Lourdes: A Vampire In The Old West

3. Awake

Lourdes sleeps in the shadow of a tombstone. All alone in the churchyard, the creature's appearance is nothing like the boy who strode into the Guinevere Hotel. His skin sunken into his bones, and his bones sunken into the dirt, the thing pretending to be a boy reveals its true shape, and beneath the decomposition, there's a serenity on its face. A motionless peace. Surrounded by limitless desert, here there's only a boy and a collection of curious ghosts. Until the sound of footsteps. A long, slow shuffle crosses over the earth attended by the distant thunder of wolves – howling with every step.

Uneven footfalls stumble over rocks and break through briars. This pair of feet land with stark echoes, dreadful sounds that shake the stars. The footsteps search the cemetery, growing louder and louder, until a shadow, darker even than the night, touches Lourdes.

"I knew this place was infected," his eyes still closed, the boy speaks. "I was just looking for a quiet place to spend the night. I didn't come here to fight."

"Then why did you kill me?" The shadow asks. The remains of Liam Macintosh hang over Lourdes. While his mouth's dissected and part of his brain blown away, Liam is here and now, his eyes narrow, fists clenched, and whole frame misshapen into a scowl. Kicking the earth, he knocks gravel and dust onto the still sleeping boy.

"I warned you. I told you I'd kill you, and if you don't back away, I'll do it again," Lourdes answers. He opens his yellow eyes and again becomes a thing with luster in its face.

"Kill me again?" Liam laughs, thrusting out his chest. He cracks his knuckles. He stretches the rigor mortis from his limbs. "No, it's my turn now. It'd be rude if I don't return the favor."

"It'd be a miracle if you do," Lourdes yawns. The boy, at once, is on his feet and behind Liam's walking corpse. It takes the ghoul a moment to register Lourdes's speed, and it isn't until Lourdes yawns again that Liam finds him, but once he does, he lashes out. He swings a hard and heavy fist at the boy. Lourdes catches it. He bends it back. Bone breaks. A shatter echoes throughout the cemetery, but Liam, indeed dead, doesn't feel a thing. He launches another punch. Lourdes steps back, out of range of the swipe, and reaches for his gun.

The boy's hand, though, only returns with air. The gun's not there. His whole belt's gone.

"The blonde..." Lourdes spits after a half second of recollection. He has no time to finish the thought as Liam's already started for him.

"What's the matter? Lost your courage? Not such a big talker without your gun?" Liam snickers. "I think I know what you can do with your lips." Liam's steps build steam. While his joints don't move quite right, the monster can control his body enough. Plunging his hand into his shattered arm, ripping through rancid flesh, Liam pulls a broken bone free. A white knife. The ghoul charges, his bone shard aimed at Lourdes's heart.

Steeling himself, the boy avoids the slash, and maneuvering back, he sends his boot into Liam's knee cap.

A snap, but nothing changes. Not the slightest bit dismayed by the broken knee, Liam continues his attack. Liam lands a fist on Lourdes's jaw. A second hit slams into the cowboy's chest. His ragged bone, wheeling through black night, slices into Lourdes's gut. The boy's down.

"Hurts?" Liam laughs. "It's not a hole in the head, but I think it relays the same sentiment." Lourdes's teeth fuse together. Holding back vitriol. The white bone now red, Liam's jagged ulna hangs from his stomach, and Lourdes presses hard to keep his insides from falling out. Muffled curses. The monster circles Lourdes. He looks at his opponent struggle and then glances at his busted arm and knee. Muted screams. "You breaking my bones would have hurt me, too, but I guess you can't feel pain when you're dead!"