Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

Author's Notes: On Tumblr, there's a prompt-a-day thing going on called Phanniemay. I've taken on quite a few prompts and ideas. This Western AU is for a Western prompt. Enjoy.

"Ghost Town"
Chapter 1

There was never much merit in urban legends and ghost stories, but that made nineteen-year-old Sam love them all the more. She was the kind of person to go somewhere abandoned in the middle of the night, "accidentally" disregarding any signs about trespassing or structural instability, in the hope of encountering something terrifying.

She went by herself most of the time, but she was occasionally able to drag her friend, Tucker, along. He was easily spooked, so it wasn't easy; however, she still managed to convince him, from time-to-time.

The time they went to explore the ghost town of Amity was one of those times.

Sam had taken the liberty of driving herself and Tucker to the old ghost town, which was hundreds of miles away from their hometown. It had been something of a road trip, and Sam may or may not have promised Tucker that they would stop at as many barbecue joints as he wanted along the way, despite her disgust of meat in general. Needless to say, he was eager to leave the morning they began their trip.

"I don't like it here, Sam," Tucker said as they wandered through the old, decaying cemetery. The sky was a deep cerulean, for the sun had just passed beyond the horizon. "It's way too creepy."

"We're looking for the ghosts," Sam said. "Don't you think a cemetery is the best place for it?"

"I thought that a 'ghost town' just meant that it was abandoned," Tucker argued. "I didn't think it meant actual ghosts."

"It usually doesn't," Sam said, "but this place has them. Or it's supposed to. And I'm looking for someone."

"Looking for someone? What, a relative or something?"

"No. There's… a ghost. Or one of them. They call him the Amity Phantom. Lots of people have seen him," Sam said, a smile twitching at the edges of her purple-painted lips. "I want to be one of them."

Tucker gulped. He didn't like the way any of this sounded, and took a step closer to Sam, away from one of the nearby tombstones.

"He's supposed to be benevolent, so don't worry," Sam continued. Her smile broadened. "Want to hear a story?"

"Uh, sure," Tucker said. He'd let Sam take him to an old cemetery in a ghost town in the middle of the night, so he might as well let her tell him a story, too.

"In the 1830s," Sam began, "this place was a busy town. All kinds of people lived here, and it seemed like a really nice place to live. But, like any town in the Old West, there were outlaws that came through.

"At first, the town's sheriff worked to keep the outlaws at bay, but the old sheriff eventually died. A new one replaced him. Sheriff Walker. They say Walker was an outlaw himself, but pretended to turn a new leaf while he took a cut of the profits from other outlaws. In exchange, the outlaws got to come through Amity without any problems.

"That was until a vigilante showed up. This vigilante would pick off the outlaws, one-by-one, at the borders of the town. If any of them made it to town, he'd show up and take care of them. Never lost a shoot-out, according to legend. And they say he came and went as if he were a ghost, which is why they called him the Phantom — even when he was alive. Pretty ironic. No one knew who he was, since he would cover his face.

"Walker was furious and put up a reward for Phantom, but no one could catch him — until the mayor of the town died, and was replaced with a man named Masters, who was a good friend of Walker's. They both spread a lot of propaganda against Phantom and raised the award for his arrest. Eventually, they staged an attack to lure him out — and it worked.

"They caught Phantom and found out that he was a local boy named Danny Fenton, revealing him in front of everyone. They riled up the crowds, screaming that he was a criminal and not a hero. Phantom tried to explain that Masters and Walker were the real criminals, but no one believed him. He was too demonized by them. Besides, who would believe him? The mayor and the sheriff were both against him.

"Um, you know how people back then formed lynch mobs and stuff?

"That's exactly what happened. They dragged Phantom to the gallows and executed him on the spot. After they hung him, Amity went into this crazy decline and faded away into a ghost town. It's said that Masters and Walker both died within weeks after the hanging, both in mysterious accidents. Karma's a bitch.

"Phantom is supposed to haunt the town. He's haunted it ever since he died. Lots of people think he's protecting Amity like he used to. Some think he's trying to live, since he was pretty young when he died. Like, our age. He had his whole life in front of him, and was murdered. And Ireally hope we get to see him."

"That's a sad story and all," Tucker said, "but I don't. Ghosts in general freak me out. Besides, we should go soon; it's getting cold out."

"It's not that cold," Sam said, "just a breeze. Otherwise, it's been pretty warm, I think."

Clink.

"Sam," Tucker said, "did you kick a rock?"

"No," Sam answered. "I thought that was you."

"Uh, no!?" Tucker said, eyes widening.

Sam grinned, deviously. "Then that means we're not alone."