Hello, It's Me ©

Well that’s done, I hope those of you who read the Red Clay posts enjoyed them and if I ever decide to write another 21 post story just shoot me.
But, I did owe many of you an ending since I had abruptly stopped writing them so now that is done.
My head hurts.
I will leave them up until the end of December and archive them after that.

So what have I been up to for the last um three weeks?
Well, the porch is done and paid for.
That was fun.
Paying, what an adventure.
To avoid paying double taxes we paid for materials cash and the labor by cheque so that meant we had to go to the bank to get some money.
This is where the fun starts.

We needed seven grand and my parents didn’t feel it was safe for my father to walk out of the bank with that much cash on him so they wanted me to go along for protection; after all I am the gangster in the family according to my mother.
I look at my mother and enlighten her a little.
That was 25 years ago when I was younger and more flexible or at least didn’t creak and crack when I moved.
At my current age I’m scared the next fart might spit out a vital organ.

So off to the bank we went.
Over the years the area has changed a lot.
The branch my parents have been using for the last forty years is now in what is called China Town, an area that once was mostly inhabited by Italians and other southern Europeans.
Most have of them have moved out to the suburbs but some diehards like us have stayed and more or less blended in.
That’s what been North Americans should be like.

That’s what we are right?
Descendants of a bunch of interlopers who came over the oceans to impose ourselves on the native population by either killing them or cheating them out of what is, was rightfully theirs.
We got them drunk and stoned then empties their pockets.
But you got to give the natives credit, they learn real quick.
Today they're killing us back with cheap smokes after they give us free booze at their casinos as we loose our houses at the crap tables.
That’s one way to get the land back.

So we walk into the bank and there isn’t one person in there that isn’t Asian.
Not even the token teller.
Me I don’t give a shit but my father he’s like.
“They’re all Chinese”.
Me I say, “No, some are Vietnamese, Korean, yeah some are Chinese”.
He looks around and says, “They’re all Chinese to me”.
I tell him, “The teller on your right, she’s Vietnamese, and the one over at the other end, now she’s Chinese”.
“How do you know that”? he asks.
“Well it’s obvious”, I tell him ”The Chinese chicks have bigger tits”.
He gave me a dirty look ”You’re a Malaka, that’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard”.

We stood there in line for about five minutes waiting and he says ”How do you know she’s not Korean”?
“They have fatter nipples”.
He turned his head towards me and shot me this sharp look, I thought his eye was going to pop out, it’s a good thing a teller opened up before he could say anything.

At the booth the teller asks him to slide his card in the slider but my father doesn’t have a bankcard.
He refuses to own one.
He doesn’t trust computers so, no card.
The teller punches in his account number and brings up his info.
My father passes him a paper showing how much money he wants.
The teller looks at the computer and turns to my father and says he has to fill in a request for this amount and it would take two working days.

My father asked me what he said and I told him in Greek. “She said you can’t have your money”.
“What”!!!!
“Why”?
“It’s my money”.

I explained to him that the bank didn’t keep umm $7000 in the bank any more.
My father stood there in a trance for about thirty seconds.
“No money”?
The teller shakes her head at him.

He looked over at me and in Greek says, “The Chinese took my money to China”.
I told him “No they didn’t, this is the Bank Of Nova Scotia, they just bought the province and moved your money over there and invested it in golf courses”.

Imagine that, once you could go to the bank and draw out ten, twenty grand, now you have to make an appointment two days in advance to visit it.
I told her to put the request in and we’ll be bake in two working days.
As she is filling in the form she looks at us and apologizes first but says she has to ask by law, “What do you need the $7000”.
I translate to my father and we talk for a second then turn to her and say,”There’s a sale on chicken” and I made her write it down.
It’s our fucken money so the government could go screw themselves.

It’s bad enough they are in our pockets as deep as they are, they have no business how we spend the pennies we’ve managed save over the years.
They’re probably pissed off they didn’t get it all I guess.

With the paper work done the old man and I headed for the car.
On the way he says, “She was half Korean and half Chinese”.
“Yeah, that she was”.

Have a nice day

Walker

The Red Clay: Part Twenty One ©

The smoke drifted up into the night sky dispersing as all dreams do in the morning light.
Thilivhali looked up through the smoke at the witchdoctor and asked the old man if this is what awaits him in the future.
To loose everything he loves, to die alone on some strange soil.

Was this his destiny or was there a way to change his future?
The old man look down at the boy and told him that you can’t run away from your destiny and history is what you make of it.
What is meant to be will be and in the end what is meant to happen will or there would never be a balance in the universe.

It doesn’t matter what path you take into the jungle they will all lead to the other side just that some will take longer, some shorter; others are perilous but in the end you will always find the other side.
What path you take the witchdoctor said, will determine how hard it will be.
The old man left the boy sitting in the night by the dieing fire to absorb his words and think on the events of this evening.
The future was his to dwell on, to create and make his own destiny.

As Jonas watched he saw a young couple get up and walk off towards a cluster of huts.
The woman was beautiful; she would fetch a nice price if he didn’t keep her for himselfhe thought or maybe he would just keep her for the trip across the ocean and then sell her when he was done with her.

Putting the looking glass away he sat down to wait for dawn’s early light before they strike.
They will go in before they could get a chance to fully wake up and their wits together to put up any resistance.
The idea would be to limit the casualties and increase the profits, it’s all about the profits.

Just before dawn as a fog drifted into the village from the jungle and with no one stirring, the slavers snuck out of their hiding places, stealthily moving out of the forest and into the village.
This trip had yet to produce any slaves or ivory.
Jonas was loosing money by the day with Smith less than a week away from picking them up on the coast.

A hundred slavers charged through the centre of the village letting out loud frightening screams all at once to startle the inhabitants just before they hit the huts to paralyse their victims as they barged into their lives throughout the village.
Hut to hut they entered and found nothing, not a soul was to be found anywhere in any of the huts.

Jonas stood in the centre of the village pistol in hand watching everything unfold before him.
It was the same story village after village that they had raided.
Nothing, no one, all were empty and had been for days.
His lieutenants reported to him that they had found no one in the whole village just the burning embers from celebrations of the night before.
Yes, the night before the village was full of people dancing around, and that young woman he saw through his spy glass was here but where were they now, where was she.

Jonas went from hut to hut to look for himself and true enough they were all empty of people but their belongings were still there.
He was starting to feel a little uneasy.
For some reason his senses told him that he was in trouble but just couldn’t put his finger on what it might be.
Jonas called his men in and they started gathering at the centre of the village to get new orders from their leader.

He was looking at a map of the area to see if there was some place they could go and find where the villagers had gone too.
Just then a baboon’s scream filled the morning air.
The trees of the jungle reached out with long fingers and even longer nails to touch them as spears rained down on the slavers while they all stood around in the open at the centre of the village.

Many fell in the first volley as the rest scattered looking for cover from the deadly rain.
Jonas barely survived a spear that went by his face.
He pressed up behind a hut for protection.
He had to gather his forces and get them to hold their fire because right now, they were only wasting powder shooting at shadows.

He stuck his head around the side of the hut and called for one of his lieutenants to come over, then watched the man get halfway to him before a spear downed him.
Cowering behind the hut he called out into the air for everyone to hold their fire.
As silence slowly fell across the village, an eerie silence that was interrupted by a loud roar that came from the jungle, a prelude to the next chapter of this history.

Destiny was being created as hundreds of warriors poured out of the edge of the jungle shaking shields and spears at the slavers in their village showing their courage and fierceness just before as one they all rushed out like a pride of wild lions.

Jonas looked at the mass of warriors wondering who they were and where they all had come from.
From what he had heard there was no other tribe in the area and none of this size.
Looking up to the other end of the village a warrior stood tall wrapped in a lion skin flanked by two other tall warriors, one older one younger.

Thilivhali looked down towards his enemy, and enemy who he had never met but one he had known so well for the last ten years of his life and leading up to this day.
Ten years he dreamt of this moment, this man, the thinking and planning for this, his wedding day, a day of rebirth for him and his people.
This is the day the shed any innocence they may have had left but not for glory but the right to live.
For the right to be free and exist to live as they wish.

The witchdoctor had said that destiny was written in history and it couldn’t be changed but each path was different to get to one’s destiny and it didn’t matter which he chose the end result would be the same.
For years he had been planning for this very day.
His whole existence so far in life was for this moment and its outcome will determine how his, they’re future will unfold.

They laughed at him when he first went to the chief and the elders with his story and explained what had to be done.
He told them his story and what was needed to be done, to prevent his dream from becoming reality but it fell on deaf ears so he had to win them over.
First his family who like the rest didn’t believe him either and then by gaining the respect of his elders.

As he grew in the years leading up to manhood, his many deeds for the tribe and by caring for them he gained the respect of the elders and they began to listen to him.
They had grown to trust his judgment over the years and the witchdoctor respected him also, so they decided it would do no harm in being cautious thus agreeing to his plan and the defences he proposed.

After convincing his elders he spent years talking to other villages and trying to bring then into his final plan.
He knew it was not enough for just them alone to fight, the more they were the better their chances were of succeeding.
At first they started thinking him insane as those who first heard him at his village thought until stories filtered back to them that whole villages had disappeared without a trace.

After hearing the stories from the survivors milling around in the jungle they were willing to listen to him and give their support.
The hardest thing was convincing the other villages to move all their people here to his village and prepare for this battle.
It’s hard to get people to leave their homes and belonging but it was essential that they were all close for their protection.
It took him almost another year to train the warriors and to prepare this trap for the slavers, a fitting wedding gift for his wife and their future he thought.

Now the time was here and he had to carve out his future but to do that he had to win or they were doomed along with everyone else as was their way of life, as it would vanish as does the spilled blood into the ground.
Like a general he stood at the top of the village and watched as his warriors charge the flaming sticks of the slavers, some falling but the rest rushing in fearlessly until both clashed against each other in the centre of the village.

Hali woke up in the morning and went down to the post office to mail his package then returned to the hotel before Ada had awakened.
They went for breakfast and then returned to get their luggage to take off for the African coast and their new future together.

Thilivhali started running towards the white man followed by his father and brother, side by side they charged towoards their future and that of their village as destiny beckoned them forward into time.
Three slavers jumped out at Thilivhali with a swords but Thilivhali blocked the blow of one with his shield and impaled him with the spear in his other hand as his brother lashed out at the other two killing one but was cut by the third before Thilivhali’s point silenced him forever.

His father had run past them and went onward towards the white man.
He remembered the stories his son had told him.
This was the demon he had to kill to save his children’s future.
Thilivhali and his brother turned and raced off behind their father when they saw their father stumble but then regained his step and kept on charging towards the white man.

Holding up his brother they ran together when they saw their father’s club come down on the white man hitting him on top of the shoulder and sending him back against the hut but before Thilivhali’s father could raise up the club once more to deliver the finishing blow he collapsed backwards to the ground.

The battle raged all around Jonas as it was now hand to hand combat with spears and swords.
He looked at the other end of the village and could see the three warriors coming towards him and he grabbed the pistol in his waistband, his sword in the other he waited for them to get closer.

Halfway to him his men jumped out and engaged the two of them but the old one pressed on until he was within range but gave him a little more so that he was sure before he raised the pistol and shot him in the chest, but he kept on coming.
Before he could grab the other pistol the warrior was upon him and coming down with a club hitting him in the shoulder sending him back against a hut before the old man fell at his feet.

A sharp pain shot through his shoulder as he lay back on the side of the hut.
He knew his collar bone was broken.
Looking back up the path he could see the other two now running towards him, he knew he was the focus of their attention but why?

Thilivhali’s brother fell to the ground, leaving him there he kept on until he got close to the man when he saw him raise his weapon.
Side stepping the thunder went past him as he move in for the kill and certain victory.
Stabbing out with the spear the white man knocked it away with his long knife and came at Thilivhali with a fury, hacking and slashing left and right at him.

With pain shooting through his left shoulder, Jonas regained his feet and stood up to meet the charging men.
The young one fell but the big warrior still came on.
Grabbing his gun with his good hand he pulled it out and took aim but his shot missed when the warrior dodged left.
Now it would be his skills with a blade that would be put to the test.

He parred the thrust of the spear and lashed out at him but the warrior was quick on his feet or had his wound slowed him down.
He charged in and started slashing and stabbing at the warrior but to now end until the man slipped on a stone and fell to the ground leaving him to the mercy of his blade.
Seeing his chance Jonas rushed in and stabbed down but the warrior got his shied up in time and deflected the attack.
Jonas stomped down with his boot on the shield and tried to hack off the others head but he couldn’t get a clean shot at it.

Even wounded the white man fought like a crazed beast refusing to give up and had put Thilivhali down to the ground.
He needed to get on his feet before he was cut badly by one of these wild blows that were raining down on him.
Pushing up with his shield he made an attempted to get up from the ground but the white man’s long knife came violently down cutting off the top of his shield.
Then with a back swing of his blade it was knocked from Thilivhali hands leaving him on the ground on his back defenceless and at this man’s mercy.

All around him the slavers were once again getting the upper hand on the villagers.
Their long knives overpowered the spears they used by cutting the heads off of them leaving his warriors with just the shafts to fight with.
Slowly the slavers pushed the warriors back towards the jungle.

Ada watched from the jungle at the battle unfolding before them and could see that the villagers were loosing.
She was looking at the beginning of the end of everyone she loved and cared for.
Her whole world was slowly being slaughtered.
Turning she looked at the other around her, old men, women and children.
She looked at her mother her sisters…

Ada leaped out of the jungle with a fury, screaming at the top of her lungs and holding a spear with both hands charging at he main body of combatants.
Behind her came hundreds of women, children and old people, all armed with anything they can use to fight with.
They followed Ada into the fray to fight along side their loved ones.

Ada stormed in ramming her spear into the throat of an unsuspecting slaver then watched as he crumpled to the ground blood gurgling from the gaping wound like a slaughtered goat.
Her father looked to his side and smiled at his daughter, her brother was next to him fighting with his life shining brightly through his eyes like the proud warrior that he was.
It was a vicious battle with everyone’s lives on the line.
People pressed up together, friend and foe, this was hand to hand combat with survival on the line for all of them, villagers and slavers included.

The slavers were pushed back by the weight of the new force that joined in the fight, turning the battle back in favor of the villagers.
Bodies piled up while the earth soaked up the river of blood as it flowed amidst the heat of battle.

Jonas looked down on this warrior and had to admire his strength and fighting skill but it wasn’t enough to beat him so now he will have his life spill out at the end of his sword.
Raising it over his head with his good arm he paused for a second to smile down at Thilivhali and was bringing it down when something pushed out the front of his shirt.
Jonas looked down in bewilderment as he saw the tip of a spear slowly emerging out the front of his shirt.

Jonas Beacham III was sitting in his study reading the newspaper when his butler walked in with the mail for the day and handed it to his master.
He told him to put the mail on his desk and he would look at it as soon as he was done with the newspaper.
He was going through the national section when something caught his eye.
There was a small piece about a shootout that happened at a desert bar in Nevada two months earlier.
It seems that a man shot it out with two bikers and was killed along with the bartender and the two bikers.
There were two survivors and they were both cleared of any wrong doing.
One was an old man who has never been seen since that day and the other a young black man on his way back to California for his final semester in medical school.

It seems that one of the dead men had given a satchel to one of the survivors and told him he could have it.
The police have decided to let him keep it along with the other contents that were in it since there was no one willing to stake claim to it or dispute the boy’s claim.

Jonas smiled and sank back into his leather chair.
He had finally shaken the family curse and he could sleep better at night knowing that he didn’t have to worry about what bad thing was to befall him next.
His whole family’s history has been nothing but blood and money with murder being the main tool.
They were cursed by someone for some thing his great great grandfather had done and all suffered for it since but now it was over.
He finally got rid of the cursed statue that bond him to the curse.
It wouldn’t let him throw it away like it did to his predecessors and he couldn’t give it away either but it could be stolen.
The $500,000 was the sum for the profits made by his ansestor that brought this curse on them.
He didn’t know if it would make a difference by repaying the curse back but he didn’t want anything connecting him personally or his family to the past or the curse and thought this would balance it out.

With a sigh of relief Jonas call his butler and told him to bring him a brandy, it was a good day to celebrate then got up and walked to his desk and started looking at the days mail when the butler came in and handed him his brandy, that’s when he saw a package sitting in front of him.
Picking up the brandy he took a sip from his glass and was wondering about that package, he wasn’t expecting anything from any one.
Drinking the rest of the brandy he put the glass down and began opening the package, inside he found a small object wrapped up in paper.
Unwrapping it he suddenly froze, it was in his hands again…but how?

He recoiled in fear and tried to toss it away but his hand held a tight grip around it and it was now starting to feel warmer.
Grabbing it with both hands to try and dislodge it only trapped the other hand and was now holding onto it just as tight as the other was and it was getting hotter.

He tried to pry his hands apart but they didn’t seem to want to let go, struggling only made his grip tighter around the statue.
The statue was beginning to glow red like a hot coal in his hands sending searing pain through his brain.
His clothes began to emit smoke when they burst in flames engulfing his whole body.
His screams went unanswered as he fell to the floor trying to put out the flames by rolling around to no avail as the flames rose to the ceiling.
Then as suddenly as it started it was over.

Thirty minutes later the butler walked into the study and found his master laying on the floor dead with a clay statue laying next to his right hand.
He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a blood stained handkerchief and tossed it next to the old man on the floor.
Mary Smith’s great grandson turned and walked out the door.
With every step John took down the street time ceased to exist as did Jonas Beacham III existence slowly dissolved into the the neverever as did the generation before him.

Thilivhali braced himself for the blow the white man was preparing to bring down on him when he saw him stop, his eyes frozen in a state of shock.
A spear emerged out of the man’s chest and he fell to his knees at his feet dropping the long knife next to him and grasped at the spear’s head.

Thilivhali pushed back to a safer distance and stood up just before the white man fell over on his face.
Standing there behind where the man was standing stood Ada, a scared look on her face.

She looked up at Thilivhali and he went to her, taking her in his arms while his eyes scanned the immediate area around them.

His brother had come up to them now and were joined by a handful of warriors.
Most of the slavers were killed but some got away into the jungle, Thilivhali stopped the warriors from chasing them.
Her wanted to let them go to tell others that there is a price to pay if they ever come back.
He told them to take the dead slavers and lay them out on the plain for the veltures to feast on and to let their bleached bones be a warning to others who don’t come in peace.

That night it was decided that they would move deep into the jungle and away from this new danger that had come upon them.
During the meeting of elders the other tribes decided to join them as it was also decided that Thilivhali would be the new Chief of all their people.

In the morning light 1000 men women and children lined the outskirts on the village waiting for their new chief to give the order to move on to their new home, a safer one they hoped.
Thilivhali signaled them to start and they moved into the jungle and out of sight as he stayed back until the last person had dusappeared into the bosom of their world.

Turning he stood there staring as the fire engulfed the main hut, his father laying at the entrance wrapped in his lionskin gaurding the entrance for eternity.
A small hand took his.and he looked over to Ada standing next to him smiling.
It took them a month to get to what was to become their new home before they started to building a new village.

Ada curled up to him when they lay down in their new hut and whispered to him that she was with child.
Smiling at his wife Thilivhali kissed her forhead and told her they would call him Hali Diego.
Ada gave him a strange look then laughed and asked him how did he know it was going to be a son, it might be a daughter.
Thilivhali smiled wrapped his arm around his wife and went to sleep.

Dalton Henry II was watching his son Dalton Henry III run up and down the long hallway of their Tripp St. home in Chicogo, while his wife was helping their daughter Annabelle get ready for the trip down to Georgia and their family reunion.
It was supposed to be a huge shindig with thousands of people.
His great grandfather Dalton Henry a banker before the civil war had married Annabelle Baker in 1856 and help save her father’s plantation.
Her brother had married Rebecca Baker and their children had later married into the Butler family creating one of the largest families in the south.

The end or is it just the beginning of another dream to a different tomorrow?
Life’s struggle is not the path taken but the choice to take it.

Walker

The Red Clay: Part Twenty ©

Hali was deep in his hole hugging the ground tightly to his breast anticipating that at any moment January 1 1968 was to be his last day on this earth.
The ground all around him was being violently torn up by mortars.
They had been warned that the Vietcong might do something on their New Year but being as it was an important holiday to all Vietnamese and they had agreed to a three-day ceasefire.

The atmosphere at camp was relaxed on that New Years Eve, up until the early morning of New Years day, when they came.
They came like a dark wave out of nowhere and everywhere causing death and destruction to everything and everyone like a hoard of locusts swarming across a wheat field.

They had been camped on the south bank of the Perfume River when the attack came.
First the mortars then rockets stabbed into their fortifications before they came out of the darkness like ghosts riding the smoke belching death with every step.
They came by the thousands.
Eyes bulging and screaming like demons from the deepest pits of hell they came.
They came at them with their AK47s showering down death from every direction.

Ten months earlier he had been in Louisiana wandering the bayou either collecting herbs or fishing for catfish or crawfish.
At night he would sit out on the porch with his son in his arms while his mother rocked nearby in her chair.
The boy’s mother, Manon...she had died after childbirth from fever so it was just he and his mother to raised the boy now but his unit was ordered to Vietnam.
Now he was far from home.

It seemed his life was just beginning a year earlier when Manon told him she was pregnant.
It was right after entering boot camp.
Now, he might never see his son again, his only comfort was in knowing his mother would care for the boy if something were to happen and he didn’t come back again.

There were only a couple of hundred men in camp and they were spread out really thin with large gaps between them.
Like lunatics from an insane asylum the enemy ran towards them.
Hali and his comrades poured a wall of death into them but they just kept coming.
With the burning fires all around them now to light up the night their exposed positions were being fired on more accurately than before as the rockets and mortars come down from overhead.

Hali looked to his left and could see Zawolski and Henderson shooting into the oncoming enemy.
To his right he could hear the chatter of the M-60 manned by O’Rieley and Moses “Eagle Feather” Jones.
His partner Frank Enriques was three feet away from him picking and choosing his targets as fast as he could but they were still getting closer and closer to their position.

Lt. Col. J. Beecham III sat at his desk two miles from where the battle was taking place busily trying to find a way out of there before they were overrun and he was killed.
He had too much at stake to be killed here in this shit hole he thought to himself.
Just yesterday he got his leave approved to return home for his father’s funeral.
His father never approved of him joining the military but he joined just to spite his father whom he despised more than anyone he knew.

When he was a boy he watched his father push his mother to drink herself to death then put him in military school for the next twelve years.
Twelve years passed without a word from his father.
He wasn’t even at his graduation when he finally finished school.
It wasn’t until he found out that he’d joined the Marine Corps did his father Jonas Beecham II speak to his son and that was only to belittle him in front of his commanding officer.

Now he was dead.
Fuck him and good riddance he thought to himself as he stuffed papers into his attaché case.
The only time his father ever sat him down to speak to him was right after his mother died.
He was drunk, his breath reeking of brandy.
He said his mother was a whore he fucked in some back room then mumbled about some kind of family curse.

The only curse he ever saw was his father and now he wouldn’t have to bare that demon with him gone.
That’s if he could get out of this hellhole.

He had been in the Corps now for twenty years and had climbed through the ranks safely until Vietnam but it all wasn’t that bad.
In fact, until now Vietnam had been very profitable for him and had amassed a fortune that he had hidden in various foreign banks waiting for the day he could leave this army of fools and live a life of leisure.
If he got anything from his father it was his business sense and maybe a little of his cruelty.

Over the last five years he along with some acquaintances from school back in the United States had a lucrative business going back and forth shipping cash and drugs by using military planes.
This allowed them to bypass customs by landing safely on air force bases back home and abroad all at Uncle Sam’s expense.
So many planes were coming and gong there was no time to check them all and his friends had people working on the receiving end thus avoiding any detection of the goings on behind their backs.

As he closed the case there was a knock at the door.
Picking up his 45 he asked who it was, Corporal Smith, his driver was there to drive him to the airfield to catch his helicopter.
He told him he would be with him shortly then grabbed his coat from the coat rack and his case.
He was going to miss the money he made here and the women but with what money he had along with his father’s estate, he should be able to keep him in the lifestyle he craved.
Besides, he would think of ways to make more.

“You will never amount to anything in the military” Jonas Beecham II, his father said to him twenty years earlier.
With this last shipment he would have twelve million dollars put away but the old fucker went and die before he could choke him with it.

Hali grabbed the radio and called Headquarters for flairs to be put up.
Less than a minute later the night sky lit up and they could see, a sea of Vietcong moving on them.
He knew there was no way to stop this many.
There were hundreds just in front of him alone, as an ocean of flesh running across the field pouring waves of death down upon him and his comrades.

Picking up the radio again he sent in the coordinates for some heavy gun support just a hundred yard ahead of their position then yelled to Enriques to get ready to pull back towards H.Q.
They could hear the shells coming in overhead before erupting on the ground showering everything, everyone with dirt, blood and scorched flesh everywhere.

Standing up he call to his left at Zawolski and Henderson to pull back then he looked to the right and could already see the others falling back with them.
It was a mad dash falling back a hundred yards to their secondary positions where they dug in once more to wait for the enemy to occupy their old positions.
They didn’t have long to wait.
Despite the merciless pounding they took in the open, there was still a swarm of screaming bodies crawling over their old parapets.

Reaching down Hali picked up a plunger and twisted the handle time and time again setting off the explosives that they had planted in their old foxholes sending bodies and parts sailing through the air.
They had anticipated this might happen and had prepared this little trap.
As the fireworks were going off they poured clip after clip into the smoke and dust but the enemy was still advancing on their new positions.
This was suicide.

Hali reached down to his belt and pulled out his last clip.
He yelled over at Enriques for ammo and Enriques said he was on his last one too.
This was it.
Each shot had to count and then run for it or fight hand to hand with an empty gun.
Zawolski and Henderson ran over both looking for more ammunition.
He told him there was none and to prepare to pull out but to look out for any weapons from those who were killed.

There was nothing left to do.
They had enough ammunition to cover their retreat and with any luck maybe find some along the way back and maybe make a stand but to stay now would only bring on their own death in a short time.

Taking all the smoke grenades they still had left they pulled then tossed them along the route they were heading to, to cover their retreat.
They pulled up to Moses, the big black man stood there legs planted into the ground cursing, swearing down at the enemy as he poured hot lead into the darkness with the M60 in his arms.
O’Rieley was leaning up against a tree with his face blown off.
Hali told Moses they were pulling out then yanked O’Rieley’s tags from around him neck.

As they turned to bug out between the sandbagged walls behind them, a group of Vietcong burst out of the smoke and upon Moses.
Moses cut into them with the big gun mowing six down with his first sweep but was hit repeatedly as he swung around to face a new group.
Enriques stumbled, tripping Hali.
Zawolski and Henderson went to their knees picking off the enemy as they swarmed around Moses.
Moses raised the big gun and fired into them until the big gun went silent then used it as a club to beat down the enemy as their bayonets pierced his body.

More and more poured out of the smoke until ten stood over Moses continuously stabbing him in the chest.
Hali crawled over to Enriques to see how he was.
He was hit inside the thigh and bleeding profusely.
Doing his best to tie it up under these condition he help him to his feet and they all fell back together.

They had gone half way back when they had to stop to rest.
Henderson had found a shotgun along the way and Hali picked up a 45 from a dead officer.
Enriques was in bad shape and needed a medic as soon as possible before he went into shock.

Lt. Col. J. Beecham III with Corp Smith following behind with his bags made their way to the airstrip for a ride out to safety by helicopter but when he got to the hanger there was no helicopter.
The only helicopters were ferrying out wounded and was told it was only for wounded and he would have to wait for his to arrive if it was coming at all.

He could hear the battle getting close and knew he wouldn’t make it if he didn’t get out now.
He told the Corporal to watch his bags until he got back and took off towards the communications tent to see if there was another helicopter coming to get him.

Jonas ran through the dust and smoke until he got to the tent only to find it blown up.
Stepping back out to look for someone to help him mortar shells exploded all around knocking him to the ground.
A continuous barrage rained around him for what seemed like an eternity before it stopped as quickly as it had started.
Jonas lay there in a daze.
Deaf from the concussion that had knock him to the ground he stared around in terror before he started pushing himself off the ground.
As he got to his feet two men stumbled out of the smoke running towards him.
Quickly he pulled out his gun and took aim at the nearest one then shot him through the body.
He then turned it towards the second man but before he could shoot they both fell to the ground in a heap.

Hali help Enriques to his feet again as Zawolski and Henderson covered their retreat.
As they reached the outskirts on the HQ bunker it started raining mortars.
They stumble through the exploding ground trying to get to the safety of the bunker but didn’t make it.
A mortar landed under Zawolski ripping him to pieces.
Henderson stood there staring blankly, Zawolski femur sticking out of his chest with Zawolski’s boot still on the foot.

Hali carrying Enriques moved into the HD compound when something punched him in the side spinning him around and to the ground.
Both he and Enriques lay on the ground side by side now helpless.
He rolled over on his back and stared up at the night sky.
The sky was clear and the stars twinkled as they did back on the Bayou.
He remembered the nights they sat on the porch staring out at the stars together.

Jonas walked over to the two men on the ground and looked down at them.
These were two of his own men and not enemy combatants.
He looked around to see if anyone saw anything then bent down to see how they were.
One was shot in the leg and in a bad way.
The other one was shot in the side and would probably survive with immediate help but if he did that, they would find out it was he who shot him and could be used against him.
But on the other hand he could use these men as a ticket out of here.
Jonas stood up and thought for second.
Enriques looked up at Jonas as Jonas raised the gun then pulling the trigger once, then again.

Jonas made his way to the medical helicopter with Corporal Smith on his heels carrying his gear.
Jonas told him he found a wounded man needing evacuating immediately and told the pilot he and the Corporal were coming along as they all pilled into the last helicopter and flew off.
Hali opened his eyes and looked up at Jonas.
It was the last time he ever opened his eyes.
The pilot came around after landing to check on the wounded man but he had died before reaching safety.
Looking at the body the pilot noticed the bruises around his throat then looked at Jonas.
Jonas stared back at him saying nothing.
The pilot though he wouldn’t want to mess with that man as he slowly backed away.

Hali sat on the edge of the bed looking at the two tags.
They were his father’s.

Walker

The Red Clay: Part Ninteen ©

The banging on the door woke up Hali with a start; his heart raced his lungs gasped for a breath of air.
The pounding sounded like the beat of the drums from his dream.
Maybe that’s what it all was all along, a freaky dream.

He rolled out of bed and opened the door to find Adalia standing there with a worried look on her face.
She asked him where he had been, she was calling his phone and there was no answer then she said she got worried so she came down to see if he was ok.

Hali looked at the table next to the bed and could see the phone flashing, indicating that there were messages waiting to be heard.
He told her that after he left her he came straight home and passed out on the bed then had this crazy dream about being in Africa and there were warriors and lions chasing him.

She gave him a puzzled stare then asked him what had happened to his shirt.
Hali looked down at his shirt and it was torn, actually it looked more like it was slashed and there were five rips that went from left to right like someone or something struck out at him in his sleep.
Pulling the shirt off he could see five red lines across his chest underneath where the shirt had been torn.
They didn’t hurt and the skin wasn’t broken but there was something definitely there.

Adalia reached out and touched his chest where the red marks were and told him maybe he did it himself in his sleep.
He told her it wasn’t possible, there wasn’t anything in the bed sharp enough and he didn’t have any nails to speak of let alone sharp enough to tear his shirt in this manner.
His roommate was out of town at his parent’s place for another two days so someone else couldn’t have done it, the door was locked from the inside.
This was quite the mystery.

Adalia stepped closer passing her hand over his chest and around his neck then asked him why he didn’t tell her that his roommate was out of town.
He was fumbling with an answer when she bent closer and kissed his lips.

Jonas sat in his leather chair at the club drinking a brandy when Leonard Cohn walked in and sat across from him.
Leonard called a server over and asked Jonas if he needed a refill to which Jonas declined.

Seeing Leonard here made him uneasy, especially after recent events and was beginning to dislike his company more and more since the day his son was born.
Rumour had it that Prohibition was coming to an end so his partnership with Cohn will not be necessary anymore and he relished that thought of not having to deal with him or being in the same room with this man.

Leonard sat in his leather chair cradling his drink telling an idea to Jonas about expanding the business with the club by opening a number of them throughout Chicago and maximizing their profits.
Go where the rich customers were instead of waiting for them to come to down to the rough side of town.
With his connection and Jonas’ buildings throughout the business sector of the city they could get more wealthy clients.

This was not acceptable to Jonas and told Leonard he had to think about it especially with the end of Prohibition eminent.
A venture like that would be a big risk.
Leonard told him he had a point but that they could still make a lot of money with the gambling and the women they employed.

Leonard’s persistence was beginning to irritate Jonas so much he told his partner he didn’t feel well all of a sudden and not in the proper frame of mind but he would think about it then got up telling the other he was going home.

Leonard had sensed Jonas’ uneasiness when he arrived at the club and joined Jonas.
This is what he was hoping for.
Leonard likes having the upper hand with the people he does business with and recent events gave him something to hold Jonas’ attention and use to get his support down the road when he needed it.
Leonard stood up and told Jonas to go home and take care of himself, especially now that he had another mouth to feed.
He asked how his son was doing.

Jonas stared at Leonard regretting ever meeting and doing business with this man.
He told him the baby was fine as was his wife.
Leonard smiled and told him that was good news, he didn’t want his partner to be unhappy, especially right now that they will be expanding and needing his full attention and support.
As Leonard was turning to go back to his seat he stopped to hand Jonas a rolled up newspaper and told him there was a story on the front page that might interest him.
Leonard bid him a good evening and went back to his drink.

Jonas took the newspaper and walked out of the club to his car.
He sat in the front seat and unrolled the newspaper.
Right there on the front page the headline said, “Woman Found Murdered”.
The story went on to describe the body of a woman found floating in Lake Michigan.
The article stated that at first she was thought to have drowned but the lack of water in her lungs and the presence of ligature marks around her neck suggests she was strangled then tossed into the water to make it look like a suicide.

The article also said there was also evidence suggesting that she had recently given birth and the police were looking into what has happened to the child.
The police are asking the public’s help with any information that may lead to the identity of this woman or the circumstances of her death to contact police immediately.
Jonas read the article a couple of times before he rolled the paper up and put it on the seat next to him then started the car and drove off towards home.
All the way home Jonas was trying to think of a solution to his dilemma.
There had to be an easy solution to his problem and a way to sever his connection to Leonard.

A hundred yards before the edge of the swamp Hali passed the reins to Jeb then told him to keep pushing them all the way to the swamp and to keep going until they were safe.
He will try and catch up later then jumped from the wagon with a rifle and took up position behind some brush to try and slow down their pursuers.

He could see the riders in the distance coming quickly, there must have been a dozen riders, to many to stop but if he could slow them down enough for the others to get away then that would be enough.
Using an old poplar for cover he took aim and shot out the horse from under the lead rider causing the others to scatter in every direction.
Picking up the slack on the trigger he shot out the heel from one man’s boot and the ear off another before they all managed to get behind some cover.

Crouching as low as he could he moved off fifty back back and to his left changing his position so they wouldn’t be able to center in on his last position.
If he could keep them at bay until darkness came then he may have a chance to run off into the swamp and find the others.

He crouched behind a bush watching them slowly weave their way towards him.
Hali was doing his best to avoid any unnecessary violence but if he had to he would kill, he has before when threatened.
Slowly he moved back some more trying to stay ahead of them to make sure no one got behind him to cut him off from their retreat.

The sound of a breaking twig stopped him in his tracks squatting down low while listening for another sounds.
It was faint but he could hear it, it was like a soft displacement of sound close.
He remained there motionless for what seemed like and eternity until he saw what he was waiting for, a tall man moving towards him.
Gripping the rifle tightly in his hand he waited until the man was almost on top of him before he stepped up bringing the stock of the rifle up to the side of the man’s head knocking him to the ground.

A bullet sprayed bark from a tree next to him stinging his face before he turned to where the sound of the gun had come from.
He let go a shot doubling over another man who had been following the first one.
Hali took a quick look to make sure there wasn’t a third man before turning and running towards the swamp.

No sooner had he gone half way to his goal when four horsemen burst out from the woods on the side of where he was running too.
They were bearing down on him quickly and had no placer to run as he could also hear the other moving in from behind him.
This was it then,. no where to run or hide so he might as well make his last stand here.

The riders coming from the woods will get to him before the ones behind him so he should brace them first and then see what’s left after that for the others.
Throwing the gun to his shoulder he stepped towards his attackers and opened up on them just as their guns came up.
Dirt kicked up around his feet but he kept walking towards them firing with each step that he took.

He saw one man get knocked back into his saddle before a bullet burned Hali’s shoulder.
The riders were fifty yards away from him before a barrage of guns burst from the shore of the swamp knocking two men from their horses and killing one horse, leaving it’s rider motionless on the ground.

Hali ran towards his friends who were now laying down cover fire for him until he reached their position.
Falling to his belly with the others we took aim at one rider and emptied the saddle before turning to take a shot at another rider.

Hali ordered the others to get in the boat while he covered them.
Jeb picked up Dakarai and carried him to the boat.
Betty stayed with Hali laying down cover for the others despite Hali’s demand for her to move out.
When the riders broke and fell back to regroup, Hali and Betty took advantage of that moment to run to the boat with the others.
Along with Jeb, they each grabbed a pole and started moving out into the swamp before the riders could reach them.

The deeper the boat moved into the swamp the darker it got.
Not the kind of dark when the sun goes down but the kind of dark where death lurks.
The water was black with the smell of rot and decay emitting from it.
Trees towered up above them with some of their bony branches clawing at the sky other reaching down to pluck them from the boat.

For hours the pushed deeper into the swamps until Jeb told then that they were close to his cabin.
Pushing to a small island in the dark the boat thumped against a dead tree while Jeb jumped out to tie the boat tether to the dead log.
Together with Hali the both carried Dakarai into a crudely build cabin, Betty followed behind carrying their supplies.

They put Dakarai on a cot and Jeb lit a lantern for some light.
Hali looked at it and Jeb told him not to worry.
No one could find the cabin where it was and no one was going to go into the swamp at night; that’s when all the gators come out he said.
Hali went over to where Dakarai lay and knelt by his side.
Dakarai looked up at him and smiled before he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
He’ll be fine Hali thought to himself then stood up and walked over to Jeb and Betty sat.

Hali asked them what they were going to do now.
Jeb said they should stay there until Dakarai gets his strength back and then they could go to Baton Rouge.
Jeb had friends there and they would help them find a place to stay.
Hali thought about that for a few minutes and agreed.
Dakarai did need time to mend before the tried to leave and they couldn’t stay out here in the swamps forever either.

A noise woke Hali up one morning and got out of bed then outside to find Jeb pulling some sort of traps out of the boat.
Jeb told Hali he got up early and went out to check some of the traps he had set up a week earlier and said that they were lucky.
Jeb pour the contents of a bucket on a makeshift table and a small mountain of crab like creatures were crawling around.
Jeb said the were called craw fish and were delicious.
Hali looked at them and thought that there wasn’t much meat on them but if they ate enough of them they may suffice.

A few dat later Dakarai was beginning to look better with the help of Betty.
Hali was beginning to think it was more Betty’s presence that was helping rather than the medicine he was giving him.
While Betty took care of Dakarai, Hali got up in the early mornings with Jeb then went out in search of foods and to learn a little about the swamps.
They were filled with plant life that he had never seen before and wanted to learn about their uses if he was going to be living here.

They pushed the boat along with long poles even over stumps that were hidden below the water surface making their way to where Jeb had placed his traps to capture more craw fish.
He also brought along bate to catch catfish, Jeb said it was the best fish anyone can eat out in these parts.
Jeb had warned Hali that there were alligators here and to always be on the look out as they could come out of no where and drag you under.

Hali had never seen an alligator but from what Jeb had told him about them, he didn’t want to either.
After checking the traps and collecting what little they had Jeb took them to a spot where they were going to set for awhile and hope to catch a couple of catfish for supper.
They sat there for a couple of hours without any luck.
Jeb said he couldn’t understand it, there was always fish here to be caught.
It was like all the fish had gone.

They decided to stay for a little bit longer hoping their luck would change when a movement caught Jeb’s attention.
Slowly he touched Hali’s leg and pointed with his eyes silently in the direction he had thought he saw something then reached for his rifle that was leaning up at the bow of the boat.
Just then Hali saw something move also and slowly picked up his rifle moving it into position.
They both sat there staring at the spot where they had seen something then in a swift movement Hali threw the rifle to his shoulder and squeezed the trigger.

The silence was interrupted by the thunder erupting from the gun waking up the swamp.
Putting the rifle down Jeb and Hali grabbed their poles then swiftly pushed themselves to where Hali had taken his shot.
When they got there they found a deer laying on a bank dead from a broken neck.
Jeb slapped Hali on the back and told him that it wasn’t catfish but it would do.
You didn’t find deer that much in the swamps any more so this was going to be a treat.

Hali hopped out of the boat into the water stepping out on the bank then picked up the deer to bring into the boat when out of the bushes a monster shot out with large snapping jaws grabbing at Hali’s legs.
The alligator must have been stalking the deer when Hali shot it, then found himself with a potential second meal in Hali.

Hali jumped back dropping the deer on the ground but he tripped over a dead stump landing flat on his back.
Seeing his chance while he was on the ground the alligator pounced at him but Hali got his feet up and kick at the massive head aside, barely escaping having the beast on top of him.
Pushing back he tried to stand but slipped on the wet ground and landed on his side this time.
The alligator turned its head grabbing the deer before slipping into the water.

Hali got up and watched as the alligator took off with their supper but he wasn’t going to let that happened then grabbed his knife from the boat and wadded in after the alligator.
Jeb was yelling at him to forget it but Hali told him that the deer was theirs and they needed it desperately then took off under the water to catch up the the alligator before it got to far to catch.

They lay in bed in each others arms.
Adalia fingers tracing the red marks on Hali’s chest.
Hali looked down on her hands and the marks then told her it was like a family crest.
She gave him a blank look and he told her that most of the men in his family were scared up mostly in the chest.
He said his grandmother said it was a sign of bravery because all his forefathers faced danger head on and never ran from it.

There was a story about his great grandfather in the Louisiana swamps where he swam out after an alligator because it stole a deer his great grandfather had killed and wanted it back so he went after it.
They say that he caught up to it under the water then wrestled for the deer and after a one hour battle it was over.

Adalia looked at him and asked what happened.
Hali looked at her and said they had a feast that night.
The alligator ate the deer and grandfather ate the gator.
Grandma got a new pair of shoes.

Jonas sat in his office at home sipping the hot coffee the servant had just brought in to him along with the morning newspaper.
The headline read “PROHIBITION OVER”.
There were pictures of people; politicians, judges and regular people alike holding up a glass filled with their choice of nectar having their first taste of legal alcohol in over ten years.
Jonas took another sip from his cup and turned page after page on his way to the business section but something caught his eye the seventh page in.

Leonard Cohen finished his dinner and ordered a brandy to aid him in the digestion of his meal.
He sat there staring at the drink in his hand.
Soon this will be legal and he will loose the main attraction to his clubs so it was essential he plan now to find to replace the loss of its allure and find ways to keep his customers flowing through the door.

Jonas was going to become a problem he thought to himself and he will have to be dealt with soon but for now he still needed him.
As long as he held something over Jonas’ head he could keep him in line until he could find a way to make him disappear and stake claim to all his properties.
Leonard asked the waiter for another brandy and his bill, it was getting late and he ought be heading on home he thought.

He collected his coat and hat at the cloak room then stepped outside onto the sidewalk.
The night air was cold and sharp as it burned his lungs when he breathed it in.
Looking left then right before stepping onto the street Leonard lowered his head to shield him from the cold wind and sprinted across the street to his car.
He opened the door and closed it quickly behind him then fumbled in his pockets for the key.
After starting the car he sat back in the seat to allow the engine to heat up then reached forward to wipe the condensation from the windshield.

That was funny he thought as he reached up with his handkerchief to wipe the condensation from the rear view mirror.
After the condensation was gone from the mirror sat back once more and stared through it but he couldn’t see anything because of the fogged back window.
As he looked through the mirror a shadow moved from the corner of the seat and into view.

“What are you doing here”?

Jonas put down his coffee cup and held the paper with both hands as he read the story below the headline “Man Found Shot In Car”.

Walker

The Red Clay: Part Eighteen ©

Hali was having lunch with Adalia when Harmon came over and asked if he could sit with them.
Harmon was one of Hali’s friends and worked in the university lab, Hali had given him the scrapings off of the statue and asked him to test it for him.
Harmon settled into his chair and asked Hali where he had gotten the sample he had given him.
Hali told him it was scrapings off of an African statue that had come into his possession and he was trying to find out what it was made of.

Harold told him that the computer at the lab said it had various minerals found in the soil from the part of Africa it came from and there was evidence of human blood.
There were a couple of organic substances that the computer couldn’t identify as well.

Hali sat there thinking as Harmon was reporting his findings to him.
So there was human blood in the clay, it could also be transfer from someone with a cut finger picking it up.
Maybe even some of the blood from the gas bar had gotten on it.
His mind drifted back to the gas bar, the blood was everywhere and the bodies were lying around like shattered jars.

Adalia’s touch brought him out of his trance.
Hali looked at her and smiled, he told her he was ok, just thinking.
He then thanked Harmon for checking out the sample for him and offered to buy him lunch but Harmon said he couldn’t stay because he had more things to do at the lab; he just came by to tell him about his findings.

Hali thanked him and told Harmon he owed him a lunch just the same next time he was free.
After Harmon had left, Hali and Adalia sat around talking about the weekend coming up.
They were planning a trip to see Hali’s grandmother in four months, right after he graduates and two months after that they were heading off to Africa and their calling, to help the children there.

After lunch Adalia had to get back to the store so Hali walked her to the commissary and headed of home.
His roommate wasn’t there so he turned on the TV and lay on the bed blankly staring at the set.
He looked to the night table and saw the statue sitting there and reached out for it.

His eyes opened to the sound of a distant noise.
It was dark as he looked around, he must have passed out.
Hali went to push up and his fingers touched the dry grass under him, he rose to the sitting position quickly and found himself staring out in a dark wilderness.
The sound of the drums was coming from his left so he slowly got up and looked around what should have been his room but was now somewhere outside he didn’t recognize, yet part of him did.

He started walking slowly in the direction of the sound but constantly alert to the sounds around him.
But for the moon in the sky there was no light anywhere.
There should be thousands of blinking lights from the houses and stores in his neighbourhood but this didn’t feel like home, yet it did.

He walked to the edge of some thick brush that looked like a tropical jungle in the dark and waded in towards the sound of the beating drums.
Onward he pushed through making a path where one had not existed before.
For thirty minutes he was whipped for his efforts before he came upon a clearing.
In the center was a crowd of people around a huge bonfire chanting and dancing around the pillar of flames licking at the night sky.

Trying to stay as quiet as he could, Hali moved along the clearing while still staying hidden in the brush so he could get a better look at what was happening.
As he got closer the sound of the drums grew louder and he could almost feel their beat in his chest as the sound rebounded off of him.
Getting within fifty yards of the crowd around the fire, knelt down and watched what looked like a village of African natives of one kind.
He didn’t understand what they were chanting.
Just then an old man walked out from the darkness to a stone platform and the crowd went silent then made their way to the alter.
The old man dressed in dark skins accented with feathers and bird claws looked like a witchdoctor.

The witchdoctor raised a hand to the night sky and the moon seemed to get brighter lighting up the whole area with its warmth.
He then began speaking to the sky, calling out loud with conviction as if he was summoning the gods themselves.
Two hands he now held high to the sky, fingers stretched out, straining to reach farther to the gods, begging for an audience.

The wind rustled the jungle around Hali as it blew past him and through the crowd to the witchdoctor then straight up to the night sky drawing the clouds together above them.
Thunder clapped the night sky as a streak of lighting shot down striking a large boulder blinding all that witnessed it temporarily.
Even Hali had to look away from its brilliance.

When his eyes readjusted to the darkness he looked back towards the village and the people were kneeling at the base of the boulder.
Hali looked at the boulder and on top stood a tall warrior draped in a lion skin with the main around his shoulders.
He stood up there straight and ridged like a statue holding a long spear in his fight hand anchored to the ground, staring out towards Hali.

The warrior looked to the people before him then began speaking to the people and they slowly began to rise to their feet once more.
Hali couldn’t hear what he was saying.
Even though he didn’t understand the language these people spoke he had a compulsion to get closer to hear this man speak so he slowly moved out from the confines of the jungle and moved closer to the village only concealed by the darkness of night.

As Hali got closer he hear the villagers chanting “Thilivhali” over and over again.
Hali figured it was the warrior’s name.
The crowd stopped the chanting when he spoke.
The warriors words were gentle yet powerful which gave you a sense of comfort and pride.
Hali stood there listening to his words and ……. He understood what he was saying as if he spoke English… but how?

He told them that one day they would be free once more to run with the wind and the antelope.
Free to hunt with the lions and swim with the hippopotamuses.
Free to live in peace with the ones they loved.
One day soon all the suffering over the centuries will be put right and their souls will be free to wander.

Hali sat out in the darkness on his haunches absorbing what was being said by this warrior, Thilivhali.
That’s when he spoke to him.
The crowd turned and looked into the darkness right at Hali.

The warrior jumped to the ground from the boulder and started walking out towards Hali as he spoke to him.
“You are the one who is to set us free” he told Hali.
“You are of my blood, of our land”
“We are your forefathers”.
“We are of the lion”.
The warrior started to walk faster towards Hali.
Hali didn’t know what to do, should he run or stay there and try to explain his presence here?

Every second that passed was a step the warrior took closer to him.
Hali stood up on shaky legs and stared at the warrior and he closed the distance between then.
Thunder crashed in the sky above as lightning lit up the sky.
Hali looked at he warrior and saw something was happening to him.
With every step he took closer to him he leaned farther forward until he was within twenty yards of Hali and then he saw that the warrior was now not as a man but a giant majestic lion with a long flowing golden mane baring down on him.

Hali didn’t know what to do, a thousand thoughts rushed through his head.
How did he get to be here he thought and just them the lion lunged at him.
Hali stood there looking up in the air as he watched the lion stretched out in the night sky as it came down on top of him.

Jonas walked through the door of the North Side Social Club and was immediately met by a large man in a dark suit.
He was definitely sure that this was not an ordinary doorman but a gangster guarding the front door, that he was sure of.
The man told him that this was a private club for members only.

Jonas told the man that he was the landlord and was only stopping by to see how his tenants were and if there was anything they needed.
Jonas’ heart was racing as fast as his brain.
Just then the office door opened and a man in a tailored suit walked out followed by Leonard Cohn.

When Leonard saw Jonas he smiled and introduced him to the man, Mr Ross.
Mr Ross said that he had heard of Mr Beacham and all of it was good talk.
Mr Ross shook hands with Leonard Cohn then bid them both goodbye and walked out followed by the big mountain of a man.

Leonard invited Jonas into his office offering him a drink of whiskey.
Prohibition may be law but everyone had and sold whiskey at a huge profit.
Jonas tasted his drink and he could tell this was not any of that watered down whiskey everyone else sold but the best scotch that could be found.

Leonard asked Jonas what had brought him to his place of business on this fine day.
Jonas decided to tell him the truth and told Leonard he came by to see what he had done to the place.
Leonard thought about what Jonas said for a little bit then got out of his chair and picked up the bottlle of scotch from the bar and walked back to Jonas.
Looking at Jonas for a second he then reached out with the bottle and refilled Joans’ glass and told him that he had a proposition for him but he didn’t have to give him an answer today and only after he showed him around the place first.

Leonard put the bottle back in the bar then sat back in his seat behind the desk.
He then proceeded to tell Jonas that this was a private club for members only and that they only let in a select few that could afford to pay the thousand dollar a year member fee.
For that money all they got was the opportunity to walk through the door, what every they wanted was extra.
The club provided all sorts of liquor and women, of the best quality, not that cheap stuff you find in the speakeasies.


Jonas sat back and listened with intrigue as Leonard listed the available services supplied for the club’s membership.
He was sure that Leonard was going to ask him to become a member before he left and the thought was becoming appealing to him.

After their glasses were empty Leonard took Jonas for a tour of the club.
He had spared no expense to make this place look like a club you would find in a well to do part of town and not along the waterfront.
Leonard assured Jonas that it was safe for anyone coming here, in fact his silent partner guaranteed everyone’s safety.
To that, Jonas had no doubt especially after see the doorman.

As they walked around, Jonas couldn’t help but notice the new walls that had been built separating the open warehouse into sections of private rooms and open lounges with bookcases filled with books.
A bar stood in the corner of the lounge with male servers standing around waiting to be summoned by a patron.

Next Leonard took Jonas to the lower level where Turkish style baths had been installed for members to go and relax and next to the baths was a room where one can go and get a massage after a hot bath.

From there they went back up to the main floor where Leonard walked through another door that opened up into a area that had gambling tables scattered around the room.
Another bar was at the back but here the servers were scantly clad women who were also entertained on stage when not serving members.

The more Jonas saw the more he liked what he saw, especially the women.
There were a couple that caught his eye and excited him.
He still loved his wife Maggie but there was things he wanted to do that she wouldn’t let him.
She wasn’t making him happy lately either because she unable to give him an heir as of yet and he wanted to have children, a son to leave him this legacy.

Leonard led Jonas back to his office and re-filled Jonas’ glass once more then asked him what he thought of the business.
Jonas told him that it looked lucrative but wasn’t he worried about the authorities?
Leonard laughed and told Jonas that there were 5 judges and the chief of police himself was a member of the club so there was nothing to worry about.

Jonas told him that he was impressed and would like to become a member.
Leonard smiled at him and told him that he had a better offer for him.
Leonard told Jonas that he was looking for a partner in the business and he had some other business propositions for him to if he didn’t mind getting a little dirty.
Leonard told him that he understood that Jonas had property in Canada. on the Lake of the Woods to be exact.
Jonas nodded indicating that he did.

Leonard sat back in his chair and offered Jonas a partnership in this business and in the whiskey smuggling business if he let them use his property in Canada to smuggle in the whiskey from the lake there.
With all its inlets coming into the United States it would be ideal for smuggling in boats filled with whiskey.

Jonas thought about the proposition.
Up to now he stayed relatively safe by staying within the law to make his profits but he also knew that he could increase his profits ten fold if he took advantage of the situation.
Jonas asked Leonard what would happen if they were caught?
Leonard told him not to worry and if anything ever did happen to just say you didn’t know what was going on up there because you only go there in the summer months and the last time you were there everything was fine.

Jonas told him he would like a little time to think about it as it was a big decision and Leonard told him he fully understood and to take a week if he needed but for now he would like Jonas to be his guest at the club and he could have anything he wanted including a five thousand dollar marker at the casino, on him.

Jonas thanked him for his generosity and Leonard pushed a button on a panel at the side of his desk and a man walked into the office.
He told him to take Jonas to the back and to give him anything he wanted on the club’s bill.
Jonas got up, thanked Leonard Cohn and shook hands with him before he was led out to the back.
Leonard Cohn sat back in his leather chair taking out a cigar and lit it before he got lost in his thoughts.

In the casino, the man took Jonas to the cashiers booth and got him five thousand dollars in chips and told Jonas to enjoy himself.
He told him that if there was anything he needed, anything at all, he was to ask him personally and he would get it for him.

Jonas took the chips and went to the craps table.
He wasn’t much of a gambler outside of business and to him that wasn’t even a gamble, he was shrewd in his business deals and knew how to make his own luck.
He stood around watching at first and placed a couple of bets on a few tosses before it was his turn to take up the dice and to start throwing.

He tossed the dice and rolled a seven now he had to throw them again and try to catch them again and when the dice stopped spinning they showed a 2-5, he won.
For hours this went on and a crowd was now gathering around cheering him on.
A few were trying to ride his coat tail by betting along with him
Many had lost believing his luck would run out in the next turn only to loose their money instead.

A soft hand touched his shoulder causing him to turn and look into the deep blue eyes of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life.
She smiled and his heart skipped a beat, then asked him if she could get something for him to drink.
His tongue seemed paralysed in his mouth but he manage to cough out that he would like a whiskey then watched her walk away.
She look just as beautiful from behind as she did from the front.
While she was gone Jonas played a few more hands until she returned with his drink and that’s when he decided he wanted to take a break for a little bit.

He asked her what her name was and she said it was Veronica.
He then asked if she would join him at the table for a drink but she declined saying that she had to serve the other members.
Jonas nodded his understanding with a disappointing look on his face.
A look that the Nick, the man who brought him to the casino noticed from the back of the room.

Before Veronica could leave Nick was there asking Jonas if everything was OK.
Jonas said everything was fine and thanked him.
Nick looked at Veronica and asked her if she would like to sit with Jonas while he was here and he would find someone else to do her section for her.
She looked at Nick with a smile and said yes, she would like to sit there and talk to Jonas.
Nick told them to have a fun time then headed off back to his perch in the casino.

Jonas and Veronica spent the next few hours playing the various games in the casino, periodically stopping for a drink and a chat.
Jonas was enjoying her company, more than any other females company ever since he met Maggie.

As the evening progressed Jonas found himself leaving the casino with Veronica then down to one of the private rooms on the other side of the building.
Inside the room was decorated in the latest style and was kept very clean with clean sheets on the bed.
Veronica held the door open as Jonas walked in past her then heard the lock slip into place.
He turned to face her as she walked towards him wrapping her arms around his neck then kissing him full on the lips.

Taking her in his arms he kissed her back and as their burning lips heated up the beast inside him began to grow like it never had before.
In his forties now his hunger for women and sex only grew as the years went by and right now he wanted nothing more that to tear Veronica’s clothes off and ravage her body.
He grabbed the front of her dress and tore it apart then bit into her neck with a hungry mouth as she grabbed at the back of his head swimming in pain and pleasure.
Pulling the dress of her shoulders revealed her breasts to his mouth and he took each nipple between his lips biting and sucking each.

Her moans filled the room adding fuel to the madness building up inside him when he turned her around, bending her over the foot of the bed.
He raised her dress up then pulled her undergarments down then pushing his way in her from behind thrusting himself deep inside her with the first push.
She gasped against his initial invasion of her body sinking her fingernails into the bedding deeper with every thrust of his hard shaft.
Insane with lust Jonas pounded away at her against her moans and gasps that recoiled off the walls until he couldn’t hold himself any more and released his all filling her up until it flowed out and down her thighs.

There was a knock on the door as Leonard sat there in his chair.
He told who ever it was to enter and Nick walked in then sat in front of him to give Leonard his report on the night’s business but Jonas wasn’t as interested in the nights business as he was about Jonas Beacham II’s night.
He told him Jonas had won another ten thousand on top of the five thousand he had given him
Right now Jonas was in one of the rooms with one of the whores.

Leonard smiled at the news, it was a fair trade as far as he was concerned.
The profits will out weigh the cost but what impressed him the most was how easy it was for Jonas to get hooked into his scheme.
There was no chance for Jonas to refuse his proposition now, especially after tonight’s events.
If he did refuse, he could always blackmail him for his support but something told him he wouldn’t have to resort to that level.
At least not yet.

Before him stood the same doctor that had refused to help fix up Domingo until he was ordered by the general when they were in Cuba.
Hali told the docotr he was needed up the ways and to get his bag to come with them.
The doctor looked past Hali and could now see Betty standing behind him in the distance.

Doctor Wilks looked at Hali it was to late for him to be going out and he didn’t administer medicine to Negroes.
Hali remembered this man’s hate for him and Dakarai after he was ordered to help Domingo in Cuba.

Hali took a step towards Doctor Wilks and pulled out the gun from his pocket and pointed it towards Dr. Wilks.
He had no time to waste arguing with this man while Dakarai lay dieing back at Jeb's house.

The doctor looked at the pistol in Hali’s hand then back at him as he thought of his next move.
He told Hali he needed to get his bag and started moving back into the house with his hand still on the door when he suddenly moved to close it but Hali got his foot in the way and forced himself into the house.
A woman screamed from the other room and Hali looked to see a woman with her arms wrapped around two children.
Hali told her to be calm and that he was only there to get the doctor to help him with a wounded man.
He then turned to the doctor and told him to get his bag and this time, no tricks or he would be the one needing a doctor.

The doctor picked up his bag and led the way back out the door where Betty was waiting for both of them with the doctor’s buggy ready to take them back to the farmhouse.
On the ride back the doctor commented that Hali looked familiar to him but didn’t recognize him from the area.
The doctor didn’t remember their first meeting in Cuba and Hali wasn’t sure he should tell him now.
It took the about forty-five minutes to get back to the farm and inside they found Dakarai unconscious but alive.
He had lost a lot of blood.

Hali pointed to Dakarai and told the doctor to get to work and fix him up.
The doctor went to the bed then took off the bandages to get a better look at the wound.
A poultice of some kind had been put on the wound to stave off infection.
He had seen this before among the natives and in Cuba when he was there during the Spanish American war.

He asked for some hot water and a clean sheet if they had one to be torn into strips.
He then went to open his bag but Hali reached down first and opened it for him.
Inside Hali found the doctors tools and a small pistol in a pocket at the side of the medical bag.
Hali took the gun and passed the bag to the doctor after it was safe for him to have it, Hali could see the venom in the doctor’s eyes as he passed him the bag.

First the doctor cleaned around the wound with clean hot water and some of the strips of clean cloth then he took out a blunt knifelike tool from his bag and slowly pushed in into the wound in search of the bullet.
When he felt the bullet he started pushing it out of the hole in Dakarai’s chest.
Grabbing the bullet with his finders he passed it to Hali then cleaned around the wound again before he started wrapping the bandage around Dakarai’s chest.

After he had finished bandaging Dakarai he got up and asked Hali what was to happen to him now.
Hali looked at him thinking for a little while then told him that he could leave in the morning but for now he would have to wait and keep an eye on his brother.

Hali moved to the table but in constant view of the doctor where he sat with Jeb.
Jeb told Hali if he let the doctor go, he would only go and get the authorities then come back and most definitely hang all of them.

Hali had already surmised that might be the situation but he was not prepared to murder a man, even one of the doctor’s moral fibre.
A man who swore to save lives should not be looking at the color of others skin.
He then asked Jeb if there was a place they could go and be safe.
Jeb said he had a hunting cabin back in the swamps of Louisiana that was well hidden and hard to find.
The only way to get there was by boat and he had one out there they could use but he said he wasn’t sure if Dakarai would survive the move in his condition
It was also a dangerous place to go to with alligators, snakes and other creatures that lived to kill.

Hali didn’t see any other choice.
Even if he killed the doctor it was only a delay because his wife must have gone for help already and they would be out looking for them even now.
He told Jeb they would just have to risk it and in the morning they would head out for the cabin.

In the morning Hali went to the doctor and asked him how Dakarai was.
The Dr. Wilks told him that if the wound didn’t get infected he would have a good chance to survive and should be on his feet by the time he was to be hanged with the rest of them.
Hali pulled his gun out and pointed it at the doctor’s head and told him to stand up and head off for the door.
He lead him outside with Jeb following behind them then told the doctor he was free to go but when the doctor went for his buggy, Hali told him he was to walk back home.

As soon as the doctor was out of sight Hali ran back into the house and started getting Dakarai ready to go.
They would use the doctor’s buggy until they got to the swamp and then the boat to go deep into it to Jeb’s hunting cabin.
Using the buggy would get them quicker and hopefully avoid any more trouble with the locals.
As soon as Dakarai was better they could leave and explore this new land, but first Dakarai must get better.

They bounced along the road for about and hour trying to go as fast as they could but not to fast as to jar their patient too much.
They could now see the tree line where the swamp started and relief started to come over them until they heard a noise from behind them.
Hali looked back and could see riders racing towards them in the distance.
They had to be not more than a mile back and would more than likely over take them before they reached the swamp at this speed so he gave the horses their heads and raced off down the path towards freedom or death.

Jonas sat in his office blankly staring at the figures infront of him.
His partnership with Leonard Cohn had been a very profitable venture, he was making ten times more now than he used to but his good fortunes was not what was on his mind.
Over the last two years his profits might have increased, as had his family fortune.
Maggie was now pregnant and due at any moment but to make matters worse, he had managed to get Veronica pregnant as well and both were due about the same time.
He didn’t; know what he was going to do.

Someone knocked on the door and a servant from his house came in and told him the doctor was at the house and wanted him to get home as quickly as possible because Maggie was giving birth.
Jonas grabbed all the papers returning them to the safe right next to the leather satchel.
He then grabbed his coat and rushed out the door for home.

No sooner had he walked through the front door the doctor met him with a worried look on his face.
He informed Jonas that there was something wrong with the baby and his wife.
She had lost a lot of blood so far and the baby had not come out yet.
That’s when the midwife came out and called the doctor back into the room, closing the door behind them.
Jonas paced up and down the hallway for an hour before the door opened once more and the doctor came out.

The doctor told him he had bad news for him.
He told Jonas his son was dead and his wife was barely holding on, she had lost a lot of blood and was going through a lot of pain.
He said he gave her something for the pain and she would probably be going in and out of consciousness for the next few days with fever.

Jonas walked passed the doctor and into the bedroom.
Maggie was lying on the bed with her eyes half open and looking like she was lost to the world.
As he sat on the side of the bed, he saw the small bundle wrapped on the table, a son, his son.

Maggie tilted her head up as he took her hand and asked him how the baby was.
He told her the baby was fine and she should just get some rest for now while he took care of everything.
She lay back on the pillow and went to sleep.
Jonas got up and went to the door, pausing for a second to take one final look at his son before exiting.
In the hallway Jonas told the doctor to send him his bill for his services.
The doctor told Jonas that he will call the coroner to have the infants body picked up if he liked.
Jonas told him he needn’t worry about that that he will just call the undertaker to make arraignments.

The doctor nodded, expressing his condolences one more time and told Jonas he will be back to check on his wife.
Jonas told him told him he didn’t have to but if he liked he could send a nurse over to stay for a couple of days with his wife until she got better.

The doctor thought for a few seconds then said he knew who to send and that he would be by in the next week to check on her himself and would bring his bill in at that time.
Jonas told him that would be just fine and asked one of the servants to walk the doctor to the door.

Jonas walked to his study and sat there sipping on a brandy while thinking about this night’s events.
That’s when his servant came in to tell him that there was someone at the door asking for him.
Jonas went to the door and Nick was there waiting for him to tell him he was needed back at the club.

Jonas told him he couldn’t go anywhere now as his wife was still ill and his baby had ..he was to busy at the moment.
Nick told him he understood but said it was important and it might even make him happy if he came with him, it was Veronica; she was going into labour.

This was the last thing Jonas wanted to hear on this night.
His mind was racing as he slowly got to his feet, taking his coat of the rack to follow Nick.
Just then his eyes lit up as if a light had been switched on in his head.
He told Nick to go without him and he would drive himself there in a short time, then turned to the butler and told him he was going out.
He said he would back later then walked back to the bedroom where his wife lay passed out on the bed.
He quickly went out the door without anyone seeing him and into a cab that had waiting along the road.

Before going to the men’s club Jonas told the driver to take him to one of the foundries he owned.
When he got there he told the driver to wait a few minutes while he ran in.
Inside he went to the back where the kilns were where he tossed something into one of the large blast furnaces then walked back out to the cab.

The whole drive to the club was eerily silent.
As soon as he got to the club Leonard was there waiting for him holding a box of fat cigars and offered Jonas one congratulating him on the birth of his son.
Jonas just stared at him blankly and told Leonard his son was dead.

Leonard looked puzzled and told Jonas that his son was not only alive, but loud from the moment her was born and Veronica was in fine shape to.
Jonas realized what he now meant and walked off into the back where the private rooms were.
Nick stepped next to Leonard and whispered something in his ear; understanding came across Leonard as he watched Jonas walk into the back.
Leonard asked Nick if he was sure?
Nick told him the doctor was upstairs in one of the rooms with one of the girls and could go ask him himself if he liked.
Leonard smiled; it wouldn’t be necessary.

Leonard walked into the room where Veronica lay and she smiled as soon as she saw him come in.
He grinned a little at her.
Then he heard a baby’s cry in the corner and walked over to the crib to meet his son for the first time.

Veronica told him that the baby looked just like him, he had to agree with her.
She then said that he would need to find a place for them to live because she couldn’t raise his child in this place, a brothel.

His child he thought.
He wasn’t going to leave his son in this place and he wasn’t going to have this woman raise his son.
All she was to him was entertainment.

Jonas went to Veronica and told her that she had nothing to worry about and his son, his son would be raised in the proper environment with everything made available to him.
Veronica smiled at his words and told Jonas that they would make a great family together.
Jonas told her that they would be a family then told her to rest before he walked out to talk to Leonard, his partner.

Maggie woke up with a fright and called out for Jonas.
Jonas was by her side immediately as she begged him for her baby.
Jonas calmed his wife down and told her everything was fine then got up and went off to the corner of the room then came back holding a baby gently putting it in her arms.
“Here is your son” he told her.

Walker