Surviving Day by Day (Book 3): Still They Come (7 page)

As Tonto took off out the back of the barn, Charlie turned and smiled, “That’s how we warn them.” He moved back to the window, “They will be here in less than five minutes.”
Charlie glanced back to Ceara, “I hope the girls play this right, those two are not alone.”

Tonto ran to the back door scratching, drawing Tabitha’s attention. She swung open the door and saw the motorcycles heading down the valley, “Girls, it’s showtime!”

Niz and Beth joined her at the back door. After watching for a few minutes, Niz shut the door. “We are supposed to be alone, they won’t expect us to have a welcoming committee.”
Poncho and Lefty pulled up, “HELLO, ANYONE HOME??”

Tonto growled pacing the kitchen and Tabitha went to the window letting them see the gun barrel first, “YEAH, SMITH AND WESSON! WHAT DO YOU WANT!?”

The two men set the bikes and got off, “Calm down little lady, we don’t mean no harm... we’re just passing through, we are coming from Vegas and saw the vehicles and thought we would take a shot at someone being here.”

Tabitha gave a sarcastic laugh, “So you ain’t seen any cars between Vegas and here?”

The guy shook his head, “No, now don’t be twisting my words. I just meant that me and Poncho were missing real wom....”

Poncho hit him, shaking his head, Lefty quickly changed his wording, “What I mean to say is living people. Are you ladies alone out here, maybe we could join up for protection?”

Niz moved to the window, “If you are just passing through then how would you know that there are ladies, not just a single woman and no men.”

Poncho finally spoke, “Listen ladies, I am Poncho and this idiot is Lefty. We saw you guys from the hillside over there and thought we would come say hello. We don’t have much left in supplies and thought we could beg a few and be on our way.”

Tabitha leaned to the window to get a better look, and looked back to Beth, “What do you think we should do?”

Beth went to the door and stepped out, “Hello gentlemen, do not get any ideas both ladies still have sights on you. What exactly are you asking for?”

Poncho stepped up, shaking her hand “Thank you ma’am, we could sure use some food. Not to take away from you three but we are kind of hungry. Could we have a look in the Wal-Mart trailer?”

Beth shook her head, “I don’t think we will allow that, but I will give you a few cans of food then you need to be on your way.”

Lefty stepped up, “Now that ain’t very friendly.”

Poncho shoved Lefty, “Get on your bike, lady has a right to be protective.” He looked back to Beth, “I would be grateful for anything you can spare.”

Beth walked back in the house and grabbed a few cans, ignoring Tabitha’s look. Passing the cans over to Poncho, “That is all we can spare, now please be on your way.”

Poncho added the cans to his saddlebags, “We appreciate it and we will sure be on our way, I just hate to leave ladies here alone, you sure you want us to leave?”

Beth smiled, “We have done just fine by ourselves and will continue to.”

Poncho and Lefty mounted their bikes and took off.

Beth walked back in the house, “Well, upside is they now believe we are alone, downside is they will be back with the others soon.

Charlie and Ceara watched the entire conversation; Ceara knew Beth handled it great. They kept watching the men drive away, Tabitha walked out the back door carrying laundry. Tonto on her heels, sniffing where the men had been standing. Tabitha started hanging clothes talking loudly, “Did you guys hear?”

Charlie told Ceara to stay at the window then climbed down the loft ladder, leaning against the barn door, “Yeah, we heard... how long do you guys think we have?”

Tabitha positioned a pair of jeans, “Depends on how many they have, could be an hour, could be a day. I want us ready no matter what. Billy back yet? Where is Alden?”

Charlie shrugged then realized she couldn’t see him, “No Billy isn’t back and I’m not counting on him making it even to tell Alden.”

Tabitha looked to the barn before she could stop herself, then switched back to the line of laundry, “So we better get a plan and get one pretty damn quick.” She snatched up the basket and headed for the house.

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

Alden watched as one of the scouts came riding back towards the group. Alden had stopped them about a mile from the camp, out of sight of the surrounding hills.

As the scout pulled his horse to a halt, Alden shifted in his saddle, “So what are we facing?” The young Indian had sweat pouring down his face as he brushed his long black hair back. A single eagle feather attached to a small leather band around his head hung down on his right shoulder. He wore a light blue jean colored cotton shirt with the sleeves cut off along with buckskin pants and moccasins, “We got two on motorcycles that just rode up to the house. They talked to a brown haired older woman who gave them a few cans of food I guess.”

Colt looked at Alden, “Beth.”

Alden nodded, “What else, Redcloud?”

Redcloud looked at the others and wiped his face with his shirt tail. You got two hiding in the barn. I don’t think the bad guys saw them and one big ass red dog ran from the barn to the house before the motorcycles pulled up.”

Alden smiled a little and looked to Colt. They both said “Charlie” at the same time. Alden looked at his band of warriors. “I need to think on this. Billy said there were four yet two ride up. If the other two were there, they would have sent one or three not two.”

Colt watched the look in Alden’s eyes as he scanned the desert. He knew he was looking for the rest or some sign of them. Alden’s face turned cold, “Colt, you take three of the braves with you. Circle wide and leave your horses before you get to the house. You’ll need to stay low and sneak in the back. You know the lay of the land. Keep covered. We don’t want them to know how many we have. I want them to think it’s only the women. Redcloud, you wait here for Stray Eagle and Running Buffalo. Then move up quietly but stay hidden. Tell Running Buffalo not to attack til he knows he should.”

Redcloud looked at Alden puzzled, “How will he know?”

Alden started but Colt spoke first, “Trust me, he’ll know.” Colt turned to Alden, “What about you? What are you going to do?”

Alden had a small twinkle in his eye, “What I do best.” Alden winked, turned his horse and rode slowly towards the hills.

Redcloud looked at Colt, “What did he mean?”

Colt shook his head, “It’s a long story but let’s just say Alden works better alone.”

One of the younger braves looked at Colt, “My name is Lone Wolf. My grandfather used to tell stories of the old ones who were Medicine men and had great powers. Some could control the wind. Some controlled the animals. Yet the greatest were said to be able to control the spirits. Ghostwalkers he called them. Which one would your Alden be like?”

Colt turned to the direction they saw Alden ride but he was not in sight anymore, even though, it had been less than two minutes. Colt smiled, “I guess you would call him a Ghost Walker” Colt turned his horse and started to ride to the house.

Soon Colt raised his hand and stopped his small group. “This is far enough.”

He dismounted along with the others. Colt unsaddled his horse and took the bridle off. He turned to the three braves, “Stay close, if Charlie is on watch, he’ll spot me. One of the others, I’m not so sure about.”

Lone Wolf whispered to the others, “Niz is there. She’ll know us, so hopefully we can get in there with little trouble.”

Ceara was watching out the back when she saw movement in the bushes. She turned quickly and whispered, “PSST! Charlie, come here, we got people behind us.”

Charlie stayed low and moved quickly to where Ceara was hidden behind a hay bale. Getting up to her she pointed, “Over there, by those big cactus.”

Charlie leveled the rifle and moved the scope around. He saw something move and began to sight in. He saw the last man first then quickly moved up the line til he saw Colt. He let out a sigh of relief, “Colt’s back with a little help.

Ceara popped her head up over the bale to get a better look then sat back down, “He’s got three kids with him.”

Charlie looked at her with a frown, “He’s got three braves with him and I’d bet they’re every bit as good, if not better than those two yo-yos that were just here. I want you to slip down there and wave them in here for now.”

Ceara gave him a peck on his cheek, “I hope Alden’s nearby.”

Charlie smiled, “If Colt’s here, you can bet the old man’s out there somewhere.”

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

Alden had ridden slow and quiet til he was almost on top of ridge that would over look the other hills.

After dismounting, he pulled off his rifle and saddle bags and threw them on the ground with his saddle. He let the horse go and started slowly up to the top. The horse was following for a few minutes then suddenly stopped and snorted. Alden turned quickly back. As he got to the horse, he realized what the problem was.

The horse was backing up away from a pile of rocks. Alden had moved over them just moments before and had awoken a nest of rattlesnakes. Taking the reins, he turned the horse and slapped its rear. The horse skittered away back down the hill. As Alden turned back, he stopped. The snakes were still rattling under the rock but that wasn’t what caught his ears.

“Fucking Bikers again,” Alden said under his breath. Leaping over the rock he moved quickly to the top and laid down in the dirt. Reaching in a saddle bag, he took out a set of binoculars and flipped up the covers to block the sun’s rays from reflecting off the lenses. He searched the road and saw them coming around a bend. He watched as they slowed down and met with another biker who was waiting for them.

Alden laid in the dirt as a scorpion crawled across in front of him, stopping for a moment to look at Alden then it moved on. Alden watched as the bikers gathered. He could tell they were planning something, because the one man was pointing off in different directions, holding up three fingers excitedly.

Alden grinned, “That’s right, that’s right, you go ahead and divide your group.... please divide your group.”

Tony was listening to Poncho as he explained what they found out. Without warning, he suddenly smacked Poncho and knocked him to his knees, “YOU STUPID FUCK, YOU WERE TOLD TO WATCH! NOT TRY AND GET YOUR DICKS WET!”

With that, he kicked Poncho in the groin twice, almost lifting him off the ground with the second one. “The second one was for your brother Lefty. You can give it to him later, and tell him it was from me.”

Tony turned to the group, “Well because of fucktard over there, they’re going to know we’re coming, even if it’s just three women. If they’re armed, and can shoot half-ass good, they’re going to be a problem. I was hoping to hit them from two sides at once in big numbers but I think we’ll switch that up.”

The group looked on puzzled. Tony went on, “We break up into four groups of five each. We hit them from all four sides at once. Watch your crossfire cause there’s going to be shit load of lead flying and I’m sure you all want a little of what’s in those trucks as well as a turn on those women.”

Alden watched as Tony pointed to the men and they started to break off in groups of five, “Yes” he whispered quietly. “Damn I wish I had Tonto but he’ll have to hold his own down there.”

As Alden started to crawl backwards off the top, he heard the rattles again. Stopping he turned and looked back and saw several of the snakes had crawled out from under the rock. He moved a few more feet then stood up. A smile came on his face as he looked at the snakes on the rocks. “I want to thank you for all volunteering for this mission. You will all be rewarded for your service.”

Ceara paced the loft; each time she turned, she looked at Charlie with more fear. Charlie finally stood up, “Ceara, you need to calm down. You are making me nervous.”

“Sorry, just wish Colt and the others with him would get here”, Ceara responded.

Charlie climbed down the ladder, heading towards the back barn door.

Just as he got there, Colt and one of the young men came in. Before Charlie could tell him anything that had happen, Colt looked around and said, “Hey Charlie! We need to get everyone in position pretty quick.”

Charlie’s brow furrowed, “What are you talking about? I haven’t even told you what’s going on?”

Colt went to the front of the barn and glanced out, “Billy got to us but he was shot on the way, so Alden is pretty sure we are being attacked next. He is covering the high ground and he sent us here to help you guys.”

Ceara climbed down the ladder looking from Charlie to Colt and the third guy. “We saw others with you guys, where are they?”

Colt nodded, “They went around to the house to help Niz and the girls. Last thing we need is everyone in one location.”

Ceara went to the door to look out again, she turned back looking confused, “How are we supposed to fight from here, when we only have these,” as she held up her rifle, “with no extra ammo?”

One of the young men stepped up, “With this.” He dropped a bag at Ceara’s feet; she looked down at the bag, startled, “What’s this?”

Charlie knelt down and unzipped the large gym bag, “Holy shit, where did you get all this?”

He handed Ceara a fully loaded M-16 and two clips, then stood up holding one for himself. “Name’s Charlie and this is Ceara....”

The young man smiled, “I’m Mark and that guy over there is Spirit Horse. Your friend, Alden, said you may not be in a position to grab your own weapons, so we came packing.”

Ceara looked from one man to the other, “Mark and Spirit Horse.... How come.....”

Spirit Horse stepped away from the barn door, “The others are in position. As far as your unspoken question about the names go, it all depends on our parents, some are modern, others... like mine, want to keep our traditions going.”

Suddenly all five stopped and looked toward the door; they all heard the same thing. The sounds of engines were coming from several directions.

Charlie looked to Ceara and pushed her toward the ladder, “Get up there and don’t come down, cover us as best you can!”

Beth spun around and leveled her berretta at the two men who came through the door. The first one raised his hands, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, lady calm down. Don’t shoot; we’re on your side.”

Tabitha and Niz ran in from the kitchen. Tabitha leveled the shotgun she had grabbed on the way, “Who the fuck are you!?”

Niz reached over and placed her hand on the barrel pushing it down slowly, “This is Harold, and the young man behind him is my cousin, Frank.”

Tabitha glared at Niz, “They have a funny way of knocking. Beth could have taken them both out.”

Frank stepped forward and looked Niz in the eye. “Billy made it to us; he told us what was happening. He’s been shot but I don’t know how bad. The medicine man was with him when we left. Running Buffalo and the others will be here soon, I hope.

We got bad guys on all four sides and their man Alden is off Ghost hunting.”

Beth looked at him, then at Tabitha. Tabitha spoke right up, “What the fuck is ghost hunting? Did Alden go nuts or something? Great, just when we need him most, he flashes back to Nam or some damn place.”

Niz chuckled a little along with the two new men. “No, Tabitha. I’m sure he’s fine. It’s a long story but the reader’s digest version is. Alden will fight or attack in such a way that the enemy will think they are being attacked by spirits.”

Harold had gone to the kitchen and came right back, “We got a clear view of the back, but that will be covered by the guys in the barn so I say let them have that. We have the mountains to the north, that’s where Alden went so we have to trust him.”

He turned to Beth and Tabitha, “Your man, Colt said he’s good. Is he?”

Tabitha chuckled, “Yeah, he’s good. He’s damn good.” She looked at Beth and Beth sighed, “I hate him being alone out there.  He’s a little older than us and not as young as he used to be, but I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

Harold looked at Niz, and then Frank with worry in his eyes. He didn’t like the lack of faith Beth had but it was too late to worry about it now. “We don’t have a good view to the west but we do to the north, so I say we concentrate on defending what we can see.”

He turned around and looked at the windows. “We team up to cover the back, keep the bedroom doors open. If you get hit, cry out and someone will help. Frank leaned down and opened the bag he was carrying, “Here put these on, they’ll help. He started to pull out a handful of Kevlar vests. I only have four, so you girls divide them up.”

Harold had moved down the hall to the first bedroom and was listening and watching. The motors were slowing down but he could only see the dust from the tires. Calling back to the others, he yelled, “They’re going to try and sneak in, I think, so let’s get ready.”

Tabitha looked at the vest and then at Beth, Beth was holding her vest and shook her head. Niz smiled and slipped her vest on. She then grabbed the Velcro straps and pulled them tight. Beth put hers on first as Niz stepped up and grabbed the straps giving them a tight pull as she fastened them down.

Tabitha looked at her breasts then at Beth, “Doesn’t that …. err.. hurt?”

Beth breathed out slowly, “Just a little.”

Tabitha started to take it off as Niz stepped up. “No way little lady, if I wear it, we all do.”

She grabbed the straps before Tabitha knew what was going on and gave them a tight pull.

Beth chuckled, “Tabitha, one other thing, try not to get hit either, cause you think it is snug on you now. It is a whole different realm of pain, if you get shot.”

Tabitha cocked her head, raised her brow and inquired, “Shot?!”

Beth continued while picking up her Beretta, “Depending on what kind of ammo they are using it may sting, knock the wind out of you or just flat out drop you to the ground, where you may pass out.  So just keep your eyes open along with your ears, ok?”

Tabitha took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.  The pressure of the vest was extremely uncomfortable but she also thought of her nerves as the adrenaline began to rise in her body.  Niz looked at Tabitha very quickly and suddenly spoke without wasting an ounce of time, “Tabitha.  It’s going to be alright.  Don’t let your emotions get too high or you will make mistakes.  Use your senses and just try to stay calm.”

Beth looked over at Niz and everything that they both had talked about earlier was making sense.  Of course, it had when they discussed it before but seeing how Tabitha was breathing, along with how she was fidgeting, made everything that Niz said fall into place.

“Tabitha, I will lead and you just be my backup.  It’s like we always have done before.  There is no difference, it’s just you and me protecting and fighting for what we have.  Got it?”

Tabitha looked over to Beth then back to Niz, “Ok then I suggest we do this thing and, hey maybe, I can get a sweet bike out of the deal. I’ve never had one of them before.”

Beth chuckled, “See?!  There ya go!  Now you're talking.”

Ceara climbed to the loft as Mark called up, “Don’t shoot till we give the signal, just because a couple are in your sights doesn’t mean a thing. They could be sending a few in to see just where everyone is, or they could all be coming in, hauling all their fire power, just to scare the hell out of us.”

Ceara rolled her eyes, “This ain’t my first rodeo, so don’t give me any lessons on when to shoot and when not to.”

As Ceara crawled into the loft, Mark looked to Charlie, “Damn, what a bitch!”

Charlie slammed Mark against the wall, “You may want to take that back, she happens to be right. Just because you guys don’t know us, it doesn’t give you the right to treat us like we’re stupid, or call my girlfriend a bitch!”

Colt stepped up grabbing Charlie, “We got a lot bigger things to worry about, don’t you think? Charlie gave a curt nod, and walked to the wall. He leaned down looking through a small hole, trying to see any of the vehicles that were getting louder and louder.

Colt nodded to Mark, but got a glare in return, as Mark stormed off toward the barn door, “We were told your people were good, I have my doubts, so let’s get this done so I get to go home.”

Spirit Horse walked over to Colt, “No use playing referee now just let all three of them calm down before approaching again. Like you said, we have more important things to deal with at the moment than three children.”

Colt chuckled, “Yeah, but damn, do they need to add to the stress?”

Ceara voice came over the edge of the loft, “Guys, they're coming from the hills and some from the lake...”

Charlie called out, “How many?”

Ceara looked around, “I can count seven from my angle but this angle SUCKS, Nope, nine now!”

Charlie grabbed a bow, “I got two on my side!”

Mark glanced around, “You guys got radios to find out what the girls see?”

Colt shook his head, “Nope, but trust me, we will find a way to find out.”

Charlie started laughing, “They got three on their side!”

Colt gave Charlie a confused look, “How do you know?”

“One of the girls just put 3 jars in the window!”

Mark gave a small smile, “Ok, I’ll give you that... that was pretty good.”

Colt started doing the numbers in his head, “So that gives us fourteen?”

Spirit Horse shook his head, “Don’t count on everyone seeing all of them and not double counting a couple either. The two guys Charlie sees may be one or both that Ceara can see too.”

A shot rang out, and Mark leveled his rifle out the door, “They are going for the house!!!”

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

Alden had stayed hidden in the rocks and watched as the group split up. He knew the lay out of the ranch and it didn’t take a genius to figure they were going to hit from all four sides. He watched as they spread out then picked his target taking the group that would be attacking from East. They were the closest for one thing and for another, he knew the kids would be able to handle the North and South groups. The ones from the west, he’d worry about later.

Moving swiftly, he kept low, his rifle slung over his back and the ammo belt strapped around his waist. He carried his surprise package in his left hand as he worked his way down, coming up behind the bikers. Dropping down behind some boulders, when the bikers suddenly stopped. He listened and tried to see the ranch. His view was blocked somewhat by the giant sequoias but he could see enough to know the other groups were getting ready to do something.

Alden heard a shot ring out from the North and moved quickly and silently into position just a few yards above his target. Watching them, he saw they were checking their rifles and passing a bottle between them. He could hear their voices and their laughter but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. That is, until the one who was missing a hand, yelled something about fucking the injun bitch first. Two more shots rang out and Alden moved again. He was now directly above them. Holding the saddle bags, he began to shake them violently. The contents in the bag became very angry. This was evident from the sound of their rattles. Carefully he unlatched the covers so the flaps were hanging loosely. Giving the bags one more good shake, he stood up quickly and threw the bags down on the men below.

His aim and plan worked better than he’d expected. The bags were soaring directly over the heads of the bad guys as the flaps flew open and the rattle snakes began to rain down on the men.

Lefty turned and looked up, hearing the snakes’ rattles, “OH FUCKING SHIT” was all he got out as two fell on his face, one latching onto his cheek. The snake then fell on his shoulder and slid to the ground. It coiled quickly and struck him on the leg, just below his crotch.

The rest of the snakes fell down among the other men as they dropped their rifles and threw their hands over their heads to protect themselves. They were screaming and trying to run to escape them but all they did was run into each other and cuss even more. As the snakes hit the ground, they all coiled and struck at the nearest man.

Their attacks were more than Alden could have hoped for, as he watched from just a few yards away. After a few strikes, the snakes began to retreat. Alden then pulled his knife along with a tomahawk the Indians had given him. It was now his turn to finish the job. Leaping from the rocks above, Alden let out a loud war cry, “AIEEEEEEE!!!”

As he landed, he swung the tomahawk and caught one of the men on his arm and followed through with a swipe of his knife, sending him reeling across the desert floor. Alden spun and saw the one with the snake still clinging to his tongue. The man’s eyes were wide and full of tears. Alden raised his boot and side kicked the man in the stomach, sending him into a large group of cactus.  As Alden turned to find his next target, he heard the man he kicked whimper. Suddenly Alden was struck from behind. He fell to one knee from the force of the blow but was able to keep his wits. Sliding his foot out, he spun quickly away as a second blow from a rifle butt hit the ground where he had just been. Alden stood quickly and was face to face with a large man towering over him. Alden sized him up as he squared off with him. The man stood about six foot four and weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds. Alden took a step back then suddenly leaped at the man driving his fist into the big man’s throat. The two hit the ground with Alden on top. He quickly grabbed the man's beard with both hands and slammed his head into the ground, while punching him repeatedly in the face. The big man was finally able to get his hands underneath Alden and with one great push shoved Alden up into the air and off of him.