Day 13
The fog seemed to be even thicker this morning, rolling in dense clouds between the trees. Unusually cold for late summer, too, I thought as we made our way back toward the target area again. Chief had insisted on coming along, but he was limping like a lame duck, and the expression on his face was not much short of pitiful. Buck didn't seem too happy about our renewed excursion, either. I about never got him out from under my cot when we were ready to leave.
I had considered the possibility of hunting for fresh meat some more, then discarded the idea—at least for the time being. We had other things to worry about.
According to our plan, we avoided the ridge and moved straight along the creek-bed, toward the little waterfall, about one half mile further east.
Cut cussed between his teeth, slipping on the wet ground.
"You make more noise than a herd of buffalo," I scolded irritated.
"Oh, shut up!" he hissed back. "Damn fog! Can't see a hand before my eyes. We still goin' the right way?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"Hell, I'm just tryin' to keep up with you. Slow down! Stop runnin' like a raped ape."
"What's the matter? Can't take it, old man?" I grinned at him over my shoulder.
"I'll out-run you any day. I's just thinkin' of Jimmy."
"Sure you were," I sneered, but slowed my pace since Chief really was falling behind.
For whatever reason, Buck had stayed at his side. Evidently he figured, Jimmy needed his help more than I did at the moment.
I stopped and turned around, Cut did likewise.
"You alright, man?" he asked as Jimmy limped up beside us.
Chief nodded, but didn't look very credible.
"You wanna head back to the camp?" The question earned me an indignant glare and some quick signs toward Cut, which I didn't get. "What'd he say?"
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out, Chase," Cut sneered. "Let's just get on with it, alright?"
I shook my head, rolled my eyes in resignation, and started walking again. Cut snickered behind my back, making me suspect Chief had signed another smartass remark. I deliberately ignored it, and only turned to look when Buck started growling. Okay, what is it this time?
Cut stood frozen in his tracks, finger on the trigger of the second SIG he had laid claim to, and Chief's eyes were guardedly scanning the area behind us.
Buck was really out of it this time. Snarling and trembling, backing up toward me at the same time. I had the MPK ready, but there was just nothing there. Not a sound, no leaves rustling, no movement between the trees, nothing! What the hell is the matter with this dog?
Jimmy's hand wrapped around the hilt of his Bowie so tight, his knuckles were solid white.
"Damn!" Cut merely breathed. "What's going on?"
Chief signed something left-handed, never letting go of the knife.
"What?" I whispered.
"Ain't nothing out there, he says," Cut answered equally low.
"No, shit! But what's got Buck so freaked again then?"
He merely shrugged uneasy.
None of us had moved for several minutes now. I still couldn't make out anything that would cause alarm. Except for...wait a second! It was totally quiet. The only sounds came from Buck. Nothing else. No birds, no squirrels chattering or moving in the trees, no leaves rustling. Too quiet!
"Cut!"
"Yeah, man!"
"It's too quiet!"
"Shut up, Buck!" This time Cut hissed at the dog. Without success. If anything, Buck growled even harder than before.
Chief stared intently at one certain spot, about thirty yards to our right. He didn't even react when I touched his arm.
"What's he looking at, Cut?"
"How the hell should I know? I don't see anything. Just a bunch of leaves and fog."
Buck abruptly jumped like someone had stabbed him, and took off in break-neck speed, right past that area. Barking and growling, he topped over a low rise and disappeared from our view. Complete silence now. Not even a whisper of breeze, and the fog seemed to make it worse.
I was almost glad to hear Cut cuss between his teeth. At least something!
"What now, Chase?" he breathed, still without moving a muscle.
Both of us startled when Chief suddenly turned around. Gees, what a look! Like he had just come face to face with his own ghost.
"What's out there, Jimmy?" Cut asked, barely audible.
Chief responded with a tense gesture, the fingertips of his right hand touching his forehead and then the hand turning palm outward away from the head.
"He says, he don't know," Cut informed me.
I acknowledged with a silent nod, since I had seen that particular sign often enough by now to recognize it. But then why was he looking so spooked? Man, them night-black eyes could really get to you.
The wind picked up, and at the same time the drizzle started again. Great! Somehow it seemed to help though.
"Chase," Cut was still whispering, "we're just gonna stand here now, or what?"
"Well..." I drew a deep breath, relaxing my grip on the MPK. "No sense in goin' after Buck. I figure he'll be back again later. So we might as well go on as planned. What you think?"
"Don't like to turn my back on whatever's out there, but I guess you're right. Damn, I hate that feeling, knowing something's there and not knowin' what it is."
Chief finally let go of his knife, at least long enough to sign a few more words.
"He thinks, we oughta check out this spot over there." Cut pointed to the area, Jimmy had been so fixed on. "Says somethin' moved, he just ain't sure what."
"Okay, but let's stay together. I'll take the point. Cut, you cover our backs."
"Gotcha!" he answered, and Chief nodded, giving him another quick sign.
"Watch your step!" Cut relayed the message.
"I will!...And, Chief," I gained his attention, "you might be better off with that gun." I indicated the SIG since he had reached for his Bowie again.
A nonchalant shrug in response, and he gripped the knife even tighter.
Well, whatever! To each his own, I thought and turned.
Suddenly a motion! Lightning fast, no more than a flicker. I had no chance to make out what it was because Jimmy tackled both Cut and me to the ground at the same time. A whizzing sound as the arrow passed a hair's breadth over our heads.
Chief was back on his feet and off before we even knew what hit us.
"Jimmy!" Cut yelled after him out of sheer reflex.
"Yeah! Real bright, man!" I hissed.
"Damn you...what was that?"
No time to answer. A high-pitch scream.
"He's got 'im!" Cut took off.
"Man, look out!" I hollered, chasing after him.
Chief wasn't too far away, approximately at the spot that had caught his attention a while ago. He was kneeling down on top of something—or should I say someone. Who or whatever it was, he had it scared out of its mind. At least that was what the screaming sounded like. We pulled up.
"Damn!" Cut panted. "That's a kid!"
He was right. A boy, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, quite tall but about as skinny as a telephone pole, at least as far as anyone could tell, considering the camo outfit he wore was a good two sizes too big. Jimmy had him spread-eagle on the ground, the tip of the Bowie tickling his throat.
"Let go!" I grabbed Chief's wrist, pulling back and added, "Let him up!" when he looked at me.
He seemed somewhat reluctant, then relaxed in my hold nevertheless and pushed to his feet, breathing hard.
The youngster just laid there. He had stopped screaming and stared up at us, eyes as big as soup-dishes, shivering like a leaf on a tree.
Cut bent down, picked up the bow from beside the boy and tossed it over to me. "Little sucker! What the hell'd you shoot at us for?"
No reaction. That kid was really 'out-of-it'.
Well, who wouldn't be, gettin' tackled by a six-foot-seven Indian with a sixteen-inch Bowie.
"Jimmy, put that damn knife away, he ain't goin' nowhere," Cut said, along with signs since Chief looked nearly as far off as the boy. "Hey!" A jab from Cut's elbow, Jimmy exhaled a sharp breath and returned the blade to its sheath
"Yeah, I know," Cut responded to whatever he now gestured.
"Care to fill me in?" I grumbled.
"He said, that was too close."
Hard to decide which one of us wore the dumbest expression when that boy answered instead of Cut. We just kind of gawked at him—at least I know I did—as he sat up.
"What y'all doin' up here?" he queried suspiciously.
"Maybe we should be asking you that?" I slowly came back to my senses.
He only shrugged, grinned wryly and grappled to his feet.
"Woah! Hold it right there, boy!" Cut brought the barrel of the SIG up level with the kid's bellybutton. "Don't you try no funny stuff again. You almost got one of us killed, and we don't take kindly to that. What you doin' here?" His voice turned hard as a rock, and the youngster shrunk back, turning an unhealthy shade of gray.
Chief signed to Cut, and the boy quickly shook his head.
"I just come up here lookin' for my old man," he muttered low.
"Wait a minute," I interrupted, "you understand sign-language?"
"Yeah," he shrugged. "Got a sister that's deaf. Is he, too?" he pointed at Jimmy.
"Yes, he is," I replied. "But let's not get off track here, okay ? You said you came up here to look for your dad? Why?"
"Well…" He blinked and hesitated. "You guys DNR or somethin'?"
"No! Now look," I started to get impatient, "who or what we are is none of your business. You shouldn't be here, running around, shooting at people. I'm still waiting for an explanation, and it better be a good one."
He scratched his head, glancing nervously from me to Cut, to Chief and back. "If I tell you...you promise not to turn me in?"
"That depends," I answered cold.
"Well, it's like this," he sighed, "my old man comes up here sometimes to hunt..."
"Illegally you mean, right?" I threw in and he flinched.
"Look, mister, you gotta understand...he lost his job over a year ago. He just does it to get some meat on the table ev'ry now and then. My brothers an' me help out as good as we can, but he makes us go to school, so there ain't much time to work for money."
"How many brothers you got?" Cut asked.
"Three. I'm the oldest of us boys. My sister, she's seventeen, takes care of the house an' the little ones."
"What about your mom?" I already hated the question before I even spoke it.
"She's too sick to do anything. Dad never admits it, but I know she's got cancer. Anyways, we found a little camp back there, 'bout two years ago. No one ever comes up here. We really wouldn't neither if we didn't have to," he mumbled absolutely pitiful, and I exchanged an uneasy glance with Cut.
Cut raised an eyebrow. "That camp...you been there?"
"Yeah, but we always put things back the way they were, so no one can tell. And like I said, ain't never seen nobody else up here before."
"Well, we're here now, so you better get your shit and high-tail on outa here," Cut scolded.
"I can't," the boy argued. "I gotta find my old man. He's been gone for over a week, and we's startin' to worry 'bout him. You know, there's a lot of weird shit goin' on up here."
"What are you talking about?" I inquired, trying not to sound all too curious though the remark certainly was enough to rouse my suspicion.
"Well," he hesitated again, "don't really know, but there's a lot of stories goin' round about this place. People disappearin' and such. Like a Bermuda Triangle in the woods."
Cut and I traded another look, and Chief squinted uncomfortably.
"Guess that's why no one likes to come here," the youngster continued. " It's creepy! We never seen anything, but I always get a bad feeling. That's why I almost shot you by accident. Just don't tell my old man. Please! I'd be in all kinds of trouble...you got another one?" he asked when I lit a cigarette.
"Ain't you a little young for that?"
"Nah! My old man says, just as long as you stay off drugs, you'll be alright."
"Pretty smart man, your dad," Cut smirked. "So how you plan on findin' him anyways?"
"Don't know. I came up here yesterday and checked the camp first. Knew there was somebody there, but my old man wouldn't build a fire. Too obvious. I just kinda strolled around...weird though, couldn't find anything. Then you guys showed up with that damn dog. Thought for sure DNR had caught on to us. Man," he said and signed to Chief, "you scared the shit outa me!"
Jimmy shrugged impassively, patting the handle of his Bowie knife.
"You don't sound like you're really from around here," Cut assessed. "You got one hell of a redneck drawl."
"So do you," the boy retorted. "You sound like an old Okie."
"That's 'cause I am," Cut admitted sullenly. "You got a problem with that?"
"Nah! I get along better with rednecks anyway, than with them yanks up here. I growed up in Alabama."
"So what's your name?" I inquired.
"Kelly."
"Kelly, what?" I pressed, and he squinted at me.
"Sure you all ain't with the law? Goin' by your hardware, you look like Feds or somethin'."
"What do you know about things like that?" I asked surprised.
"A whole lot," he grinned matter-of-factly. "Always see a bunch of Suits down around base, when I work there. They all carry fancy stuff like that." Kelly indicated the .40 caliber SIG.
Cut rubbed his chin. "What else do you see there?"
"Hell, I can't tell you that."
"Why not?" I frowned.
"Shit! You let out I been snoopin' around down there, they'd lock me up and throw away the key, man. That's all top-secret, you know."
We couldn't help but grin at each other. That little smart-aleck seemed to know more than we did. Chief signed to him and he shrugged, gesturing something back.
"Excuse me," I said irritated. "You mind keeping the conversation in layman's terms?"
"Oh, you don't understand...?" Kelly seemed confused.
"No, I don't. Now would you be kind enough to fill me in?"
"He just asked me, if I'd ever seen any of the Feds come up here."
Cut got that look again. "Well, did you?"
"Maybe...what's it to you?" he asked slyly.
"You sure got a lotta nerve, boy," Cut scowled. "Anybody ever teach you some respect?"
"For what? Hell, I still don't know who you guys are, and what you doin' here. I ain't gonna run my mouth to end up in all kinda fuckin' shit."
"Won't you watch that mouth of yours, boy," I chided, restraining a grin since he sounded like an old country-boy from back home. "We're just up here on vacation."
Kelly dropped a corner of his mouth in contempt, and squinted at my MPK. "Suuure you are," he drawled. "Suppose you brought that thing along to catch fish, right?" He pointed at the weapon. "Man, you must really think I's born yesterday."
Cut rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well, Chase, he's got you there, don't he?"
"No, shit," I sighed. "So what we gonna do about it?"
"Oh, just gimme back my bow and I'll be on my way," Kelly answered. "Soon's I find my old man, we'll get outa here. I ain't gonna say nothin' about y'all being up here."
"It's not that simple, Kelly," Cut replied, suddenly very serious. He blew out a long breath and I understood.
This was a whole new situation we now faced. We couldn't simply tell the boy the real reason for us being here, but if that nosy little brat got the urge to snoop around—apparently he was good at that—he might land himself and us in all sorts of trouble. So now what!?
Chief tapped Kelly on the shoulder to gain his attention, and Cut translated for me.
"He asked 'im, what kind of weapon his dad brought along when he came up here...
Kelly says he had a bow, too," Cut continued when the boy just signed his answer. "Says, they almost got caught once, using a rifle..."
"Wait a minute," I interrupted, "thought you said nobody else ever came up here?"
"Well," Kelly flinched, "usually not, but..." He squirmed uneasy.
"But what?"
"Damn, man, if they find out I know what's going on up here..." He cut himself off, apparently realizing he had already said too much.
"Look, Kelly," I rubbed my forehead since it was throbbing again, "I won't ask you what you know, but we can't risk you telling anyone about us being here either."
"So what ya gonna do? Shoot me?" He frowned, though not looking overly concerned.
"Nah! Thought maybe we could make some kind of a deal here."
"Like what?"
"Like you get your little camo-covered ass outa here and go home...we'll try to find your old man," I quickly added when he opened his mouth to object. "We won't even tell 'im that you tried to shoot us, okay? Just get going and don't look back," I ordered sternly, handing him his bow.
He still hesitated, until Chief signed something, appearing dead serious.
"What was that all about?" I grinned, because Kelly suddenly spun around and took off like a scalded dog.
"Jimmy told 'im, that pretty blond hair would make a nice addition to his collection," Cut chuckled, then turned serious again. "Think he'll keep his mouth shut?"
"Yeah," I mused. "Seems, he knows a little more than he should. Figure he wouldn't wanna risk anyone asking questions, which they certainly would if he told 'em he'd seen us up here."
"Got a point, I guess," he shrugged. "Alright, now that that's been taken care of... what's next?"
"Well," I thoughtfully looked around, "seems to me, there's still a few points here that don't quite add up. Just didn't wanna discuss it in front of our little buddy."
"Like what?" he asked, signing to Chief since I had my head turned when I said it.
"Well," I repeated, "think about it. First, Buck freaked, but then ran right past Kelly without even noticing him. Second, if his dad's been in this area for over a week, how come we ain't seen neither hide nor hair of 'im. Third, the boy said there's weird things going on, but they been huntin' up here for years without any trouble. And fourth, I think he knew a whole lot more about them boys we're looking for, than he let on."
"Kinda had that impression too," Cut agreed with an edgy grimace. "Maybe we should've squeezed him for answers a little harder?"
"Nah, he's pretty smart. Too smart for his own good. Just hope he makes it back down without runnin' into any other kind of trouble."
"He didn't leave!"
Cut and I tensed, trying not to give away our surprise at Jimmy's low remark.
So Kelly was still in the area and watching us? Knowing the boy could understand signs, Chief just spoke, calmly, without showing any obvious reaction.
"Up there!" He furtively turned his eyes in the direction of the ridge, and we did likewise.
"Little shit!" Cut snickered between his teeth. "Like to turn him over my knee and give 'im somethin' to think about. What we do now, Chase?"
"I go get him," Jimmy answered in my place, but did not get around to carry out that intention.
A quick rush, and Buck came flying out from between the trees. Kelly didn't even have time to scream before the dog pounced on top of him, and both of them came rolling down the hill, end over end. Coming to a stop a few steps away from us, Buck was immediately back on the boy, snarling, teeth bared, and pinning Kelly to the ground.
I knew Buck wouldn't hurt him, so I made no attempt to call the dog off. That'll teach you a lesson, I thought, and Cut had a rather nasty grin on his face as we stepped over.
"Get 'im off me!" Kelly squeaked, not daring to move because Buck's teeth hovered less than an inch above his nose.
"Well, look what we have here," I chuckled. "If it ain't our little nosy friend. How you doin' Kelly?"
He gave me a look that could have brought a rock to tears—at least it worked on Cut.
"Oh, call that dog off, Chase," he pleaded on behalf of the boy.
"Buck!" Just one word and a quick snap of my fingers. "Good boy!" I patted his head as he sat up beside me, though growling low and never taking his eyes off the boy.
Cut, being Mr. Nice Guy, helped Kelly to his feet.
"Boy, oh boy," he mumbled, wiping his mud-covered camo pants. "Don't know what's worse, that dog, or his damn knife." He pointed at Jimmy.
"That dog's just doing his job," I informed him. "You're lucky, he didn't rip your head off."
"Nah, he wouldn't do that." He already managed to smart off again. "Seen them kinda canines before. Ain't trained to kill. Only to...what ya call it...restrain their victim."
"You sure got an answer for everything, eh?" Cut shook his head.
"Nope!" Kelly shot back. "That's why I thought I'd stick around a little while longer. You know, find out what you guys really after."
"Not a good idea," I warned. "Look, you said yourself, there's some weird stuff going on in this area, right?"
"Yeah, and you're here to find out about that, right?" he smarted, and I rolled my eyes.
"Gees, now I know why some species eat their young."
"What's the matter?" Kelly smirked. "Gettin' too close to the truth, am I?"
I didn't answer, and Cut scratched his head embarrassed.
"Thought so," Kelly continued. "You guys got somethin' to hide, that's why you tried to get rid of me so quick...Oh, shut up, dog," he laughed when Buck growled a little louder.
Apparently Buck wasn't quite sure, either, what to make of that boy, considering he actually turned quiet and laid down beside me.
"Well, what y'all wanna do now?" Kelly asked.
I shook my head in exasperation. "You just don't give up, do you?"
Jimmy had followed the whole conversation with a sarcastic grin on his face. Now he turned to Cut and signed.
"Good idea," Kelly nodded to my frustration.
"Somehow I get the feeling, I ain't gonna like what he just said," I mused.
"Probably not, Chase," Cut enlightened me. "He thinks, maybe we should allow Kelly to stick around for a while...since we can't seem to get rid of 'im anyways," he added when I frowned. "You know, make sure he stays out of trouble and..."
"Are you two nuts?" I cut him off. "What the hell are we? A bunch of babysitters?"
"Ain't never needed nobody to look after me," Kelly protested. "But if you let me come along, maybe I could help."
"With what?" I sneered.
"Well," he pensively scratched the back of his neck, "seems to me, you guys are real interested in knowing what's up here."
"And I suppose you can tell us?"
"Could if I wanted to. Depends on what's in it for me."
"You gotta be kiddin' me! What makes you think, we don't just pack you up and turn you over to the authorities?"
"Nah!" Another sly grin. "Figured out, you don't really want anyone to know you's up here. Look, I know top-secret when I see it. Been around it all my life. And besides," Kelly tapped at my right arm, just below the rolled-up shirt sleeve, "I know that one!"
Glancing down, I realized the bottom part of my tattoo was showing. The letters R-a-n-G-e-r below an eagle's head. "Oh, you do, eh?" I drew up an eyebrow.
"Yes, Sir! 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Infantry Regiment. There's only ten of the Rangers who wear this certain tattoo with the capital 'R' and 'G' in it, and one of 'em is my uncle," he rattled off in one single breath.
Needless to say, we stared at him once again with open mouths.
"And since I know three of the guys who got it, not countin' my uncle, and your buddy here called you Chase, that would make you Sergeant Chase Riggin," he continued in another endless breath. "And since they wouldn't send no Ranger..."
"Woah, wait a minute!" I finally threw up my hands, cutting him off. "Wait just a damn minute! How the hell do you know all this, and who is your uncle?"
"Well, like I said, I hang around base a whole lot," Kelly shrugged. "And my uncle is Lieutenant William Hughes."
"Oh, great!" I sighed in resignation, and Cut started laughing on top of his lungs.
"Well, Chase," he gasped for air, "I guess that explains a lot, don't it?"
"Yeah," I muttered. "The bad attitude definitely seems to run in the family."
Chief grinned and signed a quick question.
"Yup!" Cut nodded, still laughing, and Jimmy rolled his eyes.
"What?" I queried impatiently.
"He's just wondering if we're talking about Big Billy."
"He knows 'im?"
"Sure does. They met a couple times when LT was visitin' down at the ranch."
"Wonderful!" I grinned crooked. "Seems like we're getting a little family-reunion together here."
Chief signed something else, and this time Kelly answered. "Ah, come on, he ain't that bad. Just gets a little touchy if someone don't show enough respect for the military."
"Figure you get in trouble over that quite a bit, huh?" I said. "Considering you're showing us here no kinda respect, whatsoever."
"That's different," the boy claimed.
"Oh, it is?" Cut interjected. "How you figure?"
"Well...hell, I don't know. But y'all just don't look as tough as him. And I'd pictured you a whole lot bigger, Chase, from what Billy told me 'bout you," he grinned innocently.
"Oh, shit!" I shook my head. "I ain't even gonna ask!"
"So does that mean I can stay then?" Kelly inquired, shifting his gaze between the three of us.
"Well," Cut drawled, "I guess unless we tie you up and drag you off that mountain, we ain't gonna get rid of you, eh?"
"Nope!" Kelly shook his head pretentiously and I sighed.
"Okay, look! You don't ask any questions. You don't smart off anymore. You do exactly what we tell you, when we tell you. And as soon as we find your dad, you both get the hell out of here and don't come back. Is that perfectly clear?"
"Yes, Sir!" he answered, snapped his heels together and saluted, but with a rather solemn expression instead of the shit-eating grin he had been wearing before.