Death

“Eight dollars!” he says almost spitting. He strokes his beard as he frowns. “Eight dollars?!” He takes a drink from his bourbon and slams the bottle on the table. “I been reduced ta this?”

“Well,” the man across the table says with a smile and a nod, “not like yer army's gonna be recruiting again anytime soon, Colonel.”

The Colonel sneers as he draws his sabre, hopping out of his seat, staggering. “I should gut ya right now, Caleb!”

Caleb smiles, “Yeah, but then ya have ta leave yer favorite drinkin' hole. Don't think they like gory messes about their floors, favored patron or no.”

The Colonel's sabre wavers, then lowers, then raises again.

The Colonel and Caleb stare eye to eye. The Colonel snarls, Caleb grins and shrugs.

The Colonel bursts out laughing, sheathing his blade. He flops down onto his seat again, taking another swig of his bottle. “Goddamn you Caleb,” he says with a smile, “And Goddamn that serpent tongue of yers!” He spits over his shoulder. “Eight dollars. Eight dollars. Eight dollars for a fucking bear! Haw!”

Caleb keeps smiling. “Eight dollars a day, Colonel. Eight dollars a day for the good men, men that know what they're doing, not jus-”

“I know what I'm doing you wicked snot!”

Caleb stifles his laughter. “Yeah, that's why I'm asking you. I think that-”

The Colonel takes another drink, interrupting Caleb again, “So what you thinkin? You ain't just ask me to go huntin no bear. You got one of your crazy ideas in your head again? You been in them dope-pits again, son? I tol' you they rattle yer brain up what good.”

Caleb frowns. “Well, yes, I do have an idea. This... um... this bear might have some cubs, and thus rather ferocious. I don't know how many cubs, so I don't know how ferocious, and I doubt I'll...” he looks around, leans in and lowers his voice, “I doubt I'll find good help in this piss-hole 'sept for you.” He leans back and smiles. “Come on, Colonel, you know me. You know I'm serious. If I wasn't I wouldn't ask for help from some washed-up racist soldier from the losing side.”

The Colonel laughs, taking another drink and slamming the bottle on the table once again. “If yer mammy and pappy were alive, Caleb, I'd gut em ear-to-ear fer them words you jus' said.”

“Well, you can't really gut someone from one ear to the next, but-”

“Shut up! You want me in or not?”

Caleb laughs, “All right, all right. I want you in. Can ya help me find some other men? They only get three a day unless you think they can take you, of course.”

“Oh! These pissants ain't gonna take-”

“Hey, hey, hey, soldier, easy. I'm asking for your opin- your expertise with this posse. Find some men, three bucks a day for them, eight for you. And look for good scouts or those quiet on their feet. I gotta feelin' that blazin' guns might be phase two of the plan to get this bear.”

The Colonel furrows his brow, “Phase too? The fuck?”

“Nevermind,” Caleb shrugs, “Find some scouts, or find some men good with rifles. You know where to meet me.”

“Right.” The Colonels eyes glance over at Caleb's untouched shot of bourbon. “Say, if yer leavin', friend, were you planning on-”

“Take it,” Caleb says as he stands, “though be warned, it will... er... rattle your brain up good, as it were.”

--

The plan was supposed to be simple, but it's not. Caleb twitches as he lights a hand-rolled cigarette. They took too long getting here and already lost more daylight than they should have. He paces around the entrance to the cavern, stopping a few times to stare at the tracks.

Eustace and Tall exchange glances, but only shrug.

The Colonel takes a drink from his bottle before he speaks, “So, yer plan is we wait out here for th' bear to die of ol' age or wot?”

Caleb paces back and forth around the entrance. “No, no it's not. New plan developing. Genius takes ti-” he looks around, “Aw fuck it. Okay, here's the plan.”

The Colonel spits over his shoulder “Bout damn time.” Several in the posse laugh, only to be quieted by Caleb's harsh gaze.

“It's a two-fold plan,” says Caleb looking around at the blank stares of the posse. “Which means two things are gonna happen. First, me, The Colonel, and four of you are gonna come into the cavern and meet the bear. Either she will be easy and cubless, in which we send a messenger for the rest of you to follow us in, or she'll be enraged and we'll lead the bear outward to... to you folk lying in wait, ready to destroy the beast.”

Eustace spits, “Lyin' in what?”

“We ambush the bear,” Tall says to Eustace. He looks over at Caleb, “I can direct that part, the Yanks didn't shoot all the piss an' vinegar outta me.” He looks over at the Colonel and winks.

“God Bless the Confederacy,” the Colonel says in response, taking off his hat. Several members of the posse follow suit.

Caleb rolls his eyes. “Enough talking, lets get to this. Colonel, I want you, and...” he pauses as he looks at the posse, “You, you, you, and... you. Come with, and stay quiet. Follow my lead, you may have to hold back as I investigate.”

The Colonel hops off his horse and snorts, “It's jussa goddamn bear, don't needa be all... well... all secret spy stuff.”

“I'm here to get the job done,” Caleb replies, “Are you with me or are you out?”

The Colonel shrugs “Okay, okay, don't getcher panties all-”

“And leave the bottle behind, we don't need any mistakes and you should be drunk enough as it is.”

The Colonel puts his bottle in a saddlebag. “Damn, kid, when you get all serious?”

Caleb looks at the Colonel and doesn't reply.

--

The scouting party enters the tunnel. The Bear, lone, stands in their sights, further into the cavern. Caleb signals to hold fire.

“What?” whispers the Colonel.

“Quiet, it... it ain't right,” Caleb responds, “See. It looks right, it seem right, but it don't move right.”

The Colonel opens his mouth but Caleb covers it shut. “You an' yer boys stay here, I'ma get a better look.”

The Colonel nods as Caleb slinks forward. He turns to his boys and shrugs after Caleb leaves. The posse are able to contain their laughter.

The bear is alone in it's den. It scratches against the cavern wall. A wall most unremarkable save for a thin vein of... something running up from the floor.

The bear keeps scratching at the vein.

Caleb lays in silence, staring at the creature.

The bear doesn't turn its ears, doesn't sniff the air about, doesn't even blink as it dives toward Caleb.

Caleb, startled, dives back, firing at the creature with his rifle.

The creature ignores the bullets as it lands next to Caleb.

Just then, a volley of shots come from the scouting party, rifles and pistol ablaze, firing at the creature.

The beast, distracted by the gunfire, turns allowing Caleb enough time to get out of arms reach. He darts back toward the posse, dodging and ducking away from bullet fire until he rejoins the group. He joins the Colonel near the front of the barrage, ducks behind a rock and starts reloading his rifle.

“Well,” the Colonel shouts over the gunfire, “Think our boys outside figured we need em in here?”

Caleb, stares at the Colonel, wondering how he could keep his humor, then detects the faint smell of alcohol still on the Colonel's breath.

Caleb turns to fire more rounds into the beast, and is awestruck at the sight.

The beast, in all it's fury, is still fighting the few men brave or foolhardy enough to approach it. What's curious is that it has not a single wound on it's body. Perhaps it's just too fast, perhaps it's hide is too thick. Perhaps it's rabid? No, no foaming lips, what is this thing?

Caleb is snapped from his reverie as the beast turns and lunges toward both him and the Colonel. The Colonel gets a few more shots off as the beast swipes at him. His reflexes leave him only unarmed, instead of dead. He draws his sabre with a wide arc taking a large chunk out of the beast's side. It roars as thick, dark blood sprays from its wound. The Colonel doesn't hesitate and continues his attack, but the beast is faster. In one swipe it slashes the Colonel's face, sending him flying across the den, only to land with a crunch.

Time slows down for Caleb. An idea forms in his head, an idea of desperation, an idea so completely illogical and ridiculous. With a deft hand he draws his knife, charges toward the beast, scooping up the Colonel's sabre with his other hand. He jumps on the beasts back, impaling it's spine with his knife. The beast roars, trying to rid itself of it's new attacker. Caleb holds true, and slashes at the beast wildly with the Colonel's sabre.

It's over so fast.

--

“And that's it?” asks the reporter.

“Yep, more're less,” says Eustace. “Mister Black came outta the cave lookin' somethin fierce. Dunno how much blood on him was his or the bear's. He done draggin his friend called The Kernal, asked me and Tall to give him a proper Christian burial, sayin that's wut his frienda want. Me and Tall and the rest of us left livin' got the bodies o' those that weren't, figurin' they might got kin. I paid em all somethin' extra, ain't figured it woulda ended like this wot with so many dyin and all.” He spits into a spittoon and stares at it with a mournful look.

“And what about Mister Black? Did he... ride off into the sunset?”

“Naw, it wuz dark by the time we wuz ready to leave. Caleb took soma Kernel's bourbon ana torch. Said he needed ta make sure th' bear dead an all. Tol' us ta head on back an meet us up later.”

“Did you?” the reporter asks, adjusting his glasses.

“Thassa funny part. Never did. After a few days an' getting th' ressa th' folk taken care of, Tall say we should go back to th' cave. Said it ain't right ta leave a man like that. So we did. When we got there, there was Caleb's horse still tied to a tree, half-starved. I mustered up 'nuff courage ta go in thar, ain't seen hide nor hair o' Mister Black. Saw a buncha ashes, guess that wuz th' bear's.”

“Uh-hunh,” says the reporter, flipping through some notes. “Another one of the men I interviewed said something about a vein of... silver, I believe, inside the cave. Do you have anything to say about that?”

Eustace spits, “Haw, I wish. Iffin' there was, ya think I'd be sittin here chattin with you steada stakin' my claim an' getting rich?”

The reporter smiles, “I suppose I can see your point. If you have anything further you wish to add, just send me a wire. I'll send you one to let you know when the story gets published.”

Eustace nods as they both stand up.

The reporter turns before he leaves, “Oh, and one more thing. Are you aware there's a substantial bounty on Mister Black's head? You wouldn't be hiding him to help him escape any bounty hunters, would you?”

Eustace snorts, “Naw, man like that don' need no help keepin' the law away.”

“Quite true, quite true,” says the reporter. “Farewell.”