Darrel Sparkman - After the Fall

He hadn’t heard Gunny coming and didn’t hear him leave. Trent shifted his position, pulling a long piece of cloth from his pouch. Knotting it tightly around the cut on his leg, his hand slipped on the bloody cloth and hit a bush next to him.

A stab of flame exploded in the darkness and a three-round burst plowed through the bushes. Gunny had fired at the first sound he heard. Trent rolled from his position and down into a run-off ditch, lined with tree roots and rocks. There was a burning across his left forearm from one of the bullets. As soon as his feet hit the rocks, another burst went over his head into the trees. He palmed his gun, but held his fire, temporarily blind from the muzzle flashes in the darkness.

“Trent?” Gunny’s voice carried softly in the night. “You better leave, boy. You’ll not catch me out here.”

He didn’t reply. Taking a ball of string from his pouch, he tied one end to a small rock. Leaning another rock against this one, he started moving softly around to his right, trailing the string behind him. Maybe. Just maybe.

“Not talking?” Gunny chuckled. “Come on. Surely you have questions?”

He pulled the string hard. The tumbling rocks made a sharp click in the night and Gunny instantly fired. Trent palmed his gun and fired into the muzzle flash of Gunny’s rifle. The muzzle of the gun flew up in the air, spitting flame into the night sky. Seconds later, he was there, but Gunny was gone. Picking up Gunny’s rifle, he melted back into the forest to wait for dawn.

Katie was stalking around the small fire Cruz had started. He’d warned her to stay back from the fire, just in case, but she paid little heed. “We should go out and help, Chico. We have to do something.”

“Where would we go?” Chico knew what she was feeling, and felt it himself. But he knew the risks.

In the distance, they suddenly heard the clattering sound of an AK-47, with three spaced shots following close behind.

Cruz stood with his head cocked to the side, listening intently. “We’ll go out when it’s light, Katie. Right now, Trent only has to worry about himself. If we went out now, it would be a disadvantage for him.”

She relented. “Daybreak then. Is that coffee ever going to be ready?” She looked up, startled as someone was limping into camp. “Cruz! Look out!”

The Watcher stood on high ground, his stocky body easily taking the weight of the tall blond-headed woman. It had been so easy. After all, they were not really woodsmen. They thought he was Trent coming back to the camp. Now he had the girl. Now the man would have to come. The Watcher’s interest was piqued when far below he saw the man come into the camp. It brought back another memory of seeing Trent come into another clearing long ago. Difference was… now he had Trent’s woman. Again.

Trent stood at the edge of the small clearing, fighting the impulse to run headlong into the camp. A small amount of smoke was rising from under the steaming coffeepot. His rifle still leaned against his pack and other gear. Lying next to the fire was Chico, appearing at first glance to be asleep—except for the red stain on the earth under his head. Trent still didn’t move. Silently he stood in the shadows, eyes probing every possible hiding place around the perimeter of the glade. Finally, he stepped into the clearing, reading the story in the scuffled dirt around the fire.

Katie was gone.

“ Gunnyyyyyyy…. ” His voice rocked the mountainside. Anger and frustration tore from his vocal chords in primeval sound, lashing its way up the mountainside toward his foe. “I’m coming for you.”

A small sound brought him back from his rage. Chico was struggling to sit up. He turned and knelt beside him. “Dammit, Chico. What happened?”

Cruz sat looking groggily around. Suddenly his eyes cleared and he tried to lunge to his feet. “He was here. We thought it was you coming back. He just walked right into camp. Katie yelled a warning at me, that’s the last I remember.” His eyes searched the camp. “My God. Katie!”

Trent began tying a bandage around the cut on his leg. “He has her. She’s gone.”

“Then you must hurry. Catch him before he….”

“Not this time.” Chico was looking at him as if he was crazy. “He wants to draw me up the mountain. It’s between him and me. Katherine is the bait. He won’t kill the bait. At least, not now.”

Chico started down a trail of self-loathing. “Once again, I have failed you….”

He interrupted him. “Stop it, Chico. We have no time. Do you have men close? Riders you can get to in a hurry?”

“Yes. Yes, I think so.” Chico’s voice was hopeful.

“Go get them. Seal off this mountain. If the worst happens, Gunny must not escape. No matter what it costs, Chico. Even if Katherine and I both go down, you have to make sure Gunny doesn’t leave this mountain.” His eyes were boring into Chico’s. “Is this understood?”

“I will not fail. Not this time.” He kept repeating the phrase to himself as he saddled his horse and went tearing off down the mountain.

Trent looked up at the sky. Now it was time for Gunny to pay.

He faded into the trees at the edge of the clearing, leaving not so much as a ruffled leaf to mark his passing.

Katie came awake slowly, reluctant to face the throbbing in her head. Memory came rushing back and the pain was replaced by fear—a gut-wrenching fear that bolted her upright on the bed, only to be snapped back by the ropes holding her down. She swiveled her head and found Gunny gazing at her from beside a window.

“You.” Her voice was full of loathing.

“Might as well lay back and be comfortable, missy. It’s going to be a long day.” Gunny went back to gazing out the window. “That man of yours will be coming up the trail. He will try to get you back. Too bad. It’ll get him killed.”

Her voice was quiet. “You’ll never do it. Not on your best day.”

Gunny left the window and came slowly toward her. Katie suddenly realized she was completely naked. Tears formed in her eyes as she fought the restraints holding her to the bed. “Please don’t do this, Gunny.”

Gunny stood by the bed and calmly cupped one of her breasts. “Do you know how many women have said that to me, and then begged for mercy?” He could feel the heat rising within him. She was so beautiful. Her breasts were large and full and she was so worthy.

Not now. Not yet.

She stifled a scream as he pinched her nipple between his fingers. The hand withdrew, only to come back with a glittering blade. Resting the cutting-edge on her chest, between her breasts, he lightly pulled the knife down toward her navel—the weight of the knife the only pressure on her skin. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a thin line of blood started coming up in little beads of red.

“Oh, he’ll come, missy. He’ll come and maybe this time he’ll kill me. Maybe we’ll both go down. But he won’t be here for a long while. And missy… by then you won’t care what he does. Not one bit.”

Trent stood in the gloom of the forest with sweat running in rivers from his body. A thin wire stretched across his leggings—another inch, it would pull free and the metal fragments from the satchel charge would tear him to pieces. He’d worked his way up the mountain by the roughest route possible. Now, with the cabin in sight, he faced only one way to get to the top of the mountain. It was booby-trapped every step of the way.

Slowly, he backed his leg away from the wire. His heart was hammering in his chest. He hadn’t considered booby-traps, and he’d almost paid for the omission with his life… and Katie’s. Think, dammit, think.