As the Eagle Flies

by J. D. Oliver

  “What? Do you mean you have always talked to the animals?” I said.

  “Of course, they have committed no sin.” Clancy said.

  “Alright, while we’re being so open and honest, the Carmel Foundation, you mean you haven’t helped them?” I said.

  “No, we haven’t. Besides, they have had help from a different source, a different branch of the heavenly organization.”

  “I suppose that’s none of our business either?” I said.

  “That’s right, it’s on a need to know, and you don’t need to know.”

  “Well you slammed that door in our face, but you’re right, we don’t want to know, I do believe in this case that ignorance is bliss.”

  “You’re heavy into metaphors and clichés aren’t you? But never mind, it’s what makes the English language colorful and interesting. Have you ever thought how boring it would be, if everyone always stuck to the rules of language that is taught in schools?

  Besides that, some arbitrary rules are meant to be broke, why else were they made? I just love talking in English, it’s so ambiguous.” Clancy said.

  Alita spoke up, “I think that both you and Daddy like to run off at the mouth, to use a colorful metaphor, I think we had better head back for the timber, we have been in the open long enough.” Out of the mouth of babes, comes wisdom, I thought to myself as swung a leg over the back of Brutus.

  Damn, I thought to myself, couldn’t I even talk anymore without using a metaphor, cliché or colloquialism (to use the word erroneously), when I should of said, localism or regionalism. (For you readers with a Masters Degree in English).

  I was watching Alita on her Mule, Matthew. She had grown at least eight to ten inches while we were in the Valley. That should have given us the hint as to the passage of time. But maybe not, strange things had been happening to us right along. Alita sat her saddle like she had been riding for a decade. She reminded me of Rosie. Perhaps they were both Espiritu Jinete. Faith and I, both sat a good saddle, but nothing like our two girls.

  We got back in the timber and circled around back of the drilling rig, there were still people working it. They didn’t see us. We stayed in the timber line all the way back toward the ranch house. We had to pass it, to go north. We got off our mounts and bellied up to the crest of the ridge. We had field glasses. We didn’t see any stock any where around. I guess it was too much work for them to take care of them. They probably just turned them all loose. Lazy Bastards.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Faith said as she crawled up beside me. “And you can forget it.”

  “Why? Just one bullet through the brain and he would be fertilizer.”

  “It’s not up to us, let the higher powers take care of it. We only kill in self- defense.” Faith said as one of her breasts pressed up against my side. I promptly forgot all about Harry Silver. I rolled over on my back and pulled her close and kissed her.

  “Hey, knock that off, there is a time and place for that stuff.” Rosie said. Alita was standing beside her, giggling. Poppy and Hank were with the stock.

  “Yeah, of course you’re right,” I said as we both scooted back from the crest. “But, your Mom is quite the dish, did you know that?”

  “Yeah, yeah, you just have an out of control libido, that’s all.” Rosie said. Alita just giggled some more.

  We joined Hank and Poppy. I glanced around at our animals. Looked like we had gained some more. “Where did they come from?” I asked Hank.

  “They just showed up, they’re some of the mules and horses that I had been working with, you know from that last bunch you bought. It’s alright that they go with us, isn’t it?”

  “Sure, the more the merrier.” There I go again. Is that all I am, is one big metaphor? Or maybe it’s just one little simile?

  “Did you see many people down there?” I asked the women. “I know I didn’t, I was just wondering what you guys seen?”

  “No, I didn’t.” Rosie said. “Why? What do you have in mind?”

  “Well, I thought if we waited till tonight, we could go down and get some more tack, you know for the extra stock. Also, some oats. Maybe even get in the root cellar and get some canned goods for us. What do the rest of you think?”

  “Yes, they belong to us anyway,” Faith said. “I didn’t see much of anybody down there. I don’t think they think they have anything to worry about. I didn’t even see any of our ranch dogs down there. Maybe, Elizabeth picked them up when she got our people?”

  “Let’s hope so anyway. Otherwise those jerks probably would of shot them.” I said.

  Faith and Rosie had their heads together. They said, “Do you think any of our clothes are still there?”

  “I don’t know sweetheart, it’s been two years. I would suspect that they were got rid of.” I said.

  “Well, while Rosie, Alita, Hank and Poppy get the extra tack and canned goods, let’s you and me, sneak in the house and see?”

  “Oh, I thought you only wanted to kill in self-defense?”

  “Well yes, of course.”

  “What about if we surprise someone in the house, I might have to slit their throats?”

  “Well, only if they try and kill us, okay?” Faith said. Faith had planned our recovery intrusion well. I told you she was back to her old self. But that was alright with me, I loved her.

  We waited till full dark and an hour besides. The kids went toward the barn, with Matthew and Luke following them. I wouldn’t want to mess with those two mules. We went to the kitchen door, it wasn’t locked. There was a small light burning over the kitchen range, enough to see the kitchen was a mess. Just like a bachelor would leave it.

  One thing all of those shots to the head had given me was a good sense of hearing. At each bedroom I stopped to listen, if there was anybody in them, I could hear them breathing. So far they were all empty. Till I got to our old bedroom.

  I motioned for Faith to run on quiet. The bedroom door was ajar. I could hear two people breathing. We moved over by the bed, we stood there. We could see two people in bed. Due to the warmness of the night they were laying there with no covers and no clothes.

  The man was Harry Silver, the woman we couldn’t tell. Did he have a wife? We didn’t know. There seemed to be a lot that we didn’t know….Faith moved to the side of the bed that she was sleeping on. We both laid the points of our knives against their throats.

  Harry opened his eyes, “Is that you Clay?” He said, “Yep, are you surprised?” I said.

  “No, I knew you weren’t dead, I was expecting you. “I know you have at least nine lives, or hell maybe more. That was why I took this job. Of course I didn’t have much choice, they thought I was a friend of yours. If I hadn’t of took this job, they would of killed me.”

  I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not, so I decided to find out, I took my knife away from his throat and laid the point against the base of his penis. He gasped. The woman next to him had woke up. Faith increased the pressure of her knife point, the woman whimpered. I said.

  “Is that the truth Harry, and make sure of your answer.” I put a little more pressure on the point of my knife. It turned out he was telling the truth. “Who’s the woman?” I asked.

  “She was put here to watch me, you can kill her if you want, she’s a lousy screw anyway.” He said.

  Faith said, “Why Harry, that’s cold, maybe you just don’t turn her on.” I looked over at her. She was in her middle twenty’s. I looked again, hell, it was Patty. You remember, I told you about Patty and Angelina. I had went to school with them.

  “Patty, what the hell are you doing here?” I said.

  “It’s not my fault Clay, they beat us up, Angelina is still in the hospital. It was either do this or they said they would put us in a whore house. And Faith was right, he doesn’t’ turn me on.”

  “Alright Patty, get up and get in the shower, is there anyone else in the house?”

  “No, it’s just us. You aren’t going to leave me here ar
e you?”

  “No, I guess not, ask my wife.” I said. As I left Faith to see if anything of ours was still in the bedroom. I went to my gun closet and took what weapons I wanted. Harry was padding along after me.

  “Harry, for craps sake, go get dressed, no one wants to see your scrawny body.”

  “What about me, you can’t leave me here, they will kill me for sure?” He whined.

  “I tell you what, you apologize to Patty and if she agrees, you can come with us.”

  We went back into the bedroom, Patty was just getting out of the shower, after Harry apologized, she said, “Alright, but if we ever have any sex again, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you to do. I’m not the lousy lay, you are. Have you ever had any sex with any other woman besides me?”

  He nodded his head. “Alright, I said. Now if you two will get traveling clothes on. Plus any extra’s that you might need, we’ll go see how the kids are doing.”

  Faith said, “Uh, honey, would you give me a few minutes, I would like to take a quick shower, okay?”

  “Sure, just wait till they get out of the room, I don’t want Harry to see you naked.” As soon as they were dressed, I hustled them out of the room. Faith was already naked before they got out of the door. She had found some of our clothes, so she had clean ones to change to.

  “Come on you two. You are going with me to the barn.” We went to the barn, I kept a close eye on them, they would have to earn my trust. The kids already had everything loaded on the pack horses.

  I said to the girls, “There is no one else in the house, you three can go find anything you need, Mom is taking a shower, you girls might like one also.” They beat a path for the house. Hank said, “Can I go to my old room, I would like a shower too.”

  “Yeah, I’ll go along. Matthew and Luke can watch these two.” I motioned to the mules, they came over and gave Harry and Patty the evil eye.

  Patty said, “Very funny Clay, you know me, and I’m not scared of these two mules.”

  “I know you Patty, but you might have changed a bit, and as far as these two mules go, you had better be afraid of them.” I turned and went back to the house, Faith was just getting out of the shower, I was already naked as I passed her and got in the shower. The hot water felt good.

  Faith had clean clothes laid out for me. It was well past midnight when we left.

  Harry and Patty were still verbally jabbing each other. Now I don’t know about you, but when two people act like they were acting, they usually had some affection. I turned in my saddle, “Shut up you two, or I’ll have Luke kick your lights out.” They shut up.

  Chapter Twenty

  The moon was shining bright, it made our way easy to see. I wanted to get miles away before daylight. I had a place in mind, one with both water and enough cover so we couldn’t be seen from the air.

  I was riding drag, as usual, with Rosie and Faith in the lead. Their horses knew the spot I was thinking about, so all they had to do was just enjoy the ride. How did they know? Easy, I had talked to them and told them.

  Harry and Patty were quiet, except for a few muttered curses about the bumpy ride. Now it wouldn’t be bumpy, if they knew how to ride. But they both were bouncing up and down like dummy’s made of rubber. Harry dropped back, he had the typical cop personality. He said, “So, where were the lot of you for two years?”

  “Around, really, it wasn’t a place so much as a time. But you wouldn’t believe me anyway, so I’m not going to waste my energy. I have a question for you, what’s the economy, infrastructure and such in the world like?”

  “The world? I don’t know, but my guess is, that’s it a lot better than ours.” He said.

  “Well then, how about inflation?” I asked.

  “Oh there is none, the government strictly controls prices, as well as everything else. You remember what Communism used to be like, it’s pretty much like that.”

  “Is the whole world like that?”

  “No, well really, I don’t know. I think most of them are into Capitalism, ironic isn’t it?” Harry said, with a sigh.

  “That really doesn’t surprise me too much, when this administration started bending the constitution, you could see the hand writing on the wall. I suppose that they have banned the general public from owning guns?”

  “Of course, that was the first thing to go. Would you believe it was the Republican’s that pushed that? Again, ironic.” Harry said.

  “And all of this happened in just two years? The country that was known for hundreds of years for freedom, now has turned despotic!” I said.

  “I’m afraid so. Tragic, just tragic.” Harry said, as he rejoined Patty.

  I glanced back at all of our packhorses, they were right where they were supposed to be. Plus about fifty head of loose stock followed along. I guess they didn’t like the powers that be any better than we did.

  There were cattle scattered everywhere. I could see that it wouldn’t take long till they were like the Longhorns of Texas used to be after the Civil War. When there was no incentive to work, besides a form of slavery, people didn’t. And that was what communism was, just a subtle form of slavery.

  We reached our camping spot just before dawn. A nice clear little stream ran through it. Large Fir trees provided cover. We unsaddled our horses and took the packs off of the others. I told them to fan out and graze, just be back at twilight for the next leg on our journey.

  Harry and Patty weren’t much use, they were so pooped. They spread their bedrolls and were fast asleep. We had to wake them to eat. The rest of us inventoried our supplies, before laying down to sleep.

  I woke up about two hours before sunset. I gathered dry wood for a smokeless fire. I got some food going before I woke the rest of them. The horses and mules had already gathered around. I gave them each a small bait of oats. Just a small treat, for there were so many of them.

  Faith, Rosie and Alita, sat up and rubbed their eyes, they stood up and took their clothes off and headed for the stream. Harry and Patty, I had to go kick them out of the sack. Patty seen the women in the stream and went to join them.

  Poppy was standing there, trying to make up her mind, “Poppy, get your clothes off and take a bath, we have a long ride ahead of us tonight.” I said. Then I looked at Hank and Harry, “You two, go downstream to take your bath’s, I’ll have food ready after everybody is finished, then I’ll go take mine.” That’s what I did.

  I used the same hole that the women did. I floated around on my back, just enjoying the water. It was cold, but not that bad. Faith and Patty came down with the dishes. Faith looked at me, “Looks like the water is cold, by the looks of you.” She said.

  I said back, “Yeah, just because you don’t have a visible thermometer like I do, no need to get snippy.” Patty giggled, “It’s still better than Harry’s, even in cold water.” I stuck my tongue out at them.

  Faith tossed me a bar of soap, “Wash your beard, you had food in it. Your hair needs cut, probably in the morning I’ll cut it, when I trim your beard.” She said. I looked at them both, “Hey, you two, don’t forget to get dressed yourselves, you’re upsetting Harry, or didn’t you notice?”

  “Oh, we noticed, it’s just fun seeing him try to hide it.” Patty said, as they did their woman walk back to camp. Well, they had it, they might as well flaunt it.

  Hank had the horses all saddled when I got back, I helped put the pack saddles on, then we both loaded them. I knew the country pretty good, plus of course Clancy and Gabe were still around.

  Clancy had made himself scarce all last night, but tonight he showed up. Harry seen him, “Hey, there’s a Coyote over there, he’s not rabid is he?”

  “Rabid? Why you poor excuse for a human being, it’s me that should be asking that about you.” Clancy said.

  Harry took a couple of steps back, “Huh? What the hell, he can talk!” He said.

  “Yes I talk, better than you, I would surmise. Why did you bring those two along?” Clancy said, looking
at me.

  “Well, they said if we didn’t they would have been killed.”

  “So, what’s the big deal? Oh well, I suppose you have to be kind to dumb animals.” Clancy said, turning his back on Harry. “But she isn’t too bad, looks a little dumb though.” He added looking at Patty.

  “Clay are you going to let that Old Man Coyote talk to me like that?” Patty said, with a smile, as she bent to pet Clancy. Clancy shook his head, as if it annoyed him. Patty didn’t know it, but she just made a friend.

  Gabe came down from the tree tops, landing on a low branch close to us. “You will have to travel quiet tonight, there are a few of the People’s Patrol’s out. They make camp at night, drink too much and then sleep pretty solid. But you still have to be careful.

  Just keep skirting the west side of the Big Horns, but stay on the east side of the Dinosaur Beds. You will find a good little stream to camp by, much like this camp spot. The next night, just at the foot of the Medicine Wheel, there is a deep spring, both cold and warm. Camp there.”

  “Spring? Beside the Medicine Wheel? I didn’t know there was one there.” I said.

  “It’s new, just this week, after all it is the Medicine Wheel.” Gabe said. “And you are an Indian.”

  “Half, you know that. Who made that wheel anyway?” I asked.

  “The Ancient Ones. The ones who came before.” Gabe said.

  “What was it for?” Faith asked.

  “They thought they needed a star map to reach the Great Spirit, they didn’t. All they had to do was pray to him out of a pure heart. When he told them that, they just left the wheel there, makes a good mystery though, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I would say so.” Faith said, then she added, “Why are you and Clancy helping us?”

  “Why? Because you are descendants of the Ancient Ones, among other reasons. And their prayers are still in the Great Spirit’s memory. Their pure hearts are still working for you.”

  “But, I’m not an Indian,” Faith said, “like Clay is.”

  “Aren’t you? You and Clay both are descendants of the Other Ones. You were meant to be together, your children, both Rosie and Alita are Spirit Riders, why wouldn’t we help you?” Gabe said, then flew off into the night.