Regan Wolfrom - After The Fires Went Out - Coyote

I just couldn’t keep up with Lisa and Graham; I wanted to, but there’s no way my heart would be able to take it, even if I’d had a full night’s sleep. As hard as it was to do, I made sure to take a break every five minutes or so. As much as I was glad to have brought the defibrillator along in the trailer, I wasn’t hoping for a chance to use it.

We heard the dogs barking just before lunchtime. We all stopped working and listened. No gunshots, no screams, just the dogs. I was sure it was just a local pest running through the yard, maybe a squirrel or a Tremblay. But we still needed to be sure, so Lisa and I hopped on an ATV and headed back to the cottage to check, while Graham stood watch at the woodlot.

As we reached the back of the cottage, we could hear voices. We climbed off and readied our guns, Lisa with the shotgun and me with my pistol.

“Baptiste!” a man’s voice called out. “Your girls won’t let us come inside.”

I came around the corner to see a black half-ton, with Ryan Stems standing in front. He didn’t seem to be armed, or that’s what he wanted me to think, but a man standing by the passenger side door had a shotgun aimed right at me.

I was way too tired for that shit.

I didn’t have my vest and I didn’t have my helmet. There was no way I could take them both out before they got me. And I knew there’d be a third man somewhere. Maybe crouched around the corner of the porch…maybe up in the loft…

I pointed my gun at the man by the truck. I noticed that Lisa had done the same.

Kayla and Fiona were behind the screen of the front porch; despite what she’d told me before, Kayla was holding the shotgun like someone who didn’t know how to use it.

I turned to Kayla and Fiona. “Are you two okay?” I asked. They both nodded. Kayla kept the gun up and aimed, her arms shaking.

“I didn’t mean to frighten anyone,” Stems said.

“Bullshit,” Lisa said. She started to angle her barrel towards him.

“Why did you come here?” I asked him.

“I wanted to tell you in person. There are going to be some changes around here..”

“You’re leaving? Have a good trip.”

“Fucking hilarious, Baptiste.” Stems shook his head. “After what’s happened the last few weeks…this can’t go on. You need to stay on this side of the river.”

“Like a time out?”

“There are too many guns in Cochrane District. Too many guns and too many murders.”

“Don’t forget the explosion,” I said.

“This isn’t a joke. I don’t find dead bodies as funny as you do. I guess you laughed like a hyena when you found the Girards.”

“What happened to the Girards?”

“Don’t screw around, Baptiste. Detour Lake. Running around and pretending they’re me, remember? You know they killed those two girls because of you. And the rest of ‘em, I guess. And I’m not willing to see the same thing happen to the Walkers or the Marchands. Or to your people.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“We’re taking over. From the North Driftwood River to the Abitibi, from James Bay to Timmins. And our borders are closed.”

“I don’t think we can agree to that,” I said.

“We don’t need you to agree. We have more guns than you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I know you like playing the heavy. But try to remember who you're talking to.”

“Who am I talking to? Some idiot from Minnesota who thinks he’s tough because he was stupid enough to join the US Army?”

“I’m the only reason you’re still alive, Baptiste. Remember that.”

“I don’t have a problem with shooting you in the head. Try to remember that.”

“Someday you may get your chance.”

“I do hope so.”

“But for today, just shut up and listen. We’re cleaning up the district…well, a part of it, at least. The Mushkegowuk Nation is sick and tired of having a shit sandwich on its border. And you’ve made it pretty clear that you’re part of the problem.”

“Fuck you, Stems.”

“I’m doing this to protect your people, Baptiste. To protect them from those assholes in the Toyota technicals and to protect them from your bad decisions.”

“The only bad decision I made was not shooting you in the head back when we first met.”

“I’m not happy about this either. I want you gone.”

“Then get me gone.”

“Don’t tempt me, Baptiste. My orders are to leave you be as long as you stay on this side of the river. If I have to drag your corpse over the bridge just to cover my ass…well, I’ll do it with a smile on my face.”

Stems was playing it wrong, trying to scare me but really just pushing Lisa to the edge. I didn’t have to look over to her to know that she was pretty close to losing it…I knew that if she took a shot I’d have to take mine, too. If I was lucky she’d take out the man by the truck, and I’d have a few milliseconds to guess where the third man was positioned. I focused my vision on my far left, trying not to move my pupils.

I couldn’t tell if anyone was up in the loft. There was no way to be sure.

I knew that the best thing for us was to do nothing.

“We’re willing to stay on our side,” I said. “As long as you keep to yours.”

“Not a problem,” Stems replied. “Sounds like you understand the situation.”

“I understand.”

“Make sure you share the rules with that piece of shit Justin Porter. You know I’d be happy to deal with him.”

“I’ll tell him.”

“Good. Just remember…I’m doing this for all of us.”

He backed up to the truck and climbed into the front seat. The second man climbed in, and Stems put the truck into reverse. As they pulled away from the cottage I finally caught a glimpse of the third man, running out from his hiding place behind the corner of the porch. He hopped in the box with an assault rifle on his shoulder.

Stems had brought a bigger gun than I’d expected.

I kept the shotgun on them until I could no longer see the truck. And then I waited another couple of beats, just in case.

Lisa and I made our way onto the screened-in porch. Lisa gave Kayla a hug while I wrapped my arms around Fiona.

“I thought that was it,” Kayla said. “My god…I really thought they were coming to kill us.”

“You guys did good,” Lisa said. “I’m so proud of you two.”

“Yes…really good,” I said.

“Why weren’t you here?” Fiona asked me.

“I was out splitting wood.”

“But you should have been here.”

“I know…I should have been here.”

I hadn’t been thinking straight.

I should have stayed behind. Or Lisa. One of us. Always.

That was how it was supposed to work.

I was too tired. I’d fucked up.

“And all this talk about keeping us safe,” Fiona said. “Seriously…”

“Take it easy, Fiona,” Lisa said. “Everyone’s okay.”

Fiona started to sob.

I didn’t know what to do. I let my arms drop from around her.

She ran from the porch and up the stairs.

We all glanced at one another for a moment. Lisa still had that berserker look in her eyes, Kayla was still shaking with fear…none of us seemed particularly well-equipped to follow Fiona up to her room.

“I guess I’ll go,” Kayla said to me. “She’s too mad at you to bother with me.”

I nodded as she left.

“She’s right,” I said to Lisa. “I should have been here.”

“I know,” Lisa said. “You should have been. You won’t make the same mistake again.”

Graham and I went out in in the truck to check the damage to the gate on Nelson Road. The locks were busted open, but that wasn’t a surprise.