Kiamichi Reunion: Book Five of the Kiamichi Survival Series

by C. A. Henry

  Stevie, Helen, and Jeff stared at him, their expressions ranging from amazement to incredulity.

  “Really?” Stevie asked sweetly. “How did you figure that? You got a calculator in your pocket or something?”

  Massey shrugged. “It just occurred to me that we have a choice. We might be able to post a guard without everyone having to take a turn every night. If we all stay alert until bedtime, then three people could take a watch of about three hours each, and the other two could get a good night’s sleep. The next night, we’d rotate one of the guards out and replace him or her with one of the sleepers, and so on, so everyone would get to sleep through a full night occasionally.”

  “I was talking about the math. You did the math in your head, didn’t you?” Stevie narrowed her eyes at him. “You some kinda left-brained math whiz?”

  Ross slapped his brother on the back and answered Stevie. “Yep. He doesn’t even have to write the numbers down. This guy’s the brainiac in the family. Good with numbers and science, great with tools, but can’t spell worth a darn.”

  “Hey,” Massey protested, “if phonics really worked in English the way it’s supposed to, I could be a fantastic speller. Anyway, we either all have our sleep interrupted by standing watch every night, or we set up a rotation so we can take turns not having duty. Or, of course, we could have two people stand watch at the same time, and each pair would do a four-hour shift and one person could sleep. That would rotate, too, but it seems to me that it would be harder to get by on four hours sleep for everyone.

  “My point is, we have options, if we think about it. I like the three people, three hours each, but like I said, we need to talk about it. We can also rotate the shifts, or we can have the same people take the first shift all the time, and so forth.”

  “You know, I don’t think I’m a dummy, but it’s too late in the day for me to follow all that. I need to see it charted out,” Stevie complained.

  “Okay, how about we keep it simple tonight and each of us take a shift of an hour and forty minutes. We can decide tomorrow how we’ll go from there,” Massey offered.

  “Okay,” Stevie agreed, and the others nodded. “But how will we know when it’s time to wake someone else up? I don’t have a way to tell time.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess for now, we’ll just wing it. If someone is on duty and gets too sleepy, or feels okay to continue, just play it by ear.”

  Helen slapped her forehead. “I just remembered that when the phones went out, we thought it might be temporary, so I kept my cell and the solar charger for it. I can charge it tomorrow, and we can set the timer on it, put it on vibrate, then the guards can use it to know when a shift is up.”

  “Great!” Ross replied. “Now, can we get some sleep?”

  “Well, I guess everyone can except me,” Massey volunteered. “I’ll take first watch. Who wants second?”

  ~~~~

  The next morning while they ate breakfast, Massey used a sheet from Helen’s notebook to chart out the watch rotation. When he finished, he showed it to the group, and it became apparent that it was much simpler than it had sounded.

  “See, here’s how it’ll work. Each person will have three days of duty and two days off out of every five days. Duty will last for three hours.”

  The chart looked like a jumble of letters, until he showed them the diagonals. “Each person’s initial is on here three times on three consecutive days, and off for two. Each line represents one night. If your initial isn’t on a line, you’re off that night.”

  H S J

  S J M

  J M R

  M R H

  R H S

  “After five days, it repeats. It means that out of every five days, you’ll get some time off from being up during the night.”

  “I like it,” Helen said. “It’ll allow us to occasionally get some real rest and be refreshed when we go back on duty.”

  Ross raised one eyebrow. “I assume that what happens in case we get into a more populated area, start seeing other people or some other possible threat to our safety, we’d adjust as needed, then resume the rotation when the threat is past.”

  “Right,” Massey agreed. “We have to be flexible because we have no idea what we’ll run into. Helen, let’s hang your solar charger on your pack. Maybe it’ll get enough sun to charge the phone while we walk.”

  “Okay, so do we start this when we camp tonight?” Stevie wanted to know. She looked around at her friends and each one nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Now, somebody show me how to take this tent down, somebody fill in the Dakota hole, and let’s get moving.”

  ~~~~

  A few days later, they camped about halfway up a small hill, under a rocky overhang that sheltered them from the wind a little even when they were outside the tent. They’d found it late in the afternoon, and decided to stay there, since they could hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance.

  Helen set a few snares near the site and helped set up the tent. Everyone was learning how to do anything that wasn’t a familiar chore, so Jeff went with Helen and she gave him a lesson on catching meat.

  When they got back to camp, it was to discover that due to the rocky ground, a Dakota hole was out of the question. Massey and Stevie had chosen a spot behind the tent, deep under the overhang, where they could have a small fire on the ground. They’d made a ring of rocks and already had twigs, leaves, and sticks ready to light.

  “That’s a good spot, if we have to build a fire that isn’t in a hole,” Helen commented, “But let’s wait until dark to light it. If there’s anyone around, they’d have to be in just the right spot to see the fire, and I think the overhang will spread the smoke out enough that it won’t make a plume that can be seen from a distance, but why take a chance?”

  They got their beds laid out in the tent, then sat on the ground and talked quietly, while keeping a close eye on the forest around them. After about an hour, Helen smiled at Jeff, who was about to fall asleep sitting up, and said softly, “Let him sleep. The snares aren’t far, and I’ll keep my eyes open. Somebody can go ahead and light the fire. Be back in a bit!”

  She slipped out of the camp and headed toward her first snare. It was empty, so she picked it up and headed for the second snare, a little deeper in the woods. It had a rabbit, which she dispatched. As she was gutting it, she heard a slight noise behind her, but before she could turn, something struck her on the back of her head and the world went black.

  The man who had hit her grabbed her by the feet and dragged her further into the trees, where he was joined by another man. They shared a grin, and the second man got a hold on her under her arms to help his friend carry her even further away from the camp.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  April 18-19, Arkansas

  Helen woke up completely disoriented. She was in a crudely constructed lean-to made from tree limbs and with a ragged tarp over the roof. It was open in the front, and a fire burned a few yards away, giving her just enough light to make out her surroundings. A rusty handsaw and a few other old tools were propped in a corner, and a cast iron pot hung above the fire on a tripod.

  Her head ached, and she gradually became aware of several sharp, stinging pains on her buttocks, back and shoulders. It felt like she’d been scraped raw somehow. She tried to sit up, but became lightheaded and dizzy. After a few moments, she was able to look around, although turning her head hurt like the devil. Dark clouds moved just enough to let the moon peek through and illuminate the area outside the lean-to.

  That’s when she realized that she was naked from the waist down and her shirt was unbuttoned. It confused her for several minutes, but then, a scrawny man with a long, scraggly beard came into view, leering at her. The truth hit her: she’d been abducted and raped, and it didn’t look like the raping was over yet.

  She became aware of the man’s odor when he was still at least six feet away. He wasn’t just dirty. There was dirt all over him, even his face. His fingernails were filthy, and she
doubted he’d washed any part of himself in weeks, if not longer. One eye was covered by a patch.

  He gave her an evil smile; most of his teeth were missing and the ones that were left were blackened with rot. His beard had blobs of something stuck in it…gravy or grease, but she couldn’t tell which. He looked as though he had once been obese, but had lost a lot of weight in a short time, leaving loose, flabby skin all over his body.

  She thought she would vomit, but somehow, she was sure she’d been out for a while and there was nothing in her stomach. She wondered how long she’d been out. Since it was night, she couldn’t tell if it had been a short time, or more than twenty-four hours.

  A second man came from behind the lean-to with an armload of sticks, which he piled up near the fire. He was just as dirty as his companion, with long, stringy brown hair falling in his face. He had a few more teeth than his buddy, but smelled even worse. He was stick-thin, but wiry more than wimpy, and was missing two fingers on his left hand.

  Helen gave herself a stern lecture: You will NOT feel sorry for yourself. You won’t grovel and you won’t beg. Crying isn’t allowed. You can cry later. Play dumb. Act like you don’t understand them. If you have to speak, speak only Choctaw and look confused.

  You weren’t a virgin, and you can’t get pregnant, so suck it up. It could be worse. They could be torturing you or even eating your flesh. Pray you don’t get a disease from them, and stay strong!

  In a sudden movement, the first man, whom Helen had dubbed “Patch” in her mind, dropped on top of her and began to rut like an animal. Helen forced herself to remain still and silent, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at the beast. She shook with loathing and disgust, despite her best efforts not to show any reaction.

  The second man laughed and then took his turn at her. Helen shut her mind down by praying, by begging God to stop this hell she’d found herself in. Neither man said a word, and Helen blacked out again.

  ~~~~

  At their camp, Jeff was the first to voice that Helen should have been back already. Massey and Ross agreed, and Stevie nodded, then told them that Helen liked to gut the animals far from camp. Thunder rumbled to the west and lightning lit the clouds, which were coming in fast.

  “That she’s taking longer means she got something. Give her a few more minutes and if she’s not back, a couple of us can go look for her.”

  “It’s already dark, but there’s a moon, at least there is until that storm gets here. What if she’s hurt or something has happened?” Jeff asked. “I think we need to go now. I know where she set the snares, remember? I was with her. We need to check on her.”

  “You’re right,” Massey agreed. “Jeff, let’s go. Ross, you and Stevie stay here and stay alert. We don’t need anyone stealing our stuff while we aren’t looking.”

  Massey and Jeff set out, moving swiftly through to the place Jeff said the first snare had been. They could see her boot prints on the new grass. She’d been there, so Jeff headed toward the second snare.

  She’d been there, too. The guts of a small animal were beginning to stink, and her snare was lying nearby.

  “Helen told me she’s always careful not to leave her snares behind. She only has six of them, and they’re irreplaceable right now,” Jeff said, as he stood up and stared at the ground.

  “Look! There’s a few signs of someone coming in, and those marks look like drag marks,” Massey hissed. “She’s been taken!”

  Jeff stared at him, horrified. They saw the looks on each other’s faces clearly, because a flash of lightning lit the area.

  “We’ve got to find her, but I think we better take shelter quick before the storm hits,” Jeff insisted. “We can’t afford to be struck by lightning.”

  The wind suddenly began to whip the tops of the trees, and more lightning slashed across the sky. If they didn’t get somewhere safe, they might not be alive to help Helen. A sudden loud explosion of thunder clapped directly above their heads, and the two ran for their camp.

  ~~~~

  Two hours later, the rain had stopped, and the thunder could be heard only faintly in the east. The moon finally peeked out from behind the clouds. Jeff and Massey prepared to resume the search for Helen.

  “Don’t worry if we’re not back by morning, or even later tomorrow. We’ve probably lost any chance of being able to follow the tracks; the rain will have washed them away, but we know the direction she was taken, and we’ll head that way. If you hear shooting, don’t come looking,” Jeff told the two younger members of the group. “We’ll either be back, or we won’t. Don’t endanger yourselves.”

  Stevie looked at him incredulously, then glanced at Ross, who was scowling at Jeff. She stepped closer to Jeff and spoke in a quiet, firm voice. “Don’t kid yourself. If we hear shooting, and you don’t come back pretty quick after it stops, we’ll be hunting for you. We’ll hide the stuff here, but don’t think for one minute that we’ll just sit here on our hands and not do anything.”

  Ross nodded. “My brother is going with you, and Helen is out there, too. Don’t ask us to do what you would never do: abandon your friends. I haven’t known you long, but I know that about you. In fact, I think we should hide the stuff now and all of us go. You don’t know what we’re up against, and two might not be enough to rescue Helen.”

  “We can use the paracord and tie stuff in trees. All our packs are colors that will blend in, and so is the tent. Let’s fold it up and hide it, too. I don’t like the idea of splitting up,” Stevie agreed.

  Jeff took a long, deep breath and rolled his eyes, but Massey nodded. “Jeff, they’re right. We might need the help. We could be up against a group of no telling how many. We shouldn’t be taking stupid chances, with Helen’s safety in the balance.”

  “Okay. I can see that I’m outvoted, and you’re probably right. I just got used to doing things on my own,” Jeff mumbled.

  “Yeah, and how did that work out for you?” Stevie sneered. “You said yourself that without our help, you’d be dead. Lone wolves don’t live long, buddy, and you need to remember that you aren’t alone anymore.”

  She grabbed her pack and a length of paracord, which she tied to the straps. “I’m gonna climb a tree and tie my pack to the trunk where it won’t be noticeable. I might need some help if it gets caught on a limb, but you guys break down that tent and get your packs ready, and we’ll get all this stuff hidden up high,” she told them as she tied the loose end of the cord around her belt and went up a tree like a monkey.

  “Hey, where’d you learn to climb like that?” Massey asked.

  “Playing with my friends in the woods behind our house. I got to go rock-climbing once, too, with my uncle.”

  Within minutes, all of their gear was stowed in the trees. All they took with them were their weapons.

  Jeff led the way in the moonlight to the spot where they’d found signs that Helen had been taken. Most of the tracks were gone, but in places, the drag marks were deep enough that they were still visible.

  “Let’s move quietly, and spread out, but stay in sight of each other,” Massey suggested. “They were going north when they left here, but we all need to watch for signs, in case they changed direction.”

  ~~~~

  Moving quietly was nearly impossible. Stevie tripped on a tree root and fell once, and all of them were forced to travel at a snail’s pace. They had no way to accurately judge the time or how far they’d gone, but the moon had traveled far across the night sky as they went. After what seemed like an eternity, they began to catch a whiff of smoke from a campfire.

  Jeff got Massey’s and Stevie’s attention, but had to toss a tiny pebble toward Ross, who froze when it landed near him. He glanced over and saw that the others were moving toward Jeff. He joined them and the four friends put their heads close together.

  Jeff murmured very softly, “I think we might be getting close. There’s a hint of smoke in the air, and I saw a flicker of what looked like a dyi
ng fire almost straight ahead about thirty yards. We need one of us to creep in closer and see whatever can be seen. Who has good night vision? Mine isn’t all that great, or I’d volunteer.”

  Massey didn’t give anyone else a chance to speak. “I have eyes like a cat, and I’m fairly sure I’m the stealthiest one of us. Stevie is pretty good, but you and Ross make too much noise.”

  Jeff gave him a dirty look, then had to admit that he wasn’t as sneaky as he’d like. “True. We’ll wait here. Go do your recon and come back. We’ll make a plan then,” Jeff conceded.

  Massey nodded and vanished. The other three found a spot with several roots they could sit on to keep from sitting in the mud. Even though they couldn’t see anything, all three stared in the direction Massey had gone, listening for any sound. There was silence, but Massey returned in a matter of minutes, causing the others to gasp in surprise when he appeared out of the darkness.

  “There’s a rough-looking pair of guys in a lean-to up ahead. In front of it is a table of sorts, made from small tree trunks. I couldn’t tell for certain, but there’s someone else there. I could see arms tied to a post and a brown plaid shirt. Wasn’t that what Helen was wearing this morning?”

  “Yes, she was wearing one of her husband’s old shirts and a pair of jeans,” Stevie assured him.

  “Well, she’s lying on her back in the lean-to, so we’ll have to eliminate her captors to free her. There’s no way she can get loose without help. It looked to me like they’re asleep, and I didn’t see anyone else. I circled the camp, and there’re no guards that I could locate, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some out in the woods somewhere.”

  “We should hit them before they wake up,” Jeff suggested. “They’re pretty careless not to have a guard. Did you see any weapons?”