by Linda Mackay
“I don’t understand.” I said. “You say he didn’t have a beard either?”
“Nope,” Todd said. “And he wasn’t carrying a toothbrush either.”
“What did I see?”
Dad took my hand. “I wish your mom or even Grampa Nus was here to explain it. The best I can explain is it’s what your mom would call a Shaman vision.”
“A vision?”
“I suck at this. Your dream must have been forming a diversion for this moment of life or death fear. She would say it was a protection device.”
The Blackfoot was strong in my bloodline. I did understand, I wasn’t sure I wanted to, but I did. “When I saw the squatch it reminded me of the silly dream and kept me from panicking.”
“Something like that,” Dad said.
Mac held my cheeks and looked in my eyes. “Believe it or not Jorie, I’ve never seen such calm in the eyes of someone with a gun to their head.”
“You thought I was calm?”
“I saw it too,” Dad said.
“I’ll be damned. A freaking sasquatch saved my life.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Amanda said tapping the slingshot at her hip.
“You people can rot in hell.” Marty said gaining his speech back.
“I warned you.” Todd stunned him again.
We tied Marty to Chimayo and started the journey out of Yellowstone. Mac didn’t want to deal with any park rangers since we had no way of knowing who was involved. It was safer to take Marty back to the ranch and Mac would call in his Cavalry. Amanda and I rode Blue, but my butt soon tired and we took turns sitting in the saddle or behind it. We also took turns jogging short distances to keep our muscles from cramping up.
“They’ll kill you all before you get to the Thorofare Cabin.” Marty was talking again.
Mac made it clear no one was to acknowledge Marty. When and if someone spoke to him, it would be Mac. For now we all did our best to ignore him.
“They’ll pick you off, one at time.”
No response.
“No witnesses.”
“Who was the target of an assassination plot in the movie Foul Play?” Todd asked.
Obviously, Todd was sick of listening to Marty and I have to agree talking around him had a certain appeal. Problem was I had no idea what the answer was to Todd’s question, and it didn’t appear anyone else did either.
“The Pope.”
What the hell? We all looked at Marty who had answered the question.
“I like Chevy Chase.” Marty shrugged his shoulders. “Do we get a prize for the right answer?”
Mac ignored Marty’s question. “Frank, how much further before we make camp?”
“Couple miles.”
We reached the Mountain Creek area at about eight p.m. We took our time finding a camping spot that would provide us cover if someone were still following us. Marty was tied to a tree with his hands and feet cuffed. He was able to move around like a dog on a short lease. Which I voted was too good for him.
My vote may have had something to do with the fact I was starving. I don’t even remember my last real meal. Was it Chicken Cordon Bleu, or maybe it was a brat with sauerkraut? My mouth salivated just thinking about it. Mac again called for no fire, and tonight no headlamps that could act inadvertently as a signal to our location. The moon and the summer twilight would be our only light.
So no one could spook the horses to run, Frank and Mac tied them with long leads to graze. Frank and Todd’s tent would be placed in the middle of the horses so they could keep watch. We didn’t have an extra sleeping bag for Marty, so he was given the option of a tarp and staying tied to the tree where he might end up as bear food, or sleeping between Dad and Mac. Any attempts to escape and he’d be tied to the tree without a tarp for the rest of the trip.
Marty promised to behave. I wasn’t betting the ranch on it.
Amanda and I set our tent up almost door-to-door with them.
Todd heated up freeze-dried meals on the camp stove. The Chicken Cacciatore may have filled me up, but it was far from satisfying.
Mac gave Frank the first watch and said he’d relieve him at 2 a.m. Frank would then take Mac’s place in the tent with Dad and Marty. They weren’t taking any chances leaving Marty alone with only one other person.
Amanda and I climbed in our sleeping bags just before 10:30. I was so tired I immediately fell asleep.
“Up and at ‘em ladies.” Mac shook our tent. I rubbed my eyes and was shocked to see the morning light reflecting off the sides of our tent.
“I guess we weren’t attacked by the army overnight,” I said.
Amanda stuck her head out of her sleeping bag. “Not unless you count the army of mosquitos that managed to find their way into the tent. Whatever you do, don’t look in a mirror.”
“Why?” I said scratching my cheek.
“And stop scratching.”
As soon as Amanda told me not to scratch, my face lit up like someone had poured itching powder on it.
“How the hell did you sleep through the attack of the mosquitos?”
“I guess bouncing around on the butt of a horse without a saddle all day exhausted me.”
“That’s some exhaustion.” Amanda pulled on her jeans and reached for the tent zipper. “Ah, crap!”
Amanda appeared to be in a life or death struggle with the tent zipper, which was stuck, and open several inches. “That explains how the mosquitos got in.” She yanked and it released. I finished dressing and followed her out of the tent.
“We need the calamine lotion.” Amanda said.
Mac looked up from his coffee. “What happened to you?”
“Girlfriend, you could scare the zits off a teenager.”
“Okay, someone give me a mirror.” It couldn’t be that bad.
Amanda brought me the calamine lotion and a tiny mirror from the medicine bag. It was that bad. My face was covered in tiny welts. “This can’t be good.” I tried to dot the calamine on the bites and finally gave up and covered my face in the lotion.
“Put Jorie in the lead today, she’ll scare the shit out of any bad guys,” Todd said.
“That looks like it hurts. Better get her some Benadryl,” Marty said.
“Good idea.” I said noticing for the first time Marty was sitting on the ground with no cuffs, eating granola and drinking coffee. “Why is he on the loose?”
“Seems he’s trying to change his ways,” Mac offered.
“You can’t seriously trust him after he killed all those people?” I asked.
“Seems he didn’t really kill them. He thought the plan was to have a small controlled explosion and make the President and Park Service look really bad.”
“He’s too smart to believe that.”
“Funny, that’s what your dad said.”
I gave Marty the stink eye.
“Holy shit what’s with the pink face?” Dad asked walking into camp from what I assume was his morning constitutional. “Some might call that offensive.”
“Who? The salmon.”
“Maybe those monkeys with the pink butts,” Todd said.
I gave him the finger. “Their butts are red, not pink.”
“Can’t be too careful today, people get offended over the littlest things,” Todd said.
“If my mosquito venom welts offend someone I’ll be happy to smack some sense into them.”
“Violence is never the answer, Jorie.” Todd handed me my first cup of coffee.
“Fuck ‘em. They need to learn to be more accepting of those different from them.”
“Who we fucking so early in the morning?” Frank asked walking into camp.
“Jorie is mad at people who are offended by her calamine lotion covered face,” Amanda said.
“Great googily moogily girl. Put a mosquito net over your head today.”
Mac laughed, “I think that ship has sailed.”
“Fuck all of you!”
“Don’t think her coffee has k
icked in yet,” Todd said.
“Listen!” Mac looked to the sky.
The sound of helicopter blades grew louder. Frank pushed me in the back. “Todd, Joe, sit on ground like you’re around a fire. The rest of you squeeze in tight around Marty. Tuck your head, feet and hands under you so you look like a turtle in a shell.”
The chopper hovered momentarily and then moved north. “That was clever. Wouldn’t count on it fooling them, but clever,” Marty said.
“Shut up Marty,” Todd said. “Frank? What was clever?”
“It was pretty much a shot in the dark, but depending on how closely these guys were looking at the thermal camera, I was hoping we’d look like a group of three humans and the rest dogs.”
“Holy Dog Pack! That was brilliant,” Todd said.
“I’m offended you think I could look like a big dog.”
“Poor Amanda, were you expecting a pack of toy poodles with pink ribbons to be in the Thorofare?” Todd patted her on the head.
“I don’t know what I expect anymore. I do know I want a bubble bath and my comfy bed.”
“Let’s go,” Mac said. “Sorry Marty, but unless you want to walk I’m going to tie you to the horse.”
“Whatever.”
I wasn’t buying his capitulation to the situation. I watched Mac tie his hands and feet and caught Mac watching every little movement Marty made. He wasn’t buying it either.
“Saddle up and move out. Long ride ahead with some detours thrown in for good measure,” Mac said.
What was he up too?
Chapter 20
I’m an old cowhand from the Rio Grande. And I learned to ride ‘fore I learned to stand. I’d been singing along with Roy Rogers in my head for the last several hours. The tune kept time with the lop-lop of the horses’ hooves and my head bobbed against Amanda’s back as I bored myself to sleep.
“Wanna ride in the saddle for a while?” Amanda asked.
“No. Since we put Mac on Blue I’m fine. Arikira’s body is better suited to riding double.”
“She won’t make it all day moving this fast and carrying both our weights.”
“Implying we’re fat?”
“Nope. Implying she’s a delicate flower.” Amanda laughed and patted Arikira’s neck.
“I’m not a delicate flower.” Todd said from in front of us.
“We’re not talking about you, pretty boy,” Amanda said.
“Good, because if you were I’d have to get off this horse and deal with you.”
“We are so worried.”
“Tata!” Mac said shifting in his saddle.
“Yes, boss?”
“We’re stopping for a quick lunch break soon. Do you think you two can make some sandwiches without coming to blows?”
Amanda dropped the reins and threw her arms in the air. “I surrender to Todd’s every command, boss.”
I turned to look at Mac and almost slid off the back of Arikira. “How do you do that?”
“If I told you…”
“I know you’d have to kill me.”
Ahead of us, Frank reined in Junior. As we drew closer to him my nose was assailed with the smell of death. Rotting flesh. Frank pointed toward the marsh where the remains of a dead elk lay partially eaten.
“That’s awful.” Amanda said pulling her bandana over her nose.
“That’s also out of place,” Frank said.
Mac rode up next to Frank. “Why is a dead elk out of place here?”
“Being dead isn’t the problem. It’s the smell.” Frank also pulled up his bandana. “If that elk was killed by a bear or wolf they would’ve eaten most of it immediately or taken parts of it away and buried it so other animals don’t eat it. What little was left, the ravens, coyotes and other scavengers would eat before it smelled that rancid from this distance.”
Dad got off Alfalfa and walked toward the elk. “Somebody shot this elk. And it looks like it was dumped here.”
Mac joined Dad carefully picking his way through the marsh.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “Why would someone kill an elk and move it where someone would find it?”
“Let’s move out,” Mac said.
He took off down-trail moving faster than I preferred when riding double. I hung on to Amanda’s waist with one arm and the back of the saddle with my other hand. At the meadow trail, Mac turned off into the trees and the rest of us followed. Last to arrive was Todd, leading Marty’s horse.
“Someone get me a defibrillator!” Todd said reining in both horses.
“Act first, ask questions later.” Amanda said as I slid off the back of Arikira. “So, what was that about?”
Mac dismounted Blue and kept looking around like he expected Ironman to come flying out of the sky. More likely he was expecting Doctor Doom and he was stuck with a bunch of stinky humans with no superpowers.
“Precaution.” Mac said handing me Blue’s reins. “That dead elk could’ve been a trap to get us to stop, and then we’d be sitting ducks.”
Marty chuckled like he was on some funky drug. “Told you they’d kill you before you reached the Thorofare Ranger Station.”
Mac grabbed Marty by the leg. “If you weren’t tied to this horse, I’d kill you right now. But, I don’t want to get your filthy blood all over this beautiful animal. So either shut-up, or I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of. Frank, get him off my horse.”
“My pleasure.” Frank untied the leg restraints from the stirrups and his hands from the saddle horn. Marty’s hands were still in cuffs so he wasn’t totally free. Frank took hold of the cuffs and pulled Marty off Chimayo, and dumped him on the ground.
“Everyone take a bathroom break, but don’t leave this group of trees. Tata quickly make sandwiches. Jorie take care of the horses. Frank and Joe watch that asshole till I come back. If he moves shoot him.” Mac stuck his head from behind a tree. “Don’t kill him. I want to do that.”
I was about to pee my pants, and Special Forces wasn’t even mad at me. Marty probably crapped himself.
I took all the horses to a grassy area in the middle of the small grove of trees and let them eat. There was still a lot of deadfall so I kept close watch on their movements so nothing spooked them and they injured themselves trying to run out of the maze of fallen trees.
Sitting on a downed tree I listened to nature’s voice.
Her only sound was the whistle of the wind blowing through the pine branches. I noticed thunderheads building from the south and expected by mid-afternoon we’d be in rain. For now the breeze felt good on my face. The opportunity to take a bathroom break called to me. While zipping my pants back up I heard a rustle in the underbrush. I stopped and called out using my mind, first for the horses to remain still, and next to whatever was watching that we were its friends.
I heard a branch crack to my right and turned to see a young coyote staring at me. I lowered my shoulder as a sign of submission and nodded my head. It nodded back. The coyote started to walk away and then turned its head back toward me. Changing. I heard the coyote relay to me. What did that mean? I could only nod as the coyote ran out of the trees and into the meadow.
I rubbed Arikira’s haunch. “Well girl, do you have any idea what the coyote meant?” She kept eating grass ignoring me.
“Jorie.” Todd came from the other direction and handed me a peanut butter and M&M sandwich.
“Todd if a coyote told you, changing…what would you think it meant?”
Todd sat on a dead fallen tree and took a bite of his sandwich. “It could mean the weather is changing. It could be a philosophical coyote and mean we are all in the process of changing. Or, it could be tired of the Thorofare and need a change.”
“Basically, you don’t have a clue.”
“Nope. Not so much as a remote one, which is exactly how I feel right now.”
I sat next to Todd and ate my sandwich. “Remote? Maybe the coyote was trying to tell me this place is changing and isn’t as remote a
nymore. Too many people.”
“Too many people?” Todd asked. “Maybe there are too many people here right now and Mac was right. Maybe we are being watched as we eat.”
“Shit. I hate this. Why can’t I understand him?”
“Was it a him? Are you letting your mind go and connect, or are you latched onto all the humans around you?”
I finished my sandwich. Todd went back to pack up the food, and Mac stepped out of the trees. “You’re too focused on humans.”
I put my head in my hands. “You’re eavesdropping again, and I don’t think I’m focused on anything except how pissed I am at Marty.”
“Let Marty go.”
“You mean leave him here?”
“No. Let me worry about Marty. I need you to let go of your anger at him so your mind will open to what’s happening around us. I need you to see what the rest of us can’t.”
“You want me to be my mom?”
“I want you to be who you are.”
“I don’t know who I am right now.”
“Yes, you do. I trust you. I need you.”
I lifted my head out of my hands. Mac was gone.
Chapter 21
Jorie, ride with me.”
“I’m fine riding with Amanda.” Sit that close to Mac, are you kidding me. Do I look like a nun? The Sisters of Virtue wanted nothing to do with me after a hayride in eighth grade. I just wanted to kiss the boy to see what it felt like. When he grabbed my butt, I promptly inserted my knee in his nuts. I was informed I was at fault. Dad had a different opinion and informed the sisters as much with language they found offensive. Obviously, we never went back to that church.
“I need to talk to you.”
“We ride Chimayo then. She’s the sturdiest to take the weight.”
Frank tied Marty to Blue, and Amanda stayed on Arikira. Mac mounted Chimayo and stuck his hand out to help me up. “I want you in front of me.”
“Sit on your lap? Are you nuts?”
Mac leaned down. “I want only you to hear what I’m saying.”
He had me there. Behind him I’d never hear him talking. “Fine. But as soon as we’re done, I’m riding with Amanda.”
