Earthbound

by Adam Lewinson

  I looked all throughout the hideout. Nothing. Then I ventured outside. Man I wished I hadn’t ventured outside. Cause I heard some grunting. Wasn’t pigs grunting neither. I had to see it with my own eyes I suppose. I followed the noises around the side of the makeshift stables. And sure enough, I saw something I can’t unsee.

  “What the eff-” I shouldn’t have said anything, I just couldn’t help it. Cause then they saw me. If I had just turned around and gone back inside, well, at least they wouldn’t know what I knew.

  “Oh my God!” Becca yelped, doing her best to cover herself up. “Asher!”

  I didn’t need to see anymore. I just turned and walked right out of the gate. I heard them both screaming after me but I didn’t care. Didn’t care where I was walking to neither. Let the wolves and bears get me. Hell, let the wild boar eat me, I didn’t care.

  I didn’t like it. Why couldn’t it have just been a kiss? But come on, I know Pace. You know him well enough by now too. He’d never stop at just a kiss.

  I knew in that moment I’d lost the competition for Becca. Not sure I ever had a chance.

  I’d lost. Pace had won. I shoulda been happy for them.

  But I wasn’t.

  I almost never went back to that hideout. But by dawn cooler heads had prevailed. If this was what Becca wanted, then this was what she wanted. Couldn’t blame her. Just had to accept it.

  Hadn’t slept at all since I left. Didn’t look like Becca or Pace had either. I ignored them. Sat down to eat my beans, and noticed Pace and Becca were both kinda quiet. Not looking at me none. Not looking at each other neither.

  “Almost time to go,” I announced eventually. Even though I’m not much of a talker, I don’t like that much quiet. Nobody said nothing after that. But I noticed Becca holding her cup of beans up for Pace and letting him get a little more from her portion.

  I put down my beans. Lost my appetite at that point. Becca noticed. I saw her shoot a worried look to Pace. Yeah, the two of them. Conspiring.

  “I’ll be waiting outside until you two finish… whatever it is you two are doing.”

  Then I went outside and prepped Charon for battle.

  Finally Becca came out to see me. Alone. Only a few feet from where I saw her and Pace, well, you know.

  I did my best to ignore her.

  “I’m staying here,” she said.

  “Good,” I replied. “Wouldn’t want you with us being a distraction for Pace.”

  “Oh Asher, it’s not like that…” Becca’s words trailed off. It was like that.

  She put her hand on my arm, finally tried to make eye contact with me. “Asher, please! You don’t need to do this!”

  Finally I turned and looked right into her eyes. “Give me a reason not to.”

  I just stared at her with the steeliest eyes I could manage. I was daring her to say something. Anything.

  She glanced away immediately. Yeah, she couldn’t give me a reason not to.

  “It’s not like you think it is,” she exhaled finally. “Me and Pace. I mean, last night could be the last night I’m ever going to see you two again. And me and Pace, well…”

  “I get it,” I said, letting her off the hook. “You chose him. It’s fine. You love him. I understand, he’s… he’s my best friend. If not me, well then, I suppose him. I just wish you didn’t sneak behind my back.”

  “I’m sorry, we… I’m sorry.” She teared up for a second. “It’s not what you think, though. It didn’t mean anything. I don’t love Pace. Not in that way. It was just… it was something I couldn’t do with you.”

  In that moment I knew what it felt like to get shot. So I did what you do when you get shot. I recoiled. I turned my back on her and tended to my horse.

  “Asher, that didn’t come out right. I mean… I just… Asher?”

  But that was it. I was dead. Bullet right in the heart.

  I heard her rummaging through something. Didn’t much care. Then she reached out to me again. “I have something for you.”

  I turned. She reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out the one thing I’ve been wanting ever since I started this adventure. Salt. A big old pound of salt. She handed it to me and I swear I wanted to cry. But I didn’t. Of course.

  “But how did you remember…”

  “I listen to you,” she said with a smile. “Now go catch a pig or something and make some bacon.” I didn’t stop her from giving me a kiss on the cheek, and then she turned and walked back into the hideout.

  Then I realized something.

  The pound of salt was my consolation prize for not getting the girl.

  Effing salt.

  Pace and I rode in silence to our position at Tower Rock. There was much to be said but neither of us really wanted to. Or maybe we wanted to keep our head in the game. I dunno.

  The climb to the top of Tower Rock was a struggle, I have to admit. I had an easier time than Pace but still, there were lots of steep spots where there wasn’t much to get a toehold on. But Pace and I made it up in once piece. I gave Pace a hand a couple a times. Didn’t want him tumbling down. It was a particularly warm day, the warmest I could remember, which helped make the climb pleasant. Although when we reached the top the wind picked up quite a lot and I was glad I was bundled up.

  We placed ourselves with a broad view of the highway to the south. With our field glasses that we had picked up, we had a real good view, not just of route 15 but as far as we could see across the Great Plains. We had a long wait ahead of us. And I didn’t mind it at all. Gave me the opportunity to finally say something to Pace. But as usual he beat me to it, and cut right to the heart of it as he always did.

  “So… I’m sorry about what you saw last night.”

  I grumbled a little. “She’s not my girlfriend, so, whatever.”

  “She’s not mine either. I mean, I’ve got no more claim on her than you do. Probably less, I suppose. It was just… a thing. You know what I mean? It didn’t mean anything.”

  Pace gave me an opportunity to shove a knife into a wound, so I took it. “That’s what she told me too. Said it didn’t mean anything.”

  “She did?” Pace seemed a little puzzled by that. Heh. Just trying to keep everyone honest is all.

  “It’s okay if you love her, Pace. If she’s not gonna be with me, well then, if you two make each other happy then so be it.”

  “That’s very understanding of you, Ash. But, uh, as a point of fact, I think she likes you better.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “You two have history is all. It’s complicated. And you know me, I’m not complicated. And… and I’m sorry for saying this, but you’re cursed with a romantic’s heart. That’s what I’m saying. You’ve got to really like the girl you do it with. That’s why you didn’t hook up with that girl up in Augusta or that prostitute in Conrad.”

  “I liked them both fine,” I sighed. “It’s just… you know…”

  “They’re no Rebecca.”

  “Right.”

  “Well that’s never stopped me from having a good time. Ask Grace back in Augusta or any number of girls.”

  “I’m not like you. I can’t just shift things around in my head like that. If I’m gonna be with a girl I gotta, you know… kinda like her.”

  “Or love her. You can say it. You love Rebecca.”

  I couldn’t say it, but of course I love Becca.

  “And I do too,” Pace continued, not needing me to give him an answer. “But love is a lady’s prerogative. We can love all we want, but until they love us back, we’ve got nothing but empty kisses and hollow hearts.”

  “You don’t think Becca loves you?” I asked.

  “Me?” He thought about that for a second. “Me she lusts. You she loves.” The words hung in the air, like a bald eagle hitting a wind pocket and just gliding for a second. I chose not to say anything else. I just looked away and spat.

  We heard the earth rumble coming from the south. Thought it maybe was th
e transport. But no, it was too many hooves. Pretty soon we saw a herd of wild bison rounding the corner, racing off to, well, wherever they wanted. It was impressive. I wished I was out riding Charon, trying to herd ‘em. Maybe pick one off and make jerky with that salt Becca got me. Instead though we just watched ‘em go. We had a different job to do.

  After the earth returned to silence, I hoped Pace had forgotten all about our conversation. But no. Course he hadn’t.

  “I’m not sure Rebecca wants anything to do with either one of us anymore,” Pace forged on. “The minute we turned outlaw it was over for both of us. Let’s face it. We get the transport and leave the Great Plains, do you really think our outlaw ways are over? Isn’t it just the most exciting thing you’ve ever done? We go to Canada or wherever, even if we never rob a bank again there’ll be something else. We’re not going to stop and eventually Rebecca will leave us both.”

  I didn’t answer, but deep down I had a feeling Pace was right.

  “So… how was it?” I asked.

  Pace looked at me, not sure if I was saying what I was saying. When he got the sense I was saying what I was saying, he laughed a little bit. “I’ve been with a lot of women. She’s special.”

  Special indeed. In that moment, we heard something. Rocks tumbling, dust being turned up. Somebody was climbing up Tower Rock. We drew our weapons and crept over to the edge to take a look. Imagine my surprise to see Becca scrambling up that hill. And she was doing a fine job of it too, despite her prairie dress. We reached over and pulled her up to the top when she got close.

  “What on earth are you doing here?” Pace asked. Becca was a little out of breath so she didn’t answer right away. “We thought you were going to wait for us back at the hideout.”

  “That was the right thing to do,” I added. “Not sure how safe it’ll be here.”

  “You’re right,” Becca replied, still catching her breath. “It’s not safe. Not safe at all. You need to get out of here. Now!”

  I was taken aback by the look in her deep brown eyes. After all we’d been through, she looked real scared.

  “Rebecca,” Pace said, “take a few breaths and calm down. What are you saying?”

  “I… I’m saying I did something.” Becca immediately melted down crying. “I was hoping I could convince you to run. I tried, I pleaded. But you wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry, I’m sorry! So sorry!”

  Pace was angry. “Becca, what the eff did you do?”

  “Back in Choteau I paid that girl to send a message. That you’d be here, waiting for the transport. So you could be arrested. Stand trial. I thought it was for your own good. Jail is safer than death.”

  I couldn’t really believe the words Becca was saying. Neither could Pace. “You betrayed us?” he said, getting angry real quick. “You betrayed us to save us?”

  Becca tried her best to defend herself. “I had to. You gave me no choice. You already have everything you need. You always did. You just wouldn’t understand that. This is it. Run. Run away right now before it’s too late! This is your last chance!”

  Another voice chimed in. A familiar voice.

  “It was their last chance.”

  In all the commotion we didn’t hear someone else climbing up Tower Rock. And that someone stood before us, aiming his weapons at us.

  Boze.

  “Oh eff you, Boze!” Pace shouted. He was heated up. I was more focused on watching Boze’s trigger fingers.

  “Before you boys do anything stupid,” Boze said coolly, “I’ve got my Nuggets in various positions aiming shotguns right at your chests. Take a look.”

  I turned and saw Birkin, Lister and Priestly, each standing triangulated across route 15, each with shotguns pointed at us. I was disappointed to see Birkin the most. Kinda hoped he’d drowned in the Missouri. Oh well.

  “Good tactual work, Boze,” I said. I hadda call it like I seen it.

  “Weapons,” Boze ordered.

  I threw mine to the dirt. I looked at Pace and indicated that he needed to do the same. Reluctantly he did.

  Boze glanced at Becca. “You did the right thing,” he said. “And I appreciate the choice you made.”

  “Choice?” Pace asked.

  “She’s chosen to come back to me. Guess you didn’t know that, huh.”

  Becca was in tears. “I’m so sorry!”

  Pace was annoyed with her apology. “If you don’t mind, I’d prefer you stop saying that. It isn’t really helping us at the moment.”

  It definitely was not. I needed all my thinking powers in that moment to ponder our options. If Boze would lower his weapons or turn his attention away from us for just a second, Pace and I could dive down and likely miss the shotgun fire. Take our chances from there. But Becca could get caught in the crossfire. I couldn’t risk that. So I hadda think of what would happen if we gave ourselves up all peaceful like.

  “I’m concerned about Birkin,” I said. “He threatened Becca back in Conrad. Can you guarantee her safety?”

  Boze nodded. “I can. I know Birkin can go off the rails at times, but he just wants your head. Now he’ll get it. He’s got no more need of Rebecca.”

  “Thank you kindly,” I responded. Boze always was an idiot but always enough of a gentleman that I felt like I could take him at his word.

  “So what happens now?” Pace asked.

  “We take you back to Great Falls,” Boze replied. “You might get a little roughed up in the process, I’m sorry to say.”

  That made Becca angry. “Boze, in my message I asked you to promise not to use force!”

  “I’ll do my best, Rebecca. But that’s where I can’t control the Nuggets much.” I wanted to see the Nuggets try to lay a hand on me. Even if I was handcuffed, it would end worse for them than me. “But I’ll promise a fair trial. It is a shame though. I did just reinstitute the death penalty.”

  That made Becca furious. Gun or no gun, Becca clocked Boze good across his chin. I glanced at Pace. This was our moment of opportunity. Hadda take it. We dove forward, hopefully out of rifle range, and grabbed our guns. Shotgun fire rang out but fortunately it missed all of us. Me and Pace crawled toward the center of Tower Rock. No shotguns could reach us there. Then we stood up. Unfortunately Boze had righted himself as well. We had a good old fashioned stand-off on our hands.

  “Climb up!” I could hear one of the Nuggets yell. They were gonna climb up Tower Rock themselves. In a minute, we’d be outnumbered with nowhere to run. We needed to do something fast.

  “Put your guns down and let’s talk about this,” Becca pleaded. But no one was gonna do that anytime soon.

  I heard the sounds of the Nuggets climbing up the side of Tower Rock. Sounded like one of them slipped and fell down. Hope that one broke his neck.

  I looked at Pace. Boze just needed to hold us off another minute. Then it’d be all over. And I had nothing. “Pace, you got any ideas?”

  Fortunately he did. “You know Boze, it doesn’t really need to be like this.”

  “It doesn’t? What way does it really need to be?”

  “Let’s face it. Life in Great Falls isn’t enough for any of us. And whatever nickels and dimes you can shakedown or skim off the top isn’t enough to make a difference. We need to amass great wealth to make a difference in our lives.”

  “What are you going on about?” Boze asked.

  Pace continued. “There’s not much hope trying to make an honest living. And bank robbing… well, that’s been mighty lucrative to us.”

  “It’s been profitable,” I added, liking where he was going.

  “There’s not many good business opportunities out here in the Great Plains,” Pace continued. “I think you’ve found a good one. That transport’s coming around soon with a lot of gold. Would be a damned missed opportunity to let it ride on by. If, let’s say, you and your boys help us stop that transport, we could split the haul fifty-fifty.”

  Boze was listening. No reason for him not to. He had the upper hand. “This is
where your argument breaks down. I like my life in Great Falls, now that Rebecca’s coming home with me. I see no need for me to turn outlaw.”

  “A piece of a hundred thousand gold coins doesn’t change your mind?”

  Time was up. All three Nuggets made it to the top of Tower Rock. They pointed their weapons at us while they surrounded me and Pace. Closed right on in until they were inches away. Pace and I instinctively shifted, back to back, so we could each cover a 180° area of Tower Rock.

  I studied Priestly and Lister. I could tell by their eyes they were waiting. They weren’t gonna shoot unless the boss told ‘em too. Then I eyed Birkin. He was always the one to watch out for. Not the smartest, but definitely the most dangerous. And he had his shotgun aimed right at me. I noticed his head was bandaged up from his fall off his horse. Must’a hurt.

  Pace noticed too. He laughed. “How’s your head, Birkin? Thought you knew how to ride a horse better than that!”

  Birkin squinted his eyes with his meanest look and shoved the barrel of his shotgun in the side of Pace’s head.

  Boze put his hand on Birkin’s shotgun and calmly turned it back toward me. Nice move, Boze, I really appreciated that. At least Boze had his head in the game.

  Becca tried to be the voice of reason in all this. “You all need to know that if any of you starts shooting, several are you are going to die. On both sides. Think about that. Inky black death. Do you want that?”

  “Shut the eff up, woman,” Birkin scowled.

  “That’s not very polite, Birkin,” Pace lectured.

  “I agree,” I added. “Leave her outta this.”

  “They’re right,” Boze agreed. “Shut the eff up, Birkin.”

  Birkin grumbled but listened to his boss.

  “What’s your next move, Boze?” Pace asked. “Have I made a convincing argument?”

  “Nuggets,” Boze said, “these boys have suggested we help rob that transport that’s coming.”