Luther walked to him and said, “I have my scouts checking our wounded and dead. Wounded River warriors are being put to the knife.”
“Good, give me a count of our casualties as soon as you can.”
“It won't take long. We didn't lose many, if any at all.”
“See to it now.”
“Merrill, burn the lodge the men are in and do it now.”
A man moved for the lodge holding a burning log from a nearby fire, but before he'd taken two steps an arrow struck him in the chest. Down he went, unmoving.
“Merrill, take three men and kick the door open and then kill everyone inside. Do it now, damn it!”
The warrior approached from a windowless side and slowly made his way toward the door. With one hard kick the door flew open and he emptied his rifle into the building. He entered, was gone from sight for a few minutes and then walked out.
“They have a tunnel in here.”
“Did they all get away?”
“Uh-huh, not a soul in the lodge.”
Livid, Masheck yelled, “Bring me a male prisoner.”
A young man was brought to him and it was obvious the man was scared by his trembling.
“Where does this tunnel come out at?”
“Near the river.”
“Will you lead us there?” Masheck pulled his pistol.
“No. You can go to hell, you Sna—”
The shot was loud and a long thin finger of crimson suddenly spurted from the captives head. His body collapsed and then Masheck yelled, “Bring me another prisoner!”
When the prisoner was in front of him, he asked, “Do you want to live?”
“Y . . . yes.”
“Where does this tunnel come out by the river? Will you lead us there?”
“It comes out south of the village, maybe fifty yards from the lodge. I will show you.”
“Lead us to it now.”
The walk was short, but the hole came out in some trees, so it would have been hard to spot. The woven mat that had once covered the exit, was pushed to the side and tracks showed where the five men had come out.
Pissed that the men were now gone, he pulled his pistol and shot the River warrior in the face.
When he returned to the center of the village, Luther said, “We have two dead and four injured; none of the injuries are serious.”
“Luther, a small group of men escaped using a tunnel; it leads to a small river on the south side of the village. Track them and kill all of them. Does this village have any horses?”
Smiling, the scout said, “We can do this easily enough. We found only six horses and I have them ready to leave when you go.”
“Leave now.”
A warrior neared and asked, “We have twelve male captives. What do you want done with them?”
“Take four warriors, place all the men against a wall, and shoot them. Then make sure all are dead.” Then turning, he yelled, “Get ready to leave. I want a man on point and another bringing up the rear. Let's move, people!”
Ten minutes later, the male captives killed, the group started to move toward the Snake village. The women wore roughly made chains around their necks and their hands were tied behind their backs. Movement was slow, but Masheck was in no rush; he'd done well and only at the cost of two warriors.
Zedock walked to him and as they moved down the trail together, Masheck asked, “What's on your mind?”
“We have almost thirty women and some dozen girls taken today. I wondered if I might have one that has caught my eye.”
“Just one?”
“One is enough. I'm old, and more than one I wouldn't know what to do with. As you know, I have no wife.”
“Yes, of course, you may pick any one of the group you want. I'd suggest you also take a young girl, so you can teach her to cook and keep your lodge for you.”
“I have no desire for a child, but a woman. Besides we get more in trade for girls than we do women. For some reason the Japanese prefer girls over women, which I find sick.”
“I think they train them, not take them as wives until they are older. This batch of slaves alone will bring us many cases of ammunition for our guns.”
Zedock nodded and then moved back into his position.
Suddenly a woman stumbled and was unable to regain her feet. Masheck walked to her and said, “Get on your feet.”
“She has been ill.” a woman beside her said.
He slapped the woman who spoke hard with the back of his hand and said, “No one gave you permission to speak. She'll either get up, or I'll kill her.”
The slapped woman glared at him, her anger clear, but wisely she kept her bleeding mouth shut. The weak woman stood and said, “I can walk.”
“Move the line!” he commanded.
Later, after they entered the village, the women were moved to one lodge and the girls to another. Guards were placed and Masheck moved toward his waiting wife, wondering how she'd please him this night.
Victor, the leader of the five men who'd escaped through the tunnel from the lodge, trotted in front of four others down a winding mountain trail. He was tired, angry, and determined to reach the Cheyenne Mountain People to the north of him. They were a friendly tribe they often traded with and they were the closest friends he had. He'd seen his two daughters and wife taken, so he was worried about their safety too. He'd seen most of his fellow warriors fall, so it was likely they were the last of the men alive.
Two hours later, they stood in the trail breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breaths. One of the men was crying, having seen his brother killed and his mother taken, while another cursed the Snake People and made threats.
“They attacked us for our women.” Victor said.
“Of course they did, but why did they take my mother? She's past the age of having a child and she's plump now. The same bastards killed my father four years ago.”
“Maybe the Cheyenne Mountain People will help us get our women back.” Victor added, but suspected it wouldn't happen. The Snakes were a war-like tribe and now they have guns. Damn, I hope the Mountain People will help us, he thought. Only it's not really their fight. We were the ones attacked, not them. I need to get my daughters and wife back, but I can't do it alone.
One of the men, who Victor was looking at, gave a strange look; a black dot appeared in the middle of his forehead and then the back of his head exploded. Gore was sent in all directions behind as he fell.
“Snakes!” someone yelled just as the sound of the shot echoed through the mountains.
One man turned to run, when his back took a bullet and he fell screaming as he clawed at the dirt. Looking at the man, Victor saw his lungs were hit and he was blowing bright pink froth from his mouth and nose. He'll die, he thought and yelled, “Run!”
The remaining three ran quickly down the trail and once a mile was covered, Victor said, “Off the trail and into the woods. They'll still be able to follow, but not as quickly.”
Once in the woods, he said, “Run parallel to the trail.”
“How much further to the Mountain People?”
“Two miles, maybe.”
On they ran and while they could not see or hear anyone behind them, they knew they were being followed.
They'd just topped a hill when a voice said, “That's far enough. Stop and tell me who you are?”
“I'm Victor, of the River People, and we're the only survivors of a raid by the Snakes. Now, I have some of them on my ass, so it you want to kill me, do it now, or I'm moving on.”
“How many behind you?”
“I don't have any idea. They killed two of my men a mile back. Listen, we need to move, they have guns.”
Amon stepped from the woods and said, “So do we and we're Cheyenne Mountain People.”
“Thank God.”
“Sergeant Julius, you and Dooley move to the over side of the trail. Lieutenant Owen, you stay with me. You River warriors move off the trail and get behind me about twenty f
eet. Stay there.”
Thirty minutes later a group of five Snakes walked down the trail. One man was in the front, tracking, while the rest followed.
“Damn it Luther, we can't follow much more or they'll be with the Mountain People.”
“I think they're close. Maybe we'll go another quarter mile and then turn back. How's that?”
“I guess, but I don't like it.”
Amon sighted in the man doing the talking and pulled the trigger, knocking the warrior on his ass in the middle of the trail, where he screamed. Other shots rang out, from both sides, and bullets began to ricochet from rocks and trees. A Snake warrior attempted to drag the injured man from the trail and while Dooley admired the man's bravery, he put a bullet his head and watched him fall on the man he was helping.
The three remaining Snakes turned tail and ran down the trail. Bullets kicked up dirt all around them and then one went down. The other two went around a bend and were lost to view.
“Cease fire!” Amon yelled.
As they stopped firing the screams from the man in the middle of the trail grew louder and the one by the bend in the road was screaming as well.
“Stay where you are. Let them have time to bleed a bit. Dooley, you and Julius circle us and see if it's clear.”
“Let's move, Julius.” Dooley said.
Within ten minutes they were back and Julius said, “All clear. Once they hit the bend in the road they took off like the devil was on their asses.”
“Okay, spread out and I'll check the men down on the trail. Let's move.”
The two men closest were both dead, so Amon cut their throats.
The last man down tried to lift his rifle and was riddled with bullets. His body quivered and twisted with each bullet. Again, Amon cut the man's throat.
“Let's gather up the two River warriors and take them back to camp.”
Victor sat in the lodge explaining what had happened in his village. Colonel asked, “All had guns?”
“All that I saw had a rifle.”
“I wonder how in the hell they got rifles?”
Mongoose replied, “Some of our enemies have fine steel swords, knives and shields, which I found strange, but the markings were in Japanese.”
“What did the rifle look like?”
“Unlike yours and not of the same design.”
“It matters little I guess, but this worries me.”
“Can you help us get our women back?”
Slowly shaking his head, Colonel said, “Victor, I don't know. It doesn't look good. We do plan to attack the Snake People, except I have no idea if your daughters and wife are still there. I do know some tribes are starting to trade slaves to others and they're exchanged for a wide variety of things.”
Mongoose said, “If they have guns, we need to send some Dog Soldiers to look the village over. Perhaps all aren't armed with rifles yet.”
“Amon, send some men to check and report back to us when they return.” Colonel said.
“They'll be gone within the hour.”
Victor had his head lowered and tears running down his cheeks when Mongoose said, “We plan to strike the Snake People within two weeks, unless our scouts bring back different information. Do you want to come with us?”
His head came up, he gave a weak smile and then said, “Yes, I want to come with you. Seems I have some no good sons-of-bitches to kill.”
Chapter 22
MASHECK SAT IN HIS LODGE beside the Japanese trader. The trader was shrewd and intelligent, but he wanted the women and young girls the tribe had. He knew once in Japan, the young girls alone would make him a wealthy man and the women would add to his riches. Guns were cheap now and there was no international control over where they were sold or taken, so Japan was dealing in slaves, the second oldest market in history.
“I will give you ten cases of guns for the women and girls, but that is my final offer. If you want to trade, I will have the guns here in a week.”
“Eleven cases.”
“Ten cases, and I can honestly go no higher.”
“Okay, ten cases then. Can you include ammunition with the guns?”
“Of course; I'll add ten cases of bullets, too. Call it a gift of trust.”
“It shall be done then.” Mascheck extended his hand and they shook.
“Now,” The Japanese said, “I have need of young boys, but not men. Some will be trained for work, while others will be used in ways that are none of my business. I can give double the amount of guns I pay for young girls.”
“How many do you need?” Masheck asked as he thought, most of the boys will likely be used as sex slaves by men and women. Any man who'd do such a thing should be drawn and quartered, but the Japanese have a different culture than mine—and I need more guns.
“As many as you can get, but they must be under the age of fourteen.”
Turning to Zedock, he asked, “How many captured boys do we have in the tribe?”
“Oh, I'd guess two dozen from various tribes and most are real young. Off the top of my head, I'd guess most are under ten and maybe four over ten, around twelve or so. You know we don't let any male, usually, over twelve live. The twelve year olds have been with us a couple of years.”
Masheck said, “Go now and round them up for an accurate count and then get back here with their numbers.”
Zedock stood, nodded at the Japanese, and then left the lodge.
“As you heard, we may have around twenty-four boys. How many guns will they bring?”
“I will give you twenty-five cases of guns for that many boys, and the same in cases of ammunition. So, if you have the proper number of boys, you'll have thirty-five cases of guns and the same number of cases of ammunition.”
Masheck nodded and thought, With that many guns and ammunition, I can wipe the Mountain People from the face of the earth.
Ten days later, the Japanese man arrived, loaded down with guns and ammunition. The slaves were gathered up and a group of the trader's men, mostly Asian, took control of them. He said, “Some of the guns are not AK-47's, but SKS, which is also a good gun. Both will fire when dirty or treated poorly by the owner.”
“How many AK-47's did you bring?” Masheck asked.
“Thirty four cases of them and only one of the SKS. The ammunition is being stacked beside your weapons.”
“When will you return?”
“In about six months. I have to return to Japan, turn the slaves over to an auction house, get more guns and ammunition, and then return. I hope you will have many new slaves for me when I come back.” The trader smiled.
“It will give me time to conduct many more raids for slaves.”
“I can trade for all you can collect. Of the women, there is less demand for those over thirty, so try to get young ones.”
“We must take what a village has to offer, but if over thirty, unless a beauty with an exceptional body, we'll keep her for my men.” Masheck said, and then shrugged.
“Good, now come and count your guns and ammunition. I must return to the coast as soon as possible.”
Once the trader was gone, Masheck said to Zedock, “Now every man in the village will have a rifle, and we have much ammunition as well. We must raid the Mountain People soon, so we can gather more slaves, more valuable slaves. It angers me that we've been killing all males, regardless of their age, and they're worth more than the girls. In the future, when I trade boys, I'll ask for pistols, so we can all be armed better.”
“I see a day when all will fear the Snake People.”
“I agree; we are much stronger, and with each additional gun we grow more secure. But, for now, I want you to hit the Southern Mountain People in the morning, just as the sun comes up. I want the village totally destroyed and no one to escape. All males over ten, kill, but collect all women. The young ones we will keep and the older ones will either be turned into slaves, given to the men, or killed here.”
“It shall be done.”
The mornin
g air was cold as Zedock and his men waited in the woods surrounding the village of the Southern Mountain People. No one was stirring, but smoke was starting to come from the lodges, and at times a cough was heard. The sun, slow to show this morning, was just coming up, but would be hidden by dark, almost black, clouds of rain or snow. The day would be cold, overcast, and eventually some sort of precipitation would fall. Snow or rain didn't matter to the Snake warriors, but Zedock worried about the slaves. Captives will need extra care if the weather turns too cold, or if these clouds bring us snow or rain. I'll have the men gather up blankets and clothing once the attack is over, he thought. Hopefully I will manage to keep all of them alive. A dead slave does us little good.
Turning to Luther, he said, “Get the men on their feet and ready to attack. I want you to lead the men into the village and try to make short work of this place.”
“With our guns, they'll not resist long. I will attack as soon as the men are alerted.” He then moved down the line speaking to his warriors.
Giving a loud scream five minutes later, Luther and his men ran from the woods. All the men were yelling and moving as a huge human wedge toward the village.
Warriors from the Southern Mountain People ran from their lodges and made a gallant stand, but it was fruitless, as they were slaughtered in small groups or individually. One warrior ran at Luther, who noticed the warrior was armed with only a spear. Bringing his weapon to his shoulders, Luther fired one round and saw blood fly from his target's back. The warrior fell screaming, so another round hit his head, almost in the center of his nose. He fell back to the hard-packed soil of the village center, unmoving.
As his group rushed past the lodges, warriors waiting for just this opportunity stepped from the flimsy structures and released arrows. Four men fell, their screams almost unheard over the continuous yells of others. Each released a second arrow, but a Snake warrior flipped his weapon to automatic and killed all of them with one long continuous burst of bullets. Body parts and gore flew through the air as blood splashed the bullet scarred wall behind them. Luther grinned as he watched the doomed men do an almost comical dance as the bullets struck.
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