By Joanna
Chapter IV
The Wilderness
Chaos prevailed by the fireside as the riders stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the dark horse.
"Don't look at him Cody! Don't look in his eyes whatever you do!" Jimmy screamed from where he was hiding behind Lou with a death grip on her shoulder.
With a final scream and a blur of blankets and flying clothes, Cody leapt to his feet and cleared the fire in a single bound, running straight towards the others. They opened their arms to welcome him over, but Cody would have none of it. He streaked by them with arms outstretched and didn't stop as he left the circle of light the fire put out and disappeared into the woods.
Jimmy, Buck, and Ike looked more than ready to follow him, and poised on the balls of their feet, ready to bolt.
Lou narrowed her gaze as the horse slowly turned his head.
"No Lou! Don't look at him!" Kid called out, and all the boys shielded their eyes with their hands. Jimmy and Buck were on the verge of running after Cody, but Kid's words stopped them both.
"Lou, what are you doing?" Jimmy cried out as Lou started toward the horse with a determined stride.
"Oh no! He's got her! She musta looked at him!" Buck cried out, still backing rapidly towards the woods.
"Good Lord, you boys are the biggest bunch of cowards I've ever seen! Do you notice something about this horse?" Lou called over her shoulder, without stopping her advance.
"Like what?" Noah wondered, glancing sideways from under the gloved hand that still covered his eyes.
Lou reached the horse, and gently tugged his mane, turning him to face the boys, "Like the fact it's Lightning."
"What?" they all questioned at once.
"Lightning. My horse. Not Satan. He must have gotten loose," Lou began, a smile slowly spreading across her face.
The mix of embarrassment and confusion that crossed the boys' faces proved to be too much for her to take, and she began a giggle, that soon turned into a laugh, that in no time at all was a loud cackle that doubled her over.
It proved to be contagious, and soon all the boys were laughing as well, almost as much from relief as from humor.
With tears of mirth rolling down his face, Kid yelled into the woods, "Cody! Cody, it's safe!"
They were just starting to gain control of their amusement when Cody doggedly came tromping back from the trees, much slower than he went in. His face was sheepish as he saw Lou holding her black horse by the halter and the others watching him expectantly. His shirt had been torn by branches and leaves and twigs stuck from all angles from his hair.
"What? What's going on?" Cody asked breathlessly, face shining with sweat and pale from his scare.
"Nothing...it was Lou's horse," Noah explained, clapping Cody on the shoulder so hard that it nearly knocked him over.
"Lightning?" Cody stared in bewilderment and then looked at his friends, "It wasn't Satan?"
Jimmy shook his head and chuckled, "If you hadn't run like the wind you might have noticed the horse had on a halter."
"Yeah well, I didn't see you running to my rescue," Cody shot back defensively.
"That's true Jimmy," Lou agreed, "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, you were the next one to head for the woods. All of you were ready to hit the highlands on foot."
"Yeah, well, you started to run too!" Buck pointed out.
Lou shook her head, "We're a fine bunch. We're chasing a stallion that scares the hell out of us."
"Or into us," Kid said cocking his head and raising his eyebrows.
Cody staggered up to Lightning and patted the horse's dark muzzle, "You're a very, very bad horse."
The next day, seven squinty eyed and not entirely cheerful riders climbed onto their horses after packing their gear onto the packhorses. The night's disturbance by Lightning had caused them all to lose at least an hour's sleep, and for Cody, who's heart rate took much longer to return to normal, several more than that.
The enthusiasm of the day was dampened literally by a light mist that fell, chilling the riders to the bone. Their faces and their silence said it all as they plodded along slowly and sourly, not looking at anything but what was in their field of vision through their horse's ears.
"Are we still heading in the right direction?" Lou wondered around mid day around a mouthful of jerky as they stopped to rest the horses. She held out her poncho and let the excess water roll onto the ground. The rain was steadily falling now, blowing almost horizontally into their faces.
Buck shrugged, "I think so…the thing is, the ground is rocky and tracking is just about impossible. The rain also washed anything that would help away. But this is the only trail that makes sense. I can only hope the horses kept moving this way."
Taking a look at the sheer ravine just feet from where they sat on their horses Jimmy nodded his head in that direction, "Well, I tell you. I sure hope they didn't go that way. If so, I ain't going after them."
Kid, who was bringing up the rear looked behind him. Seeing this, Ike pointed at him and asked what he was looking for.
Kid shrugged, "I don't know. I just got this feeling we're being watched."
Lou and Noah, also close to the rear turned around and stared into the heavily wooded area, "Watched? By who? Indians?"
Kid shrugged, "I don't know. It's just a feeling. Probably nothing."
Jimmy's keen eyes searched the trail behind them, "Who else would be fool enough to be out in this weather in this country? Besides us, I mean."
"Maybe more trackers or hunters?" Cody suggested.
"Does anyone else find it odd that that group of trackers didn't find this trail that we did? Do you think they know something about this trial we don't?" Kid wondered, turning back around in his saddle.
Buck shrugged, "Maybe they don't know how to read the land."
"You're a good tracker, Buck, I ain't denying it. But a blind man could have found this trail," Noah pointed out, "least when we started out."
Buck shrugged, "Maybe, but we'd have met up with those fellows again long ago if they took this trail."
"True, but maybe those fellows knew they'd be likely to get scalped on this trail, and so that's why they ain't here," Cody added.
"Well, we can't turn back now," Buck sighed, "Besides, we know the horses went this general direction, even if I've lost the exact trail. I know we're still better off than those hunters are!"
"Well, let's keep moving," Kid sighed, with one last glance over his shoulder, "If there's trouble around, it'll catch us soon enough."
Jimmy nodded, "It always does."
The rain poured all day long with increasing force, making for difficult going on the steep, rocky trail. Buck seemed to pick up the trail of the horses late in the afternoon, and they began moving with more confidence than before.
The air grew colder still, and the rain suddenly gave way to flurries of snowflakes.
"I thought it was spring!" Cody called, turning in his saddle and watching as Lou tilted her head back and caught some of the flakes on her tongue.
"Not here it isn't," Buck replied, "These mountains won't see spring for another few months."
"Well, I guess I'm glad Rachel made us bring all these warm clothes now," Jimmy shivered, reaching over to his packhorse and digging in the saddle bags for his gloves.
They resumed companionable silence, their moods improved by finding the right trail again. The ground was too rough for anything but serious concentration though, and they watched carefully in order to help not only their mounts, but also the packhorses each of them led.
Dark was falling fast in the highlands, as the sun they'd never seen that day sank behind the ridges. Since they were in the middle of a narrow trail with no place to camp, they all agreed to push on a bit further until they found a suitable clearing for stopping. The ground grew even more treacherous as the sky grew darker. They moved along a narrow ledge, a solid rock wall on their left, and a sheer drop off on their right. The horses were antsy, and the ground was slick, making for a dangerous situation.
"Get us off this ledge, Buck," Jimmy called from behind their leader after his horse slipped twice in the space of eight feet.
"I'm working on it. The only way off right now isn't one you want to take," he replied, nodding toward the cliff.
It was nearly pitch black when Lou heard a small cry and a sudden frantic scuffle of hooves on rocks behind her. She turned in time to see Katy fall forward onto her knees and Kid pitch right over her head onto the rocks.
"Kid!" Her words exploded in a cloud of vapor as she leapt off Lightning and edged by him and her packhorse on the narrow trail.
She was vaguely aware of the others scrambling off their horses behind her as she rushed forward, slipping on the wet rocks that would more than likely be icy by morning.
Kid was pinned against the rocky wall of the ridge, and Katy's weight rested on him, as she kicked and thrashed in a panic, desperately trying to avoid the cliff only ten feet away. Kid grunted each time her weight fell on his ribs, wincing with pain.
Lou slowed down as she approached the frantic horse, looking with concern at Kid's face, which was contorted with the pain of twelve hundred pounds repeatedly slamming into him. She knew a bad move from her could send Katy into total panic and she could hurt Kid worse. The others were coming more slowly now too as they realized the same truth.
"Easy girl," Lou spoke softly to Katy as she moved toward the thrashing legs that were barely missing Kid now. Kid was conscious, which was a good sign, and he also talked to Katy in the most soothing voice he could given his pain and the fact the wind was gone from his lungs.
Lou held her hands out to the spooked mare, reaching for the reins, and taking the time to meet Kid's eyes.
They were wide in fear, whether for Katy, himself, or her, Lou couldn't tell, but she guessed it was the first.
She leaned in just as Katy struck out, catching her in the leg with a metal shod hoof and Lou tumbled backwards on the rocky ledge, landing uncomfortably close to the edge.
Katy's hooves continued to slip from under her on the ridge, and she crashed down again and again in the same place-which was by chance on top of Kid.
"You alright, Lou?" Jimmy's voice was soon in her ear, and his hands grabbed her under the arms, trying to pull her up.
Although her shin ached horribly where Katy's hoof made contact, Lou brushed his hands aside, "I'll be fine! Go help Kid!"
She pulled herself up using the tail of her packhorse and walked forward unsteadily, squinting to see everyone in the low light. Cody and Noah braved Katy's flailing hooves to reach in and secure holds on Kid's arms and Buck and Ike lunged for Katy's bridle to steady her.
And then, suddenly, the situation was out of control. Katy found a leg hold, and tried to pull herself up at the same time Cody and Noah dragged Kid forward, out from under the horse. The side of the rocky wall where Katy's hoof was now plowing into and where Kid had just been trapped crumbled, and a large rock struck Katy in the side, causing her to leap into the air and twist with fear. Jimmy and Lou rushed forward, dodging Katy's twisting head and flailing forelegs to also grab her bridle as she backed blindly towards the edge.
"Whoa Katy!" Lou heard Kid's controlled voice from behind her as she dug her heels into the ground and tried to stop the thousand pound animal from doing what she wanted, which in this case would result in her plunging backwards off a mountain. Beside her, she could hear Ike's teeth grinding with the strain of throwing his weight against the horse.
"Katy!" Kid's voice was a piercing scream and suddenly Lou felt Katy stop moving backwards and instead slip and start desperately trying to come forward again. Without looking, she knew Katy's hind leg or legs had slipped off the edge.
"Pull her up!" Jimmy's voice cried from the other side and she was vaguely aware of Cody, Noah, and Kid running by them and securing holds on Katy's saddle.
The only sound was of Katy's labored breathing, metal scraping on stone, and the boy's growling and panting as they leaned back, lifting Katy off her back feet completely, and dragging her forward across the rocks. For a moment she slipped backwards, when with a final heave her hind leg struck solid ground and she lunged forward, dragging the riders with her.
And then, it was over. With arms trembling with their exertion and sudden loss of adrenaline they all pitched forward, wrapping arms around the paint mare and sighing with relief.
"Katy," Kid was mumbling over and over again before he suddenly sank to the ground and pressed his arms to his ribs.
"Kid!" Lou called out softly and kneeled beside him, placing a hand on his stubble roughened cheek, completely forgetting the distance they'd adopted. "Are you hurt bad?"
Kid shook his head, "I don't think so, but my ribs..."
Buck and Jimmy appeared at her side as Cody and Ike went to calm the nervous horses at the front of the line and Noah checked over Katy. Lou and Buck both helped Kid out of the jacket and pulled up his shirt to reveal ribs that were already discolored.
Buck pressed his fingers as gently as possible along Kid's midsection and Kid winced but didn't cry out with pain.
"Looks like they're just bruised. I don't even think you cracked any, which means you're lucky," Buck gave the prognosis with a sigh of relief, "You hurt anywhere else?"
"No, I actually feel alright. How's Katy Noah?"
"She'll be okay, but she cut up this hind leg pretty bad. The swelling isn't bad, but I'd guess it will be sore. Might want to stay off her for a day or two, ride the pack horse instead. We can divide up your pack horse's gear so Katy can go weightless."
Kid nodded.
"Everyone else okay?" Jimmy called out, "Ike, Cody? You hurt? The horses all here?"
Cody's cry came from the darkness in the front of the line, "Everybody's okay. But if it's all the same to y'all, I'd rather get off these rocks before they start to ice!"
"Good idea," Lou murmured, rubbing her shin where Katy kicked her. She felt a slight swelling, but knew it couldn't be helped and that it wasn't serious.
"Let's lead the horses, they got enough to think about without worrying about taking care of us too," Buck suggested as he pushed by Lightning and the other horses to make his way to the front of the line.
"Kid, are you going to be okay walking?" Jimmy wondered.
Kid nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks boys, Lou. You saved Katy's life."
"And yours too, don't forget," Noah called back, "Because Lord knows you'd have jumped the ledge after her."
It took about forty five more minutes of walking, but finally the trail wound inward and away from the ridge. The clearing they found was more of a patch of rocky ground under a jutting rock, but it provided shelter from the steadily falling snow. They were surrounded by dense woods on three sides and backed up to the mountain. After feeding and blanketing the horses, they settled under the large canopy of stone and quickly got a large fire started. Dinner was ready in a few minutes and they devoured it hungrily without saying a word to each other.
"Twenty-five dollars ain't enough for today alone," Cody commented out of the blue a while later as they all sat shivering miserably and staring into the fire.
"We should go to sleep," Kid suggested quietly.
"We should, but I ain't tired. That scare with Katy woke me right up," Jimmy mumbled, turning the collar of his coat up and moving back more tightly against the wall, "Least nothing can sneak up on us tonight."
All the riders nodded in reluctant agreement. Kid had to agree with them about not being sleepy. His heart rate still had not slowed.
They were silent for a minute longer. Suddenly in the distance, a wolf's howl broke the eerie quiet. It was a mournful, lonely call, serving to remind the riders how isolated they were, two full days into the wilderness and climbing ever further, chasing after something they didn't understand, something they didn't begin to fathom.
To be continued...Chapter V
Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author
