The Struggles of Johnny Cannon

by Isaiah Campbell

  “I ain’t so sure about that,” I said. “You know what happened on September sixth, 1901? Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley in Buffalo. Assassinated him. So, sometimes September sixth is a day for terrible endings.”

  “Well, it’s also John Dalton’s birthday,” he said. “The father of atomic theory. And you know what he did?”

  “Willie,” Short-Guy said. “Shut up.”

  He put on the brakes right before we went around a turn in the road, and he pointed on the other side of the trees.

  Just through the leaves we could see a cherry-red Corvette. And a dadgum kidnapper that was trying to push it through two feet of water.

  Short-Guy turned off the car, dug under the seat next to him, and pulled out a walkie-talkie. He handed it to Willie.

  “Radio the others and tell them where we are.”

  Short-Guy pulled out his gun, checked to see that it was fully loaded, and quietly opened up his door.

  I didn’t figure I’d be staying behind, so I opened mine, too.

  He shot me a look, but since he was trying to be quiet, he didn’t say nothing. He pointed for me to get back in the car.

  I shook my head. And he knew I wouldn’t budge without a tongue lashing, which he couldn’t give right then. So he pointed for me to get right behind him.

  Willie started whispering into the walkie-talkie, telling whoever was listening that we was at Flood Creek and that they needed to get their behinds over there as fast as possible, speed limits be darned.

  I got in behind Short-Guy and we started sneaking along toward them trees, which would be a real good place to stake out if we was hunting deer. We crept along, crouched down like we was ducking under a low hanging branch or something. As we got closer, I could hear Rudy cussing up a storm while Tammy Jane did her own baby-cussing, squalling in the seat of that car.

  Short-Guy didn’t notice it, ’cause he ain’t a woodsman, but I saw some turkey feathers peeking up out of the tall grass we was headed for.

  But I didn’t notice it in time.

  Short-Guy bumped right into that crazy-headed turkey, which went nuts and started gobbling and turkey-cussing at the both of us. Short-Guy grabbed me and pulled me down next to him, flat on the ground. The turkey went running off to go find a better place to have a nap.

  Rudy stopped cussing. Tammy Jane didn’t, though.

  After a few seconds, Short-Guy peeked over at the car again. He breathed a sigh, held his finger up to his lips, and slowly got back up again. So I got up right behind him.

  Rudy was standing with his back to us, still facing the car. But he wasn’t pushing it no more. He was just standing there.

  Then I noticed his shoulder holster was empty.

  Short-Guy took another step.

  Rudy spun and fired.

  Short-Guy dropped back to the ground, so I dropped right next to him.

  Rudy shot another couple of times, hitting the trees next to us and sending chips of bark flying all over us. Then he stopped. I rolled over behind a tree and peeked to see what he was doing.

  He’d gone and picked up Tammy Jane, and he’d started running on down the road.

  I hurried back over to Short-Guy.

  “We got to get going. He’s on foot, we can catch him easy.”

  He was groaning something fierce. I looked down at his gut. He was clutching his side, but blood was already dripping from his fingertips.

  “I have a kit in the car,” he said. “Go get it.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. I jumped up and ran back to the car. Willie was sitting with his back to the front seat, which was actually a pretty smart thing to do since there’d been bullets flying and such.

  “I already told them we was in a shooting match over here. They said they’re on their way.”

  I nodded and reached under the seat. There was a second radio and a first aid kit.

  “Short-Guy was hit,” I said. “Bad. C’mon.”

  I didn’t have to tell him twice, either. He got up and hurried with me. We got over to Short-Guy and he started telling us what to do, which bandages to get out, and all that stuff.

  “Hey, remember when I shot you?” Willie said.

  “Shut up, for the love of God,” Short-Guy said.

  Willie got in there with all that mess and started trying to stop the bleeding. I probably should have helped, but I only had one thing on my mind.

  I picked up Short-Guy’s gun, put it in the back of my pants, and grabbed the second radio.

  “What are you doing?” Short-Guy said.

  “Going after him.”

  “No!” he said. “You will not do that, do you understand me?”

  “He’s going to get away,” I said. “And then Tammy Jane’ll—” I couldn’t finish that sentence.

  “We already have men at the warehouse. At all the warehouses. We’ll catch him.”

  “But what if he throws her down? What if she slips out of his arm? It’s going to be dark soon, and then we’d never find her.” I shook my head. “Nope, sorry, I’m going after him.”

  “He’s had too good of a head start, and there’s no way he’ll stick to the road.”

  “I’m fast. And there ain’t nobody that knows these woods like me. It’s just like tracking a bobcat. Easy as pie. Plus I’ll have this radio, so I can let y’all know where we’re at and such.”

  He was probably about to say something else, but Willie stuck him with one of the suture needles and distracted him. I thought it was an accident at first, but then Willie shot me our blood brother look, and I knew he’d just opened the door for me.

  I took off running.

  Short-Guy started shouting, but I ain’t never been too good at listening, especially when the folks I love are bad off.

  I went down the road, the same way I’d seen Rudy go, and once I’d gone a little ways, I stopped. ’Cause that’s what you do when you’re tracking something, you have to stop and look around.

  Rudy wasn’t going to stick to the road, that was pretty clear. But he was in a hurry, which meant he wasn’t going to be aiming to trail-blaze either. I spied a path off to the right, which was where I’d go if I was running from the law. So that’s where I went.

  There was some freshly broke sticks and dirt scuffs over there, about the size as might be made by a man, and I reckoned I was going the right way. Of course, if he was an animal, there’d be some poop nuggets to confirm, but that didn’t seem likely in this case. Not impossible, but not likely.

  I followed that path, checking for broken branches and other signs that I was still hot on him. I kept going along, and the path turned deeper into the woods. The branches was getting broken more often, which meant he was starting to panic. Which wasn’t good, ’cause panicked people holding babies was a pretty bad combination.

  I came to a clearing that you could just as easily head off to the left or to the right. The real bad news was, there wasn’t no clear signs to show where he went.

  But that’s where the woods was able to help me.

  See, the funny thing about nature is that it likes to keep a good balance in the way things are happening. Especially noise. If you’re as quiet as can be, the forest can be as loud as a hi-fi, blasting nature noises all around you. But if you’re busting through trees, carrying a squealing baby? Well, then nature decides to shut itself up.

  I closed my eyes and listened. To my right, the birds was chirping good night to each other, the bugs was humming as they got ready for the moths to wake up, and there was even some squirrels scurrying around to find them some last-minute nuts. To my left, it was stone-cold silent.

  I went left.

  After a little bit that way, I caught up to a footpath that had been set up, and from the looks of the mud prints, Rudy’d decided to follow it off to the south. As I kept going, I started hearing the faint sound of Tammy Jane’s cry.

  I started running along the path.

  The path led along to a footbridge, which
I could see coming up ahead. The footbridge went over a railroad track.

  And, standing right in the middle of that footbridge was Rudy, still holding Tammy Jane. And also still holding his gun.

  I dropped and hid behind a rock. I figured I’d give him a few seconds to cross the bridge, then I’d radio Short-Guy with where I was. Wherever it was that I was.

  I peeked out again. Rudy hadn’t moved.

  What in tarnation was he waiting on?

  Then I heard it. The train was coming.

  But there was no way he was that crazy, was there?

  He climbed up onto the railing, still holding the baby.

  Yup, he was that crazy.

  I jumped up.

  “Hey! Get down from there!”

  He real quick turned that pistol and fired a shot. I ducked back behind the rock. The bullet knocked some pieces off the top and they showered down on me.

  The train was getting closer. About to come around the bend and go under the bridge. I reached behind me and grabbed that gun. Then I pushed the button on the walkie-talkie.

  “He’s fixing to jump on the train,” I said. “I ain’t exactly sure where it’s going, though it’s headed south. Maybe to Birmingham, or something. Anyway.” I took a deep breath. “I’m going to try and stop him.”

  I turned the walkie-talkie off so they couldn’t try to tell me nothing, tossed it to the side, and jumped back up. I aimed that gun right for his head. Wasn’t really sure what I was fixing to do, but I knew I had to do something.

  The train arrived and the engine went under the bridge.

  Rudy looked at me, but he didn’t fire at me.

  I started running, gun still aimed at him.

  “I’m a darn good shot, Rudy,” I hollered.

  There was several cars on that train. The first ones passed underneath.

  I got to the bridge.

  “Give her to me. Then I’ll let you run off as far as you want,” I said. “Just give me the baby.”

  He closed his eyes, the way you do when you’re preparing yourself for something reckless.

  “Don’t you do it!” I yelled. “Don’t you dare!”

  He dropped off the bridge, clutching Tammy Jane to his chest.

  I tried to catch him, tried to run over and grab him by his hair or something, but I wasn’t fast enough.

  My heart wasn’t beating at all as I got to where he’d been and looked over the edge. He had rolled over in the air and landed on top of the train, on his back. He’d slid a bit, but he’d caught his foot on a railing that kept him on top of the train car. Still holding Tammy Jane. And still holding his gun.

  He was getting away. He even had the smuggest smile I’d ever seen on a fella that probably had broken a rib or two on landing. I imagined he figured he was another one of them great mobsters that never got caught by the police.

  But I wasn’t the police. I was a pissed-off big brother from Alabama. We don’t give up nearly that easily.

  I took three steps back from the edge, said a prayer that I reckoned might be my last, and dove over the side of that bridge.

  Now, I don’t know nothing about science or physics or anything like that, so I can’t exactly tell you what happens when a body that’s going one speed in one direction comes in contact with a train that’s going about fifty times that speed in a different direction. All I can tell you is, when that happens, the little fella gets hurt. Oh, and it’s dadgum hard to stay on top of the train.

  I slid and rolled along, which spread all that pain on impact to every single muscle and bone in my body, and I almost went sailing off the back end of the train. But my hand, right before I went off, found a chain that was spread tight across the top, and I grabbed hold of it. Nearly jerked my arm out of its socket as I got myself adjusted from hitting a train to riding one.

  After a bit, I stood up. I reckoned it was the hands of angels that helped me keep holding on to Short-Guy’s gun, so I held it out in front of me and aimed it at Rudy. He was standing too, with his gun aimed at me. He was on the car in front of me, and he was walking my way. Still holding Tammy Jane in his arm.

  If it was good for the goose it was good for the gander, so I started walking toward him.

  He fired and his bullet bounced off the metal of the train. Either he was the worst shot ever, or he wasn’t actually trying to kill me.

  Of course, right in that moment, the feeling wasn’t mutual. But I wasn’t going to shoot him as long as he had my sister.

  He came to the edge that separated the car he was on from the one I was on.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this, Johnny.”

  I spit at him, but the wind caught it and it hit me in the eye. Took me a second to recover.

  “Give me my sister.”

  “I’m not a monster,” he said. “I’m just—wait. Did you say your sister?”

  I wasn’t in the mood for playing no games, so I went ahead and spilled it.

  “Yeah, you stupid idiot. I’m Captain Morris’s son. Which makes her my sister.” I sort of leaned forward a bit, to try and look more menacing. “So, give her to me.”

  He took a step away from me, which wasn’t the right direction one bit, and I was about to get up the courage to jump over to the next car, but then we hit a bump. And if you think it’s hard to hold steady when a train is moving, you ought to try doing it when it’s got the shakes.

  I tried to stay upright, but the shaking from the bump knocked me off to the side and I was just about ready to fall off the edge. I crouched down to get my balance back and grabbed hold of the bar that was at the edge of the car. When I did, Short-Guy’s gun went flying. There went my upper hand.

  I tried to stand back up, but we hit another bump and I had to fall down on my belly. Which wasn’t the best idea I ever had, ’cause now I was slipping all over the place. And my hands was starting to slip off the bar that was holding me on.

  I looked up at Rudy. He was crouched down, holding steady onto the bar on his side. Tammy Jane was still in his arm, but his gun was gone. He must have dropped it.

  My pinky came off the bar. Then the next finger.

  Rudy watched me for a bit, then he stood up and jumped into the air. He landed right next to me and he grabbed my hand. With his help, I got back to my feet.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  I looked at Tammy Jane’s face. She wasn’t crying no more. She was staring at me. In spite of everything, I smiled at her. It’s against the law to frown at a baby. Or at least it should be.

  “ ’Cause I didn’t want to get taken to your pa,” I said. “Didn’t want to get killed. But I sure ain’t going to let you give him that baby. He can kill me instead.”

  We hit another bump, but he grabbed me and steadied me. He had his foot wedged under the bar so he wouldn’t slip. That was pretty smart.

  “I’m not going to let him kill her,” he said. “Like I said, I’m not a monster.”

  “Well, I ain’t so sure if you’ve heard or not, but your pa is aiming to hold the Morris heart in his hand and all that. And, I ain’t good at biology or nothing, but I’m pretty sure you can’t live through that.”

  “My father will listen to me.”

  “Really? ’Cause you been sort of acting like he won’t.”

  “I was angry. But he’s a reasonable man, and he wouldn’t do something like that to a baby. I’ll explain things to him, and he’ll understand.”

  The wind was rushing past us, nearly knocking me off my feet, but what had me so uneasy wasn’t that. It was the fact that I was sure he was wrong.

  “He wouldn’t do something like that to a baby?” I said. “Then can you explain why he did that to me back when I was just barely past being one? He ordered the accident to happen, the one that killed my ma and made me lose half my brain. So I ain’t so sure he’s as reasonable as you think.”

  He looked up ahead of us on the track.

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” he said. “
See that tunnel?”

  I did. It was a real tight tunnel into the side of the hill, just barely big enough for the train to fit through. Even with the sun barely peeking out over the top of it, I recognized it. It was the one I’d seen from Nicole’s Diner.

  “When we get to the other side of that tunnel, the train will slow down because it’s entering the city, and we’ll jump off. We’ll meet my father, and if you want, I’ll keep your secret. And I’ll convince him to let me and Sora take care of this baby. You’ll see.”

  I wasn’t feeling like arguing with him. Mainly ’cause I was staring at where we was headed.

  “That tunnel? It’s going to be a tight fit with us up here,” I said.

  He pointed to a ladder that went down into the gap between the cars.

  “We’ll climb down there. I’ve already planned this whole thing out.”

  The engine of the train was starting to go into the tunnel, which meant we really needed to get down. He motioned for me to go ahead and start down the ladder, so I moved as fast as I felt comfortable and got my feet onto the top rung. It started getting a lot easier once my bottom half was out of the wind. I made my way down to safety.

  We hit another bump. Which wasn’t so bad for me this time, since I was on the ladder. But it was real bad for Rudy.

  He dropped Tammy Jane.

  It was like I was watching it all happen at half speed. She slipped out of his arms and fell right over the ladder. As she came past me, I put both my arms out and grabbed her right out of the air. Which was great, except that it meant I wasn’t holding on.

  Next thing I knew, I’d done fallen off the ladder and was headed straight for the ground below and the sharp edges of them train wheels.

  Rudy’s hand grabbed my arm. He was straining to hold on to me without slipping off himself. Probably had his whole foot under that bar up there.

  “Get back on the ladder!” he said.

  I looked up ahead. The first couple of cars were through the tunnel and we was coming up lickety-split.

  I tried to grab the ladder, but kept missing. Plus I was trying real hard to hold on to Tammy Jane, which I wasn’t nearly as skilled at as he’d been.

  The tunnel was only four cars ahead.

  I finally kicked my feet out and got my legs over the rung of the ladder, then I was able to loop my arm through. It wasn’t pretty, but I was secure.