by Eric Baker
Stopping at the edge, he again pulled out his bow. Judging the distance, he knew he was almost at the limit of his range for pinpoint accuracy. He prided himself on his shooting, as most braves did. And he had put more than his fair share of small and large creatures into the evening soup pot.
Pulling back all the way on the string, Takoda aimed in front of and above what he considered to be the greatest threat: the woman. Just as he let his arrow fly, he saw the boy move forward. It was good, he thought. Had he aimed for him he would have missed.
Watching the arrow fly true, it struck the woman in the head. She stumbled and fell forward. Clawing at the dirt for a moment, she collapsed and was still.
Takoda could then only look in horror as the boy ran into the lawman’s outstretched arms. Grabbing his wrists, a look of shock and pain come over the lawman’s face. Flipping his hands around, he got his hands on the boy’s shirt.
Tearing his eyes from the sight below, Takoda ran to the side of the ledge and leaped. He slid and jumped, struggling to stay on his feet. Every step took him closer. Every step meant a more accurate shot. It only took seconds, but Takoda made the canyon floor and sprinted forward.
Takoda had only taken a dozen steps when it seemed as though the lawman’s strength had given out. The boy on top of him must have also realized it. Leaning back, the boy began a lunge straight into the lawman’s face.
Without thinking, Takoda loosed the arrow he already had ready in his bow. He aimed just above the lawman’s face, hoping to the ancestors it would impact the boy’s head and not the lawman.
Time slowed. The arrow sped forward. The boy bent down. The lawman closed his eyes.
The arrowhead struck the boy’s head just above the ear. His head turned to the side, then dropped on the lawman’s chest. Takoda watched as the lawman wrapped the boy in an embrace. Both bodies trembled as he sobbed.
____
Eli didn’t know why, but the boy who so much resembled his own Matt lay his head down on Eli’s chest and stopped moving. Without opening his eyes, he reached around the boy, held onto him, and cried.
He wasn’t sure how long he lay there, lost in sadness, self-pity and longing for his family, but it could only have been seconds. For the first time in the last few minutes, Eli heard the world outside himself. The sound of howls and growls became louder. As much as he had just wanted to die, now he felt a growing need to move. To live.
Before he could move, though, the boy on top of him moved again. Eli pushed frantically against him, self-preservation kicking in. But his hands barely contacted the boy before he flew back and to the side. In his place, Eli saw an Indian brave, bow and arrow before him, staring at him with an indecipherable expression.
The brave thrust his hand out, and Eli pulled back for a second. Then he realized that the brave was offering to help him up.
“They. Come. You. Me. Go.” In his stilted English, he said all he had learned from other Indians. Takoda pointed back toward the landslide. The path he had taken down was great for sliding down, but not great for climbing up. The rocks of the slide would be their best way up. Grabbing Eli’s eventual offered hand, he pulled him to his feet, and they both ran.
Eli was at a loss for words. He had never heard of an Indian brave helping any white man. The major fighting between the Indians and settlers had ceased a few years before, but there was still a good bit of animosity between their peoples. Eli was willing to take whatever help he could get.
Before he could leave, he had something he needed to do. Running to the boy, he rolled him over. Looking at his face, he could now see the boy only slightly resembled his son. He closed the boy’s eyes, crossed his arms over his chest, and said a quick prayer. Running to the woman, he did the same, only now noticing the arrow in her head that had caused her to fall. Again, he said a quick prayer, this time adding his thanks for the Indian that had saved him.
Then the sounds of a horde of half-dead, crazed people echoed from around the bend behind them. The sound of Eli screaming earlier had sped them up, and as they came around the corner, the leaders spotted Eli and Takoda. Loud, horrible, animal sounds spurred on those behind. The mass of people sped up as much as they could, intent on their victims. The bodies of the woman and boy disappeared beneath their feet.
At the landslide, Eli and Takoda climbed. Their only hope was to get high enough to be out of the range of grasping hands. Unfortunately, the lower rocks were the biggest, and they were having trouble getting a grasp to pull themselves up.
Takoda, having grown up in this rugged environment, was the first to make it to the top of a boulder. Turning back to the lawman, he stopped moving. Once again pulling an arrow, he aimed toward Eli, whose eyes widened at the sight.
“What?” Eli didn’t finish the word before the arrow flew past his ear, nicking it and drawing blood. He heard the arrow hit something behind him.
Looking back, he saw a large man with an arrow in his head, the sun having turned his face into leather so thick it was impossible to tell if he was black or white. The man fell backward, and Eli could see that the others were only a second behind.
Turning toward Takoda, Eli jumped as high as he could and threw his hand up. Takoda stretched down and grabbed his hand, palm to palm, and leaned back. Eli kicked at the boulder, trying to get a purchase with his boots as the Indian pulled him up.
Reaching the top, Eli took a deep breath of relief. Then the boulder shook. Below them, the half-dead crazies were running full tilt into the boulder, on top of each other, making it shake. Looking at each other in awe, they both turned and climbed the remaining rocks to the top as fast as they could.
It took longer than it should have to reach the top, mainly because Eli and Takoda both kept looking back down to make sure they weren’t being followed. Apparently, climbing was no longer in the skill set of the mostly dead. Both men were glad for it, but it didn’t keep them from checking, just to be sure.
At the top, they both took a moment to rest their aching arms, legs, and backs. At the bottom of the small canyon, they could see even more people coming around the bend. The echoes of those below were drawing them in.
Eli shook his head in disbelief. Where had they come from? He knew a lot had to be from the mines, but that woman and boy were most likely farmers. How had they come to this place?
Takoda got to his feet and gestured for Eli to follow. He had seen something back toward the mouth of the canyon he wanted to show the lawman. Grabbing the reins of his horse, he led them back for a few minutes until he came to a large mound of rock and dirt that had cracks all throughout its face.
Takoda pointed to the mound, then at the canyon. Making a V-shape with his hand, he made a fist with the other hand. Pointing to mound again, he made his fist fall into the V of his other hand. It was obvious what he meant; make the mound of dirt fall and block the opening.
Eli nodded that he understood. Then he opened his arms wide. But how?
Takoda was pleased. Now he needed to make it happen. Searching around for a minute, he found two pieces of deadwood that might work. Handing one to Eli, he dug into the biggest of the cracks near the mound. Eli shrugged and joined in, hoping this would work.
A few minutes later they had a hole about a foot deep. Takoda stopped Eli and ran to his horse. Opening his saddlebags, he took out a leather bag and brought it back to Eli. Opening it, he showed Eli the half-full contents: gunpowder.
Now Eli understood. He motioned to the Indian to continue, and he headed back toward the horse. He didn’t think the Indian would put his horse in danger, so it was a good bet he would be safe there.
Takoda took the bag and fashioned a crude fuse down into the opening. Pulling out a flint, he got a spark on the deadwood to catch fire. Putting the fuse close to the flame, it lit up. Waiting a few moments, he dropped the bag into the hole and ran to join Eli and the horse.
Smoke poured out of the hole. Then it let up. Then it poured out again. Eli looked at the Indian, bu
t Takoda refused to look at him, willing the bag to explode. Just when he was about to give in to the doubt, the ground shook.
The crack they had dug into was the first thing to change. It grew wider, spreading out from their left to their right. The mound of dirt visibly dropped at least a foot, then disappeared altogether. A loud crashing came from the canyon below as the ground beneath them continued to shake.
The new edge of the cliff face, where the crack originated, kept crumbling. The middle, where the gunpowder blew up, was falling away into the abyss below. Then a crack appeared, moving toward the two men and the horse. Eli stepped back a foot, and the horse whinnied.
Takoda crossed his arms and stared down at the crack as if daring it to come any closer. It didn’t help. The crack kept creeping closer as the rumbling down below continued. Eli watched him, wondering how long he would wait.
When the crack was only about a foot away from Takoda, Eli saw his foot twitch, and his shoulders tighten. He was ready to step back. Eli couldn’t help but smile at the audacity of the young brave. But then the crack stopped. The opening wasn’t large, but it was enough to worry Eli that the Indians weight might break through the opening, sending him falling to the canyon floor.
Takoda had been scared, but he would never admit it. Once the crack stopped, he also stopped holding his breath. He hadn’t even realized he was doing it. He looked back at the lawman and saw the smile. It was good for the white people to see the bravery of his people.
Motioning to the lawman, they walked to the edge, probing the ground with their feet as they went. As close as they could get, they peered over the edge. The canyon was completely blocked. Until the half-dead people down there learned to climb, they were penned in. Eli and Takoda looked at each other and smiled. They had done a good thing here.
Eli knew this wasn’t the end of it, though. He would get a posse out here when it was possible and take care of the horde. Hopefully, most of them would have withered away enough that there wouldn’t be much to do, kind of like the strangers in town that morning.
Town. He had almost forgotten. He needed to get back. After the emotions in the canyon with the woman and the boy, he had nearly forgotten everything. But now, having released the pain and sorrow, he almost felt reborn. He knew his family would be angry with him over his willingness to give up. They would want him to live. And to enjoy it. Thank the Lord he had another chance.
Turning to the Indian, Eli tried to make himself understood.
“I need to get back to town.” He gestured at his badge, then toward town. “I need to protect them. They need to know this is coming. Will you help me?” Then Eli pointed to the horse.
Takoda looked at the lawman. He had done more than he should have done, more than any other brave would have done, to help the lawman. Now he needed more help?
Takoda walked to his horse and mounted, turning to look in the opposite direction. His people needed to know what had happened here. He had proof. They only had to come to the great cut in the land to see it. But he couldn’t abandon the man now.
Turning back to Eli, Takoda walked his horse to him. Reaching his hand down, once again he offered Eli a lift upward, this time onto the horse. They would have to go around the canyon, adding to the journey, but they would get there.
CHAPTER FOUR
Doc and Daisy moved into the Cactus Saloon, each pulling a door shut behind them. The events in the street they had just witnessed weighed heavily upon their minds as they took care to secure the doors. They both turned to the main room of the saloon. The morbid sight in the room was even more grizzly than the street. Looking at each other, they knew they needed to shore up their defenses as fast as possible.
“I’ll get the windows.” Doc moved toward the closest one.
“I’ll get Frank started in back, then I’ll help.” Daisy moved to the bar to talk to Frank. She knew she’d have to handle him carefully. Not really a man of action, he was shell-shocked over having shot two men in less than an hour. Although now that she thought of it, it was good to know he’d step up and take the shot.
“Frank, honey, we need your help.” Daisy gave him a sweet but stern smile. “You need to lock down the back door and block the windows in the kitchen. OK?”
Frank just nodded at her, a worried, pained look still pulling at the corners of his normally cheerful eyes. She patted him on the shoulder as he walked past her.
Moving to a set of windows opposite the front door from Doc, Daisy pulled the shutters closed and secured them. She noticed that Doc was tipping over some tables to put against the wall in front of the windows. That was a good idea, she thought. It wasn’t much, but it provided a little more weight. That just might be enough to keep anyone outside from getting inside.
Daisy was just finishing up her last window when there was a loud bang in the kitchen and a scream. Before Daisy could move, the kitchen door flew open and one of the other waitresses, Maggie, came running through the door as fast as she could go. She hadn’t seen any of the changes that Doc and Daisy had made out front, nor did she have time to stop her forward motion.
The line of chairs from the tables were near the bar to get them out of the way. Another scream came out of Maggie as she put her hands out and ran straight into the chairs at full speed. Her hands did little to help as she flipped over the chairs. Her left hand slipped in between two slats on a chair back as she rotated through the air over it, and there was a sickeningly loud snapping sound. Then she landed on her back with a thud, right in front of the man that Doc had previously been working on.
The man was holding his arm in pain when Maggie landed at his feet. Without another thought, he reached down to help, untangling her arm from the chair. Her bone was visible through the skin, and blood began to flow from the wound. The man paused for a moment before continuing.
Daisy and Doc both saw all of this happen in just the space of seconds. They didn’t even have time to process what had happened when Frank slammed into the kitchen door frame with his shoulder, giving out a massive grunt of pain. There was a massive, bloody wound on his neck, soaking the front of his shirt and dripping to the floor.
“Ahhh! He’s in the… kitchen… help…” Frank’s words came out in pain-filled gasps, then he fell forward. A pan in the kitchen clattered, loud and startling in the second of silence after Frank hit the floor.
Daisy knew she only had a few seconds before whoever had gotten to Frank would come out of the kitchen. Although it was counter to what she wanted to do, she ran to the bar. It would put her closer to whatever was in the kitchen, but the shotgun would give her a better chance at survival.
She dove on top of the bar, swinging her legs up and over. Grabbing the front with her right hand, she prayed she wouldn’t tumble over the back edge and break her neck. Instead, her dress tangled in her feet and she hung on for a second, trying to get them loose. A sound at the door sent a shock of adrenaline through her body. Letting go of the bar, she slid off the edge and let herself fall to the floor.
Reaching forward, she grabbed for the shotgun that had been there since long before she worked at the Cactus Saloon. The shelf was empty. For a split second, it didn’t register. This is where the shotgun stayed! Why wasn’t it there?
Frantically, she looked around and spotted the weapon, leaning against the wall. Next to the walkthrough that led to the kitchen door. Movement in the doorway spurred her to action. Sliding forward on her knees, she reached the shotgun just as a figure stepped through the door.
An eerie moan, rattling with phlegm, came from the bloodstained lips of a large man. His eyes were like those of Hez and the others, black-red and wild. His dried up and weathered face was tight against the skull underneath. Daisy couldn’t help but notice the similarities with the man in the street this morning. Was it only this morning that this horror had all started?
Grabbing the shotgun, she fell backward, away from the opening, bringing the shotgun to bear on the man. Pulling the trigger,
she braced for the blast and the buck of the deadly weapon. Click. It was empty, never reloaded by Frank after taking the shot over her head through the door earlier. The shot that saved her life. And now may be the end of it.
Pushing herself backward with her feet and elbows, she moved once again toward the shelf that was supposed to hold the shotgun. The man in the doorway looked at her, then turned her way. Taking a step in her direction, he tripped over the body of Frank and fell forward. His head slammed down hard on the edge of the bar, a loud smack of bone and blood. The concussion bounced his body sideways, and he fell into the opening.
For a moment Daisy watched and prayed that he was down for good. Only a moment, though, as she heard the man emit another, even more rattling moan. Grabbing for the shotgun shells in a pouch under the counter, she jumped to her feet and ran to the other end of the bar. Looking back, the man was climbing to his feet. She knew she could drop the shotgun and try to jump the bar again, or reload and shoot.
Deciding to trust her ability with the shotgun, Daisy dropped the pouch on the bar and grabbed two shells, reloading as fast as she could. She wanted to look back and see where the man was, but she didn’t dare take her attention off reloading for fear of dropping the shells. Snapping the shotgun closed, she spun toward the man, swinging the shotgun around.
The barrel stopped, almost causing her to let go as pain shocked her hands. The end of the barrel pushed against the man’s chest. He had his arms out, ready to grab her. But then he looked down at the obstruction that was keeping him from his goal, and he reached for it instead. Blood dripping from his mouth, Frank’s blood, he grabbed the barrel with both hands. Once again, Daisy pulled the trigger.
Knowing what the recoil of a shotgun felt like, Daisy was surprised at how little movement she felt. The man’s hands were holding tight on the barrel, and the blast went into his chest, right through his sternum. Daisy noticed a small hole appear in the man’s chest in front of the barrel. Then she noticed an ever-expanding black and red cloud blowing out from the man’s back.