The Wicked Witch of the Wild West - Update

Now that I'm not doing TBoB and DD back to back, I have a little more time for my other projects. I updated WWotWW, so end of the first chapter flows better, and added a second chapter for people to enjoy.

Chapter 1 - A company town

As soon as I stepped on the platform I was struck by a dry, oppressive heat. It took several days to reach this place by train, and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I’d come expecting the lawless frontier, instead it was another cookie cutter company town. The platform and buildings weren’t built from unfinished logs, but refined lumber and brick, probably shipped from way back east, as a way to show off the train company’s wealth. 

A quiet, upset hiss from my carpet bag reminded me that I had more important things to do than sightsee. I quickly threw my rifle case over my shoulder, then hefted the misshapen carpet bag. “I’m going, don’t get your tail in a knot,” I whispered to the bag.

I had to push through the crowded station to make it down to the main street. Thankfully, even though the town was fairly modern looking, it wasn’t that large, and all the main amenities were within a couple hundred feet of the train station. I darted across the street, eager to get out of the sun, and headed directly for the nearest hotel.

As I stepped through the swinging doors I half expected to step onto a tavern floor filled with gambling and prostitution, but instead there was just a quiet lobby with a well dressed clerk.

The man wiped his hands on a nearby towel, before picking up a pen. “Can I help you ma’am?” he asked politely.

“I’m looking for a private room, for a couple nights. Don’t know exactly how long,” I replied, eyeing him up suspiciously.

He nodded, then flipped through the ledger on his desk for a moment. “I can offer you one of the regular rooms for two days, they’ll cost you a dollar a night, but if you want to stay longer, you’ll need to book one of the premium rooms.”

“Why? Is there a limit on how long someone can stay in the standard rooms?”  I asked suspiciously.

“No ma’am, but there will be a company train coming through in a couple days, and people typically book rooms weeks in advance so they can be here when it arrives. All standard rooms are booked at that time.”

“Wonderful,” I muttered as I dug my wallet out. “How much are the premium rooms?”

“Two dollars a night.” I didn’t argue, instead I just dropped a crumpled twenty dollar bill on the counter. Before it even landed the man snatched it up, and placed it in the cashbox. “Name?”

“Zoey Claiborne” I said. 

The man nodded briefly as he filled in the register. Once he was done he reached under the desk, pulled out a key and handed it to me. “You’ll be in room eight, second floor at the end,” he said, “Welcome to GraveWater.”

I just nodded in response, before grabbing the key and heading up to the room. 

Even though the room had a solid door, and a modern lock, the inside wasn’t anything special. A double bed, chest of drawers, mirror, a stove, and tiny window which looked out over the street. I quickly placed my bag down on the bed, and popped it open, revealing the small grey tabby cat inside.

She popped her head out, and stared daggers at me. “Merow!”

“I’m sorry, but you know most places don’t allow cats. Too much of a stigma around them.”

Kaylee laid her ears down flat, and stared even harder, but didn’t respond. Now that my cat was finally out of the bag, I threw my worn out black cowboy hat to the floor, and took a look at myself in the mirror. My raven black hair had dried out during the long trip, leaving it brittle and frayed, and I had huge bags under my hazel eyes. My fair skin was fine, but it wouldn’t take long for me to develop a tan in this climate.

There was a small bowl of fresh water on the chest of drawers, probably one of the few extra amenities for the premium room, so I took a few minutes to clean myself up before turning back towards the bed. “Do you think this is far enough west yet?” I asked my cat.

Kaylee looked up from where she was grooming herself, and stared at me for a moment. “Meow”

“I know, I know. There’s no way for either of us to actually know, I just wanted your opinion.”

Kaylee just cocked her head to the side, then went back to grooming.

“Fine, be that way,” I mumbled. Since Kaylee was occupying the door, and there was a bowl of water on the chest of drawers, I dragged my rifle case over to the window sill. The railway prevented anyone from openly carrying on their trains, and they had the muscle to back it up, so I put my firearms away for the trip. Now that we’d arrived, I was itching to put my revolver back on my belt. The case was built with three compartments. There were spaces in the lid to secure my pair of …. Revolvers, even though I normally only carried one at a time. Opposite the revolvers, was a space for my repeating rifle. I’d saved for months in order to buy it back home, and only had one chance to use it. Now just looking at it brought back bad memories.

I pulled the rifle out, and set it aside, in order to get access to the final, hidden compartment. Underneath the rifle, hidden beneath a false panel, was my broom. It was a more modern design, which had a screw joint in the middle which allowed me to break it down for transport. It was one of the very few artifacts which I had that still worked after the incident.

I slowly brushed my hand down its length, before finally pulling away and closing the compartment again. It was best to be cautious. Getting caught with it would only lead to problems for me.

I carefully grabbed my rifle, and placed it back in its place, before grabbing one of my pistols. I ran my hands over its black enamel with silver embossed finish; Carefully checking the chamber and barrel, before slipping a couple rounds into the chamber and tucking it into my belt. Once I did, I felt immensely better.

“Hold down the fort for a while, I want to look around,” I told Kaylee. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring you dinner when I come back, just remember to stay out of sight,” I told her as she eyed me suspiciously. Satisfied with my declaration, the cat disappeared under my bed, meowing a half hearted goodbye.

“Yeah yeah, I love you too,” I grumbled as I grabbed my hat and headed to the door. 

I quickly locked up, depositing the key into a pocket on my vest, before heading back down to the street.  I hadn’t been inside long, but it was long enough for the sun to duck behind some buildings, providing some much needed relief from the heat. 

Across the road, at the railway station, they were still performing maintenance on the locomotive. There must have been a coal mine in the area, because they were refilling the coal car, along with replenishing the water in the boiler. I could see at least half a dozen employees scrambling about, trying to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

As I turned away from the station, and started making my way down the sidewalk, I took a look inside each building I passed, trying to get the lay of the land. There was a saloon, which despite having the drinking and gambling I expected at the inn, was more subdued than most establishments I’d seen elsewhere. Beside it was the bank, which seemed to deal mainly in company notes, the sheriff’s office, a telegraph office, blacksmith, and finally a company store. I even double checked the side streets, looking for more businesses, only to locate the butcher and the church, but nothing else. I expected more somehow.

With little choice, I stepped into the small company store. As I wandered up to the counter, looking at the anemic stock, a little boy peeked out of the back room. Before I could say anything, he turned and yelled, “Pa! Customer!” before disappearing. A second later a slightly balding, bow backed man stepped forward.

“Howdy stranger. Welcome to Gravewater mercantile, how can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m just looking for some supplies to get me through the week,” I reported, looking through my options. “You don’t seem to have a lot of choices here though.”

He chuckled. “This must be your first time in a Graves controlled town ma’am. All the company stores only stock the basics, because the big ticket items are only sold directly from the company trains. There’ll be one coming through in a couple days, if you’re interested.”

“Seems controlling, and overly complicated,” I grumbled.

“Maybe, but it’s company policy,” he said with a shrug. “So, can I get you anything?”

“Yeah, just some cooking supplies, bacon, bread, beans and eggs,” I said, after quickly perusing what was available. “I guess I’m going to have to stop by that train in a few days.”

“I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, it’s quite a spectacle,” the shop keeper said, as he busied himself with collecting my supplies. It didn’t take him long before he came back, with a decent sized sack. “That’ll be fifty cents” 

I fished a couple coins out of my pocket and handed them over, before taking my groceries. 

As I stepped back outside, I noticed a commotion back towards the sheriff's office. From what I could tell, a small posse had rode into town while I was occupied. Bounty hunters?

The group had already attracted a lot of attention, so I stepped up to one of the locals nearby. “What’s going on? They bring in a major bounty or something?” I asked.

One of the women nearby turned to me, with a massive smile on her face. “Even better! They managed to pick up a couple of rogue spellcasters from that commune outside of town. It’s about time too! They’ve gotten away with their witchcraft for far too long, it’s about time they faced true justice.” As the rest of the group muttered their approval, I tried to catch a look at the ‘perpetrators’. I just managed to catch sight of two girls, so young they could barely be considered teens, as the posse dragged them off the horses and shoving them inside the sheriff’s office.

Every instinct in my body cried out to help the girls, but I knew I couldn’t do anything. Not with so many people around. Instead I just forced a fake smile. “Justice, right.”

Chapter 2 - The price of magic

“Magic is illegal? What backwater bullshit is this?” I muttered as I entered my room. 

Kaylee just popped her head out from her hiding spot underneath the pillows and looked at me quizzically. “Mow?”

“Yes you heard me right. I just watched the townspeople here drag two young girls into town for the supposed charge of being witches,” I huffed. “I asked around and apparently the Graves company convinced the townspeople around here that magic is illegal, and they should turn any casters they find over to the company. It hasn’t been illegal since the end of the witch trials, and you’d need to be a suspected diabolist before the witch hunters were notified!” I slammed my fist into the chest of drawers in frustration, only to immediately regret it. I didn’t have any body enhancement magic on to absorb the impact. 

“Meow?”

“No, they don’t know I’m a witch,” I replied ”We traveled incognito, and even though they have some magic disrupting tools, they have no way to detect magic. The town has a couple paid lawmen, and probably more than a few company men, they’re far from expert witch hunters."

My cat narrowed her eyes, “Murrr….”

I sighed. “Can I help those kids? I doubt it. I still don’t know the full layout of the town, and even if I did, I’d have to risk exposing myself as a witch to help them. If I did that, I’d make an enemy not only of the entire town, but the Graves company too. It’s not worth it.” 

My cat narrowed her eyes, “Mhrrr!”

“I know I’m lying to myself.” I spat out, as I threw my hands in the air. “I fucking hate that these people are treating those kids like criminals, just because they have magic. They don’t deserve to be persecuted like that, of course I want to help them. ”

“MOW!” she replied, stomping one of her feet. 

“I’m not just going to go out and attempt a jailbreak tommorow!” I replied indignantly. “That probably result only in just end up with us sharing a cell with the girls. That doesn’t mean I’m going to ”

Kaylee huffed, although I wasn’t sure if it was in agreement, or disappointment, before hopping down from her perch and walking over to me. Instead of nuzzling me, she pawed at my shopping bag, trying to find out what was inside. I could tell when she found the bacon, because she immediately started purring.

“People’s lives are in danger, and all you can think about is food,” I said, looking down at her in disappointment. She just looked back up at me, in expectation. “Fine, dinner first, planning second, you glutton.”

She just stared up at me, and I could swear there was a tiny smile on her face. “Meow.”

After cooking dinner on the stove in my room, and feeding Kaylee, I sat on the window sill and stared down into the street. During the day the Graves company presence was heavy, but during the evening it was absolutely oppressive. There were a number of groups wandering the streets, and even though they didn’t have any identification, at least as far as I could tell, the locals were treating them with significant respect. At one point one of these groups even stormed into the tavern to settle some sort of ruckus. 

They had to be company men, and since I counted at least a dozen of them while I nibbled on my egg toast, it was quite a large contingent. 

If I wanted to leave town that wouldn’t be a problem, even if the townsfolk identified me as a witch. There didn’t appear to be any actual witch hunters in town, which meant the locals were limited to protective trinkets. Attacking a fully trained witch without training would be suicide, which is probably why they kidnapped some kids and considered it a victory. This lot would never be able to break into a true coven, not without some serious backup. 

That didn’t mean I’d be able to rescue two kids, and escape town before getting gunned down. I was powerful, but even I had my limits.

I brushed the crumbs off my shirt and pants, before stepping away from the window and placing my plate on the drawers.

“Mowww?” Kaylee questioned, half a stick of bacon in her mouth.

“No, there are far too many eyes on the street for me to go out and investigate tonight. I’ll probably end up on a watch list, as a person of interest, if I do anything besides going to the saloon,” I told the cat. “We can investigate more tomorrow.”

I turned to close the window, and by the time I turned back around Kaylee had already sprawled on her back, taking over half the bed. I just sighed. There was no point trying to remove her, if I did I’d only regret it by the time I woke up in the morning, so I just slipped under the covers and blew out the light. Thankfully sleep came quickly.

As soon as the first rays of light came through the window my eyes shot open. It felt like my arm was being torn apart by hundreds of jagged teeth, and my brain felt like it was on fire. I took a few deep breaths, spending several minutes trying to suppress the sensations before they began to fade. Once I felt slightly better I shifted over, and sat on the side of the bed. Kaylee was snoring loudly, so I let her sleep. I just quietly pulled a new outfit out of my bag, and changed in the morning light. 

By the time my cat finally stirred I’d not only changed, but done a full maintenance routine on all my weapons. “Mow?” she asked as I holstered my pistol.

“No fresh food this morning, I don’t feel like cooking,” I told her. “There’s jerky on the drawers.” She looked at me in concern, and didn’t complain. 

Instead she just silently took a strip of jerky over to a corner to enjoy. I watched her for a minute, enjoying the quiet while I worked up my nerves, before finally standing up. “I’m going for a walk, stay out of trouble while I’m gone,” I told her quietly.

I quickly made my way through the inn, I wasn’t in the mood to talk with anyone this morning, and went out into the street. The sun was still low in the sky, but it was already warming up. I slowly made my way down the sidewalk, casually tipping my hat at the few people I met, not really paying attention to my surroundings. That is, until someone walking the other direction stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

I blinked, trying to clear my vision, and get a look at the stranger. He was quite rugged looking, with a massive brown mustache and sharp brown eyes. His entire outfit was quite neat, cleaner than most, and most importantly there was a shiny metal star hanging from his vest.

“Good morning ma’am,” he said as he casually brushed his mustache. “You’re new in town, aren’t ya.” I wasn’t the most observant person on the planet, but it was hard to miss how much he was eyeing me up. 

“Morning…Deputy?” I muttered, standing up as straight as I could.

“Sheriff actually, Sheriff Anderson” he corrected, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Sheriff, sorry.” I put on my best fake smile for him. “I just arrived last night actually, haven’t done much more than pick up supplies and collapse at the inn.” 

“Really? How are you liking things so far?” he asked. I noticed a little movement further up the street, it was subtle, but one of the company gun hands that was leaning against a shop front glanced my way. Were they testing me?

“It’s certainly different from what I’m used to back east,” I replied smoothly. “I didn’t know what to expect, but everyone’s been super friendly so far.” Even though I wanted to appear casual, and open, to the man I winced as my head throbbed. “Sorry, I didn’t sleep very well last night,” I muttered.

“Understandable. It was your first night in a new place,” he said flatly. I glanced at his face, and didn’t see any empathy, just a wary, judging stare. “Are you staying long, Mrs…?”

“Claiborne. Zoey Claiborne,” I told the sheriff. “And I don’t know, I’ve just been moving west, looking for a place to settle down.” 

The man nodded, never taking his eyes off me. “A common story. If you feel like sticking around, please come and see me. I’m not only the sheriff, but the company representative, and I can see what I can do to set you up,” he said. “If not, just make sure you keep your nose clean. The company keeps a tight ship, and we don’t appreciate trouble makers. Got it?”

“Yes sir,” I replied meekly.

“Good,” the sheriff said stiffly before turning away. “Have a good day Mrs Claiborne” As he stomped away I noticed three other individuals turn away. It wasn’t just the man I spotted, but a couple others across the street. 

As the corporate goons dispersed, I just grabbed my forehead. “It’s going to be a long day.”