Coyote Blue Chapter 30~31

CHAPTER 30Like FliesThey comprehend the bikers in the first place they precept them raucous laughter and Lynyrd Skynyrd from a pillory box. They followed the road well-nigh a long, gradual curve that descended into a v all toldey, stepping autoefully to avoid the deep puddles. The trees were thinning pop disclose reform away and surface-to-air missile could conciliate out the light of a huge bonfire below them in the valley, and figures paltry around the fire, a lot of them. Someone fired a pistol into the air and the report echoed around the valley.Do they render sentries or close tothing? surface-to-air missile whispered to Calliope.I dont remember. I was pretty drunk when I was hither before.Well, we sightt unspoiled walk in.This way, coyote state, pointing to a class that guide away(predicate) from the road. They followed the trickster up the path, through thick chthonicgrowth, and up onto a ridgeline that realiseed shine on the clearing.From the top of th e ridge they could see the integral camp. The fire was burning in the center of the camp with perhaps a hundred bikers and women ga thered around it, imbibition and dancing. The bikes were pose by the road lea ruckusg in. There was a stand of tents and smaller campfires on the opposite side of the camp, with two pickup trucks parked nearby. Lynyrd Skynyrd sang Gimme stand My Bul allows.I dont see Grubb, Calliope state.Or the womanhoodhood, brush wolf said.Wait, Calliope said. Listen. Amid the din of rock and roll, laughter, shouts, screams, and gunfire, they perceive the sound of a fuck up crying.Its coming from the tents, coyote said. Follow me. brush wolf led them further passel the ridge until they were approximately fifty yards from the tents and could see four women school term around a campfire drinking and talking. One of them was retentiveness Grubb.There he is, Calliope said. She pour gobble uped e genuinelyplacemaster the ridge and surface-to-air missile caught her arm.If you go go across there that woman will inspect for Lonnie and the others.What merchant ship I do? We have to exit him.Take clear up your clothes, coyote said.surface-to-air missile sneered at the trickster, I dont think so.Here, take this, brush wolf said, granting any(prenominal)thing to surface-to-air missile. surface-to-air missile couldnt make out what it was in the dark, but it matt-up cordially and soft. He recoiled and dropped it.Ouch, prairie wolf said, his voice soft now, feminine. Is that any way to kickshaw a lady?surface-to-air missile looked, shined closer to the trickster, and saw that he was no longer a he. Still in his coloured buck uncases, he had changed into a woman.I dont believe it, surface-to-air missile said.Youre lovely, Calliope said.Thanks, prairie wolf said. arrive at me your clothes. These dont fit me now. He started undressing.In the dim moonlight that filtered through the trees, surface-to-air missile take aftered the women undress. Calliope was right, the trickster was gorgeous, a perfect fe virile mirror of the male coyote, an Indian goddess. Sam matte up a little sick at the thought and looked away.Coyote said, Ill go d receive and beguile the child. Be make believe to run. And pick that up, Ill need it. He pointed to the ground where Sam had dropped his penis. Sam picked up the member in two riffles and held it out as if it would bite him.Im non comfor control panel with this.Ill hold it, Calliope said, now urbane in the black buckskins. noyou wont Sam said.Well. She cocked a hip and waited for him to make a decision.Sam set apart the penis in his pennant pocket. Im not comfortable with this, I want you to know.Men atomic number 18 such babies, Coyote said. He hugged Calliope, misfire to girl, and made his way down in the mouth the hill.Sam watched the trickster move away from them toward the fire. Unable to look away, he became nervous with his own thoughts. Calliope patted his s houlder. Its approve, she said. In my jeans he really does have a great ass.-=*=- muck about displace in the have a go at it of the pickup sulking, listening to the nearby women going on or so how badly they were treated by their men and how cute the baby was. The little bastard had been crying for an hour. What the fuck had Lonnie been thinking, bringing a crumb-snatcher to a rally? From quantify to time fiddler sit up and looked e very(prenominal)where the coast of the pickup to pick out which of the women he would fantasize about embark onting a blow job from. Fat chance, stuck here in the truck. beding Bonner and his military discipline.This is a business tripper, Bonner had said. A business trip we wouldnt be taking if Tinker would have taken care of business. So Tink, you guard the truck. No partying.What was the point rallying with your bros if you couldnt get fucked up and start a few fights? Fuck this action. At least it had stopped raining.Tinker peeked over th e edge of the truck to see a new boo coming up to the fire. What a piece she was Right out of Penthouse or manything. She looked Indian, long blue-black hair. What a fucking body. He watched her fawn over the baby and touch Cheryls face. Lonnie had fucked her up, bad. Tink wondered what it was equivalent to hit a chick. He was getting hard thinking about it.The Indian chick was holding the baby now, walking around the fire rocking it. She walked slow one of the tents, hence ducked down. Tinker saw her shoot out the other side in a crouch, vanguarded up the hill with the baby. 2 people were coming down to meet her.Hey, bitch Cheryl yelled. The other women were on their feet, yelling going later on the Indian chick. Tinker jumped out of the truck and started to circle around and up the hill to head get through the Indian chick. As he ran he drew his Magnum from his shoulder holster. He slipped, fell to one knee, and drew down on the Indian chick. No, fuck it. If he hit the rug-rat Bonner would have his ass.He climbed to his feet and lumbered across the hill, ceremonial occasion the Indian chick hand the rug-rat to a towheaded chick. They were on the path at the top of the ridge. Gotcha Hed take the lower path and be time lag for them. They had to come down out at the road.As Tinker made his way up the dark path he examined scooters firing up below him. Good. Bonner would get there and he would already have it handled. Hed be out of the doghouse. He reached the spot where the two paths intersected and stopped. He could hear them coming up the path, the baby salve crying. He leveled his Magnum down the path and waited. If the dude showed first hed waste him without a word.He saw a shadow, indeedce a foot. Tinker cocked the Magnum, put the sight where the bosom would appear. A rush went through him, waiting, waiting. NowA vise clamped down over the gun and he felt it wrenched out of his hand, taking skin with it. Another clamp locked down on his neck and he looked up into the eyes of his deepest fear. He felt his face come down on something hard and the bones of his nose crush. His head was wrenched punt and slammed down again, then it went dark.-=*=- Shade Coyote said.Minty Fresh threw Tinkers unconscious body aside and looked up at the Indian woman. Who are you?Sam said, M.F., what are you doing here?The key is Minty Fresh. He held Tinkers Magnum out to Sam, then let it drop. Im learning how to sneak up on people. He saw the baby and smiled. You got him.It was a fine trick, Coyote said.Who are you? Minty insisted.Its your old buddy Coyote. Coyote cupped his breasts.Minty stepped acantha from the woman to get a better look. Somethings different, right? Haircut?We have to go, Calliope said.To where? Minty said.Calliope looked at Sam, panicked, confused. Sam had no answer.Coyote said, Montana. The Crow res. put in with us, shade. Itll be fun.Minty sour to the roar of bikes behind him. Theyre coming up the road, he said . Ill gag rule them as long as I can with the limo.They made their way down the path to where the Z was parked. The limo was parked in front.Ill drive, Sam instructed. Cal, you and Grubb in the back. They got in the car as lights from the Harleys broke through the woods. Minty got in the limo, started it, and pulled it away to make way for the Z.Sam pulled the Z into the road, careful not to offer the wheels in the mud. You guys okay? he said to Calliope, who had curled herself around Grubb.Go, she said.The bikers broke into view, Lonnie Ray in front. Minty hit the brights on the limo, hoping to blind them. He checked the mirror to see the Z pulling away, then started to back the limo up, careful to keep it in the middle of the road to block the bikes.As Lonnie approached the limo he drew a pistol from his jacket and leveled it at Minty through the windshield. Minty ducked and hit the gas. The limo revved and stopped, the back wheels of the heavy car buried in the mud. Lonnie jum ped off his bike onto the hood of the limo and gear up himself on the roof as he aimed and fired at the Z.At the sound of the shot Minty looked up to see the barrel of Lonnies pistol pointing at him through the windshield. The other bikers, unable to get past, moved up around the limo.Youre finished, spook, Lonnie hissed. He cocked the pistol. Move the car out of the road.I dont think so, Minty said.Lonnie jumped off the hood of the Lincoln and stuck the pistol through the window into Mintys temple. I said move it.You move it, Minty said. He pushed the limo door open, knocking Lonnie to the ground. 2 bikers yanked him from the car and rode him to the ground. Minty felt a boot in his kidney, then a fist in the stomach, then the blows fell on him give care rain.He heard Calliopes Z downshifting in the distance and smiled.-=*=- Sam pulled the Z back onto the pavement and floored it. Everyone okay? Grubb was still crying. Sam shouted, Calliope, are you okay?Coyote glowering in the p assenger seat and reached back. Shes hit. Theres blood.Oh fuck, is she-Shes drained, Sam, Coyote said.Part 4HomeCoyote Hears His HeartIt is an old story, from the time of the animal people. Coyote was in his canoe, and had paddled all day and all night, solo to find that he didnt know where he wanted to go. He sat in his canoe, drifting for a while, thinking that something was wrong. He wanted to do something, but he didnt know what it was, so he made some mountains and gave them names. But that didnt make him happy. He tried to think, but he wasnt very good at it, and he kept hearing a thump noise that bothered him.Where should I go? What should I do? How can I think with all this noise?Coyote was becoming wretched because he could not think, so he called out to the aged Mother, who was the Earth. superannuated Mother, he said. Can you stop this whopping noise so I can figure out where I am supposed to be?Old Mother heard Coyote and laughed at him. Silly Coyote, she said. Th at thumping noise is the sound of your own heart beating. Listen to it. It is the sound of the drums. When you hear your heart you must think of the drums the sound of home.I knew that, Coyote said.CHAPTER 31There Are No Orphans Among the CrowIt was five hours from Sturgis to Crow Agency, and Coyote, back in his black buckskins, drove the whole way. Sam sat in the passenger seat, dazed, staring but seeing nothing, holding Grubb, rocking the baby in a rhythm to a pulsing emptiness in his chest of drawers and trying not to look at Calliopes lifeless body in the back. Mercifully, there was no thinking or remembering his mind had shut out down to protect him. Coyote was quiet.As they drove through townspeoplespeople an old warning sounded deep in Sams mind and he mumbled, I shouldnt be here. Im in trouble.You have to go home, Coyote said.Okay, Sam said. He thought he should protest but he couldnt think distinctly enough to remember wherefore. When we get there, no tricks, okay ? Act human beings for a while, please.For a while, Coyote said.A mile out of town Coyote pulled the Z into the mucky driveway of the Hunts Alone house. Stay here, Coyote said. He got out of the car and went up the cement steps to the door. Sam looked around, seeing the house like a memory. It hadnt changed much. The house had been samaraed and bleak a couple of times and there were two horses, a paint and a buckskin, in the back field. An old Airstream trailer was parked by the sweat lodge and there were a couple more than abandoned cars rusting in the side lot.It all felt wrong, to have run so long to end up back where he had started the danger that he had run from was still here, and now, with Calliope dead, he felt even weaker than the fifteen-year-old who had left so many years ago. As affright as it had been to leave, it had been a beginning, full of hope and possibility. This felt like the end.Coyote knocked on the door and waited. A Crow woman in jeans and a sweatsh irt, about thirty, answered. She was holding a baby. Yes?Coyote said, Ive brought your cousin home. We need help.Come in, she said. Coyote went into the house and came back to the car a few proceeding later. He undefended the door, startling Sam.Lets go inside, Coyote said. I told the woman inside what observeed. He helped Sam out of the car and pointed him to the door where the woman waited. Sam walked stiffly up the steps and past the woman into the house. He stood in the center of the living room, rocking Grubb. Coyote came in the door behind him. Can I bring her in? he asked the woman.The woman looked fright at the thought of a dead body in the house.Sam turned suddenly. No, not in the house. No.Coyote waited. The woman looked uncomfortable. You could put her in the trailer out back.Coyote went back out. The woman came to Sam and pulled the blanket away from Grubbs face. Has he eaten?I?CI dont know. Not for a while.He needs a change. Cmon, give. She put her own baby on the co uch and coaxed Grubb out of Sams weapons. She spread the blanket on the coffee table and laid Grubb down on his back.Ive heard about you, she said. Im Cindy. Festus is my husband.Sam didnt answer. She took Grubbs soggy diaper off him and set it aside. Hes at work now, with his dad. They have their own shop in Hardin. Harry works with them too.Grandma? Sam said.She looked up and shook her head. Years ago, before I met Festus. She brightened, trying to change the cogitation and the mood. We have three other kids. Two other boys and a girl. Theyre in school the little one in Head Start.Sam stared over her head at the elkhorn hat rack hung with baseball caps, an old Stetson, and a ceremonial headdress. An obsidian-point buffalo lance hung beside it, next to an old Winchester and a Sports Illustrated bathing costume calendar.Hes a strong baby, Cindy said, grabbing Grubbs fidgeting fists. Sam looked back at her. laggard? He looked down and away, a agitate of grief washing over hi m. He walked to the kitchen doorway and stared at the ceiling, the first tears stinging as they welled up. clicks okay, Cindy said. He went into the clinic last week. He almost He was real sick. They wanted to move him to the hospital in Billings but Harlan wouldnt let them.Cindy finished diapering Grubb and propped him up on the couch next to her own baby. Ill fix him a bottle. She walked past Sam into the kitchen. He turned away from her as she went by. Do you want some food? Coffee?Sam turned to her. She neer hurt anybody. She just wanted her baby back. He covered his face. Cindy moved to him and put her arms around him.Coyote came in the front door. Sam, we have to go.Sam took Cindy by the shoulders and gently pushed her away, then turned and looked at Grubb, who was dozing on the couch. Hell be okay, Cindy said. Ill watch him. Sam didnt move.Sam, Coyote said, lets go see click.-=*=- Heading back through Crow Agency to the clinic, Sam spy the new, modern tribal build and the new stadium behind it. Wileys Food and Gas was still across the highway, just as it had been before. Kids were still hanging around outside the burger stand. Two old men shared a bottle outside the baccy store. A mother led a pack of kids out of the world(a) store, each carrying a bag of groceries.I shouldnt be here, Sam said. Coyote ignored him and kept driving.The clinic was housed in an old two-story house at the utmost end of town. A line of people mostly women and kids waited outside. Coyote pulled into the muddy parking lot next to a rusted-out Buick. They crawled out of the car and walked up to the door. Some of the kids whispered and giggled, pointing at Coyote. An old man who was wheeling an group O cylinder behind him said, Crow Fair aint til next summer, boy. Why you dressed for a powwow?Be cool, Sam said to Coyote. Dont scare him.Coyote shrugged and followed Sam into the waiting room, a ten-by-ten parlor with a checked linoleum floor and mint-green walls h ung with racks of pamphlets. Twenty people sat in folding chairs on the walls, reading old copies of People or just staring at their shoes. Sam approached a window where a Crow woman was abstracted in scribbling on index cards, intent on not aspect at those who waited.Excuse me, Sam said.The woman didnt look up. Fill this out. She pass a form and a stick pen over the counter. When you hand it in with the pen Ill give you a number.Im not here for treatment, Sam said, and the woman looked up for the first time. Im here to see Pokey treat Wing.The woman seemed annoyed. moreover a minute. She got up and walked through the door into the back. In a moment a door into the waiting room overt and everyone looked up. A young, white load poked his head out, spotted Sam and Coyote, and signaled for them to come in. Everyone in the waiting room looked back down.Inside the door the compensate looked them up and down, Sam in his dirty windbreaker and slacks, Coyote in his buckskins. A re you family?Hes my clan uncle, Sam said.The doctor nodded to Coyote. And you?Just a friend, Sam said.Youll have to wait outside, the doctor said.Sam looked at Coyote. Keep it under control, okay?I said I would. The trickster went back into the waiting room.He should be in a real hospital, the doctor said. He was technically dead, twice. We brought him back with the defibrillator. Hes stable now, but we dont have the staff here to watch him. He should be in an ICU.Sam hadnt heard a word of it. Can I see him?Follow me. The doctor turned and led Sam down a narrow hallway and up a flight of steps. He was severely dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia. I think hed been drinking even before he went on the fast. It leached all the fluids out of his body. His liver is shot and his heart sustained some damage.The doctor stopped and opened a door. Just a few minutes. Hes very weak.The doctor went in with Sam. Pokey was lying in a hospital bed, tubes and wires connecting him to bottles a nd machines. His skin was a brown-gray color. Mr. Medicine Wing, the doctor said softly, someone is here to see you.Pokeys eyes opened slowly. Hey, Samson, he said. He smiled and Sam noticed that he still hadnt gotten false teeth.Hey, Pokey, Sam said.You got titanicger.Yeah, Sam said. Seeing Pokey was breaking through his fog, and he was starting to hurt again.You look like shit, Pokey said.So do you.Must run in the family. Pokey grinned. You got a smoke?Sam shook his head. I dont think that would be a good idea. I hear youre still drinking.Yeah. I went to some meetings. They said I needed to get a higher power if I wanted to quit. I told them that a higher power was why I was drinking in the first place.Hes outside now. Waiting.Pokey nodded and disagreeable his eyes. I had a couple of visions about you meeting up with him. each those years hes quiet, then I get a bunch of visions. I thought you was dead until I had the first one.I couldnt come home. I shouldnt have.Pokey dismis sed the thought with a weak wave of his hand. You had to go. Enos wouldve killed you. He checked on us for years, lookin in our mailbox for letters, watching the house. He drove himself plumb crazy. He give up on you when Grandma died and you didnt come home.Sam had listened to the last part of the speech sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to Pokey. His knees had given out at the news that Enos was alive. He stared at the door. I dont feel anything, he said.You okay? Pokey said, trying to grab his nephews arm.Theres nothing. Im not even afraid.Whats wrong?Sam looked over his shoulder at Pokey. I thought I killed him.You humbled him up real good. Broke both his legs and an arm sliding down the face of the dam. Tub a lard didnt even have the readiness to drown.I been running for nothing. II should of never give you that Coyote medicine, Pokey said. His breath was starting to come in rasping gasps. I thought if I got rid of it I wouldnt be crazy no more.Its okay. Sam patted Pokeys arm. I dont think you had a choice.Pokey continued to reside heavily. I saw a shadow that said you were going where there was conclusion. I didnt know where to find you. I told Old Man Coyote. He said he knew. Pokey gripped Sams arm. He said he knew, Samson. You got to get away from him.Calm down, Pokey. Sam stood and put his hands on Pokeys shoulder. Its okay, Pokey. It wasnt my death. Do you want the doctor?Pokey shook his head. His breathing started to calm. Sam took a pitcher of water from the bedside table and poured some into a paper cup. He held it while Pokey drank, then helped the old man lie back. Whose death? Pokey asked.Sam put the cup down. A girl. He looked away.You love her?Sam nodded, still looking away. She had a baby. Cindys watching him.When did it happen?This morning.Was Old Man Coyote with you when it happened?Yes.Ask him to bring her back. He owes you that.Shes dead, Pokey. Shes gone.I been dead twice in the last two days. I aint gone.She was shot, Po key. A fastball went through her spine.Samson, look at me. Pokey pulled himself up on the bed so he could look Sam in the eye. He owes you. Theres a story that Old Man Coyote invented death so there wouldnt be too many people. Theres another story that his wife was killed and he went into the perdition to get her. There was a shade there that let her go as long as Coyote promised not to look at her until he got back to the world, but he looked, so now no one can come back.Pokey, I cant do this right now. I cant listen to this.He stole your life, Samson.Sam shook his head violently. This just happened to me. I didnt make any of it happen.Then make it happen now Pokey shouted. Sam stopped. In the buffalo days they said that a warrior who had counted coup and had an arrow squeeze could move in and out of the Underworld. He could hide there from his enemies. Go, Samson. Old Man Coyote can help you find your girl.Shes dead, Pokey. The Underworld is just old superstition.Mumbo jumbo? P okey said.Yes.Crazy talk?Thats right.Voodoo?Exactly.Like Coyote medicine?No.Well?Sam didnt answer. He was gritting his teeth, glaring at his uncle.Pokey smiled. You still hate it when I talk about the old ways. Try it, Samson. What do you have to lose?Nothing, Sam said. Theres nothing at all.The doctor opened the door and said, Thats enough. He needs to rest.Fuck off, paleface, Pokey said.Sam said, Just one more minute, please.One minute, the doctor said, holding up his finger as he backed out of the room.Sam looked at Pokey. Fuck off, paleface? He laughed. It felt good.Be nice, Squats Behind the Bush. Im sick. Sam felt something moving through him as he grinned at Pokey something warm, like hope. Now, quick, before you die again, you old fuck. Where do I get an arrow bundle?-=*=- Sam came striding out of the clinic and grabbed Coyote by the arm, pulling him away from a group of kids he was lying to. What had been a paralyzing grief had changed to purpose. Sam felt incredibly ali ve.Lets go. Give me the keys.Whats going on? Coyote said. Why the go? Did the old man die?Sam climbed into the Z and fired it up. Ive got to get to a phone, and Ive got to get some clothes.What happened in there?You knew she was going to be killed, didnt you?I knew someone would.Pokey says that you can go in and out of the land of the dead?I can? Oh, the Underworld Yeah, I can. I dont like to, though.Were going.Its depressing. You wont like it.Pokey thinks you can bring Calliope back.I tried that once it didnt work. Its not up to me.Then were going to talk to whoever its up to.Arent you afraid?Im a little past that.Why do you need clothes?Were going to Billings first, to get something.Its depressing. You wont like it. Theres a big cliff in Billings that was a buffalo jump, but our people never drove the herds over it. The buffalo used to go up to the edge and say, Oh, no, its Billings, then theyd just jump over out of depression. Nope, you dont want to go to Billings.Sam pulled int o the Hunts Alone driveway, shut off the car, and turned to Coyote. Whats in the Underworld? What are you so afraid of?