Generation Dead (Book 3): Beyond The Gates (7 page)

Chapter 16

On the ride to Casper, I rolled around the numbers in my head.  My mother held Jake and me to a pretty high standard when it came to our education, and there wasn’t a book within twenty miles that we hadn’t read.  The local schools, the safe ones anyway, were raided with regularity for materials and supplies.  Jake tried to argue out of going to school once, but our father ended that quickly by reminding Jake the he was the son of not only a seriously effective zombie killer, but also a former school principal. And said principal would be dammed if any son if
his
was lacking in the finer points of academia. Dad backed up his argument with a look that froze lava, and Jake’s argument wilted.

I knew the general lines of latitude that ran across North America, and backing that up with what I thought I knew about longitude, I had a general notion of where we thought we wanted to go.  I wasn’t completely certain, but if I was right, we’d bitten off a chunk taking this on.

“Casper coming up,” Jake said.  “What did Dad tell us about these people?”

I stretched. “They’re slightly nuts, but they take their way of life seriously.  They decided to roll back to the Old West, whatever the heck that means.”

Julia spoke up.  “If I remember my dad right, he said they all still wear their guns out in the open, old west style, and have been known to have gunfights to settle their differences.”

I didn’t need to hear that.  I was about to protest going around, but Jake killed that notion.

“We’re here,” he said simply, “and you aren’t going to believe it.”

I looked through the windshield.  “You gotta be kidding me.”

After everything I had seen in my life, I figured I couldn’t be surprised.  What stared back at me from the outside sure surprised the hell out of me. Jake pulled the van over to what looked like a purpose built parking lot that held about forty vehicles.  We gathered our gear and packs and stepped out into the past.

A small trail led the way towards the town, and when I say town, I mean it in every sense of the western word. Out on the plain on what may have been someone’s pasture was a full blown, fully functional western town.  There was a main street that ran along for nearly a quarter mile, and two rows of streets fronted dozens of houses.  The buildings on the main drag were equipped with boardwalks,  false fronts, and horse rails.  As we made our way through town, more than one man on horseback looked us over before tipping his hat to the ladies. 

Stores had goods in them, and the music from several saloons spilled into the dusty street.  The sun was tilting past the mountains, and dusk was not far behind.  I counted four saloons, a doctor’s office, a dentist’s office, three law firms, and two banks.  At the far end of the street I could make out what looked like a church, and there were two other buildings whose purpose I could not discern.

“Here we go.  Hotel,”  Jake said, bumping my arm.

I looked up at a massive two story building.  It had to be all of a hundred feet wide, and who knew how deep.  A balcony ran the entire length of the place on the second floor, and there were a few people lounging in the evening air taking in the sights and sounds of the town.

“Looks like the perfect place,” Kayla said. “I hope they have good food.”

“Amen to that, sister,” Julia said, taking my arm and leading me up to the building. 

I smiled and allowed myself to be led, stepping into the lobby.  Two feet into the place, and I nearly stopped short.  The main area was huge, extending into the second floor.  An arching stairway curved upward from the edge of the polished mahogany wood of the main desk.  Several leather chairs were scattered around the well-lit room, and a large fireplace on the far wall added a warm glow to the overall effect. 

“Damn,” said Jake.

“Yep,” I said. I noticed a man look us over before he stood up from a chair and hurry out of the building.  I didn’t think much of it, since it could have been he had someplace to be.

“May I help you?” a young clerk over at the desk called out, and we made our way over.

“Looking for a couple of rooms if you have them for the night,” Jake said.

The clerk, a bookish looking soul who couldn’t have been a day over twenty, looked us over before tipping his head back ever so slightly.

“We have rooms, certainly.  Are you married couples? We are a respectable place,” he asked, with a slight arch of his eyebrow.

Well, that was a question I hadn’t been asked before.  And before I could answer, Julia and Kayla were stepping forward displaying their wedding rings very close to the man’s face.

“To answer your question, yes,” Julia said.  “These are our husbands, and before they kill you, you might want to reconsider being rude.”

The clerk looked at the rings and then over to Jake and me.  We must have had some serious scowls on our face because the clerk turned visibly white and stammered.

“N-no offense i-intended!”  he blurted out. “The o-owner w-wants to k-keep this a h-higher class p-place than the other h-hotel!”

Jake reached forward and gently pulled the wives back. “Ladies.  Let’s just get to our rooms.” He looked at the clerk.  “Keys?”

The clerk broke a speed record getting our keys to us and had a single request before we went upstairs.

“C-could you please sign our register?” he asked quietly.

Jake looked at me and I shrugged.  Things were different everywhere.  Jake signed his name, and we started for the stairs.  About halfway up, the clerk looked at the book and blurted out.

“Jake Talon?”

My brother turned and gave the young man a cold stare.  “Something wrong?”

“You’re Jake Talon?” the clerk asked, with a weird smile on his face.

“Yes.  What about it?”  Jake turned and fully faced the clerk.  His hand rested casually on the hilt of his knife.

The clerk shook his head.  “Nothing, just heard the name before.”

Jake gave the man another look before turning back up the stairs.  Down the hall, he looked at me.  “What do you think that was about?”

I shook my head.  “Beats the hell out of me.  Let’s get washed up and get some dinner.  We have some planning to do.”

Chapter 17

An hour later we all met back out in the hallway.  Julia and Kayla had put on some of their nicer clothes in anticipation of a decent meal in a nice restaurant.  Kayla was wearing a form-fitting shirt and vest, with tight fitting jeans tucked into her signature boots.  Julia was in a similar outfit, but without the vest.  Her shirt was open at the throat, and she stuck out in all the right places.  Jake was in a black shirt and pants, and I wore a simple flannel shirt and jeans. 

If anyone thought we were defenseless, they would have found out differently in a hurry. Julia and Kayla both had knives in their boots, and Jake had a knife up his sleeve in a sheath attached to his forearm.  My blade was in a sheath on my back, and a quick grab behind my neck would bring it out in a hurry. 

I looked over the girls.  “You ladies look fantastic,” I said smiling.

Kayla and Julia beamed.  “You two clean up well,” Kayla said.  “Love the shirt, Aaron.”

“This old thing?  Some old house find, I think.” I winked at Julia.

“Huh!” Kayla sniffed.  “See if I get you a Christmas present ever again.”

We walked down the hall and to the stairs.  At the top of the staircase both Jake and I slowed.  There was a tension in the air that hadn’t been there before, and both of us were suddenly on alert.  I could see it in the way Jake moved, and I knew Julia and Kayla were aware of something being wrong.  I scanned the lobby for threats and couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  A few men were sitting in the chairs, but that was all.  But there was a heaviness , anyway.

We moved as a group down the stairs, with Jake and Kayla leading the way.  Julia and I slowed slightly to give us more room to move if we needed to.  Julia squeezed my arm slightly, and I responded in kind.

A man was standing at the counter talking to the clerk, and at a quick nod, the man turned and faced us.

“Jake Talon?” the man asked.  He was an older gentleman, roughly the same age as our father, with a graying mustache and deep brown eyes.  His was the face of man who had seen many things, and not all of them pleasant. He was dressed as a western man, with boots and tall hat, and a silver star peeped out from under his coat lapel.  Wrapped around his waist was a western-style gun belt, complete with cartridges and a low hanging holster.  The six-gun in the holster looked to have been well cared for, but I had a feeling the smooth walnut grips weren’t worn from age.  The man in front of us may be a little saltier than we were used to.

Jake stepped down to the floor and faced the lawman directly.

‘What can I do for you, sheriff?”  Jake kept his tone neutral and his hands in his pockets.  There wasn’t any need for trouble just yet. 

To be honest, I was curious as hell as to what was going on.  Why did these men know Jake’s name, and what was he wanted for?

“You’re Jake Talon?” the sheriff repeated. “Son of John Talon?”

Jake smiled slightly.  “He’s my father, yes.  What’s this about?”

The sheriff ignored that question to ask another. “What’s your mother and brother’s names? I have a reason for asking.”

I stepped into the conversation at that point.  “His brother’s name is Aaron, which would be me.  My mother’s name was Sarah, and she was Jake’s mom, too.  What’s going on, sheriff?”

The sheriff looked up at me and quickly measured me with a glance. His eyes returned to Jake, but not until they looked past me.  I heard a shifting sound behind me and knew there was probably a deputy somewhere behind me.  Julia’s quick squeeze on my hand confirmed my suspicions.

The sheriff looked at Jake and broke into a wide smile.  “Well, if that don’t beat all.  I was worried sick that I was going to have to face down John Talon’s son, and then eventually face John when he heard about it, but this has to be the best news I’ve gotten all day.”

Jake was probably as stunned as I was, but he hid it better.

“What the hell are you talking about, sheriff?  Why the hell is everyone interested in who I am and who’s related to me?”  Jake said irritably.

The sheriff waved off his deputy and put out his hand.  “Name’s Frost, Scott Frost.  Why don’t I get you and your wives over to the restaurant, and I’ll explain everything.”  Frost looked at me with a sly gleam.  “You knew about my deputy, didn’t you?”

“The one behind me, yes.  And the one on the porch,” I said. “He kept shifting on a creaky board, and the wind doesn’t do that.”

Sheriff Frost chuckled as he lead the way out of the hotel.  I looked at Jake and got a shrug for an answer.  Julia just shook her head while Kayla looked as confused as I probably did.

Dinner was a pleasant affair, with Sheriff Frost giving us a history of the town of Casper.  “We had a big fire that took out most of the buildings in the town proper.  The upside of that was it took out most of the zombies that were still hidin’ out.  Problem was we had winter comin’ on, and a lot of people without any place to live.  Case you hadn’t noticed, things get cold hereabouts during the winter.  Zombies wouldn’t have been the problem then, just freezin’ to death.  Anyway, one of us remembered this place as a movie set from years ago, and that the local western re-enactors had given shows.  We all moved out this way, grabbed what supplies we could, and made a good run at survivin’ the winter.  Come Spring, we decided to stay and pick up where the Old West left off.  Several of our survivors were carpenters, and we all went about making this movie prop a place we could call home.

“Things were good for a while, then we started to get some more difficult elements coming in, and that’s when we decided to go western fully.  Men packed guns, and women were treated with respect.  We hung a few criminals, and in general, things were good.  I’ve had a few gunfights myself, and settled some feuds, but in all we’re getting’ by pretty well playing out an old western movie.”

Sheriff Frost took a drink of his coffee before continuing.  “Then last month a newcomer came to town.  Rolled in like he owned it, told everyone he was Jake Talon, and everyone had better watch out.  Tough thing to do in this town, but this guy could back it up.  He killed two men in three days, both stand-up gunfights.  Next he nearly beat a man to death for spilling a drink on him, and basically he’s been a pain in the ass.  Trouble is, he’s paid for any damage he’s done, and the killings were legal in that the dead men called him out.”  Frost looked at Jake.  “The latest is he beat up one of the whores over at the saloon. Said she tried to steal from him.  I was about to call him out and try my hand at putting him down when you showed up.”

“The real Jake Talon,” Jake said.

“I have to say I let him go this long because I knew your daddy and considered him a friend of mine.  I tried to get a message to him, but he’s not much for communication,” Sheriff Frost said.

“No, he isn’t,” I said. “So what do we do now? You’re the sheriff, and we’re just passing through.  You and your deputies should be able…”

“I’ll deal with it,” Jake said suddenly. “Where is he now?”

“I can’t ask you to do that, son, you know that,” Frost said. “I sympathize, but it’s my bronc to fork.”

“Not this time, sheriff.  There’s someone out there using my name, and he’s a bigger asshole than I am.  That doesn’t get to stand,” Jake said.  The look in his eye told me there wasn’t any arguing.

Sheriff Frost saw the same look.  “All right, but I’ll be backing you up just the same.”

“Fair enough.  Come on, Aaron, let’s get ready to meet me,” Jake said, standing up and taking Kayla’s hand.

I just shook my head.  This was beyond weird at this point. I never expected to see Jake actually have an out of body experience with another body.