Ashes of the Dead - Bucket of Blood (16 page)

Rose smiled, knowing that she
might never see him again. William mounted Larken and reined her forward, then trotted toward the edge of town.

All of the townspeople gathered together to watch him leave.

“Wait! Wait!” Caleb shot out from behind the crowd and ran toward William as fast as his young legs would carry him. “Wait!”

William halted and turned to Caleb, who held up an
old ragged teddy bear. “Take this with you. It will keep you safe,” he told him.

William reached down and took the bear
, stared at its matted fur, and then put it in his lap. “Thanks, bud.” He smiled and tucked the teddy bear into his saddlebag, and then spurred Larken forward and rode out of town.

The blazing yellow sun blotted out the landscape and in the same way that the
mysterious Gunman had entered the desert, he disappeared and faded into a strange mirage over the distant horizon.

•  •  •

Night had fallen and dim moonlight fell upon a cemetery, illuminating a crop of graves. Near a dead sentinel tree a cracked headstone leaned to one side, the engraving aged beyond recognition. The ground in front of the headstone trembled, then bulged and decayed fingers pierced through the soil. A rotten hand burst upward. It reached toward the sky, clawing its way to freedom.

THE END

•  •  •

Thank you for reading my book. If you liked
Ashes of the Dead - Bucket of Blood
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Thanks!

Jake Miller

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