Outlaw Shodown

She wiped the sweat from her brow as the bristling heat of the sun pounded down. It had been a long journey to Tribune, a wayward town supposedly far out of reach of civilization. Supposedly. Adelaide sought salvation, but she knew the truth: her trek across the desert had been sloppy, and on foot. Her pursuers were on horseback, and likely had the best trackers the Texas Rangers could offer. It’d only be a matter of time until they caught up with her, until her crime caught up with her.

“I know I’m not innocent,” she said aloud to the stillness. Again, she wiped the sweat from her brow -- it had renewed so quickly -- and took what she knew would be her last few steps on the run. “Just one last drink,” she thought, mosing up to the local saloon. Taking a pause from her exhaustion, she finally noticed the eerie silence: “Where is everyone?” The streets were empty, tumbleweeds rolling down the lane. Startled, she burst through the saloon doors, to find half-empty cups without patrons to finish them. “Is anyone here?!” she shouted. There was no reply. Adelaide shrugged, hopped over the counter, and knocked back a shot of whiskey, straight from the bottle. Exasperated, she tried one last time, slamming the bottle on the bar and screaming as loud as her tired lungs could muster: “WHERE IS EVERYONE?”

A loud, mechanical noise, unlike anything Adelaide had ever heard before, answered back. It was coming from outside, and it deafened her more than a dozen trains could. She felt her stomach drop, took another swig of whiskey and stepped outside. Weird machines, floating in the sky, beared down on her. “The hell…” she said, this time not to herself but to her new mysterious guests.

Adelaide still wasn’t sure what happen to the townspeople. She knew it wasn’t good. “Well..” she said, while pushing her coat back to reveal a pistol at her side, “I don’t know what you…..things….did to these townpeople, but before I go down, I may as well make sure you don’t plague some other hodunk backwater.” Adelaide knew she’d only be remembered for her crime. “But,” she thought, “maybe I can leave one last mark on this land.” She pulled her gun, and aimed for the sky.