Perseverance

by Scott B. Williams

  She came to the end of the line for Tucker sooner than she expected. The only way forward, other than going back down to the stream bed far below, was a scramble across a steep talus field that would be impossible for a horse. Vicky would have to use both hands and feet to safely traverse it, and Tucker couldn’t follow. “I’m going to have to leave you here for now, boy,” She whispered to the horse. You can wait, or you can go back to the barn. I won’t tie you up, but I’ve got to keep going.” She patted him again and drew the reins up tighter behind his neck, so he wouldn’t snag them on the underbrush, and then she began scrambling across. Once she reached the other side of the boulders that had piled up after sliding down from somewhere on the walls above, she found herself out in the open, on another shelf. To her left was a steep drop off into the canyon, and to her right were unclimbable cliffs reaching to the rim. She couldn’t go up or down, only forward, up towards the head of the dead-end canyon. Vicky hoped she could find the way out once she got there, but she’d only seen that part of the canyon from below, where the waterfalls were. Her grandpa had told her that a person could climb out, but she didn’t know the exact route. She had to find it before dark or else find a place to hide, and she wondered now if she should turn back and work her way down among the trees to do so. She looked back to see if she could still see Tucker and saw to her dismay that she was too late. Gareth was emerging from the forest at the edge of the boulder field, and he’d already seen her and was bringing her grandfather’s rifle to his shoulder.

  * * *

  Eric placed Bob Barham’s hat over his face and picked up his rifle, handing it to Shauna, who was standing there quietly with tears streaming down her face. The old man had been kind to her and Jonathan; one of the few truly good people they’d met on their dangerous odyssey. Bob had been willing to drop everything he was doing for them and share all that he had to help them find Megan. It was unfair that he died in such a meaningless way, but Eric knew there wasn’t much that was fair any more. Unfortunately, the fallen Appaloosa horse that Bob had been attempting to help wasn’t going to make it either. Eric still didn’t know who shot it, but he figured it was either Jeremy or Brett. He’d get to the bottom of that later after he found Vicky. The bullet that hit the horse had apparently nicked an artery. It had managed to run for a while, but now it had lost too much blood and wasn’t getting back up. Frightened and in pain, it was slowly expiring on the blood-spattered pine needles on the ground around it.

  “Poor baby,” Shauna said. “He’s suffering, isn’t he? We can’t just leave him like this!”

  “I’ll take care of it while you get the others ready to ride,” Eric said, drawing his knife. “There’s nothing else that can be done. And we’ll take Bob’s body back to his property when we go back there for Jonathan. I’m sure he’d rather be buried there on his own land.”

  That settled, they were riding south out of the pines and across the open pasture lands of the ranch just minutes later. Eric had left Bob’s loaded packhorse and the horse Shauna had run down tethered to a tree. He’d also left Brett there, bound with Bob’s lasso. Leaving Brett there was partly for insurance against Jeremy trying to break and run. It would also be easier to keep up with just one of them and Jeremy was the one who’d been with Gareth when Vicky was seen. Jeremy was also the one that shot Bob, and it might have done him good to have to sit there tied up with Brett near the body, contemplating what he’d done, but Eric needed him right now. And besides, it wasn’t about punishment, at least not yet. The kid’s story was believable anyway, and Eric didn’t really think it was cold-blooded murder. It was probably a panicked reaction, just as he’d explained it, but it was certainly unfortunate for Bob.

  The main thing he wanted from these two young men and their other companion that was pursuing Vicky was information. They’d set out after Megan when she left but had failed to catch up to her. Eric wanted to know why, and he wanted to know every little detail that led to them arriving back here today. It would have to wait a little longer though, because getting to Vicky was top priority for the moment. As they rode off, he and Shauna on the horses they’d ridden here on with Bob, and Jeremy leading the way just ahead of them on Bob’s own mount, Eric glanced over his shoulders at Brett, helplessly lashed to the tree where he’d left him. Eric figured by the time they returned and cut him loose, probably after dark, his memory of the things Eric wanted to know about might feel a little fresher.

  As the three of them rode in the direction of the canyon where Jeremy said Vicky had gone, Eric thought of all that had changed for him and Shauna with the single shot that killed Bob Barham. Eric had only known the man for a few hours, but it had been clear that he had a wealth of first-hand knowledge to share about these mountains, and that he was willing to share both that knowledge and his time to help Eric and Shauna in their quest. Now he was gone, but Eric knew the old man would still want them to make use of his horses and gear. Shauna would agree when they talked about it later, as it was really the only option they had. Eric already knew that Bob lived alone and had no one else depending on him, and because of that, there was no one else to take care of the animals anyway. While he hadn’t been completely comfortable with the idea of Bob going along with them just hours ago when they first discussed it, the fact was that they were his horses and he didn’t want to sell any of them. After riding here with him from the place where they’d met though, Eric felt a little better about it. Bob fancied himself a mountain man or cowboy in the mold of the pioneers that first settled this land. While he was perhaps a hundred and fifty years too late to live that kind of life, Eric could tell that Bob had spent a lot of time and effort trying to recreate it anyway, even if only part-time. The survival skills he’d acquired would have served him well in the present circumstances, but now it didn’t matter because he’d been gunned down without a fight, simply because he’d had a rifle in his hand. Eric knew it could have happened to anyone, but regardless of the circumstances of his death, Eric felt sad for the old man. He’d been so excited on the way here, as he was about to embark on a great mountain journey on horseback; a wilderness trek like the heroes he emulated had routinely made in the days he’d dreamed of living. Now it was over for him, but Bob Barham had died in the mountains he loved, having spent all of his last day riding his beloved Ginny on the trail. Eric figured it was as good a death as most men could hope for. He would take Bob back to his own place and give him a proper burial, the least he could do for a man who’d taken in his ex-wife and friend, offering all he had.

  If the two men he’d found at the scene hadn’t been frantically bent over Bob, freaking out and trying to stop his bleeding, Eric would have wasted them without hesitation. But the look on their faces, and their obvious youth stayed his trigger finger, and he was glad of it now. Whatever they could tell him was worth far more than making them pay for their mistakes. Eric wasn’t in the business of dealing out sentences for wrongdoing, at least not when he wasn’t getting paid for it or it wasn’t a clear case of someone attacking a helpless victim, like the two he’d taken out on that Louisiana road after they’d pulled a young mother out of her car. Eric’s only concern here was getting to Vicky before Gareth did. He was the one who’d been his daughter’s boyfriend, and Eric intended to have a nice, long chat with that one. What would come afterward depended on how that conversation went. But no matter where it led him, Eric had made a promise to Vicky that he wouldn’t leave her behind, and he had every intention of keeping it.

  The open pasture lands they were crossing rose in a gradual slope as they neared the far side, and Jeremy led the way to the bed of a small stream, saying it was the one that wound its way down out of the canyon where Vicky was seen. “Gareth and I were up there,” Jeremy said, pointing to a steep ridge overlooking the drainage. “He saw her heading up into it, and he said there’s no way to ride out of there once you get farther into the canyon.”

  “Have you been there before?” Eric asked.

&nbs
p; “No, not all the way, but Gareth has. He wanted me and Brett to come back and wait out here, in case she tried to slip back out and head for the road. I don’t know that she already hasn’t, but the last he saw of her she was heading farther up the creek, in the woods along that slope over there.” Jeremy pointed at the western side of the drainage. “Gareth said it was too steep to take a horse much farther up there though. If she didn’t manage to get out, she might have left it behind. It’s one of those spotted Appaloosas like the other two.”

  “Listen carefully to me, Jeremy,” Eric said. “I should probably tie you up like your friend, but I know you’re not going to try anything, because if you do, my ex-wife will shoot you dead before you finish the thought. If you doubt it, let me assure you that you won’t be the first dude she’s shot lately.” Eric’s expression was matter-of-fact; completely devoid of emotion, and when he watched Jeremy glance over at Shauna as if to confirm this was true, Eric saw that hers was just as icy. The message got through. Jeremy nodded that he understood, and Eric turned to Shauna.

  “You’re okay with this, right baby?” He didn’t know why he called her that. It just came out, but Shauna didn’t seem to mind. “You’ve got your rifle if anything happens. I’m heading in there to see if I can find them.”

  Shauna agreed, and Eric ordered Jeremy to dismount. Shauna climbed down from the saddle herself and tied her horse to a bush at the edge of the tree line. Eric gave her a hug. “I hate to split up again so soon, but I’m counting on being back quick. I really need you here for the same reason that Gareth wanted his two buddies here. If either Vicky or Gareth comes out of there all of a sudden, you’ll at least have a chance of heading them off.”

  “Be careful, Eric.” She put her hand around his neck and pulled his face to hers, planting a kiss on his lips. It was brief, but nice, like the one before he left on that mission for Lieutenant Holton. Eric didn’t know what to make of it, but he didn’t mind it a bit. He swung back up in the saddle with a smile, already feeling more at home with this riding stuff even though he’d been at it less than a day. But Eric didn’t plan to just ride up into that canyon where he could be easily spotted. He knew Gareth had a deer rifle and that he’d fired at a buck from one of the slopes above. The guy might shoot at him on sight, even though he wouldn’t have a clue who Eric was or why he was here. He used the horse to save time closing the gap, riding it only until he reached the area Jeremy had pointed out, and then he dismounted and left it waiting, striking out through the woods on foot in the direction Jeremy thought Vicky had traveled.

  Eric was cautious, but he was in a hurry too. It was nearly sundown now and he knew that finding anyone in this terrain after dark wouldn’t be easy. As he entered a dense grove of spruce trees after climbing up out of the creek bottom on the other side, Eric discovered there was really only one logical route leading up the canyon. It was a natural shelf with an almost path-like appearance, and he figured it was probably a game trail used by deer and other large animals going back and forth through the drainage since the undergrowth down lower was too dense and the slope became a cliff higher up. So Eric followed it, thinking it the most likely route Vicky would have taken, especially if she were still riding. His hunch was confirmed when he came across fresh horse droppings directly in his path. Seeing that, he quickened his pace, knowing he was on the right track, and shortly after, he spotted a horse. It had the distinct markings of an Appaloosa, just as Jeremy had said, and it was standing there looking at him with little concern, tied to a bush by the reins, but wearing no saddle, which confirmed Brett’s earlier story. There was no sign of Vicky or Gareth nearby, so Eric approached the horse slowly, quietly whispering to it in a soothing voice to keep it quiet, while watching the cover for signs of movement. He quickly determined that any possible route beyond this point was decidedly treacherous and steep, and Eric concluded that Vicky had continued on foot because it was her only choice. The only question was whether Gareth had come this way too, and how far behind her he might be. Eric got his answer when the crack of a high-powered rifle echoed through the canyon just ahead. The sound made the horse skittish and he pulled at the reins and pawed the ground. Eric ignored him and moved carefully in the direction of the sound, his M4 at ready as he looked for the best route across the boulders that lay in his way.

  Seven

  WHEN JEREMY LEFT TO go back for Brett and the other horses, Gareth took off down the slope to the creek at a run, leaping from rock to rock at a reckless pace to reach the stream bed as quickly as possible. When he was at the bottom, he splashed through it in the same place he’d seen the deer and horse cross, and then he was climbing uphill again, picking his way through the dense spruce grove that covered the opposite slope.

  Gareth was pissed! He was furious that Brett had failed the one simple task he’d given him—to watch the horses while they went hunting—and he was pissed that Vicky had taken his favorite of the three Appaloosas. If he hadn’t spotted her by chance when he did, he knew he might never have found her. Why she had headed into the canyon though, he wasn’t sure, as it seemed like she would have taken the road or one of the main trails out if she wanted to cover a lot of ground and ensure her escape. Gareth smiled as he thought of the trap she had ridden into. Maybe Vicky didn’t know it was a box canyon? The old man had shown it to Gareth and Aaron, but that didn’t mean he’d ever taken his granddaughter there. As long as he could prevent her from turning around and riding back out, Gareth was certain that he could catch her in this place, and he smiled as he thought of all the ways he might make her pay for doing this to him. He’d already been thinking about Vicky a lot ever since he made the decision to come back here. He had liked her well enough when the three of them began to hang out together, which was often, considering that she was Megan’s roommate back then. She wasn’t as hot as Megan, but then no one he’d ever dated had been. But if Megan hadn’t been in the picture, Vicky would have been fair game, and now, she definitely was. Back in the beginning, she’d liked him too. He could see it in the way she looked at him. He knew she was a little jealous of Megan, because some dude she’d been head over heels in love with had dumped her hard. Gareth could have had her easily back then, but then after all the action started and they left town for the mountains, Vicky didn’t like the direction things were going. In fact, she’d become a real pain in Gareth’s ass, and he figured her running her mouth so much was the main reason Megan wouldn’t get on board completely with the resistance. And of course, it was Vicky’s idea to come here to this ranch in the first place; her idea being to hide from the world until it was all made better again, which Gareth knew was delusional thinking. It wouldn’t be made better until there was a purging, and that purging was going to require a lot of blood. Why everyone else couldn’t see that was beyond Gareth’s comprehension.

  Being involved with Megan may have derailed him temporarily, but that was absolutely over now. After what he’d seen out there in the mountains, he was quite sure she and Aaron never made it through, and that they were both likely dead by now. Gareth had come back here to think and to resupply. The latter wasn’t going to happen now, but he could still do the thinking and planning. Brett and Jeremy would follow him anywhere, he just had to decide where to go to try and find more like-minded people to join up with and help keep the momentum going while the authorities were still trying to catch up. But without all three of the horses, they were screwed, and Gareth was determined not to lose the one he’d seen that bitch riding away on. He didn’t want to have to kill her outright, but if there was no other way to stop her, then he would do what was necessary.

  As he made his way through the spruce trees, climbing higher up the slope, Gareth stumbled upon clear evidence that he was on Vicky’s trail. He had been watching out for tracks, as the one thing that stuck with him from all the times he’d hunted with Aaron was the importance of looking at the ground. Aaron was really good at tracking and could tell from the subtlest sign about how long ag
o an animal or person had passed by, finding indications that most people would never notice. Gareth knew nothing of that, but he knew what fresh horse shit looked like when he saw it, especially when he stepped in it and got it smeared all over his boots. Grinning as he scraped the soles against a tree root to wipe it away, Gareth paused for a moment to dig more rifle cartridges out of his pocket, shoving three fresh ones into the Winchester’s magazine to replace the ones he’d fired.

  The drainage was like a natural funnel with only a couple of reasonable ways in or out. Vicky had taken the only possible path a horse could negotiate on this side of the canyon. She had to either keep going or else turn around and go back down to the creek and follow it up, but if she tried that, she would run right into him. Gareth pressed on, confident that he would soon have her cornered when she reached the point where there were no more options. He couldn’t see back down to the creek from where he was now in the forest, but he hoped that Jeremy and Brett would soon have his back and be there waiting and ready in case Vicky somehow found a way to elude him and make for the pastures and the road beyond.

  When he reached a place where the woods opened up and the ground became rockier and steeper, Gareth spotted movement among the trees up ahead and stopped to raise his rifle, so he could use the scope. It was Tucker, the horse she’d taken, standing there by himself, looking back at him! Gareth moved the crosshairs slowly beyond the horse to an open area of boulders that covered the slope, creating an obstacle that Tucker couldn’t cross. Vicky was nowhere in sight, and he was sure she had continued across the rocks on foot, as it was the only way she could have gone without him seeing her. He approached Tucker and tied the reins to a branch. He was going to need him on the way back and he didn’t want him to get away. “Just hang tight, Tucker. I’ll be back for you before long,” Gareth whispered. “I know the last thing you wanted to do was come running off up here this late in the afternoon after all the riding we’ve been doing. You’ll get a break after this though, I promise.”