Chapter 8: From Wives to Widows

"They're dead!"

Those chilling words cut through Alice and Cora like a knife, making their blood run cold. They had watched in horror as Uncas and Wolf ran in a desperate escape from bullets being fired at them by the two men. And when their husbands had cried out in pain as they dove behind the large rock formation, the sisters had clamped a hand over their mouths to quiet the faint gasp each made, resisting the instinct to run to their men. They knew from the cries that the twins had been shot. But they'd hoped the wounds were only minor, and they'd waited for Uncas and Wolf to return fire when the younger gunman went behind the rock. But instead, it was the gunman who fired several more shots, then appeared to kick at something before announcing to the other man that Uncas and Wolf were dead.

Terrified by the nightmare they were living, the cold announcement caused Alice and Cora to let out an involuntary scream. Upon hearing the screams, Brandon and Mark each whipped their heads around to that direction, the light from their headlamps and the flashlight Brandon was holding revealing two women standing in the opening of a side chamber on the opposite side of the cavern.

"Mark! Over there! Get 'em!" Brandon shouted to his brother, who was closer to the women than he was.

As soon as the light hit them, Alice and Cora stood frozen for a split second before they turned and bolted back into their small cavern. Knowing Wolf and Uncas would not be coming to help them, they knew their only chance was to escape the underground cavern and disappear under cover of darkness into the desert. Dashing towards the back of the narrow chamber, using the faint residual light coming in from the main cavern, they headed toward the opening in the back, praying it wasn't a dead end. Their only hope was to find a place to hide, then make their way back to the stairway off the main cavern and escape.

As she hurriedly groped her way through the darkness of the chamber, Alice's foot hit something and she realized it was the rifle Uncas had given her. Stopping, she quickly reached down to retrieve the weapon, which caused Cora to collide with her. Knocked off balance, both women fell hard to the floor in a heap. Momentarily stunned, Alice and Cora tried to get back up. But before either could get on their feet, the chamber was suddenly flooded with light as the two men entered it. Shielding their eyes from the blinding light being shown on them, the sisters could do nothing but huddle together.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" said Brandon, his gun trained on Cora as he placed his flashlight in a small crevice on the wall, aiming the beam at the sisters. Casting a desperate look to the side, Alice saw the rifle sitting just out of arms reach and calculated her odds if she lunged for it.

"Don't even try it." Brandon warned her, switching his aim to Alice, sensing her intention. "You'll be dead before you can wrap your pretty little fingers around it." Beside him, Mark grinned hungrily and excitedly rocked from side to side as he eyed the sisters while pointing his gun at them.

"Looks like those two dead redskins managed to score themselves a couple of mighty fine looking chicks." said Mark. "See, I don't get it Brandon. Why can't we get ourselves a couple of hot numbers like these two? I mean, what did those Indians have that we don't have?"

"MURDERERS! YOU KILLED OUR HUSBANDS!" Cora shouted at them.

"That's right darling!" Brandon calmly replied. "They're down in the bottom of that pit back there. And my brother put a few extra bullets in them for good measure. But don't either of you worry your pretty little heads about that. You'll both be seeing your husbands again real soon. Come on Mark, let's waste these two bitches and get the hell out of here. Dad'll be waiting for us at the barn and we're already late because of all this."

"Aw come on, Brandon. Can't we have a little fun with them first? Come on, man! You take the brunette and I'll take the blonde. Let's show them what it's like to have a real man fuck them!"

"No!" Brandon firmly replied. "As much as I'd like to, and believe me I would, we gotta get back. Dad doesn't like to be kept waiting. And you know what the old man is like when he gets pissed. No pussy's worth that!" Brandon added as he readjusted his aim to Alice's head.

"Yeah, you're right." a disappointed Mark agreed. "Too bad, too, 'cause it sure would have been fun. Ok ladies, time to join your men in the happy hunting grounds." Mark added as he focused his aim on Cora. Knowing the end had come, Alice and Cora closed their eyes and cringed as they held each other tightly.

As they were about to pull the pull the triggers on their weapons, a strange mist rapidly appeared out of nowhere between the gunmen and the sisters. Quickly taking human form, the two men suddenly found themselves face to face with a translucent Navajo woman, dressed in an old style blanket dress with another blanket wrapped around her shoulders. With an unwavering enraged glare, she stared at the gunmen. Extracting an arm from her blanket shawl, she raised her hand and pointed it at the men. At that moment more mist quickly formed on either side of the ghost of the Navajo woman, and just as rapidly as she'd materialized, a dozen fully armed Anasazi warriors appeared, fiercely painted for war and ready to throw the deadly spears they were holding.

Momentarily frozen in terror, Brandon and Mark stared in disbelief at the spectral figures standing before them. With eyes wide as saucers, Brandon shook uncontrollably while Mark's mouth opened in an inaudible scream. When the ability to move and speak returned to them, both brothers let out a shriek and ran out of the chamber as fast as they could. When they reached the stairway leading out of the cavern, the two fell over each other in a frantic effort to get out of the caverns. Once outside, they raced to their pickup truck and jumped into the cab. Fumbling the keys, Brandon dropped them several times before managing to get the right one into the ignition. Turning the key, the engine only made a clicking sound. Again and again Brandon desperately tried to start the truck, but with no luck. Getting out of the pickup, the two men were about to raise the hood when the eerie stillness of the night was broken by the sound of a wolf howling, immediately followed by the howl of a male fox.

Hearing a loud snap behind them, Brandon and Mark were overcome with a new terror when they quickly turned their heads and briefly saw the illuminated gray images of Wolf and Uncas standing side by side near the far edge of the ruins before vanishing right before their eyes.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?" cried Mark. Whipping his head to and fro, his eyes wide with fright, his teeth began to chatter as he looked around the surrounding darkness, imagining ghosts lurking everywhere.

"Yeah, yeah I saw it! I thought you said they were dead? You told me they were dead!" Brandon shouted, grabbing his younger brother by the collar.

"They are! They fell down that hole, and there was blood all over the place! I even fired more shots down at them! Jeezus man, nobody could have survived that! Oh shit!" Mark cried, suddenly remembering something."Before we started shooting, I heard them call each other wolf and fox. Those animals we just heard were a wolf and a fox howling! It's them! It's them, I tell you! The ghosts of those two Indians have come back to get us!" cried Mark, who was becoming completely undone.

"Alright, calm down! Th…there's got to be a logical explanation for all this!" said Brandon as he ran his fingers through his hair. Although he was also scared out of his wits, he tried desperately to keep himself together and reason out the situation.

"Oh yeah?" Mark screamed at his brother. "Well how do you explain what we saw in the caverns just now, huh? Tell me that! That's why we made that tape of the spooky voices and spread all those rumors about ghosts out here! Because we know they're there! We've seen them! Plenty of times! This place is haunted! You know it, and I know it! And what happened tonight proves it!"

Before Brandon could respond, Mark jumped and pointed toward the same area of the ruins where they had just seen the dead twins, his arm shaking violently.

"FUCK!" he screamed.

Looking to where Mark was pointing, Brandon turned just in time to see the ghostly images of Uncas and Wolf reappear, this time closer than they were before. Visible only from the waist up for just a split second, they again vanished in the blink of an eye.

With a cry of pure fright, Brandon nearly fell down himself as he caught Mark, whose knees had buckled. Hearing a pattering sound, he looked down and saw that he had uncontrollably urinated in his pants, the warm stream running down his pant leg and dripping on the ground. With Mark's hands locked in a death grip on his arm, Brandon found himself spun around as his younger brother ran behind him to hide.

"They're coming to get us! I told you man, I told you! Those two Indians we killed are coming to ….!"

At that point the words froze in Mark's throat as his mouth dropped open, and his eyes grew even wider than fear had already made them as he stared over Brandon's shoulder. Seeing his brother's expression, Brandon whipped his head around and a look of sheer horror came over his features.

Driving his patrol SUV over the rough desert terrain on his way to Jackrabbit Mesa, Officer Dave Yazzie had a feeling tonight would be his lucky night. For several years now he knew that some sort of illegal activity was taking place out by the old Anasazi ruins, and he had spent many a fruitless night sitting in the dark hoping to see something that would shed some light on the deaths that occurred out there. He also had a hunch that whatever might be going on was tied to a rash of jewelry and pottery thefts at the Shelter Rock Trading Post. Whoever was responsible, Dave was determined to catch them and bring them to justice.

Seeing the ruins ahead of him as he drove along the base of the mesa, Dave suddenly slammed on the brakes, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him when something out of place caught his eye. Peering intently through the darkness, he confirmed his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. A section of the ruins was indeed being illuminated with light coming from within. Excited at the prospect of finally catching his unknown suspects in the act and making an arrest, Dave called in his location over the radio and requested backup asap. He then quietly exited his vehicle and drew his sidearm as he carefully made his way over toward that section of the ruins.

As he got closer, Dave was able to make out the distant silhouettes of two men standing in the residual light coming from within the ruins, as well as their raised voices as they argued with each other. Still too far away to make out what was being said, the erratic movements of the men and their shouting led Dave to believe he might only have a couple of partying drunks on his hands instead of the suspected criminals he thought they might be. Quelling his disappointment, he continued to slowly advance, then broke into a flat out run when the two men each abruptly let out a bloodcurdling scream.

In the cavern chamber, Alice and Cora hugged each other tightly, their eyes still closed and their heads pressed together as they waited for the gunshots that would end their lives. When the shots did not come, they wondered what was taking so long. These men obviously intended to kill them. Why didn't they just get it over with?

When a double shriek had filled the chamber, both sisters cringed and squeezed their eyes shut even tighter, expecting to feel the impact of the bullets. Instead, they'd heard the sound of footsteps scrambling out of the chamber and up the wooden staircase leading out of the caverns. Afraid to move, Alice and Cora had remained in their cowering embrace until finally each mustered the courage to slowly open their eyes. Frightened, confused, and in a state of shock, they tried to comprehend what had happened upon discovering they were alone. They also never saw the ghostly apparitions, which had now vanished.

"I don't understand?" Cora whispered. "Where did they go? And why didn't they shoot?"

"I don't know." Alice replied, equally mystified. Reaching for Uncas' rifle, she shakily grasped the weapon and rose to her feet. Slowly she approached the cavern opening and cautiously peeked into the main chamber, rifle at the ready. Upon seeing no sign of the gunmen, she pulled her head back inside and retrieved the flashlight from the crevice, handing it to Cora who had also risen to her feet. "They're gone. I don't understand. They were ready to kill us, just like they did…. oh god …...UNCAS!"

Jolted out of their dazed states by the memory of the shooting, Alice and Cora ran out of the chamber into the main cavern, stopping abruptly when they reached the large rock formation their husbands had ran behind. Afraid to see what was on the other side, they stood trembling as they stared at the rock, knowing their worst nightmare awaited them behind it. Finally, Cora took hold of Alice's hand, and after sharing a look of trepidation between them, they each took a deep breath and walked around to the back of the formation.

The sight that greeted them caused Alice and Cora to gasp aloud and cling to each other for comfort and support. Before them, the ground was splattered with drops of blood, and a bloody handprint was smeared on the side of the rock. About six feet to the right of the rock formation was a large hole in the floor. About five feet in diameter, the dirt in front of the hole was scuffed, as though something had been pushed into it. Shattered, the two women stared first at the scuffed dirt, then at the hole, grimly comprehending their husbands' bodies were down there.

As one, Alice and Cora moved forward and fell to their knees in front of the gaping hole. Shouting their husbands' names into the dark abyss, they listened closely for any sound that would indicate their men were still alive. Not hearing anything, Cora shined the flashlight beam into the hole while Alice continued to shout Uncas' name several more times, her sister's voice echoing down into the blackness of the seemingly endless pit.

"I don't see the bottom." Cora blurted as she desperately strained to see. "I can't see the bottom. It's too deep. Oh god! Wolf. WOOOLF!"

Breaking down, the knowledge that her beloved Wolf was gone threatened to crush Cora. As she wept, she recalled the first time she met him in the cave back in 1757, and how handsome he looked in his traditional Apache clothing. Amidst her grief, it occurred to her how ironic it was that their relationship began and ended in a cave. Then she realized she would never again see his beautiful face, and never again would she be able to run her hands over his muscular body. Never again would she feel him moving inside of her as they made love. Oh how she would miss his wonderful sense of humor as he and Uncas would good-naturedly tease Duncan and Nathaniel. And she would miss seeing him playing with their children, and tenderly tucking them into bed at night before reading them a bedtime story.

With her body shaking violently as she cried, Cora leaned over to embrace Alice, who sat next to her stiff as a board. Looking at her sister, Cora's tears subsided when she saw the vacant expression on Alice's face and the emptiness in her eyes as she stared into the blackness of the pit.

"Why didn't those men shoot me so that I could be with him?" Alice softly asked, her voice flat and void of emotion. "He was my whole life. And now he's gone. I want to be with him again. I need to be with him again. I cannot live in a world that he is not part of. And I will not."

Slowly, Alice slid her legs out from under her and dangled them over the edge of the hole, placing her hands on the ground on either side of her as she prepared to push herself forward.

"ALICE, NO!"

Screaming, Cora grabbed Alice's shoulders and flung her backwards, throwing herself on top of her when she realized what her sister was about to do. "You can't do this! He wouldn't want you to! He'd want you to live, and to raise his children! The children you made together! Lila and Robbie are both a part of Uncas! You cannot abandon them! They're going to need you now, more than ever! You're all they have left! You can't make them orphans! Uncas would never forgive you for that! He's counting on you to take care of them for him!"

As she laid on top of Alice, Cora could feel her sister's breathing quickening and saw her bottom lip begin to tremble as tears streamed out of her eyes and ran into her hair. Suddenly, Alice's grief burst forth.

"NOOOOOOOOO! No, no no, no!"

Repeatedly screaming in denial untill her voice failed her, Alice wept with wracking sobs shaking her entire body. Reaching out to Cora, they both sat up and embraced each other, rocking back and forth as they cried together, sharing a pain that nothing could relieve.

Finally, exhausted from crying, Cora and Alice crawled over to the large rock. As they sat back against it, both women lost themselves to their thoughts and memories. After untold minutes had passed, Cora turned and looked up at the bloody hand print on the rock.

"I wonder whose blood this is?" she numbly asked as she reached up and gently touched a finger to it.

"I don't know." Alice vaguely replied as she touched her finger to a large drop of blood on the floor near her leg. Raising her hand in front of her face, she reverently rubbed the blood between two fingers, feeling not only the blood itself but also the man it came from. As she touched the sticky wetness, she felt very close to Uncas, and she wished she could hold onto that feeling forever. Then it occurred to her that the blood might very well be Wolf's, and she suddenly remembered the morning just a few short days ago when she mistook him for her husband. The memory of touching Wolf's body that morning brought with it the realization that he was gone too, and an equally painful new grief engulfed her.

"We are widows." Alice solemnly announced through fresh tears, voicing the fact out loud for the first time.

Crawling over to the hole and peering down into it, Cora spoke into the pit to where her husband lay at the bottom. "I don't want to leave you, Wolf. Dear god, I don't want to leave you down there. I just want to stay here with you, but I know I cannot. Alice and I have to go now. But we'll be back. I promise you that! We'll be back, and we'll bring help with us, and they'll get you and Uncas out of there so that Alice and I can bring you both home."

Blowing a kiss down into the hole, fresh tears fell down with it as Cora continued to say her farewell, her voice strained and nearly breaking. "I love you, Wolf! I will always love you." No sooner had she finished speaking, a bright light lit up the area where she and Alice were sitting.

"Are you ladies ok?" a voice asked.

Author Note:

First off, I want to thank all of you for your patience in waiting for this update. Sometimes life can run you over like a steamroller, leaving you no time or energy to do anything extra. The original version of this story had two more chapters after this one, but I'm going to try to combine them into one so that I can get this rewrite finished. Hopefully it won't be too long if I combine the chapters together. I really want to finish Shadows of the Past because there is a new story that I want to begin. But I won't start that story until this one is finished.

Oh poor Alice and Cora. I feel so bad for them. They've just lost the love of their lives. And now someone is in the cavern with them. Who could it be I wonder? Stay tuned to find out!