Rogue Angel - Footprints Part 22

"I'm sorry," Annja said.

Joey nodded. "He's one with the spirit that moves within us all. At least he's not suffering."

Annja sighed. She felt terrible about what she'd done. It didn't ease her mind that Cheehawk had been badly mauled and was dying, anyway. She was the one who killed him.

"You did a good thing," Joey said quietly. "And I know that he appreciated your mercy."

Annja's eyes welled up. "Whoever did that to him...Such cruelty. Why would they harm him like that?"

"Because they didn't understand him. And they had no wish to." Joey scooped handfuls of earth into the hole. In a short time, he had covered Cheehawk's body. He kept working until the burial plot was indistinguishable from the rest of the area.

Annja watched him finish and turned away. Jenny stood a short distance from them, leaning against a tree. As Annja approached, she looked up.

"You want to tell me where you found a sword like that?"

"Not particularly."

Jenny frowned. "You always liked keeping secrets, huh?"

"Don't be jealous, Jenny."

Jenny shook her head. "What is with you? You think I'm jealous of everything you have? You've got a sword. Big whoop."

"And the TV show. I haven't forgotten that bugged the h.e.l.l out of you when it happened."

Jenny shrugged. "I'm over it."

"Are you?"

"Last I checked, neither one of us had a man."

Annja smiled. "So if I had a boyfriend, then you'd be even more upset with me?"

"Definitely," Jenny said with a slight smile.

Annja leaned against the tree. "I don't need some guy in my life to feel complete. Besides, the more I learn about the male species, the more I realize that truly good men are almost impossible to find."

"I'd take a half-decent guy," Jenny said. "I haven't been on a date in almost a year."

"Dry spell, huh?"

Jenny cracked a grin. "Mojave Desert, Annja. David was supposed to bring on the rainy season and now he's gone and vanished."

"What if we head into town and see if we can talk to the local sheriff about finding him?"

Jenny nodded. "I guess."

"We'll need to be careful. Dawn will be breaking soon. And that means those goons we ran into yesterday will be back patrolling the woods." Annja faced Jenny. "Are you sure you don't know why they'd be out here?"

"Nope."

"All right, then. We'll just have to make sure we don't run into them. I don't think they'll be as understanding as they were yesterday if they find me still out here."

Joey started dismantling what was left of the improvised shelter. Annja frowned. "Don't we still need that?"

Joey scattered a bunch of branches and looked at her. "I don't know how long Cheehawk's body will remain buried."

Jenny frowned. "What's that mean?"

"Predators and scavengers will smell the decomposition starting. They'll come around and dig it up. I don't want to be here when that happens."

Annja sighed. "It can't be helped, I suppose."

"It's the way of the natural cycle," Joey said. "But it doesn't mean I have to be here when it goes down. And besides, we each have our own agendas now."

Annja turned. "Each?"

Joey nodded. "I'll lead you out to the road so you can find your way back into town. That way you can take care of finding the sheriff and stuff like that. Maybe find that David dude."

"And what will you be doing?"

Joey looked up from throwing more branches into the scrub. "I need to find the men who chased us out of here yesterday."

There was something in his voice that disturbed Annja. It was cold. And the edge to the words made her heart jump. "You can't take them on by yourself, Joey. They've got guns. Let us get the sheriff out here and he'll know what to do. And he has a gun, too."

"I don't care about whether they have guns or not," Joey said.

Annja shook her head. "You may not care but the fact that they do have them could make your life a thing of the past. Is that what you want?"

"They killed my friend," Joey said.

"I know they did. And believe me, I want them to pay for that just as badly as you do. But chasing after them by yourself isn't the smartest thing to do right now."

"Why? Because I'm a kid? You think I don't know how to handle myself?"

"I think anyone would have a hard time handling themselves against three men armed with rifles."

Joey glared at her. "Cheehawk didn't deserve to die."

Annja nodded. "We know that. But you rus.h.i.+ng off on some suicide mission isn't the way to honor the memory of his spirit."

"What would you know about honoring the spirit of the dead?" Joey muttered.

"You think you're the only one who's ever lost someone or something precious to them?" Annja shook her head. "You're not. It just seems like you are because of what has happened. Tragedy is always like that. It feels as if there's no one else in the world who understands the pain and the grief you have swelling in your heart. But everyone knows about tragedy. No one goes through life without feeling pain at some point. That's just the way it is."

"Then you know that I have to do this."

"I know you have to do something. And I want to help you get justice. But not this way. You go charging after these guys and they'll just kill you. I don't think they'd even care that you're fourteen years old. Your life wouldn't mean a d.a.m.n thing to them."