Water and Stone

by Glover, Dan

  "Billy's my son, Yani... if he's in trouble I want to be there for him. Besides, I don’t think horseback is a wise choice... that whole countryside is covered in spiders. Let's take the Jeep."

  "I have to kill Evalena, Rancher. There's no time to explain but if she lives you and Billy are both going to die... probably others too. I'm going out there to shoot her."

  "Have you ever shot anyone before, Yani?"

  '"No... I've never even fired a rifle. But if I have to do it, I will."

  "Why don’t we call the authorities and let them deal with this?"

  "What are we supposed to tell them, Rancher? Will they believe that Evalena is actually a witch? Would you? Even if they decide to investigate our story my sister will only lie to them."

  "Taking the law into our own hands is a huge risk, Yani. We could be arrested and spend the rest of our lives in prison and still fail to save Billy. Anyway, I don't think he's with your sister. Wherever he is, I think we should just sit tight and allow him to make his way back to us in his own time. This is madness."

  "I have to show you something, Rancher. Do you know why I never allow you to see me without my clothes on?"

  Standing up and walking close to the man as she unbuttoned her shirt she felt his eyes devouring every inch of skin as she slowly revealed herself to him... and then he gasped.

  "What are those markings all over you, Yani? My Lord... who did this to you?"

  "My sister... my father... maybe both of them, I don’t know for sure. I only know I was fifteen years old and someone drugged my drink and when I woke up I was like this."

  "Does it hurt?"

  "Oddly, no... I just feel weird about showing my body to anyone. I'm sorry."

  "You don’t have any reason to be sorry, Yani. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

  "We aren’t dealing with a normal person, Rancher. I know you won't believe me but she's far older than she looks. Evalena worships the darkness. She's beautiful on the outside but inside she's ugly and malignant like cancer."

  "But she's your sister..."

  "No, not really... we're related somehow but we're not sisters, at least not in the sense you mean."

  "Has she done something to Billy?"

  "I don't know, Rancher. I only know I need to stop her... to shoot her dead. If I had a gun with me earlier I could've done so easily. She still doesn’t suspect that I know as much as I do, otherwise she probably would have left Texas by now. This is my only chance."

  "We can't just shoot your sister, Yani. She may be all you say she is but I'd feel awful knowing we shot an unarmed girl. There must be another possibility. Let's talk about it before we do anything rash."

  "If you stay here, Rancher, you'll have nothing to worry about. This isn’t about you at all... I never wanted to implicate you in any crime... this is my fight."

  "If it involves my family it's my fight too, Yani... I can't let you do this alone. There's no way I could live with myself if something happened to you while I was able have done something to prevent it."

  "If you want to come with me, I'm not going to stop you. Thank you... I'm not sure I could do this by myself."

  "Here... let me pick out a high power rifle for you and I'll take the AK-47... if there's shooting to be done that's my weapon of choice."

  The nights had turned cool and he was somehow glad the season of the new moon was upon them... the night sky was thick with stars but the landscape was as dark as the bottom of the well he once dug by hand behind the shack where Yani lived for so long. As they drove along the dark Texas back roads he absently wondered if it was still in use.

  When Yani cut the lights and shut off the engine night descended like a shroud blotting out all light. Not a sound disturbed the silence but for the maddening rasp of what he knew were spiders weaving their webs and winding up their still-living victims to be eaten leisurely at a later date.

  He was so weak he could barely climb out of the Jeep without becoming winded. Though he wanted Yani to drive closer to the shack he suspected Evalena might be lying in wait for them and the sound of the motor would alert her to their presence. The muffler was louder than it should be having been driven over the rough terrain for what seemed like ten thousand years.

  He'd never shot anyone in his life... though he enjoyed the notion of hunting the only things he killed were empty cans and beer bottles... every time he drew a bead on an animal he couldn’t seem to bring himself to pull the trigger. Yani seemed adamant about shooting Evalena but he wasn’t at all sure he could do it... perhaps he was wrong to have come along. He'd only slow her down if they had to make a quick getaway.

  "There she is... can you hit her from here, Rancher?"

  "Yes... I can hit her... tell me again why we're shooting your sister?"

  His hands trembled as he struggled to raise the military-style weapon to aim at the shack where Evalena stood. As he sighted her through the scope his breath caught up short. A splash of lantern light from inside the shack spilled out over the girl. She was as terrifying as she was beautiful and despite his illness he found himself wanting her in the worst of ways... even Yani paled in comparison.

  "We're here to save your son, Rancher... remember?"

  "But I told you Billy isn’t inside that shack, Yani... I saw for myself. There's only an old man living with your sister. What if we accidentally shoot him?"

  "Are you sure about that? Evalena may well have Billy hidden inside. You said she chased you away before you were able to find out who was in there... isn’t that right, Rancher?"

  "Yes... you're right. But I can't just shoot a woman for no reason, Yani. It goes against everything I believe."

  It was as if his body was as full of doubts as his mind and was rebelling against the idea of killing another human being, one who had spoken to him harshly it was true but still she'd done nothing to deserve death, at least in his estimation.

  "She's not my sister... give me the gun if you can't do it... I think I can hit her... and if that old man really is my father he deserves to die too."

  She was right yet she was wrong... he hadn’t the will power or the strength to lift the AK-47 to his shoulder again much less take aim at the girl... if he missed, it would be the end of their quest. Evalena would know someone was out to get her... they'd never get another chance.

  On the other hand, an innocent man might well pay the price. He wondered that instead of being Yani's father if it might well be his own. Even though he had long ago disenfranchised himself from the man he'd never wished him harm.

  What if Yani was right? His hesitation could well result in the death of his son. Either way, Yani seemed adamant on ending Evalena's life. His own future was in grave doubt... in a few more weeks he too would be dead. If there was even a slight chance to save Billy, he had to take it.

  "Here... the safety is off, Yani. If you get her in the crosshairs, squeeze the trigger. The gun is fully automatic... as long as you keep your finger on the trigger it'll keep firing... be careful, though... that's a lot of firepower. She'll kick up on you."

  Yani traded weapons with him handing over the high-power rifle while taking Rancher's fully automatic in her hands. She braced her feet as she raised the weapon to her shoulder like an expert, sighted down the side-mounted scope, and squeezed off a half dozen shots in quick succession.

  He couldn’t be certain but it seemed as if the girl had raised the end of the rifle at the last instant or maybe the power surprised her. Either way she missed her intended target just as he was sure he would've done too.

  "Damn it... she ducked at the last second... I thought I had her."

  Rancher could see movement on the front porch of the cabin as Yani continued firing emptying one clip and looking to him for a reload. Without a word he took the AK-47 from her, ejected the spent magazine, and popped in a fresh one before handing it back to her.

  "I'm going in... I don’t think I got her but maybe I frightened her off. I want to see if that old
man you talked about is inside... please stay here and cover me, Rancher."

  Before he could object Yani slipped off into the darkness. He felt uncomfortably alone and horribly exposed even though they'd taken shelter behind what appeared to be a truck-sized boulder that seemed relatively free of cobwebs. Clicking off the safety he lifted the high-power rifle and watched Yani advance on the shack through the scope.

  He could see lantern light leaking through more than a hundred bullet holes puncturing the walls of the cabin but there seemed to be no movement inside. Had Yani succeeded in killing Evalena? And what of the old man? Was he dead too?

  Something was crawling up his legs.

  In the heat of battle Rancher had forgotten about the spiders but apparently they remembered him. Flicking on the small flashlight he carried in his pocket he realized the rock by which he sought refuge was actually a bush covered in cobwebs and now he was surrounded by a vast hoary flock of spiders seemingly intent upon making him their next meal... every one of them was heading his way.

  "They know we're here."

  Though there was no one else around he spoke aloud if only to reassure himself of his humanity. Reaching down with the rifle butt he brushed the spiders off his pants as he fumbled in his pocket for his lighter.

  He had taken up smoking as a kid stealing them from his parents after they passed out drunk. Though Rancher Ford had put the cigarettes down a hundred times he picked them up again a hundred and one. Each time life threw him a curve he used it as an excuse to start smoking again.

  Despite knowing cigarettes weren’t good for his health he enjoyed the habit. Drawing a deep breath of smoke into his lungs sent his pulse racing and brought a clarity to his thoughts that nothing else rivaled. Though smoking cigarettes never failed to make him nauseous, especially first thing in the morning, he couldn’t wait to light up again.

  Now, he was glad.

  "Let's see how you little fuckers cotton to fire."

  Taking off his outer shirt he wrapped it around the barrel end of the rifle before setting fire to it with the lighter he always carried. Moving the flames in a circle about him a screeching sound detonated in his ears as singed spiders retreated. A second later the cobwebs covering the brush caught fire.

  If not for the good sense of taking off in the opposite direction as soon as he lighted the bush on fire he was sure he would have gone up in flames too. Luckily the fire burned out before reaching the shack... still, the air was filled with the stench of burning arachnids and the heat generated by the flaming webs scorched his clothing and blistered his face before he was able to make it back to the Jeep which offered some protection against the conflagration.

  "It was a spider bite that made me sick."

  He hadn’t until that moment realized that Evalena had flicked something at him that day when he paid a visit obstinately to see Billy. At the time he didn’t pay that act much attention... the bite was no worse than a mosquito. He'd shrugged it off as insignificant. Now, though, he realized how wrong he was.

  Unlike the inhabitants in the vast cobwebs surrounding him and the cabin—quite obviously harmless orb weavers though larger than he had seen in the past and scary as hell—he saw it as clear as day, as if it was happening in the present moment... the spider Evalena flipped his way had been a brown recluse... its bite caused necrosis and a slow and painful death.

  It gave him hope in the face of the grim reality of not knowing what was happening to him. Perhaps the doctor might have a remedy that he had not heretofore thought of not knowing exactly what they were dealing with.

  "If Yani didn’t get you... you're mine now, Evalena."

  Unfurling the burnt cloth from around his rifle barrel Rancher Ford started a slow and meticulous walk back toward the cabin.

  Chapter 33

  Despite unleashing a barrage of gunfire on the chabola Evalena had apparently made an escape.

  Yani thought they caught the woman by surprise but she should've known better... there wasn’t much in the world that caught Evalena unprepared. She probably heard them coming a mile away... or perhaps it was the spiders that warned her.

  Still, when she saw Evalena standing on the front stoop of the chabola the girl seemed distracted somehow, as if she was weighed down with guilt, maybe, but more likely reveling in her success at trapping the old man inside the cabin into doing her bidding.

  Why did the girl bend down at the last second? Had something alerted her to the bullet heading her way? As a child in Cuba she remembered catching flies before flinging them into nests that the island spiders constructed in the tall grass and watching as the vibrations of the struggling insects alerted the predators to their prey.

  Perhaps Evalena sensed their approach the same way. She supposed it didn’t much matter... she'd failed. Had she been able to kill Evalena she'd hoped that the magic spells the girl had woven over both Rancher and Billy Ford might dissipate but now she'd never know. There'd be no second chance.

  Billy needed help. Unless they were able to get him to a doctor and soon he'd be dead not only from the shock of the horrific bullet wound but from whatever disease he might be suffering from.

  She wondered if his kidneys were failing him too, like his father's. The boy seemed to have aged seventy years in a matter of months. At first Yani didn't recognize him nor did Rancher. When she thought he was merely a stranger she wasn’t as concerned about him as she was now. He might well have been ninety years old.

  She hadn’t meant to shoot Billy. She rationalized her actions by telling herself how she didn’t know the boy was there... that Rancher had told her only an old man was in the chabola with Evalena, someone of little consideration. If indeed the man was her father she would've gladly watched him die.

  She'd always thought better of herself. All her life she'd counted on her religion to guide her sense of morality even when dealing with strangers and especially loved ones... but now she realized the error of her ways. She would've gunned down a dozen people she didn't know in order to kill Evalena... a hundred, perhaps... maybe even a thousand.

  Yani realized she was no better than the witch. She played around the edges of the good only when it suited her purposes. Like Evalena, had she the power to turn back time in exchange for a human sacrifice she would've been drawn to make the immoral choice too.

  Though the boy was lighter than he looked several times she thought she might drop her end of the hastily constructed stretcher they were using to carry him to the Jeep. They'd tried to call for an ambulance but the cellular service had always been lacking on the Triple Six and especially at the chabola.

  "We can get him to the doctor more quickly ourselves, Rancher. I'm going to run back for the Jeep. While I'm gone look around for some bed sheets and a couple long poles we can use to make into a stretcher."

  Someone had been into the Jeep... the hatch was left open. Yani wondered if it was Evalena why she simply didn’t steal the vehicle. The keys were in the ignition. Looking in the back—into the well where the spare tire was normally kept—she saw a metal crate with the top still open. Inside were what looked to be sticks of dynamite.

  "She's going to blow us all up."

  A vision raced through her mind of Evalena lurking in the dark with a handful of explosives and the will to use them. The girl was clearly insane. Yani realized whatever she'd done to Billy Ford was trivial compared to what she now planned. For just a second she considered jumping into the Jeep, starting the engine, and instead of heading back to the chabola pointing the wheels to the nearest highway and driving until she arrived somewhere that no one knew her.

  The drive to the end of Cherry Creek Road took only a minute. By the time she arrived Rancher was fashioning a crude stretcher and Billy looked to be passed out again. At least the bleeding seemed to have subsided.

  "We have to get out of here, Rancher. When I got back to the Jeep the hatch was open. I think someone took some dynamite out of it... it was probably Evalena."

&nbs
p; "You should go, Yani... drive into town and get help. I'll wait here with Billy."

  "Not on your life, Rancher. You're not getting rid of me that easily. Come on... let's bring him outside. I put the rear seat down so we can slide him right into the back. Can you carry him?"

  She wasn’t sure which one looked the worst, Rancher or Billy.

  "I think so. Tape my hands to the poles, Yani... otherwise I'm liable to lose my grip."

  The man had used duct tape to secure the blanket he'd found to two poles that Yani knew were taken from the small overhang on the front porch. She admired Rancher's resolve but doubted he'd make it out to the Jeep under his own power much less carrying Billy.

  She did as he requested using paper napkins to protect his skin from the glue on the tape knowing it would rip all hair off the back of his hands when it was removed. Moving to the other end of the stretcher she bent down and took hold of the protruding ends of the poles.

  "Are you ready, Rancher?"

  "As ready as I'll ever be... let's do it."

  She could tell he was nearly given out by the time they reached the doorway but somehow the man kept going. When they finally made it to the Jeep she wondered if she might have to haul both father and son to the nearest emergency room but Rancher surprised her with his resolve. Once they had Billy loaded into the back he asked her to cut the tape off his hands before the man promptly collapsed.

  She caught movement out of the corner of her left eye just as she grabbed hold of Rancher to keep him upright. It had to be Evalena with the dynamite in her hand. She'd obviously been waiting, biding her time, until they reached the Jeep which she knew contained more explosives.

  She wondered if begging for her life would do any good. They were blood relatives, after all, and maybe Evalena would spare her. Sacrificing Rancher and Billy would be hard but why should they all die? Instead of Evalena a tall thin man stepped out of the shadows

  "Get in the Jeep and drive away as fast as you can, mother."