Guns and Dust Ch. 07

** Guns and Dust will be going on a 3-month hiatus! See comments at the end of this chapter for details. **

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Asher seemed almost manic as he made quick preparations for the hunt. He'd pulled on his pants and boots but hadn't even bothered with a shirt, a grin now a sudden, permanent feature of his face.

Adina's hazel eyes followed him, his expression making her smile as she sat on the ground brushing her long, dark hair. She pulled it back behind her ears and tied it into a loose ponytail. "You really like hunting."

He stopped what he was doing, neatly stowing the last of their camp supplies. "We train by hunting from the time we're little." He hopped down out of the side hatch and stood up fully, the morning sun shining on his short gray-white hair and close-cropped beard. The light's angle and color were particularly suited to show off his hard-muscled torso, scars and tattoos.

He seemed to have entirely forgotten the wound on his shoulder and the scabbing abrasions on his shoulder and elbow.

He gestured around them. "Out here, we only hunt out of necessity, alone. We never get to hunt with a group like this." The boyish smile split his face again. "It's like being back home." He pulled what Adina had thought were stowed awning poles from where they were strapped to the outside of the bearcat. After leaning the half dozen two-and-a-half-meter poles against the bearcat's exterior, he pulled a box from one of the storage compartments and withdrew a spear point from it. It was over a foot long and had barbs at the base that would prevent it from being pulled out. He held it up for her to see and winked with a devilish grin and glint in his eye.

She stopped mid-motion as she was standing up, staring from the poles to the spearpoints and back to his expression. Boars were feared by caravans and small communities alike - and anyone else with a lick of common sense as far as she was concerned. Large boars weighed more than a thousand pounds; massive, angry, four-legged mounds of muscle that didn't see people as anything more than another mobile protein source in the landscape. They were terrors. Even small herds could destroy an entire camp, killing and maiming large numbers of people. And this herd was larger than any she'd ever heard of.

"You're going to hunt boars with a spear?" She couldn't help the way her voice sheared up.

He fixed the point to one of the shafts, smiled and nodded. "You're going to drive." He didn't even seem to have heard her.

She finished standing, her joy at his boyish excitement suddenly shot through with anxiety. "Drive?" She glanced at the bearcat and the spears. "What are you talking about?"

"It'll be simple. You drive close, get alongside one, keep us steady and I'll lance him."

Adina stared at him open-mouthed. "Lance him? But wha..."

Asher stepped to the heavy passenger side door of the bearcat and pulled some pins, two from the hinges. Then with a groan and strain of effort, lifted the heavy door off the hinges, leaving the passenger seat of the bearcat open. His back and shoulder muscles bulged under the weight of the armored door, each clearly defined, right down to the striations as he hefted it into a set of storage brackets aft of the now wide-open door.

He's out of his sun-touched mind!

After securing the door in place he pointed to the passenger seat. "See. All you have to do is get us close." He grabbed the lance and climbed up into the passenger door well, hanging onto the door frame and raised the lance. "It's easy."

She just gawked at him.

"What... what if you fall..." Where he stood wasn't too high for one of the big boars to reach with its eighteen-inch-long dagger tusks. "or if the boar turns back... or..." Now she was just sputtering words.

"Wow!" a voice cried, and Adina turned. Devon's younger son, whose name they'd learned was Nat, stood frozen at the front of the bearcat where he'd just come around the corner. He stared at Asher wide-eyed, adoration painted across his face.

Adina could understand his reaction. Asher stood in the open passenger door like some kind of golden god, the morning sun streaming on his skin, his unintentional pose with the spear like he was one of the statues she'd seen faded pictures of.

"Are we ready to go?" Asher asked, dropping out of the door and onto the ground, his boots making a small dust cloud. He leaned the spear next to the rest and fixed a point to the next one.

Nat just stood there for a moment before collecting himself enough to answer. "Yes, five men will be on the chase truck." He stared at the spears. "You're going to hunt... with those?"

Asher tossed the completed one to him and Nat barely caught it. It almost smacked him in the face. Nat ran his fingers over the smooth weapon then the lethally pointed head. He carefully ran a finger over the edge. "It's so sharp!"

Asher finished affixing the rest of the heads. "It has to be to get through their hide," he told him confidently.

Adina was still trying to figure out a way to express how... mad the entire concept was. "But you have the big rifle... You could just shoot them. You wouldn't have to get anywhere near them."

Asher took the spear from Nat, set it with the others and then turned to her. His grin now a slightly maniacal, boyish smile again. He stepped close and untied the sash that held her arm to her side. "Now where would be the fun in that?" Then he undid the sling, freeing her arm and clambered into the back of the bearcat. "I guess you're out of shoulder prison now." He tossed both sash and sling aside. When he came back out, he was carrying the smaller bolt-action hunting rifle she'd trained with in the rift along with a bandolier of rifle cartridges. He handed her the rifle and bandolier.

Nat whistled at the finely made rifle.

"But you should keep this at hand in case of emergencies."

She looked at the rifle and bandolier in her hands, to Asher, then Nat, and back to Asher again, unsure if this was some kind of elaborate joke.

"You're serious? You're going to hunt boars with... spears." She threw her hand with the bandolier out toward the spears. The bandolier swung heavily from her motion. "While you're hanging out of the side of the bearcat like some kind of raider?"

"Wicked," Nat breathed.

She turned and narrowed her eyes at Nat. "Nobody asked you."

Asher gave her a distracted a kiss on the cheek. "It'll be fine. It'll be fun!" Then he turned to Nat. "How long before we're ready to go?"

"Uhh... half an hour or so. They're still getting the truck rigged."

Asher nodded. "Alright, tell them we'll be ready."

Nat didn't move, still staring at Asher, the spears, the bearcat.

"Go on," Asher coaxed.

Nat turned and bolted for the rest of the caravan. Thirty seconds later Adina heard Nat hollering. "Asher's going to hunt the boars with a SPEAR!"

As they rolled across the desert, hot, dusty wind whipped in through the open door of the bearcat. Adina was going through the sequence of events trying to make sense of what they were doing. It had all happened so fast. She'd cleaned up the inside of the bearcat right after waking up. It had been anything but thorough, but still... She glanced at the thick cloud of dust now billowing inside and sighed. Then she'd changed Asher's dressing. It and he were now coated with dust, like everything else. She raked stray, windblown strands of dark hair out of her face and focused on the parched landscape in front of them.

This is insane...!

But Asher's excitement hadn't ebbed in the slightest and it was hard to not be swept up by his frenetic energy. Her heart was pounding. Excitement... or sensible terror? she wondered.

The whole camp had been in an uproar as they left. She couldn't be sure how much excitement would have normally been there for a hunt, especially after the caravan's losses. But Nat's town crier performance had brought everyone out to stare. Asher stood in the open passenger door; a spear gripped in his hand as she drove them to where the preparations on the chase truck were being finalized. He was still bare-chested, the rest of the spears standing neatly trapped between the dismounted door and armored exterior of the bearcat. He never seemed the sort to want to draw attention, but she could tell he was thoroughly enjoying himself as they rolled through camp. He called to the other hunters, cajoling them and shouted to the rest of the caravan, working them up for the hunt. It was like he'd become a completely different person. He projected fierce, unbridled, joy and easy confidence.

Adina couldn't help the smile that kept tugging her cheeks, her emotions pulling to and fro.

Even Priav was excited. It was more than matronly leadership, motivating the caravan for the dangerous hunt to come. She stood on top of one of the vehicles, leading a stomping, clattering chant, seeming caught up in Asher's energy too. It could have been normal for them; Adina had no idea. For long minutes, people banged on metal holding the rhythm, others clapped and used their voices, some people danced. It was a stomping circular dance where the participants thrust their arms down and then up again every few beats, spinning and throwing their arms wide. Adina had never seen anything like it. Asher howled and banged the exterior of the bearcat along with everyone else. The celebratory atmosphere felt strange, given all that had happened. But as someone once told her - That was yesterday, we don't live in yesterdays, only today.

Then as they drove off, Priav threw her rifle high over her head leading the ululation as they rolled away. The rest of the caravan would follow along their route.

Adina had her rifle safely stowed in a vertical holder just to the left of the steering wheel. She'd made sure she checked every part of it and the eight rounds in the magazine before storing it. If she needed to use it, there wouldn't be time for anything to go wrong.

What if Shoah, or the Ghost Eyes are out there?

But that thought seemed to have been completely forgotten by Asher and the rest of the caravan - at least on the surface.

"Stay on this line!" Asher called down out of the cupola. He was standing up in it, scanning the horizon for the herd. Adina looked right. The other chase truck was roaring across the desert twenty yards away, their hunters hanging all over it. They too had stripped off their shirts following Asher's example. The energy of the whole thing felt disconcertingly like how she perceived raiders might feel, but she was a part of it now. Her heart was pounding again. She was excited in a way she could never remember being. Everything was sharper, more in focus, every sensation more intense.

There was a blast of noise from the chase truck and they veered away. She looked and the hunters were gesturing and pointing.

"They see them! Follow them!" Asher hollered. He clambered down out of the cupola and grabbed the back of her seat as she turned the bearcat. He gave her a rough kiss on the cheek, smiling like some kind of fiend and climbed over the console to the passenger seat. "Here we go!" He pulled the lever on the center console and a moment later the air siren howled to life.

"There!" he pointed.

She could just make out the dark dots against the beige landscape. The entire herd broke into a run, away from the sound of their vehicles. The thought suddenly crashed through her head again. This is insane!

"Swing left! We want to keep them between us and the chase truck!"

Adina stepped on the accelerator. As they passed the chase truck he gestured and hollered. "TAKE THE RIGHT SIDE! WE'LL HOLD THEM BETWEEN US!"

The driver waved and they pulled away.

It was hard for Adina to tell how large the boars were as they closed rapidly on herd's dust cloud. Asher was standing outside the door now, his left hand hooked on the handle above the passenger seat. She heard the clatter as he grabbed a lance.

The herd was less than a hundred yards ahead of them. She heard the first report of a rifle from the chase truck.

"They'll never hit anything from this far away in all this dust!" Asher yelled back into the cab.

Fifty yards. Adina had never seen, or even heard of a herd this size. There were more than thirty animals - a lot more. She could see that even through the billowing dust. Most were smaller, maybe two hundred pounds. Then there were others, larger, but still not the monsters from the stories. Then as they got closer, she saw them. The big males, hulking monsters, half a dozen of them running at the head of the herd. Nothing about this herd made sense. Big males kept harems of females and drove off rival males. They certainly didn't work together.

"There they are!" Asher hollered triumphantly. "Look at them!" He turned, smiling fiercely. "Put us right on top of them!"

The whole herd suddenly swerved away from them, the chase truck had fallen behind, the herd turning ahead of it.

"Stay with 'em, Adie!"

She smiled widely as his shortening her name struck home. This was a different Asher than she'd ever seen before. More just... him. All the constructs and rules that seemed to define him had fallen away. The crease between his eyebrows had vanished completely again. Everything about him pulsed with unbridled self-expression, no governors, no restrictions, just pure joy and life.

"Get 'em!" he encouraged.

As she turned the bearcat, it tore up the hard packed, hoof-turned earth beneath them. Asher leaned out, into the motion, part of the machine's movement.

Something felt like it broke loose inside Adina. Fierce joy surged up through her, hot and primal. She threw her head back and a loud ululation erupted from somewhere deep as she leaned into the turn, swinging the bearcat wide, her eyes fixed on the leading edge of the herd.

"Perfect! Bring us in!" She glanced right, she could just see the chase truck, a huge cloud of dust rising as they almost side-skidded turning hard to keep the head of the herd from getting around them. She heard gunshots, three in rapid succession.

"That's one!" Asher shouted, his head swiveling to the chase truck then to the head of the herd again, leaning all the way out. He adjusted the spear in his hand.

"Closer!"

Adina focused on one of the big males, chasing him, edging closer and closer, the other boars turned away.

You're mine... She brought the bearcat up behind him, he tried to turn across her path, but she pushed the accelerator and he faded back right.

"Almost there!" Asher hollered. "Steady...! Steady...!"

Asher rose up, his arm with the lance disappearing above the door frame.

The boar disappeared, falling back along the right side, in front of Asher.

"WHOAH!" Asher dodged back into the door and Adina saw the boar's massive head as it hooked its wicked tusks up, trying to reach him. "Slow!" he shouted. "Ease right!" She couldn't see the boar at all now. She had to rely on Asher's directions. The boar reappeared suddenly in front of them on her right again. Adina lined up on him, bringing him down the right side.

"That's it! You're right on him!" Asher shouted.

The boar disappeared again. Even craning her neck, she couldn't see him.

With a loud shout, Asher threw his body down, plunging the spear downward.

Adina decelerated trying to see the boar again.

"Did you get him!?"

"He's a strong one! He needs another lance! Right! Turn right!"

She did and the whole rig suddenly leapt upward from the back. Adina fought for control as the back of the rig slammed back down, everything inside rattling and crashing from the impact. "What was that!"

Asher was still in the open passenger door, swaying from the violent motion, but still leaning out as if he was welded to the rig. He looked back. "It's alright! You hit one of the smaller ones, it went under the back wheels!" He pointed as she held the turn, the back of the bearcat skidding around.

In the rising dust, she could see the big boar again, the lance jutting out of it's back. It was still running.

"He's a strong one!" Asher hollered; his voice ringing with fierce approval.

Adina heard more gunshots as she lined up on the boar again. It was slowing. She heard the clatter as Asher grabbed another lance. She pulled up behind the boar, carefully adjusting her speed. Now that she'd done it once and knew what to expect, it was easy to pull left, letting the animal come down the right side, in front of Asher again. He rose up once more and with a shout, hurled the lance downward. He turned watching behind them as she maneuvered into open space again. "That got him!"

Another ululation tore from her as if it had a life of its own as her heart thudded loudly, her hands and arms shaking with adrenaline as she gripped the big steering wheel. The hurtling armored machine felt like nothing more than a part of her now.

"Hard right, back into the herd!"

She turned, skidding the bearcat as Asher grabbed another lance. Seconds passed as she chased another big boar through the thick dust clouds raised by the herd and the trucks.

"GOOD! Right on him!" Asher rose up again and hurled another lance.

It felt like it was over so quickly. Adina stood on top of the stopped bearcat, heat waves rolling off the barrel of the rifle as she ejected the last spent casing. It tinkled onto the metal where the other seven spent casings glittered in the blazing sun. Her excited breaths were slowing, but her heart still pounded in her ears. The dust was clearing as the rest of the herd trotted away. There were ecstatic whoops and hollers from the chase vehicle, stopped a hundred yards away. Between them and scattered along the path they'd come; more than twenty boars lay dead.

She squeaked in surprise when Asher grabbed her around the arms from behind and picked her up, planting a kiss on her neck.

"You were amazing!"

She leaned into the kiss and when he put her feet back on the bearcat, she turned and smashed her lips against his, pulling his dusty-caked, sweaty chest against her.

She was smiling so fiercely when they finally parted that her cheeks ached. She hadn't stopped smiling since he'd thrown the first lance. "You killed three boars with spears! You're not so bad yourself!"

He smiled and gave her another kiss, his gaze moving to the fallen animals. "I guess the fun's over. Time to get to work."

She ran a hand over his sweaty chest, feeling the dust and grit stuck to it. "I guess so."

Half an hour later the rest of the caravan caught up. The hunting group was well into slaughtering the boars by then. All of the hunters, both in small groups and individually had come to compliment Asher on his prowess. While he clearly enjoyed it, he was self-effacing, pointing to her and saying, "She actually killed more of them than I did. I was just having fun. Besides, the big males aren't much good for eating." It was true. She'd killed four boars with the rifle. It had taken all eight rounds to do it and none were the monsters that two of Asher's kills had been, but him making such a point of giving her credit made everything in her chest warm.

Asher looked like he'd been bathing in blood when Priav finally caught up to them as they were skinning out one of the large kills. Priav scanned around the field where everyone was busily working.

"You are - and are not - a surprise, Myrmidon," she announced, squinting at him in the glaring sun. She walked up and patted him on the burly shoulder. "You are a good man. I am glad we have met." Then she approached Adina.

Adina could see the curiosity working behind her old brown eyes. Priav suddenly leaned forward and gave her a long, affectionate kiss on her blood-streaked cheek, smiling widely. Priav sighed, taking a long time to look at her features. "You would have made such beautiful babies." Then there was a particular twinkle in her eye, and she leaned close. "But if you don't have to worry about being pregnant," she glanced wryly at Asher. "You are lucky. I wish you all the joy you can have." She made another knowing face, an eyebrow slowly climbing up. "I had nine children. Sex isn't so much fun after a while." Priav leaned back again and scanned the work around them. "They said you took four. What will you do with them?"