Brindle's Odyssey

It dawned on me that I had yet to see a single tree since I had arrived back in present time. I also saw very few men. The passing cars all contained women and they always slowed down to get a good look at us. The trailer was now riding on the rims and the sound of grating steel on pavement was loud in my ears.

  The surrounding hills and valleys looked brown and barren of life. Telephone poles stood out against the naked landscape for as far as my eye could see. I looked at Dog Breath and Crooked Walker and they stared with open mouths. I could see the pain in their eyes. Far up ahead loomed the casino, which seemed to have grown to twenty times its previous size, I stared at it in wonder. The exterior walls were dark gray in the sunlight and it took a while for me to realize that they were made of stone. I estimated that the three hotel towers were thirty stories, maybe more. Neon lights flashed in a rainbow of colors, vivid and bright, even at this hour of the day. The sharp contrast against the empty brown fields was blinding.

  We continued down the shoulder of the highway and I began to see just how big the parking lot of the casino had become. Cars numbered in the tens of thousands and their windshields sparkled in the sunlight. Gradually, I began to make out the shapes of people heading in and out of the casino, looking like worker ants ready to unload their burden. Cars roared overhead on the interstate as we rolled under the concrete bridge.

  Odd Whitefeather did something that puzzled me; instead of heading past the supersized casino he pulled into the driveway and drove straight to valet parking. There was no mistaking it now, the women outnumbered the men by twenty to one, but the ratio may have been much higher than that. I looked at my grandfathers and I could see that they had noticed this too. They both had struck noble poses and stood with their hands on their hips. The passing women ogled us as if we were rock stars. I thought that I could get used to this.

  I then began to notice that some of the people leaving the casino were holding packages of toilet tissue. I was thinking how strange this was. One woman pushed a shopping cart filled with it and she was followed by a woman dressed in a guard’s uniform. She was carrying a gun in her hand. The woman pushing the cart had a large smile plastered to her face.

  Odd Whitefeather parked the ATV under the massive canopy and three uniformed valets ran out to greet us. They were soon followed by a swarm of well-dressed women in business suits. They seemed to be delighted to see us, as if we had just come back from winning a war.

  “This is a great honor,” said a tall redhead with the whitest teeth I had ever seen. “Please, come with me.”

  We stepped down from the trailer and Odd Whitefeather joined us. A large crowd began to form and we were quickly whisked inside. I stayed close to Dog Breath while Crooked Walker walked next to his grandson. Dog Breath tried not to stare at this strange new place, but there were times where he could not help himself. I tried to imagine what he was thinking. Slot machines sang their computerized songs and every now and then someone would let out a whoop. The men I saw there were closely followed by their women; it was as if they were protecting their men from being stolen away. I saw young and beautiful women in the company of haggard old men. I saw a five hundred pound man with two cheerleader types dressed in short skirts, one in each arm. The perky young women looked very happy, even as he ran his pudgy hands over their exposed flesh. I grimaced.

  We were taken down a long hallway and directed into a large office where we were invited to sit. Dog Breath and Crooked Walker politely declined the invitation. I sat on the small sofa with my grandfather and found myself staring into the eyes of Man Killer. She was dressed in a tight skirt and a buttoned, low-cut blouse. If she recognized me she never showed it. The office was large and lavishly decorated with more art than I had ever seen in one room. The effect was distracting, which may have been the purpose of the décor. I studied a small statue behind the desk. The carving was of a short man with horns growing out of the side of his head. His feet were hoofs and a long tail fell to the ground. He seemed to be smiling at me.

  “My name is Melody Soliah,” she said with a big smile. “You could say that I’m in charge around here, at least while my husband is away. First, let me say that it is indeed an honor to have some real Indians in this place. It has been a long time.”

  “Native Americans,” I said, correcting her.

  “Excuse me?” she asked, looking confused. “Native Americans? You know, that has a nice ring to it. I like that, Native Americans it is! As I was saying, it has been a long time. We are down to our last surviving Native American here on the reservation. We haven’t seen him in five years, but we still send him the checks! I guess you could say we are very curious if you men claim to belong to the tribe. That would be very big news in these parts.”

  Odd Whitefeather rubbed his chin and I could see the wheels spinning. I turned to look at Dog Breath and Crooked Walker who stood behind us. They stood impassively, like two statues on a lawn. “We are all from the Fond Du Lac Band of Ojibwe,” I said.

  “The what?” Man Killer asked, as if I had been speaking a foreign language. “I’m sorry, what is an Obidgway? That is a term I am not familiar with. I do know about fondue. We enjoyed it just a few weeks ago. No, I was hoping that you were Chippewa. We could sure use a few more of them around here. By the way, I just love your outfits. They are so authentic looking; they must have cost you a small fortune!”

  I looked down at my pajama bottoms and hoped that she wasn’t talking about me. “We are Chippewa,” I said, using the white name for the Band. “This is our home.”

  She looked at me curiously. “You?” she asked. “I thought you were their manager or something. You’re not a redskin, I can tell these things.”

  “Excuse me?” I asked. “Since when do you think its okay to use that filthy word in front of your elders? How can you speak of your own heritage in such a way?”

  “I am sure that I have no idea what you are talking about. As far as my heritage goes, I am certainly not an Indian, neither are you. Your friends obviously are. If we can prove that they belong to the Tribe, they will be very, very, rich men. All we require is a blood test. Of course, we can check yours at the same time.”

  “Damn right, you will.”

  “Where have all of the trees gone?” Crooked Walker asked, rubbing his chin.

  “You’re kidding, right? There hasn’t been a tree in this county in over thirty years. Everyone knows that they won’t grow here anymore. Not since the sickness…”

  I waited for her to expound on that, but she did no such thing. She waved over two women that had been standing by the door, they were beautiful and they wore tiny nurse’s uniforms. They first tried taking the blood of Dog Breath and Crooked Walker, who both backed away, shaking their heads. Odd Whitefeather and I rolled up our sleeves at the same time. A smile was forming on his lips. The nurses fawned over us as they took our blood, one at a time. They stared dreamily into my eyes as they went about their work. Yes, I really could get used to this.

  “And, what’s your name?” cooed one of the nurses.

  “Odd Whitefeather,” my grandfather cooed back. “I am very pleased to meet you.”

  “Oh my God,” exclaimed the nurse. “You have no idea how pleased I am to meet you. Oh my God, oh my God. Mrs. Soliah, look at his vial!”

  I looked at the vial in question and found that it had turned a brilliant shade of blue. Voices buzzed from all around us and Man Killer gave Odd Whitefeather an astonished stare. “I had no idea… she stammered. “Get my husband on the phone. Tell him that we have an emergency!”

  I looked at my own vial, but it was still dark red. I gritted my teeth, wondering what I was supposed to think of that. I wanted some time alone with someone, anyone, who could give me a clear picture as to the world I had come home to. I wanted to know where all of the men were. I wanted to know what had happened to the trees. I wanted to know who I was.

  I watched Odd Whitefeather stand and all of the women in the room, including Man Killer, bowed down b
efore him. He smiled broadly and walked behind the sofa to stand next to Crooked Walker. “Grandfather,” I heard him whisper. “Tell me what is like to have fifty wives…”

  “Trust me,” his grandfather replied. “You do not want to know.”

  I turned on the soft sofa and saw that he did want to know. He smiled at me and strode out of the room. Dog Breath and Crooked Walker followed him out. I quickly checked my vial again, which hadn’t changed at all, and got to my feet. The nurses followed my grandfathers, leaving me alone with Man Killer, who I had already begun to think of as Melody.

  “This is a really big thing,” Melody said. “I hope he understands that. Those other two savages should have their blood checked---“

  I cut her off. “Did you just call them savages? I asked, feeling the blood rush to my face. What is wrong with you, don’t you have any respect for anyone?”

  Soliah’s silky voice suddenly cut through the air “She respects me,” he said, answering my question as he walked into the office. “Don’t you, sweetheart?”

  “Of course I do baby-cakes.”

  I thought I was going to be sick.

  “Melody, would you mind leaving me alone with your friend? I think he and I need to have a little talk.”

  “Did you hear? He brought in a member of the tribe! It’s a miracle. June took the blood sample over to the hospital to be authenticated, but his vial turned as blue as the sky.”

  “I’m sure it did,” said Soliah with a wide smile. “I’m sure it did.”

  Melody rose from her desk. She was definitely Melody now, part of a distant past that she was powerless to remember. She joined Soliah at the corner of the desk and paused to give him a lingering kiss. I turned my head away. I was beginning to notice that not a single item in the office was made out of wood. Everything was steel, stone, or plastic.

  “I’m going to find the old guy. He said his name was Odd Whitefeather. Don’t you just love it? I’ll schedule a press conference the minute I hear back from the lab. This one wanted to be tested, but his vial never changed color. Just to be safe, I am having that sample retested.”

  Soliah nodded, as if she had followed some sort of protocol. He gave her bottom a quick slap as she gathered her things. She turned and gave him a seductive smile. I wanted to scream. Melody turned and walked out of the office, taking my broken heart along with her.

  Soliah followed her to the door, flashed her a quick smile and he closed the door behind her. He was impeccably dressed in a black suit, silk, by the look of it. His blonde hair was still long and parted in the middle and he appeared to be somewhere in his early thirties, in the prime of his life. He still wore the moustache and it was neatly trimmed. I looked down at his feet, which were real as far as I could tell. He wore a pair of black boots that looked shiny and new. He walked over to the desk and sat on the edge. He was smiling and I knew I was in trouble.

  “Huckleberry,” he said, checking his nails. “Whatever am I to do with you? I wasn’t counting on this, oh no, not at all. You really made me angry; you know that, don’t you?”

  I hung my head and studied the blood-red carpet. After everything he had done to me over the years, my head was crammed full of nightmarish thoughts.

  “Then, I got to thinking and you might say that cooler heads prevailed. I’m going to make a deal with you. I’ll give you another chance. That’s very white of me, wouldn’t you say so?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “I’ve already been there, my boy, I’ve already been there,” he said with a sneer. “I don’t plan on going back there any time soon. No, I think you’ll take my offer. I’ll see that your blood passes inspection and you will be an instant billionaire, just like that wagon-burner grandfather of yours. You’ll have a great life, the best money can buy.”

  “What happened to the rest of the Native Americans? What have you done with them? There should be thousands of tribal members in the area.”

  They’re all dead, most of them were never even born, so don’t let it bother you. That was before our time and we had nothing to do with it. Does that sound familiar? People have been saying that about redskins for generations.”

  “You lie!”

  “Honest Injun,” Soliah said, holding his hand up in front of him with a wry smile. “Things turned out quite definitely than you remember them. I’ll have to get you a history book to fill in the gaps. I’m sure we can find something for you to read, but we’ll save that for a later date. For now, you can agree to be a very wealthy man. Does it get any better than that?”

  “I won’t take a penny of your blood money. I don’t care what happens to me.”

  “Don’t be so hasty, Huckleberry. Let me explain things to you. You have nothing in this world but that shithole of a trailer and some rusted machines. You don’t have a bank account and you have no source of income. How do you expect to survive? Look, I am really trying to do the right thing. You’re my damn grandson, for crying out loud. Let me help you.”

  I stared at him for a long moment and actually considered his offer. I could be a very wealthy man living in a world where the women outnumbered the men by a wide ratio. The offer was tempting. I could also escape Soliah’s wrath by accepting the offer. My body was screaming at my mind, telling me to accept the terms. My mind won the battle. “Like I said, Soliah, you can go to hell.”

  I have never seen a man’s face turn such a shade of red. He shook with a rage so pure that I thought he was about to kill me. A long moment passed. “Very well,” he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “Have it your way.”

  I began to speak when I noticed the smell. The same terrible smell that had haunted me for five long years. I narrowed my eyes at Soliah and bared my teeth.

  “You are a damn fool. Do you know that, Huckleberry? What a complete waste of blood and a disgrace to the Soliah name. Get out of here! You have five minutes until I turn your pores to full rot. Go back to your little trailer and live in your own stink. You sicken me, you surely do. Go!”

  I rose from the sofa and fought the urge to throw up. The smell was growing by the second and I didn’t want to be anywhere near people when it was ratcheted up to full blast. Without another word, I walked to the door and let myself out of the office, leaving Soliah where he stood. I then began to run.

  I felt like I was dragging an invisible cloud of toxic gas behind me, and that it was doubling in size with each of my frantic steps. I passed two smiling women and they quickly began to gag. I could hear them. I then felt hot tears of embarrassment flood my eyes and ran as fast as my legs would carry me.

  The painted portraits seemed to be laughing at me and the corridor seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, nearly winded, I rushed into the lobby where all hell broke loose. Women screamed and I was repulsed by the sound of vomiting, it seemed to be coming from everywhere. I continued to run, spotting the door and dashing through it like the building was on fire. I paused, looking for the ATV. The cute valet girls were suddenly on their knees, throwing up whatever they had eaten for lunch. I wanted to apologize, but I realized the best thing I could do was to get out of there as fast as possible.

  I dumped the trailer and jumped on Odd Whitefeather’s machine. I fired it up and sped back to my trailer as fast as it would carry me.

  Chapter Fourteen