by Danny Jewell
Cochise whistled and two mustangs appeared.
Billy jumped on a horse and looked back at Zeke who said “Where I am from, no self-respecting black man would even think of getting on one of those”.
“It is my penance to do as I am asked” stated Cochise. “So, I, Cochise am stuck with a Black Man from the Ghetto and an Indian from the gutter”.
Billy told him “Wherever we are going is most likely a long ways and you can take your chances on the ground with the Scorpions and Rattlesnakes. As for me, I would rather ride.
Reluctantly Zeke got on his horse and they turned their mounts towards the clearing. They got the shock of their lives. Across the clearing they could see themselves still asleep where they bedded down the night before.
As the two men were checking themselves physically, Cochise spoke “You are as you were in life, do not doubt your senses or what The Great Spirit can do, we go now”.
The day seemed to drag on and the longer it got, the more belligerent Zeke became.
He called Cochise “Tonto”,” Kemosabe” and “Injun Joe” and when that got no response he started in on the whole Indian Nation which included Billy and his whole family.
He announced that the real Zeke was back at the clearing and should be going home to his two boys where he belonged.
His endless chatter was getting him nowhere so he leaned forward and took out his frustrations on his horse. “I am riding the cousin to an ass”, his horse came to a halt and said “Ezekiel Jefferson Henley, you ain’t nothing but a fly speck and a tick turd on the grand scheme of things and you are most certainly not back on the block. If you can’t man up and accept the task set before you, you will not see your sons again. Now gather your wits about you for where we are about to go will be a test of strength of character and if you fail, you will never see home again”.
It wasn’t bad enough to have his horse tell him off but to do it and sound like his mother put an end to all his complaining.
Not much later Cochise and Billy drew to a halt, Zeke pulled up beside Cochise and waited.
“You both have wondered who and what you are in this realm. You are sharing your souls with the physical forms back at the clearing. You feel, think and act much as you would if this were the reality as you have known it. The big difference is here nothing is as it seems and you must learn to accept reality and unreality as it is put before you if you want out of here with your sanity in tow.
Cochise waited for questions and did not get any so he spoke again. “You are about to go over” The Canyon of Lost Souls” and you must keep your mind on your journey or you will join them”.
They started forward and Zeke was frightened to see the Indian take his horse straight off a Cliff.
Both men protested when their horses started forward and they could do nothing about it.
It was surreal, every place their horse’s hoofs stepped a stone support appeared under them as a roadway still giving them visibility to what was beneath them.
The Canyon started to change. In it they could see forms of men and women from all walks of life acting as if they were lost.
Zeke began to stare as he took his eyes off the road. He found himself drifting through the masses and standing before two hideous creatures with razor sharp claws and teeth. They smelled of rotting flesh and sulfur. One creature ran its claws across Zeke’s chest and laid it open. There was no blood, only a pain like none he had ever felt before.
Next thing he knew Billy had jerked him up straight in his saddle.
Zeke tried to explain what happened all while checking himself to see if he was ripped to shreds. He stuttered and stammered and could not put two sentences together.
Cochise was facing the two of them and spoke “You got a taste of Judgement. Just be glad you did not have to spend eternity there.
Billy asked “Why him”?
Before Cochise could answer Zeke chimed in and said “Yeah; why not the drunk? I do not want to go through that again”!
Cochise turned his horse around and started forward as Zeke announced he wanted to get as far away from this place as he could.
When the Canyon far behind them they dismounted on the side of a trail where they enjoyed the feel of the earth under their feet once more.
They ate Jerky and drank water from the water skins that Cochise had given them.
Billy asked Cochise “How come we eat when we are not in our physical forms”?
Cochise said “In order for you to complete this task you must stay connected to your former self. Besides; you are in your natural state. You are light and energy in the forms of what you once were. What you think is food and drink is really energy and you will need it to keep your light burning. Do not let your light go out”.
They were too afraid to ask what would happen if they ran out of energy and proceeded to walk down the road they were looking down.
Soon, the mountains, horses and Cochise faded away and left the two of them walking down the street of a town in the old west.
7
WHAT WAS, IS NO LONGER
They walked down the street and stepped up on the boardwalk.
Both men could not help but see the townspeople watching them as they walked along.
They saw the usual signs of the time, Mercantile, Tack Shop, Gun Smith, Hay and Feed, Sherriff’s Office, Bank and Saloon.
Billy saw the Saloon sign and the old craving came over him and it was like a Bee drawn to honey.
Zeke grabbed him by the arm and told him “You can’t go in there, look at us, a Black Man and an Indian. Not to mention how we are dressed and that we have no money of this time period”.
Billy looked at him and said “You don’t know what it is like to be me. I need a drink, just one drink to clear my head”. He jerked his arm away and quickly went up the walkway then pushed open the Bat Wing doors with Zeke not far behind.
Two steps in Billy stopped to focus his eyes in the dimly lit room.
It was late afternoon and the evening crowd had not shown up yet. However, the table to the left of the door had five men at it and one was standing with his foot on the seat of a chair. He seemed to be in charge of the conversation.
There were two men at the table to the right of them and at an angle just a little further in. One of them was an old miner who had the back of his chair against the table and seemed to be listening to what was said at the other table till Billy came bursting through it.
Billy started forward towards the bar and one of the men at the table stood up and said “Whoa there” and grabbed Billy by the shoulders bringing him to a halt and then said “What’s the matter? Can’t the two of you read”? And pointed at the sign over the bar that read “NO BLACKS – NO INDIANS – NO SERVICE.” Billy jerked free, took two steps and tripped forward landing in the old miner’s lap who threw him over his knee and spanked him.
Zeke started forward to find the hand of the man that was standing with his foot on the chair in his chest and holding him back. He tried to tell the man that they just wanted a drink and then they would be on their way. The man spoke to the old miner and said “Snuffy, let the Squaw go, I think they got the message”. Billy was brought to his feet and his face was as red as it could be. He drew back to hit the old miner to find instead of throwing a fist he threw an open hand slap that missed its target.
The old man whirled Billy around and pushed him forward with a swift kick sending him right back at Zeke.
Sam Cornejo was head of The Cattleman’s Association and in all his travels he had not seen anyone that peaked his interest like these two. Something was strange and unusual about them and he looked out the door to see them stopped not far away.
He asked “Anybody ever see and Indian so brazen as to walk right into a Saloon and head for the bar to get a drink as if he belonged there�
��?
Everyone shook their heads and he grabbed two fresh mugs of beer off the table and started out the door.
He found them facing each other in a deep conversation with the Buck holding his arms crossed and doing most of the talking.
Clint walked up and extended both mugs of beer. The two of them reluctantly took them and tilted them back without taking time to draw a breath and downed them in an instant.
Zeke started down the walkway and stopped in front of the Bank window next door. He looked in and exclaimed “Hey Injun; you better get over here”!
Billy walked over to him, looked him in the face and said “Now what is your problem”?
Zeke said “Holy Mother of God” and flipped Billy around to face his reflection in the Bank’s window.
Zeke was looking at his reflection in the window and looking back at him was an Indian Buck in all his glory.
Billy was speechless because his reflection was an Indian Maiden looking back at him”. He was devastated.
Sam watched it all unfold and yelled at Snuffy over the doors “You ever seen a Squaw turn up a mug of beer and drink it nonstop”?
Snuffy replied; “Never seen a Squaw drink a beer”
“Me neither” said Sam and decided to follow these two and see what they were up to.
Billy was staring at his reflection and Zeke was staring too.
Zeke said “You look fine momma” and laughed.
Billy fired back and said “Shut up! At least you upgraded”.
Zeke was listening as Billy went on about how he was a brave, not a squaw and that he did not deserve to have this happen to him.
Zeke stopped him saying “Listen to what you are saying, it is not coming out like you think. You are speaking English and yet there are echoes of Apache in your words and I am willing to bet these townspeople can’t understand a thing you are saying”.
Billy turned around and told him they needed to get out of here and regroup until they can figure out what this is all about.
Zeke was running his hands over his vest in the reflection and stopped short of his pocket, reached in and pulled out two gold coins. He told Billy, “Check this out”.
They came off the boardwalk and were crossing in front of the Livery Stable when the Blacksmith stopped them and said “Your hosses is in the barn, they been fed and watered”. The two men just looked at one another.
Zeke told Billy “We need supplies and we need to put this town behind us”.
Billy said “Like I said a minute ago, the sooner the better”.
They entered the Mercantile and tried to get across to the clerk what they wanted, all the while listening to the clerk tell them they were not wanted in his store.
The door opened and Sam stepped in and in a matter of fact tone said “Mr. Peavy, give them what they want”.
Reluctantly the clerk gave them what they wanted which included jerky, hard candy, licorice, beans, a pot, canned goods, two bars of soap and to the amazement of Sam, the Buck bought a pen and paper.
8
GETTING THE UPPER HAND
They got their horses and headed out of town and went northeast to where the blacksmith had told them of an Apache Village about a day’s ride from where they were.
The noon day sun was beating down on them and the stopped on the shaded side of a mountain for lunch.
The silence was deafening and Zeke had a question on his mind that had bothered him from the beginning. He looked over his cap and said “So Injun, why are you running from the law”?
Billy was busy trying to put all this together and come up with answers as to why they were here and what was going to happen when they got back to the real world.
He looked up for a moment in disgust and said “Not that it is any business of yours, I stuck up for my sister when someone like you went too far and thought it was okay to treat my people like dogs”.
Zeke’s contempt for what was just said was evident in his reply “People like me, just where do you get off saying, people like me”!
“Owl Song treated you with respect, Cochise has brought you along on this Journey and all you have done since we left the clearing is make hateful remarks against the Indian Nation you are no better than the white interlopers that put my people into Reservations on land we can’t own and lives that have become dependent on Government handouts and expect us to be thankful. Now shut up and let me eat in peace”.
Four days had passed, mostly in silence. Zeke took every opportunity to write in his journal and was wondering where this Apache Camp was that the Blacksmith had mentioned. His mind also wondered if he had a job and life when he got back to Detroit because so much time had gone by since he left.
Supplies were getting low and both men began to worry in remembrance of what Cochise has said about them existing on this plain as embodiments of energy needing to recharge often or risk the possibility of fading away.
The horses drew up to a thicket of Thorn Bushes and Billy said “This is the stuff of legends on the old cattle drives. Many men have wondered into thickets such as this looking for lost cattle and come out in bad shape. I was told it is a living nightmare that no man would ever want to repeat a second time”.
The two men grabbed their reins and motioned for their horses to get away from the endless sea of thorns and to their shock and amazement the horses went headlong into the thicket.
Under protest they suddenly found themselves being cut from head to toe and being souls in the shapes of their former selves found the pain to be magnified a thousand fold.
Zeke flashed back to “The Canyon of Lost Souls” and thought this was a test of his sanity.
The pain was so intense and had drained them of so much energy that they did not realize they had come out into a clearing until moments after they had arrived.
They slumped forward in their saddles and raised up enough to see a small cabin, a small broken down coral and what both men thought to be a miracle. It was a small pond and the water was clear and clean.
They dismounted and stumbled to the water’s edge, both men drank heavily and soon rolled over on their backs feeling some relief from what they just went through.
Zeke had an epiphany and said “bath” then struggled to his horse, reached in and pulled out two bars of soap they had picked up at the Mercantile.
He flipped a bar to Billy and both men stripped down to their underwear.
Into the cool refreshing water, they went up to their waste.
The cuts were fading away and both men felt life returning to their bodies when Zeke stopped moving and Billy looked to see what had caught his attention.
It was Billy’s reflection in the water, he was a beautiful Indian maid and naked to the waste.
For just a moment even Billy stared at his own reflection then splashed water at Zeke and turned his back on him in order to finish bathing.
Billy wanted someone to lash out at and Zeke happened to be the only someone around so he said “You are a typical Black Man, always thinking with the wrong head and…………
Zeke cut him off and fired back “Just a minute, what gives you the right to judge me? Besides, all men think like that all the time, SQUAW”!!!!
Billy wasn’t finished “You talk about me running from the law. What are you running from, BOY”?
Zeke was mad at the world and shouted back “NOT THAT IT IS ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS WHY I CAME OUT HERE, AT LEAST I AM NOT TRYING TO FIND LIFES ANSWERS IN THE BOTTOM OF A WHISKEY BOTTLE”!
This cut Billy to the core and reminded him that his sister had said the same thing.
They had gotten dressed during the mud-slinging and as they rounded their horses came face to face.
Billy’s temper had gotten the best of him and he threw what was intended to be a punch at Zeke and ended up being an open hand slap.
In a rage he attempted a second time only to have Zeke catch him by the wrist and twist his arm up behind his back, lean forward and whispered into Billy’s ear, Squaw”.
Unknowing to them, since they had arrived in the clearing there was nine Sioux Indian Braves in a scouting party on horseback, on a bluff looking down on the two of them. Bear Claw turned to Elk Horn (the leader of the group) and said “I would like to show that little Squaw what a real warrior could do for her”.
One of the other braves from the other end of the line said “Sure you would, like you did Little Feather the other night after drinking too much fire water”.
They all laughed and Elk Horn said “She is more than you can handle. Bet one deerskin blanket she puts him in his place and gets the upper hand”.
Bear Claw said “Me take that bet”!
The two down below had rolled on the ground, exchanged slaps and backhands
Billy tried to kick Zeke in the knee to slow him down and missed.
Zeke by that time was amused at Billy’s failed attempts to “man up” and said “you kick like a girl too”.
Zeke’s feet were spread apart, his hands were on his hips and in a taunting way threw his head back and laughed at Billy.
Midway through his laugh he felt his body wracked with pain.
Billy’s right foot had caught him in his ethereal manhood.
The leader of the scouting party let out a grunt as well as did all the others in the group. The Braves all shifted uneasily on their mounts and then rode off.
First Zeke’s knees hit the ground then he did a face plant in the dirt.
Billy smiled and said “Nope, I kick like a Squaw”!
9
A LAST REQUEST
Zeke finally came to his feet and walked gingerly to where Billy was at the cabin door.
Billy had separated out the last of the food and they ate what meager rations were before them.
They woke up the next morning and Billy said “Without food we cannot survive going through that thicket again”.
