The Rise of the Skin-Walkers

By John J. Law

I had just finished a few jobs and was resting up a bit the only way I know how. With a shot of whiskey and a song. Maybe a card game, here and there would follow, or maybe something else. Turned out it was the latter that happened to me.
I had just finished my shot of whiskey, and my thoughts were about my recent jobs. I had been embroiled in the old Hatfields vs. McCoys family feud. My services were tapped by the McCoys and I was one of the members of Frank Phillips' hastily formed posse.
I had participated in a lot of gunfights and rounded up my fair share of Hatfields. I was even involved in the Battle of Grapevine Creek, the last significant battle of that feud. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Dec 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223628088

Book preview

One: The Test.

I was resting up in Wellington when I first met Millie Overton. Millie's the strangest of women, so I guess meeting her in Wellington should not have come as any surprise, Wellington being one of the orneriest and craziest remote towns you could ever go to. Wellington attracts all sorts of crazy and lawless elements and that is no jest. It's no wonder I met Millie there and it’s no wonder I was hanging around there myself.

I had just finished a few jobs and was resting up a bit the only way I know how. With a shot of whiskey and a song. Maybe a card game, here and there would follow, or maybe something else. Turned out it was the latter that happened to me.

I had just finished my shot of whiskey and my thoughts were about my recent jobs. I had been embroiled in the old Hatfields vs. McCoys family feud. My services were tapped by the McCoys and I was one of the members of Frank Phillips' hastily formed posse. I had participated in a lot of gunfights and rounded up my fair share of Hatfields. I was even involved in the Battle of Grapevine Creek, the last significant battle of that feud.

That business with the Hatfields and the McCoys got me in deep with my own personal feud against Biggs Wedges, a horse thief I had recently captured. It dragged on farther and deeper than I thought, but it eventually ended with Wedges on the losing end of a quick draw with me. The family feud also came to an end with the capture and eventual hanging of Ellison 'Cottontop' Mounts, on the Hatfield side. Something inside, tells me that long after I'm gone, future generations will still remember all the drama and violence of that feud.

So I guess it's safe to say that I was just relaxing and trying to figure out my next move in Wellington, when I met Millie. You could also make your own assumptions about what kind of a man I am, that I would choose to relax in Wellington, of all places.

So there I was, with my empty glass when it happened. I was about to signal the bartender for another shot of whiskey when a giant hand slammed onto the bar. His fist banged like some powerful hammer. It rattled the little shot glass, but I didn't drop it. The whole bar was shook up with the giant man's large and powerful fist.

Whoa. Who are you? I said.

The man looked down at me and sneered. He was built like a giant ox, or bull. He was easily twice my size.

You're Clay Barton, the bounty hunter, right? he said.

I nodded and smiled. The one and only. I'm glad to see my reputation precedes me.

"You have the reputation of a skunk who'll do anything to earn a buck including taking on impossible jobs and