Pushing his temporarily enhanced body as hard as he could, Thomas surged across the open plain, his massive strides devouring the distance at a pace that no horse could match. Each leap seemed to hang in the air for an extra heartbeat, the unnatural strength coursing through his muscles making him feel weightless. His boots struck the ground with a dull thud, scattering dust and pebbles as he pushed onward. The scenery blurred around him, golden grasses shimmering.

Reaching the foothills, he scrambled with the reckless determination of a man possessed. Even when he fell to all fours he moved at a blinding pace, his enhanced reflexes preventing him from crashing to the ground, occasionally crashing through bushes or tree branches clawing at his face and arms.

At last, he reached a clearing nestled among the hills, where a small copse of trees stood at the edge of the path. Barely pausing to orient himself, Thomas rushed onto the winding trail that snaked downward and tried his best to stick to the path. Down to the foot of the hill he flew, his occasional stumble or trip betrayed his exertion, though even then his heightened senses allowed him to recover without falling. Sprinting around the base of the hill his eyes locked onto the familiar shoulders of rock that cradled the entrance to the mine. Relief surged briefly through him, but it was short-lived.

The camp at the mine’s entrance, once bustling with the activity of mercenaries and workers, was a wasteland. lood stained the ground in dark, viscous pools, and limbs lay scattered like grotesque marionette parts. The acrid stench of death and gunpowder hung thick in the air, mingling with the faint metallic tang of spilled blood. Thomas’s breath hitched as he scanned the carnage.

All the men he had hired were dead. Some from gunshot wounds, their bodies crumpled where they had fallen. Others had been savagely torn apart, their torsos shredded, as though some feral beast had descended upon them. One body was little more than a pair of legs, protruding from a spray of blood that painted the ground in a gruesome arc.

Just outside one of the tents, the leader of the mercenaries knelt.The man rocked back and forth on his knees, his wide, glassy eyes staring at nothing. As Thomas approached, he caught the sound of the man muttering under his breath.

“dripping dripping little rain, down you go into the drain…”

The man’s voice was soft, almost sing-song, seeming out of place in the carnage around him. Whatever the mercenary had witnessed had shattered his mind. Thomas’s stomach churned with guilt. He had sent Mr. Liu here, expecting safety in numbers, but it seemed he had sent the engineer to his death instead

The sharp crack of gunfire echoed from the mine’s entrance. Without hesitation, Thomas spun and sprinted toward the sound with no regard for what he might find. He moved down the narrow tunnel and into the main chamber that contained the enormous asteroid. From the entrance side he couldn’t see anything, with most of the space blocked by the giant rock. Sprinting around it he saw the sheriff standing over Mr Liu. For a moment, rage clouded Thomas’s vision and he was tempted to blast the sheriff with fire. But a cooler voice whispered reason, harming the sheriff was not part of the plan.

Instead, Thomas lunged forward, throwing a swift right hook at the sheriff. He pulled his strength at the last second, aiming to knock the older man unconscious without causing lasting harm. To his surprise, the sheriff twisted just enough to turn a clean hit into a glancing blow. The force was still enough to send the man stumbling. Thomas took the opportunity to grab Mr Liu and start dragging him away.

Once he was moving, he hoisted the slight engineer onto his shoulder. The silver potion coursing through his veins made the extra weight negligible. Without a second glance at the sheriff, Thomas turned and sprinted back toward the entrance.

The sunlight burned his eyes as he burst out of the mine. He didn’t stop to look back. Whatever had torn through the camp might still be nearby, and the sheriff might recover quickly. His only priority now was to get Mr. Liu to safety.

Thomas’s enhanced body carried him effortlessly back up the hill, through the clearing, and across the plains. The farm’s gate loomed ahead, and he burst through it, his boots kicking up dirt as he sprinted into the barn. He hauled the massive doors shut behind him, locking and barricading them with everything he could find. His chest heaved with exertion, though his enhanced stamina kept him moving until every possible entrance was secured.

After stacking everything he could in front of the various doors he started trying to calm himself. His heart was beating hard enough for him to hear blood rushing in his ears. Despite the clarity granted by the potion his hands were still shaking as he tried to grapple with everything that had just happened.

The sheriff would undoubtedly free the phoenix fox and trying to recapture it would be almost impossible. They wouldn't be able to make anymore phoenix shots apart from what they had already made….

The phoenix shots! The realization slammed into him. In his rush to save Mr Liu he hadn't even considered them. His mind rushed trying to make a plan to get back to the mine to secure their work. Would it be too late? Would the sheriff still be there?

Turning back to where he had set the engineer down, he found him pulling the invaluable bullets out of a bandolier he had tucked under his shirt.

The wave of relief that passed through Thomas made his legs go weak. Even with the potion on board, the sudden come down from that heightened state of anxiety made him realize just how tired he was and just how much all of this had taken out of him.

Thomas collapsed on to a seat, letting out a sigh that carried tremendous weight with it. As he rubbed his hands over his face he began to laugh. Small at first but soon it grew and grew until he was doubled over with laughter and tears began to well im his eyes.

Mr Liu wasn't sure what was so funny but Thomas’s laughter was infectious. Soon the studious man began to giggle, then chuckle, then soon he was roaring with laughter

“you..you spoke… RUN!.…that was scarier than them trying to kill me!” spluttered Mr Liu between laughs

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Don’t tell anyone” said Thomas through a stifled laugh

“Oh! Ho ho” replied Mr Liu pointing in surprise.

After their laughter had died down they got to work making the workshop comfortable. Their plan was to lie low there for a bit until the heat died down. Although the sheriff may suspect that they were staying on the farm, he wouldn’t dare cross Maggie, and so Thomas felt safe here until a more complete plan could be put together including making contact with Mr Porter.

As they were in the process of making an acceptable bed out of hay and a canvas sheet, Thomas smelt burning. Worry shot through him that the foxes had tracked him and set something on fire. Finding various holes in the barn siding he tried to spy as much of the farm as he could. Unable to see anything suggesting fire here, he climbed up into the rafters and looked out through the vented windows.

In the distance he could see plumes of smoke rising into the sky. Adjusting his view he traced them down to see where they were coming from. Blackwater was burning.

Though the farm was far enough away that he didn’t feel that there was any danger, given the events of the last few weeks, unexplained fires still gave him reason for concern. He would have to investigate further once he had recovered from his use of the Bìng Zhīyè. For now, he would keep an eye out from up in the rafters until he felt the adverse effects begin.

As Mr Liu had said, about 12 hours after taking the silver potion he started to feel the familiar queasiness. He began to dry heave as he was climbing down from his perch. As his feet hit the ground he collapsed to all fours and vomited up bile and stomach acid and what little food he had eaten during the day.

Mr Liu helped him to stumble over to the make-shift hay bed where he collapsed again as the muscle weakness overtook him and his head began to spin. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, hoping for unconsciousness to come quickly, which it mercifully did.

As Thomas awoke the next day, his body felt like lead, and his mind swirled with disorientation. He was dehydrated and confused, his memories of the previous day returning in fragmented bursts. Blinking against the soft light filtering through the barn's slats, he struggled to sit up. An old milking bucket sat next to him, filled with water, and he reached for it with trembling hands. The water was lukewarm but refreshing, and he gulped it down greedily before splashing some on his face and neck. The cool droplets jolted him into sharper awareness, though the weight of exhaustion still clung to him like a heavy blanket.

Shakily getting to his feet, he scanned the barn. The earthy smell of hay mixed with the faint metallic tang of sweat and machinery. His gaze landed on Mr. Liu, who was, as always, engrossed in his work. The engineer sat hunched over a workbench, his nimble fingers deftly manipulating a tiny mechanical device. Without looking up, Mr. Liu addressed him.

“Ah, you wake. Good. Fire has stopped, but now we have issue of door,” he said, gesturing with a nod toward the barn's main entrance.

Thomas followed his gaze and grimaced. The door was completely obstructed by a chaotic mountain of hastily stacked random equipment, building materials, and rubbish. Although it was a smart move at the time, clearing the pile was going to be a monumental task. Thomas’s enhanced strength from the silver potion had made it easy to stack the debris, but without it, moving the heavy objects would be slow, grueling work. Worse, the precarious pile included what looked like a cannon perched dangerously at the top. One wrong move, and the entire structure could collapse

Half an hour later, the barn was filled with the clatter of falling wood, the crash of metal, and the occasional muttered curse as Thomas wrestled with the barricade. The noise soon caught the attention of their host.

“Would you two shut it!, yer scaring mah chickens” shouted the stoutly built farmer “And why ain’t this door openin?!”

“My apologies, Dr Gardner. There was something of an emergency. We are working to fix”

“Hrmpf, well as long as you don’t get yerselves killed. I don’t need any dead bodies in my barn”

“Of course, Dr Gardner. Oh, one thing. What was the smoke we could see?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. Came from the town, sure enough, but I ain’t stickin’ my nose in whatever those fools have got goin’ on. You’ll have to check it out yerselves when you get outta there.”

Mr Liu looked at Thomas who just shrugged as if to say “what can ya do?” before he got back to dismantling the barricade.

A day later, after much sweat and effort, the men finally emerged from the barn. Thomas stepped into the sunlight, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. The fresh air felt liberating after being cooped up. While Thomas was visibly on edge from their self-imposed confinement, Mr. Liu appeared completely unfazed, his demeanor calm and efficient as always.

Eager to stretch his legs and see what happened in Blackwater, Thomas donned a nondescript outfit. Trading his usual sharp suit for a plain shirt, trousers, and a wide-brimmed hat. A bandana completed the disguise, concealing his face enough to avoid drawing attention. He saddled a horse and rode out toward the town.

The closer he got to Blackwater, the clearer the signs of destruction became. The acrid stench of charred wood and death hung heavy in the air, growing stronger with each passing mile. When the town came into view, Thomas pulled his horse to a stop.

Blackwater was in ruins. Burnt-out buildings lined the main street, their skeletal frames jutting toward the sky like broken fingers. Smoke still rose from a few smoldering embers, casting a hazy pall over the scene. A pile of bodies had been hastily assembled near the center of town, the victims’ faces obscured by makeshift shrouds. The air buzzed with flies, and the few townsfolk who remained moved like shadows, their expressions hollow and haunted

“What the hell happened here?” Thomas thought as he guided his horse towards the post office.

Stepping into the post office while sparring one last glance at the carnage outside, Thomas approached the counter and passed a note over to the man currently going by the name “Clyde”, who, as usual, seemed distracted. The note for Mr Porter detailed the recent developments with the operation at the mine including the presumed loss of the phoenix fox and the other setbacks they had encountered. Clyde unfolded the paper with deliberate slowness, his eyes scanning the contents..

“Mr. Porter appreciates your efforts so far,” Clyde said, his tone flat and businesslike. “The amount of product is more than sufficient. Additionally, Mr. Porter advises that he will arrive in Blackwater in about a month. Please assist Mr. Liu with his projects until then.”

Thomas nodded grimly. He had expected as much. Whatever Mr. Porter was planning, it was clearly too important to leave to chance.

Snapping his fingers to get “Clyde's” attention, Thomas gestured to the town then gave the hand signal for “what happened?”

“Shootout. Oscar hired a gang to try to kill Billy. Went very poorly for Oscar. Dozens dead. More injured. Billy's whereabouts are unknown.”

Thomas stared at him, his mind racing. “Billy did all that?” he thought, glancing out the window at the carnage. He knew Billy was a dangerous man, highly skilled and ruthless when necessary. But this level of destruction was almost incomprehensible. More akin to the rampage of a high-class magic monster than the work of a lone gunslinger.

The thought left a sour taste in his mouth. Turning away from Clyde, Thomas exited the post office and mounted his horse, eager to leave the eerie stillness of Blackwater behind. As he rode back to the farm, the image of the ruined town burned itself into his memory. He had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t the last he would hear of Billy.