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Marauders’ Camp
Her voice trembling and tears streaking down her face, Paulette asked, “Thomas, what are we going to do?”
Thomas lay on his side, grunting and grumbling as he struggled to get seated upright. Out of breath, he twisted and huffed out, “I don’t know right now.”
Paulette looked at the rest of the group through blurred eyes and realized that they too were terrified. Lisa was lying on her casted arm, and the grimace on her face told Paulette that she was in pain. Kaden and Doug appeared to have made it to a sitting position and were whispering back and forth to each other.
“What are you two talking about?” Paulette asked.
Both men turned and looked at her, then Kaden said, “We were talking about how we could escape.”
“And...”
Doug lowered his eyes, then looked back at Paulette. “We don’t have any good answers just yet.”
“Do you think they’ll kill us?” Paulette asked with a tremble in her voice.
Thomas grunted, his dark eyes flashing. “It’s Bo. Yes, he’ll kill us. If he doesn’t, then he’ll enslave those of value.” Thomas looked in Kaden’s direction after making the last comment.
“Great, just what I need. Be the doctor to a lunatic,” Kaden scoffed.
“It’s better than dying,” Doug said.
“If you say so,” Kaden replied.
The group fell into an eerie silence, all contemplating how they had gotten into their situation and most importantly how to get out of it.
Darkness had fallen and no one had come to the tent. They were hungry and thirsty. Finally, Thomas had had enough, and he hollered, “Bo, you ingrate! We need food and water.”
The guard thrust his head into the tent and said, “You’ll eat and drink when he feels like feeding you. Otherwise, I recommend you be silent.”
Thomas gave the guard an icy stare and retorted with a scowl, “Well, let him know that if he doesn’t want his prized captives to succumb to hunger and thirst, he’d better attend to our needs.”
The guard smirked and let out a boisterous laugh. “Fine, I’ll let him know your every command, Sir Thomas.”
Thomas didn’t like the guard any more than he liked Bo, but they needed to eat. If Bo fed them, at least he knew they would live a little longer, giving them time to figure a way to escape. He studied his rag-tag group and wondered if it would be the last time he saw any of them. He desperately wanted to reach over and take Paulette’s hand and comfort her, but his hands were securely tied behind him. He couldn’t even get up and move over next to her since his feet were also tied. He stared into her blue eyes, seeing a flicker of fear and a little anger, and tried smiling to help alleviate some of that fear.
A loud ruckus sounded outside the tent just before Bo stomped in and glared at Thomas. “Who are you to demand food and water?”
Thomas seethed inside and, if he could have ripped Bo apart with his eyes, Bo would have been dead. “I requested that we get some food and water.”
“Oh, you requested it, eh? That’s not what Joel said.” Bo stared at the group, then an evil smile crept onto his face. “Sure, I’ll get you some food and water. Guard.”
“Yes, sir,” the guard replied.
“Get these people some food and water. Also retie their hands to the front so they can eat and drink.”
The guard smiled and left the tent to retrieve food and water.
“I hope you enjoy your meal.” Bo snickered, then promptly turned and left the tent.
“What do you think all that was about,” Doug asked.
Thomas shook his head. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound good.”
“So, are we expected to eat and drink what he gives us?” Paulette asked as she continued to fidget.
“I’ll decide once the guard comes back with the food and water. If it doesn’t look or smell good, we may have to starve, rather than eating and drinking what he brings.”
Thomas heard a collective groan as each member reacted to the prospect of not eating and drinking.
A few minutes later, several guards came in the tent with bowls and cups. The tent guard spoke. “All right, each of you will remain still as my men untie and retie your bonds. If you try anything, I’ll shoot you with no questions asked. Are we clear?”
Everyone nodded in understanding. The other two guards moved to each person, untied their hands, and had them put them in their lap, and then retied their hands. Once they finished, the guards gathered the bowls, set them in their hands, and placed the glass of water nearby so they could reach it. They turned and left the tent as soon as they finished their tasks.
Thomas stared at the bowl in his hand. Carefully lifting it to his nose, he breathed in the aroma of the contents. The aroma of the food was pleasant, so he took a cautious sip, chewed, and swallowed. Looking at the others he nodded his head. “It tastes okay.”
That’s all it took to convince everybody else, and they scarfed down the contents of their bowls in no time. Doug threw his empty bowl on the ground and with great care took hold of his cup with both tied hands and brought it to his lips. He took a sip and swished it around in his mouth, then swallowed. He looked at the others and with a grimace he said, “It’s water, but it’s not the best tasting.”
Despite the nasty taste of the water, they all drank it. It wasn’t long after eating that they all succumbed to an uncomfortable sleep.
“Psst...”
“Yeah, what did you find?”
“I was able to locate their belongings, but it won’t be easy getting them and all their stuff.”
“Why is that?”
“Their stuff is in a tent right next to Bo’s. It will make getting their things more difficult. If we make any noise, it could awaken him.”
Troy tapped his fingers on his legs as he considered what Sky said. “Then we need to take this as a two-pronged approach. One of us springs them out of their tent, while the other secures the gear.”
“That won’t work and you know it. How will one person be able to carry all their gear?”
Growling, Troy replied, “You’re right. Dang it. What do we do then? It’s only the two of us.”
Sky made a tsk, tsk sound as she looked at Troy and replied, “No, it isn’t just the two of us. We rescue them first, and Thomas, Doug, and Kaden can help us secure their belongings. That way, the two of us can stand guard with our rifles until they can arm themselves again.”
“Dang, why didn’t I think of that.”
Sky laughed. “Because you're not me.” Just as quickly, her attitude sobered. “We have a few issues.”
“What’s that?”
“First off, if we escape, Bo may follow us. Second, if someone discovers us, we may have to kill people.”
“And that's a problem, how? I mean the killing part. As far as being followed, we’ll just have to keep our eyes out so we can ambush them instead of the other way around. It will make the trip harder but should be doable.”
Sky shook her head back and forth and frowned. “You don’t understand. We shouldn’t take that risk.”
“I will not kill people in their sleep, no matter how bad they are. That is just downright wrong,” Troy said.
“You’re so soft, Troy. That’s why you’re such a weak tracker.”
“No, that’s why I’m an excellent tracker. I have morals, and I won’t bend those to do your bidding. We rescue them, and we leave. If someone gets shot in the process so be it. Otherwise, we deal with any aftermath as it comes.”
After Sky stomped out of the building, she spent the better part of an hour sulking around the ruins of Yakima. She couldn’t believe Troy’s arrogance and holier than thou attitude. “He’ll get us all killed someday,” she said under her breath.
She wanted to take out Bo and his marauders so they couldn’t hurt anyone else, but she knew if she did it her way, Thomas would never let her be a part of the group. Grinding her teeth in frustration, she balled her fist and punched the brick wall in front of her. She was always on the outside, and this was her one way in. She would have to kowtow to Troy’s wishes this time, but...
Troy had sat in the dark after Sky left contemplating the plans. Looking at it from every angle, he determined if everything went well, they would be in and out of the camp and long gone before anyone realized they had been there. He hoped Sky would stick to the plan and not go all rogue on him. He wouldn’t shoot or kill anyone unless it was in defense of himself or the others. He also needed Sky to do one more close reconnaissance of the marauders’ camp before they executed their plan. He wished she would hurry and get back.
Sky decided to make one more run to the camp. She thought Troy might worry about where she was, but thinking again, decided he most likely wouldn’t. She left the outskirts of the city and worked her way toward the camp. Even though she had already been there several times, something told her to go back one more time that night.
It was late, but she could make out several figures still hanging out near the fire’s golden light.
She crept up to one tent. Staying hidden in the shadows, she tilted her head toward the fire so she could eavesdrop on the conversations.
“Yeah, man, can ya believe the haul we got today?” one of the marauders said.
One of the guys snickered. “Yeah, and to think Bo knew these people.”
The third marauder spoke, “Yeah, he was none too happy to see that brown-haired girl, that’s for sure.”
The snickering marauder said, “Nope, he sure wasn’t. What do ya think he’s gonna do to her?”
The first marauder snorted, “If I was him, I would finish the job.”
They all laughed hysterically at the comment.
The third marauder said, “How about the rest of them? What ya think he’ll do with them?”
“Who knows?” The first marauder laughed. “Besides, it don’t much matter, anyway. He’s either gonna kill them or take them south with us to our home day after tomorrow.”
Sky frowned with concern, realizing they needed to make their rescue by tomorrow night or the marauders would be gone. There also was the matter of whether Bo would kill Paulette before they could rescue her. Sky slid quietly behind the tent. She quickly and quietly made her way back to their hideout in the city. When she got close to the building, she began running and sprinted in, startling Troy out of a light nap. “What the heck? You scared the crap out of me again.”
“Sorry, but I have some important information.”
“About what?”
“I went back to the marauder camp. The guys around the fire were discussing what Bo might do to Paulette and the others. Hopefully, he won’t kill her, or them, right away. The most important detail is we need to rescue them immediately.”
“Why is that?”
“Because they’re leaving day after tomorrow. We could wait till tomorrow night to spring the rescue, but I’m concerned about what will happen during the day.”
“Understood. We need a few hours’ sleep. We can head out at a few hours before sunrise to rescue them. That way everyone should be sound asleep.”
“That works for me.”
