“Well…” Regina spoke softly. “We could just think ourselves there, you know, and get there a lot quicker.”
Stephen shook his head. “No, I don’t want to do that. I want to enjoy every step there. These woods are amazing, so full of beauty and so much to see…I don’t want to miss any of that.”
“Well, you two run along, now,” Minnie said. “But be sure to let us know what you think about the Golden Falls. I love hearing from people who see them for the first time. I can’t wait to go again.”
“Okay,” Regina waved back at them. “Maybe we can all visit them again in a few days…together.”
“It’s a date!” Donnie laughed. “Have a great time!”
_____
Stephen and Regina lost all track of time as they walked, hand-in-hand, along the dirt track. They stopped several times along the way to sit and lower their feet into cool spring waters. Deer and possums moved around them, eating flowers and playing in the streams.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get use to all this,” Stephen said during one of their stops. “I’ve never experienced this kind of beauty or peace before. I mean…I thought earth was pretty awesome, but nothing…absolutely nothing…compares to all this. Just look at the animals! That still blows my mind…how all the different species just walk along, side-by-side, sharing everything.”
Regina turned when she heard a loud purr behind them. A majestic lion looked at her for a moment before moving to stand beside her. Regina reached down to stoke its soft fur. “Yep, pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
Stephen froze for a moment and was utterly speechless. “Okay…now that was scary…I’ve seen the lions moving around before, but I’ve never seen one come right up to a human like that. Why didn’t he attack us?”
“Everyone…and everything…shares Heaven, Stephen. God didn’t create all this just for us humans to enjoy. He loves every living thing that he created, right down to the ants over there building their own mansions.” Regina pointed to a large ant hill to her left.
“Don’t tell me,” Stephen said while shaking his head. “Even the ants don’t bite, right?”
“That’s right!” Regina laughed as she locked arms with him. “Come on, we’re almost there. Look up ahead…can you see how much brighter it is around that last bend?”
Stephen took a deep breath while the lion walked slowly around and in front of them. The sky seemed brighter here than it had on the trail through the woods. Even though there was no darkness, no sun or moon, and no severe weather of any kind in Heaven, there were still shadows and shade provided by the voluminous trees. He looked behind him and then looked ahead. “Yeah…I can see that it is getting brighter…hey…that looks like golden sunshine coming from behind that bend.”
“That’s a good way to describe it…I like that…golden sunshine…” Regina pulled him along the trail. She reached down and patted the lion’s head as it purred at her one more time before wandering off into the woods. She watched while the lion stopped long enough to allow a group of field mice to cross in front of him. The closer she got to the falls, the more immediate the need she felt to be there. “Come on! Enough walking, let’s run!” She let go of his arm and took off at a slow sprint.
Stephen caught up with her in time at all. Neither of them became out of breath and they laughed as they ran faster and faster until they finally reached the final bend in the road.
Stephen stopped suddenly in his tracks, but Regina kept on running when the trail ended at the final bend. She wanted him to be alone when he saw the falls for the first time; she remembered her own experience well, and she didn’t want to be a distraction for him.
Stephen forgot to breathe for a moment; the brilliant beauty of what lay before him literally took his breath away. He blinked his eyes repeatedly to help them adjust to the sudden golden brilliance that surrounded him on three sides. The trail behind him dimmed in comparison to the entrance to the Golden Falls. The dirt trail was replaced with the bright, golden bricks. “Wow,” he whispered into the air. “This gives new meaning to the Yellow-Brick Road…” He followed the brick trail for about a quarter of a mile before it expanded into a larger, circular road. The circle was about five miles in diameter, and, in the center of it was the Golden Falls.
Stephen stopped and looked upward. A gold-mirrored wall surrounded him on all sides and reflected the falling, golden water as it flowed from some infinite origination high above him. He looked at the walls and saw hundreds of reflections of himself as he spun himself around and around with his arms extended upward. The glow from the walls and the bricks warmed his body and every nerve in him tingled with energy. He suddenly felt more alive than he ever had in his life time. He closed his eyes and felt the strangest sensation course through him. It felt as though something…or someone…was inside him, providing him with a strength, and a peace, he had never before experienced. He dropped his arms and hugged himself hard. Tears of bliss and pure, unadulterated joy poured down his cheeks. The mist from the gentle splashes of the golden waters splashed him and cooled the intense heat that seemed to emanate from within his body. There was nobody there beside him, nevertheless…he felt strong arms wrapped around him…and he felt another heart beat against his chest. He didn’t know how he knew it, but he did…he knew that God had just wrapped his arms around him.
“Oh…my…God…” Stephen continued to cry. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head. “Oh, my God…”
“WELCOME HOME, MY SON…WELCOME HOME…”
Stephen didn’t have to ask; he knew from whom that voice had come. His Father had chosen the Golden Falls to provide his official, welcoming homecoming.
Regina watched from a distance. Stephen couldn’t see what she saw because he had closed his eyes before he dropped to his knees. She, too, dropped to her knees and cried tears of happiness and joy. “Thank you, Father…thank you so much for loving us…”
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox…” Isaiah 11:6-7
15. Sam Infiltrates the Ring
Tyler was smiling to himself when he closed the café door behind him. His smile faded when he saw Clint Meacham standing on the passenger side of Tyler’s truck; he was talking to someone on his cell phone. He quickly averted his gaze when Clint turned to stare at him.
Clint closed the cover to his flip-phone. “Let’s get going. The Boss is waiting for us; there’s a new supply of baiters coming in. We’ll need to sort them out tonight and decide which ones to try out on Czar tomorrow.” He snorted an evil laugh. “From the way he tore at Spartacus the other night, I have a feeling he’ll go through this batch of baiters in no time. We’ll probably need to find some more before the next fight.”
Tyler bit on his bottom lip to keep from saying what he so desperately wanted to say to the scumbag foreman. He simply nodded and moved into the driver’s seat.
They pulled out of the parking lot and turned north onto the road leading back to Thomasville. They had been driving for fifteen minutes before either of them spoke.
“I saw you making eyes at the sweet piece back at the café,” Clint mocked. He puckered his lips into a smooch before licking them with his tobacco-stained tongue.
Tyler was repulsed but refused to let the foreman bait him into a confrontation, so he offered no response.
“Whatsamatter, kid? Cat got your tongue? Can’t say that I blame you for checking her out, though. I wouldn’t mind getting me a piece of that…” Clint stopped in mid-sentence when he spotted the large, black dog sitting on the side of the road. “Stop! Pull over, quick!”
Tyler had been staring straight ahead, trying his best to tune out the offensive innuendos from Clint, so he had not seen Sam sitting on the side of the road. “What…”
Clint l
ooked over at him and barked an order. “I told you to stop the damn truck!” He had his door opened before Tyler had even come to a complete stop. “Bring that leash and chain with you,” he demanded without looking back at Tyler. The black dog seemed to be taunting him as he moved toward it. The dog stood up and moved backward each time Clint took a step forward. “Bring me that damn chain, Jones!”
Tyler opened his door and grabbed the choker chain and leash from the back floorboard. He finally spotted the large, black dog and immediately recognized it as being the one he had seen in the back yard of the café the day before. He had been so focused on rescuing Spartacus that he had not asked about the large, black dog that had stared soulfully at him from the back yard. He was sure that it, most likely, belonged to the people who owned the café…probably, to the no-nonsense waitress who punched him repeatedly on the shoulder. “We can’t take that dog, Clint…I’m pretty sure it belongs to someone back at that café.”
Clint looked back at Tyler with a sneer. “And how the hell would you know that?”
Tyler knew he had said too much, and needed to cover his tracks. He could not let Clint suspect that he had any connection to the owners of the café. He did not want to do or say anything to put their safety in jeopardy. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I think I saw him hanging around there when I was looking for Spartacus. He’s well-fed, so he must belong to someone; it’s obvious he’s not a stray.”
“You’ve got a lot to learn, kid…” Clint spat out a wad of tobacco juice and turned toward the dog again. “This dog looks like a golden opportunity to me…stray or no stray…he’s coming with us. Now help me get him.”
Sam lowered his head and emitted a low, threatening growl. Tyler took a step backward and Clint grabbed the choker chain from his hand. He spotted a thick, wooden stump on the ground and picked it up as he took another step toward the dog. Sam lunged at him and Clint swung the wooden club in a reflexive manner. He made quick contact with the side of Sam’s head.
“Stop it!” Tyler shouted. “You don’t have to do that! He withdrew a syringe from his back pocket and quickly inserted it into the back of the dog’s neck, as it lay on the ground whimpering from the stunning blow. “He won’t be good to anyone if you bash his brains in…” Tyler fought the urge to pick up the club and give Clint a taste of his own medicine.
“Well, why the hell didn’t you tell me you had a syringe!” Clint shot back. “Hurry up, get him into the back before someone drives by…”
_____
The drive back to the Abbott ranch was a tense one; neither man spoke nor made eye contact with the other. Tyler listened closely as the black dog whimpered where it lay on the back floorboard. All he could do was to grit his teeth and hope he could find a way to help the dog escape before any more harm came to it.
Little John Abbott was waiting for them as they pulled near the bunk house. His muscular arms bulged beneath his signature black tee-shirt. He nodded to Clint when he got out of the truck. “You made the deal on Czar…no problems?”
Clint nodded and spat tobacco juice on the ground. “No problems…everything went smooth. The owner said he’d been wanting to get out of the business anyway and was going to be looking to sell Czar soon.”
Little John nodded and watched Tyler exit the truck. He thought the young man looked flustered and uptight about something. He waited until Tyler was looking at him and asked, “What’s wrong with you, Jones? You look like you could bite someone’s head off right about now.”
Tyler shot a quick glance at Clint and pursed his lips together. It was imperative that he keep his emotions under control.
Clint pursed his lips in another mock kiss and said, “Pretty boy here got his panties in a wad because I spotted something on the side of the road that I thought you might be interested in; he thought it might belong to someone else and didn’t want to take it.”
“What’s that?” Little John asked. He never took his eyes off Tyler. He thought that if looks really could kill, then he was convinced that Clint Meacham was a dead man walking.
Clint opened the truck’s back passenger door and bent over. When he stood back up, he had the choker collar wrapped around his hand and pulled Sam roughly to the ground. Sam landed on his side with a hard, solid thump. Clint kicked his backside. “Found this mutt just sitting on the side of the road…like he was just waiting for us to pick him up. He’s big and strong…I figured if we couldn’t train him to fight, then he would still make one helluva baiter…what do you think, Boss?”
Little John walked closer to where the massive black dog lay on the ground. The dog’s hair was too long for it to be a pure pit. “Looks like he might have some lab in him, but…he definitely has some pit, too.” He bent down and pulled its lips up. “Nice, sharp teeth…no scars…so, either it’s never been in a fight, or…it’s never lost one.” He didn’t show how excited he really was at Clint’s latest find, but he was already thinking that between this dog and Czar, he might be able to make enough money in the next two weeks to shut down the business for several months if he had to. “Good eye, Clint.” He stood up and looked at Tyler, who was standing rigid and tense. “Okay, Jones, put him in a cage and let him sleep it off. Let me know when he starts coming around…I want to see him in a standing position. Make sure you don’t give him any food…you know the drill. Water’s okay, but no food until I see what he’s made of…”
Tyler clinched his teeth together and tried to relax some of the tension in his arms and shoulders. “Yes, sir…I’ll take care of it.” He walked around to where the two men stood. He bent down and picked up the seventy-pound dog with ease, and returned him to the back floorboard once again. He nodded to Little John but managed to avoid any further eye contact with the foreman. He got back inside his truck and drove a half-mile past the bunk house toward the grove of trees that surrounded and housed some of the baiters and fighters.
Little John watched him drive away. “What’s really going on with him?”
Clint shook his head. “I told you, Boss…I think the kid is too soft. He doesn’t have what it takes to get these dogs in fighting condition.”
“He might be,” Little John conceded and shook his head. “We should probably cut him loose right now. I really don’t have a good feeling about him, but…we’re still short-handed. Just remember what I said…keep a close eye on him. We only need him for a couple more weeks; you can fire him then.”
“I’d like to do more than that…” Clint mumbled.
Little John heard him and said, “Once we don’t need him anymore, do whatever the hell you want to with him…just make sure he gets off and stays off this ranch. If it seems like he’s going be shooting his mouth off to anyone about what he’s seen here, then…you know what to do about that…”
Clint spat a watery wad onto the ground and grinned. “I know exactly what to do…”
_____
Tyler pulled into the grove of trees and was glad to see that none of the other workers were there. Training had stopped early today and most of the workers were at the receiving station, waiting on the new load of bait animals that were due to arrive. The receiving station was located at the other end of the ranch, closer to the burning pit. Tyler carried the huge, black dog from the truck to an empty cage at the end of the circled grove. He laid the dog gently on the ground and quickly gathered extra pine straw to place inside the cage. He filled up the water bowl with fresh, cool water before picking the dog up and placing him inside the 3x3x3 metal cage. He took a handkerchief from his back pocket, dipped it into the cool water, and wiped the dried blood from the dog’s ear, the one that had made contact with the wooden club.
“I’m so sorry this has happened to you, big fella, but…I’m going to do my best to see that they don’t hurt you. I hope you believe that…” A single tear escaped from the corner of Tyler’s eye and he quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand. He dipped the rag again and ran it over the dog’s neck and chest. He was
so concerned about what might happen to this beautiful creature that he didn’t notice the moment when the dog’s eyes opened.
“Oh, Tyler...please don’t worry about me…I wish I could tell you that this is the way it has to be for now…” Sam watched while Tyler wiped away the tear. He waited until Tyler dipped the handkerchief into the water again. He sighed when he felt the cool water against his neck and chest. Just as Tyler started to pull his hand away, Sam’s tongue darted out and licked it.
Tyler jumped, jerked his hand away, and fell flat on his best feature – at least, that’s what his own mother had always told him. “Jesus Christ, you scared the crap out of me!” he practically yelled. He scooted backwards and slammed the cage door shut. He remembered how the dog had lunged at Clint and he wasn’t convinced that it wouldn’t do the same to him. He grasped the back of his neck and squeezed it between his open palms. “Damn…you shouldn’t be coming out of it, already. There was enough in that dose to keep you knocked out for another two or three hours.”
Sam lifted his head and stared deeply into Tyler’s worried eyes. “You’ve got to have faith, Tyler. I know what I’m doing, and everything is going to work out…”
The dog’s gaze was hypnotic and Tyler found it hard to look away. He watched in awe and wonder as the dog pushed itself easily to a standing position. His massive size did not leave him much room to move about inside the largest cage they had. Tyler waited for the dog to growl at him, to show some sign of aggression, but it was soon obvious to him that he would not be witness to that. He got to his knees and crawled closer to the cage. “Hey, boy…” he spoke softly while reaching his hand between the bars of the cage. “Please don’t eat me, okay?” Tyler’s eyes widened in disbelief when the dog’s eyes appeared to twinkle with a hint of mischief.
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