by Mark Stewart
DAN HEARD the bang from a gun. He jumped from the horse to catch his brother before he fell off the back. He carried him to the foot of a giant gum tree and sat him on the ground. Glaring at the dead old man still holding his gun Dan got behind his dead brother so he could rock him back and forth.
Eventually, he leaned his brother gently against the tree. For a long time, Dan stood staring at his dead brother’s face. The morbid scene would be forever burned into his mind. Dan tipped his hat at the corpse, mounted his horse and sprinted off into the bush, never once looking back. The death of his brother and Masters was too much for his mind, forcing him to go insane.
The noise made by the storm, the constant heavy rain dripping from the trees onto his head echoed in Dan’s mind. He blocked out every thought; except one; revenge. He wanted it. He could smell it. He could even taste it. Determination deeply furrowed his brow.
Unrelenting, Dan urged his horse onwards. Nothing would stop him from reaching his target. He wanted to get his money back, and everything else the woman from the train stole from him no matter what the cost. Above all, he wanted to see the woman and the man accompanying her; dead. He’d sneak up on them, shooting them in the back. He’d leave their bodies to the wildlife. Out in the Australian bush miles from anywhere, nobody will ever stumble across their bodies. After leaving the state, he’d never give them another thought.
Using the back of his hand, Dan swatted dozens of tree branches from his way. Etched in the tree trunks, he could see the faces of the dead. He could hear their laughter further tormenting his mind. Looking over his shoulder, he thought he saw the spirits of the dead lawman, the old man, Masters; even his brother chasing him. Behind them were over a dozen transparent images of the people he’d murdered over the years.
By the time, Dan entered a small clearing his knuckles were skinned and bloodied. Through wild eyes, he saw Jessica’s face on every tree. Pulling his gun from his holster, he yelled at her.
“I’ll stop you, from laughing at me,” he grumbled, firing a bullet at the closest tree.
Lightening Dawn’s face replaced Jessica’s image. Dan fired two more rounds at the tree. Satisfied the images had vanished, he picked up the trail once more and ploughed on through the scrub.
Over the sound of the wind, Dan heard the river. He forced his horse to stop so he could take his hat off. Rain drops from the overhead leaves immediately fell on his face. Each large cold drop stung his cheeks. A new wave of determination swept his mind.
Dan pressed on through the dark. He stopped at the river’s edge. Turning his horse, he forced it to trot upstream along the bank. Dan studied the river at length looking for a sign he’d closed the gap between him and the woman. In minutes, he saw what he needed to find. Four horses, each one had a leather saddle on its back. A murderous grin stretched his mouth. He’d finally caught up to the black man and the woman. His hatred for her quadrupled every hour since she robbed him. His idea of revenge flowed faster than the river.
The wind easily masked Dan’s arrival. After he dismounted, he meticulously crept from tree to tree making doubly sure his target didn’t know he’d arrived. Staring through the scrub, he focused on the narrow fork of dry land. In minutes the two rivers were going to converge. When it happened, the strip of land will be gone. He spotted the aborigine sprinting through the bush pointing at something further downstream.
Dan took a short cut through a thin part of the scrub, hiding behind a tree well in front of his intended target. Confidently he moved closer. Squatting behind a small bush full of yellow wattle looking for the reason behind the man’s antics Dan smirked openly when he saw Jessica’s head bobbing in the water.
“The joy of a double murder, this ought to be sporting,” spat Dan. “A moving target to add to my growing list of kills will be the best memory of all. Once the black man and the white woman are dead they will be swept away in the river, never to be seen again.”
Dan pulled the gun from his holster, cocking it ready to fire. Looking down the gun sight, he lined up Lightening Dawn’s torso. “A single bullet will suffice,” he whispered.
Unaware that a gun was aimed at him, Lightening Dawn felt determined to save Jessica or die trying. He had set his sight on the tree lying across the river. He must be there when Jessica arrived. Any delay might see her drown.
Dan pulled the trigger of his gun. At the same time, a thunder clap muffled the noise. Lightening Dawn felt a burning in his left side. He crumpled to the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs. A small stub of wild grass cushioned his fall. Clutching his side Lightening Dawn watched the green grass slowly change to red. For far too long he lay in the grass waiting for the pain to subside. Eventually, he forced himself into a crawling position. Slowly he took tentative moves hoping the bushranger who fired the gun was patting himself on the back at the kill. Lightening looked ahead. He spied a tree which appeared to have a girth wider than a man. Being mindful not to disturb the bush he crawled on all fours. The moment he vanished behind the tree he stood. Looking through the darkness trying to locate the gunman Lightening glanced at the tree where he was supposed to be waiting for Jessica to arrive. He didn’t have another option. He must press on to save her. If he didn’t make any noise, he could finish the rescue and be back behind the tree before the gunman knew.
Jessica saw her hero vanish. Hand over hand she swam towards the bank in a desperate struggle to survive. Her only chance to grab the tree came quickly. She must be ready. The water started to churn harder. She could feel her body being sucked under the surface long before she arrived at the fallen tree. If it were to happen death will come knocking in only a few seconds. Only God knew where her body would end up.
Jessica lifted both hands into the air. Her fingers felt the stubble of a wet branch. She latched onto the jagged outcrop determined to succeed in living. Her right foot hit something. She pushed hard against it. The exercise propelled her upwards. Jessica groped for a second branch near the top half of the tree. Using her entire strength, she launched her body completely out of the water.
Making full use of her four limbs, Jessica clung to the tree. Trying to catch her breath, her right thigh came down hard on the small needle-sharp branch which inevitably saved her life. Jessica screamed in agony. Looking down she saw blood trickling down her leg, onto the tree trunk and starting to drip into the river. Tears filled her eyes. She gritted her teeth before bravely pulling her thigh from off the branch. The act made her lose a firm footing. At the same time, the water came up to her knees, her vision blurred. Seconds before Jessica fainted from the pain in her thigh she reached out for what resembled a sturdy vine, quickly twisting it about her wrists a few times to prevent her from falling into the water. Lifting her left foot out of the water she managed to push her sturdy boot between two small branch stubs growing out of the side of the trunk.
In the few moments left before she blacked out, Jessica prayed for a miracle.
Dan saw Lightening Dawn crumble to the ground at the edge of the river. He focused on the exact piece of ground where he’d lost sight of him. His confidence in successfully murdering the man grew stronger. He momentarily turned his head left to look downstream for the woman. Through the rain, he couldn’t see her, but he could taste the victory in his mouth. He sat on the ground; a proud look plastered over his face. He’d simply wait out the storm. When the water subsided he’d casually wade through the river for his stolen possessions, scoop up his loot and head north to Sydney. He’d be long gone before the law got wind of any misfortune which may have fallen upon his two victims. One dead body will be for Masters’ death, the other one for his brother.
Lightening Dawn grimaced at the bullet hole in his side. He studied the wound at length and found an exit hole. Even though blood still trickled out of the wound, it looked to be slowing. He breathed a sigh of relief. Staying out of sight he started searching for Jessica. Through the scrub, he could see her clinging to the tree trunk. She looked to be asleep.
How long she could stay in that position, he didn’t know. Giving himself only seconds to grab hold of her, he started for the tree. He needed to stay concealed. Somehow he must get Jessica back to hard ground before another bullet was fired.
Half bent, Lightening ran along the river’s edge; positive Jessica hadn’t been shot; he just couldn’t understand why she’d stopped moving. His heart pounded, forcing the organ to bang loud in his ears. Sweat broke out on his brow. He knew panic might soon overtake him. On the other side of the river, a bushranger wanted to shoot them both dead. Ahead of him lay Jessica’s unconscious body. Only God knew if she was still alive. He slithered over a fallen tree on his stomach. He didn’t hesitate on running across a narrow clearing. Lightening Dawn didn’t slow down even when he vomited from the pain in his side. He’d started badly in living up to the vow he promised Jessica. He wanted to prove to her he was a man of his word.
Staring through the rain, he could see Jessica slowly slipping back into the river. Upstream Lightening caught sight of an assortment of tree branches which were floating together to form one giant mass, directly at Jessica. He needed to move faster. He quickly scoured the bush. Seeing no sign of the bushranger, he took his chances. On all fours, he crawled along the tree trunk to Jessica. By the time he reached her, she’d slipped to a precarious angle. In a move quick as his name, he grabbed hold of Jessica’s wrists, yanked her from the water, broke the thin vine which helped to save her life and started back to land long before the debris came close to the tree.
A gunshot echoed in the air.
The bullet embedded itself in the tree next to Lightening’s foot. He didn’t waste time searching the scrub for the bushranger. Being on the tree over the river made him an easy target.
A second bullet sent chip bark into the air, showering his face.
Lightening Dawn staggered over a clump of weeds growing close to the tree trunk. Jessica slipped slightly. He reached up to take hold of her shirt collar. Hearing her moan gave him a renewed zest. He made it off the tree and dug his heels into the softening muddy bank. A third and fourth bullet penetrated the water’s edge. Stumbling in the soft mud Lightening managed to hide Jessica behind a newly fallen gum tree. He closed his eyes, collapsing from exhaustion.
Dan watched, amused at the man’s courageous effort to rescue the woman. He eased his second gun from his holster and counted off the six bullets. Having a bout of inspiration, he nodded in satisfaction.
“If I use three bullets to flush them out I’ll have two bullets to murder both of them. It will leave me one bullet, just in case.”
A bullet ricocheted off the tree Lightening, and Jessica was hiding behind. Both opened their eyes at the same time. They were hugging when a second bullet tore away the bark above their heads.
“Lightening, thank you for rescuing me,” whispered Jessica in his ear. Before he could utter a sound, she leaned forward to give him a kiss.
A third bullet brought the reunion to an abrupt halt.
“I’m sorry for being late. It’s time we left,” hinted Lightening Dawn. “You start for the horses. I’m positive a couple of shots from my gun will cover your escape.”
Jessica slid along the muddy ground on her stomach. Lightening aimed his gun, firing twice through the dark. A single return shot saw bark flying in all directions next to his shoulder. Keeping close to the ground he followed Jessica’s trail.
Working their way up the bank, skirting the small clearing, they kept to the scrub, being mindful not to disturb the tall grass. They didn’t want to give away their exact location.
Lightening and Jessica rounded the far side of the small clearing, coming up behind their horses.
“I think we’re at a safe enough distance to collect the horses. Hopefully, we’ll be able to leave before the bushranger can figure it out.”
“If we make a clean getaway the shooter might lose the trail.”
“You’re right, we don’t want to lose him,” replied Lightening.
Jessica bit her bottom lip, deep in thought. “What about if we collect the horses and just before we enter the scrub I fire a couple of warning bullets in the shooter’s direction?”
“That ought to keep him coming. You stay here, I’ll go collect the horses,” Lightening insisted.
The rain changed to infrequent drops. A few stars were out. Lightening Dawn moved as if he were a part of the surrounding bush. He learnt the art at a young age. Every male hunter from his tribe needed to show they were more than capable of sneaking through the bush undetected by animals. By his ninth year, he’d proven time, and again he was the best. He easily gathered the horses, marching them back to where Jessica waited behind a clump of tall dried grass. Her excited expression saw him puff out his chest.
“You never cease to amaze me,” she exclaimed.
Lightening Dawn gave her a wink as he handed over his gun.
Jessica cocked the trigger. “I’m ready.”
The two escapees mounted their horses. Lightening rode into the bush. Jessica swiveled in the saddle. Pointing the barrel of the gun at a large tree where she thought the shooter might be hiding, she took careful aim at a knot in the trunk twelve feet from the ground and fired her gun twice. Using her reins to tap the horse’s neck, the horse entered the scrub, hot on Lightening’s trail.
They vanished before the shooter could fire another shot.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
