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Disclaimer: Hope all my lovely readers are doing well. This chapter is a bit more of a fluff piece and the calm before a much bigger storm. Enjoy :)
THE LAST
OF US
PART III
(Music to go with certain scenes)
(transliteration/translations)
Written text
Chapter 8: Fishing for Purpose
Indian Point
(Unbroken by Gustavo Santaolalla)
Warm foggy breath rose from Ellie's lips as she opened her eyes, feeling alone. As soon as they got back to Dina's home last night, they decided to crash. Blue fell asleep with Red in his arms, the fire still roaring by the time every light had turned off. Blue told her dressed in an under-armor shirt and nylon running shorts, "Get some sleep Eighty. Someone needs to sleep down here just in case the Fireflies wanna send more corpses."
Ellie begrudgingly stood up from the palms of her hands, her warm comforters leaving her body. She sighed another foggy breath of cold Wyoming mountain air before getting out of bed in her nighty. From the clear window of Ellie's guest room, she noticed the sun blood-red had just barely risen over the peaks of the Rockies. She continued looking out of that window, looking out at the vast white expanse of ice and snow that went over the horizon on every side. The clouds were puffy pink and purple stained in the sky. A large black crow fluttered on top of a branch right outside her window and gave Ellie a loud, "Caw! Caw! Caw!" Before fluttering away, black feathers fell slowly to the ground.
Without bothering to get dressed Ellie turned her head away from the window and walked out of her room. No one seemed to be awake and not wanting to disturb anyone, Ellie tip-toed her way down a long hallway on the second floor before coming to the stairwell railings of the second floor. Blue was down below awake and fiddling with a boiling pot of water over the now relit fireplace. Red was still sound asleep curled up in a ball on top of Dina's couch cushion, which was not too far away from the fireplace. Blue didn't seem to notice her as she slowly made her way downstairs to Blue's side right by the fireplace.
"You're up early eighty," Blue hoarsely said his voice scratchy and thick, "I'm boiling a pot of water do you know if Dina has any coffee or tea? Don't know about you but I'm starving?"
"If she does have coffee, she's probably keeping it under lock and key, but I'll go take a quick look." Ellie placed her cold right hand on Blue's shoulder before heading into the kitchen. Only to notice Blue dressed in his tight under-armor shirt and clean-cut jeans following her from behind. Ellie's hands roamed the cabinets looking for tea and coffee, while her cheeks started heating up.
"You don't have to help me out Blue. Relax and rest up," Ellie urged only to smile when Blue started helping her out.
"Helping you makes me happy," said Blue with a wide toothy smile he quickly reached below the stove and pulled out a wooden chest that looked like it held some valuables, "I always wanted to ask you. If you could be anything in the world, what would it be?"
"A teacher," replied Ellie with a disheartened voice that carried across the kitchen. Her eyes became weak, which didn't go noticed by Blue who simply smiled back warmly before fetching out a full glass container of Maxwell House instant coffee. The coffee container had already been opened yet looked almost untampered with in its 33 years of storage.
"That whole container of coffee before the outbreak would have been worth maybe $2 or $4 dollars, but if we were to sell that in Salt Lake city right now we'd make out like bandits," commented Ellie with some sadness, but her frown turned into a smile when Blue grabbed her right hand gently. He pulled her towards the fireplace where the pot of water was already steaming hot.
"You're the best teacher I know Ellie," said Blue while squeezing Ellie's right hand before pulling his left hand away, "compared to you… you raised human beings, I raised, you saw what I raised. I'm not as intelligent as you."
"Please, you're one of the smartest people I know. Unlike most of the cowboys or lumberjacks back in Jackson, I know for a fact you read. I call you thick-headed because sometimes you make stupid decisions like running off to try and join the Fireflies!" Remarked Ellie her voice getting louder, until Blue repeatedly lowered his hands worried the others would wake up. Ellie rolled her eyes and huffed out, "even then you have me beat on having more friends."
Ellie laughed lightly next to Blue who took out a tablespoon of instant coffee and then dumped it into an aluminum cup. He repeated the same process in a spare cup and attested, "Never went to a fancy Fedra school like you nor was I taught much growing up besides how to survive."
"For someone who never went to school I think you came out alright," whispered Ellie huskily her foggy breath floating into Blue's face who simply looked back and blushed before grabbing a ladle by the fireplace. He started pouring enough boiling water into each cup carefully allowing the instant coffee to dissolve and bubble out into dark black coffee with an intoxicating aroma that made Ellie sigh.
"Maybe I'm crazy, but whenever I smell roasted coffee, it makes me happy like everything will be alright," Ellie swooned as she took her cup of morning joe in her right hand before smirking and beaming upright from the balls of her bare feet. Blue raised his right eyebrow and his cheekbones were completely confused until he felt Ellie pull him up to his feet, the only protest he could say was, "What the hell's gotten into you?" Blue came face to face with Ellie but remained quiet his eyes tried to not focus too hard on her skintight body hugging the spare nighty Dina let Ellie borrow.
"Blue raise your glass" Blue raised his coffee cup curiously while Ellie thrust her coffee cup high and proclaimed, "Blue you're my best friend. I've been thinking we don't hang out or really help each other out even though we live ten steps from each other. We need to help each other out, and we need to be there for one another. Yesterday I woke up thinking about you and I kept remembering what you did for me back in September. I'll always remember what you did for me, out of everyone I know, you were the one to save me when I needed saving. Blue when we were in that steam pool you said we make a good team. You even promised me that you'd follow me to hell and back."
"I did, Ellie I need to be honest with you," interjected Blue before taking a sip of his coffee his fingers started trembling on the handle. His eyes became weaker under Ellie's deep warm gaze causing him to blurt out, "the Fireflies wanted me to capture you. You're the only soul walking this earth I care for as much as Red. I don't wanna be so violent, but its what I'm good at, and if it means I gotta kill a bunch of Fireflies or kill Fedra to keep your secret safe. I'd do it again and again, because I know you're not as broken beyond repair as me."
Ellie and Blue both clanked their cups of coffee together. Ellie took a long sip of her coffee, which she couldn't help but smile as she remembered arguing with Joel about how much she hated the taste. It wasn't until after he passed that she began to passionately drink the concoction, whenever she had the chance. Blue settled his cup on Dina's coffee table with a coaster underneath before taking a seat on the far end of the sofa closest to the fireplace. Ellie followed Blue taking a seat right next to him before hugging the warm southern man who wrapped his right arm around her shoulders.
"How are you so warm?" Acknowledged Ellie while cuddling her cold body closer to Blue's.
"How are you so cold?"
Ellie chuckled and rubbed her body closer to Blue's while grabbing a buckskinned blanket under her butt. Wrapping the blanket around both of their bodies Ellie just continued warming up and cuddling closer to the first man since Joel who promised to fight and kill whatever or whoever she needed. For some strange reason it made Ellie feel safe and secure even in a strange land like Yellowstone. Blue started grunting as Ellie began shoving him into the arm rest of Dina's sofa. He heard the shifting of people waking up upstairs and looked at an old grandfather clock on top of the mantle of the Fireplace the time read 7:15 A.M. Deciding to get into a more comfortable position on the sofa Blue clumsily shifted his legs and back flat against the sofa as if he was going to take a nap, his feet dangled over the other arm rest. Ellie was lying across his body, her cold toes buried underneath Blue's calves, and her head next to his on a pillow.
"This is much more comfortable, don't ya think?" Expressed Blue his right hand on Ellie's upper back and his left hand holding onto her right hand tightly. Ellie simply chuckled, her freckles disappearing underneath her crimson cheeks.
"Much more comfortable, you know I really liked when you kissed me in that steam pool," responded Ellie sultrily before moving her three fingered left hand to Blue's stubby cheeks, "and I feel so dumb having to say this, but you make me feel dumb."
"I'm just surprised I was the first man to kiss you."
"You only got lucky that's all Blue or should I call you Malak?" Asked Ellie her emerald eyes peering curiously at Blue's waiting for an answer.
"Darling, you can call me whatever you want. Call me Blue, Malak, and even lazy ass if you want to, but at the end of the day, my name is my name. I never liked my real name. My mom named me after her father who was Jewish, but my pops hated me. I still remember being afraid of him whenever he was drunk and would call me Malak. I always knew I'd either get another whooping or he wanted me to help him fetch longhorns out in the prairies. When he died, I thought things would get better, but then I watched my mother die of depression and then my sister… Malak became nothing more than that sad little boy trapped inside the basement of the Austonian until I was found by the Imperio. Blue became my identity. Malak is just that sad pathetic boy whose father didn't want him to exist. So, I'd rather be called Blue," confessed Blue while trying to turn his head and gaze away from Ellie's. Only for her to rub his right cheek harder and turn his head to face hers yet again.
"Blue," purred Ellie her lips close to his ear and her porcelain skin as warm as his, "could you kiss me?"
Blue heard light feet scurrying down the steps of the stairwell, but to not disappointment the woman who spared his life several days ago and came to his rescue last night. Blue quickly gave Ellie a light kiss on her lips, who followed suit. Their lips melted into each other's as if they were about to become one. Ellie broke away from Blue when they both heard a high pitched, "Ew!"
Ellie shifted her body upright with rosy cheeks while Blue simply groaned in slight pain and discomfort at Ellie placing most of her weight on his crotch. Both adults shifted quickly upright as if nothing happened, but JJ dressed in his winter clothes and wearing Blue's Stetson hat simply said with embarrassment, "If you're going to give each other cooties get a room!"
Blue shot right up from the sofa and placed an index finger over his lips. Blue then shushed JJ, who responded by laughing hysterically causing Dina and Cat to awaken to see what was going on. Blue simply whispered, "that isn't cooties that's just how people in Mexico wish each other good morning." Dina was the first one to come down to see her son laughing in the middle of a wrestling match with Red who was busy licking the young seven-year-olds face. Ellie was dressed in her nightie on the sofa, but Ellie's bright red cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Dina.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Barked Red playfully before curling on the floor next to JJ.
"You never told me your dog was so fluffy!" Exclaimed JJ much to Blue's joy.
"Say JJ wanna hear a joke?"
"Yes!"
"What do you call a cow with no legs?"
"What?"
"Ground beef because that's what your going to be when I beat your' er," Dina stood over Blue, her very presence creating an awkward atmosphere even for JJ who simply laughed harder from another fluff assault from Red. Blue simply looked right back at Dina and laughed as he chuckled out, "anyways thanks for waking up early son."
"Yes! We are going to go patrol the homestead," proclaimed JJ.
"That's right!" Remarked Dina with some excitement she grabbed JJ and Blue's hands dragging them over to the kitchen counter. Ellie simply got up and followed behind unsure what exactly was going on. Cat looked at Ellie who looked back at Cat, both of their shoulders were raised, and all they could do was watch Dina hand both men bread and dried fruit while saying, "Blue I had uh, promised JJ that you could show him how to hunt and fish later today."
"Really, I don't mind showing the boy how to hunt and fish, but why me?"
"Blue," Dina walked over to Blue's ear and whispered, "JJ's dad died before he was born, and it'd do him some good having an older man show him these skills. Cat and I aren't exactly fathers you know."
"Understood!" Replied Blue much to Dina's joy.
Dina then walked over to both JJ and Blue and authoritatively, "A job you two boys could do for Mama is to fetch me some more firewood. Lunch isn't going to cook itself."
"Sounds like a plan, JJ meet me by the door in ten minutes so we can fetch Mama her firewood," said Blue while taking a seat on a wooden stool by the kitchen counter. He then grumpily said, "Great, I become a delivery rider just to fetch more wood."
"Back when you first came to Jackson, I remember watching you go out every day before dawn with a large lumber axe over your shoulders like Paul Bunyan," remarked Cat who started chuckling, "I heard you were really good like one of the fastest lumberjacks Miles ever hired good."
"I'm better at delivering the mail Cat. Have you ever worked for Miles and his crew? The only reason why I would chop trees fast was cause I wanted to get the hell out of the woods!"
"He couldn't be that bad. He practically built Jackson. You have the same problems as Mile's you know," reasoned Dina much to Blue's annoyance, but he simply raised his shoulders in defeat. Dina noticed Blue's hands were shaking on the table and said, "Blue have you taken your medicine this morning."
"No, I haven't mama," humored Blue causing JJ and Cat to laugh and Dina to smile as she poured Blue a glass of water from their tap. Blue went to grab his coffee cup and he could only say, "still you don't know how Miles is until you spend a week deep in the woods doing nothing but cutting down trees."
Ellie blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and realized she probably needed to get dressed as her nighty hugged her skin a little too closely. Ellie knew exactly who Blue was referring to as she walked upstairs to get changed. Miles Strauss was one of the best traders in the entire Jackson Republic even before the walls around Jackson went up. Miles was the one dictating how many trees needed to be cut down and the exact number of horses that had to be wrangled. Miles was an old alcoholic like Blue, but the key difference between both cowboys was simply Miles was a very bad drunk. He often spent his remaining days drinking from sundown to sunrise in Seth's Saloon where he operated the largest timber company in the entire Republic.
Ellie and Blue both got dressed quickly. Ellie simply put on a spare pair of white-camo pants over a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved thermal shirt underneath a parka. Blue more so than Ellie who left the restroom on the bottom floor his revolvers holstered on both hips. Blue was wearing his normal clothes, but his poncho was on a hook on the wall and his Stetson hat was off and his thick honey-brown hair flowed in the air as Ellie caught him leaving for Dina's dining room. Ellie followed him and saw Blue's eyes scanning back and forth out in the horizon, his right hand on the handle of his Chiappa Rhino revolver.
"Think they're still after us?"
"There's no thinking Ellie, people are after us," whispered Blue before taking his hand off his revolver and shaking his head, "whether they know we are here or not. I think it's best for us to leave Yellowstone as soon as possible."
"We should head out tomorrow, I've had enough of this park already and I doubt this will be our last time here," reassured Ellie hoping Blue would calm down.
"Reminds me I should probably go take my medicine before Dina has a stroke."
No sooner had Blue flushed down his amoxicillin with his cup of coffee than he felt little fingers grabbing his right hand. Blue turned his head and noticed JJ was smiling at him happily. The young boy comically tried dragging Blue out the front door much to the amusement of Dina. Ellie walked out the door behind the pair of boys with Red tagging along beside her. She watched both boys from ten meters behind mostly to appease Dina who worriedly asked Ellie to make sure nothing happened to them. All three were wearing their heavy winter jackets as their feet crunched into the snow with every step. Blue had on a heavy leather winter coat he took from Dina's coat rack that had a black wool bomber jacket collar at the top. JJ led Blue across the prairie over to the crystal-clear pond below the hill of their home. Red hopped away from Ellie closer to the boys, which made her grumble at having to catch up.
"They call this place Indian Pond," explained JJ his straight jet-black hair going down just barely above his eyebrows. Ellie couldn't help but think how adorable JJ looked wearing Blue's cowboy hat as she continued listening to JJ explain their homestead, "supposedly there once were Indians and cowboys here."
"Once here? Who says they're gone? Last I checked a quarter of Yellowstone is Shoshone and you're already halfway there to being a cowboy yourself."
"Yeah right. Mommy doesn't want me riding horses or shooting," Replied JJ while grabbing dead dry sticks underneath an Elm tree's canopy not far from the shores of the pond. Blue started helping the young boy fetch firewood.
"That's cause your mama is a busy woman. Shooting and riding horses is fun, but they are dangerous. A boy your age should just enjoy life," replied Blue while taking most of the dead sticks out of JJ's hands, "I think one day you'll grow up to be a much better cowboy than me!" JJ smiled and beamed up at Blue's compliment much to Ellie's joy.
"You and Aunt Ellie need to move to Yellowstone! Our neighbors are nice, and I promise like I really promise it's better than Jackson!" Begged JJ, much to Blue's surprise who simply looked like his brain malfunctioned with his mouth left wide open. Blue couldn't come up with anything to say to that.
"JJ," called out Ellie grabbing the young boy's attention underneath the Elm tree, "do you know if Dina and Cat are planning on making it to the Thanksgiving Festival next week?"
"They haven't talked about it much, I do know that school is going to be out until the beginning of December because Zhukov is planning on bringing a ton of people to the festival," affirmed JJ wholeheartedly.
"Really? That old Russian man is going to the Thanksgiving Festival," said Blue causing Ellie to raise her eyebrows in curiosity.
"Yeah, my teacher told us that he received a special invitation from the Communal Council about it. I think everyone's going to Jackson for the festival, but I'm not sure if Mom wants to go or not. She's the head doctor at the hospital and all," explained JJ glumly with his eyes down at his bundle of firewood. Blue brought the boy's chin up before adjusting his much larger bundle of firewood.
"Come on cowboy, best we head back before mama thinks a pack of clickers is going to get us," humored Blue as he started running back to Dina's home, "last one back is a goner."
Ellie laughed as she watched Blue slip and fall on top of a pile of snow before popping back up clumsily. JJ zoomed by him both running up the hill to Indian Point. Red chased after both boys, the hound running in circles around the duo like he was in on the game as well. The sky was barely overcast, and the sun was partially covered by milky white clouds. Ellie looked at Blue and JJ laughing together. It made Ellie's cold rosy cheeks turn darker watching what anyone would have thought to be a father and son having a moment together. The way the world is, Ellie just wondered if this was how people acted before the outbreak.
(End of Song)
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"Are you sure we should trust a stranger around JJ?" Inquired Cat while sipping a cup of coffee. As much as she loved seeing Ellie, Cat in no way cared for Blue. Ever since Ellie came back in the middle of the night with Blue covered in blood. Cat barely got any sleep knowing that Ellie and Blue got into some sort of trouble around the Mud Volcanoes.
"Relax Cat, according to Ellie he's a good man," countered Dina who couldn't help but feel devastated for the man if everything Ellie said was true. Ellie was a woman of her word, no matter what, Ellie never once told a lie or went back on a promise. Dina decided to put her faith in Ellie as she sternly said over a sizzling pan full of mutton fat, "They're only going be around the Homestead."
"Indian Point stretches from the general store down to the shores of Yellowstone Lake. Hell, you might as well send them to Storms Point to pick up maple syrup, but why now? Why do you want JJ around someone like Blue?" Question Cat as if her wife had gone insane.
"It'll be alright Cat, I heard on the radio that the horde went around the Jackson Republic, and if anything does happen, we'll be there and besides. JJ doesn't have a father figure, Jesse died too young, and every day I wake up thinking how much JJ's been robbed of never knowing or meeting his own father. It's been so long since I've seen our son so happy and as much as I hate to say it. There are only some things men can teach other men, and it's not like I wanna ask Zhukov or someone who barely knows English in Lake Village!" Explained Dina to the best of her ability. Just seeing JJ smile and laugh with Blue this morning was almost spectacular. Ever since their move to Yellowstone both she and Cat were so busy they rarely had time to act like a family and when they did JJ often talked about how much he missed Jackson.
"That doesn't mean you find the nearest man and expect him to be good around children. Hasn't Ellie always complained about how he's a heavy alcoholic or about his homicidal tendencies? Blue nearly burned down Moose," pleaded Cat causing Dina to rub her head in frustration.
"Cat, Ellie told me back at the hospital while Blue was unconscious that he lost everything and all he has is that smelly dog. He traveled far protecting four children the day he arrived in the Jackson Republic. When I examined those children several years back all they kept talking about was how much they loved Blue. If those children said anything bad, Tommy would have lynched Blue years ago," said Dina remembering that event like it was yesterday.
"Fine, I'll go grab the .22, and JJ better come back in one piece or I'm going to hunt that cowboy down myself!"
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JJ was sitting right next to Blue around Dina's round dinner table. They were in the dining room sitting down with brunch already made for everyone. Cat sat next to Ellie on her right side, while Dina took a seat next to Blue and JJ. Ellie's stomach rumbled when Dina brought out of the kitchen a fresh rosemary-cooked lamb. The table also had other dishes like mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, dried fruits, black bread, and even a little bit of mulled wine from Lake Village at the center of the table for the adults. Before everyone started to dig in Ellie watched Blue close his eyes and mutter words she couldn't understand. Cat noticed this too and she couldn't let their guest off the hook just yet, "Are you praying?"
"Was just reciting the Hamotzi," replied Blue getting the attention of everyone at the table, "just a prayer I learned in Jackson. Don't usually pray before a meal, but I haven't eaten much of anything over the last couple of days so why the hell not." He smirked a wide toothy smile directly at Dina who smiled weakly knowing exactly what Blue was getting at.
"Mom, what's a Homoti?" Asked JJ unable to pronounce the word.
"It's called Ha-Mot-Zi, it's just a Jewish prayer JJ. You know our dear guest Blue is Jewish just like you," answered Dina getting JJ to beam up in surprise. He knew he was Jewish because of his mom, but never had the chance to really delve into it due to Dina working so much.
"I didn't know you were Kosher. Maybe that's why you always have nice hair," joked Cat getting a slight chuckle from Ellie, but Blue simply sighed in annoyance. Everyone began grabbing big plates of food as the dishes started to be passed around the table.
"Neither did I but according to Dina I am," answered Blue while plopping a large serving of mashed potatoes on his plate. He grabbed the bottle of mulled wine and started pouring a large glass as he asked, "Dina have you tried teaching JJ Hebrew?"
"I would but I can't even read Hebrew and the little bit I know I remembered from my sister. JJ's already learning Russian in school, so he's light years ahead of me on mastering languages. Honestly, I'm surprised you were able to pick up Hebrew so fast," answered Dina while cutting a small portion of lamb and placing it on her plate.
"I've always had a knack for picking up on new languages whether it be Spanish, Russian, and whatever. Had to back in Mexico, you wouldn't make it far without knowing Spanish as well as your English. Even if you did, if you traveled south of Dallas and thought you could outtalk a merchant, you'd still be called a Gringo. Don't even get me started on Russian, back in late forty-three I was guiding Craig Jackson, Angulimala, and those four children down south to Jackson-Hole. We kept encountering traders and refugees making there way here. Originally it was just me and Angulimala, we both met each other trying to go the opposite direction," explained Blue in some strange way holding the entire room captive with his story, "I kept hearing about the supposed promised land being up north in Alaska. I had promised someone that one day we'd ride out together up into the Yukon. We were so dumb back then cause we thought fungus didn't grow in snow and that infected hate the cold."
"Who was this someone?" Interrupted Cat after swallowing some cooked mutton before also asking, "Why Alaska? You both could have chosen Canada or Michigan."
"She… she was my wife," lamented Blue while closing his eyes as if he didn't want to be in the room. He grabbed his glass of mulled wine and downed half the glass before saying, "she thought Alaska was America's final frontier, in a way before the outbreak it was. Boy she couldn't have been more wrong about the hordes."
"You have a wife?" Asked Cat causing Ellie to stop chewing her food and look at her friend in worry. Dina looked at Blue curious to hear what happened and why his wife wasn't here in the Jackson Republic.
"Had. I had a wife, but she's not here anymore."
"Oh," answered Cat whose cheeks turned bright red and hot in embarrassment. Cat quickly began to apologize, "I'm sorry Blue, I really didn't know you were a married man. How long were you both married?"
"Three years. We had a son and another baby on the way when…" Blue turned to look at JJ before shutting his eyes closed unable to say another word. Cat and Dina exchanged worried glances when they watched Blue finishing the rest of his glass of wine. He was about to pour another glass of mulled wine only for Dina to swipe his hands away.
Ellie quickly and sultrily said after finishing her plate, "You never told me about your journey into Alaska. Exactly what even happened? Couldn't be more interesting than your first experience in the Jackson Republic." Cat silently said with her lips thank you and Dina followed suit.
"Angulimala thought the best way into Alaska was over the northern Rockies up into Yukan, Alaska. We set out from Calgary, Canada in the summer and by fall we were already almost back to where we started. We eventually ran into Craig and those four kids. Anyways we started running into Russian, Mongolians, and Chinese trading up in Bozeman. That's when I knew we were getting closer to our destination. My first experience with the Jackson Republic was seeing the carnage coming through Grant Village from the south. I kept hearing that Jackson-Hole was safe and it was a promised land. I was stuck here in Grant Village for almost four months having to watch those kids and the priests all while I had to trade with a bunch of Russians who kept cheating us on every trade. On Christmas day, while I was hopelessly starving on the outskirts of Grant, I was holding an antique lever action rifle from centuries ago. I encountered a moose that day drinking by Heart Lake and killed it. I couldn't bring it back to town yet having been here a few weeks I picked up enough Russian to say ya ubil losya (I killed the moose!)"
"Really," began Ellie wondering what happened next, "who exactly helped you to bring back the moose?"
"You met him already, Danila, he was coming back from the frontlines. Danila was one of the few Russians I met who spoke fluent English and together we assembled a team and dragged back that damn moose. That damn moose fed Grant for weeks. A true Christmas miracle that came out from knowing another tongue."
Everyone quickly finished eating their food. The conversation quickly changed to something more lighthearted like the upcoming Thanksgiving Festival or the good news of the horde going around the Jackson Republic. It wasn't long into that very conversation Blue quickly got dressed back into his heavy winter clothes. He was wearing a clean grey sweater underneath the same air force jacket as before. Ellie realized whose jacket that belonged to right as Blue slipped his poncho over his neck. It was Jesse's father's coat he wore on rare occasions, which didn't go unnoticed to by Dina who sternly said, "you boys stay safe okay!"
"We aren't going to go too far, JJ, go grab the poles," urged Blue to the seven-year-old who ran out to the back of the house. Thankfully yesterday Dina and Cat had retrieved all their belongings including Blue's 1 pound bag of marijuana he bartered back in Colter. Blue thought about grabbing his trusty 1879 Winchester Rifle, but he had run out of .45-70 Government ammunition. It was an obsolete round that few people even carried, and he used every bit of it on that plane. Instead of the Winchester he grabbed his Mini-14 with two full magazines of 5.66x45 ammunition he stuffed in his leather coat, just in case.
Ellie and Cat had left, to go saddle up and fetch Cat's Belgian Draft Horse for Blue and JJ. It was only Blue, Dina, and JJ in the house where both adults stayed silent. An awkward silence Blue could help but interrupt with, "He's not a dumb kid so you better count your lucky stars. I've had to teach dozens of dumb kids how to shoot and kill. To survive and to prosper. I'd be nice for one day we could make it to the point where we stop worrying about surviving."
"For someone who spends most of their time praying, you really could use a little bit more faith," responded Dina with a smile. She grabbed their Remington 552 Speedmaster by the doorway and handed Blue an old cardboard box filled with from the weight possibly a hundred cartridges of .22 LR ammunition.
"These .22 bullets look brand new," commented Blue while inspecting one from the cardboard box before stuffing that in his coat and placing Dina's scoped Speedmaster over his left shoulder by guns canvas strap.
"Thank the gun factory back in town. That box of .22's was an entire day's work so make every shot count!"
Dina then led Blue outside right as Ellie reared the horse in front of Dina's home. JJ was running from the back of the house with two fishing poles swinging high into the air from his back. Red happily jumped around circling the boy.
"He's all fed and well rested by the looks of it," said Ellie with a big smile. She gave him an amused grin before saying, "relax it'll be fun."
Blue looked behind his back making sure both Dina and Cat were out of earshot before whispering, "drinking whiskey and nearly getting killed by dozens of Fireflies is more fun than this."
"Like I said relax, JJ really likes you, and its honestly adorable how well you both get along," started Ellie only to hear Blue grumble and blow foggy air out of his mouth, "JJ never had a dad. His father was a good man and a dear friend of mine. His name was Jesse, and ugh, he died helping me."
"Teaching JJ isn't the problem, I just… I don't want to keep talking about the past because sometimes I just want the past to die," whispered Blue still out of earshot of everyone. Dina was giving her son a hug goodbye while Blue simply said, "I'll see you before sundown."
"I got the poles uncle Blue," said JJ running up to Blue with both fishing poles in hand. His jet-black hair flew back under Blue's Stetson hat right as he begged, "let's go! Let's go!"
(Mountain Banjo by Rhiannon Giddens)
Blue used the stirrups to climb on top of the saddle. He then grabbed the fishing poles and placed them in a secure spare saddle bag fit for fishing poles. JJ walked closer to the horse and with a loud grunt was lifted into the air and placed in front of Blue's lap. Blue smirked over JJ's Stetson hat and aloud, "we'll See you hens later!" With that Blue kicked his legs back and Ellie, Dina, and Cat watched the pair leave on the horse going east. Red followed them trailing behind with his tail in the air.
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Small snow-capped hills passed by as Blue kicked his legs back into his horse's belly flanks lightly getting the ride into a nice and comfortable canter. Shoshone herders were guiding a pack of angus cows towards Storms Point. Pronghorns, bobcats, and even the occasional mule deer scurried away from their horse as they rode on. Blue shifted his leg weight and Blue was surprised by the Belgian Draft Horses jump over a crystal-clear creek. Right as the hooves touched the ground did JJ pipe up, "where are we going?"
"Were just going to go down to the lake, not too far from home," replied Blue as they entered a small forest full of leafless trees covered in ice and snow, "heard from Bear that there are some good shooting and fishing spots not too far from where you guys live."
"Yeah! Can't wait to learn how to shoot!" Shouted JJ as their horse trotted out of the forest towards downward hills towards the lake.
"You sure are a brave boy."
"Just like you," said JJ who was taking in the sights around them.
"Hahahaha," laughed Blue who then quickly said, "well I don't know about brave… I ain't much of a kid no more. Though your Aunt Ellie might disagree. Her and a few other women, I guess…"
"What do you mean?" Asked JJ innocently unsure what Uncle Blue was talking about.
"Ugh, I'm just being silly. It's been a tough couple of weeks working, delivering the mail across Wyoming, and just dealing with all this damned snow!" Exclaimed Blue to JJ as their horse's canter turned into a light trot.
"I like the snow!"
"I would too if I didn't have to work in it," croaked Blue as they got closer to the Yellowstone Lakebed. Blue then smiled as he asked, "never asked JJ, what are your hobbies?"
"My hobbies? I like reading, drawing, and feeding animals," said JJ right as Blue pulled the horse to a rearing stop beside a small hill and a creek bed feeding into the bay of Yellowstone Lake.
"Looks like a good spot," said Blue as he got off the horse's saddle. He grabbed JJ by his little waist and hoisted him off the horse. Grabbing the fishing poles from the saddle bags along with the Remington 552 Speedmaster, Blue led JJ over to a large boulder perfect for shooting at the small hill.
Setting up three manmade targets one 50 meters away, the second 75 meters away, and the last 100 meters right against the hilltop. Each of the targets had monickers written on them like stalker, clicker, and asshole. JJ was sitting on the boulder drawing and scribbling in a tiny journal by the time Blue came back having finished his masterpiece. Blue quickly got to work laying both the Mini-14 and the Remington 552 Speedmaster on the boulder with both guns having the safety off. He noticed that JJ was drawing Red in the journal. Blue looked out and saw his dog licking water from the creek and decided now was as much a good time as any to get started.
"Okay JJ, listen very closely," started Blue as he pulled out the cardboard box of .22 LR cartridges from his jacket along with the two full magazines of 5.66x45 NATO cartridges for the Mini-14. He settled the ammo on the boulder and pulled up the scoped Remington to show JJ before saying, "we're going to shoot two guns and the best thing to know besides shooting is gun safety. Now remember never and I mean ever point the barrel of any gun at anyone. That's a sure way to get yourself killed even by friends and family. The correct way of holding a gun is this." Blue grabbed the Remington 552 and held the stock up to his right shoulder with the barrel pointing towards the ground.
"What if I need to shoot?" Asked JJ curiously while scratching his head.
"Simple you get into a good shooting stance and look where I'm holding my left hand," Blue left hand was below the barrel guard while his right-hand fingers were around the trigger guard of the gun, "Never place your fingers on the trigger unless you have a target and need to shoot. Now the guns safety is on but I wanna see if you'll remember how I'm holding this rifle."
Blue then spent the next half hour training JJ on all the proper gun stances. He spent half that time getting the boys arms and fingers in the right positions mostly because the right gun stance made shooting more comfortable. JJ seemed partly annoyed by many of Blue's critiques of his gun stance forms. Until Blue complimented how quick JJ was learning everything. Wanting to show JJ the proper way of loading the Remington he pulled out a long brass tube from underneath the guns barrel and showed JJ how to load the .22 LR bullets into the Remington 552 Speedmaster.
"Uncle Blue, how come this gun doesn't have a clip or reloader?" Asked JJ curious as why Blue was loading the gun from a direction he hadn't seen before.
"Every gun is different; this is an old gun from almost a hundred years ago. Thank god Remington and Winchester still hold up after all these years! This gun is a tube fed rifle, meaning you gotta pull out a tube to reload the weapon. See that gun there it's a Mini-14," answered Blue having finished loading 15 rounds into the Remington 552, he placed the brass tube back inside the Remington and handed the gun to JJ. Blue then grabbed the Mini-14 which still had half a magazine of ammo inside and held it in the correct firearm stance before firing every round into a small Rocky Mountain maple tree below the hill. Tree limbs fell to the ground before a loud clicking noise was heard around the clearing.
"Okay a clip is different than a magazine. Never confuse a clip with a magazine, a clip loads into a gun from the top while a magazine loads into a gun from the bottom. Like this!" Explained Blue before grabbing a full magazine and shoving it into the Mini-14. He then pulled back the guns charger and fired several shots. Blue then moved JJ to a good prone position and spent the next hour teaching him how to shoot his .22 Remington. JJ was starting to get the hang of it when he kept nailing the 75-meter Clicker target. Dozens of tiny empty .22 LR cartridges covered the boulder from JJ's target training. Wanting to show JJ the difference between gun calibers' Blue simply said, "looks like you got the hang of the .22. You've reloaded five times, the last couple all by yourself. Sadly, there's only enough ammo for one more reload. Instead of us wasting the rest of the ammunition let's go fishing!"
"Yes!" Screamed JJ putting down his scoped Remington rifle only for Blue to hand the kid his Mini-14.
"But before we go fishing, there's just one more lesson you need to learn, JJ, I want you to shoot one round from the Mini-14," said Blue while setting up the much heavier gun in JJ's arms. JJ looked up with complete worry and fear while the heavy wooden stock bumped against his much smaller shoulder causing Blue to excitedly say, "Relax, this gun doesn't have much of a bite."
"But it's so much heavier and it doesn't have a scope!" Protested JJ.
"Good, if I had whole week with you, I'd have you learning to shoot every gun in Yellowstone. Every gun is different, you need to treat every gun you use with the same level of respect and caution. The Mini-14 you're holding doesn't have a scope, but it has iron sights, which you need to look at the foresight and rear sight until both sights intersect. That's how you'll get an accurate shot. Now fire!" Yelled Blue to JJ who reluctantly pulled the trigger. The recoil sent the semi-automatics stock right into JJ's shoulder like a battering ram, which made the seven-year-old boy pop off the ground onto his feet in fright.
(End of Song)
"What the hell Uncle Blue? That recoil was so powerful!" Screamed JJ in surprise only to hear Blue laughing on the ground with Red jumping around barking in joy.
"The look on your face was priceless," bantered Blue while taking his Stetson hat off JJ's head to shuffle the kid's hair, "my pops pulled that same trick on me when I was your age. I was being a showoff until I realized some guns were way out of my league. Stick with the .22 until you get man muscles. Until then let's go fishing!"
Blue quickly went to work picking up all the spent shell casings to be refilled and reloaded. He then packed both rifles on their horse's rifle holster cases and grabbed both fishing poles. Blue saw JJ waving to him by the shores of Yellowstone Lake. Blue quickly made it by JJ's side and took in the sight of the crystal-clear lake with Mt. Sheridan and other 10,000 ft peaks reflecting off the waters in the distance. Large Rainbow Trout and even Arctic Graylings were jumping out of the waters of the lake making Blue sigh in peace.
"Are you waiting for something," asked JJ his fishing pole twice the length of the boy's body.
"First thing we need is some bait," replied Blue while taking out a piece of black bread he saved from lunch and placing it on the hooks of both of their fishing poles, "I have a good feeling about this here bread." Both men placed their fishing rods behind their back before casting out the lines.
"All we gotta do now JJ is wait for a fish to take the bait."
"How do I know when I've got a bite?"
"Well, if ugh, you feel the tip of your fishing rod just twitching. Don't yank it yet, that just means one's nibbling," said Blue while twirling around his hook in the water feeling some twitching coming from the fishing line. A loud white streak of water started jetting from the top of the lake where Blue's hook was located.
"Wow, I think you got one!" Exclaimed JJ in complete amazement.
"See him fighting there, JJ? That's when you gotta be careful or you'll break the line. Best to wear him out first before you reel him in!" Blue said this with much difficulty as he felt a powerful force trying to pull him into the arctic cold waters of the lake, "Okay now that he's all tired just reel him in like this!"
Blue was rotating the reel of his fishing rod for a solid minute until his rod started to curve under the weight of his rod. Reeling harder and faster, Blue was amazed by the four-pound Arctic Grayling its intricate grey and white markings glistening at the top of his fishing pole. Pulling the mouth of the fish from its hook, Blue showed JJ the fish before saying, "This guy is an Arctic Grayling native only to Yellowstone Lake. Back before the outbreak these babies nearly went extinct due to overfishing and non-native fish species, but these guys now own the lake again."
"Fishing is boring. Can I draw instead?" JJ asked his head looking up at Blue, JJ's cheeks were covered in grime from shooting and his dark brown eyes were bright as if he was begging to do anything else but fish.
"Draw, relax, and don't worry. Today is all about you not me," said Blue while placing his caught fish in a canvas bag full of snow. Casting back his fishing rod back into the water. Blue then went back to fishing, he looked over his shoulder after losing another fish and saw JJ sitting next to Red on a nearby boulder drawing.
"What's so fun about fishing?" Asked JJ curious as to why Blue continued to cast his fishing rod back into the water after losing three fish in a row.
"I know, fishing is boring as hell, but then… something happens. You could get food for days."
"Really?"
"If your lucky, but until then you sit and wait… try not to worry. It's good for you!"
"It's good for you?" Repeated JJ confused.
"I guess," started Blue feeling a fish nibbling the bait, "gotta stick at things JJ."
"I know," replied JJ, noticing the fish nibbling at Blue's fishing line.
"Whatcha drawing over there?" Pondered Blue right as he felt a large tug on his fishing hook. A great whooshing jet of white water sprayed from the lake surface. The fish was trying its hardest to break free, but after a minute of the fish expending all its strength Blue started to reel it in.
"Wow! You caught another fish!" Shouted JJ dropping his drawing book on the boulder to observe the fish. The fish was solid red with black and brown dots marking its scaly skin.
"Caught ah, what looks like a Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout," proclaimed Blue while showing the large six-pound fish to the curious boy.
He noticed JJ's drawing book was open and he saw an almost expert sketched drawing of himself and JJ casting their lines out to the lake. There was another drawing of what Blue thought was a young JJ riding a horse with an unfinished sketch of a figure behind the boy. Before Blue could say a single word, Red started barking very loudly. A thunder of eight hooves caught Blue and JJ by surprise. Before either of them could react, both mysterious riders were already out of their saddles each one carrying long shotgun barrels pointing straight at Blue.
"What a fine young man. Reminds me of Ethan, if Ethan lived," said Kyle before charging a very massive 12-gauge shotgun in his hands. Red stopped barking noticing the unwanted visitors were none other than Sancho and Kyle.
"Get behind me, now," muttered Blue keeping his body in front of JJ in case things got out of hand, which they usually did.
Sancho held his fingers on the trigger guard of his shotgun ready to blast JJ and Blue but instead he raised his own 12-gauge pump action shotgun the barrel pointing to the sky. His jet-black curly hair underneath his black sombrero blew in the wind and his mad black eyes didn't falter. Blue grit his teeth at Sancho who simply said, "took us a while to find you Malaki Guzman. Almost thought that was your son, but then I remember hearing what happened to little Ethan. General Javier and his friend Fox smashed his little head into a wall popping it like a walnut, while you were forced to watch Sophia get taken by a whole army of men. Wasn't it five years ago and that bounty is still up!"
"What are you bastards doing here?"
"Mohammed and Dario told us to come and kill you," began Kyle noticing Blue moving his hands near his holstered revolvers before saying quick, "but I spoke to Abby whose still in charge of Wyoming. She wanted us to tell you the Fireflies are willing to give you a second chance."
"A second chance at what?"
"As much as I wanna kill you, you still are my brother, and you should be grateful you're even getting a second chance," stated Kyle while grabbing a cigarette from a pocket in his black leather jacket and lit it. Taking a few puffs, he observed the concerned and almost calculating stare coming from Blue as he finished saying, "We want the girl, the girl with the gift."
"Her, I wouldn't even know who the hell you're talking about." Replied Blue, he turned his head back to make sure JJ was completely behind his body.
"Is that so, I think I remember a red-headed woman coming to your aid last night on a dogsled. Does this ring a bell? A Fedra plane crashes here in the Jackson Republic. You Blue, had to have traveled near or around the crash because all radio signals coming from flight 434 went silent a day before the radio broadcast from Yellowstone went out," responded Sancho walking closer to Blue with his drawn shotgun still in his hands.
"Life's full of many strange coincidences. No one saw the apocalypse coming, but a plane flyin' and crashin' in the year 2046. Now that's not unheard of, but you think I'd wander in the middle of the damn wintertime to find a plane I have zero clue about?" Accused Blue with a reddening face, his eyes as cold as the arctic, and his lips snarling into a frown. With clenched white fists squeezing together, everyone thought Blue was ready to fight.
"Blue you're worth twenty pounds of gold, a house in El Paso with a swimming pool, and ten slaves." Stated Kyle before resting his shotgun on his left-hand sideways its barrel pointing to the shore.
"Have you asked them if I could turn myself in?"
"Listen Blue, this is the Fireflies offer, once you turn over that red-headed woman by the name of Ellie. The Fireflies promise they'll forget about Omar Nabi, we'll buy your freedom back, and you could even rise above being a delivery rider for a hick republic," explained Kyle before spitting at Blue's feet and resting his shotgun's barrel on his shoulder, "And that's for freaking out my girlfriend." Kyle turned around and started walking back to his horse.
"If I find her, you'll be the first I tell, good luck Kyle," responded Blue with his lips transforming into a deep frown.
"We'll contact you in the future! Have a good day Blue and remember! Por el Imperio (For the Empire)!" Shouted Sancho.
"Enjoy the fishing kid, while you still can," laughed Kyle right as Sancho got back in his own saddle. JJ walked slightly in front of Blue who placed his hands on JJ's head to prevent him from wandering closer to Kyle or Sancho. Both O'Leary's rode away fast leaving Blue and JJ standing petrified by the shores of Yellowstone Lake.
"Who are they?" Questioned JJ in a near whisper. He looked over his shoulder at Blue unsure why they were harassing his mom's friend.
"No one to worry about, come on, it's getting late JJ," said Blue calmly guiding JJ over to their horse.
"JJ let's grab all your stuff; we're going back home! Don't need your mama worrying about you!" Fretted Blue while almost tripping over his damaged cowboy boots to place everything he could back in their saddle bags. Blue quickly jumped on their horse after giving the area a quick check before grabbing JJ by his shoulders and dropping him in front of him on the saddle. Blue started kicking his legs back into their Belgian Draft Horse's belly flanks getting their horse to start galloping back home as quickly as possible.
JJ remained silent for several minutes, until their horse performed a pirouette on its back hooves causing it turn 180 back on the road back home. JJ couldn't help letting out a loud, "AHHH!"
"Sorry about that JJ, just trying to get us home as quickly and safely as possible."
"Why did you lie about not knowing Aunt Ellie is?"
"Because… because those were disagreeable men, and I don't want them to hurt her." Explained Blue hoping JJ would understand.
"Whose Ethan? Those men kept talking about him like you know him."
"Ethan was my son. If he was still around, he would have been around your age," said Blue while patting JJ on the shoulders. He was grateful the little kid was sitting in front of him, for he wouldn't have seen his watery eyes.
"What did they mean by a plane? I've always wanted to fly in a plane, heck, I'd just love to see one," vowed JJ with a hand in the air as if the kid was making a promise.
"Boy, you're preaching for the choir."
"Are you in danger Uncle Blue? They kept talking about wanting to hurt you and I don't want to see you, or Aunt Ellie get hurt!" Pleaded JJ with a frightened tone of voice.
"Like I told you, don't worry about them. The world is full of disagreeable men… that's why you got all of us to protect you from folks like them. Now how bout that drawing you made back by the lake, you still got it right?"
"I do!"
"Did you like shooting and 'fishin?"
"I loved shooting, but fishing was okay. It's a whole lot of waiting around!" Commented JJ excitedly upon seeing his home just twenty meters away. Blue saw Dina outside her home shoveling snow. She threw down her shovel and rushed over to them both excitedly. Ellie opened up the front door and walked out only for Red to charge her.
"It sure is JJ," huffed Blue while lowering JJ to the ground.
"There you are! How did you boys get along?" Expressed Dina happily pulling JJ by his left hand into a warm hug.
"Great! We caught some fish and I hit a target 100 meters away! I even drew some new pictures!" Exclaimed JJ like he went on the best adventure of his life.
"Ain't I the luckiest woman… did you thank Uncle Blue?" Urged Dina hoping her son would thank Blue for selflessly going out of his way to help her son.
"No need… we had a good time," interrupted Blue handing the fishing poles to JJ and handing Dina her Remington 552 Speedmaster back. Blue's normally warm and bright sapphire eyes looked watery and frightened as if the cowboy encountered a ghost. Cat ushered JJ into the house, while Dina's placed a concerned hand on Blue's shoulder.
"What's wrong? You look upset." Asked Dina confused by her guest's behavior.
"Nothing… just met some folk, better speak with Ellie," conceded Blue before marching over to Ellie who was kneeling on the porch with Red.
Blue grabbed Ellie by her arm and brought her over away from all listening ears and whispered, "I saw my friends again. Ellie, they know about us and flight 434, they know we're together, and I don't know how the hell the Fireflies know about you, but this is bad."
"Did they follow you back?"
"No, I kept checking over my shoulders the entire time. They know we're near here, and they want you bad Ellie. My friends told me that if I turn you in, they'll get rid of my bounty, give me my freedom back, and I'd be treated like a king," explained Blue hoping Ellie understood how much serious shit they were in.
"Well, are you planning on turning me into the Fireflies?" Questioned Ellie with a sultry tone of voice. She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it himself.
"You crazy? I'd rather die than give you up, especially to them. We aren't safe no more here Ellie, and the longer we stay in Yellowstone," said Blue his eyes shifting over to Dina and JJ hugging each other inside their home, "they're good people. We shouldn't drag them into whatever fucked up shit the Fireflies are involved in."
"I agree!" Replied Ellie who then jumped into Blue giving him a death hug. Blue hugged her back only to notice Ellie's eyes widen and heard her say, "Blue, why are Bear and Danila riding over here?"