The Lone Ranger rode into Agua Dulce just after dark. The scent of death filled his nostrils and anger rose in his chest. He had been here a few weeks earlier and all had been well with the little town. However it was no longer a town. In his absence Agua Dulce had become a tomb.
Six weeks earlier . . .
Jim Blaine led the stubborn pack mule toward his shack. The silver he had pulled from the mine weighed heavily on the mules back and it protested with every step.
"Come on you dad-blasted stubborn animal!" Jim cursed. "The sooner we get to the shack the sooner we can pull them bags off of you."
The mule sat down and glared at the miner. Its ears went down against its neck and it opened its mouth exposing its teeth and gums.
"If I were smart I'd put a bullet in your head right now," Jim exclaimed. "You're lucky no one ever accused me of bein' smart."
The pack mule sat there for a few more moments then stood and started running toward the shack. Jim stood watching the animal run.
"What in the world got into him?" he asked.
Jim started running after the mule but found he couldn't keep up. When he got within sight of his shack he saw what had disturbed his mule. The lean-too where he sheltered his mule now contained two horse and they were eating from his trough.
Jim didn't recognize the horses so he pulled his pistol and began to circle around the shack. As he moved in closer he noticed an Indian grooming the horses.
"Injuns!" he muttered to himself.
He moved silently toward the Indian. He leveled his pistol and prepared to fire. Then he felt cold steel at the back of his neck.
"Are you sure you want to do that, Jim?"
Jim turned to face the man who held the gun at his neck. He was wearing a white hat and a black leather mask covered the upper portion of his face.
"John, is that you?" he asked.
"I used to be known as John Reid," the Lone Ranger replied. "Now I am called the Lone Ranger."
"What's goin on, John?" Jim inquired. "You ain't talking good sense."
"Captain Dan Reid's company was shot down in a canyon a few miles south of Agua Dulce. There were no survivors. As far as anyone else knows John Reid is buried in the marked grave right alongside of his brother. It needs to stay that way. Do you understand?"
Jim nodded though the expression on his face suggested otherwise.
"I gathered the belongings of all of the Rangers. I have them all boxed up in the house. Each box has directions written on it. It should be no problem returning these belongings to the Rangers' families. Can I count on you to mail them?"
"Of course, John," Jim replied. "Is Dan really dead or is he pretendin' like you are?"
"Dan is dead and I need you to stop calling me John. The sooner you start thinking of John as being dead the better off you're going to be. I also need you to tell everyone that you went into the canyon, buried the dead and gathered the belongings. Dead men can't do those things."
"You know I will. What do you want to do about the silver mine?"
"Dan's share needs to go to his wife and son. Those instructions are with Dan's belongings."
"What about your share?"
"I want my share turned into bullets."
"All of it?"
"Yes, all of it!" the Lone Ranger said sternly. "Here is a list of ten Pony Express stations in Texas. I need you to send the bullets to these stations in rotation. Address the box to John Smith. I'll pick them up as I need them."
"You got it!" Jim stated.
"Good! Now forget that this conversation ever took place. If anyone ever comes here looking for the Lone Ranger then you don't know anything. This is for your own protection."
"What're you mixed up in, son?"
"Something you wouldn't understand and probably wouldn't believe."
"Is there anyone still alive in this town?" the Lone Ranger asked Tonto.
Tonto paused for a moment concentrating on the area. "Yes a few." He nodded.
"Where are they?"
Tonto pointed to a stone building at the end of the street. It was the local jail.
"He has them herded like cattle," the Lone Ranger stated. "I guess we'd better tend to them first."
"No, you're gonna deal with me first, Ranger," Butch Cavendish said. He was leaning against a post in front of the saloon. He had a smile of triumph on his face. "Game over! You lose!"
Suddenly the rooftops were covered with vampires and they were all carrying rifles.
"Too cowardly to face me man-to-man, Cavendish," the Ranger taunted.
Cavendish raised his hand to signal for the vampires to hold. "Name the time."
"How about High Noon?" the Ranger replied, mocking the vampire.
Cavendish laughed. "You'd like that wouldn't you? I'm afraid that would give you to much of an advantage."
"Yes and you have the obvious advantage at night."
"I suppose I do but since I'm holding all the cards here, we're playing by my rules."
"No more," Tonto replied.
The Ranger had spoken with the vampire long enough for Tonto to complete his spell.
"Raise hands," Tonto commanded.
Butch reluctantly raised his hands.
"Send signal! Hold Fire!"
Butch complied.
"Take us to jail."
The Lone Ranger and Tonto dismounted their horse and stepped in front of Butch. To the other vampires it appeared that they had surrendered and they were being escorted to the jail with the others.
The three entered the jailhouse. The sheriff and his three deputies were tied to the outside of the bars while the remaining townsfolk were crammed tightly in the cells. A single vampire sat at the desk watching them. He stood when Tonto entered. Tonto tossed a wooden stake and hit the vamp's heart. It disintegrated.
"You're getting good at that," the Ranger commented.
Tonto pulled his knife and began cutting the Sheriff and his men loose while the Ranger released the others. He shoved Cavendish into an empty cell.
"Why don't we kill him and get it over with?" the Sheriff asked.
"Because we might need him to give us some leverage later," the Ranger replied. "Excuse me."
The Ranger moved through the crowd of people. One by one he looked each of them in the eye. Then he stopped. A lovely woman with blond hair and blue eyes looked at the Ranger and smiled the most innocent smile. He shoved his pistol into her chest to muffle the blast and pulled the trigger. Dust swirled over the surrounding people. Another woman screamed. One of the men close to her put his hand over her mouth.
"He planted a vampire among the people," the Ranger shook his head.
"How did you do that?" the Sheriff demanded. "Our guns don't do anything to them."
"It's not your guns. It's your bullets," the Lone Ranger replied. "Do an inventory! Find out how many weapons we have that will fire this caliber bullet." He handed the Sheriff one of his silver rounds. "Then choose the best men we've got and we'll go do some damage."
An hour later they learned that they had twelve six shooters among them. So the Ranger distributed the ammunition as evenly as he could among them. Soon he, Tonto and the twelve others moved into the street.
"Where are they?" the Ranger asked Tonto.
"Saloon," Tonto pointed.
"Is there a back entrance to the Saloon?" the Ranger asked the Sheriff.
"Yeah!"
"Take six men with you around back and try to find something to block it," the Ranger began. "You two! Go to the general store and gather all the lantern oil you can find and load it in that wagon. You get ready to close the main doors and you help me empty that water trough so we can shove it in front of the doors once there closed. Tonto see what you can do about hiding our efforts."
Each man moved to his appointed task. Tonto sat cross-legged in the middle of the street and began chanting softly. As he chanted he levitated slightly from the ground. The Sheriff returned to inform the Ranger that the back door was blocked and the two men responsible for the oil reported that their task was done. They also reported they had found several sticks of dynamite hidden in the store.
The Ranger grabbed two of the sticks and shoved them in his back pocket. He placed the remainder at the rear of the wagon. He sent the Sheriff to the rear of the Saloon to make certain none of the vamps made it through the barricade. He then covered the front of the wagon with oil and lit it. The rest of the men grabbed onto the wagon and pushed into the saloon window.
The vampires started screaming and trying to force the door open. Those that managed to force their way through met with silver. Gunfire could be heard from the rear of the saloon and the Ranger silently hoped the four men had it under control. By the time the fire reached the dynamite the screaming within the Saloon had almost stopped.
"I'm going to check on the sheriff," the Ranger said. "Keep an eye on things up here."
The Ranger circled around back as quickly as he could move. He found the four bodies lying beyond the door. It had been forced open. The Ranger knelt to check the tracks and found they were headed for the livery stable. Six sets of footprints led from the Saloon. Six vampires had survived.
He headed for the stable alone.
The Ranger entered the stable. The six vampires watched him but didn't make a move. All of the vampires were unarmed. They had left their firearms in the Saloon in their haste to escape the flames. Dynamite blasts could still be heard coming from that direction.
The Ranger pulled his revolvers and fired into the vampires. The first two bullets took down two of the vamps instantly. The third missed and then he heard the clicking sound of an empty weapon. He was out of bullets. He had distributed his spare ammo to the others. Now he was unarmed, alone, and facing four very angry vampires.
Two of the vampires closed in. The Ranger grabbed a lantern from the hook on the wall. He turned up the wick to increase the flame. He waited for the vamps to get close enough. He put the lantern in his right hand and swung it at the right vamp. Oil poured from the lantern and ignited. The vampire rushed him screaming. The Ranger dodged and pulled one of the sticks of dynamite from his back pocket. He lit the fuse on the burning vampire and moved to attack the second. He shoved the sick in the second's mouth and dived into the water trough.
He pulled himself from the trough and saw a third vamp coming after him with a pitchfork. He dodged out of the way but misjudged his movement. The added weight from his wet clothing cost him. One of the end prongs struck his shoulder. The vamp pulled out the pitchfork to have a second go. The ranger managed to dodge the attack. The vampire came in with such force that he broke the handle. He rode the momentum forward and the handle went straight into his heart. The vampire had dusted himself.
The final vampire watched the Ranger. He was smarter than the other vamps had been. He moved in quickly and punched the Ranger in his injured shoulder and pulled back. He came in for another blow and then another. White dots of pain filled the Rangers eyes and he found it difficult to see through the tears. He ran for the street knowing his only hope was in finding the others.
The vamp followed him getting between the Ranger and the others. He had no intention of letting the Ranger go. The Ranger panicked searching for any means of escape. Then he saw his last hope. The Pony Express office sat next to the livery stable.
He whistled and Silver responded. He nodded at the vampire and the horse nodded pack. The horse rushed forward and trampled the vampire then ran down the street in search of Tonto.
That bought the Ranger the time he needed. He ran for the office with everything that he had. Knowing the door would be locked he ignored it and jumped through the window. Pieces of glass were embedded in his back and shoulders. He forced himself to stand and searched the office for incoming mail. It didn't take him long to locate the familiar wooden box. He broke it open and loaded a single bullet. Then he sat back and he waited.
A few minutes before dawn, the Lone Ranger entered the jailhouse.
"It's the end of the line, Butch," the Ranger stated. "Your gang is gone. You should have stayed in Mexico. You might have made it a little longer."
The Ranger removed the stick of dynamite from his pocket. He lit it and tossed it against the wall.
"You know that's not going to kill me," Butch bragged.
"No it won't!" the Ranger replied. "But that wall is facing east and the sun came up a couple of minutes ago. It was nice knowing you, Butch."
The wall came down and Butch Cavendish burned in the morning light.
The Lone Ranger mounted his white horse and pulled along side of Tonto.
"One of the townspeople told me that someone has been robbing the graves over in Colby. It might be worth checking out."
Tonto sat silently on his horse.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, Kemo Sabe," Tonto answered. "The enemy has been defeated. A friend is lost yet a new friend is here."
The Ranger smiled and the two friends rode off into the sunrise.
The End.