In the Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23 Mysteries) (18 page)

“Okay, sounds like a plan,” he said before heading off for the wagon. A minute later she saw him reappear with Jeremiah. The two walked off.

“Can I help?” Liz asked as she walked up.

“No, I think I’ve got it,” Cindy said. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, mostly embarrassed.”

Cindy waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it, we’re just glad you’re okay.”

“Me, too. I’m going to go grab myself another juice box just to be on the safe side. Do you need me to get you anything?”

“Actually, if you could grab some bottled water for everyone, that would be great.”

“No problem.”

Cindy had just about finished heating up the chili and corn when Liz returned, arms full of bottles. One slipped and fell on the ground.

“Dang it,” Liz said with a sigh. “I should have just made two trips.”

“It’s okay,” Cindy said with a smile as she stood and took some of the other bottles and put them on the ground. “Half the time in the grocery store I go in for one thing and end up at the register like this.”

Liz laughed. “We should go shopping together sometime, see between the two of us how much we could juggle.”

Cindy couldn’t help but laugh at the image. “I can totally see that.”

“Anything else I can do?”

Cindy winced. “Actually, yeah, we’re also going to need plates.”

“Not a problem. Where are they?”

Cindy described the location and a minute later Liz had returned.

“See, much more manageable when things stack properly,” Liz said.

“But not nearly as fun.”

Ten minutes later everyone descended on the fire, looking ragged and beyond exhausted. They had already grabbed their backpacks and sleeping bags and set up the basics for the sleeping area. She wouldn’t be surprised if after dinner several of them headed right back there.

Everyone’s ready to drop
, Cindy thought as she passed out water and plates of food. She found herself looking longingly, though, at Liz’s juice box, wishing she had a soda or something sweet to drink. She thought about asking Liz if she could swipe one of the juices, but she knew Liz would really need them if she had other sugar crashes like the one that morning.

She grabbed her food last and sat down on the ground with her plate on her knees and the water bottle beside her. Once there she picked at her food, realizing that even though she was physically spent she really wasn’t that hungry. She was stressed out, though.

She glanced across the fire at Jeremiah seated beside Mark, struggling to eat with his hands tied together. She was grateful Mark had allowed him the ability to eat with the rest. Surprisingly no one else complained. Then again, no one was even really talking, just eating in silence.

The meal wasn’t even over before Traci started yawning. Apparently it was contagious because within minutes it seemed everyone was.

“It’s been a rough day,” Mark finally said, breaking the silence. “I suggest we all get some rest.”

He helped Jeremiah to his feet. “I’ll be keeping one eye open,” he advised him.

Cindy was surprised that Mark was going to let Jeremiah sleep outside and not in the wagon. Then again, there was no room to lie down in there, especially now with the two bodies taking up space.

Cindy got busy gathering up plates and scraping them off. “Let me help,” Liz said. Together they wiped each of them down quickly with a disinfectant wipe. They did the same for the pots and then Cindy took it all back and stored it in the wagon.

When she returned Liz was sitting next to the fire. Cindy sat down next to her, and picked up her unopened water bottle. Again she toyed with asking Liz for a juice, but she knew she needed to just tough it out. She could go without the sugar. She turned and noticed, startled, that everyone seemed to already be asleep. A couple of them were even lying on top of their sleeping bags still wearing the same clothes they’d been riding in. Even both cowboys were asleep.

I guess the herd’s quiet enough tonight they don’t have to worry. Either that or they just were too tired to care.

“That was...fast.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s been a hard day for all of us,” Liz said.

“I guess that means I’m taking first watch,” Cindy said.

Liz cocked her head to the side. “But, Jeremiah’s tied up, no one should have to stay up.”

“I still don’t think Jeremiah did it,” Cindy said firmly.

“That’s sweet of you to believe in your boyfriend like that,” Liz said.

“He is not my boyfriend. I don’t know why people keep thinking he is.”

Liz blinked at her. “It’s the way you are together. You’re obviously close, and you care a great deal for each other. Then there’s the way that you look at him and he looks at you, like no one else in the world matters.”

“I don’t...he doesn’t...you’re crazy,” Cindy finally sputtered.

Liz shrugged. “Maybe, but I know a thing or two about love and you two have definitely got it.”

Cindy felt the heat rising in her cheeks and she dropped her eyes to the fire. “I-I don’t know how I feel about him,” she admitted at last.

I can’t believe I’m doing this and with a complete stranger
, she thought.

“Really, are you sure it’s not more like you don’t want to admit it because then you’ll actually have to do something about it instead of letting things stay in a nice, safe little bubble like they are now?”

“I don’t know,” Cindy whispered.

“Look, you’re never going to know what this thing between you could become if you don’t take a risk.”

“I’m sort of risk avoidant,” Cindy admitted.

“Some risks are worth it. I know whereof I speak.”

“It’s too complicated.”

“No, it’s not. You’re just making excuses.”

Cindy sighed, wondering how she could explain everything she was thinking or feeling to Liz.

“I just don’t know. What about tomorrow, what will happen then?” Cindy asked.

Liz sighed and lifted her juice box. “I propose a toast.”

Cindy picked up her water bottle and screwed off the cap.

“To tomorrow, may it take care of itself and leave us in peace tonight.”

Cindy tapped her water bottle against the juice box. Liz drank and Cindy sat,
almost frozen, as she contemplated what Liz had said. Matthew 6:34 said something very similar. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

All her life she had let her fear of what might happen stop her from doing so many things. Had she let that fear stop her from truly living?

“Hello, earth to Cindy.”

Cindy shook her head and turned to Liz. “Sorry, I was just thinking,” she admitted as she set down her water. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I know I’m right.”

“I just don’t think I can say it out loud.”

“Then write it down.”

“I could never show it to him,” Cindy said.

“Then just show it to yourself. Admit how you’re feeling. I guarantee you’ll feel better once you do.”

“I don’t have any paper,” Cindy admitted.

“Here, I have some,” Liz said, digging in her pocket and producing a paper and pen.

Cindy took them, remembering having glanced briefly at them when Mark had had her and Traci inspect the contents of everyone’s pockets. She took the cap off the pen and set it down on the paper.

She took a deep breath. What she was about to do couldn’t be undone. She felt terror and exhilaration all mixed up into one knot in the pit of her stomach. She stared at the paper, willing herself to do this.

The paper had a blue tinge to it and a faint scrollwork at the top. She had seen that scrollwork before. She blinked several times, thinking.

She had seen the scrollwork on the love letter Norman had been carrying with him. That letter had been written on one of Liz’s pieces of paper.

Cindy looked sharply up at her. “Are you and Norman...”

She stopped as she stared at Liz. The other woman’s face was contorted into a snarl. “Why couldn’t you have been a good little girl and just chugged the dang water like everyone else?”

Cindy leaped to her feet and her eyes flicked over to the sleeping forms in horror as Liz’s words sank in. “What have you done?” she shouted.

“Turns out the good doctor has all kinds of wonderful things in that bag. They’ll be out for hours. Not you, though. You’ll be dead. You and your brother.”

Out for hours. Which meant help wouldn’t be coming in time. Cindy’s only chance was to subdue Liz. She thought of the rope binding Jeremiah’s hands. First she’d have to knock her out, though.

Mark has a gun! she remembered at last. So did both of the cowboys. If only she could get to one of them.

Cindy’s heart was hammering in her chest. She tried to dodge past Liz. The other woman yanked a knife out of her boot and slashed at Cindy.

Cindy screamed as the knife slashed across her chest. She scrambled backward, nearly falling into the fire.

“Kyle’s not going anywhere. So as soon as I kill you I can finally take care of him.”

“But why?” Cindy sobbed.

“Why do you think?” Liz hissed.

“Norman! He put you up to this!”

“No!” Liz shouted. “Norman could never even think of something like this. He’s too nice, too sweet. He needed me to do this for him.”

Liz lunged forward, swinging the knife and Cindy scrambled out of the way. She could feel blood dripping down her skin but she dare not look. She had to keep Liz away from Kyle and the others and keep from getting killed herself.

“I’ll tell the authorities that you did it.”

“And how do you plan to do that? You’ll never make it to Righteousness.”

Cindy was stepping carefully, rapidly swiveling her head to try and get a feel for the landscape. Then she saw Kyle’s horse, Silver, just a short ways away. He was still wearing his saddle. A couple other horses farther away were, too. They were all grazing on the grass, oblivious to the human drama happening nearby. The starving cowboys had grabbed food before planning on taking care of the animals but had been drugged before they could.

Cindy turned and eyed Liz. “Care to bet on that?”

She turned and sprinted for all she was worth toward Silver. She heard a shout behind her but didn’t look back. The massive white horse looked up as she approached, but didn’t move away.

She grabbed the dangling reins, yanking them over his head and launched herself upward until she was laying across his back. She swung into the saddle and kicked her heels. He jumped and then kicked out as Liz got close to his hindquarters.

Out of the corner of her eye Cindy saw Liz go for one of the other horses just as she’d hoped she would. She needed to lead her away from the camp, keep her away until the others could wake up. Hopefully Jeremiah would figure out what had happened.

She clung to the pommel of the saddle for dear life as the great animal raced forward. The wind whipped at her face causing her eyes to tear. Strands of hair that had come free of her ponytail obscured her vision.

She had no idea how to get to Righteousness and worried that if she even tried to head that direction that no one would be able to catch up to them in time to save her. Liz was a far better rider than she was. She had to trust to her head start and her horse’s speed.

Her hair cleared out of her eyes for a moment and she realized they were headed in the general direction of the mountain Zack had pointed out earlier. The outlaw hideout! If she could make it there she could hide. Hopefully that would give the others enough time to wake up and Zack would figure out where she’d gone.

She tugged the reins slightly to the right and the horse responded, lining himself up with the mountain. She dared not risk trying to look over her shoulder, her balance was too precarious as it was. She just had to pray that Liz was continuing to follow her.

With every step she felt herself jarred to the bone. She tried to adjust to the horse’s rhythm and found herself leaning lower and lower forward. It was terrifying, but she felt like part of her was beginning to sing. She felt so alive.

They were closing in on the mountain fast. Zack had said that the cave was just around the side. He hadn’t said which side, though. As she approached the base of the mountain she took a chance and urged her horse to the right.

She raced past some trees, hoping they would obscure her from sight so that she could find the cave and get in it without Liz seeing her. The terrain turned rocky and her horse slowed. She pried her left hand off the pommel and pushed the hair out of her eyes as she searched for something that could be a cave entrance.

There! It was beneath a large outcropping of rock. She would have thought it was just a shadow if she hadn’t been looking for it. She turned her horse’s head and made it into the confines of the cave before pulling him to a halt.

She blinked, trying to let her eyes adjust to the darkness that suddenly surrounded her. Her horse exhaled loudly and pawed at the ground. They had to move farther into the cave so they wouldn’t be heard. She tried to urge the animal forward, but he didn’t want to go. Finally she dismounted and stepped in front of him. She pulled the reins over his head and held them like she’d seen the cowboys do when they were leading the horses.

She took a couple of cautious steps forward before tugging on the reins. Silver reluctantly started to walk forward.

Without any sort of flashlight it was slow going as she felt her way along, hoping not to bump into any walls or trip over anything. When the last light from the opening of the cave had disappeared she stopped, holding her breath and hoping that they were far enough in that Liz couldn’t hear them.

She waited what seemed a lifetime. Finally, there ahead of her, she could see a faint glow. Maybe that was the turn in the cave that would lead to the secret valley.

Suddenly she heard a horse whinny behind them. She placed her hand on her own horse’s nose, hoping he wouldn’t try to answer. She heard the sound of hoof striking rock.

“I’m going to find you,” Liz called out suddenly.

Just be still, she doesn’t know we’re here
, Cindy told herself.
Hopefully she’ll just go away in a few minutes.

Slowly, steadily, though, she heard Liz’s horse walking forward into the cave. She gritted her teeth, wondering how close she should let them get before pressing forward.

Silver answered the question for her by letting out a whinny. Cindy winced but began walking the horse forward as quickly as possible. She finally reached the right hand turn and was surprised to discover that wasn’t where the wan light was coming from. Instead it seemed to be emanating from a small hole in the ceiling a little farther on. She turned, hoping that Liz would think she had continued on toward the light.

A dozen feet down the branch tunnel she could finally see faint light at the end of it. She pressed on faster, eager to be out of the cave before Liz made it to the turn. She kept going and the light grew stronger until finally she and Silver burst out into a small valley with green grass and a ramshackle cabin on the far side.

Cindy made for the cabin with the horse in tow, unsure of what she would find.

The earth shook beneath Jeremiah and he forced himself awake. He could barely get his eyes open and when he did the world was blurry. He could hear a terrible, crashing sound and it took him a moment to realize it wasn’t inside his head.

I’ve been drugged
, he thought as he struggled to get his senses to function. He forced himself up onto his hands and knees and his eyes fell on the half empty water bottle sitting next to his sleeping bag.

He looked around for Cindy but he didn’t see her. He shoved Mark hard, but the other man didn’t even twitch.

Meantime the roaring was growing louder.

Jeremiah forced himself to his feet and turned around. Less than a mile away there was a cloud of dust that the sound was emanating from.

He blinked in shock as his drugged brain tried to grasp exactly what he was seeing. Moments later he tried to kick the cowboys awake, but it did no good. Everyone had been drugged with the water and the rest had drunk more than he had. There was no way to wake them and warn them about what was happening.

The cattle were stampeding.

He shrugged his hands out of the ropes that were loosely binding them. Then he grabbed Zack’s gun from its holster which was right next to the man’s pillow. Jeremiah turned, saw a couple of horses nearby still saddled, and ran for them.

He leaped onto the back of a grey horse and kicked the animal toward the cattle. The stampede was just beginning and there was some confusion as some of the cattle continued to mill about.

He had to find a way to stop them or at least turn them otherwise they would run right through the middle of camp trampling all the sleepers to death including Mark and Traci.

As he rode he cast quick glances around searching for Cindy but he didn’t see her. Worry flooded him and he hoped she was in a safe place. As he reached the front of the herd he had to force all other thoughts from his mind.

He turned his horse just before the herd crashed into them and raced alongside the leaders. He needed to get them to change course, even if just by a few degrees.

He angled his horse closer into the leader but the cow refused to give ground. Jeremiah pulled out the gun and fired. It worked, the cow veered from the sound, bumping into the one next to it who slowed before also shifting over. He fired again and the herd shifted again slightly. It might be just enough.

Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a big steer break from the pack and head straight for the sleeping men and women. There was no way Jeremiah could cut him off in time and he couldn’t risk others following him. He took careful aim, fired two shots, and dropped the beast just as it reached the edge of the camp. It fell hard, just a couple of feet from the first sleeping bag.

He gritted his teeth, watching to see if any others would make a break for it. He dared not slow down, though, lest the cattle behind trample him and his horse. He could feel the animal’s terror, but the horse was well trained and was responding to his every command, clearly trusting his rider to get him through this.

Meanwhile Jeremiah was putting absolute faith in the animal. One false step from the horse and they’d both go down to their deaths.

Jeremiah and the rest of the herd raced by, barely missing the camp by a few yards. He kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure that there were no other dangers and he practically held his breath as he watched the river of cattle streaming past.

Once all the cattle seemed to be clear he urged his horse to put on a fresh burst of speed so he could get out in front of the herd. The animal stretched out running at top speed and Jeremiah leaned low over the horse’s withers as he urged him onward. Finally, he pulled the horse up short, and spun him around. They were now facing down the herd. The beasts were rushing forward at a frightening speed and he knew he had one chance to get this right. He waited until the leaders were close enough that it would matter and then he fired his remaining two shots.

It worked, the front cattle slowed. Some of the cattle in the back plowed into them and a few went down, but that helped build a barrier between the others and Jeremiah.

A ripple passed backward through the herd as cattle slowed to avoid collision with the ones in front. He held his breath, hoping that what he had done was enough.

All the cattle stopped running at last. They milled around for a couple of minutes before finally settling down. Some even started to nibble at the grass and he just shook his head in amazement. One moment they were a destructive, powerful force of nature and the next they were just cows again. Things could change so quickly it was amazing.

His horse’s muscles were twitching and the animal was drenched in sweat. Jeremiah could relate. After a couple of more minutes he turned his horse and headed back for the camp, letting him walk slowly which would help cool him off.

He had nearly reached the camp when a figure detached itself from the others and began walking toward him. He recognized it a minute later as belonging to Zack. The cowboy was coming out to meet him on foot.

When he reached him, Jeremiah pulled his horse to a stop.

Zack reached out and patted the horse on the neck and the animal dipped its head.

The cowboy looked up at him grimly. “Nice job.”

“Thanks,” Jeremiah said, handing him his gun back.

Zack reloaded the weapon and then holstered it.

“The horses spooked. I’m going to have to round them all up.”

“Then you’ll be needing him,” Jeremiah said, patting his horse’s neck before dismounting and handing the reins to Zack.

“Much obliged. You know, I don’t believe for a second that you’re guilty. Didn’t think so before, really don’t think so now.”

Jeremiah smiled. “I feel the same way about you.”

“So, are you figuring like I am, that we were drugged.”

“Absolutely.”

The cowboy shook his head. “I’d like to get my hands on whoever did that.”

“I don’t know who was responsible, but I’m pretty sure whatever they used to drug us was in the water.”

Zack shook his head. “That’s pretty low down. Glad I didn’t have a chance to have a second one then.”