Chapter Fifteen

 

Ethan and I heard a shot echo in the distance as we scraped the flesh from an elk hide. Howard had gone off on another hunt, and from the rifle report still echoing from the canyon walls, he had gotten another. He had a skill for it, we agreed, having provided the elk that we worked on and a pair of deer within a week’s time. We all worked hard to do our part and it was comforting to know that he too, was again making a contribution. There was not much worse than spending your days busting your ass while someone else sat around, reaping the proceeds.

The Higgs family, with help from Levi, had established the greenhouse and aquaponics system, which was in full swing, providing salads, vegetables and fish. Levi also worked the nearby fields, ran the distillery and nurtured a significant crop of marijuana. Mary Jane served as not only the town’s doc, but also helped Jen Higgs with the laundry, dishes and preserving food when we weren’t taking her time with our various mishaps. Angie proved a valuable nurse and assistant, also keeping busy with the endless dishes and clothes. Rae, when she wasn’t busy taking care of Jax, played a leadership role of sorts, being more than capable with a multitude of tasks, she taught the others how to handle nearly all of the jobs around town and was the one they turned to, to remedy whatever problems arose. She also took an interest in caring for the horses, which had been a love of hers since childhood.

Between the four of them, we always had someone to tend to our multitude of wounds and injuries, a steady supply of clean dishes and clothes, as well as jams from nearby berries and canned food from the crops in the greenhouse and garden. They all worked well together and enjoyed each other’s company, helping each other with whatever needed done. The Higgs girls, Julie and Jackie, helped with what they could, mostly tagging along behind their mother, although they also worked hard keeping Buzz busy and out of trouble.

With Howard providing most of our meat, Billy, along with John Higgs when he wasn’t working in the greenhouse, would tend to the animals and split firewood. Billy was a good hand with a chainsaw and accompanied me when we needed to log additional trees for the mill or for firewood. Although having much more experience and knowledge than Billy, I had resumed the dangerous task of actually felling the trees. Ethan, Eric and I spent much of our time butchering the animals Howard provided, tanning the hides and drying jerky to preserve the meat. Kev was still slowly recovering but he was handy with a blade and helped with the meat as well. When we weren’t ‘playin’ with our meat’, as we called it, we would work on the various buildings in town, upgrading our shacks and adding storage barns, a new smokehouse and other helpful improvements.

The vast amount of work seemed never ending, but the town had the feel of a well-oiled machine. The quarrel between Billy and Howard had smoothed over and everyone was again getting along. We had a good life and found great pride in what we had accomplished. We remained well aware of the crazy world beyond our Stronghold, although our daily tasks occupied our minds and we spoke little of the dangers and desolation.

The afternoon came and went before Billy came over to the smokehouse, where Ethan and I had been finished the elk hide and begun working on one of the deer.

“Yins seen that lanky piece of shit?” he asked, referring to Howard. “Heard him shoot late this morning, figured he’d have been back by now. I’s fixin’ to start some grub, an if he gots some fresh meat, I figure we’d all prefer it over more fish.”

I looked up, glanced around and shook my head. “Nope, I heard that shot too. Maybe he’s out chasin’ after it still,” I replied.

Ethan looked up but offered no reply. After several minutes, he looked up again.

“Think we should go see where he’s at? Big ole steak is soundin’ purdy tasty.” He paused, and then offered a smirk as he continued. “Guess if something happened we could be nice an help him too.”

“I’d be half tempted to let him suffer. Big ole steak does sound good though. Yea, I reckon we better.”

We rounded up Chief and Ghost from their hang out in the corral and headed out in the direction of the shot. We rode hard, stirring up dust in our wake. If he were injured, we would have no time to waste. We often joked about him, not one of us liking the man much, but being injured, alone in the mountains, was something we would wish upon no man.

We spotted his tracks along a dusty trail and followed them up to a peak overlooking Stronghold.

“Looks like he sat here for a while,” I noted, looking down over the town. “Seems a bit odd, don’t ya think? Ain’t nowhere to get a clear shot here, can’t see shit, ‘cept for the town.”

“Ain’t nothing ‘bout that man ain’t odd,” Ethan added. “Not sure I wanna know what he’s been doin.”

We continued following his tracks as they winded down the trail and cut left into a valley. The valley soon opened up into a small field filled with tall grass and scattered underbrush.

“Howard, you out here?” I yelled, yielding no reply.

We followed on, cresting a small bend in the trail before spotting him. He lay silent, just feet away from a small deer. He was unconscious and badly injured. His face had swelled significantly, making him nearly unrecognizable, and he was bleeding from both ears. His arm appeared broken as it was colored a deep blackish purple. The deer lay dead, having bled out, surrounded by a half circle of hoof prints.

“What in the hell?” I asked as I climbed down from my saddle. “I bet that hurt. What the hell was he thinkin’ walkin’ up on an injured deer?”

“Well I’ll be. I ain’t never met a man dumb enough to get his face in the way of a kickin’ deer,” he replied as he stepped down from the stirrup. “Well, guess I have now.”

Ethan began to field dress the deer while I checked on Howard. His pulse was faint but he was alive. Ethan made quick work of the deer and we flipped it up onto Ghost. We then picked up Howard and draped him over Chief, letting the larger of the two horses take the heavier weight. We climbed into our saddles, holding them in place as we navigated the steep, winding trails back.

The sunlight was fading as we made our return. Billy and Eric quickly took Howard into the med shack while Mary Jane and Angie investigated his injuries. The darkness proved troublesome, although several small solar-powered lights that we had salvaged from the hardware store and recently installed aided them slightly. She let his arm wait, being much more concerned with the injuries to his head.

“Oh my,” Mary Jane said. “I read about this back in school but. Oh Lordy, I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Do what?” Billy asked.

“I think he’s got pressure in his head. I, oh dear Lord, I think I need to poke a hole in his head. If we don’t drain it, the pressure’s gonna kill him. I remember them talkin’ about it in class but, but I don’t know fer sure.” She shook in a panic. “What should I do?”

“What do you need sweetie?” Billy asked.

“Um, I need a drill, I think, and a razor.”

She turned to the supply cabinet and poured some alcohol into a small bowl. Moments later, Billy returned with a hand-powered drill, stating he could not find a razor.

“Here ya go,” Ethan offered, holding his knife in his out stretch hand.

“See if you can shave a spot on his head,” Mary Jane replied.

Angie took the knife and began to shave a portion of his head while Mary Jane soaked the drill bit in the alcohol. Once they had a bare patch of skin cleared, Billy took the drill.

“Where should I drill, Mare?” Billy asked.

“I don’t know for sure. Just make sure you don’t go too deep. Just enough to get through his skull.”

Billy took the drill, pressing it against Howard’s head, and slowly turned the crank. The sharp edge of the drill bit tore through his scalp and slowly began to shave away the hard bone of his skull. He continued for several more cranks before stopping.

“Holy hell this is creepy. You wanted to do this shit fer a livin’?” Billy remarked to Mary Jane. “How much more we needin’?”

“I think you’re almost there. Just a little more. I think it’ll pour out when you get there.”

“What the hell you mean, pour out? Aw shit, this is fuckin creepy as fuck all. I hope this sumbitch makes it. Cause I’m gonna kick his ass again for this,” he said as he continued to crank the handle on the drill.

The drill cranked slowly, shaving deeper into Howard’s skull. After several moments, the drill finally broke through and a stream of watery blood began to bubble and flow from the hole. Mary Jane took over, dabbing the blood with clean gauze until it stopped oozing and then dressed it with a clean bandage. His arm was broken but had not shifted so Angie splinted it and wrapped it as well. Once his injuries had been tended to, we left him to rest. We would not know the extent of the damage, or if he would survive, until he regained consciousness.