From Chapter 3
They arrived at the outskirts of the ruins of Boise to absolute silence. As they rode through the streets, they saw no living thing, except for a few starving dogs. They crisscrossed the town for a week and saw nothing even remotely human. They did find several building, where someone had camped there recently, but the whole area was as deserted as a desert! There was no sense in staying around and winter was not too far off, so the party began their return to their home at Robinson Ranch.
THE GREAT SALT DESERT
Wil Castor gathered his Dragons and Al Tallon, Sergeant of Pathfinders, brought his squad to Wil for his approval. Like all Pathfinders, the squad was impressive. Not a single Warrior was under six feet and they were all "armed to the teeth"!
That they were as gentle as lambs was evident, all eight of them had small children riding on their shoulders as they reported for duty. Ev asked Wil if he wanted to inspect the Pathfinders and Wil laughed, "With or without riders?" He told Ev there was no need to inspect his squad, the small children had already done the job for him.
He called the Night Dragons and Pathfinders to gather around and he proceeded to tell them about their assignment. He explained, "The Great Salt Desert of Utah is supposed to be the original home of the Elders. We don't know if they still abide there, nor have we any information about the conditions or extent of the salt desert."
He looked around to make sure he had everyone's attention before he continued, "We have travelers' reports of strange beasts living there and there are few springs of drinkable water. The local water is brackish at best and most of it is supposed to be poisonous. We will go with a third wagon with barrels of water just to be safe. Our Medics, Peter Vallen and Roger Foster have taken some extra courses from the Hospital on poisons and saltwater poisoning, I expect any of our men who even THINK they have been poisoned, to report to the Docs immediately, I ain't gonna have anyone die 'cause they thought they could suffer through it!"
There was some general discussion on the symptoms of poisoning and then Wil announced that they would depart at first light the next morning. Everyone had been expecting that announcement and the wagons were mostly loaded already. Only last-minute items would need packing and the filling of the water barrels just before they left.
Wil was a long-time Night Dragon, one of the original Night Dragons, and he knew there would be some stowaways hiding in the wagons, but he was not going to stop a determined youngster, they could always be Junior Night Dragons! What he discovered a day out, would not only shock him, but would change his thinking for the rest of his life!
They hit the chow hall and, after a special meal cooked up to celebrate their departure, the Salt Flat Troopers Unit, as they designated themselves, bedded down to get a full night's rest before they "hit the road".
The next morning started out with six surprises, there were six young boys who refused to be parted from their new Daddies, including two who claimed Daddies from the ranks of the Night Dragons! They had all packed their own packs and, when Wil peeked in their packs, they appeared to have been packed by "professionals".
He grinned and pointed to the wagons where they could stow their gear before they joined their Daddies. Each boy had his own horse and would ride alongside their Daddies. He noted that the Ramada seemed to be larger than it was the night before by about ten horses. He grinned at his "other half", Al Taylor, and whispered, "Are they all in the supply wagon?"
Al laughed and replied, "Yup!" Wil raised his fist and waved it in a circle as he called out, "COMMAND PLATOON, HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
They moved off at a trot just as the sun rose above the eastern ridge. The trail out of Robinson Ranch was lined with well-wishers and tearful families as their husbands or Daddy or just their protectors or older brother rode out into the unknown.
They made good time the first day and they made camp the first night in Antelope Canyon, where they were protected from the fierce desert winds. Wil and Al made it a point to ride off to a high point where they could scout out the territory.
They purposely did not look back, knowing that their "hitchhikers" would be sneaking out of the supply wagons. When they returned, there were some guilty looking Night Dragons and Pathfinders! Again, neither Wil nor Al made any note and just headed to the mess circle for their evening meal.
They knew that, before darkfall, there would be some Night Dragons and some Pathfinders making painful explanations. Neither leader minded the situation and they would welcome the newcomers with open arms, to them, this was the natural order of things.
The cooks whipped up a pan supper of cornbread, steaks, stewed tomatoes and a fruit duff for dessert. When everyone had eaten, both Wil and Al stood up and they could see anxious faces in the group, along with a few faces that did not belong to a Night Dragon OR a Pathfinder.
Wil smiled and said, "Welcome to our newcomers, we are glad you have joined us." The bewildered faces looked uncertain as Wil continued, "You who have just joined us and those who we welcomed among us yesterday are all invited to join us as Junior Night Dragons, you will be warriors among us, fight as we fight, live as we live and assist others as we assist them. WELCOME ALL JUNIOR NIGHT DRAGONS!
He placed a wooden, hand-carved black dragon on a leather thing around each boy's neck and also around the two girls among them! It was some very proud Junior Dragons who sat beside their Warrior Papa and finished their meal!
They passed the night without alarms and, as soon as they had cleaned up after their morning meal, everything was packed away, the march resumed. Junior Night Dragons rode their ponies beside their Papas with their shoulders thrown back and heads held erect, their faces covered with a huge smile!
Pathfinder Sergeant Lon Truebuck rode alongside Wil and Al, a huge smile on his face as he said, "Sir, that was well done, you have made my adopted daughter, Shirley, very proud. Sir, I am proud to know you and even more proud to be under your command!"
They passed through Dry Canyon, and headed east. It was a hard trip and it was dark by the time they exited the canyon into Rush Valley. The valley was dry and dead, fortunately, they had barrels of water with them.
They made camp at a protected spot out of the wind and hunkered down for a miserable night. The wind howled incessantly and picked up sharp grains of sand that blasted any exposed skin. By morning, nobody had had much sleep and their dry, cracked lips tasted of salt.
They hit the salt desert at Wendover, where a small group of settlers were attempting to squeeze a living out of the dry soil. The settlers told of harassment by the Elders and told Wil and Al how the Elders took most of their meager crops as "tax".
They spent several days there, treating the settlers' injuries and ailments. Wil and Al were sitting on the tailgate of one of the wagons when one of the farmers came up to them. He introduced himself as Josiah Baines and he hummed and hawed until he finally said, "Sirs, will ye take my sons with you, they are twins and are fourteen and the Elders told me they was gonna takem' the next time theys cum through, that theys was gonna be foot soldiers in theys army!"
The man was near tears as he continued, "Sirs, they be good boys n' the boys them Elders takes, never come home agin'. Please, their mama n' I loves em' too much ta' see'm become slaves ta' them devils' spawn."
He whistled quietly and two boys with bright red hair like their Daddy, stepped around from the back of the supply wagon. They had their bedrolls over their shoulders and each carried an ancient long rifle that had obviously been well taken care of for many years. The bluing was nearly gone, but the metal parts had no rust and looked to be freshly oiled.
It was apparent they were identical twins and, from their build, they were no strangers to hard work! The settler introduced the boys as Andrew and Oscar Baines and they both shook Wil and Al's hand looking them square in the eye.
Andy Baines was a bit more outgoing than his brother and said, "Sirs, afer ye make yer decision, know that me n' Osc is more than just brothers, we is together, if'n ye knows what I means, Sir."
Wil and Al both smiled and said to the two boys, "If it don't bother you, it shore don't bother us, welcome aboard JUNIOR NIGHT DRAGONS!" The two brothers stood straight and tall as they knuckled their brows and replied, "Yes Sir!"
Al handed both of them a carved wooden Dragon, stained black and hanging on a leather thong. They slipped them over their heads and picked up their rifles in salute to both Wil and Al. Their Father kissed them both, tears were in his eyes as he said, "Boys, I done as ye asked me. Now ye both mind yer manners n' kill them damned Elders!
Since the two boys had come to them straight forward, both Wil and Al suspected there were more folk hiding in the nearby bushes, waiting to sneak into the wagons. Al called out, "OK, guys, ya' kin come out now n' let's git ya all signed in reg'lar like!"
The two Baines Boys smiled a guilty grin and six more boys, about their own age, came slowly out of the bushes. They gave each one of them the symbol of the Junior Night Dragons and invited them to lunch, which the cooks were just starting to set out.
The new boys stared at the food, they had never seen so much for just one meal, they were handed a tin plate and shown where the silverware was as they passed through the chow line. The cook heaped food on their plates as their eyes got bigger and bigger, the final thing was a cup filled with a dark brown substance that jiggled as they walked to where the other Junior Dragons were eating.
Andy Baines took a spoon and tried some of the jiggly stuff. He screamed in delight, it was sweet and had a flavor he had never tasted in his entire short life. The others told him it was called Chocko-lat puddin'! Right then, he would have traded important parts of his anatomy for another cup and he all but fainted when the cooks said he could have all he wanted!
He turned to Osc and said, "Bro I's gonna stay wit theses folks 'til theys plant me!" Wil and Al couldn't help but chuckle over the boy's antics and they saw the characteristics in both Andrew and Oscar Baines that told them both boys were going to be leaders!
Trouble was not long in coming, they had struggled through the sandy salt soil towards an oasis they could see on the horizon. There were a few green trees surrounding a small pool of clear water. The local boys all agreed that the water was fit to drink, although it would taste of alkali.
Both Wil and Al agreed that they should stop for the day, they could have gone further, but they boys told them that the next water hole was a full days' travel beyond where they were now.
The wind was whistling through the trees and, as the sun began to set, the air temperature dropped noticeably. The cooks put together a meal while everyone fed and cared for their mounts. They all checked their horses' hooves to make sure no stones had lodged in the tender parts of the horses' hooves and then they fed and watered them. They used the barrels on the wagon for water as no one trusted the alkali water in the pond.
They were just bedding down when Andy and Oscar Baines came quietly over to Wil and whispered, "Sir, theys out there, watchin' usins." Wil asked, "Who is watching us?" The boy replied, "Th' Elders, Sir, theys jis waitin' ta' let usins bed down a'fer theys attack."
They waited until the fire had died down before they roused out the Dragons. Wil sent half the Dragons and Junior Dragons out to the left, to hide in the scrub trees that lined the pond. The remaining men and boys were positioned just behind the wagons. They had all left their bed-rolls bunched up, as if they were in them and asleep.
Al was with the group hiding in the bushes and Wil had the remainder with him behind the wagons. As soon as the moon had dipped behind the mountains, they could hear horses moving in their direction.
The horsemen came raging into the Dragons' camp, only to find the bedrolls empty. They milled around in confusion for a few moments, until bullets came their way from two directions. In minutes, all the Elder Forces were down, either dead or in the process of dying.
Al looked up to see the Baines Brothers racing across the dimly lit sand in the direction the Elders had come. At first, he feared the two brothers were deserting, maybe in fear of the violence that the Elders were met with.
Before he could react, the two boys were back, leading a group of boys and young men who were obviously prisoners. Their hands were tied behind their backs and there were ropes around their necks, keeping them together in a bunch.
Oscar Baines called out, "Junior Dragons, come help us, these guys are hurt and bleeding. They are the Elders' prisoners!"
When Al and Wil got there, they were horrified, the boys and young men had been brutally treated. Their bare feet were bleeding and their backs were crusted with dried blood where they had been whipped.
When they got closer, they saw the faces of the prisoners and both men shuddered in horror, the ears of all of them had been cut off! Both men struggled to keep from losing their supper! It was a losing battle as they both sprayed their supper into the sand.
The cooks lit the lanterns and began heating water on the campfires, while the Medics pulled out all their supplies to do what they could for the unfortunate captives. It was morning and the sun was rising over the desert floor before the Medics said they had done all they could, they had lost two boys! No matter what they tried, they could not stop the bleeding and two young boys lay dead.
Anger was raging in the Night Dragon Camp, they dragged the dead Elders and a few who were still in the process of dying and placed them all in a pile. When one of them begged for mercy, One Night Dragon Warrior screamed, "Did you show those boys any mercy?" By the time the cooks had put together a scratch breakfast, the last of the Elders had died. They decided to just leave them there for the coyotes to feast upon! They buried the two dead boys in separate graves far removed from where they had piled the Elders' bodies. Their anger seethed as they slowly rode away.
THE GREAT SALT LAKE
The Night Dragon Force approached the abandoned town of Rowley Junction cautiously. Their information was that there was a prison located at nearby Grantsville.
Most of the town was ruins, but they could see one large building that was obviously still in use. They had been told by the spies they had sent in earlier in the year, that the old high school had been made into a prison for those the Elders had deemed, "Undesirables".
They hunkered down just southwest of the town, in a grove of half-dead trees. They had come tumbling out of West Canyon and needed to rest from their journey across the barren, salt covered desert. They found a small farm that was abandoned, but its windmill and pump were still intact.
They poured grease and cooking oil over all the linkages of the windmill and unlatched the lift rod. The windmill made several false starts and emitted a ghostly groaning sound before the lift rod began to stroke. With some more cooking grease, the sounds quieted down and water began to pour out the spigot and into a cattle watering trough.
They led the boys and men who had been tortured by the Elders to the trough and gently washed the dried blood off them. What was left of their ears were cleaned by the Medics and fresh clothing was pulled out of the supply wagon for them.
Anger was running high among the Night Dragons and the Junior Dragons and Andy brought over a young man to speak with Wil and Al. He said, "Mr. Al, Mr. Wil....." Both men laughed and corrected him, saying they much preferred to be call just Al and Wil. Andy began again, "eeer, Wil n' Al, this be Gerry Gates, his Papa were a shop keeper here in Grantsville 'til the Elders decided him and his mate was not wanted. Theys killed his Papas, Benjiman n' David, and theys was gonna make a lesson outta Gerry. They was gonna nail him ta' a cross wit big nails and watch him die!"
Neither Wil nor Al could keep their breakfast down, they wretched and gagged at Andy's words. After they had finished spewing, they both hugged the young man and sat with him under the shade of a small tree as he told them his story.
By the time Gerry had finished his tale, he was sobbing and said, "They took all ours kids, we had gathered some boys and girls what had been tossed out by theys parents and we was keeping them safe and feeding them. That were how they found us."
Al asked, "Do you know where the kids are now?"
Gerry replied, "Yeah, I think so, theys made tha' old High School inta' a prison for what theys call Undesirables, an' theys keepem' there locked up. Theys ain't bad kids, it be who theys love that th' Elders hate!"
Al and Wil sent some Junior Night Dragon into the ruins to spy on the prison. The youngsters had a better chance of getting in and out undetected because of their smaller stature.
They hid in the small grove of trees for three days, they saw a few people moving around the ruins, but most of the activity was at the old High School. It was evident that the Elders did not think they were in any danger, there were no outside guards and the cyclone fencing that once been around the old school had been scavenged. Only a few metal poles, set in concrete, remained.
The buildings were in terrible condition and only the main building remained usable. All the others, the roofs had caved in and what had been a lawn was now just dirt and a few weeds.
Gerry and a couple of the others insisted they be included in the raiding party, Gerry told them that the man who ran the prison was called, "The Beast" and he reveled in the name. It was The Beast who had personally murdered his Papa, Benjamin and Gerry insisted he be included in the raiding party.
They waited until it was full dark before the raiding party headed for the prison. There was lots of cover, ruined buildings and sagging houses were everywhere.
They had scouted out the main building earlier and had discovered a door that the guards used at the back of the building. The guards would come out to relieve themselves, evident there were no urinals in the building that remained in use. They would discover later that there was no running water in the building at all.
Nobody had any watches that had survived, so Al estimated that it was past midnight when they gathered just outside the unlocked door to the prison. They poured some cooking grease on the hinges before they cautiously opened the door.
They could see a few guttering torches in clay pots along the floor of a long hallway. Al could hear voices a ways off, down the hallway to the left, so that was the direction the men crept. As they neared the end of the hallway, the voices became louder and there were more torches around.
They came to a large room, like an area for meetings and, as they peered around the corner, they saw a huge fat man sitting at a table with six other men, playing cards. They were drinking something from big metal cups and laughing at each other in a drunken display of friendship.
Both Al and Will were surprised, they knew that the Elders had forbidden the consumption of alcohol, but they caught the distinct smell of home brewed beer coming from the room.
They watched for a few minutes, the men's attention was all on the card game. The fat man yanked a young boy from under the table and slapped him, screaming, "Yore damned teeth!"
That did it for those in the hallway, they burst into the room, swinging hand axes and large knives. Gerry had filched a large carving knife from the chow wagon and he rushed into the room screaming at the fat man in maniacal hate, he swung the knife over his head sliced the whole side of the fat man's face off! The other six men were stunned and, before they could move, they were either dead or dying!
Despite his injuries, the fat man was still alive and was crawling across the floor, leaving a trail of blood and gore. Gerry stabbed him repeatedly in the back, until he finally died, the prison was theirs!
In one wing, they found fifty youngsters, including the ones that Gerry was looking for. Fortunately, they all had their ears still intact.
The little boy that the Fat Man, now identified as The Beast, had dragged from under the table was crying hysterically. Wil held the child and soothed him gently, until he had stopped crying. The child was able to lead them to where the rest of the prisoners were being held, not one of them was over the age of fifteen!
As they led the rescued prisoners out of the building, Al and Gerry set the place on fire with the torches being used to light the hallway, the building must have been tinder dry because the place went up like straw.
They quickly led the rescued children away from the area and back to their hideaway at the small farm. Those who had remained behind gathered up the children and young men who had been set free and fed them first, before trying to clean them up. The people they had rescued sat in wonder at the food placed before them, not any of them in their short lives had ever seen such abundance of food.
They thought it odd that there was no pursuit or alarms, nor did anyone come around to check on the burned out prison. One of the older boys cleared that up for them, he told them it was a private prison run by The Beast. They told them that The Beast bought prisoners from the Elders and kept them until they died.
Feelings were running pretty high and both Wil and Al felt they needed to get out of there as soon as the children could travel. They spent several days, letting the children and young men recuperate, before they began heading back the way they had come.
THE MARCH HOME
Both Wil and Al felt they should head back, towards home. They had collected a large number of rescued prisoners and they had issued all their spare horses to them. There were still not enough horses and all the wagons had youngsters riding in them. They both agreed to head south, towards Cove Fort before turning west and crossing the mountains. As far as they knew, Cove Fort had been abandoned long before the final collapse.
They followed the broken remains of a paved road south for two weeks. They were not moving very fast as there seemed to be no pursuit. Summer was passing rapidly and they hoped to find a place where they could winter over, before heading home in the next spring. Summers are short on the high desert and, already, there was a nip in the air by early morning.
They were able to maintain a good pace on the old roadway. Three weeks out from the Salt Lake, they came upon a freshwater lake and a small village of farmers. The farmers told them the lake was called Spring Lake. The water was clean and fresh, so everyone ran into the water to wash and scrub the salt from their bodies. The people living there told them that the Elders had not visited them since the time the settlers had driven them out and burned their church.
The farmers' sons mingled with the young Junior Dragons and it was not long before a delegation of parents and their sons called upon Al and Wil. By the time the discussions were over, eight local boys were in the process of becoming Junior Night Dragons!
On the night before their departure, two teen brothers Robert and Eden Carlisle appeared with their Father. The boys were seventeen and fifteen and they begged Al and Wil to include them as recruits.
It was a hard decision for Al and Wil to make, the brothers were too old to be Junior Night Dragons and they did not have the training to be Night Dragons, UNTIL, they demonstrated their marksmanship. Both young men were able to hit a spot on a tree, no bigger than a man's fist, at three hundred paces! The two brothers held each other in glee on being told to pack their belongings.
It was apparent to both Al and Wil that the two young men were more than merely brothers, but that was not a problem for any of the Dragons. Their father however, was not so forgiving and he screamed at the two boys hugging each other, calling them fags and queers!
The father was suddenly confronted with twenty rifle barrels, all pointed at him. He went stomping off, muttering about evil furrin' ways corrupting his innocent sons.
Robert and Ed', however, were not upset and they both turned to Wil and Al saying, "Thank you, we have been putting up with that creep ever since our Mama died, he ain't our Daddy, he jist moved in on us when Papa were kilt by the bear and Mama were doin' poorly."
The next morning the Night Dragons and Junior Dragons made ready to continue their journey. They continued following the old road south, they wanted to make the old town of Holden before they turned west. There was a pass through the mountains at the village of Delta and they planned to winter over in that town. They had been there before and had been welcomed back then.
The trip south towards Holden went fairly fast, the old road was in pretty good condition and they encountered no problems. Two weeks later, they pulled into Holden and were met by frightened villagers.
The Night Dragons and Junior Dragons set up their camp in a small grove of trees that provided some protection against the ever blowing wind and flying desert grit.
After they had made camp and gotten settled, a delegation of men from the village came to talk with Wil and Al. They told a hair raising tale of night creatures that were preying on them. Their cattle were being carried off and two small children had disappeared the night before. When asked who or what was doing this, all the villagers could tell them was they smelled like rotted meat and that they made strange howling sounds in the night.
WERE CREATURES
That the villagers were frightened was readily seen, but they had trouble believing the stories about night creatures until Robert and Ed Carlisle told them of the stories they had been told as children. They told them of night creatures that ate people and stood upright like men, but were wolves and giant cats! They thought the creatures had once been men and the radiation of the bombs changed them so that they mated with animals. It was enough to send chills down their spines!
They posted armed guards for the night. Their entire camp rested uneasy all through the night, there were strange sounds, eerie wails and awful animal calls all through the night. They feared what they would see as it began to get light.
TBC
Have the beasts of ancient tales come back to haunt them? What will they see as it grows light in the morning?