by C. A. Henry
“I saw a couple of rifles propped up in a corner, but that’s all I could see. There could be handguns or knives, so we shouldn’t get too confident. I say we sneak in and slit their throats before they wake up. They have our friend, and, uh, well, it looked to me like maybe she hasn’t been treated well. I hate to have to tell you, but I saw bare legs, not jeans. Just that fact is all I need to know,” Massey insisted.
Stevie’s already pale face turned even whiter in the moonlight. “Let’s go,” she snarled through clenched teeth. “You and me, Massey; we’re the quietest, and I’m going. I know you don’t want to say it, but let’s be honest: Helen has been raped. There’s no other reason they’d take her jeans.”
“Stevie, let me go instead,” Jeff urged, wanting to spare her from seeing Helen and from having to kill with a knife.
“No way. I escaped instead of helping my mom. I’m not going to do that again and have to live with more guilt. Don’t worry about whether I’m capable of cutting a guy’s throat. Right now, I feel like I could cut his heart out and feed it to a coyote.”
“So, we’re just supposed to wait here?” Ross demanded. “Not happening. I think Jeff and I need to move closer, in case they have friends we just don’t know about. We can go slowly, but if you get into trouble, we need to be there.”
“Okay, but I don’t think all of us should go into the little clearing at once. They might be light sleepers. You two need to keep your eyes on the woods, in case they do have friends out there. Stevie, where’s your knife? Is it sharp enough for what you need to do?” Massey asked.
“Oh, yeah. Helen has a small sharpener in her pack, and all our blades are like razors. I’m not letting anyone get by with hurting Helen. We all owe her, and especially me, so let’s get this done.”
Massey and Stevie moved into the darkness. About a minute later, Jeff and Ross followed, and by the time they reached the edge of the clearing, Massey and Stevie were at one end of the lean-to. They saw Massey gesture toward the smaller of the two sleeping men. Stevie nodded once, and crept over to the man, staring into his face for a few seconds before swiping her knife across his jugular and throat.
The man jerked and spasmed, throwing an arm up and knocking into one of the rifles near his head. It hit the back of the lean-to with a loud clatter. Before Massey could get close enough to do the same to the second fellow, he jumped up, grabbing Massey and wrapping muscular arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides.
Massey threw his weight forward and raised his knee hard into the man’s groin. The thug let go with one arm and rammed his fist into Massey’s jaw. He tried to trip Massey, but Massey grabbed his collar, sidestepped, and yanked the man around and down. The fellow did a faceplant.
He didn’t stay down, though; he rolled to his feet and lunged toward Massey, fists and feet flying. Massey got in a few punches, too, using a mixture of fighting techniques and wrestling moves.
The man was no newcomer to fighting, and Massey could tell the guy had some formal training. He threw a hard right, but the man dodged it and took only a glancing blow, then grabbed Massey again, squeezing the breath out of him. Massey head-butted him, and the man’s grip loosened, but before Massey could take advantage, the man went limp and collapsed sideways into the fire.
Massey saw Stevie standing behind where the man had been, holding her bloody knife at the ready. She had stabbed the man in the back. The expression on her face was that of a warrior: no fear, no regret. She had done what needed doing.
Dropping her knife, she darted over to Helen, who hadn’t moved. She found Helen’s jeans and laid them over her nakedness, pulled the shirt closed over Helen’s breasts and buttoned it, then patted her face gently. Helen stirred, but didn’t wake up. Stevie looked at Massey, seeing a question in his eyes.
“She’s unconscious. There are bruises all over her legs, torso, and arms. I wish we could have taken the time to make those guys suffer for this. Untie her hands, and let’s figure out a way to get her out of here. If these guys had friends, we need to be gone before they come back.”
Massey waved to Jeff and Ross, then cut the rope that held Helen’s arms above her head. He moved to stand with the other men, their backs turned so Stevie could get Helen’s jeans back on her.
Stevie rose and told them it was okay to turn around.
“Can we make a stretcher out of that table? If we could knock the legs off, we could carry Helen on it,” Massey suggested.
Jeff bent down to take a look. “The top seems pretty solid, and the legs are just nailed on. They didn’t even make the effort to hammer the nails all the way in.”
Ross grinned, and held up an old, rusty hammer he’d found on the ground in a corner of the lean-to. “Allow me. I have a lot of experience pulling nails.” He and Jeff turned the table over and Ross had the rickety legs off in a few minutes.
They placed the tabletop on the ground beside Helen, and Stevie covered it with an old blanket she pilfered from the spot where the second thug had slept. They all helped to gently lift Helen onto the makeshift stretcher. Stevie retrieved Helen’s rifle and laid it beside her. She found Helen’s Glock in the waistband of the man whose throat she’d cut and handed it to Jeff to put in one of his many pockets.
Each of them took a corner, and they carefully made their way back toward their own camp. Helen lay still all the way back. As they neared their camp, the sky in the east began to grow lighter.
Stevie retrieved the tent from up in the tree and while Jeff and Massey set it up again, she and Ross got all the packs down.
They moved Helen into the tent and Stevie did what she could to make her comfortable, removing Helen’s boots, then rolling her on her side so she could clean and dab ointment on the cuts and scrapes that covered her back. Helen grimaced a few times, but didn’t wake up.
When Stevie exited the tent, she found Massey sitting alone on a rock. “Where did Ross and Jeff go?” she asked as she sat down beside him.
“They went to get the rest of the snares. We’ll need them, and maybe there will be a couple of rabbits. How’s Helen?”
“Still out. Massey, they beat her. Why would they do that? I cleaned the scrapes on her back. There was dirt and bits of leaves in the cuts. I think she was dragged by her feet at least part of the way to that camp. She has a big lump on the back of her head, too. I bet they hit her with something to knock her out. They would have had a hard time dragging her anywhere if she’d been conscious. She’s a fighter and wouldn’t have gone without a struggle.”
Massey put his arm around her shoulders and shook his head sadly. “You think she’s been out the whole time? She may have a concussion. I sure hope she wakes up soon.”
“I don’t know if she’s been out, but some of the bruises are shaped like a boot. One or both of them kicked or stomped her. I’m worried. She could have broken ribs, a concussion, or any number of things going on that we can’t see. I don’t have a clue what to do to help her.”
“We need to dip a towel or something in cool water and use it as a cold pack for the knot on the back of her head. We’ll have to keep wetting it, because it’ll warm up fast. I’d give a lot for some ice about now.” He squeezed her shoulder, then stood, offering her a hand. She grasped it and rose, rising on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“No kidding. But I guess a wet rag will have to do. I’ll take care of that. Thanks for all your help.”
Massey shook his head. “No, thank you. I think I could have taken that guy, but the longer the fight went on, the more bruises I would have gotten. Thanks for putting him out of my misery.”
“You’re welcome. I knew you could handle it, but I hated to see him messing up that pretty face,” Stevie teased. “How about you find us something to eat? None of us have had any food since midday yesterday, and I bet Ross and Jeff will be hungry when they get back. I’ll get a wet rag.”
Massey stared after her, a pleased expression on his face.
Chapter Thirty
&n
bsp; April 19-26, Arkansas
Jeff and Ross returned with the snares and three plump rabbits they’d already gutted and skinned. Massey had found some dehydrated herbs, and noodles, a mix that Helen had obviously prepared before she left Florida. It smelled wonderful even before he added water and the rabbits, then let it simmer over the small fire.
Three pairs of male eyebrows rose when Stevie came out of the tent. She looked at them, and understanding their unspoken question, shook her head.
“She hasn’t opened her eyes. I sort of checked her pulse with the timer on her phone. It’s strong, but it seemed a little slow. It’s steady, as far as I can tell. I felt her ribs, and didn’t find any obvious breaks, but she did frown and whimper a little when I touched one where she has a nasty bruise.”
Massey turned to the other men. “Stevie found bruises all over Helen, some shaped like a boot. They beat and kicked her, and she has a lump where they hit her on the back of the head with something.”
“They got off too easy,” Jeff growled. “We should have made them feel some pain.”
“Well, at the time, our priority was to free Helen. We didn’t have any idea what all they’d done, but I agree. Just remember, there’s a warm place right beside the fire in hell for men who hurt women,” Massey stated flatly. “I have no doubt that’s where they headed as soon as they left this earth, and their bodies are currently lying on the ground in a place that is famous for its feral hogs. Those piggies won’t leave anything but teeth, if that.”
Jeff nodded, then turned to Stevie. “How you doin’, kid? You okay?”
She gave him a small smile and replied, “I’m good. Somehow, it doesn’t bother me to kill people who hurt others, and those two were the worst scum imaginable. I have no doubt that they would have killed Helen with the beatings. I doubt they fed her or gave her anything to drink.
“I’m not sorry I killed those men. Maybe it was wrong for me to do that and to feel satisfaction that they’re dead, but we have to make decisions these days that we’ve never had to make before. There’s no justice system anymore, so we have to stop them, just like we stopped that Sid Pitts fellow and his gang,” she shrugged, then looked around at each of her friends. “The Lord will sort us out later, I guess, but I look at it this way: if we let those guys live, any hurt they cause after that is partially our fault. I’d much rather have guilty blood on my hands than innocent blood.”
~~~~
Helen’s bruises faded over the next several days, but she didn’t really wake up. Occasionally, she moved as though she was having a bad dream, and a few times, she opened her eyes briefly, but she seemed confused about where she was and didn’t recognize her friends. Stevie managed to get her to drink a little water, and once, some broth, but Helen didn’t appear to be able to stay awake more than a few minutes.
The others revised the guard schedule so that each of them got one day off in the rotation instead of two. The added duties took a toll, but nobody complained. They all knew how much Helen meant to the group.
Jeff, Massey and Ross continued to set the snares, and Ross even found a good fishing hole where a creek flowed not too far away. On days when they went to fish, they carried water back to the camp, but traveling that path every day didn’t seem like a good idea. The three of them never went together to fish; one always stayed with Stevie and Helen.
The weather warmed a little, but spring rains kept the area damp. The rain made life easier by allowing them to cook during the day, since the rain kept the smoke from being visible. They were also able to catch some rainwater in a plastic rain cape they found in Helen’s pack. Stevie filtered it with the Sawyer filter, and they were able to use it for drinking and cooking. The overhang protected them from the heavier downpours, and once, from marble-sized hail.
They cut some branches off a few trees and used them to camouflage the tent, breaking up the straight lines and making it blend into the surrounding terrain. Jeff went down and circled the area, looking up at the camp from different angles. He reported that the camouflage would work to protect them from any casual, untrained observers.
Stevie examined Helen again after a few days and noticed for the first time that her left foot was swollen and purple, especially the toes. She tried using the wet cloths there as well as on the knot on Helen’s head, but the swelling went down only a little.
Every evening, the four friends sat outside the tent where Helen slept, and talked about what they should do the next day. They all agreed that they would stay put until Helen was able to travel again, and that the place they had chosen for their camp was more than adequate for their needs.
On one particular day, the rain never stopped. It wasn’t heavy, and sometimes slowed to a drizzle, but the grayness of the day and the dampness all around them was depressing. All of them wished for some sunshine for a change.
“I’m concerned about Helen’s condition,” Jeff said softly. “She’s dehydrated, and not taking in more than a sip or two a day of fluids. I know she needs rest, but the longer she stays like this, the worse shape she’ll be in.”
“True,” Massey agreed. “Should we be trying harder to wake her up? She’s not showing signs that she’s in pain, but if she was awake, she might hurt. I just don’t know what we should do.”
“That foot is really worrying me,” Stevie added. “It’s not as swollen, but it’s still bruised pretty bad. What if it’s broken? She won’t be able to travel for weeks if it is.”
“Modern life is truly over, isn’t it? A year ago, we’d have driven her to an emergency room, and they’d have x-rayed it and put her in a boot or on crutches,” Jeff mused.
Massey snorted. “A year ago, she’d have been in Florida and we wouldn’t even know she existed. We wouldn’t know each other, except Ross and me, but times sure have changed. I feel like the Lord led you three to meet, then brought you to our place, because He knew we would need your help.”
Jeff shook his head. “That’s not all of it. He knew we needed you, too. We needed shelter, food, and two more companions for this trip, and you needed to get out of that place. Considering all the bad things that have happened, we are actually in surprisingly good shape, except for Helen, and she has all of us to help her get better.”
“I just wish we knew exactly what to do to accomplish that,” Stevie interjected. “I wish she’d wake up and could tell us what to do. She has knowledge that we just don’t have. I’ve decided I’m going to learn first aid when we get to Kanichi Springs. We should all be sharing our knowledge.”
“True,” Massey agreed, as the others nodded their heads. “All the knowledge we have together is needed, but if only one person knows about something, and that person is injured, we don’t have access to it. That’s the lesson I’m learning from all this. Alone, I doubt I could survive, and we never know anymore when we might suddenly find ourselves completely alone.”
All four heads snapped up as they heard a noise in the distance.
“Was that what I think it was?” Stevie whispered.
“If you think that was a shot, yes. Douse the fire, Jeff. Let’s get ready. Whoever it is might come this way,” Massey urged. “High alert, people. Move it!”
Jeff smothered the tiny fire under the overhang by kicking dirt on it. The smoke might not be visible, but anyone who came close might smell it.
They each took a defensive position behind a rock or a tree and waited. They heard someone shouting, and another shot, then the sounds of someone running through the woods. Within a few minutes, they saw a man carrying a backpack by the straps, darting from tree to tree in a zigzag pattern, and occasionally looking behind him. He was short and wiry, with a long beard and a bushy head of auburn hair.
He ran mostly toward the south and didn’t even notice that he was being observed by four people. Another man suddenly appeared, chasing the first man and gaining on him. He looked fit and well-muscled, with short dark hair.
The pursuer stopped suddenly, leaned against
a sturdy tree, aimed, and fired his rifle. The first man dropped like a rock and lay still.
The other man strode up to him and nudged him with his booted foot. The smaller fellow didn’t move, so the other one picked up the pack, then spat on the corpse.
He slung the pack onto his back and said clearly, “That’ll teach you to steal another man’s supplies,” and stalked away, headed east.
The four friends stayed still for several more minutes, until they were sure the danger had passed, then looked at each other.
“We’ll need to dispose of the body somehow. It’ll start to smell soon,” Jeff whispered.
“Yeah, but let’s just get it away from our camp. We can’t bury it adequately with all the rock around here, so the wild animals will get at it whatever we do. We sure don’t want it around here, drawing in wild hogs or such,” Massey added.
“I’ll help with that. The guy probably doesn’t weigh much over a hundred and thirty pounds. I can carry him, and one of you can guard me,” Ross volunteered.
“Well, I’m pleased with the way we reacted, at least,” Stevie decided. “We moved fast and stayed quiet, and we didn’t get involved. It wasn’t our fight, and it sure seemed like the bad guy lost, so there was no reason for us to reveal ourselves.”
“I think some additional branches around our camp might conceal the overhang and tent better,” Massey suggested. “We have a good spot, but if either of those guys had looked up, they might have seen us. As soon as we get back from moving that corpse, I’ll get on that.”
Chapter Thirty-one
April 28 – Arkansas
Helen stirred, shifting restlessly. She gradually awoke, but didn’t understand the green walls and roof that surrounded her. She thought she heard some birds, and maybe a larger animal moving around, but confusion clouded her brain.
Stevie slept beside her, having had the middle shift for guard duty. Helen stared at the choppy, short hair, which stuck up in red spikes all over the girl’s head. I know him. I’m sure I do, but….