James Hoch - Heckel Casey

"What is it, Andy?" Luke asked.

"The force that's gathered north of Santa Fe looks like it's making plans to move on us."

Luke asked the other four elders to assemble everyone at the entrance to the KOA in fifteen minutes.

After everyone gathered, Luke explained the imminent danger. Several men yelled that they were ready to defend their homes.

"I understand, but their force is too big. We will be wiped out," Luke explained. He went on to introduce Sela and me. The crowd got silent. Slowly, questions started popping up like popcorn in a microwave.

Summoning up my best oratorical voice, I said, "We can defeat Madeline." The crowd returned to a silence that was piercing. When I was done speaking, everyone cheered.

"If you want to follow us, be ready tomorrow morning at first light," I shouted. Sela gave me a thumbs-up.

"If you folks start heading west on I-40, we'll catch up. Let's plan to meet in Flagstaff," I suggested.

"What about the people who don't want to leave?" one of the elders asked.

"I have a feeling everyone will go," Luke said confidently.

Sela and I decided to start heading back to our group immediately, riding all night.

"You should drop south of Albuquerque to avoid any problems with the approaching evil," Justin said. "There are a couple of routes that you could follow," he added, showing us a tattered old map. "Oh, and by the way. We've set up quite the welcoming for Madeline's Marauders. The whole KOA is booby-trapped. They don't stand a chance."

"Thanks. Good idea," Sela said.

We hugged our new friends, said our goodbyes and took off fast heading east on I-40.

There was a full moon that night, lighting our way. After several hours, we stopped to let the horses rest and for us to eat something.

"Our army is getting bigger," Sela said softly.

"Yes, I just hope-"

"Hope!" she said excitedly. "See…you're getting it."

I rolled my eyes and was about to say something sarcastic when the first of the coyotes showed up.

"Oh crap," I said.

"Not to panic," Sela said calmly. "Where's Jerky?"

My insides turned to jelly. "Jerky," I said in my best stage whisper. The cat came walking out from behind a bush. Two coyotes lunged at the cat. Sela immediately pulled out one of her pistols and shot one of the coyotes. The other one landed on Jerky. The cat rolled out from under the coyote and jumped on its back. She sank her small, vicious teeth into the neck of the coyote. Blood spewed out like water from a bursting pipe. Jerky dug deeper into the animal's neck until its life stopped.

Sela and I both stared in disbelief.

"Remind me not to ever piss off my cat," I muttered.

"Indeed," Sela responded.

Jerky walked off the dead animal proudly, came up to me and purred. I reached down and picked her up.

"Awesome, dude," I said, wiping the cat's blood-soaked face. "I'm glad you're on our side." After cleaning Jerky up, she settled back on my neck and we continued our journey back to the group. Ah, the smell of wet fur! Such an endearing fragrance.

It was late morning when we arrived. It seemed like everyone approached us as we entered the camp. Someone took the horses to the stream and we were handed some food. Between mouthfuls, we both recounted our discoveries in Albuquerque.

"Okay, we leave in an hour," Jack said, turning to a young man. "Go tell everyone to mount up."

It took two hours to break camp, and we were back on the road heading west. We made the eastern side of the Sandia Mountains by late afternoon, stopping in the town of Tijeras. The next day we dropped south on Highway 542 until we made it to Highway 60. From there, we stayed on it all the way to the Arizona border. We had no trouble whatsoever. Everyone's spirits were holding strong. I was especially relieved when we made it past I-25 and the whole Albuquerque area. I kept wondering what happened at the old KOA when Madeline's troops arrived. Justin mentioned something about a lot of surprises waiting for them, big surprises.

At Show Low, Arizona, we headed north on Highway 77. Jack sent two riders ahead of us to communicate with the Albuquerque group. A few days later, they came riding back and told us that all was well in Flagstaff and the ABQ folks were excited to know that we'd soon be there.

Days passed and we were all getting tired. We desperately needed some R and R, so we stayed an extra day in Winslow, Arizona. That night, Sela and I walked around, chatting with almost everyone at their campfires. I was inundated with questions and did my best to answer them.

After Sela and I got back to our campfire, it didn't take us long to fall asleep.

"Heckel!" Sela yelled over and over.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, running up to her campsite.

"I can't find Heckel," she said nervously. "He's always here when I get up and Jerky's been pacing back and forth growling. That's usually not a good sign."

Jack and Sela went searching the camp as well as the surrounding area. A couple of men came running up to them and said there were tracks leading off toward the northeast and it looked like someone had been dragged.

"They got him," Sela said nervously with a quiver in her voice. "We have to go find him. They can't be too far ahead," she said as she picked up the saddle for Tempest.

"I'll go with you," Jack said.

"No, you need to stay with the group."

"I'll ask for volunteers," Jack offered quickly. Within minutes, five men rode up on horseback. They were well armed.

"Okay, let's go and fast," Sela said. "Jack, take care of Jerky."

Before Jack could pick up the cat, Jerky jumped high in the air to land squarely on her shoulders. Her claws dug into Sela's canvas jacket.

"Not gonna happen, I guess," she yelled as she turned Tempest quickly to follow the five men already racing toward I-40. The morning sun was starting to warm up the air and it felt invigorating. Sela's heart pounded as she raced down the old interstate. Every so often, Jerky meowed as if to give her encouragement.

We just have to find him, she thought anxiously as beads of sweat formed on her brow. I can't lose him. We can't lose him.

Smoke billowed from a smoldering campfire. "Where the hell am I?" I mumbled to myself as I woke up. I was bound and gagged heavily. Thoughts of Sela immediately flooded my head. Was she safe? What if they took her too? My arms were strapped behind my back and my hands felt as though they were coated with some sort of resin. My head felt like it had connected with a brick wall at some point. I had one heck of a headache . Drugs maybe? Of course, that's got to be why I felt like I had the worst hangover ever. I decided to fake being out for a while until I had an idea of what I was up against. Sela was probably beside herself. I hoped she was all right…and Jerky too.

"Give him another shot," I heard someone say angrily. "We don't want him getting loose. Miss Madeline would be really pissed if we lost this Heckel asshole."

I felt a prick on the side of my neck and within seconds fell into a deep sleep.

The dream I had was so vivid; it was even in color and surround sound with a sci-fi setting. I found myself standing in the middle of what apparently was a battlefield. The once-lush green grass had turned into a streaming river of blood with bodies littered in every direction. I took two steps forward and nearly slipped in the crimson-stained ground. Bodies were strewn and twisted across the landscape. Smoke filled the air, making it seem like an Impressionistic painting. Painful moans of dying soldiers were filtered in among the buzz of insects. I turned completely around looking for anyone still standing on either side. There was no movement. I took a few steps forward and tripped, nearly falling. Looking down, my heart nearly stopped; Sela and Jerky lay dead at my feet. Their bodies had numerous deep-red gouges. As I started to scream, I glanced off toward the horizon. At the edge of her crumpled soldiers, Madeline stood, her lip curled into a sardonic sneer.