| Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 |
Alternity - Chapter 3
Last Man Standing
Once outside the Maru, Feleena clambered into the driver's seat of the wagon while Harper took up the shotgun position. Feleena kept the horses moving at a brisk pace, not quite a run but faster than a walk. Harper spent the time scanning the countryside looking for approaching riders, and planning how he was going to deal with Wister.
A showdown, Harper realized, was inevitable. While the Maru could offer Feleena and her sweetheart refuge while it was planetside, it would very shortly be leaving, and Feleena and Zane would lose their haven, and from how Feleena had described Zane's injuries, Zane would still be in no shape to confront Wister and his men. That meant the job fell to him. With luck he would be able to get Feleena and Zane safely aboard the Maru, and then he would go man hunting. His gauss rifle would outrange anything Wister would have and he intended to make full use of that advantage.
After about 90 minutes of riding, Feleena brought the horses to a stop, in front of what could only be described as a modest homestead. The Grey ranch consisted of a small barn and an even smaller building, which judging from the fact that it had windows he assumed was the ranch house. Situated halfway between the barn and the house was a small wooden building. From the odor emanating from it Harper deduced that it was the ranch's sanitary facility. A few feet in front of the door to the house was a barrel and a hand pump.
There was a small corral in front of the house. It had been created by driving stakes into the ground to form the perimeter of the corral, then planting thorn vine around the stakes. The thorn vine spread from stake to stake until it formed a thick barrier of thorns that a horse would be reluctant to pass through. It was as effective as barbed wire and much cheaper. There were two horses in the corral milling around nervously.
Feleena led Harper into the ranch house. Always the engineer, Harper spent a moment studying the house. The building appeared to be made of dirt and and the purplish vegetation that was the New Texas equivalent of grass. After a moment he understood. The house was what was locally called a soddy. Zane had hacked the tough prairie sod into brick sized chunks and used the chunks like bricks to build the house. The roots of the pieces of sod tangled together to give the house surprising structural strength. Soddies were cool in summer, warm in winter, and generally bug infested all year round. Most importantly though to a cash strapped young rancher was that they were free.
Harper stepped into the single room cabin and let his eyes adjust to the dim light. There was an iron stove at one end of the cabin, undoubtedly used for both cooking and heating, a large table and a pair of chairs in the center and a bed at the end of the room opposite the stove. A few shelves lined the walls. They held a scattering of dishes, a lantern, some folded clothes and a few other miscellaneous items that Harper didn't recognize.
Feleena was standing by the bed talking to its occupant. The occupant might have been handsome, but at present it was difficult to tell. Both eyes were blackened, the left one swollen almost shut. His lips were puffy and torn, and his nose was bent askew. He was sitting erect and Harper could see bandages wrapped around his chest; undoubtedly intended to bind broken ribs in place. It was the man's hands that really attracted Harper's attention. They were grossly swollen, the fingers looking more like sausages than anything that belonged on a human hand. Someone had methodically broken all of the bones in the man's hands. Harper hoped Trance could pull off some sort of medical miracle when he brought Zane back to her, otherwise he would spend the rest of his life as a cripple.
"You should see the other guy," said the man in the bed. "The name's Grey. Feleena told me that she was going to get help. I guess you're it."
"Pleased to meet you," replied Harper. "I'm Harper. Feleena asked me to help. The first thing we need to do is get you and Feleena out of here and someplace safe. We have a wagon, so you won't need to sit astride a horse." He then turned to Feleena. "Feleena, pack up what you and your man will need, and then we'll get him into the wagon. The two of you will be staying aboard the Maru until I get things settled with Wister."
Feleena started to gather up personal belongs and began putting them into a large burlap sack. She had just finished packing, and was helping Grey out of bed and into a shirt, when Harper heard the whinnying of horses. Riders were approaching.
"Stay here," Harper ordered Feleena. He had already decided that if the house was attacked, it would have to be defended from outside. Even if there had been enough people to watch every window, which there weren't, the windows were situated in such a way that there were numerous blind spots from which the attackers could operate with impunity. "If any one other than me comes through the door, kill him." With one last check to ensure that his rifle's magazine was seated properly and the safety was off, he stepped outside to face whoever had just arrived.
As he had expected, it was Wister and some of his riders. Wister and four of his men were spread along the far side of the corral, while three others were moving out to take cover behind Feleena's wagon and the outbuildings.
There was no reason to talk. Harper knew how things were going to play out. The only decision was who to shoot first. Wister was the logical target, if he was killed the rest of his men might just leave without a fight. Harper was beginning to raise his rifle, when he noticed what the man on Wister's immediate left was carrying. Imported weapons were rare on New Texas, but they were not unknown; the man on Wister's left was carrying a Nietzschean made assault rifle. He was the first one Harper was going to kill. One of the men on Wister's right must have seen the look in Harper's eyes as he picked out his target, for as Harper began to raise his rifle, the man began to draw his weapon from his holster.
Harper ignored the one drawing his pistol to concentrate on the rider carrying the assault rifle. If the pistol-wielding rider got off a shot, he might hit him, and if he did hit him the bullet might kill him. However, if the rider with the assault weapon got off a shot, he would hit him, and the effector round would kill him. Harper raised his rifle and squeezed off three quick rounds firing as fast as he could pull the trigger, aiming at the assault rifle wielder's chest. He saw the man jerk under the impact of at least one round, and then turned his attention towards the rider who had drawn his pistol. As he did so, the pistol wielder fired his weapon. Harper heard a zipping sound as the bullet passed by his ear.
Harper fired off another two shots. As he was pulling the trigger, the horse being ridden by his target reared up, frightened by the sound of a gunshot so near to it. Harper's rounds, intended for the rider, hit the horse instead. Struck twice by the high velocity slugs, the horse fell backwards. Its rider tried to jump clear from the saddle, but was too slow, and his horse fell on top of him. There was a sound of bone crunching. By this time Wister and the remainder of his men had drawn their weapons and were all firing at Harper.
Harper crouched down behind the barrel and took a second to survey the situation as bullets flew around him. The situation was grim. Wister, and all of his remaining crew, had dismounted and had taken cover. Wister and two of his men were behind the corral, and while it offered little in the way of physical protection, it effectively screened them from his sight. Another of Wister's men had taken up position behind the wagon to the left of him, on his right one of the gunmen had concealed himself behind the barn, while the last member of the gang took cover behind the outhouse. Harper was in serious danger of being surrounded. As he surveyed the situation, the raider who had taken cover behind the wagon fired a shot that hit the barrel. It was a lucky miss, from where the gunman was positioned the barrel gave Harper no cover at all. Harper decided that he was going to have to move, and quickly.
The outhouse seemed to be the best alternative. The wagon was well constructed, and the wood was solid. Harper doubted that a round from his rifle would penetrate both sides of the wagon to hit the man behind it. The outhouse was a different story. Unless privies were constructed differently on New Texas than on Earth, the wood would be thin, intended simply to give the user a bit of privacy as he or she did their business, and not for structural strength. He fired three rounds into the building thinking that the gauss rounds would go clear through the structure and into the man hiding behind it. He fired one shot where he thought his target would be hiding, and two more somewhat lower and to the right and left of the original round. At least one of the rounds must have struck home, as he was rewarded by the sight of a body falling. It jerked once and was still. He quickly let loose a volley of shots aimed at the man behind the wagon and the men concealed behind the corral, not really caring if he hit anyone, but simply trying to keep them from shooting accurately at him, as he sprinted for the cover of the outhouse.
No sooner had he taken cover behind the building, than Wister and his men opened fire on the outhouse. The building was solid enough to withstand the first few shots, but it wasn't a fortress, and soon pieces of wood were splintering away, with several bullets coming all the way through the structure. Harper's cover was being destroyed piecemeal. It was time to switch hiding places again. Unfortunately his options were limited. The only feasible location was the barn, which one of Wister's men was using for cover as well. Letting loose another fusillade at his opponents hiding behind the corral and the wagon, Harper then fired several shots more or less aimed at where he had last seen the man at the barn, then dashed for the cover of the barn. He rounded the corner of the barn, and almost literally ran into the man who had been hiding behind it. There was no time to swing his rifle into position to shoot, so he simply brought the buttstock of the rifle up like a club into the man's face. The man fell, his face a bloody ruin, but not before he was able to pull the trigger of his pistol. Harper felt a tremendous blow to his left side and fell to his knees.
He looked down to see blood beginning to spread over the lower part of his shirt. "Crap" he said. "I’ve been shot." The man whom he had clubbed down was starting to make moaning sounds. A shot from Harpers weapon stopped the moaning. Removing his shirt, Harper began to examine his wound, as he did so he felt wetness running down his back as well as his front. In a corner of his mind he decided that this was a good news bad news situation. He didn’t have to worry about having a bullet removed from his body, but he was leaking from two holes instead of one. He folded his shirt into a strip of cloth and tied it around his abdomen, where it could hopefully act as a bandage and slow the bleeding. Then, using his rifle as a crutch, he lurched to his feet. A wave of dizziness nearly brought him down again. He realized that he was going to have to finish this battle quickly, or he wouldn’t be finishing it at all.
He staggered back to where he could see the wagon and the corral. What he saw wasn't good. The gunman who had been using the wagon for cover had a lit torch and was coming around the wagon running towards the soddy. If he could manage to throw the torch onto the roof of the cabin, the battle would be over. The roof would catch fire, and the cabin would have to be evacuated. Feleena might have a chance to escape, especially since she was armed with the gauss pistol Harper had given her, but the injured Grey would have no chance of escaping and Harper knew Feleena well enough to know that she wouldn't abandon her man. He had to stop that torch from being thrown onto the roof, no matter what.
He fired, and missed, but the crack of the bullet whizzing by his ear caused the gunman to break his stride. Harper began walking towards the torch carrying gunman, firing as he walked, he missed again. He continued walking towards the man with the torch, firing repeatedly as he closed the distance. Someone else was shooting but he paid no attention, his focus entirely on the man with the torch. The man's chest suddenly turned crimson and he fell.
Harper turned to face the corral. The brush and dust concealed their whereabouts but Wister, and his remaining men, had to be behind it somewhere. He began to shoot into the brush, firing as rapidly as he could pull the trigger, moving his aim from left to right and walking forward as he did so. For some reason it had become difficult to move his left leg. He ignored the difficulty and continued his advance on the hidden men, methodically raking the brush with fire from his rifle. In the distance he thought he heard someone scream in pain. He was surprised at how late it was getting. It was getting dark and he was getting very sleepy. Something was hammering repeatedly at his right shoulder. It was getting darker, and there was something important that he needed to finish, but he couldn't remember what it was. Then he had no more strength to fight the darkness, and it washed over him. His last thought was of Trance. He wondered if she was waiting up for him.
He awoke in an unfamiliar bed. He vaguely remembered dreams. or perhaps memories. of Beka, Trance and even Rev leaning over him. and hushed voices talking in the distance. It seemed he was in someone's bedroom. There was a bed, upon which he was lying, a chest of drawers, an oil lamp and a single well stuffed chair. It was the chair, or rather its occupant. that was important. Beka was slouched in the chair, her head to one side, fast asleep. He tried to sit up. The grunt of pain that escaped him as he did so woke up Beka. Her eyes snapped open and a smile crossed her face.
"Good, you're finally awake."
"I guess I survived then. If you're here, I can't be in heaven," Harper wisecracked. "Where AM I by the way?"
"You're in what passes for the hospital around here. The town doctor's spare bedroom. And you almost were in heaven. If Trance hadn't insisted that we add a blood type matching kit to the Maru's medical supplies before we left on this jaunt, you'd be singing with the angels now." With a grin she added "Or more likely roasting over hot coals."
"Where's Trance?" He was somewhat disappointed that his grape goddess hadn't been the one sleeping in the chair when he awoke.
"I sent her to get some sleep. Feleena brought you back to El Paso nearly a week ago. You looked like you'd been used for target practice. I think more of your blood was outside of you than inside of you. Before today, I don't think Trance has slept more than 6 hours total since you were brought in. I finally had to order her to get some sleep. Which is what you should be doing as well."
"Boss, I…"
"We'll talk later, Harper. Right now I want you to go back to sleep. I'm going to leave the room so you won't be tempted to talk."
As soon as Beka left, Harper lay back down. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. When he next awoke his room was filled with guests. Beka, Trance, Feleena and Zane were all crowded around his bed ,and all trying to talk to him at once.
"Whoa! One at a time," said Harper. "Trance, you first. How did I get here? Beka said something about Feleena bringing me."
"She brought you and Zane in a wagon. Leading a bunch of horses, each with a body slung over the saddle. You're going to be the topic of conversation for the next six months and a legend before the year is out."
Harper's mind boggled at the thought of being a legend, then another thought occurred to him. Why hadn't Wister and his remaining men killed him when he was unconscious?
"Did I get Wister? I don't remember anything after I got shot."
"I shot him," stated Feleena. There was a great deal of satisfaction in her voice. "You collapsed in front of the house, and Wister and one of his men came out to gloat over your body. I could see them from the doorway. They must have forgotten about me since they had their backs to me. So I shot them both."
"She didn't just shoot them," interjected Beka. She emptied an entire clip into them, all fifty rounds. They only thing that was holding them together was their clothes."
"Anyway," said Feleena continuing her story. "There was one man who you had only wounded. You shot him in the hand. He surrendered after I shot Wister and the other man. I gave him a choice, he could help me get everyone back to town, or I would shoot him too. He was very cooperative."
"So that's the story," interrupted Beka once again. "Trance worked on you and Grey night and day. Once people found out they could donate blood for you, nearly every adult in town volunteered. Trance and the local doctor took two bullets out of you, not counting the one that went through you, and…." Harper's eyes were starting to close.
"OK, everybody, he's done in, let's let him sleep." Beka herded the others out of the bedroom. Once they were all out she walked back to the bed intending to adjust the pillows but stopped, Harper had his eyes open and was watching her. She decided it was time to ask the question she had wanted to ask.
"Why?"
"Why what, Boss?" his voice was sleepy, he was starting to drift off.
"Why did you do it, Harper? You took on eight men all by yourself. It wasn't your fight."
"But it was my fight, Boss. I had to."
"What do you mean, you had to?"
"It's like you're always telling Trance and me, family and friends are everything. Feleena's my friend, and when she and her man needed help I did what I had to do, because that's what friends and family do for each other."
Two weeks later, Trance decreed that Harper was fit for travel. Beka wanted to lift off planet immediately, but Harper insisted that they wait a few days longer. In the end he won the argument. He was very insistent that he was the one who was going to give Feleena away at her wedding. Trance made sure that he was dressed for the occasion. She found him a white hat.
| Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 |