| General Fiction posted March 15, 2014 | Chapters: |
...18 19 -20- 21... 
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The battle to win back their camp begins.
A chapter in the book Yosemite
The Battle & Maybe Some Supplies
by michaelcahill
The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
| Background Survivors of a disaster in Yosemite trying to cope and establish some kind of life. |
Previously Christine and Johnny found Linda and Lacci and made plans to take back their camp. Though out numbered they had the element of surprise and a distraction in the form of Lacci their beautiful comrade. Annie was on the inside to offer help as well. We left the story just as Lacci showed up in camp and Johnny and the others approached quietly ready to attack. We join the story now just after Annie has shouted a warning that there is danger coming from behind them.
Annie yelled out, "behind you!"
Christine and I turned, the others fired.
I could hear the action behind my now which consisted of screams, running and shouting. It was a maze of voices some of them familiar and some of them not. Names I knew and names I didn't punctuated whatever happened behind me.
"Jen!"
"Tommie!"
"Mary, I'm hit, oh God!"
All of this to the wooshing sounds of arrows and thudding sounds of blows struck as well as bodies hitting the ground. There were moans of agony and shouts of conquest. All of this ran through my brain unasked for as Christine and I faced seven armed men rushing towards us from the direction of the river. As I drew my gun I watched one of them stumble. Christine had already fired. He looked like a runner at the end of a long race that had run out of gas and couldn't muster the final steps to reach the finish line. I took aim and hit my target but he didn't fall. He continued to advance, holding his arm.
I looked to Christine who must have sensed the situation in the same way I did. Our eyes locked for a moment to say goodbye. She smiled and pulled back her bow and fired as I took a shot myself. I was sure we would both fall in the next instant. The six men had stopped to take aim. Our final shots were in the air. I had read about time slowing down in an extreme crisis. It displayed itself to me right there in that moment.
I took one last look at Christine. She stood there as if posing for a statue to be immortalized, the perfect female, fearless and endless of heart and courage. She embodied every good thing that a woman carried within them, everything that a man spent a lifetime trying to emulate. I Saw one man receive her final arrow straight and true directly in his chest. He looked only mildly surprised and a little amused. He didn't get his final shot off.
I saw the man next to him jump back as though he were falling into a heated swimming pool at a fancy hotel that he couldn't afford. An arrow whizzed by me from behind. It surprised me. I hadn't considered the possibility of help, but it didn't seem to find a target. Another man fell forward with a look of shock as all movement ceased in his body. "Timber" I thought to myself as he fell forward. I was surprised that something silly would enter my mind at such a time.
Another man dove for the ground while the previously wounded man dropped to his knees with his hands thrust over his head. It was too late as an arrow pierced his chest. A man running towards the river tripped over an imaginary object and fell face forward unmoving.
Time returned to normal. I looked behind me; I saw nothing but familiar faces. I watched Christine running forward to greet some old friends. She planted a big sloppy kiss right on Lester's mouth. I had the feeling it might've been the most action he had seen in a long time. I headed in that direction. Little did he know that there was more to come.
Lester and Jonesy had big smiles on their faces. Lester spoke to me with his hands up, as if to ward me off.
"I'm as affectionate as the next guy Johnny, I thinks yer lady heres done gived me all the lovin' I could handle fer one day." He laughed and I'll be damned if he wasn't blushing.
"She's a handful my friend." I extended my hand and shook his. I pulled him forward into a bear hug. "Damn, you look mighty handsome all of a sudden! Talk about puttin' the U.S. Cavalry to shame. I thought we were done for."
"Yous two looked like you was a takin' care of business ta me. But, no sense takin' no chances. Ma said y'all might need a little boost considerin' how many of them there was."
I looked around at the scene. Russell had taken an arrow in the leg, but it was bandaged and, of course, it wasn't enough to take the smile off his face. Jen had some bruises and Carlos looked as bad as he did at the beginning, but not worse. Everyone was alive and accounted for. Our clients were missing; we'd have to see about that later. There were seven dead and six wounded amongst the enemy. There were another eight being held as prisoners. That totaled fourteen people we had to decide what to do with.
Christine walked up, put her arm around my waist, and gave me a little squeeze. She had lost all of her cat like attitude and had returned to her usual playful carefree self. Had I not witnessed her in action It would be hard to believe what a formidable foe she could make. Having her on my side was a good thing. Having her by my side, considerably better.
Carlos had decided to get some information out of our prisoners. He had singled out a man not to much larger than I was. He called him Turner. I didn't know if that was a first name or last. I assumed that Carlos had observed the camp and knew him to be the leader. Turner had been wounded, but not gravely. He had an arrow through the shoulder and someone had landed some heavy blows to his face. His wounds had been attended to by one of the ladies from his group that appeared to have some skills.
"How many more of you are there? Where is your camp? You're going to answer or you die and I ask the next guy. This isn't civilization here Turner. You get the same mercy you showed me and a pregnant female." Carlos clearly had vengeance in him that wasn't completely fed yet.
"I'm telling you. There's nothing at our camp. This is everybody. Some of these people I don't even know. They followed us in. It's a rat's nest out there. There aren't camps. There are just people running around killing each other trying to survive. That's all we're trying to do. What gives you they right to…."
Carlos answered that with a hard slap to the face. "I'm asking the questions. You attacking me and my friends gives me the right to take you out. What should I do with you? Send you on your way so you can plan your next attack? I know what you'd do in my position. What do you suggest I do?"
"Look. We all need to work together. We'll all end up dead. We need to form some kind of government. Some kind of authority. It's nothing but madness now. You might as well kill me now. You send us out there we die anyway. The dreams say there might be help. Are we going to kill each other when there might be help coming. The dreams give us hope."
Carlos looked confused. "The dreams? What in hell are you talking about?"
Christine stepped up. "He's talking about the dreams that some of us have been having. Dreams that seem to be put in our heads about what happened and might be happening now. Did you see the black planes that flew over?"
Carlos shifted in place. "Stealth Bombers."
Christine rolled her eyes. "Yes, secret spy planes or whatever. Johnny and I both saw those in a dream and so did Lester here. It looks like we're not the only ones having these dreams. Now this fool is talking about them too. He's talking about a dream we had of big fat planes dropping off…."
I took over, "Cargo planes, Carlos. Dropping off huge packages of who knows what. We're guessing that they could be supplies to help us get by until we're rescued. But, hell, trust isn't something that I have in any great measure for our beloved government. Stealth Bombers. So what? Who's flying them? But, we dreamt about the bombers and there they were. Can we assume some packages are going to be dropped? Yeah, I think we can. We should at least plan to see what is in them."
Annie yelled out, "behind you!"
Christine and I turned, the others fired.
I could hear the action behind my now which consisted of screams, running and shouting. It was a maze of voices some of them familiar and some of them not. Names I knew and names I didn't punctuated whatever happened behind me.
"Jen!"
"Tommie!"
"Mary, I'm hit, oh God!"
All of this to the wooshing sounds of arrows and thudding sounds of blows struck as well as bodies hitting the ground. There were moans of agony and shouts of conquest. All of this ran through my brain unasked for as Christine and I faced seven armed men rushing towards us from the direction of the river. As I drew my gun I watched one of them stumble. Christine had already fired. He looked like a runner at the end of a long race that had run out of gas and couldn't muster the final steps to reach the finish line. I took aim and hit my target but he didn't fall. He continued to advance, holding his arm.
I looked to Christine who must have sensed the situation in the same way I did. Our eyes locked for a moment to say goodbye. She smiled and pulled back her bow and fired as I took a shot myself. I was sure we would both fall in the next instant. The six men had stopped to take aim. Our final shots were in the air. I had read about time slowing down in an extreme crisis. It displayed itself to me right there in that moment.
I took one last look at Christine. She stood there as if posing for a statue to be immortalized, the perfect female, fearless and endless of heart and courage. She embodied every good thing that a woman carried within them, everything that a man spent a lifetime trying to emulate. I Saw one man receive her final arrow straight and true directly in his chest. He looked only mildly surprised and a little amused. He didn't get his final shot off.
I saw the man next to him jump back as though he were falling into a heated swimming pool at a fancy hotel that he couldn't afford. An arrow whizzed by me from behind. It surprised me. I hadn't considered the possibility of help, but it didn't seem to find a target. Another man fell forward with a look of shock as all movement ceased in his body. "Timber" I thought to myself as he fell forward. I was surprised that something silly would enter my mind at such a time.
Another man dove for the ground while the previously wounded man dropped to his knees with his hands thrust over his head. It was too late as an arrow pierced his chest. A man running towards the river tripped over an imaginary object and fell face forward unmoving.
Time returned to normal. I looked behind me; I saw nothing but familiar faces. I watched Christine running forward to greet some old friends. She planted a big sloppy kiss right on Lester's mouth. I had the feeling it might've been the most action he had seen in a long time. I headed in that direction. Little did he know that there was more to come.
Lester and Jonesy had big smiles on their faces. Lester spoke to me with his hands up, as if to ward me off.
"I'm as affectionate as the next guy Johnny, I thinks yer lady heres done gived me all the lovin' I could handle fer one day." He laughed and I'll be damned if he wasn't blushing.
"She's a handful my friend." I extended my hand and shook his. I pulled him forward into a bear hug. "Damn, you look mighty handsome all of a sudden! Talk about puttin' the U.S. Cavalry to shame. I thought we were done for."
"Yous two looked like you was a takin' care of business ta me. But, no sense takin' no chances. Ma said y'all might need a little boost considerin' how many of them there was."
I looked around at the scene. Russell had taken an arrow in the leg, but it was bandaged and, of course, it wasn't enough to take the smile off his face. Jen had some bruises and Carlos looked as bad as he did at the beginning, but not worse. Everyone was alive and accounted for. Our clients were missing; we'd have to see about that later. There were seven dead and six wounded amongst the enemy. There were another eight being held as prisoners. That totaled fourteen people we had to decide what to do with.
Christine walked up, put her arm around my waist, and gave me a little squeeze. She had lost all of her cat like attitude and had returned to her usual playful carefree self. Had I not witnessed her in action It would be hard to believe what a formidable foe she could make. Having her on my side was a good thing. Having her by my side, considerably better.
Carlos had decided to get some information out of our prisoners. He had singled out a man not to much larger than I was. He called him Turner. I didn't know if that was a first name or last. I assumed that Carlos had observed the camp and knew him to be the leader. Turner had been wounded, but not gravely. He had an arrow through the shoulder and someone had landed some heavy blows to his face. His wounds had been attended to by one of the ladies from his group that appeared to have some skills.
"How many more of you are there? Where is your camp? You're going to answer or you die and I ask the next guy. This isn't civilization here Turner. You get the same mercy you showed me and a pregnant female." Carlos clearly had vengeance in him that wasn't completely fed yet.
"I'm telling you. There's nothing at our camp. This is everybody. Some of these people I don't even know. They followed us in. It's a rat's nest out there. There aren't camps. There are just people running around killing each other trying to survive. That's all we're trying to do. What gives you they right to…."
Carlos answered that with a hard slap to the face. "I'm asking the questions. You attacking me and my friends gives me the right to take you out. What should I do with you? Send you on your way so you can plan your next attack? I know what you'd do in my position. What do you suggest I do?"
"Look. We all need to work together. We'll all end up dead. We need to form some kind of government. Some kind of authority. It's nothing but madness now. You might as well kill me now. You send us out there we die anyway. The dreams say there might be help. Are we going to kill each other when there might be help coming. The dreams give us hope."
Carlos looked confused. "The dreams? What in hell are you talking about?"
Christine stepped up. "He's talking about the dreams that some of us have been having. Dreams that seem to be put in our heads about what happened and might be happening now. Did you see the black planes that flew over?"
Carlos shifted in place. "Stealth Bombers."
Christine rolled her eyes. "Yes, secret spy planes or whatever. Johnny and I both saw those in a dream and so did Lester here. It looks like we're not the only ones having these dreams. Now this fool is talking about them too. He's talking about a dream we had of big fat planes dropping off…."
I took over, "Cargo planes, Carlos. Dropping off huge packages of who knows what. We're guessing that they could be supplies to help us get by until we're rescued. But, hell, trust isn't something that I have in any great measure for our beloved government. Stealth Bombers. So what? Who's flying them? But, we dreamt about the bombers and there they were. Can we assume some packages are going to be dropped? Yeah, I think we can. We should at least plan to see what is in them."
 Recognized |
Rolling along. Any thoughts or ideas? Out on a limb sawing on the wrong side of the branch. Wheeee! Great input and thoughts that are most appreciated. Am I heading in the right direction or off a cliff? mikey
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