"Where are you going, Ron?" Karen asked, sitting up from the bed. Her hair ran wild, and despite her clean clothes, under her eyelids were black.

My eyes trailed around the bed, landing on Ames. "To talk to the bar dog about the room and see if I can find any work to do."

Karen stretched. "Okay, you want me to come?"

"No, I have to do this alone. Do you have any change? I want to send a letter."

"Yeah, sure, take it from the counter."

I nodded, removing the money from the counter. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine."

She was lying, and something was definitely bothering her.

"Be careful, Ron, don't drift too far. The town isn't safe. You saw how things played out today."

I closed the door. Karen, this time I will protect you.

There was an eerie silence in the Gentleman's Den. I walked out of the hall and found the piano spot empty. There were few people here. They all sat alone, lost in their swirling glass. Not even the girls had shown themselves downstairs tonight. The prominent entertainment men found were crickets creaking and owls hooting.

The bar dog and a man were in a deep discussion. As the man turned, our eyes met.

"Manto?"

The man rushed through the door. I took a step forward. Should I follow him?

"Ron?" the bar dog waved his hand towards me to come.

My head shifted to the bar dog and then the door where Manto left. I sighed and approached the bar.

"You're earlier than expected."

"You know that man?" I asked.

The bar dog paused for a moment. His voice lowered as he looked past me. "The man asked about the bodies outside."

"Did he just arrive here?"

"I don't know. Do you know him?"

"Maybe, he looks familiar."

"You know you haven't even washed your face from the road. You looked as though you were frolicking in the mud."

"Yeah, well, all I have been doing was thinking."

The bar dog handed me a key. "Take a bath and come back."

"Why? I don't have —"

"I don't want you scaring away the few customers that I have."

I gripped the key in my hand and walked up the stairs. Sniffing my clothes, Karen didn't tell me anything.

"Tell one of the girls to fill the tub for you!" The bar dog shouted behind me.

At the top, the candlelight was dull. Women sat or stood beside brown faded working doors in conversation. Some drifted out to the terrace at the end of the hall.

"That damn Sheriff Saul."

"I am leaving town tomorrow."

"You know the madam won't like that."

"We can't stay here and die in this madness. What if the Bull Prosecutors show up?"

"They won't."

"And how do you know? You know what happened in Stawford? The place is a ghost village."

"There are two deputies here, that woman and a well-dressed fella."

"Why would the bar dog let him stay here?"

"Wouldn't that make us safe?"

"Safe? We are a target now."

"You know what they will do with women like us."

"Shhh, that man is with the deputy."

Whispers fell around the room. Women touched each other's arms. Fans waved, and gray tobacco lines lingered in the hall.

The women's conversations came to an abrupt halt as I passed. No one raised an eye or a smile to me. I opened the door to the bath. If only they knew that the Bull Prosecutors were on the outskirts of town.

I closed it behind me and took off my clothes. Them attacking would be the worst probable outcome.

There was a tap on the door. "The tub isn't full, sir. Would you like me to get some water for you?"

I tapped my head. "Yes please, that would be great."

How could I forget to tell someone to fill the tub?

I put on my clothes and waited in the room until the woman knocked on the door again.

I opened it, and a young woman entered. She sat at the edge of the tub and poured the water in. When she was done, another mature woman handed her the next bucket.

"Done," she said. "Enjoy your bath."

I smiled. "Thank you."

She returned my smile and closed the door.

I took off my clothes again and headed towards the tub. Now seated in it, my thoughts were at me. Why was Manto here talking to the bar dog? When he saw me, his face turned pale, and he bolted through the door. Was he hiding something he knew about Bill? Did he blame me or think I was a part of it?

"Damn it!"

"Everything okay in there!?"

"Yes, sorry. I just hit my hand!"

I finished and exited; the women were still conversing, but most had gone to their rooms. Going downstairs, only the bar dog remained. He was standing beside the bar, scratching his head.

"Slow night?"

The bar dog nodded, shining a glass. "About our conversation, let's take a walk. I want to show you something."

"Show me? Yeah, I think it's fine."

"Great." The bar dog placed the glass down and hollered for a girl to take the bar.

The bar dog motioned to me outside and then mounted his horse.

"How far are we going?" I asked, observing the darkness coming to consume the town.

"Not far, eyes and ears Ron. Remember that."

"Can we make a quick stop at the post office first?"

"Yeah, sure."

I got on my horse and checked the saddle. My hands touched the two sticks of dynamite.

We rode towards the post office, and I dropped off the letter. No mail had come for me.

Mom, are you still angry?

I came outside to find the bar dog waiting for me. It was now dark.

"Come," he said, "let's go."

I got on my horse, and we rode a short distance before stopping by a house. He got off, and I followed. Was this his home?

The door opened, and he turned to me. "I'm sorry about this, Ron."

My body thudded to the floor as everything became black.

#

"Wake up Ron!"

Water dripped on my face. The air was rancid.

Heavy breathing fell like a gust of wind upon my back. I sat up, covering my nose.

Clink, clink, clink.

Something else was here with me.

The room was black. Behind me, a towering shadow outline greeted me. Its yellow, piercing eyes glistened.

It growled a low pitch that reverberated through the room.

"Can you hear it?"

My legs shook. What the hell is this?

"Ron, do you know genuine fear? Do you know what it's like to be hunted? Most people live their entire lives unaware of the truth; that around every corner are monsters lurking among us in the dark."

I struggled to pull myself away from what was breathing on me and moved towards where the bar dog's voice was coming from. The voice was coming from above me. The bar dog's face was looking down on me in the light above.

Click.

It stepped into the light that rained down from above, revealing the thick gray fur. My heart thumped. Chains restrained its neck, and others held its legs. It was huge, like a bear.

"It can't be real," I muttered.

"This is real, not some fantasy or children's story. Ron, wake up to the truth that is staring at you."

It lunged at me. The chains clapped together as the creature came further into the light. Its mouth shut from the pressure, and the chains wrapped around its body pulled it away.

Swipe!

Whoo!

Swipe!

It missed me by inches.

"Tighten those chains!"

There were others here inside that I was unaware of. They pulled it back, and it fought to be free. The chains were cutting into its very skin. Its gaze upon me was defiant.

"Come up the ladder, Ron," the bar dog said.

With every ounce of energy, I scrambled myself up the ladder. My legs were wobbly as I reached the top and sat down. There, I found Manto and others with the bar dog. One man was from the post office. The room was vacant.

"What exactly was that thing?"

"A werewolf," Manto said.

The creature howled. Manto went over the ladder and looked down.

"Help me!" the words called as the latch over the basement was closed.

Was it human?

"It took twenty lives to get that thing in there," the bar dog said.

"No, it can't be," I said. "Those things —"

"And you still don't believe it," the bar dog said. "You believe in God, Ron?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen him? Have you ever spoken to him?"

"No, but..."

"But you believe because you were told. Yet when confronted with reality, what do you do? The first response is to deny because it clashes with what you think is real. Your perception of reality and what you see are at odds."

"Who are you guys?"

"Bull Prosecutors," Manto said.

I shivered and scratched my head. My gaze fell around the empty room. Nothing was in sight, no furniture, the windows were closed, and only heat lay within. There was silence as if what was down the basement stairs did not exist.

"Leave us," the bar dog said.

The others filed out of the room we were in.

"There is probably some explanation for this," I held my head. "I heard a human in there. You are holding a man hostage. It's a trick. You're all evil."

He sat beside me. "No trick Ron. It is a monster playing man, and that is one, but there are many. Those crimes that were committed in the town where you nearly lost your head, this creature did it. This creature is why Bill is up the spout. This is what the sheriff is keeping hidden away from the public."

I rubbed my eyes.

"It's hard I know. It's a lot to take in, but this is what we both must do together, to stop this madness. If we don't, then Bill, the southerner, the entire town, and even Karen, are in danger. Don't you want to protect her?"

"Yes." My eyes fell back on the basement door. "Can that thing escape?"

"You're safe, Ron."

"I want to leave this place."

"Then let's work together. You're going to need a plan if you want to break into that jail."

My hands shook. "Who are you really, bar dog?"

He smiled and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Me, no one of importance. A man seeking justice, vengeance, and peace. Nothing can come of that without some measure of blood. Don't you agree?"

"Justice can only be determined before a court and rendered by man and established law. Vengeance never leads to anything good; if a man is wrong, he should seek redress. We can only achieve peace by dialog."

"Spoken like a man that's been privileged his whole life." The bar dog chuckled. "For justice, a man must crush another man's freedom, and what is right and wrong? Men in their graves write rules. At one point, they considered me property. Was that justice?"

"Men make mistakes, but we can always change unjust law."

The bar dog rolled up his sleeve. "Look at my arm, Ron."

Branded on his arm were initials and a number five.

"That was my name before I got my freedom. My name was Five, my mother was Seven. The master said a number is easier to remember. Tools, with only one purpose, serve. Even that master tasted the vengeance of his wife. In a perfect world, your justice might be true, but in the real world, that isn't possible."

I had no response.

"Vengeance is something that lingers in a man's soul. To deny a man this is to create even more turmoil. I have been at war physically for the war of the land and mentally with myself. There has never been peace without a war. A war with the outside, a war with one's self."

"What are you planning?"

"A new war that would bring peace to all men without distinction. To save this world from the thousands, millions of monsters lurking in the dark. One must sacrifice everything, even one's self."

"People won't just submit to war, especially another one."

"Man unaware of the taste of war is drawn to it. Man, in his own fear of preserving himself, is quick to war. They are dangerous and many. Once the world sees it and knows these creatures are real. Then it will bring the change that is necessary."

"How do you know so much? They might only be a few."

The bar dog shook his head. "The scriptures say not."

"Scriptures."

He took from his side a book. It was named Lupi viri on the front. "War is coming soon before peace."

I glanced at the book.

He caught my gaze. "How did I learn to read? It was in the army. I read everything I could after they taught me. Politics, law, history, whatever I could get my hands on. My daughter..."

"What is that?"

He came out of his daze. "This has guided me ever since my loss. Without this Ron, the world is doomed. What we are doing is important and sacred." He rubbed his arm. "We all would return to the bowels of slavery. I, for one, would rather be dead than see that hell again."

I scratched my chin.

"So Ron, this is how the operation will go."