the bloody mass on the ground. It looked as if it might have been human at some point, but by now, it most definitely was not. The flesh was gray, tinged with shades of pink and purple. The thing was small, about the size of an infant, but misshapen. It had bulbous protrusions where its limbs should have been, and its head was too large. There were no eyes, only that gaping mouth that Charlie had described, filled with teeth.

  “What in hell is that?” Sid asked, pulling his bandana over his nose to keep the stench at bay. “Some kind of demon?”

  Blue shook her head. “Surely even the devil couldn’t make somethin’ like that.”

  “What is it?” Lotte called from where she was still hanging back.

  “You stay there, child!” Blue said.

  “Think maybe we oughta go back?” Alistair said, using his hat to fan away the flies.

  “And leave Nellie behind?”

  Sid stood up, kicking dirt over the carcass. “Look, it’s gon’ be pitch black out here soon, and from the looks of that thing, your Nellie’s already dead. And we will be too if we keep on!”

  Blue was about to call Sid out as a coward when a scream sounded from off in the distance. It echoed off the walls of the canyon below them and across the barren plain. “My God…” Blue whispered. The scream came again, this time louder than before. In the springtime, back on the plantation, Blue had heard screams like that when her daddy used to slaughter lambs in the barn. “What in Jesus’s name was that?”

  “The coyotes that are gonna rip us to shreds in the dark if these… whatevers don’t get us first!” Sid exclaimed.

  “That wasn’t a coyote,” Alistair said, stalking back to his horse. “The way I see it, we’ll never make it back to town before nightfall anyway. We’ll just keep toward the canyon and make camp someplace safe.”

  Sid’s eyes were wide, staring at them in utter disbelief. “You’re both crazy.” He mounted up and turned his horse back toward Perdition. “I’m headin’ back now while I still can. Ain’t no whore worth this.”

  “Wait!” Alistair called. “You can’t go back alone!” But it was too late. Sid was gone before his dust settled.

  Clearwater Canyon was a deep gouge in the desert that stretched for miles in both directions. The trail leading down into the canyon was a labyrinth of razor-sharp rock with a network of caves that had been carved out by the rushing waters. The walls on either side were so steep and narrow that one could easily lose their way. Only desperate outlaws ever tried to traverse the trail, and none ever came back to tell the tale.

  Blue guessed they were desperate.

  There was no more talk as they headed toward the canyon under the darkening sky. A few stars were peeking out, and it made Blue nervous. They would have to find a place to hide out until morning. She should have listened to Alistair before and waited until first light to come out here looking. Then again, Blue wasn’t sure Nellie had that kind of time. If it even still mattered.

  They approached the mouth of the canyon slowly with Blue keeping Lotte between them. Once more she kicked herself for allowing the child to come along. What had she been thinking? They hadn’t heard any more of those screams, but the smell of the dead thing at the trailhead stayed with them.

  Blue heard something behind and turned to see Alistair striking a match. “What a
re you doing?”

  “We’re gonna need some kind of light here in just a few. I figure a makeshift torch might do us some good.”

  “Still scared of the dark, I see,” Blue teased.

  He gave a grunt of amusement and lit the torch. Suddenly the trail was illuminated. The rising walls of the canyon around them were slick, glistening in places with what looked like condensation. There was also green lichen covering the jagged stones. The air was close, hot and stifling. The death-smell was stronger. It mixed with the coppery smell of fresh blood and dirt. Blue could taste it with every breath, and it turned her stomach.

  “What in God’s name is going on here?” Alistair whispered.

  “God ain’t got nothin’ to do with this,” Blue said.

  “Maybe we should turn around and make camp farther out.”

  “Nena!”

  Blue pulled up short as Lotte slid down from her saddle and ran toward a small grotto carved into the canyon wall up ahead. More of the green lichen grew there, covering the place like a curtain. “There’s something in there!” Lotte said.

  Blue and Alistair jumped down from their horses, reaching for the girl. “Don’t touch it!” Blue shouted, but it was too late. As soon as Lotte touched the plant, it began to coil around her wrist like a vine.

  “What’s happening?” Lotte shrieked. She tried to shake her arm free of the vine, but it held on fast. “Nena!”

  Blue ran to the girl, grabbing her around the waist and pulling. The vine was nearly to her shoulder and more tendrils were beginning to reach for her even as she struggled. Blue tugged, and the strange lichen seemed to pull back, as if it were trying to pull Lotte into the nest with it. “Alistair! Help me!” He rushed over and tried using his pistol to beat and tear at the tendrils. Lotte screamed as the tendrils hung on tighter. They were growing fast now, emitting some kind of hissing noise as they slid across both arms and around her throat. They silenced her screams in seconds, growing into her mouth. “It isn’t working!” Blue shouted, almost in tears as she kept pulling on the girl. “You have to help me! Please!”

  Alistair touched the flame of his torch to one of the tendrils, and it shrieked, receding just a little. He did it again, this time igniting the lichen at the base near the rock face. Almost immediately the lichen blackened and shrank, falling away from Lotte’s struggling arms until she fell into Blue’s. She sputtered and gasped for air.

  “There, child. You breathe slow now.” Blue cradled the child against her bosom while she wept, rocking her as if she might still be that foundling baby. “Thank you, Alistair…” she puffed. “What in Hell was that thing?”

  But he didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on the contents of the grotto that the lichen had been protecting. Hidden in the shadows was what looked like a slimy cluster of egg sacs. A milky substance that glistened in the torchlight dripped from the near-transparent derma of the eggs. Alistair reached out, running a fingertip along its surface. When nothing reached out to grab him, he pulled one of the eggs free of the cluster.

  “Don’t touch it!” Blue scolded, rushing to her feet. She leaned over his shoulder as he turned the jelly-like egg over in his palm. The surface had purple veins that ran through it, but Blue could clearly see something inside. Very much like the something they’d found on the trail, but much smaller.

  “What the hell is it?”

  “I don’t know, but I think we’ve made a terrible mistake coming here.” She pointed above them, and Alistair stepped back, raising the torch. Overhead they could see hundreds of grottos containing thousands of those egg sacs. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

  Screams sounded in the canyon, much louder than what they’d heard on the trail. This time the noise was an ear-splitting blade that brought them all to their knees. Their horses neighed and reared before fleeing back toward the trail. Alistair dropped the egg-thing and went for his pistol. The egg shattered at Blue’s feet. She could see the thing inside. Its eyes opened, and it made a weak squeal as if answering the screams of whatever was coming through the caves for them. It began to crawl toward Blue, and she watched with morbid fascination.

  “Step back!” Lotte pushed Blue out of the way and stomped on the thing with her heavy boot heel. It splattered in a mess of black blood, staining Lotte’s petticoat. “Let’s go!”

  There was another scream, but this time it was coming from behind. They turned to see a half dozen man-sized creatures. They moved like a swarm of bees, oozing over the desert floor and crawling down from the canyon above. They were as Lotte described, tall and thin with milk-white skin. Where their faces should have been, there was only a wide mouth that blossomed like a flower as they screamed, showing rows of jagged teeth. One of them carried the pulpy remains of what could only be Sid.

  Lotte pulled her six shooters and fired at them. The first shot bounced off the rock face, but the second one caught the one carrying Sid in the gut. It fell forward with a gurgling shriek and began crawling toward Lotte. Blue pulled the long rifle from the scabbard at her back and pushed Lotte behind her. She picked them off with ease, sending the creatures flying back against the canyon wall.

  “They’re getting up, Nena!” Lotte shouted.

  Before Blue could respond, she heard Alistair groan behind her. Two of the creatures had descended on him from the cavern above. He was quick and kicked hard at one. It grabbed his foot, forcing him backward until he sat down hard on the ground, his torch rolling away from him. The creatures closed in, grabbing him up by his arms as if they meant to pull him apart. The creatures hissed and shrieked, their gaping mouths opening and snapping down as Alistair held them back. Shots echoed in the canyon as Blue shot them with startling precision. But it was of little use. As soon as they fell, others would get up, their bullets having almost no effect.

  “We have to get out of here,” Alistair said. “We’re outnumbered.”

  “But we still haven’t found Nellie!” Blue hissed, firing again as the creature closest to them tried to get up.

  “This place is a giant hive! A nest! Those things are protecting something, Blue, and whatever it is, I don’t want to stick around long enough to find out!”

  “Follow me!” Lotte yelled as she ran by them. She was holding Alistair’s torch in one hand and a stick of dynamite in the other. Blue and Alistair followed, running as fast as they could along the canyon floor. They could hear the creatures screaming behind them. Blue was afraid to look behind, knowing they were gaining.

  “We’ll never outrun them,” Alistair shouted.

  “We don’t have to outrun them,” Lotte said, pushing them into a cave as she lit the stick of dynamite with Alistair’s torch. “We just have to get out of the way.” Lotte smiled as she peeked around the wall of the cave and threw the dynamite as hard as she could. They got down just as the dynamite blew. When the dust cleared, the canyon was silent again.

  “That was damn good thinkin’, girl,” Alistair said, clapping Lotte on the back.

  “When the horses broke free, my saddlebag fell down,” Lotte said, holding up the leather bag.

  “Come on,” Blue said. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “You keep that dynamite close, girl,” Alistair added.

  “How you reckon we’re supposed to get out of here?” Blue said, feeling her way along the walls. “We certainly can’t go back the way we came.”

  “Prob’ly comes out somewhere on the other side. These hills are full of secret places dug out by outlaws.”

  “We could be walkin’ ourselves into a trap.”

  They continued down the narrow corridor, going deeper into the canyon. Strange noises echoed around them, but fortunately no screams of those faceless creatures. The thought that this whole thing might be a trap began to weigh heavier on Blue. If this cave didn’t come out someplace, they were likely done for. Alistair's torch wouldn’t last forever. The air was already close and fetid. Soon they might not be able to breathe. The ever-present stench of blood and deca
y was strongest here, almost gagging them with every breath. Maybe that was what those things did: just trapped their prey and waited for them to die.

  “Nena! Mr. Bishop! Down here!” Lotte waved them through to where she stood at the end of the twisting corridor. “It opens up!”

  When they emerged into the heart of the cave, the source of the stench was revealed. All eight of the whores from Betty’s were piled in a haphazard sort of cairn in the center of the room. They looked like broken toys discarded by a spoiled child. The bodies were emaciated and pale, as if something had sucked the life right out of them. Lotte broke, crying out and dropping the torch to hide in Blue’s bosom.

  “There, child. It’s all right now. They’re gone on to Heaven now.” Yes, Blue believed in a higher power. After what she’d seen today, how could she not?

  Alistair knelt down looking at the piled corpses as if taking inventory. “There’s no blood. None at all,” he said. “Those things must have sucked them dry.”

  “Nena,” Lotte whimpered, wiping her eyes. “Do you think that’s what happened to Nellie?”

  “I…” For once, Blue was speechless. She didn’t want to lie, but all she could think was yes, that is what very likely happened to Nellie. And could happen to them all if they didn’t get out of here fast. She peered around the room, desperately searching for a crack or crevice that might lead to escape.

  “Little Lotte. Is that you?”

  Blue froze. Her blood ran cold as she recognized the voice. It was thin and more of a whisper, but she knew it. It was Nellie. All three turned to see the girl stumbling toward them. She was white as the sheets Blue used to hang out to dry in the sun. Her red hair had gone dull and whipped around her face in a disheveled halo.

  “Nellie!” Lotte shouted. “Is it really you?”

  “I knew you’d come for me,” Nellie said. There were tears glistening in her eyes. “You and Blue…I knew it was just a matter of time.”