A Penny Down the Well: A Short Story Collection of Horrifying Events (28 page)

Chance’s face became red
with anger after hearing what he believed was an accusatory tone
from Apenimon. The response from his elder, however, kept Chance
from having to speak his own mind, which was likely to involve a
harsher choice of words.

Apenimon returned to being
a silent accomplice, one of the few left now, and offered no
response to the elder gunman, either verbal or nonverbal. Harriet
remained quiet as well, especially after having called Jasper a
“monster.” Grant, too, fell into the same silent void as the
others, leaving the responsibility of leadership and decisions
(which now were of life and death) on Floyd’s shoulders.

“
We’ll stay tonight if
you’d have us. Tomorrow we’ll leave early in the morning and take
our chances. Grant may have a map that shows any nearby post that
could be of help. Otherwise, we still have some bullets in our
weapons, and we’ll find something to hunt if we must. We won’t stay
here and die. I don’t suggest either of you do, either.” Floyd
said, looking between Jasper and Chance.

Jasper grinned slightly,
almost sinisterly. “We ain’t going anywhere. At some point you just
have to accept that there aren’t any more options. You can act out
of desperation, or you can act out of integrity. I ain’t ever been
desperate and I ain’t about to be.”

“
You both act like
cowards! Lying cowards!” Harriet shouted, to be quickly quieted by
her husband, who was hoping for a measure of diplomacy in a dire
situation.

“
That’s no way to talk to
men that saved your life and the lives of your friends here.
Remember, we may have been a little deceptive, but if we didn’t
help you out, chances are, all of you would be dead right now,
being dragged off to some Shoshoni camp where you’d be used in some
sort of sick ritual. We were looking out for everyone back at your
camp, not just ourselves. You should keep that in mind.” Jasper
said sternly, though with some restraint for the respect of the
woman’s husband. “Now, the lot of you can stay in the same cabin
tonight. Use whatever you need to in order to offer aid to your
friend there. I wish there was more that we could do, but there
isn’t. If you leave in the morning, best of luck.”

With that, Jasper turned
and started heading off toward his own cabin. Chance hung around
for a short while longer, keeping an eye on Apenimon, as he had
been since the native’s comment. He, too, soon turned and followed
Jasper back to the cabin, leaving the four remaining members of the
Greyson party alone.

***

July 21, 1847

Poor mister Vickers has
seen better days then this one. The man has laserashuns all over
his body from his scufel with the saveges. Floyd and I were able to
find us some sheets and some alcohol to pour over the wound.
Vickers he screemed like no man Id ever herd. None of the cuts are
so deep that we cant get movin in the morning. We beried Hank today
near the cabin. I know hes with God now but Im fraid for our lives.
Those savages are mean as any Id ever herd of and I bet they are as
mad as a kicked hornets nest by now since all there frends died at
the camp. I trust Floyd and mister Vickers. I think the will get us
somewhere safe. The indian with us will know what plants we can eat
if we need to. If anyone was left with a grupe, this is the one to
be left with. This may be my last entry for a while but it aint
gonna be my last entry forever.

***

Good sleep was a hard
thing to come by on the frontier. After the recent raid, Harriet’s
heart almost stopped the second she heard the harsh rap on the
cabin door before Jasper burst inside.

“
We need your guns.”
Jasper said firmly, his eyes wide and intense, the whites of them
clear with the full moon outside the door.

“
Our guns? What do you
mean? Are we being attacked?” Floyd asked, roused suddenly himself.
He instinctively took his wife’s hand in the bed beside
him.

“
Not
yet. But your Indian guide
—he’s
fled the Fort and we believe he might have taken something with
him.” Jasper motioned for Floyd to get up. A shadow crossed the
door, barring the moonlight from crossing the threshold into the
cabin, and it became apparent that it was cast by Chance, who was
walking in a pace outside of the door, much calmer than Jasper
seemed.

“
What do you plan to do?
And what did he take that was worth anything? We don’t have food or
medical supplies.” Floyd said, trying to shake what was promising
to be a hard sleep.

Grant Vickers stirred,
too, though it took a bit to rouse him even with the intensity of
the developing situation. “Apenimon took something and fled? That’s
impossible...” He said in disbelief.

“
Out West, Mister, there
ain’t many things that are impossible, and what he took was the
body of your friend you buried out there. Ain’t nothin’ but a hole
in the ground now. We gettin’ those guns?” Jasper asked once after
sharing the horrifying bit of news.

Harriet covered her mouth
in complete shock after hearing that Apenimon allegedly stole
Hank’s body from the ground. Her imagination began to conjure up
terrible images of what Apenimon might do, or where he might have
been taking the body, which she would have suspected was to the
Shoshoni.

Floyd shook his head in
disgust. “This is unbelievable!” He looked over to Grant, who still
didn’t seem to believe that accusation.

Grant Vickers rose. “If
you’re going after Apenimon, I’m going with you and bringing my own
gun. If it needs to be fired, I’d like to be the one that decides
to fire it. Otherwise, maybe this is some sort of mistake.” Grant
said, trying to maintain faith in his native companion.

Jasper watched Grant
quietly for some time, as did Chance, who stopped in the doorway,
darkening the room within. After a long breath, Jasper nodded.
“Alright, if you’re coming, then let’s get going. You got your
horse and we got ours.”

Harriet called out to
Grant, who was already preparing himself to leave. “Mr. Vickers,
you’re in no condition to be travelling about out there, as
dangerous as it is! Shouldn’t you just let these men take care of
this problem?”

Grant looked back to
Harriet while strapping on his gun belt. “I’m afraid I can’t do
that, Miss. Hank’s my friend, you here? And so is Apenimon. This
situation is unusual and I’ve come to find out that when situations
are unusual, there’s probably a logical circumstance to how they
got that way.” And when his belt was fastened and he moved to the
door after Jasper, he finished with, “I think I’m going to figure
out what’s going on here.”

It was the look in Grant’s
eyes, that same look at Apenimon gave to Jasper and Chance when
Apenimon questioned why the gunman were so far from the Fort when
they saved the Greyson party: it was a look of distrust for the
Fort’s hosts.

Even in the darkness,
Harriet and Floyd were able to discern what was being communicated.
It was somewhere between suspicion and fear, a wordless message
that told the Greyson’s that if he didn’t return, that suspicion
should be heightened. If he did, with the truth, such thoughts
could have been laid to rest. The only way to answer the question
was by committing to this act of bravery. In noticing and
understanding the circumstance more clearly after that single look,
Harriet merely nodded, knowing what needed to be done.

Jasper, Chance and Grant
were off in no time, leaving Floyd and Harriet in the cabin, alone.
They looked between each other and moved into a loving embrace,
considering the possibility now that they would be alone for a long
time. If things were truly as dangerous as they were told they were
beyond the Fort’s gates, then there was a great possibility that
none of the men set out after Apenimon would return. It was a quiet
evening then and a sleepless one for the rest of the
night.

When the sun was
threatening to rise over the horizon, both Harriet and Floyd stood
outside of the cabin door, waiting for anything. The silence
reminded them both of how hungry they were. The post was fortunate
enough to have a decent water supply, but it seemed devoid of
foodstuffs entirely. It was then, somewhere between contemplating
the physical need for food and the mental hope for the safety of
others that Jasper returned, alone.

Harriet covered her mouth
in shock as she saw the lone man trotting into the gate. It was
obvious that there was blood on his leather clothing, but it was
hard to discern whether or not it was his own. Harriet rushed forth
from her place her husband and cried out, “Where are the others? Is
everything alright? What happened? Where is Mr. Vickers?” The
questions came in rapid succession.

Floyd carefully marched to
stand beside his wife as he waited for the answers himself. He
worried the worst, but thought first of the considerations of
treachery that seemed to be apparent in Grant’s eyes when he left
with the two men. Now, there was only one, and if treachery were
involved, it got the best of both of them, which would be unlikely
if Jasper and Chance were truly dangerous men, against one. Still,
it was Grant that had the gun
—or the only
one that the Greyson’s knew anything about.

“
We found your Indian
friend. He shot at us a couple of times and I’m afraid he killed
your friend, Mr. Vickers.” Jasper said, solemnly, with an
apologetic look about his face.

Harriet stepped back
slowly. Things were moving from terrible to worse. She considered
in that moment the statement her husband made about Hank not being
protected by God and she was starting to wonder if they were all
forsaken. She couldn’t imagine what they had done to warrant such a
wrath, or if this was all just the work of Satan himself. Floyd cut
off her thoughts with the most relevant question.

“
And Chance?” He
asked.

“
Chance is alive. He’s a
little behind me. Seems your Indian friend had caught himself an
animal, so I suggested Chance bring it back. He couldn’t ride as
quickly as I could.” Jasper gave a light tug on the horse’s reins
and began to move forward, around the fear-frozen Harriet Greyson,
who could only watch as the man passed her. Without looking their
way, he said, “At least we’ll have something to eat tonight. And if
this situation has changed your mind about leaving, without a
guide, you can stay for it and for as long as it lasts. It’s a
good-sized animal.” And he continued, though his voice became more
distant as he moved further away. “It’s too bad, too. Would have
been nice to have someone like that Indian fella around with those
sorts of huntin’ talents.”

Floyd became suspicious
himself, then. Another decision had to be made: whether to stay or
go, now that they didn’t have a guide, as Jasper pointed out. They
were both also terribly hungry. Harriet came behind Floyd then and
placed a hand to his shoulder.

“
Floyd,
my love.” Her voice was tattered as she began to sob. “I don’t know
what we can do now. We’re as good as dead if we leave the post, you
know that. If we stay and try to get ourselves together, maybe we
can pull through. Let things settle down for a while. There’s
been
so
much loss. We can’t keep pushing on like this. I can’t handle
this kind of tragedy, and I can’t think of you...” She stopped and
moved before Floyd, cupping his unshaven face in her hands as tears
continued to well in her eyes. “...I need you here with me.” She
finished.

Floyd’s own eyes began to
tear as he listened to the desperate words of the one he loved the
most. He felt like an immense failure. The responsibility of the
trip out West and the burden associated with it was now heavier
than it had ever been and below the burden, Floyd felt
crushed.

“
We’ll stay. We’ll stay
for now. I’ll look over anything that Grant has left. His maps, his
notes, anything, so that we can try to find our way out of this
situation and be safe again. We need to be careful, Hattie. We need
to keep our eyes open. Something’s not right about this place and
it seems Grant and the guide both knew it. Now they’re both dead. I
want you to stay with me, you hear? We still have that gun, don’t
we?” Floyd asked, all the while whispering to his wife his
commands.

Harriet nodded slowly,
advising him that they did still have a single weapon.

“
Alright then. I want you
to hold onto it, you hear? Keep it close. Hide it. Don’t let them
know where it is. We’re going to go back to the cabin and get some
work done. We’re going to be alright.” Floyd said, only this time
he couldn’t even manage the facade of certainty, especially while
fighting back tears for those that were lost.

They did just that. They
returned to the cabin and Floyd began combing through the many maps
Grant had left behind. Floyd worked diligently to decipher the
chicken-scratch handwriting of Grant’s notes, looking for any sort
of clue he could manage. The practice went on for much of the day,
until the distinct sound of a triangle being hammered at could be
heard, likely signifying that dinner was ready. Immediately,
Harriet’s mouth began to water and her stomach grumbled
rebelliously, as it, too, was reminded that food was in
order.

Floyd took a deep breath
and whispered to his wife, though he was certain no one was around.
“You have the gun?”