Fatal Catch

by Roxe Anne

  Eleven soldiers were found dead the following day along with Captain Adams. The Indians had cut some of the soldier’s heads, hands and feet off, and they even tore out some of their tongues and hearts. When the bodies were found, there were intestines scattered about the area!”

  “Katie, I think that might have been worse than losing your scalp, don’t you?”

  “Billie, I don’t think I would want to die a terrible death like any of those soldiers. Do you know who Abraham Lincoln is?”

  “Sure, silly. He was President during the Civil War!”

  “He was more than President. He was Captain Abraham Lincoln at the time of the soldiers’ deaths. He assisted in the burial of the dead soldiers. The soldiers were the first soldiers to die in the Black Hawk War.”

  “Katie, can I be Black Hawk today?”

  “Sure, you’ll make a great Chief Black Hawk, Billie!”

  Katie could never say no to poor little Billie. I begin protesting. “That’s not fair! I’m always the Indian chief.”

  “It’s not going to kill you to let your brother be the Indian for once. Now scoot before I scalp you all.”

  We start chasing each other across the warm rocks. It isn’t long before I hear Billie, the brave Chief Black Hawk, screaming for help. It takes me a few minutes before I find him. Billie is laying about eight feet down on a four foot wide ledge.

  After looking the situation over, I know Billie is in grave danger. “Are you all right?”

  Billie begins crying. “No, go for help! I’m afraid to move.”

  I run to find Katie, Rita, and Bobby. They all are still hiding from each other.

  My voice echoes over Castle Rock. “Help! Billie has fallen onto a ledge. I’m serious, guys. This isn’t a game. Come on out of hiding. I really need your help.”

  Katie answers first. “Where are you, Missy?”

  “Billie is on a ledge by the big cave!”

  After a few minutes, Katie, Rita, and Bobby arrive. I point to the ledge directly below me. “I don’t think we can reach him!”

  Katie leans over the ledge to get a better view of the situation. “Missy, you’re right. There is no way we can help Billie by ourselves.”

  Being the oldest, Katie takes charge of the situation. She points to a rock a few feet away from the edge of the steep cliffs. “You kids go sit on that rock. I don’t need anyone else falling off while I’m in charge. I’m probably in enough trouble already!”

  Katie begins pacing. Tears trickle down her cheeks. “This is my fault! I should have been watching all of you better. I need to think for a minute.”

  Katie gets down on her knees and leans over the cliff. “We need Uncle Frank and Uncle Jimmy to bring some strong ropes to help us get Billie off this darn rock.”

  She gets up and wipes the sand off her hands as she walks over to me; and then she leans over and whispers in my ear. “Missy, you are the fastest. Run like the devil is chasing you, and get help. If Billie moves an inch in either direction, we just might lose him forever!”

  I run as fast as I can; only stopping to put my tennis shoes on when I get to the middle of the rocks.

  When I almost reach the bottom of the hill, I slip on some sand and roll the rest of the way down. Out of breath, I get back up on my feet and head for our trailer. Mama is peering out a window looking happy. I sure hope we can save Billie. We have all shed enough tears this last year.

  I holler at the top of my lungs. “Mama…Uncle Frank….Uncle Jimmy…Aunt May…does anyone hear me?”

  I open the trailer door and start towards the kitchen where I view Mama in the window. She is in her favorite apron doing what she likes doing best; cooking everyone’s lunch.

  “Goodness, girl, what are you yelling about? Have you and your sister been fighting again? And how come you’re so dirty?”

  Mama walks to the front door. “Where are the rest of the kids? It’s about time for lunch!”

  I try to stop shaking so Mama can understand me. “Uhh…it’s Billie. He’s fallen off the rocks onto a ledge. Katie’s afraid he’s going to fall off soon if I don’t come with help!”

  Uncle Frank and Uncle Jimmy are out checking on their cane poles when they hear me yelling. They both come running in their flip-flops.

  “What’s wrong? Where are the other kids?” Uncle Jimmy asks me.

  Billie’s on a ledge about eight feet down from the top of Castle Rock. Katie told me to tell you the ledge is only about four feet wide. We need to bring a strong rope to pull him up. She also said to bring the first aid kit in case he has any injuries she can’t see.”

  Uncle Frank and Uncle Jimmy find a rope that is strong enough to hold Billie. Mama runs to the kitchen to fetch her first aid kit. She always keeps one at the river in case someone gets horned by a fish or has a hook in them.

  “Where are the rest of the kids, Missy?” Uncle Jimmy asks.

  “They’re with Katie. She told them to sit down and not move an inch until help arrives. She is trying to keep Billie calm by telling him stories.”

  “She should have done that in the first place!” Uncle Jimmy mumbles.

  “Do you think you can show us where Billie is?” Uncle Frank asks me.

  “I know exactly where they are and how to find the ledge. Our daddy climbed the rocks with us every summer until he died!”

  Uncle Frank glares at me. I don’t think he likes being reminded Mama was married before.

  I hope next summer Mama doesn’t have a boyfriend; especially Uncle Frank. No one can replace Daddy, and I don’t want to share my memories of being here with anyone but my family.

  Mama washes her hands and takes off her apron. “What can I do to help?”

  “Dot, this is man’s work. You just stay here and fix us lunch. I’ll bring your boy back.” Uncle Frank tells her.

  I’m not sure Mama believes him. But I know one thing for sure; she never could climb those rocks.

  Tears stream down Mama’s cheeks. Aunt May tries consoling her without much luck. I hope we bring Billie back safe!

  The sun is beating down on us hotter than the devil. Sweat is pouring down Uncle Jimmy’s beet red forehead. “You sure we are going in the right direction?”

  At this rate, Uncle Jimmy is going to die before we reach Billie. He should have stayed back at the trailer with Mama.

  Uncle Frank is in much better shape than I expected him to be. He is keeping up quite well for someone so fat. He is holding on to the rope so tight his fingers are beginning to turn color. I guess he doesn’t want to look for the rope if he drops it.

  • • •

  Uncle Jimmy calls out with his voice echoing. “Katie, can you hear me?”

  “We’re over here, Uncle Jimmy! Can you see us?”

  We see Katie waving frantically. I see Rita and Bobby still sitting on the rock far from the ledge. They don’t look happy about staying put.

  “Over here!” Katie points straight down the side of the cliffs. “Billie is down there on a small ledge!”

  When I reach Katie, she leans toward me and whispers. “Thanks for arriving back with help so quick. I don’t know how much longer I could have kept Billie awake with my stories about the old West!”

  I look down at Billie and pray we aren’t too late.

  Uncle Frank and Uncle Jimmy tell Katie and me to go sit over on the rock with the other kids. Katie mumbles something about keeping Billie alive up to now. It’s a good thing Uncle Frank doesn’t hear her.

  Uncle Frank leans over the ledge to talk to Billie. I can’t hear what he says, but he sure looks creepy.

  Uncle Frank joins Uncle Jimmy. He has already tied a slip knot on one end of his rope. He throws the other end to Uncle Frank.

  Uncle Frank holds the rope in one hand and reaches in his pocket for a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his face. “Billie, you listen to your Uncle Jimmy. He isn’t going to let anything happen to you!”

  Uncle Frank takes his end of the rope and ties it to his wa
ist to provide extra protection while he pulls Billie up from the ledge. He walks to the rock we are sitting on and waits for further instructions from Uncle Jimmy.

  Uncle Jimmy leans over the edge of the cliff. “Don’t reach for the rope until it actually touches you. Then slip it around your waist and hold onto it with all your might. Do you understand me?” He asks.

  Billie tells him he understands. Then he says a short prayer out loud asking God to keep him safe along with Uncle Jimmy. We can hear his little voice.” If I don’t…make…it, Bobby, you can have my baseball bat. And, Missy, you can have all my comic books. Thanks everyone, it has been good knowing you!”

  I wipe a tear from my eyes and try my best not to cry and upset Billie. I cross my fingers Billie makes it off the ledge safe.

  “Frank, back up and get ready to slowly start pulling!” Uncle Jimmy shouts.

  Uncle Jimmy throws the opposite end of the rope to Billie landing too far from him to reach. After a couple throws, the rope finally lands close enough for Billie to reach.

  “Billie, I want you to carefully put the rope over your arms and around your waist,” Uncle Jimmy calmly directs. “Now, hold on tight and whatever you do, don’t let go. And for Heaven’s sake, don’t look down! Do you understand me?” Uncle Jimmy asks.

  “I…I…understand. I promise not to let go of the rope or look down. Uncle Frank already told me it’s a long way to fall and would be a horrible way to die!”

  Uncle Jimmy looks in our direction and shrugs his shoulders. Then he gives Uncle Frank a nod to go ahead and pull. He pulls the rope so hard it looks like his eyes are going to pop out of their socket. Every vein on his forehead is sticking out like the edges of the frayed rope he is pulling on. I just know he’s going to have a stroke and let go of the rope causing Billie to fall to his death.

  I begin praying. “Oh, God, please, please, don’t let my little brother die so young!”

  After Uncle Jimmy pulls Billie over the ledge, he grabs him tight and brings him to where we are all still sitting. Uncle Frank joins us. Katie sits with her face in her hands; crying like there is no tomorrow. The more we try consoling her, the more she cries. We all tell her it wasn’t her fault Billie fell.

  Uncle Frank and Uncle Jimmy lead the way back down the rocks. I have never seen them move so fast. They say all the stress and climbing has made them thirsty for a cold beer.

  Billie pulls me away from everyone. “Did you notice Uncle Frank was acting strange on top of Castle Rock?”

  “No, what makes you think he is any different than usual?”

  Billie whispers in my ear. “He told me it would be an awful way to die if something happened to the rope. Then he showed me his shiny pocket knife!”

  “Are you sure you weren’t just hallucinating from the heat? You were on the ledge for a long time.”

  “I’m sure he showed me his knife and his eyes sort of looked like Dracula’s when he’s ready to drink your blood!”

  “Hmm…there is something strange about him I just can’t figure out. We better keep an eye on him!”

  When we reach the trailer, Mama gives Billie the biggest hug and kiss I ever did see. Billie usually doesn’t let Mama give him kisses anymore. He says he is too old for such things. But this time is special; he just holds onto Mama as tight as he can. He tells her that he thought he was never going to see her again.

  Later, Katie informs me she didn’t think Billie was going to make it off the ledge alive either. She told him stories to comfort both of them.

  Chapter Five

  It never fails. Every time Mama and Uncle Frank go out to Castle Rock Restaurant and Bar on a Friday or Saturday night, they come home drunk, stumbling, smelling like smoke, and calling each other names.

  If I can hear them outside the trailer, the rest of the campers have to hear them. I try covering my head with a pillow but it doesn’t help.

  “Dot, what were you doing hanging on that man all night long? What, am I not good enough for you? I buy you everything you want!”

  Mama has drunk enough by now she isn’t frightened of any man. “Why don’t you stop being jealous, Frank. Can’t I even talk to another man? For crying out loud, I have to talk to men every night when I’m working. If I didn’t, I would get fired. And then who would pay the rent and buy groceries? I can’t help it if other men think I’m attractive. You thought the same at one time. God gave me this body, and I plan not to let it go to waste!”

  • • •

  It is wonderful at night when no one is fighting. You can hear the river current flowing over the rocks in the river which is soothing to the soul. The gentle breezes cool my warm moist body from the heat of the day. The crickets rub their legs together to make music, the frogs are croaking, owls hooting, fish gently splash out of the water, and you can hear tree frogs in the distance. It is as if Mother Nature is directing a symphony. It is as God has intended it to be, peaceful and nothing but nature’s natural environment without man’s interference.

  The stars are bright as sparklers all lit up at a Fourth of July picnic. The moon’s refection on the river is breath taking. I know why Mama feels close to the river. It is a happy, serene place that lets your mind wander so you can imagine you are somewhere different; far from reality.

  • • •

  Morning comes early when you are camping. With the earliest sign of light, everyone is up baiting their fishing poles and checking on their cane poles they left in the water the previous night. You are to be as quiet as a mouse so you don’t scare off any fish. I really wonder if fish do have ears. I have never seen any signs of them when Mama chops their heads off and I have to help clean them.

  The minute anyone thinks the fish are biting near someone else’s fishing line, they quietly reel in their poles and proceed to throw their lines out where the nibble was. The next thing you know, someone is hollering they have a bite. “I’ve got one…I’ve got one!” At that precise moment, someone else begins hollering the same thing.

  It is a sight to see, grownups excited about a little fish nibbling on their mushy old night crawler. It is even funnier to watch the two fishermen reel in their lines only to find out they have caught each other. You would think they would know enough not to fish so close to each other. Sometimes if you observe adults long enough, you see what you shouldn’t do as well as what you should.

  • • •

  At night, just after dark when the dew sets in, we go hunting for night crawlers. Billie holds the flashlight while I try to catch those slimy, cold, dirty, wiggling night crawlers. Billie always loses patience while holding the light for me. He points it to the top of trees and out on the river or in my face. He knows this makes me angry, but he giggles and just keeps on doing it anyway.

  Of course, Katie never joins in fishing or catching the bait. She might get her pretty little hands dirty.

  “Billie,” I whisper, hoping not to scare the night crawlers. “Will you hold the flashlight still? How am I ever going to get enough bait for tomorrow?”

  “Okay, but hurry up. I’m tired of holding this light still!”

  I will have to be quick with my hands before these night crawlers slide right back into their holes. Sometimes as I pull on them, these darn old worms break into two pieces trying to get away.

  The ground begins to get damp. We have a coffee can full of worms and Billie can’t keep the light from jiggling around any longer.

  “Billie, I think we have enough worms for fishing tomorrow, don’t you? Let’s go get a sweatshirt on and watch Mama fish.”

  “Okay, but you better watch out for those bats flying above your head or all you are going to be doing is cutting your blonde hair off. And I’m not going to help you!” Billie teases.

  We both duck at the same time. Bats start swarming around the trees above our heads. Billie’s flashlight shining through the leaves of the trees is causing the bats to swoop down near us. They are getting so close we can almost touch them. I hope none of the bats
turn into vampires.

  Dracula could be looking for his next victims. Just as we duck again, Billie’s flashlight flashes on a big old oak tree nearby. I can see someone behind the tree watching us. Billie drops his flashlight.

  “Missy, run. It’s Dracula!” Something grabs him before he can get his little feet going.

  “I’ve got you!” Uncle Frank tells Billie, as he holds him up in the air. “You know, Billie, there is more than one way Dracula can drink your blood!” He places Billie back on the ground showing him his knife.

  Mama approaches us. “Frank, you stop teasing those kids! They are already afraid of the dark. And you talking about Dracula is going to give those kids nightmares.”

  Uncle Frank walks back to the campfire, but not before turning toward us running his fingers down the side of the shiny knife blade.

  “Missy, that’s the knife he showed me on top of Castle Rock! Do you think he might just use that old knife to kill us?”

  “He’s just trying to scare us. And I think it’s working. Just try to forget about him tonight.”

  We go into the trailer and put on sweatshirts. Then we return back outside to watch Mama fish. Uncle Jimmy has started a nice campfire to keep the dew off of us and help light up the night. I feel safe and warm sitting close to Mama. She will keep an eye on old Uncle Frank.

  • • •

  “Mama, do we have any large marshmallows we can roast?” I ask.

  “There is a package on the second shelf of the kitchen cupboard. You and Billie will have to go and find your own sticks to roast them on.”

  “Billie, there’s nothing that tastes as good as roasted marshmallows, don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah, I like mine warm with no burnt areas. How do you like yours?”

  “I like mine real burnt where it almost looks like charcoal.”

  “That’s disgusting, Missy!”