Surviving Day by Day (Book 3): Still They Come (23 page)

Niz got a far off look, “Do you ever think we will be able to have families again?”

Stray Eagle took her hand leading her back to the house, “In time...”

Stray Eagle and Niz sat on the floor and watched the small fire in the fireplace. They talked quietly, so as not to disturb Alden. As ten o’clock approached, Stray Eagle got up and looked at Niz, whispering to her, “okay which one is Charlie’s room, cause I damn sure don’t want to walk in on one of the girls.”

Niz smiled as Stray Eagle helped her up. She walked down the hall and pointed at a door, that is Alden’s room. This one back here is Charlie and Ceara’s. I’ll wake them up, you go get some sleep.” The two kissed and finally released. Stray Eagle let out a loud sigh as he turned to go into the room, “Good night Niz, sleep well.” She smiled at him, “you too.” As the door closed, she walked a few steps and opened the door to Charlie and Ceara’s room. A small oil lamp was burning low on a table. She stood and looked at the sofa bed with the two young ones cuddled up. Niz reached down and shook Charlie’s toes, “Hey you two.” She spoke quietly; it’s your turn… up and at ‘em.”

Charlie’s eyes popped wide open as Ceara tried to snuggle closer. Looking up at Niz, who was at the end of the bed smiling, he turned to Ceara, “C’mon sweetie, it’s our turn on watch.”

He looked back to Niz and with a circle motion of his finger he smiled, “You wouldn’t mind turning around would you?”

Niz smiled, “I guess so, it’s not like I haven’t seen a man before.”

Charlie chuckled, “Oh it’s not that, I just don’t want you to see me in my SpongeBob sleep pants.”

Niz started to chuckle loudly as Ceara sat up; “Shhh, you two, you’ll wake the others. What the hell is going on?”

The rest of the night seemed to just go through the motions, with nothing to worry about. The next morning, everyone was enjoying a simple breakfast, since the chickens had finally begun to lay eggs. They were all enjoying scrambled eggs and fresh milk. Ceara looked to Alden, “I got a question, have you finished your first cup of coffee yet?”

Alden laughed, “Cupcake, I’ve already made a second pot. That is what you are drinking now.”

Ceara shook her head, “I should have known... anyway, I was thinking last night, when we were on watch that it seems that any attack was in the middle of the night or really early morning. Lately, there isn’t anything happening at night. Do you think it is because it’s getting colder?”

Colt scooped out some more eggs, “I don’t think cold would affect them. Think about it, nothing else affects them, why should cold?”

Ceara shrugged, “I don’t know, it was just a thought. If you think about it, Running Buffalo said that major herds were headed this way but they aren’t here yet. They should have been here, if they were moving day and night.”

Stray Eagle made himself a plate, leaned against the counter; he took a large bite and took the time to enjoy it, then looked to Ceara. “The cold could slow them down, that would explain it taking them longer than we thought.”

Charlie set his glass down, “Maybe we should go out and see just how far out they are now?”

Ceara looked across to him, “What good would that do?”

Charlie got a strange look, “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t it help? We would know where they are and what direction they are going now. For all we know, they could have switched directions and we don’t have anything to worry about... for now.”

Ceara picked up both their plates, rinsing them off in the sink, “Yeah, you’re right. It’s probably a good idea to know.”

Niz set her plate in with the others, “On a plus side, Alden and I should be ready to go, if they wait too much longer.”

Alden refilled his coffee, “Charlie, get a couple horses saddled, you and I will go have a look.”

Stray Eagle listened to everyone, “I’ll help you, Charlie. I’m going too.”

Within the hour, Alden walked up as Charlie and Stray Eagle finished with the horses. “You know Stray Eagle; I think you have a point with the cool nights.”

Charlie looked up, “How so?”

Alden took the reins and mounted his horse, “I’m not sure but I’m think the dead are like reptiles; their bodies don’t produce enough heat to keep them warm, so they go dormant during the cool nights and become more active when the suns up.” Alden turned his horse and headed out of the corral.

Charlie looked at Stray Eagle, “Was that what you were thinking?”

Stray Eagle shook his head and smiled, “Nope, just a thought the cold would slow them up a little.”

As the two followed Alden out of the corral, Charlie shook his head, “I swear if I didn't know he was an old soldier, I’d swear he was a rocket scientist.”

Ceara looked to the others, “I have to get busy with chores. What do you guys have planned?”

Beth smiled, “Same thing, different day.”

Ceara laughed, “Yeah, guess we know how the pioneers felt, huh? I can remember my mom making comments about wanting to go back to those times. To tell you the truth, I don’t think she had a clue what she would have been in for.”

Tabitha and Niz headed outside as Colt poured the last of his coffee in the sink. Giving Beth a quick peck, he said, “I’m going to go check the fences, make sure nothing is caught up in them and they are all still intact.”

Ceara perked up, “Beth, could laundry wait for tomorrow? I want to ride with Colt!”

Beth gave her a motherly look, “It can, but there will be that much more to do tomorrow. You better check with the girls to make sure they are ok with clothes and then check Charlie and Alden’s closet, to make sure they have enough.”

Ceara ran down the hall and did just as Beth asked; within five minutes she was back, “All good, let’s go Colt!”

As they walked out, Beth called after them, “NO FIGHTING! If I have to sort you two out again, it won’t be pretty!”

Ceara laughed, “I won’t, if he behaves!”

Colt looked over his shoulder, “Think we can trust each other to be alone for an hour or two?”

As they reached the barn she noticed that Charlie had taken Spirit, so she started saddling Dilligas. “Hmmm, I don’t think you and I have ever been together more than forty-five minutes without fighting. Why do you think that is?”

Colt got his horse saddled, “It’s because we are too much alike, or we were separated at birth and we are really brother and sister.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes, before Ceara spoke. “Do you really think we are alike? I thought you hated me?”

Colt slowed up so he was right beside her, “Ceara, I see me in you, that is what drives me crazy. I know the things I need to work on, but then you do something that I know I would have done too... Well that just make me see how much more we all still need to learn. I get mad but trust me; I never want anything to happen to you or anyone.”

Ceara did her Alden look, “I do believe that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me. So where is this fence you guys are so proud of?”

Colt waved out to the left, “It starts over there, and we circled around the back. We got all the way around to the house. We still have more to do, so while we are out here, you can help me.”

They followed the fence for several minutes before they saw the fence jerking, Colt held out his hand to make Ceara stop. “It could be just an animal but we need to be sure before we ride up. Let’s leave the horses here, and go on foot. I don’t want them getting spooked.”

Both pulled out their knives and made their way closer, within a few minutes they saw the cause. Twisted in the barbwire was a young coyote, struggling to get free. Directly behind it were three wanderers that were struggling to reach it. Ceara looked to Colt, “What do we do?”

Colt took a deep breath, “Put all four out of their misery. The hard part will be getting them out of the fence without destroying it. Charlie will be happy to know how well his idea worked.” He pointed to the coyote. “You take him first, I feel sorrier for him.”

Ceara nodded, “Yeah, me too.” She inched closer to the wounded animal; he continually snapped at her, “Calm down girl, I am trying to help.” Without taking her eyes off the coyote, “Colt, just how am I going to get close enough to put it down?”

Colt shrugged, “Hey, you wanted to come with me.” He gave a small smile, “I don’t really know, but did you bring any water?” Ceara nodded, “Yeah, couple of bottles from the barn, why?”

Colt nodded, “Okay, good... We don’t know how long it’s been here but in this heat, he has to be thirsty. Cut the top off of one of the bottles and get it as close as you can. If he gets busy with it, move in and take it down.”

Ceara ran back to the horses, “Don’t mess with the wanderers till I get back, Alden said never go at it alone!”

Colt waved her on, “Hurry up!”

Ceara got back as fast as she could. She cut the top of the bottle spilling most of the water. She looked back to Colt, “Okay, you ready?” Colt nodded, “Make it quick, I want to take these out while they are still going for it.”

Colt jerked back as a wanderer grabbed his shirt, “Well, so much for that idea.”

Ceara used her foot to push the bottle close, the coyote smelled the water and stilled. It looked to Ceara then to the water. It did this several times and finally went for the water. As soon as it lowered its head, Ceara jumped, stabbing it in the back of the head. It yelped and went limp. Part of Ceara wanted to smile that she was able to do it, but another part felt so bad for the poor animal. How long had it been there that it’s reflexes were so slow and weak.

She pulled out the knife and turned to Colt. He had killed two of the wanderers but the third had its arms free so that Colt couldn’t get close enough without being bit.

Ceara joined him, “Well, your other plan worked, you got one for this one?”

Colt wiped his knife off with sand, “Not sure you will like it.”

“Try me.”

“Ok, just remember you asked. One of us needs to become bait so the other can get in close enough.”

Ceara looked from the wanderer to Colt, “I think I got more experience with being up close and personal, so I guess I will be the bait.”

Colt shook his head, “No, not this time. You are having way too many flashbacks and your boyfriend has a mean right hook.” He smiled over at her, “Just don’t wait, I don’t like the idea of being up close and personal.”

Before Ceara could say anything, Colt moved in close enough for the wanderer to grab him then jerked back. He moved just a bit and moved back in; soon the wanderer was totally focused on reaching him. Ceara plunged the knife in the base of its skull. “Wow, that plan worked great!”

Colt got a smirky grin, “I have my moments.”

Ceara laughed, “No, you don’t have your moments, you’ve been learning from Alden! You did great!” Before Colt realized it, Ceara threw her arms around his neck, “Beth is going to be so proud of you!”

Colt laughed uncomfortably, “Thanks...”

Ceara stepped back and blushed, “Sorry didn’t mean to make you feel all weird.”

Colt moved around, not wanting to make things worse, or cause an argument, “You didn’t, you just surprised me is all, anyway, let’s figure out how to get them out of there. They will draw more with the smell.”

For the next couple of hours, they worked to free them and drag them to a pile. Colt went to his horse to get the lighter fluid. When he rejoined Ceara, he waved the bottle, “We’re going to make our own version of Up in Smoke.”

Ceara laughed, “As long as we don’t have to stick around for the smell!”

Alden held up his hand as he pulled his horse to a stop. Charlie and Stray Eagle pulled up next to him. They sat on a mesa, overlooking a wide valley below. Below them were several herds of wanderers that at first glance appeared to be aimlessly walking around.

Stray Eagle noticed it first, and pointed to two small groups, “Look at those over there, and watch them for a minute.”

Charlie turned in his saddle a little, “Watch what? They’re all just bumping into each other.”

Alden reached down to pull his binoculars off the saddle horn, and then started to watch what Stray Eagle had pointed at. After a few minutes, he handed them to Stray Eagle, “You’re right. They bump into each other, and it almost looks like they smell each other, then they group together to become a larger herd.”

Stray Eagle nodded as he handed the glasses to Charlie. “Yeah and at this rate within a day or so, this will be one big ass herd.”

Charlie gazed below, and blew a slight whistle, “Damn Alden, how the hell do we deal with this?”

Charlie handed the glasses back to Alden, who put them away. He looked out to the horizon then turned to the east and the west. “Stray Eagle; are there any box canyons we can maybe draw them to?

Stray Eagle shook his head, “Maybe about two hours ride southwest, but that is going to be a drive, if you want to try and move them like cattle.”

Charlie looked at both of them, “You ain’t seriously thinking of a wanderer drive, are you? That’s just plain fucking nuts.”

Alden grinned at him, “Yeah it is, isn’t it? But it may be the only way to get them away from us and Stray Eagles tribe. We don’t have the resources to take them head on.” Alden looked to Stray Eagle, “You take Charlie and go tell Running Buffalo what we have learned...”

Alden stopped suddenly and began searching the valley below.
Charlie looked at Stray Eagle who was also searching the valley.

Stray Eagle pointed to a small cloud of dust off in the distance. Alden quickly got off his horse, Stray Eagle and Charlie followed. Stray Eagle took the horse back a little away from the edge as Alden laid down and began scanning once more with the binoculars. It took a couple of minutes before the reason for the cloud appeared.

Charlie’s eyes got wide, “Holy shit boss.... are those fucking tanks?”

Alden nodded as Stray Eagle joined them, “Damn, once again, the question comes up, friend or foe?”

Alden, Stray Eagle, and Charlie were watching the group of tanks off in the distance as they moved towards a small herd of wanderers. Charlie looked to Alden, “They’re going to fire on them, aren’t they?”

Alden nodded as he looked through the binoculars, “Yeah, but with the way the terrain raises and falls, they can’t see the main herd down below us.”

Stray Eagle caught on quickly to what Alden had said; “So when they shoot those, they won’t know these are here.”

Charlie stood with the others and watched as the tanks maneuvered into position, “They’re not lowering, or aiming their big guns. Maybe they’re just going to use machine guns on them.”

Alden watched intently through the binoculars, “Nope. They’re going to run them over.”

No sooner did he say the words then the tanks rolled forward in a V formation, rolling over anything that got in their way. No shots were fired. The three of them watched as the tanks flattened the wanderers in front of them. Some tried to climb aboard, but they soon slipped. The lucky ones rolled away, the others were crushed beneath the tracks.

Stray Eagle turned to Alden, “I guess we’re back to square one, huh?”

“Looks like it.” Alden said as he mounted his horse. “Okay you two ride over to Running Buffalo, and tell him what we’ve found. I’m heading back to the ranch to tell the others.”

Charlie and Stray Eagle got on their horses. Charlie turned to Alden; “You be careful. I don’t like what I’m seeing out here, might be a lot more of those little groups. I hate to think of you running into a herd without someone watching your back.”

Tonto came out from behind some rocks and stood next to Alden. Alden smiled at Charlie, “Son, I ain’t ever alone.” He turned and rode off back towards the ranch.

Charlie looked at Stray Eagle; “When the hell did Tonto show up?”

Stray Eagle smiled as he turned his horse, “You got a lot to learn. Damn dog has been following us since about a half hour after we left the ranch. Alden never told him to stay, so he joined us and as Alden would say, just covered our rear.”

Charlie shook his head with a smile on his face, “I’ve been with him since the beginning and still ain’t used to him and that damn dog.”

Alden rode back towards the ranch moving at a casual pace, watching the desert around him for signs of Wanderers. The skies were blue and scattered with a few white clouds; it made him feel a peace he had not known for a long time. Alden pulled his horse to a stop to watch a bald eagle soaring above him, then noticed a small herd of mule deer grazing on the scrub brush. Kicking his horse gently to move on, he saw one of the deer raise its head and look towards him. Alden smiled and spoke only to himself, “Not today fella. You’re not on the menu.”

The deer herd suddenly sprang into action running west. It was Tonto’s growl that alerted Alden as to why. Alden shifted in his saddle to find Tonto facing to his left, following Tonto’s line of sight, he saw the brush moving.

His horse reared and began to buck as the small group of wanderers appeared out from the brush and down some rocks. “OH HOLY SHIT!” Alden yelled as he tried to get control.

Tonto sprang into action, circling to the back of the group. Tonto forced a wanderer down by his arm. Once down Tonto lunged, tearing out its throat. Two more turned and tried to grab him. Tonto spun to jump up on some rocks, and then leaped on one of them, knocking it to the ground. The horse bucked violently from the sight and smell of the dead people, causing Alden to fall to the ground. Once free of Alden, it took off at full gallop. The wanderers turned toward the horse first, giving Alden just enough time to get up and move to where Tonto was.

Alden drove his knife into the heads of two of the wanderers, kicking a third in the chest. The wanderer fell to the ground, but immediately tried to get up; Alden stood over the fallen wanderer and stomped on its heads. “LET’S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, BOY.” Alden and Tonto slipped into the brush. Moving quickly and silently, they soon lost their attackers.

************************************************************

Tabitha was cleaning up the kitchen when suddenly she realized that their supper wouldn’t have to be made for the next few hours. She spun around to look at both Niz and Beth, “How about we get out of here for a while and get some fresh air? All we have to do is grab those fishing poles out there. I think a fish fry sounds pretty damn good for a change.”

Niz looked over at Beth with a big smile, “That sure does sound nice.”

Beth replied, “I have to agree. I haven't been out in a few days and some sunshine would be nice.”

Quickly the ladies got up and made their way out to the shed to get the fishing gear. Off in one corner Beth saw a big green tackle box. “I’ll grab the tackle box, Tabitha grab me a pole, and we can all make our way down to the pond.”

The ladies got all of the stuff together and made their way down to the pond. No wanderers were out, but each one of them kept their eyes peeled, just in case one suddenly walked up out of nowhere.

Beth was the first one to hear the sound of frogs off in the distance and picked up her pace. Niz eagerly followed and Tabitha joined in. When they saw the pond, the water looked so inviting and peaceful; each one gave a sign of contentment.

“This will be perfect!” said Niz as she got one of the poles from Tabitha. Beth sat down the tackle box and opened it to find it was crammed full of lures of all kinds. “I was wondering what we would use as bait, but seeing all of this stuff; we won’t have to worry about that now.”

Tabitha held onto her pole and handed the other one to Beth, then started picking through all of the lures to see which one would suit her needs. “Well, it looks like Larry had everything that an average sporting goods store would have,” Tabitha said with a grin.

After a few moments, Beth grabbed the first one that looked familiar. It was a nice light green spinner model. “Back home on Kentucky Lake, George, Ben, and Brenda would use these to bring in the nice bass, that is, once the bluegills were brought in. Since we don’t know what kind of fish are in these waters, I will take my chances with this.”

Niz grabbed one that was similar, “Most lakes and ponds around here have bass, along with some really awesome catfish. I bet there are some really big ones in there, since you all have been the only ones that have been fishing in a long time... probably many of the catfish are fat too.”

As time went on, all three of the ladies found their designated spot and soon several fish were dangling on the stringer that Beth had placed near her. The stringer held a couple of nice three pound bass and a handful of bluegill. Beth knew that if she could try and get in at least one nice catfish that she could fry up some fish nuggets.

Beth reeled her line in, and made her way over to the tackle box. She started rummaging through it. Back home she remembered that her cousins would always have a small jar of stink bait hid in the bottom of their tackle box. She had hopes of finding some in Larry’s box too. Not finding anything, Beth gave to box a frustrated push, and she noticed the top seemed to move funny. She reached out and suddenly realized that the whole compartment lifted up and out. “Bingo;” Beth chuckled as she pulled out Larry’s own small jar of magic catfish dip bait.

Quickly Beth put everything back as it was, found a treble hook along with a good size weight then made her way back to rig up her pole. Beth opened the lid of the bait jar and dipped the treble hook in. Tabitha started to look around. Niz turned also looking and scanning the ground. Tabitha’s and Niz’s eyes met. Tabitha scrunched her nose, “Is it me or does it smell like someone or something just died?”

Niz nodded in agreement, ‘Yes it does, but then again it’s not death I smell, it’s Uh, I don’t know how to explain it other than, it’s just nasty.”

The two looked over towards Beth; she did not seem to notice the odor. They looked at each other once more, shrugged and went back to fishing, both still looking around to see where the odor had come from.

Beth had finished baiting her hook and casted out, waiting patiently for a bite. Tabitha was fly fishing and was reeling in another good size bass, while Niz was catching a few more bluegill.

After a few more fish were on the bank, Niz laid her rod to the side and leaned back on grass as the clouds drifted overhead. “So when is the last time you guys just watched the clouds?”

Tabitha looked over her shoulder smirking, “Been a tad bit busy watching my ass lately.”

Niz laughed, “I know, but what I mean is the simple things we use to do. I don’t know, like just taking a walk to walk, or took a shower without worrying about running out of hot water.”

Beth set her pole down on her makeshift holder, keeping her eye on her line, “I kind of miss being able to just run to the store. I miss going to work. I miss having a lazy day, just watching movies.”

Niz sat up as she pointed at Beth, “Yeah, stuff like that! Just grabbing a bag of chips and a coke, turning on a good movie, just letting the world go by.”

Beth smiled, “One day we will have it again, just not anytime soon.”

Tabitha glanced over at the girls, “Aren’t we supposed to be getting dinner, not talking about what we won’t have ever again?”

Niz sat up and grabbed her fishing rod, “Okay, okay, point made.” Niz reeled in her line and recast. She winked at Beth but spoke to Tabitha, “So Tabitha, what crawled up your ass and died? What’s so bad about talking about our old lives?”

Tabitha rolled her eyes, “Because it serves no purpose, we need to figure out better ways to make it to tomorrow and the next day. Why would I daydream about everything we can’t have?”

Beth stood up and dusted off her jeans, “It does serve a purpose because it reminds us of better times. Times that we all enjoyed, but you are right about figuring out how to survive the long run. I would love to plan a garden for this spring. Do you think Alden would agree to another run somewhere to find seeds and things?”

Niz pulled in her line again, inspecting the hook. “I swear the damn fish are just nibbling my line. I give up; You guys ready to head back yet?”

Tabitha held up their line of fish. “I think we have enough to feed everyone, so let’s get going.” She patted her leg, “Come on Mickey; let’s go home.”

The puppy jumped around trying to get the low hanging fish as Tabitha jerked them out of his reach, “Behave!”

Niz laughed, taking a couple steps away from the pond, “Beth, we have all kinds of things planted already, I am sure the Chief will be happy to share if you all would be willing to help with tending it.”

Beth fell into step with the others, “Well, to be honest, I kind of wanted to have my own little garden.”

Niz smiled, “I understand, but with the soil the way it is here, it would just be a lot better to just help us. It took many, many years for us to get the land able to yield any solid crops.”