Amitola: The Making of a Tribe

by A. Grant Richard

  He pushed himself, Charlie, and Tomas to run faster. The flashlights didn’t help much at all. They couldn’t tell how much further they had to go. He just knew he couldn’t stop. His thoughts wouldn’t allow it. He had to get to them.

  Then thoughts of Beth came to mind, and a feeling of doom took over him. If he lost Maia, he deserved it. He’d let Beth die. Why should he get to go on with life and be happy when she didn’t even get to survive?

  “No!” he said out loud. “We will get them out.”

  He didn’t look back, but he could hear the sighs coming from Charlie’s direction. He pushed the guilt aside along with the aches, pains, doubts, and cobwebs that got in his way. He whispered a prayer to God and hoped they reached them in time. It seemed to be taking so much longer to get back.

  The air gripped at them and brushed their skin fiercely. He stopped and put his arms out to brace Charlie and Tomas.

  “You feel that?” he asked.

  “Yeah, it got pretty damn cold all of a sudden,” Charlie replied.

  Charlie shined his flashlight around the tunnel in hopes of finding an answer to the recent temperature drop. Several yards down the tunnel he spotted something.

  “You see that?” Charlie asked.

  “Yes,” Tye said. “Hellooo,” he yelled, his voice echoing.

  The movement stopped. Then, it went silent.

  “Hello,” he said, in a lower tone this time.

  “Dad!” a sweet, scared little voice cried out.

  “Tye? Is that you?”

  “Sadie! Maia!”

  Tye and his two compadres took off toward them. Splashing and moving debris as they went. He tried to shine his light in their direction, but he was moving too fast. Finally, they reached them.

  Maia stopped Tye before he got too close. “Sadie’s foot is stuck. I can’t get her out.”

  He shined his light to the side of her face. He could see the fear in her eyes.

  Charlie directed his light around the tunnel to assess the situation. A tree had fallen, breaking through the walls and allowing the water to creep in. Sadie’s foot had become entangled in the branches when they were trying to cross it.

  Tye immediately started digging through the mud to try to get her loose. Tomas broke off branches and started sawing through a limb with his hunting knife. Charlie kept the light on them so they could see.

  “Dad, I can’t feel my foot.”

  “We’re going to get you out, baby. Hang in there,” Tye said.

  Tomas’ attempt to cut through the limb wasn’t getting him far so he pulled items out of his backpack looking for anything that might help. Tye tried to lift the tree, but it was no use. It was too heavy. Then he remembered something. When Lanie was little, she got her head stuck in the banister at their apartment. They used butter, oil, and mayonnaise to try to slide her head out. He was about to break the railing when Beth called the Fire Department. They showed up, and after a smile or two, they lifted Lanie’s little body and turned her ever so gently until her head slid right out. The fireman looked at Tye and winked, “It’s all about angles.”

  He grabbed ahold of Sadie and tried to turn her clockwise. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and into his eyes.

  “Ow, ow, ow, No, Dad! That hurts!”

  “Okay, okay. Let’s try this way,” he said as he turned her counter-clockwise. After a moment or two of moans and groans, her foot slid right out.

  He let out a deep breath and placed her foot on top of the tree. Charlie pointed his flashlight in her direction as Tye examined the injury. It was red, and her delicate skin was torn in a few places, but it didn’t appear to be bruised or swollen.

  “Can you walk on it?” He asked, placing her down on the ground.

  Tye watched her face as she put pressure on it. She grimaced and began to cry. “No, I can’t,” she said.

  “I can carry her,” Tomas blurted out. “You get us out. I’ll carry her.”

  Tye hesitated for a moment before agreeing. It was a better solution. He needed to be the first out to make sure it was safe especially with all of the gunshots they heard earlier.

  He looked to Maia, “What’s going on out there?”

  “All I know is they saw the dog hunters coming our way, and I was told to go through with the plan now and get back to Amitola as fast as I could. Then we started hearing gunshots. I didn’t wait around for anything else.”

  Tye shook his head and said, “Okay. Then let’s do this.”

  He pulled his gun from his waistband, nodded to Tomas to get ready, then he motioned for everyone to follow him. He was hell-bent on getting them to safety no matter what.

  Caleb put the cold binoculars to his eyes. He scanned the area, unintentionally counting the number of dead bodies surrounding them. He pulled the binoculars away from his face. “I think we got them all. I don’t see anymore,” he said.

  “Me either,” Danny replied. “Don’t mean there ain’t none though.”

  Caleb heard a gurgling sound and turned to see how the wounded man was doing. The look of concern on Trey’s face didn’t encourage him. The man’s blank stare didn’t either.

  “Is he doing alright?”

  Trey shook his head, “No. We’re losing him fast.”

  Clarence put his weapon down and turned back to the wounded man. “Daniel Sanchez, this is Caleb Finnigan. Him and his buddy are friends with Maia. They’re going to be taking care of Nadia and Louis for you. We all are. You don’t have anything to fear.”

  Caleb felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He wanted to fix the situation, but he knew he couldn’t. He grabbed the man’s hand, “I’ll do everything in my power to take care of your kids and make sure they know what you did for them. I promise.”

  Daniel shifted his blank gaze to Caleb, and for just a moment, there was a hint of life in his eyes; a thank you. Then he was gone.

  Trey checked his pulse and moved his hand from the wound to see if he was still moving air. He wasn’t. He’d drowned in his own blood. The men huddled around him, all except for Danny. Someone had to keep watch. Even the boys in the trees had bowed their heads to pay respect.

  After a brief moment of silence, they were torn back to reality by a thud and a gasp. Danny turned to the direction of the sound. Parker, one of Maia’s crew, had been hit by a bullet. He grabbed his stomach, his eyes widened, and blood oozed through his fingers.

  “Positions!” Clarence yelled.

  “Ten yards, 2 o’clock, in the trees,” Danny said.

  Trey moved Daniel out of the way and tore Parker’s shirt open to find the wound. “Look at me, man. You’re gonna be alright. You hear me?”

  Caleb and Danny were sighting the sniper in when other movements in the trees caught their eye. Carsten, Maia’s oldest son and one of Parker’s best friends, flung his rifle behind his back then climbed and jumped from tree to tree, maneuvering his way to the man.

  Danny sighted in on the boy, “Holy Shitballs, Catman.”

  Before the sniper could secure his position and turn his weapon on Carsten, he was already behind him, sinking his boot spikes into the branch and slicing the man’s throat with his combat knife.

  The man didn’t intend to go out easily. With blood gushing from his neck, he latched on to Carsten’s head and pulled him down with him.

  “Dammit!” Danny jumped up and left his weapon behind, and ran towards Carsten, “Cover me!”

  The rest of the men watched in horror as the boy, and the man fell nearly thirty feet, but Carsten stopped short. His plummeted face first into a tree limb and went limp.

  Danny climbed the short distance to the branch and tried to pull the boy to safety. As soon as the movement from the tugging reached Carsten’s face, he yelled. Danny couldn’t see what was stopping him from coming down until he climbed on top of the branch to look down at him. There wasn’t too much blood, so he attempted to move his head to the side.

  “No,” Carsten moaned.

&nbs
p; Caleb watched as Danny’s eyes widened. Danny secured his footing then pulled a large knife out of Carsten’s pack and gently lifted the boy’s head. He sawed away at something underneath.

  All Caleb could hear was the sound of the moans and the back and forth action of the serrated blade. Blood began to stream down the tree branch. Finally, Danny was able to pull the boy down and drag him back to their trench.

  Caleb laid eyes on the boy and winced. He’d fallen face first onto a branch. It entered through the corner of his eye and exited out the side of his temple.

  “You okay, man?” Caleb asked him.

  “Yeah, what about Parker?” Carsten asked.

  “They’re taking care of him,” Caleb replied.

  Trey barked out orders for someone to clean up Carsten’s face and stabilize the branch until they could get him back to Amitola.

  “We’re running out of supplies,” Trey yelled. “We need to do something. We can’t just stay here.”

  Clarence whispered into Caleb’s ear. He shook his head then packed up his gear. He touched Carsten on his chest. Once he had the boys attention, he said, “Hang in there, okay? I’m going round the guys up.”

  Clarence pointed to Jay, “You go with him.”

  The two men quietly made their way through the woods to the second funnel trench they’d set up. They heard retching, and the smell of bile made their stomach turn. Caleb noticed some of the men he’d previously seen through his binoculars, only they weren’t dead. They were alive. He could see it in their eyes. They had just looked dead because they’d been completely paralyzed. Some were blue and swollen, unable to get enough oxygen.

  “I guess the botulism worked after all,” Jay said quietly.

  Caleb nodded.

  As they sloshed through the water, a permeating roar shook the tunnel. Dust and rocks pummeled them from above. They stopped and looked around. That’s when they heard it. It was the sound you hear when holding a seashell to your ear only this was magnified.

  “Let’s go!” Maia yelled.

  The water plowed through the small tunnel knocking Charlie off of his feet. Maia struggled to maintain her own balance while she reached out to help Tomas steady himself. The boy was still carrying Sadie.

  Tye stretched out a hand to Charlie, “C’mon, old man.”

  Charlie wiped the water from his eyes, “We got to get out. I ain’t looking to die in here.”

  “We’re almost there,” Tye reassured him.

  They forced their way through the rising water, their feet slipping on the oily sludge at the bottom. Elex had been quiet most of the way through, but Maia could see the boy was starting to get scared. His breath was labored, and tears were welling up. She put an arm around him in hopes of reassuring him.

  The sounds were getting louder and more vivid. She glanced ahead and strained her eyes. It was dark and hazy, but she thought she saw light and movement reflecting off the water. “Is that it?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Tye replied. “But I don’t know what’s going on out there. Y’all stay here. I’m going make sure it’s safe.”

  Maia tucked herself and Elex against the wall beside Charlie. Tomas gently leaned Sadie against them. He followed Tye to the other end of the tunnel.

  She pulled Elex close to her and leaned into Sadie, “Are you okay?”

  The young girl looked up with pain in her eyes, “I just want to go home.”

  “I know,” Maia said. “I know.” She shared a knowing glance with Charlie then wondered where her own boys were in the midst of this chaos. Her eyes peered up as she uttered a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening. Halfway through her gut-wrenching plea she felt some movement in the water.

  Tomas lifted Sadie up out of the water and Charlie nudged Maia to move along. Tye waited for them just up ahead.

  “It’s clear all the way to the road. We just have to get there quickly. The weather is getting worse,” he said.

  They moved as swiftly as they could through the cold, murky water. It was almost to their waist now, and the current was growing in intensity.

  The tunnel itself wasn’t an underground tunnel. It was only a couple feet below ground. In reality, it was a barrier that had been constructed around the property. From the outside, it looked like a fence, but it acted as a tunnel

  “We need to move fast once we get out of here. Tomas and Maia: you two are going to take Sadie and Elex and make a run for it. Me and Charlie will hang back to make sure no one follows.” He looked over his shoulder, his eyes darting from Sadie to Maia, “Okay?” he said.

  “We got it,” Maia replied.

  As they neared the tunnel, Maia saw a familiar pattern of movement reflecting off the water. She’d seen it earlier too. Now that they were closer, she realized what it was. “Uh, oh. Is that—?”

  “Shit,” Charlie uttered.

  Tomas stopped, “It’s the coywolves.”

  Maia kept walking. She had no idea why they’d be at the end of the tunnel, but as she got closer, she recognized the unusual fur pattern on one of them and knew it was the same wolves they fed to keep near the old safe house.

  “Maybe they got scared and came here?” Elex wondered out loud.

  Tye pulled his gun from his pants. “I hope they’re not hungry.”

  “No!” Maia said.

  He turned to her, sporting a confused look on his face.

  Maia held up her hand, “Don’t shoot them.”

  She knew they wouldn’t understand if she told them she had no fear of them. She wasn’t dumb. She knew not to tempt them to attack, but she also believed they wouldn’t. At some point, she had developed a sense of peace around them.

  “We’ll be fine. We’ve walked past them many times,” she insisted.

  Tye tucked his gun away, making sure it was still within quick reach should he need it. They slowed their pace and reached the end of the tunnel.

  The wolves paced back and forth, looking from person to person. Tye and Charlie attempted to walk past them, and they began to growl.

  Tye stared the animal down, “I thought you said this was okay?”

  “Well, I be damn,” Charlie said walking back into the tunnel and pushing the others back in with him.

  Tye looked at him, confused. Charlie shook his head no and put his finger over his pursed lips. Then Tye saw what Charlie saw.

  “Don’t move, asshole!” a voice shouted.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Jay signaled to Caleb that he could hear something going on. The two men dropped to a crouching position until they could determine what was happening around them. They moved in closer to the train yard.

  Across the way, they saw Dumais, Rodney and Jaxon huddled together in sniper positions. Dumais waved them over. They tracked back a few yards and worked their way up behind them to avoid being seen by the men near the trains.

  “I don’t know who the hell these dudes are, but that ain’t the dog hunters. We took all of them out then these guys showed up,” Rodney said in a low voice.

  “Who is it then?” Jay asked him.

  “I tell you what, whoever they are, they know that asshole, Jason,” Dumais said.

  Jay grinned. Caleb shook his head. “Who else do we have down there?” Caleb asked.

  “Our guys headed out a few minutes ago. All that’s left out there are a few of Allen’s men. We're just making sure our boys didn’t get followed,” Dumais said. He pushed up from the ground and began to dismantle his weapon. “I think we’re good. Let’s go.”

  “What about my Uncle Tony?” Jaxon asked.

  “Yeah,” Rodney agreed. “We can’t leave Tony and Sean out there. They’re with us.”

  Dumais zipped his bag. “They’re not with us. They’re with Allen. And that,” he said pointing towards the train yard, “that ain’t our fight.”

  Caleb looked out towards the train yard. It was a bloody mess. The razor wire had taken its toll on nearly a dozen men. Many more were shot dead as they appro
ached. In the center of the trains, he saw Tony and Sean with their hands up. Four men held guns on them.

  He could see it before he could hear it. Jason sneaking in from the side then yelling; Sean ducked and ran; Tony screaming, "no," and looking right in Caleb’s direction before the whole thing went up in flames. It was all struggle, all hell; ‌a flashing, blinding, chaos. Then it exploded.

  A jolt of hot, bloody air bullied it’s way past them. Their ears throbbed. Their eyes burned. Caleb struggled to get back to his feet. He rubbed his eyes, trying to remove the dust and debris. He couldn’t take a deep breath.

  “He’s alive!” Rodney said.

  Caleb and Rodney shared a glance. They both took off running towards Sean. They didn’t stop until the reached him. Not far behind them was Jaxon. Dumais and Jay went in a different direction.

  Rodney reached Sean first. The men got him to his feet, and as they were walking off with him, they were attacked by a man. Caleb fought him off and put a bullet in his skull. Moments later Jay and Dumais showed up with ATVs. They held Sean on the back of one of them. Caleb went back to look for Tony and Jason, but all he saw was body parts. No one could have survived that.

  They drove past several of the dog hunters camps. There were dead and dying men everywhere. They hoped Maia and the kids made it out.

  Midway there they picked up the rest of the crew. They attempted to load the dead men onto the racks of the ATVs when JT and his son, Wade, pulled up in the dog hunters trucks. They loaded up the dead as best as they could along with the wounded. Carsten lay beside Sean. Parker and Daniel were loaded into the back of the other truck. Caleb covered them with a tarp.

  “Who is that?” Jaxon asked.

  Caleb hung his head.

  “Who is it?” he yelled, jumping from the ATV and running to the truck. Caleb followed him. Caleb wasn’t able to stop him. He ripped the tarp up, and when he saw Parker’s face he gasped, and tears welled up, but he quickly regained his composure. He ran to the next truck where he saw his brother. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was alive.