~ Leia lives and works on a (fictional) New Mexico Ranch called The Loop. One of her duties is to work with her brother to scout for and kill and zombies that might find their way to the ranch. It's been three years since the outbreak, but the danger of a hoard is still very real. When an expected convoy runs late it's up to Leia, Jake, and a team of other riders and their horses, to save the ranch. ~
Lasso
August 2022
New Mexico
"Get that rope around him, Leia!"
Leia swung the stiff rope in a slow loop over her head, taking careful aim. Her horse, Rattlesnake, shifted under her and almost ruined her shot, but she compensated and tossed. The lasso flew and snagged over the zombie like a horseshoe over a peg. "Got him, Jake!" She whooped, pulling in the rope slack and wrapping it around the saddle horn without having to look. At the same time she signaled Rattlesnake with her knees and the horse lowered his head, pulling back at a quick shuffle, snapping the rope taught. This would have been enough to whip any zombie off its feet, but Leia's brother Jake already his his rope over the zom as well and now they pulled from opposite directions.
The zombie was old and dusty. It had clearly been wandering the deserts for a while and its yellowed skin looked tough as boot leather. It clacked its jaw and stared dumbly as the ropes dug into its torso, yanking its gnarled body in two directions.
The horses were strong. Normally used for roping cattle, though with the apocalypse and the fuel shortage horses were becoming more and more vital in many aspects of life. "Do we need it for training?" Leia gestured with her hat brim at the zom.
Jake shook his head, his long, black, braid falling over one shoulder. "Nope. We've got one. A fresher one too. This guy's useless. Where do you think it came from?" Jake sat casually on his own mount, a black mare with a white face named Delilah. He didn't even need to touch his reins; he balanced in the saddle with his arms folded as the horse did her work.
"Dunno. Been out here a while anyway. It's probably alone." Leia mimicked her brother's pose. Rattlesnake knew his business. The powerful, buckskin gelding, took a few more steps backward and the zombie's body twisted. The crunch of breaking bone rattled in the still heat, though the zombie felt no obvious pain. It still looked from one sibling to the other, hungrily clacking its teeth even as the ropes tore its body apart. "I don't think there's a hoard." Leia reassured her brother.
Jake rubbed his stubbly chin and spat into the dust. With a sick crunch the zombie crumpled like a piece of paper in a fist. The ropes cut into it, tearing muscle and ripping its leathery flesh. More bones cracked as its spine finally broke and it slumped, limp. There were only two ways to kill a zom: destroy the brain or destroy the spine. It's twisted body still twitched convulsively as the horses slackened their ropes, but it was no longer a danger to anyone.
"Want to take it to the pit?" Jake asked.
"You do it." Leia urged Rattlesnake a bit closer to the mutilated zombie and skillfully jerked her rope free of the creature. She coiled her lariat automatically, not taking her eyes off the twitching mass on the ground. She was glad of her thick leather gloves, The rope was smeared with flaked skin and streaks of black blood. Rattlesnake tossed his head and flatted his ears at the smell, side stepping to try to avoid it. Leia squeezed him with her knees to hold him steady as she spoke to her brother again. "You know Rattler hates any times the zoms are behind him."
"Maybe I want to see you go flying again." Jake smirked, tightening his rope. Delilah was unfazed as the clump of flesh and broken bone dragged closer to her.
Leia rolled her eyes and fought the temptation to throw her lariat over her brother's head.
"You got such good air time!" Jake laughed as he turned Delilah and started off at a trot, the dead zombie towed behind him, heading for the large pit on the edge of the ranch where they dumped waste, manure, and zombie corpses. Luckily they'd dug it early, before the fuel crisis, back when they'd still been able to use their heavy machinery.
Leia wove Rattlesnake down the various trails between fences adorned with barbed wire. She casually scanned for breaks in the wire, or patches that needed repair. Like all the riders, she carried fence repair tools on her saddle, but she didn't see any gaps today. Her eyes caught of a scrap of cloth, what might have been part of a shirt, flapping like a flag from one of the barbs. Rattlesnake side-eyed the fluttering fabric. She patted his neck. "How are you so brave about some things and such a chicken shit about others?" Rattler tossed his head and snorted. She clucked her tongue. "This is why you're not a pull horse." She suspected the big gelding didn't mind that his tasks were generally limited to scouting.
Leia urged Rattlesnake up to a trot and kept up that pace as they wove past the empty pastures. They acted as a barrier for the undead, slowing their shamble to a crawl so they could easily be picked off. As she got closer to the main stable and the Big House the pastures were filled with horses and some cattle. Three years ago this had been exclusively a cattle ranch. These days they'd switched gears. While they still raised beef cattle, horses were in high demand and The Loop Ranch filled that need. Brood mares in one of the pastures eyed Rattlesnake suspiciously and herded their foals away from the fence. In one of the several round pens, Vick and Romie were training some two year olds. Chained to the wall of the pen, with its arms cut off and a chain in its mouth, was their latest training zombie. The young horses eyed the moaning creature, working up the courage to draw closer at their trainer's urging. One youngster instinctively kicked at it and Leia nodded appreciatively at Romie. That little filly would be useful for certain.
The young horses would be extensively exposed to zombies. Horses like Rattlesnake, who were already adults before The Fall, struggled to acclimate to the world the way it was now. Leia smiled thinly. "It's alright Rattler. I'm not used to this world either."
In the stable Leia gave Rattlesnake a good brushing and picked pebbles from his hooves, and sand burs from his fetlocks. He plucked lovingly at her shirt with his lips and she petted his face before sliding his stall door shut. "You big flirt." Rattlesnake flicked his ears at her and blinked lazily.
Leia headed for the Big House, calling greetings to the other residents as she went. Kids scampered in the dusty front yard before the massive building they all called home, though many bedded down in the stable or the small lodging that had originally been intended for seasonal help. Seasonal help was a three-years-ago idea. Now everyone stayed. No one quite knew where one family ended and the other began. They were woven together by this disaster and the threads hadn't come apart.
Leia was nearly flattened as three massive dogs hurtled from the open front doors of the low, sprawling Big House. She managed to keep her feet just in time for five kids to join the dogs, dragging on her arms and demanding piggy back rides. "Lee! Lee!" one little girl squealed. "Did you and Jake catch that zom? Did you!"
"We got it!" Leia laughed as one of the littlest kids hung from her bicep. She made a muscle and all the kids cheered.
"Is Jake taking it to the pit?" An adult voice cut through the mayhem.
"Yeah, Mama." Leia managed to shake free of most of the children and dogs, who scurried off into the main yard, already beginning a game of tag.
Mama nodded. Leia was pretty sure Mama had been a house keeper before The Fall but no one asked, and Mama didn't volunteer the information. She had taken charge three years ago when everything went down, and now everyone was happy to follow her lead. It didn't hurt that Mama was an amazing cook with other useful skills galore, like wiring and repairing electricity in the home. "Come inside and get some food, kiddo. It'll be ready soon."
Leia squinted towards the beating sun and swiped streaks of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand before following Mama's wheelchair into the relative cool of the house.
The ovens for the whole ranch were located in a side-yard. Everything on The Loop was solar powered, but the ovens were as old school as you got, and wood burning. From the back they looked like humps of clay protruding from the gravel. Inside and atop they cooked meals for over fifty residents of The Loop. The side-yard was hotter even than the front and Leia didn't venture out, though Mama wheeled her chair right into the sweltering air to join the others preparing lunch. The scent of smoke mingled with fresh baked tortillas, beef, and peppers. Leia nearly staggered, realizing just how hungry she was after her morning's work. Her stomach squeezed like an old sack and she bit down on the side of her tongue to distract herself. She leaned in the doorway, watching the cooks skillfully work. Everyone was tan, but Leia and Jake matched Mama's tawny skin tone and straight, black hair. They looked like they might be related, though they weren't as far as Leia knew.
"Are we still expecting the shipment today?' Leia asked to take her mind off her growling belly.
"We are. I've got Bo babysitting the CB waiting for the call." Mama answered as she wheeled up and down the line of cooks, supervising.
"They're late."
"They are." Mama joined Leia again. "But not that late. Probably just held up at a checkpoint."
Leia looked down his Mama's weathered, calm features. She wished she could be so steady, but her memory was still fresh with the image of today's zombie. Yellow, staring eyes, broken teeth clacking; nothing but an endless, insatiable hunger that drove them well beyond what a living human could endure. Even with the heat a shiver ran up her spine.
Leia stood aside as Mama organized the lunch in their giant dining area. Leia wasn't certain what the big room had been used for before the apocalypse, but now it was set with long tables for serving and eating. Hungry people began to filter in. The ranch hands nodded greetings to Leia while the kids scattered everywhere, fighting over who would sit with whom.
"Ring the bell for me, would you, child?" Mama called to Leia.
Leia turned and went to the open front door. She reached for the thin cord that dangled below the copper bell that would call everyone in from work. Something caught her eye and she stopped, hand poised. A hot wind kicked up around her as she realized what she'd spotted. A rider on a black horse galloping full tilt in the direction of the house. Her breath caught. "Jake." It had to be Jake. She hadn't seen him gathering with the others inside. She caught a flash of white on the horse's face and she knew.
Abandoning the bell she charged across the yard, ready to meet the rider as he tore in, kicking up a swath of dust and grit in his wake. He reached her in moments, Delilah coming to a sliding stop. The horse's gleaming coat was splattered with lathering sweat.
Jake dismounted and Leia grabbed his arms, looking up at his sweat streaked face. His hat was gone, lost somewhere in his wild ride. "What is it? Are you hurt?" She demanded.
"I'm not hurt. Neither is Delilah." Jake pushed Leia back, catching his breath. He mopped his face with his handkerchief and met her eyes, identical to his own. "I saw the shipment trucks while I was finishing up with that zom."
"But?"
"They were driving fast. Too fast for those big trucks on these shit roads. I went over to see what was up and one of the guys yelled that there's a hoard coming! They picked it up at Galisteo. The town was completely overrun and the hoard started following the trucks." Jake slumped against Delilah, his eyes searching his sister's face as though she might laugh and assure him this was all a joke.
"Why didn't they radio?" Leia gasped, her heart thundering to life. She stood on tiptoe to see over the horse's back towards the road. She couldn't see the silver shimmer of the trucks yet, but they couldn't be far behind even though they had to use the road and Jake had run across country.
"Radio's busted or some shit. Idiots." Jake growled in annoyance. "There hasn't been a hoard in so long..."
"Jake!" Leia grabbed his bicep, "we need to warn everyone. Is the supply convoy still coming in?"
"Of course." Jake shook his head as if to clear it. "They wouldn't turn back. Not with the hoard."
"Right." Leia turned, her ponytail whipping as she charged back into the house to find Mama.
The matriarch listened with tight lips. When Jake and Leia finished their report she nodded. Others had gathered to listen so she didn't need to make an announcement. No one spoke, the tension as was a tripwire. Leia's breath came in short, adrenaline fueled huffs.
"Do we turtle up?" Javier asked. He was in charge of the Big House's defense crew and weapons arsenal. Leia knew he was itching to get his people organized. Mama nodded. "Yes. Batten down, but when the trucks arrive we'll find out how big a hoard we're dealing with." She turned and looked at the gathered horsemen, including Leia and Jake. "We might need a big pull."
"Right." Romie, one of the lead trainers, nodded curtly. "We'll saddle up."
Blood rushed in Leia's head as she followed the others towards the stable. They'd done a few hoard pulls when things began, but those were acts of desperation. Wild, disorganized; people and horses had been injured and died. Since then they'd pulled smaller packs of zoms for practice, but nothing as big as in the early days. She didn't dare voice her worry. She headed for Blaze's stall but Jake cut her off. "Delilah is spent, I need Blaze."
Leia planted a hand on the stall bars, blocking her sibling from opening the bay gelding's stall. "Who am I supposed to ride?"
"Rattler."
"On a pull? Do you want me to get bucked off?" She snapped.
"Am I supposed to ride your damn horse for you?" Jake jerked the latch of Blaze's door. "We've got limited pull horses, stop whining and saddle Rattler."
Leia bristled. Normally she would have laid into her brother. She was supposed to be the elder sibling here, and Blaze belonged to both of them. But as the noise in the stable grew louder, each rider snatching up one of the limited number of horses who would pull, she knew she didn't have time for a protracted argument. Even as her mind filled with visions of her last, bad fall, she also remembered the last hoard she had seen. Seemingly endless waves of hungry undead, intent on the family she had found here. She gritted her teeth and released the stall bars. "Fine. But if Rattlesnake ends up tossing me you better come pick me up before the fucking hoard eats my face off."
"Deal." Jake whipped the door open so fast it bounced and slammed back into his shoulder. He ignored this, hurrying to put on Blaze's halter.
Leia retreated to Rattlesnake's stall where the big buckskin was watching all the action with forward ears. He blew on her shoulder in greeting as she opened his door. He could feel her unease the moment she petted his nose, but he didn't shy. He was steady, she reassured herself. He was a trustworthy horse who didn't want to hurt her. She leaned in her and put her forehead against his. "There might be a lot of zoms today. I hope we don't have to do it, but you might have to deal with zombies behind you. Okay buddy?"
Rattlesnake breathed his hot breath into her belly and lipped her jeans pocket in hopes of a treat.
Once Rattlesnake was saddled she and the other riders streamed from the stable in time to see big trucks pulling into the massive, circle drive in front of the Big House. Semis and livestock trailers in a battered parade. On a normal trip they would drop off supplies for The Loop and leave with livestock to sell and distribute elsewhere.
A man clamored from the lead truck and hurried across the yard to where Mama sat, flanked by Javier and one of his fighters. Leia mounted up and brought Rattlesnake closer so she could hear. Her heart in her throat.
"Ma!" The man greeted, plucking his cowboy hat respectfully from his balding head. He was a stout man with a scruffy, orange beard.
"Bob." Mama nodded to the man. Normally there would be hugging, back patting, chatter. Today Mama's face was serious and none of the other drivers leaped from their trucks. "Couldn't be arsed to fix your radio?"
Bob rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry Ma. We got sloppy."
"So there's a hoard?"
"Yeah. About four miles behind us, moving fast. Might be here in an hour. Look, Ma, I'll understand if you want me and my guys to go-"
"Shut up, Bob." Mama waved her hand. "We're not leaving y'all high and dry. Plus we need those supplies." Leia couldn't see the playful glint in Mama's eye, but she knew the woman well enough to know it was there. "How big's this hoard you found for us?"
Bob rubbed his neck again. "'Bout one fifty, maybe two hundred."
Mama's jaw tensed. Leia could see it even from her spot in the saddle. "Right." Mama reached up and tapped Javier. "That's too many to bring here for us to deal with. Javier, set up your gunners in the house and get barricading, but we're gonna have to hope we don't need you. Romie?"
Romie rode to Mama's side on her big palomino mare, Flash.
"You and your people are gonna have to pull, and pull hard. Get the majority of the hoard to the Lasso and hope for the best." Finished with Romie, Mama whipped her chair around with such speed and grace Leia was impressed. "Get the dogs inside. We don't need them mucking up this operation! Everyone prep the house in case the pull doesn't work. Let's go!"
Everyone burst into a flurry of concentrated action. The horses shifted and flared their nostrils, sensing the adrenaline in the air.
Jake rode up beside Leia, chin stoically raised as he squinted in the harsh sunlight. "This'll be fun." he said in a voice utterly devoid of happiness.
"Let's go!" Romie shouted, raising her hand to make a circling motion in the air. With whoops, whistles, and yips, the riders of The Loop Ranch took off, heading out of the yard before Mama could instruct the delivery drivers to make a barrier with their trucks to help block off entry. The group tore down the drive, weaving between pastures and barbed wire. Kids were already working to bring what horses they could inside. While zombies wouldn't eat a horse or a cow, there was still danger of the frightened animals being accidentally shot, or injured as they tried to flee the hoard. Leia spotted a little boy of perhaps eight years leading a brood mare as calmly as could be, her foal trotting behind. Leia wished she could find that kid's steadiness in herself.
Several riders jumped their horses over the fences and barriers as they rode out. Leia glanced uneasily at the barbed wire that topped each fence. She wouldn't risk Rattlesnake like that, but she supposed she couldn't stop the others.
At a fast trot they reached the edge of the ranch quickly enough. Hot wind sliced across the open, kicking up little tornadoes of grit and sand. Horses blew and stamped. Leia drew up beside Jake, glancing sideways at her sibling, checking his mood. Jake didn't notice her gaze, instead squinting down the road. Listening. They were all listening for the moan on the wind. The sound of hundreds of footfalls. An army of death that two dozen riders were expected to deflect.
"Anyone got any questions about this pull?" Romie guided her horse in front of their line like a general in a fantasy movie.
No one spoke. They'd all practiced and they knew how it was supposed to go.
It wasn't the sound of the hoard that reached them first. It was the smell. The sour odor of death on the wind. Flesh rotting in the sun, even as the body continued to walk. The horses sensed the zombies before the humans did. There was head tossing, flared nostrils, and stamping. Rattlesnake chewed his bit and pulled rein. Leia kept him collected as her heart battered her ribs. She swallowed thickly as the first of the zombies came into view. The fastest, freshest, of the undead came shambling out of the swirling heat.
The riders sat steady. Waiting. More shapes, slumping and staggering like a twisted mirage, soon appeared. Leia's breathing tightened, though Rattlesnake remained steady. For the moment.
The hoard kept moving with the steadiness of a well trained army, though they shambled, tripped, walked over one another to be first in line. Leia knew the zombies smelled her, and her fellow humans. The zombies would smell the horses too, but had no interest. Without the humans on their backs, the horses would have been completely ignored like rocks in a stream. Leia swallowed again, her throat sticky with dust. She didn't dare reach for her canteen on her saddle. Didn't dare take her attention from the hoard for even a second.
Most zoms tended to shamble, seldom running, though they could if need be to catch their prey. The lead zombies picked up their pace to a loping jog.
Leia looked at Jake, then Romie. Jake met her eyes for a moment, but Romie focused on the zombies. "Steady." she said. "We have to be sure they've locked on us. We cannot let them get distracted."
Leia knew the trainer was right, but she hated sitting there, little rivers of sweat pouring down her back and brow. Rattlesnake huffed and pawed.
Romie squinted at the hoard and raised her arm. Everyone, even the horses, tensed. Romie dropped her arm. They wheeled their mounts, falling into a side by side line formation, to best spread their human scent behind them, drawing the zombies on.
Leia guided Rattlesnake around, and he spun to face the hoard again. She turned him once more and he did the same. He yanked the reins and side stepped, refusing to look away from the oncoming mass. "Rattler come on." Leia said between gritted teeth, pressing him hard with her heels. She never used spurs on him, but now her boot heels didn't feel like enough. He walked sideways, head lowered, ears flattened. The rest of the riders were moving off.
"Let's go, Leia!" Romie called.
"I'm trying." Leia ground between gritted teeth as she tried again to drag Rattlesnake around. This time he backed, still refusing to turn from the hoard.
Jake appeared at her side, bringing Blaze close to Rattlesnake, almost herding the buckskin into a turn. "Let's go, Rattler!" He shouted.
Rattlesnake finally turned and Leia kept up the pressure with her heels. She could feel his distress. His displeasure pushed her to want to turn in the saddle and check on the hoard, but she resisted. "Come on Rattler. Come on!" She finally coaxed the big horse to follow Blaze back into the formation, though she had to be on constant alert, ready to correct him the moment he put his weight wrong or threatened to swing his back end. Jake brought Blaze in tightly beside Rattlesnake to help prevent him from turning.
Leia was bathed in sweat as the formation picked up a trot.
Everyone knew the plan. The Loop Ranch was nestled into a crescent shaped canyon called 'The Lasso'. Three years ago, when the zombie plague struck and a hoard threatened The Loop that first time, someone had gotten the genius idea to lead the zombies to the canyon. That maneuver called a 'Pull' had saved the ranch and all the families sheltering there. Leia had not participated in that ride. She had stayed back to help batten down the Big House in case the plan didn't work. This time they had more horses and trained riders, yet as she struggled with her horse Leia didn't feel confident.
The zombies behind them picked up their pace. The gurgling moan of the hoard, like a sick song they shared, sent a shaft of panic through Leia's heart.
"Pick it up!" Romie called. The final leg of their Pull began.
As the other horses pushed up to a canter, Rattlesnake lost it. When she leaned forward and nudged him, instead of following the other horses into higher speed, he bucked. She rode it, grabbed the saddle horn as the horse spun to face the hoard. Only then did Rattlesnake seem to realize how big the hoard was. He reared back, bucked again, twisted and thrashed, trying to break to the right or left. Leia fought valiantly to get his head under control. His neck was powerful and he kept wresting control from her as he thrashed. He seemed to have decided to get rid of her so he could flee. "NO!" Leia snarled. If she lost control and hit the ground the hoard would be on her in moments. Her breath came in harsh jerks as she fought. The zombies pounded closer.
Jake was beside her again. Blaze too was spooking, so close to the moaning mass of hungry undead, but Jake managed to keep control.
"Jake... don't!" Leia tried to choke out as she battled with Rattlesnake, dragging his head around, preventing him from rearing, but little else.
Jake ignored her. He leaned down, reaching for one of Rattlesnake's reins.
Rattlesnake balked sideways. Leia lost her left stirrup, but managed to stay on. Jake lost his balance completely and toppled from Blaze's saddle. Blaze darted to the side and wheeled, cantering after the other horses, reins and stirrups flapping.
Jake hit the dirt with a solid thud and an "oof".
Leia snapped her eyes up to the hoard and a fire burst to life in her chest. With the reins still tight in her left hand she reached down to her brother. "Jake!"
He looked up, understanding sparking in his eyes. He grasped her forearm, hauled himself to his feet, then up onto Rattlesnake's back behind her.
Maybe it was the extra weight, maybe it was Leia's fierce mood, but Rattlesnake stopped bucking and she dragged him around. As one of the lead zombies reached, fingers tangling in the horse's tail, it received a hefty kick to the face that sent the monster sprawling, taking out two of its fellows in the process.
Leia pushed Rattlesnake so firmly there could be no question what she wanted. Rattlesnake tossed his head and charged away from the hoard at a powerful canter, eating up the ground between them and the rest of the horses. Jake held on, arms wrapped around his sister's waist. His chin dug in between her shoulder blades, but Leia ignored it as she urged Rattlesnake to even better speed. While he was big and dopey, the gelding could fly when he set his mind to it.
They caught up with the other riders, who called encouragement.
The riders pushed onward until the line of the Lasso canyon loomed. This was the trickiest part, though after Rattelsnake's tantrum Leia thought leading the zombies into the ravine might be a piece of cake. The trick was timing their movements to keep the frenzied hoard pushing forward.
Leia pulled Rattlesnake around to face the hoard again, his rump to the canyon. She could feel the updraft coming from the sheer drop and tried not to think about herself, Jake, and Rattler tumbling head over hooves to the rocks below. She focused on Rattlesnake's breathing, big, hearty puffs in and out. Focus on the smell of his sweat. On her brother's loosened grip as he sat back for a moment. She watched the oncoming hoard between Rattler's upright ears and fought to ignore the wafting scent of death and the endless, rolling moan that kept the hoard together like the calling of a flock of birds.
The sea of mangled, twisted faces pressed closer. Their bodies blending together in a single, writhing mass. Boney hands with broken nails reached, clawing the air before them. Teeth clacked behind receded, cracked lips.
"NOW!" Romie roared.
Jake's arms snapped tight around Leia's ribs and she cut Rattlesnake to the left, followed five other horses who tore off in that direction. The edge of the canyon loomed to her left, the hoard surged on her right, and Rattlesnake pounded onward with all his power. "Don't fall off." She snarled between gritted teeth to Jake. If he went down now he'd take her with him and no one could save them.
Hands like claws grabbed at her leg and for a moment she was certain she was falling, but Rattlensake put on one last burst of speed and she lay low on his whithers as they breached the edge of the hoard. As soon as she was able she wheeled Rattlesnake around to watch. The first zombies had already fallen and the next in line couldn't stop. They slammed into one another, moving too fast and thinking too slow. They poured over the edge.
They didn't scream as they fell, but kept up the same, eerie moan. Leia shivered involuntarily. She reached down and petted Rattlesnake's thick neck. "I understand why you don't want to turn your back on those creatures, even though you fight me so much."
The pull worked remarkably well. Most of the hoard poured over the edge in a surreal wave of flailing bodies. Leia wondered if some might survive hitting bottom. If they did they'd have quite a walk to make it to The Loop and then Javier and his crew would pick them off easily, if the patrolling riders didn't. Now only a few stragglers, mostly zombies with such bad injuries that they struggled to keep up with the rest, like missing legs, were all that remained at the top of the cliff.
The riders regrouped while avoiding the slower, pathetic creatures. Romie pulled out a pistol to dispose of a few while Leia and another rider, Garrison, used their lasso trick to break a few spines. Jake took up the mantle of bait for the cleanup. He perched on a rock, too tall for the average zom to reach without a great deal of work, and let the others pick them off. When they were done he hopped back onto Rattlesnake behind his sister as no one was sure where Blaze had run off to
"Thanks for the ride." Jake said as he situated himself.
"You're welcome." Leia gathered her lariat after their last kill.
"I was talking to Rattler."
Rattlesnake snorted and tossed his head as if in answer. Leia clucked her tongue. "Don't get this horse thinking that he's something special. He almost got both of us killed."
"We forgive him." Jake patted Rattlesnake's rump.
"You have to, with horses." Leia sighed. "You have to forgive or the partnership will never work."
They found Blaze, as expected, loitering near a pasture looking glum. Perhaps sorry she'd run off. Jake reclaimed her. The riders headed back to the battened-down ranch to declare their success.