| FAN FICTION San Pablo Showdown - Written By Kansas Jones (Takes place prior to "The Wrong Train") The heat of the Arizona day was beginning to dissipate, giving way to the coolness of the night. The setting sun, a lurid shading of red and yellow, cast long shadows across the landscape. Four riders emerged from those shadows, making good time toward the lonely town in the distance. They all wore black leathers, and rode equally black horses adorned with black and silver rigging. Only the red of a neckerchief or the gleam of silver separated the riders from the encroaching darkness. It was as if the wraith-like riders were one with the shadows. These riders were agents of the Darkwatch. Trained of the night and for the night, their job was to fight the undead. Senior Regulator Cassidy Sharp, field commander for the Darkwatch squad, rode out in front of the group, her long black duster coat billowing out behind her in a cape effect, her short blond hair whipped back by the wind. Sharp was pretty, tough, and an efficient leader. It was wise to stay on her good side. The rest of the squad rode in an inverted V formation, flanking their commander on either side. Agent Jenkins, the weapons expert. He knew guns inside and out, from the wood grain and metal consistencies to stopping power and range, if you asked him. Of course, no one ever did, ''cause once you got him started he wouldn''t shut up. Agent Jared, a bad tempered cuss. And the best man to have at your back when all hell broke loose. A career private, Jared would never advance through the ranks, and that was just the way he liked it. The final member of the crew was Agent Tala, an Indian woman who was as stealthy, confident, and a looker to boot. The group slowed as they reached the outskirts of the town, slowing the horses to a walk as they reached Main Street, or rather, what used to be Main Street for the town of San Pablo. Situated on the border between Mexico and Arizona, San Pablo had once been a successful frontier town. Stages would come weekly, and the seasonal cattle drives from Mexico would also travel up and through the town. Drifters, cowpokes, gamblers and the like kept a steady cash flow for the saloons. Then, the outlaw element had taken over. The initial takeover had started with rancher Abe Quinn and his cowboys, the whole lot a bunch of troublemakers who had shot down the sheriff during a night of carousing. No one stepped up to prevent the chaos that followed, and the town was far enough away for no help to arrive quickly. The genie had been left out of the bottle, decent folk moved out, and San Pablo was fair game to become a rowdy haven town for outlaws. Eventually, even the bad element moved on, leaving the town empty. It was the perfect setting for vampire lord Lazarus Malkoth to set up camp. The lord had since moved on, according to Darkwatch intelligence. But, a cavalry detachment on routine patrol for this section of the territory had been viciously attacked by undead Reapers about two weeks ago. Darkwatch scouts had been dispatched to investigate. The undead activity had been traced here to San Pablo. Cassidy and her squad had been sent as the cleanup crew. Their orders: to permanently clear the undead taint from the town. Cassidy surveyed the abandoned town with cool blue eyes. Most of the buildings were still in pretty good shape. Her gaze lingered on the cemetery visible in the distance at the north end of town. She dismounted, the squad following suit. Jared''s steady voice pierced the still quiet. "Ooo wee, if this town ain''t beyond undead." Jenkins and he chuckled at the joke. Tala rolled her eyes. Cassidy glanced in their direction. "Stow it you two. We have a job to do. Sooner we get done, sooner we leave this twilight town. Jared, take the horses and put ''em in that corral behind the stable. I want ''em out of site. Jared, see to the weapons. Tala, investigate and clear the saloon for the command post. I''m gonna do a quick sweep of the town." "Yes ma''am." Both men answered in unison. Back to Fan Fiction |