One Gun Two Fangs

One Gun, Two Fangs

A lonely traveler enters a boisterous saloon from the cool summer evening. The dust on his clothes indicates that he’s been on the open plains for a long period of time. His wide brimmed hat is pulled down over his features, hiding his pale steel blue eyes from all those within the saloon. The noise barely drops a decibel as he slowly and quietly enters through the swinging doors. He pauses momentarily, looking around the room cautiously. He wore a long riding coat and its flaps rested against his booted feet. A single Colt revolver, .45 caliber, was strapped to his side as his only companion. He strode across the barroom in smooth, panther-like strides. He finds an unoccupied corner table and sits down with his back to the wall. The stranger leans back and watches the patrons about their merry business. A few minutes pass before a scantly clad barmaid comes over to the table to take his order.

”Can I getcha somethin’ ta drink hon’?” The woman asked in a southern drawl.

”Perhaps young lovely. I am looking for some company this evening.” He responds in a cool slow voice, almost entrancingly. “Preferably private company.”

“Well, I could see about arrangin’ some comp’ny for ya doll.” She replied smiling. “For a small fee of course.”

“Wouldn’t you care to join me yourself?” He looked up and caught her gaze with his penetrating stare. “I think you rather would enjoy that, don’t you?”

Almost hypnotically the young serving girl nodded slowly.

”Yes. Yes that would be fine with me. Room 313, your key will be at the bar.” The young lady replied while nodding slowly. “I’ll be upstairs in a minute or two.”

Smiling to himself, the stranger lowered his head, breaking his gaze. The server turned and walked back behind the bar, set her tray down, and spoke quickly with the bartender. She made her way upstairs slowly, not even blinking it seemed. He watched her from under his hat until she was out up the stairs and out of sight. The stranger casually glanced about the room as he slowly rose to his feet and walked towards the bar tender.

“I need the key to room 313.” He said calmly.

”Yes sir.” The bartender replied. “That’ll be $15. One night and checkout is noon.” He requested the over weight owner as he slapped the key on the bar.

The stranger digs in his pocket. “Tell me something friend. How much does the lady here get for her ‘services’?” He asks quietly.

“Ladies get $5 a trick, sir.” The bartender answered, glancing up at the stranger with an inquisitive look.

The stranger lays down fifteen one dollar coins, placing them in a neat stack. His mind though, was preoccupied with the bartenders answer to his question. More specifically, the owners lie to his question. The bartender reaches across the bar for the stack of coins as the strangers hand snaps out and grabs his wrist, faster than the human eye could perceive. His grip was like cold iron, crushing the wrist bones of the pudgy, lying owner.

”You know friend. I would hate to think you would be lying to me.” He said, the steel in his voice matching his iron grip.

“I know for a fact that you do not pay the ladies here $5 a trick.” The stranger said, applying more pressure to the bartenders’ wrist. “It’s more like $1 a trick; it would be $5 if they gave you some of their services on the side as well. Though we both know none of them entertain that thought in anything outside of their nightmares.” He said, increasing the pressure on the owners’ wrist.

“However.” He warned. “From this point on, the ladies will get $5. Or else.”

The bartenders’ only response was his eyes widening in fear as the iron grip on his wrist continued to tighten. The stranger was sure the pain was excruciating and he likely felt as though his bones would shatter. He lingered a moment, watching with satisfaction as the bartender rubbed his wrist protectively. Finally, he picks up the key and walks up the stairs without a single glance back.
He quietly walks down the hallway, looking from door to door, finally finding his room. Entering swiftly and closing the door, he didn’t bother to lock it. Inside, the young serving girl was standing beside the bed, a glassy look in her eyes.

”I see you’ve made yourself comfortable.” He inquired as he smiled at her.
Shaking her head as though awakening from a daze, the young woman looks around the room in confusion.

”How did I get up here? Who are you?” She asked, slightly alarmed.

“You came because I asked you to my dear. I have a proposition for you. One that you shouldn’t refuse.” He replied as he removed his hat, revealing long blonde locks of hair.

“Oh? And just what do you propose mister? I ain’t into nothing kinky mind you.” The young lady said sternly, putting her hands on her hips. “Especially if’n it involves animals.”

“No ma’am.” He said with a chuckle.
“I don’t care for that either, however this is more of a ‘long term’ proposition.” He replied as he motioned for her with his pale hand.
“Come over here and I’ll tell you more about it.”

She sauntered over towards the man as he removed his long coat and hung it over the bedpost. His features were powerful; he towered above her delicate form like a giant. Yet his eyes spoke of softness, the pale blue in them glowing softly in the room’s oil lamp light. She drew closer to him, feeling as though she was drawn to him like a magnet. Something about him intrigued her. He removed his scarf and gun belt and placed them on the dresser with nary a sound.
He turned towards her suddenly, faster than she’d ever seen any man move before. She gasped lightly and her eyes were fixed on his. She felt her heart beginning to beat harder and louder; like an Indian war drum.
Her mind opened to him like a book, each thought turned over like a page in the breeze.
His eyes focused on hers, staring into the depths of her soul like a bright spotlight. He felt her heart quicken as her womanly scent wafted into his nostrils, firing the deep hunger within him. Her soft skin glowed with life, life that he as going to take and replace with a new one. She moved quicker to him as he beckoned her with his will.
Slowly he reached out and took her small hand in his. Soaking up her mortal beauty like a dry sponge.

“What is your name my lovely morsel?” He asks softly.

“Sally.” She replied, trying to fight against the caressing voice inside her head.

“They call me Rhodes.” He said simply. “A pleasure to meet you Sally my dear. I want to give you a gift.” He says, almost too calmly.

“It’s a gift that can not be purchased. It can not be wrapped either. It is a gift that only I can bestow upon you. Tonight, if you so desire.” He offered, probing her mind as he held her hand.

“I promise you, it will be nothing like you’ve ever felt before.” The stranger asks, lightly stroking her warm hand in his ice cold one.

“Do you want my gift, Sally?” He asks again.
Pulling his will from her mind, he looked down at her hands, marveling in the warmth of her skin.

“What kind of gift are you offerin’?” She asks inquisitively.

“I can not show it to you. I can only give it to you if you’re willing to accept it.” Rhodes replies sweetly, gently kissing her hand.

A wave of pleasure makes Sally shudder as his lips touch her skin, sending chills up her spine to the base of her neck.

“Yes. I would like to have it.” She answers while nodding slowly.

Rhodes looks up at her slowly, his penetrating eyes pierced into her mind like a sharp dagger. She instinctively took a step backwards. He caught her hand, holding her steady and moved behind her. With his body pressed against hers as he wrapped an arm around her petite waist and held her tightly.

”Now my dear.” He said seductively. “Close your eyes”

Complying with his demand, Sally closed her eyes as Rhodes kissed her softly on her exposed shoulder and neck. Slowly he took his free hand and pulled a rose from thin air. He holds the flower under her nose, waiting for her to inhale its fresh scent. He then sunk his elongated fangs into her neck. Gasping, Sally felt as though a whirlwind of roses swirled about her. Her heart beat louder, like the thundering herd of buffalo she once saw as a child. She felt a wave of pleasure coursing through every fiber in her body, as this man suckled from her neck. The pain from his teeth piecing her flesh lasted only a moment before mixing with the sweet pleasure that flowed from her now. As her beating heart began to slow, an inky blackness began to creep upon her.

The feeling for Rhodes was always the same; the scent of roses mixed with a burning pleasure thru his body. He felt his heart begin to beat in time with hers, even though his heart had actually ceased beating 300 years ago. His own final moments of mortality had been spent locked in the grip of a female vampress with an insatiable thirst for human blood. In what had seemed like an instant, Rhodes had been drained of his life’s’ liquid and it had been replaced with fire. It’s a fire that has burned every night since the moment of his dark embrace. The fire would be only quenched by the blood of mortals, only to return the next night when he arose from his deep underground slumber.
Rhodes pulled his fangs back slowly from Sally’s neck. He let her hot blood flow past his eager lips and down his throat in a gush of liquid fire. He did not need to suck; her heart was strong enough to force the liquid down into his stomach. The last few moments of her life drew near and Rhodes pulled his mouth from the wound he’d created. He licked the bite marks and closed them with his arts. Sally’s body grew limp in his iron embrace and he lifted his mouth to her ear.

“Sally my child.” He whispers. “You’re mortal life is now at its end. You can feel the darkness of death creeping slowly upon you.” He says urgently.

“It shall whisk you away to the unknown. Unless I stop it” Rhodes said matter-of-factly.
“Take my arm and drink from me. Drink from my fountain of immortality and receive the gift I offer you.”

Rhodes makes a small slit in his wrist with his razor sharp fang and lifts it to her mouth.
Sally’s eyes roll around uncontrollably, as death beckons to her. She can only hear the faint beating of her dying heart, just behind the words whispered from afar by her slayer. She feels cold skin press at her lips and something wet. Deliciously wet, oozing between her parched lips. Her tongue hesitantly brushes outward to taste this new liquid as the darkness closes swiftly about her. Suddenly white fire erupts into her mouth, burning its way down her throat as she swallows uncontrollably. The molten liquid hits her stomach like a hot poker thrust inside her. She continues to swallow the offering from the opening in Rhodes’ wrist. Her mind swirls with light and darkness, mixing together like oils in a painting. The creeping death that stalked her, fled in a great rush, as though a great dragon had swallowed it up.
Rhodes tears his wrist from her grip, sending her falling onto the bed. Her body begins to twist and convulse as his blood reaches from within her stomach, changing her forever.
He holds onto his wrist, watching as Sally groans and writhes on the bed before him. He sits down in a nearby chair, still clutching his wrist to his chest.

The flashes of light subside after what seems an eternity to Sally. The surges of pain slowly diminish to just a low humming all over her body. She opens her eyes, only to see the ceiling, shimmering in low lamp light. Sitting up quickly, Sally shivers. She senses a powerful presence in the room with her. She looks quickly to the chair where Rhodes continues to sit quietly. She cocks her head to the side; she could see a soft glow emanating from his eyes.
”What did you do to me?” She asks quietly, noticing her hands and how foreign the seemed just then.

”I gave you the gift.” Rhodes replies. “The dark gift of immortality my dearest Sally.” He said in an almost fatherly tone.

”What do you mean? And why does my body ache like I have the flu? And my stomach, it burns like I’ve drank a gallon of whiskey.” Sally asks in a barrage as she clutches at her midsection.

“Hardly a gallon.” He chuckled.
“It was more like 3 drops, of my essence actually. You are immortal now Sally. You will never grow old from this moment on. The feeling in your stomach is the beast, the need for fresh blood. That is the price the dark gift exacts from us all, for every night we exist. You will learn to feed, to grow stronger. For now, you need to rest. You can not walk about in daylight. That is your only enemy now, my love.” He explained.

“Sleep.” He orders.
“I will return for you later, when you have rested. The night is still young my lovely and you have much to learn.”

Sally lay back on the bed, feeling exhaustion down to her soul. Rhodes rose from his chair and pulled the cover over her and then pulled the shades down. He buckled his gun belt on and slid into his long coat. The time to play had come and now that he had taken care of business. Closing the door silently behind himself, he pauses a moment before returning to the bar downstairs. The saloon was nearly packed now that nightfall had found the sleepy little town. The citizens were now drinking merrily and reveling in all sorts of mortal pleasures. Rhodes moves towards the bartender and smiles as the man jerks his arm back from wiping the bar.

”You have any good cigars back there, friend?” He asks with a sly smile, seeing the man tremble in fear.

’“Y, yes sir.“ He stammers.
“Good tobacco all the way from the eastern territories. Here, see for yourself.” He says as he brings a large box onto the bar.

Rhodes sniffs lightly at a couple before selecting three of the most expensive. He pays again in gold and moves away before the bartender even picks the money up. He strolls casually across the crowded floor and makes his way back to the table in the corner. He sits down and lights up one of the cigars, inhaling deeply. Smoking was the only vice he still enjoyed, left over from the mortal coil he shed so long ago. Watching the mass of mortals move like waves in a pond, he sat quietly and enjoyed a cigar contently.

Not long after sitting down, three large cowboy types barge into the saloon. They headed straight for the bar and ordered a bottle of whiskey from the portly barkeep. Rhodes allowed his hearing to carry, sensing some lingering hostility, if not cowardice, from the bartender. He made a show of paying no particular attention to the cowboys, just sitting quietly and smoking his fifty cent cigar.

“Hey. I’ll give you boys $5 dollars each if’n you’ll do me a favor.” The saloon owner offered quietly.

“See that tall stranger over there smoking a cigar and not drinkin’?” He said, nodding his head in Rhodes direction.

“Well, he nearly broke my damn arm here, all because I wasn’t payin the girls enough. Whathca say? Will you take care of it for me?”
He offers, continuing to keep his voice low. The three cowboys glance over their shoulders towards Rhodes.

“Tell ya what fat man. We’ll take care of that drifter for ya, easy enough. For $5 and for freebies with yer best gals. That’s our deal.”

The obvious leader demands.

“We been out on the trail awhile.” He explains, spitting into a brass spittoon.
The other two nodded as they downed their glasses of whiskey, looking a few more times over their shoulder at Rhodes who continues to pretend that he can’t hear them.

”Yeah. Sure. You got yerself a deal boys. But don’t hurt none of my other customers.” The sweaty saloon owner replies.

Rhodes smiles to himself and leans his chair back against the wall. He props his boots on the table and puffs on his half smoked cigar, waiting patiently for the inevitable. He wishes now he would have simply killed the barkeep. Now he also has to deal with three small problems coming towards him from the bar. He chuckles darkly to himself as the three cowboys walk up to his table.
“Hey friend, how’s about letting us use this table to play some cards?” The leader demands in a less than friendly manner.

“I suppose I could do that. However I don’t see any of you carrying any cards. So it would be my impression that you really don’t want to play cards. Instead I’m willing to gamble you are here to kill me, excuse the pun.” Rhodes replies, staring at each man in turn with his pale, steel-blue eyes. The three men look amongst themselves, taken aback by the stranger’s words.

“Boy, you got a smart mouth there. Fast too. I’m wonderin’. Is that gun just as fast?” The leader retorts as the other two move their hands to their pistol grips.

“Well that depends, friend. On how bad you want to find out.” Replies Rhodes. The tone in his voice changes from friendly to rock hard.

The leader eyes Rhodes, contemplating his next move. While the three contemplate his gun fighting ability, Rhodes removes all doubt in the blink of an eye. Before the three can bat an eyelash, Rhodes pulls his pistol out and points it at the crotch of the leader; hammer cocked back, his finger on the trigger. The three cowboys twitched ever so slightly as their eyes widen in amazement at the strangers inhuman speed.

“Now. Did that answer you gentlemen’s questions? Or would you like to see it again? How about we just skip to the end result? Which ever you prefer.” Rhodes says coldly, his eyes glowing with power.

The leader never moves his hand. He only eyeballs Rhodes contemptuously. His companions are not so steel hearty though; they exchange nervous glances between themselves. Rhodes slowly places his gun back into its holster and folds his hands on his chest in pure defiance.

“Friend. If you’re a gambler, then you’d realize the odds is in our favor. Three to one. Even if you nailed two of us, there ain’t no man alive that can drop three before getting hit himself. So I’s a figger that even if you get me and one of the other boys, the last one is gonna nail you. What’d you say to that?” The leader demands. He squints at Rhodes as if the thought hurt.

Smiling fiendishly, Rhodes replies. “I would say you were correct. However, I don’t think your companions agree with that idea. I mean they don’t know who I’m going to shoot. They know I’m going to kill you, without a doubt. But would they gamble on your ability to kill me before I shot them? I mean they just saw how fast I can draw, and they already know how fast you can pull your gun. So the real gamble is with you and I.”

The man stares coldly back at Rhodes, letting his anger build up inside. Knowing it will give him an edge on his draw. The other two men’s foreheads begin to bead with perspiration. Rhodes sits quietly, staring back at the leader and waiting. The leader resolves himself in his own mind. Just as the thought completes itself, Rhodes pulled his gun so fast that none of the three so much as have a hand on their pistols.
The .45 Colt popped three times, nearly simultaneously, the three cowboys drop to the floor. Each shot through the heart with a single bullet. The bar becomes instantly quiet; everyone stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction of Rhodes. He merely sits back in his chair, placing his weapon back into its holster, and slowly sets his chair back on the floor.

“They touched my boots.” He says lightly, looking around at everyone.

There’s a brief pause before everyone turns back to their business, music begins to play again and cards are dealt. The bartender pours drinks nervously as Rhodes rises from his chair and approaches slowly.

“Excuse me. But Miss Sally is feeling ill. Would you please come up with a wash basin and a towel. I am no good at doctoring. She asked for you to come up and check on her.” Rhodes asks innocently as a child.

“S…sure thing. I’ll be along shortly.” The fat barkeep answers, his stutter worsening.

He hesitates only a moment, casting a hard glance to the fat, back stabbing bartender as he ascends the stairs to check on his newest business investment. He paused at the door to his room and listened, stretching out his senses to within the room. He opened the door silently and looked in at the bed, noticing Sally was lying there, still as a corpse, ironically not far from the truth. She quickly sat up in bed, fangs bared and her eyes glowing dull green.

“Easy my child. Everything is as it should be.” He soothed. “How do you feel?” Rhodes asks, closing the door behind him.

“I’m starving. My stomach is hurt’n. It feels like I have a belly full of fire. What’s wrong with me?” Sally complained, the anguish of the thirst apparent in her eyes.

“You need to feed my lovely. And I’ve arranged for your first meal.” Rhodes replies, hearing a knock at the door.

Opening the door, Rhodes steps aside and allows the bartender to enter. Sally sits on the edge of the bed, hair disheveled from her earlier fits.

“Sally? Are you feelin’ poorly?” The owner asks. “You look pale as a ghost, girl.” He observes as he looks at one of his working ladies.

Rhodes stealthily steps in behind the owner and grabs him by the back of the neck. He lifts the hefty man off his feet like a rag doll and slams his head into the nearby wall. Tossing the
unconscious man onto the bed, Rhodes looks at Sally with a cold, calculating stare.

“This is important my precious. Drink from him, but you must listen to his heartbeat. You must stop before the heart stops, lest his death find you.” Rhodes instructs, tilting the barkeeps head to one side and exposing his fleshy neck.

Sally hesitates a moment, licking her lips and elongated fangs. Quickly, like a cat, she pounces and sinks her teeth into the soft flesh of the saloon owner. Her body arches as she tries to draw out his blood in great draughts. Rhodes smiles to himself, thinking how it was when he was new to the dark world. The first taste of the kill, the slating of the hunger within, only to be reborn again and again each night.

“Ok, Sally. That is enough. Remember the heart.” Rhodes warns, quickly pulling Sally back by her shoulder.
She looks up at him with blood smeared across her lips and chin and looks back at the owner. A look of guilt and terror crossed her features, one that he recognized all too well.

“Pay no attention to him. He was merely the solution to a problem. I’ve arranged for you to take over this establishment, if you wish to. You can make sure the girls are treated fairly and decently. More importantly you will not have to worry about where your next meal will come from.” Rhodes says slyly.

“Ya. This coul’ be a very good arrangement.” She says with conviction. “Will you leave me now?” Sally asks, picking up a towel and wetting it to clean her face.

“Soon. In a night or two perhaps.” Rhodes admits.
“I want to make sure you are settled here, first. There is still much you need to learn, my dear. Then I will take my leave of you. However, I will be back to check up on you from time to time. We truly can never be separated, because we are now joined by blood.” He explained. “You will learn this in time.” He says, caressing her cheek.

“Now scream loudly for me. So I can complete this arrangement.” Rhodes said as he pulled out his pistol and shot the dead man in the neck and chest.

Sally let out a blood curling scream with a devilish smile, as two shots ran out into the night. A familiar call heard on the open plains of the old west.