A Dark Heaven

Chapter 11 Gage the doctor

In the early morning Beverly was woken up by a poke to her stomach. Opening her eyes she saw Marty standing above her jabbing his cane into her middle.

"Sara told me she took your shift. Why didn't you go sleep in a tent, you oughta have critters biting you in your sleep and the smell of wet grass stuck to you."

"Better than the smell you have."

Marty jabbed Beverly harder with his cane, causing her to wince over, "Go find us some water, we all smell like shit."

Beverly walked less than a quarter mile until she found a flowing creek. She dipped her face into the cold stream for a drink and to wash her face. The canteens she brought were soon filled with the freshwater, she figured she should bring the horses over here also for a drink. She turned her long legs to make a trip back to camp to get a couple of people to help bring them over. Back at camp Beverly only saw Marty, Maggie, Sara, and James. Gage and Raymon went out looking for food. Beverly put the filled canteens in the wagon to keep cool and told the others to bring the horses to the creek. Once they all made it to the creek the horses finally got to drink and the rest were able to wash themselves the best they could. It was strange to all of them how much brighter they looked without dirt on their faces and hands, they finally felt a little more comfortable with their future plans now that they were a little cleaner.

"You nasty lot are scarin' the fish away." Raymon shouted while holding a fishing pole next to Gage.

"You stink worse than us, come wash up, boy." Sara called back.

Raymon and Gage went over to the stream and finally washed their faces and drank water. It felt like forever since they drank water. Throats always dry from running away and worrying for what comes next.

After the horses drank and everyone was clean, The Supur gang went back to camp with their horses, besides Raymon and Gage who stayed back to fish.

"I fuckin' hate fishin', Gage, ain't nothin' more borin'."

"It ain't that bad, just a lot of waiting around."

"That's the problem you wait and wait and nothin' happens."

Gage shrugged, not knowing what to tell Raymon, some people just don't have enough patience. Gage remembered his father used to take him fishing when he was too young to have the patience for it. His father would try to pass the time by distracting him with a story.

"Remember how we first met, Ray?"

Raymons bushy dark eyebrows raised, "How could I forget that day. My worst and best day to ever be had."

Gage stayed quiet, knowing Raymon would want to be the one reminiscing and talking.

Six months back, Maggie had a bad sickness that wasn't breaking. She fought through it hard but deep down everyone thought she was going to die. Beverly came back one day with a long slash down her arm from a knife. Someone tried to rob her while she was riding somewhere; Raymon couldn't remember where. The robber thought Beverly was just some lonely woman he could take from, but he was wrong because she shot him and took his money. When Beverly came home she was looking for something to patch up her arm with, but supplies was lacking. Raymon seeing Maggie in her delicious sick state and Beverly with a long gash from a stranger's knife made him realize he needed to find a town and somehow get medical supplies.

None of them ever favored stealing from places as useful as the doctors, but they couldn't afford going in and asking for help. Raymon rode Krato into Dodge and hitched his big mustang outside of the white painted building. Inside he was greeted with all sorts of sick or wounded people. An old man who was coughing hard and a father with his snake bitten son. Raymon went unnoticed in the cramped busy room as he snuck into a random room full of medical equipment and medicines in bottles. Raymon took a handful of everything and stored it in his big coat pocket he made Sara sew inside his jacket for trips like this.