The next two days of travel back towards Thunder Mountain lead them through South Dakota towards the Bad Lands. The rolling hills and large open spaces seemed strange to those that had never seen them before. The land was shaped different here than elsewhere. Hundreds of billboards were falling down, most advertising something called Wall Drug. Usually something like this would cause conversation in the truck but little was said amongst the three as they traveled, their minds locked onto what they had experienced at the campground.
Kurdy was worried about their level of gas and wasn't sure if they had enough to get them back to Colorado or not. That night as they camped near the Wyoming boarder, they were in the perfect spot to witness a spectacular sight. A low rumble had started and the ground began to slowly build with a rumbling vibration. Finally as the three made their way to the top of a ridge to see over the valley below, they witnessed hundreds of mustang horses flying down over the hills into the valley below with necks stretched out and tails flagged. Amongst the stampeding horses were several people on bareback, doing the most amazing things as they vaulted from one horse's back to another. The horses never faltered or shied as they continued to run with the herd.
Kurdy looked like his breath had been taken away and he found it hard to breath at the sight of it all. Smith stood and stared in awe as the mass of horseflesh ran up one hill and turned back on itself to head further down into the valley. After a few minutes, the herd began to slow and finally just as the sun set, come to a meandering stop. The steam from their breath could be seen rising as their body heat showed in the cool air as steam coming off the horse's bodies.
The three men sat and watched as the riders, all on horses without saddles or bridles, came together as if to discuss something. There were about ten of them all told. Finally one of them with a worn out brown hat and long black braids came towards them as the others headed off into another direction. The horseman let the Mustang pick its way across the open field and up the hillside until they pulled up to the group of men.
The person shoved their hat back off their head and smiled at them. It slowly dawned on them that it wasn't a man but a woman that was sitting easily on a wild mustang in front of them. She nodded to them, "Hey-ya." She said in a friendly manner. "You here to trade?" she asked.
All three men simply stared at her, Smith mouth actually hanging open a little. She smiled a little wider, "Or perhaps you are here to imitate a big bass, yes?" she said, speaking in a bit of an accent, laughter in her voice.
Jeremiah was the first to recover, "Actually, we were setting up camp when we heard the noise. We came to investigate." He looked down at the horses in the valley, "Never seen anything like it before." He stated.
The woman smiled, smile lines showing around the corners of her mouth and crows feet around her eyes. She was definitely Native American from the dark reddish skin to the long black hair. She sat with an easy grace on the back of the horse that she road which had taken an interest in the grass up on the hill. "We are moving the herds together some to take south for the winter. Going to be a hard winter this year." She said looking up at the sky as if to confirm something she was certain of.
Kurdy and Smith had finally shaken themselves loose of the bit of shock they'd found themselves in. Kurdy spoke up, "How were you able to move from horse to horse without one of them bucking you off? Are they all tame like this one?"
The woman laughed and patted the horses neck, "Him? Naw, he thinks I'm just some strange herd mate. They all do. Besides, most of these Mustangs have known me since they were born. Same with the others of my tribe. They are like big dogs, yes?" she said with an impish grin about her face.
Jeremiah blinked, "Tribe? As in Indian Tribe?"
She faked a frown and tsked. "Sixteen years ago, calling us Indians might get you thrown out by those who thought themselves politically correct. Now, we're just Indians again. Easier than saying Native Americans. Besides, America no longer really exists, yes?" she asked.
Smith chuckled at that and she turned her eyes to Mister Smith who still was looking at her in awe, "Ah! You must be the Laughing Bass. I can see that you have been 'touched' by the Great Spirit. You are always welcome at the fire." She said as she shifted to relax forward on the back of the mustang.
Smith suddenly looked embarrassed and it was Kurdy's turn to laugh. Jeremiah looked back at the woman. "You spoke of trade earlier. What kind of trade?"
The woman snorted, "For horses of course. Soon the gas will all go away and you'll have to get around somehow, yes? We have the best horses, all bred to be hardy to cold winters and hard workers if treated right." She said with pride in her voice.
Jeremiah raised an eyebrow, "Well, actually, if you have any gas, we'd be willing to trade with you for it. We need to get back to Colorado and soon."
She watched the three of them for a moment, "My name's Moves As Lynx, but everyone calls me Mal."
Jeremiah nodded, "I'm Jeremiah, this is Kurdy and that's Mister Smith." He said as he pointed to each one of them.
Mal blinked, "Mister Smith…much better than Laughing Bass. Kurdy it is a pleasure and Jeremiah, like the prophet in the Great Spirits Book. So, you have come upon the Horse Tribe. We are a mixture of tribes and after the Big Death we all decided that it didn't matter about our past so much as joining together to have survive and have a future. Since we all came from tribes with horses, we combined the herds as we combined our people and we're now just the Horse Tribe. There are other tribes but most of them are north and keep hidden."
Kurdy nodded a little, "Makes sense. Most of us have had to put old beliefs aside to be able to survive. Now we're traveling to see if we can gather others to us in hopes of making a large tribe to protect ourselves from Daniel."
Mal made a sudden gesture and spit on the ground. Her face turned angry. "He is a demon and has a rock for a heart and dung for guts. He's tried to take some of our people in the past for his work camps but he soon learned we would not be taken so easily. But, because he was stupid and underestimated us, we now have a bunch of trucks with gas in them." She said smiling brightly.
Kurdy blinked and looked at her, "You…took their trucks?" he asked.
She nodded a little, "Yah and put them face down in empty graves so their spirits would not walk in this world again."
Smith spoke up, "How…many were there that you killed?"
She broke into laughter, "Oh, I only killed a few like the other warriors of the tribe, but the horses accounted for more than all of us together. All told we buried thirty six." She waved a hand a little as if swatting away that line of conversation as they stood and stared at her, "Come to the fire. It is getting dark and the cold will be setting in. We have stew and bread. You can trade for gas in the morning." She said. She pointed over her shoulder at the small group of tents set up around a central fire. "We camp down there tonight. Tomorrow we wait for the rest of the herds to join us before moving south in a few days."
Jeremiah nodded, "Thanks. Mind if we get our truck and bring it closer?"
She shrugged lazily, "You can take the truck to the top of that ridge there." She said pointing north. "The road basically ends there at a ranch. Bring your gear with you to share our fire tonight." With that, she gave a spoken command to the horse which simply lifted its head and turned back towards the herd. It picked up its steps to a trot, carrying Mal on its back. She gave a salute wave and let the horse take her where it will.
Kurdy looked over at Jeremiah who looked back at him. "I have to say that that…was the most interesting person I've met in some time….Mister Smith not included." He said with a laugh.
Jeremiah smirked a little but didn't smile much about it. His eyes followed the fading shape in the dusk of the coming night. She was strong inside and out, that much he could tell. Fiesty and full of spirit, but her smile was something itself to behold. The three men walked back to the beginnings of their own camp and packed up what little they had gotten out so far. They moved the truck up the road and parked it near a delapetated building that must be what the refered to as the ranch.
They pulled out their packs and hiked down into the valley past several clusters of horses that snorted a little, whickering a slight warning of the strangers approaching. They finally made it to the fire that was a pleasant warmth and the air about it was filled with the talk of a number of people. There were more than ten people in camp but they didn't seem to mind the close quarters. Bowls were being passed around filled with stew that could make a dead mans mouth water.
They were encouraged to sit down and soon after were handed bowls of fresh flat bread and stew. There was a mixed bag of languages being spoken, mixed liberally with English here and there. Everyone seemed to speak with a similar accent as Mal had talked with earlier. The three men sat around, taking in the faces and voices that came within sight and hearing of them. They were never made to feel left out of the fun and festivities around the fire. Soon a drum was produced and two beaters sat at it, putting out a tempo as one of the camp women sang a song in her own language. Several got up and danced around the fire some, pulling Mister Smith in to dance with them.
This continued for a time and when the moon finally rose over the hill of the valley the crowd around the fire began to slowly make their way into their tents. Mal had been mostly absent except a glimpse here or there as she spoke with others, laughing and motioning with her hands at perhaps something that had happened earlier in the day. When there were very few left but two that were to stay guard on the camp and fire until the next turn, Mal moved over to them. "We have an extra tent we have set up for several coming in tomorrow. You may use it tonight if you wish. It's not much but it will keep the dew off your things." She pointed to a small tent that had been set up. It looked deceptively small but when they entered it, they found there was plenty of room for the three of them to stretch out, each in a different direction.
After a few minutes of shifting their gear around, they settled and soon found themselves dropping off to sleep. Morning would come too quickly and they had duties to fulfill.