Doing this required her to backtrack nearly a quarter of a mile just to get out of the arroyo. Then she had to follow it back down from the top to return to the canyon. All this time, she had to assume her pursuers were gaining on her, but though she stopped to look back when possible, she saw no sign of them. The next place she saw that could be a potential way down was a narrow slot canyon she came to another mile farther along the rim. It was easy enough to enter from the top, but from up there she couldn’t tell whether it was climbable all the way down or not. Shauna had seen the water in the main canyon floor though, so she was determined to try and reach it, and pressed ahead. In places, the slot was so narrow she had to turn her body sideways to get through. The winding passageway between the vertical walls of smooth sandstone was taking her lower down with every step, but she still wasn’t sure if she could reach the bottom until it finally ended at a drop off that she estimated was fifteen feet above the still water below. Shauna got down on her belly and crawled to the edge to look over, hoping to spot some hand or foot holds by which she could climb the rest of the way down, but the rock beneath her was smooth and featureless.
Her throat was parched, and the deep water directly below looked cool and inviting, a pale turquoise green pool that was clear enough that she could see several feet into it. She thought it was deep enough to jump into from that height without risk of injury, but even at this hour, the floor of the canyon was completely in the shadows, the sun well behind the tall cliffs of the rim. Shauna was cold despite her exertion, and she knew if she plunged into that water, she’d have no way to get warm again before the coming night. She had nothing with which to make a fire and her clothes would be soaked. There was a sandbar on the opposite side of the deep pool, but it was too far away to reliably throw her clothes, boots and rifle to it, even if she decided to take the plunge naked and try to warm up afterwards. She knew that getting her clothing wet with no way to dry it could prove fatal, guaranteeing hypothermia when the temperatures dropped later that night, and she decided it wasn’t worth the risk. It was a huge disappointment, but Shauna took one last look at that beautiful water and turned to retrace her route back up the slot canyon to the rim.
It was going to take everything she had, but Shauna was determined to find another way down to the bottom that wouldn’t involve getting wet. She had just emerged from the slot canyon though when she spotted someone standing frozen behind a small bush. The man must have been following her and had stopped short when he saw her suddenly reappear. Shauna knew immediately that he wasn’t one of the two contractors, but he was carrying an AR or M4-style rifle like them and wearing a Desert Tan boonie hat. Beneath the hat, his hair was long, framing a dark face she knew was Indian or Mexican. Shauna had no idea where he’d come from, and since she’d been climbing, the AK was slung behind her back and not at hand, so she spun around and darted back down into the slot canyon just as the man shouted out a greeting to her: “HEY! WAIT, DON’T RUN!”
She knew she had just two choices now. She could hide and ambush the stranger if he continued to follow her, or she could jump into that cold water that waited below and try to escape into the canyon. She decided on the latter, as she had no idea whether or not the man was alone. With no further hesitation, she entered the narrow section of the slot and had just disappeared when another voice stopped her short: “SHAUNA! HEY SHAUNA… IT’S ME! ERIC...!”
The voice was distorted as it echoed off the wall of the canyon. Shauna had given the chief Eric’s name when she was trying to convince him who she was and why she was there at Bob Barham’s cabin. It was possible the men pursuing her were trying to trick her, but how did that explain the strange man she’d just seen? The one that looked Native American? She wanted to believe that it really was Eric up there calling to her by some miracle, but how in the hell would he have known to look for her here?”
“SHAUNA! You can stop now! You’re safe and Megan is too! I found her!”
Shauna felt her knees go weak as she leaned against the wall of the canyon and listened to the echo of those words. Could this be real? She heard Eric call out again, telling her that the men chasing her were dead, and then Shauna turned and climbed up through the bend she’d just rounded. When she came into view of the ledge above, two men were standing there: the stranger she’d just seen and Eric Branson! Shauna climbed the rest of the way out without another word. She was too exhausted to shout back and forth. When she reached the top, Eric was waiting and took her hands in his.
“You really found Megan? Where is she? Is she really okay? Is she here with you?”
“Yes, I found her, Shauna! She’s safe and well! She’s at the Jicarilla reservation, right where Vicky said she was going. She’s there with her friend Aaron and his aunt and uncle.”
“Are you sure she’s okay there? Why did you leave her?”
“Yes, I’m sure, or I wouldn’t have left her! And why do you think? To come back for you, of course! Just like I said I would in my letter.”
Shauna had momentarily forgotten all about the letter. Now she remembered it and remembered how she’d cursed Eric when she’d read it, and how she’d sworn that she was going to slap the hell out of him the next time she saw him. But she just looked at him through the tears of happiness welling up in her eyes and threw herself into his arms. Megan was alive, and Eric Branson had found her, just like he said he would do! She had so many questions, but for this moment, she just wanted to feel safe in his arms and grateful for all he’d done. When he finally pulled away, he introduced her to Luke, the tracker who’d made it possible to follow her here.
“We should get going,” Luke said. “It will be dark now before we get back to the road. Nantan and the others are waiting, and we don’t know that there aren’t more of those guys patrolling these roads.”
“Yeah, we’ve got a lot of miles to cover. I knew we were in for a workout when Luke said your tracks indicated you were running, Shauna. I guess if it hadn’t been for this canyon, we’d be chasing you all night!”
Shauna told her story as the three of them set out for the hike back to the road. The first thing she told Eric, of course, was that she had no idea what had become of Jonathan and Vicky when the contractors raided the cabin. Then, Eric told her about Vicky’s note, and how Wolf, the other experienced Jicarilla tracker they had with them, had gone after them.
“He will have no trouble catching up to them,” Luke said. “They are traveling slow, because the girl is walking, while the injured guy rides on the only horse they have.”
Shauna was relieved to know for sure that the two of them had indeed escaped discovery by the raiding party, and that Tucker was with them, the only horse on the place that escaped the senseless slaughter those horrible men had perpetrated. She was also happy to hear that most of the bastards were dead, including the other two that had been with the one she’d shot herself. But out of all of them, she thought it was the chief that deserved it the most.
“He’s not going anywhere until we get back to the compound where we left our horses. Nantan has expressed an interest in talking further with him, so I will leave it up to him to do what is right. There are ways to get information out of men like that, and I’m quite sure there’s a lot he can reveal about the extent of the cartel operations here and the involvement of this company he works for. If he cooperates with the Jicarilla, he may get a chance to tell it to the appropriate Army officials as well. But my part of this fight is over, unless we run into more trouble on the way back to the reservation.”
Eric told Shauna that Megan had found help at an Army outpost on a highway to the east of the divide, and that was how she eventually reached the reservation. He said that after they were all safely back there again, he would attempt to make contact with the unit that assisted her and see if they might offer help or at least ideas as to how all of them could return to Louisiana. It was all so much for Shauna to take in that it seemed overwhelming as the two of them followed Luke back throu
gh the brush in the growing darkness. Just an hour earlier, she’d been running for her life with nothing remaining but her determination to avoid recapture. Now, it seemed that all was right with the world. Megan was found, and she was on her way to see her! And Eric was talking about Louisiana! That was a world so far away from her since she’d reached these mountains that she had given little thought to going back there or anywhere else as long as Megan was out here. Now it all came suddenly back to her. It seemed so strange to think that she had another family waiting for her back there; her husband, Daniel, and her stepson, Andrew. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten about them, it was just that she’d put them out of her mind for the time being because they were safe there with Keith and Bart, while she was doing what she had to do here. Now though, she realized that everything was going to change again when she got back there, and she didn’t know what to think about it. As mad as she’d been at Eric for leaving her at that cabin the way he did, it seemed so right to be with him at this moment, on their way together to be with their daughter. Shauna took Eric’s hand as they walked, following Luke in the dark. It felt good to be close to Megan’s father again, and Shauna didn’t want it to end. And if the Apache tracker hadn’t been there with them, there was no telling what might have happened right then and there in the desert.
Seventeen
JONATHAN DIDN’T HESITATE TO raise his hands when the voice out there in the dark commanded him to do so. It was accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a shotgun slide chambering a round, so Jonathan abandoned all thoughts of reaching for his own rifle, and he verified with a glance that Vicky’s hands were up as well. He’d known every night when they built a fire that it was a security risk, but they had taken their chances, because without fire, the cold would be unbearable, and that evening, they had also needed it to cook the rabbit he’d shot. He’d thought they were far enough away from any of the roads and ranches they’d passed that day to make it unlikely anyone would spot a small campfire, but apparently, he was wrong. As he strained to see out into the darkness, Jonathan wondered what was about to happen to him and Vicky, and he felt like a helpless fool, sitting there with his hands in the air and a broken leg, unable to defend the beautiful young woman who’d done so much to help him.
“Don’t move and nobody gets hurt,” the voice spoke again.
By now, Jonathan could see something out there, and then, a man appeared at the edge of the ring of firelight, the hood of his jacket pulled over his head and a bandana covering his face below his eyes. Jonathan could see the shotgun pointed at them from where the man held it at waist level.
“What do you want from us? We don’t have anything of value. If we’re trespassing on your land or something, we didn’t know, and we’ll move on now.”
“This isn’t my land, and you’re welcome to stay. I’ll decide if you’ve got anything of value to me or not, but I’ll start with that rifle you were about to reach for. And the horse.”
“You can’t take Tucker!” Vicky yelled back at him. “He’s all we’ve got. My friend here is recovering from a broken leg, and he can’t walk. Without the horse, he won’t survive!”
“Not my problem,” the stranger said. “I need that horse because I’ve got a long way to ride. I’ve got family counting on me to get back to them. Now both of you, get down flat on the ground, face down, and put your hands behind your heads where I can see them! Don’t try anything stupid. I’ve been through enough lately, and I swear I’d just as soon blow your brains out as look at you!”
“Don’t argue, Vicky!” Jonathan whispered to her. “We don’t have much choice!”
Jonathan knew the man might shoot them anyway, but he had a pretty good feeling that he wouldn’t if they complied and kept their mouths shut. It was going to suck to lose Tucker and the rifle and maybe everything else, but it could be far worse. His first thought when the stranger pointed the gun at them was that he was going to want Vicky, but now that didn’t seem to be the case. Jonathan realized even as he got down to the ground that if the man had wanted to, he could have shot him dead from out there in the dark before they had a clue he was there, and then done what he wanted with her. Since he didn’t, there was a glimmer of hope.
When he approached the fire, the man spotted the .44 Magnum on Vicky’s belt, as she’d been unable to draw it or hide it when they were taken by surprise. Jonathan was almost relieved when the man pulled it from the holster, because he’d been afraid Vicky would try to go for it, especially upon learning that the man planned to take Tucker, and that would have probably gotten them shot.
“Nice big Magnum! You two were loaded for bear! I like it! Where’d you come from? Where are you headed?”
“What do you care?” Vicky spat. “You’re just a thieving criminal!”
“No, I’m just a survivor. I’m no different than you. How do I know you didn’t come by these guns and that horse the same way?” By now he had spotted the .22 Magnum carbine too, and he leaned it and the .45-70 lever gun against a rock a safe distance away. Then he carried their other belongings over there, so he could safely go through them while keeping an eye on them both.
“You’re well-armed, but you don’t have much else, do you? Tell you what, I’ll split these energy bars and whatever this freeze-dried stuff is with you, and I’ll take the horse and the two rifles. I’m going to unload this revolver and put the cartridges right back here with your stuff. When I ride out of here, I’ll leave the revolver on top of that big rock over there,” he pointed to a flat-topped boulder just visible at the edge of the light. I’ll be gone before you can load it, but I’d better not see you move until I’m out of sight. I think it’s a generous offer, considering, and you’re welcome!”
“Who do you think you are?” Vicky screamed at him as the man lifted Tucker’s saddle into place and began cinching it up. “There’s no lower form of life than a horse thief! That horse belonged to my grandpa!”
“Don’t waste your breath, Vicky!” Jonathan shushed her with a low whisper, trying to calm her down. “You’re not going to talk him out of it. Just be glad he’s not going to hurt us.”
“But he is hurting us, Jonathan. He’s leaving us out here in the wilderness to die!”
“We’re not dead yet. We’ll figure it out. Now don’t push our luck. We need that .44 Magnum, so don’t make him change his mind!”
Moments later, the stranger was mounted up and riding slowly back into the darkness. He stopped by the rock as promised and laid the revolver on the flat top. Then he spurred Tucker away and disappeared with one parting remark: “Good luck, folks!”
“Screw you, you asshole!” Vicky screamed, as she bolted up from the ground and ran to get the revolver. She didn’t have the cartridges with her and Jonathan knew she wouldn’t have fired at the man even if the gun was loaded, for fear of hitting Tucker. He fully understood how much this had to hurt her. Vicky loved Tucker and the two of them had a bond going back long before all this happened, when horses suddenly became of major importance again. And she was right that without him, they were indeed in deep trouble and were now truly in desperate survival mode. He had no idea what they would do next, but he knew it would be tough for him to get far out here without a horse, much less all the way to New Mexico.
Vicky came storming back over to the campfire, dropping to her knees to collect the cartridges for the .44 and load them into the cylinder of the big revolver. “I so wish I had just one clear shot at that guy. I would blow him away, Jonathan. I really would!”
“I know you would, Vicky, and I would to. I’m really sorry about Tucker. I know how much he meant to you.”
“And you know how much we need him. What are we going to do, Jonathan?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out. I should have been ready for something like this. I should have had that rifle within easy reach at all times. I’m sorry, Vicky.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. I had the .44 Magnum on me, but by the time I knew what
was going on, he already had his gun pointed at us. I should have drawn it as soon as we knew something out there in the dark disturbed Tucker. It’s as much my fault as yours. I guess we both got too complacent.”
“Yeah, because we’re way out here in the woods and it seems like we’re well-hidden. Eric wouldn’t have made that mistake, and I shouldn’t have either, after what he tried to teach me.”
“It’s not going to do any good to dwell on what we should have done, Jonathan. We’ve got to focus on right now and figure out how to go forward.”
“Yeah, that sounds exactly like something he’d say too. We can’t do much tonight, but I think we need to find someplace else to wait it out until daylight. I don’t trust that guy not to change his mind and come back here. And besides, if he saw our fire, someone else may have too.”
“Good thinking. At least we don’t have much to carry, and you do still have your crutch Bob made you. Come on, I’ll help you. I don’t think we need to go far right now, just away from here a little.”
Jonathan got to his feet on his on and using the crutch for support had no trouble standing and walking short distances, but to cut through the woods at night, he needed Vicky at his side for stability, and to prevent him from stumbling on something in the dark and perhaps breaking the other leg. He felt better about their security as soon as the darkness of the forest closed in around them. Despite losing so much, he knew he was lucky to be alive. The stranger could have simply shot him and taken Vicky if that had been what he wanted, so Jonathan felt they got off light, considering the alternatives.
There was no way they were going to risk building another fire, so their primary objective was to find an area out of the wind where they could hole up and huddle together until dawn. The thieving stranger hadn’t taken the blanket Vicky found in Bob’s cache, so at least they had the means to keep out some of the cold and their body heat in. They wrapped themselves in each other’s arms and snuggled as closely as possible, but even then, were too cold to actually get any sleep, which wouldn’t come anyway considering the anxiety they both felt about their new situation.
Feral Nation - Convergence (Feral Nation Series Book 6) Page 16
