Book excerpt: Step Into the Shadows of Deadwood Deadwood—a town steeped in legend—holds its breath as Travis Pearson, reenactor of the infamous Wild Bill Hickok, finds himself ensnared in a historical riddle that blurs the lines between performance and reality, life and death. In the dim light of Saloon No. 10, amidst the applause for a well-recreated death, Travis feels a chilling resonance with his character that cannot be shaken. The echoes of the past, it seems, are not content to remain silent. As unexplained deaths begin to shadow Deadwood once more, whispers of a resurgent curse sweep through the haunted streets. Travis, caught in the heart of the mystery, is forced to confront the possibility that he might be playing a role far beyond the saloon's stage. The pressure mounts when the discovery of an ancient diary links modern tragedies to historical vendettas, suggesting that the violence of the past is leeching into the present. With each passing day, as the body count rises, Travis's dreams are invaded by the ghosts of Deadwood's storied inhabitants, blurring the lines between sleep and wakefulness, between history and horror. His friends, Ted and Charlie, stand by him, determined to help Travis unravel the mystery before the history he loves so dearly consumes him whole. But the closer they get to the truth, the more Travis begins to realize that the key to breaking the curse might require a sacrifice too personal to bear. In a town where every shadow whispers of betrayal and every gust of wind carries the scent of long-buried secrets, Travis must navigate the treacherous waters of legacy and legend. Will he emerge into the light, or will he become another echo in the haunting of Saloon No. 10? Step into the shadows of Deadwood, where the past is alive, and history's dead refuse to rest. The line between the past and present has never been so perilously thin. As Travis stands on the precipice of a discovery that could either liberate or destroy, Deadwood holds its breath, waiting to see whether salvation or damnation waits in the wings. Join Travis as he delves deep into the heart of a curse, where the stakes are life and death, and history itself hangs in the balance.