“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 through 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.
“We’re never going to get to that reservation like this,” Jonathan said. “You’re going to have to go on without me tomorrow. There’s no other option.”
“Leaving you is not an option, Jonathan. Don’t even go there.”
“I’m serious, Vicky. You’ve got to be realistic. How far do you think I can limp on one leg and a crutch? And look how slow I am! I’ll be lucky to make four or five miles a day, if I can even hold up to that.”
“Four or five miles is still better than nothing. Even if it’s only one mile a day, we’ll find a way, Jonathan.”
“No, because we don’t have enough food for both of us to waste that much time out here. Not to mention there’ll be another snowstorm coming soon, no doubt.”
“We’ve got the revolver. I’ll shoot the next animal we see. Maybe we can even get a deer. Then, we’ll be set.”
“That won’t fix the problem of me being unable to hike out of here. It doesn’t make sense for both of us to freeze to death out here, Vicky. If we do, there’ll be no one to tell Eric what happened to Shauna.”
“Eric will find my note. He may have already, for all we know. It’s been long enough since he left, especially if he found Megan there at the reservation. Even if not, he’ll be long gone by the time I could hike there. Without Tucker, I just don’t see the point in focusing on that reservation. We need to think survival first and that means finding someplace more sheltered, at a much lower elevation if possible. After that maybe I can find another horse or someone we can trust to give us a ride if we can make it to a road. But in the meantime, I’m not leaving you Jonathan.”
“You know you can’t trust anybody you may meet on the roads, and who would give you another horse? You have no way to pay for it even if anyone would be willing to sell one. I guess you could steal one if you get lucky, but then we’re no better than that son of a bitch that took Tucker.”
“You’re right, but I’m just thinking out loud. We’ll find a way though, Jonathan, whatever it takes. But we’re sticking together to do it.”
Jonathan could see that there was no point in arguing this further at the moment. Vicky would realize soon enough that he was right and come to her senses. He would do his best to walk with her help and the crutch, and she would see that they were getting nowhere like that. But when they pulled the blanket around them to wait for dawn, Vicky snuggled closer to him than ever in the darkness, and then suddenly, he felt her warm lips against his and he forgot about the dire circumstance of their situation. What had seemed an impossible dream was coming true, and Jonathan never wanted that feeling to end. He no longer wanted Vicky to leave him behind either. In the morning, he would walk, no matter how much it hurt, and no matter where they were going as long as they were together.
“I knew you were a good guy before I even met you, Jonathan,” Vicky said, when Jonathan told her he hadn’t expected that to happen. “When Eric told me about you, I knew. You’re strong and brave and you’ve been helping him and Shauna, and not just thinking about yourself. Is there anything more important in the world we live in now?”
She couldn’t see him blushing in the dark but hearing her say that helped him understand a little. Maybe it was natural for women to gravitate to those things when they felt their world was falling apart and dangers were all around, but he still felt like Vicky was way out of his league. Would she even give him a second glance in any other circumstance? Jonathan doubted it, but feeling her body close to him, he decided it no longer mattered. Like Eric frequently said, now was all that mattered. You couldn’t go back to the past and the future didn’t yet exist. And if now was all that was real, then Jonathan figured it was a pretty great reality, despite the fact that he and Vicky no longer had a horse and he could barely walk. He didn’t want the intensity of this now to end, but when morning came, both of them knew they had to keep moving if they were to survive. Getting to lower elevation was the first priority, and finding more food was next.
They finished off the last bits of meat from the bones of the rabbit they’d cooked the evening before, leaving the meager rations remaining from Bob’s cache untouched to sustain them later. Vicky suggested that they stop every half hour to give Jonathan a five-minute break, and he didn’t argue. He gave it all his effort while they were moving, and slowly but surely, they made their way downhill until the makeup of the forest changed from alpine spruce and fir to more open woods with pine and cedar the predominate species. They camped and shared one of the last two freeze-dried meals and left the next morning without eating at all. Another day of slow, but steady progress found them resting in a sunny spot on a west-facing slope when they took a long afternoon break, and naturally fell into each other’s arms again before dozing off for a short nap to make up for lost sleep during the cold nights.
When Jonathan opened his eyes again, Vicky
was crouching beside him, her hand over his mouth as she bent low and whispered. “Someone’s coming, Jonathan! It’s the man who stole Tucker! He’s got him with him now!”
“What?” Jonathan lifted himself up to his elbows when Vicky removed her hand from his mouth. “Where?”
“Down there,” she pointed, keeping her hand low and her movements slow and deliberate so the person she was referring to wouldn’t see.
Jonathan could see him now. He was down in the mostly open meadow that they had just crossed earlier before they stopped here to rest. The man was walking slowly, and leading three horses, one of which was definitely Tucker!
“I think he’s following us, Vicky! See how he’s looking at the ground? That’s exactly the way we came!”
“But why would he do that? He already took the horse and everything he wanted. We don’t have much but the little bit of food he left and the revolver. Do you think he came back for that?”
Jonathan didn’t think so, but looking at Vicky, he wondered if she might be the reason the man was back. Maybe he’d thought about it after he rode away into the night? Jonathan wondered now if he’d already had the other horses or if he’d somehow managed to steal them after taking Tucker. Regardless of when he got them, Vicky was right. The low-life bastard was a fucking horse thief! At the moment, he was still too far away for Jonathan to clearly see his face, and unfortunately, the scope he’d taken off of Shauna’s ruined rifle was among the things the thief had taken. But from the way he was following their trail, Jonathan knew it wouldn’t be long before they got a close up look at him without it.
Feral Nation Series Box Set 2 [Books 4-6] Page 50
