The Lone Ranger Chapter 3

3.

The rider on the white horse heaved his body up from the long hours of riding. His thighs felt numb slapping the leather and his rump sore.  He looked at the departing figure on the downward slope into the valley. He liked the Native Americans ever since they met in the most unusual situation. He then pulled at the rein of the white horse to make the ride towards up the hill. His ride was shorter before the horse reached the stone hut by the woods. The stone hut was previously a hunter lodge when they needed shelter. It had a porch and two windows on the front with another on the rear. It had a living area, the kitchen and the sleeping berth for two. There was the fireplace by the kitchen and the gun cabinet was above the living area seating. That was the original layout but now the living area was a gun room with the equipment to cap the bullets with silver. There were two changes there and one was the wooden stake next to the two Winchesters and the Sharps. It had stains of blood on it. The other was the numerous inklings on the walls that were to protect the occupants. The rider left his horse in the corral next to the stone hut after unsaddling it.

“You are finally back.” The figure seated there at the table was making the silver bullets looked up. He was seated at the table with silver bullet casings and the pot of silver specks of dust alongside the gunpowder. He had laid the bullets casings in the rows and was holding the funnel to load the silver specks of dust after he had loaded the gun powder. His face was covered with the mouthpiece but his dressing spoke more of him with the white collar on the shirt lapels.

“Lance, I have done up to sixty more cartridges for you.” The religious man continued on. “I also re-stocked the pantry. Since you are back, can you tell your friends to leave me out of their meals discussion? If I am without the meat and my blood purified, I may just choke them for the taste of meat and bad blood.”

“Thank you, Father Dennis.” The one named Lance aka Kemo-Sabe left his gear by the doorway. He then proceeded to help himself the coffee by the fireplace.

“I heard of your exploits at Far Creek and Dan Town. Those bank robbers will not be a threat anymore.” Father Dennis stood up from the table. He shook off the silver dust from his frock. “I was also told that they will repent for their sins. Your mode of justice had been persuasive.”

Lance smiled at the incident at Far Creek. The Lone Ranger was not only hunting the demons but also the outlaws. He had not killed any of the outlaws but he had brought them back to the house of the Lord. He had placed the fear of God in them once more. He recalled the day he was to become the Lone Ranger. It was terrifying and above all scared himself.

Lance Wayne Bernard was in the heydays of the darker continent then as an adventurer providing works for the needed audience in the affluent society. He was hunting the lions then at the savannah, not kill but to draw the pictures while in their natural habitat. The wild creature was standing at three hundred feet beneath the lone tree there while his pack of care was lying nearby. The wind was in Lance’s favor then, and he had made the last hundred feet with confidence. He sensed the instinct on his spine that his luck was not going to hold for long. He felt the wind had dropped and his body perspired more while his hands went cold.

Lance blinked his right eye while he rested his body on the makeshift branch that served as his camouflage. He looked out again. The lion was not there anymore. Neither was the pack. There were no trees either. Lance lowered the pencil held in his right hand. He peeked out once more. He was almost certain that he could feel the mane of the lion then but it was not there anymore. He also rubbed his nose for the fresh scent of the breath of the creature on his face but there was nothing. He felt a shiver down his spine and on instinct, he rolled over and over with every roll, he was anticipating the paws of the creature to halt his movement. It was then he stopped and crouched up.

He was still on the savannah but the lions were gone. Instead, there was a circle of natives there doing the step dance there. He looked around him and found his entourage was not to be found. He stood up and then approached the natives. They were clothed only with the loincloth but their body was covered with dried white clay that was an indication of some wild creatures. The natives have a tall headdress made of bird feathers and in their hands was the shield and spear. One of them turned to see Lance.

“White Ranger, you have far to meet your destiny. It will be known soon.” The native spoke to him. Lance shook his head and assumed that the heat had got into him.

“You cannot escape destiny.” The native then handed him a mask made from the dark shade creature that lurks the dark forest on the branches of the tall trees. “You can see better with this.”

Lance placed the mask over his eyes and saw a different landscape that was never seen by the normal person. He saw then was a red sky with the darker clouds, and the horizon was a series of low standing alone structures instead of hills. The structures were laid out like the tree trunk with the canopy of leaves high above but they were not leaves and if it was, the canopy of leaves was burning. He removed it and then heard his name called.

“Bwana Bernard, there is a message for you.”

It took him three months to travel across the sea and land before he returned home. He did not know how he got home but three months being away was a long time. They thought he had died out there but he survived. He won’t talk of his time out there. Lance’s home was a large mansion with twelve rooms and a lawn that was triple the house he had seen in the nearby town. There was also the rich silver mine near the mansion and it was under the family trust. They held a funeral for him when they assumed he had died. That done but the grieving was still current. Everyone was relieved he made it out alive. One of them was Father Dennis who was there to nurtured the young man till he returned to the family home in the other continent. He came home to an empty house with the priest. They settled in their home.

“Lambert died from the wounds of a gunfight. He was in Arizona.” The local priest explained the cause of the death of the brother. “I knew from the locals.”

Lance asked him why was his brother was in Arizona. He knew his brother was taking care of the family business in the east and seldom go back to Arizona. The family-owned another mine in Arizona and that was a silver mine like the one in the darker continent. He was unlike his brother who was a businessman but Lance was a traveler. He also questioned the priest of the silver bullets found on the gun belt.

“Lambert was the vigilante that roams the lands then. He was named the Lone Ranger.” It was disbelieving for Lambert was not that kind of a person. He was loving and kind.

“Your the brother lived a second life. He was the vigilante at times. He helped the people in distress.” I heard of the Lone Ranger. He was a bane among the outlaws but he never kills. He will wound his capture and then headed them to the jails. He was good but when he came across a new set of outlaws. The issue was they were not that easy to wounds and he learned it too late.”

“Have the law caught up with the killers?” Lance asked then. “And how did you know of his other life?”

“The laws do not care for those who were vigilantes. Since the Lone Ranger came into notice, there were a few more did the same and when they died, no one cared.” Father Dennis concluded on the cause of death. “But they were different from Lambert. The new outlaws he was hunting then were more deadly. They were not your normal bank robbers and thieves but the offsprings of Hell.”

“Spare me your Sunday teaching, Father Dennis. I have seen more than any of you had.” Lance had brushed off the older man. “Tell me how did you know?”

“I I am telling you the truth. Lambert was working with the House of the Lord. Like myself but he was an avenger. He was part of those selected by the House to serve as avengers. He was given the task with the silver bullets but he hardly used them. He did not reckon there were such demons. But there was. It was moving across the sea towards here. It was brought to our notice by the leaders in Rome that this new threat needed to be handled before it spread.”

“And I was to seek the man to replace the brother. He was to continue where Lambert had failed now.” Father Dennis looked at Lance. He was told to be what his brother was but he refused the offer to be the new Lone Ranger. “Lambert was the David in the House while I am…”

“Alike to Michael of the Angel. You are always a gifted one. The special one.” Father Dennis looked to the young man whom he was had known since birth. “I have watched over you since then. When you were here at a younger age, and then to the darker continent. You are the Avenger of God.”