Wednesday, September 7, 2016


      

Copyright © 2013


All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or  mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher


The places and names of people in this story are fictitious! Any similarities to places or persons now living or dead are purely coincidental.



Table Of Contents


1)    The Vigilante

2)    The Mission

3)    The Grim Reaper Rides

4)    The search For My sister

5)    Death on a Train

6)    Westward Bound

7)    Ride Of The Iron Horse

8)    Return Of The Grim Reaper

9)    Call Of The secret Lagoon

10)  Winter in the Oregon Forest

11)  Return To Devils Highway

12)  Back to the Oregon Forest



The Orphan Vigilante


The Vigilante
Chapter 1



           I’m only 16 years old. I was raised in an orphanage, My parents are both dead. My dad was killed fighting in World War one. My mother came down with the “Spanish Influenza” not long after I was born and she died! Over nineteen million people died from the “influenza,” more than double the number of people killed in the war! I have no memories of either of them. Being raised in an orphanage was difficult, no one loved you, no one cared, there was no one for you to love, you were just a burden to everyone in charge.

I was fortunate I guess. I was under the supervision of Mr. Dawson, he was young, an ex-Marine who survived the war! He took an interest in me right away and when I was barely 6 years old he began training me to become what I am today. He was a good man but the war affected him in ways he didn’t even realize! He was a trained Killer! He was good at what he was trained to do! Today, when you look at me, you will see a trained killer! I’m professionally trained in “hand to hand” combat. I’m trained in Martial Arts, Karate, Kung-Fu, and jujitsu!

Mr. Dawson would sign me out for a whole week and take me into the woods where I was trained day and night until I was an expert with weapons and explosives. I got to where I could disassemble any weapon, and reassemble it blind folded! I became a “marksman” and never missed anything I aimed at! I was trained in the use of knives, even swords and I could stick a fly to a wall from 15 feet away. Mr. Dawson marveled at my ability to learn and grasp everything so quickly!

Mr. Dawson was the only family I ever knew. He was definitely my father figure! He was also my “Master” as the one who taught me to be proficient in Martial Arts. But, he wouldn’t allow me to call him Master, or teacher, I was to call him Mr. Dawson and so I did. He taught me to be very humble and always be respectful of others, especially my elders. Like always, I did what I was told. The war and the Influenza took everything from me. I remember I had an older sister who was with me when Mom died and both of us were brought to the same orphanage under a court order by the state. We were separated right away and I never saw her again.

        Today its my number one mission, to find my sister! It won’t be easy, Mr. Dawson told me things about the orphanage where I grew up. He said there are people looking to kill him because he had discovered horrible things going on not just by this orphanage but by a number of orphanages all across the country! He said he had enough proof and evidence to take to the proper authorities which will put a lot of people in high places behind bars for the rest of their lives!

          Well, Mr. Dawson never made it to the authorities with his proof. By trying to do it the right way by taking all his evidence and giving it to law enforcement, it got him killed in a way that would look like it was an accident but I knew better, I knew immediately some one had killed him, killed my Master, my Teacher, and my friend, the only family I ever knew!

           Whoever did it made a big mistake! Mr. Dawson prepared me for just such an emergency. He took me to a place hidden deep in the timberlands of Oregon, a place I have been to many times over the years and only known by him and me! It was a little wooden cabin that had been there since before I was born. Under the floorboard in the corner of the room he showed me a small metal box. He said if anything happens to him I am to come to this cabin and retrieve this metal box. Inside are the names of most of the people involved in a horrible slave trade operation involving young orphaned white girls who are sold to rich white businessmen all over the United States!

          Mr. Dawson cautioned me saying: “If anything happens to me, do not go to the authorities, you don’t know who all is involved, you must not trust anyone!” Mr. Dawson never had to say anything to me twice! I listened, and I obeyed! My life was completely shattered when I lost Mr. Dawson! For over 10 years he was the only family I had and I loved him! He told me: “I’m giving you a dangerous mission, if they are successful in getting rid of me it will be your job to find the people on the list hidden in the metal box and you take care of them how ever you see fit to make sure they can never get another illegal slave trade operation up and running again!” With tears in my eyes I hugged him telling him I promise I will do exactly as he has instructed me to do!  It was on a Monday morning the Head administrator, Mrs. Washington called me into the office, sat me down and without any ado, she told me Mr. Dawson was dead! She said his house caught fire on Saturday night while he was asleep, he burned to death in his bed! I was 16 years old and I was heart broken getting this devastating news telling me my “Teacher,” my only friend and all the family I’ve ever known was gone!

         Mr. Dawson lived in a modest home close to a small city about 20 miles from the orphanage. I was there a couple of times over the years. The papers said it appeared to be a faulty water heater that caused the fire. But, in my heart I knew different, I knew someone killed my Teacher and I knew I was going to find out who it was. I also knew, whoever did it would receive the same justice that was shown to Mr. Dawson! Killing my friend will prove to be a fatal mistake for those responsible! .DEATH will come to this orphanage and quite possibly to places far away from here, where ever the trail leads me!

          I was born Isaac Lee Archer, in Booneville, Arkansas. With Mr. Dawson’s help I found out I had quite a bit of Indian blood in me, Cherokee to be exact from my mother’s side and my dad’s side as well! My Indian blood will prove to be very useful to me throughout all the endeavors of my life So, even though my name is Isaac Lee Archer, from this day forward you can call me:  “THE VIGILANTE!”



           The Mission

             Chapter 2



I stayed at the orphanage for a while. I needed a plan. I needed to find out anything that would help me find my older sister. I’m sure she was sold into slavery like so many other girls were and when I find her I’m going to kill whoever has her, he’s going to pay dearly for any thing he has done to my sister! I’m going to find out who at this orphanage it was that sold my sister into this horrible way of life and I’m going to kill that person too! My first priority, find out who is responsible for the death of my friend, when I find out who it is, I’m going to kill them, I’ll kill all their wives, I’ll kill their friends, I’ll burn their dam house down! Mercy is a word not found in my vocabulary! They should never have killed Mr. Dawson. Now it’s their turn Mr. Dawson taught me that I should resist the overpowering emotions associated with “Vengeance,” vengeance breeds hate, as hate grows it feeds into vengeance until they both become all consuming and this is detrimental to what your priorities are! I listened, and I learned.

          However, what these people have done and are doing calls for justice! My priority is to see to it that they receive the required justice they deserve! It will be justice, but it will be my justice! This isn’t the wild, wild west! I won’t challenge you to a dual at sundown. I’m not going to fight you in a boxing ring to see who is the better man. But, know one thing Once I find out you’re the one I’m looking for, I will find you! And I’ll kill you! If I get you in my “cross-hairs” you better give your soul to God because your ass belongs too  me! I’m not going to hunt you down, capture you, then turn you over to the authorities so you can hire a high power attorney who will get you off on a technicality allowing you to go free and keep on doing what you’ve been doing, the authorities of this country are bound by constitutional rules which means you have rights and they have no choice but to see to it that you are given those rights!

             I’m not bound by any rules, constitutional or otherwise. Once I know for sure that you are guilty of preying on the weak and the innocent, raping and killing innocent and helpless people, when I find you, I’ll kill you, that’s my justice, I speak for the ones unable to speak for themselves. I will personally see to it that you never hurt another living soul! That is my mission!

            I know I can’t save the world no one man can do that. However, if you some how wind up being someone I’m looking for well, Like I said, I will find you, and I will kill you. Right now my mission is to find out who killed Mr. Dawson and I know the answer can be found somewhere in this orphanage so that’s where I will start.

           First, I had to attend Mr. Dawson’s funeral. I didn’t cry, it was difficult but I managed to hold back my tears. There was also a graveside ceremony and I paid close attention to everybody who was there. I noticed three men who totally looked out of place standing in the back of the crowd. They seemed to be looking at everybody but especially me! All my trained instincts told me I need to keep my defenses on high alert! These men were dangerous and I had no doubt they had something to do with the death of Mr. Dawson! At the end of the ceremony I watched closely as the three men left. They got into a car, a 1930 Ford Model “T.” that wont be difficult to remember, in 1931 very few people had a car! The country was still reeling from the stock market crash of 1929! People were poor, starving and looking for work! So, to have a car only one year old automatically stands out! If these three men are from around here, I’ll find them when the time comes. The main office to the orphanage is on the second floor. The office of Mrs. Washington. It’s protected by a huge heavy-duty door that she locks up tight when she leaves every night around 5:00 P.M. There are staff members who are on duty around the clock but late at night many of them find places to hide and sleep most of the night away.

           There’s a huge tree growing just outside Mrs. Washington’s office window. I knew this was going to be my only way into her office! I went to bed early one night knowing I had to wake up by at least 12:00 midnight. My internal clock worked! My eyes opened up just a few minutes after twelve! I had to sneak out a window in my dorm being as quiet as I could I can’t afford to have any other kid waking up and seeing me go out the window! Kids in orphanages love to snitch on each other, don’t know why, they just do.

          The orphanage is built in the shape of a huge square “horse shoe!” I made my way across a large section of grass heading for the tree. My Indian blood kicked in, I was moving in the shadows making sure I was invisible just to be safe. I reached the tree and began climbing. A limb strong enough to hold me brought me close enough to the window. I had a small pocket knife which I’m not really supposed to have but I managed to keep it a secret for quite a while! To my surprise the window wasn’t locked! I stuck the blade under the windowsill and pried just enough to get my fingers under the window and I raised it up!

          Climbing in I was careful not to knock anything over. Looking around, it was very dark. I pulled the drapes over the window I just came through. There was a desk lamp on Mrs. Washington’s desk, I knew it wouldn’t be too bright so I turned it on. I started going through the desk drawers systematically, inside my head I could hear Mr. Dawson talking to me, guiding me as I searched through the desk but found nothing! I needed to think, the information I needed would never be somewhere out in the open where anyone could stumble across it! Over in the corner was a 4 drawer filing cabinet, I pulled the top drawer open and went through the files, nothing. As I started to pull out the second drawer a light came on inside my head! I went back to the top drawer, pulling it open again, I paused for a second. My last name is Archer! My sister’s last name would be Archer as well, I don’t know her first name, I was too young when we were brought to this place, I looked in the “A” file for “Archer.” There it was! Donna Marie Archer! She was 3 years old when she came to this orphanage, that means I would have been a year and a half. It’s amazing that I could still remember her me being that young but I do! Maybe God made sure I remembered her knowing I would have to find her and get her out of the horrible life she’s been forced to live in all this time!

            I took all the information out of her file, folded it up and stuck it in my pocket. I’m not done! I’m still looking for any information that will tell me who killed Mr. Dawson! I closed my eyes, I was listening to the voice of Mr. Dawson, next to the filing cabinet there was a closet. I searched the shelf at the top of the closet, Nothing! Then I thought about Mr. Dawson showing me the floor board in the hidden cabin deep in the woods, I started checking the floor boards in this closet, on the right hand side in the back a piece of the floor came up, then another one, then another one! I smiled, I knew I was on to something now! Mr. Dawson was here with me, forcing me to think, to stay calm, to be thorough, I’m doing what I was trained to do!

           Underneath the floor boards there was a ledger. I pulled it out and looked in this small compartment again. I pulled out a few stacks of money! Had to be at least $5000.00 dollars here all in $20.00 dollar bills tied down with rubber bands. In 1931 $5000.00 was a literal fortune! I had no idea why she was hiding this much money in a secret compartment and I didn’t care! It’s my money now. I looked again and saw a small revolver, a 25 caliber! I didn’t really need it but I took it as well, one less weapon for someone to use to try and kill me with!

I replaced the floor boards and put everything back the way it was. Bringing the ledger over to the desk, I opened it up, there were hundreds of names and dates, along with other important information logged in for each name. My heart was pounding! I knew everything I needed to know would be in this ledger! I closed my eyes again, I needed to stay calm. Right now I’m looking for the ones responsible for killing Mr. Dawson, I opened the ledger to the last entry, there it was! The entry said: “Mr. Dawson has become a serious threat to our operation and must be taken care of immediately before he has time to do anything that could put a lot of important people in prison. I’m giving this job to J. J. Doogan, Donald “The Dog,” and “Freddie Fingers.” They can handle the situation in a way it won’t bring any attention to the orphanage, or suspicion for that matter!” The entry of course wasn’t signed but I recognized the writing immediately, it belongs to Mrs. Washington!

That tells me that not only is Mrs. Washington involved, but so is her husband! As of this moment I now have 5 people connected to this orphanage that I’m going to kill before I set out to find my sister! I need to think! I have to leave this place and never come back, I have to leave tonight, before Mrs. Washington discovers the ledger, the money, and the revolver all missing! KEEP Thinking Isaac! I’m going to kill the three goons first!

I’m pretty sure they already have me in their sights so I have to act fast! Then, I’m going to kill Mrs. Washington and her husband, sorry, my last promise to Mr. Dawson was I will take care of anybody involved in this slave trade operation, I plan on keeping that promise! What their doing to little orphan girls is unforgivable! All of them are about to find out just how unforgiving I’m going to be!

I stuck the ledger down the front of my pants, I stuck the gun in the back side of my pants belt, stashed the money in my pockets and turned out the desk lamp. I slipped out the window as quietly as I slipped in and disappeared into the night! A lot of orphaned kids, especially boys run away when they reach 14, 15, or 16 years of age. They give up on anybody ever wanting to adopt them and they get tired of the regimentation, the rules, and the orders that goes with living in an orphanage so they just run away never to be seen or heard of again! So, for the most part, they won’t even look for me, they definitely won’t miss me! That is, until they find all their stuff missing from under the floor board! Immediately they will assume it was me that broke in and stole it! Then there will be an all out search for Mr. Dawson’s student, they will want him DEAD!

Realizing the seriousness of the situation I knew I had little time to waste! I needed to get myself to that little cabin in the woods and I needed to get there fast! The orphanage is nestled in a small valley surrounded by beautiful mountains so I headed for the forest, a place I felt very much at home! I feel the presence of Mr Dawson, I feel the presence of my Indian ancestors when I’m in the forest! It was very dark and it was very late! I needed to find a safe place to go to sleep. I slept on top of a huge rock and woke up just as daylight was breaking! I didn’t waste any time, I started heading in the direction of the cabin. I knew it would take me most of the day to get there so I didn’t stop to rest or look for something to eat, all that will have to wait!

When I finally reached the cabin it was late afternoon and I was dog tired! Inside I felt sad right away! This is the first time I’ve been here alone without Mr. Dawson, I wanted to cry, as tired as I was I headed straight for the corner of the room and removed the floorboards. Lifting out the metal box I looked where the metal box was sitting and saw a strange looking bag! Taking it out I opened it and Oh-My-God! There must be $25.000 dollars in this bag! In 1931 that’s like a million dollars! The average laborer in 1931 brought home around $11.00 a week! Right now I have in my possession $30.000 dollars! I have no idea where Mr. Dawson got this much money and I don’t care, it’s mine now. I took another look under the floor, an army blanket had something rolled up in it. I lifted it out and unrolled the blanket, I was looking at Mr. Dawson’s Winchester rifle given to him by his father! It was a beautiful gun and very special to Mr. Dawson! Over the years he let me practice my shooting with this rifle and I really enjoyed shooting this gun! It was in perfect mint condition for being as old as it is. Once again I got tears in my eyes realizing Mr. Dawson left this rifle to me!

          I took one more look under the floor, nothing, I replaced the floor boards. This was just a one room shack hidden deep in the woods. I looked around, there was a wooden chest by the bed, I opened it and started going through everything that was in it. Under some folded up blankets I found Mr. Dawson’s pistols, 45 Caliber, clip loaded hand guns with their shoulder holsters, and a “silencer” for one of them! I’m sure he knew I would find these weapons and he knew I was going to need them for what I had to do! My mind was spinning with everything happening so fast! I felt like I was about to have a panic attack! My heart was pounding! I sat on the floor and closed my eyes! I could hear Mr. Dawson telling me to “breathe” so I started doing my breathing exercises. I started to relax right away, after about 5 minutes I was calm again.

        I still had a lot to think about but I was getting really tired so I laid down on the bed and went right to sleep. I don’t know how long I slept but it was dark when I woke up. Feeling a lot better, I went back to the ledger I took from Mrs. Washington’s office. Wanting to stay focused on finding the 3 “hit men” that killed Mr. Dawson, I went back to the last entry. Rereading everything Mrs. Washington wrote about them including an address! I was sure this is where I’ll find all three of them! Knowing that these men were coming to kill me one way or the other left me only one option… I was going to kill them first!

          My training was starting to take over all my instincts. I needed to slow down and try to see the big picture. What I needed to do to kill them and what I needed to do after the job was done! The address was about 30 miles from the orphanage, I needed a way to get there and then get back here to the cabin to hide out for a day or two before I kill Mrs. Washington and her husband! On the inside of the ledgers first page, Mrs. Washington’s name and address was professionally printed, so now I know where they all live!

           Finally it dawned on me, I hadn’t eaten all day! I knew Mr. Dawson kept non-perishable food rations here in this cabin, I found some crackers and beef jerky, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly. It wasn’t much but at least it put something in my stomach! As I ate I was still making my plans and I decided that tomorrow will be soon enough to put my plan into action! You really do see things more clearly when you have food in your tummy! There was a cold running brook of clean, clear mountain water a little south east of this cabin so even though it is dark I made it to the brook and drank for as long as I could! I splashed the cold water in my face and it felt good and invigorating! Going back to the cabin I decided it was time to get my weapons ready. Mr. Dawson took good care of his guns, always well oiled, clean and loaded. There were two clips extra for each gun, but I know my “teacher,” he was an ex-Marine, but trained well beyond the normal Marine soldier! He knew how to be prepared for any emergency so I absolutely knew he had more weapons and ammunition here some where! Another light went on inside my head again! I remembered he had a wooden footlocker built right onto the back of the cabin so it wouldn’t touch the ground because of the heavy rains we get here in Oregon! Leaning up against the foot locket he had an old world war 1 motorcycle, not much to look at but like everything else Mr. Dawson owns it was in immaculate condition and ran like a top! I can’t believe I forgot about it! Everything was covered with an old canvas tarp!

          Tomorrow morning will be soon enough to check out the motorcycle and the foot locker. Even though it was early evening I was still tired so I went to bed with a world of thoughts on my mind! Tomorrow. the Rider of the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse will begin his ride! And DEATH will follow him where ever he goes!

         I woke up just after dawn, it was cold but not freezing. I ate some more crackers with peanut butter and jelly. When the day had completely arrived I went around to the back of the shed. Removing the tarp I looked at the motorcycle, I decided right then and there this will be my transportation while I’m here taking care of business! For now I moved it out of my way so I could look in the wooden “foot locker.” I had to smile right away! There were 10 boxes of 45 caliber shells and about a dozen boxes of shells for the Winchester rifle! There must have been 30 empty clips! There was an army duffel bag and a soldiers back pack in there too. I pulled everything out. On the very bottom sat a big wooden box, I lifted it out as well. I already knew what was in the box! About 50 sticks of dynamite with fuses and blasting caps!

           Ok, my plan was coming together almost all by itself! I loaded up the ammunition and about 10 sticks of dynamite placing them in the duffel bag. I went to the motorcycle and started it up, it fired right up! Turning it off I spent a few minutes cleaning it. Carrying the back pack and the duffel bag into the cabin I took the two 45’s, the extra clips, the silencer and the holsters and put them in my back pack. I noticed at both ends of the duffel bag there was a secret compartment so I put all the money in these secret places keeping a couple of hundred bucks in my pocket! I prepared the 10 sticks of dynamite and tied them together with string, I put them back in the duffel bag. I loaded all the clips and put them in the duffel bag as well

           I sat down and once again I thought about everything I needed to do. I ran down a mental list of all my guns, ammunition, explosives, everything! It looks like I’m ready, well almost ready. The only clothes I own are what I’m wearing! I need to go shopping somewhere I wont be recognized, also I needed a map of this area, I have the addresses but now I need to know how to get there without any problems! After I couldn’t think of anything else, it was time to go! I put the backpack on, I tied the duffel bag to the back of the motorcycle and fired it up!


                                                         THE GRIM REAPER RIDES

 CHAPTER 3

           There were no roads, leading to this cabin. I followed animals trails down the mountain. The motorcycle had no problem doing this, it was in fact built for this very purpose, to go places no other vehicle could go. Oregon was wide open territory in 1932, Paved roads were considered a luxury but none of that mattered to my motorcycle!

            Eventually, I did come to a paved highway, Turning left I headed in the direction of the address where I will find the ones responsible for killing Mr. Dawson! Long before I got there I came to a little country town and pulled over in front of a “General Store!” There were no WalMarts, no Sears and Roebucks well Sears was around but far, far away, no super Malls or supermarkets in 1932! I went into the little general store and picked out some “Levi’s, I picked out a couple of long sleeve shirts, then I picked up a good pair of motorcycle boots! Heading for the counter I noticed a rack of different kinds of jackets so I stopped and looked through them, I came across a large leather jacket with the Grim Reaper painted in white on the back! I liked that so I took that one and paid for everything. I asked the clerk if I could use the changing room to put my new clothes on, he was happy to oblige.

           Coming out of the changing room I was dressed in my new boots, my Levi’s, my shirt and my new leather jacket! Before I left the store I purchased a pair of sunglasses, I was ready to roll! I put my old clothes in the duffel bag, and started the motorcycle up and I was off! Before this day ends, people are going to DIE!

          I followed the map in my head, I studied good before leaving the cabin, as I approached the old dirt road that takes me to the house where these 3 goons live my heart started pounding! All my training, everything Mr. Dawson ever taught me is about to be tested beyond anything I had ever anticipated! I hope I will make Mr. Dawson proud! It’s one thing to shoot at lifeless targets in the woods or do martial art training exercises with your instructor, and quite a different thing to actually fight and kill some one!

          Turning down the dirt road I slowed way down. The house wound up being a good mile down the road, it appeared to be the only house on the road, when I came to it I looked it over carefully, two cars parked in the driveway, one of them was the 1930 Ford Model “T” I saw at the funeral, I knew I had the right house! I rode on by, turned around and rode passed the house again studying everything I could about the house. Now, I need to find a place to hide in the woods, a place where I can hide my motorcycle so no one can see me or the “bike.” Tonight the “Grim Reaper” will come calling! Until then I will hide out!

            I chose a place about a half a mile from the house. I managed to get the motorcycle into the woods far enough where no one could see it. I took off my back pack and opened it up. Taking out my guns I checked them both once more. Removing my Jacket I slipped on the shoulder holsters, they fit good so I put my jacket back on. This is why I bought a jacket that was too big for me, I needed room for the guns, it was still early afternoon so like it or not I had time to kill before it got dark. I decided to go for a hike. Before long I found some bushes growing wild berries, I watched as birds came to these bushes and ate some of the berries telling me they were safe to eat. Wild berries are awesome! They have a flavor that’s unique only to themselves! You will never know how good they taste unless you go into the woods and find some growing somewhere so you can pick some and see for yourself! I must of ate a pound of berries, I was hungry and didn’t realize it!

          I went back to the motorcycle and removed the duffel bag, laying it down on the ground I used it for a pillow and before I knew it I was fast asleep, I woke up just as the sun was setting, it will be dark soon! I hope all 3 of them will be home tonight, its important that I kill all 3 of them at the same time! I don’t need one of them left to come looking for me to get even for killing his friends. I need to be patient, when the night is well along and the moon is out, it will be time to go. Sitting here in the woods all alone, I missed Mr. Dawson, it’s not right for him to be dead! The only love I’ve ever known was from him, no he wasn’t gay! He was a good man, he felt my pain of having no mom or dad and he did the best he could to fill the void in my life! what I’m going to do tonight will be for him! I owe him this for everything he’s ever done for me!

          Meditating in the forest is very soothing, an unexplained calmness comes over you, it’s hard to describe, you have to experience it to understand it! Before I knew it, it was time to head for the house to complete my mission! I stayed in the woods and out of sight. It didn’t take long before I came up to the back of the property, standing here I realized this house sat on a large piece of land and the house was a really nice house! First I decided to do a thorough check of the outside perimeter, I wanted to know where everything was and make sure there would be no surprises once I enter the house, there was a huge propane tank on the side of the house, there was a carport, no garage, I checked the other side of the house, nothing! Slowly, I snuck up to a window where there was a light on in the room. I breathed a sigh of relief, all 3 men were sitting at a table playing cards, drinking, smoking, don’t they know smoking is unhealthy? It can kill you!

          Listening, I could hear them talking but not very good, even so I heard my name at least 3 times, along with words like, “punk bastard” “son of a bitch” and I heard one say: “he’ll be joining that son of a bitch Dawson before sundown tomorrow!” Now I know I’m right, I knew they had their sights on me just by the way they were looking at me at the funeral that day! Now I feel justified even more so for what I’m about to do, It’s called self defense and it’s time for me exercise my right to defend myself!!

          Silent like an Indian, I moved to the back door, I drew one gun from it’s holster, turning the door knob slowly, I was relieved to feel the door open slightly. I didn’t want it to squeak so I took my time opening it enough for me to creep silently into the house! They were in a dining room sort of, right by the front room and a little distance from the back door. I’m now in a small utility room just off the kitchen, just as I was about to walk into the kitchen one of them came in and turned on the light! Quickly I stayed to one side of the door hoping he wouldn’t come into this little room! He didn’t! When he turned out the light and left, I took out my other gun, I whispered, “this one’s for you Mr. Dawson,” walking through the kitchen I came into the living room, they still couldn’t see me. They were to busy playing cards and talking big to ever hear me walk right up on them! As I suddenly became visible to them only one saw me but before he could even get close to his gun I shot him in the right shoulder destroying his collar bone and rendering his right arm useless! With both guns I shot both of the other ones in less than a heart beat! All three were shot but not dead! I went to each one and removed his weapon and I stepped back!

            Giving all 3 of them a few seconds to let it sink in what just happened and that all 3 have been shot! Finally I said: “do you know who I am?” One of them took a good look at me and said: “yeah, your that Archer kid raised by Dawson!” I said: “correct, and I just want you to know that you really fucked up when you killed my friend, now I’m going to kill all three of you and send your worthless asses straight to hell!”

          Another one said: “Do you know who we are and who we really work for?” I said: “no, and I don’t really give a shit who you work for your still going to die tonight!” He said: “we are from Chicago and we work for the Mafia, do you really want to fuck with the Mob?” I said: “I have no quarrel with the mob, you killed Mr. Dawson and I’m going to kill you because that’s what justice calls for!” I raised my gun and shot the guy that just tried to scare me by telling me he worked for the mob right between the eyes!  He died instantly!

          When the other two saw that, they knew I meant business! One of them started talking fast! He said: “look, we really are from Chicago, we were hired to come here and do a job, it was nothing personal, you don’t have to do this, just let us go and we’ll go back to Chicago and you will never see us again we guarantee it!” I asked: “who hired you?” I already knew but I wanted to see if they would tell me anyway. The one talking right now said: “we were hired by a man named Robert Washington, it was done through a series of telegrams, he hired us for his wife who runs the orphanage.” I said: “I pretty much already knew that but I wanted to hear it from you if possible.”

          The third one who hadn’t said a word so far asked: “So will you let us go?” I looked at both of them with death in my eyes and asked: “Do you understand the expression “THE GRIM REAPER?” I could see it in their eyes, they knew their time was up. I raised both guns and said: “It’s on to the other side for both of you, but don’t worry your going to have a lot of company! I shot both of them in the head, the bullet exploded the back of their heads blowing their brains all over the wall!

         The room filled with the smell of blood and death! But I’m not done here yet. I killed these men because that’s what they deserved for killing Mr. Dawson! Now I’m going to set this house on fire and burn their asses to hell! First, I need to look around. I don’t feel any urgency being way out here on this lonely dirt road, it’s unlikely anyone heard the gun shots! The house had 3 bedrooms, I went into each one. I found 2 suitcases in each one. One suitcase had their clothes in it but the other suitcase, Oh My God! It was filled with weapons and ammunition! I let down the flap to the lid of each one and there was at least $10,000 dollars in all 3 of them! I’m becoming a millionaire and I’m not even trying too!

           Difficult as it was I managed to get everything packed into one big suitcase, money and all. Going outside with the suitcase I carried it as far away from the house as I could, the dam thing weighs a ton! Going to the carport I looked inside, there were two 5 gallon cans of kerosene in the carport. Carrying one back in the house I poured it all over the 3 dead men, all over the room, the furniture, everything! Back outside I poured kerosene all over the 2 vehicles, the propane tank, and inside the carport, this is going to make a hell of a bon fire! However, I’m still not done, I brought with me 3 sticks of dynamite! I took them out of the inside pocket of my leather jacket and got them ready.

           Going back in the house I looked at the dead men and said: “you killed my friend and the only family I have ever known! I curse all of you to hell!” I lit a piece of paper and dropped it in the kerosene, immediately the inside of the house was ablaze! I ran outside and set the kerosene on fire out there! I knew I had to hurry now! Once the big propane tank heated up it was going to blow everything to hell! Holding all 3 sticks of dynamite in one hand I lit all three fuses at once! I went back to the house and threw 2 sticks inside, then I threw the 3rd one on the ground close to the propane tank and I took off like a bat out of hell!

Grabbing the suitcase of money and weapons I headed for the woods at the end of this houses property. I stopped just before disappearing into the trees and turned to watch the explosion! All 3 sticks of dynamite exploded one right after the other! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Then the propane tank exploded! It was spectacular! Everything was blown to hell, obliterated! There was a crater where the house and the propane tank used to be! The carport and the 2 vehicles were gone, just gone! The explosion echoed across the sky and was most likely heard for miles! I knew my job here was finished! They shouldn’t have killed my friend! It was natural justice, the law of the forest, you take an innocent life, to balance the scales, you must surrender yours! That’s just the way it is!!

Hauling this suitcase a half mile back to my motorcycle won’t be easy but it has to be done! There was no way I was going to leave these weapons behind! They were the most beautiful guns I’ve ever seen in my life! Silver plated with hand carved ivory handles, 45 automatic clip loaded with what appeared to be hand made “silencers” made special for each gun! Boy, the Mob really knows how to buy their weapons!

The trip back to my motorcycle was a little difficult but I made it. I considered myself on the run now! I was sure no one could possibly know I’m the one that killed 3 Mafia “hit men!” But Just to be safe I’m going underground from this point on! When I got to my “bike” I had to think, some how I have to get everything out of the suitcase and into the duffel bag, plus, the motorcycle has two old saddle bags across the back fender that looked like they came with the motorcycle when it was brand new, so I’m pretty sure I can get everything loaded onto the “bike.”

I spent about an hour getting it all changed over but I made it! Now, I know I can’t get out on that dirt road where some one might see a man on a motorcycle around the time 3 men were killed and their house blew up so I needed to come up with another plan! At first I didn’t start the motorcycle, I just rolled it deeper into the woods. I wasn’t sure where I was going but for some reason I moved northwest. Keeping this heading I rolled the bike for a couple of hours, until I was so tired I couldn’t go another inch! Finally, I stopped to rest, I had to be along ways away from that house and the dirt road by now!

Continuing on, eventually, I came out of the woods looking at a big meadow! Just beyond the meadow I could barely see the highway I came down on my way here! I smiled, Mr. Dawson is still with me! It was late into the night by now almost no traffic on the road! I straddled the motorcycle and fired it up. I drove slowly in the dark across this meadow, didn’t want to fall into a pit or anything else! It took about 10 minutes to get to the highway, my insides relaxed a little as I headed north, back to the cabin! The mission was a success! Out on the highway, I noticed way off in the distance, running parallel to the highway were railroad tracks, there was a long lonesome outbound freight train headed south, I don’t know why but I made a mental note of this! It was in the wee hours of the morning when I reached the cabin! I was drained of everything, I never had to kill anyone before so all of this is knew to me! At the cabin my nerves calmed down, I was no longer running on adrenaline, I hauled everything into the cabin and laid down and fell right to sleep.

Morning arrived and I woke up because I was cold! I went outside because I had to pee, it was colder outside! Now I’m hungry! Not much left in this cabin to eat so I decided to hide everything and go hunting for something good to eat. I brought one pistol and Mr. Dawson’s Winchester rifle. Early in the morning is the best time to go hunting, animals are more active in the morning. After about an hour I managed to shoot two rabbits and figured that should feed me pretty good for today and tomorrow! Back at the cabin I cleaned both bunnies and made a campfire on the ground and making a wooden “rig” I placed both rabbits over the fire, turning them periodically until they were done and ready to eat! I haven’t had a good meal for a couple of days now so I was in a hurry to start eating! Boy, wild rabbit tastes like chicken only better!

          Eating all I could eat for now, I carried two buckets down to the little brook and filled them with water, then once again I splashed cold water in my face and got my hair wet! I’m awake now! Inside the cabin I found a pan with a lid. I picked all the meat that was left on the rabbits and put it in the pan. Going outside I buried the bones of both rabbits close to where I buried their entrails thereby giving the spirit of the animal back to the forest! I’m Indian and I instinctively know that you only kill an animal for food. You show respect for the laws of the forest when you return the spirit of any animal you kill back to the forest.

          f you respect the forest, the forest will respect you! I poured some water into the pan to help keep the meat from spoiling to soon, I put the lid on the pan and set it on a shelf. I still have much to do! Opening the metal box Mr. Dawson left for me, I took out a little black book. The first couple of pages he was explaining things to me, especially the need to be extremely cautious and to trust no one! There were names and addresses of people working at the orphanage and some who did not but were still involved in this underground child slavery operation, people who were going to die soon, very soon! At the top of the list was Mrs. Washington and her husband! I said to myself: “You two are next!” Mr. Dawson didn’t know about the 3 Mafia hit men but I can scratch them off of the list in old lady Washington’s ledger! With Mr. Dawson’s black book and Washington’s ledger I knew I would be able to pretty much take care of everybody involved! That was my promise to Mr. Dawson and it’s a promise I plan to keep! I will rest today and tomorrow. Tomorrow night, THE VIGILANTE RIDES AGAIN!

       Looking at Washington’s ledger, I searched for anything written about my sister. I found her! She was sold to another orphanage in northern San Francisco, a Catholic owned and operated orphanage! Even though I was a little shocked to read this I knew in my heart, whoever is involved, Catholic or otherwise, I’m going to find them, and I’m going to kill them! I’ll kill them while they’re clinging to their cross hanging around their god dam neck! No one will escape the justice that’s due them for doing the things they’re doing to little girls! NO ONE! The ledger says Donna was sold for $20.000 dollars to Father Caldwell, administrator of the San Francisco Catholic orphanage. The name of the courier that came and took possession of Donna when she was 8 years old was a Mr. Sam Brodine.

          I now have my plans laid out in front of me, things I need to do right away! First I’m going kill the Washington’s, then I’m going after my sister. When I get her she’s coming back to this cabin with me! Here in the forest she can heal from all the horrible things she’s had to endure for the last 10 years! She’s Indian just as I am, we belong in the forest, it talks to us and we listen! After that, her and I together are going hunting! There will be no mercy shown to anyone whose name is on the list! Death is what is waiting for them, their already dead and they don’t even know it!

          Traveling to San Francisco on my motorcycle will be ill advised! I’m going after my sister and there won’t be room for her and the duffel bag and anything else we might have with us so I need to come up with another plan! However, first things first! Tonight I’m heading to the Washington’s residence! As far as this area is concerned, killing the Washington’s will be like cutting off the head of the snake! Once anybody involved in this illegal operation hears that both Washington’s have been killed along with the 3 Mafia hit men they hired to come here and kill Mr. Dawson and his student Isaac Archer, well, they will most likely look for ways to go into hiding to avoid being killed themselves! But, that won’t be the end of it for them, after I get my sister we’re coming back to Oregon, anybody we find whose name is on the list, we’re going to kill! Its what justice calls for!

          Time was moving quickly. Tonight I’m traveling light! I now have 6 beautiful guns I lifted off of the hit men including shoulder holsters for all of them! It was time to get 2 of them ready for tonight. I have more ammo than I will ever need so I put a few extra clips for each gun in my back pack, and their “silencers.” I have my own hunting knife which I keep razor sharp and stuffed into my boot and tied to my leg! Also, I prepared 3 more sticks of dynamite and put them in the back pack, now it’s time to study the map! I needed to think! The Washington’s might have one or more bodyguards in their house or on their property keeping watch now that their 3 hit men have been killed, they’re going to assume their next! Caution, extreme caution will be required once I reach the outer edges of their property tonight!

          I spent much of the day in silent meditation. Before doing something like this it’s important to calm your spirit and clear your mind! It helps you to see everything more clearly which I felt was essential to a successful mission. My years of training was leading me every step of the way! Mr. Dawson did not waste his time on me and I plan on proving that to him and to myself!

          Afternoon was upon me! I decided it was time to go. I whispered: “this night belongs to you Mr. Dawson!” All the money, all the guns and ammunition, and the ledgers, I hid in a small cave not far from the rear of the cabin. The cave is covered by bushes and over growth of the forest so it’s very difficult to find. I took a deep breath and straddled the motorcycle and fired it up!

          Heading south again on the highway I noticed the railroad tracks off in the distance again but didn’t think much else about it. Following the map inside my head it wasn’t long before I was on the road leading to Washington’s house! Like before I cruised by the property slowly, turning around, I cruised by again looking at everything, studying, remembering. This was a really beautiful home! These people lived in luxury mostly from their illegal operation I’m sure! There where other houses on this road but most people in Oregon who have money live on huge parcels of land! The Washington’s were no different. I was sure I could get on this property and do what I have to do and get off without anybody ever seeing me! The forest and the hills and the mountains were everywhere!

          Finding a place in the woods about a half a mile away, once again I hid my motorcycle deep in the trees, sat down and waited for it to get late! Taking my weapons out of the back pack, I rechecked both of them, I put a silencer for each one in the pockets of my leather jacket, I strapped the shoulder holsters on and put my jacket back on. Sitting down and leaning against the rear tire of the motorcycle I fell silent again. I started thinking about my sister. God only knows what she’s had to endure all these years! I’m in such a hurry to get to her, I started to cry, without Mr. Dawson in my life I feel so totally alone, right now I need my sister as much as she needs me! Approaching midnight, it was time to do this. Staying deep in the woods I moved in the direction of the Washington Manor! I came out at the back of the house and kneeled down and watched the whole area for a good 10 minutes! I saw no sentries on duty!

           Waiting another 10 minutes I rose up and started moving in the shadows of bushes and trees along the left edge of their property, invisible, silent, like an Indian! There was a dim night light on barely lighting up the downstairs area. Looking in a rear window, I saw no activity! Moving to the back door and quietly turning the doorknob, locked! Dam, I moved to a side window, reaching for my knife I slid it under the window sill and applied upward pressure, the window lifted just slightly, I smiled, this will be my way in! I was wearing leather gloves and I pushed my fingers under the window and slowly lifted, it opened quietly and I quietly slid through the window and into the room.
Inside the house, I stood still for about 30 seconds! All was quiet! I drew one gun and attached the silencer, I did the same to the other one! My knees were starting to shake! Instincts and my training told me I need to secure the downstairs part of the house before heading upstairs!

          From where I was standing, I headed down a short hallway, there were two rooms connected to this hallway. Silently, I opened each door and looked inside, empty! Good. Going back the same way I came, I moved into the very large kitchen area which led me into the biggest living room I’ve ever seen in my life! Once again, it was empty! Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a groan, I froze! Then I heard it again, it was coming from another room that connects to the living room! Here’s where caution, extreme caution is needed! I have a couple more rooms to check making sure there’s no one in them! Peeking around the corner there was a big man asleep in a large soft “easy chair!” I was right, they know their hit men are dead so they decided they needed protection! some protection! this guy will be dead in the next 5 minutes! I don’t know if he has any real involvement in the child slavery operation but it’s to late for him now, he shouldn’t have been here, he automatically implicated himself and I have no choice but to kill him!

          Crossing to the other side of the house I checked out all the other rooms, no one else was down stairs! I returned to the sleeping body guard. On a coffee table in front of him were two guns, a 38 caliber six shooter and a very illegal sawed off 12 gauge shot gun! I’m still shaking but I had to smile, this guy is loaded and ready for anything but he made a very fatal mistake, he fell asleep! I knew I couldn’t afford for him to wake up and yell or scream out a warning to the Washington’s upstairs so this would have to be quick! Quietly I moved his weapons out of his reach, took a deep breath and shot him in the right shoulder! He opened his eyes in complete shock looking at the blood coming out of the bullet hole! I said: “you fucked up, you should have stayed awake!” then I shot him right between the eyes! He died instantly! Taking his weapons I placed them by the back door. Now. It’s time to do what I came here to do!

          The staircase leading upstairs was as elegant as the house itself! Wide, carpeted, with what looked like a Mahogany Banister! I stepped quietly on each step, it didn’t squeak or make any creaking noises which made me feel better as I climbed to the top! Right away I began checking all the bedrooms, at the far end of the upstairs hallway there was a bedroom I was sure was not the master bedroom, silently I opened the door and looked inside, someone was in bed sound asleep and snoring! I entered the room and shut the door! Waiting for my eyes to adjust I stood still for another 30 seconds. Cautiously, I moved closer to the bed, he also was a big man!

          He was most likely going to relieve the guy downstairs at some point during the night! Sorry, that’s not going to happen on this night! Looking for weapons laying around I didn’t see any, of course that doesn’t mean there are no guns in this room! Didn’t matter, I shot him dead while he slept! Leaving that room I headed for the master bedroom and the Washington’s. This is why I came here tonight!

          I opened their door and stepped into the room! They were both sound asleep. Now that I know we are all alone I wasn’t planning on doing this quickly! I need to ask them some questions and I needed to convince them that it would be in their best interest to give me the answers! Standing by the door I switched on the light! Mr. Washington raised his head to see who just turned on his bedroom light! Immediately I shot him in the right shoulder hoping he’s right handed! That of course woke up Mrs. Washington! When she looked at me she recognized me right away! I shot her in the right arm anyway! This incapacitates both of them and now they are terrified not completely understanding what the hell is going on!

           Mr. Washington yelled: “What the fuck do you think your doing, why did you shoot us?” I looked at old lady Washington with death in my eyes, I said: “You should have never killed my teacher, my friend Mr. Dawson. Now both of you are going to die tonight!” I looked at her husband and said: “don’t look for your two body guards to come and save you, I already killed them both!” when they heard that they became hysterical! Mrs. Washington started crying, holding her wounded shoulder she said: “Please, don’t kill us, what do you want, we are rich, we can pay you a lot of money if you let us live!” Mr. Washington agreed with his wife saying: “that’s right, we have a lot of money right here in this house, you can have it all if you just don’t kill us!”

          Looking at Mr. Washington I asked: “where’s the money?” losing blood and in pain he got off the bed and went to a picture on the wall, it swung open being on hinges. There was a safe in the wall and without me saying a word he began working the combination until it opened. Oh My God! There must have been at least $100,000 dollars in this safe! Mr. Washington didn’t think I saw it but there was a small revolver sitting to one side inside of the safe! My defenses went on high alert! Almost at the exact same time, Mrs. Washington thinking I was distracted now, pulled another small revolver out of a drawer in a night stand next to the bed, Mr. Washington reached for the gun in the safe! They were both about to shoot me dead! 

         All my training, everything Mr. Dawson ever taught me went into action in less than a heart beat! As Mr. Washington grabbed the gun and turned my way I hit him as hard as I could up side the head with one of my guns, grabbing him I pulled his body up to my chest, from behind him I aimed and fired at Mrs. Washington twice hitting her once in the stomach and once again in her right arm only this time it was just above the wrist, it almost blew her hand and wrist completely off of her arm! She screamed in agony! Mr. Washington started begging me to not to kill her, saying they both will do whatever I ask of them!

          Dragging Mr. Washington back to the bed and tossing him on it I said: “I’m only going to ask you this once, where’s my sister, Donna Archer? Mrs. Washington was bleeding to death, she didn’t have much time left! I could see the wheels turning in her head, finally she said: “she was sold to an orphanage in northern California above San Francisco, after that I think she was sold to someone rich in oil some where in Texas, that’s all we know, to find out exactly where she is today you will have to go to that orphanage and ask a Father Caldwell, he’s the one who bought her from us, now, will you please let us go, we have to get to a hospital before we bleed to death!”

          Thinking of all the little girls these two have sold into slavery, all the lives they destroyed in the process, and how they lived in shameless luxury because of it, my blood started to boil!  Looking at both of them with the cold look of death I said: “you killed my friend, Mr. Dawson, and you sold my sister into slavery, god only knows what she’s had to endure all these years! Sorry but your time on this earth is over! You will never sell another little girl into a black market white slavery operation again!”

           My last words to them were: “I hope God will have mercy on your souls! You’ll get none from me!” I shot both of them in the head while they pleaded with me to please don’t kill them! I killed them anyway! Cursing both of their souls to burn in hell! It was justice for justice! They killed Mr. Dawson, so I killed them. However, I’m not done here! I went to the safe and took out all the money, there was some real expensive jewelry in the safe but I decided to leave all of it there, jewelry is traceable. I went back to the other bedroom where I killed the other body guard and went through his stuff. He had $3000. Dollars in his suitcase! I found another 38 caliber 6 shooter and some boxes of shells.

         His suitcase was small so I used it to put all the money and all the weapons in for now! I searched the other bedroom where the other body guard slept and took his money and 38 caliber shells and put them into the suitcase too. Going downstairs I looked around to see if there was anything I wanted but found nothing! I’m not a thief! I’m not a burglar, anything I take will be used to find my sister and kill everyone I come across who is involved in this illegal operation, anyone I find that is, I’m going to kill! Having put everything I planned on taking into the suitcase I carried it out the back door and a good distance from the house! This really is a beautiful house but it won’t be here come sunup! Going into their garage I found 4 five gallon cans of gasoline, it was for their two brand new Cadillac LaSalle automobiles. Car manufacturing was running in high gear but gas stations were scarce so people with cars kept extra gas handy. One by one I carried a can of gas into the house and poured it all over the dead bodies, all over everything, upstairs and downstairs. I poured gas all over the two cars in the garage.

         Going back in the house I lit some paper on fire and threw it into the puddles of gas and ran outside! The house erupted into a blazing inferno! I did the same to the garage, in just seconds the whole place was engulfed in flames! I’m still not done, I had 3 sticks of dynamite but decided I only needed two. I took them out of my pocket and lit the fuses. I threw one into the burning house and the other one into the burning garage and took off running for the woods grabbing the suitcase as I did!

         Stopping at the end of their property I turned to watch just as the sticks of dynamite exploded sending a fire ball a hundred feet into the sky! This is definitely going to get some attention so as fast as I could I disappeared into the forest and into the night! I kept my promise to myself, I found and killed the ones responsible for killing Mr. Dawson! Mission accomplished!

         Getting as far away from here as fast as I can right now is critical! I got to my motorcycle in no time. It took me a while but I got the little suitcase tied to the bike and once again I didn’t want to start it up so I just started pushing it deeper into the forest! It was getting really late and I was running out of energy so I decided to look for a place to go to sleep until morning, I’ll find my way out of this forest much easier come morning. Eventually, I stopped and slept on the ground next to the motorcycle.

          Dawn came way too early if you ask me but I got up and looked around. Once again I knew I needed to head northwest to make it back to the highway. I was still tired and now I’m hungry but all this will have to wait, I need to make it to my cabin where I’m safe, then I’ll eat and get some more rest. After pushing the motorcycle for another hour I decided I was far enough away from the Washington Manor so I started it up and slowly rode it through the woods. I started climbing a small hill, getting to the top and looking down the other side I smiled, I could see the highway and my way home!

          I was home in no time and it felt good to be back in familiar surroundings! Still didn’t have anything to eat but I needed more rest right now. Taking some ones life, even though they deserve it, is still hard! It takes everything out of you and you feel completely drained! I laid down on the little bed and just before I fell asleep I thought of my sister! I whispered: “hang on sis, I’m coming to get you, just hang on!”



                 My novels:   
                                 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XT2LFPA    Voices in the ind  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J0HT50Y    The Vampire and the CheetahLing


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUIUMLS  The Orphan Vigilante