Free Ashes of the Dead - Bucket of Blood by Jake

inside the saloon and Pickett slammed the door behind them.
    Inside the saloon , tables and chairs had already been lodged against the windows, and a number of people had crammed inside, trying to escape the slaughter.
    “ Out of the way!” Cutler yelled.
    Pickett and the Gunman jumped to the side as Eric and Cutler slid the piano against the door, just in time as several undead smashed against the outside and clawed at the boards, desperately trying to get in.
    The Gunman handed the boy to his mother. “Here,” he said.
    “ Thank you--,” the woman said through tears, “Thank you so much.”
    The Gunman could only nod as he started to reload his revolvers. “Don't mention it.” He turned to Cutler, who busied himself securing a long wooden table behind the piano. “That won't hold them for long.” He finished reloading his revolvers and placed the empty shells into his front shirt pocket. “We have to move upstairs. Get to higher ground.”
    “Good idea,” Pickett responded from behind him.
    “Sounds good to me,” Cutler added. “But I’m not sure if all of these people will fit up there. There’s just not enough room.”
    “And w hat about the people outside?” Johnny asked. “We have to do something about them.”
    “Sorry , son. There's nothing we can do about that now,” the Sheriff told him. “They’re on their own.” Pickett finished reloading his revolver with sweat dripping from his brow. His previously well-ironed pants were now soiled and bloody.
    “But you’re the Sheriff,” Johnny said, “Can’t you do something?”
    “I’m sorry. We have to secure the saloon before things get outta’ hand,” he told him.
    Johnny conceded the point and started to help Eric and Cutler with the barricade.
    The Gunman peeked through a crack in the window into the dead world outside. “If we are going to make it through the night, we need to reinforce these windows, and bar all of the doors.” The risen undead continued to feed outside and sonorous moaning echoed through the streets. The Gunman now faced them in the only way he knew how, with two loaded guns at his side.

Under Siege
     
    Many people sat throughout the parlor in shock. The sound of the undead horde continued to grow louder outside.
    The Gunman walked over to Rose, who stood in front of Mason’s pale and lifeless body. Her eyes were red from crying as she held Mason’s hand.
    “ You alright?” he said, standing next to her.
    Rose tucked Mason’s arm next to his cold body. “I don't know. This has all happened so fast. It’s too painful to be real,” she said to him, and walked into a back room and returned with a clean bed sheet under her arms.
    “Here, let me help you, ” the Gunman said as he helped Rose pull the sheet over Mason's dead body. “Sorry about your friend.”
    She walked behind the bar and poured two shots, and then mechanically slid one of them across the counter to the Gunman. She put the shot to her quivering lips and swallowed it before she could start to cry again. “I just can’t believe this.”
    He sat down and sipped on the whiskey, and then placed a revolver on the counter. Rose poured two more shots before he could finish the first. She reached down and pulled out a double-barrel sawed-off shotgun from underneath the counter, old and well used. The wooden stock was cracked and faded. The barrel smelled like oil and rust. She flipped it open to check that it was loaded, and then cocked it shut and thumbed the safety over.
    “For unruly customers,” s he smirked, already feeling better in his presence.
    The Gunman nodded, approving of the weapon in her hands. “Good to know.” He finished the shot and placed the glass in front of her. “Remind me not to get too unruly ,” he said, and smiled at her as she poured him another.
    Sheriff Pickett and a few other men had started to nail boards across the doors and windows. They worked as silent as possible, none of them wanted to attract any