Big Horn Storm.

by Kim McMahill

  Niki wished she had grabbed her rifle, but her reaction to the sure knowledge that Joe was in trouble was so immediate and instinctive she had left without thinking. She screamed as she raced toward the melee, but doubted the bear or the dogs could hear her over the pandemonium.

  Suddenly Gracie went airborne as the bear’s paw connected with her body. The dog flipped end-over-end several times. She landed hard and yelped, but jumped up and raced back into the fray. Niki barely registered Joe struggling to get to his feet and retreat as she neared the scene, her concentration solely on the bear.

  Stella circled behind the bear and nipped as its back leg. The bear swung around and lashed out, barely missing the determined dog. Stella ran backwards, never taking her focus off the bear, drawing the large animal further from Joe, who had managed to grab hold of Gracie to keep the injured dog from going back into the fight. Stella continued to taunt the bear, pulling it further and further from Joe and Gracie, but in its frenzied dodging of the deadly claws the dog had allowed itself to be backed against several large boulders.

  Niki realized in dawning horror that the dog had no way to escape and no hope. As much as the thought of losing Stella broke her heart, she knew if Stella were killed there would be nothing to keep the bear from turning back on Joe. She had to stall and hope Deuce and Frank would arrive soon. She had no doubt they were on the way.

  She screamed even louder and guided Storm straight for the bear. The bear looked away from Stella and stood frozen for a moment as the distance between it and the huge horse quickly closed. Niki was less than thirty yards from the bear, Storm giving no indication he would back down. She was still screaming wildly and Storm was running full out when the animal turned and dashed off into the trees.

  Niki pulled Storm to a lope and reined him in a wide arching loop back toward where she had last seen Joe. By the time she reached the old wrangler, Stella had joined them and she could hear the pounding of hooves rapidly approaching over the noise of the still-terrified sheep.

  She slid off Storm’s back and knelt down next to Joe.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I didn’t know my old horse could still buck, but when I pulled the trigger on the shotgun he was out from under me before I knew what was happening. The dogs jumped in before the bear could tear me apart, but Gracie took a pretty bad hit.”

  Deuce and Frank slid off the horses they had also ridden bareback and crowded around Joe.

  “Did you break anything?” Frank asked.

  “Maybe my fake leg, but nothing original. Give me a hand.”

  Relief washed over Niki as she watched Joe stand and take a few steps. Deuce still hadn’t said anything, but she could feel his eyes boring into her. She decided to preempt the lecture.

  “Deuce, don’t say a word. We need to get Joe and Gracie back to camp and gather the sheep. I too damn tired and rattled right now to listen to you tell me how stupid and foolish I am, so it can wait until morning.”

  She was surprised when he actually kept quiet, pulled her into his arms and held her. Niki took a deep breath and decided not to fight his embrace. It felt too good to feel his strong arms around her, knowing she was now safe if the bear returned.

  “Here, Frank, you can use Traveler to get Joe and Gracie back to camp. Let Sarah doctor the dog and Joe if he needs it and get back up on the ridge. Let’s hope all the commotion hasn’t drawn any unwanted attention, but we probably better keep an extra sharp eye out tonight just in case.”

  Deuce helped Niki back on Storm’s back and led the horse to a log he could use to boost himself up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and took the rein and whistled for Stella to follow.

  Niki squeezed her eyes shut. Even in the dim light of the moon the carnage was unbelievable. They had lost at least a dozen sheep. None had been eaten, just killed. With Stella’s help they managed to get the terrified sheep calmed back down and they pushed the group away from the bulk of the dead sheep.

  “Go tie Storm up and drag some dead wood back over here. If we don’t do something about these carcasses the bear will probably come back along with every other predator and scavenger within ten miles.”

  Niki did what he asked without question. For fifteen minutes she hauled wood while Deuce piled up the dead sheep for cremation. When all the sheep were gathered, he started the fire. As the flames began eating at the wool, the stench became overwhelming and for the first time during the catastrophe Storm was agitated and she was nauseous.

  “Let’s go. We’ll come back in the morning and check it. This fire isn’t going anywhere and maybe the flames will keep the bear away.”

  Niki nodded and allowed Deuce to help her back on Storm. He handed her the dog and she held Stella tight to her chest. He mounted the horse behind her and they slowly rode away from the carnage and flames.

  When they reached camp they spotted Sarah on the opposite side of the fire as the tent, kneeling by what they assumed was Gracie. A lantern sat on a rock and Joe was next to her. Stella still in her arms, Niki slid off the horse and stood for a moment until Deuce and Storm were no longer in sight. Cradling the dog to keep it from overeagerly checking on her friend, she walked over to Joe and Sarah. She looked over Joe’s shoulder and could see Sarah concentrating on stitching a gash along Gracie’s shoulder. The dog whimpered, but didn’t struggle much against Joe’s hold.

  “I think she knows were just trying to help her,” Joe said.

  “What can I do?” Niki asked.

  “I’m almost done. I’ll just put some ointment on the main wound and bandage it and I think she’ll be fine. Thank goodness your grandfather has a decent cache of vet supplies,” Sarah stated.

  “Does Papa know?”

  “No, believe it or not he slept through the commotion.”

  Niki wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She was glad he didn’t know Gracie had been injured, but for him to sleep through an attack on his sheep and beloved dogs just illustrated how bad his health had disintegrated.

  When Joe let Gracie up, she limped, but seemed to be moving fairly well. Niki set Stella down and Stella immediately went to Gracie’s side and licked her companion on the face. Both dogs wagged their tails and curled up together by the fire.

  “I take it we’re not going to have to tie them up to keep them here at camp tonight,” Deuce said as he walked up behind Niki.

  “Do you blame them?”

  “Not a bit, but I hope we can get them back on the job in the morning or those stupid sheep will wander off. Hopefully they won’t go too far tonight without any supervision.”

  “I don’t understand why this happened. In all the years Papa has been tending sheep we’ve never had a bear attack.”

  “Probably a combination of things. That was a grizzly. In the past we’ve only had black bears to deal with and they tend to be much less aggressive, and we’ve never grazed the sheep this high up or this late in the season for this exact reason. It might also mean an early winter and the bear’s just trying to gorge itself while he can to build up fat. Or, my favorite, Murphy’s Law¾if anything can go wrong, it will.”

  “But the grizzly didn’t eat any of the sheep it killed,” Niki said as she struggled to push the gruesome images of the mutilated sheep out of her mind.

  “Must have got caught up in the thrill of the kill.”

  “I certainly hope that bear is the only predator around here that gets excited by the kill,” Niki shuddered.

  “Me too.”

  Niki peeked inside the tent and could see her grandfather sleeping in one cot and Lacy and April in the other. Her pulse still hadn’t returned to normal, but seeing the peaceful trio calmed her nerves. She glanced back at the fire, where Joe and Deuce sat around the flames and the dogs had instantly fallen into a deep sleep, exhausted from their epic battle.

  “Here, I thought we could all use some cocoa to help us relax,” Sarah said as she handed Niki a cup.

  Niki took the steaming cup
and sat down next to Deuce.

  “How are you doing, Joe?” Niki asked.

  “The only injury I sustained was to my ego for letting that old horse get the better of me. I nearly lost control of my bladder after I hit the ground and looked up into that bear’s eyes and bloody fangs. If it wasn’t for those dogs I’d be shredded. And you—when are you going to quit saving my sorry ass?”

  “When you quit getting it in trouble.”

  Deuce reached over and placed his arm around Niki’s shoulders and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes for a moment.

  “I think you’ve aged me ten years in the last week. When I crested the hill and saw Storm running full out straight for the bear I nearly had a heart attack. I was afraid he would shy at the last moment and you’d end up on the ground with the bear.”

  Niki lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “The thought crossed my mind too and I’ve never felt like I was a great bareback rider, so I doubt I could’ve held on if he had swerved at the last minute. But, I swear to God, Deuce, I think Storm would have run right over that bear if it didn’t get out his way and I think the bear sensed it too. I felt no hesitation in him. The closer we rode the more determined he seemed. I would have tried to pull him back, but I’m not sure he would have obeyed.”

  “Holy Hell,” Deuce grumbled.

  The group fell silent. They sipped their cocoa until the flames died down and only glowing red embers lit the night. Sarah gathered the empty cups and quickly washed the mugs, tossed the dirty water on the fire, and excused herself to go join her daughters in the tent.

  “I feel like going to bed too, but I’m not looking forward to waking up. I’m not real anxious to see what fun and excitement tomorrow holds,” Joe said as he stood to leave. “It just seems like each day throws a new challenge at us and I keep wondering when we’ll meet one that gets the better of us.”

  “I hear you. I don’t know how much more of this we can take,” Niki sighed.

  “As much as we have to,” Deuce replied as he extended his hand and pulled Niki to her feet.

  Niki knew Deuce was right. They would fight until they couldn’t fight anymore and do whatever it took to survive. For now, they had to take one day at a time and not worry about tomorrow, because each tomorrow that actually came seemed like a small miracle. She looked around at the quiet camp once more before ducking into the tent. She was exhausted and feared the nightmares that were sure to follow in the evening’s deadly wake.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  The blue sky and warm sun of morning would have pushed the horrors of the previous night out of their minds if it weren’t for the stench of burnt flesh and wool still lingering in the air. Despite their best efforts to clean up the mess, birds of prey circled over the battlefield, looking for any missed scrap of carrion. But they couldn’t dwell on last night’s devastation. The main problem of staying undetected and alive hadn’t gone away and had to be addressed.

  The group didn’t want to alarm the children, so they waited until Sarah took them to the ridge to begin her watch before discussing preparations for what they now believed would be an inevitable confrontation. They had hoped to wait the soldiers out in the remote high country, but the recent helicopter activity made them doubt remaining under the radar was possible.

  “Our backs are pretty much covered by the ridge. I doubt the Iranians would come at us from the creek¾it just wouldn’t make any sense with the geology, so that leaves two approaches. Most likely they’ll come straight at us from below if they’re following our trail, but I suppose they could veer off and come at us from the forest,” Deuce began. “So, let’s focus on defending those two directions. Any thoughts?”

  “Papa has three or four steel-jaw traps. He always brings those horrible things in case something starts preying heavily on the sheep. We could use them to create some sort of booby-trap, but putting them someplace where it might actually do some good would be the trick.”

  “We could really work a trail to make the path look well used and set a couple traps on it and there’s also a good creek access that’s a natural place to go for water,” Frank offered. “If they’re tracking us hopefully they’ll think the most worn trail is the one we used.”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Deuce replied.

  The group stopped talking when the familiar hum of a helicopter interrupted the mountain silence. They turned in the direction of the noise and listened. For several minutes it seemed to be getting closer and then the sound almost disappeared. They strained their ears, searching for the helicopter’s next move, but were distracted by April’s quick approach.

  “Mom said to tell you the helicopter landed,” April gasped. “Are those awful men coming after us?”

  Niki knelt down in front of the frightened child. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to lie, but saw no point in scaring April further, besides they really didn’t know for sure what the soldiers planned.

  “We don’t know what they’re up to, so we don’t want you worrying about anything until we’re certain. But, we’re going to do everything we can to protect ourselves just in case they’re up to no good and you can help.”

  She took April by the hand and rejoined the men. As before, after about fifteen minutes the helicopter lifted off and flew in the direction of the Blackburn Ranch. When the sound completely faded, they all knew without speaking it was time to act.

  “April and I will go get the stock and take the mules to the sheep meadow. We’ll turn Sally and Bess loose to sound the alarm if anyone approaches. They won’t wander off with the rest of the horses near camp, but I want the mules to be able to flee if they need to.”

  “Don’t forget to take your rifle this time. We don’t know how far away the grizzly went. Hopefully he doesn’t want to tangle with your crazy horse again, but I doubt he’s left the area for good with such an abundant source of prey present,” Deuce said as he strode off in the opposite direction.

  Niki let the comment about her horse slide as she ducked inside the tent to retrieve the rifle and a box of shells. Her grandfather was asleep again and Niki was thankful she didn’t have to explain to him where she was going and why she needed to be armed. She hated seeing the concern in his tired eyes when he should be focused on his health and not her safety. She placed the leather rifle strap over one shoulder and took April by the opposite hand and headed for the horses. The child looked calm, but the tightness of her small grip relayed her unspoken terror.

  “How would you like to ride Storm and lead Deuce’s old pack horse back and forth over the trail until it looks really well used?” Niki asked while pointing to the faint path they had decided to use for the traps. “Storm likes girls much more than he like boys, so I’m sure you two will get along great.”

  April nodded and smiled. Niki hated the fact that such a young girl was aware of all the danger lurking so close, but she hoped having a task would take April’s mind off of the soldiers. Staying busy was about the only thing keeping Niki from crawling in some dark hole, curling up into a fetal position and crying her eyes out. She hoped the same therapy would work for April.

  “I’ll ride Traveler and lead Frank’s horse¾the more hooves the better,” Niki said as she helped April up onto Storm’s back.

  By late afternoon they hadn’t seen or heard any more helicopters, nor had they seen any sign of the grizzly. The hours passed quickly as each member of their group focused on their tasks. Niki and April had ridden the decoy trail until it would be impossible for anyone to think their group had traveled any other way. Frank set the traps in strategic locations. Deuce had done some additional scouting and cleaned and loaded all their weapons. Joe had relieved Sarah as look-out and Bernie had woke up long enough to eat and drink a small amount, but had quickly fallen back to sleep. His fever seemed to be down somewhat thanks to Lacy, whose job it had been to replace the cold compress on his forehead whenever the cloth heated.

  “Those gir
ls are amazing,” Niki said to Deuce as they watched Lacy’s tiny hands carefully wring the cloth in a bucket of cold creek water and gently place it on Bernie’s forehead.

  Lacy obviously took the chore very seriously and seemed to be proud of contributing. Niki had babysat for the Stephens’ occasionally when she had visited the ranch in the summers. She had always enjoyed spending time with the well-behaved duo, but she had never realized how mature they were for their age. At home they were spirited and carefree and played like any other children their age, but when they needed to, they conducted themselves like little adults.

  “You seem to have a real bond with them,” Deuce replied.

  “It’s easy with April and Lacy. Cal and Sarah have done a wonderful job raising them. I don’t know if I could do it. It’s such an overwhelming responsibility.”

  “You’d be a great mother. You’re a natural.”

  Niki looked up, sure he was being sarcastic and teasing her, but there was only warmth and sincerity in his eyes.

  “A natural? Remember when I tried to raise those orphaned wild ducklings? It didn’t go so well.”

  “It’s almost impossible to raise any wild orphaned chick that young.”

  Niki smiled at the memory. “That’s what you told me then to convince me to stop crying when they all died. I knew you were right, but those tiny ducklings were so cute and helpless that it broke my heart when I couldn’t save them.”

  “Well, I hated hearing you cry and it tore me up to see you so sad.” He turned and strode away.

  She stared at Deuce’s back as he retreated. In those early years when she began coming to the ranch to spend time with her grandfather he teased her unmercifully, but in a warm and familiar way, like a brother. By the time she was a teenager Niki thought his feelings had softened toward her, but then, when his mother died, he turned cold. Now he was changing again and it left her confused.