Clay Roberts, vice-captain of the Argo, had been briefed by Bat Masterson beforehand, but was disgusted by the terrible devastation in Colfax. All the buildings were burned down, and no one survived.
"Wildfires?" asked Sergeant Romolo.
"It's not a wildfire," Roberts replied. "Someone set the town on fire."
The plaza in front of the station was filled with the smell of burnt buildings and the stench of dead people. What looked like piles of compost were actually piles of human corpses. Its surface had turned to pitch-black charcoal, but the corpse buried deep inside was in a half-baked state, and "Doc" Morton was silently continuing his autopsy. Roberts threw pebbles at vultures lured by the smell of food to scare them off until Morton finished his work.
"What do you know?" Roberts asked Morton.
"There are marks of torture," Morton replied business-wise.
"What kind of torture?"
"All kinds of torture, like Guy Fawkes did."
Roberts felt sick and his face clouded over. "I thought only humans could do that. Even creatures from Greek mythology do it."
"It was a human who did it. This is what came out of the corpse."
Morton took a rolled up handkerchief from his pocket and opened it. There were several 69 caliber bullets.
"Let me tell you one more thing. All the corpses here are male. I don't see any female corpses."
"Are they looted?"
"Maybe."
Roberts, a woman worshiper, took pity on the women who had been taken away and made a sign of the cross.
Soldiers returning from reconnaissance made further reports. For example, no fuel, food or weapons were found. Probably the raiders must have taken it away.
After telegraphing for fuel and provisions, Roberts gathered his commanders in the square. Roberts instructed them to maintain combat readiness.
"I have a question," Sergeant Paul Reisman asked.
"What?"
"Is it okay to shoot at a human as well?"
"If the enemy attacks us, we authorize a counterattack."
"Yes, sir. Let me do it."
Riseman happily showed his white teeth and smiled like a naughty boy.
YOU ARE READING
The Argo Goes West
Science FictionIn 1900, creatures from Greek myth began to invade America, where the frontier line had disappeared. Theodore Roosevelt builds the Argo, a battle train and heads to the west where monsters await!
