The Way of the Dogs (The Colter Saga Book 2)

by Joel Baker

  ****

  Frank couldn’t believe how much it hurt to be shot by an arrow. He’d been shot twice before, once with a pistol and again by a rifle. The arrow felt like a hot knife had been shoved into his leg and someone kept turning it. He scrambled as best he could to where the other men should be. He was surprised none of his men were shooting. He came to the first man with a slit throat and knew the reason.

  “Ed, where are you?” Frank shouted obvious concern in his voice.

  There was a noise further to the right and Frank dragged himself in that direction. He passed other dead gang members and thought he saw Ed on the ground just ahead. He dragged his useless leg over to where Ed lay face down with an arrow sticking from his back.

  “What’d you go and do, Eddy,” Frank said softly. He’d called his brother Eddy since he was a little boy. He picked his brother up and held him careful not to touch the arrow sticking in Ed’s back. He rocked him back and forth the way he had when Ed was a little boy missing his mom and dad.

  “Frank… I… I… I think they killed me this time, Frank,” Ed said.

  “Yes they did Eddy,” Frank said. “You’re going to be with mom and dad in just a few minutes. Won’t that be a fine thing? You’ll have lots to talk about I suspect.”

  “I don’t want to die, Frank,” Ed said, his voice growing weaker. “I want to stay here with you.”

  “I know, Eddy,” Frank said. “I want you to stay too, but you can’t. You got to go on ahead.”

  “I want you to go with me, Frank,” Ed said. “You always took care of me. Frank, I’m afraid. I don’t want to go by myself.”

  Ed Darby coughed pink foamy blood from his lips and died.

  Frank closed Ed’s eyes and laid him gently on the ground. He sat for a few minutes thinking about his life and what it could have been. When he was done, Frank Darby stood up and looked down the hill to where the horses were tethered. He smiled as the arrow hit him cleanly in the throat. He grabbed the arrow sticking out of the front of his neck with both hands.

  I’m coming, little brother, I’m right behind you, Frank thought as he fell to his good knee, then pitched forward dead before he hit the ground.

  Chapter 24

  The first week in March came in like a lamb. A warm breeze out of the south had everyone lined up by the tracks in a good mood. The children raced around as their mothers kept trying to keep them off the tracks. The train from Sparta was due any minute. It had been over three years since the first train load of coal was delivered. True to his word Jacob had managed to complete the track on time.

  Molly and Sheila stood off to one side waiting for the train like everyone. Little Shannon, now three years old, was throwing rocks and looking back at her mother from time to time. Her red hair matched Molly as did her green eyes. She was a pretty little thing and just a little bit spoiled.

  Sheila never stopped hovering over Shannon. She’d recovered from her beating by her abusive husband and had never left the Colter household. When James and Molly’s new house in Haven was complete, Sheila made the move, no questions asked. It was obvious to everyone Sheila was devoted to both the little girl and Molly.

  “Where is that train?” Molly asked.

  She walked over and looked up the track. Walking back, she glanced over by the coal office and saw Samson sitting watching Shannon’s every move. Even when Shannon was a baby, Samson had stayed very close. It was a bit unnerving to Molly at first. It didn’t seem natural somehow to have a baby watched by a dog like that. As a new mother, it concerned her.

  She’d talked to James about it and he treated it like no big deal. He couldn’t explain Samson’s obsessive devotion to Shannon, anymore then he could explain the dogs standing in a circle touching foreheads. He remembered vaguely Samson coming up and touching him when he was a boy. At the time he thought the puppy was just being friendly, but now he wasn’t so sure. Molly and James had their first real argument over Samson and all James did was shrug his shoulders and say it’s the way of the dogs.

  The sound of the train whistle sounded in the distance. The engine came to a noisy and steam filled stop.

  “There’s the train!” Shannon said.

  The little girl pointed to the engine hissing on the track. Sheila couldn’t stand it anymore and scooped the little girl up in her arms and hugged her.

  Molly shaded her eyes, finally spotting James coming off the passenger car carrying his valise. He waved and started in their direction. Molly ran several steps toward him and into his arms as they kissed.

  “Welcome Home,” Molly said.

  “Boy, did I miss you,” James said.

  “I told you not to call me boy,” Molly said her eyes dancing.

  “Nobody is ever going to mistake you for a boy, sweetheart,” James said laughing.

  “Daddy!” Shannon cried.

  James went over to Shannon and took her in his arms, twirling around. She giggled and hugged James tightly around the neck. After a big kiss, he handed Shannon back to Sheila. The couple headed for the waiting buggy followed by Sheila carrying little Shannon, finally trailed by the ever present Samson.

  “How’d it go in Sparta?” Molly asked, once the ride to Haven was underway.

  “It went alright,” James said. “I hate this job, Molly. If I never see another coal mine or train as long as I live it will be too soon.”

  James looked so unhappy to Molly. She knew he hated wearing a suit and bossing other people around. Molly worried about it a lot. James either roamed around the house or was off talking to John and Seth about business. This wasn’t like James and Molly knew it. She worried it was only a matter of time before James would do something about it. She couldn’t imagine what.

  A mile from Haven they passed a building set off in the woods to the right side. A large wagon was backed up next to the building and two men were shoveling coal through a basement window. A metal chute took the coal into a coal bin for later use. The building held the steam engine and the electric generator brought over from Haven. It was manned on a full time basis now, although it was still used mostly for lighting the houses in Haven during the evening.

  As James turned the buggy onto the East Ridge road of Haven, he saw the lines from the generator in the trees. The wires bothered him somehow, like they didn’t really belong there. They seemed somehow strange and out of place.

  Gees, I’m beginning to sound like Uncle Paul, James thought. I just wasted a week babysitting a bunch of guys who didn’t need it, when all I wanted was to be with Molly and Shannon. Molly is always busy, Shannon has Sheila and Samson, and all I have to look forward to are more boring meetings.

  James pulled the buggy under the portico of their new house. Sheila, Molly and Shannon disappeared into the house while James took the horse into the barn and brushed the horse down. He hung the rigging in the tack room then gave the horse some hay, oats, and water.

  He could smell bread baking in the kitchen and he went into the living room and laid a fire in the fireplace for later. It was early March and still cooled off at night and a fire would feel good. When he finished, James took his valise upstairs to the master bedroom and unpacked his personal belongings.

  The cistern up on the eastern ridge fed water to the new house so they had a flush toilet, a small sink and a bathtub. The water ran through pipes on the roof of the house and was heated by the sun. Except for deep winter, the system worked quite well.

  James stripped his clothes off as the tub was filling. He tested the water and decided it was tolerable, though not warm. When he got out he had soap in his eyes and stumbled around blinded and looking for a towel. He finally found one, wiped his eyes so he could see. He found Molly standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a smile.

  “Wow,” Molly said. “Looks like someone’s glad to see me.”

  ****

  When it was time for supper, they dressed and hurried down the stairs. Sheila had dinner on the table with dinner setting for two.

/>   “I already ate and fed Shannon,” Sheila said. “I thought we’d go for a walk and give you some time alone.”

  “Thank you, Sheila,” Molly said. “It’s starting to get dark so be careful.”

  “With that damn dog following us everywhere, I doubt anything is going to bother us,” Shelia said.

  “Samson,” James said. “The dog’s name is Samson.”

  “Now I remember,” Sheila said laughing. “The dog’s name is Samson.”

  She and the little girl went out the back door and started towards Colter Creek. Samson trailed them by some distance. James and Molly watched the three walk toward the water. It was starting to cool off so they got their food from the wood stove and sat in the kitchen to eat. It was now the warmest room in the house.

  When they finished eating, they went into the front room and lit the fireplace. They sat on the sofa in front of the fire and were quiet for a while. They heard Sheila and Shannon come through the back door. Shannon raced into the front room and jumped on her mother and father.

  “We had a wonderful walk,” Shannon said. “We saw another big black dog across the creek and the hair on Samson’s back stood up. It was funny to see. Sam thought it was a bear.”

  “How do you know Samson thought it was a bear,” Molly asked.

  “He told me. Good night Mommy. Good night Daddy,” Shannon said. She gave each of them a kiss and ran up the stairs with Sheila in close pursuit.

  Molly and James were silent for a while.

  “What do you think she meant by Sam told her?” James asked.

  “She thinks Samson talks to her,” Molly said. “She says some of the other dogs talk to her too, just not as much.”

  “How long has this been going on?” James asked.

  “She told me they have always talked to her,” Molly said. “Even when she was just a baby. I never mentioned it to you, but when Shannon was six months old I came into her room and found Sam with his head up against Shannon’s. It scared the heck out of me, but Sam just lifted his head and looked at me, then walked slowly out of the room. I ran over and grabbed Shannon up and all she did was smile at me.”

  “Do you think that’s why the dogs get in those circles and touch foreheads? Are they talking to each other?” James asked.

  “I don’t know,” Molly said. “Aren’t you the dog expert?”

  “Nobody is an expert when it comes to those dogs,” James said. “I’ll talk to Shannon in the morning. Now, is there anything you want to do?”

  ****

  The day after James got home broke sunny and warm. He walked over to the main house to meet with Seth. They met in the back room again. Seth was puffing on his pipe.

  “We got the coal mine track repaired,” James said. “Production is back on schedule and William was back from the doctor’s. He said he’d be fine, but he was still limping around. It didn’t look good to me.”

  “Do you think we need to find someone to replace him?” Seth asked.

  “Not yet, he’s still the best we got,” James said. “The men all like him and he gets the production we need to keep the coal coming. By the way, have you heard anyone comment on the dogs behaving any different than normal?”

  “Nothing about those dogs is normal,” Seth said. “But no, nobody said anything to me. Why?”

  “What about the circles, are they still doing that?” James asked.

  “Yes, none of that has changed,” Seth said. “You’re starting to spook me, James, is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “No,” James said. “It’s just that Shannon said she might have seen a bear down by the creek.”

  “Now, I have heard about that bear from other people,” Seth said. “They said they spotted a big old black bear up on the western ridge. We’ve told everyone to stay away from there for a while.”

  When James got back to the house, his favorite breakfast was in the skillet and smelled delicious. Eggs, bacon, fried shredded potatoes, with toast smothered in blackberry jam. He went and looked in on Shannon playing in her bedroom. He happened to glance out the window and saw Samson sitting looking up at him.

  “Are you ready for breakfast Shannon,” James asked.

  “It smells like bacon and I love the smell of bacon,” Shannon said heading for the door.

  “Just a second, honey,” James said. “Sit down on the bed. I want to talk to you,”

  “Okay daddy,” Shannon said jumping up on the bed.

  “Do you really think you saw a bear last night?” James asked.

  “I don’t know,” Shannon said. “I think so. It was even bigger than Sam, it had a big nose, and it looked old. I was really scared. I think that was why Sam told me not to worry.”

  “Are you sure Sam told you, honey?” James asked. “Do you really think dogs can talk?”

  “That’s silly daddy. Dogs can’t talk!” Shannon said giggling.

  “But you said…” James said.

  “I said Sam told me, not that he talked,” Shannon said.

  “How did he tell you?” James asked.

  “He puts pictures and colors in my head,” Shannon said. “They’re like words only better. Sometimes the pictures move.”

  James thought for a moment. It could be the way the dogs communicate with each other. It must have something to do with touching foreheads. They have always acted in unison. The difference now is they’re communicating with Shannon. He had to think about this.

  “Shannon, the smell of bacon is driving me crazy,” James said. “Let’s go down and get some of that breakfast. What do you say?”

  “Let’s go daddy,” Shannon said. “We have to hurry though.”

  “Why,” James asked.

  “Cause Samson is hungry too,” Shannon said starting for the stairs.

  Chapter 25

  James and Molly discussed Shannon’s gift at some length after breakfast. They both agreed the dogs touching heads had something to do with their ability to communicate with each other. Molly remembered that Shannon was a small baby when Samson touched his head to hers. Samson had pressed his head to James several times when he was a pup. Apparently James was too old at twelve to be imprinted. This did seem to offer an explanation as to why the dogs stand in a circle with their heads touching.

  “I just can’t believe something like this is even possible,” Molly said.

  “We’ve seen this sort of thing happen with the dogs before,” James said. “When I was little, the dogs would eat only wild game they had killed themselves. Now they eat beef or anything else normal dogs or people would eat. They used to only go off in pairs. Now they prefer to stay in groups of three.”

  “Why would that be, James?” Molly asked. “I thought it took a long time for things to evolve?”

  “These dogs came out of a genetic lab,” James said. “They were built to evolve. It has to be the reason the dogs keep evolving so quickly.”

  They decided to talk with Shannon some more about her gift. There were several other children in the valley about Shannon’s age or younger. Molly thought they would discreetly inquire if anything odd had been observed. They knew one thing for sure. Until they knew more, they should keep this to themselves.

  “In the mean time, what are we going to do about the bear?” James asked.

  “Aren’t black bears coming out of hibernation now?” Molly asked.

  “Actually, they started coming out some time ago,” James said. “In early March the mothers may have their cubs with them and are really dangerous. You don’t want to have anything to do with them. Even the male bears avoid them.”

  “The bear Shannon saw was a male wasn’t it?” Molly asked.

  “By the size of it the bear must have been a male,” James said. “They can get to be four or five hundred pounds. He was probably hunting food or was injured. It’s the only reason he would have come down off the ridge this close to humans.”

  “What does it eat?” Molly asked.

  “About anythi
ng we eat,” James said. “In the wild it eats berries, nuts, insects, that sort of thing. They’ll raid a garbage can if you give them a chance. They’re not real picky.”

  “Well, we got to hunt it down and get rid of it,” Molly said.

  “I agree,” James said.

  “Good. I’m going with you,” Molly said.

  “I don’t think so,” James said, assuming she was kidding.

  “I’m serious,” Molly said. “I’m going with you. You got me a rifle and you know I’m a good shot with it. We’ve hunted deer together. I’m going with you and that’s all there is to it.”

  “But hunting a bear is a whole different thing,” James said. “Deer don’t kill you if you miss the shot,” James said. “Why are you insisting you have to go with me?”

  There was silence for a few minutes as the argument fought to a draw. James was pretty sure this was about more than just the bear.

  “James, I know you’re unhappy in Haven,” Molly said. “You think back to the days when you could explore and discover new places. Go where you pleased. You feel trapped Haven. You’re not looking forward to spending the rest of your life doing what Seth and the rest of the family think you should. Honey, if you’re unhappy, we’re all unhappy. We need to decide what will bring all of us joy and then do it. Life is too short and we owe it to each other.”

  James sat for a few moments, before he spoke.

  “You make me happy,” James said.

  “You make me happy, James,” Molly said. “But sometimes it’s not enough. We need to discover what will let us stay happy too. Whatever it is, we’ll do it together. Agreed?”

  “Even if this means that one day we might have to leave Haven?” James asked.

  “Even if it means we leave Haven,” Molly said. “I don’t need a big house. I need a happy husband. James, I refuse to sit and watch you walk out the door by yourself. I’m going to be with you and that is all there is to it.”

  “Sweetheart, it is more than alright with me,” James said. “You’re not only my soulmate, you’re my best friend. Who wouldn’t want their best friend with them?”