James Hoch - Heckel Casey

The room was deathly silent again.

Madeline walked back to the head of the table and said calmly, "Don't anyone piss me off. Got that?"

The shock of what just happened lingered in the room as everyone watched Derek's blood stream down the center of the table, eventually spilling over the edge. Madeline smiled and said, "Anyone hungry? Lunch is on me."

"That was some awesome bonfire last night, Heckel," Vonnie said as she, Missy and Bobby walked into our camp.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun," I said. "How'd you like it, Bobby?"

He looked down, kicked the dirt and didn't say anything.

Sela looked at Vonnie and Missy. They both shrugged and exchanged puzzled looks.

"It sure was big, wasn't it?" I asked.

"I gotta go get ready," Bobby mumbled as he ran off.

"That's odd," Vonnie said. "He's usually a very happy kid. Wonder what's bothering him?" Whispering, she added, "I don't think he got to see much of it. Jackson came by our camp right before the fire and led him off to talk to him about something."

I had my suspicions.

"Everyone's excited to be getting to the Colorado River today," Missy said, changing the mood.

"I think we're all looking forward to bathing and doing laundry. Will we be staying a while?" Sela asked.

"I suppose so," I replied. "It would be good to recharge the batteries and I agree that getting some of the road dirt off will definitely feel good."

Jack once again led the way. One of our scouts came riding back shortly after lunch to report that all was well at the bridge. He said there was a good-sized field a ways up from the bridge that would make a good place to camp.

There were a few afternoon clouds that helped keep the temperatures down a bit along with a slight breeze. However, I noticed that Hope and Tempest were sweating excessively and I worried about dehydration. "A little while longer until we get to the water," I said petting Hope. "Hang in there."

"How are you feeling?" I asked Sela.

"Fine. I felt a little queasy a while back, but it passed. Um…when we get there, would you mind going hunting or fishing? Anything you get would be great. I'm getting tired of some of the dried stuff we have."

"Sure no problem. Maybe I can bag another snake. The last one you cooked was pretty good. Tasted like chicken."

Sela smiled and said, "I'm sure you can find one. I think there are probably a lot around here. Just be careful. After your last encounter with snakes, I'm surprised you'd even want to be near one."

The remaining hours seemed to drag on. The breeze went away and it got hotter. When we approached the river, people cheered and raced to the water's edge.

Sela led us farther down the bank. She dismounted and led Tempest to the water. "Here ya go, Hope. Enjoy!" I said. The two horses drank for a long time. Afterwards, we found a spot to set up our camp.

"Sit down and relax before you go trekking off," Sela said as she finished unpacking our tent. "I'll pitch the tent and get things done while you're gone."

"Ah, that does feel good," I said, stretching out on the ground. "As long as we've been riding, you'd think my butt would have gotten used to it and formed stiff calluses by now." I rolled over on my belly. Sela sat down next to me and rubbed my lower back. "Oh, that feels absolutely spectacular. Please, don't stop," I moaned in ecstasy.

"Are you still…nervous about going into California?"

I grunted and said, "It'll be fine."

After about five minutes, I felt energized and ready to be the great white hunter or more like the great sunburned hunter. With rifle in hand and my trusty cat, Jerky, we set out to find dinner. We walked up the river for about a mile and didn't see any signs of life. "Let's go up this draw a bit to see if we can find a snake," I muttered to Jerky. The cat raced ahead of me, but looked back every so often to make sure I was following.

Ten minutes later, Jerky stopped, hissed and turned to me.

"What?" I whispered, crouching down. I inched my way closer to her and hid behind a small clump of cacti. "Oh crap," I mumbled looking out across a boulder field. "There must be about fifty of Madeline's boys. Come on, Jerky. We better go tell the others."

On the way back to camp, I luckily spotted a good-sized fat rattler. One shot and we had dinner. I looked over my shoulder, hoping that none of Madeline's Marauders had heard the shot.

I jogged back to camp with a big snake wrapped around my neck. Jerky kept up with me. As soon as I made it to our camp, I tossed the snake to Sela and told her I'd be right back.

"Jack," I said, out of breath. "We have a small problem."

He motioned for me to sit down. "What's wrong?"

"Madeline's got a group camped not very far from here. Maybe two miles."

"Do you think they plan to attack us?" he asked handing me a bottle of water.

"I couldn't tell. I mean, I couldn't even decide if they were in fact actually Madeline's men. I just figured as such. They sort of had that…um…I don't know what to call it. A look."

"We don't want to panic everyone. I'll take a small group up and we'll keep an eye on them all night. If they attack, we'll be able to come up from behind them."

"Sounds good. You be careful," I said.

He nodded and walked off.

The evening wore on without incident. Campfires dotted the large field. People were singing, laughing and relaxing. Many folks had retired early. I told Sela what I had discovered and she immediately loaded both rifles as well as carried a Glock with her. After a while, she fell asleep in front of the fire. "Come on, Sela. Time you hit the hay." She stretched and stood up. "Are you coming?" she asked, crawling into the tent.

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

She left the flap open on the tent. Jerky slipped inside. Great-now I have to fight her to get my spot.

As the fire died down to glowing embers, I watched the area around our campsite overcome with darkness. My eyes kept opening and closing. Just as I was about to give it up and call it a night, I felt a sharp point digging into my back.

"You don't want to do this," I said, calmly.

I could feel the tip of the knife inch into my back a little farther. I knew it wasn't piercing the skin, but it wouldn't take much to finish the job.

"Yes, I do. It's part of the game and Miss Madeline said I'd win all the…um…stuff," I heard Bobby say nervously. I could tell he was on the verge of crying.

"She's wrong," I said.

"Miss Madeline is never wrong. I know. She told me she was a noble queen."

From the edge of the darkness, I heard a whispered command. "Do it!"

I could feel the knife wiggle.

"Bobby, can I see the knife?"

"I can't show it to you. You're not supposed to see it."

Another urgently whispered directive came from the shadows; it was closer. "Now, you little shit. Do it!"

"Listen, Bobby. If you kill me, terrible things will happen and everyone loses the game…even you."

I felt the knife withdraw and Bobby came around front of me. "I really don't like this game," he said, handing me the twisted, evil-looking dagger. I gingerly took it. There was a strange sensation emanating from the handle and a slight tinge of glowing red to the blade.

"Sit down, Bobby. Thanks for not hurting me. You did the right thing," I said, patting the ground next to me.

"I didn't really want to do this," he said, crying.

Suddenly, Jackson burst from the black veil of night. He had a machete in his hand. I put my arm around Bobby to protect him.

A loud gunshot roared across the campsite, disturbing the soft guitar playing from the camp next to us. Jackson dropped the machete a foot away from Bobby and me. He fell facedown into the glowing embers. I jumped up and removed his smoldering face from the fire. Vonnie came rushing over and held Bobby.