From somewhere behind me I hear a woman's voice, ''You camping here?'' ''Yeah!'' I reply as I turn around to see angry slits eyeing me suspiciously. ''Well I'm camping right over there and I don't want any romance.'' "Ok," I reply as I wonder what on earth prompted that kind of introduction.
Tired after my first day of sightseeing around Yellowstone National Park, and still needing to prepare supper, I continue unloading supplies from my car, carrying them to the picnic table that serves as my kitchen and dining room table, and wondering to myself if she could really have much of a problem with men beating a path to her door. She has coal black hair, big coal black hair like an enormous bouffant except tied in back. And she is built like Emmit Smith."Oh well," I think to myself, "Women must be kind of scarce up here in the northwest." Most everything is except grizzly bears. I smile at the thought of naming her little griz since I don't know her name. Just as I do she says, "Tamara". "Steven," I say as I open the ice chest and produce a beer. I don't guess it would go over too well if I offer her a beer so I leave the top open and pop a brew as I walk back over to the car for some pots and pans. "Help yourself if you like." "I don't drink," Tamara says. I take a long drink, swallowing about half the can as I say to myself, "Good, I wasn't expecting company." I walk back to the table put down the pots and pans, and shut the lid on the ice chest.
"You really from Texas?" she asks. I'm thinking she must have noticed my license plate when I realize she is looking at my chest and smiling. And I remember I'm wearing a tee shirt that says " It's a Texas thang, Y'all wouldn't understand." I look at the Suburban parked in front of her tent and say, "Yep, ya'll from Washington?" The smile evaporates to be replaced by angry, suspicious slits once again. "Her posture changes dramatically as she takes on a stance like Emmit getting ready to carry the ball through a wall of defensive linemen. I nod toward her truck. "The license plate." She relaxes perceptively and the creases leave her face. I finish the beer with the second drink, crush the can before tossing it in the trash can and retrieve another beer from the cooler. This time shutting it immediately so she wouldn't think it was another attempt to get her drunk or something. "Little Gris has some problems trusting guys," I tell myself.
There is a chill in the air. It is June 2nd, the second day the park is open for the summer season and there is still snow on the ground everywhere that is not exposed to direct sunlight. I put a light coat on against the chill and light the burners on the propane camp stove. After putting on water for coffee I crack two eggs into the frying pan followed by a slice of ham. Tamara is wandering off toward her tent now, as abruptly as she had arrived. Opening my second beer and draining it in one swallow I notice that alcohol has a noticeable kick to it in the rarefied mountain air. I flip the eggs, breaking the yolk on one. "Damn!" I turn the ham and notice Tamara is busying herself with the making of a sandwich in her camp.
New campers are setting up tents all around us and others are pulling in filling the vacant campsites. "Good, I hope she will feel safer with other campers all around us. I know I will." There is something a little creepy about Lil Gris, "But why did she set up camp right next to my tent if she has problems trusting people? But then I was gone sightseeing when she got here and she may have been hoping for a family next door. Well, there are plenty of families here now!"
The smell of campfires and suppers from various campsites wafts through the cool night air whetting my appetite for more as I eat the ham and eggs. I'm thinking of a second serving since I have eaten nothing but trail mix all day. As I sop up the yolk from the egg that survived the flipping with a piece of bread I think maybe sunny side up this time. I love the runny yolk of a fried egg and that makes me think back to basic training in the Army so long ago. Private Prichard had never seen sunny side up eggs before, "Damn Wilson, why don't ya just eat em raw." My buddy Lessner says "Shut up Prick, just eat your own damn eggs." "NO TALKING IN THE MESS HALL" Screams Sgt. Dalton and blows a whistle long and loud and everyone jumps up to take their tray to a window by the door where some other recruit doing KP will be waiting, "Table wear in the blue tubs, dishes and bowls in the red one," he says to each of us as we file by. Prichard says, "You wouldn't have to say that over and over if you didn't stand in front of the sign that says table wear in the blue tub, dishes and bowls in the red tub." The recruit on KP says, "How do you know what it says Prick, you can't read." Again Dalton blows the whistle, this time joined by Sgt Lopez and Corporal Anderson, screaming "OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE. NOW! NOW! NOW!”. Prichard says "Now you got us all in trouble WILSON."
I smile when I remember how my uncle swears he never knew you could have eggs anyway you wanted till he got in the air force. "Mom just cooked em and put em on the table and we ate em." I glance up from my empty plate to be startled out of my reverie by Tamara, the gris standing just across the table from me with a big stick in her hand. "I'm going for a walk," she says "watch my tent!" "OHHH kay". I say slowly, and she's gone. "Definitely not going to have another beer this evening, I'm going to need my wits about me tonight. "
I decide to pass on seconds too and just have some trail mix. So I get up and head over to the bag I had sat down by the car when my strange new friend had arrived. I bent over to pick it up and two ground squirrels scrambled out with granola bars in their mouths. "You can get fined for that you know." Startled I spin around, "What''. It was Ed and Phillis, two retirees that volunteered at the campground making their evening rounds. "Feeding the animals," Ed says. "It's against the park rules." I smile, "The little varmints stole it." "Always do!" they laugh. The thieving varmints disappear down a small hole under the picnic table I hadn't noticed. "Don't know if we told you last night, but you can keep your food in those metal bins over there by the wash house. You can lock em if you want to but nobody does. They're bear proof." He assures me. "How about ground squirrels?" I ask with a broad smile..
"Be sure and wash your dishes as soon as you are through," adds Phillis. "The smell of food attracts bears and if they find something to eat it'll be dang near impossible to get rid of them. Bears love a free meal." "Yeah," I laugh. "I used to have a brother in law like that." They laugh and wander off to visit some other campsites and I gather up my mess to carry over to the hydrant. As I'm crossing the road in front of my tent Tamara comes back with a double arm load of cut and split firewood. "There's an empty campsite about three sites down and there's a huge pile of firewood free for the taking." "How do you know it's free?" I ask. "The people that were there were packing up. Said they had to go and wouldn't be needing it." I finish washing dishes in the freezing water and shiver as I carry them back to camp.
I decide against the fire wood since I had bought some at the check-in station earlier. And besides that I am beat. I am so looking forward to crawling into my sleeping bag and drifting off to sleep. "Hi Steve, did you get enough firewood?" It's Tamara with another double armload of firewood. "No, I've had a full day ..." "Well, here you can have this."She drops it beside the fire ring. "I have plenty and you're welcome to it, I just hate to see it go to waste, so I'll just go get some more." she says over her shoulder as she disappears into the darkness still talking fast in short choppy spurts. I can hear her in the distance but she is too far away to understand what she is saying. Her voice grows louder as she returns and finally I hear her saying, "So I stopped for gas in Idaho and there were these two men that kept looking at me and it made me nervous and that's why I forgot to put it back on and now I guess I'll have to buy a new one. Do you think there will be a parts store around here?" To myself, "Oh, I need a scotch." "Are you having fun yet?" "What?" "Are you having fun yet?" She asks as she begins to build a fire. "Where did you go today?" "What did you see?" "Did you have a good time?" "Yeah, it's like a walk down memory lane. We came here on vacation when I was-- " "You are a good listener. What do you do for a living?" "I practice psychology in a clinic in --" "Psychology, really, no wonder you're such a good listener. That's why I'm here, my therapist told me that I need to get out of my comfort zone. He says I need to be more self reliant. That's where I got the tent. He loaned it to me." I hide a smile as I think to myself, “That's not exactly the way I'd go about encouraging someone to be more self reliant. By loaning them a tent.” Oh well everyone has to start somewhere. Poor guy probably would have paid for her to go to Hawaii just so he could get a break.”
"So, you're in therapy?" "Yes, ever since the homicide!" “Homicide,” I'm really glad that I passed on more alcohol now. She tilts her head to one side as she says in a rather matter of fact manner, "I shot my neighbor in the head ...." To myself, "Hmmm, not even going to ask how that makes her feel. Oh, I really need a scotch now. But that's not going to happen. Not tonight. Not the least bit sleepy, either". "Want to talk about it?" I ask. The firelight is flickering and I can see her teeth but I cannot tell if she is smiling or grimacing. I hoped she was smiling. A wave of relief sweeps over me like a warm embrace. "This is all a prank," I tell myself. "One of my colleagues got in touch with someone local to come out here and spook me as a prank. The first vacation I've had in twenty five years and someone pulls a practical joke like this. Yeah, that's it, she's part of a practical joke. She is setting here telling this like a ghost story as we set around the campfire." I am just about to ask her who put her up to this when I see tears streaming down her face, she buries her face in her hands and begins to sob, a low moan coming from deep within, wracking her body violently, her breathing now in fast shallow pants. She is in full a blown panic attack right here in the middle of nowhere, with probably the only person within three hundred miles capable of recognizing it, much less doing anything about it. Taking a slow deep breath I begin to speak, lowering my voice both in pitch and volume. "It's alright, I understand. This is a panic attack and probably not your first, I want you to try and slow your breathing, listen to my voice, it will help calm you." I drone on in a low monotone. "Squeeze your hands tightly into a fist. Now relax your fist and slow your breathing at the same time. Again very slowly now make a tight fist and inhale slowly. That’s good, now relax your fist and exhale slowly. That's good this time as you inhale and clench tighten up your arms and shoulders, that's good, that's real good, you’re doing fine and exhale as you relax. You are going to a safe place now, flex and inhale and hold it, exhale and relax very slowly. You are going to a place where only you can go. And flexing inhale deeply, slowly, and hold it, again very slowly exhale, that's very good, you are controlling your breathing now. Again flex the shoulders and neck as you inhale .Now relax and exhale, you are in a beautiful place now, inhale hold it relax. It's peaceful here, and as you continue these exercises you notice a soft light shining in the distance. And as it shines on you it begins to shine through you. Now there is no darkness in you, just a beautiful light shining within you, warming you."
Her breath shudders now as she exhales. The crisis is over. I begin to change my tone nearly imperceptibly. A little more matter of fact. "You can hear birds singing sweetly, you smell the beautiful fragrance of flowers, a warm breeze caresses your face. Continue flexing and relaxing now. And as you do you notice that the warm breeze blows into you, making you a warmer, calmer person. As you listen to the birds singing in the trees their song brings you happiness. Yes and you deserve happiness, you do. The fragrance of the flowers is beautiful. The fragrance fills you with beauty. This is your meadow and it is filled with everything good. There is nothing bad here. There is no pain here. Only goodness, light, warmth, happiness and beauty and you can come here as often as you like. In fact the more often you come here the easier it will be to get here. Practice it every day. Especially practice it when you are going to sleep at night, as you relax. And soon you will be able get in this state of relaxation instantly just by saying, "I'm in my meadow". Her breathing is calm now. "Thank you Doctor". "Not Doctor, just Steve". I don't want any social distance to interfere because her success now depends on a therapeutic relationship. A relationship that has just landed in the middle of my vacation!
I'm having scotch now, single malt with a beer chaser. "My therapist knew this would happen, didn't he?" “I don't know, it depends on what type of therapist he is and what he is treating you for..." "He says that he is primarily a behaviorist..." This time I interrupt her, "Treating you for anxiety." Her eyes squint up some, so I explain, "In my opinion behaviorist are especially well suited for dealing with anxiety. Whatever type of clinical psychology you practice you can do psychotherapy on a patient regardless of the diagnoses. But some are better suited for depression, like cognitive therapy. And behaviorism is especially good for anxiety. And I can tell that you have made a lot of progress!" "You can? Do you think I can ever go back to work again?" "It depends, what do you do?" "I was a sheriff's deputy, in Seattle. I'm on disability now." "Well, your therapist will have the final word on that. It's late. And I really need to turn in so thanks for the firewood." I smile as I stand up to let her know that I'm not annoyed but this session is over.
I wake to the smell of coffee, and bacon, and the sound of children laughing as they run and play and instantly I am a nine year old, standing with a book in my hands in the front yard and my mother is setting on the steps with a switch in her hands. Neighborhood kids are running and playing and every time I look off (whack) "Read." My 3rd grade teacher had told her that I was not doing too well at reading and needed extra attention in that area. It turns out that I was easily distracted and reading in the presence of so many distractions with a constant and instant reminder improved my concentration in all areas. And I think, "Hmmm, an effective therapy, but no, it would never be approved. It’s abusive. In my day a spanking—“
Screams bring me out of my reflections and I regret having buried myself in blankets both inside and outside the light weight sleeping bag. I struggle to find the zipper and pull it down. It gets stuck on one of the extra blankets and jammed. Meanwhile more screams and more voices all receding in the distance, and I'm able to discern the panicked voice of a child yelling, "It's huge," as he runs in the same direction as the other voices. I had read about grizzly bears dragging campers out of their tents and I think, "Oh great, a bear must have smelled the cooking and followed his nose and everyone else is running off and I'm stuck here in a bag.." I grab a knife that I had left just out side of the bag in case of an emergency and cut the bag along the zipper, grabbing both sides I pull as hard as I can. The canvas makes a loud screeching sound as it rips down along the zipper and I'm free. I jump up and grab the zipper to the flap that forms the door to the tent and give it a fast jerk. It snags the mosquito net and jams. Plunging the knife through the top of the tent I pull it quickly all the way down to the bottom. Sticking my head out I look to the right and ... nothing. I look to the left and see a large crowd of people standing around a large male buffalo. Ed and Phyllis are trying to get the crowd to back off and stay a safe distance but everyone wants a picture with the buffalo. "OK, I'm in my meadow, and there is..."
I decide on instant oatmeal, three eggs sunny side up with ham and toast. Shivering as I cook, I can see Tamara's breath as she steams her way toward me like a locomotive, she has a big smile on her face. And a large cup of coffee in each hand which lights up my face, but only for an instant because I don't want her to think it's because I'm so very glad to see her. It's just that I have always thought that making coffee before you have your morning cup is one of the universe's cruel tricks on mankind because I am not fit to make a decent pot of coffee till I have had at least one cup of decent coffee. "Good morning." "Good morning Tamara, did you sleep well?" "Beautifully," handing me a cup, "What happened to your tent?" I turned away so she couldn't see my face turn red. "It was that redhead from site 23 wasn't it, "She teases. "I thought you would have to fight her off. Did you know that when you're getting undressed with the light on in your tent it gives everybody a free shadow show? Aww, your blushing, that's kinda cute." "I don't blush, it's just the cold air." Warming my hands with the hot cup, I hold the coffee close to my nose as I inhale letting the steam warm and moisten my nose. "Did you see the buffalo this morning?" "A buffalo, no, where?" "Right down there, somebody said they thought they heard a mountain lion too." Laughing now she says "I think they must have heard something else," looking at the rip from the top to bottom of my tent. "Really, I wonder what it could have been. I didn't hear anything," as I slide the eggs around in the frying pan to keep them from sticking. "Really, what happened to your tent?" She doesn't give up easily. "It was Stormi." She looks puzzled. "The redhead from number 23,that's her name." I laugh. She plays along, "A redhead named Stormi. What's her last name, Night?" "No but her middle name is Dawn." I banter. We both laugh. "Your awful, I'll bet you haven't even talked to her." Well, we didn't talk much, look at what she did trying to get in the sleeping bag with me." She looked inside the tent and stared at the torn bag in disbelief. I'm having just a little too much fun with this, but I can't resist.
Suddenly she is talking about a gas station in Idaho, and a parts store. I'm setting there eating breakfast and looking confused so she explains. “Like I was saying last night when I got the firewood, I was filling up when two men were looking at me and it gave me the creeps. So I drove off and left my locking gas cap on the pump. Now I have to buy a new one. We continue to pass the time over refills of coffee, and eventually the conversation turns to the sights we plan to see. As a park ranger drives by and she jumps up and runs over to the road and flags him down. As they talk he is looking at me in a most unfriendly way. She looks back at me over her shoulder then looks back to him and laughs and shakes her head. "Good, being law enforcement they will have a lot in common and she will feel safe. I can go back to enjoying my sightseeing and maybe even get to know the redhead at campsite 23." Contemplating that a smile creeps up on me. I don't usually smile much before 5 PM.
"Did you see the buffalo this morning?" It was Ed. And Phyllis chimes in "And what on earth happened to your tent?" "Yes I saw him. And that's what happened to my tent." In unison, "What?" "How?" I laugh and relate the story about the 'bear attack.' They guffaw at that. Then I share the part about the redhead at site 23, Stormi Dawn. More laughter. The laughter dies down as Tamara comes back over. The ranger gives me a long hard look before driving away. Ed and Phyllis say goodbye and wander off to complete their morning rounds. Phyllis turns around and with a big smile says, "Tell Stormi Dawn we said hi." I smile and wave goodbye. Glancing past them down the road I see the ranger, now at site 23, talking to the redhead.
"There is an automotive parts store in the little town just outside the gate," Tamara tells me. "So I'm going to drive into town and get a new gas cap." "That's nice, looks like the park ranger likes you." "What, no he just helped me set up my tent yesterday. And came by to see how I'm doing." "Looks like he finds Stormi Dawn interesting too," Her smile fades for an instant but she recovers gracefully. "That's nice."
Tamara loads up her Suburban and speeds off to find the parts store. I saunter down the road in the general direction of campsite 23 and whatever surprises the day might offer. "Hello Texas!" It was the redheaded lady. I smiled and said, "So you saw my shirt." "What?" "I was wearing a shirt with something about Texas on it yesterday. The lady in the camp next to mine thought it was funny. I thought you must have seen it, hence the "Hello Texas". She laughs "Oh, no I saw your license plate. Nice car by the way." "Nice car to you too Minnesota. I love vettes." "And redheads too, according to Ranger Smith, Boo Boo." in a fair Yogi Bear imitation. I turn beet red at being found out. "Oh you're blushing, that's so cute." No way will this pass as a chance encounter while I'm out for a stroll, so I might as well play the hand that's dealt. "Fast cars and beautiful women, you found me out." I smile. She laughs and says "Let's start over." Walking over to me "Hi, I'm Susanna." "Hello Susanna, I'm very pleased to meet you," In my most formal voice. "I'm Steven. I understand there was quite a shadow show last night." Now it's her turn to blush. "AWW, you're blushing, that's so cute." Her smile falters but she quickly recovers as I extend my hand with a broad smile. She accepts my offer to shake hands, and places her other hand on my forearm where it lingers as we look into each other’s eyes. My heart races. The skin on her neck turns red as goose bumps rise up and a slight film of perspiration forms on her forehead. It is the morning of day three in the park and I have a vacation girlfriend.
After lunch we go sightseeing. We decide to take my car because a Firebird is more comfy than a Vette. Our plan is to make our way to Mammoth Springs. Along the way she turns on my CD player. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Johnny Winters collaborate on a rendition of 'I Just Want To Make Love To You'. I pull in to the parking lot at Monument Geyser Basin and we listen till the song is over. Getting out of the car we agree to stretch our legs and take snapshots along the way. I'm glad I brought my tripod. I can set the timer and get in the pics with her. I smile as I tell her, "This vacation is going to be something to remember." Little do I know just how very true those words are. As we stroll down the boardwalk her hand falls into mine as naturally as if we have been together for years. A warm beautiful feeling creeps through me and a broad smile twists my face into a smile so big it hurts. As we walk along I turn my head to look at her once more and find that she is smiling and looking intently at me. We stop as if on command and embrace in a passionate kiss. My head is spinning and I get that drunk feeling as though I'm falling. And I am. Head over heels. When we come up for air a small crowd of Japanese tourist has stopped and is snapping pics and filming. They begin to applaud, all but one, she has turned her son around so that he can't see and wags a finger at us. "You, get a loom," and marches by, each step stomping the boardwalk. I didn't realize we had been holding up traffic on the boardwalk. We step to one side to allow the group to file by and each produces a wink, smile, thumbs up or combination of all. The last one to go by stopped and in a heavy Japanese accent says "You velly rucky man." The 'get a loom ' lady looks back over her shoulder and snaps something in Japanese. It didn't need translation as the man scurries off mumbling apologies.
We walk around the basin, then visit Steamboat Geyser and Norris Geyser Basin catching evil looks from 'get a loom lady' every time we cross paths. It doesn't help that all the members of the group continue to snap pics and make raucous comments, all but the 'get a loom lady's' husband. He hangs his head and looks down whenever his wife is looking, but smiles and winks when she looks a way. We casually stroll back to the car savoring every minute of being together. A chill runs down my spine when we get back to the car. I see the windshield wipers have been broken off and used to scratch the paint on the hood, fenders, doors, and trunk. The back windshield is busted and the gas tank cover had been pried off and is lying on the ground by the rear bumper. The two front tires are flat. "Get a loom lady' must hold a grudge," I try to laugh it off but Susanne is shaken, "Steven I'm afraid." She turns and clings to my side and I put both arms around her, she is shaking and the color has drained from her face. "Hey it's just stuff," I lie. That car is my baby. I fell in love with it when I test drove it and have treated it like a lady ever since. A princess is more like it. And that's what I call her, Princess "It's nothing personal. Cars get vandalized every day." She is looking down but slowly looks up into my face. Her eyes fill and tears begin to trickle down her face, as she stammers out, "It may be. My ex boyfriend is having a hard time with the breakup," She's sobbing now and I hold her tight, wishing I could squeeze the pain away from her.
"I left while he was locked up for domestic violence. He just went crazy when I told him it was over. First he cried and begged. He promised he would change. He started sending gifts to me at work. Then he got angry and started calling and cussing me. Then he came to my work and demanded that I give him another chance. When I refused he knocked me down and kicked me. He said that if he couldn't have me nobody could. He was still in jail when I got out of the hospital. The lawyer I worked for told me it would be best if I moved and changed jobs. He helped me move to another city and helped me to go to work with a firm there. After a few months he found me. But I was ready, I had an escape plan. I've moved three times since then in two years." She buries her head in my chest and sobs. "Steven, I'm so sorry..." I touch her under the chin and lift her head, looking deep into her eyes. "It's ok, I understand. And it's not your fault." I continue in a low calm voice. "You did not do this. You did not cause this. And I’m here for you. It’s probably just random but no matter what we will get through this together.” I could feel her relax as she nestled her head on my shoulder.
A ranger patrol car pulls into the parking lot and the ranger grins as he gets out. He tries to smile at Susanna but it was more of a leer. His eyes narrow as he glances at me, then back to her. “Hello again Stormi Dawn.” “What?” “I said good morning.” “No, I mean something about a storm.” I laugh and he glares at me so I explain about the bear attack and how I had joked about it with Tamara. Susanna looks up into my face and laughs as if she is having an aha moment. The ranger is having an aha moment as well, only he isn’t laughing. He seems to grow pensive, taking his hat off and wiping pimples of sweat away before replacing it. He changes the subject with, “By the way, have you seen Tamara since this morning?” “No, she left this morning to buy a new gas cap after you told her about the parts store in West Yellowstone.” He looks at me like I’m crazy but shakes it off. “They have me off looking for her. Her husband called and is all upset because he hasn’t heard from her in several days.” Well he must know she is camping if he called here looking for her.” “Yeah,” he drawls “but he’s worried because she was kidnapped a few years ago and she never goes this long without calling.” I tell him I remember her trying to use her cell phone this morning but couldn’t get service. “Kidnapped,” Susanna says. No wonder she shot him,” I add. The ranger glares at me and looks like is about to come at me. I gently push Susanna to the side in preparation. There is definitely something wrong about this guy. I draw myself up and tense up, ready to fight if he attacks. He sizes me up and looks at Susanna as a tour bus pulls into the parking lot with passengers snapping photos and videos. "Is there any way you could get a wrecker to come up here and tow my car to a shop?" At first he frowns, then looking at Susanna with a slight smile lights up his face he says, "Sure." After making a radio call requesting assistance he comes back over and says "Can I offer you a ride back to camp?" I smile and say "Thanks." He tells me, "I'm sorry but you'll have to stay here till the tow truck gets here." "Storm...." "Susanna." she smiles. “ Can I offer you a ride back to camp?” She leans against me putting both arms around me and leaning her head on my shoulder says, “We’re together.” He scowls and walks away. "Poor guy, I guess women are really scarce up here." The ranger drives off and another tour bus pulls in. This time it's a crowd of retirees.
Soon Tamara's truck pulls into the parking lot and she gets out with mouth agape. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," she says in that northwest tangy accent. "What happened?" I introduce Susanna and Tamara, and explain the vandalism. "Susanna? Not Stormi then, you guys... this morning... " "No I heard everyone yelling about the buffalo and freaked out. The zipper stuck and I cut my way out of the bag, then..." "Then the zipper on the tent stuck and you cut it too." We all laughed. "Can I give you a ride back to camp?" "Thanks but no I have to wait for the tow truck. Thanks though." She looks at Susanna, Susanna looks at me. "I don't know," I shrug. She says "I can come back and pick you up" looking up at me with question marks in her eyes. I don't know what to do. I don't want to start telling her what to do after all she's been through with a controlling boyfriend. But my main concern is what's best for her and her, and there is definitely something off about that ranger. “You know, after what you told me about your ex I really wouldn't want to let you out of my sight. I really don't mean to try and tell you ...." She collapses into my arms crying "Thank you." Her chin quivers and her voice shakes, "I was afraid to ask you to let me stay. But I am afraid." I have both arms around her now and I look over her shoulder at Tamara and shake my head. She nods, not knowing the exact details, but understanding never the less. "I'll stay till the wrecker gets here then."
I tell Tamara about the ranger and her husband's call. At first she is puzzled, then bothered, but gets over it. She starts to talk, telling us about the kidnapping and events that led up to the homicide, "He was my neighbor. He was a biker and I was a sheriff's deputy. Born enemies I guess. He and his buddies jumped me one evening.” Her voice trembles and she pauses. It's ok, you don't have to explain" Susanna volunteers. "No, I do though." Susanna sets down beside her and takes her hand. "Susanna has some history to deal with too," I tell her. Tamara nods in understanding. She places her other hand over Susanna's and continues, her voice low and steady now. I watch for twitches and other non-verbal signs that indicate she's about to break. There are none. Her therapist has prepared her well. They took me to a cabin in the mountains. It belonged to his brother and they kept me locked up in a horse trailer." Every once in a while she would stop and draw a deep breath with her eyes closed and open them as she slowly exhaled. Then continue, "Sometimes they brought me inside to rape me. They always beat me first. I never had anything to eat, so I was so weak I couldn't resist. "They never fed you?" Susanna blurts out. Then realizes that she has broken the flow words that Tamara needed to get out. "Sorry". Tamara continues, "He gave me a piece of leftover sandwich sometimes. He would throw it on the floor and laugh. He liked to pick me up over his head and throw me down on the floor. He and his brother would take turns...." Her voice trembled and her eyes filled but she closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, and slowly opened them as she exhaled. Once again she continued, "It was so cold, I weighed seventy pounds when I escaped." "How did you escape?" Susanna asks. Tamara smiles and pats her hand for a moment, with her eyes closed breathing deeply and slowly "I'm so sorry Tamara, I didn't mean to interrupt." Tamara smiles again, and I say. "It's a relaxation technique." "Oh, I was afraid I was getting on her nerves." Tamara pats her hand again and gives it a little squeeze as she opens her eyes and exhales. "It was the oats, for the horses. Someone left them within reach after feeding the horses. I had been there six months and had lost all of my teeth, and he had lost interest in me, except to torment me. He would put me in the truck sometimes and take me to this cave with a deep shaft. He said he was going to throw me down that shaft and they would never find my body. Said he had already thrown two women down there. And someday it would be my turn. So I gorged on oats, I stuffed oats in my pockets, I hid oats every where I could and gorged. And waited. I got a little more clear headed and a little stronger. And I watched. And one day he slipped up. The lock didn't set completely when he locked me up. Later when the lights went out in the cabin I pulled down on the lock and Jesus, Mary and Joseph I was free. I went downhill, in the dark, it seems like forever, finally I came to a road. I flagged down a car. So that was it. I was free." I knew there was more but that was enough for now.
Finally the tow truck arrives and we head back to our campsites. As we turn onto the small road that leads to Madison Campground we see wisps of black smoke wafting through the lodge pole pines. Tamara, “That’s not wood burning, or it would be white smoke.” As we grow closer to our campsites we can smell it. A sense of foreboding grips me and I know that something is very wrong. When we get to camp we find that my tent has been burned. Nothing left but smoldering ashes and a fire crew talking with the ranger. He grins like a mule when he sees the looks on our faces. "Oh no." whispers Susanna. Ed and Phyllis are there, as are many of the campers in our area. As we get out of Tamara's truck Ranger Smith stops smiling and with a look of determination on his face comes up to me and says, "We have rules about fire in this park mister. You're gonna hafta come along with me now." "I'll be glad to pay any fine but this is not a good time to --" "We ain't talking about no fine. We're talking about criminal charges." "Now turn around and put your hands behind your back... " "Under whose authority?" I ask. "Under my authority. This is a National Park under the administration of the Department of the Interior, and I am a National Park Ranger, so by federal law... " "I know, I know but under whose say so do you accuse me of causing this fire?" "Well it's your campsite, aint it?" "Yes but are you qualified to make a determination of that nature?” "What?" I know that something is very wrong here and with everything that has happened so far something very bad is going to happen if I let him cuff me and take me away. If something bad has to happen it's best for Tamara and Susanna if it happens right here and right now. I can’t let him split us up. I hate to think what might happen to Susanna if I'm out of the picture. Tamara sees it as well, and steps up in my defense. "He's right, matters of arson have to be investigated by specialized arson investigators." "Well, didn't nobody say it was arson now, but if he left the camp in an unsafe condition it would be negligence and..." "And that's not a criminal offence," chime in Ed and Phyllis. "Now you two troublemakers stay out of this or I'll take you in too." "For what?" They both ask at once." "Hindrance." he spits out. "The crowd is growing larger and people are beginning to grumble. A bearded man, tall with dark glasses speaks up in a loud voice, "He's just doing his job, let the man do his job." Another man, heavier and bald says, "Yeah, let him do his job. We could have all been burned to death." But others in the crowd continue to mummer till a boy in the crowd yells, "Hey! You look like the guy on the wanted poster on the bulletin board by the campground office." A bystander says "You know, he kinda does." The bearded man sneers at the boy and looks like he is about to backhand him. The boy's father steps in front of the boy and says "I don't advise it mister!" I swear he sounds just like John Wayne. Meanwhile Tamara has gone pale and is starting to tremble. "That's them she says, from the gas station in Idaho." Just now Ranger Smith pulls his gun and growls, "Everybody freeze." Everybody freezes except the two men in favor of letting the ranger cuff me. They both draw guns and yell "everybody down". The bearded one turns to the big guy "I said down." And hits him just above the temple with the but of the gun. The big guy goes down like someone has flipped a switch. "Everybody but you, darlin." The ranger says as he steps toward Susanna. Tamara was not about to let that happen, standing just to his left she delivers a side kick to his knee, you can hear the bone break. The boy screams, "That's my father." and kicks the bearded one on the knee. No time to think I spin around in time to see the bald one aiming toward Tamara. I lunge forward just in time to knock the gun upward with my right hand. I grab his gun hand at the wrist with my left hand and hit him with the heel of my hand squarely on the nose, hard. He continues to struggle to get free of my grasp, he knows that he is fighting for his life now and isn't going to give up. I hit him twice more as fast as I can as he struggles to twist free of my grasp with one hand and block my blows with the other. This guy isn't going to give up and neither am I. Susanna is screaming, I grab his wrist with both hands now and spin around raising my left elbow over his arm as I do and clamp his arm between my arm and chest. I can see that Tamara has taken the rangers gun and is leveling it at the bearded one who is trying to take aim at the boy, who by now is running fast, cutting in and out between the trees. He gets off one shot before Tamara drops him from behind. A woman, probably the boy’s mother, screams and faints. Having his arm locked the way I do and both hands on his wrist I cannot block his blows to my face with his free hand. He is blinded by the nose hits but is swinging toward my face wildly with the hand open and fingers curled, hoping to land one in an eye. As I am prying his thumb off of the pistol grip he goes limp. His weight pulls me to the ground with him and I land on top. I finish prying the gun loose and look up to see Susanna standing over us with a piece of firewood in her hands. Tamara spins around and has the gun leveled at the ranger who is in shock. The boy is now running back screaming, "Mother!" His father comes to and looks around in a bewildered daze.
Tamara takes the ranger's cuffs and puts them on the unconscious bald man. Susanna is tending to the woman that had fainted. Firemen are treating the boy's father, the big guy that had been knocked out. He is covered with blood and gore, but it is not his. It was from the bearded man that Tamara had shot. His head had virtually exploded from the impact of the hand canon Tamara had taken from the ranger. The lady that had fainted was reviving now and was covered in blood like her husband. As she sat up, she saw her husband with all the blood and screamed, fainting again. The boy was kneeling by her side crying. The big guy keeps asking what happened.
I happen to think of the bearded man's gun and decide that with all the children around it would be a good idea to recover it. But it's too late. It's already gone. I go over to Tamara and tell her about the missing weapon. We scan the crowd, fearing the presence of another accomplice. I hear the rumble of a big motorcycle engine starting up and look off in that direction to see three motorcycles, but only one rider. As the lone rider speeds off I try to get the license plate number but it is too small and far away. I get a sinking feeling as I realize we still have trouble.
Chapter 2
Beautiful Indifference
When one talks about hysteria there is often a rather inappropriate lack of concern expressed by the patient about the very symptoms that have brought them to see you in the first place. This phenomenon is referred to as "la belle indifference", translated literally as beautiful indifference.
Ambulances and ranger's cars are pouring into the campground now. Witnesses are taken aside and interviewed separately. I surrender the weapon that I had taken from the bald man and relate the details of the missing gun and the three motorcycles, two of which are still leaning against their kickstands. The ranger I and I walk down to the site where the two bikes are parked. They sport Washington state plates. When we return to my campsite I tell Tamara. The ranger interviewing me is on the radio putting out the word for everyone to be on the lookout for a motorcycle with Washington plates. Television and radio crews are arriving now. Tamara reaches into her truck and pulls out a pair of sunglasses. As she puts them on, "I can't let anyone find out I'm here." "Why?" "The bikers were here for me. They were in the same gang that kidnapped me. I killed one of them and several others went to jail. The one I shot had sworn to get me. At my trial his friends said it was all me, that I loved him. That it was all consensual. "At your trial?" "After I shot him I was tried for murder. The prosecution had love letters that they said I wrote to him. In those letters I supposedly went on and on about how much I loved and adored him. Originally, he and his brother were tried for kidnapping but he got off on a technicality, and his brother was convicted. So he stalked me. Anywhere I went I might see him staring at me from a distance. One day he was at the gate to my front yard screaming at me. Then he started to run up the sidewalk and burst through the door." She tells me all this in an almost matter-of-fact manner I recognize all too well as la belle indifference. "That's when I shot him and then I was charged with homicide." "Well no matter if they see you on TV, if these guys knew you were here others know by now." "Maybe, but the more that know about it the more danger we are in." A chill runs down my spine as I realize that “we” includes me and Susanna. And that Tamara is suffering from some form of conversion disorder.
The district ranger calls out to the other rangers and makes an up and down pumping motion with his right hand in a closed fist. The other rangers hustle toward him with a sense of urgency. "We have a ranger down," he tells them. "At the scene we have the suspect's motorcycle but the ranger's patrol car is missing. He now has access to our radio communication and the ranger's weapons and equipment. Restrict all radio communications to the emergency channel with the sub channel .04 and land based telephone communications. This is no longer an attempted kidnapping or a fugitive manhunt. It is a murder investigation." Reporters and cameramen have noticed the assembly of rangers and are hurriedly making their way to catch the breaking news. "Landry!" "Sir?" "No reporters within earshot of the crime scene. Move!" "Yes Sir!" Landry responds as he spins around and hurries to fend off the approaching mob of media "Johnson!" "Yes Sir." "Get to the campsite check in station and use their phone. Report this status to every park gate. All gates closed. No one allowed in or out. No park service vehicles allowed out. Coordinate with headquarters for road blocks at every intersection. Also alert local and state law enforcement within a two hundred mile radius of emergency channel protocol. When attempting contact with any suspected ranger vehicle the call sign is 'Cowboys" counter call sign is 'Dallas Dallas'. Make it happen ranger." "Yes Sir!" He continues to bark orders and rangers rush off in ones and twos to their various tasks.
Susanna is shaking again now and I put one arm around her and pull her close for comfort. I raise my other arm and invite Tamara for a hug too. The closeness and warmth strengthens and comforts all three of us. A helicopter passes overhead following the park road.
The district Ranger has finished assigning duties to the various rangers. Two rangers are standing with him as he turns to us. "I'm assigning these two rangers for transportation and security with regard to you three. Can we count on your cooperation?" "Cooperation, aren't we free to go?" Susanna asks in a shaky voice. "This is an active investigation mam, you are not only witnesses but we have reason to believe that you may be targets for reprisal." "All the more reason to get the hell out of Dodge," I tell him. "I can't allow that sir. It is our responsibility to protect you." It was that ranger's duty to protect and serve too, but he was the one that pulled a gun on us and tried to take Susanna." "I understand your concern, but I assure you that Aikman and Smith here ..." "Aww come on now what is with you and the Dallas Cowboys?" "Team member titles sir. Each member has a specific function. Each team has a Landry, public information. Johnsons are liaison with local and state law enforcement. Aikman and Smith carry the ball, that's the three of you. Members can fill in from one team or another as needed." Aikman speaks up "Sir, where is Switzer?" "I will be working with you two till Switzer from another team arrives." "Sir?" "It was John that was murdered." The two rangers are silent for a moment as the news sinks in. Aikman, "But sir, Switzer has the playbook." Just as he gets this out of his mouth there is a little pop and a clump of dirt flies up off the ground in front of him. His eyes glaze over and blood drips down the side of mouth as he crumbles to the ground. Then we hear the shot. Smith yells "Take cover." He and the district ranger grab Susanna and I and start us moving toward a bolder by Tamara's Suburban. Tamara is already there. Smith, "He knows the plan sir." The district ranger never hears him. He is on his face by the time the second shot rings out. Susanna is screaming. Smith, "He must be up on that hill from the angle of the shot." Tamara adds, "Two full seconds between impact and the sound of the shot arriving. Must be up pretty high." "Yeah," I add, now that he has us pinned down he'll circle around till he has a clear shot from another direction. That gives us a couple of minutes to come up with a plan. Do you have the keys to your truck with you?" "They are in it." "Alright, I'll make a dash for it, give me ten seconds to get in and get it started and hit the keypad to unlock the doors then you make a break and get in and ..." "No no no!" It's Susanna. "Don't leave me." The ranger says, "He'll pick you off. This guy is good." "Not if he's on the move, which he is sure to be. He doesn't have all the time in the world and he knows it." A camera man is filming us from behind a Lodge Pole pine. A reporter is talking into a microphone, and I see Landry, the ranger responsible for public information is prone, behind a rock panning the hill side through the hi power telescope mounted on a rifle. I nudge Smith and Tamara and nod toward the other ranger. Smith calls out, "See him, Landry?" "You'll be the first know. The bullet will be going right over your head." "We are going to make a run for it when you fire. Keep firing after that first shot to keep his head down in case you miss, and give us a chance to get out of here. "I don't plan on missing." "Well there may be more than one. Just do it. We need covering fire."
A few moments later we hear "Hut 1, hut 2, hut 3," then the blast from the muzzle of Landry's high powered rifle. It was followed immediately by the clacking sound of Landry chambering another round and another muzzle blast. "Hike!" Smith grabs Tamara's arm and heads toward the Suburban. Another blast and more rapid clacking, another blast and Smith is behind the wheel. Another blast and the tires are spinning as we take off , another and we are approaching the road that runs parallel to Madison River. In the distance we hear that muffled report from up on the hill and Landry's gun falls silent. Smith says, "We're almost there, we're going to..." He slumps over the wheel and we hurtle past the turn, down the slope and into the rapids of Madison River. The truck floats briefly in the shallow rapids and the current turns the front of the truck downriver before the tires settle on the rocky river bottom. I'm steering from the back seat and the current provides us with enough of a push to keep us moving downstream and out of range, I hope. I find that if I start to turn far enough in advance I can steer around the boulders in the stream, and if I can keep it up we just might make it down to the next bend where we will be out of sight if not out of range. Then the chassis gets hung up and we are stopped. Water is piling up against the back of the truck and lifts the rear as it flows under the frame, and suddenly we are free and moving downstream again. Finally we make the bend in the river. The water is a little deeper here, and some has seeped in under the doors making the Suburban heavier. The engine has long since died making it nearly impossible to steer. We half float half coast down the river, every heartbeat taking us further from the killer, and whatever help there may be. Well, they haven't been much help so far anyway. I'm for staying in the current till it takes us as far as we can go. I remember from the map at Madison campground that the Madison River snakes down till it crosses the road just before the park gate and the town of West Yellowstone. I just hope there are no waterfalls.
We finally come to rest with the front axle jammed against rocks sticking up too high to get past. "Do you have a weapon Tamara?" She pulls a 357 out from under her seat. "Never leave home without it." I take the ranger's weapon and extra ammunition. "Any food or drinking water, it may be eight or nine miles to town." She pulls out a pack loaded with hiking gear. "I was hoping to do some back country hiking and camping, I think we'll have everything we need for a little stroll like that. She sees me looking around for any other things that might come in handy. She pulls out a short barreled 12 gauge pump shotgun and says, "Looking for something like this." I smile, "Exactly like that. Alright!!! We picnicked along this river and swam in it when I was a kid . It's not real deep but the current is fast. The road is over there on the far side of the river about two hundred yards from the bank. Let’s stick to this side of the river. We can climb up into the hills and have the advantage of cover and height, we can see anyone coming across the flood plain and trying to cross the river.” "Sounds like a plan," from Tamara. I look at Susanna, she nods in agreement, eyes wide like saucers. "Ok, when we get out the vehicle might shift and float some. So let’s all do it at the same time. Ready?" They both shake their heads in agreement. On three I'll jump out and steady myself against the open door and help pull you to safety. Susanna nods. Tamara, you get out the front door at the same time. I'll turn around and help you as soon as I get Susanna to firm footing. "Don't bother, I'll be over there helping you out by then." She was moving the ranger's body and getting ready to open the door. I have one hand on the door lever and the other hand in Susanna's. "One, Two, Three," Tamara's door opens and is ripped off by the force of the water. Tamara jumps out and lands in knee high water. The current knocks her down and starts carrying her down river. My door is jammed from the abuse of the river, the truck is shifting now and I lean back and kick the door with both feet. The Suburban shifts a little more and I kick again and the door tries to open a little. I take the shotgun and fire at the latch, chamber another shell and fire a gain and the door begins to open. The water pressure catches the door and forces it open with a loud screech then it too is ripped off the truck's frame. The truck is moving again now with the current but the front axle is still wedged against some rocks so the current is spinning the vehicle around until it is broadside to the current. If we jump out now and the truck clears the rocks we will be crushed as the current pushes it down river and over us. Suddenly, the current is too much and the rocks under the axle begin to roll. We are being pushed along sideways now, but the rear end of the truck is moving faster than the front end causing a slow spinning motion. Finally the front catches the main stream of the current and we are moving down river backwards. If it continues to spin the current will be a torrent coming through the two open doors. I grab the pack and throw it out the door. Grabbing the shotgun I slip it over my shoulder and down across my back. I grab Susanna's hand and we bail out into the icy river. The sudden loss of weight causes the Suburban to draw more water underneath and it starts to spin again. When the water catches the cavity caused by the two missing doors full on broad side the vehicle rolls over on its side and over again and again. We are swimming as hard and fast as we can against the current but are still being pulled downstream by the river. The Suburban continues to roll in the current toward Tamara. I begin to swim slightly to the right but still swimming upstream, Susanna follows my lead. She is a strong swimmer. It seems like forever but finally I feel my feet and knees touching bottom, I scramble to stand up, and find that I am in knee deep water. I look and see that Susanna is not doing well against the current and dive in swimming downstream with the current. Swimming with the current instead of against it I am there in seconds. I reverse my position so that I am on my back with my head upstream. I allow the water to wash me underneath her then grab her hands and plant my feet firmly into the bottom of the riverbed. The force of the water pushes me upright, and I pull Susanna upright with me. Picking her I use her weight to help keep the flow from washing my feet out from under me and wade to the bank. As I set her down on her feet we both turn and run downriver yelling and screaming for Tamara. The suburban is still tumbling downriver, making such a screeching sound as it does that we can hear nothing else. Finally it comes to rest upside down against a bolder. We continue running and yelling and suddenly there she is, running toward us. "I told you I'd be here waiting for you." We collapse into the grass warmed by the afternoon sun and laugh till we cry. Then laugh some more.
Spotting Tamara’s pack on the river bank a couple of hundred yards down river I trot down to retrieve it. It has washed ashore on our side of the river just where the river makes a bend to the right. Tamara and Susanna walk along behind saving what strength they have left for the climb up the hill side.
Tamara knows how to pack a hiking bag. It was tight and full and waterproof. And surprisingly light. After retrieving the pack I adjust the straps to fit me. Keeping my eyes fixed on the plain across the river I sling the pack across my back. Susanna says, "Can't we just wait for the rangers to find us? I'm exhausted." "That's probably just what the sniper is doing right now. Just waiting for the rangers to find us then sit back and pick us all off one at a time. " “And I don't think he'll start with the rangers this time," adds Tamara.
Taking one last look off across the flood plain I turn and start heading up hill and into the cover of the forest. "I have binoculars in a side pocket of the pack." "You think of everything Tamara." "I try." She opens the pocket on the pack and gets out the binoculars and takes one last look around before we disappear into the forest. We are nearing the top of the hillside as the sun is setting. We find a small clearing and lay in the remaining sunlight savoring the warmth of the earth and resting. The chill of the night air begins to creep in and as I scan up and down the riverbed and the plain between the bank and the road that leads into West Yellowstone I notice the last rays of sunshine shining on a westward facing outcropping of stone nearby. “That ought to block the wind and the rocks will be warm deep into the night.” Making our way over we find a warm place to rest and Tamara opens her pack full of goodies. “Dry socks and underwear for the ladies,” she smiles. Not the shear kind that men like to imagine, but actual thermal underwear. And lightweight emergency blankets with high calorie energy bars attached. They are delicious and refresh us as the calories replace the fuel we have burned up during our daylong ordeal.
Tamara unrolls a woolen blanket and stands with arms spread wide while Susanna changes clothes behind it. The unveiling reveals a Susanna that looks terribly thin and skinny in Tamara's long johns. She blushes when she realizes that I am looking at her. Tamara digs into her pack and comes up with an emergency poncho for me, some chemical hand and foot warmers and freeze dried MREs. I open bottled water and rehydrate the freeze dried meals and warm them on a small pile of hand warmers while Susanna holds up the blanket for Tamara to change behind. Then it's time for me to change. They look at each other and smile, then back to me. Neither offers to hold up a blanket. They are smirking now and I take the poncho and put it on over my clothes then begin to undress. They pretend to pout so I wiggle my hips a little and we all laugh. We eat the MREs as we lean against the stones that have been warmed by the sun all afternoon, and huddle under the blankets. The hand and foot warmers are at our feet and the edges of the blankets are weighted down with stones to keep the wind out and the warmth in. It's not 5 stars but we will not freeze.
It's nearly dawn now; a reddish hue tints the eastern sky. Shivering as we huddle together we suddenly freeze as we hear the chopping sounds of a helicopter drawing near. The sound grows louder as it approaches, then begins to fade into the distance. We all know what that means, time to get out of sight before they make another pass when there is enough light to reveal us. We scramble to get dressed, there's no time for modesty now, besides it's too cold. We repack what's left of Tamara's bag of goodies and hurry off into the cover of the forest. As the sun comes up we scan the river and road for any sign of activity. At first I think it is shadows as the morning sun comes up, but no, it is definitely moving, flowing almost, as it gets closer to the river and the sun gets brighter and brighter it seems to spread out and disperse like a fog, only black. Tamara is looking through her binoculars now and mumbles "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." "What?" I ask. She hands me the binoculars and I look at this amorphous mass spreading out so sinisterly as it slowly creeps toward our position. "Oh!" “What is it?” Susanna snatches the binoculars and peers down the hillside. "Oh look, they have babies." It is a herd of buffalo that had been tightly packed for warmth and safety through the night, now spreading out as they head for the river to drink at sunrise."
We hear the chopper coming again, flying low this time. To my horror I see an MRE wrapper blowing in the wind, the motion causing the shiny surface to reflect the sunlight like a signal. The chopper slows to a hover over the clearing and starts to descend. Then just when we begin to think that maybe it's for the best, and that we can get in and be shuttled away to food and warmth and safety a shot rings out. It comes from nearby. The pilot slumps forward and the bird nose dives into the clearing. The crash is deafening. Susanna started to scream but Tamara and I put our fingers to our lips in a silent warning not to make a sound. Tamara whispers, "Do you think he knows we are here?" Susanna looks at me, eyes wide like saucers, terrified. "No! Not yet. He wouldn't have shot the pilot. He would have shot us. He is tracking us but he just gave his position away." "What are we going to do?" Susanna whispers. "Fight back!" Sherri and I say at the same time."
I begin to dig a small hole with my pocket knife. Taking a shotgun shell and a ballpoint pen I fashion a booby trap for anyone that might try tracking us. When the hole is deep enough I push the pen into the earth at the bottom of the hole. Then I place the shotgun shell on top of the pen and fill the hole around it, leaving the shell sticking up above ground about half an inch. I place pine needles all around the hole and on top of the shell. "If he is tracking us he will have to come by here, and if he steps on this the cartridge will go off like a little land mine." "If he steps on it," Susanna says. "Then let's make sure he does." I rummage through the pack discarding things in order to distract our tracker. Then I find the prize. A bra! I hang it from a limb over the little booby trap. "If he takes it for a trophy then he is sure to step on it. Let's get out of here."
Walking among the trees, just below the crest of the hill we discuss our strategy, "It's no good trying to run from someone that can track that well, Susanna," I explain. "And the further we get the more of an advantage he has with that rifle. Pistols and a shotgun are short range weapons and give us the advantage. It takes longer to aim through a scope, which he must have. So we need to take up defensive positions and wait." Tamara agrees. We switch back after a couple of dozen yards and go uphill. Seeing a natural fortress of fallen logs and debris that has jammed up between trees I stop and look back toward the booby trap. You can see the bra swinging in the breeze form here.
"Declination of fire and a good view of the target. Perfect killing zone. Perfect ambush sight. You take this one and I'll move on up and around and find a spot with another angle." Tamara nods in agreement. "What about me?" whispers Susanna? I give her hand a little squeeze, smile, and say "We're together!" Remembering what she had told the ranger when he offered her a ride. She remembers too and blushes as she smiles. I can see little goose pimples rise up on her neck and felt them on mine too. We both know we might not get out of this alive and I want to kiss her one more time more than anything I've ever wanted. She must feel it too because she leans toward me and we kiss like it might be last thing we ever do. "Get a room," Tamara hisses. But she's all smiles. She nods toward the ambush sight and says, "Business first." She's right of course, but that's one kiss neither of us would ever regret.
It's a tie. Three of them and three of us, sudden d playoff. I think the rangers on the team that died for us would like that. The one in front is doing the tracking. The next in line is left handed. He carries the rifle with his left hand on the grip of the rifle and his right hand half way down the stock. Ready to throw the rifle up to his shoulder and fire at the blink of an eye if a target gives him an opportunity anywhere to his right. The third was right handed and carried his weapon in the same manner. One hand on the pistol grip and the other half way down the stock. Snap and fire is what we called it in the army. Close range you don't need to draw a bead. Soldiers had been dying in Viet Nam because they took the stance they had been taught, aimed the way they had been taught, and died before they could pull the trigger the way they had been taught. In a firefight at close range whoever gets the most lead in the air first wins. The tracker stops just short of the booby trap. I grimace at the pun. He is not going for it. I hope Tamara is ready but it's time whether she is or not. I aim for the one at the end of the line. I know the impact will knock him to the right since I'm on his left. I want to knock him into the one in front of him so I aim for his right shoulder breaking all the rules. The rules say aim for center of mass so if you miss a little either way you still hit something. But this is a shotgun and I'm going to hit something. I take a deep breath slowly exhale and squeeze the trigger till thunder roars down the hillside, and as the man spins around and lurches into the one in front of him Tamara takes care of business from her end and the tracker is airborne as the 357 slug gives him the ride of his life. He is dead before he hits the ground somewhere downhill. The impact from behind causes lefty to stagger forward and fall to his knees. His right knee lands directly on the hidden shell. Tamara is approaching cautiously and I start to come in from behind. Lefty is writhing in pain and the one I shot in the shoulder is face down on the ground. I walk over to lefty when I hear the other wounded man rolling over behind me. I spin around but too late. Susanna nails him right in the heart. I turn around and Tamara is standing over the remaining wounded man. "How many others?" "Go to hell bitch." She cocks the 357 and says, "How many others?" "I'm telling you nothing whore." She pulls the trigger and his right knee turns into a geyser of blood and bone and cartilage. Then she takes the sling from the rifle and fashions a tourniquet.
When she is finished she pours a little water in his mouth reviving him. He comes to coughing and sputtering, choking on the water. His eyes are wide with pain and terror. She puts the pistol to his head right between the eyes and says, "How many?" He head buts the barrel of the pistol trying to make it go off. "I'll do it, you know I will." He lays his head back grimacing in pain but manages a faint smile between gasps of air. She cocks the pistol again, and he closes his eyes. "That's what he wants Tamara. He knows he's finished out here alone and wounded. The best he can hope for is a quick end to his pain, which would be better than having the rangers find him like this after all he has done to their friends." She uncocks the gun and smiles, “Let him rot then." As she starts to turn away he spits, "I ain't afraid of rangers. Some of em's friends." I tell her, "Lets go, the bears will take care of him." He looks a little less defiant at that. She shrugs and turns away like she could care less. "With all the noise to get their attention and the smell of so much blood grizzly bears will be here soon. We better get moving." She smiles as she says that. "Yeah, he'll be their first warm meal since coming out of hibernation." "Unless they eat his friends first," Susanna adds. Tamara laughs, "Yeah, if the wolves leave 'em any." We start gathering weapons and ammo from the bad guys, and search for anything else we can use. Susanna is searching the one she shot with the ranger’s gun when she stands up with a smile and says, "Look, jerky." Tamara walks over and takes a piece and says, "Umm, breakfast." Looking at the wounded man she says, "Tell your friend thanks for me when you get to hell." "You're a cold bitch." She pulls the bra down from the branch and kicks him in what used to be his knee, making it bleed some more as he screams in pain and anguish. She watches him and continues eating the jerky till he calms down some, "You're going to be pretty cold yourself before too long." But you're going to be a big steaming pile of bear shit first. Then she grinds the bra into his wound soaking the material with blood, smiling into his face as he screams some more. "I remember you ya know!" Horror fills his face as he realizes that she is going to enjoy this. Meanwhile I'm going through the trackers things and stand up saying, "Good news." "What is it?" Susanna asks. "Looks like we have horses." I hold up the receipt for them to see. "He rented four horses yesterday evening." "Where are they?" Tamara asks. His eyes open wide now and he shakes his head. "Ok, good!" And she hangs the bloody bra back on the limb. "Just to make sure the scent wafts as far and wide as possible. Wouldn't want any bears going hungry with so much fresh meat lying around. "Let's go, he's not going to tell us anything," she says. "Wait, wait. Don't leave me like this. PLEASE!" "I remember begging like that," Tamara says. "What was it you told me? Oh yeah, “You got nothing I want." With that she turns and walks away. He's begging me now. "Please, PLEASE MISTER!" I just turn and walk away after Tamara. Now he's looking at Susanna. A look of disgust mingled with contempt crosses her face as she remembers the kidnapping she escaped yesterday and how it could be her begging instead of him. She turns and follows me. "Ok," he screams. The horses are back on the other side of the clearing, back where you came up from the river." Tamara turns and says "How many of you?" "All of us, all of us. Everyone that's left after... “Tamara puts him out of his misery with one shot between the eyes.
We backtrack carefully pausing frequently to peer through the forest with the high powered scopes on our newly acquired rifles. Finally we see them. Three horses staked in the shade, out of sight. "Where's the forth?" I wonder out loud. "And is there a forth rider?" Tamara wonders out loud. "Could be a pack horse for supplies," suggest Susanna. "Or for bringing back a body." says Tamara. "Or a kidnap victim," adds Susanna shuddering at the thought. Tamara stops in her tracks and tells Susanna as forcefully as she can, "DO NOT LET THEM TAKE YOU ALIVE!" "You can bank on that," Susanna assures her. Suddenly it occurs to me that if there was a 4th rider that stayed back with the horses he may have heard all the gunfire and turned back. I take the binoculars and scan down the hillside the way we came up, down the bank to where the Suburban rested against the boulder, and there he is crossing the river, in mid stream. I take the rifle and slip the safety to off. "Can you hit him from here? Asks Tamara. "Don't know, haven't sighted the rifle in but it won't hurt to try." She unslings hers and begins to peer through the scope. Susanna says, "Well, this ammo's wasted up here, let's send it where it'll do some good." I fire and miss and it's impossible to tell where the bullet hit in the rushing river. I aim for the bank to get an idea whether it's shooting high or low, to the left or right. Tamara fires and Susanna follows, then I fire at a rock on the bank, I see the dirt puff up in the air, about five feet high, right between a buffalo cow and the calf she nursing. Startled the calf bolts just as the rider is coming out of the river. Tamara and Susanna continue firing and dirt puffs up all around the rider as their bullets land. I aim for the rider but low to compensate for the rifle shooting high, just as the calf prances into the path of the rider’s horse. The protective mother charges the horse and rider causing the horse to rear up on hind legs just as my round enters its back just behind the saddle. The rearing horse falls to the side and the rider is thrown toward the frightened calf. The buffalo cow is on him in an instant. Her head is squarely in his mid section and she goes down to her knees on her front legs, rocking her head from side to side impaling him with both horns as she does. She leaps to her feet and throws her head back as she does, the rider is thrown fifteen feet in the air, limp like a rag doll. He lands next to another nursing cow and gets the same treatment. By the time he lands the third time the herd of calves and protective cows is spooked and several bolt and run up river, the herd instinct takes over and the other cows follow trampling the now lifeless rag doll into the ground. Susanna and I turn away, we've seen enough. Tamara continues to watch through the scope on her rifle. A faint smile on her lips, "Damn, wish I could tell which one that was." She enjoys this too much.
"Well, we won't have to worry about him reporting our position." Tamara states with a little satisfied smile on her lips. "And the horse is not going back to the stable sans a rider, another good thing." I add. Susanna looks at me with disbelief. "Look, I hate it that the poor horse went down but if it returned without a rider everyone would know where to start looking. This buys us a little time." She looks down and nods, "I just love horses." "Good, you can ride then?" "Yep, you betcha partner." "How about you Tamara?" "Tamara?"
Tamara is strangely quiet. "Tamara!" "Tamara!" Susanna and I repeat. She is still sitting there with her eye to the scope. But the smile is gone. "I can't see," she says. "So there's the conversion disorder," I tell myself. "It's going to be all right Tamara. Has this ever happened to you before?" I look at Susanna and place my finger to my lips to signal 'quiet'. "Yes, about a year ago." "It's ok; I've been expecting something like this. How long did it last?" "Two weeks." "What did you do to make it go away?" "Nothing, it just went away."
"Did you see a doctor?" "No, I couldn't see anything." "Very funny Tamara. It's good that you still have your sense of humor. Do you want to try something?" "Of course!" "Ok, turn around and get comfortable." She does. I lower my voice in pitch and volume. "You are going to relax like you usually do, close your eyes and let me guide you through this." Susanna is incredulous as she watches. "Start with slow deep inhalations and tense your neck and shoulder muscles as you do. Now relax as you slowly exhale. That's good. Now again inhale and tense, hold and relaxing exhale. You are going to relax even more than you usually do, that's good. Now you tense and relax your upper arms also. That's good, and you relax even more at the sound of my voice, now add your chest and upper back to the tensing and relaxing and you are going to your meadow, it's even better than ever before. The light is brighter than ever before. The breeze is even more refreshing, the light and the breeze are cleansing you. And you are relaxing and going deeper into the beauty that is inside you and it is safe here. You can hear the birds singing and it is more beautiful than before. Smell the flowers. There is no danger here. There is no trouble here. There is peace, beauty, happiness, well being. I drone on and on, taking her even deeper into the realm of hypnosis, when I know she is there I begin with the therapy. Reassuring her, encouraging her, calming her fears. Then I begin to bring her out. Planting suggestions that she will be able to see when I tell her to open her eyes. I pick a small flower and ask her to tell me what she sees when she opens her eyes. "Now open your eyes." She does and a big smile breaks out on her face, "A flower."
"Can you ride?" "Of course I can ride!" "Well let's get the devil out of here then." We saddle up, mount up, and start off at a soft cantor. We notice the helicopter is finished burning now as we pass the clearing. We go silently by the area of our shootout with the three bad guys. No bears yet, but vultures are circling overhead. We stop to listen and spy out the countryside every few minutes. After an hour I notice that the horses ears are twitching to the left. They hear something in that direction that we don't. But they are not acting skittish, so it's probably not a bear. We dismount and walk for awhile, listening closely for anything. Soon we hear the faint sounds of engines. The river and the road are downhill to the right. The sounds from the left are off road vehicles. We take the horses to a thick grove of trees and stake them out there, then take up positions with clear kill zones in case they are seen. The engine noise gets louder signaling their approach. Soon they reach the top of the hill and turn right, heading east, toward the area we just left. They go past us and the engine sounds begin to fade in the distance. I count seven, three four wheelers and four off road bikes. With a little luck they will reach the crashed chopper before they realize that they have passed us by. Suddenly the engine noises stop. So much for luck. The engine sounds start again but low now. They are going slow, not trying to make time but tracking something. As the sounds are growing closer we scramble for better ambush positions where we can hit them when they find where we left the ridge. When they get there we will have them in a cross fire just as they turn to follow our trail down to the thick grove of trees where we hid the horses. We hear them coming one at a time now. An ATV will pull forward and stop, then another ATV will pass that one and stop ten or twenty yards ahead, then the third ATV pulls to the front. They leapfrog along like this with two ATVs providing mutual fire support for the one in motion, with the four motorcycles creeping along to the rear, ready to rush in as needed or give chase. A very clever tactical formation this, as there is never but one ATV in motion at a time. Never but one target presents itself at a time. Anyone firing at one would give their position away and be fired upon by the other six. I have my rifle in hand ready to open fire, with the shotgun lying beside me for easy access when the rifle runs out of ammo. Susanna is beside me with her rifle pointing down range too, waiting. She takes the pistol and lays it by her side for that inevitable time to come. I look deep into her eyes as she looks deep into mine, I see a life time of love and happiness with her at my side, and I wonder, "What does she see?" "I love you," we say at the same time. The formation continues its ponderous march forward like an offensive team's running game, move the ball a few yards down field, a few more yards down field, then a few more yards and 1st down. Walking the ball all the way down to the goal.
Suddenly I have an idea. “We don't need the horses if they are that easy to track. And we will never be able to pick them all off like this. I put my finger to my lips in a sign of silence and beacon Susanna to follow me. We make our way down to the horses and quickly untie them. We loop the reigns over the saddle horn and with the horses headed down hill we shout, "Hyaa" and slap haunches. "Hyaa, hyaa." As the horses high tail it down the southern side of the hill we take cover in a shallow ravine, biding our time. They fall for it. Engines roar as the ATVs give chase and motorcycles split off to cut us off at the first opportunity. A shot rings out and we hear the first of the ATVs as it rolls over and crashes. The second careens toward us in a mad dash to escape the fate of the first. I stand up and level the shotgun toward the driver who tries to turn away too sharply and rolls his 4 wheeler, the third driver sees this and slows, another shot rings out and the ATV slows as the driver slumps over the handle bars. Two motorcycles are catching air as they speed downhill towards us, I throw the shotgun to my shoulder and fire, striking the rider midsection, and he separates from the bike like he is tethered from behind, the bike continues downhill with the front wheel wobbling more and more as it slows. I pump another shell into the chamber and as the second bike goes by I fire and hit him on the side knocking him and the bike over. It slides to a stop just where we had the horses staked out. The other two bikes are heading off downhill about 100 yards east. I pick up the rifle and snap off a round and drop one rider. The other guns his engine and the front wheel comes up just as he tops a small rise and he is air born. I pick up the shot gun and run over to the bike that came to rest where we had staked the horses. Susanna is right behind me. We strain to get the bike upright till finally I throw a leg over the seat, turn the wheel downhill, pull in the clutch and let it start rolling. When I pop the clutch the engine roars to life . Holding the shotgun in my left hand and using my right hand to throttle and steer I shift without clutching in a mad dash to catch the last rider. He has slowed considerably in an attempt to regain and maintain control of his machine. He has no idea I'm gaining on him.
I get directly behind him so that he will not be able to see me if he looks over his shoulder, and continue to close in. Suddenly he brakes hard and skids to a halt as he leans hard to the left. He looks over his left shoulder and sees me gaining on him fast and guns his engine, the bike rears up on the back wheel and accelerates toward a thick grove of trees as I brake hard to keep from overshooting him. I lean left hard and put my left foot down as I brake and turn the handle bars left, then dropping down to second gear I gun the engine wide open and begin the chase again. I stay on his six o'clock making it hard for him to tell where I am. As he nears the grove of trees he turns left hard pointing his bike directly up hill. He turns in his seat to the left and extends his left arm which is holding a pistol. As he begins to fire I cut to the right making it impossible for him to aim at me. I turn back to the left now only keeping slightly to his right rear, he will have to release the throttle to put the gun in his right hand and I will have plenty of time to maneuver to the left if he does that. The shotgun is hanging around my neck by the strap and bouncing around wildly as we speed across the open ground. I stay to his right as I begin to gain ground and he looks over his right shoulder and sees me closing in again. He turns sharp left and begins to speed off, I brake hard sliding to a stop, and bring the shotgun up to my shoulder and fire, red specks appear on his back and he nearly goes down, but he stays on the bike and maintains control. I pump the shotgun once more and click, it's out of ammo. Tossing it aside I make sure that I have my pistol within reach of my left hand before I crank the throttle wide open. The bike responds like a quarter horse when the chute opens at the track. The game is afoot again. Only this time he is riding flat out at full speed and I have to accelerate up through the gears. Suddenly Tamara jumps up with her 357 leveled about a hundred yards in front of him. I cut hard to the right and head straight uphill in order to give Tamara a clear line of sight without me being in the background. When she fires the rider is suspended in mid air for a second as the bike continues forward without him. The motorcycle loses momentum and the front wheel begins to wobble until at last it falls over a few yards in front of Tamara. She and Susanna right it and rock it up onto its stand. I turn and coast downhill to the last fallen rider and take his weapon and extra ammunition.
We gather supplies and inventory our hard earned gains packing what we need on two ATVs. We now have camouflage tents, camo clothing, extreme cold weather sleeping bags, MREs and canned food. We also have an assortment of weapons and ammo, and best of all III generation night vision goggles and scopes, both ambient light and IR. We top off our gas tanks with the fuel from the bikes and the other ATV and form a convoy. I take the lead on the motorcycle picking a pathway manageable by the ATVs and follow the tracks left by the horses; they may come in handy again before this is over.
The gunfire and screaming engines must have really spooked the horses, it was at least two miles before they stopped by a small stream to drink and graze. The machines made them nervous so I parked the bike and walked slowly up to them talking as I did so that they could recognize my voice. Once I have them calmed down enough that I'm fairly sure that I won't get kicked I tie off the three horses like a pack string and mount up on the lead horse. Motioning for the ladies to follow we strike out for points south, deeper into the wilderness.
We continue south for the rest of the day, hoping to put plenty of space between us and any would be ambush or trackers. When we come to a river that is too big to cross we turn left and go east, up stream. This probably the opposite of what anyone would expect because this takes us back deeper into the park and away from civilization. Anyone searching for us will certainly be looking near the park boundary, especially along any natural pathways like a river. We plan to lay low for awhile in the hopes that they will give up after a few days.
After a few hours we come to the base of a waterfall and make camp. The area is heavily wooded and provides good shelter from prying eyes. And the cliff face provides a good lookout spot so we can spy for miles to the south, west, and north. The mist from the falls will help keep us hidden too. Susanna comes over to help me set up a tent and I wonder out loud, "Only two tents, one for the ladies, and one for me I guess." Susanna drops the tent stakes and smiles as she walks over to me. "Don't you bet on it," as she leans against me wrapping her arms around my waist. I respond by putting both arms around her and leaning forward for a kiss. As we embrace I can smell the faint fragrance of the shampoo from the last time she washed her hair. Her lips are sweet and warm like honey and her body is soft like potters clay molding and conforming to my frame as if we two are becoming one. My entire world is focused right here, right now, as if we are not only becoming one but everything else is falling away and we are all that's left in the world, the two of us, one. It's like magic, everything disappears except ... "Hey, if you two don't get a room I'm getting my camera." We break off the kiss but continue to embrace and look into each other’s eyes. No, it's not like magic. It is magic. One more long kiss just to reassure ourselves that this is real and not something that we are about to wake up from and we go back to work, hurriedly setting up the tent and carrying in supplies and sleeping bags. It is beginning to get dark and Tamara and Susanna make their way down to the river bank to wash up and I climb the cliff face beside the waterfall to scan the area with the night vision goggles, first with the ambient light goggles, then with the IR. I can make out the images of the horses clear enough, and the heat from the ATV engines causes them to glow brightly. "Good, if anyone were coming they would show up on the goggles," I think to myself. I pan over to the river and the mist from the waterfall has Tamara and Susanna shrouded as if invisible. "So, we can see them but they can't see us, excellent," I think.
I make my way back down the cliff face and feed the horses some oats before going down to the river for a quick bath. The water is cold and refreshing and Susanna brings me a towel as I come up out of the brisk water. She places it between us and leans forward to let her body heat warm me as I dry. I reach around and draw her closer as I shiver in the cool air. Her warmth stands in stark contrast to the chill of the air after being in such cold water. She reaches her arms around me and unfolds another towel and hugs it to me with both hands. Her warmth is incredible. We melt into one another's arms and our bodies meld into one wonderful sensation after another, too exquisite to describe. We kiss, exploring one another as if for the first time, and to this degree it is the first time, taste, touch, smell, hearing and vision all combined to form one experience of ecstasy, washing over us till we can hold back no longer. We run, laughing with excitement to the tent. The two cold weather sleeping bags have been zipped together to form one large sleeping bag and we rush to get in and zip them back up to seal out the cold air. Pressed together in the comfort of the sleeping bags we begin to explore one another once again, slowly at first then faster with increased passion till we explode in happy release only to start over slowly again. Sometime deep in the night we succumb to sleep curled against one another in a comfortable bliss that only true lovers ever know. As the morning sun lights the tent we awake to the sounds of Tamara making coffee and pancakes. Susanna rolls over and kisses me good morning and I pull her closer, her body seems to fit mine like a glove. We lay there for awhile kissing softly and embracing, enjoying the sheer joy of being, of loving and being loved and together and close and utterly happy and, "Hey, you guys going to lie around all day. Coffee is ready and so is breakfast." We laugh together and continue kissing and enjoying the moment, just for sheer joy of being together, not with a passionate longing but with a contented, satisfied happiness, as if our bodies were telling each other, "I love you." In ways words could never speak. Eventually we crawl out of the bag, get dressed, and exit the pleasure dome we now call home. Tamara is all smiles and only too glad to have made coffee and breakfast. She is truly happy for us. After breakfast I climb the cliff face again and scour the countryside for signs of activity but nothing is happening. It is our own little Garden of Eden.
Once I am back down the cliff I suggest that we go back for the motorcycle we left behind where we found the horses. Tamara agrees that it is a good idea but feels like it would be a good idea if someone stayed at the camp. So Susanna and I pack up a lunch and other necessities like guns and ammo and climb aboard an ATV. She sets behind me and wraps both arms around my mid section and gives a little squeeze as I release the clutch launching us forward. I shift into second and reach back giving her thigh a little pat, she responds by leaning closer and brushing the back of my neck with her lips as she slowly exhales. She gives me another little squeeze and in a low voice, almost a whisper says, "It's going to be a long trip baby." Third gear and I pat her thigh again, as I turn my head to the side and say, "And I'm going to love every minute of it." She leans forward and holds on tight, molding her body next to mine. "Oh yeah, every minute of it."
Since we don't have to take it slow for the horses we make good time and reach the clearing where we left the bike well before lunch. We stop well before getting to the clearing and take a break to observe the area in case anyone has staked it out and is waiting for us to come back. We scan the area with IR scopes and binoculars but there is no sign of anyone. Several elk have moved into the clearing and are grazing peacefully. A good sign that we are alone. Suzanna smiles at me playfully and I take up the challenge and play along. From the other side of the ATV she leans forward and rolls her shoulders forward as she looks into my eyes with a smile. She laughs when I fail to maintain eye contact so I counter with, “Are you getting cold, or are you glad to see me? She feigns modesty and buttons her shirt saying, "It is cold."And with that she has played right into my hands. "Well come here then and let me warm you up a little." She smiles naughtily as she arches her back and pulls her shoulders back till the buttons on her shirt are straining to the point of popping off in one of the most majestic displays of feminine charms I have ever witnessed. Her buttons are not the only things that are close to popping off. She laughs out loud when she sees that I try to swallow but can't, and cuts me a little slack by relaxing somewhat as she begins to undulate to an unheard rhythm, el ritmo del amor. I stand transfixed, enthralled, titillated and tantalized in a moment of perfection that is so complete as to defy description. I realize that there is nothing I won't do for her and her love. As she moves ever closer I get the idea that she knows that all too well and is about to take full advantage of it.
Exhausted we fall back into the soft warm grass and allow the sun to warm our sweaty bodies till the mild breeze has caressed the moisture from our skin. Hungry now, we spread the lunch before us and fall to it ravenously. Eating can be such an erotic thing, if done properly. We tease each other playfully with tidbits and morsels as if they are exquisite cuisine, and in our state of mind they truly are. Susanne stops laughing and looks deeply into my eyes and says, "I meant it you know when I said I love you." "I meant it too." We set there for a long time staring into each other’s eyes as if some great mystery could be unveiled by the looking. Finally she breaks the silence with, "I was afraid it was just desire, that you wanted me just for the excitement, the thrill." "There is a great deal of desire," I tell her. "And excitement. Those are things that can help to bring people together, attraction! But attachment happens too if you are lucky, if you give it a chance. That's what keeps you together. You either bond, or you fail to bond, attraction is not enough. It's just a start." She looks a little frightened as she says, "That's what I meant when I said that I love you, that I want us to be together." I reach out and take both of her hands in mine, and looking her in the eye I tell her, "That's what I meant too. More than anything I want to be with you, from now on." We embrace again, but not in passion this time. This time it transcends the physical, emotional veil of our human bodies and we experience a spiritual bonding that is sublime.
I crank the motorcycle startling the wildlife in the area. Revving the engine I show off just a little and pop the clutch as I lean hard to the left while keeping my left foot down and the bike dances around me in a circle slinging dirt and grass high in the air with the rear wheel as it spins freely in the soft earth. When I stop I straighten the front wheel and lean back as I pop the clutch and rev it up again, this time bringing the front wheel off the ground as I take off fast and accelerate through the gears along the stream and across the meadow toward Susanna and the idling atv, she is waiting for me just outside the clearing. I see the look on her face change from a huge smile to a look of horror as her eyes grow wide. Her mouth opens as if to say something but I can hear nothing over the roar of the engine. Then I see tufts of dirt and grass flying up in tiny spurts in front of me. I break hard and lean to the right heading straight for the stream. Just before hitting the edge I downshift and gun the engine sending the front wheel up in the air as it reaches the edge of the water. I gun the engine again and cross the stream in the air with the front wheel high in the air. As my rear wheel touches down I break hard and put my left foot down and twist the handlebars hard to the left. The bike slides sideways and when I straighten up I downshift to 1st and gun the engine again. As I zigzag along the stream I see that Susanna already heading for the spot where we had crossed the stream before lunch. I accelerate hard and brake hard as I continue to zigzag toward the cover of the forest. Susanna has already crossed over by the time I reach her and has started back along the path we made earlier. I cut back and forth between lodgepoles till I get ahead of her and motion for her to follow me. I veer off from the trail and head east again, uphill. I want to lead them away from the trail that leads back to camp. When they follow us they will have to decide whether to chase us or follow the trail we came in on.
When we reach the top of the hill we stop and kill the engines and listen for any sound of them following us. We hear muffled sounds in the distance but they don't seem to be getting closer. "They must be following the trail back to camp." Susanna nods in agreement. "Poor Tamara if they get there before us," she says. "Poor them is more like it. Tamara's not likely to let them take her by surprise. She will hear them coming long before they know they are getting close." We turn right and head south again hoping to gain the river before they do. Soon we reach an area where snow slides have cleared trees and brush all the way down to a clearing. I stop and take the high powered rifle and start to scan the clearing. "What are you doing?" Susanna asks. "I need to sight the rifle in for this range," I tell her. "And if Tamara hears the sound it'll give her a heads up that we've been found. Let's hope the sound of their engines will keep them from hearing the shots." Susanna takes her rifle and starts taking some practice shots too. "Just remember to lead when you aim, or your bullet will land where they were when you fired instead of where they are when it gets there." "Just like shooting skeet," she replies. Once we are confident that the ammo will land where we want it to we stop and wait, and listen.
Soon we hear the sound of their engines picking their way through the forest trail, going slow, careful to avoid an ambush. Suddenly a young mule deer buck breaks from the dense cover and darts across the clearing at the bottom of the hill. The engine sounds stop. "They must be at the edge of the clearing now. Get ready, when they start up again I expect they will try to dash across the clearing as fast as possible. Aim for the one in front, if we drop him it may panic the others. They don't realize that the river is just past the other side of the clearing. When they get there they will have to slow down and turn giving us a clear target. If they don't then the river will take care of them." We hear the engines roar to life and instantly they spring into the open gunning up through the gears as fast as possible. The bike in the lead catches air after topping a small rise and we both fire at the same time. The bullets catch him at the azimuth of his jump and the force of both high velocity projectiles hitting him at once tear him from his perch and send him into the path of another rider. The bike lands clumsily and careens off to the left and collapses directly in the path of an ATV. The second rider leans hard and turns right to miss the fallen body of his friend and in the instant it takes him to right himself from the turn Susanna has him in her sights. The high powered missile strikes him directly between the shoulder blades. The bike lies down and begins to spin in circles. The ATV driver brakes hard before attempting to turn. My bullet strikes the gas tank and fuel leaks down over the engine. The driver jumps off as the fuel flames up just before the machine comes to a stop. Another motorcyclist has veered off to the right and is attempting a long arc across the valley. I fire twice narrowly missing each time. He continues to accelerate toward the river. Susanna has zeroed in on another ATV. He is making for the first driver in an attempt to make a rescue. She waits till he slows to pick up the other driver and places one right through his middle. The ATV comes to a stop and the driver from the flaming ATV pulls the driver off and jumps on, taking off and accelerating up through the gears at full speed. Two other ATVs and two other bikes have turned and are headed back into the dense foliage. Suddenly bullets are striking all around us. Someone is returning fire from down below. We duck down for cover and watch as the bike heading for the river reaches the high bank on this side. He goes over the side and separates from the motorcycle in mid air. The one on the ATV sees this and brakes and turns left before accelerating up river toward heavy cover. Meanwhile the fire returned from the other side of the clearing is striking all around us and leaving lines in the dirt that point straight back to where they are being fired. I reload my rifle and Susanna does the same. Then taking the 12 gauge loaded up with double ought buck, and the automatic pistol I lay them both nearby. As I take the IR scope and begin to mount it on the rifle Susanna asks, "Aren't they out of range for the shotgun?" "Yeah, and the pistol too. But it's called covering fire. It'll hit close enough to make them duck for cover and maybe I'll be able to draw a bead on them before they start firing again." She takes her hand gun out to show that she is on board with this idea. "Be sure to save at least one bullet," I tell her. She ejects one bullet and puts it in her pocket, then looks at me and nods that she is ready. I take the shotgun and fire off three rounds quick, then take the pistol and unload it in the direction of the one returning fire. As I drop the pistol and reach for the rifle with IR scope attached she begins to fire hers, slow and regular, keeping their heads down for as long as possible. Through the IR scope I see the heat generated images of men and their machines, but which one is doing the shooting? Several have turned and are slowly advancing uphill under cover toward us. Then I see the flash from the heat of a round being sent our way. I fight the urge to flinch and the shell just misses. Then I fire and the target jumps slightly and then is still. I hear a shot from the other side of the clearing and look over in time to see the ATV coming to a halt with the driver slumped over the handlebars. Tamara must have heard the shooting and come to help. I turn the scope back to the men and machines heading our way. I zero in on the one furtherest to the rear and fire. The driver falls off the ATV and it comes to a halt. I pick the next furtherest one and fire again. The bike falls over on the downed rider. No one seems to notice that riders behind them are being picked off one at a time. There are two bikes and one ATV left. The ATV is having a hard time making it up the steep slope. The bikes are much faster. I take the shot gun and reload, then pick up the pistol and replace the clip. Susanna does the same. I go back to watching the bikers through the IR scope. They are moving too fast in and out between the trees to be able to get a clear shot. Just before they reach the top of the hill I put down the rifle and pick up the shotgun. They should reach the top about fifty yards from us, any second now. Suddenly they are there and turning toward us, bearing down as fast as possible. Standing up to fire I drop the first one then fire at the second one. He falls to the right and both bike and rider roll down hill. Taking the scope up again and looking for the last ATV driver precious seconds tic by. When I finally spot the ATV it is headed downhill at a high rate of speed till it crashes headlong into a tree and rolls over several times. There is no sign of the rider. I continue to scan the hillside but see nothing. Did he fall off trying to get away? "Stay down Susanna! There is one more out there somewhere. I don't know where." We sit, and we wait. Nothing. Pensively I continue to comb the hillside with the IR scope. No trace of a heat signature anywhere. And the sun is warming the hillside making it difficult for the IR to identify anything. I hear a faint rustle from behind and turn to look, it's Tamara. Suddenly the last rider springs up from a crevice that runs down the side of the hill with a shotgun leveled at us. A shot rings out from behind us and he falls to the ground. "I thought I saw someone creeping up on you. And with you two staying down and watching I thought it would be a good idea to wait and see what pops up."
I tell her, "That's the last of them, at least the last of this bunch. From what I can tell anyway. You're not related to my ex are you?" She wrinkles her brow and I explain, "You seem to have a knack for pissing people off." We all laugh, Tamara comes down from her hiding place and the three of us share hugs, and laughs, and tears. The emotional release is incredible. I suppose nothing makes you so glad to be alive as coming so near to death.
"We'd better gather weapons and ammo." I suggest finally. More supplies at the bottom of the hill." I take my bike and head straight down hill. Tamara and Susanna take the ATV downhill the way Tamara had come up. I am unloading an ATV when Tamara and Susanna arrive, "Look at all the supplies they brought us, "I say with a smile.”We don't need those tents, we have all we need, "Tamara tells me.”Yeah, well that's true but they need to be taken down and packed up. These are already packed up saving us time, same for the other camping gear. We don't know when or where we will run into more of these guys. But we have to assume that it's best if we get out of here fast.
I inventory the supplies as I load up Susanna's ATV and also the one the sniper must have been riding for Tamara. Loading more food, ammo, a first aid kit, maps, compass and then it all falls into place when I see the satellite tracker and a satellite phone. Showing this to Tamara and Susanna I say, "So that's how they know where we are so fast," Tamara shakes her head, "They are probably on the way here already." "We don't have a chance," Susanna moans but I tell her, "We do if we use their weapons against them. They know where we are, but they will only think they know where we are when they get here. I'll explain later but for now let's get the hell out of dodge." They follow me back to camp where we feed the horses and saddle them up. I hit redial on the satellite phone and when someone answers I drop it the saddle bag on one of the horses. I drop the satellite tracker in the saddle bag of another. Then with the reins wrapped loosely around the saddle horns I start up the bike, take the shotgun and fire into the air yelling "Heyah." I drive the horses back down river till we get to the clearing. Then I herd them along the river across the clearing and into the forest on the opposite side before firing off two more shots. With a little luck they will bolt whenever they hear a motorcycle engine. That will give our trackers something to follow instead of us for a while. I turn around and accelerate till I get to the clearing then start zigzagging again. If our trackers are already here I don't want to give them a clear shot. Once I'm past the clearing I rush back toward the camp as fast as possible. Tamara and Susanna hear me coming and meet me half way. Turning away from the river we are heading north and uphill until we get to a small stream forming a small waterfall where we turn right and head east upstream and uphill...
As we follow the stream the terrain gets harder and harder to navigate. Every half mile now we pass another small waterfall as we continue to climb. It's getting late in the day and we need to start looking for a place to settle down for the night so we turn right to the south and make our way into deeper forest. We are not looking for a clearing now but for deep cover and a thick canopy. Finally we pick a spot and make camp. It's a clear night so there is no need to bother with tents. There is still snow on the ground in a lot of places, and as the light grows dim it reflects what little light there is and creates an eerie, surreal landscape. We are on the side of a hill facing west, and as the sun sets the burnt orange glow causes me to reflect on earlier days. "If God isn't a T sipper then why is the sunset burnt orange?" I mutter. Tamara asks, "What is a T sipper?" "It's a longhorn," Susanna tells her. "Longhorns sip tea?" Tamara asks looking confused. "No, T sippers are Longhorns, the University of Texas mascot is the Longhorn, and their colors are burnt orange and white, it goes back to rivalry between Texas A&M and The University of Texas." Susanna says. I look at her with surprise. "I was a Rangerette at Kilgore College," She smiles as she tilts her head. "It paid to know a little about school football." "Well how about that," I say quietly.
Leaning back against a tree a small groan escapes betraying my aches and pains from all the recent exertion. A small smile creeps across Tamara's face and she produces a bottle of scotch from the supplies stored on her ATV, "Want a drink?" "Twist my arm," I begin. "That's hard enough," Susanna finishes for me with a laugh. Tamara takes a large drink straight from the bottle and passes it to Susanna who takes a somewhat smaller drink but still gets choked. When she passes it to me I pry out the plastic pourer before taking a sip and say, "I thought you didn't drink Tamara." She reaches for the bottle and says, "This is not drinking. It's first aid!" She takes a long pull this time then adds, "It's the strongest painkiller you can get without a prescription." Susanna reaches for the bottle saying, "I'll drink to that." She takes a tiny sip and coughs as she says, "That's smooth." I reach for the bottle saying, "It's probably single malt." But Susanna turns away keeping the bottle out of reach, "Don't rush me." Taking a plastic cup left over from supper I get up and make a couple of small snowballs and drop them in the cup and hand it to Susanna, "Try this." She pours a little in the cup and takes a sip, "Mmmm. That's better." She pours in a little more and passes the bottle. Before taking a drink I say, "It always amazes me how a little water can change the flavor so much. It seems to bring out the smoke flavor somehow." "And it makes it so smooth, I could learn to like this," she says with a slight smile. That's too much for Tamara who picks up her cup and goes to gather some snow. I pour some into my cup and hand the bottle off to Tamara when she returns. She offers me some snow for my drink but I tell her, "No thanks. I like to drink good single malt neat." "What is neat?" Susanna asks. "Straight!" I tell her. "On the rocks is with ice, and some people like it with a splash of water because single malt can be a little harsh." "So, what's the difference between single malt and blended?" Tamara asks. "All scotch whiskey is made from malted barley. Single malt is scotch that comes from a single brewery. It has nothing added except water to bring it to the right percentage of alcohol. This tends to have a strong flavor and be a little harsh. You can make whiskey from other grains that tend to be a little smoother and less flavorful. If you add them to single malt it's blended. But all scotch has to be distilled from malted barley. A lot of people like blended because it is smoother."
Leaning back against the tree I put my arm around Susanna and whisper in her ear, "My magic watch tells me you aren't wearing any panties." "Your magic watch is wrong," she tells me." Looking at my wrist I say, "Yeah, it's 15 minutes fast."
Next morning I awaken to aches and pains, growing stiff and sore from laying on one side for too long on the hard ground. I roll over onto my other side only to realize the triathlon like flight of the last three days has me stove up all over. Susanna rolls over almost immediately after I do groaning in pain as she does, as she snuggles next to my back, "Oh my god, I've become my mother." "Lucky you," I tell her, “I’ve become my grandfather. I hurt all over." She reaches around and takes my hand, giving it a little squeeze, "Does it hurt right there?" "Ouch, yeah from fighting with Baldy." Poor baby, let me kiss it and make it all better." She pulls my hand up as she leans her head over my shoulder and delivers a butterfly kiss on the back of my hand. "Umm, that's nice, ouch, my shoulders hurt." "Let me rub your back for you then," as she starts with the back of my neck gently massaging and moving down to my shoulders. She continues to rub away the soreness from the cold swim in the Madison. Her soft warm hands comfort the aches away. She reaches around in front again and says, "Here too?" "Umm hmm." "Poor thing let me ..." "MY BUTT HURTS!" Tamara laughs out loud. We laugh along with her and I feign disappointment at being interrupted but secretly I am relieved that these old joints and muscles get a reprieve from this morning’s antics. Susanna rolls over, discouraged at being found out. Instinctively I follow her over onto my left side and curl up next to her reaching over across her waist pulling her closer. She seems to shiver all over and her body melds into mine as the magic begins to happen. I whisper in her ear, "Does it hurt right here?" Her moan is barely audible, "Umm, terribly." I smile, "Poor baby...."
As the sun rises Susanna and I are the first ones up. Tamara's slow even breathing is accentuated by an occasional snort. Susanna begins breakfast while I scout around with an IR looking for anything suspicious that may be coming our way. Satisfied that there is no immediate danger I return to camp and give Susanna a hug from behind. She leans her head back and presses her cheek next to mine, "How do you manage to stay so clean shaved out here? Umm your face is so smooth." I give her a little peck on the cheek and she turns in order to return it. She brings one hand up to stroke the side of my face as she kisses me and our embrace tightens. We hold that for a moment, savoring each other’s touch. "Well, inquiring minds want to know," Tamara interjects into the conversation with a chuckle. "There was a shaving kit in the saddle bag. No big secret." Tamara drifts back to sleep and I take a walk with the shaving kit to clean up a little. As I shave a couple of squirrels venture out on a limb and begin to scold me for intruding into their territory. Pair of woodchucks stop in a sunny patch and stuff their jaws with wild strawberry blossoms before scurrying of to store them in their den. The call of songbirds fills the forest with music and the morning sun brings comforting warmth from the cool mountain air.
"Breakfast is ready," Susanna calls out. "How did you manage to make coffee?" Tamara asks as she crawls out of her sleeping bag. "And hot oatmeal?" I add, "With no fire." "And scrambled eggs with bacon," Susanna says as she presents the final entree. "These meals come with heating bags. You just add water to the mix and put the meal in the heater bag and it gets hot. The coffee makes a gallon at a time." Munching on bacon I suggest that we continue heading southeast, still uphill but not straight uphill, to make the going a little easier. Tamara and Susanna agree that heading straight up hill is getting too difficult as the grade gets steeper the higher we go. We take our time with breakfast and have refill after refill of coffee in silence, watching the wildlife and listening to the songbirds twittering.
"I think I hear something," Tamara says. We freeze and Susanna says, "Yes, I think it's a helicopter." Thinking quickly I take a sleeping bag and through it over the warm remnants from breakfast and take another and spread it over the three of us. "Just in case they are using IR it will mute the heat signature some, maybe completely, or at least make us unrecognizable." The sound of the chopper continues to grow louder as it come closer, then after passing by a few hundred yards south of us the sound begins to fade. "I guess that means the break is over," Tamara surmises. "Time to pack up." "Wait, they will be back if they are searching with IR," I tell her. They were likely following the river east from where we camped by the falls. They may turn and come back this way covering the area in a grid like pattern. If they do they will be closer this next time. I take snow and throw it over the sleeping bag covering the heating bags from breakfast. Susanna and Tamara do the same with the one we use for cover. Soon we hear the chopper again on its return path and cover with the sleeping bags. "We need to pack up and get away from here as soon as they leave," Susana says. "No we need to stay put. If we start those engines the heat will light up those IRs and draw them straight to us. They will probably make another sweep in a few minutes, this time a couple of hundred yards to the north." Tamara tells her. As soon as the sound from the helicopter fades into the distance we begin to pack up. Everything except the sleeping bags and the heating bags left over from breakfast, which gives me an idea. "As soon as the chopper makes the next pass, if it is to the north of us like Tamara says, then we have a pretty good idea about their search grid and the timing. I can take the heating bags from breakfast and make a dash north to the creek we followed uphill yesterday. I can leave them in the open on the other side of the creek and maybe throw them off of our trail and buy us some more time."
The helicopter does make its next pass as predicted, and as soon as the sounds begin to fade I tell the ladies, "Head south till you get to the river then turn left and follow it upstream to the east. I'll probably catch up with you before you get there but that's as good a plan as I can come up with for now." I give Susanna a quick kiss goodbye which turns into a more passionate embrace. Until Tamara speaks up, "Talk about a heat signature. They can probably see that from the other side of the mountain." We tear ourselves apart and I take weapons, heating bags, and a sleeping bag for cover. "I give myself 15 minutes to get there and get out of range before they are due to return. If I am not far enough away from the drop site by then I will hunker down and cover the bike and myself till they pass," I tell them as I crank the bike. With a wink and a smile I tear off to the north.
Susanna and Tamara waste no time hopping on the ATVs and beginning their journey to the south. The going is hard from the beginning, the ground slopes away downhill from left to right, and going too fast or making too sharp of a turn could result in rolling over. Often they stop at some impasse only back off and try another route. Finally Tamara gets off and walks over to Susanna, “This is impossible, and we are using up fuel we can't spare." Susanna nods in agreement, "But what can we do? We can't just sit here and wait for Steven to get back to pick out a route for us. He may not come this way." Tamara ponders this and finally, "Ok, I'll walk ahead and pick out a path, then come back and lead you on my ATV." "You'll get worn out that way, going on foot then backtracking!" "Well I don't see any other way. Besides I have been hiking up the sides of mountains and packing my gear on weekends and vacations for years. And we are going to be packing it on foot soon enough when we run out of gas." Susanna nods in agreement, "Alright, but we take turns. You pick out a path and when you have lead me to the end I go on foot and pick out a trail then come back and show you." Tamara smiles, "Agreed." "And don't forget to take a gun." Tamara pulls out her 357 which looks entirely too big for her and smiles, "Never leave home without it." And with that she turns and starts making her way uphill, to the southeast.
Susanna decides that having a weapon handy is a good idea for her too and takes a 12 gauge pump and a semi automatic 9mm and goes to look for a comfortable spot to rest. It is frustrating to have to stop when it is so important to keep going, but she is grateful for the opportunity to rest and recover some from all the shaking and jarring. She lays a sleeping bag down for padding and leans up against a tree. The sun shines down on her from between the branches and warms her, soothing the aches and pains and allows her to relax, in comfort. The edges of her mouth curl into a smile as thinks of the game they had made of the soreness earlier. Her breathing slows and becomes regular as she continues to think of the romance blooming amidst all the violence and confusion. As she relaxes she begins to doze and her head drops down to her chest waking her. "No, I must not go to sleep. Must stay aware of what is going on around me," she tells herself. "I'll just set here and rest, need rest, not sleep. Danger everywhere, not sleep..." Her head drops to her chest again, this time she does not notice.
Tamara continues up hill on the uneven terrain. It's true that she is a hiker but this is no trail. She makes her way for a hundred yards only to find it is a dead end, blocked by fallen rocks, dead trees, or a ravine. She backtracks and starts again in a slightly different direction again and again with the same results. No path suitable for the ATVs. Not to the southeast. "I'm getting worn out and no progress to show for it. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, this is bullshit! We can pack the supplies out of here easier than we can find a way for the 4 wheelers," She complains to herself. "I'm going back. Susanna can give it a try and see for herself if she doesn't like it," as she turns to head back.
I scramble along on the bike trying to make time but it's difficult. Low branches to watch out for dead fall trees, ravines. My fifteen minutes are ticking off fast and I don't even know how much further the creek is. "What if the chopper is earlier on this pass? What if they are already passing overhead right now? I wouldn't know. I couldn't hear them over the engine. Maybe I should stop and listen. But if I hear them it will be too late to put the package where it can mislead them." Doubts begin to rush in faster than I can counter them. "NO, it's a good plan. It's not perfect, but a plan, even a flawed plan, is better than no plan at all. Tamara and Susanna are doing their part and I've got to do mine." I look at my watch, time is nearly up. Then suddenly there it is right in front of me. I brake hard and skid sideways to avoid going in. Then with the rear wheel spinning I lean to the side and let the bike turn itself away from the creek. The creek is much smaller here than it was downstream. I go back fifty or sixty yards and turn again before accelerating as rapidly as I dared in order to get up enough speed to jump the creek. I break through the trees and gun the engine hard and just make it over to the other side, killing the engine as soon as I come to a stop. Taking the heating bags from inside the rolled up sleeping bag and dropping them on the ground I listen for the chop chop chopping sound. And there it was, still distant but coming this way. "I can't lead them back in the direction of the ladies. I have to head off in the opposite direction in case they pick up on the engine's heat." Cranking the engine, gunning it, dropping down into first gear and popping the clutch all in one smooth fluid motion I take off on one wheel. I race into the trees and scramble to get as far away from the drop zone as possible. No time to stop and hunker down now, "No choice, I have to lead them away from Susanna, and Tamara. They are going southeast then east when they reach the river. So I have to go north west in case they see me and follow." My gut wrenches at the thought of not being able to protect Susanna, "But Tamara will take care of her, and Tamara is good. And Susanna is strong. She knocked out Baldy when we were fighting. She shot the wounded guy that was about to shoot me. She's held her own in each fight we've been in. She'll be ok. She'll be ok. But I don't really believe that and in my heart I know that I have to get back to her, "I will get back to her if it kills me."
Susanna's gun won't fire. She pulls the trigger again and again with the same results. Ranger Smith laughs and says, "You're coming with me darlin."She hears a shot from behind and her head snaps back as her neck is filled with pain, her eyes open wide in terror as she realizes she has been shot, "Wait, no, not like this, not now, not...." In a moment of confusion giving way to clarity the understanding that she is waking up from a bad dream dawns on her. But it wasn't all a dream. It was a shot that woke her. Grabbing the shotgun she jumps to her feet ignoring the pain in her neck caused from falling asleep with her chin on her chest, "What is it? Where did it come from?" They must have found us already. Where are they? What do I do? I need to hide!" Running into deep brush for cover she hides the best she can and looks back toward the parked ATVs. Nothing! She surveys the area around her as best she can but there is nothing to see. She continues to lay low, not knowing where to look, "Was it really only one shot? Maybe there were others and I was only awakened by the final shot. What do I do now? Where is Tamara, where is Steven?" Fear has taken a grip and is beginning to give way to panic. "Run, Run".
Tamara continues to make her way back down hill to link up with Susanna and the ATVs. She is frustrated, and tired and discouraged, "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, and I should be there by now." Looking around for anything familiar she sees nothing. Everything looks the same, but nothing is familiar. She realizes that she has no idea where her starting point is, "I should have made a trail, left some signs like a trail of breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs, I'm hungry. And thirsty and I'm thinking about breadcrumbs."
Tamara stops to think and get her bearings. "Ok, I started off uphill, at the same angle we have been following all day. Had to stop and go back because of the ravine that the ATVs would not be able to pass. Then started off uphill at a steeper angle and had to stop and go back because of the rock slide. Or was it the dead fall stacked up too high to pass? No that was the last trip when I tried to go around the rocks so I need to go, I'm confused. I don't remember, should I go uphill or downhill. I may have gone right past the ATVs and not seen them. I should turn around and go back," fear begins to set in and Tamara reaches for her gun as she begins to panic.
Going downhill now I open up the throttle and the bike responds with incredible acceleration. I lean to the left and brake to turn and go around a tree, the rear wheel slides on loose pine needles and dead dry grass causing me to ease off the brake. I narrowly miss the tree but I am still going too fast. The downward slope is so steep that I accelerate without even using the throttle. I cut to the left again so as to stop going downhill at such a steep angle and both wheels begin to lose traction, I put my left foot down and cut the handle bars to the right in an attempt to correct and control the skid. A sharp searing pain shoots through my left ankle and knee and I realize that the incline is too much and I am skidding out of control, I lock the brakes and lean the bike all the way over on its side and kick myself away as it continues to slide down hill. The pain is incredible and I pass out as I roll down hill behind the spinning motorcycle.
I awaken to pain worse than anything I have ever known. My left leg is a ball of fire and pulses pain with each heart beat. I try to get up but every cell in my body forbids it. Laying there practicing every pain control technique I know the pain subsides marginally. A dull aching in my left side just over the pelvic bone demands immediate attention. Reaching down to where I had the pistol stuck under my belt I feel a warm bloody mess, “No, this can't be. I can't be seriously injured, I have to get up. I have to get up." Raising myself to a sitting position and telling myself that I will be ok, the world begins to spin and I realize that I am far from ok as I pass out again.
Susanna fights the panicky urge to run and remains hidden, watching and waiting for something, anything to happen. She hears the chopper in the distance, but it is not growing closer. The sound comes from downhill, to the southwest. She waits and continues to listen, but the sound does not recede into the distance either. She thinks of Steven and those damned heater bags, "Surely he will be here soon. He said he would catch up with us. Maybe the shot was from him, trying to find us. If that is the helicopter landing then they haven't found us yet. That must be him. I have to let him know where we are and fast. Before they find us. And where is Tamara?" She strains to listen for the sound of the motorcycle engine or for Tamara to come back through the brush. Indecision and terror race through her mind till she takes the shot gun and fires into the air. Then she realizes that if their stalkers are on the ground anywhere near they will hear the shot and be drawn to the site. She takes the pistol and lays it by her side within easy reach, and reaches in her pocket for the bullet she had promised to save.
Tamara sets and listens for the sound of a gunshot. She had fired into the air in the hopes that Steven or Susanna would hear it and recognize it as a signal that she needed help. But it's been a long time and no return signal, "Does that mean no one heard the shot? Maybe they heard but thought it was from an ambush." She held the pistol into the air and just before she pulled the trigger she heard it, "Shotgun blast." She pulls the trigger and waits. Another shot is fired and she starts off in the direction of the sound yelling, "Susanna, Steven." Every few seconds she stops and listens then continues forward calling out as she goes. Finally she hears Susanna's voice, "Tamara, Steven?" She breaks into a run as she continues to call out. When Susanna hears her voice she too breaks into a run. Tears of joy stream from happy eyes sparkling like diamonds and stars in the night sky as they hug one another, "Don't ever leave me by myself again, ever." "I won't, I won't, I promise I won't."
When I come to again I realize that the chopper is landing not far away, maybe half a mile. The pistol is gone and the shotgun was on the bike. But the wound on my side has stopped bleeding. Realizing the cold water will help fight the inflammation in my leg I begin crawling toward the creek. I look toward the chopper and see two men laughing as they amble towards me taking their time. One slaps the other on the back, they aren't even carrying guns, but one has a skinning knife in his hands though. Looks like they are planning on taking their time and enjoying this. I cannot, will not let them take me alive and torture me into telling where the girls are. Thinking back to basic training in the army I remember how they taught us how to crawl and stay low. It's actually called the low crawl, you use your elbows like short stubby legs to pull yourself along with your knees and toes helping as you rock from side to side. The pain threatens to make me black out again so I retreat into the deepest stage of meditative pain control and crawl as fast as possible now regardless of the pain and damage it may be doing to my leg. My only goal in life is to reach the cold water before they get to me. The two men are not ambling now, but they are still laughing. They seem to get a kick out of seeing me face down in the dirt scrambling to get away. That makes me mad, adrenalin surges through my bloodstream now and I crawl like a snake to the edge of the water before stopping to take a look at them. One of them laughs and says, "He thinks we're gonna give him a chance to drink some water." With that I put everything I have left into pushing myself into the cold water. The cold embrace of the current revives me and I stay under as long as I can, letting it carry me away from my would be tormentors. When I can hold my breath no longer I blow out the remaining air from my lungs and stick my head out from under the water just long enough to gasp a quick breath and return to the concealment of the churning waters. I swim with the current the best I can and come up just before going over a small waterfall. Rolling onto my back I look back in amazement at the distance I have put between myself and the two men who are running along the creek looking into the water for me. My last thought before going over the falls is, "Wouldn't it be funny if I actually survived this."
My first thought after going over the falls is, "This is not the least bit funny." But the cold water is numbing the pain. And the motion from swimming is keeping me from freezing up in soreness. I return to floating on my back and look back toward the two men who are no longer in sight. I'm shivering violently now but I know I am making better time with the current than I could on shore. I decide to stay in the water as long as possible and even though my mouth is so dry my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth I don't dare drink the frigid water. Hypothermia is all too real of a threat. As I approach the next water fall I decide to pull myself out of the water and try to walk around it. But the sides are steep and the current is fast and sweeps me along beating me against the stones in the shallows. I turn and swim with the current so that I can at least control which part of the falls I pass through.
After going over the falls I am shaking violently from the cold and begin to look for a place to get out as soon as possible. A bend in the creek provides a shallow area with the high walls washed away enough for me to be able to pull myself out of the water. Laying there shivering on the warm rocks I let the sun’s rays warm me, and take off my shirt. Wringing it out first I spread it on some warm rocks to dry. Then do the same with my pants and return to sunbathing on warm rocks. My knee is blue and swollen and my ankle is turning even darker and is also beginning to swell. As I warm up the pain begins to throb again. And in the distance I hear the sinister whop whop whopping of the chopper growing closer. "They must be following the creek looking for me," I tell myself. I grab the still wet clothes now warm from the sun and put the shirt on but no time for the pants, I roll them up and tuck them under my arm as I slip into the freezing water again. I watch up stream for the helicopter with just my head above water, and then when I see it, duck my head into the water and hold my breath for as long as possible. When I come up the chopper is nowhere in sight and the sound of rotor blades is fading into the distance.
The water is deep here and the current is not too fast, so I paddle over till I am in water about waste deep and tie a knot in each leg of my pants, then cinch up the belt as tight as possible. Taking a deep breath I go under water and blow air in through the waste partially inflating them. After a few more trips to the surface for air the pants are inflated and I pull myself up and use them to float downstream holding the waist closed to keep the air in which also provides me with a handle. It still takes an effort but this is a lot less demanding than swimming. I bob along looking for another place to crawl up out of the stream till eventually I come to another shallow waterfall. I go over this one with considerably less trouble and make a couple of quick trips underwater to refill my blue jean flotation device before I begin drifting downstream again. I see another place to pull myself out of the water and take advantage of it before the shivering sets in.
Again I warm myself with the rocks and sunshine but I don't bother trying to dry my clothes. I know I will not be able to walk down this hill and floating is the fastest way down anyway. My only chance to survive is to make it back to the tents we left standing by the waterfall.
I continue half floating, half swimming with the current and climb out to warm up on the bank regularly. The falls are almost unnoticeable now, sometimes only a two foot drop in the water level with no real falls. The water is more shallow here and rapid. Almost impossible to float now and the creek makes a hard turn to the right. Crawling to the edge I pull myself out and into the sunshine. Through the trees to the left I see a fall zone that leads down the hill to a broad flood plain that is clear of trees from the winter snow slides. There it is, that's where we had that last gun fight, "I'm on the ridge where we ambushed them yesterday. Wringing out my shirt and pants I get dressed. I'll be walking in the sun and they will dry.
Pulling myself to my feet is nearly unbearable. Hopping on my right foot to a tree with low hanging branches I break one off to use as a crutch. After breaking off the smaller branches I place it under my arm and try to walk. It helps but the wood pierces the skin under my arm. I take off my shirt and form a pad for my underarm. Satisfied that this is the best I can do I strike out.
I limp along with the aid of the crutch as far as possible before taking a break. Laying back and soaking up the sun I elevate my leg by propping it up on a rock. The throbbing pain is back since leaving the near freezing water. There is no snow left even in the shade here on the westward facing ridge. The afternoon sun has finally melted it all away. "Too bad, I could use a little snow to make a cold pack for my knee and ankle. I wonder if the ladies have made it to the river yet. I hope so." The throbbing in my leg subsides and I give it another few minutes before getting on my feet again. "This is going to be a real problem when I have to go downhill to get to the camp." I consider the possibility of setting down and scooting along in order to keep from falling and rolling downhill. "Well, I'll just have to face that when I come to it." It is one step at a time now. Each step a minor victory in its own right. "I wonder if the camp will still be there. Will the trackers be there waiting in case we return?" At this point I don't even care. I am exhausted, injured, dehydrated and hungry to the point of being famished. And nothing matters but getting to the camp, to the food and water, the first aid supplies and warmth of the sleeping bags we left behind. And the ATV. Tamara had left the ATV that she rode in on in favor of taking the one that we loaded up with supplies at the ambush site. With that there is still hope. I can find my way back to where we split up and catch up with them. I can if I make it to camp. A wave shock sweeps over me and I almost fall. First setting to keep from falling, then leaning back as nausea overwhelms me I turn onto my side in the universal shock position, and unconsciousness drags me down into the depths of darkness.
The throbbing in my knee has ceased as I come around but it pops and seems to grate as I bend it. The swelling in my ankle is a little better but it is still black from bruising. My head is a little clearer too. I struggle to my feet and as I begin to hobble along I see a motorcycle on its side up ahead of me. It's from the bike rider that made it to the top of the ridge yesterday. I make my way forward and see the body where it fell. Taking the rider’s pistol and extra ammo I go through his pockets. Mints! I pour them into my hand a throw them into my mouth. My mouth is so dry they just sit there. Looking around and seeing a small pack mounted to the handlebars of the bike with a small canteen inside and I drink washing the little carbohydrate pills down. The water and calories work wonders on my abused body and I search for more and find a half pint of vodka and some beef jerky. Chewing on the jerky I let its sweet warm juice trickle down my throat bringing comfort and strength. It's getting late now and the setting sun gives the sky a burnt orange hue. "If God isn't a t sipper, why is the sunset burnt orange?"
I use my crutch to help pry the bike up from its horizontal position and finally get it righted and leaning on its kickstand. I find a sawed off double barrel 12 gauge in a holster on the side of the bike with extra ammo on the butt stock. Since my left leg is in no shape to support my weight as I throw my right leg over the seat I hop around to the right side and carefully raise my left leg up and over the seat. I will not be able to kick start this thing but I can roll forward and clutch it off. With no small amount of pain I set the gear in 1st and let it roll forward a few feet before I release the clutch. The engine sputters to life belching smoke after being neglected on its side overnight, then screams out as I twist the throttle a few times to clear the engine. It's a thumper with plenty of torque so I ease the clutch out as I slowly twist the throttle. Shifting to 2nd gear is painful and I decide to take it slow and easy the rest of the way into camp.
"Well Tamara, what do we do now?" Susanna looks to her with moist, fearful eyes. "I don't know," she replies. "We have to think." Susanna, "Steven is expecting to meet us upriver but we can't get there like we planned." Tamara, "Then we get there like we hadn't planned." "What?” "We were trying to get to the river by going south and east, uphill but it’s too steep and uneven. The river runs east to west. We need to go south to get to the river, and then we turn and try to go east. That was the main thing about the plan, to get to the river and go east, upriver. Let's try going downhill toward the river. Then try to go east. It's either that or we leave the ATVs and try to walk out packing what we need. No easy way, either way we do it." Susanna, "OK, Let's try it." They crank up the engines and Susanna follows Tamara downhill veering to the left as much as possible. The going is much easier and safer with gravity helping rather than hindering their progress. They were getting to the river much quicker, but further away from the agreed on rendezvous somewhere up river. Where ever that is. They have made considerable progress by the time the sun is hanging low on the western horizon. Susanna looks at the burnt orange sky and says, “If God isn't a t sipper then why is the sunset burnt orange?" Her eyes water as she says, "Please be safe Steven, Please be OK."
I ride into camp slowly and stop the bike beside the ATV that Tamara had abandoned when we left the camp. The mists from the falls had done a good job of concealing the campsite. I was almost upon it before I realized it. Opening a can of peaches I drink the juice first then eat the peaches. Carbed up for the moment I go for some protein and open a can of salmon. Stronger now and more alert I become more aware of the pain in my knee and ankle. Having taken care of my hunger and thirst I look for first aid supplies and clean the gash in my side with alcohol. The stinging causes me to wince in pain and I remember the small bottle of vodka in the pack on the bike. "God bless those bikers, ya just gotta love em." I hop over on one foot and retrieve the strongest pain reliever you can get without a prescription, and then hop back over to the ATV before taking a sip. I wouldn't want to try hopping around after sipping on vodka. I've been banged up enough today. Taking a long sip before continuing with the wound on my side I examine it. I'm not sure but it looks like I can see my hip bone where the flesh is missing. And now that I am re hydrated somewhat it is starting to bleed again. "I'm leaking like a sieve." I tell myself. I clean the wound again and pack it with sterile gauze, which means that another sip is in order. Then cover it with a pressure bandage. A half pint is not going to last long, "Damn those cheap ass bikers. Who the hell buys half pints anyway?" I look through the first aid kit and find ibuprofen, and take two. Then finding two ace bandages I wrap my ankle first, then I wrap the knee. Rummaging through the supplies I find a bottle of scotch. I smile, "Now that's more like it." Reading the label, "That figures, blended." I gather supplies and climb up on the ATV and ride it down to the river’s edge. I set down on the bank where we had bathed two days before and finish the vodka while soaking my ankle and knee in the icy water. A soft warm glow envelops me as I ponder my predicament, "May be my last night on earth and I'm drinking good vodka and cheap scotch. Well, really I don't think there's any such thing as 'cheap' scotch. No such thing as good vodka either," I laugh out loud. The sound of my laughter breaking the silence embarrasses me. Should I really drink alcohol, in this situation? Alcohol is a diuretic, and when I rehydrate I bleed. I have to take in fluids, the alcohol keeps me from getting too re hydrated and bleeding, sounds logical! "Sounds like a rationalization," I argue with myself. "Yeah, but then a good rationalization is better than sex." "Nothing is better than sex!" "Hmmm when's the last time you went two weeks without a rationalization?" "Now that's a rationalization." "I can't argue with you." "That is exactly what you are doing" "Alright then, I've had enough alcohol." I pull my leg up out of the water and tighten the bandages. Then I check the bandage on my side, no blood. I smile but I'm not going to say anything. “You thought it though.”
Tamara and Susanna settle down for the night and spread their bed rolls between the ATVs. They create a floor by spreading a tarp on the ground and a roof by tying another tarp to the ATVs. After a supper of canned spaghetti and fruit cocktail they climb in their sleep sacks and zip up. "Tamara, why do they hate you so bad? Why do they just keep coming?" "I told you Sue, I escaped. I got some put in prison and killed one." "But that man, the one that first morning, you asked how many, he said all of them, everyone." "The less you know the better Sue. Trust me." Susanna rolls over on her side and says, "We are in this together now." "I'm sorry that I got you two into this Sue, I didn't mean to." "Got us into? What do mean Tamara? You didn't do anything. They caused it all." "Ok, you have a right to know, I guess. I didn't do anything to get you involved except be here. I hunt them down Sue. I hunt them down and kill the bastards. That's why they want to kill me, they have to kill me cause they know I won't stop till they are all dead." "Oh my God Tamara, I know what they did was awful, terrible but can't you put it behind you and move on?" Tamara rolls over on her side to face Susanna in the darkness, "It's not about me anymore. I got you into this by being here and they followed me, but that ranger had his eye on you and where do you think you would be if I wasn't here? In some cabin with these guys taking turns at you. And when they get tired of you what then? Some like to keep their own little sex slave. Some like to torture a woman to death. Some will sell a woman to a brothel where she will stay for the rest of her miserable life. It's called white slavery and it still happens to this day. There is big money in it, I mean BIG MONEY. How do you think they can afford to do all of this? These men are bad Susanna, real bad. And they are not going to stop." "But the police..." "Police can be bribed, coerced, killed and convinced that the women are just whores. No human involved is the code they used to call in when someone beat up a prostitute. That's the radio code they used for nuisance animal calls.
Dragging a sleep sack out of the tent and rolling it up I head back to the ATV and ride over to the riverside to make my bed. The pounding has started again and I know that I need to ice it again and again through the night. Sleeping fitfully through the night I manage to get some rest, not much though. With the pain coming back and waking me, then soaking my leg in the icy water before returning to sleep only to be rudely awakened by the pain again. By dawn I am exhausted from the endless struggle and my side is feeling feverish. Nauseous now and weak I try to load up some supplies on the ATV in order to head out and rendezvous with the ladies. I know that I need to eat and drink but my stomach is really sick. I begin to feel faint and set down by the river and soak my leg again. "I may not be able to get away from here till after lunch, I'm so sick, but I have to... have to... to..," passing out I slide down into the water which revives me just before my head goes under. I struggle with the current but it is too strong. The water is deep on this side of the river and the bank is steep but I manage to take hold of some brush hanging into the water and begin to pull myself out. I freeze when I hear the sound of hoof beats. Then I hear a man's voice, "Must be a waterfall just around the bend. Means no way out except the same way you came in. Dead end, let's go back." Another voice replies, "The tracks lead in." 1st voice, "Tracks lead both in and out, nobody would stay boxed in." 2nd voices, fading in the distance, “Well, take a look around with the IR just to be sure." The horses stop and I can hear talking then the sound of hooves coming my way again. 1st voice, “Waste of time, I told ya." 2nd voice, "Better safe than sorry with those two. Wouldn't want them coming up from behind, that's for damn sure." I peek out from behind the brush that's holding me in place and see the two men that I had escaped from yesterday. And they are riding the same horses we rode in on, "Which means that they were unprepared for a ground search till they found the horses. And they said, "Those two." This means they think I’m dead. I can't link up with the girls now, the sound of the engine would give me away. And if I managed to get past them it would only lead the way to them. I have to stay here." I struggle with the guilt of failing them but only for a moment. The struggle to pull myself up onto the bank makes me realize that they are better off without me. The only way to help the ladies now is to recover as quickly as possible and kill as many of these guys as possible. I hobble shivering to a nearby tree and break off another crutch. My entire body is so sore that shivering causes enough pain to put me in danger of going into shock. Limping back to camp through the mist does not help. I pinch the skin on the back of my left hand and the skin stays pinched up when I release it. "I'm dehydrated again. No more painkiller for a while." That makes me think of the now soaked with river water bandage on my side and I stop to take it off. The bandage is only slightly pink from blood, which seems like a good thing. "No sign of infection yet." "Yet, now there's an optimistic outlook." "Yeah, like optimism is going to do any good." "You're still alive." "Which is another way of saying you're not dead, yet." "More negativity." "I can't think of too many people with a better reason to be negative." "Maybe, but try this on for size. There is a very real chance, perhaps even a probability that you will not survive this. But it is a certainty that you will not if you give up. It hurts to do this, it hurts to do that. Why bother to clean the wound with alcohol when it hurts so bad you nearly pass out? Why bother to eat and drink when you are so sick you can hardly swallow? Why not just guzzle the scotch and slip away into oblivion? Or eat a bullet? Or..." "BECAUSE I WANT TO LIVE DAMN YOU. I want to live, I want to love, and I want to be with Susanna for the rest of my life... I'll do anything for her, and if I have to hope when there is no hope then I'll hope. If I have to fight when there is no fight left in me then I'll fight till hell freezes over and then fight on the ice. I may not live but by God I will not give up. And if it hurts then good, it means I'm still alive." I have become so engrossed in this self absorbed conflict that I have forgotten the pain in my leg and I am walking without limping. I am gripping the crutch like a club and walking like a man with a purpose. I am a man with a purpose. And I am alive!
Susanna and Tamara are up at first light. After a cold breakfast they are packed up and making progress down the mountain but not much progress toward the river. By lunch they have reached a new impasse. They find themselves perched on the edge of a cliff. The panoramic view this affords them reveals a river to their left cutting through the landscape with dense thick forest on its far side and a broad flood plain from its right bank to the edge of more heavy forest to their right. Tamara realizes that they are looking at the site of the ambush from two days before, and the river must be the same one that formed the falls where they left the abandoned camp. "We're not far from the river now, Susanna." She sets down and hangs her head between her knees and begins to laugh hysterically. Bewildered, Susanna asks, “What’s wrong?" Tamara tries to answer but laughs even more till she is out of breath. Finally she answers, pointing to the base of the cliff about a half mile away where the river emerges from a cloud of mist, “That,” she laughs again, “is where we camped three days ago at the base of the falls. We are about a half mile from where we started two days ago." Susanna sets down and starts to cry. Great sobs rack her every word as she bemoans this new twist in events, "We'll never find him now. Never. I'll never see him again. Never." Tears roll down the forlorn creases in her face caused by the wrenching heartache. She throws herself down with her face in her hands and a low moan emerges between breaths racked with sobs. "I ... don't.... want... to ... live without him." Tamara tries to comfort her, "He will find us, he will. I know he will. He won't give up. He loves you too much." Susanna, her voice shaking as she speaks, "But we have worked so hard and been through so much and we are only a half a mile away from where we started three days ago." "We are not just a half a mile away; we are at least two hundred yards higher up." With that Susanna rolls over and sets up with her head between her knees and starts to laugh as uncontrollably as Tamara had moments before.
No hurry now, no sense of urgency driving them on. The ATVs are nearly out of fuel and everything they don't eat will be have to be carried out on foot or left behind. Tamara tries to encourage Susanna, "Steven will have just as hard a time cutting across to the river. He will know we had to turn and go downhill. He may even be following our trail right now." "Or be in a ravine bleeding to death. Can't we go back and look for him?" Tamara looks down, "We can, it will be uphill all the way and on foot. Carrying what we need. But if that is what you want to do then I'm all for it. But if he did manage to get through the forest to the river he will realize we haven't made it yet and go down river looking for us. But my crystal ball is broken and I don't know one way or other. I'm fresh out of ideas and whatever you want, that's what we will do." Susanna considers it. Finally, "No, we can't go back. I want to continue on toward the river, it makes me feel like we're getting closer to him somehow." "Well, let's head for the river and find a place to make camp, maybe have a hot meal ready for him when he catches up. They crank up the ATVs and make their way to the river with little trouble as most dead fall, loose rocks, and other debris near the edge has been cleared by the snow slides during the winter and deposited on the ridge beneath the cliffs. They reach the river just above the falls and turn to head east.
Susanna shuts down her engine and waves her open hand diagonally back and forth in front of her throat signaling Tamara to kill her engine. Let's camp here. Tamara pulls her ATV into the forest to hide it in case the chopper comes by again. Susanna is already unpacking hers when Tamara walks back out of the woods. "You better hide yours too, in case they decide to search this area again." Susanna turns around with a 50 caliber rifle in her hands and says, "I hope they do." Tamara shrugs and says, “Well, yeah what are they going to do? They can't land anywhere around here and it took us two days to get here riding hard. But they can shoot from the chopper." Susanna pulls the bolt on the rifle up then back, then slams it forward again chambering a round and locks the bolt back in place with a downward motion. Without a flicker of emotion she says, "I hope they do." Leaning the rifle against the ATV she drags a tent from its rack. Tamara smiles and says, "I like the way you think." Together they set up the tent and start a camp fire.
While Susanna starts supper Tamara carries all the supplies from the ATV into the woods where she has hidden hers and starts setting up another tent. Susanna disappears into the forest briefly and emerges with a double armload of firewood. Again and again she comes back with fallen branches and small green saplings that she has managed to break off. Each time she adds some to the fire and adds the rest to the pile she is saving for later. By the time Tamara has the alternate campsite set up Susanna has quite a fire going. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, are we going to roast hot dogs or what?" Susanna takes a green limb and throws it into the fire. "That's going to make a lot of smoke Susanna." "That's the idea. The fire, the smoke, the ATV and the tent. I'm tired of running. We are going to have to kill them, and there is no way to track them all down. So we lure them here." Tamara shakes her head and laughs, "Like I said Susanna, I like the way you think." They set by the fire as the sun goes down and eat beef stew. Every so often Susanna would place more wood on the fire. The water rushing by and falling off the edge of the cliff creates an air current that catches the smoke and carries it down river and over the falls. Susanna nods her head toward it after throwing another green branch into the fire. "Not exactly the effect I was hoping for. I wanted it to be seen for miles." Tamara says, "The fire will be seen for miles. And the smell of smoke will get people’s attention I guarantee you that." They watch as the sun goes down and Tamara says, “Called or not called, God is there." "What?" Susanna asks. "It's something my therapist has on his wall," Tamara answers. "He says it means that you can count on God being there whether you call on him or not. It's supposed to be comforting when things look bad."
Looking at the bottle of scotch and considering the inner conflict it has generated, and the potential for impairing my judgment, I pull my arm back and launch the bottle into the air as far as possible. It splashes into the river and I laugh, "Scotch and water, now there's a new take on an old combination." Taking more ibuprofen I swallow large gulps of water. It is cold and I can feel it as it makes its way down to my stomach, refreshing and reminding me that I need to eat as well. I open more canned fruit and an MRE. As I rehydrate the dried entree I drink more water, which makes me think to check my side for bleeding. It's beginning to bleed again so I clean it with alcohol and bandage it with pressure bandages. After eating I check the bandages on my left leg and find the swelling is going down. "No wonder the pain is better. Ice it, wrap it, rest it and elevate it is good advice for a sprain and I've done all that but I've never heard of a sprain healing this fast. There must be something about swimming in the frigid water that helps with the healing process." Walking gingerly down to the river to soak my sore leg before wrapping it I become aware of how incredibly tired I am. Then I notice the smell of smoke. "Someone has made a fire and is cooking. If that's not our trackers then it's bound to get their attention, bad news either way." Standing I look around for the source of the smoke, "Nothing!" Taking the shotgun I walk down river looking for the source. Out of the mist now I turn and look upward to see what appear to be wisps of smoke over the water as it cascades down. Just as I turn to walk back into the mist I hear the sound of horses neighing and hide in the shadows of the nearby trees. The horses continue to approach until one of the riders says, "Look, someone’s been this way. And they are wounded." One rider has gotten down off his mount and says, "The blood on this bandage is still wet." And the other replies, "Of course, it wasn't here when we came by earlier. He must have followed the river upstream looking for a place to cross." Sarcastically, "Yeah Ned, wounded and carrying a bottle of whiskey which he throws into the river before starting a fire and cooking up something to eat." Ned, "Well if he wasn't here earlier he must be here now, don't ya think?”I think it sounds like a trap. It just doesn't add up." Now Ned gets sarcastic, "So he threw the bottle into the river knowing that you like whiskey so much you would see it and go upriver looking for more, and then just in case you get discouraged he leaves a bloody bandage on the ground. Earl, you are just too suspicious." Earl, "Then what do you make of the smell of smoke and food cooking coming from somewhere up river, Ned?" "I make it that someone is cooking supper and I'm hungry." Pulling a shotgun from his saddle holster, he smiles and says, "And this just ain't gonna be his day." He fires into the mist and both horses bolt, startled from the sudden sound.
Tamara and Susanna set and wait, and listen for the sound of rotor blades. They hear nothing but the sounds of the fire as the wood cracks and pops while it burns. Suddenly they hear the deep resonant sound of a single shot. Susanna, "Where did that come from?" Tamara is up and running for the edge of the cliff by the time she gets through asking. She leaps to her feet and picks up the 50 cal. rifle and runs behind Tamara who is scanning the shadows below with IR goggles by the time Susanna gets there. "What is it, what do you see?" "They have found the camp, there's two of em. One is standing by the river and the other is crouching behind some trees." "Who's doing the shooting?" "The one standing is holding a gun that is still warm. Must be him." Susanna uses the scope on her rifle to look at the man with the shotgun. Then peers into the shadows to try and get a look at the one crouching behind trees. "I can't make out the one in the trees. The one standing with a gun might be one of our trackers." "Let me have a look, Susanna." Tamara takes the rifle and peers through the scope, an enormous blast rings out and she smiles, "Yes, he was." Suddenly from the mist two horses emerge at a full gallop. Tamara chambers another round but hesitates, unable to identify the rider. Steven stands and aims the shotgun, holding fire till the rider is nearly even with him. He can see the look of terror on the man’s face as he sees him, the blast from the 12 gauge knocks the man from the horse. Tamara lines up the shot and puts another round into the fallen rider. Steven steps from the shadows with his right hand in the air. Tamara smiles and says, "Looks like someone down there has a message for you." She hands the rifle to Susanna who takes it excitedly. "Hook em Horns, it's Steven." She stands up and waves and Tamara joins her. Steven hears it before they do. The chopper is bearing down on them from the west following the river. Steven turns and fires the shotgun in that direction to alert the women to the danger. Not that a shotgun could do anything at that distance. Steven ducks back into the trees for cover and Tamara runs back from the edge of the cliff before doing the same. Susanna's face hardens with resolve as she slams a round into the chamber of the big rifle. A grim smile turns up the edges of her mouth as she says, "I've been hoping for this." She fires and reloads, and fires again, this time the chopper pulls up at a steep angle and stalls just as it reaches the top of the falls, she can see the pilot is dead and slumped back in his seat, and one of the passengers is trying to steer the thing from behind him. The others all seem to be screaming in horror. The aircraft drops into the river just a few feet from the edge of the falls and becomes lodged against some rocks. The door on the opposite side opens and a man climbs out onto some rocks and jumps from one to another toward the other side of the river. Another emerges behind him while the door on the other side swings open. Susanna raises the rifle and shoots the first one and reloads, as she is lining up the shot she hears the loud report of Tamara 's 357 and the passenger that had opened the other door on this side drops the rifle he was aiming at Susanna and falls out of the chopper. The current washes his body down to the falls and over. The man Susanna has sighted in on has dropped his rifle and has raised his hands in surrender. The constant movement and lightening of the aircraft has caused it to become dislodged from the rocks and the current is turning it sideways as it moves it closer to the edge of the falls. The one last passenger scrambles for the door, which is all it takes for the airframe to roll over on its side. As it does the rotor blade knocks the one standing with hands in the air from his place on the rock. He tries to swim against the current but it's no use. The water pushes him down to the falls and he goes over still swimming as hard as he can. The helicopter soon follows him and the lone passenger can be heard screaming in terror above the groaning of metal being bent and torn by the river's raging waters. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you did it. You shot down a helicopter!" Susanna is shaking all over now and her voice quavers as she says, "All you have to do is shoot the pilot." She manages a weak smile as she drops to her knees. It is getting dark now and Tamara watches as Steven disappears into the mist. When Susanna has recovered from the faint feeling she stands, looking down into the gloom. "Where's Steven?" she asks. Tamara says, I watched him walk back into the midst, must be going into the camp for something. An instant later they see an ATV come out of the mist and turn into the trees. "He's getting away from the camp before somebody else comes," Tamara says. "Not a bad idea! Maybe we should take down the tent you have set up by the river, you never know what they will come up with next." Susanna looks at the big gun and smiles. Tamara says, "OK, but you are going to need it when Steven gets back, and it's not going to be much good full of holes. And you two are NOT going to sleep in my tent." Susanna puts out the fire after putting the tent away.
Talking to myself on the way back up the ridge, "How did they wind up at the top of the waterfall, and why?" Carefully picking my way in the failing light I continue, "They must have turned and continued going downhill but still toward the river. So to get to where they are I need to follow the creek back up hill and turn right, into the forest toward the river. I don't need to backtrack all the way, just till I'm higher up than the falls." I pondered this as I crept back uphill alongside the creek. When I came to the first waterfall above the ridge it occurred to me. "The ridge is about a hundred yards higher than the river, and the falls are maybe two hundred yards high, so I need to follow the creek till I have gained another hundred yards of altitude. After leaving the ridge and following the stream uphill I must have gained ten or twenty yards in altitude. So after passing two or three more waterfalls I should be higher than the falls." Hunching my shoulders against the cold rain that has started to fall I determine that I will continue uphill along the stream till I pass two more falls and turn when I reach the third one. The wind blasts ice cold rain into my face as I creep along up hill in the darkness. After twenty minutes I reach the next water fall. "One down, two to go." My mind begins to wander as I pick my way through the icy darkness. "I've been more miserable than this, but I don't remember when." "WILSON," It was Sergeant Dalton and I was in basic training again, "fall out of formation and go back for Liebowitz. He will not drop out of this march. Do you understand me?" As I turn around and start to run back for Private Liebowitz I yell, "Yes drill Sergeant." The ambulance assigned to follow the unit during long marches is only a few feet behind him and Lieb is beet red. He is a fair skinned kid from New York and seriously overweight. When I reach him he is trying to run but is only able to shuffle along. His eyes are closed and his head is hanging back from the weight of his helmet as if he was unconscious. It flops from side to side with each shuffling step he takes. "Come on Lieb, you've got to catch up. Dalton sent me back for you." The medic in the ambulance leans his head out the window and drawls, "Let him drop out if he wants. That's why we're here." I look back eyes full of anger and yell, "No! He is National Guard. If he drops out he washes out. If he washes out of the guard he gets drafted and comes right back, then it’s basic over and over till he passes, then Viet Nam." With that Lieb's eyes open wide with terror and he barely gasps, "Help me." I bend and lift his left arm, then place it across the back of my neck and grab his wrist with my left hand. Then I reach my arm around his back with my forearm under his shoulder and lift as much as I can. Then I start out calling cadence to keep him in step. Since I am supporting much of his weight he is able to stay in step. "Just stay in step Lieb," I tell him as I speed up the cadence, and soon we are running. The rain has started again. It is early December in South Louisiana and a cold front has moved in. I am half carrying and half dragging him back to the formation and have nearly made it when I hear Sergeant Dalton yell, "DOUBLE TIME, HARCH."
A dark figure rearing up in the distance startles me back to reality and flicking on the headlights I see a grisly standing on hind legs, growling, and looking my way. As I reach for the shotgun the bear drops to all four and starts toward me, aiming carefully I fire first one barrel then the other and the bear drops dead in his tracks. My heart races as I reload as quickly as possible. My hands shake so badly I can hardly reload but I manage and snap the shotgun closed ready to fire again, but there is no need to shoot, the bear is dead from the two shots of double ought buck shot to the head. An icy cold sweat has enveloped me and I feel weak as the adrenalin wears off. In the distance I hear the faint sound of a gunshot, "Can that be them?" Then again a deeper booming sound and I fire the shotgun into the air, wait a moment then fire again. As I reload I hear two more shots and start the engine and head off in the direction of the shots. After a few minutes I stop and fire another shot into the air. Immediately I hear a reply shot then another. Starting the engine and continuing in the direction of the shots I notice that the moon is up and shining brightly enough to cast shadows, and that there are no trees to my right. I stop and turn my lights into the emptiness and realize that I am travelling parallel to the edge of a cliff. "It must be them; of course, this is the cliff that the river falls from making the waterfall. They must have had to turn and go downhill in order to get to the river. That's why they were at the top of the waterfall."
Susanna with voice trembling, "That has to be Steven, don't you think?" "Well if it's not we had better be ready for whoever it may be." Tamara begins to gather a supply of weapons and ammunition along with night vision goggles. Looking over at Susanna and smiling she says, "Just in case." Susanna switches an electric lantern on and hangs it from the ceiling of the tent. "We can leave this on to signal where we are and hide in the darkness till we see who it is." Tamara "Sounds like a plan." Hearing another shot in the distance they leave the tent to reply, then look for a good place to set up an ambush, if need be.
After hearing the two shot reply I decide to play it safe and walk the rest of the way. If it's not Tammy and Sue I don't want to give anyone an opportunity to ambush me. Walking as stealthily as possible in the moonlight I pick my way along the cliff's edge. In the still of night I hear a faint rumbling sound, "That's a good sign, I must be getting closer to the falls." But when I stop to listen the sound seems to be coming from the wrong direction. I freeze and listen carefully. The sound continues to get louder and come from behind me. Through the trees I can see a light moving and realize that it is a motorcycle, "It's not the girls, but how could someone have followed me?" As I am wondering the sound stops and the light goes out. Silence chills the night air as I realize that whoever it is will be waiting for another signal. "We've led them straight to us." Straining to listen for sounds of any others I remain fixed, frozen to avoid giving my position away.
The minutes tick by with no sound betraying any one's presence. As the moon continues to rise behind me I notice that I am casting a shadow on the ground. "That means I am outlined by the light, silhouetted against the sky." Slowly I lower myself to a crouching position, and then lie flat, facing the direction the light had come from. With the shotgun cradled between my elbows I begin to crawl forward using my elbows, knees and toes to help inch me along. The pain is intense from my knee and ankle injuries, and scraping along on the ground is doing the wound to my side no good at all, but it has to be done. It seems like an eternity before I have covered the distance to the silenced motorcycle. "There's no one here. He must have gone ahead on foot to ambush us. That means the girls might let their guard down thinking it's me." Standing, I begin to make my way forward in the shadowy forest, trying to be as quiet as possible.
Susanna whispers to Tamara, "It's been a long time, do you think we should signal again?" "No, he is just being careful like we are. Probably coming in on foot." Tamara continues to scan the darkness with the IR goggles. Time continues to crawl slowly till Tamara whispers, "Someone is coming!" "Is it him? Is it Steven?" "I can't tell, wait." But overwhelmed with excitement Susanna stands and yells, "Steven!"
In the distance I hear Susanna call my name, immediately followed by three gun shots. Throwing caution to the wind I begin to run toward the gunfire, yelling, "Susanna, Tamara". "Steven". "Steven". I hear Susanna and Tamara both answering me. Then in the moonlight I see both women running toward me, Susanna reaches me first and nearly knocks me down as we embrace. We are kissing as Tamara catches up and wraps us both in a hug. As our lips part we both ask at the same time, "What happened?" Then simultaneously, "You first." "It was him," Susanna begins. "The one that went over the waterfall". I don't know how he survived but he did, and he must have followed you up here." "I heard his engine just after your last signal. I was walking to keep from riding into an ambush in case it wasn't you. Then he started walking and got here before me." "We hid in case it wasn't you. I called out to you and he spun around and fired." "That's when I fired," Tamara adds. "I knew it wasn't you, he wasn't limping." "And I made sure he didn't get off another shot, “finishes Susanna. "What on earth happened? Why were you back at the camp? You're bleeding!" "I'll tell you all about it, over dinner." Susanna, "No drinks?" "None for me."
Next morning over breakfast we discuss our next move.
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