“I’ve seen plenty.”
“You’ve seen plenty of bad things.” corrected Alaine, “You should go somewhere you can experience something else.” Zeke was quiet again. Alaine went on, “You can come visit me in San Francisco.” Her voice was so sweet.
“I don’t think your husband would appreciate your entertaining gentlemen callers.”
“He wouldn’t notice.” she replied, “He doesn’t notice anything. Besides, he could at least make an exception for the man who saved my life.” Zeke wanted to ask her about her husband. She never seemed excited when talking about him and Zeke found that strange. He wanted to know why but he didn’t want to be obvious, though he wasn’t exactly well versed in nuance.
“Can I ask you something?” he finally said after many minutes of contemplation.
“Of course.” Zeke hesitated so Alaine went on, “You can ask whatever you like.”
“How come you never sound very happy when you talk about your husband?” Alaine had never thought of that.
“How do you mean?” she was genuinely oblivious. She considered herself a good wife.
“Well,” Zeke cleared his throat, uncertain of how best to put this, “every time you bring him up, you sound disappointed.”
“Do I?”
“Yeah. You do.” Zeke felt better, “Why is that?”
“I never realized.” now it was Alaine’s turn to be silent as she mulled this news over. For once, it was Zeke longing for conversation. She had chosen not to speak just when he wanted more. He wanted her to explain it all and make it makes sense. Alaine was silent.
“Well?” Zeke finally prodded.
“Oh.” said Alaine, “I don’t know.” She was at a loss for words, which Zeke found ironic, not to mention amusing.
“Don’t you have a guess?”
“I don’t think I’m disappointed.” answered Alaine, “It’s just,” she didn’t know how to explain it, “well when I was a little girl, I would imagine my husband as someone… different.”
“That sounds like disappointment.” observed Zeke.
“Does it?” Alaine was suddenly and inexplicably embarrassed.
“Yeah,” Zeke went on, “it does. So why did you marry him?” Alaine considered the question for a while. She never really thought about it.
“Well,” she gathered her thoughts, “he was a good man and my father wanted me to marry him. He worked for my father, you know.”
“No. I didn’t know that.” Zeke answered dryly.
“Well he did.” said Alaine with as much authority as she could muster, which wasn’t much, “It was a good match.”
“A good match?” repeated Zeke with a tone of disapproval that made Alaine feel defensive.
“Yes,” she replied with an edge, “a good match.” She wanted Zeke to argue with her but he said nothing, which made her feel like she needed to elaborate. She wanted him to understand. “You can marry whomever you wish,” she said, causing him to think of Rachel and the fact that what she just said depended heavily on the other person wanting you back, “because you depend on no one. I depend on my father therefore I must consider his wishes when thinking of my own. You don’t have to do that. You’re free. You’re independent.”
“You seem pretty independent to me.” remarked Zeke causing Alaine’s chest swell with pride. She liked, no loved, that he thought of her as independent.
“You’re also strong.” she said.
“And you’re not?” replied Zeke.
“Not like you.”
“There are different kinds of strength.” said Zeke. Alaine was silent as she thought about this.
“You really think I’m strong?” she finally asked.
“I think you’re a Hell of a lot stronger than you think you are.” an enormous grin spread across Alaine’s face, though Zeke could not see it.
As they rode on towards her life and her eventual return to her husband, Alaine was surprised by how strongly she wished she didn’t have to go. It was more than a passive apathy, it was outright disdain. Even if she couldn’t stay with Zeke, she wanted to stay out there, somewhere in the big world, anywhere that wasn’t her small universe of housewives and humdrum that was waiting to swallow her whole. She briefly considered running away but Zeke needed her in order to get his life back. She owed it to him and she would honor that debt.
For his part, Zeke was thinking about more practical matters. Alaine was a married woman after all and therefore any thoughts of the two of them running off together were pure folly and a waste of his time. Instead, his mind turned to the lawyer. Was he really good enough to do what he promised? Zeke did not trust the law, but this lawyer had been clever enough to find him, not to mention Clayton. At least he was smarter then Zeke who had tried unsuccessfully for three years to find that double crossing bastard.
“Zeke?” said Alaine after a long spell of silence, “May we stop for a moment?”
“Why?”
“I must attend you my toilet needs.”
“What?” Zeke was confused.
“Just stop for a moment.” Zeke did as he was told. Alaine dismounted and headed for some bushes near a small gully.
“Oh.” realization dawned on Zeke, “Don’t take too long.” He said, trying to be kind but firm. Alaine turned and fixed her eyes on him.
“I shall take as long as I require, sir, no more, no less.” She smiled at him and he thought for a fleeting second that she had something up her sleeve, but quickly dismissed the thought.
As he waited, he thought about how different she was from the girl he had found, half starved and nearly dead. She was just as clever, but now she seemed more able. True, she had gotten the jump on him and brained him with a rock, but that seemed little more than survival instincts. Any wounded animal will react with extraordinary tenacity when cornered. No, what she had now is different. More profound. It was as though she had been awoken to the possibility that she had no limits. The thought made him smile. He had always been a sucker for capable women.
Zeke sat and waited patiently for what seemed like thirty minutes but was probably more like ten. He peered in Alaine’s direction trying to get a glimpse of her but he could see nothing behind the row of bushes she had chosen.
“Alaine?” he called out after a time, “You all right?” There was no answer. Maybe she’s been attacked by another rattlesnake, he thought to himself, first as a joke then more seriously. He dismounted, suddenly worried and headed over to her spot. “Alaine!” This time much louder. Still nothing. He drew his pistol and hurried over both scared and hoping that he would simply find her in an embarrassing pose.
He reached the bush he was sure he’d seen her go behind but there was nothing. The gully was about fifteen feet further on. He moved to the edge and peered over. Nothing. She must’ve gone down there, he thought, that’s why I can’t hear her. “Alaine!” he hollered at the top of his lungs. Fury swept through him. She’d lit out. He calmed himself. She couldn’t have gotten far and in this soft ground, her tracks would be easy enough to spot.
He started his search and quickly found her dainty tracks. He followed them behind a bush and then spotted something that froze his bones and fill his belly with ice water, another pair of tracks, two more in fact and signs of a struggle.
“Goddamnit.” he hissed to himself. Clayton. They had dragged her into the gully and then commenced to carrying her. Zeke slid down the steep edge to the bottom and moved quickly and quietly after the tracks. Clayton was a dead man, he decided. There would be no bargaining. No talking. As soon as he saw his face, Zeke resolved to put him in the ground. He cocked both the hammers on his guns and went forward with one purpose: to kill everything that stood between him and Alaine.
He should have stopped for a minute to think. He could have saved himself some pain if he had simply taken a moment to calm himself and use his head, but he didn’t. He shifted his gaze up and down, looking for signs, thinking they’d be moving as fast as they could. He
should have known better.
As he rounded a bend in the gully, he had about enough of a second to register a man’s shape up ahead. Before he could focus on it, he saw a puff of smoke, heard a gunshot and felt a piercing hot pain shoot through the left side of his chest. His reaction was instantaneous. He brought his pistol to bear and fired, striking the shooter in the throat and spraying blood across the gully wall. Samuel, that other son of a bitch, fell dead. Zeke instinctively dove for cover as another shot whizzed past his ear.
“Zeke?” called Clayton from a distance, “You still alive?”
“Clayton,” answered Zeke fighting back against the fire in his lungs, “I swear when I get my hands on you I’m gonna skin you alive.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, old buddy, but you’re interfering in a business transaction and you know I can’t abide that. This girl is worth a lot of money. You should have taken my offer.”
“Go to Hell!” shouted Zeke.
“No doubt that’s in the cards, Zeke, but in the meantime, I aim to have myself a time. We’re both going to Hell for what we did that damn war. Might as well enjoy our time until then, right?” Clayton moved from behind cover holding his gun to Alaine’s back and using her as a shield. Zeke aimed his guns straight at Clayton but there was about forty yards between them. He couldn’t risk hurting Alaine. Clayton was slowly backing up. Zeke could hear horses nearby. “Speaking of the war,” continued Clayton all the while getting farther and farther away, “do you remember that general you killed at Spotsylvania?”
“He was a lot farther away than you are right now, Clayton.” Zeke kept his pistols trained on the retreating cur.
“You ain’t gonna shoot, Zeke. If you had your rifle I’d be scared, but we both know that those pistols aren’t nearly accurate at this distance. You know they say that was the longest shot of the war? I’ve always wondered, do you think he was alive long enough to be surprised that you could hit him from that distance?”
“You can ask him yourself soon.” growled Zeke through the pain. It took all his concentration to keep the pistol in his left hand aimed and steady. His whole body begged him to just let his arm drop so the red hot spike of torment in his shoulder would relent, but he refused to waver, let alone drop his arm.
“I don’t think so. If you move one inch, I’ll kill her right in front of you.” Zeke watched them near the wall of the gully. Jeremiah and Theodore appeared at the edge and Clayton passed Alaine up to them. As they hoisted her, her gag fell loose.
“Zeke!” cried Alaine, “Please! Help me!” Jeremiah clenched his big paw over her mouth.
“Shut up!” he said. Theodore helped heave her out of the gully. Standing on the ridge, Clayton called back.
“Don’t follow us, Zeke. Don’t make me kill her.” Clayton turned back and the lot of them disappeared. Despair crashed over Zeke and he felt sobs pressuring his throat but he pushed it back. Taking a deep, painful breath, he started back towards his horse as fast as his searing lungs would allow. He pressed his hand to the wound. The blood was light pink. He was hit in the lung. If he didn’t stop the bleeding, he would drown in his own blood. He stumbled along the bottom of the gully until he reached the point where he had entered.
The edge was steep and the rocks loose. Getting down it had been easy, but now he was fighting gravity and bleeding. With one hand on his wound, he tried to climb with the other hand seeking purchase. He made it about six feet up when his strength failed and he tumbled back to the ground. Lying there on his back, staring at the sky, he thought about giving up. There was no real hope of catching them and even if he did, there was no way he could get Alaine clear without injury. And if it all went perfectly, he would most likely die before returning her to Smythe. He could just let Clayton do it. There’s no way he’d kill her if that meant money. Then again, he’d been told what to do if Alaine was dead when he found her. He might have told Clayton the same, then all he needed was the locket.
Zeke decided he didn’t care. Not about going home. Not about exoneration. Not even about his own life. He only cared about Alaine. He had to know that she was safe.
Summoning everything he had, Zeke commanded his muscles to pull his skeleton back up the gully wall. With great pain and after what felt like hours, Zeke reached the edge and crawled onto the higher ground. He could see his horse standing about fifty feet away without a care in the world. He truly regretted not having named it. If he had, he might have been able to call out now and have it come to him, but it had no name.
“Hey you!” he called out, “Horse! Come here.” He was delirious. The anonymous horse did not move. Zeke cursed under his breath. This wouldn’t be easy.
The climb had sapped most of his strength but he found it in himself to struggle to his feet. He probably fell to his knees four or five times as he stumbled towards his steed. He lost count after the third tumble.
Eventually he reached his mount and collapsed against its flank. He fumbled for the flint inside his bags and drew his knife. Kneeling, he gathered a small pile of twigs and dried leaves. Striking the flint with the blade, he started a small fire. When it was a sturdy enough flame, he laid his blade within it and started to remove his coat, vest and shirt. He could see his wound clearly now and blood was still oozing in little pink waves with every labored, ragged breath he took.
He removed the knife from the fire and bit down on a stick. He wanted to close his eyes but he couldn’t. He had to see what he was doing. Steeling himself, he thrust the knife deep into his wound. Pain unlike anything he had ever known spiked every nerve ending in his body. A deep, guttural scream erupted from deep within him. The world went black.
Zeke is dreaming. He is back in the war, looking for a friend in the infirmary. All around him ring the cries of the wounded. Behind curtains, legs are being sawn off as men scream in ways he has never heard. There is blood everywhere. There are wounded everywhere. On cots. On the floor. He finds his friend. He has died. At least he’s free from all this, thinks Zeke. All he wants is to be free of it.
Alaine is heartbroken, not afraid.
“Get her on your horse.” Clayton barked to Jeremiah. The big man tied her hands and easily lifted her onto his saddle before situating himself behind her.
“Wait.” said Theodore, “Where’s Sam?”
“He’s dead, Teddy.” Clayton swung his leg over his horse. Alaine watched Theodore react to his brother’s death.
“What?” he looked like he would cry, “How?”
“Zeke shot him. Let’s go.”
“I’ll kill that son of a bitch.” Theodore fought back tears. He looked pathetic to Alaine. The kind of man who takes joy in hurting others but can’t stand any pain himself.
“No,” corrected Clayton, “he’s already dead and if he’s not, he’s coming after us and he will kill you. We’re leaving.” Clayton and Jeremiah turned their horses away and kicked them hard. Theodore, the coward, felt his courage fade away with every second they moved farther from him. He jumped on his horse, sniveling and followed suit.
The three criminals push their steeds to all out sprints. As they rode, Jeremiah groped Alaine’s breasts and whispered promises of future violations in her ear. Alaine could only think about Zeke. If he was in fact dead, she didn’t really care what happened next. She tried to look back but Jeremiah was so big that she couldn’t see around him. She put her mind elsewhere and tried her best to ignore what was happening. She could not say how long they ran. Her eyes stayed closed.
When they finally stopped there were two more men waiting at what appeared to be their camp.
“Thad. Morris. Mount up. We might have trouble.” said Clayton. They both leered at Alaine stared back at them with fire in her eyes.
“This her?” asked Thad as Clayton dismounted and began packing camp.
“We’ll know soon enough for certain. The Englishman is waiting for us. Once he identifies her, we’ll get our money.”
“We better.” sneered Morris
, “I’m getting tired of this goose chase.” Morris ambled over to Alaine who looked down on him contemptuously. “What’s your name, little bird? You the one going to make us some money?” With all her strength, Alaine kicked him in the face, causing him to stumble backwards. “You bitch!” Morris yanked her from the saddle and punched her hard in the face. Alaine collapsed to the ground as Morris landed another blow. The pain meant nothing to Alaine. She stared at him without flinching as he wound up for another punch. The sound of Clayton’s pistol being cocked froze him in place.
“Now you listen to me you short stack of shit,” said Clayton, “You hit her again, bruise up her face and cost me my bounty, I’ll kill you outright, do you hear me? In fact, the only reason I’m not turning your head inside out right now is I need every gun and I can get. The meanest son of a bitch you ever set eyes on is heading this way and nothing short of the devil himself is gonna stop him and even then, I’d probably bet against the devil. We need to go.” It took Alaine a moment to realize he was talking about Zeke. He never struck her as mean.
“How tough can this guy be?” sneered Thad.
“The longer we stand here jaw boning, the closer you get to finding out. He’s mean enough that I’m in a mighty big hurry to get clear of here. That a good enough answer for you?” No one said anything. Clayton holstered his weapon, “Good. Now break camp and be quick about it.” The men did as they were told. Alaine sat up and tasted the blood in her mouth. The entire left side of her face hurt but she would die before she let them know that. No matter what, she swore to herself she wouldn’t scream. As soon as they delivered her to Smythe, she would tell him what they did and he would punish them. That is, if Zeke didn’t get to them first. She hoped he would.
“So what do we do now?” asked Thad as they mounted and prepared to leave.
“I want to get rid of this girl and get our money as soon as possible.” answered Clayton, checking his weapons, “We can’t go back the way we came. Chances are too good that Zeke would spot us. We’ll have to head south over Black Hawk Canyon Bridge and then cut back east.”
Hell for Leather Page 9
