The Lingering (Book 2): Rangers

by Ben Brown

  It had been quite some time since La Roux had left them to go in search of his companion, and Izzy had an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She suddenly felt sure that her family had captured not only the big Cajun’s colleague, but also La Roux himself. If that was the case, then it was only a matter of time until her family tortured the truth out of them and learned the whereabouts of her and the other women.

  She looked back toward the cave and pondered if it would not be wiser for her and the others to just run. After all, when had any man treated them fairly? Were the Rangers any different from every other man in her life? Surely they would abandon her at the first signs of being in danger. With her mind made up, she started for the cave but stopped when she heard movement to her left. She crouched and peered toward the increasing sound of foot falls.

  Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that she felt sure that whoever approached her could hear it too. She felt around in the dirt by her feet, and her hand stumbled upon a large stick. She picked it up and readied herself for a fight. If this was one of the men from the camp, then she would not give up without at least the semblance of a fight. With luck, she would be able to brain him before he realized what had happened.

  With these thoughts ricocheting around her mind, a massive dark figure suddenly appeared in front of her … and it seemed to be carrying something. Without thinking, she leaped to her feet, let out a scream, and then swung her stick straight at the figures head. The mass moved and her stick broke across the shapes massive shoulders. She lunged forward—hands held like claws—and ripped at the figures face.

  “Hold up,” the shadowy mass yelled. “It’s me … La Roux.”

  Panting from both exertion and the sudden flow of adrenaline, Izzy collapsed backward and fell to the dirt.

  “I’m sorry,” she panted as she struggled to slow her thumping heart. “I thought ya were one of the men from the camp.”

  “They’re sure enough out there, but I managed to lead them astray. I’m sure no one followed me, but just in case, we need to get inside that cave and out of sight.”

  Izzy struggle to her feet, it was then she realized La Roux held an injured man in his arms.

  “What happened to him?” she asked as she drew a little closer.

  “I don’t rightly know, but he’s lost a hand.”

  She moved back. “Was it taken by a Lingerer? ‘Cos if it was, then he’s already as good as dead.”

  “The wound is a clean cut and it’s been cauterized. I think he cut it off himself. Listen, we need to get him in the cave so I can treat his wound, so can we talk about this inside.”

  “Of course, of course … follow me.”

  * * *

  Izzy led La Roux to a small thicket of bushes, which nestled at the bottom of a large rock face. From behind the bush, the faint sound of women talking in hushed tones could be just heard. If someone stood a mere few feet farther away, then they would hear nothing.

  Izzy pushed the foliage to one side and revealed a tiny opening at the base of the rock face. She looked at the opening, then back at La Roux, and realized the giant man would struggle to fit through the opening. As it was, the only way to enter the cave was on hands and knees, but even if La Roux dragged himself in on his belly, it would still be an extremely tight fit. She looked up into the Cajun’s large, but kindly face and saw he was thinking the same.

  “First things first,” he said. “We need to get Callum inside, so I suggest you go inside and bring back a couple of women to help us get him through that tiny little hole.”

  Izzy nodded and shot inside the cave. She reappeared a few moments later, followed by two women who looked barely out of their teens.

  “You two stay just inside the opening,” La Roux said as he nodded to the two new arrivals. “I’ll lay Callum head first by the opening, then you two take an arm each and drag him in. Izzy you push from behind. Once yer all in, I’ll see if I can fit through the opening myself. I must admit it’ll be like threading a camel through an eye of a needle, but I’ll give it a go.”

  The two young women, Mary and Josie, positioned themselves snugly in the opening, and then La Roux lowered his still unconscious ward down to them. He removed Callum’s backpack and then nodded for them to pull him in. With grunts of effort, they instantly started dragging him inside. As his waist disappeared through the opening, Izzy dropped to her knees and started to push at his butt from behind. After a minute or so, Izzy popped her head out of the cave and smiled up at La Roux.

  “Your turn,” she said as she grabbed Callum’s pack and started to back her way back inside the cave.

  La Roux shook his head woefully and removed his own pack from his back. With a sigh, he threw it to the ground and dropped to his belly behind it. Using his elbows and knees, he began to traverse the small opening to the cave. Through it all, he pushed his pack forward with his head. It took him nearly five minutes to squeeze through the opening, and the ensuing ten yards of narrow passage that led to the main cave.

  Chapter 10

  After more than a few scrapes and scratches, La Roux’s bulky frame finally emerged into the cave. With a groan of relief and pleasure, he rolled onto his back panting. He knew a fast escape from the place would be out of the question, but at least the caves entrance would be easy to defend. After a few moments, he raised himself up on his elbows and looked around.

  A number of candles and a small fire cast a dim light over the interior of the cave, revealing a large open cavern. The enveloping darkness above the small ring of light made it appear as if the cave had no ceiling.

  He looked toward the fire and watched as its smoke twisted its way into the gloom. He noticed that the thin plume of grayish vapor seemed to disappear into nothingness. This he knew meant there must be some kind of opening above, otherwise the cave would have quickly filled with smoke.

  Around him, huddled on dirty blankets, sat the fifteen emaciated and terrified looking women. All but Izzy stared at him with a combination of fear and loathing. His eyes quickly tracked to where Callum lay unattended.

  “Ain’t none of you checked on him!” La Roux growled angrily.

  He clambered to his feet and quickly moved to his friend’s side. He found Callum in pretty much the same state as he had left him only minutes earlier. He was still unconscious and sweat beaded his brow. The big man dropped to his knees beside the young Ranger, then gently patted his cheek. When Callum did not wake, La Roux’s pats turned to slaps.

  “Come on, Wentworth, wake up.”

  Gradually, Callum began to stir, and his eyes slowly opened. “Where are we?”

  Relieved, La Roux dropped back on his haunches and said, “We’re in a cave with the women from the camp. Seems ya had a bit of a run in with someone.”

  Callum looked down at his mutilated wrist, and then closed his eyes. “I got jumped by some big ox from the camp. He tried to feed my hand to the undead in the pen, so I had no choice but to cut it off.”

  Even though La Roux suspected as much, hearing the words coming from Callum’s mouth still shocked him. “You cut your own hand off?”

  “The Lingerer had my fingers in its mouth, and I could feel its teeth cut through my glove and into my fingers. If its drool got into my system I would’ve ended up as one of them. You know as well as I do that bites are certain death … or worse. Losing a hand was the better option.” Callum eyed his surrounds groggily, and then asked, “Is there any water.”

  La Roux pulled a canteen from his belt, then raised Callum’s head and held the water container to his parched lips. “Drink slowly, otherwise you might start puking.”

  Callum took several small sips and then La Roux lowered his friend’s head to the blanket.

  “I saw a pot boiling on a fire, so I held my wrist against it to stop the bleeding.”

  La Roux winced. “That must’ve hurt like a sonofabitch.”

  Callum smiled a little. “It did.”

  “The big man who a
ttacked you … did you kill him?”

  Both Callum and La Roux looked in the direction of the weak voice. A mousey woman timidly returned their gaze.

  “Why, yes, ma’am, I did.”

  She nodded slowly. “I think that might have been my husband.”

  “I … I’m sorry,” Callum stammered as he looked up at La Roux.

  “Don’t be,” she said, “he was an out and out bastard.”

  Izzy stood and moved to La Roux’s side. “Let me see what I can do for your friend. It won’t be much, but I’ve got used to fixing people up over the years.” She turned back to the cluster of women, all of whom looked a little less afraid now. “Mary, bring me the medicine box from over yonder.” She looked back toward Callum and then knelt beside him. “Since finding this place, we’ve managed to stash some provisions here. Luckily, we have a little phenol, so I will be able to clean your wound thoroughly. It’ll hurt like bejesus, and I’ll have to do it often, but it’ll be the only way of slowing or stopping infection.”

  Callum nodded grimly. “Do what you have to do.”

  La Roux placed the handle of his knife in Callum’s mouth and then nodded for Izzy to begin cleaning his friend’s injured wrist. Izzy cuffed at her brow, and then began to swab Callum’s wound with the phenol and water solution. As she worked, Callum’s eyes grew wider with pain. The muscles in his neck stood out like cords on a violin bow, and sweat drenched his body. Mary dabbed at his head with a wet cloth, but it did little to sooth the young Ranger’s anguish.

  La Roux paced back and forth as the women worked. He felt both anger and pity in equal measure. Anger for the men of camp Maxwell, and pity for his friend. Finally, Callum’s eyes rolled up into his head and his body went limp. La Roux stopped abruptly, and stared down at his motionless friend.

  “Is he dead?” he asked nervously.

  “No,” Izzy replied calmly. “Ya should just thank The Lord that he finally passed out. He’s tough right enough, but sometimes it’s better to listen to what your body is telling ya. I think he would’ve passed out a while back, but he was just too stubborn to.”

  La Roux smiled and relaxed a little. “Ya just described young Wentworth perfectly … stubborn.”

  The big Cajun watched on in silence as Izzy carefully cleaned, then bandaged Callum’s injured arm. He was amazed by how tender and proficient she was at the task. Clearly, this woman had tended to many injuries throughout the years, and some may have been every bit as horrendous as Callum’s.

  He looked around the dimly lit cave and saw the other women were watching Izzy every bit as intently as he. They seemed to look as her in the same way children look at their mothers. He saw both admiration and trust written in their tired and pallid faces, and realized they would follow her anywhere she went. If he were to have any chance of saving these people, then he would have to make sure Izzy stayed both alive, and on his side. If he lost her, then the women would most likely abandon him and return to the camp and their former lives.

  As bizarre as this realization seemed to him, he had seen it before. Terrified people often chose the devil they knew. Such things made no sense to him, but he knew fear was a terrible motivator that often took people down the worst possible course. Keeping these women out of the Maxwell men's’ hands meant a battle on two fronts. First, he must win their trust, then he would need to best the Maxwells. In all honesty, he did not know which battle would be harder.

  “I think he’ll sleep through ‘til morning,” Izzy said as she wiped her hands on an old rag.

  Her words broke the Cajun’s line of thought, and his gaze turned to her once more. She looked back at him, and for the first time he noticed how big and brown her eyes were. He instantly pictured her as a frightened doe, but in reality, he knew she was far stronger than some fragile deer. Whether she knew it or not, this woman had enough strength for all her group.

  “Good,” he said. “I’ll get some shut eye too. Have one of the women keep watch at the opening, if they see anything, then wake me.”

  Izzy nodded then stood and move to La Roux’s side. She grabbed the lapel of his heavy leather coat and pulled so his massive, bearded face came closer to hers. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and then stepped back.

  “Thank ya for all you’ve done,” she said as her eyes filled with tears.

  “We ain’t out of the woods yet,” he replied as his hand went to his cheek. “I mean, we literally have to get out of these woods before we can breathe easy.”

  She nodded. “I know this ain’t over yet, but I wanted to thank ya while I had a chance. Can I ask ya your first name? Calling you by your surname seems wrong somehow.”

  La Roux grinned broadly. “My name’s Pierre, and I’d be right honored for you to use it.”

  “Well, Pierre,” she said with a smile. “You get some rest and I’ll take first watch.”

  With that, Izzy headed for the opening, and then disappeared off down the short tunnel that led to the outside world. La Roux watched her until she was completely out of sight, then he laid himself down and rested his head on his pack. He thought sleep might not come to him easily, but he was asleep within a minute.

  Chapter 11

  Callum shielded his face against the shaft of light stinging his still closed eyes. In the hours since his arrival at the cave, he had drifted in and out of sleep. The pain in his arm had woken him often, but once awake, he could turn his cold, stoic brain to the task of burying his pain.

  Over the years, Callum had become extremely good at burying things that caused him discomfort. Whether the discomfort grew from physical pain or emotional upset, he had found a way of squashing the sensations equally well. He would simply visualize the thing causing him pain as a tangible object. Sometimes he would picture the sensation as a ball, other times he imagined it as a tool of some kind. Once his discomfort had taken on a form, he would pick it up and place the object in a mental lock-box. Once the newly created object was safely inside the box, he would lock it with a key made of pure will.

  This technique worked well during his waking hours, but it let him down when he slept. His dreaming mind lacked the focus to keep the box locked, and as a result, everything it contained often came spilling out. This not only meant he often suffered extremely vivid nightmares, but also any physical pain the box held came pouring out as well. This had led to a fitful night of sleep, and an almost unbearable headache.

  Callum splayed the fingers of the hand shielding his face and gradually opened one eye. The interminably bright ray of light seemed to be coming from a small hole in the cave’s roof. The hole seemed no larger than three or four inches across, but it seemed to be letting in an almost unbelievable amount of light. With a groan, he lowered his hand and accepted the inevitable.

  Slowly, he opened both eyes to a squint, then blinked them wide. After a few seconds, the light seemed not quite so bright and he set about the task of boxing up his demons and his pain. After a minute or so of intense concentration, the pain in his wrist had reduced to a dull but continual thudding, and all memories of his lost loved ones had evaporated. He raised himself up on his elbows and looked around.

  The woman who had tended his wound looked over at him and smiled. She approached and then checked his bandages.

  “How ya feeling?” she asked as she laid his damaged wrist back down.

  “I’ll be fine,” Callum said as he looked around the cave. “”Where’s La Roux?”

  “He went out hunting. There’s plenty of game around here, so I don’t reckon he’ll be too long. I’m Izzy by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Callum replied as he got shakily to his feet.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’ve suffered an extremely bad injury and….”

  Caused by both his discomfort, and her unwanted advice, an anger rose in his chest and he cut her off. “Well, yer not me, so….”

  Callum looked at Izzy, and by the look on her face he realized he had spoken to her o
ut of turn. He knew his cold manner often upset people, but he did not want to upset these women, and especially not the one who had tended him so kindly. The last thing any of them needed was an asshole barking at them.

  He forced a smile and said, “I’m right sorry for speaking to you like that, but I assure ya I’ll be fine. Now, where are my weapons?”

  “Over yonder.” She pointed to a pile of equipment in the corner of the cave, but did not return his smile.

  He moved to the pile and pulled out his tomahawk. After placing it in the holster on his belt, he picked up his six-shooter and checked to see if it was loaded. He clumsily held the gun under the crook of his left arm—the one missing the hand—and with his right hand, he opened the revolving chamber. He checked each cartridge; replacing the spent ones with fresh rounds, then snapped it shut and holstered it.

  “I’m going outside to take a look around.”

  “Callum, I think you should wait ‘til Pierre gets back.”

  “I thank ya for your concern, Izzy, but I think it’s best I take a look around.”

  She nodded slowly and said, “Well, if ya say it’s for the best, then I guess ya have to do what your heart tells ya. But just to be on the safe side, let me send one of the girls with ya. Mary would ya do our Mr. Wentworth here the honor of keeping him company on his wanderings.” A young woman he remembered from the night before stood and moved to his side. “If he becomes tired or in need of help, then come and get me. Is that clear?”

  “Clear as day, Izzy,” Mary replied as she eyed Callum thoughtfully.

  Callum huffed, but did not say any more on the subject. Instead, he simply headed out the cave on his elbows and knees. After thirty seconds of scrabbling in the dirt, he pushed his way through the bush concealing the caves opening and stood in the bright daylight of an almost perfect morning’s light. He raised his face to the sun and took in a deep lung full of the fresh, dewy air. His head instantly began to swim and his knees felt as if they would buckle.