They took our guns of course. They ain't that stupid. And they found where we was shelterein' Nessie fer the night so she's gone too. But they did leave us our food and water and some of our other supplies, so I guess there's that.
I thought fer sure they'd take Ro back through the pass, but no. Vern, who hides in the shadows and watches 'em while the rest of us is fixin' up our wounds, says they headed north. Probably plannin' to skirt the desert's edge up to a more northern pass, and then bring their prisoner back to the capital on the northwest coast.
Skirtin' the desert—this makes me smile, cuz it plays into my plans, but Tegan, she ain't so pleased.
"Don't they know there's a dust storm brewin'? We ain't gotta be dealin' with them lawfolk and a storm, plus we'll lose time travelin' north. We need to git you to that boat by the end of the month."
Maybe the blow she took to her head done her more harm than I thought cuz she ain't exactly makin' sense. "Ain't no point in goin' to that ship if Ro ain't with us, is there?"
Tegan frowns at me. "It's a terrible loss, and you know I'm fond of Ro, but his message cain be carried on without him. You cain do it, May. You cain qualify to be a New Pioneer and you cain keep turnin' out copies of Ro's book from that island. They may hang Ro, and again, that's more awful than words cain express, but you cain send a message to 'em. Ain't nothin' that cain stop the truth, not even death."
"Cain you hear what yer sayin', Tegan?" I gotta grasp onto my wrists so I don't punch her. "They're gonna try him and execute him in front of the whole godsdamn planet. I ain't goin' to no boat till I git him back and if I have to go north by myself and pursue 'em by myself and kill Callen and his men by myself than I surely will. Cuz believe me, I'm livin' in hope—hope that I cain git Ro back. Hope that I cain keep him alive. Now, I though that's what yer plan was too, or am I wrong?"
Tegan looks down, her face set real hard. "I just don't want you goin' on a suicide mission."
"That ain't what this is, Tegan." I shake my head. I cain't expect her to understand what I know to be certain, that if I pursue my rescue of Ro, I'll be doin' what's right no matter the outcome. So, all I say is, "I gotta do this, cuz it's what's gotta be done."
"I'll go with you." Vern hops up from his seat on the counter and stands nearby, lookin' set in his decision. I feel a lump of courage well up in me, thanks to him. Vern's got more years on him than the rest of us, even more than Tegan, but he's brave and good hearted.
Gina's just about finished wrappin' up her leg. She got grazed instead of shot straight through, which makes her a lucky woman if ever there was one. "I recon I'll be able to keep up too." She gives a nod to me and Vern and I smile at her.
"Well here I thought I was in charge." Tegan's hands are on her hips but I cain tell she's partly proud of her crew of brave-hearted smugglers.
"Ro and I let you think you was in command only cuz it seemed like yer ego could use the boost."
Tegan lets out a throaty laugh and when that's done she sighs. "Curlicue, looks like Ro picked the right desert dweller to give his heart to. If you got a plan fer survivin' the storm, goin' weaponless against a bunch of well-armed lawfolk, and gittin' Ro back, I'd sure love to hear it."
#
It's like they want us to track 'em. That's what I think as we follow their footprints across the dusty plains. They ain't made no attempt to disguise their tracks, and even with the wind, their trail's still visible, like Callen purposely stomped along so the grooves in his boot soles would be a permanent fixture on the landscape. Either they don't believe we'll have the balls to follow 'em, or Callen is bettin' on us doin' just that.
I tell this to the others and they don't argue with me. "Callen's crazy, ain't he?"
Tegan nods. "I ain't seen a man talk like that never. It's like he was... like he was-," she struggles to finish her thoughts.
I think back to Orin. "Like he was playin' with his food?" I suggest and Tegan nods.
"Exactly like that. He's mad is what he is."
"So, you really think he wants us to find 'em?" asks Gina.
"I think he wants Ro to suffer as much as possible, and Callen, he may not be right in his head, but that head still works real cunnin'-like. He had me pegged fer Ro's sweetheart the moment he laid eyes on me."
"Why didn't he just kill you, then?" Vern wonders.
"Did you miss his fancy monologue where he explained the difference 'tween shootin' folks in the head versus the gut? Ain't no fun in killin' me outright. He wants to drag this on, torture us, and Ro most of all."
"Fer the record," says Tegan, "That's why I was aimin' to keep you from followin' 'em. It's what Callen wants."
"Don't matter." I shift the weight of my pack to my right shoulder. "What he wants, what he don't want. Only thing I'm interested in is that he gits what he deserves."
We push ourselves on through the night, guided by the moon and Callen's intentional carelessness. Tegan thought we should wait till morning to head out, but I know now she was only tryin' to prolong our overtakin' 'em, hopin' that the storm would come along in the interim and after that, we'd have to abandon the mission all together. I keep us speedin' along, though. My plan relies on us findin' Callen's group 'fore the storm hits. We ain't more than an hour or two behind 'em, and I have a feelin', we'll catch up to 'em whenever Callen wills it.
#
Sure, 'nuff, Callen's will exerts itself on us just after dawn. We come up over a hill and there they are, just across the expanse, fixin' up their tents with extra layers of canvas so they cain ride out the storm at least partly protected. They got coverage to the east in the form of a long bolder restin' on the ground like a god dropped it there. I expect they feel it's passable protection seein' as though we're in the semi-arid zone, but I know it's woefully inadequate fer the size of the storm currently brewin'.
I set my eyes upon the east, to the risin' sun layin' itself across the desert. The dust's still a slumber, enjoyin' its last moments of rest 'fore the sun's glow awakens it, till it feels the heartbeats of the hopeful and speeds them to victory.
We're close enough fer Callen's lot to spot us if they was to look hard enough. That means it's time to put the next phase of our plan into action. I hand Tegan a piece of Nessie's halter.
"I don't like this, May." Tegan bites her lip. "Yer a brave girl, but still. I cain't see how this is gonna work."
"Just trust me and play yer part, Tegan. Go on now."
She frowns at me, but then she gits to it, bindin' my wrists in front of me. "Tighter," I tell her, "We gotta make this believable."
"Whatever you say."
That done, Tegan hands the rope to Vern, who looks at me real doubtful. "It's okay. Go on Vern."
Vern yanks my rope and off we go, across the tableland and into Callen's trap.
Ain't no sign of any of 'em, but I know they're here. Once we're in earshot, Tegan yells, "Sargent Callen, we got you something you might be interested in."
Slowly, the flap at the front of one of the tents lifts up, and Callen steps out. "Well, now, I didn't expect to see you four again, and," he cocks his head at me, "what could that pretty young lady have done to earn such ill treatment?"
"After you done run off with her boyfriend, this one here," Tegan looks at me accusingly, "starts blabberin' on and on about how Ro ain't the real outlaw. How it was her all along who wrote them books. How Ro, he just took the fall fer her cuz they was in love."
Callen scratches his beard thoughtfully. His two men come out of their tents, armed with them fancy city guns. "She's a commoner." Callen spits it out like it hurts his throat just to say the word. "Do you really think I'd believe she's capable of writing anything? Most likely, she can't even read."
"I'm quite positive you've underestimated me, Sargent," I say in my very best proper talk. "And if we're speaking of what you do and do not believe, I must include that I'm quite certain I convinced you to believe exactly what I wanted you to."
Callen's eyes widen. Could he really be buyin' my act? If he does, he don't mind overly much that I duped him. "If that's the case, you're a bigger fool than Rordan Farnes. You had only to hold your tongue and you could have remained free."
"I love him!" I gush fer all it's worth. "I love him and I couldn't bear losing him!" I raise my bound hands to my face and brush away tears—tears that don't take too much coaxin' nor actin' skills to git out of me.
"So," Callen turns back to Tegan, "I must admit I didn't expect this turn of events. Why have you brought her here?"
"Ain't it obvious?" Tegan scowls at him. "To turn her over to you and collect whatever reward they're offerin' fer traitors these days."
Callen raises an eyebrow. "Who says there's a reward?"
"The fact that you and yer men were out in these parts, dealin' with this sorry stretch of land tells me it. Or was you lookin' fer fugitives purely out of a sense of patriotism?"
"I'll have you know, this 'sorry stretch of land' is my regular patrol. And yes, every officer from shore to shore knows to be on the lookout for Farnes. The fact that I caught him is-"
"Is yer ticket out of here," concludes Tegan. "You know very well they'll promote you, send you back to the Regions, give you a nice house and yer pick of easy-as-pie jobs. Well, that's all we're askin' of you. One traitorous love-struck girl fer a ticket to the Regions. As proper citizens. Promise us that and we'll help you git 'em both back to the capital."
Callen looks the three traders over. I cain tell he wants to say "yes" cuz it'll make him seem like he's got the authority to grant sich grand requests. And this man, he wants authority, or at least the appearance of it.
"All right. I'll entreat the council to grant citizen passes for your service to our land." He motions fer Vern to hand me over.
Vern tugs on my lead, forcin' me in Callen's direction. The prisoner transfer complete, Callen examines the traders like he ain't sure exactly what he ought to do with 'em now.
"Do you know what marooning is?" This is sich an out of place question, no one finds the words to respond, so Callen does the respondin' all on his own. "It was a punishment unleashed by pirates, people who used to terrorize coastal populations. Plundering, pillaging, that sort of thing; pirates, in one form or another, can be found in the history books of many of the known realities from which our peoples spring. If a pirate defied his captain, the punishment was harsh indeed. The captain would sail to a tiny island and deposit the offending man there, leaving him with nothing other than a small but crucial parting gift-- a gun containing one solitary bullet. The marooned man would slowly die of thirst and when he could bear his fate no longer, well, he'd consider that gun a true gift of mercy."
Callen turns towards his men. "Take all of their supplies. If they try to defy their new captain, we'll withhold food and water, situate them in the middle of the most inhospitable spot we can find and leave them there."
He smiles at the traders. "Without a gift of mercy, obviously."
He leaves the traders to contemplate why they was fool enough to go along with my plan. Next thing I know, I'm bein' tossed into a tent. I'm hopin' badly that Ro will be there, but of course, that'd be too easy, wouldn't it.
"Where's Ro?"
"Relax, dear." Callen's got the nerve to pat my head. "Your boyfriend's unharmed. They want him alive for the trial."
"I want to see him."
Callen looks me up and down. "No, I think it best you two stay separated as much as possible. You understand, don't you?"
"I understand plenty, just not a whole lot when it comes to you."
"Well, I love to keep a lady guessing." Callen checks the rope bindin' my wrists and then secures me to the tent's center pole before turning to leave. "I'd get some rest, if I were you. We have weeks of travel ahead of us."
No we don't, actually, not together, at least, but he don't know that yet. I shut my eyes and let my head rest against the pole. I hope Tegan and the others will be all right. They put a lot of trust in me. If I was them, I'd be havin' serious doubts about that choice right about now.
But I cain't think in terms of doubts and worry. I gotta be fearless. Even now, the wind's pickin' up its pace. The desert's ready fer us. It's famished, and I know what will settle them hunger pains.
A/N: May is so certain that her plan is going to work, but now she's tied up in the middle of a tent in the middle of a brewing storm in the middle of a wasteland. Meanwhile, her trader friends are in quite the predicament themselves. Any guesses as to how this is going to go?
Thank you so much for all of your previous vote donations. Because of you, our desert dwellers lives have been improved, if only a little. Let's keep 'em coming!
Today's dedication is for a wonderful reader, johannahefer whose comments always put a smile on my face. She has recently posted her first work here on Wattpad, an entry to the #tfcpostits contest. Hopefully we'll see more of her writing soon!