Sundown Never Sleeps..

It was a feeling that he could not outwardly place, he supposed that it was one of those ‘One of these things is not like the others' kind of things- but he couldn’t put his finger to it. It was something that had been tugging at the back of his mind since they‘d gone through Pleasantville. He’d seen the kid sitting in the back seat on the old red Pontiac Tempest, when they’d pulled up to the stop light on the main drag. The kid was really neat looking, wearing a little pink dress laying in the back in a blanket with no car seat, Bear remembered giving the parents a cold stern look, compared to the kid, they were dirty looking, nasty matted hair, dirty hands and the mommy looked even worse, they looked like a couple of junkies he‘d thought. Something didn’t fit- the kid was way to clean to be theirs, only it didn’t hit him until now. Now he just had a bad feeling, and when he‘d walked past the gas pump by the police cruiser he heard it coming over the radio, somebody had snatched a kid from the front seat of a car while the mother was inside the store paying for her gas. No description of the suspects but the little girl was wearing a little pink dress with flowers on it and she had her little blue blanket with her. He turned immediately towards the store. His two friends Snake and Christian were walking towards him.
“Snake? Is that cop still in the store?” He asked.
The other biker shrugged.
“Yeah. I guess so. why?”

Bear walked past him back into the store, he saw the cop at the counter paying for a sandwich. He patiently waited until he headed for the door, the officer turned to face the much larger man, the sight of Bear made him uneasy. He was so big, so burly, a barrel-chested brutish looking man, and yet there was something in the eyes, something that puzzled him.
“Officer?” Bear said. “I was standing by your cruiser and I overheard someone on your radio talking about a kidnapping?”
They walked together out the door toward the three Harlys and the police cruiser.
“Yeah, it happened this morning over in Burnam county, the mother was in the store for just a minute or two to pay for gas and somebody snatched the kid out of the front seat. It really sucks too, poor lady is hysterical, shame, can’t take your eyes off your children for a second these days. They have everybody in three counties looking for that kid.” The officer said.
Bear looked at Snake and Christian and then back at the officer.
“Yeah. Well it didn’t hit me until I heard your radio but I think I saw that kid when we were passing through Pleasantville this morning. She was laying in the back without a car seat, laying there in a blue blanket. I knew that kid looked too clean to belong to those two.” Bear told him.

He gave him a full description of the dirty looking couple and even remembered most of the license number, make and year of the vehicle, they were driving a beat up red 1962 Pontiac Tempest with Ohio, plates. And last that Bear could remember was they turned and were heading east towards Crows Crossing Road. The officer thanked Bear for the information and immediately radioed back to the Sutter county Sheriffs office. Bear told him that they were going to stay in the area until the child was recovered, probably in an abandoned settlement in the woods that Christian knew about where they could stash their bikes and themselves out of the weather in case it rained, all Bear knew was that it was somewhere along Crows Crossing Road. The officer thanked them for their assistance. He thanked him in kind and the three bikers left the convenience store and headed east on Crows Crossing. Five miles later they turned onto a narrow stretch of road that lead farther back into the woods until they reached Quick’s bridge at the Saddlehorn River. Christian turned his bike down the dirt road that ran beside the river and lead the way to the abandoned settlement. They stashed their bikes in a shed next to the building they would be sleeping in. Just before dark Bear decided to walk back in the trees to gather some fire wood. He had been stepping on and breaking small branches when he’d first noticed the large black crow sitting on a limb in a tree above staring down at him.

Bear’s round face drew into a smile as he carefully stood and moved closer to the tree never taking his eyes off of the beautiful bird. His lips pursed and he began to make little kissing sounds at the bird slowly raising his hand to see if the crow would move. But instead of moving it cocked its head almost curiously still looking down at him.
“Boy aren’t you a handsome feller. Say where do you live big boy?” Bear smiled.
Without warning the crow let out a blood curdling shriek and flew out into the clearing landing on another tree some forty feet away. Taking it as a sign that the bird didn’t wish to be bothered- he returned his attention back to the firewood. Moments later he looked back up and there was the bird again sitting and staring at him only closer than before. Now puzzled Bear called out to Christian and Snake who both emerged from the trees and into the clearing.
“S’matter Bear?” Christian asked.
“Get a load of this bird man. He’s acting kinda funny.” He answered.
Christian laughed.
“Hey man. That’s a crow.” He laughed pointing at the bird. “You’re less than a mile and a half from Crows Crossing Road, all of the crows here act funny.”
Bear wasn’t smiling anymore. He stood up slowly, his eyes never leaving the Crow.




He explained to them how it flew away and then came back and did it twice more before they’d shown up, always flying off in the same direction, landing on the same tree. Making a terrible commotion each time. Bear instructed them to the tree where it always landed. The same spot every time always flying to that spot then coming back. They moved next to the second tree and the crow almost seemed eager to follow them.
“Call me crazy,” Bear said “But I honestly think this little guy is trying to tell us something.”
“Well call me crazy man,” Snake said, “But its gonna be completely dark in a couple of hours, and if we follow this bird too far into the woods we could get lost.”
A strange noise echoing through the trees caught their attention and the three men looked at each other and carefully made their way deeper into the woods being ever so careful to be as quiet as possible. The trail led them up a hill and weaved its way back towards the river near another small dirt road that came straight through the woods. And Bear could almost hear his heart pounding through his chest when he saw the red Pontiac Tempest parked some thirty five feet away on a small cliff overlooking the Saddlehorn river. He turned back to Snake and Christian.
“Get back to the settlement and walk the bikes back to the bridge where we came in before you start them, get the cops up here but fast! them are the two junkies that snatched that kid, I’ll stay here and keep an eye on them. Go on now, and be quiet and quick about it!” He instructed them.
They disappeared quietly back into the trees as bear moved around to get a closer look at the car. He didn’t see the young man with the club in his hand sneaking up behind him.

He swung the club at Bear striking him in the back and went running towards the river yelling at the top of his lungs, Bear struggled to his feet and followed, he was standing on the ledge of a twenty foot drop yelling down at the water to the woman who held the baby, he turned in time to see bear step up in front of him. He scowled at him.
“I. I’ll kill you man!” He stuttered at Bear.
He raised the club into the air as Bear doubled both fists.
You tell that scrawny bitch of yours to put down that baby or I’m gonna throw you both a beating!” Bear yelled.
“No way man. Run Marilyn!”
Bear took one step forward when a black flash flew right by his head and straight into the face of the club wielding junkie. Startled he staggered backwards dropping the club and fell backwards down the small cliff face. Bear looked down at him as his thin body lay still with his head against a log. He had broken his neck on impact. Bear turned and made his way down to the water some thirty yards ahead he could see the woman with the baby trying to climb up the side of the bank to get away from the outraged biker.
“C’mon lady. Don’t hurt the kid.. Just give her to me and I’ll let you get away clean. I won’t try to stop you.”
Her feet were starting to come out from under her and he could see that she was losing her grip on the child.

Bear looked up at the large black Crow almost helplessly. The crow stared back at him.
“You got any magic left big boy? I’m running out of ideas here.” He said.
He could see the baby who was now lying on the ground while the woman tried to feverishly look for an escape. It seemed to Bear almost. Magical, as he watched the large Crow get between her and the baby and began shrieking at the top of its lungs at her. She was slowly backing away half confused half frightened. Bear’s smile returned.
“Yeah big boy! that’s it. Give it to her good.” He chuckled.
He ran over to the baby as she climbed out onto the side of a fallen tree that was precariously laying in the water, the crow all of the while- flying at her from every direction seemingly all at once confusing her even more as she inched her way out on the limb farther and farther out over the water. Until finally her feet slipped and she fell in, Bear watched as the river washed her away. He held the little girl close as he made his way back to the dirt road that ran beside the raging Saddlehorn, off in the not too far distance he could hear the faint growl of motor cycle engines followed closed by the wail of police sirens. He walked with the baby towards the flashing lights as the crow flew over head. He stopped and looked up at it as now the police cars were only some fifty yards away.
“Thanks for the help big boy. I owe you one.”
When it all sorted out, they returned the baby to her mother, Bear got his fire wood and built his fire, and although he Snake and Christian would have been welcomed with open arms in any town in the area, they decided to camp out next to the Saddlehorn, here tonight they would sleep peacefully, amongst the trees and their new found friends.. Here on Crows Crossing Road.

~Scratch.. A.B.T. Copyright © 2010~