The Black Widow: Of the Appalachian Preserve

By William Malic

Book one Appalachian Preserve introduced a cast of characters populating the Appalachian Mountains. A serious of catastrophic events, some natural but mostly brought about by man, led to the splintering of the once great United State of America. The American Spirit lives on in the hearts of these simple mountain people.
They learned to be strong, united in a common purpose and to love and appreciate the creation God had given them. One mountain boy, Caleb, in search of a wife, found much more. Thrust into a role he never would have imagined, he led the Preservists, as they were called, in a mission that would change the history of the region. He had rescued a young woman, Eva Henderson, from certain servitude in the sex trade. She taught him not only to value his freedom, but to know what love was. Returning to the first woman her loved, Caleb did not abandon the woman who would be known not only in the region but far and wide as the ‘Black Widow.’
This is her story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304564771

Book preview

The Black Widow: Of the Appalachian Preserve

Authors Statement

Book one Appalachian Preserve introduced a cast of characters populating the Appalachian Mountains interconnected by the world’s longest hiking path, The Appalachian Trail.  A serious of catastrophic events, some natural but mostly brought about by man, had led to the splintering of the once great United State of America.   America as it had been known was no longer, but the American Spirit lived on in the hearts of these simple mountain people.

Life was not filled with many pleasures, however they learned to be strong, united in a common purpose and to love and appreciate the creation God had given them.  One mountain boy, Caleb, in search of a wife, found much more.  Thrust into a role he never would have imagined, he led the Preservists, as they were called, in a mission that would change the history of the region.

Finding love, losing it, finding it again Caleb became an iconic leader of a whole new society.  He had rescued a young woman, Eva Henderson, from certain servitude in the sex trade.  She taught him not only to value his freedom, but to know what love was.  Returning to the first woman her loved, Caleb did not abandon the woman who would be known not only in the region but far and wide as the ‘Black Widow’

This is her story.

The first book ended with more questions than it answered.  This second book fills in some of the pieces.

Chapter 1 - Black Widow

John Henderson couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as the Preservist’s clandestine advance on the enemy compound progressed without a hitch.  He had taught them well.  As a special operations force, the troop was tasked with five primary missions: unconventional warfare, internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action against designated enemy installations, and counter-terrorism.  Carefully selected from volunteers from throughout the Appalachian Preserve the band of marauders were allegedly under direct command of General Caleb.  The de facto leader, however, was Eva Henderson, John’s daughter, Caleb’s one time lover and the only known to the enemy simply as the ‘Black Widow’.

A sudden flash of red, hair billowing from a streaking figure clad from head to toe in black signaled the assault was commencing.  In less time than it had taken for John to scale the stony outcrop overlooking the enemy’s poorly hidden encampment, the raid was over.  Five Federals lay dead, three with their throats slit ear to ear and two impaled through the heart.  Silently the corpses were gathered unceremoniously and loaded on to a wagon.  They were transported out of the preserve during the night to an outpost under Federals control.  As the sun first pierced the horizon above the slivery mist of the early morning fog, a black horse emerged from the shadows.  A rider rode high on the saddle at break neck speed as the Federals’ sentries watched spellbound by the bold display.  With a flick of her head the ‘Black Widow’ released her amber signature, sending icy chills down every man’s spine.  A slowly lumbering mule materialized from the ground level cloud towing its morbid wagonload.  Circling the make shift hearse, the Widow turned her stead back to the blanket of dense moisture laden air and melted into the mist.  Blowing in the breeze, her red hair punctuated her departure; a grizzly token of the gore covering the miserable corpses. Inflamed with rage, the Captain of the outpost stomped towards the gruesome carriage, first ordering his men to make ready their pursuit of the red-headed witch, but reluctantly capitulated and commanded they stand down.  He knew if they tracked the Black Widow they too would number among the fatalities, fueling the ubiquitous funeral pyres raised as monument to the Preservist’s assassin.

Few residents of the Preserve were unaware of the ‘Black Widow’; on the other hand most except for a few high echelon officers were privy to her exact identity.  Preservist leaders themselves had had bounties placed on their heads by the Federals, but none bore the extent of wrath that she commanded, nor the reward promised for her demise.  Whoever would have brought the auburn draped head of the beauty to the Federals’ capital, with or without her body attached, was guaranteed a life time of luxury.  As for the fool hearty who dared to lay claim to the reward; all had quickly earned an early exit from their earthly existence, leaving widows and orphans in their wake.  Travel through the Preserve for the redheaded siren was as equally clandestine as her journeying behind enemy lines.  However, in this friendly territory there was always food and other supplies available for the taking.  A many proud mountaineer or farmer proclaimed his good luck if he awoke to find his favorite horse exchanged for two or more left behind by the Widow’s troop.  Never lacking for supplies the band of patriotic mercenaries continually crisscrossed the Preserve attending to their frightening duties.

The last heroic act, in which they had dispatched the quintet of pillaging raiders, had been prompted by intelligence transmitted throughout the Preserve along the Appalachian Trail.  Serving as a central pipeline for the Preserve, any pertinent information was quickly relayed along the ridge of mountains.  A small village had been plundered by the Federals, while the men had been tending their fields.  Information concerning the number of raiders, direction of travel and assessment of their strength shot in coded messages north and south faster than if there had been transmission lines stretched from end to end of the Trail.  In less horrific cases where food or other supplies were the only quarry sought by the raiders, the local militia would have been dispatched to run the raiders back to where they came from, normally inflicting minimal damage.  In this case, however, the raiding party had attempted to take something of a more precious value then meager earthly goods.  A teenage girl had been abducted, molested and nearly raped, except by providence the village men were returning from their fields and thwarted her invasion.  The Special Forces troop responded, quickly assessing the violation merited no quarter, no chance of clemency or mercy, and they would not spare life in return for surrender of the vanquished opponents.  Eva Henderson yet again fulfilled her role as the "Black Widow, avenging the breach of common decency inflicted on her kin. She had slit the throats of the men who admitted to holding the girl and attempting to violate her virginity while stabbing through the heart the other men who had been accessories, standing idly by, failing to respond to the girl’s plea for pity and protection of her innocence.

No soldier seeks to die on the battlefield.  Since the day when the Preservists led by General Caleb were ambushed by the Federals and nearly lost the war before the battle had begun, Eva Henderson found she was a natural borne warrior.  She also was a leader.  If General Caleb had died that day all might have been lost.  Her ability to rally the troops while their General lay comatose and near death saved the uprising against the Federals.  The Victory of Knoxville, as it became to be known, elevated her to the rank of an elite fighter, bested by few, and though a woman equal to the best of men.  Nevertheless she did not have the natural strength of a man.  Her cunning and talent for stealth served her were brute force did not.  She struck with the fury of a woman scorned, retreated to fight another day, spreading fear across the land by the mere mention of her maniacal propensity to wreak mayhem on the enemy.  She killed as easily as she would gather a new born to her bosom for nurturing.  She could take a man in her arms and slit his throat as effortlessly as make love to him.  Eva loved to love, and no man dared resist her.  She had provoked Caleb into violating his principles and succumbing to her feminine wiles.  Though she had lost his love when he reunited with his wife, Hannah, Eva knew in her heart she still loved Caleb.  Her loyalty to the fight was more for Caleb then glory or freedom or any of the other reasons the Preservists banded together to resist the Federals.  Eva in truth killed for the thrill, and she loved for pleasure. Either way she reached a climax that she could find in few other ways.

Chapter 2 - A Raiders Daughter

John Henderson, as a younger man, had made his way in the world as a raider, eventually taken a wife and given her a daughter.  He initially regretted the fact he had not been granted a son to raise in the ways of his profession but the tiny little redheaded cherub who gave him so much attention captured his heart.  Little Eva was full of energy and delighted him more than life itself.  Though he survived by stealing from others he was dedicated to his family and as gentle a man as Christ himself.  John never once took advantage of his neighbors.  In fact he was known throughout the region as one of the most benevolent of men.  He stole from Federals and occasionally from bad eggs as he termed them, living in the Preserve.  He often would give away the things he stole if a neighbor needed them, never expecting anything to be given in return.  Most people were willing to barter, fairly, and agreed on terms mutually beneficial to both parties, because they respected and love the man they called ‘Gentle John’.

Success in the business of raiding from the Federals and scavenging resources allowed John to build a comfortable home for his family near the border of the Preserve, closer to his quarry yet still out of Federals’ jurisdiction.  He was particularly careful in finding a home site where he could retreat to after his plundering expeditions and not be followed.  He would take the stolen goods to a neutral sight, almost never dealing out of his home.  People in the Preserve knew not to request he trade from his residence.  They respected his privacy as did he theirs.  However if someone needed something all they had to do was let John know through coded messages left along the Appalachian Trail and soon John would direct them to where they could acquire what they needed.  If he didn’t have it in inventory he was sure to find a source and before long the necessary item would be available.  Mountain folk were simple in their needs, so rarely were they disappointed.

John also traded with a few select Federals that, though he never fully trusted them, could supply certain items too problematic to steal.  Ammunition and arms were closely monitored by the Federals’ authorities and elicited swift action from the military if an attempt was made to secure this sort of contraband.  John also worked with gun runners who bribed Federals’ authorities to look the other way.  He traded items from the Preserve or even at times stolen goods from the Federals’ jurisdiction.  Thieves rarely ask the source of the goods they traded for.  The Preserve militias as well often utilized John’s talents to secure weapons for their hidden arsenals.  This foray into the illegal arms trade ultimately would lead to the demise of the Henderson Empire.

Ironically the day of reckoning came when John was returning home, following a week’s trading with trusted people from the Preserve know as Wanderers. Wanderers were people of the Preserve that led a nomadic life, often traveling outside of the Preserve, and even occasionally to the cities.  The Federals had all but eliminated rural life in the new country that was once the eastern United States.  Wanderers lived off the land, mining, and farming or in the forestry business.  They became good sources for items to trade with the Federals.  John made a fatal mistake by going directly to his homestead rather than one of his safe places before storing his booty.  It was Eva’s birthday and he had pilfered a new baby doll for her to play with.

Federals’ soldiers raided the house and the family was carted off to the city.  John and his wife were ruined, destined to spend the rest of their lives in prison, while Eva was placed in an orphanage.  Reared from this point as a city girl, well-educated by her wards, Eva all but forgot her mountain past.  The cute little redhead with freckles matured into a stunning young woman.  Orphanage children were housed until they were old enough to be sold on the open market.  Slavery was officially outlawed, but orphans, with no resources or citizenship, were contracted for a fee to fill menial, labor intensive jobs.  Officially they were indentured till they were able to buy their freedom and only then could they claim citizenship.  Most former orphans never earned enough to pay the price of freedom.  Unless they ran away, being an orphan meant a life sentence of bondage.  Pretty girls were often tutored for a different kind of service.  Eva and the other pretty girls including Hannah, Caleb’s wife, were to be presented to auction, destined to degradation as concubines by purveyors of the sex trade.  Hannah had escaped before she was officially offered for public sale.  Eva was rescued by a band of Preservists, led by Caleb with the help of Hannah, posing as bidders at one of these auctions.

Caleb had become the leader of the Wanderers and eventually General of the Preservists combined militia units.  He reluctantly ruled against his wife in a trial were she was found guilty of shamelessly killing the director of the orphanage, a man who had raped her previous to her qualifying for enslavement as a prostitute, in cold blood.  Hannah had been expelled from her adopted village to a nunnery.  Eva in the interim weaseled her way into Caleb’s inner circle and eventually assumed the duties of the lady of the house.  She learned to use weapons and excelled in hand to hand combat, being particularly proficient with the use of the knife.  Both Caleb and Eva lead a raid on the prison were her real parents were incarcerated and miraculously the Henderson family was reunited.  This was the beginning of a new career for Eva and in the battle of Knoxville Eva took command after Caleb had fallen nearly mortally wounded.  The ‘Black Widow’ was born.

After the city of Knoxville became part of the Appalachian Preserve the Federals negotiated a precarious peace.  Successively making her way back to where Caleb was hospitalized after the Knoxville campaign, Eva found that he and Hannah had been reunited.  The war had changed Eva.  She emerged a warrior and her passion to lead the troops into battle became paramount.  Passion for Caleb had changed too.  She remained a loyal subject to the General but realized her destiny was not to be his wife or his mistress.  She had discovered a new love; the thrill of battle.  As a warrior without a war, Eva found herself miserable, until she helped organize an elite group of commandos at the ready to do battle on a moment’s notice.  Though peace had come, the Federals continued to harass the Preserve.  Caleb and unnamed members of the Preservists were designated enemies of the state and bounties were placed on their heads.   Eva’s crack troop of soldiers intercepted an assassination attempt on Caleb and stopped a number of terrorist attacks meant to