[center][img]https://s22.postimg.cc/cyjhf1vsx/chowpunisher4.jpg[/img]
[b][color=black][u]Morning
Town Square; Warpath, Texas[/u][/color][hr][h3][color=black]ISSUE #15[/color]
[color=#f92a0e]GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY[/color]
[color=black]PART TWO[/color][/h3][/b][hr][/center]
[quote=@DocTachyon]
[color=#f92a0e]"Color me innarested, Mister Castle."[/color] Vig holstered his guns and walked clockwise around Castle, coming to face him in front. He extended a hand and hoped the fellow vigilante wasn’t too practiced in the art of the quickdraw if things went south. [color=#f92a0e]"But, tell you the honest truth? I ain’t exactly certain you’ll be ready for what you see here."[/color]
[/quote]

I took a look at the cowboy's hand, before extending my own and giving his a shake. As we parted, I quirked an eyebrow at what he said. I could handle a bunch of bandits or whatever was going on here. [color=black][b]"Not entirely sure what you mean there. I've seen enough stuff that, at this point, nothing will surprise me. I can handle whatever shit's going on in this town."[/b][/color]

I headed around to the back of my van, being sure to stay slow just in case the cowboy didn't like what I was doing. I opened up the back of my van, stepping inside and grabbing the duffel bag that held my arsenal. Jumping out of the van and closing it back up, I set the bag down on the desert floor and opened it up, pulling out my vest and a few guns. [color=black][b]"Whoever's gonna try to show up on your doorstep... I think I got enough guns to make sure they stay as far away from it as possible."[/b][/color]

[color=#f92a0e]"Exactly how much experience have you got tanglin' with... Let's call it 'supernatural' kindsa things? I know you rassled with that Spider Lady, but I mean... The [i]really[/i] strange."[/color] The cowboy crossed his arms and his eyes flitted over my arsenal, sizing it up.

I quirked an eyebrow at his question. [color=black][b]"... Back in New York City, I was a cop. There were a few stranger calls. Had to bust a cult one time operating out of an abandoned tenement building. Didn't seem like they were very... Connected with whatever they were worshiping though."[/b][/color]

[color=#f92a0e]"Well..."[/color] The cowboy looked down at his boots for a moment, and then his eyes came up and connected with mine. [color=#f92a0e]"Suppose I best letcha' see for yerself."[/color] He turned on his heel and started making for the door a few blocks down. We passed an old Saloon that looked on its last legs and turned into the remains of what looked like an 18th century courtroom.

I thought it was another person in the back, for a second. But there was something deeply fucked up about him. No movement, the rise and fall of the chest. His eyes looked glassed over. The closer I got, the less real he became. His skin was covered in wood, like he was a lifesize doll.

[color=#f92a0e]"That..."[/color] The cowboy pointed to the wooden man. [color=#f92a0e]"Is what happened to the people here after the last fight to come to town."[/color]

It took a few blinks before I realized that what I was staring at wasn't some sick trick of the mind. [color=black][b]"... What the [i]hell[/i]?"[/b][/color] was all I could choke out, as I slowly approached the doll... Or person. [color=black][b]"What the hell did this?[/b][/color] Or, a better question I probably should have asked: can you even kill something that can do this?

[color=#f92a0e]"The Dummy. You might've seen his body ridin' in."[/color] The cowboy tilted his hat back and went to the side of the room, pulling a tarp over the body. [color=#f92a0e]"Someone or somethin' gave that no good sonuvabitch powers, n' sent him here to kill me, and git something I don't even [i]have[/i].[/color]"

The Dummy? There was a guy who used to go by that back in New York. We never managed to catch him. From what we could understand, he was a sort of mercenary, taking jobs for whoever paid highest, whether it be intimidation or hits. The hits were what gained him notoriety... I still have nightmares about the bodies.

The cowboy turned to face me, and he pulled the red bandana from around his mouth. His beard was patchy, hastily shaved after too many sleepless nights. Hell, it looked like mine.

[color=#f92a0e]"I've... Seen things. Monsters you can't even rightly well [i]imagine[/i]. What's coming [i]next[/i]? I don't know. What I do know is that this time I got a warning from on high. N' I gotta make it count."[/color] He swallowed hard. [color=#f92a0e]"For [i]them[/i]."[/color]

[color=black][b]"Don't worry. I'll help out however I can. We'll deal with whatever comes next and then look for the source."[/b][/color] I paused, remembering his mention of the Dummy. [color=black][b]"... That guy, the Dummy. What'd he look like? I might know him."[/b][/color]

[color=#f92a0e]"Small feller. Real round cheeks, messed up smile, big 'ol eyes... His skin was like the others, but that wooden stuff drained right on outta' him when he passed."[/color] His voice caught on the last word, but he moved past it. [color=#f92a0e]"Tell you the truth, I don't remember it too great. Was a bit out of sorts when it happened."[/color]

Small guy. Round cheeks, weird smile, big eyes... Almost exactly what the witness reports of the Dummy were like. Difference is, he was, you know, [i]human[/i]. [color=black][b]"There was a guy like that back in New York. Human, though. Still, it might be the same guy. Could've gained some type of metagene through experimentation or... Something like that."[/b][/color] I made a mental note to have Micro look into it.

[color=#f92a0e]"Yeah. Somethin'..."[/color] The Cowboy looked for a beat at the tarp, then tore his gaze away. He beckoned to me. [color=#f92a0e]"C'mon. Figure I should show you around. They call me Vigilante, by the by. Vig for short. But you can jes call me Greg if you like."[/color]

[color=black][b]"Alright, sounds good. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Greg."[/b][/color] Without another word, I followed after him.