Alone Again
by Klick
Part Three
Through the trees Keller could see the cabin and Zeke ran ahead of
them and bounded onto the porch turning to wait for his master and the new
human that he was bringing home with him. It was the dog's custom to get
home first and give three loud barks, which Keller assumed to mean, "Ha!
Beat you home!" As he made his sound Melissa raised her head and
murmured softly, "Oh, I went to sleep. My first time on a horse and I go to
sleep. Is that your place?" she asked seeing the cabin as they came into the
clearing surrounding it.
"Home sweet home. I thought you were dozing off there, that's got to
be some kind of record, sleeping on your first horse ride." He chuckled as he
guided Ned toward the four steps leading up to the porch that the dog had
moments before gone up for a drink of water from his bowl. He finished his
drinking and turned to watch, perked eared, at the three remaining travelers
approaching the porch. Water dripped from his mouth as he sat down with an
interested expression, probably wondering, as was Keller, how he was going
to get the girl down from the saddle and safely on the ground.
"Ok, now this is how I think we can do this." He said as he
maneuvered the horse close to the steps. Ned's training made it easy for
Keller to get him to side step so that his hoofs were close to the bottom step
and he told her to put her feet out and get them down onto the highest step
she could reach. "Now, I'm goin’ to let you slide down, as soon as your feet
are on the step I'll let go and you sit down or turn and put your hands on the
railing."
"Ok, I'll try but I can't reach out too far remember." she offered
nervously as she felt him releasing his grip and herself start to slide down the
side of the saddle.
"Whoa Ned, whoa boy." Keller spoke to the horse as he felt his load
start to slide off. The horse responded and stood his ground as Melissa's heels
thumped down on the third step. Keller continued to hold onto her as she
turned and got a grip on the handrail and held on tight. The hinged handcuffs
made the position a little less than comfortable and she winced from the bite
of the restraints around her wrists as she was forced to twist her hands at an
angle that the cuffs just barely allowed.
"Good girl, now you can either wait for me or if you think you can
make it, go on up." he told her as he moved the horse away from the porch
and dismounted. The girl took a step upward and was finally able to stand on
the porch next to the dog that sniffed at her still wet jeans. "Alright, we're
here, give me a minute or two to get Ned's saddle off an put him in the corral.
I'll be right back."
She watched him lead the horse away and turned to walk over to the
cane back rocker. She looked at it then at the soft cushioned lounger near to it
and chose the lounger. She sat down and Zeke licked her hand that was held
conveniently at just his height. "Hi, good boy, you're a pretty dog." she said to
him as he sat down next to her and probably wondered why she didn't reach
out and pet him like Keller always did when he sat in that chair. "I'd pet you
Zeke, but I can't reach you. These darned old handcuffs won't let me." The
dog turned his head up and looked back at the newcomer. Keller walked
around the corner and seeing Zeke so near to the girl made him smile.
"You must be special, that dog doesn't give a hoot for other people,
course he doesn't see many but when he does it's like pullin' teeth to get him
to sit still long enough for a pat on the head. And there he is sitting next to
you."
"I think he wants me to pet him but I can't. Zeke, if your master can get
me out of these things I promise I'll pet you. Is that a deal?" Zeke gave her a
quite whine and looked back at her again. "See he wants me loose too." she
said to Keller as he stepped up onto the porch.
"Well, let me go find what I can and we'll see about trying to cut you
loose. I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of tools. See, I'm not the
mechanical type, I'm more of a designer but I never worked on the things I
designed." He chuckled at his brand of humor but the girl didn't see anything
too funny.
"Do you mean there's a chance you won't be able to get these off?" she
asked, looking down at her cuffs and giving them a tug upward against the
belt.
"Well, let's just see what I can do. I'm sure I can get that belt off and
there's a pretty good chance I can at least cut your leg iron chain. I'll admit
though, those handcuffs are going to be a challenge with what I have to work
with here." She gave him a helpless little smile and nodded as he walked
towards the door to the cabin.
Melissa leaned back on the cushion and looked at the surrounding area.
"He’s really got a nice place here." She thought to herself as she surveyed
cabin and the clearing it occupied. Zeke continued to sit next to her and
finally realizing that he was not going to get any petting, laid down
beside her chair. She was warm now and comfortable in the big, soft lounger
and she closed her eyes. The soft breeze in the pines and her near exhaustion
combined to set the stage for her to fall asleep. In the several minutes that
Keller had been away, the girl dozed off.
Rich stepped back onto the porch minutes later with everything he
could locate that he thought might be helpful in getting her out of her
restraints. A small, triangle file that he used to sharpen his axe, a bent and
rusty hacksaw blade without the handle and a screwdriver. One pair of pliers
and a claw hammer was the extent of the tools that he had at his disposal. He
made a little noise seeing that her eyes were closed and not wanting to startle
her. "Hey, Melissa, are you asleep?"
At the sound of his voice she opened her eyes and smiled up at him.
"Sorry, every time I close my eyes I go to sleep." She apologized.
"It’s ok, if you’d like to take a nap I’ll go to work on your belt. Maybe
when you wake up, you’ll be out of it."
It was no surprise that she found it hard to stay awake. She had been
without sleep for nearly thirty hours. The night in the Eugene jail had been
like a nightmare. Cell doors slamming, women yelling and crying all night. A
hard and narrow cot and the lights that were never turned off. The Federal
agents had insisted that she wear leg irons in her cell. Then had come the
morning and the FBI woman that had seemed intent on making her as
uncomfortable as possible by putting the transport belt on too tight and
squeezing the handcuffs closed till she was barely able to turn her wrists in
them. "I hope you have a good trip back to Denver." The agent had said. "I’ll
be there waiting to take you to a new cell and then after you’re convicted, and
you will be, I’ll make sure I see you in a Federal prison, for ten, maybe
twenty years."
Melissa could not understand why that woman had been so cruel to
her. She did learn that she had been the chief investigator on her case but that
didn’t seem to be reason enough for her to be treated so rough. What she did
not know was that the agent had seen what Melissa’s crimes had done to
innocent people. People that had done nothing wrong or illegal were put in
positions that they did not deserve. Some had lost their jobs others had their
integrity questioned and quite probably would find it next to impossible to get
employment in the banking or financial community again. Melissa’s greed
had left a trail of destruction behind her and the female agent that finally
tracked her down knew that she had used her pretty face and big boobs to
further her surreptitious actions. "That little bitch, she didn’t care who she
had to step on or ruin, all she cared about was money. Well, now she can set
in her cell and think about what she did and if I have anything to say about it
she’s going to have a long time to think." The agent had told her partner as
they watched Melissa and the Piper Saratoga lift off from the Eugene Oregon
airport.
As Keller sat on a chair next to his sleeping guest and filed at the
chrome ‘D’ ring on the metal band around her waist, thirty eight miles away
in the city of Spalding, FBI agent Audrie Harris stood across from the police
chief’s desk. "So tell me Chief, how many people live in this area?" She was
pointing at a geological survey map of the area surrounding the city of
Spalding for a hundred miles. In particular she was pointing at the land
between the town and the crash sight.
The night before, shortly after the plane had been reported overdue in
Denver, a small, orange box about the size of a pint milk carton had begun
transmitting a distress signal. Activated by the impact of the crash, the
Emergency Locator Transmitter, or more commonly, ELT, was the only clue
that the plane was down and where. The intense fire eventually destroyed the
device, but the signal had been received and it’s location pinpointed by the
FAA. Rescuers had already arrived at the crash sight and determined that
there were only two bodies in the wreckage. The agent felt she had good
cause to be questioning the police officer.
"Well, in that area, there’s only one house, that belongs to Doc
Keller. He lives out there alone. There ain’t no other people, well, permanent
people anyway, a few campers maybe, but we usually don’t know about
them.
The agent turned to her assistant, "Get the chopper ready, we’ll
go check out this Keller’s place. Chief, I’m going to ask that you come with
us." She barked out her orders in a way that said she was determined to find
Melissa. The two bodies had been identified sufficiently to establish that she
was not one of them. "I hope that little bitch is wandering around out there
somewhere in those cuffs and shackles, I can’t think of anyone more
deserving of it."
"Man, the boss lady sure has it in for that girl, why do you think
she dislikes her so much?" An assistant to the agent asked his partner as they
approached the Army helicopter parked in an empty lot a half block from the
police station.
"I don’t know, but she doesn’t like her that’s for sure. Maybe
it’s because the girl stole so much money from the farmers, you know
Harris’s dad is a farmer. On the other hand, maybe she’s just jealous of the
girl’s tits. You know how flat chested Harris is" Both men laughed as they
approached the Army Warrant Officer who was in command of the chopper.
Keller’s small, dull file made the work slow and arduous but
after nearly a half-hour the quarter inch, thick steel ring was severed and he
exhaled audibly and shook his head. "That’s one, now all I need to do is bend
this ring out and she’ll be able to get those cuffs out of it and away from her
waist." All the while he was working on the ring he was stealing glances at
his guest. "Damn, she is good looking. I wish we’d met under better
circumstances. Shit, what am I thinking, she wouldn’t have looked at an old
fart like me twice if she wasn’t chained up like this. She didn’t have much
choice as to who rescued her; I’m the only game in town. Any port in the
storm, I guess." His thoughts alternated between her beauty and her
restraints. " It seems almost a shame to cut these off of her, there’s something
kind of sexy about her wearing these things. Although I might not have a
choice about her handcuffs, I sure don’t have anything that’s going to cut
through them." He determined, as he looked at the brightly polished manacles
locked around her slender wrists.
With the ‘D’ ring opened, it was time to try bending it outward.
Keller got a grip on it and pulled backing up the effort by holding the belt in
the opposite direction. His manipulations caused her to awake and she looked
down at what he had accomplished. "Oh, wow, you cut it!" she said
enthusiastically.
"Yeah, but I can’t bend it, at least with my hands. We’re going
to have to find a way to get more pressure on it." He looked around, saw the
vertical slats of the porch railing, and then told her to stand up and to lean up
close to the wooden slats. "I’ll be right back." He told her as he stepped
down off the porch and went into the barn. Keller returned shortly with a
leather and chain lead that he rarely used on Ned but kept handy just inside
the door. Melissa was looking out at the surrounding area and Zeke was still
close by his newfound friend that would not pet him.
"Ok, I’m going to snap this lead on that ring and you lean
against the railing. That way I won’t be pulling on your waist, the belt will
butt up against your side of the porch." she did as he said and he started
pulling on the ‘D’ ring from the ground below her.
"It’s coming! Oh, it’s bending!" she exclaimed as the metal
began to give way to Keller’s weight and within a few seconds she jerked her
handcuffs clear of the steel ring that had held her hands at her waist for so
many hours. "Oh God, Thank you, oh, that feels so good!" her reclaimed
freedom was delicious as she raised her arms high over her head. The
renewed abilities caused her to wince in pain at first as muscles so long
denied free movement were once again able to respond to their owner’s
commands. She endured the momentary discomfort feeling the relief slowly
come and the lovely sensations of being able to move her arms normally. At
least as normally as a girl can move them while wearing hinged handcuffs.
"Be careful now, don’t put your hands down there and cut
yourself on that ring. It’s sharp where I filed it through." He told her as he
removed the snap from it and coiled the lead before coming up on the porch
with her.
"Richard Keller, you’re an angel." She said as she raised her still
joined hands and placed them on his shoulders. Her lips pressed against his,
she kissed him warmly, and when she withdrew her mouth from his, she
whispered. "Thank you. Thanks for finding me. You know you probably
saved my life. I’ll never forget you for this." Her lips touched his again.
Keller was a little surprised at her attentions and a little
embarrassed grinned and asked if she was ready for him to try to get her belt
off and cut her leg iron chain. "I think my axe will cut it if you drape it across
that old stump over there. I’ll be careful and not swing too hard. That axe is
pretty sharp, it ought to cut that chain without too much trouble."
"Sure, just lead the way." He spirits were better now that she
had some use of her hands again and took his in them as they descended the
steps to the ground.
"Ok, let’s try that belt first. If I can break that little pad lock
back there, then I can just unbuckle it for you. Sit down here on the ground
and put your back up against the stump." She got into the position he had
suggested and Keller placed the edge of the leather and steel restraining
device on the stump. Two quick blows with the claw hammer and the shackle
of the small lock snapped open. "Well, that wasn’t so hard." He said as he
reached down for her hand.
"You got it? You broke the lock?" She asked, grinning broadly
as he turned her around and began to manipulated the big roller buckle,
unthreading the belt out of it and in seconds it came free of her slender waist.
The girl squealed as she turned toward him and saw the thing in
his hand that had made life so miserable for her the last few hours. "Oh shit
am I glad to be out of that thing. I don’t know why they had to put it on so
tight. She looked at the belt then up to his eyes, "Thanks again Richard."
"Don’t mention it honey, I’m glad it wasn’t a chain, I know they
use chains for the same purpose and one of those might not have been so easy
to get off. Ok, let’s try the your leg irons. Get back down there." He said
smiling and pointing to the earth.
Melissa did as he directed and sat on the ground with her chain
across the widest part of the oak tree stump. The tree was already dead when
Keller was having the cabin built and he decided to leave the stump just for
what he used it for and that was to split firewood. He picked up the long
handled axe and told her not to move. "Now just sit tight and let me get a
good aim on it." She nodded and grinned nervously as she sat legs spread and
her high heels pointing skyward.
Keller took a couple of practice swings then came down with
some force on the steel, twist-link chain. The first blow distorted a link but
failed to cut through it. "That’s some tough stuff." He said, raising the axe for
another try. His second attempt cut a link but not completely. "Now the trick
is to hit the same place." He said, lifting the tool one more time. His third
strike was successful and her feet jerked apart and fell on either side of the
stump.
Melissa squealed her delight again and with some effort
managed to get to her feet with only a small lift from Keller. "I’m not good
enough with this thing to try cutting those chains shorter. We’ll have to tie
them up with something so they won’t hit your ankles when you walk."
‘I don’t care about them, at least I can take full steps now. She
demonstrated by walking around him and humorously spread her legs as far
as she could. "Maybe Ned wouldn’t mind giving me another ride now that I
can sit on him right."
"I think that can be arranged, we’ll go...." He stopped in mid
sentence as he listened to a far off sound. Zeke heard it too and made his
customary warning growl.
She saw his attention turned to the strange noise and asked,
"What, what is it?"
Later, Keller had to wonder why he did what he did next. As a
rule, he was a law abiding citizen that rarely if ever broke the rules. To be
certain he’d had his differences with the government over his work, but
beyond that he hadn’t even had a traffic ticket in thirty years or more. Later,
when he had time to reflect on the events that took place, he had to ask
himself why, and the only answer he could come up with, when he was being
completely honest with himself, "I was a lonely, old man and she, was a
beautiful young woman that needed my help. Legal or not, she was relying on
me to give assistance, so I did."
"It’s a Huey, quick, get up on the porch. He laid the axe next to
the stump, grabbed the transport belt from the ground and took her hands,
hauling her at a fast pace towards the steps. Her newly cut leg chains jingled
as she followed "Get in the cabin!" he nearly yelled as he opened the door.
"What’s a Huey?" she asked, obviously alerted to his quick
actions but totally in the dark as to what the emergency could be.
To any Vietnam veteran the sound of a UH-1, affectionately
referred to as a Huey, is unmistakable. They lived day and night with the
noise created by those broad, flat rotor blades slapping the air and can discern
one approaching miles away. The louder the ‘Whop-Whop-Whop, the closer
the machine. Oddly the noise wasn’t near as prevalent if the chopper was
passing at right angles to the listener and nearly silent once they had been
overflown but if one was on the heading of a Huey’s line of flight, the sound
was undeniable.
"A helicopter, a Huey is a helicopter and it’s heading our way.
Get inside, keep away from the windows and don’t make a sound if you hear
voices out here!"
"They can’t be looking for me, not yet could they?" she looked
at him helplessly as she stepped into the cabin and he was closing the door.
‘If that plane you were in had a locator on board, and it probably
did, they know it’s down... and where. Choppers are something that you
don’t see around these parts; he’s looking for something. Here, take this." He
handed her the belt. "Now keep out of sight and quiet!" he told her in a firm
voice that she had no intentions of arguing with.
Keller ran back to the stump and placed a cut log upright on it
and waited. He did not have to wait long. The ‘Whop-Whops were nearly on
top of him as he looked up and saw the olive green aircraft appear over the
tops of the trees surrounding his cabin clearing. The pilot was flying low,
barely three hundred feet Keller surmised and when he was over the cabin,
put his craft into steep bank, so steep that you could have almost called it
knife edge flight. Zeke jumped off the porch and barked at the strange
machine circling him and his master. Keller could easily see a person at the
open side door looking down at him with binoculars. He looked again and
could see that person was female. Her short cropped hair, blowing wild in the
blast of the rotor and the passing wind.
The helicopter made a full circle over him and he raised a hand
and waved casually at it before it leveled and flew towards another clearing
Keller knew to be a couple of hundred yards from where his home was. That
other clearing was easily large enough to accommodate a Huey. The jocks
that drove them in Nam put them down in much smaller areas everyday.
Keller went back to his log splitting and waited for what he
knew was going to be more visitors to his quiet domain.
