The Gargantuan opened its mouth wide and gave an almighty bellow. There were no teeth that anyone could see, just the dangling arms of the dead and a pulsating, throbbing, mass of flesh, waiting to absorb its next victim.

Casey grabbed Dodge’s arm and pressed in close.

Dodge placed a gentle hand on Casey’s and squeezed it tight. Beneath her breath, Dodge remarked, “We can’t fight that.”

As the Gargantuan roared, everyone in the town flipped into one of two modes, fight or flight. Some of the townsfolk, turned tail and began to run as fast as they could away from the beast. Others raised their weapons, ready to fire.

The monster lifted one foot and stepped forward. Its arms were long and its nails dragged in the dirt behind it, carving lines in the earth.

Its movement was slow but it covered a lot of ground with each step, and as Dodge counted the seconds it took and the distance it covered in that one step she realised the slowness was nothing but an illusion. “We can’t outrun that,” she mumbled to Casey.

The pair of them stood still, frozen together, watching as the monster grew closer. But the Gargantuan did not seem to see them yet, it was looking past them, at the people running.

It reached for a nearby barn where a few people had hidden. It wrapped its hands around the building and it tore the entire thing from the earth. It flung it toward the fleeing townsfolk.

Instinctively, Casey and Dodge ducked low as the building flew overhead.

It crashed down, right on top of those who had been leading the escape. Others, who had been slower, skidded to a halt and covered their eyes from the dust. Their way was now blocked by rubble.

The Gargantuan took another step. The earth shook.

The fair-haired priest laid his head back against the wooden railing of the porch behind him and sighed. “I guess this really is the end now.” He took a swig of holy water.

Footsteps crunched on dirt from around a nearby corner. One gun clicked, then another.

James The Bear, carrying a shotgun in each hand, entered the street and stepped forward, even-paced, toward the towering creature.

“Don’t!” Dodge cried out at him in warning.

James The Bear stumbled slightly on his feet and he shook his head. “This one’s no different than all the rest. It just needs a bullet right between the eyes.” He raised his shotgun high.

“Which eyes?” asked Trevor, giving his own wide-eyed look.

James The Bear ignored them all. No fear to be found anywhere. He fired.

He missed.

“Fuck!” He swore. He began to line up another shot. Figuring himself still too far away he lowered his gun and got closer.

The shot had drawn the Gargantuan’s attention now and the pair faced off. But James figured himself out of reach. The creature’s arms were not quite this long and there were no more nearby buildings for it to throw.

James The Bear took a swig of liquor and raised his shotgun one more time.

He fired.

He hit the creature right in the throat.

All was silent as a bullet could be heard landing on the ground in front of the Gargantuan with gentle clink.

The Gargantuan reached out, faster and further than it had so far. Quicker than James The Bear could reload. Its arms may not have been able to reach him but James had forgotten about its nails.

Several folk leapt to the side as those long rotting tendrils reached out and grasped themselves around James The Bear. Quick as lightening they reeled him in and raised him up.

James the Bear hung there poised between two sets of fingernails. They dug into his skin, deeper and deeper. They ripped him right in two. What was left of James The Bear was thrown in two directions like a rag doll.

The rest of the townsfolk scattered. They had seen what little damage the bullet had done and how easily the creature had taken out their best fighter. They had no hope now.

Dodge tried to pull Casey into a side alley, hoping for a stealthy escape but Casey tugged her back. “We can’t leave them.” She gestured toward Jasper and Trevor who sat injured on the ground.

“Oh, bloody hell!” Dodge remarked, but she joined Casey in trying to move Jasper.

“No, leave me, leave me, save yourselves,” Jasper cried.

“Help me! I’ll take the help!” yelled Trevor.

“I’ve got them! You girls run,” Mitchell told them all as he tried to pick up both men.

The dentist took off running and was immediately flattened as the Gargantuan tossed a giant bronze bell at him.

From a nearby rooftop Five Pistols Jack sprayed bullets at the Gargantuan.

The Gargantuan reached out a hand and removed the lower floor of the building Jack was standing on.

Jack disappeared into the dust and then appeared a moment later with a further volley of shots. More wood went flying toward him.

Pete took over distracting the creature just as Jack narrowly dodged a flying piece of roofing.

A terrified Billy watched as one group struggled to rescue the injured while the others spent more time avoiding flying debris than they did shooting. Meanwhile, buildings fell like dominos. Then he spied something lying in the dirt, half hidden beneath a piece of wood. He reached down for it and found himself holding a heavy cast iron frying pan. He wondered briefly at where it had come from before he looked around for anything else he could use. He found a piece of rope. An idea started to take shape in his mind.

The gods looked on with worry.

“They’re not getting any points from the Gargantuan,” Artemis complained. “Why aren’t they getting points? I thought any hits get points with this one?”

Ares shook his head. “Only if they hit the correct spots, and they’re not hitting the correct spots. They need to aim higher and hit it in the head like The Bear was trying to do. Five shots to the front of the skull, three to the back and side, or one good one to the small fleshy spot just behind where the ear would normally be.”

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Artemis rolled her eyes, “Well none of them are going to get any points at this rate.”

“Shooting is hard when you have to dodge flying buildings,” Hades remarked with little interest. He figured the game was basically done. Besides, short of Billy killing the Gargantuan, there was little chance of him catching up on points.

“Oh and you know this from experience do you?” teased Artemis.

Hades replied with a smug grin and nod, giving Artemis far more attention than the game.

Artemis leaned in close toward him, her eyes narrowing, her lips curving up.

While the pair stared each other down in some kind of competition, Aphrodite instead looked across the table to Ares, “Why don’t you use the luck card?”

“I’ll use it when Knuckles takes a shot,” Ares replied.

“Just so you can still win on points eh?” Artemis remarked, forfeiting the staring competition with Hades.

Hades looked disappointed.

“It’s still a competition,” Ares replied, avoiding the look Aphrodite was giving him.

They watched as Billy tied the rope to the frying pan and started to swing it in a circle.

“What is he doing with that?” Artemis asked.

“That’ll never work,” remarked Hades, but his attention remained on Billy.

Billy spun it faster and faster, eyes fixed on the Gargantuan. The pan whistled as it spun. Around and around. Finally he released it.

“It’s actually headed for the thing’s head,” observed Aphrodite. She typically had very good posture, but Billy’s action had her sitting up even straighter in her chair.

“Looks like he can aim after all,” added Artemis.

“Yeah, now he’s only got to do it four more times,” groaned Hades.

The pan flew through the air.

Ares finally caught Aphrodite’s eye and he was reminded of what she had said about them being a team. “Fine.” He rolled his eyes, sighed, and he threw down a card. “Luck!” he cried and pointed down at Billy.

NEIGH!

The Gargantuan turned its head toward the sound of a loose horse.

CLONK!

The pan hit the Gargantuan in the side of the head, right in that small fleshy bit behind where the ear should have been.

The Gargantuan froze. For a moment it seemed like nothing had happened. And then all of a sudden it tilted to the side and just kept on falling, right down into the general store.

Luckily no one was in the way at the time. The injured had all been shifted back, just.

Billy stared.

There was silence for several minutes until eventually, Dodge approached the thing and poked it with a piece of wood.

It lay still. Dead.

Although, it took a several more shots to the head before anyone could relax. Just to be safe.

The message was passed around town that they had won. No cheering went up this time. There was nothing now but exhausted silence.

Even up above the gods were initially quiet, and then Hades started laughing.

“I win! I win!” he cried with glee.

Next to him, Artemis sat with her mouth open. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

“Well, it was a good shot,” Ares remarked in a resigned tone. “I didn’t think they’d be able to pull it off four more times, so Billy gets all the points for it. We are a team after all.”

He caught Aphrodite’s eye again and she gave him a smile. It boosted his mood greatly.

Down below, the mood was far more sombre. The survivors regrouped in the saloon.

“Well, we survived that one,” Mitchell told them, “But we’re completely out of gunpowder, several buildings are destroyed, and we lost our best fighter. God rest his soul.” He crossed himself. “I don’t know how we’ll handle the next one.”

Faith reached for his hand. “Let’s just focus on the next few hours for now.”

There were a few nods of agreement. Everyone was too tired to think about tomorrow.

Eventually Knuckles spoke up, “We need to bury the dead, and burn that thing.”

More nods. People started to head for the doors.

“Wait!” cried Billy. “What if we don’t burn it?”

Mitchell shook his head. “You saw out there, some of those things were ones we’ve seen before. A head shot’s not enough. We need to burn them all. Otherwise they might come back.”

“But we could use it!” Billy cried.

Everyone looked at him in confusion. He shrank inwards a little at all the eyes on him and seemed less sure.

“What do you mean?” Casey prompted him gently.

“I mean, they were scared of it. You saw them running. What if we propped it up and used it like a scarecrow?”

“What if it wakes up?” Five Pistols Jack asked.

“We can just have someone watch it,” Pete answered, “Maybe put another bullet in the skull if it starts to move again. We can do a rotation.” He grinned, baring his gums and few remaining teeth. “I’ll take first watch.”

“To what end?” Mitchell asked. “It’s probably going to start stinking in few days.”

“Until we’ve got more gunpowder,” Dodge answered. “You only need to bear it a few weeks. Long enough for me to head into the mountains and return with help or at least information and more gunpowder.”

“I’ll come with you,” Casey suddenly blurted out.

Dodge looked at her in surprise.

“That is, err, if you’ll have me?” Casey asked.

Dodge smiled and nodded.

“Out of the question!” cried Faith.

Casey turned toward her mother and for the first time in her life she didn’t back down. “I wasn’t asking permission.” She spoke calmly and firmly and without any pointedness, just as if she was simply stating the facts.

She spoke so confidently that Faith blinked once and then bowed her head in concession.

Casey stared in surprise and then she caught Dodge’s gaze and was rewarded with another warm smile.

Mitchell eyed them both a little while and then he nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Whelp,” Hades stretched. “That was a good game.”

“Only cause you won,” Artemis teased.

“We all won,” Aphrodite reminded them.

“How long do you think it’ll take before they realise the zombies are gone?” Artemis wondered.

“Who knows,” Hades shrugged. “Hey, you wanna go practice some archery?”

“Sure,” Artemis replied.

As the pair got up from the table and left the room, walking just a little too close together, Ares remarked quietly to Aphrodite, “Since when does Hades do archery?”

Aphrodite just smiled.

He sighed. “Why must you always bend the rules?”

Her eyes widened. “What? Oh that.” She shook her head. “I had nothing to do with Artemis and Hades. They did that all on their own. I don’t create love. I merely occasionally move the players into position.”

“Mmm.”

She gave him a curious look. “So you decided to sacrifice your chance at winning in the interest of the team after all? You could have held out for Knuckles you know. Won both.”

Ares nodded and thought for a moment. Then he looked at Aphrodite. “A good general knows which battles to lose in the interest of longer term victory.”

She smiled. “So, what do we play next weekend then? And where? We should probably give this world a break for awhile right.”

“That’s a good question.”

“I have a suggestion.”

“Yes?” He raised an eyebrow. Aphrodite didn’t often suggest games.

“There’s this one new world with a really pretty garden and lots of fruit trees. Zeus has been calling it Eden. I was thinking maybe we could play there. How about Mystery Date?”

Ares narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, okay, what about Snakes and Ladders? Or,” She giggled, “Mystery snakes!”

The next morning Casey tied her hair up in two pretty braids. She did so by memory for she no longer had a mirror in her room. She probably could have found one downstairs, but she figured not having one was probably a good thing to get used to. She wouldn’t have one on the road after all. For breakfast she had a large helping of ham and eggs and bread. She figured she needed a good amount of energy for the long day’s ride ahead, and for the weeks to come. It wasn’t easy and her mind still strayed to the bones they’d burned last night and to what she might find out there in the unknown forests and the hills. But she knew, whatever it was, with Dodge by her side, she could handle it. There was one thing though that was still bothering her.

She found Dodge outside, getting two horses ready. Dodge smiled at her. “Are you ready to go?”

Casey nodded and she leaned forwards and hung her arms over the fence pensively. “Almost. I was just thinking. All my life, I wished someone would come and take me away from all this so I could see the world. I wanted it so much, but you know, I don’t think I ever really thought about what leaving would actually mean. I mostly just thought about the being somewhere else, not the actual leaving part.”

Dodge shrugged. “Leaving doesn’t mean you can’t come back. I know a place, in the mountains. They have supplies, weapons, gunpowder. We’ll go there and we’ll bring back some more people, and tools, and the knowledge on how to defend against these things. They can help. We’re not going away forever. We’ll be back.”

Casey smiled. “Yeah.”

Her parents came out to see them off.

Faith took her daughter’s hands. “You’ve grown so much lately.”

Casey nodded. “I know. I’m sorry I-”

“Don’t apologise. If anyone should apologise, it’s me. Just make sure you come back safe okay.” Faith patted her daughter’s hands and then she let them go.

“I will,” Casey replied as she mounted her horse. “You too.”

With one last glance back at her parents and her home, Casey nudged her horse forward. Side by side with Dodge, she rode out of town, the red rising sun promising them maybe just a little rain later.

The End