Heckel Casey

'Who were those men?' I asked guardedly as I kept looking around the area.

'I'm not sure. I think they were part of Madeline's army,' the man said, holding up the young boy.

'What do you know about Madeline?' I asked.

'Well, I know for one thing, she's got a huge army forming up north of us somewhere in Washington or Oregon, I think.'

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled as I clenched the weapon in my hand tightly. 'What's your name?'

'Jackson. Jackson Steele.'

'My name is Bobby Stewart,' the young boy said cracking a smile.

I walked up closer to the boy and examined his ankle. 'How does it feel?' I asked. Two huge dimples appeared on Bobby's dirt covered cheeks, 'Oh, it's okay. Just a little sore.'

'How'd you like a ride on my horse, back to our camp?'

'A horse. You have a horse?' Bobby asked excitedly. 'Wow, I'd love to. Where is he?'

Jackson carried Bobby over to where Vonnie and our horses were. I yelled to Vonnie that everything was all right.

'Vonnie, this is Jackson and Bobby.'

Vonnie flashed me a nervous look, and I assured her they were fine. I explained how they were being chased by some of Madeline's men. After taking Bobby from Jackson's arms, I placed him on top of Tempest in front of the saddle horn.

'Yeah, I knew what they were planning to do,' Jackson offered quietly.

'What?' Vonnie asked. I walked closer to listen in.

Jackson leaned into whisper in her ear. 'They were planning on killing me and…um…eating the boy.'

Both of our faces lit up with shock and disgust. Neither one of us said a word. We just turned to Bobby and smiled as if to assure him that the bad guys were gone.

'Well, you are welcome to come with us. We have a good three hundred people or more camped over there about a mile or two,' I said as I took Tempest's reins from Vonnie. 'You ride with Vonnie.' She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.

As we rode into camp, Heckel came out to meet us along with Jack. The looks on their faces were guarded.

'Everything all right?' Heckel asked as he took the reins of Tempest.

'I shot my first deer,' Vonnie announced proudly as Jack came up to pull the deer off the back of Tempest.

'These wonderful women saved us,' Jackson said quickly as he dismounted, walked up to Heckel and Jack and offered his hand. 'My name is Jackson Steele. This is Bobby Stewart.'

'Hello,' Heckel said a bit haltingly. 'My name is Heckel.'

'Heckel, that's a funny name,' Bobby said as Jack helped him off the horse.

'It is indeed. Remind me to tell you how I got it sometime,' Heckel said ruffling the boy's hair.

'Are you THE Heckel Casey everyone's been talking about?' Jackson asked.

Heckel didn't respond. I could tell he was getting embarrassed again. Luckily, Jack jumped in and asked, 'Where have you heard about Heckel?'

'Well, for one, we heard it when we got to Albuquerque.'

'When were you there? What part of the city?' Jack asked continuing his inquisition.

Jackson explained that he and the boy had stayed in the Heights area of Albuquerque, not too far from the KOA. He went on to recount how booby traps had decimated Madeline's army when they entered the old KOA. 'Bobby and I watched from a hill looking down. It was sure something to see. When it was all over, there weren't many men left standing.'

'What happened to them?' I asked.

'They took off running with their tails between their legs,' Jackson said with a smirk.

'They didn't really have tails,' Bobby offered, helping to break the tension.

'Well, you are welcome to stay with us if you'd like,' Heckel said patting Jackson on the shoulder.

'I'd be glad to help cook that venison. In another life, I was a pretty good chef,' Jackson said helping Jack carry the deer.

Vonnie took Bobby over to show him where he could wash up. Heckel took care of the two horses. I was about to help him when I looked over at camp. Jerky stood in front of our tent, glaring at our little gathering. Her hair was bristled along her back and I could see that she was hissing. The sight of her all riled up made my insides turn icy.

'Sela, you all right?' Heckel asked.

I was about to point to Jerky and say something when I saw the cat bolt off into the bushes. It's probably nothing, I thought. On the other hand maybe there's something to be concerned about. She is a good little warning system. 'What's wrong with Jerky?'

'I don't know. Where is she?'

'She was over by the tent, but is gone now.'

'Well, there's a mouse that's been bugging her for a while. I think she's determined to get it.'

I stared at the bushes for the longest time.

'Sela, you okay?'

'Absolutely, perfect,' I said grabbing Heckel's arm. 'And tonight we have fresh meat!'

Chapter 20

The violent thunderstorm waltzed into the District of Columbia, pelting the historic buildings with dime-sized hail and sheets of cold rain. Lightning streaked across the Washington monument. Madeline could see the newly leafed-out trees being twisted and tortured as if a huge invisible hand were trying to pull them out of the ground.

'I just love a good, gale-force wind,' she muttered, watching Mother Nature have her way. I wonder if I should send some testy weather out to Flagstaff and try that again? It would at least annoy the hell out of Heckel and his little band of merry men.

'Miss Madeline…um…your dinner party is assembled,' a young man announced in a squeaky voice.

'Thank you. I'll be right there,' she said, staring out the window to catch the next lightning flash. Ah, such power. What a sight! Suddenly, she could feel that same sense of force swirling inside her. An impish grin inched its way across her face, spreading from ear to ear. Madeline savored the power inside as if she were tasting an expensive glass of Cabernet. Each time the power made itself known, she felt as though it gained strength and her ability to control it improved. Madeline turned her palms upward to observe a blue swirling ball of energy ignite in each hand. The two orbs flared outward with small lightning flashes. It reminded her of the old dusty scientific equipment in a mad scientist's lab in some ancient black-and-white movie starring Boris Karloff.

A bright flash outside cracked a large branch off a nearby tree, causing her to regain her composure. She watched the blue orbs slowly retreat into her upturned hands. Her entire body felt like it had just been reborn; she hugged herself relishing the warm, invigorated feeling.

For dinner, Madeline was joined by several of her generals. They all stood up as she entered the long dining room.

'Good evening, gentlemen,' she said as her assistant pulled her seat out, afterwards excusing himself to check on the status of dinner.

The men responded cordially and sat back down. Conversations were lively and centered mostly on the buildup of Madeline's army. A young man halfway down the table asked, 'Miss Madeline, when will the battle take place?'

She admired the individual's boldness and stared at him with a contemplative expression. How much should I confide in these…peons?