(1st story)
The place – the wilderness called the “backbone of god,” along the U.S./Canadian border. The time – yesterday… a long time ago… the dream-time…
Logan, dressed as a fur-trader, sees a young Blackfoot Indian facing off against a large bear. Pointing his rifle at the bear, Logan notices that it’s just a kid. A blasted Blackfoot, from the cut of his moccasins. Blackfoot. Don’t care much for my kind. Killed ol’ Crawlface Bob. Scalped Du Bois. I liked Du Bois. Yeah, maybe he’ll enjoy this.
After seeing the bear smack the young Indian away, Logan takes pity on him and shoots the bear. When the bear turns around, Logan thinks to himself so much for being a good Samaritan. Didn’t even slow him down. 50-cal. Ball glanced off that thick coat of his like pity off a banker’s heart.
Pulling out two knives, Logan calls the bear an ugly son of Satan and that it’s gonna find out that there’s somethin’ in this world that’s just as hard to kill as him. After jamming his knives into the back of the bear’s neck, Logan is thrown when the bear fights back by bucking him off. Once Logan falls to the ground, the bear rises up on its hind legs. When it does, demons emerge from its chest.
Logan remarks sweet Mary’s blood and immediately rushes towards them. As he does, he yells that he’s gonna have to work hard for him. Continuously stabbing the demons, Logan tells them to die. Just then, the bear swipes Logan away and knocks him into a nearby tree, where he is impaled by a branch. Seeing the dead bear, Logan weakly says to it wh-what’d he tell him… ya big sack of filth… h-he’s h-hard… t-to… k-k-kill… With that, Logan passes out.
Sometime later, three men happen upon the scene. Jamie remarks to one of his buddies Georgie that it looks like they have done found themselves some easy pickin’s. Truly, the “Lawd” do provide fer wayfarin’ pilgrims. Chuckling, Georgie says that He do, that He surely do.
Tending to the bear, Jamie says they are gonna have to help him roll the griz over on his back so’s they can skin ‘im out. He be a big ‘un. Georgie tells him the ugly brute can wait. They get them some dead pilgrims to check out. Pointing over to the tree, he tells Matthew to take care of the short feller whut’s stuck on yonder tree. Making his way over to the young Blackfoot Indian, Georgie exclaims sweet saints. Lookee here. Boys head looks like it done been put in a corn-grinder, and he’s still a-breathin’. Yeppers, the Lawd do provide. Nothin’ sets his po’ heart a’ flutterin’ quite like scalpin’ a still-kickin’ Blackfoot buck.
Grabbing hold of Logan’s head, Matthew states that it ‘pears this one be dead, but he’s still fair scalpin’. A Canada man, from the looks of ‘im. A god-cursed Hudson Bay Company thief who got himself caught wanderin’ too far into American territory. A stinkin’ Canada man, fair scalpin’.
Before Matthew can scalp his prey, Logan comes to. He proceeds to stab Matthew in the chest with steel. Thirteen inches of good steel, Spanish-made and Mexican-forged. Shaped and filed into two clean, shinin’ twins called death. His stingers, his teeth, his claws. A little gambler from Natchez once gave ‘em to him. Made ‘em himself. Last he heard, he was holed up in some god forsaken mission down in Texas with the whole blamed Mexican army after him. After he takes out Jamie, Georgie points his weapon at Logan, calls him a danged murderin’ Hudson Bay fur thief. He’ll die this time. Sure as Hades, he’ll die this time. Before Georgie can pull the trigger, he is killed from behind by the young Blackfoot Indian.
After he does, Logan notices that the young Blackfoot is now blind. Heaven help him, that big bear blinded him. But he done good. He knew that the big American was there. He knew what was gonna happen if he didn’t move quick. And Lord help him, he knows that he’s there, too. Yeah, pilgrims like him and this Blackfoot cub – they’re hard to kill.
At that moment, a group of Blackfoot Indian descend upon their location.
(3rd story)
Cypress Hills, Queens… Salem Fields. Three in the morning. No one comes to the cemetery at such an ungodly hour. Almost no one. Jubal Jones sees each cemetery as an untapped gold mine. Each grave he unearths brings him closer to the summer home he hopes to build.
Jubal Jones is a grave robber. As he continues to dig up the grave, Jubal tells the body he hops he’s resting in peace. Thought it would be easier if it were in pieces. Less cutting for him to do. But for two grand, he’d cut the head off of his own mother-in-law. Thank his lucky stars for all the religious cults around these days to take the blame. Jamming his shovel into the ground, Jubal hears a thud, smiles, and says pay dirt.
Just then, the ground begins to rumble and flames emit from the ground. With a shocked look on his face, Jubal exclaims this can’t be happening. It’s like he’s in one of those movies. Please, Lord, forgive me. Dropping to his knees, he prays that he’ll never do anything like this again. He’s back to selling junk bonds starting tomorrow. All the money he made doing this will go straight to the church, he promises. Just don’t let it get him.
At that moment, Ghost Rider emerges from the ground on his bike with Cable and the young woman in tow. Once they drive off into the distance, Jubal says thanks Lord. He doesn’t know what that thing was, but they’ve got a deal. Starting with the next stiff, ten percent of everything he digs up. After taxes… Before he can finish his sentence, Jubal’s neck is snapped from behind. He has invaded his last grave. The Warriors of the Dead are on the trail of Ghost Rider, Cable and one of their own. The next grave that Jubal Jones sees will be his own. The Warriors of the Dead intend for him to have company.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn’s east New York section, Ghost Rider kicks a door down. Entering the room, Cable lays the young woman down on a cot and remarks that this looks as good a place as any to rest until they get the girl to let them know exactly what they’re up against. Opening her eyes, the frightened girl exclaims that they can’t stop now. They’re going to kill them. Cable grabs her arm and proceeds to tell her to calm down. She’s safe with them. The young woman repeats no, no, but Ghost Rider is able to calm her down.
Cable tells her to start at the beginning. They want to know everything she knows about these Grateful Undead guys if they’re going to help her. Why doesn’t she start with her name? The girl replies that it doesn’t matter what she tells them, they’re still dead. Her name is… it’s… she can’t remember. What have they done to her head? She can remember everything about them. All their folklore and all, but her…? What did they do to her?
War has been a way of life for the races that dwell beneath the surface. For decades each race has strived for dominance over all the others. Her people fulfill a service. They are the assassins. Bartering their skills for whatever they need to please their god. They are a small race, but one well versed in the mystic and warrior arts. She is a neophyte. Much is hazy, but she remembers being taken to a place, a religious place, a place of sacrifice, a place of…
That’s it! They are flesh eaters. They eat the flesh of the dead. She ran; that’s when they found her. That’s the only part of what she just said that rings true. The rest seems somehow unreal, as though the memories aren’t her own.
Just then, she senses that the Warriors of the Dead have surrounded the warehouse and informs Ghost Rider and Cable. Able to sense them as well, Ghost Rider and Cable ready themselves for battle.
