Leaving Epitaph: The Sons of Daniel Shaye

25

“Why are we headin’ for Oklahoma City?” Terry Petry asked Ethan Langer. “I thought we had to head north to meet the rest.”

Langer took a moment before answering Petry. Normally he would have either backhanded the man from his saddle for questioning him or just outright killed him. Aaron, he knew, would have killed Petry without a thought. But then Aaron wasn’t having those dreams.

“Ethan?”

“We aren’t headin’ north, Petry,” Langer said. “We’re headin’ northeast.”

“Yeah,” Petry said, “but why?”

Langer turned his head to glare at the other man, who had ridden up alongside him to ask him the questions. The other men were laying back, their shoulders hunched against what they thought was coming.

“Since when do I have to explain my reasons to you, Petry?” he demanded.

“Hey, Ethan,” Petry said, “a lot of us are askin’ the same question, ya know? I’m the only one figured I could ride up and ask ya without getting’ shot.”

“Look into my eyes, Terry,” Langer said. “Are you still sure that’s true?”

Petry did look into Ethan Langer’s eyes, and he didn’t like what he saw—at all.

“Forget it, Ethan,” Petry said. “Just forget it.”

“That’s right, Terry,” Langer said. “You ride back and tell the others to forget it. They can either follow me or go their own way—but if they go, they forfeit their share of the last job. Got it?”

“I got it, Ethan.”

“Good, then pass it along.”

Petry pulled back and joined the other men, leaving Langer alone with his thoughts—thoughts about his dreams. That woman was still there, every night, screaming in his dreams. He wondered if hearing her scream in real life would have kept him from hearing it in his dreams.

He needed to talk to somebody, but not any of the men he was riding with. He’d considered talking to Aaron, his older brother, except he wasn’t sure that Aaron would understand. He didn’t even understand. Somebody had to explain it to him, and the only person he knew who could do it lived in Oklahoma City. Once they stopped there, they could still continue north through Indian Territory to meet up with Aaron and his men. Hopefully, by then the woman would be gone from his dreams—and maybe even his dreams would be gone.

Maybe then he’d be able to get some peace in his sleep.