by James Hoch
"I gotta go get ready," Bobby mumbled as he ran off.
"That's odd," Vonnie said. "He's usually a very happy kid. Wonder what's bothering him?" Whispering, she added, "I don't think he got to see much of it. Jackson came by our camp right before the fire and led him off to talk to him about something."
I had my suspicions.
"Everyone's excited to be getting to the Colorado River today," Missy said, changing the mood.
"I think we're all looking forward to bathing and doing laundry. Will we be staying a while?" Sela asked.
"I suppose so," I replied. "It would be good to recharge the batteries and I agree that getting some of the road dirt off will definitely feel good."
Jack once again led the way. One of our scouts came riding back shortly after lunch to report that all was well at the bridge. He said there was a good-sized field a ways up from the bridge that would make a good place to camp.
There were a few afternoon clouds that helped keep the temperatures down a bit along with a slight breeze. However, I noticed that Hope and Tempest were sweating excessively and I worried about dehydration. "A little while longer until we get to the water," I said petting Hope. "Hang in there."
"How are you feeling?" I asked Sela.
"Fine. I felt a little queasy a while back, but it passed. Um…when we get there, would you mind going hunting or fishing? Anything you get would be great. I'm getting tired of some of the dried stuff we have."
"Sure no problem. Maybe I can bag another snake. The last one you cooked was pretty good. Tasted like chicken."
Sela smiled and said, "I'm sure you can find one. I think there are probably a lot around here. Just be careful. After your last encounter with snakes, I'm surprised you'd even want to be near one."
The remaining hours seemed to drag on. The breeze went away and it got hotter. When we approached the river, people cheered and raced to the water's edge.
Sela led us farther down the bank. She dismounted and led Tempest to the water. "Here ya go, Hope. Enjoy!" I said. The two horses drank for a long time. Afterwards, we found a spot to set up our camp.
"Sit down and relax before you go trekking off," Sela said as she finished unpacking our tent. "I'll pitch the tent and get things done while you're gone."
"Ah, that does feel good," I said, stretching out on the ground. "As long as we've been riding, you'd think my butt would have gotten used to it and formed stiff calluses by now." I rolled over on my belly. Sela sat down next to me and rubbed my lower back. "Oh, that feels absolutely spectacular. Please, don't stop," I moaned in ecstasy.
"Are you still…nervous about going into California?"
I grunted and said, "It'll be fine."
After about five minutes, I felt energized and ready to be the great white hunter or more like the great sunburned hunter. With rifle in hand and my trusty cat, Jerky, we set out to find dinner. We walked up the river for about a mile and didn't see any signs of life. "Let's go up this draw a bit to see if we can find a snake," I muttered to Jerky. The cat raced ahead of me, but looked back every so often to make sure I was following.
Ten minutes later, Jerky stopped, hissed and turned to me.
"What?" I whispered, crouching down. I inched my way closer to her and hid behind a small clump of cacti. "Oh crap," I mumbled looking out across a boulder field. "There must be about fifty of Madeline's boys. Come on, Jerky. We better go tell the others."
On the way back to camp, I luckily spotted a good-sized fat rattler. One shot and we had dinner. I looked over my shoulder, hoping that none of Madeline's Marauders had heard the shot.
I jogged back to camp with a big snake wrapped around my neck. Jerky kept up with me. As soon as I made it to our camp, I tossed the snake to Sela and told her I'd be right back.
"Jack," I said, out of breath. "We have a small problem."
He motioned for me to sit down. "What's wrong?"
"Madeline's got a group camped not very far from here. Maybe two miles."
"Do you think they plan to attack us?" he asked handing me a bottle of water.
"I couldn't tell. I mean, I couldn't even decide if they were in fact actually Madeline's men. I just figured as such. They sort of had that…um…I don't know what to call it. A look."
"We don't want to panic everyone. I'll take a small group up and we'll keep an eye on them all night. If they attack, we'll be able to come up from behind them."
"Sounds good. You be careful," I said.
He nodded and walked off.
The evening wore on without incident. Campfires dotted the large field. People were singing, laughing and relaxing. Many folks had retired early. I told Sela what I had discovered and she immediately loaded both rifles as well as carried a Glock with her. After a while, she fell asleep in front of the fire. "Come on, Sela. Time you hit the hay." She stretched and stood up. "Are you coming?" she asked, crawling into the tent.
"I'll be there in a few minutes."
She left the flap open on the tent. Jerky slipped inside. Great-now I have to fight her to get my spot.
As the fire died down to glowing embers, I watched the area around our campsite overcome with darkness. My eyes kept opening and closing. Just as I was about to give it up and call it a night, I felt a sharp point digging into my back.
"You don't want to do this," I said, calmly.
I could feel the tip of the knife inch into my back a little farther. I knew it wasn't piercing the skin, but it wouldn't take much to finish the job.
"Yes, I do. It's part of the game and Miss Madeline said I'd win all the…um…stuff," I heard Bobby say nervously. I could tell he was on the verge of crying.
"She's wrong," I said.
"Miss Madeline is never wrong. I know. She told me she was a noble queen."
From the edge of the darkness, I heard a whispered command. "Do it!"
I could feel the knife wiggle.
"Bobby, can I see the knife?"
"I can't show it to you. You're not supposed to see it."
Another urgently whispered directive came from the shadows; it was closer. "Now, you little shit. Do it!"
"Listen, Bobby. If you kill me, terrible things will happen and everyone loses the game…even you."
I felt the knife withdraw and Bobby came around front of me. "I really don't like this game," he said, handing me the twisted, evil-looking dagger. I gingerly took it. There was a strange sensation emanating from the handle and a slight tinge of glowing red to the blade.
"Sit down, Bobby. Thanks for not hurting me. You did the right thing," I said, patting the ground next to me.
"I didn't really want to do this," he said, crying.
Suddenly, Jackson burst from the black veil of night. He had a machete in his hand. I put my arm around Bobby to protect him.
A loud gunshot roared across the campsite, disturbing the soft guitar playing from the camp next to us. Jackson dropped the machete a foot away from Bobby and me. He fell facedown into the glowing embers. I jumped up and removed his smoldering face from the fire. Vonnie came rushing over and held Bobby.
Another individual whom I didn't recognize emerged from the shadows. He sprang toward me with long, deadly fingernails that tried to claw at my face.
I grabbed his wrists and heard a high-pitched girly voice.
"Die, Heckel. Just die, once and for all."
I recognized Madeline's voice immediately.
"Roger, stop it," Bobby yelled.
Sela came out of the tent, pointing the Glock at the assailant.
"Who's Roger?" I asked, trying to fend off my attacker. I finally grappled my attacker to the ground and pinned the wrists.
"Roger's my eyes and ears," Madeline said.
"Well, I say we put them out," Sela said leaning over him with the Glock pointed at the center of his head.
"Wait," I said.
Before I could ask another question, multiple gunshots rang out at the northern sector of the field. Men ran toward the commotion.
Sela spun around and quickly crawled into our tent.
"Ah, that would be my little welcoming party," Madeline said.
I bent down screaming into Roger's face. "Madeline, we will end your reign and triumph over the evil you spread."
"Blah, blah, blah. Since my boy Bobby wasn't man enough to end things, I guess I will just have to do it myself. You can't find good help these days," Madeline said, followed with a high, piercing laugh.
Screams and yelling from the fight continued. "Come on, Heckel. We need to go help," Sela said, emerging from the tent with two rifles. "Put this poor soul out of his misery. Having Madeline in your head has to be worse than death."
I let go of Roger's wrists and put my hands on the side of his head. Immediately, he tried to claw at me, but then went still. He started shaking violently; his body thrashed from side to side nearly bucking me off. I could feel Madeline's power inside fighting to maintain control.
"Madeline, I command you to leave this man," I shouted. Sela stood behind me, pointing her Glock at him. Roger began foaming at the mouth. "Roger, stay with us," I screamed. Suddenly, his eyes burned bright, my hands flew backward and a second later, his head exploded. Blood and shards of his brain matter splattered in my face and hit Sela as well. A faint giggling trailed off into the dark. Madeline had no further use for Roger and saw to it that he wouldn't be helping us.
"Come on," Sela said, wiping her face. "It's over here. We need to go help with the fight."
I looked down at the sad remains of Roger and said a small prayer. A poor, innocent victim in this horrible war.Rest in peace. As I stood up, I looked down and said, "We will defeat your captor."
"Let's go, Heckel," Sela said pulling my arm while she offered me a rifle.
I turned to her with a calm expression on my face and said, "Sela, I think it's best if you stay here."
She looked at me as if I had sprouted a large clump of broccoli on top of my head. She gave me a sarcastic look and was about to say something when I took the rifle from her and said, "You need to stay here with Vonnie and Bobby. Your days of fighting are over for a while. I can't lose you or our baby." She was about to resist when Vonnie came over and said, "He's right. It wouldn't be fair to your child."
Sela put her hand to her abdomen and smiled. "Oh my."
"What is it?" I asked.
"The baby just kicked for the first time," Sela said with a huge smile on her face.
"See. He doesn't want you to go either," I said resting my hand on her belly. The baby kicked again. It was a wonderful sensation. Sela smiled at me. The baby kicked again.
"Guess he thinks I should go help," I said, kissing Sela. "I'll be right back. You go lie down in the tent. I'll take care of Roger when I get back."
Vonnie and Bobby started to walk away when Bobby turned, ran to me, threw his arms around my waist and thanked me. Tears streamed down his face.
"Tomorrow morning, we'll get together and go fishing. Would you like that?" I asked.
Bobby nodded his head and hugged me tighter. He then ran back to Vonnie.
"You be careful," Sela said.
I kissed her and ran off into the darkness.
Just as I got to the edge of the fighting, I saw Jack and his group of men ride over a ridge and attack Madeline's men from behind. It didn't take long to end the attack. About a dozen of her men surrendered.
As we went to confront the small group, each of Madeline's men burst into flames. They ran and rolled on the ground, screaming, writhing in pain. Several of our men went to help, but the white-hot flames incinerated Madeline's followers.
Silently, I said another prayer.
Jack came up to me and put his arm around my shoulder. We stood frozen, staring at the remains of our men who died.
"Heroes and brave men," Jack said softly.
I nodded my head slowly, thinking of the widows that were just made. My determination and confidence to end Madeline were fueled by the loss of our friends. No longer did doubt find its way into my thinking. No longer did I feel weak or hesitant.
"You and I need to talk tomorrow," I said, turning to walk back to camp. "For now, we need to bury our friends."
The next morning, we held a funeral service. This one was the most difficult. We lost twenty from our group. We had become such a family over the past several months. It was nearly impossible for anyone to come up with words. Most people just stood there, filled with grief.
As we were about to leave, Bobby came up to me and took my hand. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
I bent down, picked Bobby up, and said, "Don't say that. You did not cause this pain and sadness. You did the right thing. You were brave."
Tears streamed down Bobby's cheeks. His lower lip pouted and trembled.
Sela rubbed his back. "Bobby, you saved Heckel. Your rewards are much greater than anything Madeline could have promised."
Bobby looked incredulously at Sela. "You'll know one day," Sela whispered in his ear.
"For now, Bobby, what do you think about trying our hand at a little fishing?"
Bobby cracked a small smile and said, "With you?"
"Of course. I spotted a good-sized fishing hole about a mile down the river. Do you think you can make that?"
Bobby kissed me on the cheek and said, "You betcha. I haven't been fishing since my dad left us."
Chapter 26
The 500 hp Cummins diesel engine roared to life as Madeline walked up the steps to the opulent RV. The driver stood up immediately and welcomed her aboard. "Good morning, Miss Madeline."
"Seriously? A motor home? This is how I travel? What about a personal jet or stretch limo?" Madeline asked standing at the doorway.
"Your assistant said you wanted to see what your country was looking like. So he ordered this-"
"Tenement on wheels," Madeline said interrupting. She looked down the side of the motor home in disgust as though she had just drank sour milk.
"I think you'll find the ride very comfortable. Prevost is the premier motor coach. Always has been. You have all the comforts of home and then some."
"We'll see about that," Madeline said, wrinkling up her nose and then pursing her lips. "Oh, where are my babies?" she queried turning around to see two black dachshunds with diamond-studded collars clambering up the stairs behind her. They made their way to the soft leather sofa and looked out the window, barking at a large German shepherd off in the distance.
"There's mamma's little sweet peas," she said, gushing over the dogs. Madeline threw her briefcase down and petted the dogs.
"Would you care to see the rest of your home on wheels?" the driver asked.
"I suppose so," she said with a slight whine. Madeline followed him down the aisle. The nickel tour didn't last long. "Very nice. Say…how long will it take for us to get out there?" she asked impatiently.
"Well, ma'am, we are not exactly sure. There's a great deal of debris along the interstate that will need to be cleared."
"My advisors said that was being taken care of," she replied.
"Yes, I believe it is, but there still may be some delays."
"What about fuel?"
"There is a large diesel fuel truck following us. It's like having your own gas station in tow," he said with a slight, nervous laugh.
"Fine. Let's just get this going," she said, not picking up on his feeble attempt at humor.
The driver excused himself while Madeline looked in the refrigerator. It was fully stocked with all her favorite snacks and foods.
"My chef is coming, right?" she yelled to the driver.
"Yes, ma'am. He is in another vehicle."
"Good."
The RV began backing up and she was startled. "Sheesh," she mumbled, grabbing hold of the counter as she made her way to the sofa. Once the motor home was on the road, Madeline stretched out on the sofa.
After about half an hour, the driver asked if she cared to have some music. "Yes, that would be very nice. Preferably classical."
&nbs
p; Strains of Bach filled the motor home. The two dogs were fast asleep on the sofa at her feet. It was a partly cloudy day, or was it partly sunny? She guessed it was how you wanted to look at it. She preferred a nice dark, cloudy day. The sun made everything too cheery. The landscape was dotted with burned-out vehicles, the charred remains of bodies and empty homes. She smiled. Soon all this would be hers. The world would be rebuilt with a foundation of evil and fear, mostly fear of her. It's humanity's destiny. It always has been. Mankind has now turned to the dark, that is, once this Heckel virus is purged.
"I just have to eliminate the one light in the way, Heckel," she muttered, looking down to see sparks jump from her fingertips.
The RV pulled into a deserted campground somewhere in Pennsylvania. It was just getting dark. The large fuel truck that was following the RV pulled up alongside and began fueling the rig.
The driver came back in, pushed a button and the sofa where Madeline was sitting began to slide outward. "Don't worry ma'am. I'm just giving you some more room. It's like magic," he said as though he were a little kid showing off a new toy. Madeline stood up and peered down the aisle toward the back bedroom, watching the other slides extend outward.
"There you are," the driver said.
"Impressive," she muttered. "Say, since we will be together for a while, what is your name?"
"Quincy, ma'am."
"Now there's an unusual name, especially for someone as young as you."
"My mom liked the old TV show called Quincy. It was about a medical examiner and starred Jack Klugman." After no response from Madeline, he smiled at her, bowed his head once and excused himself. Madeline watched his behind as he exited the RV. "Nice tush!" she said under her breath and wondered if Quincy was as good in bed as he was a driver. Maybe she'd just have to find out, needing something to make the unpleasant trip more bearable.
After dinner, Madeline went outside to walk her dogs for a while. When she came back to the RV, there was an elderly man sitting in a chair next to a large campfire. She knew who it was immediately. Mr. Barker.
"Good evening, Mr. Barker. What a pleasant surprise," Madeline said walking up to him with her hand extended. He did not move or even look up from his fixed stare on the fire. It was as if the flames mesmerized him. Madeline turned, walked over to a chair across from him and sat down. Now she was nervous. She tried to remain strong and confident.
