Indian Territory

by Cliff Deane

  April, Year 00

  Viewpoint Drive

  Poquito Valley, AZ

  The Arizona Central Highlands midmorning sky presented a bright blue horizon completely free of any cloud cover. The midmorning temperature was near seventy degrees, and the typical April stiff breeze gusted to nearly twenty miles per hour. Though the day was magnificent, the silence itself was deafening. No traffic noises, no sirens, and no blaring music disturbed the birds or the chittering of squirrels in the trees.

  Chief Daniel Two-Dogs arrived at the Prepper village in Poquito Valley with only a four-man Security Force. The group rode to within one hundred feet of the front gate before dismounting. None of Daniel’s group wore paint, for this was a meeting to discuss unity and peace.

  The guards were nervous, but when Daniel began walking to the gate, after handing his weapons to one of his men, became a bit more relaxed. At ten feet from the gate, Daniel was ordered to halt and state his business.

  “Good morning,” said Daniel in a most congenial voice, “I am here to see my old friend, Mr. Cactus Pete Williams. Is he available?”

  The guard said, “Chief, you can drop your hands while Dave here runs up to the Head Shed to get him. Would you like some water while we wait?”

  Wanting to sound friendly, Daniel said, “Yes, thank you, that would be welcome. May I ask your name?”

  The young guard became more relaxed as he handed Daniel some water and said, “Sure, my name’s Billy, Billy Taylor, what’s yours?”

  Smiling now, Daniel said, “My name is Daniel Two-Dogs. It is a pleasure to meet you, Billy Taylor.”

  Billy almost jumped back at the name Two-Dogs. He asked, “Are you the Daniel Two-Dogs, the new Apache Chief?”

  “Yep, that would be me, and you can relax, for I come in peace Billy White Eyes,” and he began laughing in such a way that Billy could not keep from joining in.

  Finally, Billy asked, “Are you here to tell us we have to leave?”

  Daniel looked at Billy and asked, “Are you planning to make war upon my people?”

  “Why, no, a’course not,” said Bill, who assured Daniel that he had no intention of doing any such of a thing.

  At this point, Cactus Pete Williams, a former Real Estate Mogul arrived at the gate, and upon seeing Daniel said, “Danny, oh, man, it’s certainly good to see you, again. Good Lord, Danny, how long has it been now?”

  The two had met while studying at ASU. Daniel reminded Pete that it had been around ten years, or so when both men were working on their Master’s Programs. Pete had received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Wyoming.

  “Come on in, Dan, oh, is it all right to call you Dan, or should I use the formal, you know, now that you’re the Big Chief and all?”

  Daniel laughed and shook his old friend’s hand, Pete, I think in private, what say we use Pete and Danny; sadly, it’s a different story in front of my people. We good?”

  “Danny,” said Pete, of course, we’re good. Come on in, and Billy, please invite our guests inside. See to it that the horses are fed, and his men have something to drink.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Billy who began waving at Daniel’s companions to come on up. The two walked to the porch and sat down in the shade. Pete’s wife brought out a pitcher of lemonade, complete with ice.

  Daniel saw the ice and said, “Ice? Come on Pete, now you’re just showing off, aren’t you?”

  Pete told him about his solar generators that were capable of running a freezer and fridge if the solar batteries got too low. The ranch had been off-grid for several years now.

  Pete wanted to find out what Daniel’s visit was about but felt that he should wait until the Chief was ready. “Danny, I am so happy to see you, oh, and before you go, I’d like to make a gift of a bottle of honey for you and your friends.”

  “Pete,” said Daniel, “that is very kind of you, and I happily accept.”

  They spoke of their College days and the friendship that had developed between them. They also spoke of how Pete had helped mentor Daniel in prepping. Finally, Daniel got around to the purpose of his visit. “Pete, as I’m sure you know, two months from now, we plan to expel anyone who is not a part of The People.”

  Pete became just a bit more cautious with his old friend and asked if he was here to tell him to leave.

  “Pete,” said Daniel, “we have been friends for many years, and I want you to know that you and your Tribe are welcome to remain here now and forever. I would also like to offer a gift to you. I want you to become one with The People. I offer you and all of your Prepper Clan full citizenship in our new nation, should you decide to become a Prepper Tribe of The People. I am making this offer because the Great Spirit had decided to share the vision of the Apocalypse with all of the White Preppers. All those who have prepared for this day shall be offered a place among The People.

  “A member of my staff will contact you next week to get your answer. Please, my friend, discuss this with your group. I hope you will accept my offer to become an equal partner in our new nation.”

  Pete looked straight across at Daniel and asked, “Danny, what if we decide not to accept your offer to become a Prepper Tribe of The People?”

  Daniel looked at Pete and smiled, saying, “Peter, my dear old friend, you and your tribe may still stay, with our blessing, but you will have no say in Tribal Council. Please, remember that I said full citizenship and that means total and equal representation in our Tribal Councils, which is, of course, our governing body. Citizenship also requires that we come to each other’s aid should that become necessary.”

  “Well, Danny, I have to tell you that I like the idea, and I’m sure you will have a positive answer when your man returns; yeah, I do, I really do like your offer. Thank you, my friend. Does this also mean that I might meet your fabled Grandfather Taza Geronimo?”

  Daniel laughed and told Pete that he thought that would be a wonderful idea. He gave his friend an open invitation for such a meeting whenever he could make it to the Camp Verde. He added, “If you really want to meet him, you should probably hurry, I mean, the old man is about a million years old. Though he is still strong and full of life, I have seen the beginnings of his decline in just the short time since the lights went out.”

  Pete took Daniel on a tour of the Prepper Community. Daniel saw many additions over the last ten years. Pete introduced the Chief to those who lived there and was made to feel most welcome. Following the grand tour, Chief Daniel said his farewells, and after shaking hands with Pete, he and his men rode off with their honey. It would take two days, by horseback, to reach Daniels Headquarters at Cliff’s Castle. The times they were a-changin’.”

  Most of the Latino population decided to leave early on. They tried to make it back to their homes in Mexico, though Pete felt sure that few would survive the long, dry walk home.

  One of the Black-White Men, known as The Rodent Man, lived in Chino Valley, was sought out and invited to join a local Prepper Tribe. Henry owned a varmint removal business and was renowned for his skill at removing rodents, or any other four-legged beasties that were in the wrong place. He wisely accepted, much to the lament of Cactus Pete’s group. This move was later seen as genius because the Chinos had few rats during the plagues that followed the CME event. Blacks represented perhaps five percent of the Prescott area population. The predominant non-white population consisted mostly of Mexican descent. The Races had gotten along very well in the Prescott Basin area of Yavapai County, Arizona. But, in the end, it came down to being prepared for civilization’s end; those who prepped, stayed, those who did not prep, left or died in place.

  Pete thought that one of the great losses to Arizona history was the closing of Whiskey Row’s Palace Saloon. The Palace was opened in 1883 and it had burned down twice, but the patrons had managed to save the bar by carrying it across the street. Doc Holliday once lived in Prescott, but moved on, about the same time as the Earps moved to Tombstone. There would be no saloons in the n
ation of The People.

  Chief Daniel’s followers, however, flourished as they took control of their own lives and lands. Daniel had anticipated giving the Others sixty days to be gone from the new People’s Nation, but, with the exception of the few Prepper Tribes, the land was vacated well before even the thirty-day mark. Daniel’s people had begun the acquisition of running vehicles, but scouting patrols were all done on horseback. Smoke signals and mirrored methods of communication resurfaced to replace the radio.

  Those followers who had been educated for specific roles of nation building were hard at work in their respective areas of expertise. Prescott was initially selected as the new capital of The Peoples Nation.

  Training of the military arm of this new nation was taking shape, but because of the small population, coupled with the need to feed The People, border protection was severely lacking. Luke and Davis-Monthan Air Force Bases provided large numbers of weapons and munitions for The People’s Militia and Border patrols. The new Army cleaned out the armories of both Luke and Davis-Monthan. It only made sense to Daniel that having more than his people needed was preferable to leaving small arms and munitions for potential future enemies to acquire.

  The months of year zero rolled by and the native population declined sharply, perhaps as much as the Others. Obesity, poor diet, a lack of desire, disease, and a general malaise took a terrible toll of The People.

  It has been estimated that in 1492, the population of the North American Native People numbered around six-million. In 1950 their numbers had declined to only about six-hundred thousand and by year 02 that number was probably no more than sixty-thousand.

  During that first year, The People ate lots of beans and native plants. Fortunately, there were still many of The People who retained the knowledge of harvesting and preparing the native food sources. Ultimately, the Great Spirit of The People provided, along with a successful farming year in ’02.

  In October of the second year, things were much better, yet communication was still creating a considerable hardship on the organizing of this fledgling nation.

  Relations with the many small Prepper Tribes had gone well, proving that ethnically differing people could live together in harmony. Chief Daniel’s word about having an equal voice at the Tribal Councils proved to ring true for, once the Tribal Chiefs declared the newcomers to The People to be equal, there was no animosity; they were simply equal.

  Daniel had been far more chained to the nation-building role than he had hoped, and this resulted in him seeming to age very quickly. Meanwhile, his Grandfather, Taza Geronimo proved to be the voice of wisdom throughout the nation.

  The problem with the nation’s early years was not the ability of those who had been groomed for their jobs, but the simple fact that there were just too few People, over too large an area, coupled with a tremendous communications deficiency. Daniel feared that the tribes of the Southwest would revert to old hatreds and secede from the grand idea of solidarity. This weighed heavily upon him as he considered how the lack of any real ability to quickly, and effectively, contact other communities. This could well damage his efforts, dooming the new national unity. If only he had operating radios, or perhaps even pilots for light aircraft.

  “No,” he said to no one in particular, “I must stop dreaming of what would make this process easier. We must make the dream work with what we have.”

  Taza looked to Daniel and said, “My son, I will go into the Sweat Lodge and seek a vision from the Great Spirit. Perhaps He will offer a path to help us.”

  “Grandfather,” said Daniel, “I worry about you in the sweat lodge; it is dangerous for a man of your age to spend time there. If I lost you, I would surely lose everything.”

  “No, my son, I must do this for the good of all. You have seen that, already I no longer walk with a straight back. The years are piling up on me at a great pace. Daniel, we both know that I am near the end of my time and if He decides it is time to call me to his side, then it will not matter where I am. Daniel, do not despair, for even when I have been called home, my spirit will always be at your side.”

  Daniel knew not to try to argue with the old man, as he also knew that it was not his place to dictate a life path to the Medicine Man, Taza Geronimo.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Sweat Lodge

  October, Year 02

  Camp Verde

  The following day Taza entered his Sweat Lodge, and after eating a Peyote Button to make possible the opening of communication with the Great Spirit, he began the ancient chants in which he hoped might result in a vision of the future. Taza rocked and chanted for twenty-four Hours. He did not sleep during this time, but at roughly the nineteenth hour of his time in the Sweat Lodge, Taza was indeed granted a vision, a vision which troubled the old Medicine Man greatly.

  After twenty-four Hours, Taza returned to Daniel with the news that he had, indeed, had a powerful vision. His grandfather was weak, and in need of nourishment and rest, but he insisted on telling Daniel of his journey to the Great Spirit, and of his message for The People.

  “Daniel,” said the Medicine Man, “I have seen a vision of the coming year. In this vision, the Great Spirit has shown me that we will face a force of evil, riding beasts of iron. These evil men will invade our lands, killing and stealing. Their iron beasts hold many soldiers who intend to take what little we have and that these evil ones have no souls.”

  Daniel attempted to interrupt saying, “What…”

  But his grandfather held up his hand in a demand for silence as he said, “The evil ones will be hunted by an equal force of men who also ride in the bellies of their own iron beasts, but these men are not evil. They have been sent by the Great Spirit to assist us in our battle for the future of The People.”

  Daniel interrupted his advisor, saying, “Grandfather, are we destined to defeat this evil force which comes to destroy and plunder?”

  The old man cast his eyes downward as he said, “My son, the Great Spirit has not seen fit to show me this outcome. I am sorry to say that I do not know the answer to this question. “He has, however, shown me that the evil ones will come along the White Man’s road called I-10 before turning North through Phoenix. The battle will take place near a small village called New River, about half-way between Phoenix and Cordes Junction, along the I-17. There, we must fight to delay the evil force until their pursuers, sent by the Great Spirit arrives.”

  “Will they arrive quickly enough to attack the evil ones from the rear?” asked Daniel.

  “I am sorry, my son, for this was also withheld from me, but still, we must hold there, no matter how long the delay, or at what cost we must pay. I believe that if we are truly worthy, then we shall prevail. Daniel, I know not what the result will be, but I do know that if good prevails, then we shall reap great rewards.”

  “What kind of rewards, Grandfather?”

  “Yet again, I must tell you that I do not know what the rewards are to be, but if we can hold and become victorious, I was shown that our nation will, over time, survive and thrive.”

  “Grandfather, do we know when we must be ready for this invasion?” asked a concerned Daniel.

  “My son, it was only revealed to me that the enemy of our people will arrive in the summer of next year,” and with that, the old man excused himself so that he could eat and rest.

  Daniel called his War Chiefs together for a Council to begin the plan to stop this enemy near New River.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  New River, Arizona

  13 November aught 2

  I-17

  New River, AZ

  War Chief Benedito Grey Wolf was willowy thin and stood five feet nine inches tall. His gaunt face, even at only fifty years of age was creased with the worry wrinkles earned by any career, professional combat warrior. Grey Wolf had joined with Chief Daniel Two-Dogs only one day after The Day. He had grown to manhood in the Navajo Tribe. Though, Grey Wolf was an educated man with a College degree, he left the Rez a
t the age of twenty-two and became a career Marine. His career path was at the business end of a combat rifleman. Grey Wolf entered the Marine Corps straight out of college and received a commission to 2nd Lieutenant through his College R.O.T.C. program. He spent twenty years as a Marine and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring and returning to the Rez in the Central Highlands of Arizona. As the years past, he was promoted in his Navajo culture to that of a minor Chief. His life had been successful, but hard. Chief Benedito Grey Wolf was also hard in body and mind, yet he was always kind and gracious to his people.

  Today, he was accompanied by one of the Mining and Construction Engineers Stanley Stoneman. The sixty-two year old engineer stood five feet six inches tall with dark brown eyes and his once shiny black hair was now streaked with white. He was built like a cinderblock, and just as hard. His skin was a dark reddish brown color that held the deep windblown wrinkles garnered from a life spent in the dry, sun filled skies of Arizona. Stanley’s career had been in Deep, Hard Rock Mining, he had remained among his people on the Rez throughout his life. Over his thirty year work life, he had spent much of his time drilling through rock in many of the mines of Central Arizona.

  Stanley Stoneman and Chief Benedito Grey Wolf were discussing the Engineer’s plan for blocking the path of the Black Knights as they made their way through the dead vehicles cluttering I-17 in both the north and southbound lanes.

  The long uphill grade from Phoenix rose three-thousand feet before reaching the turnoff to New River. This incredible feat of engineering made its way through steep mountains of granite where only cacti grow. This portion of Arizona was that of a truly harsh desert land. The mountains were predominantly both granite and sandstone.

  The spot recommended by te Engineer Stoneman was a few miles north of the New River Exit at roughly halfway between New River and Black Canyon City. There, the road ran up, nearing the top of a mountain that had been cut through it leaving two steep cliff walls between the northbound lanes of I-17 and reaching skyward for another three hundred feet.