To Cross a Wasteland

by Phillip D Granath

  The center of town was dominated by a single towering white structure. The church looked completely untouched by time, the sun was almost directly overhead now, and the rays made the building almost too bright to look at, but both men did. Even from here Kyle could see movement around the base of the church, a lot of movement. From this distance, the Indians were the size of ants.

  “The church is the Nation’s meeting house, only building in town large enough to hold everybody. It’s also where the Chief lives," Coal explained, but Kyle could tell he was uneasy, he kept scanning the terrain around them.

  “Something wrong?” Kyle asked.

  “I expected to be met by outriders by now," Coal said.

  “Is that a bad thing?” Kyle asked.

  “Can’t be good, but it looks like something is up, everyone is down at the church. Let’s go say hi," Coal said, and the pair kicked their animals into motion.

  As Coal and Kyle rode down Main Street, the town was eerily quiet. Kyle didn’t see or hear a single person. As they pushed on they passed by dozens of Tee-pees and Kyle could see Coal’s point. Most of the teepees used old sections of pipe, both steel, and PVC instead of sticks. They weren’t wrapped in hides but in a variety of things, blue tarps, clear swimming pool covers, even black trash bags, anything that would keep out the elements. The houses stood behind them with doors and windows left open, abandoned in exchange for the traditional tents.

  As the pair neared the church, they began to see Indians, and Kyle's heart began racing in his chest. When the pair reached the church, they found the steps were crowded with Indians. As were the building’s eaves and the shade of every nearby tree, there were hundreds of them. And almost to a person, the crowd sat in utter silence. Young children, the elderly, it seemed everyone was here, and most stared at the ground blankly, some crying quietly. The men wore blue jeans and were either shirtless or wore simple leather vests. The women all wore long dresses in a variety of bright colors.

  Coal dismounted so suddenly it surprised Kyle. The half-breed dropped the mare’s reins and simply walked away from the horse. He was halfway up the steps before Kyle realized staying with Coal was probably safer than staying out here alone. He leaped off the mule and ran up the stairs after him. The doors to the church were wide open. A pair of Braves stood in the entryway, they were as muscled and as dangerous looking as Kyle remembered, each was armed with a spear but neither tried to stop him or Coal.

  The inside of the church was a huge space, made more so by the fact that row after row of the church’s pews had been pulled back and placed against the walls. These were filled by the warriors of the Nation, close to a hundred Braves, each armed with a spear and a knife, all sitting in silence. Most were shirtless with their faces and chests were painted with bright colors. Some were covered in pictures of animals others in simple designs.

  Kyle caught up to Coal and found the half-breed staring towards the center of the church. There stood a heavy wooden table and on it lay the body of a man wrapped in a bloodstained blanket. Coal moved to the center of the room and again lacking any other real option Kyle followed him. Coal stopped next to the table and looked down at the massive Indian. He was well over 6 feet and probably 300 lbs. Kyle could see there was blood on his face and more blood on his knuckles, his arms had been crossed in front of him in death.

  “George…” Coal said in a whisper.

  “Who is George?” Kyle asked in confusion.

  Coal turned his head ever so slightly as if just remembering that Kyle was there.

  “George is…Laughing Bear," Coal said very quietly.

  Kyle looked down at the dead man, realization settling in. “Fuck…” he whispered.

  “Coal," the voice boomed from the end of the room. The half breed’s eyes turned to the dais at the front of the church. Every warrior’s head came up at the sound, hundreds of eyes darted between Coal and the speaker. Kyle could see a man, a massive Indian sitting in a large wooden chair on the dais. He was wrapped in a heavy buffalo skin.

  Coal walked down the length of the table towards the speaker and Kyle followed in his wake. When they reached the base of the dais the speaker stood, Kyle recognized him then. This was the heavily muscled Indian that had stopped them that day in the desert.

  “Red Bear…” Coal began, but he choked on his own voice and paused. “I mean Chief Red Bear.”

  “Yes,” the Chief said simply, his eyes never left Coal’s, they never wavered.

  “Laughing Bear is dead,” Coal said numbly.

  “Yes, cousin he is and I killed him," the Chief replied and then let the buffalo skin drop from his shoulders. His muscled body was covered with an array of bruises and open cuts. The worst was a 6-inch gash across the right side of his chest, a cut that seemed to have removed his nipple. The wound was open and still bleeding, bathing his whole right side in blood, even from where Kyle stood he could see the exposed muscle inside the gruesome wound.

  “Chief, we need to get that wound sealed," Kyle spoke before he thought, to many years assisting Anna in the clinic it seemed. Chief Red Bear didn’t respond. He simply took the three steps down off of the dais and stood directly in front of Coal.

  “If that white man speaks again, I’m going to kill him,” he said to Coal without even looking at Kyle.

  As the Chief spoke, Coal looked down, not even meeting the blood-soaked Indian’s eyes. To Kyle, it seemed like something had gone out of Coal within just the last few minutes. This wasn’t the same man that Kyle had ridden out of town with, he seemed somehow, less, somehow diminished standing next to the Chief. As he looked closely at the men, standing in front of one another. The Chief was almost a head taller than Coal, definitely thicker, and having seen his father, Laughing Bear, laid out on the table probably always had been.

  The last piece fell into place for Kyle just then. Laughing Bear, that’s what this was really about. Coal had said his Uncle had raised him, but here stood the dead Chief’s real son. Kyle could see it all now, Red Bear growing up right alongside of Coal. Red Bear was always bigger, stronger, faster, better at everything, the favored in the house, the oldest child and perpetually the older brother. Coal was the half-breed that was simply tolerated in the home.

  “The white man is right about one thing," Coal said, speaking slowly and very carefully. “That wound should be seen too,"

  Chief Red Bear kept looking at Coal, though the half-breed still hadn’t raised his eyes. “This I will not do,” Red Bear said, sadness in his voice.

  “This was the last thing my father ever gave me, before I killed him. I will not cover it up and forget it. I’ll leave it as he intended. It will pain me greatly, as all great losses should and when it heals, I’ll be better for it,” his words carried through the near silent church and many of the Braves of the Nation nodded their heads in silent agreement.

  “Why?” Coal asked simply, raising his eyes for the first time to meet those of the Chief. “You were his War Leader, his most trusted, his eldest son. How could you betray him?”

  Red Bear placed a single massive hand on Coal’s shoulder. “It was he who betrayed us Coal…he who betrayed his people.”

  At those words a second Indian stood from a nearby pew and approached the Chief, Kyle recognized him as well. This was the Indian that had waved to them during their brief encounter in the desert, the other one that Coal had called his cousin. This cousin carried a glass bottle with a few inches of reddish liquid inside as he stepped up beside the chief, he handed the bottle to Coal.

  “The last few months Laughing bear had been acting strangely. He would ride out alone and at times spend entire days in the desert. Often he would not return until the next day. He took to sleeping in late and not seeing anyone until the sun was high," Red Bear paused for a long moment before continuing.

  “This morning Two-Step went to wake him. When Laughing Bear did not answer his calls, he went into his tent and found him lying next to this bottle. Two-Step came and fou
nd me at once. I confronted Laughing Bear, and he said he had found it while riding in the desert. But even as he spoke I could smell liquor on his breath, I could taste his lies. Coal, we all spent too many years growing up with his drinking to be fooled. I challenged him on the spot, for breaking our laws, for lying to his people, for…” Red Bear stopped speaking abruptly, his voice leaving him.

  “When I finally slid the knife into his heart, I saw it in his eyes cousin, he was proud of me, even then,” the last words coming out as barely a whisper.

  “Coal," Two-Step spoke. “Were you meeting Laughing Bear in the desert? Did you give him the booze?”

  Holy Shit, Kyle felt his whole world shift a bit as the weight of a hundred pairs of eyes locked on to the half-breed at that moment. A room full of warriors held their breath, waiting for his response. This morning the entire Nation had been struggling with its grief, now they struggled to find a target for their anger.

  “Yes…and no," Coal said simply, but even Kyle could tell his words lacked conviction.

  “Explain," Red Bear commanded.

  “It’s true, I was meeting Laughing bear in the desert, but I wasn’t giving him booze," Coal said the words slowly, Kyle could tell he was improvising a story as he spoke the words.

  “I remember Laughing Bear from before the fall when alcohol and pills nearly ruined his life. I would never give that poison to him willingly. I didn’t know.”

  “If you weren’t giving him the booze, then why were you meeting in the desert? Why were you meeting in secret?” Two-Steps demanded.

  Coal looked up at Kyle for just a moment, his eyes were full of pain, pain, and regret. Kyle knew what was about to happen then. Coal had said something just yesterday, they were so much alike, that they were both survivors. He knew Coal would do whatever he needed to do in order to survive. But even as the words came out, Kyle was still surprised by them.

  “It was him, this white man paid me to introduce him to Laughing bear, and they both asked me to keep it a secret," Coal replied barely nodding in Kyle’s direction.

  The gravity of the world seemed to shift again under Kyle’s feet one more time. All of the eyes now shifted to him. Chief Red Bear turned his head just enough to see Kyle from the corner of his eye, even that was enough for Kyle to recognize the murder in them. The weight of the magnum, still secure in its shoulder holster beneath Kyle’s jacket now seemed very tempting. The Chief was moving, turning to face Kyle, moving towards him. Kyle knew he had just heartbeats to decide if he wanted to draw and shoot the Chief. But then what? He couldn’t kill them all, but Coal, yes he could definitely kill Coal. And then… himself? That suddenly seemed like not such a bad option with everything considered. Then the Chief was standing in front of Kyle, and he knew the moment had passed him by.

  “White man, why were you meeting with Chief Laughing Bear?” Red Bear asked his voice was calm but held a definite edge.

  Kyle kept his head down, not meeting the Chief's eyes, his mind racing for an answer that would keep him breathing. Around him all of the warriors began to stand, straining to hear, straining to see, everyone expecting to see the color of his blood. Behind the Chief on the far wall, an old woman stood slowly, leaning heavily on a walking stick. The movement caught Kyle’s eye.

  “Answer me white man or I will kill you where you stand," the Chief promised.

  In Kyle’s desperation, his mind grasped at thoughts wildly, like a drowning man gasping for air. Why was the old woman here? When all but the warriors had stayed outside? Kyle glanced to the left and right of the stooped figure, three old men and another old woman filled that pew, that had sat together on purpose…a small group…something that Coal had said…a…council?

  Red Bear opened his mouth to speak but Kyle raised his eyes, and the two men locked gazes. What the Chief expected to see in Kyle’s eyes he didn’t know, but what the Chief saw was enough to give him pause.

  “Chief Red Bear," Kyle began slowly and then added. “Respected Elders,” he said glancing over the Chief’s shoulder with a brief nod.

  “It is true; I was meeting Chief Laughing Bear in the desert. It saddens me to learn of his passing. My name is Kyle, and I'm from the City Council,” the words hung in the air, the silence was deafening. Across the room, the remaining elders slowly stood together.

  Well so far so good, no one was currently stabbing him. Let’s see what else his mouth could come up with.

  “The Chief and I were meeting in secret. Not because I wanted it that way, but because he insisted.”

  As the stabbing still hadn’t commenced, Kyle figured he must be on the right path, might as well go all in, why not blame it all on the dead guy?

  “I’m sorry to say, that I did give Laughing Bear the alcohol. I didn’t know about his history; I didn’t know that it was against your tribal law. I just know that when a Chief of the Indian Nation requests a gift in exchange for an audience…well, you don’t say no to a Chief. Especially not a powerful warrior like Laughing Bear or like you Chief Red Bear,” Kyle explained. The Chief continued to stare at Kyle his gaze never wavering.

  “And you let him do it, didn’t you Coal?” Two-Step asked, turning back to face his cousin.

  “I…” Coal began, but Kyle jumped in.

  “Coal is one of the City Council’s most respected scouts. So I asked him to arrange the meetings with laughing bear and to escort me out into the desert. Coal knew nothing about the booze. Laughing Bear asked me not to tell him. The Chief was insistent that Coal stand watch while we spoke. I can see now Laughing Bear was trying to hide the drinking from him," Kyle explained.

  “Why should I believe you, why should I believe anything you just said?” Red Bear asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “Because I’m standing here Chief. This morning when Coal and I rode out, we didn’t know Laughing Bear was dead. How could we? The truth is today I was bringing word to your father from the City Council. We were going to announce our plans to the Council of Elders and then hopefully if that went well to the whole of the Indian Nation. A white man wandering into the Nation uninvited is a death sentence, everyone in town knows that. I only came out today because Laughing Bear guaranteed my safety," Kyle said.

  “But Laughing Bear is dead," the new Chief pointed out.

  “Sadly, yes," Kyle replied not sure what else to say.

  “Tonight we remember his life. At dawn, he will be buried. Then I will meet with you both, and you will tell me, exactly what business you were discussing with my father," Red Bear commanded, and Kyle found himself nodding in agreement.

  “The Council of Elders will hear of this as well,” the crooked old woman added.

  The Chief did not reply or even turn to face the old woman, annoyance was plain on his face.

  “This is not a Council Matter Little Bird. This was Chief Laughing Bear’s meeting and as Chief now it is mine,” the Chief replied his voice full of frustration.

  “If Laughing Bear was negotiating anything without the Elder Council, he was wrong. And if you negotiate without the Council, then you are wrong,” the old woman’s voice wavered as she spoke but it held strength, at the end she added, “My Chief.”

  Chief Red Bear shook his head in frustration and then spoke.

  “Brother put them somewhere for the night,” and with that Red Bear turned and climbed the Dais again retaking his throne-like chair.

  Two-Steps escorted both of them from the church. Kyle was shocked to see the shadows already beginning to lengthen as dusk approached. The crowd outside had actually grown in size, but none gave either of them a second glance. Kyle noticed that both the horse and the mule were gone, but Coal didn’t seem to care. The half-breed seemed lost in his own thoughts as he followed Two-Steps without even glancing up.

  Their escort led the pair across a large field to the closest home. It was a simple enough looking structure painted white much like the church and Kyle assumed it had to have been a rectory. Two-Steps stopped at the base of the sta
irs and then turned to leave.

  “Two-Steps? Cousin?” Coal called after him.

  Two-Steps didn’t look back but replied. “Close your mouth Cousin, before more lies escape it.”

  Both men watched him walk into the shadows and then stepped inside their temporary home. The building was dark inside and had been abandoned for quite some time. There was no glass in the windows or even a door in the frame. As Kyle had noticed with others as they came into town this building hadn’t been ripped apart but carefully taken apart. The living room still held furniture, including a dusty couch and a rocking chair. Done admiring the accommodations Kyle pulled out his magnum.

  Coal turned from looking at the empty window. “Kyle I…” and with that the Scavenger pistol-whipped the half-breed across the side of the head. Coal fell like a stone and landed in an awkward pile on the floor. Kyle stood over him for a moment weighing his choices. Coal coughed once and then made to stand. Kyle helped him roll onto his back with a swift kick to the side. The Scavenger then sat down on Coal’s chest. Coal’s eyes danced around wildly, but it was obvious he wasn’t really seeing anything. Kyle slid the barrel of the magnum in between the Indian’s teeth and waited patiently for him to come around.

  After a few moments Coal’s eyes focused again, he tasted metal in his mouth and quickly discovered it was from more than just blood. His eyes followed the barrel back up from his mouth and met Kyle's aiming back down it. Coal tried to speak past the barrel, and Kyle cocked the big gun, giving Coal a close-up view of the round that rolled into the chamber. Coal decided to stop trying to talk.

  “That’s the second time you’ve led me into an ambush. There is not going to be a third,” Kyle said anger twisting his voice. Coal slowly raised his hands in surrender.

  “You were going to give me up back there. You were ready to say whatever you could to save your own skin, even if it meant your friends and family would strip me of mine,” Kyle growled and drove the pistol barrel deeper into Coal’s throat to emphasise his point. Coal began to gag.