‘What a bunch of idiots,’ I thought, then corrected myself. ‘No, they’re not idiots. They’re just good people put into bad circumstances. They’re not thinking properly, that’s all.’
I took the fishing gear and put it back where I found it. I grabbed a can of stew and fed Barker then grabbed a pack of crackers and went and sat down. I was feeling tense. Seeing Cocoa and not being able to save her again had gotten to me and I couldn’t wait for Cornelius and Marshal to get back. The sooner they got back, the sooner we could launch our attack and beat Max. Then we could get this whole thing over with and get back to living a normal life. Hah, what the hell was I thinking; I would never live a normal life again. I gave the remaining crackers to Barker and lay down. May as well take a nap; there was nothing else to do.
WE WAITED TWO MORE days and still no Marshal and Cornelius. It shouldn’t be taking them so long and even Billy was starting to believe something had happened to them. Robert was ready to load up with whatever weapons we had in the cave and rush the out-of-towns’ camp anyway. Screw the others. If they were dead, there was no point waiting for them and if they had been caught, then attacking the camp was the only way to free them. Emma Lee tried reasoning with him. She kept telling him we didn’t have enough people or weapons, that rushing the camp now would be suicide. It was a useless debate in my opinion. Robert was in his own mindset and nothing any of us said would convince him otherwise.
My plan seemed the best. We should give it until morning and then head out towards Sarah’s. I still believed that’s where they went. What was keeping them from returning was anyone’s guess. Maybe they saw Max and his men and decided to lay low for a few days. Maybe one of them got hurt or maybe they just wanted to visit and have tea. I don’t know but it seemed like a lot saner plan than rushing a camp full of men and women that hated us and getting ourselves killed. Emma Lee and Billy agreed with me and we spent most of the evening convincing Robert that this was the thing to do.
“Listen, Robert,” I said. “If we can’t find them, then we’ll get as much ammunition as we can from the homes we pass on the way. I’m sure anyone out there would be willing to contribute bullets if not themselves to destroy the out-of-towns. We’ll come back and raid the camp then, when we’re better armed. Then you can kill whoever you like, okay?”
“I guess that would be the smarter plan.” He rubbed his chin and went back to his corner. “Yes, that would be the better plan.”
“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Emma Lee whispered to me.
“I don’t think he’s ever going to be okay. He loved Madge very much. Grief can be a strange thing.” I thought about all the people I’d seen experience loss; Ryan’s mom, Emma Lee, Robert, even us in some way. “It makes some people stronger, some people weaker and some people lost. I think he’ll be lost for awhile and then he’ll be stronger.”
“You think?”
“Either that or he’ll get himself killed for the hell of it.” I smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “We should get some sleep. We have to get up early and head out.”
“Nicky?” asked Billy. He had come up behind me and was pulling on the end of my hoodie.
“Yes?”
“Is it okay if I have some of Marshal’s chocolate?” he asked.
“Chocolate?” I looked at the boy as if he had just told me he was going to give me a million dollars. “Marshal has chocolate?”
“Yeah, a whole box full,” he said.
“Where?” Emma Lee and I both asked at the same time.
“Over there.” He pointed to a huge box in the corner. I had seen it but never thought anything of it. “I thought you knew it was there.”
“Uh, no, we didn’t.” We both made a charge at the box and pulled it open. It was full of chocolate bars! Kit Kat’s, Oh Henry’s, Coffee Crisp’s everything! Why hadn’t Marshal told us about this? I hadn’t had a chocolate bar since that day at the mall when I broke into the newspaper shop. I didn’t consider them a necessity when I loaded up supplies with Marshal. Obviously he didn’t think the same. But, wait he was with me. How’d he get all of these? Were they old, like, from a year ago? I stopped to consider the implications of eating year-old chocolate. Emma Lee had torn open a Hershey bar and was gobbling it up faster than she could peel the wrapper off. She didn’t look sickened by it. Piss on it. I grabbed a Kit Kat and tore into it.
“That’s it, the ladies will never leave now,” Robert muttered in the corner.
“Yes, we will,” I mumbled through a full mouth. It was sooo good. I grabbed a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and a green Aero. That was enough; three chocolate bars before going to bed was enough. I wanted to sit and eat everything but it would probably make me sick. Emma Lee, on the other hand, didn’t seem to want to stop. For such a sweet southern belle, she sure turned into a full fledged chocoholic pretty fast. She had already finished off two Hershey bars and was now ripping into a roll of Rollo’s. “Emma, I think we should take it easy.”
“What?” She looked at me and I saw the face of a child. She had melted chocolate smeared all over her hands and face. Her eyes were huge and full of an ecstasy only a pre menstrual woman could understand and I tried not to laugh.
“We shouldn’t eat too much before we go to bed,” I said. “All this sugar is going to keep us awake and we need our sleep if we’re going to reach Sarah’s by midmorning.”
“I suppose.” She looked down at the box of chocolate bars and I could see her desires for its contents. “Can I just finish these?” She held up the Rollo’s.
“Yeah,” I laughed and pulled myself away from the corner. I headed over to my sleeping bag and sat down. Barker stared at me as I opened the Reese’s. “Sorry, boy, you can’t have any of this. Chocolate’s not good for dogs. Here, have a cracker.” He sniffed the stale saltine and whimpered out a small bark. He lay flat on his stomach and watched me eat every bite. It didn’t bother me, though. I was kind of possessive when it came to chocolate.
BEFORE THE SUN CAME up the next morning we were already on our way to the valley. We only had one backpack and had filled it with water bottles, crackers, some chocolate bars and a couple of cans of stew for Barker. It was heavy and we decided to take turns carrying it. Even Billy would get his turn; we decided to try and include him in everything. Robert seemed to be himself again as he took the lead in guiding us through the thick forest. Emma Lee and I were new here and had no idea where we were going. Billy knew but we all decided to let Robert be the leader; it seemed to be keeping him sane.
We passed the pond but didn’t stop. I wished we had another free day so I could try fishing again. I think I was getting the hang of it and would have caught a fish for sure. Besides, I wanted to take Robert with me. It would have been good for him. He stopped and splashed some water on his face and I wondered if he was trying to wash the thoughts of Madge from his mind. He was trying to keep his mind clear and focused but his grief kept creeping in on him and every once in awhile it came out in anger. Maybe that was good, anger was another step in the grief process wasn’t it? I think we covered that in my grade ten psych class.
Barker kept beside me and I was happy that he was no longer limping. His paw seemed to have healed and the wound in his side had formed a healthy scab that he had finally stopped licking. He was a tough dog and I wondered why Max would have tried to stab him. Then the answer came to me. It’s because he’s my dog and the Scotsman wanted to hurt Barker to get to me. I was just happy he hadn’t killed him.
We’d been walking for about an hour when Robert stopped suddenly. We started to ask him what was wrong but he put up his hands to silence us. We were in a small clearing that was surrounded by trees and some twisted deadwood that was beginning to pile up. He looked to Billy, pointed to him and then pointed up a tree. Billy nodded and began climbing. I shrugged up my shoulders in a gesture of confusion and Robert walked over to me and Emma Lee.
“Someone is following us,” he whispered and I felt a thousand l
ittle sparks crawl up my arms. Someone was following us? Then why didn’t Barker hear it? As I thought it, his ears went up and another wave of sparks went up my arms. I put my hand on his back and he sat down. I didn’t want him to bark right now.
Emma Lee pulled a gun out of her belt and I edged over to her and stood with my back to hers. Robert still had his arms in the air and his head cocked listening intently. The only sound I could hear, though, was Billy scrambling up the tree. I looked at Robert, still thinking he was hearing things, and a smile slowly appeared on his face. Why would he smile?
“You’ve been very clever, but you can come out now,” he said.
“Robert, who are you...” There was loud cracking through the deadwood around us and within minutes we found ourselves surrounded by grubby looking men. They all had guns and were pointing them at us. “Oh.”
“I think you should drop your weapon Miss Emma,” Robert said and Emma Lee slowly laid her gun on the ground. “Their weapons are down. Tell your men to back off now.”
“You’re very accommodating, thank you.” The voice came from behind me and I couldn’t quite understand what was going on. I turned and stared at the beautiful brown horse and the rider that seemed so out of place there.
“Ryan?” I looked at my friend who had been such a big help to us. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking charge, Nicky,” he said with a pompous tone to his voice and I was confused by his attitude. “Like a football game, ‘cept I’m the coach and the quarterback. I get to set all the plays.”
“Are you here to help us?” I asked looking from Robert to Ryan. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t, Nicky,” he laughed at me. “You never were too bright. It’s probably why I never bothered to ask you out. Oh, you’re cute all right, but I never would have been able to handle the ditz factor. It would have drove me crazy.”
“What...ditz factor?” What was he talking about? Why was he being so mean all of a sudden? “Why are you...? I’m not a ditz.”
“Yes, Nicky, you are a ditz! Always have been,” he laughed and addressed the men standing around us. “I told you she wasn’t too smart.” I looked around at the men that were all pointing guns at us; Weasel, Jimmy and a couple more I recognized from camp. They seemed to be waiting for Ryan to give them more orders and then it all started to make sense. It was Ryan who had blown the dam, Ryan who wanted Pig dead. This was the boy I remembered; the boy who thought the whole world should kiss his ass. I should have known he would never sit back and let anyone push him around for long. I smiled and shook my head; what a fool I’d been. Ryan and Max, what a team. They must have had a good laugh at how trusting I had been. I was crazy to think a guy like Ryan would ever help a girl like me. Rage seemed to come out of nowhere and I wanted to hurt him in any way I could and my first attack came with my mouth, something that I was very good at.
“I’d think you’d like the ditz factor; it was the only way you could get laid if I recall. Don’t forget I saw your girlfriends. Oh and by the way I know that your dick factor is not that much. Susie Redmond told me, you remember her don’t you.”
“I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you.” His face was red and I could tell that I had gotten to him. I crossed my arms and stuck out my chin. I was done talking.
“Tie them up,” Ryan barked out orders to the men around us. “And get that kid out of the tree. If he won’t climb down, shoot him down.” He turned Cocoa’s rein and started to head out of the clearing. “Oh and shoot the dog.”
Chapter 16
I felt my whole body move before my brain registered what I was doing. Barker was in trouble again and I had to protect him. Before any of the greasy slime balls could point their guns at my dog, I had already jumped in front of him and pushed him out of the way. There was a small gap in the ring of shooters and I threw Barker towards it. I knew his only chance was to run as fast as he could away from here. He did it the night I was tackled by Max at the camp and I knew he could do it again.
“Run, Barker!” I yelled as I heard the explosion of a gun that came from behind me. I watched as Barker jumped over the twisted deadwood. Everything seemed to be in slow motion and I swear I could see the bullet fly through the air towards the departing dog. I prayed with everything I had for it to miss and almost cried out as I saw the bullet embed itself in a tree that was inches from Barker’s head. He got away! Again, he escaped while we were left to deal with our capture. I put my head down and breathed a sigh of relief. I had no idea where he would go but I knew he would live and that was good enough for me.
I felt my arms being pulled hard and I was on my feet. Someone tied rope around my wrists. I tried not to stare at the man as he tightened the rope and it bit into my flesh. Instead, I turned my attention to Ryan who had returned when Barker made his getaway. I felt a cold hatred towards him and wished I had told him more about his dear old mother that day by the pond. I should have told him that she was doing much better now because she had made friends with the vodka bottle and that she was rarely sober anymore. I should have told him that his parents had divorced and his father had moved on to the twenty year old coffee server from Starbuck’s. I should have told him that Susie Redmond gave birth to his stillborn son eight months after his disappearance. I should have told him everything but I thought he was my friend and I wanted to spare him. I would never make that mistake again.
“Take them back to camp.” He smiled down at me with a look of triumph and turned Cocoa around and left.
We were shoved and pushed all the way back. We weren’t allowed to walk together so we couldn’t talk or make any kind of plans. We were kept single file and, if we stumbled or tripped, were hit in the back of the head with a greasy hand. Emma Lee was like me, every step made her angrier and I could see her fury as she received an inappropriate squeeze on her butt from one of the men. Robert was nonchalant. I don’t think he was too concerned that we had been captured. To him it was just another way into camp; in fact, he probably thought it would be easier this way. Billy seemed to be the only one who was truly scared. He was a child and everything seemed cool and fun when we were on our own but, now that we were captured, his youth had taken over and every once in a while I could here him whimpering with fear.
It took about twenty minutes to get back to camp and I looked around for Max. I was positive he would be there smirking ready to laugh at our predicament but I didn’t see him. Instead, we were greeted with the sight of Marshal and Cornelius tied up and hanging from one of the wires that hung between the trees as if they were pieces of meat drying in the heat of the day. Their bodies were badly beaten and their heads dangled forward, lifeless. They were barely conscious and, I suspected, barely alive. Emma Lee gave out a gasp and I could only imagine the memories that came to life in her head as she stared at the two men she had grown to care about. Robert just shook his head and tut, tut, tutted and Billy started to cry uncontrollably until someone slapped the back of his head and he fell to the dirt.
“Get up, boy!” The one who hit him yelled and then kicked him in the side. Billy just rolled over and brought his knees up to his chest, looped his tied arms around them and howled in pain.
“Nice one,” I said. “Show how much of a man you are. Why don’t ya kick me too while you’re at it? Doesn’t girl come next on your list of people you know you can beat?”
“Like to talk don’t ya?” He started towards me and reached back and smacked me across the face with the back of his hand. I felt my head snap and then straightened it again. Tears stung the corner of my eyes but I refused to acknowledge them. This was no time to become delicate.
“Now, Curtis,” Ryan pulled up the reins on Cocoa and then jumped from the saddle. He walked over to me and smiled. “If you want it done right, you make a fist first.” He pulled back his arm and punched me. Again my head snapped back. I tried to focus but my eyes were more than a little blurred this time.
“That hurt!” I licked a d
rop of blood that seemed to be coming from my nose. “Great, you probably broke my nose!”
“Maybe, won’t matter though.” He turned to his men. “Take the rest of them and tie them up like the other two.”
“The boy, too?”
“Yes, the boy, too,” he ordered. “No one gets a free ride here. No matter how much they think they’re immune.”
“And me?” I asked.
“You? I have a few questions I want answered from you,” he said.
“What makes you think I’ll answer any of your questions?” I was beginning to really dislike Ryan Duncan.
“Because if you don’t,” he spat in my face, “I’ll kill one of your friends.” He walked over to Marshal and lifted his chin so I could see his face. “Perhaps the clown? God knows we’ve all grown tired of him.” The surrounding men laughed and spit and scratched their asses and, at that point, I wanted them all dead. I felt like Robert. I lost all sense of compassion and what was wrong and what was right. I just wanted to shoot every one of them and watch them fall to the ground like the useless sacks of shit that they were.
“What do you want to know?” I wanted to choke on every word but I had to stall this inevitable blood bath.
“Very good, Nicky,” he said. “The boys at school were right about you, with the right bit of coaxing you will give it up.”
“What do you want to know?” I repeated, ignoring his attempt to rattle me. I had never ‘given it up’ for anyone.
“Very well, don’t play.” He pushed Marshal’s face away and I noticed his body cringe with the pain it entailed. What had they done to him? This was much worse than Butcher’s beating had been. The others were being tied to another wire hanging between two different trees. I could here Billy crying silently and Emma Lee’s voice trying to soothe him. Robert was silent and I knew he was waiting for a chance to wrap his hands around a neck and squeeze. I kept my eyes on Ryan as he cockily shuffled over to me. His eyes were full of confidence and a hunger for power I knew had always been there and I wondered if he would have been a politician had he stayed up top; probably. It suited his personality.
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