Leech 01 Caleo

by James Crawford

  “You kids better hurry up! We don’t want to lose the group,” Rosie called from the tree line holding her daughter’s hand, a large trash bag slung over her shoulder.

  The three of them picked up their stuff and followed Rosie into the woods. Caleo paused and looked back at the grave one last time before Jack pulled him along.

  

  Eight hours later, after a steep climb up the side of a cliff, Nolan yelled, “This is where we'll set up camp. We have a good view of our surroundings so no one can sneak up on us. I want three men posted at all times, only one fire is to be made, and it’s to be behind the rock over there. At night it needs to be put out, no lights are to be used after dark. We do not want to be seen, so try and keep the noise level down for a while. Get some rest.” Nolan pointed to Nick, and two other men saying, “Grab a bow. You take first watch; someone will bring you food once it’s ready.”

  Caleo turned away and went to the cliff’s edge, dangling his feet over as he sat trying to tune out Nolan's voice. After a few minutes, Jack sat beside him. “We need to get some rest,” Jack insisted. “We got watch tonight.”

  “I'm not going to take watch with him,” Caleo snapped, pointing with his nose in Nolan’s direction

  “It’s me, you, and Jillian.” Jack looked down at his feet for a moment. “I've never liked the guy so you being mad at him is a big plus in my book, but he's only trying to keep you alive.” Caleo looked up at Jack, daring him to say more, but he just sat down beside Caleo so they were shoulder to shoulder looking at the ground below. After a minute of silence Jack climbed to his feet and said, “Okay, let’s go get the beds ready, Jillian is making us some dinner.” Caleo looked up at Jack, surprised that he would let Jillian cook after everything she had burned using a real stove. “Don’t worry it’s only soup. I don’t think she can burn it.” He smiled down at Caleo who just shook his head at the sad attempt to get him to smile.

  

  “Caleo, wake up, it’s time to go,” Jack whispered.

  “Go where?” Caleo asked stretching, barely able to see Jack right beside him in the moonless night.

  “Quiet!” Jack hissed, pulling Caleo’s blanket up and motioning for him to follow as he descended down the side of the cliff silently.

  Confused, Caleo followed, cringing as the stones ground together under his feet. Jack stopped behind a patch of briers about fifty yards from the camp, where Jillian was waiting. She was watching the guards on the side of the cliff.

  “What the hell are we doing?” Caleo asked excitedly, only to have both Jack and Jillian hush him with a finger pressed to their lips.

  Caleo watched, trying to see what the fuss was about, when Jack pointed to their bags barely visible on the ground by his feet. “Grab your stuff. When you see me run, you follow as quietly as possible. We do not want to get shot at or caught leaving.”

  Caleo watched as Nolan appeared on the cliff’s edge. Great, we're caught now. He doesn’t even have to look this way to know where we are. But Nolan didn’t seem to notice them He just stood there talking to the men, standing guard for a moment, then called them all to him pointing at something in the other direction; all the guards turned to see what he was pointing at. He's helping us escape? Caleo felt Jack take his hand and pull him deeper into the woods.

  Fifteen minutes went by and Jack was still running as fast as he could. “What the hell is going on?” Caleo asked, pulling on Jack’s hand and slowing him down to a walk as he tried to catch his breath.

  “We have to get back to the cave as fast as we can. Nolan said he'll meet us there,” Jack said, panting for air.

  “I don’t understand,” Caleo said, coming to a stop.

  “You’ve got to keep moving, we don’t have much time.” Jack grabbed Caleo’s hand and they continued running.

  “We have to get back to the cave,” Jillian explained, as if she was good to run another twenty minutes before she would be winded. “Nolan said he'll meet us there. We have Grandma’s body stashed under some brush; we're going to take her down river, then to the gravesite. Nolan didn’t want to leave everyone behind for the Blessed to find and we can’t take all of them with us and not be found either, so we had to get them some place safer so we can go our way.” After a moment to let it sink in she said, “I’m sorry, but Nolan said we had to make it believable that we were giving up the plan of going to the cemetery, that way if the Blessed find them they are less likely to tell them where we went.”

  “What are you saying?” Caleo asked, confused as he tried to pull his hand free in an attempt to get Jack to stop pulling him along so he could think this out.

  “The whole thing was a set up. Grandma was not buried; we just needed you to think she was and cause a big scene. I’m sorry, but it was the only thing Nolan could think of on such short notice,” Jack explained quickly.

  15

  They reached the cliff above the cave just as the sun peaked over the horizon. The sound of the tin siding being pounded on by a hammer filled the air.

  “Get down,” Jack said, pulling Jillian and Caleo closer to the ground as they crawled to the edge of the cliff to see what was going on.

  Before they even reached the edge Nolan yelled, “Don’t worry, it’s just me.”

  “How the hell did he make it here before us?” Jack asked as they stood up and saw Nolan bending a piece of the metal siding from the trailer so the edges bowed up to form a bowl shape.

  When they got closer, Nolan answered, “I floated straight down the river, apparently it’s moving a little faster than you guys can.” Nolan placed the edge of the metal siding on a rock and stomped on it, bending up the side about two inches.

  Then he repeated the process on the other side’s forming a two inch wall around all four sides.

  Once all the corners were turned up, Nolan said, “It’s not going to be able to support all of our weight, but it should make a good raft to hold all of our stuff. I also made one to float her,” he said, pointing to a mound rolled up in his grandmother’s old quilt. “We just need to strap her on the top of it. Which the top is—” Nolan turned the metal tin over so the sides that Nolan just made were facing towards the dirt, “—like an over turned boat. The sides are going to hold the tires from the truck in place, and the tires will keep our makeshift boats floating a little better. Jack, you and Caleo go put the boats in the water. Jillian, you help me secure your grandma to this one, and then we'll float down the river for a few hours.”

  Jack and Caleo dragged the boat to the edge of the water. Caleo kicked off his shoes and was just about to step in when he saw Jack had taken off his shirt and was stepping out of his pants.

  “What?” Jack asked when he saw Caleo smiling at him.

  “You’re wearing your Speedo as underwear again?” Caleo asked, his smile getting bigger.

  “Would you two just shut up and get that thing in the water,” Nolan demanded. Jillian was bent over the other boat and securing Grandma using pieces of the blanket that was the door to the cave.

  Caleo looked around nervously, his hands on the button to his pants. What if we're attacked on the river? We would have to run away in our underwear.

  “You only have one other set of clean clothes.” Jack walked into the water. “It’s up to you, buddy.”

  Caleo pulled off his shirt, and looked over his shoulder at Nolan before sliding out of his pants.

  “Nylon, huh? And that’s different from a Speedo how?” Jack asked, pulling the boat into the water. He lifted up one side and Caleo slid a tire under it.

  “Well at least mine don’t say Jack across the ass!” Caleo retorted, sliding his tire in place.

  “Well, I would sure hope not, that would look pretty gay for you to have my name printed across your ass,” Jack returned smiling, but that quickly vanished when he saw that Caleo was glaring at him. “What’s wrong? I was just kidding.”

  Caleo turned and walked out of the water, leaving Jack to keep the boat fro
m going down the river. Stupid jerk! Caleo thought as he heard Jack say his name.

  Caleo silently helped Nolan carry the second boat into the water and held it in place while Nolan and Jack loaded it with their supplies and clothing. When they were done, Nolan disappeared into the cave and reappeared carrying three machetes, two small bows, eight arrows attached to each bow, and Jack and Caleo’s Smear sticks.

  “We may need these,” Nolan said, passing them to Jack who placed them on the supply raft. “Okay, let’s get going. Caleo and Jack, you take the supplies raft. Keep a hold of it and float beside it. Jillian and I will take the other.” And with that he stripped down to his underwear.

  Holding his clothes above his head, he entered the water and put them in the center of the supply raft. Then he took Caleo’s place holding his grandmother’s raft steady.

  “I think I’m going to keep my clothes on, thank you very much,” Jillian announced jokingly as she eyed the boys.

  “No, thank you,” Caleo and Jack said in unison, laughter relieving all the tension between them.

  “Okay, let’s get going,” Nolan instructed, pushing the raft into deeper water and letting the current drag them along.

  

  “Okay guys, let’s pull over and take a rest,” Nolan finally said after three hours of floating. He pushed the raft onto the shore, walking straight for the woods. “You guys wait here and get something out to eat. I’ve got to make a pit stop.” Nolan disappeared into the brush.

  “Why didn’t he just go in the water?” Jack asked slyly.

  “Eww! Jack you better not have, I’m downstream from you guys,” Jillian sharply replied.

  “I thought I felt a few warm spots.” Caleo flashed a quick smile at Jack and started digging through the rations till he found a bag of beef jerky.

  “You guys are gross.” Jillian snatched the bag of jerky from Caleo’s hand and ran a few feet away where she shoved a few pieces in her mouth.

  Caleo went to pursue, but Jack placed a hand on his shoulder. “Look, Caleo, I’m sorry about what I said earlier, it was mean and I shouldn’t have said it. You being gay isn’t a big deal.” Then, as if a light bulb went off, he corrected himself, “In fact it’s not a deal at all. It’s as far from a problem as it could be,” Jack said, stumbling over his words, until he saw Caleo smiling at his attempts. “I really was just joking and wasn’t thinking about what I was saying.”

  “I’m not mad,” Caleo told him, looking down. “I’m just not used to hearing it out loud. When you said it … it surprised me, that’s all.”

  “Look what I caught snooping around, it’s been following us since the cave.” Nolan appeared with a small kitten held up by the scruff of his neck.

  “Mickey!” Jillian exclaimed, running at Nolan and taking the kitten from his hands, rocking it back and forth in the crook of her arms as she scratched its belly.

  “You must be really tired after that long run; oh my. You must have been so scared,” Jillian said, in her cutest baby voice.

  “Mickey? That’s the best name you could come up with for a black cat?” Jack asked. “That poor thing will get made fun of for the rest of its life. You might as well have named him Caleo.”

  “You could always write his name across the back of his underwear so he doesn’t forget it.” Caleo stuck his tongue out and smiled.

  “That’s what is on his name tag,” Jillian said, her attention still on the cat. “But I think I'll call him Stinky.” Jillian scratched the kitten behind the ears as she made kissy faces at him. “Cause you sure are stinky and need a bath.”

  “Now Stinky is a name I can live with.” Jack walked over and started petting the cat’s belly. “You make a good Stinky,”

  As if offended the kitten spit and hissed at him.

  “Well, look at you.” Laughing, Jack pulled the cat free from Jillian’s arms, held it up by the scruff of his neck turning him around so they faced each other eye to eye. “I'm your master, you'll learn not to—” the kitten cut him off short by taking a swipe at Jack’s nose only to miss as Jack pulled away at the last second.

  “Jack, I don’t think he likes that,” Jillian said as the cat moaned fiercely.

  “He's really pissed.” Caleo reached out, but the cat swiped at him, too.

  “Yeah he is.” Jack turned the kitten back to Jillian as if to hand it to her, then spun around in a circle, using the momentum to throw the cat into the river. “Bath time, then,” Jack said, smiling. The cat released a quick meow for help before splashing into the water.

  “You jerk!” Jillian slapped Jack across the back of the head. “Learn to pick on someone your own size.”

  “Oww ... you, too ... Something the size of a cow or an elephant perhaps.” Jack looked over to Caleo for support.

  Caleo smiled back, but when he saw Jillian eyeing him it quickly vanished. “I’m getting hit either way, aren’t I?”

  Jillian punched him in the arm as she walked over to the boats and pulled Jack’s shirt out of the pile, wrapped the kitten up in it, and laid it in the center of the boat. “There. Jack won’t mind sharing.” The kitten curled up in the shirt watching Jack’s every move as it licked itself dry.

  “Okay, let’s get a move on,” Nolan said, walking back into the water. Caleo rubbed his arm as he turned back and came face to face with Jack, who balled up his fist, brought it back, and burst out laughing as he brought his hand forward patting Caleo’s cheek. “I couldn’t hit a woman.”

  “Hey, I’m not a wom—” Caleo yelped in pain as Jack turned and sucker punched him in the bicep.

  “Thanks for reminding me,” Jack teased, as he went into the water jerking the boat off the shore to taunt the kitten a little more. Stinky’s green eyes glared at Jack as if daring him to try it again.

  As the day went on the kitten relaxed and fell asleep. Caleo watched as a big smile spread across Jack’s face as if he was waiting for this to happen all day. “Watch this,” he whispered. He submerged himself under the water and exploded out of the surface, roaring as he splashed water on the kitten.

  The kitten jumped into the air screaming, landing with his wet fur standing on end as it hissed and spat at Jack, clawing wherever Jack’s hands touched the boat.

  “Can’t get me,” Jack taunted, quickly replacing his hand on the boat and removing it before Stinky could claw at it.

  “There's a bridge up ahead,” Nolan announced.

  “This should be the road we need. If I remember right, that means, we're only about ten miles away.” Jack said excitedly.

  “But that’s ten miles we have to walk—” Caleo pointed to a tall cliff side in the distance. “—and it’s uphill.”

  They parked their rafts just under the bridge, hidden from the view of the road. Stinky hopped off happily and perched himself on a nearby rock far enough away from the water that he wouldn’t get wet but was still in sight. “Okay, get changed and let’s get going. We still have a long trip.” Nolan grabbed his bag of clothes and went behind a pillar under the bridge to get dressed.

  Jillian did the same, but disappeared into a patch of bushes near the tree line leading into the woods. Jack nudged Caleo, pointing to the kitten that was sneaking after Jillian like he was hunting a mouse, creeping low to the ground and moving in slowly.

  “Looks like we got a peeping tomcat,” Caleo laughed, grabbing his clothes from the bag and looking around for a place to change.

  “There's something strange with that cat.” Jack eyed it as he stripped out of his Speedo, not even bothering to seek cover.

  “How so?” Caleo ducked behind a large rock to spare Jillian the sight of coming out and seeing him getting dressed in the open like Jack, who apparently didn’t care.

  “Look at him. A normal cat might have followed her into the woods looking to get attention, but he's hiding in a bush watching her in secret. It’s just a little strange, that’s all.”

  Caleo looked at the cat. “You’re right, it is a little strang
e … you're being an overly protective brother because of a kitten, that is.” Caleo walked back to Jack carrying his shoes and socks. “So, now what do we do?” Caleo looked at the two boats sitting on the river bank.

  “We walk the rest of the way, I guess,” Jack said.

  “Maybe not, it looks like there's a group of abandoned cars up ahead maybe a road block about a quarter mile up. We should stash our stuff in the woods and check it out,” Nolan said, pointing to the road.

  “You were back there for less than a minute how the hell do you know what’s up a quarter mile?” Jack shook his head in frustration. “Just what is your power?”

  “Caleo, you bring him up to date while we're going. They need to know what’s going on. Now which one of you three knows how to drive?” Nolan asked as Jillian came out of the woods.

  “I do!” they all answered in unison.

  “Well how about you go get a car and bring it back to the bridge. Me and Jillian will get the stuff unloaded and I've got to get some rest. I have been up for almost two days straight. Now stick to the woods, but follow the road. You should find the cars at the top of the hill.” Nolan pointed in the direction.

  Jack looked directly at Caleo. “You are going to explain this right?”

  “I will,” Caleo said, climbing up the hill.

  Jack looked back at Jillian and Caleo saw him mouth, “Are you okay with this?” His eyes darted back and forth from her to Nolan. When Jillian nodded, he turned and followed Caleo up the hill. “We'll be right back.”

  Caleo and Jack snuck through the woods running from tree to tree.

  “What’s that noise?” Caleo asked, hearing a humming noise in the distance.

  “I don’t know,” Jack said, continuing towards the top of the hill one tree at a time. But the closer they got the louder the noise got. “Is that a horn?” Jack asked, turning to Caleo.