Heckel Casey (20 page)

"Well, I'll go with you," Justin said enthusiastically. "I'll fight with you."

Others in the circle agreed. A few minutes later as the leaders were indicating that they would hold a meeting to see how many of their group would like to travel to Oregon, a man came running into our campsite. He was out of breath and soaked in sweat.

"What is it, Andy?" Luke asked.

"The force that's gathered north of Santa Fe looks like it's making plans to move on us."

Luke asked the other four elders to assemble everyone at the entrance to the KOA in fifteen minutes.

After everyone gathered, Luke explained the imminent danger. Several men yelled that they were ready to defend their homes.

"I understand, but their force is too big. We will be wiped out," Luke explained. He went on to introduce Sela and me. The crowd got silent. Slowly, questions started popping up like popcorn in a microwave.

Summoning up my best oratorical voice, I said, "We can defeat Madeline." The crowd returned to a silence that was piercing. When I was done speaking, everyone cheered.

"If you want to follow us, be ready tomorrow morning at first light," I shouted. Sela gave me a thumbs-up.

"If you folks start heading west on I-40, we'll catch up. Let's plan to meet in Flagstaff," I suggested.

"What about the people who don't want to leave?" one of the elders asked.

"I have a feeling everyone will go," Luke said confidently.

Sela and I decided to start heading back to our group immediately, riding all night.

"You should drop south of Albuquerque to avoid any problems with the approaching evil," Justin said. "There are a couple of routes that you could follow," he added, showing us a tattered old map. "Oh, and by the way. We've set up quite the welcoming for Madeline's Marauders. The whole KOA is booby-trapped. They don't stand a chance."

"Thanks. Good idea," Sela said.

We hugged our new friends, said our goodbyes and took off fast heading east on I-40.

There was a full moon that night, lighting our way. After several hours, we stopped to let the horses rest and for us to eat something.

"Our army is getting bigger," Sela said softly.

"Yes, I just hope—"

"Hope!" she said excitedly. "See…you're getting it."

I rolled my eyes and was about to say something sarcastic when the first of the coyotes showed up.

"Oh crap," I said.

"Not to panic," Sela said calmly. "Where's Jerky?"

My insides turned to jelly. "Jerky," I said in my best stage whisper. The cat came walking out from behind a bush. Two coyotes lunged at the cat. Sela immediately pulled out one of her pistols and shot one of the coyotes. The other one landed on Jerky. The cat rolled out from under the coyote and jumped on its back. She sank her small, vicious teeth into the neck of the coyote. Blood spewed out like water from a bursting pipe. Jerky dug deeper into the animal's neck until its life stopped.

Sela and I both stared in disbelief.

"Remind me not to ever piss off my cat," I muttered.

"Indeed," Sela responded.

Jerky walked off the dead animal proudly, came up to me and purred. I reached down and picked her up.

"Awesome, dude," I said, wiping the cat's blood-soaked face. "I'm glad you're on our side." After cleaning Jerky up, she settled back on my neck and we continued our journey back to the group. Ah, the smell of wet fur! Such an endearing fragrance.

It was late morning when we arrived. It seemed like everyone approached us as we entered the camp. Someone took the horses to the stream and we were handed some food. Between mouthfuls, we both recounted our discoveries in Albuquerque.

"Okay, we leave in an hour," Jack said, turning to a young man. "Go tell everyone to mount up."

It took two hours to break camp, and we were back on the road heading west. We made the eastern side of the Sandia Mountains by late afternoon, stopping in the town of Tijeras. The next day we dropped south on Highway 542 until we made it to Highway 60. From there, we stayed on it all the way to the Arizona border. We had no trouble whatsoever. Everyone's spirits were holding strong. I was especially relieved when we made it past I-25 and the whole Albuquerque area. I kept wondering what happened at the old KOA when Madeline's troops arrived. Justin mentioned something about a lot of surprises waiting for them, big surprises.

At Show Low, Arizona, we headed north on Highway 77. Jack sent two riders ahead of us to communicate with the Albuquerque group. A few days later, they came riding back and told us that all was well in Flagstaff and the ABQ folks were excited to know that we'd soon be there.

Days passed and we were all getting tired. We desperately needed some R and R, so we stayed an extra day in Winslow, Arizona. That night, Sela and I walked around, chatting with almost everyone at their campfires. I was inundated with questions and did my best to answer them.

After Sela and I got back to our campfire, it didn't take us long to fall asleep.

Chapter 17

"Heckel!" Sela yelled over and over.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, running up to her campsite.

"I can't find Heckel," she said nervously. "He's always here when I get up and Jerky's been pacing back and forth growling. That's usually not a good sign."

Jack and Sela went searching the camp as well as the surrounding area. A couple of men came running up to them and said there were tracks leading off toward the northeast and it looked like someone had been dragged.

"They got him," Sela said nervously with a quiver in her voice. "We have to go find him. They can't be too far ahead," she said as she picked up the saddle for Tempest.

"I'll go with you," Jack said.

"No, you need to stay with the group."

"I'll ask for volunteers," Jack offered quickly. Within minutes, five men rode up on horseback. They were well armed.

"Okay, let's go and fast," Sela said. "Jack, take care of Jerky."

Before Jack could pick up the cat, Jerky jumped high in the air to land squarely on her shoulders. Her claws dug into Sela's canvas jacket.

"Not gonna happen, I guess," she yelled as she turned Tempest quickly to follow the five men already racing toward I-40. The morning sun was starting to warm up the air and it felt invigorating. Sela's heart pounded as she raced down the old interstate. Every so often, Jerky meowed as if to give her encouragement.

We just have to find him,
she thought anxiously as beads of sweat formed on her brow.
I can't lose him. We can't lose him.

Smoke billowed from a smoldering campfire. "Where the hell am I?" I mumbled to myself as I woke up. I was bound and gagged heavily. Thoughts of Sela immediately flooded my head.
Was she safe? What if they took her too?
My arms were strapped behind my back and my hands felt as though they were coated with some sort of resin. My head felt like it had connected with a brick wall at some point. I had one heck of a headache
. Drugs maybe? Of course, that's got to be why I felt like I had the worst hangover ever.
I decided to fake being out for a while until I had an idea of what I was up against.
Sela was probably beside herself. I hoped she was all right…and Jerky too.

"Give him another shot," I heard someone say angrily. "We don't want him getting loose. Miss Madeline would be really pissed if we lost this Heckel asshole."

I felt a prick on the side of my neck and within seconds fell into a deep sleep.

The dream I had was so vivid; it was even in color and surround sound with a sci-fi setting. I found myself standing in the middle of what apparently was a battlefield. The once-lush green grass had turned into a streaming river of blood with bodies littered in every direction. I took two steps forward and nearly slipped in the crimson-stained ground. Bodies were strewn and twisted across the landscape. Smoke filled the air, making it seem like an Impressionistic painting. Painful moans of dying soldiers were filtered in among the buzz of insects. I turned completely around looking for anyone still standing on either side. There was no movement. I took a few steps forward and tripped, nearly falling. Looking down, my heart nearly stopped; Sela and Jerky lay dead at my feet. Their bodies had numerous deep-red gouges. As I started to scream, I glanced off toward the horizon. At the edge of her crumpled soldiers, Madeline stood, her lip curled into a sardonic sneer.

I felt myself lift off the ground and glide toward the evil awaiting me. Armed with just the power inside me, I felt it seethe and boil to the point where every pore was poised to unleash the energy. Madeline spun feverishly in a circle as if she were a generator building power. As I approached, she flung her arms forward and a flash of silver energy bolts streamed from her eyes and hands. I held up my hand to deflect the attack, but the force knocked me down. Madeline instantly appeared above me and put her foot on my chest.

I awoke with a start and wiggled my arms, trying to break free from the bindings. It was just a dream, not a premonition, I thought. It's not the future.

"Ah, our guest is awake," a guard said. "Quick, give him another shot. We don't want him—"

But an arrow had pierced the guard's neck, abruptly interrupting his order. Blood dribbled out of his mouth as he tried to shout. Seconds later, while trying to pull the lethal shaft out of his neck, he slumped forward. The other four guards jumped up to attack and were quickly met by Sela and her cohorts. Jerky came running up to me, snarling with her hair bristled.

The fight was over in a matter of minutes.

"Apparently, Madeline just can't find good help," Sela said as she came running over to me. She bent down and removed my bonds. "Are you all right?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, but my head feels like it was used to ring a church bell."

"We should get out of here quickly. Who knows what's hanging around out there?"

"No argument from me," I said standing up.

Sela walked toward the darkness. In a nearby wooded area, Tempest and the other horses were tied up. We quickly mounted Tempest together and rode off.

Hugging Sela, I whispered in her ear, "Thanks for the…um…rescue. You're my hero."

"I can't lose you. We can't lose you. You're our hero," she said softly.

"What do you mean by 'we'?" I asked, thinking she meant all of humanity.

Sela remained silent for a long while, then turned her head toward me as much as she could, kissed my cheek and said, "I'm pregnant."

Word of the failed capture came to Madeline as she sat on a balcony overlooking the Washington cityscape. As she stood up, her temper flared. "What do you mean you lost him? I thought you said you handpicked his captors."

The tall, slender, confident-looking man with greasy, black hair stood defiantly in front of Madeline. "I did pick them, Miss Madeline. I thought they were the best, but apparently I misjudged them. It won't happen again. I promise you," he said with a hint of trepidation in his voice.

Madeline, not saying a word, circled the man. He shifted uneasily on his feet. She touched him lightly on the shoulder and let her long polished green nails scrape across the back of his neck, sending shivers up his spine.

"Yes, you are right about that. It won't happen again," she said as the man was quickly picked up by an invisible force, pushed off the balcony and hung suspended in air. His feet wiggled high above the street below as he pleaded to be spared.

With a simple gesture of her hand, the invisible force let go of the supplicating man. Madeline nonchalantly walked to the edge of the balcony and watched the man hit the street below. The thump of his body hitting the pavement resounded off the surrounding buildings. She tilted her head back and laughed heartily. Madeline listened with the curiosity of a ten-year-old child as her iniquitous, maniacal laugh echoed across the skyscrapers.

"Not to worry, little Heckel. Just a minor setback. You make your courageous journey to Oregon. You'll have a greeting party so enormous that you will go running with your tail tucked behind your scrawny legs." High piercing laughter spread out across all of Washington.

Sela pushed Tempest hard to make it back to the camp. "Please stop, Sela. We need to talk for a minute," I said with a jiggle to my voice as Tempest raced down I-40.

"We're almost there. We can talk after we get back to camp," she said.

"Okay," I said as I kissed her neck and nibbled her earlobe. She shivered and giggled.

Almost the entire group came out to greet us as we rode into camp. A loud cheer erupted as Sela and I got off Tempest. Lots of folks patted us on the back and were eager to thank Sela and the four men for saving me. Jack took the opportunity to announce the next morning's departure time to travel to Flagstaff.

By the time we had gotten back, it was late in the day. After we got Tempest watered and fed, Sela came up to me, took my hand and we walked away from the group.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.