Fawn woke to complete darkness. It didn’t feel like she had slept very long, but the fire had burned itself out. What woke her? Her vision slowly adjusted to the cloak of blackness, and soon the veiled moonlight filtering through the smoke opening illuminated the interior enough for her to remember that she was in Green Eyes’ lodge.

Fawn strained to hear anything unusual, but heard nothing except the soft snoring of her friend. Something didn’t seem right. Maybe she was just being overly anxious. She chastised herself for being such a worrier. The baby probably moved and woke you. Go back to sleep.

Somewhere in the night, a coyote howled, and within a few moments another answered its pained wail. Fawn shivered. She wished Little Elk lay next to her; his nearness always made her feel safe. She tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position—still something made her uneasy. What was it?

Her eyelids grew heavy again. She just started to doze when tremors shook the ground beneath her. The vibration grew stronger.

She sat and called out. “Green Eyes, wake up. Listen. What is that? Could it be horses—the horses of our people returning?”

Green Eyes rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows. “It’s far too early for them to return.” She jumped to her feet. “Quick! Get up! It may be trouble!”

Fawn’s heart pounded in fear. “What kind of trouble?”

“I don’t know. Surely our sentry would have signaled the camp, but we must be sure.”

Green Eyes wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and pushed aside the lodge flap to peer out into the darkness. The vibrations grew stronger and turned to thunder as an army of mounted men rode into the village. With fear etched across her face, Green Eyes turned to Fawn. “We must hide. It’s the blue coats.”

“Oh my God! Where will we go?” Fawn still sat, now trembling.

Green Eyes glanced around the lodge. “Lone Eagle took all the weapons. I have only my skinning knife.” She bent to retrieve it and tucked it into her moccasin, then moved to the opposite side of the lodge. She lifted the bottom of the tepee. “Come, crawl through here and run for the trees. We can hide there.”

The once quiet night now reverberated with men yelling and screams of terror.

~ * ~

In the darkness, Fawn and Green Eyes huddled in a stand of aspen saplings and listened to the chaos in the camp. Hidden by only wispy clouds, the moon silhouetted veiled figures through swirling dust. Gunfire erupted and women screamed. Panic-filled voices sounded in all directions as the tribal members scattered for safety.

Fawn’s voice cracked with emotion and she reached up to wipe tears from her eyes. “These are our own people. They’re killing our friends, and we can do nothing.”

Green Eyes put a comforting arm around Fawn. “Shhh! We must be quiet.”

Fawn stiffened. Her panic came in a whisper. “They’re getting closer. What do we do?”

“Just sit still and don’t draw attention to our location. “

Fawn held her breath as a voice, too close, called out. “Hey, Zeke, if you find yerself a good lookin’ squaw, give me a chance at her.”

“I just squashed one of their little nits. That’ll be one less Injun givin’ us trouble.”

Fawn covered her mouth to stifle a sob. They killed a child. How can they be so vicious and cruel?

Momentarily, the voices trailed off. Green Eyes grabbed Fawn’s wrist, and in a hushed voice said, “We must try to get back to my lodge. They’re searching in the grass and trees. Hopefully they’ve already been through my home and we’ll be safer there.”

She raised up, craned her neck, and checked the area. “Quickly, but quietly, run! Stay low and hurry back to where we crawled out.”

Fawn followed behind, crouching low and holding her stomach as she ran. Breathless, she ducked under the lodge covering and let it drop back into place.

For a moment, there were no screams or yells. Only their heavy breathing sliced through the eerie silence. When Fawn could finally speak, she breathlessly asked, “What are we going to do?”

Green Eyes scooped up all the bedding and heaped it in a pile. “You’re going to hide here and pray they leave soon. I’m going to use the darkness to my advantage and make my way to Singing Sparrow’s lodge. Little Cloud is with his grandmother and I have to make sure they’re all right.”

~ * ~

Fawn’s whole body ached from holding herself so tense. She hunkered behind the robes and listened to the commotion outside. Flaming torches lit the skies and cast shadows of the marauders on the lodge walls. Booming voices of the soldiers filled the air. They were everywhere—some near, some far. Occasionally, a scream of fear or a cry for mercy penetrated the night. When she heard someone coming closer, Fawn held her breath. Oh God!

A thin ribbon of light outlined the break between the lodge covering and the door flap. Outside, the glow grew lighter as whoever carried the flame neared. Fawn peeked around the blankets at the figure silhouetted on the door. Suddenly, the interior blazed with light as an arm stuck a torch inside. Fawn held her breath and squeezed her eyes closed.

Her heart froze when she heard, “Over here, Cap’n. I found one of ’em.”