It began as a rumble. Then the ground shook. Startled, Gunther fell out of his chair. Startled even more, Leo the drunk opened up the cage and ran out of the Marshal’s office, flailing his arms and shouting, “EARTHQUAKE! EARTHQUAKE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!”
The booze in Gunther’s glass vibrated. A framed picture of Abraham Lincoln fell off the wall and hit the floor.
“Jumpin Jehoshaphat!” the old man cried as he stood up. “What in tarnation is that?”
Gunther put on his hat and stepped out into the road. Upon seeing that he wasn’t the only curious one in town, he joined the mob of citizens making their way toward Highwater Station, which had become a source of all kinds of noise. A steady “chug…chug…chug” followed by an ear splitting whistle, “WOOO WOOO!” Screeching brakes came last.
At the station, townsfolk gabbed away. Looky Lous pointed and gawked with their mouths open. Gunther pushed his way through the crowd. When he reached the station platform, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
It wasn’t just any locomotive. It, along with every car behind it, was protected by heavy armored plates forged from black iron. “LEGION” was printed across it with bright yellow letters.
Most locomotives have a plow on the front, commonly referred to as a “cow catcher” since its purpose is to push through stray bovines. The cow catcher on this rig was massive, sharp, and looked like it could ram through a brick wall.
The line of cars behind it seemed like it went on forever. Gunther noticed the car directly behind the locomotive was packing an immense crank style gatling gun.
Knox, who’d already been taking in the spectacle, saw Gunther and poked him.
“Last time I saw one of them a damn rebel was cranking it our way,” Knox said.
“Don’t I know it,” Gunther said. “Shit, I can feel my asshole suckin’ itself in just lookin’ at it.”
Bookshelf Battle 
I get that it’s for amusement to have the rebs have used one, but you know the gattling gun was a US ARMY weapon during the civil war right? ie, not the rebel south. I’m not sure it makes any difference what so ever. But I thought I would throw it out there anyway because I am a stickler for historical accuracy.
I assumed that. I didn’t know for sure. I know each had their advantage, the North had the weapons factories and the South had the food so it popped into my mind it was unlikely the South had one. Then I wondered would it have been that impossible for them to have procured a couple maybe. I don’t know.
Maybe I’ll change it. I felt the need for some witty note to end on and also to start building it up in the reader’s mind that the train is ominous, that it is abnormal for it to be that armed like that and they should be worried.
that it’s abnormal to armed like that and should be worried is all quite good. And it’s tracks that legion could have bought them from the gov’t. Only a flipping historian would get uppity about the rebs having a gattling. shrug. LOL
Could they have had at least one?
Also, could the Mexican Army have had them in 1836 around the time of the Battle of the Alamo? I don’t think so as that’d be too early but perhaps you’d know for sure. I’ve been toying with making Gunther a veteran of the Texas Revolution and perhaps there’s a prequel/sequel involving zombies at the Alamo. A young Gunther would have a brief cameo. Obviously he could not encounter zombies as a young man as he does not know about them as an old man in this one.
No the gattling was invented in 1864 I think. Maybe 65. the maxim came along in the 1880’s. that was the first true automatic.
I didn’t think so but worth a try
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