Chapters:

Prologue

Frowning Bear had been sitting in the dark for days, maybe even longer. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in solitary confinement, nor was he sure why he had been picked up and imprisoned in the first place. But such was the life of his people these days. Ever since a pack of riders rode into their tribe and told them they had to leave, that they were sitting on a gold mine which they did not fully respect. It had been a long time since that event, and his people had been moved from one reservation to another, as various natural resources were discovered. They had been in and out of prison, even killed when the sporting was good.

He had been in pretty good standing these past few years as a slave to a wealthy plantation owner, and was surprised when a few members of the Cavalry had shown up and escorted him away by force to a prison cell at Fort Alamo. He was only told that someone wanted to see him, and then the door was shut and all the light in the world was kept elsewhere. Once a day someone would come by, open a slit on the door and drop in a half eaten ear of corn or some moldy bread. Never any water, he had to drink what he could from the rafters of the cell when it rained.

Just when Frowning Bear was giving up, and coming to the depressing thought that no one was coming and that he was going to die in this dark, damp cell there was a knock at the door. "I'm coming in, Frowning Bear." A voice called out to him, it was young and masculine, with a southern drawl attached to it. He tried to place the accent, and figured it was likely a Tennessee man. The door opened and all he could see was a silhouette of the stranger standing in the doorway. The man was wearing an overcoat that came down to his knees and a hat that seemed too big for its head. The man spoke hard this time, as if to threaten him without so much as having to say it. "We need to talk, Frowning Bear. We need to talk about Eagle Eyes."

Frowning Bear was shielding his eyes from the harsh sunlight, and didn't register the name that escaped the man's lips. "Why am I here?" he asked, "What have I done?"

The man didn't move from the doorway, "Tell me everything you can about Eagle Eyes."

Frowning Bear heard it this time, a name he hadn't heard in years. He had often wondered about her at night, when trying to fall asleep and prepare for the next grueling day of chores. What did she look like? Did she ever satisfy her urge for revenge? Would she recognize him, if they passed each other? He had grown old fast, and his black hair had faded to an almost white complexion. It took him a moment to raise his voice to speak, as he hadn't spoke to anyone in some time and was dry from lack of water. "Eagle Eyes? You hunting ghosts?"

"She's not dead," the man growled back, "And I want to know where she is, or where she might be headed."

"I have no idea, and that's the truth," Frowning Bear replied. "But, if she's doing things you don't like, don't fret. When she's done, you won't have to hunt her anymore."

The man stood silent for a moment, and then took out a cigarette and lit the tip of it. It glowed orange in the middle of his head, and Frowning Bear could see the glow reflected in the man's eyes. He took a long puff of the cigarette, and then exhaled the smoke into the room. "What's she doing exactly?"

Frowning Bear thought of how to explain something like retribution and justice to a white man, it wasn't going to be easy, he wasn't sure it was in their strange vocabulary. "Do you know why they call her Eagle Eyes?" The man didn't respond, instead he took another puff of smoke. "I will tell you. It's because at an early age, it was clear from the older men, that she had the ability to see things."

"Like a prophet?" The man scoffed.

"No," Frowning Bear started, "The ability to see wrong. And to have the heart to do something about it." That seemed to resonate with the man, and he refrained from mockery. "She is on a conquest. She will not stop until she sees the wrong is overturned. You would do best to stay out of her way and just let her finish what she started."

The man dropped his cigarette to the dirt floor and stamped it out. "Not the way I see it, old man."

Frowning Bear noted he actually referred to him as a man, which was something other whites never did. "Do you know how to catch a ghost? Because you will need to know how, if you want to catch Eagle Eyes."

The man walked into the cell, bent down and came face to face with Frowning Bear. He smelled of smoke and filth, and his breath was almost unbearable. "She's flesh, and she's bone. I will find her. I will kill her. And then, maybe then, can she be a ghost and haunt me. But until then, I will hunt her." The man stood back up and walked out through the door. Just before he closed it, he looked back over his shoulder at Frowning Bear. "You're free to go... back to your master."