Chapter 24. The Red Cliffs Exercise
“Survival isn’t always about strength or smarts—a lot of times, it’s about luck.”
– Lorena’s Prayer Book
Lorena dropped her crutches, kneeling to Perrito’s side. She examined the dog’s ribs, still on the mend from its last bandito encounter.
“C’mon, puppy, yer gonna be okay. You’re a tough doggy.”
Lorena tried to lift the dog, but couldn’t support both her and the dog’s weight on her bad ankle. She hobbled without her crutches to the stairs and called for Kody. Receiving no response, she made her way downstairs to find him wrapped in rags.
“What happened?”
“Bar fight. He’s an idiot, but he’ll be fine. What’s up?” Alma sat up groggily.
“I need ta’ move Perrito back inta’ the church. Yer brother busted his rib.”
Alma scoffed, shaking her head. “Any guy here that isn’t totally worthless?”
Lorena cast her eyes to the side for only a moment. “Can ya’ move him?”
“Yeah. Gimme a minute. There a bathroom down here?”
“Under the stairs.”
Lorena returned upstairs, nursing the dog while she waited for Alma. She pet Perrito, humming an old lullaby to the dog. Before long, the strawberry brunette made her way upstairs, and picked up the puppy, following Lorena to the chantry. Lorena rearranged Perrito’s blankets to form a soft bed for the dog to rest. Alma carefully set the dog down in the middle of the bed.
“Why not just keep him in your room?”
“It’s too dangerous in there the way the bar’s been lately. Besides, it’s quieter out here, and he’ll be out of sight.”
The two women walked back to the bar, sharing the rest of the bread Jake left on the table. They each took a piece, with Lorena breaking off a bit for Kody.
“What’s the deal with you two, Alma?”
“Me two who?” Alma raised an eyebrow.
“You and Kody, dummy.”
Alma coughed up a piece of bread, beating her chest with her fist until she could get it back down.
“There’s no me and Kody. There hasn’t been for good while now. Long story short—we didn’t work out.”
Lorena tilted her head as she listened to Alma. “Taking pretty good care a’ him for someone ya’ don’t care about.”
“So, I’m a caring person.” Alma leaned forward, taking a large bite.
As they spoke, a door slammed shut outside, followed by heavy footsteps in the kitchen. Lorena jumped, fighting the instinct to hide behind the bar counter. She looked up, Alma staring at her as if she was a mad woman while a man came in from the kitchen.
“Hey, Deebo. Didja come back for my bike?” Alma teased.
Lorena looked past Alma, seeing Adelais staring down at her. She stood and hobble-ran up to hug Adelais.
“Kick me out yesterday, welcomin’ me with open arms today. The hell’s wrong with you?” Adelais said.
“Ya’ were being an ass, so I treated ya’ like one. Doesn’t mean I’m not glad to see ya’.”
“Sit down, we got a lot ta’ figure out and almost no time ta’ do it. Where’s Jake and the city boy?”
“Gone and resting. Kody got inta’ a fight last night.”
“Get him.”
Adelais pushed Lorena off and took a seat on top of one of the tables. Lorena looked over to Alma, motioning toward the stairs as she took a seat near Adelais.
“Ade, about what happened last night—” Lorena started.
“Ferget about it.”
“I ain’t apologizin’, dumbass. I’m glad yer home, but if ya’ pull shit like that in my house again, yer gonna have to find a new place ta’ live. Already lost Siggy ta’ senseless violence. Not gonna lose you the same way.”
Adelais sat in silence, breathing heavily through his nose as Alma helped Kody up the stairs. The urban cowboy’s voice carried into the bar as the two made their way up.
“I can walk, Alm. I don’t need you to carry me.”
“You’re an idiot. God knows if I let you try to walk on your own you’ll end up falling down the stairs and killing yourself.”
Adelais watched the two, cracking a grin as a small chuckle came out. Lorena lifted her head, smiling. Alma dropped Kody on a bench and took a seat at an adjacent table.
“All right.” Adelais pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I talked ta’ Estaban.”
They all fixed their gaze on Adelais.
“He gave me a list. People he wants dead or delivered.”
“Ade, what the hell?” Lorena interrupted.
“Lemme finish. Jake’s the reason the banditos are out here in the first place. Estaban says we give ‘im Jake, he’ll leave us alone.”
“Are you serious?” Lorena looked up to him.
“Wait, what? How does Jake have anything to do with this?” Alma asked.
“He didn’t—of course he didn’t tell ya’. Who tells everyone the ways they fucked up?” Adelais paused. “He got Estaban’s daughter killed. Sarita—Lore’s ma—too. Almost got all of us killed. Banditos came up here lookin’ for him, and he ran like a little bitch. Sarita…” Adelais looked glanced toward Lorena, “She uh, ‘kept ‘em busy’ while the rest of us hid.”
Lorena kept her eyes cast to the floor.
“But these days ain’t nothin’ worth anything here ‘cept us, so Estaban agreed to leave us alone if we give ‘im Jake.”
They all sat quietly for a minute, looking at each other while avoiding eye contact with others. Kody picked up a piece of bread and began munching it down.
“Ade, I still don’t get how you and Estaban… why wouldn’t he jes’ kill ya’?” Lorena asked.
Kody spoke up in between bites. “He’s a leader. No reason to kill an asset. Makes more sense to use your enemies than kill them.”
Alma cocked an eyebrow. “Dynasty Warriors,” Kody replied as he finished chewing.
Adelais chuckled, nodding. “Prolly easier to make me do stuff than use his own boys. Plus we know Jake. He ain’t the only one on this list, but he’s at the top.”
“Okay, here’s an idea—no.” Alma stood and crossed her arms while clearing her throat. “Jake’s my brother. I thought he was dead until a couple months ago. I’m not giving him over to anyone—don’t care how much of a shitbag he can be. Got it? If us being here is a problem, we’ll leave.”
“Estaban decides he don’t wanna be friends no more, or thinks Jake’s gonna rabbit, might be all of us ends up dead,” Adelais countered.
“Then we all leave now. Problem solved.”
“And go where, Alm? This is our home,” Lorena asked.
“Dunno, don’t care. We’ll figure it out.”
Lorena looked up to Adelais, seeing kindred thoughts in his eyes. They both turned to Alma, who took a step back as she furrowed her brow.
“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding! We’re not doing this! I will not let you take my brother. You’d murder him to save your own asses.”
“Alma, I don’t wanna kill Jake,” Lorena spoke up.
“Then don’t!”
“But he’s responsible fer too many deaths already, and if givin’ him ta’ Estaban can stop all this—”
Alma glared furiously at Lorena, breathing heavily through her teeth. She turned to Kody, who had just finished his bread. “What about you? You wanna kill him too?”
“Little bit. He’s half the reason I’m down here.” Kody leaned back, wincing.
“Fine.” Alma stormed toward the basement. “I’ll grab my shit and go.”
“Hold up,” Kody interrupted. “Don’t like Jake. Not at all. But I’m not on board with murdering anyone, indirectly or otherwise. Even if I was, and even if we give Jake to Estaban, he’s still a bandito. No guarantee he wouldn’t backstab us anyway.”
Alma looked back to Kody with unexpected reverence in her eyes. Taking a moment, Alma turned her glance to Lorena and Adelais. “So we’re not giving Jak
e up. Find another way.”
Adelais shook his head. Lorena understood his frustration—the two newcomers hadn’t lived under bandito martial law for any real period of time. They couldn’t understand what it was like to live in constant fear and persecution, and then be offered a chance for some kind of peace. Even a thinly veiled one was still an option worth considering.
“Look, we can figure something else out,” Kody started.
Lorena took a deep breath, listening to Kody as she caught the faint scent of something… cinder. She looked around, unable to see anything in the immediate area. She stood up, trying to figure out what the smell was.
“Lore, what is it?” Adelais asked.
“Do ya’ smell something?” Lorena asked, looking around more frantically as the smell became stronger. She peeked her head into the kitchen, not seeing anything. Coming back into the bar, she heard a shrill yowl from outside. Lorena rushed outside the front door to see the chantry and surrounding buildings immersed in flames. The air singed with burning, toasting her nostrils while the heat baked her lungs. The town glowed a bright, ignited orange. Whimpering until he collapsed in front of the burning church lay the immolated corpse of her dog, Perrito.