JC: William Redman Carter
Noble Savage
Chapter 7
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2005

An ominous feeling radiated from the black hole as the sun peered 
over the horizon. A huge construction crane towered over William. 
He watched the cage slowly approach the hole. He lifted a hand 
and the operator stopped lowering the cage. 

William turned his back to the hole. Medicine men from all over 
the country had gathered in a great circle around him. Behind 
them, stood hundreds of warriors. Every man was dressed in tribal 
costumes. It was not that their costumes had importance in their 
actions, but that they wanted to look their best when they met the 
Great Spirit should they die. 

Past the warriors, a handful of Druids stood where they could 
watch the proceedings. Ed Biggers and Kelly were among the 
Druids, although their reasons for being there were more parental 
than anything else. Next to Ed stood a couple of Catholic Priests. A 
good distance away was a horde of reporters, brought to the 
location by reports of a major gathering of Medicine Men. 

Barefoot, wearing a loincloth, a medicine bag around his neck, and 
carrying a Tomahawk, William felt very small and vulnerable. The 
only modern thing was the communications radio that he wore 
over his right ear. He spoke, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you," replied the crane operator.

William turned back to face the hole. Aware that he was about to 
enter the pit, the Medicine Men started chanting. The sound of 
drums rose adding power to their chants. 

Never in his life had he experienced such overwhelming evil. 
Waves of a black hunger seemed to reach out for him. Taking a 
deep breath, he walked over to the hole and jumped into the cage. 
After closing the door to the cage, he said, "Lower me."

As he entered the dark pit, he could feel dark forces gathering 
around him. Above his head, huge wooden beams braced the 
ceiling. The air inside the pit was freezing cold. He could see his 
breath in the fading light. Looking over the edge of the cage, he 
finally made out the floor. The pit was much deeper than he had 
thought it would be. He called out, "Stop."

It was with some relief that the cage came to a halt. He had been 
afraid that the radio wouldn't work inside the pit. Physics said it 
would work. Magic suggested that it wouldn't. There was a more 
than a little relief to learn that physics had won.

Reaching down to the bottom of the cage, he picked up a rope and 
tied it to the support cable. The cage shook as though a giant hand 
had slapped it. He threw out the body bags. Dust rose up in the air 
choking him.

Moving carefully, William climbed down the rope. When he 
reached the floor, he was thrown across the pit as if swatted by an 
invisible hand. Struggling to stand, he looked around him. The pit 
was circular. Spaced around the walls were eleven bodies. Six of 
them were Native Americans as evidenced by their dress. Five of 
them wore outfits of Spanish Conquistadors.  He could just make 
out two bodies on the floor below the cage. One looked to be a 
missionary and the other a prospector. 

The first order of business was to remove the bodies from the pit. 
He walked toward the center of the pit. The air was thick and 
heavy. It was like forcing his way through molasses. Stopping, he 
picked up a body bag. He forced his way to the bodies under the 
basket. Doing his best not to touch the bodies, he stuffed the 
skeletal remains into two body bags. 

He pulled the bodies out from under the basket. Dust rose around 
him, making it difficult to draw breath. He blinked, trying to clear 
the tears that had welled up in his eyes. He could feel forces 
beating against his body. A dark hunger pulsed from where the 
bodies had been. He backed away from the center of the room. 
Aloud he said, "Lower the cage."

The cage settled on the floor. Grabbing one of the body bags, he 
hauled it over to the cage. He opened the door and wrestled one of 
the body bags into the cage. Closing the door, he stepped back and 
said, "Sending up a white man."

A few seconds later the cage rose from the floor. He watched it rise 
from the floor while holding his breath. He hoped his plan worked. 
When the body left the pit, there was a general lessening of the 
pressure beating against him. He didn't exactly relax, but he did 
feel relief. The opposing forces in the room had balanced and 
taking him wouldn't affect the balance.

He knew that once the cage set down on the ground, a priest would 
bury the remains in land that had been consecrated for that 
purpose. After more than three hundred years, the spirits held 
within this pit would be put to rest. A couple of Medicine Men 
were waiting to lay to rest the spirits of the Native Americans once 
they were removed from the pit.

He went to work putting the skeletal remains that were scattered 
around the room in body bags. Using a piece of chalk, he drew 
crosses on the body bags containing white bodies and feathers on 
the body bags containing a Native American. He had finished with 
four bodies when the basket was lowered back into the room. 

Two at a time, he sent bodies out of the pit. Each load contained a 
white and a red man in order to maintain the balance of forces. The 
pressure beating against him lessened, but the black evil hunger 
from the center of the room grew even stronger. The air thickened 
and it was harder to breath.

The sun cast a bright spot on the floor of the pit; the spot slowly 
moved across the length of the pit. The hours passed, each lift of 
bodies took almost an hour to achieve. He had been working in the 
pit, fighting the forces beating him and moving through thick toxic 
air, for almost seven hours when the last pair of bodies was lifted 
out of the pit. 

William was exhausted, but the forces that had been battering him 
had lifted. The horrible hunger originating from the center of the 
pit seemed to attack his spirit, trying to trick him into death. He 
had to crawl to the center of the pit. Once there, he dug in the dirt 
floor seeking the source of the hunger. Afraid to use his hands, he 
was reduced to scraping away the dirt with his Tomahawk. The 
drumbeat and chanting from outside grew in volume. 

His efforts eventually revealed a crystalline skull that pulsed with 
an eerie green light. It was sickening to look upon. His stomach 
churned. Each pulse weakened him as if it was a psychic vampire 
draining the energy from him. It became everything he could do to 
lift his arms. 

Gathering what little will was left in him, William raised the 
Tomahawk above his head. He brought it down as hard as he could 
upon the skull. A brilliant flash of green light blinded him. A 
horrible scream split the air a fraction of a second before an 
explosion lifted and threw him across the pit. 

William opened his eyes, but could see nothing. He didn't know 
how long he had been unconscious. The evil hunger was gone. The 
forces that had been beating upon him were gone. The drums and 
chanting had stopped. The fresh scent of the desert reached him. 
Every part of his body hurt. His body was freezing cold. He 
moaned.

"Don't talk," said a voice.

For a moment, William struggled to identify the owner of the 
voice. He gave up the effort deciding it wasn't important. The only 
thing that was important was the pain. With each pulse of pain, he 
knew that he lived. He could feel hands touching him, but he 
couldn't see who was touching him. He closed his eyes and 
listened to the voices around him. 

"He'll be okay. Let's get him out of here," said a voice.

William felt hands lift him onto a stretcher and then the bouncing 
of the stretcher being carried. He opened his eyes and was 
immediately blinded by the bright light from the sun overhead. The 
thought that it should be night flitted through his mind. Holding the 
thought was too much effort. It slowly registered that he was 
thirsty. In a harsh croak, he tried to communicate his need, "Wa… 
Wa."

A woman's voice, he recognized it as belonging to Kelly, said, 
"Here's an ice chip. Suck on it."

A small sliver of cold forced its way between his lips. As it melted, 
heavenly water trickled down his throat. He opened his eyes, but 
the bright light forced him to close them again. Another chip of ice 
followed the first. He sucked greedily on it. 

"Let's move him to the clinic," Kelly said.

William woke and looked around the room recognizing it as the 
family clinic. Linda said, "Ah, you're awake at last."

"What happened?" William asked. 

"The pit collapsed on you after a huge green cloud billowed out of 
it. It took us eighteen hours to dig you out. We were very worried 
about you," Linda said. Worried was putting it mildly. She had 
been frantic and had tried to dig him out with her bare hands. It 
had taken Ed and Dan working together to pull her away from the 
site. 

It wasn't a challenge to guess what the reactions had been among 
the mothers. He imagined that Ling and Claire had been angry, 
Linda had been frantic, and Kelly had turned into the clinical 
nurse. William said, "I'm sure that the rest of the family want to 
know that I'm awake."

He had barely finished speaking when Betsy flew into the room 
and stopped at the foot of the bed. After looking at him for a 
second, she said, "You're awake."

She sped off towards the door and then immediately returned to the 
foot of the bed. She said, "I'll go get Momma Kelly."

She hadn't covered more than three steps before she was back at 
the foot of the bed. She said, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

After Betsy finally flew out of the room. Linda laughed and said, 
"She's been popping in here every five minutes. You'll have plenty 
of company in a minute."

"He's awake," echoed through the door as Betsy screamed the 
news as she ran towards the family room.

In a soft voice, Linda said, "Your work was successful. Sarah and I 
were talking about it while you slept. We both feel more energetic 
than we have in years. It is like a veil has been lifted from our 
eyes. Our thoughts are sharper. I feel fresh and strong. Others are 
reporting the same thing."

"I'm glad," William said. He wasn't feeling particularly energetic 
or mentally sharp at the moment.

Eddie ran into the room. He stepped up to the side of the bed and 
looked at his big brother. In a serious voice, he said, "You're the 
bravest big brother a guy can have. I'm so proud of you."

Ruffling Eddie's hair, William said, "You're a great little brother. 
You know just what to say to cheer someone up."

"That was a brave thing you did, William. I'm proud of you," said 
Ed when he stepped into the room. He looked down at William 
knowing that his son had provided a very significant and important 
service for a huge number of people. 

"Thanks, dad," William said as the rest of the family filed into the 
room. It didn't surprise him that Eddie and Ed had spoken nearly 
identical words. The two shared the same soul. 

William touched his chest and found that his medicine bag was 
missing. Ed, noticing the gesture, said, "There was a small pile of 
ashes on your chest when we found you."

In bits and pieces, William was able to get a picture of what had 
happened. When the last pair of bodies had been removed from the 
pit, the evil draw toward the pit had intensified. The Medicine Men 
had fought to keep it contained. 

When William had struck the skull, it had released a powerful 
explosion that knocked down everyone within four hundred yards 
of the pit. The crane had fallen over and the pit collapsed leaving a 
gaping hole with William buried under tons of debris. It took five 
minutes before anyone understood what had happened. 

The Medicine Men were exhausted and could barely move, but the 
warriors who had been guarding the area sprang into action. They 
had searched for two hours to find some idea of where he was 
buried. Giving up on locating him directly, they started removing 
debris from all parts of the pit. They'd found him after searching 
for nearly eighteen hours. 

Suffering from extreme dehydration, he had spent a full day in the 
clinic asleep. The IV was still feeding him a slow drip of saline 
solution. The family had taken turns watching over him. After 
hearing the story, William fell asleep.

William woke to find that the IV had been removed and feeling 
much better than the previous day. He looked over to find Leroy 
watching him. Leroy said, "There's a glass of orange juice for you. 
Drink it and then try to sit up."

William spotted the glass and drank it down. It provided a 
wonderful rush of energy and eased his throat. After setting the 
glass down, he asked, "What time is it?"

"Six in the morning," answered Leroy.

"You always get the horrible shift," William said.

Laughing, Leroy said, "I get the quiet shift. I decided I preferred 
this shift when Beth's father was a patient in this room. You're a 
much better patient than he was."

"From what I heard about him, that isn't saying much."

"Ah, he wasn't that bad," Leroy said. He remembered those times 
with fondness. Watching over Beth's parents had given him 
something to do and made him feel useful to a family that had 
taken him in after his accident.

William sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He 
asked, "What's on the program today?"

"Mostly rest for you. There are a couple hundred people outside 
waiting to see you. I suggest you go out there after breakfast. It is 
Christmas Eve and I'm sure they would like to go home to see their 
families."

"Why do they want to see me?" William asked.

"I would imagine they want to thank you for delivering them from 
a great curse," Leroy answered surprised by the question. 

"Oh," William answered feeling unsettled by the prospect. He 
knew Ed and John often joked about slipping out the backdoor 
after a rescue, but he had never thought about it. He wondered 
where the backdoor was that he could slip out.

Leroy stood up and went to the edge of the bed. Offering his arm, 
he said, "Try to stand up."

Accepting the arm, William slipped off the edge of the bed and 
stood. He felt a little stiff, but in pretty good shape. He said, "I 
guess it's breakfast time."

"A little early, but I imagine Marguerite is in the kitchen already."

"Let's get something to eat," said William. His stomach rumbled, 
giving audible testimony to his hunger.

Marguerite was seated at the kitchen table looking over a magazine 
when William stuck his head through the door. In a teasing voice, 
he said, "I've been waiting thirty minutes for you to come out and 
ask me what I want to eat."

Startled, Marguerite turned and looked at him. Putting a hand on 
her chest, she said, "You little devil. You startled me. Just for that 
I'm not going to cook for you."

"How did you know that I came all this way just to be abused by 
you?" William asked as he made his way to the kitchen table. 
Leroy followed him giving a wink to Marguerite.

"What do you want?" Marguerite asked hoping that he would 
challenge her. 

"Surprise me," William said taking a seat across from her knowing 
that she would make him French Toast. Leroy sat down next to 
William. 

"He was telling me on the way here that he wanted cereal," Leroy 
said. William had told him that Marguerite would make French 
Toast. 

"Not in my kitchen. You're having French Toast," Marguerite 
answered as she went to prepare some French Toast. She knew that 
he enjoyed French Toast.

After breakfast, William stepped out the backdoor of the house. It 
only took a few seconds for someone to notice him. A cry went out 
and hundreds of Native Americans rushed to greet him. The crowd 
came to a stop more than thirty feet away from where he was 
standing and formed a huge semi-circle around him of ten people 
deep. Looking over them, William could see they stood straight 
and with pride. Something important had changed inside them.

It started with one person clapping their hands together in a slow 
beat. A few at a time, others picked up the clapping until it was a 
thunderous sound that echoed across the desert. Embarrassed by 
the attention, William raised his hands in protest. It took five 
minutes for the applause to die down.

Once it was quiet, William said, "The time of darkness is over. It is 
time for us to learn. It is time for us to grow. It is time for us to 
become masters of our own destiny."

The applause was tremendous. When it finally died down, people 
started drifting away to go home. After a few minutes, William 
was left alone with Kotyit. Turning to his mentor, he asked, "Any 
comments?"

"I kind of expected you to come out and ask if anyone had a 
cigarette to spare. What you did say was a little better than that," 
Kotyit said with a grin.

William laughed and asked, "Have you got a cigarette you can 
spare?"

The old man took out a cigarette and handed the pack over to 
William. He took one and lit it. After taking a drag off his 
cigarette, William handed the pack back to Kotyit. The old man 
said, "You did good."

"I did what I could," William answered. 

"What did you find in the pit?"

"I found a crystalline skull. It pulsed with a sickening green light."

Kotyit was silent as he considered what William had said. Finally, 
he commented, "Many crystalline skulls have been found in the 
past. I wonder if they had once been cursed in the same way. 
Perhaps the curse they carried had worked to completion."

"You may be right."

Looking over at William, Kotyit said, "I notice you are not wearing 
your medicine bag."

"It was destroyed in the pit," answered William. "Daddy Ed said 
that there was a small pile of ashes on my chest when they found 
me."

"I had heard that, but didn't believe it."

"What do you think it means?" William asked. He knew that 
Kotyit believed that he would still have a connection to the Great 
Spirit.

"I think it means that you will have to make a new one," the old 
man answered. He took a drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke 
to the morning sky. He looked over at William and said, "You'll 
have to wait until you get a little stronger before you even consider 
going into a sweat lodge."

"What do you think I should do for now?"

"Go to school and get good grades. I think the powers that be will 
leave you alone for a little while. You deserve a little rest after 
that. Maybe after you get your degree, one of the Druid Gods or 
Goddesses might request your service," Kotyit said feeling the 
rightness of his words even as he spoke them. He could feel that 
much of William's power was gone, but it wasn't gone forever. 

William could feel the rightness of his words as well. Nodding his 
head, he said, "I think you are right."

Gesturing to the steps behind the house, William went over and sat 
down. Kotyit joined him. The two of them smoked their cigarettes. 
Finally, Kotyit said, "That was a big explosion. You should be 
proud of making such a big bang."

"I guess."

"The men who own the crane have to bring another one to get the 
first one upright. It was knocked over on its side. I never saw 
anything like it."

William was silent for a couple of minutes while he looked over 
the crowd of people packing to leave. Finally, he asked, "Where is 
Spirit of Desert Rock?"

"He was one of the ones injured in the explosion," Kotyit 
answered.

"I was not told that anyone was injured," William said. 

"Four of the older Medicine Men died in the effort to contain the 
evil when the last bodies were removed. Their hearts gave out. 
Younger men, including your friend Dale, took their place. Sixteen 
of us were injured during the explosion."

Shaking his head, William said, "I did not know. I would have said 
words about their sacrifice."

"I think it is better that you did not know. Too much of our past is 
filled with sacrifice. Emphasizing sacrifice is an old man's speech. 
Your speech was about the future. That is a young man's speech. 
As a result of what you did, our people are young again and will 
look to the future."

"Everyone thinks I did something great, but others died. They 
should be recognized as the real heroes," William said. 

"They will be," Kotyit said. He was already planning a ceremony 
to mark the event. Others were talking about constructing a 
monument on which the names of those who fell would be listed. 

William ground out his cigarette on the bottom of his boot and put 
the butt in his back pocket. He asked, "So where can I find Spirit 
of Desert Rock?"

"I think he is in the house sleeping in a guest room. That is where 
all the others are," answered Kotyit looking over at William with 
an amused grin on his face. It was rare to catch William flat-
footed.

"I should have known," said William as he stood. "I'll see you 
later."

"Not if I see you first."

William was laughing as he entered the house. He made his way to 
the dining room where Marguerite had put out a breakfast buffet. 
Several of the Medicine Men were seated around the table eating 
when William entered. Looking around the room, William said, 
"Well, if it isn't the walking wounded."

Dale threw a piece of toast at William and said, "Some of us 
became Medicine Men because we were sure it was safer than 
being a warrior. Imagine our disappointment when not one warrior 
was injured."

William was laughing as picked up the piece of toast and made his 
way to the buffet. After setting the toast on the table, he fixed 
himself a cup of coffee. He sat down next to Dale and said, "I hope 
you're feeling alright."

"I feel much better than I've ever felt before," Dale said. His 
sentiment was echoed around the table.

"So what part of you is broken?" William asked.

"It was my leg, but your mother took care of it," Dale answered 
feeling embarrassed. William had told him about her healing 
power, but he hadn't believed it. It was strange having the mother 
of his best friend make love to him. 

"Ah, Momma Kelly."

Twin Elks said, "I hope that's not a problem."

After taking a sip of his coffee, William thought about it. Finally, 
he said, "It's not a problem. It is her service to the Goddess. She's 
lucky that her service allows her to help people become whole and 
healthy."

Looking William directly in the eye, Dale said, "Kind of like your 
service to the Great Spirit."