Twenty Bodies

Chapter Seven: The Stranger.

Ace's eyes opened to a whiteness so pure and blinding it felt as if someone had been frying eggs upon them. Infront of him stood a tree, void of any leaves and surrounding that was sand as white as snow. The sky was deep blue without any clouds and the sun was in full shine. The temperature cool and calm.
He looked around and saw nothing but white sand for miles. Sand, sky and a single grey tree, leafless and dead. He spun in a circle trying to see any life but when he turned back around, a figure on horseback emerged by the tree. Ace began to walk forward.
"Hey, mister" Ace spoke, the figure still not turning around. "Hey you, hey?"
He got close and saw that it wasn't any normal horse at all. For it's skin wasn't skin. It was a lava like substance. The mane and tail were replaced with flames of a controlled nature to mimick hair and the great beasts eyes were deep yellow stones; the type of eyes you'd imagine a dragon would have.

Ace looked at the horse and then up to the rider to see who this mystery being was. It was all in vain though, for the figure wore a cloak that held the deepest black - that of a starless night. And the same for its hood, which was covering its features. When Ace stared into the hood he saw nothing... absolutely nothing. In fact, this being had no face and no neck. It was an empty hollow hood.
The headless rider raised his hand and pointed with black leather gloves at a hole in the ground.
"You want me to have a look?"
The being nodded so Ace walked over cautiously and stared into the square shaped hole. For whatever reason, the being could not speak words out loud. It instead would project a soft, whispered voice into the mind of its victims.
"Every hat has a head. Every shoe has a foot. Every soul has its place... but where do you belong?"
The voice made Ace jolt, grow cold and then shiver. He looked at the hooded creature and asked who he was.
"The question is, who are you? They give you many names"
"Now that is a good question! I have no idea" Ace chuckled at the oddness of the situation.
"Shall we see what type of man you are?"

The cloaked stranger clicked his leather gloved fingers and the sky turned to night instantly. The square in the ground began to glow white. Seconds later, images of the man Jack had been over the years projected across the hole.
The first was of Jack holding up an entire general store, dressed in black. His face was on show but one eye was covered by an eye patch. Flo was placed behind him as they stuffed as many goods as they could into rugged old sacks.
"HELP! I NEED THE LAW. HELP!" shouted the old man who owned the store.
It showed Ace shooting him dead. Ace watched in confusion, almost waiting for something to happen which could help him make sense of it all. The old man fell to the ground with a proud hole in his head.
"That was Roger Thomson. He gave to the Lord and on the day you killed him he was going to celebrate his granddaughters birthday"
"I don't remember any of this" Ace pleaded, whilst shaking and looking at the hooded creature, whom was now off its horse and staring into the hole as well.
"Do you ask for forgiveness?"
"What?... Oh yes. Yes... yes I do" nodded Ace.

The second projection showed Ace robbing a train, killing the conductor and a young girl. He also wounded a lawman. With Flo and Earnest by his side, they collectively stole handbags and wallets. Anything the passengers had, the three criminals took. Alongside the train were three stallion horses, keeping up effortlessly. Flo, Earnest and Ace made one last check that they had stolen as much as they could and hastily made the jump for it onto their own horse.
"The conductor, John Williows, felt nothing but joy when on his trains until the day he met One-Eyed Jack. The girl... she... well, you bought her back"
"How did I do that!?" Ace was almost thirsty for the answer but the creature said nothing about it.
"The lawman you wounded", the creature said instead "went home to his son but succumbed to his injuries and died infront of his first born."
"But I-"
"Do you ask for forgiveness?"
"Yes I do...yes" he said, nodding his head just as a scolded school boy would.

The final projection was clip after clip of murder, robbery, arson and countless lives being ruined at the hands of Jack, who started terrorising like this from a young age. The footage shown him turn from a young boy into manhood and then through to the day he died.
"You've done quite a lot in a small amount of time. Do you ask for forgiveness?"
"Yes of course, yes"
The creature sharply spoke - "Why?"
"What do you mean, why? I was a bad man and although I don't remember it, I can see it is me!"
"What name do you go by?"
"What? I-"
"What name do you go by?" The voice spoke, returning to its gentle tone again.
"Well I go as Ace"
"So why would you ask for forgiveness for something a man named Jack did?" questioned the stranger.
"Because I-"
"You landed on this earth naked and screaming, like any new born does. You could have walked many paths but you chose to walk the right one... the one of light. The human known as One-Eyed Jack came to earth naked and screaming, the same as you, but chose a path of damnation. As far as I'm concerned, Jack is deceased. The human known as Ace has walked into light and will continue to do so."
"Did you send me back?"
"I sensed good in... the bad. I gave you another chance to give back and you did just as I willed"
"What do I do now?" Ace said, tears forming in his eyes.
"Continue to follow the light"

The creature touched Ace's shoulder and his vision went black.