Three weeks had passed. Gale was now settled in for the most part, having adjusted to being around new horses and the daily routine. Zane had been bonding with Gale, grooming him, feeding him, and cleaning out his stall. Him and Hailey had been going out on rides to do errands so Zane could get more familiar with the way he moved, his pace, and his response to rein and leg signals. They had opted for western tack opposed to the saddle and tack he had been provided, simply to look less suspicious.
Also, in this three weeks, Hailey had bought a permit for a rabbit trap line with the money she had been saving to take part in a local project to curb the district's over-abundant rabbit population. The permit allowed for five traps within a half mile radius along the shore of the Elkhorn river, starting at the boundary of someone's private property. Her and Zane had been checking the traps every other the day, and the results had been great. They were pulling a rabbit from each trap during every visit, before talking them home to skin and clean them. The first week, there was enough rabbit meat for Hailey to make a large pot of rabbit stew and a pot pie. The leftover meat went in her dehydrator for jerky.
However, that only lasted a week. One visit, Hailey and Zane discovered that the traps were bare.
No big deal, maybe they had been caught in someone else's trap or spooked by something.
The next visit, however, was the same. And the one after. And the one after that, too.
Then on one visit Hailey found half her traps destroyed, surrounded by footprints in the damp earth, and spattered with rabbit blood.
She picked up a trap, inspecting it.
"Someone's been fucking stealing from my traps." Hailey spat. "The bastards!"
Zane rode up beside her on Gale. He slid off.
"May I?" He asked, holding out a hand. Hailey handed it to him. The door had been broken off and a big dent in the top.
Zane conducted a quick scan.
"My results from the scan read that the door was forcibly broken by something much larger than a rabbit." He reported.
"No shit…" Hailey muttered.
"The damage on the top appears to be the result of a horse or other large hoofed animal stepping on it." He continued.
"Huh." Hailey said.
Zane handed the trap back to her and scanned the ground.
"Hmmm." He said as the results popped up.
"What?" She asked.
"It appears that there is more than one person passing through. I am getting the results of multiple people, possibly a group of five, with an equal amount of horses."
"Well whoever it is…" she growled. "I am going to kick their asses!"
Zane shook his head.
"That is not advisable. Based on my scans, these appear to be grown adults. A direct confrontation would be extremely dangerous, as you would be outnumbered and outgunned. And if weapons are involved, there is a definite chance of you getting injured, or worse."
Hailey heaved a frustrated sigh. "Still doesn't matter." She mumbled. "I'd still kick their asses anyway…"
Zane raised an eyebrow.
"Would Samuel approve? I certainly doubt he would."
"I don't care…"
Zane shook his head. He had come to learn that Hailey had a special hatred for people who stole. It violated their culture and way of life. To Hailey, stealing was not only a crime, but a sin as well.
"My advice would be to report this to authorities." He said. "We also can notify Samuel as well."
"They won't do anything!"
"I am assured that they will. They are trained to investigate cases such as this and find those responsible."
She mumbled something under her breath he couldn't decipher.
Zane gave Hailey a stern look.
"Hailey I understand your frustration, but you know that I do not approve of you catching them on your own. And neither does Samuel. It's extremely dangerous and you will put yourself in harm's way. We are simply looking out for the best interest of you, and what you want to do is definitely not so."
Hailey rolled her eyes. "Great." She grumbled as she swung up into Ranger's saddle. "Now I've got a third parent…"
With that she trotted off, leaving Zane in a bit of a shock at her snarky remark.
He shook his head again and mounted Gale, who was patiently waiting.
"I guess people stealing her game doesn't sit too well with her…" he muttered to himself.
Gale craned his neck to look at Zane and snorted, almost in agreement.
He gave the big grey a pat on the neck before following where Hailey and Ranger disappeared into the trees.
When he told Samuel (Hailey had simply stormed off), a displeased look passed over his face.
"Damned bastards…" he said, rubbing his chin. He shook his head. "The nerve of them…"
"Hailey was not at all pleased." Zane explained.
"I know." Samuel said. "I wouldn't either. They broke her traps too?"
Zane nodded. Samuel heaved a sigh and shook his head.
"She mentioned resolving this herself by means of finding and confronting them, but I believe I managed to convince her otherwise…"
Samuel covered a hand with his face.
"That's just Hailey for you. She's a strong young lady, has a hell of a fighting spirit." He said. "But sometimes it's too strong for her own good…"
Zane nodded. "I concur. Her strength is admirable, but I have noted she has the tendency to overestimate herself."
"Yeah." Samuel replied. "I'll go talk to her."
He walked off, in an attempt to find Hailey.
Zane sighed and walked to his room to put his hat away.
…
Samuel found Hailey sitting on the pasture fence, angrily throwing rocks at branches, her disgusted look very obvious from a distance.
As he walked, he watched as Hailey hefted a white rock about the size of a baseball , examined it, and then lobbed it towards the treeline. It made a whisking sound as it flew through the twigs before landing with a thud to the ground out of sight. She heaved a frustrated sigh.
As Samuel came up next to her, he scooped up a rock in his hand.
"You're overthinking it." He said to her. "Here, point your shoulder where you're aiming at. It all comes naturally from there."
Samuel looked for a sizable target, and found a medium dead branch hanging off a nearby pine.
Perfect.
He motioned Hailey to watch.
Winding his body up for a throw, he aimed for the branch, his second-nature of being a high school quarterback coming back to him as he hurled the stone through the air.
CRACK!
Hailey watched, amazed as the stone broke the dead branch clean off the tree.
Samuel picked up another stone and handed it to her. She repeated what he did.
Crack!
Off came a smaller branch.
Hailey smiled in satisfaction. The branch breaking knocked off the edge a little bit.
But just as quickly it came, that satisfaction left. She huffed and returned to sitting on the fence, crossing her arms, fuming.
Samuel sighed. He sat on the fence next to her and wrapped an arm around her.
"Look Hailey." He said. "I know you're upset about your traps-"
"Upset?!" Hailey cried. "Uncle Sam, I'm pissed! I saved up money for months for those traps and permit! I worked so hard for it, and just for these…these…"
Samuel raised an eyebrow as she struggled to find a word.
"Nincompoops?" He suggested.
"YES! I worked so many hours for that and for them to just come and…"
She gave up, dropping her head into her hands with a frustrated sigh.
"It just turned to shit, all of it…"
Samuel pulled Hailey close.
"I know, my girl, I know." He said. "It happens to everyone now and again. To everyone."
"And we'll report this to the Fish and Game Commision. They'll get this sorted out. No need to go out and do anything by yourself. I don't want anything happening to you again…"
Hailey sighed again.
"Uncle Sam, I'm telling you, they won't do anything." She said.
"Yes they will, Hailey. They're trained for this sort of stuff. And if it make you feel any better, we'll post some trail cameras just for good measure, okay?"
Hailey was quiet.
Samuel looked her in the eyes.
"Okay?"
Hailey returned his gaze. Then she gave in.
"Fine…" she said reluctantly.
Samuel pulled her into a hug.
"That's my girl." He said. "Now let's go inside and get this sorted out."
They walked back to the house together, Samuel's arm still around Hailey's shoulders.
…
The Fish and Game Commission had been called, and some trail cameras set up around the traps, and in a sincere effort to make Hailey feel better, Samuel had thawed out some meat from the freezer in the garage to make her favorite dish: elk backstrap in whiskey cream sauce.
But even then, Hailey was still disgruntled about what happened. Later that night, when everyone else went to sleep, she lay awake in her room, thinking about what had happened.
Hailey's P.O.V
'God, the NERVE of these people.' I thought. 'What right do they have?'
I had said goodnight to Uncle Sam and Zane at nine. Now it was 12:47. I hadn't been able to sleep, I was so pissed off about this whole entire thing.
But I mean, seriously! I invested over a thousand dollars in that line, and worked hours for people to get that money. I even hauled hay for my ex-boyfriend's dad!
I groaned and covered my face as I remembered that day. That was hell.
But for the money, it sure was worth it.
Was.
I huffed and turned on my side.
I didn't understand it. Why would you destroy something that someone has worked so hard for? Why can't people just respect other people's things? It's so freaking simple!
The world is a despicable place sometimes. It truly is.
I mean, why did they have to steal? If they just would have asked, I would have given some of my meat to them! And why did they go so far to destroy them, too?
This isn't going to to stop anytime soon. If I buy new traps they'll just get ruined again. And it'll take days before the Commission does anything to stop it.
If anything.
I reached for my pocket knife under my pillow, flicking it open and shut to find some way of releasing some frustration. But all I could think about is how they stole.
Hell, they could be stealing out of my traps right now for all I know!
I pictured the sight of someone taking the rabbit from the trap, slitting it's throat, and then crushing it under their foot before stalking away with my hard-earned game.
'That's it.' I thought with anger. 'Screw waiting for the Commission. I'm taking this into my own hands.'
I threw the bed sheets off of me and stood up. By the light of my flashlight on my phone I changed out of my pajamas and into my hunting clothes so I could stay hidden.
Quietly, I put in the code for my gun safe. It opened with a soft click. I looked at my three guns, deciding which one I should take. I wasn't looking to shoot anyone, just to use in case things got out of hand. I had one Marlin .22 LR semi-auto, one .30-06, and my Browning 20 gauge shotgun.
I decided to go with the shotgun, since it was wrapped in duck hunting camouflage. Better concealment.
I took a handful of shells and stuffed them in my pocket. I pocketed my knife as well. I gently shut the door to the safe and slung the shotgun over my shoulder. I looked out my bedroom window.
The street was dead quiet and dark.
I nodded.
Cautiously, I stalked out of my room. I stopped in the doorway, casting one last glance around.
Beibeis was still asleep, perched on the rafter above my bed. I had been so quiet, she didn't even wake up.
I grinned. At least I had one thing to thank my dad for. His native blood definitely ran through me, I have inherited the legendary, stalking silence.
Quietly, I shut the door, and even more so, I creeped down the hallway, down the stairs, and out the front door, disarming and re-arming the house alarm on my way out.
I did realize that if I was caught, I was in some deep shit.
But, hey. Catching these thieves would be totally worth the risk.
Now under the cover of darkness, I could afford to be a little less cautious. I snuck my way around the fence line of the pasture and to the tack room.
I knew the shed like the back of my hand, so I didn't need to turn on the light. I grabbed Ranger's bridle off it's peg.
I decided I'd just ride him bareback. Taking the time to saddle him up would be too much.
I jumped the fence and made my way to the stables, quietly unlatching the stall door. Gunsmoke and Ranger looked at me quizzically. Ranger snorted as I slipped into his stall.
I shushed him as I slipped the bridle over his head and the bit into his mouth. Then I grabbed his reins and lead him out across the pasture, quietly opening and closing the gate as we passed. We walked to the end of the culdesac where it joined the road, making sure we weren't seen by anyone. Taking one last cautious look around, I mounted Ranger.
"Alright boy." I said as I gathered my reins. "Lets go catch us some thieving bastards, yea?"
Ranger snorted. I urged him into a trot.
As we loped through town in almost complete darkness, I started getting the heebeejeebees a little bit. The last time I had rode this time of night was YEARS ago. And the moon was there to guide me. Not to mention Uncle Sam was with me too.
There was no moon tonight. The sky was completely overcast, making it an inky black. And I was alone.
But I shook it off anyways. It was just a little creepy. Nothing I couldn't handle.
We reached the end of the road that lead into the main part of town. There were only a couple trucks headed south. Other than that, it was dead quiet.
I spurred Ranger to go faster. We whisked by the rest of the town and past the sign.
So far, the road was clear.
Encouraged, I had Ranger gallop. I was feeling good. I was feeling ready.
Finally, I could nail someone who deserved it-
I gasped as I grabbed and pulled back on reins.
"OH SHIT!" I yelled as we skid across the dirt. Ranger lurched to avoid hitting the large figure that had just appeared on the road.
We slid to a stop, luckily right before we crashed into the object. I breathed deeply, trying to recover and calm my racing heart.
That's when I realized the shadowy form looked awfully familiar. Especially with their glowing icy blue eyes.
I facepalmed. No wonder I didn't see Gale in his stall.
No One's P.O.V.
Zane gave Hailey a stern look as she caught her breath.
"Going somewhere?" He asked raising an eyebrow. Gale snorted and pawed his hoof.
Hailey straightened up and gave Zane a hard look of her own.
"Yea." She said, fixing the shotgun on her shoulder. "I'm going to catch these suckers red-handed."
"You are most certainly not. It's too dangerous."
"Oh yea?" Hailey challenged as she turned Ranger and rode into the trees. "And what are you going to do about it?"
"Hailey!" Zane said. "Get back here! We are going home this instant!"
Hailey turned around and gave Zane a wave before melting into the dark branches.
Zane pursed his lips and huffed before following them. If it weren't for his night vision, then he would have lost them easily. Her hunting clothes sure did hide her good.
"Hailey, stop it!" Zane repeated. "You are going to get hurt!"
Gale snorted sharply as if to repeat Zane's warning.
She gave him an eye roll in response.
Suddenly, Ranger stopped. Hailey slid off of him and tied his reins to the tree before she unslung her shotgun, loaded some shells in the chamber, and traveled down the footpath leading to her trap line.
Zane did the same, tying Gale's reins to a tree a few yards away. The horse would be too big to fit down the path. He gave a concerned whicker as Zane tied the final knot. He gave him a reassuring pat on the nose.
"I will return soon." He said. The horse nickered.
In the process of tying Gale up, Zane had lost Hailey's whereabouts. Her hunting clothes concealed her too well for his night vision to see, so he switched to thermal radiation instead.
After a few minutes of looking around and walking, he picked up her heat signature. She was nestled in the crook of a moss covered branch of an old oak tree.
Zane opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly a sound came through the trees.
There were the sound of something large moving through the thick underbrush, a whinny of a horse, and voices.
Lots of voices.
Hailey tsked.
"Zane!" She whispered as loudly as she could. "Come on! Get up!"
Without hesitation, Zane jumped into the tree and scaled the trunk until he reached her.
"I cannot believe you-" Zane began as he hoisted himself on the branch.
"Shh!" Hailey said as the voices came closer.
Grudgingly, Zane obliged as to not blow their cover. They both listened as they came closer still.
The voices were deep, unruly, and swathed in a thick accent that Zane had never heard before. He turned to Hailey as if to ask.
"Chechacans…" Hailey murmured.
Zane raised an eyebrow.
"They live on the island of Chechaco. Out in the Tempest Sea, miles past the reef. Some migrate here."
Zane nodded with understanding. He went back to listening.
The people were now coming from the side of the tree. He could distinguish one horse and six voices, conversing in a language he did not understand.
Light flickered from the darkness, and the group of people emerged from the black brush, one of them carrying a torch. All were dressed similarly: cowboy hats, plain button-down shirts, belts, blue jeans, boots, some wearing bandannas, or necklaces from what looked like animal teeth. All of them had a small gun in a holster. Two of the men rode on horseback. They appeared to have higher status then the men on foot, as he had a new looking black hat with a band which had a large silver buckle, a clean looking maroon shirt, and a gold necklace under his red bandanna that covered his nose and mouth, as well as a silver wristwatch, riding a roan horse. He carried himself in a way that asserted he was clearly the leader. The second one, wearing mostly black, wore a silver chain under a black bandanna with a leather vest, riding a black horse with high whites.
Hailey and Zane watched as the group came to a stop directly under the tree they were hiding in. The flame of the torch was too weak to see very high through the branches, but they stayed still for fear of being caught or heard.
Zane reached back, gently gripping Hailey's forearm to make sure she didn't slip away. He could feel the tension in her arms.
"Search the traps, men!" The leader ordered.
All but the two mounted men dispersed, disappearing into the brush. Zane and Hailey heard the sounds of latches and springs opening, and soon they came back with a rabbit or two in hand.
Zane could feel Hailey seething with anger.
"They're stealing from my traps…" she hissed.
Zane squeezed Hailey's arm in a futile attempt to calm her.
As he watched, he managed to take pictures of the men with clear faces and carrying the rabbits.
"I have pictures for evidence that I have downloaded in my database." Zane whispered so quietly to Hailey he was barely able to be heard by her. "There is not much else we can do. As soon as they leave, we do the same."
Hailey didn't answer. Instead she gripped her gun harder as one of the men took out a sack and the rest dropped their-or Hailey's-rabbits in. Her tension rose even more, and Zane truly thought at this point she was about to rupture a muscle.
The sack was tied off and handed to the leader, who tied it to his saddle. Then the mounted men turned back to where they had come, the rest of the men following.
Zane slowly let out a sigh as they began to leave, relieved that they could soon leave themselves.
The group was about to disappear through the brush when suddenly there was the sound of something crashing through branches and leaves.
One of the men came running out into the torchlight, holding one of Hailey's traps, a wild rabbit still inside frantically trying to chew its way out.
"I couldn't open it, jefe!" He huffed as he nearly dropped it. "What do we do with it?"
The leader thought for a moment.
"Take it." He said. "It will be useful to us for now."
He stopped there and thought a moment more.
"As a matter of fact, take all the traps you can find."
"No!" Hailey growled as she jumped forward on the branch, taking aim with her shotgun.
Zane gasped and lunged to stop her.
"Hailey no-AH!"
CRACK!
"AAAAH!"
Zane and Hailey both yelled as the branch broke and they fell to the ground.
The force from falling was enough to knock the wind from both of them. For a moment, all they could do was lay there and cough, trying to catch their breath, unable to hear the cries and shouts of surprise from the men.
Hailey's vision stopped swimming. She looked around at the men watching them with shock, then saw her shotgun laying several feet away and managed to lunge for it, only to have a foot kick it away from her and a rough pair of hands grabbing and heaving her up. She was restrained by a man with his arms around her shoulders, and Zane was also held the same way by two others. The man's clothes reeked of horse, sweat, and smoke.
Hailey fought and kicked against the man holding her, hitting him right between his legs. He cried out in pain and fell, and Hailey staggered up and began to run for her gun, only to be roughly shoved against the tree by two other men.
Zane's captors dragged him over to the tree also. He grunted in pain as his head collided with the bark, feeling a trickle of wet down the back of his neck.
The two looked at each other with wide eyes. They said the same thing with saying anything at all.
They were in some deep trouble.
The two men rode forward. The leader smiled a sickening grin, visible under the bandanna.
"Well, well, well!" He said as his second hand rode next to him. "What do we have here, muchachos?"
One of the men holding down Hailey shook her shoulder roughly.
"Trying to turn us in are you?" He hissed in her ear.
Hailey gave him a smoldering glare before spitting in his face.
"Get your hands off of me you filthy bastard!" She snapped as he recoiled. "Who the hell do you think you are, stealing from my traps?!" She started attacking the other man holding her down.
The two men came back and slammed her against the tree again, harder this time as the leader whipped out his gun and pointed it at her.
"Oh, we're so sorry, señorita." He said sarcastically. "We didn't mean to."
There was a ripple of laughter amongst the men.
"You thievin' lyin' pieces of SHIT!" Hailey yelled. "Wait till the sheriff and the Game Comission get their hands on you! Otherwise I'd beat you all black and blue myself!" She again lashed out at her captors.
This time, one of the men kicked her in the stomach, making her cry out and fall to her knees.
"Hailey!" Zane cried. He began fighting too, but the men holding him down had an iron grip on his arms and wrists. One of them took the butt of his gun and hit him in the head. His vision suddenly went hazy as pain split down his skull.
The men holding Hailey heaved her up again.
"Hailey…" the leader said tentatively, as if trying to remember something. "Hailey…" he rubbed his chin. "I have heard that somewhere…"
A few moments more, and understanding seemed to dawn on him. He grinned under his bandanna.
"Ah, yes." He said slowly. "Hailey."
The way he emphasized her name made Zane shiver.
He watched as the leader dismounted from his horse and holstered his gun.
"You might have been too young, but I remember. Your uncle-your tío, had this very nice horse that I had my eye on for quite some time. Very unique, very beautiful." He said, slowly walking toward her.
"I offered to take the horse peacefully…for free of course. But your hard-headed uncle refused. So I fought him for it. And somehow that cabron managed to get away with it. He disabled my best men. Permanentemente."
Hailey looked at him, utterly confused.
"How do you know…?"
He stopped before her. He knelt to her eye level. He pulled the bandanna from his face. It was difficult to make out his features in the dark, but in the torchlight it wasn't hard to see the silver tooth as he smiled a sickening grin.
"Remember me?"
Even in the dark, Zane could see the look of shock and horror on her as her face paled almost instantly.
"Picazo." She spat, as if the name was a vile taste in her mouth.
He grinned even wider. "El único."
A look of rage passed replaced shock as she swung up her legs and kicked him squarely in the face.
Picazo gave way a few steps. He wiped his nose and saw the blood on his sleeve. His dark, humorous look was almost immediately replaced with a cold anger as he got up, strode over to Hailey, grabbed her by the neck, and slammed her into the tree. Again. Picazo tsked.
"You remind me so much of your tío." He said in a mockingly fond voice, ignoring the fact that she was gasping for air. "Such strength, such bravery, and yet so much anger."
Hailey's face was turning red now, weakly struggling as her lungs were being deprived of air.
Zane fight against the men's hold. "Stop!" He yelled. "You are going to kill her!"
Picazo swung his head around, fixing his cold steely eyes on Zane.
"Ah, a new face I see." He let go of Hailey and walked over to him, ignoring the way she fell nearly limp to the the ground. Zane was relieved when she heard her cough. He truly thought she was about to die.
"Quién eres tú?"
Zane shook his head, trying to look him in the eye.
"I do not follow…"
Picazo chuckled.
"Estos Mt. Gente cuerno." He said. "Who are you?"
Zane gulped. He was very unnerved, but tried not to show it.
"Zane. I am Hailey's friend." He said flatly.
Picazo raised an eyebrow. "A friend?"
Zane nodded.
Picazo studied him for a moment. His cold eyes gave Zane shivers.
"Hm. Very well." He said. He straightened up.
"Friends do each other favors, as you know." He said. "So Zane, I suggest you do your friend over here a favor." He gestured to Hailey, who was barely getting up.
"One more word out of you…" he pulled out his gun. Cocked back the hammer.
"And I'll have no problem putting a bullet in her brain. I have been waiting for this moment ever since that day and I will do what I please." He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
There was a puff of smoke as the bullet splintered a branch from a nearby tree.
He gave Zane a serious look. "Are we clear?"
Zane didn't say anything, just giving Picazo a defiant stare.
The man shrugged. "Tomaré eso."
Picazo turned and mounted on his horse again.
"What's to do with him, boss?" This second hand man asked.
Picazo gave a hard glare at the both of them.
"We are taking them. They'll give us away if we let them escape."
He pointed to three men that were holding Zane and Hailey.
"Luis, Angel, Alvar, los atas!" Picazo barked. "Y ponle cuerdas extra a la niña! El resto de vosotros, coged las trampas y la carne! Conseguimos lo que vinimos a buscar."
Hailey and Zane's captors shoved and pinned them to the ground as they began tying their hands with rope.
Zane craned his neck and watched as they tied Hailey's hands, ankles, and arms together so she could barely move.
When they were done, they hauled the two up to their feet. Zane's rope was passed to Picazo's second hand man, who tied the rope to the saddle horn. The other two men took Hailey and slung her over Picazo's saddle.
Hailey threw him a dirty look.
"I hope you go to hell." She hissed.
Picazo chuckled. "I've already been there."
With that, he rode into the cover of the dense brush, followed by his second hand, and then the four other men, with Zane and Hailey as captives.
…
After a long journey through the woods west of Elkhorn, the group finally came upon a clearing in the woods, which was currently being used as a camp.
Several canvas tents surrounded a makeshift fire pit with a stack of wood burning in the middle, casting a weak orange glow across the clearing. Around the edge of the clearing, tied to big wooden poles driven into the ground, were nearly a dozen horses. Only four were saddled, the rest were not.
As the group emerged from the forest into the clearing, Picazo again started barking orders.
"Luis, start cleaning those rabbits and wake up Carlos to cook them when you're done."
The man nodded. He went over to the campfire and set to work.
"Angel, Alvar!" Picazo called. "I want you to-"
He stopped as he realized that they were not with the rest of the group.
He wheeled his horse around back to the tree line with a look of fury.
"ANGEL!" He bellowed. "ALVAR! DÓNDE DEMONIOS ESTÁS?!"
For a moment he waited. Then he growled in disgust.
"Culos mudos…" he muttered as he began making his way back into the trees.
But just as he was about to gallop off to find his men, Picazo saw torchlight through the trunks and heard the sound of horses and something heavy moving through the branches and leaves.
A few moments later, Angel and Alvar emerged from the tree line, pulling Gale and Ranger behind them by their reins.
Hailey and Zane gasped.
Picazo was no exception either. His furious look was replaced by delight.
"Finalmente!" He cried as he saw Ranger. "Es ese caballo!"
Picazo looked at Gale too with a sharp eye.
"A fine one this is too." He remarked. "Very strong looking. Where did you find these?"
"Tied up." Angel or Alvar said.
"They're theirs." The other continued, pointing to Zane and Hailey. "We found them near the trap line. The white one is a branded Oldenburg." He pointed to the "Ø" branding on Gale's quarter.
Picazo looked back at his two prisoners, smiled, and addressed his two men again.
"Buen trabajo hombres. Excellent work." He said. "These two will catch quite a price. The white one especially, I had yet to sell an Oldenburg. Our clients will be very pleased."
"Tie them up with the rest." He said, gesturing to a couple of vacant stakes. "Once you are done, tie these two up as well." He motioned towards Hailey and Zane.
Angel and Alvar nodded and led the horses to the other side of the camp. Ranger balked at the sight of Hailey and whinnied in distress.
Ranger pulled at the reins, refusing to move.
Angel looked at Ranger.
"Venga!" He said. He yanked his reins.
Ranger squealed and reared, lashing out his front hooves at Angel. Gale saw and did the same, as well as kicking Picazo's horse, who jumped to the side, reeling.
"Fuerza, fácil!" Picazo yelled, reining in his horse. "Cálmese!"
Angel and Alvar yelped and ran to get out of the way of their hooves, especially Gale's, which were shod in heavy iron shoes. The reins of both horses ripped from their hands.
Ranger and Gale made a break for it. Plowing through a couple tents, the two horses ran for the opposite tree line. The other horses in the camp became scared of all the commotion and began to panic.
"RUN, RANGER, RUN!" Hailey screamed. "GO HOME! WE'LL JOIN YOU SOON!"
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, TONTOS!" Picazo roared. "CONSIGA ESOS CABALLOS!"
The men all scattered, attempting to mount their spooked horses.
Ranger dove through the branches and disappeared.
Just before he reached the trees, Gale skidded to a stop. He turned around and looked at Zane, as if expecting him to come with. He stomped his hoof and made a short neigh as if to say "Come on!"
"Gale!" Zane called. "You cannot stay here! You must leave!"
Gale looked around, seeing that no one was coming for him yet, he loped towards Zane, who was still secured by Fernando and his horse.
"Gale! GALE!" Zane cried, frantically waving his tied hands. "NO! RUN THE OTHER WAY!"
Gale only picked up his pace, flattening his ears and baring his teeth as he charged at Fernando's horse.
"GALE NO!"
But it was too late. The black horse squealed and jumped back as the big gray crashed into it and bit its neck.
Zane was yanked backwards and was being dragged around as there was a mess of yelling, squealing, dirt and flying hooves.
Suddenly one of the men broke up the fight by coming in with his horse and lasso. He roped Gale around the muzzle, but he quickly broke free and made a run for the trees where Ranger had went.
"GALE, RUN!" Zane yelled after his horse. "FOLLOW RANGER! STAY TOGETHER!"
He watched as most of the men followed the two horses with their own horses and lassos.
Zane couldn't bear to think what would happen to Gale if he was caught. He would never see him again.
"Please…"
A stream of angry foreign words came out of Picazo's mouth.
"Malditos bastardos!" He raged. "He esperado este momento toda mi vida! Y para qué? Ser lo mismo que hace nueve años!"
He let out a heave of anger and slammed his fist on his saddle.
"Maldita sea!"
…
Some time later, the men returned.
"They're gone, jefe." One of them said as he rode up to Picazo. "We couldn't lasso them. The forest was too thick."
Picazo heaved a sigh of frustration. Hailey and Zane together heaved one of relief.
"Jesucristo." He huffed. "Esos dos combinados me habrían hecho rico…"
Fernando patted his leaders shoulder.
"We'll find other ones, amigo." He said.
Hailey snorted. "I sure hope not. And if you do, I hope you get kicked in the nuts."
Fernando and Picazo both threw her dark looks.
"Someone come get her and tie her up for me before I take her and hang her up in a tree myself!" Picazo barked.
One man stopped unsaddling his horse to help and took her off Picazo's saddle. She kicked at him and tried to bite his arm.
"Aye!" He said as he dropped her. "Ella es salvaje!"
"Keep more ropes on her, Théo!" Picazo called after the man as he dragged her away, who was still trying to fight anyone who got their hands on her. Angel and Alvar finished tying up the horses and helped Theo with Hailey.
"What about this one?" Fernando asked. He pointed to Zane, who hands were still tied and secured to the saddle horn.
Picazo nodded toward the other side of the camp. "Put him with her. He won't do anything."
Zane gave Picazo a smoldering glare as the man's horse tugged him along.
Angel, Théo, and Alvar were busy tying Hailey to a massive pine tree. She was doing everything in her power to fight her imprisoners, kicking, spitting, biting, and throwing elbows.
"Fernando!" Angel huffed as he held Hailey's arm against the trunk. "Puedes darnos una mano?"
Without a word, Fernando dismounted off his horse and walked over to them.
Zane watched in horror as he grabbed Hailey by the front of her shirt and pulled her forward, only to drive her hard against the tree again.
Stunned, Hailey stopped her resistance, allowing the three men to tie her against the tree without much difficulty.
When it was Zane's turn, he didn't resist. He didn't want to have any more restraints on him than they thought they needed. He noted this as they tied him up, passing his ropes over Hailey, keeping her tied down even more.
The four men finished tying the knots and left, Fernando mounting up on his horse and casting the two one last cold look before turning away.
Zane watched as the men, he counted eight, came and gathered around the campfire, eating rabbit from a pan sizzling in the coals, as well as bread and other food. They conversed amongst themselves in that strange language Zane couldn't understand.
He heard a noise next to him. He looked over and saw Hailey struggling against the ropes.
"Son of a bitch." She growled. She heaved a sigh as she finally gave up.
"Hailey? Are you okay?" Zane asked.
Hailey dropped her head and sighed. "No."
Concerned, Zane conducted a quick scan. Picazo and his men were too far away to see.
"According to my scan, you have two bruised ribs on your lower left side, moderate skin bruising, and a minor laceration near your upper back and your head. Your anxiety and anger levels are extremely high as well."
"It's not just that…"
"What is it?"
Hailey looked at him.
"Look at us Zane." She said sharply. "We just got fucking taken prisoner by horse thieves. You really think I feel all that great?"
"No. Hailey, you should have listened to Samuel and I. This is the exact reason we said to not go out and pull this stunt." He said sternly.
"I get it, okay?" She sounded on the verge of crying as she turned away. "Don't rub it in…I-I feel like shit enough already…"
"Oh my god, this is all because of me." She choked. "And I've dragged you into it too…Uncle Sam is going to be so disappointed in me…if I ever get to see him again…"
She started crying quietly.
"I-I'm sorry, Zane…I le-let you down…"
It startled Zane to see her fighting spirit suddenly sapped from her. He had never seen her cry.
With some effort, Zane managed to slide his hand over and touch hers.
"Hailey." He said in a calming voice. "You did not let me down, albeit it was a very bad case of poor judgment." He gave her hand a light squeeze in an attempt to soothe her.
"We may have been captured, yes, but we are together. We will find a way to escape. Okay?"
Hailey nodded.
"Okay." She choked.
Zane took one of her tied hands in his and looked her in the eye.
"We will get out of this together, Hailey. I am not escaping without you."
Hailey nodded again.
"Thank you…"
"I would never leave a friend behind." He said. "Just so you are aware…"
"I know."
Zane waited for her to calm down.
"Okay." He said quietly when Hailey became more composed of herself. "What do you know about these men? You recognize one of them as Picazo."
Hailey nodded. "Yea. He's El Picazo, the ringleader, the man of it all."
"Of what exactly?"
"The biggest horse thieving ring of Mt. Horn. "Los Salvaje" or The Untamed in the common language." She explained. "They're rustlers. Their operation is huge and all over. They steal horses and sell them on the black market across the border to various clients, which is illegal without a federal permit."
"Why so?"
"Horses are an extremely valuable asset, especially here. You remember me telling you, we cherish them. When they leave the country, we don't know what happens to them. And we don't want the Calúsan getting their hands on them, because if they do it makes invasion of Mt. Horn so much easier for them."
"What makes it so appealing to them to engage in illegal acts?"
"Money." Hailey said flatly. "You won't believe how much some people are willing to pay for a good horse. A seller would get nearly thirty thousand from a horse like Ranger on the black market, and twenty thousand for an average one, which is twice the selling price of most. I can't even begin to fathom how much Gale would bring in. Millions. They're suspected to be connected to about sixty thousand horse thefts in the ninety seven years they've been in operation. Our ranch horses got stolen by them too once."
"My goodness."
"I told you, they're huge. And so is their clientele. But they mostly stuck to the north-northwest. No one's ever really seen them this far east." Hailey scoffed. "Until now."
"What other illegal trades are they involved with?"
Hailey thought for a moment.
"They do steal some cattle, but where those go ain't all that clear, um…there are some narcotics involved, and they do kidnap people who try to stop them and hold them for ransom. There has been a lot of murders. A lot of the men involved are on the most wanted list."
Zane shivered.
"Where are they located?"
"They're all over, like I said, but no one knows where the main operation is based out of. Rumor has it it's in a native pueblo village in the Thundering Badlands, to the northwest."
"Has anyone attempted to track them?"
Hailey shook her head. "Can't." She said. "No one's brave enough to do it. And anyone who has was never seen or heard from again."
Zane thought for a moment.
"Okay." He said. "Our lives are not in great danger, as we feared before."
"But we still need to get out. I don't like being used as a bargaining tool."
"Right."
"Hey, how come you didn't use your powers when we were caught?"
"I didn't want to reveal myself." Zane said. "I also didn't want to put your life on the line. If they had seen what I can do, they would have shot both of us."
Hailey nodded in understanding. "I get it. Can you use them now?"
Zane glanced over to the camp. The fire was starting to die, and a couple men got up and went to their tents. But Picazo and Fernando were still awake and showed no signs of tiring. He turned back to Hailey.
"Not yet." He said.
"Well, then what do we do?"
"We wait, and go from there." He replied. "I know this is an extremely dire situation, but do try to sleep as of right now. I will be up to watch our surroundings."
"But what about you?" Hailey asked.
"Nindroids don't need nearly as much sleep as humans do, and my energy level is at sixty two percent." Zane did a scan. "Your energy level is quite low, and it will not serve you well in the means of escaping."
"I don't know if I can, Zane." Hailey said.
"Just try, Hailey." He replied.
Hailey sighed. "Fine."
Twenty minutes later, Hailey had dozed off.
Zane sighed as he watched her sleep. Then he turned his attention back to the camp, trying to figure out a way to escape.
…
It was dark, quiet, and peaceful at the house. Juneau lay on his dog bed, belly up, snoring away. A dying fire crackled softly in the fireplace. The clock that hung on the wall of the kitchen dully chimed three o'clock.
But a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach roused Samuel from his sleep.
Samuel's P.O.V.
I sat up fast as I was suddenly awoken from my sleep, with this bad feeling in my gut.
Confused, I let my eyes adjust to the darkness, trying to find a reason why I felt this way. Was there an intruder?
I reached for my rifle under my bed, quietly throwing the covers off of me. I stalked out of my room, gun in hand, and glanced down the hall.
There was no one. And the house alarm had not gone off.
"Huh." I said to myself. How weird.
I just shrugged it off as the beginning of a nightmare, and my wakefulness due to my parched throat. I put my rifle away and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
As I was sipping on some water, I picked up an issue of "The Bugle" and flipped through it while sitting at the kitchen table, reading by the candlelight.
I came across a page of rifles for predator hunting. I recalled that Hailey had been talking quite some time about how she would like to start hunting wolves with Christopher.
'Maybe I'll get her one come Christmas.' I thought to myself.
My stomach suddenly roiled again at the thought of her name. How weird…
I don't know what it was, but something about that feeling told me I should go check on her.
Concerned, I got up and went up the stairs and to her bedroom. Her door was wide open. I furrowed my brow.
This was odd to me. She never slept with her door open.
I peered inside and glanced at her bed.
Empty.
And she wasn't in the bathroom either. If she was, the light and fan would be on.
Getting worried, I took a few steps in.
"Hailey?" I said. "Hailey? Are you in here?"
No answer.
I glanced around her room. There was no one. I peered out the door window that led to the deck. No one.
Getting even more worried, I jogged back down to Zane's room.
"Zane?" I said, standing in the door. "Hey, Are you awake?"
No answer.
"Zane?"
I turned on the light, and I gasped when I saw his bed was empty too.
What the hell?
I ran down the hall I turned on the living room light. No one except Juneau was there. I couldn't help but feel my heart start to race.
"Hailey?" I called. "Zane! Where are you guys?"
No answer still. I went around and looked everywhere downstairs, the kitchen, the closets, the garage, the trophy room, the bathrooms, everywhere. But there was no one.
At this point a sense of fear had gotten ahold of my throat and that feeling in my gut grew. Very worried now, I ran back to Hailey's room and turned her light on as well.
"Hailey?!" I called. "Are you in here?!"
But there was no one, save for Beibeis on the rafter.
I glanced around her room when I saw that her gun safe was open.
My face went pale as I ran over to look. I gasped with horror when I discovered her shotgun, her pocket knife, and a handful of shells were missing.
I ran down the hall.
"HAILEY!" I yelled. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
No answer.
Oh my god, what happened to her? Where did she go? Where did her shotgun go? Why is it missing? Why is Zane missing?
A thousand scenarios ran through my head. She might have been kidnapped and the shotgun was stolen. Maybe the both of them were kidnapped. Would Zane have kidnapped Hailey? I certainly wouldn't think so. Were they shot?
"Oh my god…" I said, my mouth going dry thinking about what might have happened to her. "Oh my god…"
That's all I could say over and over.
Hailey, Zane, and her gun all vanished without a trace. But how? Why? What would anyone want to do with them?
Panicked, I ran downstairs, calling their names, to the phone to call the Elkhorn PD and report my niece and Zane missing. I couldn't do anything else, I hadn't the slightest idea of where she could have gone or who would have taken her.
Worry, guilt, and fear were boiling in my stomach so much I could barely grab the phone to dial the number. My hands were shaking too much. I was starting to feel sick.
'This can't be happening.' I thought as I struggled to press the buttons. "Oh my god, this can't be happening!"
The phone slipped from my hands and went skidding across the floor. I cussed out loud as I chased it to the mud room, I just couldn't get a grip on it.
I finally managed to grab it from next to my boots after practically crawling on the floor. I stood up and turned on the mud room light so I could see, and redialed the number.
I was barely able to enter it. It was agonizing to just stand there and let it ring, waiting for someone to answer. Those few moments felt like an eternity.
I looked around, trying to find some sort of sign or answer. From what I remembered seeing in Hailey's or Zane's room there was no signs of forced entry.
At that thought, I glanced at all the windows, then at the front door, too. Everything seemed fine. If there had been some sort of home invasion, the house alarm would have been tripped.
I looked at the house alarm behind me. Much to my surprise, it had not been set off. It showed that it was still armed on "Stay".
I was really baffled at this point. What the hell happened?
Extremely anxious as I still waited, I started pacing back and forth, muttering to myself, trying to get a handle on the fact that Hailey and Zane had mysteriously disappeared. My hands felt clammy and I wanted to vomit with the way my stomach was clenching and unclenching.
Dink!
I felt my foot hit something. I looked down.
There was a red shotgun shell laying on the floor.
Narrowing my eyes, I snatched it up and held it up to the light to see. It was a 20 gauge slug. 7 ½ load. The ammunition to Hailey's shotgun.
I peered around the floor for more. Then I noticed Hailey's and Zane's boots were both missing. There was a trail of dirt from their usual spot leading out the front door.
Suddenly it clicked. The realization hit me like a freight train.
"Oh my god." I said. "No!"
As fear suddenly seized my throat that I could scarcely breathe, I threw down the phone and ran to my room.