Devil's Reach
A man named Sawyer rode into a long abandoned town named Devil’s Reach. Once a mining town at the base of a mountain, now just a ghost story. Sawyer rode through and looked at all of the old buildings and rusted metal. It was quiet, almost a little bug too quiet. Usually there would be the sound of the wind blowing or birds tweeting, not in Devil’s Reach. It was a ghost town in the middle of nowhere sure but the silence was truly deafening.
Sawyer tied up his horse to a fence post, he enjoyed exploring on foot. He wandered into a building with a sign saying SA OON. Clearly the place had better days. Inside was a mess with tipped over desks and chairs. Judging by the bullet holes, quite a few fights were started here. Looking at the bloodstains, they ended here as well. A few minutes went by with the only sounds being Sawyer. The only sound being Sawyer. *The only sounds being Sawyer*. Sawyer took a look outside to where he’d tied up his horse, it was gone. But he never heard it leave or anyone take it? It couldn’t have just just disappeared.
Sawyer left the saloon and scouted the area. He saw the tracks of arriving and him dismounting and tied up his horse, but no tracks of it leaving or anyone else. Sawyer scouted more of the town, no other tracks than his. He seemed to be alone, no one within miles. He began to look around more, perhaps there would be food or water or anything to keep him alive on the long journey back to civilization that he’d have to take on foot. He rode for a few hours to get here so it’d take a few days to get back.
As he entered the house, he found more eerie silence. The house was clean enough although still clearly old. It seemed to be a working man's house. Only two bedrooms, one being for the parents and one having 3 beds for kids. Sawyer busted down a broken door and looked inside a closet to find a pickaxe. The metal was a bit rusted but it was in shockingly good condition.
Sawyer wasn’t alone, he knew it. As he grabbed the pickaxe, he could feel he was being watched. He could not hear nor see the observer but Sawyer wasn’t alone. He left the house and searched the church. This place had been attacked. With scorched walls and claw marks everywhere, it was like a warzone. Sawyer picked up a bullet from off the floor and examined it. Some sort of creature came throughout and the people fought back. A moment passed and he realized something, this bullet was recent. This town was a hundred years old but thai bullet was 20 years old, being generous.
Sawyer noticed another detail, the bones. They weren’t immediately obvious but throughout the church were scattered bones. A femur there, a tooth there, each one various in age. No one knew why Devil’s reach became a ghost town, they just knew it was. Some of the bones are from the correct time but others seemed more recent. Were more people dying here?
Sawyer ran out of the church and down main street. With a sound from behind him, he would be Devil’s Reach’s next grave.