Samantha 3

Samantha 3

Fear, anger, the soft beat of the heart as the rising sun feels the sky with pain and suffering. The dust settled softly around the fallen hero making the blood thick and grey. Why is there so much pain and suffering? Why would they do this? I only bring death to those whom I love.

The tears flowed gently down her face as she looked at the big man lying on the hard ground. The blood filled the cracks of the hard earth. Where is mercy? Where is justice?

“We need to be going,” Kyle spoke softly.

Samantha looked up her eyes turning red with anger. “How can we leave him here like this?”

She rose to her feet standing close to Kyle. Her hands clenched into balls so tight pricks of blood formed in her palm.

“He saved us. He gave his life that we could continue on. I will not leave him in the dirt.”

“If you want to honor him you will not let his death be in vain. Others will be coming soon.”

Samantha turned toward the city. He’s right but how can we leave him here, like this?

“Sam, he was my friend,” Kyle started. He put his hands to his eyes and looked away.

Samantha walked up to him and put her hand on his back. “I’m sorry Kyle.”

“We don’t have much time.”

He walked toward the dropped packs not looking back.

Samantha looked down at Simeon one last time before heading after Kyle. As she walked toward him she noticed blood was dripping from his hand.

“Kyle, are you okay?” She ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder to turn him.

“I’ll be all right.”

He opened a pack and pulled a bandage out. Pulling his shirt off Samantha grabbed some water and rinsed the wound.

“It just scraped me luckily,” he said and then tied the bandage around the gash.

Slinging the pack onto his back he walked toward the horses. Samantha grabbed a pack and then mounted her horse. She looked at the rock edifice feeling strange about the rock. It was almost as if she was connected to it in some way. She snorted. If there is a God he must be a monster. She turned the horse and they headed away from the finger of God toward her home. What would she find there?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They reached the home in two days without incident. The house had been burned and half the barn was gone. Samantha closed her eyes as visions of the attack came back to her.

The slavers had come late in the night and attacked without warning. The sound of her father’s gun had awoken her. There was a scream.

Mother?

Loud feet rushed up the stairs. Bang. The door slammed open. The devil stared at her.

Samantha instantly began to pray. “Dear Father in Heaven please cast this demon out of my room and keep me and my family safe.”

The man rushed toward her and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her screaming and kicking from the room.

Samantha shook her head to make the images go away. She wiped the tear away and urged her horse forward.

Kyle gave her a sympathetic look.

Samantha stared straight ahead. When she had reached the porch she dismounted and cautiously entered the house. There was little left. Samantha kicked a burned board out of her way and headed toward the back of the house. She knelt on the charred floor boards. Where was that board?

She felt the boards for several more minutes until she found it. Pulling on a board she revealed a safe. She pulled the safe out and walked out of the house quickly.

“What’s that?” Kyle asked.

“It’s a family heirloom.”

She worked the tumbler on the lock until it clicked. “My father told me about the safe since I was a little girl. He told me that if anything ever happened I was to protect the contents with my life.”

“What’s so valuable?”

“I don’t know. He would never let me see.”

She opened the lid. There was a single sheet of paper. It was yellow and in many places pieces were missing. Under the paper was a set of throwing knives and a pair of daggers.

The daggers were sharp and had a blue sapphire in each of the hilts. Samantha picked them up. They felt cold and seemed to have an energy emanating from them. The knives had the same cold touch to them.

Samantha examined the knives and daggers then put them into her belt. She held the paper up.

“It looks almost like a map,” Kyle said.

Samantha nodded. “I think this point here is where we are now. And this point looks like the finger of God. But I’m not familiar with the other landmarks.”

“Do you know what it means?”

“No.”

“We can go to your people now. I have what I need,” Samantha said as she folded the paper up and put it gently in her pouch.

She looked at Kyle and smiled softly. She loved his eyes. They seemed filled with hope at all times.

He smiled at her. “What are you looking at?”

Samantha blushed slightly. “Nothing, let’s go.”

Kyle grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him.

She didn’t struggle as she buried her face into his chest. Her tears dampening his shirt as he held her close and stroked her hair.

“We’ll make things right,” he said.

Samantha looked up into those blue eyes and smiled.

She pulled away and climbed onto her horse. Kyle followed and they headed north toward the wasteland. Samantha clenched her jaw as they headed through the hot desert. She would make things right and make those who had done this to her pay.