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Chapter Fifteen

E veryone was sleeping just outside the camping area of Granite Wash Pass when a series of low grunts woke Zeke. He opened his eyes. Then he stiffened. A large, hairy beast stormed right past him! With a gasp, he bolted up in his bedroll. The Red Ghost! It had to be the Red Ghost.

The Red Ghost stopped by Bernadette, peered down at her, and sniffed her.

Zeke scrambled out of his bedroll. Before he could reach for his gun, Bernadette screamed.

The Red Ghost let out a roar and rose up on two legs.

The skeleton, covered in dark clothing that made him think of the Grim Reaper, flopped around on the beast’s back, but it didn’t fall off.

The Red Ghost landed back on all four feet, and the cord from Bernadette’s bedroll got caught around its hoof. Zeke hurried in her direction, but the beast was already running off, taking her with it since she was still in the bedroll.

Since Blaze was just getting up, Zeke continued after Bernadette, moving as fast as his feet would take him. Fortunately, he managed to catch up to her. He jumped on the bedroll, landing right on top of her. She let out a shriek.

“Sorry,” he told her, hoping he hadn’t hurt her too much.

He held on to her and the bedroll as he struggled to find his balance. He couldn’t afford to lose her. The Red Ghost was not going to take her to its lair and eat her. Zeke just was not going to allow it!

Zeke was sure he heard Blaze and the others call out after them, but he couldn’t afford to look back or answer.

The ground was too bumpy. He was doing good just to stay on the bedroll.

All of these years, he’d read and heard about the Red Ghost. He knew there was a chance he would actually get to see it, but he was still shocked this was happening.

The Red Ghost led them up one of the mounds and then down it.

Zeke felt jabs of rocks poke at him from time to time, and the terrain around them seemed to jump all around them as he was dragged with Bernadette across the landscape.

He focused on the feet of the beast. It was moving so fast. He didn’t even have time to look up at the thing.

But he did finally manage to find the cord from the bedroll that had gotten wrapped around the thing’s hoof.

After some effort, he managed to grab the cord. Holding onto it, he called out, “Do you have something I can use to cut the cord?”

“Do you really think I’d have a knife in this bedroll?” she asked, her voice a mixture of disbelief and shock.

No, he supposed the last thing a woman would do was sleep with a knife. At least, if that woman wasn’t Faye.

The Red Ghost roared again and swerved to the right.

Yelling, Zeke and Bernadette, along with the bedroll, went sailing through the air for a couple of seconds before landing, with a hard thud, back on the ground.

The Red Ghost ended up taking them right into the heart of Granite Wash Pass.

It rammed into supplies, swiped the sides of a few tents, turned over a large basin of water, and disturbed some horses.

Zeke yanked the cord. It ripped. Encouraged, he yanked on it again.

Gunshots rang through the air, and men began shouting and chasing the Red Ghost. Bernadette shrieked and buried her head inside the bedroll.

Zeke yanked the cord harder, and finally, it tore apart from the Red Ghost. He and Bernadette skidded across the ground until they ended up crashing into a few stacked barrels.

The barrels teetered. Zeke moved so that he was completely on top of Bernadette then covered his head as the barrels fell around them.

One hit him on the back, but he ignored the pain that shot up his spine.

Once the barrels stopped falling, he lifted his head.

Most of the men were watching the Red Ghost run up a nearby mound while a few ran after it, shouting and shooting their guns.

The thing didn’t stop. The thing didn’t even slow down.

It just kept running like a murderous beast on a rampage.

Zeke couldn’t believe it. He had seen the Red Ghost close up… and he had lived to tell the tale.

Beneath him, Bernadette struggled to get out of the bedroll.

Recalling he was on top of her, he hurried to get off of her and loosened the cord of the bedroll so she was able to slip out of it.

He helped her to her feet and scanned her.

There weren’t any holes in her dress. She looked fine, but who knew how much the bedroll could actually protect her?

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

“A little. I’m mostly scared,” she admitted as she brushed strands of blonde hair from her face. “What was that thing?”

“It was the Red Ghost.”

She stared at him incredulously. “That was the Red Ghost?”

He nodded. “It fit the description. Large, destructive, hairy. And it had a skeleton on its back.”

She gave a slight shiver. “It’s worse than people in that play portrayed it to be.”

He almost didn’t hug her, but she seemed like she could use some comforting, so he did.

She leaned into him. This was nice. She fit perfectly against him.

It was as if she had been made just for him.

Before he had time to enjoy the sensation, he noticed the way some of the men were looking in their direction. Specifically, they were looking at her.

Zeke let go of her but took her by the arm. “I think we should get out of here. We don’t have to worry about the Red Ghost anymore.” But they did have to worry about a few of those men.

Without his gun, he wasn’t going to be able to fend them off. They were going to have to hide. He saw the saloon. Yes, it wasn’t the most ideal place, but it would be open this time of night.

“You’re going to have to trust me,” he said as he urged her toward the saloon.

She let out a gasp but kept up with his pace. “I didn’t realize there were so many pebbles sticking out of the ground when I had my boots on.”

He considered offering to carry her, but that would only slow them down, and they needed enough time to get away from the men who didn’t adhere to the law. “I know it hurts, but try to keep up with me. Once we’re out of here, we won’t have to go so fast.”

They made it to the saloon, and he gave one glance over his shoulder to see five more men who were following them.

He was going to have to come up with a distraction so he could lead her out of this place safely.

They passed through the swinging doors. The place was full of men.

Most were playing cards at the tables and drinking, a couple were lounging at the bar, and a few were in the corner tossing dice on a table.

Good. His uncle once told him it was easy to rile up a fight in a crowded space.

Zeke rushed her to the bar and urged her to squat behind it so that most of the men wouldn’t notice her. “Don’t come out until I come for you,” he whispered to her.

She nodded and scooted out of sight.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the bartender snapped at him. “Prostitutes belong in the back.”

Zeke didn’t bother answering him. Instead, he ran between two tables in the center of the room.

The men who had followed him and Bernadette stepped into the saloon.

Before they noticed him, Zeke swatted one of the men at the table on the back as hard as he could.

Then he ducked out of the way so the man would only see the man at the other table when he turned around.

The ploy worked. The man he had been swatted jumped up from the table and started yelling at the man at the other table.

The men who’d followed Zeke and Bernadette looked at the brewing fight.

Keeping low, Zeke wound his way back to the bar.

Under ordinary circumstances, he wouldn’t have started a brawl, but he didn’t know how else he was going to get Bernadette safely out of here since he didn’t have a gun.

The punches began to fly. Perfect. Now he could get her out of here. He made it over to Bernadette.

The bartender glared at him. “You started that on purpose.”

Zeke pulled out the only money he had in his pocket and set it on the floor.

It probably wouldn’t reimburse the bartender for all of the damage, but it was all he could do.

He took Bernadette’s hand, and the two hurried down the hall that led to the prostitute’s quarters.

Zeke found the exit and urged Bernadette to go outside first. Then he followed.

He scanned the area. There was still a ruckus in the heart of Granite Wash Pass from the Red Ghost. That worked in their favor. All they had to do was wind their way around a mound or two, and they should be out of harm’s way. While neither one of them had boots on, he would fare better than her.

“I’m going to pick you up so you don’t have to run,” he told her. “I hope that’s alright with you.”

She nodded. He turned his back to her and let her jump onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He secured her legs to his sides then bolted out of there.

After dawn, Blaze finished strapping Zeke’s belongings on Zeke’s horse.

Bernadette’s belongings, unfortunately, had been scattered all over the place when the camel carrying a human skeleton on its back ran off with her in the bedroll.

They had only been able to find her boots, and that hadn’t been easy.

“We can’t leave without Zeke and Bernadette,” Lucas protested while Blaze loosened the reins of Zeke’s horse from the stake he’d placed in the ground.

Blaze had been afraid Lucas was going to disagree with his and Faye’s decision to proceed to Quartzsite.

Blaze let out a heavy sigh. It had turned into a long night.

He had even gone back to Granite Wash Pass.

A couple of men reported having seen them enter the saloon.

However, they were long gone by the time Blaze searched the place.

“Zeke and Bernadette could be anywhere,” Blaze told Lucas.

Again. “All I know is that the camel dragged them off, and they were last seen entering the saloon at Granite Wash Pass. From there, they left through the back. No one knows where they went, and there are too many small hills around here for me to search for them. Even if I picked the right mound, they would be gone by the time I got there.”

Blaze wasn’t surprised when Lucas’ frown deepened.

Blaze didn’t blame Zeke for getting Bernadette out of Granite Wash Pass, and he certainly didn’t blame him for going around multiple small hills in the area in a zigzag pattern in order to lose any lone miners who thought about pursuing them. Bernadette wasn’t like Faye. She was no match for them.

“Zeke is with her,” Blaze assured Lucas.

“That’s the problem,” Gail, who had been quietly standing next to Lucas, spoke up. “She only has Zeke for protection.”

“Zeke knows what he’s doing,” Blaze said.

“He might have been somewhat of a coward when I met him, but he’s a lot better now.

I taught him everything I know. While he’s still a little rough around the edges, he’s not going to be afraid to do what he needs to in order to protect her. She’s in good hands.”

Though Gail didn’t seem convinced, he noted the way Lucas relaxed.

Faye approached them and swung her canteen over her shoulder. “Zeke knows how to get to Quartzsite, right?”

Glad she chimed in, Blaze nodded. “He grew up in Arizona. He’s traveled different parts of it. He knows we’re heading there. He’ll bring Bernadette to us.”

“After we take care of my brother and Lee, we’ll wait for them in Quartzsite,” Faye added. “There’s nothing to worry about. They’ll be fine. My brother and Lee have a day’s journey ahead of us. We can’t afford to waste any more time here.” Without another word, she went to her horse.

Gail wrapped the reins of Bernadette’s horse around her hand. “But does Zeke even have his gun?”

“A few men were nursing injuries, but no one was shot at the saloon,” Blaze pointed out. “I’m not sure how Zeke did it, but he got Bernadette safely out of there, and he did that without using a gun. That’s why I know he’ll make it to Quartzsite with her.”

This time, Gail did relax. “Well, if you believe in him, I suppose I do, too.”

Blaze held his hand out to Gail. “I’ll take Bernadette’s horse and hide it with Zeke’s horse. That way they will be able to make good time in catching up to us.”

As Gail handed the reins to him, Lucas asked, “How long do you think it’ll take Zeke and Bernadette to get back here?”

“I figure they should make it by the end of the day.” Blaze waited to see if they had anything else to say, but they didn’t.

He led the horses over to a group of shrubs that would do a decent job of hiding them.

Then he secured their reins and left Zeke’s belongings, along with Bernadette’s boots, under one of the shrubs.

After a moment, he decided to leave behind the extra canteen full of water that he had.

Zeke’s two canteens were pretty full, but judging by how hot it would get, he bet they would need all three in order to quench their thirst.

It was bound to be a long and uncomfortable day for them.

He had no doubt, though, that Zeke was up for the task.

Though this event hadn’t been planned, it just might be the best thing that happened to Zeke.

Now Zeke had the chance to prove to everyone how much he could do.

Satisfied, Blaze hopped up on his horse and joined the others.