“Nice crew. Got any stockades lying around?” I looked at Max. He didn’t smile at my remark.
“Go back to your tents,” Max called to the crowd, his eyes never leaving mine. They all booed and groaned their reluctance to leave. “There’s nothing to be gained by your presence.”
“Come on man, she knows what’s going on. She knows who shot Jimmy.” Jimmy must be the name of the lookout who stumbled into camp yelling and screaming.
“I said go back to your tents.” Max raised his hand behind him and I could see a gun clutched in his grasp. Still looking me in the eye, he pulled the trigger and a bullet ripped through the complainer’s arm. I didn’t know whether he knew where the man was standing or if he just shot randomly in the crowd of people and got lucky but it worked; the crowd dispersed without another word. I tried not to react to what he had just done.
“Not bad,” I said without flinching. “You’re good at shooting behind your back. Must’ve practised it somewhere.”
“You have an uncontrollable mouth on you,” he said as he put the gun back in a holster that was hidden beneath his coat. He walked towards me until he was inches from my face and I realised how much taller he was than me. “You should address that problem.”
“I speak what’s on my mind,” I said staring right back at him. “I don’t find that to be a fault usually. It reveals a person’s true colours most of the time.”
“And what colour am I?” he asked and I shivered at the deliberate purr in his voice.
“Your colours are still a little blurry,” I answered. I wanted to change the topic. “Now why did you have Miss Ugly drag me out here?”
“Miss Ugly?” He laughed and walked behind me. I felt my knees shake and stood up straighter to make them stop. “Yvonne will be upset at that title, true as it may be.”
“I’ll try not to use it in her presence.”
“Well, Yvonne brought you out here so I could ask you a few questions,” he said as he came back around to stand in front of me.
“Ask away,” I said.
“Oh, no, it can’t be that easy. I like to be civil even if it’s directed at my enemy.” He waved his hand towards the picnic table I sat at earlier and I saw two steaming cups sitting on top. “First, we shall enjoy some hot chocolate and warm our hands.”
“Really?” I couldn’t figure out why he was being so nice to me. There had to be a trick.
“Yes, it’s nice and hot and will keep you warm while we talk,” he said.
“My hands aren’t cold and I have no interest in hot chocolate; makes my skin break out.” I could tell this offended him.
“I have offered you my hospitality when everyone else in this camp wants me to rip you apart,” he hissed at me and for the first time I felt truly threatened. He may have looked young but I felt power in his voice. “I would not turn it down so quickly if I were you.”
“Fine, I’ll have some hot chocolate,” I said trying not to let him know how much he just scared me. “Do you have any marshmallows?”
“Marshmallows?”
“You know; small, white, squishy things. They’re good for toasting on fires and dunking in hot chocolate?” I looked at his blank expression. “Never mind. Any whipped cream?”
“I come from a life that didn't indulge in such unnecessary niceties,” he said as he led me to the table. I sat down and looked into the deep brown colour of the contents of the cup. “I’ve never heard of these things.”
“You’ve never heard of marshmallows and whipped cream?” I asked. “You must have been raised in a cave.”
“There was no choice in where I was raised,” he said as he sat down across from me, “but that is neither here nor there. Tell me, who blew up the dam?”
“That’s it? No more buttering me up? Just ask the question and get an answer?” I blew on my chocolate to cool it down, deliberately taking my time to respond to the question. I knew it was making him angry but I didn’t care. If he thought I knew all the answers, he’d wait for me. I slowly took a drink and then licked my lips. It was surprisingly very good. I looked at him and noticed his eyes fixed on me and a flush on his cheeks. “I have no idea who blew up the dam.”
“You lie.” He turned his gaze to my eyes and, this time, I flushed then quickly looked down at my cup. “I know you know who else is out in those woods. I know you know who killed Pig and who shot Jimmy. You will tell me what you know or...”
“Or what?” I looked at him again. “You’ll torture me; burn my feet with hot coals, force needles under my fingernails?”
“Your imagination impresses me but I don’t think I’ll have to do any of those things,” he paused and I felt a chill run through me. “I believe you’ll become more forthcoming to me very soon.”
“Yeah, yeah you’ll torture my friends. You told me this earlier.”
“There are other ways to make a lady talk,” he sneered at me with that half grin and I felt my stomach tense.
“Is that right?” I decided to turn the tables a little; try to make him sweat. “Well, maybe, I have questions for you, Max. Like why would anyone shoot Pig? Everyone around here seems to be able to live with his dictatorship. From what I understand he’s been around for a long time. Why, all of a sudden, rock the boat and shoot him? Unless, let’s see, you wanted to take over his little camp gang here and be the new king of the castle. Tell me, Max, were you getting tired of being the dirty rascal?”
He sat up straighter and stretched his back before he answered me. “You seem to know an awful lot for a newcomer.”
“Some things are pretty obvious if you know how to use your brain,” I said.
“Well, think of this,” all kindness left his voice, “that man in the tent came here earlier with two others begging for us to open the river. They pleaded with Pig to give back the water; said their very lives depended on the river. Not only did they drink the water it provided, they also used it for their crops. They sounded passionate and desperate and I know that desperate people are capable of almost anything whether it be well thought out or not.”
“I haven’t been here long enough to have that kind of passion,” I said and took a drink of chocolate.
“No, that’s true,” he said, “but you didn’t need to be. Your passion is born in you. I can feel it in every word that you speak. You don’t need a cause; you just need a reason.”
“What makes you think you know me so well?” I asked feeling a little bit like I was being stripped of something.
“Because you are exactly like me. Rat,” he called and I turned to see my former schoolmate standing in the shadows. I didn’t even know he was there.
“Yes sir,” Ryan came over, head bowed and waiting for instructions.
“Take this young lady back to her tent. I have things I have to do.” Ryan nodded his head and reached for my arm. I took one last drink of hot chocolate and then stood.
“Thank you for the hospitality.” I smiled a completely fake smile and made an over exaggerated curtsey. Max stood and grabbed my arm.
“Don’t toy with me, girl!” I could feel his breath on me as he whispered in my ear. “You will find that I don’t play games lightly and I always win.”
“And you’ll find that I don’t scare easily,” I said. I shook off his grip, straightened my hoodie and started to follow Ryan back to my tent.
“Tell me, Nicky, who shot Butcher?” I stopped and was glad I had already turned away. When I looked at him, I prayed the shock had disappeared from my eyes.
“Who?” I asked calmly. He locked eyes with me, smiled and walked away.
“You’re pretty brave,” Ryan whispered to me when we were alone. “I never had the guts to speak like that when I first came down here.”
“I think people like Max are all talk,” I said. “They’re like a barking dog; stand up to them and they don’t know what to do. Usually they just end up sitting down and licking your hand or running away with their tale between their legs.”
&
nbsp; “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve seen Maxwell do some pretty cruel things.”
“Is he the one who beat you up?” He stopped and I almost ran into him. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but notice the bruises on your face.”
“Oh,” he reached up and rubbed his head. “I forgot about those. No, Maxwell didn’t give me these. Pig did.”
“So, you must be pretty happy he’s gone, then,” I said.
“Yeah.” He started walking again but I could tell his mind was on something else. I wanted to tell him about my plan to escape. Maybe, he’d be able to help me. I was pretty sure I could trust him and as long as I didn’t let on that I knew him, Max would never suspect that he helped me. I was still adamant about leaving, too, now more than ever. I wasn’t going to let some wannabe pirate try to scare me.
Ryan opened the tent and I crawled in. I looked back and invited him to join us but he didn’t want anyone to see us being friendly to each other. I felt so bad for him; he was so strong and popular up top but he seemed to be just the opposite down here. It was disappointing and it emphasized how different things were here. If anyone should have been a force to be reckoned with, it was Ryan Duncan. I guess he’d been beaten up too many times. His spirit had been kicked out of him.
I said goodbye and turned to Robert and Madge. They were both sleeping. I shrugged my shoulders and started wrapping blankets around me. The temperature out here dropped off at night and I was freezing and so tired. I should have told Robert everything that Max said but I couldn’t be bothered. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open and was asleep before my head hit the blankets.
“WAKE UP!” I COULD HEAR something but my head seemed to ache with every sound that was trying to penetrate my brain. I slowly turned and tried to open my eyes. I succeeded in pulling apart the lids of one eye but it was too bright and I quickly closed it again. “Nicky, you have to wake up.”
“Aaaah, what the hell?” I tried to clear the fogginess from my mind so I could figure out where I was and who was yelling in my ear. “Where am I? What-who are you?”
“Nicky, it’s me, Robert. Come on, wake up!” He continued to shake me and I felt my stomach start to swish around in protest.
“Okay, okay, I’m waking up.” It was all coming back to me as my head started to clear. But the pain I felt was getting worse. “Christ, what the hell happened to my head. I feel like I’ve been hit with a sledge hammer.”
“Here, take this.” He shoved some sort of bucket beside me and helped me sit up. “You’ll probably need it.”
“Why...” I didn’t get the sentence finished before my entire insides escaped my body and I clutched the bucket and puked my guts out. It took me about ten minutes to finish and with every convulsive heave my head felt like it was going to explode. Robert handed me a wet cloth and I wiped my mouth and pushed the heels of my hands into my eyes. “Oh, God, my head hurts so much.”
“I know,” Robert said. “Your friend, Ryan, has been here a couple of times. He says Maxwell put something in your drink; a drug to keep you quiet for a few hours.” I thought about it. Of course, the hot chocolate he insisted I drink. How could I be so stupid?
“How long have I been out?” I asked, finally able to open my eyes.
“All day,” Madge said from the other side of the tent.
“Madge; you’re up? How do you feel?” I was happy to see Robert’s wife sitting up and looking a little more alive.
“A little better than you I’d say,” she answered. “Don’t try to move too fast.”
“Here, take these.” Robert handed me a couple of pills and a bottle of water. I looked at them and felt my stomach start to shrink up in protest.
“I don’t think I could keep those down right now,” I said. “Give me a few minutes. What’s been going on since I started my little nap?”
“From what Ryan says, you really rattled Mr. Maxwell,” said Robert. “What did you say to him anyway?”
“Nothing,” I said. “He wanted to know who blew up the dam and who shot Pig. I told him I didn’t know. He didn’t believe me then he got Ryan to take me back to the tent.”
“Well, whatever you said or however you said it, Maxwell was really angry.”
“Where is he now?” I asked. “Has he been here to see me?”
“Oh, no,” said Robert. “Apparently, he left camp early this morning and hasn’t been back. Ryan figures he’s out searching for our accomplices. Everyone here knows Marshal, the red hair is hard to forget, and I figure he’s gone with a little posse to Marshal’s place to look for him.”
“That’ll be good.” I could just imagine what Max and his merry men would do to Marshal’s place. We’d be lucky if there was anything left when we got back. “So, when will our fearless leader return?”
“No one knows,” said Madge. “Maybe late tonight, maybe tomorrow. Ryan says they took enough supplies for a couple of days.”
“So, that means we should leave tonight.” It made sense to leave tonight with the camp depleted and Max gone. Our chance of success would be good.
“Do you think you could manage it?” Robert asked.
“Do you?” I asked.
“Of course,” he answered.
“And Madge,” I started, “you’re okay with everything?”
“Sure am,” she said. “I’m not scared of a youngster like that fella.”
“Now, don’t try to be a hero,” cautioned Robert.
“I told ya, no one but us and that Ryan boy knows I’m awake,” she said. “I just have to lie down here with my eyes closed and they won’t be able to torture me.”
“I explained our escape to him," said Robert. "He thought it was a good idea and is going to help us any way he can.”
“Does he want to come with us?” I asked. I really hoped that he would be brave enough to break free of this camp.
“No, but he promised to come and check on Madge whenever he could,” said Robert. “You know, sneak her some food and water.”
“Then I guess we should get ourselves ready to go.” I tried to keep my hands from shaking. I felt weak now that I had emptied everything out of my stomach. I wished this headache would go away. I wasn’t going to be able to do anything until the pain subsided a little. “Give me those pills. What are they, Tylenol?”
“I don’t know; Ryan gave them to me.” Robert handed over the two white pills and a bottle of water. I tried to focus on the imprinted name on the pills. Yeah, they were Tylenol. Hopefully two would be enough.
“Let me lie down for twenty minutes. My head should start to feel better by then.” I lay back on the blankets and for the first time I realized it was cooler than usual. “Is it me or is it cold in here?”
“Yeah, it’s been raining for most of the day,” said Madge. “It’s a good thing these tents are waterproof.”
Great, I thought, now I’d be treading through the woods in nothing but a hoodie and cheap runners. I was going to be soaked by the time we got anywhere. I sure hoped Marshal had some way to make a fire when we got there. Well, at least my head would do better in the cool air than the heat. I closed my eyes and tried to convince my stomach that the water I had just drunk had to stay in there.
Chapter 12
Later that night Max was still not back and Ryan had been in twice to check on us. He brought me more Tylenol and my head felt normal again. The rain started again around supper time and now was a steady thumping on the roof of the tent. I didn’t really want to go out in it but we had no choice. The bad weather would help us with our plan. It would be easier to hide in the dark downpour and the noise from the steady raindrops would drown out our flight. It seemed the gods were smiling down on us finally. Ryan brought us some water, a few apples and a couple of dark blue rain coats. I had no idea where he got the coats from but I was grateful for them. They would help keep us a little bit drier.
The rain had helped out in more ways than one. The usual guards weren't anxious to stand out in the cold and we
t so it was decided that only two lookouts would be needed through the night. Besides, Max was gone so there was no worry of being reprimanded and we were supposed to be incapacitated so there was no chance we'd escape. Their watch would begin at around ten and by midnight we figured they’d be too tired and cold to check out every noise they heard. It was our chance to slip out. I found myself growing more and more anxious as the minutes passed and couldn’t wait to go.
Robert spent the time quietly talking to Madge and I regretted the fact that I needed him to show me the way to Marshal’s. I asked him a few times if the rain would hamper his ability to find his way but he assured me it wouldn’t bother him. When the time finally came for us to go, I was more than ready; my headache was gone and I had slept for a few hours. I had my rain coat on, my pant legs tucked into my socks and my shoes tightly tied when the tent flap unzipped and Ryan crawled in.
“Are you ready?” he asked us. We both nodded.
“Yeah, we’re ready,” I said. “Is the coast clear?”
“Everyone’s in their tents,” he said. “No one even noticed me walking across camp. Jimmy and Peter are on guard duty and they’re kind of clueless.”
“Jimmy?” I asked. “You mean the guy that got shot? He’s on guard duty?”
“He drew the short straw,” said Ryan.
“That should make it easier for us,” said Robert. “I assume Jimmy is not as mobile as he should be?”
“Yeah. He really wasn’t the best lookout before he got shot,” Ryan laughed. He reached into his coat and pulled out a small lantern. “I got you this. It’s pretty dark out there and I thought you could use it. It has plenty of kerosene in it and I found this old lighter. I don’t know if you’ll get it lit in this rain but if you keep it dry, it should be okay.”
“Ryan, you’re a real saviour,” I said and hugged him. “Thank you so much for helping us. Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? I mean, if they ever found out you helped us, I can’t imagine what they’ll do to you.”
Wind Page 12
