Chapter 7

Kristi knew where enough supplies were to load up a couple of the horses. The horses he took were more than a fair trade for Kristi and the supplies. If the innkeeper didn’t like it, he could sue me. The rest of the horses would slow us down, and I didn’t want to leave them for the innkeeper, so we turned the three worst mounts loose.

Tina took point, and Kristi accompanied her. Boland would take the drag position which left Kathy and me together. She and I discussed Kristi most of the morning. It turned out Kristi was from around these parts. Her parents just got in over their heads, and she ended up with the short end of the stick: they sold her into slavery. That seemed to be what life on Chaos was for many.

It was a quiet ride, and we stopped to have lunch out of the saddle. That accomplished, along with the biological needs, we started off again. Kristi knew of a cave where we could make our camp that night, so we took advantage of it.

I woke up in the middle of the night from a huge roar of thunder and the horses’ response. We had brought them inside with us since the cave was large enough to do that. It was colder inside initially than being outside, but now it was going to be a lot drier. The night sky was being lit up by the electrical storm as it approached. The thunder rolled in faster after each bolt appeared, so I knew the storm was coming our way.

We went back to the horses to help calm them down. The rain started to fall a few minutes later and was a full downpour when we came back to our bedrolls. There was less lightning and thunder, but it lit up the sky and shook the ground with some regularity. With the horses now accustomed to the sounds, we settled back down to sleep.

It was still raining when we awoke. The idea of riding in that didn’t appeal to us, but we hadn’t brought any extra firewood in last night. That led to a cold breakfast, and we still had to go outside to take care of the pressing needs. Once wet from that, we grabbed wood but it, like us, was soaked.

We did our best to get dry, then fed the horses and settled in to watch the rain outside the cave. The morning dragged on while the rain continued. I found the critters that lived in the cave were a hungry lot, and they feasted on me when they got the opportunity.

Looking around the cave from the sheer boredom of watching the rain, we found enough dry twigs, leaves and such to get the makings of kindling, and a small fire was started. Unfortunately, the fire added a layer of smoke that didn’t filter out well, as the lip of the cave dipped lower than the ceiling. Live and learn they say.

It was late in the afternoon when the rain tapered off, finally quitting as the sun returned. We stood outside where the fresh air filled our lungs. It became obvious rather quickly that the ground was soaked as small ponds had appeared since yesterday afternoon. We were now faced with the unpleasant choice of remaining in the dry cave with the myriad of biting critters, the low hanging smoke cloud and the smells of nature the horses had added or heading off to find a dry spot to camp in the new swamp that had sprung up.

We lessened the smoke ceiling by cooking outside and decided to spend the night. All of us were happy to be back in the saddle and on our way early the next morning. The trip was just boring, and our complaining about being feasted on for two nights did nothing to speed up the journey. The glamour of being a Hero was fading rather quickly at this point. Funny how I didn’t remember any tales like this in the stories I had read.

We spent two more days on the road before we abruptly came to the river. We were on a plateau that overlooked it some hundred feet below. It was a chocolate color, which Kristi said was from the runoff of the recent storm. She had lived close to the river some distance downstream and had come to know it.

We made camp and sat around the fire with Boland keeping guard in the shadows. While I had talked with Kristi some along the way, we had not done more than share greetings. I could see that she was uncomfortable with Boland and me, as she kept her conversations to Tina and Kathy. Given her past dealings with men, I understood why that would be the case.

I finally asked Kristi, “What do you know about the river pirates?”

Her answer was short and curt. “They kill anyone and everyone who is not one of them and steal anything they can, be that on the river or near it.”

She had an attitude problem that was directed now at the males of the species. I didn’t care for it after being food for the critters those two nights, but I also didn’t want to push her away so I asked, “Have I done something to wrong you, Kristi?”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Then why are you speaking to me like I have?”

She looked at me for a moment and glared. Then she dropped her head to look at the ground. “I’m sorry, but it has been three years since I was free of men like him.”

Thinking that I didn’t want to get into a pity party about her past but rather focus on her future, I asked, “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, you’re a Hero from Earth here to rescue a Damsel in Distress. Kathy and Tina told me.”

“Then why are you being so short with me if I haven’t done anything to wrong you and am here to rescue another?”

“You’ll just sell me to someone to get your money back after you’re done with me,” she spluttered, her voice cracking as she stared at the ground.

“Who said I would do that?”

“No one. It’s just how life is.”

“Do I look like I have a death wish?”

“What do you mean?” She was looking up at me then.

“The other three would kill me if I even suggested doing that, which I assure you, I would never consider.”

“But I’m worth two pinches to you,” she retorted, looking at the ground.

“Your worth is more than just a couple of pinches.”

She snapped her head to look at me then. “What do you mean? I’m worth more than that?”

“I mean that you’re going to be my friend, just like Tina, Kathy and Boland are. Furthermore, I value that more than any amount of money.”

“But that isn’t how it works.”

“I’m not from here, remember?”

She smiled then. “So you’re not going to sell me?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I won’t do that?”

“But—” I put my hand up to stop her.

“You’re a free woman now. You can come and go as you please. We would like it if you stayed, but you’re free to leave if that is your wish.”

She sat there with her mouth open.

Kathy broke in then. “He’s a Hero and what he says is how he feels. We want you to stay, but you’re close to home now, so if you want to go back there we will understand.”

“If I do they will just sell me again.” She was back to looking at the ground.

“Then I take it you would rather stay with us?”

“Yes.” She continued looking at the ground.

I got up and went over to her. I took her hand, helping her to her feet. “There is never a reason to look at the ground again when I speak to you. You’re my friend, and as long as I am alive I will not let anything happen to you.”

She fell into my arms and just started to cry. I looked back and saw that Tina had gotten up and was walking out into the dark. It might be to relieve Boland, or it might be because she had heard my discussion with Kristi. I was an idiot. I had not expressed her value as a friend, and I made it a point to do that when she was back. She might have come with us of her free will and for the excitement, but not letting her know that I considered her a friend was a mistake.

Boland came back to the campfire as Kristi was about cried out. Kathy and Kristi went off somewhere, likely to talk. Boland sat down, and I got him a drink.

“Tina came early to relieve me.”

“Yes, I’m an idiot.”

“Oh, I’ve been an idiot many times.”

There was no need to discuss what happened. We were men, and sometimes when it came to women, we simply didn’t have a clue.

Over breakfast, I tried to work on repairing the damage I had done with Tina. I believed that she took my apology as sincere, but I was certainly on the list for the moment with her. We broke camp, and Kristi led the way with Tina, as we went searching for the pirates.

Kristi and Tina would lead us to the river to look it over and then away from it to continue. Boland was riding next to me when I asked, “Why aren’t we just riding next to the river?”

“We want to see them without them seeing us first. It’s like hunting for an animal in a field. If there is a high point in the field, you could ride on it and see farther but the animals would see you too.”

We had worked our way down the river all morning. It was slow going, since we would ride in and out from the bluff overlooking it, but we were hunting now. With so few of us, surprise was a key part of our ability to succeed. We traveled a lot farther from the river before we got down for lunch.

I was looking around when Tina said, “The pirates are not just on the boats. They control more than just the river.”

“Yes, Kristi said that last night.”

“Then we want to be farther from it when we stop.”

“Okay.” That made sense, since they knew the lay of the land better than we did.

We spent the rest of the day, and half of the next with no sign of them. While we were eating lunch, Kristi said, “My Mama and Pap live down around the next bend.”

“Did you want to stop and see them?” I asked.

“I would like to, but if they know that I’m free they will make me stay. When Pap gets drunk again and starts to gamble, it won’t be long before he sells me to settle that debt.” She was trying to keep the tears under control.

“What do you want to do then?” I asked.

“We can stop by, but don’t let on that I am free. I’m your property.”

“I can do that.”

So we finished and made it around the bend. Kristi took us down a path, and we ended down by the river. There was a ramshackle house there. We rode up and a couple of young kids started yelling.

“Kristi! Kristi!” they screamed. A woman, no doubt Kristi’s mother from the looks she and Kristi shared, came running out then.

Kristi was immediately off the horse and in her mother’s arms; the two young ones were holding on to her tightly. We got down and tied the horses off.

I kept an eye out for Kristi’s father, but he never appeared. Once all the introductions were made, we went in and sat inside the house. Kristi’s mother Hazel told the story of how her husband went out one night about a year ago and had never returned. She didn’t know if he had died or simply run off. She and the little ones, Rufus and Tammy, were trying hard to just survive.

It turned out she had a wealth of information about the pirates, as they operated up and down the river here. They would stop in from time to time, but her husband Bill had their respect for some reason so they didn’t bother her. Of course the story of him always being gone when they stopped by was wearing thin.

Rumor had it that they’d had a run-in with some others upstream. She didn’t think the ones they had the run-in with were river based, but just over two years ago they had moved downstream to just over a day’s ride from here. She didn’t know if they had any women with them, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if they did.