Here we have the first clue about impending zombies. A Marshal in Colorado sends a warning that “monsters” are coming and everyone should leave.
Hate to admit it, but initially, I tossed it in there just because everyone was like, “Where are the zombies? When are the zombies coming?”
A valid criticism. I probably could have started the story with cowboys faced in the middle of a zombie outbreak. I think it would have been quite different though.
Better? Worse? I don’t know. I feel this buildup allowed you to meet all the characters and maybe begin to care whether they live or die.
Then Gunther drifts towards being Slade’s father figure. He provides his romantic advice. He tells Slade to get back there and actually propose marriage to Miss Bonnie. Don’t equivocate. Just pop the question, get a yes or no. If it is a no, move on.
But he doesn’t do it.
And then a new love interest enters the picture.
Dawn came and Slade sat on the steps of the church’s front porch, staring at his mother’s ring and torturing himself with that age old question everyone in love faces whenever romance doesn’t go their way.
“What could I have done differently?”
Gunther interrupted the pontification session by loudly chomping on an apple and dropping a telegram on the Marshal’s lap.
“Straight off the telegraph,” the Deputy said. “What do you make of it?”
Slade took a look:
United Exchange Telegraph Service
FROM: Josiah Uxley, U.S. Marshall
Denver, Colorado
TO: All U.S. Marshals in Good Standing
Warning <STOP> Infestation of monsters in Colorado <STOP> All is lost <STOP> Monsters are being hauled East <STOP> Abandon posts and save yourselves <STOP>
Slade crumpled up the telegram and made a pantomime gesture as if he were taking a big drink.
“Them Colorado boys dipped into the moonshine and had themselves a good time?” Gunther asked.
The…
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Bookshelf Battle 