Youngblood

by H. Peter Alesso

  Kira said, “You’re wrong.”

  “I’m not wrong. You have some higher loftier mission in mind”

  “You’re wrong. I’m trying to build goodwill, so we can to grow our business and have a better life.”

  He said, “No, that’s why I’m doing this. You’re doing this because you believe in the greater good of humanity and you want to create a better world.”

  “Don’t tell me what I’m thinking. I know my own thoughts. You don’t.”

  “I’m trying to explain . . .”

  “It’s sooo attractive when men want to explain the facts and clarify the obvious as if women are incapable of reaching their own conclusion.”

  “Well, women avoid issues by talking about their feelings and searching for an emotional connection.”

  “Trying to get a man to talk about his feeling is like pulling teeth. Ask a woman and she’ll tell you everything that bothers her.”

  Youngblood nodded, “So I’ve noticed.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ll never understand women.”

  “That’s because you don’t want to understand me. You want to tell me.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “Tell me . . . whatever. You think you know everything and need to explain it to me in detail. That’s why you’ll never understand women. You don’t care what we think.”

  “Huh? And you understand men?”

  “No. Women never understand men, but we want to understand you. I’m dying to understand what you’re thinking and feeling.”

  “Do you think that if you understand me, you’ll be able to change me?”

  “Maybe. Probably for the better. You’re not so perfect.”

  “Women!”

  Kira said, “Despite everything that’s happened to me, I’m basically a happy person.”

  “That’s absurd.”

  She said, “I choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice.”

  “That’s stupid. Happiness and misery aren’t choices, they’re the consequence of good and bad events that happen to you.”

  “Arrre you calling me, stupid?” she stammered, furrowing her brow and she pressed her lips together.

  “Yes,” he said, “It seems I have . . . no choice.”

  Kira’s eyes grew wide and her jaw clenched.

  She spat, “Your immaturity is appalling!”

  “Okay. I misspoke. I shouldn’t have said that, but I was angling for a clue about how to deal with you and you weren’t forthcoming.”

  A red-hot scowl flew across her face. She gave him such a hard look that he felt he would turn to stone.

  “Give me strength,” she said looking up.

  She has a devil of a temper.

  Thirty seconds. That’s how long they sat facing each other in a standoff.

  Then Youngblood pointed at her scowl and began laughing.

  “You’re funny when you’re mad.”

  Kira fumed for another full minute then just like that her anger evaporated.

  Youngblood added, “You’re funnier and quirkier than when I first met you.”

  Finally, she broke down and laughed.

  “It’s more a curse than a blessing,” said Kira touching her cheeks, sore from laughing.

  She turned to face him before adding, “We can’t be friends.”

  “That’s too bad because you’re practically the only person I know in the whole world.”

  She sighed, “We can work together and be friendly, but no . . .”

  She paused before continuing, “You sleep on the floor in the main room of my cabin. We’re constantly in each other’s company, working side by side in the orchard and in Jamestown. The familiarity is becoming an issue.”

  “An issue? In what way? Do you want me to leave?”

  “No. I don’t want you to leave . . . exactly. It’s that we can work together and be friendly, but no . . . you know.”

  “Know what?”

  She sighed again. “Umm . . . no fooling around.”

  He blinked.

  “No sex,” she whispered. “There, I said it! After all we’ve shared, it needed to be said.”

  She paused before adding in a rush, “Don’t even think about it. Any innuendos, or overtures, in that direction, are unacceptable. Is that clear? It’s not that I’m a prude, mind you. I’ve had lots of boyfriends before.”

  Youngblood looked doubtful.

  She said, “It’s that sex gets in the way and we have too many other worries to get all involved with . . . you know . . .”

  “I . . . huh . . . I didn’t . . .”

  “Don’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind. I know men, and you were thinking . . . you know . . .”

  “I wasn’t . . . well . . . Look I’m grateful for all you’ve done, and I do need your help for the time being, and I promise to repay your kindness . . . without becoming inappropriate.”

  “Fine. So long as we have that understood.”

  “Fine,” he concluded, but then asked, “So how do you think the friendship is going so far?”

  She remained silent.

  Youngblood didn’t let it go. “Can we work together without sex getting in the way?”

  “Well, it’s always out there.”

  “Don’t you think about it?” he asked.

  She huffed, “Look, I said, ‘don’t think about it.’ Okay?”

  Chapter 9

  Wall of Fire

  “Whoa,” said Youngblood, pulling back on the rein. The wagon came to a stop.

  “Who is that?” he asked, pointing to several horses tied up to a tree on the edge of Kira’s homestead.

  “No one, good,” said Kira, shifting in her wagon seat. “Those belong to Jarod and his men.”

  She clenched her jaw, grabbed her bow and quiver, and hopped down. She headed toward the east side of the cabin careful to keep behind cover.

  Youngblood drew his knife and jumped off the other side of the wagon. He approached the cabin from the west.

  Both kept low and moved quietly.

  After a few minutes, Youngblood recognized Jarod, Murdock, and Kilgore in the barn wearing camouflage gear and carrying rifles. As he got closer, he saw Pyro and Ben on their knees with their hands tied behind them.

  Lady lay dead by the door.

  Jarod said, “You’ve found a cache of brand-new equipment, that’s no big deal, but making tech upgrades for the town’s people, that’s not allowed. Ben, you should have known better. Tell me where your stash is and how you learned how to make these repairs.”

  He leaned forward and put his hand on Pyro’s shoulder. “Don’t make me get rough.”

  Pyro grunted.

  Jarod nodded, and Murdock punched Pyro in the stomach.

  “Humph!”

  Murdock moved to the side of the barn and picked up a sledgehammer.

  Youngblood turned the knife in his hands, his fingers sliding against the blade.

  Bulldog walked to the center of the barn and brought the hammer down on a motor, smashing it to pieces.

  “That could be your head,” he said with a smirk.

  Lorrie squealed in Kilgore’s arms. As she kicked and struggled, he yelled and shook her.

  “Don’t,” yelled Ben.

  Murdock slapped him across the mouth.

  “Where did you get these tools?” asked Jarod.

  As Youngblood moved closer, he saw an arrow slice through the air, cutting open Jarod’s cheek and striking the post behind him with a loud . . .

  THANG!

  Kira stepped out from behind a tree fifty feet away.

  Youngblood moved closer and stared at the shadowy red eyes of Jarod.

  Jarod stood in front of the barn on a flat open stretch of hard-packed ground surrounded by the sparse piney woods that sloped down in the distance. He cracked a broad smile, “Was that a warning shot?”

  He pulled out a handkerchief and blotted the cut. He made no effort to raise his gun.
<
br />   This assessment of Kira’s skill came as a surprise to Youngblood.

  “Your bullying is a sign of cowardice,” she said, her eyes drifting toward Lady.

  Bulldog unsling his rifle and brought it up to shoot, but Kira instantly reloaded her bow and another arrow was sent in flight.

  The arrow struck deep into Bulldog’s shoulder.

  “Augh!”

  He dropped his weapon.

  Lorrie squirmed and screamed in Weasel’s grip. He let her go of her and moved to grab his gun.

  Kira drew her bow taught with another arrow.

  “Don’t,” was all she said.

  Kilgore froze.

  “Get on your horses and leave. Now!”

  “Let’s talk,” said Jarod.

  Kira repeated, “Get!”

  “I’ve something to say first.”

  “Speak your piece, then get off my land.”

  Jarod was still smiling. “There’s no call for a quarrel between us, Kira. What’s past is past. There’s no need for a repeat. You have your homestead and orchard and you’ve paid your taxes the same as the rest. You understand my position. I need to take a firm hand with the valley. I don’t want provocations.”

  “You’ve no right to come to my home and attack my guests.”

  “Kira, I’ve left you alone thinking you weren’t a problem. I was wrong. Look how you’ve collected these agitators who are disrupting the people of Columbia and other towns.”

  “They’re no threat to you.”

  “These men are troublemakers.” Jarod waved at Ben and Pyro and then pointed at Youngblood who walked toward the group, his knife drawn.

  As Youngblood cut Ben’s and Pyro’s bindings, Lorrie came running into Ben’s arms. He held her tight.

  “You’re safe now child. Don’t worry, I’ll not let anyone harm you.”

  Jarod swept his arms wide, “I have plans for this valley. I intend to bring peace and order to this troubled land.”

  He leaned forward. Thumping his chest, he said, “I will unite the many different groups; the valley settlers, the townsfolk, and the mountain people. Bringing them together under one leader who will act in the best interests of all.”

  “You see yourself as that leader?”

  He grinned. “We all would like to be more than we are. I’m the logical one. I was born in the mountains. My family is there. But I live in the valley and the townspeople defer to me. I will fill the role the people need and become the leader they need. Who else?”

  Kira said, “You’re not my choice.”

  “The taxes I collect will support a growing population. The society I offer will allow the people to prosper and develop once more. My cause is worth fighting for, and in the end, I will make a better world.”

  Youngblood interrupted, “Is that why you burned books, stifled communication, and destroyed what little technology remains. To build a ‘better world’? You oppose the core of what people need most; truth and freedom.”

  Jarod dropped his grin. He scowled, “You’re a troublemaker, a stray. No one wants you here.”

  The words struck Youngblood like a blow. He thought of his father.

  Jarod continued, “Your technology will encourage people to resist me. That will lead to greater conflict, not less. It’s better they accept what I have to offer.”

  “Is that all you have to say?” asked Kira.

  “Kira, I like you and your guts. As young as you are, you’ve made yourself known to many. You’re liked, and respected,” said Jarod.

  He took a step closer to her. “Let me make you a proposition. You’ve got some queer notions about freedom but when you tackle a job you get it done. I could use you. I want you on my side. There’s profit in it for you. I’ll buy this homestead from you outright, at a good price, and I’ll pay you the wage of a top hand. But I want you working to do my bidding.”

  Youngblood hadn’t expected that.

  “What about the others?” she asked.

  “There are only so many seats in a lifeboat.”

  The sun beat down on the little group, no one moved.

  “Well?”

  Kira pulled her bow taut. “No.”

  The fury in Jarod’s face erupted and he tightened his grip on his gun.

  Kira said, “Leave Jarod. And leave your guns on the ground.”

  “No, I’m taking my gun.”

  “Drop the gun,” she said between clenched teeth.

  Jarod stood frozen.

  “Twitch and it’ll be the last thing you do,” she said.

  He let his gun fall to the ground.

  As he turned to leave, he said over his shoulder, “Kira, last chance?”

  “Move.”

  Between clenched teeth, Jarod said, “Everyone you love will die.”

  ◆◆◆

  “Lorrie, do you want to say goodbye?” asked Kira.

  Lorrie held Goldie close, tears in her eyes. “Goodbye, Lady.”

  Ben placed a shovel of dirt on the beloved pet’s grave in the backyard of Kira’s homestead.

  The nearby Stanislaus River drained northeast through half of the valley into a lake basin which local farmers and ranchers diverted for agricultural use. In recent times, the water table had dropped and that destroyed many groundwater wells and damaged roads and bridges. Kira’s homestead sat in a heavily wooded box canyon which relied on an irrigation trench from a stream to water her orchard. But, the rest of the forested area around her homestead was brittle dry and overgrown, a potential tinderbox which had not worried her until this day.

  “Look out!” yelled Youngblood, pointing to the horizon. “A wall of fire is descending upon us.”

  There was no time to consider options, he scooped up Lorrie and pulled Kira’s arm as he headed away from the fire and toward the cliffs at the back of the canyon.

  Ben and Pyro gapped at the coming onslaught.

  “Run!” yelled Pyro.

  “Run!” yelled Ben.

  The five fugitives made a beeline for the cliffs at the back of the canyon.

  A great fireball burst toward Youngblood and hit a nearby tree. The air around him transformed into smoke and ash. Burning branches crackled and fell from trees showering him with flaming debris. The flames were bearing down on him, but he kept his arms around Lorrie and brushed aside the embers.

  As he ran away from the wall of death, he lost track of the others. He stopped for a few seconds to get his bearing. The fire flushed out the animals driving the rabbits and other small creatures scampering in the same direction. Trusting their instinct, he followed their compass. Fallen trees and roots grabbed at his boots slowing him down. Running full out, he hurled a log and nearly tripped.

  Coughing continuously, his distress was growing from the exertion of running while carrying Lorrie. His throat and congested nose were burning. Coughing continuously, his distress was growing from the exertion of running while carrying Lorrie. His lung revolted, and his breathing was labored. He crouched low to stay under a smoke-filled plume.

  The intense heat added to the distress of the smoke which threatened to suffocate him—a remembered experience he wished to avoid. He pulled his handkerchief over his mouth and nose for a thin veil of protection.

  Kira came to his side, but Ben and Pyro were nowhere to be seen.

  Where is the fire driving us? Is the cliff a shelter or a deathtrap?

  They might be caught against the cliffs and smothered from the smoke. The wind was picking up and driving the flames higher and closer.

  An ember set his shirt on fire.

  He stopped and tore it off. Then he held Lorrie close and resumed running. He was weary, but at last, he was ahead of the wall of fire, in an open safe patch along the stream under the cliffs.

  He examined Lorrie for burns. She had none.

  Then he looked over his own body. His hands were the worst. He plunged them into the river and sighed in relief. He let his feet and calves wade in the water as well. His flesh w
as covered in large welts and red blisters. It was painful to look at them.

  Kira was in better shape.

  Together, they yelled at the top of their lungs.

  “Ben?”

  “Pyro?”

  “Ben?”

  “Pyro?”

  After a few minutes, they were rewarded by the arrival of the pair.

  All their bravado was gone now.

  As Kira bathed Lorrie in the river, Youngblood looked from her shaking hands to Lorrie’s wide dark eyes.

  “Jarod never gave a thought for that child.”

  “You think Jarod started the fire?” she asked.

  “That wall of flames was no accident. It was deliberately and expertly set.”

  She nodded, “Jarod is vicious and powerful.”

  A single word filled Youngblood with clarity—revenge. He said, “We’re powerful too but in different ways. I’m done running and hiding. I want to strike back.”

  All eyes turned to Youngblood.

  Chapter 10

  Vacillating

  A welcoming rain fell which helped quench the wall of fire. It slowly burned itself out, but not before it had devastated the once magnificent lush canyon. Gone were the flourishing green trees of the bountiful orchard. Gone were the fields of deer and small game. Gone were the birds and their welcoming songs. Gone were the fragrances of fresh clear air. In their place were ruined buildings, soiled belongings, and brown soot-filled choking air. The vivid green and golden brown of summer had been replaced with smoldering gray and burnt black of loss.

  When the ragged group made their way back to Kira’s homestead they found the two-room cabin was an ashen hulk. Nothing remained of Kira’s personal items. The barn was nearly as bad. Most of the tools and technology Youngblood had labored so long on were destroyed.

  Kira was able to round up her two mares and cobbled together a makeshift wagon which they filled it with whatever remaining useful items they could find including the pieces of her beloved jet-flyer.

  “I’m going to fix that,” claimed Youngblood.

  “How are we going to do that?”

  “I don’t know. Destroying things is easier than building them, but I’ll figure something out.”

  That evening Kira left behind her home. The trees, the road, and the mountain cliff were as much her possessions as the cabin—leaving them was not easy.