Heckel Casey (23 page)

"How's this spot?" Vonnie asked, dropping her laundry bag.

"Good as any." As I pulled out our clothes, I said laughing, "Not much need to sort whites and coloreds, huh?"

Vonnie laughed. "I'm just glad we can get them clean for a change."

We hurried with getting things washed and wrung out. Back at camp, Heckel had set up a line for me to hang the clothes. As soon as I draped the last of our clothes over the line, Vonnie came hurrying over.

"I'm ready for my first lesson," she said practically jumping up and down.

"Let me get the rifles and we'll head out."

Since Vonnie had never fired a rifle before, I gave her a crash course in hunter safety as well as instructions on how to fire a rifle. "As soon as we are a good ways away from the area, I'll show you how to fire this baby," I said handing my rifle to Vonnie. I carried the one I had given Heckel. We took off into the woods, past the stream where a number of people were either washing clothes or themselves. We were stopped a number of times to chat with some of the folks we had met. They all wished us luck.

About a half hour later, we came to a ridge and looked out across a wide field. "Let's stay on this ridge for a while and then make our way down to the edge of that field," I said pointing. "But first, let's get you comfortable with shooting." I walked over to Vonnie and demonstrated how to hold the rifle, take aim and fire. "Try not to tense up. Just stay relaxed and squeeze the trigger. Aim at the tree over there. Take a shot and see how it feels. You're going to feel it on your shoulder. Go ahead."

The shot reverberated across the field below. The slug slammed into the tree.

"Ouch," Vonnie said. "Holy crap, that smarts."

"Yeah, but you get used to it. Try a couple more."

Vonnie got more excited with each shot and surprisingly she was a natural.

"Outstanding. You hit the tree each time. Good shooting. Ready to see what we can get for dinner?"

"Absolutely," Vonnie replied with that same little giggle I heard last night.

We continued walking along the ridge, gradually making our way down to the edge of the field. Crouching down, I pointed and whispered, "There's a deer over there by that small brook. You go for it."

Vonnie gave me a slightly panicked look.

I nodded encouragement. "Try to aim toward the front of her," I whispered.

"I'm shaking. I'm so nervous."

"Stay focused. Breathe. Relax. Remember, just gently squeeze the trigger when you feel you have her in your sights."

The deer jerked its head up, spotting us, just as Vonnie shot. The deer bolted off into the bushes.

"Damn. I missed," she said.

"That's okay. You did well for your first try. Let's walk a little farther."

An hour passed before we saw another deer. I had Vonnie lie down on her belly and prop her elbows up to hold the rifle. "Okay, Vonnie. Now remember what I said about staying relaxed. Breathe slowly, aim and squeeze. Try setting your sights a little higher this time," I said whispering.

I could hear Vonnie muttering to herself, trying to relax. A few minutes later, she gently squeezed the trigger. The deer went down.

"Nice shot. You did it," I shouted.

Vonnie jumped up and down. "Wow, what a rush!"

"Not to mention dinner," I said proudly. "That was a perfect shot. Let's gut it and…"

"How do we get it home?" Vonnie asked.

"If it's not too heavy, we can carry it. The deer will be lighter after we gut it."

"Oh, joy," she said. Then a sad look spread over her face. "I killed it. Why all of sudden do I feel bummed?"

"It's not so bad. Don't think of it as Bambi's mother or anything. Remember survival of the fittest and these days hunting is more than a sport. It's a necessity. Just think of it as food that's going to taste so good grilled tonight."

After I showed her the finer points of gutting a deer, we decided that it was too heavy to carry or drag.

"Let's go back to camp and get the horses. Hopefully, there are no bears around that will steal your kill."

Vonnie bubbled with excitement as we walked back to camp. She couldn't wait to tell Jack and Missy about her first hunting experience.

Heckel met us as we approached the camp. "How'd it go?" he asked taking the rifle from me.

"Vonnie's a natural. She bagged a pretty good-sized deer. We have to go back with the horses to get it."

"Congratulations," Heckel said slapping Vonnie on the back.

"Of course, you'll join us for dinner," she stated proudly.

"Yum, venison steaks," Heckel said. "Do you need any help?"

I shook my head and told him that we could handle it. As soon as Tempest and Hope were saddled, Vonnie and I rode off to claim her prize. It didn't take us very long to get to the spot where we covered up the dead deer.

"Now what?" Vonnie asked.

"I think the two of us can get it up on Tempest. We'll drape it over his back. It should be fine. We'll ride slowly on the way back."

The first attempt to lift it up onto Tempest's back failed miserably, but we had a good laugh. It was the third attempt that we actually got it up high enough so that we could push it the rest of the way.

"Ta-da," I said triumphantly. "We did it. Let's get back to camp."

Suddenly, we heard a gunshot and some shouting nearby. I quickly pulled my Glock out of my waistband. "Shh," I whispered and motioned for Vonnie to get down. After more shouting, I said, "You stay here and hold onto the horses. I'm going to see what's happening."

"Let's just go. I got a bad feeling about this," Vonnie whispered.

"I'll be fine. Be ready to go."

"Be careful."

I crouched down low and made my way around a crop of rocks. Looking out into a grassy field, I saw a small boy and a man running across it. Three men were chasing them and shooting. I gasped as the boy stumbled and fell. The man stopped to help him up and was quickly overcome by the three men.

My instincts said walk away, but my conscience said otherwise. One of the bad guys had the boy by the arms while the other two were beating up the boy's guardian. I crept through the trees to position myself in back of the three men. As soon as I got into position, I shot a warning.

"Let them go," I yelled. One of the men spun around and fired at me, hitting a nearby tree. I shot back and the slug hit him between the eyes.

The other two men were unarmed. They panicked and took off running into the trees.

I waited a few minutes before doing anything to see if there were any reinforcements from the bad guys.

"You all right?" I shouted.

"Yes. I think so. The boy might have a slight sprain," the man yelled back.

Cautiously, I walked toward them.

"Thank you so much," the man said as I approached. "I don't think we would have—"

"Who were those men?" I asked guardedly as I kept looking around the area.

"I'm not sure. I think they were part of Madeline's army," the man said, holding up the young boy.

"What do you know about Madeline?" I asked.

"Well, I know for one thing, she's got a huge army forming up north of us somewhere in Washington or Oregon, I think."

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled as I clenched the weapon in my hand tightly. "What's your name?"

"Jackson. Jackson Steele."

"My name is Bobby Stewart," the young boy said cracking a smile.

I walked up closer to the boy and examined his ankle. "How does it feel?" I asked. Two huge dimples appeared on Bobby's dirt covered cheeks, "Oh, it's okay. Just a little sore."

"How'd you like a ride on my horse, back to our camp?"

"A horse. You have a horse?" Bobby asked excitedly. "Wow, I'd love to. Where is he?"

Jackson carried Bobby over to where Vonnie and our horses were. I yelled to Vonnie that everything was all right.

"Vonnie, this is Jackson and Bobby."

Vonnie flashed me a nervous look, and I assured her they were fine. I explained how they were being chased by some of Madeline's men. After taking Bobby from Jackson's arms, I placed him on top of Tempest in front of the saddle horn.

"Yeah, I knew what they were planning to do," Jackson offered quietly.

"What?" Vonnie asked. I walked closer to listen in.

Jackson leaned into whisper in her ear. "They were planning on killing me and…um…eating the boy."

Both of our faces lit up with shock and disgust. Neither one of us said a word. We just turned to Bobby and smiled as if to assure him that the bad guys were gone.

"Well, you are welcome to come with us. We have a good three hundred people or more camped over there about a mile or two," I said as I took Tempest's reins from Vonnie. "You ride with Vonnie." She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.

As we rode into camp, Heckel came out to meet us along with Jack. The looks on their faces were guarded.

"Everything all right?" Heckel asked as he took the reins of Tempest.

"I shot my first deer," Vonnie announced proudly as Jack came up to pull the deer off the back of Tempest.

"These wonderful women saved us," Jackson said quickly as he dismounted, walked up to Heckel and Jack and offered his hand. "My name is Jackson Steele. This is Bobby Stewart."

"Hello," Heckel said a bit haltingly. "My name is Heckel."

"Heckel, that's a funny name," Bobby said as Jack helped him off the horse.

"It is indeed. Remind me to tell you how I got it sometime," Heckel said ruffling the boy's hair.

"Are you THE Heckel Casey everyone's been talking about?" Jackson asked.

Heckel didn't respond. I could tell he was getting embarrassed again. Luckily, Jack jumped in and asked, "Where have you heard about Heckel?"

"Well, for one, we heard it when we got to Albuquerque."

"When were you there? What part of the city?" Jack asked continuing his inquisition.

Jackson explained that he and the boy had stayed in the Heights area of Albuquerque, not too far from the KOA. He went on to recount how booby traps had decimated Madeline's army when they entered the old KOA. "Bobby and I watched from a hill looking down. It was sure something to see. When it was all over, there weren't many men left standing."

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"They took off running with their tails between their legs," Jackson said with a smirk.

"They didn't really have tails," Bobby offered, helping to break the tension.

"Well, you are welcome to stay with us if you'd like," Heckel said patting Jackson on the shoulder.

"I'd be glad to help cook that venison. In another life, I was a pretty good chef," Jackson said helping Jack carry the deer.

Vonnie took Bobby over to show him where he could wash up. Heckel took care of the two horses. I was about to help him when I looked over at camp. Jerky stood in front of our tent, glaring at our little gathering. Her hair was bristled along her back and I could see that she was hissing. The sight of her all riled up made my insides turn icy.

"Sela, you all right?" Heckel asked.

I was about to point to Jerky and say something when I saw the cat bolt off into the bushes.
It's probably nothing,
I thought. On the other hand maybe there's something to be concerned about. She is a good little warning system. "What's wrong with Jerky?"

"I don't know. Where is she?"

"She was over by the tent, but is gone now."

"Well, there's a mouse that's been bugging her for a while. I think she's determined to get it."

I stared at the bushes for the longest time.

"Sela, you okay?"

"Absolutely, perfect," I said grabbing Heckel's arm. "And tonight we have fresh meat!"

Chapter 20

The violent thunderstorm waltzed into the District of Columbia, pelting the historic buildings with dime-sized hail and sheets of cold rain. Lightning streaked across the Washington monument. Madeline could see the newly leafed-out trees being twisted and tortured as if a huge invisible hand were trying to pull them out of the ground.

"I just love a good, gale-force wind," she muttered, watching Mother Nature have her way. I wonder if I should send some testy weather out to Flagstaff and try that again? It would at least annoy the hell out of Heckel and his little band of merry men.

"Miss Madeline…um…your dinner party is assembled," a young man announced in a squeaky voice.

"Thank you. I'll be right there," she said, staring out the window to catch the next lightning flash.
Ah, such power. What a sight!
Suddenly, she could feel that same sense of force swirling inside her. An impish grin inched its way across her face, spreading from ear to ear. Madeline savored the power inside as if she were tasting an expensive glass of Cabernet. Each time the power made itself known, she felt as though it gained strength and her ability to control it improved. Madeline turned her palms upward to observe a blue swirling ball of energy ignite in each hand. The two orbs flared outward with small lightning flashes. It reminded her of the old dusty scientific equipment in a mad scientist's lab in some ancient black-and-white movie starring Boris Karloff.