Hell's End, Hell's Beginning

I stared directly at my front, gripping the wooden stock in my hands as I looked forwards at the man in front of me. His knees buckled and he fell into the dirt, sputtering up blood, as smoke from the pistol emanated from the cobalt blue steel barrel. The man's eyes looked up at mine before I saw the final spark fade from his eye. I watched him expire as suddenly the town sheriff came out of the brothel, eyeing me, before looking at the ground. His eyes widened as he screamed in rage. "NOOOOOOO!!" He yelled as he ran forwards, clutching his bleeding brother in his arms, his white shirt sleeves now stained with crimson. Innocence now turned to death and dismay, and what seemed good now died out. The sheriff looked towards me with a snarl on his lips. I let forth a cold smile, a menacing grin. I won. I walked over to my horse and pulled on the reigns, galloping off, leaving the brother to his dead relative...

------------------- Hell's End, Hell's Beginning -----------------------

The coal train whistled in the hot winds of the Nevada desert. My name is Jebediah Wurney. I had been assigned to work as a coal miner for the West End Trading Company. But before, I was a criminal. I can remember the year 1850 like it was yesterday. I lifted the coal into the head of the train to power it, my back almost giving out, my hands stained with black and soot. The train conductor continued working me harder. The men at my side kept working as well, before suddenly one of the men at my side fell to his knees, coughing and sputtering from fever and lack of water. The captain saw that he was dehydrated and could no longer work. He huffed and opened the train door, kicking him out of the car. "Anyone els' feel like quittin'?!" the captain spit. The men around me continued working hard, shoveling more and more coal. What seemed like a job before now seemed even more like a prison. It didn't faze me, however. Here men died every single day. I honestly don't know how I was even alive right now. Grace of God I guess? Finally, after a long day of working, it was time for dinner. I was given a plate of salted meat, beans and a stale roll of bread. I ate the meal like it was fresh from the oven.

"God... I need me some water, Jeb. Gonna die soon if we don't find some!" Henry Wilson told me, cracking a smile. "How th' hell are you so damn zany right now, Henry?" Johnson asked with his usual angry look. "I hear that th' cap'n up in the third quart'r of the train's got water. I'm gonna steal me som'." Henry said with a chuckle. "Henry, you do that and the cap'n's gon' shove a boot so far up your 'ss you'll be headed home howlin' with the coyotes." Johnson said. "Cool down, Johnson, can't ya take a damn joke?" Henry said with a scoff. "You ain't no fun..." Soon the warden's bootlicker walked into the small cafeteria, grabbing the plates with the food still on it. "Hey, I wuddn't finished!" Johnson said as the warden's second in command bootlicker smiled, his nasty teeth grinning.

"Warden says lights out. Get'n yer cots, Ladies!" The Warden says as he beams at me, before blowing out the candlelight and leaving the room. I get in my cot as Robert pulled on my sleeve in the dark. "Jebediah? Ya got a minute?" The 19-year-old convict asked me. Rob was always a curious little young'un. "Sure thing, Rob. What ya wanna know?" I asked him. "What're you in here for?" he asked me as he crawled into the bunk ahead of me. "I stole food for my brother and mama. And somehow ended up here. Been workin' here for 11 days." I said honestly. "You stole food for ya mama?" Rob asked me. "Yeah... God knows where they're at now. I dunno..." I suddenly heard a rod hit the door, making a loud thud. "SHUT YER' DAMN TRAPS AND SLEEP ALREADY!" The bootlicker screamed at us. I sigh and close my eyes, unbeknownst to me the terror that awaited.

The next morning I suddenly heard the train whistle wake me up, before the bootlicker steps into the room. "Rise 'n shine, ladies... Warden wants y'all front 'n center." The bootlicker says as he chuckled before seeing Rob's snoring face as he slept on the cot. He took his rod he used to hit people into working and hit the head of his bed as Rob woke up and sat up straight immediately. "Agh... Yes sir?" Rob asked. "Get the hell up. Warden wants your asses front 'n center. The warden wanted us? I began to shutter, as that usually meant all hell was about to break loose. We formed a line and stood up, walking into the head of the train, which began our wait for the warden, which made minutes feel like hours.