CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Dinner was a silent affair. After the food was gone everyone went about the evening chores with little enthusiasm. Bernie quickly fell asleep again, Frank was still at his post on the ridge as the lookout, Joe headed out to check on the sheep for the last time of the evening and Sarah and the girls cleaned up camp.

“I’ll take Frank some dinner and let him know that we’re digging in and fighting if we have to,” Deuce said with weary resignation.

Niki nodded and slowly struggled to her feet. It had been a tiring day between the long trek to the new camp, the stress of hearing the helicopter, and then seeing her grandfather’s health take such a drastic step backwards, but there was still more to do before they could turn in for the night.

“I’ll go check the horses and mules and see if they have enough water to last until morning. I would really rather wait until daylight to go to the creek after seeing that bear,” Niki said.

“If they need water, wait until I get back and I’ll help,” Deuce stated.

Niki nodded. She was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a positive attitude, but tried to put on a happy face and look confident in front of Lacy and April. The girls had held up remarkable well, but she didn’t know if they could continue to be so resilient if any of the adults collapsed under the pressure. As difficult as it was for Niki to stay strong, she knew it had to be even worse for Sarah. The woman had to be terrified for her husband, knowing he was so far away and in the thick of the worst fighting, but she couldn’t let any of her fears show in front of her young daughters.

Niki looked in each bucket and was thankful to see all still held enough water to last the stock until morning. She gave each animal a quick inspection and saw no injuries and all hobbles and picket lines were secure.

“Hey, boy, how are you holding up?” she said and she ran her hand down Storm’s neck.

The horse shook his head up and down several times before moving his nose toward her pocket.

“Sorry. I’m fresh out of carrots, but I promise if we ever get back to the ranch I’ll buy you a whole bushel.” Niki wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck.

Storm reared back when the shot exploded through the quiet night, pulling Niki off her feet. She let go and dropped to the ground. She stood still for a moment, trying to determine where the noise had come from. It sounded too far away to be from the ridge or from camp, but when frantic barking and the sounds of a thousand terrified sheep reached Niki’s ears, she knew.

“Joe!” she screamed as she searched for Storm’s lead rope.

Niki clipped the lead rope to the ring under the chin of his halter and tied the loose end to the same ring, making a crude rein. She quickly removed Storm’s hobbles, led him to a downed log, boosted herself up to his bareback and grabbed his mane. She clicked her tongue and gave Storm a gentle kick. The horse took off at a smooth run, leaving camp quickly behind.

The days were still long and the sun hadn’t quite set, giving Niki plenty of light as she rode toward the chaotic noise. The normally fifteen minute ride took her less than ten. She crested the hill and didn’t slow as Joe’s old horse bolted past her on its way back to camp. The sheep were running in every direction and Gracie and Stella were barking wildly, hair standing up on their backs, holding their ground between a prone Joe and an angry three-hundred pound grizzly.

Niki wished she had grabbed her rifle, but her reaction to the sure knowledge that Joe was in trouble was so immediate and instinctive she had left without thinking. She screamed as she raced toward the melee, but doubted the bear or the dogs could hear her over the pandemonium.

Suddenly Gracie went airborne as the bear’s paw connected with her body. The dog flipped end-over-end several times. She landed hard and yelped, but jumped up and raced back into the fray. Niki barely registered Joe struggling to get to his feet and retreat as she neared the scene, her concentration solely on the bear.

Stella circled behind the bear and nipped as its back leg. The bear swung around and lashed out, barely missing the determined dog. Stella ran backwards, never taking her focus off the bear, drawing the large animal further from Joe, who had managed to grab hold of Gracie to keep the injured dog from going back into the fight. Stella continued to taunt the bear, pulling it further and further from Joe and Gracie, but in its frenzied dodging of the deadly claws the dog had allowed itself to be backed against several large boulders.

Niki realized in dawning horror that the dog had no way to escape and no hope. As much as the thought of losing Stella broke her heart, she knew if Stella were killed there would be nothing to keep the bear from turning back on Joe. She had to stall and hope Deuce and Frank would arrive soon. She had no doubt they were on the way.

She screamed even louder and guided Storm straight for the bear. The bear looked away from Stella and stood frozen for a moment as the distance between it and the huge horse quickly closed. Niki was less than thirty yards from the bear, Storm giving no indication he would back down. She was still screaming wildly and Storm was running full out when the animal turned and dashed off into the trees.

Niki pulled Storm to a lope and reined him in a wide arching loop back toward where she had last seen Joe. By the time she reached the old wrangler, Stella had joined them and she could hear the pounding of hooves rapidly approaching over the noise of the still-terrified sheep.

She slid off Storm’s back and knelt down next to Joe.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so. I didn’t know my old horse could still buck, but when I pulled the trigger on the shotgun he was out from under me before I knew what was happening. The dogs jumped in before the bear could tear me apart, but Gracie took a pretty bad hit.”

Deuce and Frank slid off the horses they had also ridden bareback and crowded around Joe.

“Did you break anything?” Frank asked.

“Maybe my fake leg, but nothing original. Give me a hand.”

Relief washed over Niki as she watched Joe stand and take a few steps. Deuce still hadn’t said anything, but she could feel his eyes boring into her. She decided to preempt the lecture.

“Deuce, don’t say a word. We need to get Joe and Gracie back to camp and gather the sheep. I too damn tired and rattled right now to listen to you tell me how stupid and foolish I am, so it can wait until morning.”

She was surprised when he actually kept quiet, pulled her into his arms and held her. Niki took a deep breath and decided not to fight his embrace. It felt too good to feel his strong arms around her, knowing she was now safe if the bear returned.

“Here, Frank, you can use Traveler to get Joe and Gracie back to camp. Let Sarah doctor the dog and Joe if he needs it and get back up on the ridge. Let’s hope all the commotion hasn’t drawn any unwanted attention, but we probably better keep an extra sharp eye out tonight just in case.”

Deuce helped Niki back on Storm’s back and led the horse to a log he could use to boost himself up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and took the rein and whistled for Stella to follow.

Niki squeezed her eyes shut. Even in the dim light of the moon the carnage was unbelievable. They had lost at least a dozen sheep. None had been eaten, just killed. With Stella’s help they managed to get the terrified sheep calmed back down and they pushed the group away from the bulk of the dead sheep.

“Go tie Storm up and drag some dead wood back over here. If we don’t do something about these carcasses the bear will probably come back along with every other predator and scavenger within ten miles.”

Niki did what he asked without question. For fifteen minutes she hauled wood while Deuce piled up the dead sheep for cremation. When all the sheep were gathered, he started the fire. As the flames began eating at the wool, the stench became overwhelming and for the first time during the catastrophe Storm was agitated and she was nauseous.

“Let’s go. We’ll come back in the morning and check it. This fire isn’t going anywhere and maybe the flames will keep the bear away.”

Niki nodded and allowed Deuce to help her back on Storm. He handed her the dog and she held Stella tight to her chest. He mounted the horse behind her and they slowly rode away from the carnage and flames.

When they reached camp they spotted Sarah on the opposite side of the fire as the tent, kneeling by what they assumed was Gracie. A lantern sat on a rock and Joe was next to her. Stella still in her arms, Niki slid off the horse and stood for a moment until Deuce and Storm were no longer in sight. Cradling the dog to keep it from overeagerly checking on her friend, she walked over to Joe and Sarah. She looked over Joe’s shoulder and could see Sarah concentrating on stitching a gash along Gracie’s shoulder. The dog whimpered, but didn’t struggle much against Joe’s hold.

“I think she knows were just trying to help her,” Joe said.

“What can I do?” Niki asked.

“I’m almost done. I’ll just put some ointment on the main wound and bandage it and I think she’ll be fine. Thank goodness your grandfather has a decent cache of vet supplies,” Sarah stated.

“Does Papa know?”

“No, believe it or not he slept through the commotion.”

Niki wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She was glad he didn’t know Gracie had been injured, but for him to sleep through an attack on his sheep and beloved dogs just illustrated how bad his health had disintegrated.

When Joe let Gracie up, she limped, but seemed to be moving fairly well. Niki set Stella down and Stella immediately went to Gracie’s side and licked her companion on the face. Both dogs wagged their tails and curled up together by the fire.

“I take it we’re not going to have to tie them up to keep them here at camp tonight,” Deuce said as he walked up behind Niki.

“Do you blame them?”

“Not a bit, but I hope we can get them back on the job in the morning or those stupid sheep will wander off. Hopefully they won’t go too far tonight without any supervision.”

“I don’t understand why this happened. In all the years Papa has been tending sheep we’ve never had a bear attack.”

“Probably a combination of things. That was a grizzly. In the past we’ve only had black bears to deal with and they tend to be much less aggressive, and we’ve never grazed the sheep this high up or this late in the season for this exact reason. It might also mean an early winter and the bear’s just trying to gorge itself while he can to build up fat. Or, my favorite, Murphy’s Law¾if anything can go wrong, it will.”

“But the grizzly didn’t eat any of the sheep it killed,” Niki said as she struggled to push the gruesome images of the mutilated sheep out of her mind.

“Must have got caught up in the thrill of the kill.”

“I certainly hope that bear is the only predator around here that gets excited by the kill,” Niki shuddered.

“Me too.”

Niki peeked inside the tent and could see her grandfather sleeping in one cot and Lacy and April in the other. Her pulse still hadn’t returned to normal, but seeing the peaceful trio calmed her nerves. She glanced back at the fire, where Joe and Deuce sat around the flames and the dogs had instantly fallen into a deep sleep, exhausted from their epic battle.

“Here, I thought we could all use some cocoa to help us relax,” Sarah said as she handed Niki a cup.

Niki took the steaming cup and sat down next to Deuce.

“How are you doing, Joe?” Niki asked.

“The only injury I sustained was to my ego for letting that old horse get the better of me. I nearly lost control of my bladder after I hit the ground and looked up into that bear’s eyes and bloody fangs. If it wasn’t for those dogs I’d be shredded. And you—when are you going to quit saving my sorry ass?”

“When you quit getting it in trouble.”

Deuce reached over and placed his arm around Niki’s shoulders and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes for a moment.

“I think you’ve aged me ten years in the last week. When I crested the hill and saw Storm running full out straight for the bear I nearly had a heart attack. I was afraid he would shy at the last moment and you’d end up on the ground with the bear.”

Niki lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “The thought crossed my mind too and I’ve never felt like I was a great bareback rider, so I doubt I could’ve held on if he had swerved at the last minute. But, I swear to God, Deuce, I think Storm would have run right over that bear if it didn’t get out his way and I think the bear sensed it too. I felt no hesitation in him. The closer we rode the more determined he seemed. I would have tried to pull him back, but I’m not sure he would have obeyed.”

“Holy Hell,” Deuce grumbled.

The group fell silent. They sipped their cocoa until the flames died down and only glowing red embers lit the night. Sarah gathered the empty cups and quickly washed the mugs, tossed the dirty water on the fire, and excused herself to go join her daughters in the tent.

“I feel like going to bed too, but I’m not looking forward to waking up. I’m not real anxious to see what fun and excitement tomorrow holds,” Joe said as he stood to leave. “It just seems like each day throws a new challenge at us and I keep wondering when we’ll meet one that gets the better of us.”

“I hear you. I don’t know how much more of this we can take,” Niki sighed.

“As much as we have to,” Deuce replied as he extended his hand and pulled Niki to her feet.

Niki knew Deuce was right. They would fight until they couldn’t fight anymore and do whatever it took to survive. For now, they had to take one day at a time and not worry about tomorrow, because each tomorrow that actually came seemed like a small miracle. She looked around at the quiet camp once more before ducking into the tent. She was exhausted and feared the nightmares that were sure to follow in the evening’s deadly wake.