Boys Become Men: Book Two ~ The Rage Of Dragons

Gus and Billy would become NIGHT DRAGON BATTLE SURGEONS and would save many lives in the awful battles that would come with battling the Elders. It would take nearly fifty years to wipe out the last nest of Elders and Gus and Billy and also Wil and Al would be there for the final victory!

The Night Dragons rested up and Paul and Norman went back to the Hospital for more training. Delivering a baby on their own had scared the "Hell" out of them, so they went back to cram more knowledge into their young heads. Along with them came four more Dragons, Amos and Gary Lee, Peter Vallen, and Roger Foster.

The group was calling themselves The Night Dragon Docs and their ferocious need to learn scared many of the hospital's medical staff. The words, "How", "Why", and "How much", made their instructors cringe.

The young men asked questions that the Doctors had to spend half the night reading their old text books from Medical School! They did, however, build an elite group of Medics who could handle almost anything out in the field, including the delivery of babies.

They all wore a white band around their heads with a red cross predominately displayed on the front. Their headbands identified them immediately to anyone needing medical assistance and the head bands showed up well at night.

The six young men realized they were not full doctors, but they were all the medical help there was for their comrades and the people living and surviving on the land they were attempting to reclaim.

After a year of training, the ranks of the Night Dragons had increased by another platoon and the Medics felt they were ready to try again. Paul remained as Chief Medic and he assigned two Medics to each Dragon Platoon.

This time, they were going to their separate ways and try to cover more ground during the good weather than they had previously. Wil was going to lead the Command Platoon and head towards the main nest of Elders at The Great Salt Lake.

Al would lead the Victory Platoon south, towards the Desert of Vegas and a new leader, Andy Gibbs, would lead the Rage Platoon north to the Malhuer Valley in old Oregon, before heading east to the ruins of Boise.

They all hoped to be home before the worst of the winter storms would hit in December.

This time, Chief Pathfinder, Captain Roy Belcher assigned a squad of Pathfinders to be under the command of each Night Dragon Platoon Leader. When he asked for volunteers, he was swamped with applicants, so he devised a lottery.

Each of the Pathfinder Squads was commanded by a Pathfinder Sergeant and they were told that The Night Dragons were in charge!

On departure day, ninety proud Night Dragons and twenty-seven, equally as proud Pathfinders began their journey. They left behind a drooling mob of teen boys who swore that they would get to go the next time. To that end, those who had been left behind began their own training program and they drove the Pathfinders nearly to the "gibbering" state, demanding help in their training!

All three groups were mounted and each platoon had two supply wagons, with one of them designated as a mobile hospital. Each platoon made sure that their medics were well protected in the center of the troop, much to the distress of the Medics. They were, after all, Night Dragons themselves!

They finally settled down and two days out, the three platoons separated and headed towards their assigned direction.

Andy Gibbs rode out in front of his Platoon as they crossed into the southeast corner of Oregon. They had been on the trail for two weeks now and the forward scouts reported wood smoke up ahead.

As they dropped into a shallow valley they were met by a group of horsemen, all armed and their rifles pointed at the group. Andy called his troop to halt and he rode forward to meet the men, who were obviously working cowboys.

He introduced himself to the leader of the cowboys and the leader spotted Andy's wooden Black Dragon hanging on a leather throng around his neck. The man asked, "Is you boys them Dragons wes heared about?"

Andy smiled and replied, "Yes sir, we are a platoon of the Night Dragons. We have a squad of Pathfinders with us and we have two trained Medics who are eager to assist your people. If you will allow us to cross your lands, we would be happy to spend some time with you all and maybe our Medics can treat any problems your people have."

The man replied, Great God in His Mercy, yes! I is Charlie Duncan, the Ranch Foreman, an' my son got hisself throwed while breaking a new horse. I thinks he gots a broke leg. Kin you guys help us?"

Andy replied, "Lead us to where your son is!"

The Foreman sent a cowboy racing back to the Ranch Headquarters with the news that the Night Dragons and their Medics were there and were headed to the Ranch.

The wagons slowed them up a bit, but two hours later, the party dropped off a low ridge and into a small valley that held a large ranch house and many out buildings.

Charlie led them up to the big house, where an elderly man and a lady were standing on the porch. The foreman called out, "Mom, Pops, we got us some Night Dragon visitors n' theys got a couple O' Docs what kin help Bobby!"

It became apparent that the ranch was a family operation as the Foreman was the owners' son and the hurt boy was their Grandson.

The Night Dragons and Pathfinders dismounted and cowboys showed them where they could stable their horses and the mules from the wagons.

There was an empty bunkhouse that would hold them all, so they could sleep under a roof at night! It even had showers, with hot water if they wanted to fire up the hot-water boiler out behind the bunkhouse!

The twins, Amos and Gary Lee grabbed up their kits and followed Charlie into the Big House to check on Charlie's son. They found the boy in a bedroom, he looked to be about fourteen years old and was writhing in pain on the bed. Tears were flowing down his face, despite his attempts to "be a man" in front of these strangers.

Amos opened his bag and withdrew a bottle of laudanum and a spoon. He said to the boy, "This stuff is gonna taste nasty, but it will make the pain go away and make ya' kinda sleepy." He pressed the spoon full of the painkiller up to the boy's lips and he swallowed it down quickly, making a face from the bitter taste.

Within a few minutes, the boy's pain subsided and his head began to nod sleepily. As his eyes closed, Amos whispered to his twin, Gary, and said, "Come on Bro, we gots only a few minutes before it wears off, I didn't give him a very big dose."

The brothers quickly stretched the youngster out and felt for the break. Gary said, "It's a clean break, Bro, hold his thigh while I locate the two ends together."

The two Night Dragons worked quickly and approximated the two pieces of bone together. Charlie had already sent a cowboy out to get some old barrel staves to use as splints and, before the boy woke up, his leg was tightly bound to the splints.

Just as the boy started to come around, they had him undressed and under the blankets. The boy, Robbie Duncan, began to become aware of his surroundings and went red in the face, "Yu, yyyu seed me nekkid?"

Amos smiled at the boy and replied, "Yeah, we did and ya are a nice lookin' young man, but, ya' see, me and Gary are not only brothers, we is together, ifn' ya know what I means."

Robbie's eyes got big and he replied, "Yeah, I knows, can ya' find Eddie Fowler fer me, him an' me are uhh ah, together, like."

Robbie had not seen his father standing there and he became frightened when his Dad stepped up to the bed and leaned over. Robbie cringed back from his Father, but Charlie wasn't having any of it, he said in a loud, commanding Foreman Voice, "Son, I always suspected that you n' Eddie were more than just friends. I don't mind, now I gots me two sons!"

Charlie put his huge arm around the boy and they both waited until Eddie was located. When Eddie stuck his head in the door, he cringed and got ready to run. Charlie said loudly, "Eddie, ya' love my son, so I guess I loves ya too. Come on, Robbie needs ya, sit on the bed with him and don't ya' both worry none."

Eddie Fowler was an orphan boy that Charlie Duncan had found living on what he could steal. He brought him home and gave him a place on the Ranch. It would not be long now, before he would ask to change his name to Eddie Duncan. That was fine with Charlie, he had lost his wife when Robbie was born and was just him and his son, now, Eddie was added to his family, giving him a second son.

The Night Dragons and Pathfinders stayed a week at the Ranch, treating minor wounds and getting to know the lay of the land. Andy queried Charlie and his cowboys about any news of the Elders and they had all heard of them, but nobody had ever seen any. One cowboy told them that he had heard there was a colony of Elders up at Lake Owyhee, just west of Boise, but he had never been there.

They spent the rest of the week helping around the Ranch, while Amos and Gary lanced boils, pulled a few teeth and gave Charlie's Mom a small bottle of laudanum for her "rhuematicks". By that time, the pain in Robbie's leg had calmed down and was easily contained by willow bark tea.

The Night Dragons made ready to depart and continue their search for those agents of the devil, the Elders. Robbie cried as the Dragons rode off and Eddie was trying to comfort him. Charlie walked in and Eddie let go of Robbie and stood back, Charlie smiled and said, "Guys, ya' don't have ta' hide, we alls know an' we alls love ya'."

Robbie said shyly, "Pop, does ya' love us enough ta' let us go ta' Robinson Ranch and learn how to be Night Dragons?"

Charlie thought for a while, he was not prone to making instant decisions. He said slowly, "OK, but ya' gotta let me take ya' both when ya go."

It took both Charlie and Robbie to calm Eddie down, the love he was receiving from his new family had just overwhelmed him.

Andy Gibbs felt more confident now and he had a warm feeling every time he thought of Charlie and his son, Robbie. They were good people, the kind of folks they were trying to save from the Elders. As for Robbie and Eddie, they would not survive should the damned Elders come upon them.

Andy had given Robbie a note to carry to Robinson Ranch when they went, there was no question in his mind that they would not go. The letter was for his new wife, Amanda. She had told him that he was going to be a father, so he had better take care of himself!

The couple spent their last night before Andy had to go, talking about baby names and going over the list of cottages available for families. They had already chosen a cottage and Andrew Robinson Yellowfeather had assured him the cottage was theirs and that they would help Amanda move well before her due date.

Andy was "daydreaming" about a son or a daughter when the Pathfinder Sergeant, Lowell Thomas, rode up beside him and whispered, "Boss, we is bein' watched. I doesn't think they mean us harm, but theys are about six of em'."

Andy had an idea, he called for a halt as it was about lunch time anyway. The Night Dragons who had the day's KP duty got the meal started, they had baked bread back at the Duncan Ranch and Grandma Duncan had given them three big hams.

Before long, there was a stack of ham sandwiches, a pot of homemade mayonnaise and homemade pepper sauce. They had also been given a sack full of lemons that had been raised in a glass house at Duncan Ranch and they made lemonade, sweetened with honey. Coffee had been long forgotten, but a universal substitute was made by parching kernels of corn and wheat and grinding them.

The Night Dragons and the Pathfinders all sat together on logs and stumps, eating their sandwiches and drinking their parched corn/wheat coffee. Andy sat there smacking his lips, everyone thought he was nuts when he said loudly, "This is sure good, but theys more here than what we kin eat."

Pathfinder Lowell understood immediately what Andy was doing and he said loudly, "Yeah, this here ham is great, what are we gonna do with the leftovers, Boss?"

There was a rustle in the bushes and Andy smiled, "I'll bet there are some guys over in them bushes what could eat some of this and help us out. We don't wanna throw good food away!"

A teen boy ran from the nearby bushes, screaming, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, kin we eat it!" He stopped suddenly, fearing he had done something foolish.

Andy stood and said, "OK, how many are there with ya'?" The boy realized he had been had and got a shy look on his face, "There be me an' my four younger brothers, please sir, wes ain't et in two days."

Before the youngster could move, the cooks had five sandwiches in his hands and he was told there were more if he and his brothers were still hungry.

Three boys came out of the bushes and the biggest boy had a little boy, no more than two years old, in his arms. One boy was limping badly, they could see that one foot was twisted at a funny angle and the boy did not put any weight on it.

All the boys, except for the baby, were crying. The baby was too busy shoving a whole ham sandwich in his mouth. The boys were apparently starving!

The brothers were John, Able, Artie, Josh and Jimmie. Able explained that their parents had died when their cabin caught fire and that he had been caring for his brothers since spring. Jimmie had fallen off a log while he was playing and hurt his foot, John said that he feared the boy's leg was broke!

Amos and Gary were on their feet in a flash and had the little boy in their arms. They laid him on a folded saddle blanket and quickly determined that the child had not broken his leg, but rather, he had dislocated his ankle. They called for a bucket of hot water and they began to lay out their instruments and the ever present bottle of laudanum.

While they waited for the opiate to take effect, they soaked some cloths in the hot water and wrapped them around the child's ankle. As soon as they saw his eyes begin to shutter, Amos and Gary got to work.

Gary held the boy's leg steady while Amos pulled on the foot until they felt the joint slip back into place. As soon as it was done, they wrapped the ankle in warm, dry pieces of old clothing and bound the ankle tightly. They then had John pick up his little brother and lay him on a bed they had prepared in the rear of one of the wagons and told him to sit with his brother so he would not be frightened when he woke up.

John was a little bewildered as things had changed so fast for him and his brothers, he asked, "Wwwwhhher aaare uuusins gonna ssstayy?"

Gary replied, "Why, with us of course. We ain't gonna turn ya' out. We are all Night Dragons an' we are gonna keep ya' with us an' take you home when wes return ta' Robinson Ranch!"

He smiled when he discovered that Jimmie had fainted dead away. He placed the older brother beside his little brother and let them sleep it off.

It had gotten well into the afternoon, so Andy decided they should make camp for the night right there.

The five brothers had heard stories about the Night Dragons and all of the older boys had hero worship written all over their faces. Fortunately, they all were dog-tired and, after another meal of stew and the remainder of the bread, they all cuddled next to their injured brother in the supply wagon and were fast asleep.

The next morning, they practically had to tie little Jimmie down to keep him off his injured leg. John watched every move the Dragons and Pathfinders made as he made a promise to himself that he was gonna be a Night Dragon himself!

Gary smiled to himself, he knew what was going on in the boy's head, he had been there once and done that himself. He slipped a leather thong around John's neck and when the boy looked down, there was a black wooden dragon with little green stones glued in for eyes. Gary caught the boy before he stumbled to the ground and held him until he had stopped crying.

They continued their trip towards Boise. They found the Boise River and followed it as far as the old town of Caldwell, where they stopped and set up camp. The old town seemed deserted and a brief inspection showed no sign of life anywhere.

Little Jimmie was beginning to move around a bit, he was very careful of his leg, but one of the Pathfinder guys had made him a wooden crutch and he got around pretty good.

The Platoon was settling down for the night and the cooks were getting supper ready. All of a sudden, they heard a screech and it sounded like little Jimmie!

Everyone went running towards the sound and they discovered Jimmie pointing towards some thick bushes along the river. As they peered through the underbrush, they spotted a teen aged girl and two smaller girls hiding behind her.

Amos took charge and said quietly, "Do not fear us, sister, we will do you no hurt. We are a platoon of Night Dragons on our way to Boise, if you are hungry, we have food, if you are hurt, we have two trained Medics who can care for you. Please come out of the bushes and join us in our supper!"

The older girl screamed, "nNnNniiiight DDDRAGONS! The legends are true! We was tol' about youse guys an' that youse was murderers and evil rapists, but ya' don't lllok llike aanny ooof thooose!"

The girl led the two other girls out of the bushes and stammered, "I iiiis Jeeeny an' theses is my sisterssss, MMMeg un LlLLetttie." Amos smiled gently at the girls and held his arms out to them, immediately he had three sobbing girls clinging to him.

He motioned to his brother, Gary, to come and help him. Gary was laughing at his brother's predicament. He knew the girls presented no worry to him, he and Amos were bonded for life.

As he approached Gary, the two smaller girls latched onto him and were soaking his shirt in tears. Amos got Jenny calmed down a bit and she told him, "Wes runned, the Elders was gonna make us Camp Girls an' we was s'posed ta' do sex things with theys men!"

Suddenly, there were thirty Night Dragons and a whole squad of Pathfinders surrounding them and they were all angry.

Andy Gibbs told the girls, "THAT ain't gonna happen an' I gots all these men to make it so!" He continued, "We are a Platoon of Night Dragons and we have a squad of Pathfinders with us. We also got two fine medics what kin tend any of yer hurts!"

The girls cried even harder! The oldest girl, Jenny, said, "We was tol' youse guys were evil and rapists, but that ain't fer true. Pleasssse, kkkeeep ttthem Eeelderssss away from usins, PLEASE!"

The cooks had some hot soup ready and they handed the girls cups of hot beef broth. It was apparent that the girls were starving, they could see their ribs through their thin dresses and their hands shook as they drank the soup. Andy led the girls back to where the boys were and asked the cooks to dish up some more food for them straightaway. He grinned to himself when he saw John staring at the older girl, he was panting and drooling!

The next morning, Jenny drew a map of the area in the dirt with a stick and pointed out where the Elders were building their fort. In later years, it would be called the "BATTLE FOR BOISE", but the skirmish the next morning was anything but a battle.

The Elders had captured several young local girls to replace the girls who had escaped and spent the night using them cruelly!

The Night Dragons and Pathfinders descending upon them in a fury and, in less time than the telling, there were twenty dead Elders strewn about their camp. They took the bodies and hung them from tree branches upside down and shoved a wooden Dragon in each of their mouths before they continued on to Boise.

They arrived at the outskirts of the ruins of Boise to absolute silence. As they rode through the streets, they saw no living thing, except for a few starving dogs.

They crisscrossed the town for a week and saw nothing even remotely human. They did find several building, where someone had camped there recently, but the whole area was as deserted as a desert! There was no sense in staying around, and winter was not too far off, so the party began their return to their home at Robinson Ranch.

There are two more bands of Night Dragons out in the field, we shall visit them next.