Through the Gates of Hell

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Chapter Two

Maggie Carmichael slowed her horse and looked around at the town of Peaceful Valley. After a few moments, she rocked back in the saddle to rub her eyes, trying to hold back her disappointment. Perhaps foolishly, she had hoped to find the town bustling with people and brimming with opportunity, but the place was already halfway to being a ghost town. The main street was devoid of pedestrians, and there didn’t seem to be a lot of activity anywhere.

With a sigh, she set her hands in her lap and frowned to herself. “Well, it is peaceful,” she muttered. “I’ll give it that.”

She wrinkled her nose, noticing the scent of smoke in the air, but she couldn’t see where it coming from. The whole street seemed to be covered in a light haze. It was like a cloud of gloom hanging over the entire town, evident in the faces of every person she could see. Maggie had clearly arrived here too late. If Peaceful Valley had been a boom town at one time, it was now a bust.

Gently, she nudged her horse forward and made her way down the street, although her instincts told her to turn around and keep on traveling. Unfortunately, she needed to get some food and water, both for herself and her animal. The horse was old and past its prime, and Maggie was honestly surprised it had successfully carried her this far. She had been careful not to urge the animal forward at anything faster than a brisk walk during her trip across the New Mexico territory, which was the reason it had taken her so long to reach Arizona.

But horses were expensive, and she didn’t have the money to buy another. Before she left Tennessee, she had given most of her life savings, as paltry as they were, to her brother. What little money she had for the trip west, she had earned on the way. And now that she was here in Arizona, she wondered if it had even been worth it.

How could she hope to make any money here? The whole reason she had come out to Arizona was to try and make some money in the mining boom over dark stone, but she had waited too long. Her brother had tried to warn her. The boom had already come and gone, and now all that was left was a string of ghost towns and abandoned mines across half the territory. As Maggie made her way down the street, she saw half a dozen closed up shops with boards over the windows.

There was some activity in town, though. Farther ahead, Maggie spotted someone standing on a wooden crate and yelling at a handful of people gathered around. Maggie led her horse along the opposite side of the street rather than get too close, lest the speaker try to get her attention.

“Fear not, for God will forgive you of your sins!” the woman cried. “Even in your darkest hour, God is always with you! All you must do is open your heart, and God’s eternal love will see you through even the worst of times!”

She was a heavyset woman probably a few years older than Maggie, wearing a long black dress that was now covered in dust, and a white nun’s habit that had turned dingy gray. Around her neck was a chain with a large cross, and in her plump hand was a well-worn Bible.

“Please, good people, do not despair!” she called out with the utmost sincerity, “God’s love is a light in the darkness!”

Maggie had seen her share of traveling preachers over the years, giving passionate sermons full of brimstone and hellfire, but this was the first nun she had ever seen giving such a speech. The woman was trying her best, but the few people listening didn’t seem to care that much. They were just there because they were bored. The nun looked tired and haggard, her voice rough and strained from talking so long, but she sounded honest and sincere.

Maggie listened for a few moments before moving on. Unlike most preachers who warned of lakes of fire and eternal damnation, the nun was at least spreading word of love and forgiveness, which Maggie thought was a nice change.

She eventually found a tavern that was open for business. There was a wooden water trough alongside it, so Maggie dismounted and sniffed at the water first before letting her horse drink. She wasn’t in the mood for water. What she needed was a stiff drink and something to eat. She had enough money to buy a meal, at least.

The tavern was nearly empty inside. It was perhaps the most pathetic, miserable looking tavern Maggie had ever seen in all her years of traveling and entertaining, and she had seen hundreds of taverns, maybe even thousands. The floor was dirty, some of the chairs were clearly broken, the shelves behind the bar only had a few bottles of quality liquor, and the clientele mostly appeared to be vagrants without anywhere else to stay.

She got some food there anyway. It was nothing but a bowl of greasy soup and some stale bread, but it was the first hot meal she’d had in three days and she took her time eating it. She watched as a few other random people came in and out of the tavern. By their dirty clothing and slumped posture, she guessed most of them were miners or other laborers.

Maggie, aside from being the only woman in the establishment, also stood out by her attire. She wore a faded black hat with a wide brim, and a long, tattered duster coat over a gray shirt and rough denim jeans. No one batted an eye at the pistols dangling from holsters on each hip, but she figured lots of people went armed around here. Where there was money and opportunity, there was also crime. But if anyone came up to Maggie thinking that the guns were just for show, they had another thing coming. Maggie didn’t know much, but she knew how to shoot.

For thirteen years, Maggie had worked as a gunslinger doing trick shots and stunts for crowds at a long line of rodeos, carnivals, and traveling shows from Florida to Texas. She could shoot out a lit candle from fifty paces. She could shoot a hole in the ace of spades while riding on horseback. She could spin both her pistols into the air, catch them simultaneously and hit two bulls-eyes at the same time. While it was true that she had not reached the level of fame as some other popular gunslingers, she had made a halfway decent living, traveled all over the country, and enjoyed the applause of thousands of people. She had no complaints.

But she was thirty-five years old now. There were always younger and better sharpshooters to contend with, able to perform even more complicated tricks that Maggie could not replicate, and the market for people with her specific skill set was rather limited. If she could not continue to find work as an entertainer, then her only other option was working as a bodyguard or bounty hunter or hired shooter, and Maggie had no stomach for that kind of work. She’d been firing guns since she was nine years old, and she had only ever shot another person once, and that was something she didn’t like to think about. She preferred to aim her pistols at wooden targets and other inanimate objects.

Before she left the tavern, she asked the lone bartender if there was any chance of her finding work in town. The man just laughed humorlessly and said that some of the mines were still open, if she was desperate enough to work there. The mining companies were still looking for bodies to haul stone and dirt, although there were fewer and fewer people willing to do it every day that passed.

She went back outside and stood on the tavern’s porch. Maybe if she had come six months ago, she might have had a chance to get rich. There was little chance of that happening now. Her only real option was to keep traveling and maybe find another town that was still booming, but she didn’t have the money to keep going with nothing to show for it. She didn’t want to go all the way back home and admit to her brother that she had failed. He would never let her live it down, even though she had done it all for him and his family.

She could still smell smoke in the air, and allowed her curiosity to take over. She walked off in the direction the smoke seemed to be coming from, and quickly found the source. The sight stopped her in her tracks, and once again she thought about getting on her horse and leaving this place.

There was a building reduced to nothing but charred black rubble. The buildings on either side were scorched by flames as well, but were still standing. As Maggie got closer, she could see that the rubble was still smoldering and smoking in places, and she realized with a start that the fire must have happened the night before, or maybe the day before at the very earliest. There was almost certainly no fire brigade in this town, so the building burned right to the ground. But Maggie wondered why the buildings to either side hadn’t caught fire. The building must have burned incredibly quickly to collapse like that without the fire spreading further.

There were some people gathered near the ruins. Maggie walked closer until she could hear one of them talking.

“There’s still time, but we have to act now. The longer we stand around here arguing, the less chance we’ll be able to save anyone,” said a tall, handsome man in a brown hat.

“I’m sorry, Marshall, but they’re … they’re dead,” said another man, portly and balding, fidgeting with his hat in his hands.

“We don’t know that,” the first man said. As Maggie got closer, she noticed the badge pinned on his shirt. She also noticed that he was carrying a shotgun in his hand. “We have three people unaccounted for. Their bodies weren’t in the building. And the boy specifically said that the creatures took his sister. If we get a posse together right now, we can chase after them and try to bring those people back alive!”

The other man just shook his head sadly. “With all due respect, Marshall, you’re new in town. You don’t understand what –”

“I might have just arrived in Peaceful Valley, but I am not a newcomer to this territory,” the Marshall snapped, his voice cutting off the other man like a sword to the neck. “I’ve been in Carson Hills, Stone Creek, Abnerville, and Steam City. I understand exactly what we’re up against. I’ve faced these kinds of creatures before, and I’m willing to do it again. I’m telling you that those people can be rescued, but we have to hurry! Now, I’m asking for volunteers!”

There was a man standing off to the side, with a bushy beard and faded gray clothes. He looked like he was probably a worker in one of the mines. It was warm enough outside, but he had his arms wrapped around himself as if he was shivering with cold.

Maggie walked over and asked in a low voice, “Excuse me. What’s going on here? What happened to that building?”

The man grunted and did not look at her. “Got attacked and burned down. Half a dozen folks killed. The Marshall’s tryin’ to …” The man finally glanced in Maggie’s direction and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “I ain’t seen you before. You new in town?”

“As a matter of fact, I just arrived this morning.”

“You want my advice? Turn around and go back where you came from.”

Maggie nodded, still watching the Marshall talk to the crowd. “Yeah,” she said, “I’m beginning to get that idea myself.”

It was almost impossible for anyone to make their way to Arizona without hearing the rumors. Stories about strange monsters lurking in the mines and sneaking out at night to attack innocent people. When Maggie had first heard such a story, she laughed it off as nothing but ridiculous nonsense designed to scare off potential rivals and claim jumpers. But after hearing ten or twelve similar tales from different people, she had started to wonder how true they really were. It was one of the reasons her brother had all but begged her not to come out here in the first place. But Maggie figured that maybe the problem would have been taken care of by the time she arrived. Surely, if there really were dangerous animals or other creatures in the mines, then the Army would have sent in soldiers to deal with them by now?

Maggie walked closer to the small crowd. The Marshall was passionately arguing to the townsfolk to form a posse to go after the missing people, but no one seemed willing to join. All Maggie had to do was glance at their downcast faces to realize that these people were broken and beaten down. Were things really this bad out here? She knew these mining boom towns were full of trouble, but she hadn’t anticipated something like this on her very first day.

“Those poor kids’ parents are both dead,” the Marshall said bitterly. “We can’t save them, but we can try and save that little girl. Are you going to be the one to tell that boy we could have rescued his sister but no one was brave enough to do it?”

“Little girl?” Maggie said to no one in particular.

Somehow, the Marshall heard her, and turned his gaze on her. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. His eyes were sharp and gray, and there was a fiery intensity lurking there. Being under the scrutiny of those eyes made Maggie want to confess all of her sins. “Her brother was rescued from the fire,” he continued, “but their parents were both killed. The creatures that did this took the girl with them when they left, along with two other people.”

“Do … do they do that sometimes?” Maggie asked.

The Marshall nodded harshly. “Yes, sometimes they do.”

The portly man ignored Maggie and once again shook his head. “Listen, Marshall, I’m sorry, but you can’t expect us to risk our lives. I’m sorry about the children, I truly am, but we’ve been through too much already. Most of the able-bodied men have already left town. Most of the people who live here are too weak or too old to go riding off in a posse.”

Another man in the crowd just said, “The girl’s dead, and so are the others.”

“Yeah,” said another. “We got enough of our own dead to mourn.”

The Marshall put his hands on his hips and stared hard into the crowd. “I know things are hard, but you can’t just give up. I’m going to try and rescue those people. I’ll do it by myself if I have to. Is there no one here who’s willing to join me?”

A few uncomfortable mumbles, and few downcast looks, but no volunteers. A few of the onlookers began to shuffle away, looking sad and ashamed for themselves. Maggie just looked around in disbelief. A little girl was missing and these people weren’t even willing to go and try to save her?

The older man Maggie had spoken to came forward as most of the other people went off on their own. “I’ll come with you, Marshall,” he said, but his voice didn’t sound very convincing, as if he was being forced to do it against his will. “You need someone who knows the mines. I can show you where those things are comin’ from.”

The Marshall nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Sutter.”

“Please, just call me Walt.”

“Walt. Thank you again.” He continued to look at the few remaining faces in the crowd. “Anyone else? We’re leaving as soon as we can. If any of you folks change your mind …”

Someone halfway down the street was shouting something, and Maggie turned to see what was going on. To her surprise, it was the nun she had seen preaching to some onlookers. The woman was running awkwardly in their direction. She didn’t look like a woman who did very much running, and by the time she reached the group, her face was covered in a sheen of sweat. “Forgive me,” the nun gasped. “I heard that some of you fine people are going to try and save those poor innocents who were taken last night.”

“That’s correct,” the Marshall said.

The nun straightened and took a breath to collect herself. She clutched her Bible close against her chest. “Then I would be honored to join you. I am a servant of God, and I came to this town to fight against the forces of evil.”

The barest hint of a smile curved the Marshall’s lips, but he merely nodded at the nun’s sincerity. “We would be glad to have you, Sister. My name’s Robert Holden, and this man with me is Walt Sutter.”

The nun said, “I’m Sister Eleanor Hall.”

Most of the other bystanders had snuck away during the exchange, now that the Marshall was not paying attention to them. Unexpectedly, Maggie found herself alone with the three volunteers in the middle of the street.

“Huh,” she said with a shrug. “I guess that just leaves me.”

“Do you want to join us, ma’am?” Robert asked.

The other man, Walt, shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. “This lady said she just arrived in town this mornin’. She don’t know what she’s gettin’ into.”

Maggie didn’t appreciate him speaking for her, but she let the comment slide for now. He was right after all. She had come to this town looking to make some easy money, not join a posse running off into certain danger. But she remained where she was, unwilling to leave just yet.

Robert approached and spied the guns at her hips. His eyes narrowed a fraction, but his voice was level and calm. “You’re a gunfighter?”

“No,” she said. “I’m a gunslinger. A sharpshooter.”

“Are you any good?”

At that, she smiled tightly. “Yeah, I’m pretty good.”

“What’s your name?”

“Maggie Carmichael.”

Robert held out his hand and she shook it. “I’m Marshall Robert Holden,” he said. “If I can be blunt, Miss Carmichael, I could use someone who’s good with a gun. Walt said you just came to town. Do you understand what’s been going on around these parts?”

“I’ve heard rumors. Everybody has.”

“The rumors are true. Down in those mines, there are all kinds of … strange creatures. Things that do not belong in this world. I don’t know how else to describe them.”

“They’re demons straight from Hell,” Sister Eleanor said with the utmost conviction. She waved her Bible and made the sign of the cross. “Sent by the Devil to steal men’s souls.”

Walt looked like he wanted to say something, but he just grimaced and spat on the ground.

Robert looked at Maggie and said, “It will be dangerous. You can say no.”

Maggie asked, “You said there was a little girl?”

“Yes. Her parents owned that store. We managed to rescue her brother, but her parents died in the attack. She’s nine years old. Her name is Hannah Thompson. There are also two other people missing. A man by the name of Jake Hodges, and another man that the people in town call Elijah, but no one seems to know his last name.”

“Do you really think they can be saved?”

“Yes, I do,” Robert said. “But we have to leave now.”

Maggie looked into his eyes for any trace of dishonesty, any hint of arrogance that would convince him to do something stupid and dangerous for his own gain. If even a few of the stories Maggie had heard were true, then only a complete fool would run off into the mines looking for a fight. And if those people had been taken the night before, was there really any chance they were still alive? Robert must have been delusional to believe it was worth the risk.

But Maggie saw nothing in his eyes except intelligence, experience, and righteousness. For what it was worth, she believed him. She was hardly an idealist, but Robert was the kind of man that could make her believe that maybe all people weren’t primarily motivated by greed and fear. He was a good man, she just knew it. And when she glanced at the faces of Walt and Sister Eleanor, she got the feeling that they knew it too.

“Okay,” she said with a short nod. “Okay, I’ll come with you.”

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