As soon as I stepped on the platform I was struck by a dry, oppressive heat. After several days of non-stop travel I felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when looking at the rough, two horse town in front of me.

It was a hell of a lot bigger than I was expecting. The last few towns we’d passed consisted of little more than a tavern, store, and train station, so having a fully developed mainstreet was a treat. Unfortunately every single building had the exact same emblem pasted either on the sign, or the windows. Graves Railroad inc. Definitely a company town.

A quiet, upset hiss from my carpet bag reminded me that I had more important things to do than sightsee. “I’m going, don’t get your tail in a knot,” I whispered to the bag as I hefted my rifle case in one hand and the old misshapen carpet bag in the other.

The platform was nearly empty so it didn’t take me long to make my way down the platform and past the fancy, but weathered sign hanging above the exit that read ‘Welcome to Gravewater, Oregan.’

Even though the main street stretched along the full length of the train station, and had multiple amenities, the town didn’t seem to actually be that large, only two or three streets wide. Despite this the street was extremely active, with multiple horses, and wagons, coming in from out of town. As soon as I spotted the hotel, a fairly new looking structure made of boards which had been painted so recently the red color hadn’t had the time to fade, I sprinted across the street, dodging the traffic, before heading inside.

I half expected to step directly into a tavern floor filled with gambling and prostitution, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found a neat lobby with a well dressed clerk instead. The man took a minute to deal with the small family which had been standing at the desk when I arrived, before turning towards me. “Can I help you ma’am?” he asked politely.

“I’m looking for a private room, for a couple nights. Don’t know exactly how long,” I replied, eyeing him up.

He nodded, then flipped through the ledger on his desk for a moment. “Unfortunately I don’t have any regular rooms available, only a couple of premium ones. We’re quite busy right now.”

“Why? Is there something happening?” I asked suspiciously.

“Yes ma’am, one of the company trains is coming through tomorrow. Since this is the only inn in town, many of the local farmers, and ranchers, like to reserve a room ahead of time, so they can be here when it arrives. It’s a pretty big deal around here.”

“I just got off a train, so I don’t get what the big deal is, but ok…” I muttered as I pulled out my coin purse. “How much are the premium rooms?” I asked.

“Two dollars a night.” I didn’t argue, instead I just dug a ten dollar coin out of my purse and dropped it on the counter. Before it even landed the man snatched it up, and placed it in the cashbox. “Name?”

“Zoey Claiborne,” I said.

The man nodded briefly as he filled in the register. Once he was done he reached under the desk, pulled out a key, and handed it to me. “You’ll be in room eight, second floor at the end. Welcome to Gravewater.”

I just nodded politely in response, before taking the key and slipping it into my pocket and quickly making my way upstairs to my room.

Even though the room had a solid door, and a modern lock, the inside wasn’t anything special. A queen sized bed, chest of drawers, mirror, a stove, and a tiny window which looked out over the street. I quickly placed my bag down on the bed, and popped it open, revealing the small grey striped cat.

She popped her head out, and stared daggers at me. “Merow!”

“I’m sorry, but you know most places don’t allow cats, superstitious bastards,” I told my feline familiar.

Kaylee laid her ears down flat, and stared even harder, but didn’t respond. Now that my cat was finally out of the bag, I threw my worn out black ten gallon hat to the floor, and took a look at myself in the mirror. My raven black hair had dried up during the long trip, leaving it brittle and frayed, and I had huge bags under my hazel eyes. My fair skin was fine, but it wouldn’t take long for me to burn in this weather, if I wasn’t careful.

There was a small bowl of fresh water on the chest of drawers, probably one of the few extra amenities for the premium room, so I took a few minutes to clean myself up before turning back towards the bed. “Do you think this is far enough west yet?”

Kaylee looked up from where she was grooming herself, and stared at me for a moment. “Meow”

“I know, I know. There’s no way for either of us to actually know, I just wanted your opinion,” I told her.

Kaylee just cocked her head to the side, then went back to grooming.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Fine, be that way,” I mumbled.

Since Kaylee was occupying the bed, and there was a bowl of water on the chest of drawers, I dragged my rifle case over to the window sill. I ran my hand over the long, textured leather case lovingly before flipping the latches open to peer inside. The railway prevented anyone from openly carrying on their trains, and they had the muscle to back it up, so I had put my firearms away for the trip. Now that we’d arrived, I was itching to put my revolver back on my belt.

The case was built with three compartments. There were spaces in the lid to secure my pair of Black Steel Co Revolvers, even though I normally only carried one at a time. Opposite the revolvers, was a space for my repeating rifle. The dark metal barrel and heavy walnut stock had been expensive, I’d saved for months in order to buy it back home, and only had one chance to use it. Now just looking at it brought back horrific memories.

I pulled the rifle out, and set it aside, in order to get access to the final, hidden compartment. Underneath the rifle, hidden beneath a false panel, was my broom. Although most of the coven had been quite traditional, hand making their own brooms, I had used a more modern design. The solid oak handle had a screw joint in the middle which allowed me to break it down for transport, and the bristles were tightly packed with artificial fibers, instead of straw. I had polished it as smooth as possible over the years, and it fit me perfectly.

It was both my pride and joy, and one of the very few artifacts which I had that still worked after the incident.

I slowly brushed my hand down its length, before finally pulling away and closing the compartment again. It was best to be cautious. If anyone found it, it would cause issues for me.

I carefully placed my rifle back in its compartment, before grabbing one of my pistols and closing the case again.

I ran my hands over its black enamel with the silver embossed finish of the six shooter before grabbing its pearly wood grip. I carefully ejected and checked the cylinder and barrel, before loading it with the rounds and tucking it back into the black leather holster on my belt. Once I did, I felt immensely better.

“Hold down the fort for a while, I want to look around,” I told Kaylee. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring you dinner when I come back, just remember to stay out of sight.” The cat meowed her confirmation, satisfied with my declaration, before disappearing under my bed, and meowing a half hearted goodbye.

“Yeah yeah, I love you too,” I grumbled as I grabbed my hat from the floor and headed to the door.

After locking up, I deposited the key into a pocket on my vest, before heading back down to the street.

They’d moved the train out of the station, but I could still see it at a small railyard just outside of town. Over a dozen employees crawled all over it, doing maintenance, refilling the coal car, and checking the passenger cars. Most towns didn’t even have the infrastructure to supply coal, so for the company to invest in a full maintenance shed probably meant they had big plans for this place later.

I clicked my tongue at the thought. I’d come here, right to the end of the rail line to avoid people, and found a burgeoning town instead.

I turned away from the train and started making my way down the boardwalk, glancing inside each building I passed. There was a saloon, which despite having the drinking and gambling I expected at the inn, was more subdued than most establishments I’d seen elsewhere. Beside it was the bank, which seemed to deal mainly in company notes, the sheriff’s office, a telegraph office, company store, and finally a blacksmith. I even double checked the side streets, looking for more businesses, only to locate the butcher, stable and the church, but nothing else. I expected more somehow.

Since I didn’t have another choice, I stepped into the small company store. As I wandered up to the counter, looking over the stock, a little boy peeked out of the back room. The two of us stared at one another in silence for a moment before he turned towards the back and yelled, “Pa! Customer!” before disappearing. A second later a slightly balding, bow backed man stepped forward.

“Howdy stranger. Welcome to Gravewater mercantile, how can I help you?”

“I’m just looking for some supplies to get me through the week.” I reported, looking through my options. The man nodded politely while I browsed. “I noticed you only carry the staples, if I want something else can you order it for me?”

He chuckled. “This must be your first time in a Graves controlled town ma’am. All the company stores only stock the basics, because the big ticket items are only sold directly from the company trains. There’ll be one coming through tomorrow, if you’re interested.”

“Not sure why you wouldn’t just stock things locally. It seems overly complicated.”

“Company policy,” he said. “As long as they sell directly from the train, and don’t ship anything in, no one can set up a competitive store. Graves has operated that way for years, you’ll get used to it pretty quick if you stick around." He smiled softly and leaned against the counter. “So, can I get you anything?”

“Yeah, just some cooking supplies, bacon, bread, beans and eggs,” I said, after quickly perusing what was available. “Looks like I’m going to have to stop by that train tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, it’s quite an experience,” the shop keeper said, as he busied himself with collecting my supplies. It didn’t take him long before he came back, with a decent sized sack. “That’ll be fifty cents”

I fished a couple coins out of my pocket and handed them over, before taking my groceries.

As I stepped back outside, I noticed a commotion back towards the sheriff's office. From what I could tell, a small posse had rode into town while I was occupied. Bounty hunters?

The group had already attracted a lot of attention, so I stepped up to one of the locals nearby. “What’s going on? They bring in a major bounty or something?”

One of the women nearby turned to me, with a massive smile on her face. “Even better! They managed to pick up a couple of rogue spellcasters from that commune outside of town. It’s about time too! They’ve gotten away with their witchcraft for far too long. Cursing our cows to produce less milk, causing our chickens to stop laying eggs. It’s about time those heathens faced true justice!”

As the rest of the group muttered their approval, I tried to catch a look at the ‘perpetrators’. I just managed to catch sight of two girls, so young they could barely be considered teens, as the posse dragged them off the horses and shoving them inside the sheriff’s office.

Every instinct in my body cried out to help the girls, but I knew I couldn’t do anything. Not with so many people around. Instead I just forced a fake smile. “Justice, right.”