Cha'Nara's Gift

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Bad Moon Rising

The boy still seemed a bit dazed but I gave him some Tylenol with some more water, "Take these son, they'll make the headache go away," "Who are you people?" he croaked looking at my uniform. "We're the good guys kid, we're going to help you and you're mother, save you're questions for later, right now we need to get out of here, do you know how to harness up you're team here?" "Y-y-yes," "Good, if you're feeling better, I would ask that you do it. We don't know how!" He gave me a funny look then slowly stood up rubbing the bump on his head. "You're still damn lucky you've got your hair they took your dad's." He looked over at the body of his father and started to sob. I patted him on the shoulder and quietly said, "I'm sorry son, when you're ready." I went over to where Emily was working on the boy's mother; Emily looked up at me with a grim face. "T hey r***d her Deak, she's been badly beaten, I think a rib's been broken, severe neck injuries, I've got her stabilized," I nodded my head, "I'll get the wagon ready to transport them to our place, we certainly can't leave them here." Emily continued to work on the woman while I prepared a bed for her, the boy had started hitching up the horses, so I made a quick sweep of the site and picked up bows arrows decent looking Indian clothing, and a couple Indian rifles, and threw them in the wagon. I helped the boy finish with the team,

"What's you're name son?" "Ben, Ben Miller sir." "Don't call me sir, I work for a living. My name is Deak, Deak Mathers, that's my wife Emily over there, what's you're mom's name?" " Alice." "Well Ben, once you're done there we'll get you're mom in the back, and we can be out of here."

Emily and I carefully lifted Ben's mother into the back of the wagon, I returned to Ben and asked, "Can you drive this thing Ben." "Yes, but don't you know how?" "Sorry son, I really can't, I'll show you where to go." Ben gave me a funny look, then staring at Emily asked, "Why is you're wife dressed like that?" "Long story son, all will be explained later, but for now, let's be on our way." We put Ben's dad in the back with a blanket over him, and rolled out. As we passed the Indian I had shot on horse back I jumped out of the wagon and quickly scooped up his rifle and a beat-up old pistol, as an afterthought, I snatched the crude saddle off the dead horse, and climbed back into the slow moving wagon. "Why do you want those things?" asked Ben, "Money, son Money!"

As we slowly moved over the grassland Ben kept eyeing Emily and I, "You two sure wear some awful strange clothes?"

Tiring of his incessant questions I growled,

"They're uniforms son United States Marine Corps uniforms, Emily and I were in the Marine corps, which entitles us to wear them, I told you all you're questions would be answered, and they will, but later, you're mom is badly hurt, and might die, until her situation straightens out, just keep you're questions to yourself OK?" Ben silently nodded and concentrated on handling the team.

As we neared our stockade, I radioed Cha'Nara. "Pip do you read?" Even though I couldn't understand her, I could tell by her voice she was reading me. "Get a bed ready in the tent; we have a badly hurt woman with us get the med kits ready, get things set up!" She acknowledged my request and clicked off. "Who are you talking to?" asked Ben, pointing to my radio, "And what is that?" "It's a radio son, and I was talking to Cha'Nara, another member of our party, look son, before the night's over you're going to see things that will tax your beliefs, and everything you know, you are going to see things that you're simply not going to understand, but believe me, they're real as real can get, prepare to be astounded, but again I say, hold you're questions." It was getting towards dusk when we arrived in camp, I quickly radioed Pip to remain in the "unit" for the time being. With Ben's assistance, Emily and I got his mother situated on the bed Cha'nara had prepared, Emily got a saline drip going, I motioned for Ben to join me, "Son, let's go bury you're dad, c'mon!"

As we headed for the wagon I grabbed a lantern and a flashlight, "Let's take him over here son," Ben climbed in the wagon and slowly followed me up the hill in the darkness. On top, I radioed Cha'Nara telling her to go help Emily, "This looks like a good spot, it will never flood, and a man always likes to be where he can see around him," I commented. I placed the lantern on the edge of the tailgate took off my jacket and started to dig. Ben began as well remaining silent as we dug. Soon a decent hole was dug, and we carefully wrapped Mr. Miller in the blanket and placed him down in the hole.

The Miller's

After we filled in the grave and built a decent mound, I took out the little bible I took off one of the men I had shot and read from the 23rd Psalm, I closed by saying, "Lord, I didn't know Mr. Miller, but judging from his son, I'd say he was a pretty decent man, who only wanted the best for his family, I don't presume to know why you called him home at this time, but I will see to it his wife and son are taken care of, we then commend Mr. Miller's body to you're care O Lord, Amen!

We stood looking at the grave for a moment, when Ben spoke, "That was very nice of you sir," "Your welcome Ben, if you want, there are a lot of nice rocks down by the creek, why don't you load some in the wagon and bring them up here tomorrow and put them around the grave." Ben gave it some thought and nodded. I sat down on the tailgate and said, "Sit down next to me Ben, let's talk." Once he was seated, I began, "Son, I don't like saying this but you and you're mom really complicate things for us, we didn't plan on this or you two showing up…" "What! Are you going to kill us?" "No son nobody's going to kill you, I suppose in the end we'll end up hiring you to work for us, could be very lucrative for you and you're mother, but more on that later. What I'm talking about is that there are a lot of things we have you people aren't supposed to see," "What do you mean, "You people" he asked.

"I mean you people of 1878, it is 1878 isn't it? By the way, what is the year month and date?" Ben gave me a queer expression and said, "Are you serious?" "Please, what's the year and month?" "May, uh, the 12th I think 1878." "May 1878 then?" "Yes, why?" I didn't answer him; instead I took out my radio from my pocket and spoke into it, "Pip do you read, copy?" A moment later I heard her voice respond. "Ben says its May 12th or around that in the year 1878, wanna make the correction on the navigation computer?" Her voice responded and she signed off. "Son, this radio is a perfect case in point, you have no idea what it is or what it can do, you see and hear me use it ," I held it out for him to look at. "This is a two way radio I can talk to people miles away just as you heard me talk to Cha'Nara this afternoon, just as I talked to her now. It transmits voices over what are called radio waves, they exist right here right now, there's nobody inside this thing, it was invented and made by man, but not for another fifty years or so."

I clicked the transmit button a couple times until Pip's voice came over the speaker. "It's OK Pip just showing young Ben here how a radio works. You're young yet son, if you happen to live a long life you'll be around when radio is invented by a man named Marconi, in fact you're on the cusp of a lot of new and wonderful things, if you pay attention, you'll read about two brothers named Wright who become the first men to achieve sustained flight at a place called "Kitty Hawk" North Carolina in 1903. I could see that Ben was still having a hard time trying to figure me out. "I suspect you won't truly believe me until 25 years from now when you're at the ripe old age of 41 relaxing in you're easy chair reading the paper, and catch a story about two bicycle mechanics from Dayton Ohio who built a flying machine and actually flew a few hundred yards in the dunes of North Carolina. Then you'll say to yourself, "Goddamn! I remember that guy what's his name! Telling me about this all those years ago, guess he was on the level all along."

Ben looked at me and said, "Where are you from?" I chuckled and said, "Right here in Colorado, over on the east side near the Kansas border, I really don't know if Limon is a town yet but actually that's where Emily is from, her dad owns a small ranch over there, Me, I'm from Michigan, right on the shore of Lake Michigan, Thing is Ben, We're just not from the year 1878." I let this sink in for a moment; Ben seemed to be struggling trying to deal with all this. "It only gets worse son, normally we wouldn't be here, time travel is unknown even in the year 2012 which is the year we left home, we owe our ability to travel back in time like this to Cha'Nara down there, the machine we traveled in is inside that stockade down there.' Ben's mind was working overtime and not keeping up. "Is Cha'Nara from your time as well?" I couldn't help but laugh, "Ben my boy, Cha'Nara isn't even from this planet!" This was too much for him; he started to get very frightened. "Son, just settle down, Emily and I have had to accept a lot of things we didn't believe in or understand, if we can so can you."

I gave Ben the quick version of our discovery and hiding of Cha'Nara and her craft, " I know it doesn't mean much to you, after all, but I'm talking about common things in our century, and I have no reason to lie, c'mon son, let's go meet our benefactor." Ben guided the wagon back down to the stockade as I slowly followed, "I'll unhitch the team shortly sir" said Ben, "Fine son, but right now let's go meet Pip."

I called out, "Cha'Nara, come out here please," "Oh, one thing son, Cha'Nara is a harmless soul she's only seventeen, she won't hurt you and I don't want you to hurt her in any way is that understood?" "Y-y-yes sir," said Ben meekly. Cha'Nara slowly stepped out of her "unit' and approached Ben cautiously, Ben suddenly became very fearful and acted like he wanted to run. "Settle down son, she won't hurt you; smile at him Pip Cha'Nara smiled and held out her hand,

"S-she's a n****r!" I immediately grabbed the boy and jerked him backwards causing him to fall on his back; I then jerked him up and snarled in his face. "Son, if I ever hear you call her that again I'll kick you're young ass clear into the next county, Cha'Nara is NOT a n***o! Is that clear boy?" Ben now scared out of his mind meekly agreed. "Now you apologize to her this minute, "Pip this i***t called you an improper name, I want you to accept his apology." Cha'Nara nodded, Ben stammered out an apology, Cha'Nara bent over and kissed him on the forehead, Ben stepped back with a look of astonishment on his face.

Pip just stood there looking at Ben, I calmed down and said, "Son, Cha'Nara comes from a different planet, this is the way they look, I think she looks rather attractive, get that racist crap out of your mind right now, she's a harmless girl, a stranger in a strange land, she accepted you're apology with that kiss, you're the first person around her age she's met since we found her." Ben took a deep sigh, and turned to Cha'Nara, "I'm sorry for calling you a bad name, would you sit with me for a little while?" Cha'Nara smiled and took Ben's hand, she guided him to a log we used for a chair and sat down, both just looking at each other, I decided things were OK here and went to the tent where Emily was tending to Mrs. Miller. "How's she doing?" I asked as I entered the tent. "Much better, she just needs plenty of rest, as I do. Deak, I'm ready to drop." "Then get some sleep I'm pretty beat as well, I'll have Pip keep an eye on things," I kissed Emily good night and returned to where Cha'Nara and Ben were sitting. I had just turned the corner of the tent and saw Ben and Cha'Nara kissing, I suspected this was Cha'Nara's doing, and decided to let nature take it's course, I rustled around and made noise to alert the lovebirds who were standing when I made my approach.

"Pip Emily is badly in need of sleep, I'm pretty beat myself, I'm trusting you to take the first watch, stay alert, wake me if you hear or see anything is that clear?" Cha'Nara nodded and took up a position near the craft. Ben spoke up and said, "I've got to unhitch the team." I added, "I'll help you son, let's go," I shined my flashlight on team as Ben removed the harness and trace lines, as well as the halters, he kept looking at the flashlight but said nothing. "Just a little word of warning son, be careful around Pip she comes from a world where they tend to move rather fast, from what she's told Emily and I, the kids don't waste time with the preliminaries, they see what they want, they go for it, be nice to her don't hurt her, it's obvious that she likes you, just go with the flow." Ben smirked and shrugged. I helped him secure the horses then we went back inside the stockade and closed the gate, I headed for the tent where Emily was already asleep, crawled inside my sleeping bag and zonked right out.

"Sir…Sir!" I immediately came awake, "What is it? What's the problem?" "No problem sir" said Ben, "Its morning sir." "Morning! Christ, how long was I asleep?" "You seemed pretty tired sir, Cha'Nara and I stood the watch," "You stood the watch? Both of you, where's my wife?" "She's right over there with Cha'Nara sir." I rolled out of my sleeping bag, Cha'Nara was crouched down next to Emily, by the look on her face, she and Cha'Nara were "talking," Cha'Nara was a telepath and was sharing her thoughts with Emily. "You kids watched the whole night?" "We did," "Anything happen?" "No sir, quiet as a mouse." "Good, that's the way we like it."