Dar looked behind her and saw the herd of buffalo passing through the plains. Styx, sitting sandwiched between her and the rider, giggled loudly as the horse galloped. She held onto the man's jacket, allowing Styx enough space to gaze out at the surrounding landscape. A long, braided ponytail fell halfway down the man's back. She felt somewhat guilty that the others had to walk, but considering all the sacrifices she'd made for everyone she didn't feel too guilty.
They climbed a limestone plateau and raced through the wild grasses. A series of huts appeared off in the distance. The closer they got the more they resembled what she had imagined tepees to look like. People gathered around as they approached. The wind rustled and kicked up, and for a brief second she thought she heard a low-level hum.
They came to a stop and the man dismounted and helped her and Styx down. The men, women and children stood and stared at them as the tall rider escorted them over to one of the small huts. He held open the hide flap for them to enter, smiling as he did. Dar stopped and stared at the chiseled face of the man inside before ushering Styx in. He wore an expression that intrigued her, and yet he had a calm presence that made her feel welcome and at ease. Realizing that she'd held his gaze for too long, she scooted inside, embarrassed at her moment of weakness.
By the time the others had made it back to camp, a little over an hour later, the community had begun to prepare a large feast in their honor. Smoke rose up in the sky and the wind blew it for miles. She and Styx sat outside the hut and played in the grass while the other members of the group settled in. She felt relaxed, almost comfortable, and the smell of the cooking food teased her palate. For once she didn't feel like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Styx ran toward the edge of the hill and pointed out at the plains. A bunch of runners sprinted through the tall grass a few miles away. The mere sight of them triggered her old insecurities and caused her to tense up and prepare to fight. Acting out of instinct, she ran back inside the hut and retrieved her ax.
“Don't worry about them. They don't come up here anymore,” a man's voice said.
Dar glanced over and saw the rider of her horse standing above them.
“Why's that?”
“The pitch; it bothers them.”
“You mean the undertone?”
“Sure, if that's what you want to call it,” he said, laughing. He held out his hand. “The name's Sonny. They also call me Mad Bear at times so don't be alarmed.”
“I'm Dar and this is my boy Styx,” she said, shaking his hand. “The low level pitch keeps the dead away from here?”
“We believe it interferes with their brains, but I'm not totally sure how it works, just that it does. All I know for sure is that they don't come up here anymore.” He flashed a mouthful of strong white teeth.
“I should tell you up front, Sonny, that I will kill these bastards whenever I get the chance. Might as well admit it right now, make things easier.”
“You do what you gotta do to stay alive, right?”
Dar laughed and then just as quickly stopped. It had been so long since she'd spontaneously broke out laughing that she felt almost guilty doing it.
“It's okay to laugh. It's not the end of the world, you know. Not yet anyway. And not as long as I've got any say in the matter.”
“Look, Sonny, I don't buy into all that New Age, Native American bullshit about talking trees and rocks with spirits. I'm just trying to keep myself and my son alive,” she said, not able to take her eyes off the man.
“The Lakota are a resilient people, Dar, and we're brave warriors too. While I personally don't take pleasure in taking life, I do enjoy hunting, especially with my bow and arrow. It's how we put food on the table, if we in fact had tables to put food on. Funny how a lot of those old expressions have fallen by the wayside.”
“Yeah, I guess I never thought about it,” she said, staring out at the plains. “What did you do in your previous life, Sonny?”
“I was a truck mechanic. My father, the man who was riding with me, was president of a community college that catered to Native Americans. My sister was a social worker on one of the reservations. Wasn't like we were sitting around the campfire and taking peyote all day, if that's what you mean. We all attended college.”
“I didn't mean it that way.”
He rustled his large hand through Styx's blond mane and then stood. “Cute kid. Guess we'll see you two at dinner.”
“Sure.”
“Maybe Man Chased by Spirits will grace us with his presence tonight.”
“I've been chased by dead spirits for the last few years, Sonny, so I doubt Man Chased by Spirits will make any impression on me.”
Sonny shrugged and then turned to walk away.
She watched the tall, athletic Lakota man head toward the fire. Styx jumped up and down, chopping his ax on the ground. She turned to watch him and saw a few zombies circling the plateau. She thought back to the difficult early days of her confinement in Maine and how far she had come since then. Now she had Styx to care for, and she'd do anything to keep the boy safe. Never in her wildest dreams would she have pictured herself here, in the middle of the country and staying with a Native American tribe, her home a leather hide shaped as a teepee.
Styx began to swing his ax back and forth as he watched the dead zombies sprint across the plains.
“Want I go key dose stoopid zombas, Momma?”
“We're cool, kiddo.”
“But why?” he said, turning to face her.
“Because they're no threat to us right now.”
“Zombas won't try and eat us?”
“Not up here they won't.”
“But why, Momma?”
“Because of the undertone.”
“What's undatone, Momma?”
“If you listen closely some say you can hear it in the wind, maybe rustling through the trees or skimming over the rocks.” She looked at him and smiled. “Listen up and see if you can hear it.”
Styx put his hand up to his ear and listened.
“Don't hear it, Momma.”
“Keep listening, buddy, and I bet you will.”
* * *
The meal consisted of a salad of mixed greens, fry bread and elk meat, which had been hunted that morning and slow roasted for hours. Dar had never tasted a meal so delicious in her life. The elk and the grasses tasted the same and yet utterly different in texture, as if they'd been nurtured from the same ecosystem. As for the fry bread, a Native American staple, she'd never tasted bread quite like it. They ate quietly as the sun began to set in the horizon. Styx, she observed, was beginning to develop a serious appetite, and she could see that he would one day grow into a large man. Out in the plains, far below, she could see the grasses swaying in the breeze and changing color with each shift in the wind. Every so often a runner would dart across the plains and then disappear.
They sat around the large bonfire after dinner and got introduced to members of the tribe. Dar saw old women and men, young couples and other persons of various ages, all talking and having a good time. To her delight about a dozen kids played in a field off to the side. As soon as they saw Styx they ran over and dragged him over and made him join their game. It was then that she realized something profound; Styx had never before played with kids his own age. Play was the most natural thing in the word for him and he seemed to fit in quite well with the other children.
After dinner, members of the tribe sat around the fire and talked or whittled sticks. Sonny, holding a torch, gathered the members of her entourage together. “Follow me,” he said. Dar scooped Styx up in her arms and carried him along. He complained mightily at having to leave the party, but she quickly squelched his complaints by pinching his earlobe. Styx knew she meant business when his ear got pinched, knowing full well not to resist her.
They hiked up a steep plateau and up a series of rocky outposts. Styx was getting too heavy to carry and so she let him climb up ahead of her, and he proved to be a resourceful little monkey. The others adjusted their pace to accommodate him. After twenty minutes of climbing, she Sonny was standing atop a large boulder and staring out over the star-studded sky. She'd never seen a sky like this before, so dark and yet pulsing with a trillions dots of radiance.
By the time she got to the top of the peak the group had formed into a circle and seemed to be staring at something. She broke through the ranks and saw Styx standing next to a man sitting in deep meditation on the edge of a large boulder overlooking the plateau. He wore a leather hat, shirt and pants, but his feet were bare. His long salt-and-pepper hair fell down past his shoulders. Across his face he'd smeared paint of some kind, and in the flickering light of the flame it made him look haunted and spectral.
“I'd like you all to meet Man Chased by Spirits. If he doesn't respond to us it means he is busy trying to conjure up the visions.”
“He stays up here all the time?” Dar asked.
“For extended periods of time, or until a vision comes to him. Then he rejoins the group and becomes like everyone else.”
Styx walked up to the man and began to grab his leather shirt by the collar.
“Wake up, mista,” he said.
The man turned to face the boy and before she could grab him, he looked up and stared into her eyes. Styx jumped back in fear when she yanked him back and scooped him up in her arms. The paint glistened moistly over the pores on the man’s face. She gazed into his blue eyes, feeling as if someone had stuck a knife into her heart. The realization sent a shockwave through her system and she could hardly speak or breathe.
“Hello, Dar.”
“Oh my God. You're still alive!”
“And so are you, I see. And your little man as well.”
Without a second thought she rushed over and hugged him, tears falling from her eyes. All the emotions from the past filled her at once. She couldn't believe what the odds were of finding her father here in the middle of the Black Hills. It felt as if they'd been brought together by cosmic forces. Styx stood by her side, watching on in confusion as she embraced him.
“I'm so sorry for the way I treated you, Dar.”
“Thanks,” she said, tears running down her eyes. “I'd like you to meet your grandson, Styx.”
“Please to meet you, young man,” he said, shaking the boy's little hand.
“Who you?”
“Styx,” Dar said, squaring the boy's shoulders, “this is your grandfather. My daddy.”
“Your daddy?”
“Yes, my daddy. And your granddaddy.”
“My granddaddy?”
Despite all the negative energy that had once transpired between them, they walked hand-in-hand back toward the campground. Once back on flat ground, her father walked them back to their teepee.
“Maybe the Great Mystery has reunited us for a reason, Dar.”
Dar nodded, shifting Styx from her left arm to her right.
“You're probably wondering how I ended up here?”
“Kinda crossed my mind…”
“We were heading west when I asked Kate to stop. You remember Kate, don't you?”
“How could I forget her? I gave that poor woman such a hard time back in that farmhouse.”
“Anyways, there was a small bungalow along the road and I thought I could run in quickly and maybe find some food or supplies. Out of nowhere, a mob of survivors appeared and had me surrounded. There was no way I was going to make it out of there on my own. I shouted for Kate to drive off without me, because a few of them were heading toward the car with the kids in it and they had clubs and knives. So she took off. I steeled myself for certain death. But then Sonny and his dad Roland came by on horseback, and saved my life with their bows and arrows. I've been with them ever since.”
“You really have visions and see spirits or are you just bullshitting these Lakota people?”
“We're all capable of having visions, Dar.”
“So you're still a bullshitter?”
“No, not exactly. It's just a matter of listening to nature all around us and seeing what she has to say. It's similar to meditation. And you, of anyone, should have the power to see visions.”
“What do you think happened to Mom and Stephen?”
“I wish I knew… I never found them.” A tear fell from his eye and he shrugged. “But I miss them terribly.”
“Yeah.”
“I'm exhausted from all this excitement and need to rest. I'll see you tomorrow, Dar, when we can better catch up on things. You have a beautiful little boy.” He kissed Styx's forehead and then her own.
Dar watched her father walk under the stars and toward his hide home. She still couldn't believe she'd found him here. But how much had he really changed? Once a novelist, he now spoke of visions and encounters with spirits. She contemplated their possible future together as she held Styx in her arms. The balance of power between them had forever changed. Styx closed his eyes and began to snore. She placed him down on the mat next to her and lay down. The wind kicked up outside and she heard what she thought to be her name whispering in the wind sweeping through the plains.
Darrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Someone rapped on the hide and she saw Sonny peeking through the opening with bow and arrow in hand.
“You scared the hell out of me, dude. What do you want?”
“Sorry, Dar, I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm on watch for a few hours tonight. Thought I'd stop by and say goodnight.”
“Okay.”
“I also wanted to ask if you'd care to ride with me tomorrow. I'm doing some recon across the plateau and could use an extra pair of eyes.”
“Recon for what?”
“Kill some dead if possible. Check out the supply of game. You up for it?”
“Only if I can bring my ax.”
“I've been looking forward to see you use that thing.”
“Maybe I can teach an old dog some new tricks. I'll have you know, Sonny, I'm one badass squaw.”
“Awesome. And I can teach you how to use the bow and arrow if you'd like to expand your repertoire.”
“Love that. Do we need to cut thumbs or exchange blood vows?”
“You watched too many Westerns growing up,” he said, laughing. “See you in the morning.”
Dar smiled and waved goodbye before falling asleep next to Styx.
* * *
The next morning Annabelle took Styx from Dar and watched her climb onto the horse behind Sonny. The sun radiated in the vast blue sky and made everything seem brighter, especially the flexing suede muscles of the magnificent horse they'd mounted. She wondered where the two of them were going. One of the older women passed her some dried elk meat for breakfast and she and Styx began to chew on the leathery beef. Holding his hand, she led him over to Virgil's tent and called out for him to wake up. Seconds later he poked his sleepy head out of the opening. He looked different without his glasses on and his face appeared lean and slim.
“Styx and I were wondering if you'd care to take a walk with us?”
“Me?” he said, squinting to focus on her.
“Not unless you have another squaw in there with you.”
He laughed nervously. “Of course not, Annabelle. Just give me a minute to get dressed.”
“Nothing too formal, Virge. We're just going for a walk.”
He finally emerged and joined up with them. Annabelle smiled when she saw him dressed and with his glasses on. He smiled as if unsure of himself and grabbed hold of Styx's other hand. They swung the boy in the air as they walked, making their way up to an elevated plateau that overlooked the vast plains below.
It took her a long time to work up the courage to make a move like this. Despite her celebrity and fame many years ago, a fame that had totally eluded Virgil Snow, she'd felt insecure in his presence. The man was brilliant and yet humble, and that combination appealed to her. It also made her nervous. She'd come to know him better in the last year and found him to be a warm and inviting person, always considerate of the people around him. He seemed like an entirely different person than when he lived in Boston. Of course she hardly knew him back then, only having crossed his path every so often. Now he looked physically different as well, having lost all the weight. Even his eyes appeared larger, wiser, especially when he put on his glasses. She glanced over at him from time to time as he swung Styx in the air, not realizing that she was watching him.
They walked over to the precipice which looked down over the windswept plains. Low-level clouds swept down from the hills and hovered over the lush, fertile valley. She could see Sonny and Dar's horse galloping through the grass. Styx let go of their hands and began to chase around a white rabbit with his toy ax. Taking her cue, she inched closer to Virgil, praying he felt the same way about her as she did about him. She didn't care now that his intellect towered over her own or that she'd once been an international celebrity with an insidious drug habit. She reached down and held his hand, and stared out at Dar and Sonny as they made their way over the expanse.
From across the plains, a number of the dead began running toward them at breakneck speed, resembling Olympic sprinters. Annabelle took a deep breath and nervously squeezed Virgil's hand as she watched on.
“Don't worry, Annabelle. This is what Dar lives for.”
“Yeah, but it may also be how she dies as well.”
“That's why she entrusted Styx with you,” he said, turning to face her. “But if you ask me, I think those runners are in for a rough day.”
“I hope you're right,” she said, smiling.
She squeezed his hand and watched as Dar and Sonny dismounted and took out their weapons. Dar swung her ax a few times and then waited for the runners to draw near. Johnny stood with his bow up to his eyes, zeroing in on the approaching zombies. Dar waited for the right moment and then swung, decapitating the first zombie mid-stride. Its body kept running a short distance before collapsing into the grass. Johnny shot arrow after arrow into the skulls of the others, dropping them where they stood. Dar looked to be in her element, doing what she did best. To Annabelle it felt like old times watching her friend in action. Their relationship was complicated, deep and mutually beneficial. Did she dare think of Dar as her friend? It didn't matter. Words could not describe what they had.
Dar and Sonny jumped back on the horse and rode off toward one of the other valleys before disappearing from sight. Annabelle suddenly felt that everything would be all right. The wind kicked up and blew across the land. For the first time since she arrived here, she believed she heard the pitch that kept them safe and protected. The Undertone.
“I told you they'd be alright,” Virgil said, smiling.
“I suppose I'll never stop worrying until all this madness is finally over.”
She felt a tug at her pant leg and looked down to see Styx holding the fuzzy white rabbit in his hands. She was impressed. The boy had actually caught it.
“Bunny,” Styx said, holding it up to them by the ears.
“Like mother like son,” Virgil said, petting the rabbit. “Now you can have your own pet.”
“No, Voygil," Styx said, eyebrows furrowed. "Bunny is for food.”
* * *
Virgil thought about all the sacrifices people had made to get him and the other survivors to this point. What would become of them all? Would they live on this reservation for the duration of their lives? Dar seemed hell-bent on journeying out west to find the rest of her family. But now that she’d found her father maybe she would choose to raise her son on the land that these Lakotas called their home. Or would she continue on with her quest to find her mother and brother? The appearance of the white buffalo had been a divine omen according to Lakota legend. Was it possible that Dar had fulfilled a key part of this legend?
He and Tony had talked endlessly about bacterial interference and its effects on the fast-moving zombies. Tony thought he might have a solution to the method of delivery: the Wind Cave. The unpredictable weather patterns and tectonic plate movements forewarned of a dramatic planetary event, and Tony believed that planting the bacterial seeds inside the cave system could possibly solve the living dead plague. For when the earth spewed forth the primordial contents roiling beneath its crust, everything within its core would fly up into the atmosphere and disseminate to every last corner of the earth.
Virgil tried for a moment not to think about the future. He was happy just standing here, holding Annabelle's hand. For once he didn't have to worry about their safety. The expanse of the Black Hills before him stretched on endlessly, proof of nature's majesty and grace. If this land was not God's country then no place was. And to think that the Lakota once had this land ripped out from under them by the U.S. government. The sad history of the Lakotas’ displacement had come full circle. Now its people had returned back to their ancestral land and the government was no more.
Styx clutched the rabbit in one arm and held Virgil’s hand in the other. Annabelle placed her head in the crook of his neck. He felt he had nothing left from his previous life, and yet now he felt as if he had everything he needed. Mostly, he just felt happy. The pure joy he was experiencing from living in the moment reverberated in his soul. Off in the distance, he saw the horse carrying Dar and Sonny galloping toward them. He wanted to stay and live off the land, and hoped that Dar would make the same choice. Whatever her final decision, he'd put his life in her hands and would follow her anywhere. Glancing over at Annabelle, he was certain she'd made the same deal with this strange girl named Dar.