Page 31

After the teenage competition, an adult one followed, and it turned out pretty well again, except for one idiot who disagreed with my decision. He shut up arguing when he saw my face and backed away. On leaving the town hall where it had been held, I began making my way to help finish clearing Main St.

We had just got it clear when everything went to hell. Merritt Mike appeared in front of the theatre once again. At the other end, near the Grand Hotel, the man in black materialised. The crowd fell quiet. Then everyone whipped out their phones to record.

“Yer not taking me in, sheriff,” Merritt Mike said.

“You broke the law, Mike; you need to come with me,” the sheriff replied, walking towards Merritt Mike.

“Don’t make me shoot you, sheriff; it will be messy,” Merritt Mike warned.

“This is your last warning, Mike. Come in peacefully.”

“Ain’t happening, sheriff. You’re gonna hang me for that death,” Merritt Mike called back.

“Justice will be served.”

Along with the crowd, I watched transfixed. People murmured while trying to understand what was happening. Merritt Mike reached for his hip as the sheriff strode forward and pulled his Colt. The sheriff dived to one side as Merritt Mike fired.

Merritt Mike’s shot missed, and the sheriff got to his feet, dusted himself down, and returned fire. His first struck Merritt Mike’s hand, and his gun flew out of it. We watched as the weapon hit the floor and disappeared. The next bullet took Merritt Mike in the shoulder, spun him around, and he dropped to the ground before disappearing.

The sheriff kept walking down the middle of Main Street. As he passed the clubhouse, the ghost of a woman appeared, matching the previous description.

She peered around in distress. The sheriff stopped and glanced down where Merritt Mike had fallen. The woman’s hand flew to her mouth, and she rushed forward to the sheriff.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” she stated.

The sheriff tipped his hat back. He reached out and pulled the woman close. She smiled up at him and raised one gloved hand to cup his face.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” he murmured.

“I couldn’t find you,” she cried as the sheriff bent his head and kissed her. They both faded away together.

“Holy crap!” Vortex exclaimed.

“We’re about to go fuckin’ crazy,” Hercules said, sounding despondent.

“What the hell was that?” I exclaimed. People all around me were filming, and my heart sank. How could I explain that? The crowd remained silent for a few moments before the storm broke.

“Were they ghosts?”

“Who are they?”

“Why are they haunting here?”

“What a damn floor show that was!”

“Wow!”

“Talk about kicking off a parade!”

“What do we say?” Vortex asked, and I shrugged.

“Don’t explain anything. Neither confirm nor deny,” Nanci said, appearing. My wife looked shocked but was holding herself together. “Half the crowd thinks it was a show; so let them.”

“It’s the other half that worries me,” I muttered.

“Inglorious, we ain’t got the time. You need to open the parade. We’ll worry about this later.”

Nanci was right. Straightening my shoulders, I marched into the centre of the road and began my speech, ignoring the occasional shout. I’d no idea how to fix this, so I shelved the problem for now.