Chapter 31: Deus ex Machina (reprise)

It was a triumphant effort, to once again close the Stairway to Heaven. But it was not the end to the tale of End of the Line, not just yet. The two gunslingers returned to their home, having vanquished great evils. There was the Doctor with the Kid on his, talking and laughing all the way. Their horses having ran away, the walk back was a long one.

“Hey Doc, how come you have like dozens of revolver but only one hat?” The Kid wondered, it was a question she had asked countless time before.

“Well, it has… sentimental value.” The Doctor’s reply was the same as usual, even down to the awkward pause in the middle.

“Huh? Then tell me its story?” The girl replied like always.

It was a routine between the two, after this question Doc would laugh everything off. Then they would move to another topic, something to talk about.

But not this time.

“Why don’t you tell me then, why you like that hat so much?” The Doctor asked back.

The Kid was taken aback by the sudden change from the usual, still, she replied with a wide smile on her face. “Well, it has… sentimental value.”

The two laughed as they continued to journey under the bright sun. The ground underneath which was jagged and mixed soon smoothened out into a plain of green. They were near their destination, the town of the dead, home, at least for one of them.

“Are you going away?” The Kid suddenly asked.

“What make you think that?” The Doctor replied.

The girl tried to look at his face but with this arrangement, it was not possible. “When you left me with the Knight, I can tell, you weren’t going back to End of the Line.” She said. “So tell me, are you going to travel once again?”

“Yes.” Doc answered. “But there’s somewhere I need to visit first, the No Man’s Land.”

He had heard of that forest before and its reputation. Still, the Doctor never had the intention of going there, until he learnt of the iron-child from Snowdrop. He had gained that power of metal after being sent there.

“There’s someone I need to visit.” Doc continued. For so long he had run away, even when he was in his prime. But now, the Doctor was ready to face with her again.

The Kid wondered what was this business was about, she did not pry, however.

“After I’m done with… you know. Can I travel with you?” She asked.

“Are you sure about that?” The Doctor replied jokingly. “I will go somewhere with a whole lot of bugs.”

“I can just squat them flat!”

“Gigantic bugs, absolutely massive.”

“Then I will shoot em!”

“There won’t be anything to eat but vegetable.”

“Um… I may need to rethink this…”

Thus, they laughed and talked and laughed some more. Then suddenly, End of the Line was right there in front of them. The Kid immediately hopped down and ran in to announce her return. Doc walked behind, sighing. “I thought you are too injured to walk?”

“Well, you are the Doctor!” The Kid turned back and said.

“True that.”

They were greeted by the surprised townsfolk, no one expected the two to ever return. Soon a crowd gathered and cut through them was the mayor. Mother and daughter reunited, the Doctor watched with a smile on his face.

A townsfolk asked him. “Do you know about these visitors?”

“What visitors?” The Doctor did now what was going on, soon he would be.

Ting. Ting. Ting. A sound that Doc recognized as spur. Two people emerged from the crowd. One of them was a tall and lanky man with long black hair draped over his face. On his back was a rifle adorned with a frame made of bone. Beneath the black was skin pale as a corpse, truly someone who could not be missed.

His companion, on the other hand, was someone much plainer.

A woman of considerable age, rivalling the elders of End of the Line. Her silvery white hair neatly tied together underneath a wide brim hat. Donning a duster, her shoes were ones with spurs. On her belt, however, was a holster with a revolver within.

The old woman walked up to a shocked Doctor. “Long time no see, Frank Holliday. Or should I say Dr. Frankenstein.”

“Theresa Black… What are you doing here?” Doc asked with hand over his revolver.

The Kid watched cautiously. Inside her was a feeling of dread, the girl hovered over her own piece only to realized that she had no bullet left.

The old woman gazed into the Doctor’s eyes and calmly said. “For revenge of course. You turned my husband into a mechanical abomination and my son was killed by your creation.”

By this point, everyone had realized the visitors’ intention was not a friendly one. They all backed and watched the situation unfolded. The Kid looked in the old woman’s eyes and was shocked by what she saw. Such burning hatred, enough to scorch one’s soul for eternity, yet somehow she could speak with such calmness.

Theresa slowly placed her shaking hand over her revolver. “For you to ask of my intention, I thought you were supposed to be the smartest man ever.”

Without warning, Doc grabbed the handle and pulled out his piece.

Bang.

The single gunshot shook the town to its core. Everyone watched in horror as the Doctor dropped his weapon to the ground, blood coming out of his chest.

Doc pulled first because he knew a Black would be faster than him. But even then, it was not enough. Theresa held her revolver with smoking barrel, her hand as still as a statue. “I may be the one to pull the trigger, but this bullet was made by you, my anger was fueled by you. So make no mistake, your doom is of your own making.”

The Kid rushed to her dying ward as smoke came out of his wound. In this world, only two things that could kill him, the cosmos and a very special kinds of bullet made by his own hands. And now, one of them was lodged within him.

“No, Doc, no… Please, you will be fine right?” The Kid held his hand.

She could not comprehend what was going on. They were on top of the world, have saved this meadow from the eldritch threat. Doc had climbed the Stairway to Heaven and lived was he truly going to die here from a simple duel?

The answer was painful and unavoidable.

With the rest of his strength, Doc pulled a single bullet out from his coat and placed it in the girl’s hand. “I’m sorry.” He muttered, gazing up into the sky so blue, in the corner of his eyes, the man thought he could spot a hint of crimson. “I’m so sorry. You… did not ask… be made…”

His last words, were they meant for the Kid? She did not know. Tears streamed from her eyes as she trembled in pain and anger. The girl grabbed her ward’s revolver only to have it shot out of her hand by the aged gunslinger.

“Noooooooo…” The Kid moaned.

…

It was not the end, however, as Theresa’s anger was not something that could be quenched so easily. “You are all guilty in assisting this criminal.” She said. “Your sentence is death.”

Thus the people of End of the Line dug under gunpoint, their own graves. High up above, the sun was blaring, as if it was impatient, wanting to see the end. Among the townsfolk were of course, the Kid and her mother. The girl tried to fight back, but it was simply futile. At least she got to be with her mother till the end.

Alessia watched her daughter, her heart ache with sorrow. This was all her fault, she thought to herself. This was why she decided to stay behind as Claudia left the town.

The mayor remembered her past in a small woodland settlement. She could still smell the fire and hear the screaming as her home was grazed to the ground by countless monsters. Her parents perished in the incident, but she lived on to have her own family. Only to watch as they were torn apart by the frozen night.

She was an omen of death, and her very own existent was a curse to those dear to her. And now, it was her daughter who had to shoulder her sin.

A young soul, who had never gotten to see the world, to be condemned to such a cruel fate.

All Alessia could do was to hold Claudia in her arms and kissed her on the forehead.

Bang. Bang.

The gunshots drenched them red as the mother and daughter fell down their fresh grave together, clutching one another tightly. Cold dirt soon covered them and no gravestone shall mark their resting place.