Читать книгу North of Springville - Justin Rowland - Страница 3

The wind crept up the canyon wall as Jedidiah neared its edge. He could hear the screams on the wind, but could not discern whether they were screams of play or panic. On his belly now, he crawled the last few inches to gaze out over the lowlands below his perch, high on the cliffs. Even though the cabin was well over a half-a-mile away, the flames told the story. By the light of the fire combined with the bright moon overhead, he could see frantic figures moving about the burning structure in the distance. Jedidiah shook his head thinking how preventable this was had someone been more mindful of the fire. At that, he lifted himself up a few inches, backing away from the edge to disappear back into the darkness, when he stopped short for a better look. He had surveyed this valley several times before as he passed through the territory. And, though he had never made himself known to them, he knew that the cabin was occupied by a family of five. Why then did he see so many figures? He couldn’t be certain, but he thought he counted at least fifteen people moving around the burning cabin and surrounding out-buildings. He continued to cautiously back away from the edge before raising himself up to a crouching position. Once he was well clear of the cliff and into the tree line, he stood up and made his way back to his pack that was stashed in the dark of the forest. The thick canopy overhead blocked the moonlight, but he found his binoculars with sure hands and, turning back to the cliff’s edge, he made his way back down with the same meticulous care he had used in his first approach. Bringing the binoculars to his eyes, he could see that this wasn’t just the results of a poorly tended fire. These were not just screams of panic, but screams of terror. He could see that the man he knew to be the husband and father had his hands bound and was hanging upside down from the front porch as the house burned down around him. A handful of men stood over the rest of the family watching him squirm and scream as the flames licked his body. While the family screamed and the men laughed, the burning man’s wife suddenly lunged from the ground striking one of the men in the head with a rock she had gripped firmly in her hand. She grabbed the wounded man’s scattergun as he fell to the ground and with lethal precision put her husband out of his misery. Instantly, one of the other men shot her dead. Jedidiah watched as the flame exploded from the muzzles, waiting for the report of the weapons he knew would follow. And as the crack of the shots reached his ears, his body began to react.

Within seconds, he had his pack on and was moving toward the homestead. Given the terrain, he figured he could close the distance within ten minutes and, as he moved through the trees and underbrush, he began to do a mental check of his combat load. He knew he had a full thirteen-round magazine in his side arm and two full thirty-round magazines for his rifle. That could hardly be called a “combat load” in terms of ammunition, but he’d have to make do. Jedidiah had a habit of routinely touching his sheathed knife as he moved to ensure it stayed put, so he knew it was right where it belonged. He began to run through the picture in his mind of what he had just seen. He remembered seeing approximately four or five men standing around the surviving family, and the rest seemed to be preoccupied with the out-buildings. Though he was outnumbered, he hoped to use the numbers to his advantage and all of the activity as concealment.

The sounds grew louder as Jedidiah closed in. He knew he was compromising noise discipline for speed, but he moved with such purpose that only a trained ear could have differentiated his movement from the sounds of the night. He spoke softly as he closed in upon the scene. “Father, I could use some help here. A suppressor would be great.” And with that prayer, he reached the tree line. With one movement, he crouched while letting his pack slide off to one side. From the shadows of the forest, he looked out over fifty yards of plowed field that separated him from the flurry of activity. He pulled out his binoculars once more to get another look. As he scanned the property, he began to take deeply controlled breaths to lower his heart rate. The main barn lay between him and where he’d last seen the rest of the family. The burning cabin on the opposite side of the barn worked well to silhouette their movements. The bulk of the raiding party was hard at work loading their mules, horses, and dogs with food from the family’s root cellars and barn. They took everything from bags of grain to jars of canned vegetables. He could see now that there were men and women and they handled the food as though it was a valuable commodity. He could easily begin to pick off the bad guys with his rifle from a safe and concealed location, and had he been able to confirm that the children were dead, he would have chosen that method. But if he began to kill the bandits while the children were still alive, he feared it would complicate matters. Time was of the essence. Several minutes had already passed since he began his descent from the hills above. If he hoped to save the children, and if they weren’t already dead, he needed to move.

He pulled his hood low and walked into the action like he belonged there. He had no way of knowing the location of the children. He could only assume they would still be in the vicinity where he last saw them. He continued to be especially concerned for the eldest daughter. Judging by the behavior of these raiders, a teenage girl would surely be raped, but as horrible as that may be, it might be enough to at least keep her alive. The two younger boys, he half-expected, might already be dead.

He heard no other shots as he approached the nearest structure, but he did not under-estimate the brutality of this band of thieves. He was well within the danger zone now and, nearing the barn, his peripheral vision picked up some movement against the barn wall just feet from where he was. There, crouched in the dark, was a woman with a jar of canned vegetables. She had apparently slipped around the corner to enjoy her stolen spoils while the others continued loading. Greedily, she devoured the jar’s contents with a long gun lying in front of her on the ground. A split second later she looked up from her sinful feast and saw Jedidiah. She shot him a glance of anger and disgust for interrupting her meal, but that expression was immediately replaced with one of surprise as she realized that this man was walking in from the dark and she did not know him. As she filled her lungs with air to sound the alarm and reached for her gun, Jedidiah stepped on her rifle while pulling his knife from its sheath, driving his blade through her throat. He felt the blade glance off her spinal cord as the tip exited the back of her neck, sticking into the barn’s wall. While she gargled and convulsed, he scanned his surroundings for additional threats. Confirming that he had not been compromised, his focus shifted back to the woman. With what he could now identify as green beans all over his hand, he withdrew the knife and wiped it and his hand on the back of her shirt. He immediately searched her for anything useful. In her right front pocket, he found his own treasure––fingernail clippers. He smiled to himself and prayed aloud as he put them in his own pocket. “Nice… Father, I appreciate that.”

His attention then turned to her weapon. It was a .22 rifle without any shells. He dragged her body as close to the barn as he could, and laid her parallel with the wall. He hoped this would help to conceal her in the dark. Because it added nothing to his combat effectiveness, he laid the .22 tightly against the body and, looking up, he noticed numerous knot holes in the barn wall, allowing him an unobstructed view of everyone inside the barn. The light was dim, but the fire fully engulfed the house providing ample illumination to get a closer look at the unsuspecting raiders. He counted twelve men and women in a flurry of excited movement as they ransacked the barn. Their weapons ranged from AK-47s to crossbows and everything in between. There was no way of knowing if they all had the ammunition and skill to effectively deploy their weapons, but Jedidiah had stayed alive long enough to learn that handling everyone like an expert killer would lessen his chances of being taken by surprise.

Just then, shots began to sound. Everyone in the barn scattered for cover as what sounded like a squad of men began shooting at them. Though momentarily confused at this latest development, Jedidiah immediately recognized this as an opportunity to locate the children. Crouching low, he began to make his way around the side of the barn until he could see the cabin. Through the ricocheting rounds and yells of the bandits he began to make sense of what had happened. Apparently, the family had a cache of ammunition hidden inside their home that the raiders had not discovered, and as the heat from the fire grew, the rounds began to discharge. Judging by their actions, most of them had not figured this out and thought they were under fire from the tree line. Some shot aimlessly into the dark while others hid. The men closest to the burning house, however, knew exactly what had happened and simply laid down behind a small stand of trees a little further away from the cabin. They dragged the now half-naked girl with them and left the two boys to fend for themselves. As soon as the boys saw that their captors had abandoned them, they ran into the dark. The brothers looked to be pre-teen and as they disappeared into the forest, Jedidiah turned his attention to the girl. Being dragged by one arm, it was obvious to Jedidiah that she was unconscious. He assumed that she had been knocked out while struggling to get free from the men who were raping her. The discharging rounds of the burning cabin coupled with the length of open ground he would have to clear to get to the stand of trees forced Jedidiah to backtrack around the backside of the barn and come up from behind. As he rounded the corner where he had just hidden the dead woman’s body, he prepared himself for another confrontation in case someone had stumbled onto her while trying to find cover. But, thankfully, he encountered no one. He had a small window of opportunity to recover the girl and did not want to waste time with anyone else.

Nearing the other end of the barn, he stopped short of the corner. He knew that the stand of trees would be just beyond it and wanted to see exactly what he was up against before committing himself to action. Using the corner of the barn to maximize his concealment, he peered carefully around it into the trees. Given the circumstances, he couldn’t ask for better positioning. At only twenty or so yards away, he was behind and to the left of the two men and the girl. The men were on their stomachs, while the girl, still appearing unconscious, was on her back.

Well, Father…, he prayed, I don’t guess it’s gonna get any better than this.

Just then, one of the men began to climb on top of the unresponsive girl. His intentions were obvious. At that, Jedidiah broke cover and began to move toward the trees at a deliberate and steady pace. He brought up his M4 from the low ready and placed its front sight post on the back of the man’s head. Squeezing the trigger, he sent the round home. Before the man’s body had fallen limp onto the girl, he sent a second round under the other man’s left arm and into his heart. Neither man knew what hit him.

This last action left Jedidiah exposed to the front side of the barn and vulnerable. He instinctively pivoted to his left, rifle at the ready, to scan this danger area he had not yet cleared and, as he did, he locked eyes with another man who froze with shock at what he had just witnessed. The man attempted to raise his weapon, but Jedidiah cut him down with two shots to the chest. Just as smoothly and quickly as he turned to clear the front side of the barn, he withdrew to find the girl.

Ammunition was still cracking off from the house fire as he made his way to her and pulled off the dead man’s body. Planning to toss the little girl over his left shoulder, he saw that her face was covered in thick dark blood. At first glance, Jedidiah assumed it was a combination of the blood from the man who had been shot above her along with some of her own blood when she was struck unconscious. But the flickering light of the burning cabin revealed that she had been shot in the back of the head. The exit wound had caused severe disfigurement to her face. There was no way to know at what point she had been fatally shot. Whether it had been done by one of the men or by one of the rounds discharging in the fire, Jedidiah could not tell. He could only hope that the men had not violated her until after she was dead, but he suspected she had been raped before and after.

With a seamless transition of attention, he looked up to where he last saw the two boys running into the woods just a few minutes earlier. He wondered if they were just inside the tree line not knowing what to do next, or if they had kept on running. Whichever it was, he felt compelled to find them. This was a wild and unforgiving land, and he knew their chances of survival were not good. Jedidiah looked down at the girl one last time and folded the torn pieces of her blouse back over her bare chest. Still holding his rifle ready with his right hand, he placed his left on her heart, fighting the urge to kill the rest of the raiding party. Below the thick firming blood on her chest, he felt a small solid object. As he picked it up through the pooling blood, he could see it was a small wooden cross secured to her neck by an old shoe lace.

His breath gave way to a passing quiver as he heard the Lord speak to him, Jedidiah, even in this, I AM sovereign. Though it did not put his righteous anger to rest, he knew he had to look to the boys. He, however, was in the middle of the homestead, surrounded by the unknowing raiders and trying not to be shot by the indiscriminate rounds still going off. But even so, with great care and respect, Jedidiah took time to remove the necklace from around her neck. He figured she’d want her little brothers to have it rather than it being found and used as barter by those who murdered her family.

Quickly, he looked to the two dead men. It was now muscle memory to thoroughly search the dead for useful items and Jedidiah did this without fail when the situation allowed. Normally, he would consider every item found on the dead, including articles of clothing. He didn’t have the time for that now and focused on weapons and ammunition. He rolled the man he had shot through the heart over on his back. He carried a worn-out SKS in which Jedidiah wasn’t interested. Furthermore, he only had six rounds of ammunition which differed from the .223 rounds Jedidiah needed. Satisfied the man offered little he could use, Jedidiah rolled him back over and out of the way. Turning toward the other man, he grew hopeful when he saw a Remington pump action shotgun lying in the dirt beside the body. As he picked up the gun, however, he could see that the magazine tube was severely damaged rendering this once very capable weapon into a single-shot shotgun. Tossing the damaged weapon down, he made one more quick assessment of his surroundings and decided it best that he should make for the closest tree line, approximately thirty yards directly to his right. Standing to his feet, he ran for the trees, still suppressing his desire to engage the remaining murderers.

About two thirds of the way there, he felt a hot sting on his left lower leg. Feeling no effect on his ability to run, he never broke stride and seconds later he was safe and at home in the dark of the forest. Several yards into the thicket, he stopped under an opening in the canopy to survey his wound by the light of the moon. He figured it wasn’t serious, but could not risk continuing without confirming it. Jedidiah understood the power of the human body while under the influence of adrenaline, and he knew that, though it felt superficial, it could actually be much more serious. He could feel the blood trickling down as he knelt to roll up his pant leg. There, just on the inside of his calf, was the grazing gunshot wound, and as he suspected, it was not serious. It was certainly not serious enough to require immediate attention. He pulled his pant leg back down and began his movement back around to where he had first left the forest to pick up his pack.

After relocating it, he started toward the opposite side of the property where he’d last seen the boys enter the trees. He felt much more in control now that he was back in his element. Circling the cleared property from inside the tree line, Jedidiah kept a constant eye on what was going on within the clearing. The discharging ammunition within the fire was thinning out now, and the bandits were beginning to come out of their hiding places. He wondered what their reaction would be when they found the bodies he left in his wake. They may not even care. Nevertheless, he wanted to keep an eye on them until he picked up the boys’ trail.

Nearing their entry point, he began to hear the sounds of small muffled voices. What was said was indiscernible, but there was little doubt whose voices they were, and, he advanced even more quietly than before. Though he could not yet pinpoint their exact location, he began to make out what was being said and, listening, he closed in on their hiding place. The boys sounded very close in age, making it difficult to tell one from the other. With voices befitting of young preteen boys, Jedidiah noticed that they spoke with a maturity far beyond their years.

One boy said in a low voice, “John, I couldn’t agree more! But how do you suppose we do that? With rocks and sticks?”

“Yes! If need be!” the other responded. “She is our sister! She would do the same for us!”

“I know she would. And I’m not saying we shouldn’t go back for her. I’m just saying we need a plan!”

“Well, Adam, while we’re sitting here formulating a plan, Helen is being raped! Paw would already be in there right now, if he were…”

And, at that, the boys grew silent.

Faint whimpers could be heard just before Jedidiah grabbed both from behind placing his hands over their mouths. Instantly they began to fight, kicking his legs and scratching at his face.

Jedidiah began repeating in a calm, controlled voice, “Boys, I am not one of them. I am here to help you.” After what seemed like a full minute, they began to calm down.

“I am going to let you go, but you must be quiet. You are not out of danger yet.” When Jedidiah turned them loose, they jumped away from him before turning around. The boys were scared, but Jedidiah could see they had fight in their eyes.

“Gentleman,” he said, “we need to move.”

“Where to?” one of the boys asked.

“As far away from here as I can get you,” Jedidiah replied.

“We’re not going anywhere without our sister!” the other boy shot back.

In that moment, Jedidiah’s heart ached, but he dropped down to one knee in an attempt to appear less imposing, leaned his rifle on his leg, and stuck out his hand to the boy on the right.

“My name is Jedidiah,” he said in a low calming voice. The boy reached and shook his hand firmly. “I am Adam Wells and this is my younger brother, John.” John stuck out his hand to Jedidiah delivering another firm shake.

“Adam … John, I came on to your place just a little bit ago from up over the ridge there,” pointing as he spoke. “I’ve seen the horrible things these men have done to your family.” Both boys dropped their heads and began to sob softly. “I saw your mother give her life to ease your father’s pain and I tried to get down here quick enough to get you kids out. When the house fire began discharging your hidden ammunition I saw you guys make it to the woods, so I went after your sister.”

As soon as he said this, Adam and John stopped their crying and looked up hopefully. They held their breath in anticipation. Jedidiah reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the cross he found around the girl’s neck. “Boys,” he said, “your sister is dead.”

Adam and John embraced each other and fell to their knees under the weight of this final loss. “Are you sure she’s dead?” John managed to ask through his tears.

With a lump in his throat, Jedidiah presented the cross to them. “Yes, John, I’m sure of it.”

The boys’ sobbing subsided as they saw Helen’s necklace. Adam removed it from Jedidiah’s hand with care. Surprisingly, neither boy began to cry again. Jedidiah wondered what was going through their minds and how it was that they both were reacting in the same way. That, however, was something he would never know.

“Adam… John… We should go.”

With a resolve Jedidiah had rarely seen in grown men’s eyes, both boys stared back at him.

“No sir, Mr. Jedidiah,” Adam said with a sniffle, “We cannot, sir. These men have raped and murdered our family. We have fought these thieves off several times before to protect our stores of food and last winter they killed some of our neighbors over on the Campbell’s place. These people have done and will continue to do horrible things. They must be stopped.”

Adam was deadly serious and he wanted Jedidiah to know it. Jedidiah had no doubt that Adam meant what he said but he looked over at John to gauge his reaction to what his brother was committing them to.

Sensing that, John added, “Mr. Jedidiah, we will not run.”

Displaying no change in expression, the boys could only wonder what this man was thinking. As they stared at him through the dark, searching for some indication of what he might say next, both realized how much they needed his help. They knew nothing about him and couldn’t even make out what he looked like. The forest seemed to be working with him to conceal his identity. They feared if they looked away, he might disappear back into the shadows that covered him like a blanket. But though his physical appearance was still a mystery, even at their young age they were able to see that he was different from anyone they had ever known. His eyes were steady, his stance was confident, and when he spoke to them, they knew he spoke the truth. Though they could not explain why, they felt he was trustworthy and capable––qualities they had known in their father and character they had been taught to greatly respect.

With both boys staring up at him, Jedidiah ran through his options. On one hand he assumed that the boys’ family would rather he get them to safety. On the other hand, every word they spoke rang true. He had knowledge of these raiders as well and he knew they had been victimizing settlers and drifters alike in this territory for some time. Furthermore, he knew that they would indeed continue to victimize even more people if no one stopped them.

Father, he thought, You know how I feel about those guys… But what would You have me do?

What seemed like minutes passed with no response from Jedidiah. He said nothing and showed no body language that would point to what he was thinking.

Finally, John said, “Well, mister, we are grateful to you for trying to save Helen. We really are. But we don’t exactly need your permission to do what we know to be right.” He attempted to stand until he felt Jedidiah grab him by the arm. With a firm but gentle tug, John was pulled back down to his knees.

“No, John,” Jedidiah said in a kind and patient voice, “you don’t need my permission. But if you’re wise, you’ll accept my help and my advice.”

Immediately they felt a combination of great relief followed by an overwhelming rush of anxiety. They knew this meant they would have to match their actions with their words. Both boys had shot at men before, but this was different. Shooting from behind a semi-fortified position at people trying to take your things and hurt your family is not the same as actively hunting them down. They had no idea what to expect. They had no idea, whatsoever.

After Jedidiah offered his services and observed the obvious signs of relief on their faces, he stood up and began heading closer to the tree line back in the direction of the homestead. The boys’ hearts began beating so hard they thought Jedidiah was sure to hear it.

“Are we going in right now?” John whispered to Adam.

“Not sure, but let’s go,” Adam replied. After only a few seconds of Jedidiah’s beginning to move, the boys could no longer see him. They grew up hunting and instinctively stopped to try to hear his movement. John closed his eyes to focus on the sounds. They could hear nothing but the breeze and some muffled voices from their property. They shot a look at each other communicating they heard nothing.

“Let’s just keep heading toward the house and maybe we’ll find him,” Adam whispered.

As they got nearer to the tree line, the firelight from their cabin began to appear through the underbrush. Just short of open ground they stopped, positioning themselves behind a couple of large trees. They could see out over the field to where the bandits were but there was no sign of Jedidiah.

“Did he already go in, you think?” Adam thought out loud.

They jumped when they heard Jedidiah’s low voice coming from just beside them.

“I don’t think these guys are going anywhere tonight.”

Looking to their right, they could barely make out his outline. He was on one knee, his massive backpack protruding off his back, and their eyes strained to see him.

“I’ll keep watch here,” he said, his eyes never deviating from the raiders. “You fellas get further in and rest. You two have endured… enough. Go and rest.”

“But shouldn’t we…,” John began to ask.

But before he could finish his question, Jedidiah looked over at him with gentle eyes and said firmly, “John, go and rest, my friend. I’ll keep watch. They will not get away.”

In spite of all they had experienced that evening, Adam and John suddenly felt safe. And, though their minds were far from being at rest, they withdrew further into the woods to try and follow Jedidiah’s instructions. Seconds after dropping down at the base of a large tree, they were curled up together sitting in silent suffering as their minds replayed the horrible events they had just lived through.

Jedidiah could hear them crying for some time before silence finally regained its hold on the woods.

Father, I don’t even know what to say, he prayed. What will come of these boys, only You know. I trust You and may I do as You would have me to do.

The minutes turned to hours as Jedidiah’s watchful eyes focused on the murdering thieves. Using his pack as a support for his binoculars now, he laid in silent observation. Completely invisible to within inches, he was in no danger of being discovered.

There appeared to be no single leader of the group. Jedidiah was able to count nine of them, three women and six men. They seemed to do what they wanted, when they wanted. Their caravan of load-bearing animals was heavy laden with all their stolen goods, yet the bandits showed no signs of leaving. A significant amount of time was spent on the dead, or rather on their belongings. All the while watching each other with untrusting eyes, they laid the bodies out in the open, side by side. After completely stripping them, everything they could find on the bodies was laid out. And when everything was in place, they began to draw straws for each item. All the items were eventually claimed, the trading began, and sometime later, when everyone seemed fairly satisfied, they began to settle down for the night. Once or twice an argument broke out, but for the most part they spent the night eating, laughing, and sleeping. Observing them sleeping for several hours, and satisfied they had no one on overwatch or roving patrol, Jedidiah decided it was time to act.