Montana Summer Ch. 10

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any real person is just amazing. All characters are eighteen years and older.

This is the tenth chapter in a series that has amazed me. This is a love story between a boy and a girl. It also is a story of love between people and their way of life. Sadly, it is also a lament to a people whose way of life has been lost. The Lakota lived in harmony with their world and understood nature in way that most of us do not. They lived in balance with their environment and instead of trying to change their environment, they adapted their way of living to their world.

*

The sudden flash of light was followed instantly by darkness. He saw a glimmer of light in the distance and began walking towards it. As he got closer to the light, he felt like he had been here before. It was the Wanagi Tachanku. Ryan didn't understand why he was here. He had been riding Bernie and then—he couldn't remember anything else.

Hihankara looked at Ryan and smiled a toothless grin. "Come closer to me, I need to see if you have the sacred marks before I can let you pass."

Ryan stared at the old crone of a woman—he knew he had seen her before, he just couldn't remember the exact circumstances. As he began to step forward, he heard a loud growl behind him. He turned and faced a large bear standing on his hind legs.

"I don't think you want to go there." Mato pointed towards the Wanagi Tachanku.

Ryan recognized Mato and instinctively trusted him. "Why am I here? I should be riding Bernie."

Mato shook his big furry head. "I don't have the answer for why you are here. All that I know is that you called for me."

"I wish I could remember." Ryan struggled to recall what he had been thinking about.

"Come with me, let's get away from this place." Mato nudged Ryan to get him moving.

The darkness disappeared and the sun was shining brightly. Ryan looked up at the sun and figured it to be about midday. The land was flat with an undulating sea of grass as far as the eye could see in any direction.

Mato swept the horizon with his large paw. "This is what is was like before the White Man came. After the Lakota acquired the horse, this was their home. Tatanka fed on the long sweet grass of the plains. The Lakota followed the herds throughout the year. Tatanka gave us meat for our bellies. He gave us hides for our lodges and clothing, and sinew for sewing and for our bows. We used his bones for tools. Nothing was wasted."

The bear motioned for Ryan to climb on his back. With Ryan atop his back, the large bear began to run across the flat terrain, gobbling up huge distances with each stride. Ryan watched in wonderment as they passed herds of grazing bison. The plains gave way to the foothills and then to the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains. It seemed now that Mato bounded from peak to peak with each stride.

When they came to a stop, Ryan climbed off of the bear's back and looked around. "This looks familiar." He loved these grey-blue mountains. The air was sweet with the scent of pine and sage.

Mato nodded. "It should look familiar, you have been here before."

Ryan's mouth dropped and then he looked at Mato. "This is where the cabin was built, where my family first lived when they came to Montana." There was a small clearing with long, green grass where the cabin now stood. This was the place where he wanted to live. If there was a heaven on earth, Ryan thought it must be here.

The sound of running water surprised Ryan. He didn't remember a creek being near the cabin when Uncle Bill had brought him here. "What happened to the creek? It's not there now."

Mato pointed up the side of the mountain. "A rock slide changed the course of the creek and now it feeds into the larger creek to the west." The bear pointed to the clear water of the creek. "Taste it."

Ryan knelt down and scooped up a handful of the cold water. It tasted fresh and almost sweet. "Tastes good." Ryan stood up and dried his hand on his shirt.

"Too many of our creeks and rivers have become poisoned. Too many of the animals are growing sick and die from the poisoned waters." Ryan could see a look of sadness in Mato's eyes as the bear spoke. "Too many have left this world never to come back."

The scene changed again and Ryan found himself standing on the top of Baxter's. It looked much like it had when Charlie had brought him up here. Burial platforms were scattered over the flat top of the mountain.

"This is as it was," Mato's spoke softly. He pointed to a pair of red-tailed hawks soaring high over head.

The sky clouded over and everything went black for a moment. When the light came back, Ryan found that they were still standing on Baxter's, but everything had changed. The roar of heavy equipment filled the air and the stink of a gold processing plant fouled his nose. Heaps of slag dotted the landscape and the place where the burial platforms had stood had been bulldozed flat, trailers for work and living scattered about in a haphazard fashion.

"And this is what could be." There was anger in Mato's voice as he rose up on two legs to his full height. He pointed to the sides of the adjoining mountains. Great swaths of virgin timber had been clear cut from the slopes, leaving the earth susceptible to erosion from rain, spring melt, and wind.

Ryan shuddered at the site of the mine. "How could this possibly happen?"

"Greed. It what happens when men only think of riches for themselves. They have forgotten that these things were put here by Wakan Tanka for all to use. Man, wolf, bear, squirrel, jay, hawk, and the eagle."

"How?" Ryan questioned. He looked at the devastation and destruction and felt a fire burning deep within.

The bear looked at Ryan. "I don't know. It is just one of many possible truths."

Ryan set his jaw. The fire inside built towards a righteous rage. "Yeah, well as long as I live, it will not be one the possible truths. I will spend my last breath defending this place from what you have shown me."

The vision of the mine disappeared and the mountain appeared, as it was the day that Ryan, Charlie, and Walter had ridden up there and spent the night. Ryan felt a sense of relief seeing the mountain back in its present state.

Mato sat back down on his haunches. "It is good that you feel that way. There are too few people today that love the land as you. It will take strength for you to stand up to people who wish such things."

Ryan nodded. "I am strong." He rested his hand on the shoulder of Mato. "You make me stronger."

A deep voice startled Ryan from behind, he turned and saw one of the Wanagi standing behind him. It was the one he spoke to on the two previous occasions. "Mato, it is good to see you again, old friend."

"It is good to see you again, Spotted Owl," Mato replied.

Spotted Owl pointed at Ryan. "I wanted to make sure he was safe from harm. A white man with a gun tried to do him harm tonight."

Ryan looked at Spotted Owl and asked, "Who was it?"

"He was the one of the men that desecrated the héta wakan," Spotted Owl replied.

"Am I dead?" Ryan held his breath.

Mato shook his head. "No, if you were dead you would have gone past Hihankara and crossed over the Wanagi Tachanku."

Spotted Owl nodded. "You are in a strange place with medicine men. An old man called Charlie and a young woman are with you."

The scene on Baxter's faded away until Ryan was alone and everything was black. He could hear Jessi talking to him but she sounded so far away. He could feel her hand squeezing his and he tried with all his might to squeeze back. The searing pain screamed in his head and then all went black again.

---

Jessi looked at the doctor. "Will he be okay?"

Dr. Rashid looked away from the images of the boy's CAT scan toward Jessi. "His EEG looked good." He pointed at the myriad of images illuminated by a fluorescent light. "I don't see any real damage to the brain, other than some swelling, but the skull has been fractured from where he hit the rock. We have installed a shunt that should relieve the pressure, and we have placed him in a drug-induced coma. " The doctor's face grew into a warm smile. "I think the young man will be just fine. It just might take a little time."

"How long is a little time?" Jess was worried, she wished her mom and dad were here right now.

The doctor removed his glasses and looked Jessi in the eye. "It is too early to give a definitive answer." He pointed back at the images of the CAT scan. "The treatment of brain injury is not an exact science. We aren't sure how much damage has been done, if any to his brain. The signs are encouraging because there isn't any evidence of any significant or ongoing internal hemorrhaging. We will continually re-evaluate him. A specialist will be in to see him later in the morning. Undoubtedly he will be better equipped to answer any questions than I am."

Jessi nodded. "Thanks."

Charlie stood up and put his arm around Jessi's shoulder. "Ryan will be okay. Trust me. Now let me take you down to the room they have set up for us. You need to lie down and get some rest. I will stay with Ryan, and if anything changes I will come and get you."

Dr. Rashid's voice had a firm and professional manner as he spoke, "Yes, you need to get some rest right now. "

Jessi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I should get some sleep." She looked over at Ryan. "I just don't want to leave him right now. I don't want him to think I am abandoning him."

Charlie made a shushing sound. "You know he wouldn't ever think that, now come along." He took her by the arm and led her out of the room.

After Charlie had left Jessi resting in the room, he walked past the nursing station. Dr. Rashid was standing there writing some notes in Ryan's chart. Charlie paused and spoke softly, "Thank you for all that you have done for the boy."

Dr. Rashid stopped writing and looked at Charlie. "I wish I could do more for him right now. But..." A quiet sigh escaped from the doctor. "I have left orders for the charge nurse that if the girl needs something to help her sleep to call me, and I will order something."

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Charlie shook the doctor's hand.

He walked back into Ryan's room. He looked at the monitors with their constant pattern of squiggles. Lines ran from Ryan's arms to various bags of fluids hung on IV poles on both sides of his bed. Charlie was a simple man. He eschewed technology for the most part. The phone at his home had the old style rotary dial and there was no answering machine to leave a message on. There was no DVD player, no VCR, no microwave oven and the black and white television was so old that it had a knob to change channels. Charlie felt a bit overwhelmed when confronted with this much technology at one time. He felt like a fish out of water, a little like a man out of time in this place.

Charlie noticed that someone had removed the small pouch of talismans from Ryan's neck and had placed it on the table next to the bed. Charlie picked up Ryan's wopiye and tied the leather lace around Ryan's neck and slipped the pouch down inside of his hospital gown.

His eyes were misty as he held Ryan's hand and spoke in his soft voice, "If I had ever been blessed with a second son, I would have wanted him to be like you. I don't know if you can hear my words right now, but I hope you can." With a gentle manner, he stroked Ryan's hair as he talked to him for a long time.

Charlie moved his chair next to Ryan's bed and sat there holding the boy's hand in his own. It wasn't long before Charlie dozed off.

---

Bill was outside packing the suitcases into the trunk of Suzanne's car when he heard the phone ring. He ran into the house and looked at his wife as she hung up the phone. "Was that Roy?"

"No, it was Becky, she wants to come along with us. I told her we would pick her up on our way through town."

"Damn," Bill swore softly. "I was hoping it was Roy."

Suzanne could see the worry on her husband's face. "Hopefully he will call in the morning."

Bill nodded and then looked around the kitchen. "Well, everything is packed. Anytime you are ready..."

"Just let me get my purse," she replied.

The eastern sky just had a faint grayish tinge to it after they had picked up Becky and began the long drive to Missoula. The car was quiet, each person was lost in their own thoughts and worries.

Becky's cell phone chirped from inside of her purse. "Hello?"

She leaned forward in her seat and whispered to Bill and Suzanne, "It's Jessi."

"Yes, your mom and dad just picked me up and we are on our way." She listened to Jessi and then replied, "Thanks Jessi, yes, I will tell them. I love you, too."

Becky put her phone back into her purse. "She said she was sneaking a call in, they aren't supposed to use their cell phones where Ryan is. She said she talked to the doctor, and that Ryan is stable right now, and that he thinks he will be okay. She is going to get some rest right now, and Charlie is staying with Ryan."

Bill let out a sigh of relief and looked over at his wife. "Thank God."

Suzanne reached over and patted her husband's shoulder. "Yes, we do need to thank God."

---

Daylight had finally come to the mountaintop. Sal's body still lay where it had fallen. The jovial mood of the cattle drive had been replaced with a somber pall. The thoughts of the remaining ranchers were on Ryan. Moving the cattle had now become just another chore and the men faced the task with a steely resolve. They were a few hands short now. Once word filtered down through the town as the day broke, men would stop what they were doing, pack up some gear and head up to lend a hand. This was the way of these ranchers in Montana—if someone needed help, everyone pitched in.

Milt Walker, the sheriff, and Walter Red Elk looked up as they heard one of the deputies call out. A vehicle had been found and it was assumed that it belonged to the man laying dead on the ground with five arrows in his chest.

The vehicle was searched thoroughly and pictures were taken from every conceivable angle. Every item in the vehicle was cataloged and photographed.

"Dispatch, King-One." Milt called the dispatcher on the radio from his vehicle.

"King-One Dispatch." A voice on the radio answered back.

"Marie, call Bitterroot Towing and have them send a truck up here. We've got a vehicle that needs to be impounded."

"King-One, ten-four."

"Marie, do me a favor. See if you can't call the hospital in Missoula where they took Ryan McFayden and get an update on his condition. We've got some mighty anxious people up here." Milt released the push-to-talk switch on his microphone and looked at Walter. "And I'm one of them."

"King-One. I'm calling now. Standby."

Milt and Walter waited for what seemed to be an eternity. In reality it was only a couple of minutes before the radio crackled back to life. "King-One, Dispatch."

"Go ahead," Milt answered.

"I've talked to the hospital, but they can't give out much information. I was able to talk to Charlie Red Elk. He says that the doctor told him that Ryan is in stable condition right now and that Ryan should be ok. One more thing—Charlie wants Walter to call Charlie's wife and let her know where he is."

Walter felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders, he looked at Milt. "I'll go down to the camp and let them know before they started heading down the trail."

"Good idea." Milt nodded his head

Walt pulled his cell phone from his pocket and looked at the display. "No signal." Walt asked Milt, "Can you get your dispatcher to call my mom and let her know where my dad is?"

---

Stan finished his shower, dressed, and went downstairs to the kitchen. The house seemed quieter than normal. His mother was standing at the kitchen counter looking at the paper.

Stan poured a cup of coffee and sat it on the table. "Good morning, mom."

Judy Randall looked up the from paper and smiled. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"Anything in the paper?" Stan asked.

She answered as she continued to read the article on the front page. "Oh, not a whole lot."

"Where's Becky? Did she stay with Jessi up at the cattle drive?" Stan asked as he poured cereal into a bowl.

Betty looked up from the paper and looked at Stan. "She went with Bill and Suzanne to Missoula."

"That's odd," Stan remarked in an off hand manner. "She didn't say anything about going with them to Missoula. I thought she was going to go up and hang out with Jessi and Ryan."

"Oh my God, you don't know..." Betty looked at Stan. "Ryan got hurt up on the mountain last night. The guy he shot last week got bailed out of jail yesterday, and I guess he tried to get even with Ryan. I guess he got thrown after he was shot and really cracked his head. They flew him by Life-Flite to Missoula."

Stan just about dropped his bowl of cereal. "What the hell? Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know. When Bill and Suzanne picked up your sister this morning they still hadn't heard anything," Judy replied. "Becky tried calling a few hours ago, but the call got dropped. I haven't been able to get a hold of her since."

"Yeah, the cell service is pretty spotty at best for most of the way." Stan sat down at the table. He felt like he had been hit with a brick.

Stan looked at the clock. It was still a little early to call Lindsey. She had worked late last night and would still be asleep. He sat down and put his spoon into his bowl. It was only when he was halfway through eating that he realized that he hadn't poured any milk into the bowl. Stan was in a state of shock. He had just seen Ryan the other day, laughing and full of life. Now he was in a hospital fighting for his life.

---

Ryan sat atop his horse and scanned the horizon. There was no sign of buffalo. He sniffed the air, the wind was blowing out of the west. There was the acrid smell of smoke in the air and the sunset had been orange the previous night.

Ryan looked at Grey Eagle. "Do you think they have moved because of the smell of smoke?"

Grey Eagle pointed the ground. " Could be. They're moving east, and not stopping very often."

The smoke had the smell of burning wood, and not the sour smell of burning grass. It could only mean that there was a big fire far to the west in the mountains. Grass fires were a constant danger on the plains, during this season, in a year that had seen little rain. Massive thunderheads had built up late in the afternoon the past couple of days and had brought wind and lightning, but no rain.

Ryan remembered what it looked like to see the prairie ablaze with fire—a wall of flames devouring the dry grass. Once the grass started to burn there was nothing that could stop it. The fires could get so large that they generated their own wind and that wind only forced the fire onwards. Only when the fire ran out of fuel to consume, or if the heavens opened up with a deluge, would the blistering maelstrom be stopped.

He remembered the blackened ground, knowing that there would be no buffalo there that winter. He remembered the struggle for the village to find enough food to make it through the winter. They had moved west that winter, further west than they had ever moved before. They had moved into the land of the Crow and the Blackfeet, and had hunted heheca and tahca throughout the winter when they could. Lives had been lost that winter because of the lack of food. It was remembered for years after as the waniyetu sápa, the black winter.

When spring came, the blackened ground turned green with new grasses, even richer than before. The old men talked about how the ground died with the fires in the summer and autumn, and how it was reborn again in the spring after the snows had healed the earth.