Land of the Dogs (The Colter Saga Book 5) Read online

  Land of the Dogs

  The Colter Saga

  Joel K Baker

  Book 5

  Introduction

  This is the fifth in a series of novels entitled The Colter Saga.

  The first novel entitled Friends of the Family followed the struggle of Jesse and Sarah Colter and their family as they face the overnight end of civilization. They are forced on a journey through a desolate and dangerous landscape, testing the courage and resolve of the family and the friends they meet along the way. As they reach Haven, Jesse’s childhood home, they struggle to fight evil and build a life of love and decency for their family.

  The second novel entitled The Way of the Dogs begins some eighty years after the Colter family arrived at a place called Haven. Sarah and Jesse’s son Paul, now in his nineties, is the sole survivor of the family. The extended Colter family has prospered, unaware of the gathering storm of wickedness swirling around them. James Colter, the only grandson of Mark, is a loner, and very much like his great grandfather Jesse. Not comfortable with the progress around him, he could be the last best hope as evil descends on Haven.

  The third novel The Dogs of Liberty begins with the Cherokees and Gypsies move north. James Colter was asked to lead the expedition with his wife Molly. James ancestors had settled Haven at the time of the Go Back, and now with civilization returning, James was anxious to leave all that behind. Leading the wagon train north seemed an ideal solution. Molly knew of James need for wide open spaces and there was nothing holding them to Haven. When their daughter had told them the Colter dogs were dying, she hoped the move north would enable the dogs to recover and remain friends of the family.

  This fourth novel The Dog People begins with the James and Molly Colter, once again on the move. This time the family fulfills their destiny by taking a trip west. They and their friends hope to find a home where they, and the dogs, can live in peace. Faced with the unexpected, there are challenges to the bonds of dog and man alike. The Colter family faces an ever changing future, where dogs evolve, but the ties of love and loyalty are never broken.

  This fifth novel Land of the Dogs finds the Colters and their bond with the dogs being tested. The land has become the enemy, as the rivers run dry and the wells begin to empty. As the Colters are again faced with agonizing decisions, it’s just possible the dogs have plans of their own. The question is, are the Colters a part of those plans?

  Chapter 1

  A young girl sat under a shade tree next to a large black dog. The leaves on the tree were brown, or a sickly yellow going to brown. The girl sat with her chin on her knees. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her legs. A hot wind blew gritty dirt from the west, as it had for months.

  She wore a homemade blouse with little birds embroidered around the edges. Someone loved the little girl very much. They’d spent hours stitching the tiny birds in flight. She’d gotten the blouse for her seventh birthday. Now the little girl sat staring at the shadowy figure emerging out of the shimmering heat.

  He wasn’t a tall man, she thought. Not like her daddy. She could see the man wore a funny hat. It looked like an upside down bowl, but with a narrow brim running clear around it. Jessica was never concerned about being by herself with strangers. She wasn’t afraid of anyone. No one ever bothered her. No one would be foolish enough to bother her when Max, her dog, was with her.

  As the stranger drew closer, she could see he carried a cloth jacket slung over his shoulder. He held it by a dirty crooked finger. He wore the canvas pants most men wore for work. His blue shirt was dirty, sweat stained, and unbuttoned almost to the waist. He was heavy set. A thick layer of hair covered his chest. His eyebrows were shaggy. Sweat dripped off the end of his bulbous nose.

  “Sure is hot out here,” The man said, smiling through yellow teeth.

  “It’s always hot out here,” Jessica said, watching the man mop his face with a soiled handkerchief.

  “What’s your name little girl?” the man asked.

  “Jessica,” she said. “And I’m not a little girl.”

  “Nice to meet you, Jessica,” the man said. “It’s nice to find anyone out here. My name is Marvin. Is this your dog?”

  “Yes,” Jessica said.

  “That is one big dog,” Marvin said. “What’s his name?”

  “Max,” Jessica said. “What are you doing out here walking?”

  “I work over at the Walker place,” Marvin said. “I was told to find some cattle that wandered off. Then my horse stepped in a hole and broke his leg. He threw me off when he fell. I lost my gun and couldn’t even shoot the damn thing. Wolves will eat him before nightfall anyway. Is there anyone else around?”

  “Yes,” Jessica said, staring up at the blue sky. “You’re not from around here are you?”

  “Nope,” The man said, with an odd smile on his face. “I hired on to the Walker’s a week ago. Do you live around here?”

  “Yes,” Jessica said, pointing up the hill behind her. “I live over this ridge.”

  “Is that where your kin are?” the man asked.

  Jessica stood and looked down at Max. She was quiet for a minute and smiled at Max before answering. It was as if she and Max had shared a private joke. She turned back towards the man.

  “You don’t know who the Colters are, do you?” Jessica asked.

  “Never heard of them,” Marvin said, taking a step toward where Jessica stood. “Are they your family? They never mentioned them over at Walker’s place. You sure are a pretty young thing.”

  Jessica looked at the fat, sweaty man for a moment before answering. She decided Max was right about this man. Something was wrong with him. Max said his color was evil. The dogs had always been sensitive to the aura radiating from people.

  “Max doesn’t like you much,” Jessica said looking Marvin in the eyes. “He says you hurt people. Is that true?”

  “Your dog said that, did he?” Marvin asked.

  He laid his coat on the ground, and took another step toward where Jessica stood.

  “You talk to your dog much?” Marvin asked.

  Marvin was pretty sure now the girl was slow, or touched in the head.

  “Yes,” Jessica said. “I talk to him. Are you a bad person like Max says?”

  “I’m not a bad guy,” Marvin said. “You got any other imaginary friends around here?”

  “Yes,” Jessica said, now smiling again.

  Marvin could never have explained why he decided to hurt the little girl, but hurt her he would. Somewhere within his fevered mind, a synapse misfired. He would kill the dog now. The girl could wait. He silently slipped his knife from its sheaf hidden in his shirt sleeve. He felt the power and balance of the knife in his hand.

  “So Jessica,” Marvin said, with a fake smile. “Where are these imaginary friends of yours?”

  “They’re right behind you,” Jessica said.

  Marvin turned slowly and saw three dogs. They were all as big as the one with the little girl. They’d approached him without making a sound. Two of the dogs issued low growls as a warning.

  “My friends want you to put the knife away,” Jessica said.

  Jessica looked up at the sky watching the high fluffy clouds.

  “Max thinks you might try to hurt me,” Jessica said, still looking up. “Is that what you were going to do? Were you going to hurt me?”

  Marvin knew something wasn’t right. This little girl and the dogs, it was all wrong. He was the one in control. This wasn’t how it was supposed to work. At first he couldn’t believe his luck. He was able to just walk up on the girl and her stupid dog. Now it was a nightmare. He’d lost control, and wasn’t sure how or why.

>   “Max wants to know if you can run fast,” Jessica said, still looking up at the sky. “Are you a fast runner?”

  “I don’t know… I…,” Marvin stuttered. “What do you mean Max wants to know?”

  “Max told me I have to go home now,” Jessica said, pointing up the hill behind her. “He told the other dogs not to chase you until we’re out of sight.”

  “What happens then?” Marvin asked softly, now obviously frightened as much by how Jessica said it, as what she said.

  “I don’t know,” Jessica said, with a quizzical look on her face. “I don’t walk very fast. You have some time.”

  “I have time for what?” Marvin asked in a whisper.

  “Time to run away,” Jessica said.

  Jessica turned with Max and began to climb the ridge behind her. After several steps, she glanced back at where Marvin still stood. Sweat and something else had stained the front of his pants.

  “If you can run Marvin,” Jessica called back to the man standing below. “I’d do it now.”

  ****

  Dalton and Shannon stood on the bank of the dry riverbed. Heat shimmered off the southern ridge from the noon day sun. The last time it had rained was early January. Now it was late May. Everything had dried up and blown away on a wind that never stopped whipping down the canyon.

  Dalton licked his dry lips. He glanced up at the mountains to the west. He shaded his eyes from the sun glaring off the snow and glaciers still covering the distant peaks.

  “How does a river just disappear like this?” Shannon asked. “It’s fed by melting snow and glaciers. Wouldn’t the heat just melt it quicker?”

  “I don’t know,” Dalton said. “But, we better find out. The water table is dropping fast. I’m worried about our wells. Your dad suggested we go find out what’s going on at the source of the river. I suspect Jessica will want to go with us.”

  “I’m sure she will,” Shannon said.

  A beautiful little girl, Jessica inherited her ability to communicate with the dogs from Shannon, her mother. Matthew, Jessica’s uncle, could also talk with them. Their secret was guarded closely by the other Colters.

  Jessica was very close to the Colter dog named Max. Max had abilities different from the other dogs. But Max was beginning to age prematurely. No one knew why. The Colter dogs were all active and strong into their twenties. Max was barely ten.

  Max was the natural leader of the dogs. He’d tried to lead the dogs away from the Colters at first. Then Max had bonded with Jessica before she was even born. Now he seldom left Jessica’s side.

  Dalton shaded his eyes as he saw distant shapes walking towards them. It was Jessica with Max walking by her side. The shimmering heat made the two of them flicker as they came down the south ridge. There were usually two or three other dogs trailing them, but not today.

  “Hi Daddy, Mommy,” Jessica said.

  She gave her dad, then her mom a big hug.

  “Where have you and Max been?” Shannon asked.

  “Over on the other side of the ridge,” Jessica said. “We saw someone. He said he was one of the men who work for the Walkers.”

  “Did you recognize him?” Dalton asked.

  “No,” Jessica said. “He wore one of those funny hats that were round, with a narrow brim. They sent him out to find some cattle. His horse broke its leg, or some such thing. He was walking home when he spotted Max and me.”

  “You have to be careful, sweetheart,” Shannon said. “Since Rachel Walker and that awful husband of hers took over the ranch, they’ve been hiring some really bad people. I don’t trust any of them anymore.”

  “Did something happen?” Dalton asked, noticing a strange look on Jessica’s face. “He didn’t try anything with you, did he?”

  “No,” Jessica said. “I had Max and some of the other dogs with me. He said some dumb stuff. That’s all.”

  “Where is he?” Dalton asked looking around.

  “He had to run on home,” Jessica said with a smile, glancing down at Max. “Why are you standing out here?”

  “Oh,” Shannon said. “We’re just wondering what happened to the river.”

  “We’re going to go trace this river back to its source in the mountains,” Dalton said. “Do you want to go with us?”

  “You bet!” Jessica said. “I was hoping we’d go on a trip somewhere.”

  “We’re not leaving this minute,” Shannon said. “You’ve got plenty of time.”

  Just then, three of the dogs came up to where they stood. The dog in the lead carried a black derby hat in its mouth. He laid the hat by Jessica’s feet, and sat down with the other two dogs behind Max.

  “That man you met must have left his hat behind,” Shannon said, picking the hat up.

  “More likely, the wind blew it off,” Dalton said. “The wind never stops blowing out here.”

  “That’s probably what happened,” Jessica said.

  Jessica and the dogs headed towards the barn. Shannon looked at Max as he turned away.

  Max, Shannon said. I assume they’ll never find the body,

  They will not, Max answered.

  I’ll get rid of the hat, Shannon said.

  Shannon understood the devotion Max felt toward Jessica. She appreciated Max protecting Jessica. At the same time she’d made sure that Jessica didn’t become spoiled by the attention. It helped that Shannon could speak with Max like Jessica. It was a relationship that worked.

  Dalton watched as the dogs trotted behind Jessica as she walked away. There had been over thirty Colter dogs not long ago living on the place. Many of them were puppies. Max moved them a short distance away from the Colter home for a while. Then they’d disappeared altogether. Only Max and a few other adult males still remained with the Colters.

  “Has Max ever explained what happened to all the other dogs?” Dalton asked.

  “Not really,” Shannon said. “All he would say was that they went to where there is water.”

  “If this damn drought keeps up,” Dalton said. “We’re going to have to join them.”

  “Yeah,” Shannon said. “Assuming we can find them.”

  “And assuming they will let us,” Dalton said.

  Chapter 2

  The Colters rode single file through the heat of the late morning sun. A hot, dry breeze from the west blew gritty sand in their faces. They wore bandanas covering their mouth and nose. In the distance they could see vultures circling overhead. Jessica rode up next to her dad and said something to him. Dalton signaled for everyone to pull up.

  “Max told Jessica there are three riders up ahead,” Dalton said. “They’re by the carcass of a dead horse. It’s probably the horse of that ranch hand from the Walker place, Jessica ran into the other day.”

  “Max said there are three riders?” Molly asked. “I didn’t think the dogs could count.”

  “They can’t, Grandma,” Jessica said. “Max says there are three, whenever there is more than one. There could be two riders or fifty.”

  “Okay,” Molly said, with a smile.

  James rode up by Dalton, leaned over and said something to him. Dalton nodded and turned to the other riders.

  “Jessica, tell Max to have the dogs stay out of sight,” Dalton said. “Your grandpa and I will go see what those riders are doing. They’re probably out looking for the guy with the derby hat.”

  “Matthew,” James said. “I need you and the other’s to stay out of sight, unless something starts up between us and the riders. Find a spot where you can cover us, if we have to fall back suddenly.”

  Dalton and James rode towards the circling vultures. As they came over the last rise, they saw a group of five men standing next to the well chewed remains of a horse. Their horses were tethered a short distance away. As James and Dalton rode towards the circle of men, they turned as if startled by the Colter arrival.

  “Hello,” James called, moving close to the circle of men. “What are you doing out this way?”

  Dalton st
ayed some distance behind James, watching the others carefully. His rifle lay across his saddle, and his hand rested on his handgun.

  A young man stepped out from the others, waiting for James to get closer.

  “I’m Frank Butler,” the young man said. “I run the Walker place now.”

  “I went to your wedding,” James said. “You married Lester’s daughter Rachael, now didn’t you?”

  Dalton looked at the young man talking to James. He had kind of a weasel look to him. He was tall and skinny, with a head that looked too wide for his body. His hair was long, and tied back in a ponytail.

  He wore his gun low and tied down. He looked like someone who knew how to use it. The men with Frank all seemed to be hard cases. None of them were from around here.

  “Yeah,” Frank said. “I married Rachael. You’re one of those Colter people, aren’t you?”

  “I’m James Colter,” James said. “This is Dalton Cooper, my son-in-law.”

  “I remember you now,” Frank said. “We’re out this way looking for cattle. We found one of our ranch hands who was missing.”

  “Is that what’s left of his horse?” James asked, pointing to the carcass.

  “It would seem so,” Frank said. “That’s his saddle over there. Looks like the horse broke his leg and the wolves got him.”

  “What about your man?” James asked.

  “We didn’t find him,” Frank said. “He must have tried to walk out of here. Any of your people see anything of him?”

  “Nope,” James said. “What do you think he was doing out here in Colter Canyon?”

  “He was supposed to be looking for cattle that wandered off,” Frank said. “He probably got all turned around. He was new. I don’t think he was the sharpest knife in the drawer either.”

  “Sorry we couldn’t help,” James said. “You can head on down our canyon if you want. I doubt you’ll find anything. We haven’t seen any sign of him.”

  “Thanks,” Frank said. “I think we’ll head on back to our place. It’s too damn hot out here. We still have to find those cattle that wandered off. They were probably looking for water.”