Chapter 29 Alabtown and Slabtown

Casity had about enough of Mark. All he did throughout the trip was drink, tell bad jokes, be awkward, and downright stupid. She found it hard to believe that Mark was one of the top 30 bounty hunters in the West. Then there was Leroy, he had always been quiet and honorable, but once Casity got to know him, she found that he was almost as bad as Mark. Sometimes Leroy acts like Mark when they try to have fun, he's always acting so edgy when she talks to him, and not to mention he can be a bit sexist sometimes. One thing Leroy said really got on Casity's nerves. "Women can't do fights like this, they should be in the kitchen making me food when I get home from bounty hunting." That comment almost made Casity snap. The trip had been endless traveling with sleeping over campfires, trips to towns to buy food, and it had also been extremely long with it lasting 9 days to be exact.

Eventually, after a long trip, they finally made it to Alabtown. "Finally, we're here." Mark said as they stood on a mountain over Alabtown. "It's all the way in the Western part, that can get annoying." Casity said in response to this. "Well then, let's find this Titan." Leroy said. The group began to walk in the town, from first glance it did look quite poor. The people wore old dirty clothes and for some reason they didn't look sad about it. The town itself looked otherwise happy, despite these occurrences. The group decided to go to the sheriff's station for help. Once they walked in, they saw the sheriff playing cards with the jailer behind the bars, he then turned around to notice the group. "Hello there, can I help ya?" The Sheriff wired a tan shirt with white buttons, brown pants, a 10 gallon hat, a badge on his chest, and a curly mustache. "Yeah, we're travelers and are looking for a figure wearing a black cloak?" The Sheriff thought about it. "No, we haven't seen anything like that. If I did then I would have definitely done something about it." Mark nodded. "Thanks for helping." The Sheriff then wondered something. "Mind if I ask why you're lookin for a man in a cloak?" The group panicked, they wondered if bounty hunting was illegal in these parts and could risk being arrested. "Because he's one of our friends." Mark said, clearly being very terrible at lying, making Casity and Leroy cringe. "Your bounty hunters aren't ya?" The group didn't answer. "Well if your bounty hunters…" The group was afraid of what came next. "Then welcome to our town!" The group's jaw dropped. 'What!?' The Sheriff smiled. "We've been looking for a bounty hunter for a while." The group was confused. "For what? Exactly?" Leroy asked. "Well, we know that you can hire bounty hunters to catch people, but we also know that most of them will do anything for money." Mark thought they would say something like enslave Casity or something, he was nervous with his request. "What is it you want us to do?" The Sheriff answered. "To protect something." The group was confused. "Follow me." Everyone followed The Sheriff through town, they looked around some more to see the poor people. "What happened to this town exactly?" Leroy asked. "Well, you know that town over there?" He pointed for the town on the opposite side that Casity mentioned before. "Isn't that Slabtown?" Casity asked. "Yup, one of the most despicable towns I've ever seen in my life. A town filled with a bunch of angry criminals, stealin whatever they please." This made the group feel bad for Alabtown. "So they raided your town?" The Sheriff nodded. "Trying to get revenge on us for something we did." Casity wondered. "What did you do? If it's enough to make a bunch of people raid an entire town, then it must be bad, right?" The Sheriff answered. "Well, we don't know." She was confused. Eventually, they made it to the town bank. Inside had been a giant vault the size of a small house, shocking everyone. "Is it in there?" The Sheriff nodded. "It's made out of a special metal that the officers of the government use on Witchcrafters, we mined it ourselves, at least before the mine had been caved in." The Sheriff had been trying to turn the giant wheel on the safe, but it had been too big and heavy. "Here I'll help." As soon as Leroy touched it to help, he felt like he couldn't use his Hellflames anymore. 'So if I touch it, then it temporarily disappears from my body completely until I stop touching it. Interesting to know.' Leroy then pushed with the Sheriff, but that still wasn't enough. Finally, Mark and Casity went to go help until the wheel eventually began to move. After a long process of turning, the vault had finally been unlocked. The Sheriff pushed the door open, only to reveal a small bottle of a red liquid. "What's that?" Leroy wondered. As soon as Mark and Casity saw this, their jaws dropped like it hasn't ever before. "IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?!" She asked screaming. "Sir, would you mind if we have a look at this bottle up close?" He nodded. "Just to let you know, if you try to steal it, then I will personally lock yall in this safe and call the officers." Casity and Mark nodded, they then went over to the bottle to examine it more. Casity picked it up and looked closer at it, she opened the cork and looked inside, it had been so red to the point where it was a flawless color, it also had sparkles inside that were noticeable. Mark also looked closer at it with Casity, they both then realized what this was. "Ok Sheriff, I know exactly what this is and you should definitely be proud of it." Leroy and the Sheriff were confused. "What is it?" He asked. "It's Angel Blood." Those words made Leroy jaw drop. "NO WAY!" Leroy went to go see the bottle up close and was amazed by it. The Sheriff had also been shocked after hearing that name. "THAT, IS ANGEL BLOOD!?" Mark nodded. "I've only read about that stuff in fairy tales when I was a young boy, but I've never actually thought it was real." The Sheriff said, Mark responded. "Oh it's real alright, I know it's real because it's been found once in the world by a doctor, but that doctor disappeared years ago, along with the Angel Blood itself." This information shocked the Sheriff. "If that's angel blood! Then why do we have it?!" That statement confused the group. "What do you mean, why do you have it? If you don't know then why are you protecting it?" The Sheriff looked upset. "It's been here for many years, my daddy the first sheriff stole it from Slabtown and said to protect it at all costs and never let anyone have it." The group was confused. "But why?" The Sheriff gave a disappointed look. "I still don't know." Leroy had an idea. "So, it came from the other town next door right?" The Sheriff nodded. "Then we should find out why it was stolen in the first place."

Leroy began to tell the plan to the three others. "So, one of us will guard it for that money you promised." Everyone listened intently. "While the other 2 of us will pretend to be travelers there to gain information, is that clear?" The group nodded. "Alright, I'll stay here and guard while-" Before Leroy could finish his sentence, Mark cut him off. "Nope! I'll be staying here while you go with Icy over here to find that information." This shocked the two of them, they hated the idea of working together. "I REFUSE TO WORK WITH HIM/HER!" They both said at the same time. "Come on you two, get along. Plus if you do, then you'll probably make Gabe happy." Casity couldn't argue with that, she agreed to do it, Leroy also agreed for Gabe but still didn't like it. "Plus...maybe there is romance afoot…." Casity once again got angry. "KNOCK IT OFF!" She then made her fist grow a block of ice like a boxing glove and punched Mark to the other side of the room, he had a dizzy smile on his face while his eyes spun around like a clock. "Let's just go and get this over with…" She made her ice disappear. "Agreed." They both walked out and toward Slabtown. "Um, are you alright Mark?" The Sheriff asked, he quickly recovered from the punch. "That's the pain of a romance fan, you always seem to be hated for what you love..." The Sheriff didn't understand. "Well, let's just hope the two do nicely on their part."

Casity and Leroy walked into Slabtown looking uncomfortable being together, Leroy decided to break the awkwardness by speaking. "It just doesn't make sense that the Sheriff of Alabtown wouldn't want to sell the Angel Blood. It's billions times more rare than diamonds." Casity nodded. "It's only been found once in the world, and also twice if you count the fairy tale books." Leroy nodded. As they entered town, they noticed all the people there looked angry, depressed, and looked at the two as if they wanted to kill them. "Doesn't look like a good town, doesn't it?" Leroy said, Casity nodded. They walked to what appeared like the Sheriff's building, once they walked in they realized it had been broken down with old rotting wood, holes in the walls, and almost completely abandoned. Regardless, the two went up to the desk where the Sheriff was. "Excuse me? Can I speak to the Sheriff?" Casity asked, the man turned around toward them, scaring Casity and Leroy. The man had black eyeliner in his eyes, he had been completely bald, he looked to be around 60 or 70, and he wore what looked to be a black robe. "I am not merely just the Sheriff, I am also the priest of our town's religion." The man said very intensely. "Tell me this children, would you like to join the church of the titans?" This confused Casity and Leroy. "Did you just say Titans?" The Sheriff nodded very creepily, like he was on crack. "Yes, the church of the Titans." Casity and Leroy were confused. "What is the church of the Titans exactly?" The Sheriff got up from behind the counter and began to explain, meanwhile a younger man had been sitting behind a table near him, throwing his knife up and down, looking bored as ever. "The church of the Titans is the world's one true religion." Casity and Leroy listened. "We worship the gods before gods, the true people meant to rule the world many years ago, the Titans." Casity and Leroy began to get freaked out by this. "What gave you these beliefs?" Casity asked, the man throwing the knife up and down began to look angry and annoyed with the Sheriff. "Many years ago, an unknown man came to the village wearing a cloak. He claimed to be the only surviving Titan and that all the tales in the fairy books about them and the gods were true." This shocked Leroy and Casity. "Once he told of his tale, he said that he needs this village to restore order, to destroy the government who has wronged us, that he will use a tool in a ceremony to take back what is rightfully his." Leroy wondered. "That tool was Angel Blood, correct?" The Sheriff looked angry at Leroy and Casity. "You must have heard from those thieves! THEY ARE THE TRUE EVIL! NOT WANTING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT!" The Sheriff began screaming in Casity and Leroy's faces, creeping them out, until the man sitting down got up and held his knife under the Sheriff's throat. "You're going too far again Don, these are probably travelers who came across that town, so shut up and take a chill pill." The Sheriff looked afraid of this man after hearing this, he then gulped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "I am very sorry children, I do not wish to bring you any harm." He then went back behind the desk. The man then went back to his chair and sat down, once again throwing the knife up and down. "If you're really wondering, then yes, it is Angel Blood." This made more sense to Casity and Leroy. "So, what was the Angel Blood for? And why did the other town steal it like he said?" Leroy asked. "Hell if I know, I'm just the Deputy." He then caught his knife again and stopped throwing it, only to get up and walk toward the kids. The man put out his hand. "I'm Jeff, nice to meet y'all." Leroy shook his hand, feeling much safer with him. "By any chance do you know where this man who claimed to be the last Titan is?" Casity asked, Jeff stopped shaking hands and walked back to his chair and sat down. "Nobody does, he's anonymous." This confused Casity and Leroy. "What do you mean he's anonymous? Wouldn't he have shown his face when he was preaching?" Jeff nodded. "He always wore a cloak when he preached, hiding his true face, in fact nobody has ever seen him for years ever since Alabtown stole the blood." This confused Leroy and Casity, but they decided to make do with it, since this town was very sketchy and they wanted to leave immediately. "Alright, thanks Jeff." Jeff nodded, meanwhile the Sheriff behind the desk looked depressed, he then clenched his fist and made an angry face. 'Those damn kids have no idea what they are talking about.'

Casity and Leroy left the Sheriff station and began to head back to Alabtown. "It somewhat adds up, But it also is a bit confusing." Casity agreed. "We just need to piece it all together." Leroy nodded as they began to enter Alabtown, but little did they know, a figure wearing a black cloak had been watching them. The figure then reached inside his cloak and pulled out a medallion with a symbol of a muscular man on it. "I hope the plan works out soon enough." The figure then smiled under the hood, not revealing his face.