The Confessions of Sheriff Hardin, pt 1

Interview transcript, 1/2 Interviewer: Unknown Interviewee: W. Hardin Undated I laughed when one of the kids told me they were actually called Mercy Trains. Mercy Trains, Orphan Trains, it's all going to end in a coffin, isn't it kid? He looked scared, and he damn well should have been. I told them there're monsters in these swamps. Most of them have learned not to believe in fairy tales, with the kind of lives they've had. They've already learned there aren't any knights or fairies coming around to fix their problems. Not without a heavy price. They already know the world is full of monsters. They're just used to the human kind. Not sure which is worse in the end. I put them away all the same. Desperate times, desperate measures. But you already know why we did it. The train arrived at night, and none of the kids knew where they were. I like to use that to my advantage. Keep them disoriented, keep them from getting comfortable, nervous as a doe. We let them sleep a few hours before we got them up and dusted off and handed out the guns. Barely any of them knew how to shoot. City kids! A Winfield is pretty easy to handle though, and we had quite a few laying around. We couldn't waste any ammunition on target practice, so they set off without much training to speak of. When we ran out of guns, we handed out knives. I really didn't expect to see those kids again. We had about an hour until the sun sets. I made it clear their lives depend on what happens tonight, but to be kind, I also told them they were working for the law now. If any of them survived, I told them, I'd deputize them. If.