Two Captives Ch. 02
Keywords: Ch., 02, Captives, Two,
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"This is a fictional account.
Author's Note: Many of you loved the first story and thanks for the kind words/votes. I will keep developing this story line for you. Please be patient as I also try other things too. Some thought it was geared mostly to men and let me know that too. My apologies to those disappointed if it was not exactly what they were looking for in the first story. In this chapter, I will attempt to appeal to more tastes. I appreciate your feedback."
Sarah and Sally woke to the sounds of movement outside their tepee. Sarah threw back her buffalo hide blanket and crawled to the entrance flap. She pushed it open to look out upon the Arapaho village. She could see lots of activity. Several tepees were already pulled down and the many buffalo hide skin covers were stacked in piles along side another pile of long thin poles.
"What is going on?" Sally asked.
"It looks like the Arapaho are breaking camp," Sarah said. "Many of the tepees are down and people look to be packing up."
"Where are they going?" Sally asked.
"I don't know, Sally?" Sarah replied worried about what this meant for their fate.
"I have to pee," Sally said.
"Me too. Let's go see if we can find the leader's wife to take us," Sarah said.
"Okay," Sally said getting up.
The girls exited the tepee and immediately spotted the leader's wife. She too was busy breaking down her tepee and packing up. The leader was nowhere to be seen. The two brothers had already broken down their tepee and it was made into a travois for movement behind a horse. Sally had told Sarah that these were indeed the sons of the leader. From their younger sister, Sally had learned that they were eighteen and twenty years old.
When the two brothers spotted Sally and Sarah standing outside their tepee, they walked over to them. The older brother began talking to Sarah. He indicated they were going to dismantle her tepee next. She wasn't sure at first what he was saying but watching the younger brother begin removing the hides gave her all the clues she needed. Sarah smiled recognition of what he was saying to the tall older brother and he smiled back warmly. He then proceeded to help his brother.
Sarah and Sally walked to the old woman and tried to explain they had to pee. Sarah was struggling to get her message across when Sally stepped in and said one word to the older woman. That seemed to do the trick. Sarah was impressed that Sally was learning the language so quickly and she vowed she had better make an effort too.
The leader's wife pointed towards the same thicket of bushes they had used before and pushed them on indicating they could go themselves alone. The sisters walked along the stream following the well worn trail. Soon they reached the thicket and made their way to the split rock as they both had before. Sarah let Sally go first and then followed her. When they were done, Sally turned to leave but Sarah stopped her.
"Sally, we are finally alone together. We could make a run for it," Sarah said.
"You want to try an escape?" Sally asked. "You think we could?"
"I don't know," Sarah answered hesitatingly. "Maybe with the confusion of the move they will lose track of us for a while and we can escape."
"You think we can? Which way do we go?" Sally asked.
"I don't know which way and they might hurt us if we get caught," Sarah said.
"I don't want them to hurt us," Sally worried.
"I know, Sally...I know," Sarah said. "Let me think a minute."
"Well," Sally said after a couple minutes.
"I don't think we'll get a better chance," Sarah said. "We should try."
"But where will we go?" Sally asked.
"We'll have to try and make our way back towards our house," Sarah said.
"Okay," Sally said.
The sisters exited the thicket. No other Indians were nearby. They started out away from the village angling back towards the stream. When they were about a mile from the village they found a spot where an old tree lay across the stream and they used it to get to the other side.
Sarah had heard stories of what good trackers Indians were. So before they got to the end of the tree, she had Sally remove her shoes. Sarah did too and they dropped off the log into the water. They walked in the water along the bank trying to hide their tracks. When they had gone a few hundred yards, they climbed out of the water on another fallen log. They put their shoes back on.
"Sally, try to step on clumps of grass and avoid making tracks in the bare ground," Sarah said.
The girls preceded single file with Sally following Sarah and stepping where she did. It was early morning, so it was obvious which way was east. Sarah thought they had come northwest into the village, so they tried going back southeast.
Sarah led them through an open field but then she realized they should probably stick to the forest to avoid being easily spotted. They had walked for an hour staying as much as they could to the forest. Sarah tried to judge the right direction as the sun moved higher in the sky. Fortunately, it was a warm summer day and would probably be a pleasant night. Neither of them had anything but the buckskin clothes on their backs.
"I'm hungry," Sally said after a little while.
"Me too," Sarah said. "But we can't stop, Sally. Look for berries while we walk."
"Okay, but berries are not going to fill us up," Sally said.
They walked about another hour but found nothing to eat. It looked to be close to noon then by the position of the sun.
"I'm thirsty," Sally said.
"I know...me too," Sarah said. "We should hit a stream or something soon."
They walked further and Sally started to complain about being tired. She wanted to rest. Sarah explained they had to keep moving or they would get caught. The forest started to get thicker and deeper. They were having trouble making any time as they had to go around dense brush and large rocks. Sarah lost track of the sun many times as it was obscured by the thick canopy of trees. Finally, they found a small stream and stopped briefly to drink.
"Do you think we got way from the Indians?" Sally asked.
"No...we are not safe until we are back near our house or neighbors," Sarah said.
"We weren't too safe at our house before," Sally said smartly.
"Yes, that's true but it is all we can do," Sarah said. "I wish we had one of those water bladders."
The girls crossed the brook to the bank on the other side. They fought their way through the tall reeds and once again entered the deeper woods. After about a half hour they came to a small clearing. They left the more secure forest for the openness of the field trying to cover more ground quickly. As they crossed the field and once again approached the forest, Sarah spotted some raspberry bushes.
"Sally, look these look like edible berries," Sarah said as she picked one.
Sally too picked one and they both tried them together. They both recognized the sweet tartness of raspberries and they proceeded to pick and eat more. They were so busy picking berries and eating them, they did not see the black bear enter the field and head across.
The girls had picked many of the berries in front of them and moved around and squatted to reach more. It was then Sally spotted movement out of her left eye and turned her head to see the bear only five feet away. Sally screamed! Sarah wheeled around to practically face the bear head on. Sarah too screamed and the bear rose up on its hind legs reacting to the noise. The bear growled and snorted at the two creatures standing before it and in front of the berries.
Sarah grabbed Sally and they struggled to find an opening in the raspberry bushes to allow them to run from the bear. The bear began to come toward them with its front paws leading the way. The bear's two inch claws were mere feet from the girls now.
The girls could not find a break in the dense brush. Sally was clinging to Sarah as the bear approached. The bear stood six feet tall on its hind legs. Its huge teeth were clearly visible as it approached the girls growling.
Sarah tried to move Sally behind her and she screamed at the bear hoping it would retreat. Just as it seemed the bear would reach them and attack, it reeled around. Stuck fast into its back were two arrows. The bear roared in pain and aggression only to get hit by two more arrows in quick succession. The bear dropped to its feet and started to run off. Two more arrows plunged deep into its side and it reeled from the pain. It roared but then seemed to choke as it lumbered a few more feet in an attempt to get away. Its wounds were fatal though and after only a few more weak steps it crashed to the ground with a blood-spraying snort.
The girls' eyes turned from the dying bear to the field to see the two Indian brothers ride up on their ponies. They seemed quite pleased with themselves for killing the bear. The older brother led the way. He dropped from his horse and approached them. Once again Sarah tried to shield Sally behind her.
Sarah raised her fists as if she planned to fight the much bigger male Indian. He laughed at her as she tried to fend him off. He spoke to her in an amused voice.
"He says you are brave," Sally told Sarah.
"Tell him to leave us alone," Sarah said to Sally.
"I don't know how to say that," Sally said.
All she could think off was the Arapaho word for run, which she learned playing horses with the little girl. When Sally said it to the two Indians, they laughed more and indicated they should try.
Sarah glanced quickly about, looking for an exit strategy but still could not see an easy way around the thick brush. She started to slide Sally down the brush line but the younger brother moved his horse quickly to block their movements.
Sarah had taken her eyes momentarily off the older brother and he was on her in an instant. He grabbed Sarah's clenched fists and pulled her forward so hard she fell to her knees. He pulled a long leather string from his pants and wound it tightly around Sarah's wrists.
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Keywords: Ch., 02, Captives, Two,