Glen Rio

You won’t survive Glen Rio

No one, not even me

My warning, take heed

The promise of gold, more than one can abide

Oh, I hear the angel’s call

Her eyes alight with hellish fire

Oh, I hear her hounds bray my fall

Their rabid howls do not tire

Oh, I won’t be called to heaven

For my name echoes in hell

Alone, abandoned, afraid

For days, I walked without steed

There’s no one to bring me aide

You won’t survive Glen Rio

My warning, take heed

I escaped off a tree

I swing, there’s no one here but me

-J.M. Topp

The Loyas didn’t put me in their prisons like I thought they would. Before I knew it, they gave me my gun back and put me atop a horse much to my surprise. I was still far from free to leave. Annette and eighteen other men armed to the teeth rode beside and in front of me along a dirt path leading east of Glen Rio.

We followed the path that then curved north slightly and went along for miles. It wasn’t until the sun had begun to fall that Annette found a place alongside a calm river to make camp.

They made a fire and put surrounded the camp with their horses. A few promptly fell asleep but others cooked food, cleaned their rifles, or simply made conversation around the fire. No one spoke to me for any reason. I felt out of place and stared at the tree-line just beyond the horses. I quickly realized running away was no option. The gunmen would have no trouble running me down and shooting me in the back.

‘Suppose it would be a little challenging in the dark.’

Annette’s voice made me jump slightly and I turned to her. She was armed with two pistols at her hip and she didn’t wear her usual dress. Her brown riding pants had wear to them and it was clear she was raised in the field with the gunmen. I had to admit, she was an intimidating force to be reckoned with. She held a rifle repeater over her shoulder casually and chewed on a blade of grass.

‘Why am I still alive?’ I asked looking back to the tree-line. ‘You know the truth now.’

‘That man I shot the day you arrived. He was your man wasn’t he?’

‘I wouldn’t say he was my man. I was tasked with killing your father or else I would be shot. I don’t know that I had much of a choice.’

‘Otto?’ she asked, bluntly, pouting her lips. ‘Is he dead?’

‘I think so.’

She shook her head and looked down at her boots. ‘My father and he always said I would be together in the end. I can’t forgive you but I can’t kill you. Not yet, anyway.’

The threat rose up my spine like an icicle. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘I bet,’ she spat the blade of grass to her feet. The rustling of a carriage approaching shook the ice between us.

‘Guests?’

‘More like chasing a lead.’

A black carriage drawn by a single horse and lone driver broke through the tree-line approaching the circle of horses slowly. Annette’s men broke their solitude and grabbed their weapons, meeting the guest in a line, rifles ready.

‘Don’t look at him in the eye and don’t say a word,’ said Annette gesturing to the driver. ‘His name is Gustaf and trust you me, if he ever responds to you, it will be the last thing you hear.’

‘What the fuck?’ I whispered. I averted my gaze and saw the other gunmen were staring at the ground as well. Only Annette walked up to Gustaf.

‘You’re early,’ she said as a matter of factly.

There was no response but I heard Gustaf leap from his perch to the ground. He walked to the carriage and opened the door. I stole a glance as Gustaf grabbed a chain and yanked a man from the shadows.

Only, I could hardly call what emerged a man. He was five feet tall and his arms and legs were barely more than bones. His hair was an overgrown black mop atop his head that matched the bushy beard on his face. His eyes were yellowed as were his teeth and a swathe of flies followed close behind. His wrists and ankles were shackled together by a thick and heavy chain.

That wasn’t what made me catch my breath however. His skin was dotted with dozens of black marks like stars with horned skulls in the center.

A strange scratching noise emerged but I realized that was Gustaf’s voice. I saw two of her men grab the thing from the carriage and yank at its chains.

I saw the man climb onto the black carriage and snap the reigns of his horse and disappear into the tree-line.

‘Hope you boys got some rest. Because you ain’t getting any tonight,’ said Annette. She tried so hard to hide a smile, but I saw through it. It was the look of bloodlust. She stopped and bit her lip.

‘You want to know why you’re still alive, Marcus?’ she asked, her voice lowered to a growl. ‘You are a witness.’

-Dr. Marcus Listrum.

I couldn’t sleep that night. How could anyone? I had taken over a dead man’s identity to kill the head of a family and possibly blown my cover with Annette. Whatever deal Otto and her had, I had completely destroyed. I didn’t have time. I had to find Hector and kill him or else Dusty would find me and make sure I didn’t live to see another day.

If I was going to live to see tomorrow, I had to kill Hector Loya today.

I gathered my belongings as strapped my gun-belt to my waist. A farmstead as big as the Loyas had to have guards watching the perimeter. If I was to walk into the main house unnoticed, I had to use the shadows to my advantage.

I crept from the guest house using a barrel beside the doorway as cover. The moon was hidden behind clouds and for that I was thankful. With hand on my iron, I slid across the sand careful to not make excessive noise in the wake of my footfalls. I saw two shadows atop an archway overlooking a small plaza but they had their backs turned to me. They would not bother me tonight.

Then, I saw the main house. It was a two story building made of adobe colored in elegant intertwining white lines at the top. I crept under a terrace and drew my revolver. I couldn’t remember the last time I had fired my gun. It was mainly just a way to tell others to leave me alone. Of course, how do you intimidate people with a gun, when they have guns too?

Savage land, indeed.

I heard nothing behind the ornately carved door, so I set a hand on it. It was slightly ajar so I pushed it open to find a row of gunmen with rifles aimed at the door.

My heart leapt into my throat as I felt a hand snatch the revolver from my hand and push me inside. I turned to see Annette close the door behind me. She shook her head.

‘Should have stayed in bed, Otto. But that’s not your real name is it?’

A man sat in a chair just a few feet behind the row of gunmen. His skin was pale and he was hunched over with a blanket over his shoulders. He looked about to keel over but there was still a look in his eye like a ember of a dying fire.

‘Hector Loya,’ I gasped unable to comprehend my poor luck.

‘Dusty sent you, didn’t she?’

I was had. Yet, for some reason, I didn’t feel fear. If anything, I was angry.

‘You had me framed. That woman in the street that saw me and accused me was sent by you. Blaming me for killing that shopkeeper kept Dusty from getting back at you,’ I said.

‘Of course, she figured it out and sent you, did she?’

‘I’m done being a pawn. I’m going back home and leaving this cesspool behind,’ I said, turning my back to face Annette.

‘If only it were so easy,’ she said. She aimed the revolver at my head but then Hector Loya stood up and leaned on his cane.

‘Tell me, did you meet with her?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’

Annette let her weapon down. ‘What are you thinking papa?’

‘Dr. Listrum might be the ace in the deck we never knew we had.’

– Dr. Marcus Listrum

Annette sent a maid to clean my wounds and wash the blood and dirt off my skin. I lost track of time as I lay in a trough of steaming water leaning back on a steel lip. I closed my eyes and let go of consciousness.

I heard a tiny squeak from the guest door opening and I was instantly awake. It was dark outside and the water had gone cold. The tips of my fingers were wrinkled with moisture and the scent of fresh lavender filled my nostrils. I spotted my revolver belt over on my bed and realized how far away I was from it. Whoever was in my room, I was at their mercy unless I could reach my gun in time.

Fortunately, the room was divided by a wall, so whoever crept into my room still hadn’t seen me. I slid out of the tepid water careful not to make excess noise as droplets fell from my arms and torso. I reached the bed and took my revolver out only to hear a click behind me.

I was toast.

I let my revolver back onto my bed and lifted my hands up.

‘You got me,’ I said gritting my teeth. I turned around to see Annette in a brown nightgown holding a small lighter in her hands. She smiled playfully and flicked the lighter off.

‘Nervous?’ she asked.

I let my hands down and realized I was naked before her. I moved my hands over in between my legs. I wiped moisture from my face and then, I tilted my head.

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.

Annette opened her nightgown to reveal her breasts, soft and shapely. She let the gown fall to her feet and put her hands over in between her legs to mimic my current standing.

‘Do you remember your promise to me when we were children?’ she asked, her sharp black eyes dissecting into my flesh like a surgeon. She studied my face carefully.

‘I…’ I had to admit to myself. I could never have imagined finding myself in this current situation not especially with a woman of Annette’s caliber. Her light-brown colored skin absorbed the shadows around her accentuating the slender curvature of her body. She was a goddess incarnate.

My fast must have betrayed my thoughts. Annette’s face went red and in that moment, her confidence seemed to wane. ‘You do remember, don’t you?’

I had to come up with something. ‘I…I hit my head pretty hard, Annette. I find myself struggling to remember the most basic of things.’

This made Annette gasp and she leaned down and grabbed the nightgown to cover herself up hurriedly. ‘You…I…when we were children we made a promise to be our first. Your last letter said you wanted to fulfill that purpose your first night here. I have to admit, you are more handsome than I remember. You have been true to that promise, haven’t you? True to me?’

I swallowed hard, then nodded. ‘I’m sorry, Annette. I…’

‘Oh no,’ She said, then wrapping herself in her gown as fast as her hands could move. ‘This is a nightmare.’

She sprinted to the door but just before turning out of sight. ‘I’m sorry. Please forget I was here. Also, don’t tell Father.’

She disappeared leaving me soaking wet and naked.

‘What the fuck just happened?’

– Dr. Marcus Listrum (Otto)