Buffalo Soldier
They followed the buffaloes and their babies along the trail heading into the woods
The herd was moving at pace and Emmet was struggling to keep up with the weight of the camera and all the gear in the backpack. The sun was high in the sky and the heat was intense. He paused for a second to wipe sweat from his eyes,
Ruth turned and shot him a dirty look ”’come on Emmet, we are gonna lose them” she whispered loudly.
They had been tracking this particular herd across Yellowstone for the past 2 days.Emmet still had not acclimatized to the heat, only arriving from Ireland 6 hours before the two of them had embarked on their journey, Ruth had moved here from Ireland with her dad when she was 5.
Ruth stopped so suddenly that Emmet ran right into her back and they both ended up in a heap on the ground.
“What the Hell Emmet, watch where you are going will you” she yelled, picking herself up of the ground.
“Jeez, Ruth. No point yelling at me, I’m running to try and keep up and you just suddenly”
He looked up at her and stopped talking, Ruth was standing staring out into the clearing where the Buffalo had went.
She had a look of pure terror on her face, frozen to the spot.
“What’s going on?” he had started to say but Ruth suddenly turned around and jumped to the ground, dragging him down with her,
“Don’t say a word” she whispered, “don’t move a muscle”
Emmet crawled towards the edge of the clearing to see what had scared Ruth so badly.
The last of the buffalo were making there way forward into the trees. But that’s not what caught his eye. At the tree line on the other side of the clearing, Barely 50 meters away, Emmet could make out a man, dressed in a police uniform, there was another person lying at his feet.
The man in the uniform held a knife in his hand,
He raised the knife above his head and brought it crashing down into the body. Emmet recoiled in horror.
“Ruth, we have to get out of here” he whispered
“He saw me Emmet, he saw me.” She was obviously in shock
“Who saw you Ruth? Who is that?” Emmet had her by the shoulders now, trying to get her to speak.
“It’s my Father Emmet, that’s my Father”
Emmet began to crawl back in the direction they had come, “We have to tell someone, I have to get to a phone”.
Suddenly Ruth grabbed his leg,
Emmet stopped and turned his head “Ruth!! What the hell?”
Ruth lay on the ground, a gun pointed at him
“You can’t tell anyone Emmet, that’s my Father”
****************
Well over the 200 words,but I got carried away
Each Monday, it’s time to finish the story. The photo from Barbara Beacham above is the media prompt. This week, stories must begin with, “They followed the buffaloes and their babies along the trail heading into the woods.” It’s up to us writers to run with it from there. This is my answer to the challenge. Look here to find what others wrote: https://mondaysfinishthestory.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/mondays-finish-the-story-april-20th-2015/
mcniffjames 
James – What a great story! Sometimes, we just have to go over the limit just to tell the tale, which is fine… I would like to thank you for writing for the MFtS challenge, and I hope that you return next week. Be well… ^..^
Thank you for your comment.
I will be back, I look forward to the next one
YW! I look forward to reading what you write! Be well… ^..^
You’ve left the reader wondering what will happen next – nice cliffhanger.
I want to know what happens next, and why are they scared of her father? 😳😁😊 -Great job!
Great story — didn’t see the ending coming! What a family Emmet has gotten himself in with! Hope there is a chapter 2!
Excellent! I was hanging on the edge of my seat reading this. Turns out that Ruth and her father are not to be trusted. 🙂
Well, family’s family. I wonder if Ruth’s going to give Emmet a chance to change his mind about telling?
Well! I’m not sure I care for that Ruth. Or her pop!
A great story Patrick ~ I am in a serious withdrawall state ~A great ending with Dad on the prowl ~