Demon 'punchers Poem by David Welch

I.
The letter had come in Nevada's north,
when Sol had been enjoying a blonde whore,
only to see it slip under the door,
he finished with her, but enjoyed it no more.

After she had gone, he read while he rode,
in west Oregon hey fought the unknown,
a small cattle ranch in the dry uplands
was seeing weird things, again and again.

Dead animals butchered, weird symbols drawn,
some of them on the ranch house's front lawn,
a nergo cook found with her tongue cut out,
her hands cut off, to not say what she'd found.

Even a young Indian girl found nude,
showing signs of every type of abuse,
brought in for help and upon seeing men,
dropped dead from the fear, her eyes still open.

Sol sighed, knowing this was no easy job,
but it was still his, by order of God,
to destroy living humans in this way
meant serious magic to claim the prey.

Possession perhaps, or warlocks and witches,
deals with the devil were quite malicious,
destroying the soul who sought out the deal,
using them to achieve damage quiet real.

He'd seen in before, back at Roanoke,
it his early years out rescuing folk,
when witches had left everyone dead,
he had been sent in to bring back their heads.

By the time he'd got there, they'd cone to natives,
started making gruesome sculptures of kids,
he'd hunted them down, killed each with a gun,
Indians feasted him for what he'd done.

They not gotten easier over time,
The worst of evils, corrupting the mind,
Able to blend in with normal people
While working their insidious evil.

10- It was a few days until he arrived,
But not to the ranch, he stayed out of sight,
Going to the bar to hear the gossip,
Amazing what you could learn from loose lips.

It wasn't that long before he heard talk,
The kind that made most decent people balk,
About seven cattle dead on the range,
Their blood used to paint on them symbols strange.

Something that bizzarre made people wonder,
then a drinking man yelled over yonder,
"It's probably coyotes, you know they're cruel,
no rustler would kill cattle, they'd be fools."

Sol look at the man, and something felt off,
so he took a pen, on his hand drew a cross,
then moseyed on over, with a broad grin,
said, "Are their lots of coyotes up here, friend? "

The man looked at him, and said, "Who are you? "
Sol said, "Just a man here making his move,
looking to buy some land, ranch on my own,
put my stake down and built up a new home."

II.
The man said, "There is not much land these days,
it's probably not a good place to stay."
Sol said, "Ah, well, I'd been having that fear,
but I like honestly, I'll buy the next beer."

The off-putting man didn't disagree,
and they drank together, Sol chugged quickly,
then said, "Well I best be off on my way,
at least I met one good person today."

He stuck out his hand, and this morose guy,
shook it, then stopped, and quite wide went his eyes.,
a faint whiff of burning flesh came around,
the man released and from the stool got down.

He just nodded, covering his right hand,
Sol knew right then that he had found his man,
but he acted normal, said, "You all right? "
the man said, "Yeah…I just have work tonight."

With that he scurried out of the saloon,
Sol silently said, "Be seeing you soon, "
then went to the men who spoke of the cows,
to learn more since he knew what he faced now.

It was hours later that Sol rode out,
he was facing demons, he had no doubt,
those infernal monsters could possess men,
burned out their souls, killing and damning them.

He'd seen it before, it went the same way,
folks looking power to demons prayed,
the fiends promised them abilities great,
and only revealed the truth when too late.

See, when possessed, it could not be reversed,
the soul was destroyed for it's prayers perverse,
demons took the body, no humans remained,
everything of Divine Essence was drained.

You didn't get power, you just got death,
a body polluted, with no hope left,
and demons did it to escape torment,
not caring if souls were to Hades sent.

And off course they couldn't help but go hurt,
their natures were fixed, they hated God's works,
and instinctively destroyed all they could,
wherever they went, they brought nothing good.

Unfortunately, they were hard to kill,
immune to effects of normal blood-spill,
Holy Water hurt, would cause them to burn,
exorcism alone stalled their return.

But that quit a time-consuming thing,
requiring prayer and lots of chanting,
he doubted these demon would wait around
or sit still while he called God's justice down.

This would require a plan to happen,
thankfully you didn't see demons often,
he took the letter, found where the ranch lay,
it could still be reached before end of day.

So off he went, saddling up his horse,
making for the ranch as matter of course,
with no need to follow the possessed man,
he knew the trail well, and he had to plan…

III.
He kept off the roads to avoid their eyes,
through scrub and dry grass, onwards he did ride,
skirting north of the ranch, behind a ridgeline,
until he stopped to see what he could find.

Sol crested the ridge in a bell crawl,
not wanting to tip his hand, not at all,
these badlands were empty, he was alone,
what happened out here, none would ever know.

At the ridge-top, field glasses he took out,
scanning the ranch below in a slow scout,
he saw the ranch-house, half-burned and undone
the barn painted red, blood dry in the sun.

And yet the bunkhouse stood stubbornly still,
cowpunchers outside, just sitting a spell,
and knew that they now were just demon-hosts,
the men they once were now hell-tortured ghosts.

He counted three plus the man that he'd met,
it seemed they did not suspect a threat yet,
they just sat there skinning a bawling calf,
the pain of its torture making them laugh.

But he ignored that, now scanning the land,
and seeing it formulated a plan,
a dam had been built on a nearby creek,
a lake had been made for the cows to seek.

In the center of it, a small island,
maybe big enough to hold seven men,
and from the bloated bodies of cows lying near
the lake wasn't deep, assuaging his fear.

It would do just fine for what he had planned,
he nodded and pulled his gaze from the damned,
went back to his horse, and sought out some shade,
waiting there until the end of the day.

He heard them ride out when dusk has set in,
undoubtedly to engage in some sin,
but that was just fine, the ranch was quiet,
he rode down slowly, took a look at it.

Up close it was even more of a scene,
the type of thin that haunted mortal dreams,
the owner was stretched out, staked to the ground,
his bones crushed by hooves that trampled him down.

Was this the man who had written to him
too late to avoid a fate dark and grim?
Not that far away he found the man's wife,
she had been stripped naked, then burned alive.

Thankfully he did not find any kids,
he truly hated the times when he did,
but these demons would prey on all ages,
who they murdered next was anyone's guess.

So he set about attracting their gaze,
we to their bunkhouse, kindling he laid,
the blaze was so big they'd see if far off,
and come riding back to see what they'd lost.

He mounted his horse, and waited nearby,
thirty minutes and he heard his foes ride
racing back as he predicted they would,
he just waited there, and silently stood.

IV.
Their faces looked shocked when they saw the flames,
looking at each other for someone to blame,
then Sol cleared his throat, and they look to him,
their leader stepped out, his eyes cold and dim.

"I didn't expect that I'd find you here, "
said the demon, hos voice heavy and clear,
"Looky here boys, it's God's own assassin,
and I'm in a mood to cave his skull in."

Sol laughed and said, "Ashmedai, is that you?
this all seems like the type of stuff you do.
just like Roanoke, and I killed you there,
so let's get you back to the pit of despair."

The demon snarled, "Get off your high horse!
you're a slave for a God who just wants more.
how long have you wandered, fighting my kind?
you still believe that salvation you'll find? "

Sol smirked and said, "Penance has is demands,
but I am grateful He gave me the chance,
I'll say only this, I'm not one for words…
my bullets are dipped in Holy Water."

He pulled his gun, and fired off quick,
sending his horse to a sprint with a kick,
shouts went up behind, a demon was hit,
Sol spared a moment to glance back at it.

A demon grasped at his shoulder in pain,
a black poison spreading down his veins,
Ashmedai raced quickly, taking the lead,
Sol smiled at this, and onward did flee.

He burst from the ranch, shooting his gun back,
cared not if it hit as they followed his track,
racing through the country, their shots answered,
spattering the dirt, the grass was disturbed.

He arched to the right of the big damned lake,
watched his pursuers, then hard left did break,
he heard them laugh, water would slow him down,
Sol knew this was true, but still did not frown.

He raced through the water, just four foot deep,
felt the horse slow down, fight to keep his feet,
his foes kept pursuing, chasing their man,
Sol raced on and gained the tiny island.

Then sprinted across is, back to the waves,
the demons reached the island and they brayed,
"Give it up, slayer, we've got you in sight! "
And Sol knew that they had him dead to rights.

He leapt from his horse, put it between them,
splashed into the water, then crossed his hands,
muttered words in Latin, then straightened up,
and slapped his horse hard right across his rump.

His mount sprinted off, but he stayed behind,
said, "Allright demons, let's have a good time! "
He pulled out his gun, but he did not shoot,
just dove for the water, as they let loose.

He could hold his breath over a minute,
bullets hit water, didn't penetrate it,
he'd used this trick before against his foes,
water stopped slugs fast, not many did know.

V.
When he rose again the demons were out,
so Sol cried out, "Have you had enough now? "
The wounded demon just pulled out a knife,
charged forth through the water to end his life.

Sol pulled a knife, and threw it for the horse,
the animal bucked, the demon unmoored,
fell into the water, there he did scream,
and from his body infernal smoke streamed.

His body went black, skin crinkled and cooked,
on the small island the other three looked,
then Ashmedai said, "That's impossible…how? ! "
Sol shrugged. "Blessed the lake, it's Holy Water now."

The demons were shocked, their jaws were dropping,
and Sol said, "It's time for exorcising! "
Then he began chanting, imploring God,
the holy words the demon could not dodge.

To ride for the water would be their end,
and they had no bullets left amongst them,
could do nothing but stare daggers and death
as Sol weakened them with every drawn breath.

It took half an hour to break them down,
slowly they slumped, then all fell to the ground,
weaker with each prayer that Sol did recite,
in the end they perished with no more fight.

Until they became bodies with no spark,
and Sol felt only sadness in his heart,
what once had been human, destroyed by choice,
seeking out power to fill some great void.

He had known the feeling, once, long ago,
but despite his sins, had not walked this road.
Right at this moment, he did not want to think,
he saddled and rode to town for a drink.

It was the same bar he'd gone to before,
he drank two whiskeys, then ordered two more,
and while he drank, he asked the old barkeep,
"I wonder, can you answer this for me?

"I know there's been some weird things going on,
I've heard all the gossip, and might be wrong,
but did have you seen a rider in these parts,
wears a bowler hat, as red as a heart? "

The bartender thought, and rubbed at his beard,
said, "I think I saw a man like that here,
maybe weeks ago, I think one stopped by,
can't recall his name…but he had dark eyes."

Sol just nodded, and said, "Thanks for the news.
he's a friend of mine, I'd heard he passed through."
And with that lie went out into the night,
someone new was out there, preying on life.

Folks didn't call demons out of the blue,
such arcane knowledge most people never new,
something was pushing corruption hellish,
and knew that, some day, he must deal with it…