“But that isn’t how it happened,” Murdock protested.
“I know that,” Rose exclaimed. “Kevin, if you have a flaw, it’s that you don’t understand politics. You think truth and justice go hand-in-hand when, in fact, they seldom do.” Murdock looked at her, confused. “Whittier has probably told everyone that you abducted me while they were trying to reason with you. I’m sure he told them how he, Burns, and Metzger walked up on you in the act of raping and beating me and they, concerned for my safety, tried to get you to stop before you killed me. He probably said something to the effect that you told them to leave and they complied, to get you to spare my life, but when they had waited long enough and went back, all they found was a bloody tree and my clothes.”
Murdock thought about it for a while. Apparently, she had thought out this scenario quite thoroughly. “If what you say is true, how do we convince them otherwise?” he asked.
“We can’t,” she stated.
“But if you go with me and tell them what happened —”
“What good would that do?” Rose asked as she got to her feet and walked toward the fire. “Whittier will tell them that you raped me, beat me, took me prisoner, and now, suffering from Stockholm syndrome, I am defending you.”
“But you can tell them I didn’t rape you or beat you,” Murdock pointed out.
“Honestly, I can’t say who raped and beat me. I was knocked out, remember?”
Murdock was truly at a loss. Rose looked at him from by the fire.
“But I didn’t do anything to you! I just tried to help you,” he pleaded.
“I know that . . . now,” she said emphatically, touching the side of his face softly with her hand. “Since I’ve been conscious, you’ve treated me with nothing but respect, concern, and caring. As far as I know, you haven’t taken advantage of me in any way and have done nothing but try to help. But I know you better than the rest do. They’ll assume the worst in other people, and most of it is justified.” Rose dropped her hand and turned toward the fire.
Murdock hadn’t thought of it that way and was galled that individuals like Whittier, Burns, and Metzger could get away with what they did. As he finished cooking the meat, he tried to figure a way to get what they needed.
“Soup’s on,” he said, handing a skewer of meat to Rose. He picked one up for himself and started eating and thinking. There has to be a way to get what we need from Whittier, he thought.
“Smells wonderful,” Rose said, accepting the meat and sniffing it. “Tastes great,” she said around a mouthful.
They both ate in silence. Murdock tried to plan how to get what they needed.
“You can sleep on the travois,” he told Rose after they had eaten. “It’ll be more comfortable for you than the ground.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked as she reclined on the travois.
“Someone needs to stand watch, and I need time to think,” he said.
“Well, you need to rest, too. You worked harder than I did today, and you’ll probably do so again tomorrow. What good will you be if you’re too exhausted?” she asked.
He conceded her point. “Okay, I’ll take the first watch,” he said. “I’ll wake you in a couple of hours.”
“You better,” she warned as she got comfortable and went to sleep.
Murdock spent the next several hours stewing in his own juices. He knew deep down that Rose was right. Trying to negotiate with Whittier or anyone from the transport pod was a dangerous proposition at best. Taking Rose’s lead, Murdock recalled all he could about the successful politicians in history, but came to the conclusion that none of them remained in power through anything good they did. They kept their power and position because they made others feel safe. They lost their positions only when the majority of the people didn’t feel safe any longer.
He remembered what he’d read about the Old West in America; a lot of innocent people died because a majority of the people considered them guilty. Guilty people often would go free because those prosecuting them didn’t prove that they were guilty, or because of some deal made on their behalf.
And he remembered what his father had once told him; Son, might doesn’t make right, but political might is always right, because of the majority. And his uncle used to tell him that if he wanted justice, he had better be willing to pay for it. He did want some kind of justice for Rose and all the others that would suffer at the hands of Whittier and his cronies, but he knew that justice was subjective and if they wanted it, they would have to take it. He couldn’t give it to them.
After a few hours, Murdock got up and paced the area to help keep him awake. Though his mind may have been racing, his body was done in. As he walked past Rose sleeping on the travois, he marveled at her. A few weeks — or was it days? — ago, she had been a victim. Now, she was a seasoned warrior — against wolves, anyway. He considered her quite a striking woman. Sure, she was tall, taller than most men liked, but that didn’t matter to him. Based on what he had observed so far, he thought she had a good heart but wasn’t squeamish about doing what was necessary. That was what mattered most. I wonder if my mother was like that? He suspected that she must have been. His father used to refer to some things from the softer side of his nature as his being “just like your mother.”
As he stood watching Rose, he gently removed the stray hairs that had fallen onto Rose’s face. She looked so peaceful and absolutely beautiful lying there asleep in the firelight. Without realizing it, he smiled at her.
“You always stare at sleeping women?” Rose asked without opening her eyes.
“Not usually, only the sleeping beauties,” he quipped.
“My turn to take a watch?” she asked, smiling at his comment.
“No, you can sleep a while longer.”
Rose got up and tried to smooth out her mussed hair.
“How can I, when I know someone is watching me?” she joked. “You need to sleep, so it’s my turn to watch.”
“Only if you insist,” he said.
“I do,” she said, getting up. “Take my spot. It’s already warmed up.”
Rose got off the travois and walked over to the fire. Murdock lay down in her spot on the travois.
“If you hear anything or get too sleepy, don’t hesitate to wake me,” he told her as he settled into her warm spot.
“I won’t,” she said. Then, after a short pause, she asked, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” he said, lifting up on one elbow to look at her.
“Which were you more concerned about today with the wolves, me or the deer?”
Murdock thought before answering.
“I was worried about the dear,” he said as he closed his eyes, smirking. “You need to figure out if the variety was two-legged or four-legged.”
Rose walked over to him and grabbed a handful of hair and pulled.
“You and your damned word games are very frustrating,” she said through clenched teeth. “Can’t you give me a straight answer just once?” she asked, releasing his hair.
“I could,” he said as he rolled over and turned his back on her, “but where’s the fun in that?”
Rose moved around the travois to face him.
“I want to know, damn it,” she yelled in frustration. Her nose almost touched his.
Murdock opened his eyes, kissed her nose, and then closed his eyes again.
All he said before he fell asleep was, “You already know the answer.”
9
Murdock woke up well past dawn. Rose sat on the ground tending the fire. “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” he asked as he tried to get the kinks worked out of his abused muscles.
Rose shrugged without looking at him. “You needed all the sleep you could get,” she responded flatly.
“Have you eaten anything this morning?” he asked as he came over to the fire.
“No, I was waiting for you,” she said, avoiding his gaze.
“You could’ve eaten,” he told her.
She just shrugged. Murdock picked up a piece of the leftover meat and started chewing on it. He offered some to Rose, who refused. “What’s the problem?” he asked finally.
“You don’t really want to know,” Rose stated.
“If I didn’t want to know, I wouldn’t have asked. Something is bothering you, so spill it!” He watched her for a few seconds; but she didn’t say anything; she seemed to be working up the courage to speak her mind. After a little while, she looked up at him sideways. She had been crying, but he had no clue why. All he could do was to wait.
“I told you yesterday that I thought we made a good team,” she started finally, “and you made no effort to respond one way or the other.”
“Sorry, I didn’t think I needed to respond. To me, you were stating the obvious.” Murdock shrugged while chewing on the piece of meat.
“So, you think we do make a good team?” she asked.
“Of course,” he responded.
“As your teammate, I have this nagging feeling that you’re going to do something extremely stupid,” she yelled.
“Like what?”
“Like get killed,” she said with venom. “And over nothing more than a few tools that you think we need!”
Murdock didn’t know what to say. “What do you mean?” he asked after a lengthy pause.
“I have this feeling that you’re going to go ahead with that stupid idea of yours to trade some of this meat for tools.”
“I was thinking about it —” he began, but Rose interrupted him.
“You know, since I’ve been with you, you have acted like you care for me. You flirt with me constantly and say all manner of sweet things that I know aren’t true.”
“How do you know they aren’t true?” he asked indignantly.
“Shut the hell up when I’m talking,” she blasted. “I’ve had a long time to think this out, and I’m going to have my say!” Murdock put up his hands in surrender. “Like I was saying, you’ve gotten me thinking that maybe you do care about me, and then I hear about some harebrained scheme you’ve cooked up. I’ve known people like Whittier and that bunch all my life and had to contend with them, but I’ve never known anyone who has been as nice to me or respected me as you have. Now, I get to stand by and watch it all just go away.” Tears had started running down Rose’s cheeks again, and she wouldn’t look up at him. “Kevin, please don’t go through with this trade scheme you’ve cooked up. If you want me to get on my knees and beg, I will, but you need to think about what losing you would mean for me. I’d either be alone out here with no way of surviving, or I’d be forced to return to that . . . that . . . group of back-stabbing, scum-sucking, power-hungry, lowlife individuals who think they can abuse anyone and everyone and no one can stop them. Neither is an option that I find particularly appealing. I know that bunch a lot better than you do! I wouldn’t trust any of them as far as you could throw them. I know their type! I’m not one for wanton violence, but they are for killing . . . nothing more! There isn’t a single person at that transport pod that is worth redeeming.”
“I don’t think it’s for either of us to judge who is worthy of redemption,” Murdock stated after she had wound down some. “First of all, I don’t say anything to you that I don’t believe to be true. You may not think they are true, but who are you to tell me what I think or how I view things?”
Rose started to protest, and Murdock gently covered her mouth with his hand. “It’s my turn, now. Second, you were right about the trade deal. I was thinking about it, but before I woke you last night, I had already come to the conclusion that you were right. There’s no way to work a trade deal with that bunch. I mentioned it to you because you’re my partner, and I wanted your input. We’re in this together, so in my opinion, you had a say in matters that would make things a little easier and a little more comfortable for you.” With that, he released her and started to walk away from the fire.
Murdock hadn’t gotten very far when he heard running behind him. He turned just as Rose jumped and hit him, full force. Unprepared, he caught her whole weight, which drove him to the ground on his back. Rose sat on his stomach with both her hands around his throat.
“You asshole! I ought to wring your neck,” she yelled at him, her face inches away from his.
“What did I do now?” he asked.
“You made me waste a perfectly good cry on nothing! Do you know how depressing the dawn is when you’ve been crying all night? I put a lot on the line with that little speech of mine, and for what?” she yelled. And then, surprising him all the more, she kissed him and then leaned back smiling down at him.
“You know, you’re cute when you’re angry,” he said with a smile. Rose smiled back and started to giggle. “At least I got you to stop crying,” he said, giggling back. Rose kissed him again, and he kissed her back.
“Are we going to press on toward home, or are we going to stay here all day?” he asked after the kiss. “You know, I do have to apologize!”
“For what?” Rose asked, smiling down at him.
“Your nose is a little crooked,” Murdock said as he ran his finger down the bridge of her nose. “Sorry I didn’t do a better job setting it,”
“Well, then, you’ll just have to deal with it. You’re the one who has to look at it, not me,” Rose quipped. They both chuckled and got off the ground.
“You weren’t joking with me, were you?” Rose asked as they walked toward the fire.
“About what?” he asked.
Rose promptly slapped his upper arm. “About your trade-deal with Whittier, of course,” she yelled.
“No, I wasn’t joking. You were right. Whittier can’t be trusted at all, so any idea I had will have to wait until he leaves or dies.”
Rose started bouncing with glee and smiled broadly.
“I’m very glad to hear that,” she said enthusiastically as she kissed his cheek, her arms around his neck.
“So, what are we doing? Are we going to rest here another day or head for home?” Murdock asked as they reached the fire.
“I am in dire need of water,” Rose said, “so I guess we head for home.”
“I agree,” Murdock said.
#
They stopped again a little after midday. Working together, Murdock and Rose managed to get a fire going with enough wood to last a while. Then he picked up the water skin.
“Where are you going?” Rose asked.
“We need water, badly,” he said, looking in the direction they had been heading. “I can’t drag the travois any farther, and neither can you, so I was going to go get some water.”
“How long will it take you?” she asked.
“Not long. It can’t be that far to the stream.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay here and guard the meat and make us something to eat. Just don’t be gone long, please? Staying out here alone still bothers me.”
“I will,” he said, giving her a peck on the cheek as he left.
Three hours later Murdock returned. When Rose saw him approaching, she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
“Wonder what kind of a reception I would have gotten if I’d been gone a day?” he joked.
The next day, after several hours of dragging the travois, they managed to reach the stream at the foot of the mountain. They both headed for the water. Murdock stopped at the bank and lay down to drink his fill. Rose filled the water skin, took a long drink, and refilled it again. Then both Rose and Murdock got into the water. Murdock had taken off his buckskins, laying them on the bank. Rose had removed her grass skirt, laying that on the bank on top of his buckskins. Once in the water, both lay back and let the cool water run over them for a long time.
When they were done bathing, Murdock inspected Rose’s cuts. Some looked to him as if they may have parted a little, but none were bleeding.
“You need to watch the rough horseplay for a while yet,” he told Rose after his inspection.
“Why?” she asked as she fini
shed getting dressed.
“Some of the cuts look like they tried to reopen,” he told her.
“That could’ve been from all the strenuous work we’ve been doing lately. Besides, you like rough horseplay,” she told him while smiling at him.
Murdock had just finished dressing and was inspecting the scar on her face. “That may be true, but you need to be more careful for a couple more days.” Murdock’s smile faded. “How’s your vision?”
“Fine, why? What’s wrong?” she asked, panic starting to creep into her voice.
“Cover one eye at a time, and tell me how your vision is,” he told her.
She covered one eye then the other.
“Vision is fine in both eyes,” she told him. “Why did you ask?”
“The cut on your face must have severed some nerves or muscles. Your lower lid is drooping a little,” he told her cautiously.
“What?” she asked shrilly. “So, not only do I have a scar, but a droopy eye and a crooked nose? How can you stand to look at me?” she asked with a little more panic in her voice. “I must look hideous!”
Murdock pulled her close and hugged her tight.
“Not to me, you don’t!” he said emphatically.
Rose hugged him back and cried a little.
“Would you tell me if I was hideous?” she asked through the tears.
“If you looked hideous to me, then I might tell you, but that is a mighty big if!”
Rose seemed to accept his word for it. “Well, then, I won’t worry about it until such time as you make a mirror for me,” she told him, trying to smile and turn her face away from his gaze.
Murdock firmly grasped her chin and kissed her right eye first then her left eye. “I’m not joking,” he said seriously while looking squarely at her.
“I know you’re not,” she said, holding back her tears. Then she changed the subject. “So, do we make camp here tonight or try to get up to the cave?”
“It’s up to you. The cave is a lot safer, but it is a long climb up that path. Are you up to it?” he asked.
“I am if you are . . . shorty!” she said playfully.
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