The Reckoning part 2

The apocalyptic Bonnie and Clyde saga continues

Click here to read part one

The Hitchhikers

I guess I’m a real cowboy now.

He grinned at his reflection in the rear view mirror. He wore a wide brim hat, silver tinted aviator sunglasses and a red plaid shirt. Smug. His partner in crime was smug beside him. Her hair lightly bleached with dark roots showing, peach lipstick and aviators of her own. His were round, hers were square. The road rolled behind their heads and the pine trees either side of the car blended into a tunnel of green.

For six weeks they’d had everything they wanted. They were new people now, With new energy. They drove towards the sun in the east and every morning felt like a new beginning. They had escaped the eye of punishment and the felt unstoppable. The invincible assassins.

He bought the car a week after their escape, a silver Camaro, 2018 model. They’d hidden up North for a while away from phone service, keeping the news out of site and mind. The anxiety faded into a memory and they headed back south. Now they were going east into the mountains to enjoy the last few days of summer.

He slowed to turn left into a gas station and she caught his eye, a young woman holding a cardboard sign with a hand drawn peace symbol surrounded with colourful flowers. She was tall and pale skinned with firey red hair. The picture of a hippie traveler: she wore a silk shirt, a hemp skirt, boots, a ty dyed purple head band and sunglasses. She pursed her lips and dipped her sunglasses to look over as the car passed. Behind her, another woman and a man stood laughing and waving.

There were three empty seats in the back of the car. The decision was immediate and unanimous. Why the hell not? They’d run out of things to talk about and gone quiet. They were tired of living in the shadows and these people seemed harmless enough.

When the car pulled over they cried out “merci” in unison, proudly displaying their rustic Quebec accents. The alluring woman with the sign sat in the middle seat. She tried to lead the conversation but it was clear her English was not as good as the other two hitchhikers. They were a young married couple and she was their close friend. They’d just finished picking grapes in the West and were on their way to secret spot to partake in another type of harvest, one of a less legal manner (although they offered this information freely). They were going in blind, searching for a plantation in a place called Broken Antler with only a name and some directions.

The carefree attitude of their fellow adventurers was infectious and soon Elektra was smiling and chatting more than he’d ever seen her do. She asked their thoughts about the topic on everybody’s mind: the mysterious murders that had been happening all over the English speaking world in the last month.

They started with the lobbyist from Nexus pharmaceuticals who was gunned down in the streets of Vancouver. In the weeks following, 11 more medical industry representatives and two politicians had died under mysterious circumstances in Canada, the United States, Great Britain and Australia. None of assassins had been identified and it was unclear if they were co-ordinated or just copy cat killings.

The young man in the back, whose name was Leo became animated when they were discussing the killings. He grinned from ear to ear as he raved about revolutionary justice for the way the elites. Someone had to pay for the way they handled the Great Sickness. He rows of perfect white veneers that seemed to shine whenever he opened his mouth, contrasting to his swarthy skin, his bushy regrowth and the warm playful look in his light brown eyes. Thick eyebrows and large simian nostrils suggested some of Leo’s ancestors might come from a lineage outside of Europe but he wore it well. A confident display of hybrid vigor.

Leo’s wife was named Jochevelle. She had the broad set body common among East Canadians, dark brown hair and a prominent fringe covering her forehead. Small grey and black tattoos adorned her visible forearms. She was not so excited about the wave of violence, she thought that executions were never justified. Leo asked how she could call herself French after denouncing revolutions and everyone laughed.

Marie was the name of the red headed woman. Her eyes were fixated on the driver’s through the rear mirror. Every now and then when it was safe, he took his eyes off the road and would look back at her. It was like she was trying to hypnotise him.

Ain’t No Cowboy

In the evening, they stopped at a hotel for a night. The driver, who called himself “Cowboy”, stayed up to drink with his passengers while his companion Elektra retired for the night. He sat at an oak table across from Leo while the two French girls put a song on at the jukebox. It was a slow grinding blues track with a howling black singer that Cowbody didn’t recognise. Trying to follow the guitar licks and hear some of the lyrics helped him to relax and clear his mind.

A foamy beer touched his lips reminding him of where his mustache has been a few weeks before. Leo was speaking and moving with flare and speed while his speech and movement were cautious and punctuated with pauses. Like they were yin to one another’s yang. The frenchman would periodically gaze lovingly at the two dancing women while he smacked the table to the rhythm of the song, swaying hypnotically. He seemed intoxicated by his own charisma.

“You have been so kind to me and my ladies my friend. How can I ever repay you Im sorry, was it Andy?”

He’d told him Alex but that was a lie anyway. “Yeah. But my friends call me Cowboy. You can call me that.”

The small frenchman showed his glowing white teeth again. Cowboy! “I love it! Yee-haw! He reached his glass up and they clinked them together in a toast. We talk so much about so many exciting things that I have not gotten to know you and...”

“Elektra.”

“Ah. Elektra.” He sounded out the syllabyls, adapting the sounds to his accent. “She is a good girl. How long you know her?”

“Years.” He raised his glass to take another drink, shielding any signs of dishonesty on his face.

“You married?”

“No. Maybe after we see the country.” He changed the subject abruptly. “How about you? You’re travelling with your wife and how do you know the other girl? Marie?”

The women were now dancing with their arms over each others shoulders. Marie rolled her head back and shook her red locks in a gesture of arrogant sexuality.

“Ah. You see, I am a lucky man. Very lucky. I try not to uh, how do you say it? Tell people I am lucky?”

“Brag. You try not to brag.”

“Yes. My wife, we go together everywhere. And Marie, she comes when she wants to. She is a free spirit. We have love for Marie.” The cadence of his speech has a musical rhythm that reminded Cowboy more of the French from France than the rougher French Canadians.

“Right.” The beers were starting to go to his head. “I think I’m gonna to pay the tab man. It was good hanging with you tonight, I’ll see you in the morning.” He went to shake hands and Leo leaned right in and gave him a half hug with his other hand.

“Good night my brother.”

He made his way over to the bar, resisting the urge to look back at Marie. Her performance drew eyes from every corner of the room. The attention seeking was out of place in the small town bar but at least Cowboy’s face wouldn’t be the one anybody would remember.

As he was waiting to be served when the man next to him began to speak abruptly without trying to get his attention first. He was an enormous Native American, equal parts muscle and fat with long hair tied into a ponytail.

“That redhead is really something ay bud?”

“Oh yeah. For sure.”

“Is that your girl man?”

Cowboy chuckled. “Not at all. She’s a free spirit.”

“My names Rick, whats yours?”

“Cowboy.”

Rick laughed, coughing beer out all over the bar. “Cowboy? Come on man, you aint no fucking Cowboy.”

“Its a nickname. Are you from here?”

“Broken Antler.”

“Wheres that?”

“A days drive to the East. I’m on my way back from some business the city. Where are you headed?”

“We’re going back that way.”

“Of course you are.”

An over dressed middle aged man behind the bar arrived with card machine. Cowboy tapped the machine with the strange shiny card that had sustained them for the last month.

“It says declined.”

“Are you sure?”

Rick cackled with laughter. “Partying a bit to hard eh Cowboy?”

He tried again. The same thing. Fuck. He had another card but only with a couple of thousand on it. The shiny card with the snake was the safety net. If it wasn’t working he was no longer invincible.

After he paid with the other card he quickly made his way to the exit. Rick called out to him “See ya round.” He raised a hand in a lazy wave without turning around.

Once he was under the flourescent light he took his phone out of his pocket. There it was. A notification from Nero. That son of a bitch. Instead of opening at the message he texted Elektra.

If you’re up come to the bar. There’s a problem. We need to talk about what to do.

He cursed to himself over and over again. But the truth was, he wasn’t surprised. He was told the card had direct access to 50 bitcoin, an impossible amount of money to ever spend. It was too good to be true. Almost 5 million for a single assassination. Some part of him had known it couldn’t be real. Now the faceless manipulator would be back for his pound of flesh.

He leaned against the lamp post and pulled his hat over his eyes. He was too drunk to be solving any problems right. Spaced out, he heard the faint music and the mumbling voices from the bar, the lamp light glowing blood red against his closed eyelids. And then he heard foot steps.

The person was stepping lightly, slowly, trying to get close before he realised. But he was always prepared to be crept up on. The steps grew louder and closer and then he pulled up his hat to see. It was Marie standing in front of him, her head cocked to the side.

“Hello.” She said slowly. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing. I just drank too much. Maam.” He tipped his hat playfully like he was in a Western movie and she smiled. She reached her hand out slowly and took the hat from him, turned it around and put it on her own head.

“You like it on me? she gave him a silly smile.”

“Yeah. I’ll have it back now though.” He leaned forward to take it but she took a half step back and he collapsed in a heap in front of her.

“Oh! Im sorry.” She took him under his armpits and began to help him up. Then they heard another voice.

“Hey” Elektra was standing at the mouth of the carpark, half concealed in shadow. “You wanted to talk?”

“I did.” He leaned against Marie for a while with his mouth open as if waiting for the words to come to him. And then he said “Never mind. It can wait until tomorrow.”

A Sign from the Sky

“Parker Anderson. Two last names. Leo held up two fingers in the back seat and winked.”

“And you’re just going to ask the locals where to find a drug dealer by name?”

“When we are in Broken Antler it’s ok. It’s not on the map. A dirt road that forks left. You want me to drive?”

Cowboy had had four coffees and an energy drink with a skull on the label that tasted like cotton candy. He still felt like death. The hangover was bad enough but the dread of facing Nero felt like a poison flowing through every part of his body.

Leo and his wife were having playful disagreement in French. Their voices sounded further and further away. Marie was watching him like yesterday, like he was a puzzle she was trying to figure out. She looked at Elektra as well and then Elektra at her. He didn’t sense any hostility but there was some sort of wordless communication going on between them.

He slowed down as the road began to wind around the side of the mountain. He tried to put his mind completely on the task of driving but the avatar of Nero lingered in his mind, taunting him.

The bend in the road had just given was to a straight downhill stretch when suddenly something darted in front of the windshield. He and he slammed on the breaks. There was a blur of brown feathers, a huge eagle or hawk and it was carrying something in its talons. It loop upwards a split second before it would have splattered on the glass and dropped what it was carrying on the ascent. It landed with a thud in the middle of the bonnet of the car. They all stared in silence, Cowboy, Elektra, Leo, Marie and Jochevelle, their minds all focused together on the one point like beams of light focused into a laser. Hairs were standing up on the backs of all their necks.

A car horn honked behind them and a man’s voice shouted something aggressive. Cowbody let his foot off the break and rolled slowly down the hill until there was space on the side to pull over. The rubber of the wheels creaked to a stop on the dirt. One by one they exited the car and assembled into a circle around the front. Sitting in the middle of the bonnet was a severed human hand. It had skin the same colour as Leos, darkened scarlet flesh at the stump. All five fingers were intact.

Nobody spoke for a while. Then Leo broke the silence.

“That is kind of amazing if I am honest. Some poor bastard is missing a hand.” He put a cigarette in his mouth. Jochevelle plucked it away and gave him a harsh look. “What? It wasn’t me who cut off the hand and fed it to the eagle!”

Jochevelle turned to Cowboy. “We have to go to the police. It will be someone who is missing. Their family -”

“No. No cops.” They all stared at him. “We can leave it here, on a rock. Someone will see it.”

“Why? It is the right thing to do. If we leave it here another animal will get it. It could be somebody’s father or mother missing.”

“I’m pretty sure thats a man’s hand. Look,” He paused, considering his words. “You guys are going to see a weed farmer. Do you want to tell the police that?”

“Why would we have to tell them that?” Leo chimed in, looking confused.

“You don’t but,” he took another moment. Elektra was motioning her eyes towards the car. She wanted to leave them behind. “What if your guy, Mr Anderson is responsible? What if he had to deal with a problem? It would be a shame if you were bringing his problem back to haunt him. Since you want to have a good relationship with your employer and all.”

Leo had a thoughtful look for a moment but Jochevelle smacked him and shouted something in French. He shouted back, throwing his hands up in frustration. She was pointing at Cowboy and Elektra. She stormed up the road and Leo chased after her. Marie took a few steps to follow then stopped and looked back at them. “Don’t go. Please.”

“We won’t.”

“Thank you!” She put her hands together in a gesture of thanks then chased after her friends.

“They’re going to be a problem. Especially Jo.”

“I know.” He picked up the severed hand and raised it over his shoulder ready to throw it into the woods. He reconsidered the decision and instead went and placed it gently on a square black rock visible to the road. “I can’t let them go yet.”

“Why? What’s the plan?”

“I want to meet Mr Anderson.”

“Ok.” She stood with her arms folded, waiting for an explanation. When he didn’t offer one she shrugged. “You’re the man with the gun, I guess we all better do what you say.”

“He turned off the card.”

“What?”

“Nero turned off the card. We no longer have unlimited money. We are fucked.”

“Fuck.”

“Yes. Fuck.”

“Hey!” Leo was jogging back down the hill. “My friends I am so sorry. We talked about it, you are right. You’ve been so good to us, driving us for nothing.” He turned to Jo behind him. Marie had an arm around her shoulders comforting her.

“I’m sorry.” She looked away, avoiding eye contact. “I am scared. I’ve never seen anything like this.” There were tears in her eyes.

Elektra joined the other girls putting her hand Jo’s cheek. “I have. The best thing to do is to keep moving and forget about it.”

Leo nodded. “Yes. Let’s forget about this.”

Us and Them

NeroEternal666: Cowboy. I need you to do something for me.

Punished_Cowboy: Wheres our money? We had a deal.

NeroEternal666: Things have changed. I need more things done. You do a good job.

Punished_Cowboy: That wasn’t the deal. You said one time, one guy.

NeroEternal666: Things have changed. If you promise to be in Toronto by the 1st of September I will turn your card back on. Remember I know where you are at all times.

Punished_Cowboy: No. I’m not just going to kill whoever you tell me to even if I have no problem with them.

NeroEternal666: I’ll be here if you change your mind.

Punished_Cowboy: Did you kill all those other people?

NeroEternal666: You know the answer. I’ll be here WHEN you change your mind.

Elektra handed his phone back to him. The two of them sat in the front silently, thinking about what to do.

Leo navigated them off the main highway to a country road running past a bee farm. It was 9pm and the summer sun was still high but Cowboy’s anxiety was wearing him out.

“Over that hill and bridge runs along the river and another 10 miles we are in Broken Antler.” Leo looked to his right to see his two women asleep against one another. “I didn’t know it was so far. Maybe we should find somewhere to camp for the night? Better to meet Mr Anderson tomorrow I think.”

“Sure. Will you be ok sleeping on the ground?”

“We are vagabonds. It’s what we do.”

Cowboy knew it was absurd to keep playing the nice guy incident with the severed hand. But the frenchman was still playing along, desperate to keep the peace until they got to the farm. Cowboy was beginning to resent himself for being seduced by the idiotic notion of an adventure with strangers. He hated not being in control and having to play the cards dealt to him but he would rather buy himself some time than be at the Nero’s whim. They needed time and money. And without Nero’s card they were going to have to take some risk to get either.

He pulled over at a rest stop by the river and parked the car cross ways. They took a seat at a picnic table together while the hitchhikers smoked and joint and ate some dried fruits. Cowboy sat facing outwards, pretending he was keeping his eyes out for bears and their conversation rattled on in French. When the sun began to set, Cowbody and Elektra retired to the car and put the seats back so they couldn’t be seen. Finally they were alone to talk.

“To hell with that asshole with the missing hand, making the whole ride awkward. To hell with Nero and his bullshit ultimatum. And to hell with those hippies for speaking French so we can’t understand them.”

“You mean so you can’t understand them.”

Cowboy’s eyes lit up. “Really? You speak French?”

“Not as well as them of course. But enough to understand. They can’t keep their mouths shut. They spill everything.”

“Hell yeah. What are they saying?”

“Jo thinks we’re bad news of course. They’ve been arguing over whether to leave us and find another ride. Leo wants to stay with us. He’s been talking about having us on their team. I don’t think hes confident that the farm is going to be safe.”

“Interesting.”

“Then there’s the redhead. Their girlfriend.”

“Marie. What about her?”

“She’s their honeytrap. They use her to seduce people. So they can control them. Theyre planning to see if she can hook up with somebody at the farm.”

“Weirdos.”

“Shes going to try to have sex with us both tonight.”

His heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“She told them shes going to figure us out for them. That’s what she means. She’s very sure of herself.”

His guts tingled with delicious sickness, but he tried to hide it. “That is… so stupid.”

She shrugged. “People come up with ways to get what they want when they dont have a roof over their head. I’ve seen it before. We can turn her down. Make things even more tense. Or we can let them think they have us under control.” She sounded like she was discussing something as trivial as what to have for breakfast.

“Wait. So you would actually do it? With her?”

“I’ll do whatever you tell me to. You’re the man with the gun, remember?”

“What the fuck does that mean?” He sank back into his seat and smacked the back of his head against the head rest. The hitchhikers were singing in French and the sun was almost down. “Lets just see what she does.”

Strange Interruptions

He woke up on a couch. He was in his apartment. Somebody’s apartment. He switched on a lamp on the table nearby. It was an ugly place. Disoriented, he couldn’t remember falling asleep. There was a bottle of whisky under the cushion his head had been laying on.

I was dreaming something good. What was it? Take me back there.

He took the bottle and threw his head back, gulping it like water on a hot day. The burn in his throat was a comforting feeling.

The phone rang. It was Alice. What the hell does she want now? He was going to throw the phone at the wall and then he remembered… Alice was dead!

He picked up. “Hello? Who is this?”

“You know who it is you idiot. Let me guess you’re drinking again?”

“Alice! How are you talking to me? Where are you?” She didn’t answer the question. She just kept rambling, calling him useless and stupid. “Alice! Listen to me. You’re dead. You killed yourself but somehow you’re there. Talking to me. We have to figure out why. Where are you? Where does it look like you are?” She kept rambling on the other end like she didn’t even hear him. “Alice!”

There was a bang on the car window. He woke with a jolt. His hand moved instinctively towards the glovebox where he kept his gun. Then he heard a woman’s voice. It was pitch black outside. He turned on the interior light and opened the door. Marie stood there sheepishly.

“Hi. Sorry I woke you up. Hi!” The second greeting was to Elektra, blinking awake beside him. She gave her a little wave.

“It’s all right. I was having a bad dream.”

“The other two want to be alone for a moment. Can I sit in the car?”

“Sure, jump in.”

She took her spot in the middle of the back seat and then leaned forward with her elbows resting on the driver’s and the passengers seat. Elektra turned as far as she could around so that the two woman were face to face. They studied one another like they had in the car ride.

“How long do you know each other?”

Elektra answered. “Three months.” Cowboy shuddered a little, remembering he’d told Leo a different story.

“No. You can’t be serious.” She giggled. She opened her mouth to feint shock and then covered it with both hands. “I thought you must be together forever like Leo and Jo.”

“It’s going well.” Elektra said with an evil smirk.

“New lovers having an adventure together. So exciting.” She moved closer so one hand was now on each of their shoulders.

Cowboy felt his face turn red. “I’m sorry. About before. When we didn’t want to go to the cops.”

“It’s ok. I don’t care what you did, you are nice people. Quebecois respect a vagabond on the run.”

Elektra laughed. “Nice people huh? Can you keep a secret, pretty lady?” She pressed her finger to Marie’s lips. Marie nodded, enjoying the one up on the flirtation. “We…” She paused, still grinning. He didn’t know what she was going to say. For sure she wasn’t going to tell her what they actually did. “Nous avons tué un homme!” The girls started laughing together. Like a pair of crazy witches.

“What did you say? Come on, don’t speak French with me here.”

Marie turned to Cowboy and pouted her lips. “It’s ok. I won’t tell anybody your secret as long as you let me have one thing please.”

“Ok.”

“I want to kiss your girl. She’s so pretty.”

He looked at Elektra and shrugged. “Go ahead I guess.”

Marie craned her head forward without moving the rest of her body and touched her lips against Elektra’s lightly. Elektra placed a hand gently on the back of Marie’s head. SHe closed her eyes and began slowly making up and down movements with her lips.

Cowboy sat frozen, drinking in the glorious sight in front of him. What do I do? If I touch them or will it spoil the moment? Am I even a part of this?

Elektra stopped suddenly. The kiss came to an end as quickly as it had started. She turned towards the front and sat listening. “There’s something out there.”

Cowboy opened the driver’s side door and slithered his legs out cautiously until his boots touched dirt. Then he remembered his pistol and reached back to the glovebox to grab it. As he stood up he pressed it to his right hip holding it in an imaginary holster. He heard Jo cry out. The trees around the rim of the river shadowed the stars and made the ground almost pitch black. He could just make out the shadow of something galloping off along the edge of the river.

Elektra shone a torch light on the bench to see Leo and Jo standing and looking spooked. Jo clung tightly to her husband.

“It was a black bear.” Leo said.

“Are you ok?” Elektra asked him.

“We’re ok.”

“Damn it.” Cowboy whispered to himself. “We shouldn’t have stopped here.”

THe gazed along the river to his right. There was another torch light waving back and forth. A dog barked and the echo carried along the length of the river and back. Slowly, followed the path of the animal back towards them.

“Who’s there?” A voice called out.

Cowboy hissed at Elektra to turn off her torch but they’d already been seen. He kicked the bonnet of his car in frustration. So much bullshit. Losing his money. Driving 10 hours with, distrustful and ungrateful passengers. Trying to sleep upright. The unwanted visit in his dreams from the ghost. And being blue balled by a fucking bear. He felt like a corpse propped up against the side of the car.

The light approached and figure of a large man emerged from the darkness. He had a rifle over his shoulder and a broad shouldered dog at his feet. He shone the light directly on Cowboy’s face causing him momentarily to bare his teeth like an animal. Cowboy lifted the shoulder carrying the pistol slightly, then stopped himself.

“I know you guys!” The man’s long hair and mongoloid facial features were now visible. “What are you doing out here Cowboy?”

The Man from Broken Antler

Cowboy pretended not to recognise him, the man who’d asked him about Marie at the bar. It didn’t do him any good. Rick was one of those people who talks over you, commanding every turn of the conversation. He was friendly and jovial but with an aggression to his stance and body movements that suggested he was the type to take offence to something trivial and become hostile at any moment.

He said he’d driven past their spot on the way home and seen them but that he didn’t realise until now they were the same people from the bar. Cowboy didn’t buy it. Rick lived close by and when he heard the sounds of animals he came to check that the campers were safe. The dog, Marvin, stared at Cowboy and made a low mumbled growl through the conversation. Cowboy squeezed the pistol that he now had in his jacket pocket. Try me, you mutt.

“You shouldn’t stay out here with that bear around. I live just around the bend over the river with my sister Cath. The bears don’t dare come by with Marvin around. We got enough couches for you all to crash on, you’re sleeping on a park bench anyway.” He shrugged, but it wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

The truth was, if they stayed where they were, no body was going to sleep. And they had Mr Anderson the next day and presumably make a good impression if they didn’t want to be fed to wild life anyway. Was that enough reason to trust some weird indian guy from the bar? Neither going with Rick nor staying at the river was appealing.

The hitchhikers were convinced of the huge man’s benevolence. Leo told Cowboy and Elektra they could behind and came to get them in the morning if they preferred. Marie stood behind him shaking her head, pleading with Cowboy to stay with them.

“Ok, fine. Show us where to go.”

Rick made his way back up the river where he said his car was parked. The five fellow travelers packed themselves back into the Camero. Cowboy thought about the fact Rick had kept his vehicle out of sight. He was sure this big oaf of a man was up to no good.

He turned on the interior light. “Are we actually going to Rick’s place or do you want me to just take off?”

“He seems like a good guy.” Said Leo.

“No. He doesn’t.” Cowboy responded.

Jo glared at him from the back seat. “Sometimes we don’t who is a good guy and we just hope for the best.”

“Right.”

“You can leave us behind if you want.” She added.

“I might just do that.”

A pair of ghostly white headlights up on the dirt road behind them. Rick’s pick up truck was small for this region of the country and it barely made a noise as he skidded it 180 degrees, beckoning for the Camaro to follow. There was a half waxed moon and a bright sea of stars in the sky but the ground was obscured in the shadow of the pines. They had to move slowly along the dirt road following the river. Elektra had placed a small revolver on her lap, letting Cowboy know she was ready to use it without alerting the other passengers.

The truck turned up a steep track and clouds of dust began to stir up around them. When the ground evened out, the track became the driveway that lead to a small shack with a balcony out the front. They pulled up behind a rusted car that was propped up on bricks with a wheels removed.

An enormous fat woman with a blue hooded jumper leaned on the rails of the front porch watching them, still like a crocodile. Rick gave her a quick wave as he exited the truck, then turned and made his way over to the Camaro.

“I hope we’re not all too attached to our hands.” Cowboy mumbled, shooting an irritated glance to his back seat passengers.

The followed Rick up to the house to meet the sister. “Cath, I met these guys at the bar. They were camping out by the river so I told them to come up here away from the bears.”

His sister looked both unimpressed and unsurprised. “Don’t be too noisy.” She looked directly at Cowboy.

“What’s wrong Cath?”

“Who is this guy?”

“That’s Cowboy. He’s from Vancouver, fun guy, loves to party.”

“He ain’t no Cowboy.”

“That’s what I said!” Rick chuckled.

“I don’t like the look of him. Don’t let him in the house.”

“He’s sleeping in the car, the others are sleeping on the porch.”

“Right.” Her eyes lingered on him a moment longer and then she looked at Elektra. “Don’t let her in the house either. I’m going to bed.” She turned around and went inside.

“I’ll get my own beers then! Bitch.” He followed her into the house with Marvin at his heels.

“I guess we just make ourselves at home then.” Cowboy said to nobody in particular.

The porch was lit up by intense white flood lights. There were two loungers next to a rocking chair and dog bed in the corner. Cowboy and Elektra made their way to the first lounge and the other three to the second.

When Rick returned he had a six pack of Milwakees. He put one on the ground at the feet of each of the five guests. Everyone tried to politely decline the gesture except for Leo, he cracked one open with a cheeky grin and put the two for Jo and Marie his lap to drink afterwards. Cowboy decided it would be easier to open his and pretend to drink. As always, Elektra followed his lead.

Rick turned the rocking chair to face the couches and began rambling, as comfortable as if the guests were his next door neighbours. Marvin sat on the dog bed and eyed Cowboy suspiciously. Cowboy gave him a sneering look of his own and stroked his pistol in his jacket pocket.

“I didn’t wanna say but the sounds I hear out there, they’re not just bears or coyotes. There’s something else out there. You know, dark stuff. It scares me thinking about leaving you out there.” Rick looked pleased with himself, he was his own hero.

Cowboy and Leo had positioned themselves in front of Rick to shield the women from him but his eyes kept drifting to Marie’s legs even though she sat the furthest from him out of anyone.

“Thank you Rick. We appreciate your hospitality.” Cowboy said. He leaned closer to force Rick to keep his eyes on him.

“Hey Rick. Do you know a guy called Parker Anderson?”

“Anderson?”

“We came to find Mr Anderson, do you know him?”

“Everybody knows the Andersons. Crazy ass white folk.”

“Why do you say they’re crazy?”

“Just you know. Bad. Dangerous white people.”

“Of course but not like,” Leo paused trying to chose his words “You don’t mean for no reason?”

“I don’t know any more man.” He finished his beer and immediately cracked open another. “My whole life, white people were nothing to worry about. Now they’re killing each other. Killing their leaders. Their dark side is coming back,” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe his own words. “I used to doubt all the things they say you did to our people. But not anymore. You have that rage in you.”

Cowboy tried to steer him back on topic. “Parker Anderson from Broken Antler. Do you know where to find him? Can you show us in the morning?”

“Cath keeps saying something’s coming. She dreams of blood in the river and fire in the skies. You know? The end of the world. She’s always talking about that shit and now it’s like, I see it. I can actually see it,” Everyone was quiet, wondering what he was going to do. “So if it’s gonna end anyway, I guess we might as well party eh! Who wants another beer?”

That Rage in You

Rick kept talking. He talked about hunting and fighting and life on the reserve to the West. He talked about his ex wife who had taken his kids away from him. He talked about his time in prison. And he circled back to his doom-saying about the return of the evil white man.

The black dog Marvin never took his eyes off of Cowboy. Cowboy wondered how many times the loyal animal had saved Rick from his own big mouth. He was growing to respect his shadowy nemesis. It would be a shame to have to put some lead in him.

He was now more awake than he had felt in the last 24 hours. Like a soldier in the trenches, his body had forgotten it needed sleep. If he could have accessed this state an hour ago he might have been able to talk his companions out of coming here. Coulda shoulda woulda.

Rick’s fixation on Marie hadn’t stopped. He looked at her like it was her he was telling his stories to even though she hadn’t said a word. She played it safe, not speaking or moving. Occasionally she would glance at Cowboy and Elektra as if to reassure herself that they could protect her.

After around eight beers, the gigantic man got the confidence to ask her name. His next move was to feign not being able to hear her when she answered.

“Come here! I don’t bite.” Without even getting out of the chair he reached over and pulled her onto his lap, almost yanking her arm out of the socket in the process. She was sitting on one of his tree trunk legs, stiff with fear and leaning her right backwards. “I saw you dancing in the bar. You got some moves girl.”

Cowboy was on his feet. “Come on man, let her go.” Marvin barked once but didn’t move from the dog bed.

“It’s ok man, we’re just having fun.”

“You are but I don’t think Marie is.” Marvin’s bark turned into a snarl and he slowly rose to his feet.

“You’re having fun aren’t you baby?” Marie smiled nervously. She motioned with her eyes for Cowboy to sit back down. “She’s into it man. Why don’t you just sit down and shut your mouth.”

Cowboy started thinking through his options. Would it be better to shoot to the head and be done with it? Or should he shoot a leg? Would a shot scare Marvin away or would he have to deal with him next? The dog was now barking rabidly.

“I said sit down asshole.” Rick tossed Marie aside and stood up. They were less than ten feet apart, staring each other down. Cowboy felt his face twist into a smile. He remembered what Rick had said to him: you ain’t no cowboy. I’m about to kill again and it feels so good, he thought. Damn I wish it didn’t but it does. I’ll shoot him in the knee first, watch him suffer.

Rick steppd closer. Cowboy drew his pistol. At the moment he was about pull the trigger there was a sudden, sharp explosion right next to him. He crouched covering both ears with the pistol still in his right hand. Rick was in the same defensive pose in front of him. They shared a moment of confusion before they realised what had happened.

Standing over the dog bed, Elektra fired a second shot. And a third. Marvin’s blood splattered across her face and smoke filled the air around her.