Kyle nodded and explained his situation, with the exception of the trial in Deer Creek, and the sheriff responded warmly. “Welcome to Moyie Springs,” he said. I’m sheriff Greg Pratt, one of the leaders of our militia here. I’d just come over to check on my team when we saw you coming. If you want, you can walk with me. I was just about to head back across the river.”
“That would be nice. Haven’t had much conversation lately.”
“Your son not much of a talker?” Greg asked, indicating Collin sitting in the saddle.
“He’s not my son, and no, he’s not much of a talker. His name’s Collin.”
Greg furrowed his brow and eyed the boy for signs of distress, but the boy just clung to the saddle, his eyes locked on the bridge ahead of them. “He been with you long?”
“Just a couple of days. His mother died in an accident, so he was left all alone. I haven’t been able to get him to talk. Not sure if it’s because of the messed up state of his world, or if there’s something wrong with him, but don’t count on an answer.”
The sheriff studied Collin for a minute, then waved the other two guards over. He gave them instructions, then he, Kyle, and Collin set off to cross the bridge. They’d only gone a few feet when the boy cried out and grasped at Garfield’s neck with both arms, his eyes filled with terror. The bridge they were about to cross spanned a deep ravine, deep enough that it made Spencer and Emma nervous to cross it in their car. Kyle recognized the same fear in Collin’s eyes.
“You want to get down?” Kyle asked, extending his arms towards the child.
The boy nodded and lunged for Kyle, grunting as he dismounted. When his feet hit the pavement, he turned and headed back away from the bridge. Kyle, bruised and still sore from being shot, grimaced and rubbed his chest and shoulder.
“Collin!” Kyle called after the boy. “We’re not going that way. You need to stay with me.” He motioned to Garfield. “Come hold onto the stirrup and walk beside him. He won’t let you go over the edge.” Kyle watched Collin think about the idea. He couldn’t imagine what the boy was going through, with everything and everyone he knew stripped from his life.
After the events with Collin’s sister, Kyle had kept his word and gone in search of the cabin where her brother was supposed to be. He found a narrow dirt road and followed it through the trees for a little over a mile, finally coming across an old cabin with smoke rising from the chimney. Kyle waited in the bushes for half an hour, watching for any signs of life. There were a few noises, but nothing indicating a group of people, so he crept closer, peered through a window, and spotted Collin reading a book on the couch, but no one else.
Taking a deep breath, Kyle knocked on the door then retreated, taking cover around the side of a shed. Kyle could hear the door being worked, and watched as the boy pulled it open and stepped outside, curious and cautious at the same time. To Kyle’s eyes, the boy was just a little younger than Emma, probably nine years old, with dark hair that had grown long enough to hang down in his eyes. The sweater he wore was oversized, but his jeans seemed two sizes too small. His dark eyes darted nervously around.
As the boy turned to go back inside, Kyle called to him loud enough to be heard, but not so loud as to scare him. “Collin, Stacy sent me.”
The boy jumped and retreated inside the doorway.
“It’s okay,” Kyle said, stepping slowly from behind the shed, his empty hands held out to his side. There was no verbal response from the boy. He just stared at Kyle, gripping the doorknob, uncertain what to do.
“Is Stacy your sister?” Kyle called out, trying to sound friendly.
Collin nodded slowly.
“She asked me to come and help you. She was worried about you. Are you alright?”
Collin nodded his head, the movement barely perceptible, but he still refused to speak.
“Are you hungry?”
The boy shook his head slowly from side to side.
Kyle smiled, trying to reassure the child, but he was anxious himself. He’d debated the merits of keeping a promise to a dead woman who’d tried her best to kill him, and had himself talked out of it three times before finally deciding to find the cabin and at least check things out. Had Kyle seen any adults, he would have left without a second thought. He had feared an ambush, but now, faced with a lone nine-year old boy, he wasn’t sure what to do. To abandon the boy would mean almost certain death. To take him along would mean delayed travel at a minimum, and who knew what other problems would arise.
“Is there anyone in the house with you?” Kyle asked, carefully scanning the area, but seeing nothing.
The boy shook his head, the movement so slight Kyle could barely discern it.
“Listen,” Kyle continued. “There was a bad accident, and the people who were here, Stacy and her two friends, they’re not going to be able to take care of you anymore. I’m really sorry.” Kyle watched for any change in expression, but Collin just held onto the doorknob, not moving.
Kyle extended his hand and took a step forward. “How about you come with me?” he said, trying to sound as safe as possible.
The boy’s head snapped back, and he ran inside, throwing the door shut behind him. Kyle heard the deadbolt lock, and he swore under his breath, recognizing that helping Collin was going to mean a serious delay. He walked to the door and knocked softly on it, trying not to frighten the boy any more than he already had. “Collin,” Kyle said. “Please. I’m here to help you. Your sister isn’t coming back.”
He waited, but there was no response. He went to the window on the front of the house that he’d peeked through earlier and noticed the screen was torn and the window wasn’t latched. Kyle pulled off the screen and tugged the window open, but didn’t want to terrify the boy, so he didn’t climb through. Kneeling down by the window, Kyle called for the boy. He could see Collin peering at him from behind a kitchen cabinet, eyes so wide he thought the poor child’s eyeballs would just tumble right out of their sockets.
“Collin, my name is Kyle,” he began, telling him about his kids, the things he’d seen on his trip, and anything else he could think of that would put the boy at ease. When he started talking about Garfield, the boy seemed to show some interest. Finally, after almost an hour of one-sided conversation, Collin unlocked the front door and let Kyle inside.
Upon entering, Kyle noticed the doorframe was splintered inward and didn’t totally secure the door. The cabin was furnished with a couple of couches, an old TV, a woodstove, and a kitchen table with four wooden chairs around it. Written in marker on the wall above the table was what looked like a scoreboard. There were three entries:
1 @ 75yds
2 @ 200 yds
1 @ 300 yds
He guessed he was meant to be the next entry, the new record, 1 @ 600yds, and likely would have been if not for his vest. He thought briefly of adding an entry of his own, 3 @ 20 yds, but concerned about further compromising what little human dignity he was fighting to retain, Kyle left the wall blank.
Collin followed Kyle through the house as he searched it. A back bedroom was littered with discarded backpacks, the contents strewn on the floor. He wondered who the owners of the backpacks were and what had become of their bodies while he continued searching the old cabin, gathering what little he could find that might be of assistance, which didn’t amount to much beyond a few cans of food, ammunition, and some clothes for the child.
Only after again explaining to Collin that his sister had died and promising that he could see her and say goodbye, along with the promise that Collin could ride Kyle’s horse, was Kyle finally able to convince the boy to leave the cabin and come with him. Collin still had not spoken but did reward Kyle with a faint smile as Kyle described some of the funny things about Garfield. With that small victory, they trudged down the dirt road, Collin trailing ten paces behind, to where Kyle had tethered Garfield.