I must have lost consciousness at some point because the next thing I knew, I was waking up. I opened my eyes and immediately shut them again. The sun was directly overhead and the plateau I had been laying on was bare of trees. The light hurt my eyes so I rolled over and pulled up my blanket.
My mind slowly processed that thought and I snapped awake, 'Blanket!' I sat up and looked down at myself. Sure enough there was a small, brown blanket covering me. It wasn't particularly large, maybe five feet by four feet but it was there and it was warm. My hands inched toward it shakily. I was afraid to touch it, as if contact with my skin might frighten it away. My fingers touched the warm, brown fabric and I swept it into my arms. It felt sturdy but not particularly soft, 'Probably cotton.'
Suddenly recalling the previous night's encounter, I whipped my head left and right, trying to spot any signs of the two... creatures. My eyes wandered the clearing looking for them, but I couldn't catch sight of either one. The only indicators that they had ever been there were the cold fire pit, their tracks, and the blanket they had left me.
A voice echoed up from down the mountain, "Pering!" it sounded like Brinsin, "Pering where are you?"
I quickly stood up and hustled over the the same ledge I had climbed the night before, "Up here! Clearing 200 or so feet above the stream. Bring that ecologist kid and anyone who knows anything about horses." I yelled back.
I sat down to wait with the blanket on my lap. After what could only guess was the upper end of an hour I could finally hear them making their way up the slope of the mountain. Jason was in the lead with Spearman and Joyner was right behind him. There were more people but I couldn't clearly see them.
"Come on up guys, I'll help you up the last bit." I called to them.
I helped Jason Campbell over the edge easily. He was followed by Joyner, Spearman, Massonete, Brinsin, Vacca, Hord, and two young women I did not recognize.
I took a couple of steps back, picked up the blanket and positioned myself between them and the campsite, "Does anyone know how to identify animal tracks?" I asked, "Because there are tracks behind me, in this clearing and I want someone to identify the creatures who made them before I get into how I acquired this blanket." I said holding it out.
Everyone's eyes widened and Jason snatched it out of my hands, "Where did you get a bath sheet?"
"I'll explain after someone tells me what made these tracks behind me. Trust me, there's a very good reason." I said.
Jason and the two women, silently stepped past me and began examining the tracks and blanket.
I walked up to Joyner, "Hey L.T., did anyone report seeing anything strange yesterday?"
Mike Joyner looked at me flatly, "You mean besides the sun setting at a speed so quick you saw it with the naked eye? Or maybe the fact that five streams and one river were discovered and all, yes all the streams were found to be potable? Maybe the reports of strange animals from people? One lady swears up and down she saw a pegasus flying above the forest yesterday." he continued his flat look and added a slight smirk, "Depends on your definition of strange at this point."
"At the risk of sounding like an idiot, I doubt that lady wasn't lying." I said quietly.
"How long have you been without water, Pering?" Spearman asked.
"I wasn't hallucinating then and I'm not hallucinating now." I turned to Jason, "Toss me the blanket." I caught it in my hands and began looking for evidence.
After a few seconds I found what I wanted and plucked it out of the threads, "Is THIS a fucking hallucination?" I hissed, holding up several long bright green strands of mane.
Joyner's eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement, "May I see those?" he asked.
I carefully placed them into his hand while Masonete, Spearman, Brinsin, Vacca, and Hord gathered around to see, "I'm not crazy and I'm not joking. Put the pieces together guys. The water, the sun, the strange animals, these very hairs, they all paint a picture!"
"That's not new." Masonete said, "We've already figured it out. We're either in a colossal artificial environment or we're... someplace else."
"That's your and Chris's theory dude, I'm not ready to accept it yet." Hord said.
"Guys!" Chris said emphatically, "We're on a different. Fucking. World. It's the only possibility that makes any sense!" he began pacing back and forth, "Even in an artificial environment we wouldn't have strange animals and with the amount of water flowing through the streams... Where would someone even put an artificial environment THIS HUGE? Furthermore, who would fund it, hell who COULD fund it and why would they do it in the first place? Even if all that was feasible, how could anyone sedate everyone at The Complex and kidnap... however many people are here? It. Doesn't. Add. Up."
"There's 786 of us here. There were more but we lost one to poisonous mushrooms, someone bashed in Kyle's head last night, and we lost one person to a predator, a bear I think." Masonete chimed in.
"Yup and now we have a murderer among us." Brinsin said unhappily.
"Chris's point stands and I agree with him." I added.
"Alright then Pering, how did we get here?" Brinsin asked.
"I'm not certain about that part, but I think it had something to do with the storm that hit The Complex. I remember large hail, and a ton of lightning. Just before I blacked out there was a really bright light. Once the light started, there was no sound and the ground began to shake, then I blacked out and woke up in the field. Does anyone else remember anything like that?"
"Yeah, I do." Vacca said, "I had just broken the door to the Leasing Office when the light showed up. I remember wondering why the breaking glass didn't make any sound."
"Now there you're right." Hord admitted, "I was dragging those three residents under an overhang when it happened. Exact same thing."
"I can't explain why or how it happened, but it did. We're not on Earth anymore. Or if we are then it's a very different Earth than the one we're used to." I said, "Look, in any case we need food and so forth to survive. You have any ideas Chris?"
Vacca put his hand on his chin, "I've got a couple but none of them are pretty."
"I'm open to suggestions." Joyner said crossing his arms.
"Let's look at facts first. We've got a huge field of cabbage, awesome find by the way Darryl, but that will only last us a week at most. We have water and thanks to Pering showing his group how to knap, we have the materials to make some crude tools. The river we found has tons and tons of fish and some folks found flints so we can make fires. Basically, we have the bare necessities to survive, but it's only a matter of time before we run out of materials and food."
"He's right, though," Jason said walking back over, "My major is ecology and I can tell you that this environment isn't capable of supporting a group as large as ours without preparation. We'll be able to survive for a short while but it won't be long before we exhaust the resources. I'd say we have a week or two at most. There's just too many of us for this land to sustain. We don't have tools or seeds, hell we don't even have enough land in the field to feed all of us." Jason gestured down toward the field emphatically, "That field isn't large enough to sustain even a hundred people annually, even if it was already plowed, planted, and irrigated."
"So basically, unless we find new resources and fast, we're all... " I trailed off.
"Starving to death in very short order." Joyner finished the statement, "The problem is even worse than that. People aren't stupid, it won't be long before someone puts the pieces together. They have access to sharp objects and the cabbages aren't being guarded. People will start hording and stealing food then when others find out. They're going to start taking food by force. It's human nature. We'll be killing each other for food inside a week."
"He's right." Hord said, "It happens all over the world, hell I've seen it with my own eyes when I was on deployment."
A soft feminine voice addressed us, "I'd say these tracks were made by something about the size of a Shetland Pony." one of the two women said, "One set of tracks are deeper than the other so there were at least two of them. I'm Cara, by the way and this is Dena." she said offering her hand to me.
I took and shook her hand, "Pleasure to meet you ladies."
"So where did you get that blanket?" Dena asked.
"You might not believe me but one of the two equinoids must have draped it over me last night. I kind of... sort of... passed out when I heard them speak."
All eyes were on me instantly, "Look, I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous but it's true. They weren't just making animal noises, these were specifically enunciated and carefully articulated words. I couldn't understand any of it of course but it does give me an idea, if anyone is willing to hear me out."
"Any sort of plan is better than none at all." Joyner said.
"Before I passed out I saw that the two equinoids were each carrying a type of side mounted backpacks. That fact plus this blanket indicates civilization. They were empathetic enough to leave me a blanket, maybe we could convince them to help us. Their saddlebags couldn't have held more than one or two days worth of food so logically speaking their settlement should be, I'd guess, less than twenty miles away. I'm not happy to say this but the fat from my body can sustain me for at least a couple of weeks. I'm the only one who has had any sort of contact with them and I know how to follow tracks. My father used to take me hunting all the time. I grew up on that stuff."
Chris Vacca laughed, "That was actually one of my ideas. No offense Dan but it makes good sense and if nothing else it's one less mouth to feed."
"As of right now, I can't afford to be offended. We need to survive and that survival may depend on how well I beg for help." I admitted.
"There is another possibility but it's the least pleasant. If we get desperate, we could find one of their settlements and we do have weapons." Chris stopped and let everyone come to the same conclusion, "Even if we can't steal any food... I hate to say it but some countries eat horses."
"I'll starve before I eat a sentient creature." I said pointedly.
"It's a horrible thought but if it comes to that or starving to death," he shrugged, "The human will to live is very strong. People will eat anything to survive, even each other, it isn't much of a stretch to apply that mentality to beings that aren't even human." It was not a pleasant thought but Chris had a point.
"Let's keep that as a last resort for now," I began.
"Not like we have a lot of other options right now." Brinsin grumbled.
"No argument," I said somberly, "But we have to try at least. I'd like to try to ask them for help. I think I can make it if I have a cabbage, I can use it like a canteen, the blanket, and one obsidian knife. I know our supplies are scarce but it's the best I can do." I offered.
"Well for now, let's get back to the rest of the group." Spearman recommended.
"Yeah, I'm hungry as hell." I said.
"Well," Brinsin said with a smirk, "We got cabbage, cabbage, cabbage, or cabbage. I hear the cabbage is good."
We all shared a hearty chuckle as we began the treacherous descent down to the plateau below. It was very slow going. I slipped twice but thanks to Masonete's long arms, I didn't injure my feet. It took nearly until noon to descend safely. There were a great many slips and skids but there were thankfully no injuries.
We finally made it back down to the plateau where the stream my group and I had discovered the obsidian and fresh water. There were dozens of young people sitting around knapping obsidian and talking.
I stepped over to the stream and knelt down to drink. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was. My hands descended to the icy cold stream again and again until my thirst had been slaked.
Meanwhile Jason, Joyner and everyone else who had come up to where I woke up, waded across the stream and examined the work of the knappers. The knappers were sitting on the West side of the plateau with piles of untouched obsidian resting between their legs and smaller piles of knapped tools sitting beside them. There was a certain uniformity to their positioning.
I mentally kicked myself, 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! They're all in one place so the razor sharp pieces of obsidian don't fall and mix in with the rounded gravel of the stream bank! Damn, I should have considdered that!'
The knappers had been busy. Some of the obsidian was perfect for spear heads, some for knives, some for scrapers, and some could be used for arrow heads, hell some might have been good for crude axes.
I rose back to my feet and saw Joyner examining a small obsidian knife, "This is pretty good, Kaneesha. Remember the blade doesn't need to be particularly long, it just needs to be sharp and if you can manage to make the edge smooth-ish that would be a definite plus. May I take this one?"
Kaneesha nodded her head, "Sure. Long as I get fed I can do this all day."
I waded across the stream and looked the the knappers, "This looks good guys. Keep it up." I turned my attention to Jason, "Who thought to have them all stay in the same place?"
"That was Masonete. He stepped on an obsidian shard but it didn't cut him too badly, so he had the knappers all move to the West side of the plateau while he collected a bunch of pieces so no one else would step on one."
"Alright, everybody grab a knife and an arrowhead. The rest of the group is down in the field. We need to get going on making small spears to catch fish with. 786 people is a lot of mouths to feed."
I tapped him on the shoulder, "Shouldn't we worry about the killer among us?"
"What would you suggest Pering?" Joyner asked pointedly, "Round up everyone we think is suspicious? Even if we did, we have no way of imprisoning them and likely we'd be wrong in every case. Even if we did find the culprit, what would we do execute them? Who would do it? Exile them? They might come back and start murdering everyone." he ran his left hand through his hair, "The only thing we can do right now is watch, wait, and stay busy. If people are busy they won't think too much and with the pending food shortage the better they think they're doing, the better for all of us."
I nodded firmly, "I understand sir."
"We already have plenty to keep us busy." Hord said, "We've got bodies to bury, fish to catch, and predators to keep at bay."
"Are you still planning on sending Masonete to keep an eye on everything?" Spearman asked.
"Keep an eye on everything?" I parroted.
"I'll tell you on the way back to the field." Joyner said motioning to the knappers with his head.
We all caught his meaning. Jason walked over to the edge of the slope leading down to the forest and sat down, then turned over onto his stomach, draped his legs over the edge, and began a slow descent downward. We all followed him very carefully.
The descent was a dull and, aside from grunts of exertion, a silent affair. The small trees growing on the slope gradually thickened and the dirt and rocks under our feet became more and more sparse. Our footing became more sure the farther we went and I noticed with a hint of smug satisfaction that we were descending down the exact same path my group and I had ascended the day before.
The descent went much more quickly than I had anticipated and we reached the flat floor of the forest then began the trek through to the field.
"So," I began, "About having Masonete keep an eye on everything?"
"Yeah," Joyner sighed, "Vacca figured that the person who killed Kyle was probably a first timer and made a mistake somewhere so Masonete's going to watch everything and see if anyone does anything suspicious."
"Then what was that whole little speech you gave me back near the stream?" I asked.
"That was for the knappers to hear. See everyone knows Kyle was murdered last night and they're talking. We planted a rumor back there. It will spread and hopefully make the killer slip up so we can catch them."
"And if we do?" I asked.
Joyner answered so casually, he could have been discussing the weather, "We're abiding by the Code of Hammurabi remember. He who takes the life of another, so too shall his be taken."
"And who, among us would be designated the executioner?" I queried.
"Ludwig. He had to drop the hammer on a man once so he said he could do it." Joyner said.
I didn't want to mention I had done so several years before as well. I didn't want to be dubbed an executioner.
"Hey Dan," Hord said, "It's not like the situation's deteriorating or anything. Things happen and we have to respond to them. Everything's just a little more serious right now."
We weaved our way around a bramble bush and I almost stepped on a thorn because I wasn't paying attention.
"So how is Sheranda doing?" I asked.
Brinsin snickered, "You're group had the least injuries of anyone. Because you divided 'em up." he chuckled, "That weren't a bad idea."
"It was irresponsible." Joyner said, "The group of people Pering was given, he was responsible for. Instead of doing his job, he divided up the responsibility with other people who weren't as prepared as he was. At least one person from each of the divided up groups ended up with injuries. As of right now, we have five cases of Poison Ivy, thirty nine foot injuries and three deaths in addition to the ones we lost from the hail. We need to get on the ball and make sure these people, OUR PEOPLE, are safe and healthy, and we do that by being responsible and not taking the easy way out."
His words were spoken evenly and without any sort of raised voice or disappointed tone but somehow that made it worse.
"These are people's lives we're responsible for here. In some way every death is on our hands, even if it's not. People will want someone or something to blame their problems on and we have to ensure that they don't target other people. For right now, blame the environment. It gives them a venting point for their emotions and frustration. The longer we can keep the blame off each other, the longer we can continue without any more racial hate crimes. Human beings always rally together if we have an enemy, and that enemy is the environment. That's our enemy, that's our opposition, and it is against the environment that we will all join together. We can tell people about the creatures you saw Pering, but be sure to always emphasize that they were friendly and didn't harm you." Joyner paused for breath and I nodded. He was making good sense.
"They gave you a blanket, use it like a symbol. It's something solid that represents hope and hope is one of the strongest convictions a person can have. We have to use a combination of hope, unity, and fear or else people will turn on each other faster than we can blink." Joyner outlined our course of action, "Pering, wave that blanket around and get people's attention. Once everyone is gathered we'll give them a pep talk and stir them up, then we can set them to do different jobs to keep them busy. Wait until everyone has an assigned job then have Hord take you to select a cabbage. Be sure that people understand you're going to be leaving in the morning to try to find these horse things. We'll have a big send off first thing in the morning. It will reinforce the hope we're trying to foster and help motivate folks into working their hardest."
"Maybe that isn't such a good idea." Vacca said.
We all stopped and looked at him. The light from the field was only a few hundred feet ahead.
"I just had a thought. What if these horse creatures have a government?" he ventured.
"So what?" Brinsin asked, "Any civilized culture got a government."
Vacca nodded, "That's my point. What would our government do if they suddenly caught wind of aliens?"
"Woah, woah, he's right!" Masonete exclaimed, "If the United States government found out there were aliens stranded on Earth, they'd swoop in and stick 'em all in cells and run experiments on 'em."
The rest of the team was dumbfounded. Masonete rarely spoke more than a few words at a time. I'd had several conversations with the man and he was actually quite talkative, he was just extremely picky on who he spoke to. If he didn't trust you completely, he didn't say anything. He worked hard to maintain his mysterious persona though, and I wasn't about to betray his trust by saying anything to the contrary.
"Either that or they'd eradicate them or try to force them to give up secrets of how to make weapons." Hord added.
"You're forgettin'," Brinsin said, "They could be the opposite too. They could be kind an' carrin'. Right now we all speculatin' cause we don't know."
"I agree with Brinsin," Joyner said, "We need to stay hopeful and not make villains out of these beings before we've even met them, we could ruin our chances of getting them to help us."
"Yeah. Besides the last thing I need to be thinking about is some horse scientist dissecting me while I'm still alive." I added.
"Come on, let's give people hope." Joyner said striding toward the field.
* * *
I waved the blanket wildly over my head as people pressed in on all sides, held at bay by the rest of the Security team.
"Can I touch it?"
"Wow!"
"Where did you get it?"
"I want one too!"
"Did you find other people?"
"Settle down! Settle down everyone!" Joyner yelled.
"COOL IT!" Calvin bellowed.
It took several minutes but eventually everyone did quiet down.
"Can you give me a shoulder, Calvin?" Joyner asked.
"I can do one better L.T." Calvin lifted Joyner up so that each of his legs were dangling over each of the large man's shoulders.
"Alright! Listen! This is going to be very difficult to believe, but I need you all to listen. As you've all seen, the sun sets and rises much more quickly than normal. The streams are, thus far, pure and can be drank from. These things simply do not occur on Earth, which means... we aren't on Earth."
The silence was deafening, "The plants and animals, most of them anyway, are familiar and from what we have seen, effectively identical to the ones we already know. However that does not preclude the fact that Pering had an encounter with a pair of creatures he describes as being brightly colored short horses. The difference here is that they seem to be highly intelligent. According to what Pering said, these two creatures spoke in a strange language and owned manufactured equipment. Furthermore they gave him the blanket. That act of kindness leads us to believe they may be persuaded to help us. Tomorrow morning, Pering will set out in an attempt to make contact with them and ask for help... "
"You expect us to believe that bullshit!?" someone yelled, "Talking horses my ass! He found people, now where are they!?"
The single male voice began stirring up many more,
"Where are they!?"
"We have rights!"
"You motha' fuckas!"
"Tell us where they are!"
Joyner called out over the crowd, "Why would we hide that from you? What would it accomplish?"
Richardson's voice rose over the din, "You seriously think I'd be standing here with my pussy and titties hanging out if we knew where people were?!"
Richardson's statement set off every woman in the crowd,
"She's right!"
"Let them talk!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
"What are we supposed to do when our periods hit?"
Chaos reigned for a few minutes until the voices of the women drowned out the few dissenters.
Joyner continued, "I said it would be difficult to believe but it's the truth. Pering is leaving tomorrow morning to try to make contact with these horse creatures. He's going to try to get them to come to us and help. Now, it may take several days for them to get everything we need so in the mean time we need to help ourselves. We need to fish, harvest, and make tools and shelter until then. Anyone interested in catching fish," he pointed off to his left, "Stand over there. Anyone interested in harvesting," he pointed to his right, "Stand over there. Anyone interested in making tools get between us and the mountain." he said gesturing behind him, "And anyone interested in making shelters," he pointed to the far end of the field, "Go over there."
"And what if we're not interested in doing any of those things?" someone challenged.
"Then you starve. Anyone caught stealing will be dealt with harshly." Joyner said bluntly.
"Who died and made you the law?" that voice was getting annoying.
"What would you propose? We let people do whatever they want? Steal, rape, murder, cause chaos?" Joyner set his chin and spoke loudly, I recognized his speech giving voice, "We've been stranded here by unknown means with no way of knowing how we'll get home. We were stripped of our tools, our homes, even our clothes but we're not beaten. If you want to give in to despair, you go right ahead and do it. Not me! I'm going to survive! I'm not just going to survive, I'm going to thrive! This environment around us is out to get us! It poisons us with deadly mushrooms, it sends its bears to slaughter us! The horse creatures, the... equinoids have survived! They fought the environment and so shall we! We will survive and show our new neighbors that humans aren't weaklings! In turn they will help us and together we will thrive!" he took a deep breath, ready for his crescendo call, "We are not beaten and we will not be beaten! Humanity reigned supreme on Earth and we will do so here! We are HUMAN BEINGS and this world, which has set itself against us will shrink in fear at our accomplishments! Together we will grow! Together we will fight! TOGETHER WE WILL WIN! WHO IS WITH ME!?"
The field shook with the cries of hundreds of voices as they shouted out in unison. Fists were raised to the sky in insolence. Emotions flared, burning hope and zeal in their hearts. They shouted again and again. The sound was deafening.
Eventually the people calmed down, "Let's get to work. Tomorrow we can look back and admire what we've accomplished, but today we need to create those accomplishments." he gestured in each direction as he gave his orders again, "Fishing. Harvesting. Tool making. Shelter."
I watched as the crowd slowly began to disperse into four different directions. The division was uneven but having too many people fishing was better than having too few.
Joyner slid off Calvin's shoulders, "Alright everybody gather around, you too Jason."
We all formed a circle with Joyner in the middle, "I need to know from each of you. What do you know about fishing, harvesting, making tools, and erecting shelters. Ladies first, Richardson."
"I don't know any of that. I know security and how to raise my two boys, that's about it." she said humbly.
"You raised two boys?" Vacca asked, "Then you should know how to tend to cuts and scrapes, right? You could take care of the people who get hurt and the ones who are already hurt."
"That's not a bad idea, but I don't have any bandages or alcohol." she answered.
"You can make due with yarrow and piss." Jason said, "Yarrow is also known as Soldier's Woundwort. You can pick off the flowers, chew them up then stick them directly into the injury."
"I have someone who might be able to help you. He's an asshole but his heart is in the right place. His name is Leo. I'll introduce you to him, I think he'll make a good aide." I said.
"Is that acceptable Richardson?" Joyner asked.
"It's gonna have to be." she said resigned.
Spearman spoke up next, "I can work with the people fishing. I know how to make harpoons and other things. I used to make all kinds of stuff in Boy Scouts."
"I'm with him." Hord said, "Marines know how to use their environment."
"I'll supervise the people building shelters. I'm good with math and structures." Vacca said.
"I used to garden with my Mother when I was young."Ludwig said, "I'll go with the harvesters."
"I'm gonne go with my man 'V' over here." Calvin said, "I can lift more than most and I'm pretty solid at math too."
"I'm good with my hands. I'll work with the tool makers. I studied history from Israel, Babylon, Egypt, and Sumeria." Brinsin said.
"I'll work with Richardson." Jewel said.
"I'm watching." Masonete said simply.
"I'll work with the harvesters." Jason said.
"I'll help with the fishing." Joyner added.
"I'll work with the tool makers. It's something I know more than anything else." I said.
"We're all set then. Let's get going. We'll meet back here roughly a couple of hours before sundown. Ludwig, Jason bring as many dry sticks and logs as you can. We'll have a bonfire tonight and roast fish. I'm assuming you guys know how to clean fish right?"
"Yeah, and we can bury the guts and scales a long long way from the field. No one found anything to the North-East right?" Jason said.
"Masonete, Ludwig that was your direction. Did you find anything?" Joyner asked.
"Nah," Ludwig said, "Nothin' but lots of rocks and a deep valley filled with red clay and plenty of lose boulders."
"We can use the red clay later. For now we'll bury the remains that direction. Richardson, Jewel the injured will be put to use too. We'll carry them to different places and have them keep watch at night." Joyner said, "Come on, let's get to work."
I wrapped the blanket around my middle so the two ends overlapped then rolled it onto itself. It was a trick I used when getting out of the shower. It turned the towel into a makeshift kilt and the blanket worked the same way.
"Come on Richardson, Jewel, let's go meet Leo." I said.
I didn't know for sure where he was but I had an idea, "Where are the injured people?"
Richardson pointed to the North-Western part of the field and we made our way in that direction, "I already asked around and selected fifteen medical students to help with the injured yesterday evening. I suppose it's our job to bury the dead too huh?" Jewel asked.
"Probably so. Can you guys manage that?" I asked.
"Won't be a problem for me. I've handled plenty of dead bodies in my time. What about you Richardson?" Jewel asked.
"I'll do what I have to. Anything I should know?" she asked.
"Never put pressure on the abdomen. The muscles are relaxed and the bladder and bowels will evacuate." Jewel instructed.
"Oh happy day." Richardson said, her tone morose.
We made good time to the injured folks. They were sitting upright against trees right at the edge of the field.
"Why did someone have them put here?" I asked.
"There's a stream not forty feet into the trees so they're close to water and since we don't have any cups it makes things easier. I was up half the night helping people relieve themselves in holes. Don't worry, I know where that area is. Wiping someone's ass in the dark using only leaves is some shitty business, let me tell ya." Jewel chuckled at his pun.
I spotted Leo tending to a young man who had his foot elevated on a log. The young, cantankerous man was scraping the man's foot with a stick as we walked up.
"Hey Leo, buddy! How are you?!" I said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Leo looked up and frowned deeply, "The fuck you want? I didn't do nothin' wrong!"
I held up my hands in a placating gesture, "I never said you did, good sir. I did want to introduce you to two very good friends of mine." I gestured to Richardson and Jewel, "This is Cessily Richardson and Bobby Jewel. They're going to be taking care of the injured folks with you. Listen to what they say. Jewel used to be an F.M.F. Corpsman with the Marines and Richardson is a mother of two so don't piss her off."
I turned to Richardson and Jewel, "I want you to notice something. Leo didn't go with any of the other groups, he came here on his own even though no one else was here to help him. He's got a drive to help people if you can get past his asshole exterior and his massive problem with authority. He is teachable and I think he'll be invaluable to you guys." I clapped my hands together, "Now, I have to go find Brinsin. Good luck." I raised my voice, "Have fun Leo."
"Fuck you!" he yelled back.
* * *
I met up with Brinsin back where Joyner had us huddle. Together Brinsin and I strode over to the group that was waiting close to the forest in front of the mountain. They were talking loudly but no one seemed to be fighting yet.
Brinsin cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled over the people, "Aiit! Fall in, one straight line! Pering will lead and I'll bring up the rear!"
I cupped my hands over my mouth and spoke loudly, "Follow me and step exactly where I step. I went through this yesterday and one young lady was injured because she didn't follow my instructions. Trust me you don't want to step on something nasty. There was a lot of screaming and blood before it was all over. I want one straight line and keep the chatter down so Brinsin and I can hear when one of you guys injures yourselves."
I turned and slowly began retracing my steps from the day before. We entered the tree line after only fifteen steps and I chanced a look behind me. I was pleasantly surprised to see most of the, I estimated one hundred and fifty or so, people were actually in a semi straight line. I shrugged, turned back around, and continued. The walk was fairly peaceful but the birds still bugged me. It seemed like every time we entered the forest they fell silent. It was unnerving and it made me particularly uneasy.
Our progress was acceptable until someone near the rear end of the line cried out.
I held up my right fist and yelled as loudly as I could, "Hold up!"
I had to take another fifteen steps before people stopped moving forward. I turned and looked back but I couldn't see who had yelled. The trees grew too close together and there were just too many people in the way to see clearly.
I cupped my hands over my mouth again and called out, "What's the situation Brinsin?"
His response was faint but I could just make it out, "Just a scare, bro. Nothin' to worry about. One dude stepped on a stick but it didn't break skin or nothin'. We're good to go back here."
I cupped my hands over my mouth and yelled, "Do you guys ever listen? Follow me and step only where I step! Now come on, we're wasting time!"
I turned back around and began picking my way through the forest once more. I couldn't help but to shake my head at the ignorance and sheer idiocy all around me. It was honestly infuriating, 'Is it really so hard to follow simple instructions?' I pondered.
We made it to the base of the mountain but instead of calling for a break like I had the previous day, I continued on and began picking my way up the slope of the mountain. Half way up to the plateau where the stream was, I cursed my impatient nature when a sudden, powerful hunger pang hit me. I groaned at my empty gut and made a mental note not to skip dinner.
I continued climbing and soon found myself at the edge of the plateau again. I pulled myself up and saw Kaneesha and the rest of the knappers hard at work, still knapping but with slightly larger piles of knapped obsidian next to them. I turned around and began helping people up and over the edge.
"Stay close and don't go near the people already up here." I instructed each person as I hauled them up.
I counted one hundred and forty six before I gripped Brinsin's hand and pulled him up to join the rest of us. I turned back toward the group and saw four people had already gone over and were picking through the knappers' piles.
"Hey! Get back over here!" I bellowed irately, "I told you to leave them alone! Get your stupid asses back over here!"
The four people, an African-American man, two caucasian men, and one caucasian woman, looked up sheepishly and made their way back over to us.
Brinsin was more patient than I was, "Take it easy bro. You don't haveta' be on top of ere thing all the time."
I nodded silently and swallowed my aggravation as I addressed the crowd, "Thank you. I'm sorry I yelled, but there's a reason the knappers are all the way over there. Let me explain something about knapping. There are three ways to knap obsidian, flint, and chert: Hard Hammering, Soft Hammering, and Pressure Flaking." I pointed to the knappers, "What I showed them was Hard Hammering. When you Hard Hammer your stone, you chip away large flakes of it and obtain your basic shape. There is a down side to Hard Hammering though, it leaves sharp fragments of stone lying around on the ground. Any one want to imagine what would happen if you stepped on a razor sharp shard of rock when barefoot?" I asked.
No one said anything, "Yeah, nor do I. We already have enough people making basic shapes of tools. As of right now they are usable but crude. We need to refine the basic shapes for more fine edges and points. I'm going to take half of you and Brinsin is going to take the other half. We will show you how to perform one of the two other methods of knapping. Which one do you want?" I asked my friend.
"I'll do the pressure flakin' for the final products. Don't take too long Pering. We're wastin' daylight." Brinsin said.
"Alrighty then. Brinsin and I will go get several pieces of obsidian and give you all a demonstration of each method of knapping."
"Every one take a seat. You can do whatever you want but once we begin we need yall to be quiet. This is important." Brinsin said.
The two of us carefully made our way over to the knappers and began selecting pieces of obsidian. As I picked through the piles, I had to admit that I was proud of the knappers from my group. Many of their pieces were of the same quality I could get, granted I'd done it only as a child. They had really listened when I'd stressed the importance of unifacial and bifacial shards and blades. There was a wide variety of each and in all sorts of different sizes.
I selected two unifacial shards and two unifacial blades then two more bifacial shards and blades. I carried them over, passed them out for people to examine, then I went to see if I could find any good limestone or sandstone, though I wasn't holding out much hope of that. I searched through the exposed rocks near the ascending slope but as I had feared I couldn't find any of my preferred materials.
I headed back to the group, Brinsin was already there, "I couldn't find any limestone or sandstone. We're probably going to have to find oak, ash, yew, or something like that. You want to go look or should I?" I asked.
"I'll stay here an' keep every one out o' trouble. Good luck." he said.
I turned to leave and heard Brinsin address the people, "Listen up. Pering needs to go look for a few things so I'ma go ahead an' show yall how these blades and flakes can be utilized."
"I'd like to go with him." I heard a voice say.
I turned around and spotted a young African-American man standing up, "I'm a history major specializing in ancient manufacture and techniques. I know what to look for."
"I'll welcome the help." I said honestly.
The young man stood roughly 5' 10" and had a thin yet healthy look to him. His hair was short and trimmed and his eyes were brown. He had yet to sport a single bit of scruff so I pegged him at around eighteen years old. He was extremely well spoken as well.
I waited for him at the edge of the plateau, "Haven't had many folks actually want to help." I extended my right hand, "Dan Pering."
He shook my hand firmly, "Morris Almond."
"Well Morris, we need to climb back down to the forest floor and look for any fallen branches of oak, ash, yew . . . "
"Actually antlers and bones work better if we can find them." Morris said.
I had already begun to climb down the edge when Morris spoke, I stopped instantly and looked up at him, "That is a brilliant idea." I meant every word, "Morris, you're my new best friend."
* * *
By the end of the day Brinsin and I had a nice, if small, pile of refines flecks. We had each person bring prime examples of the group's work back to the field to show their progress. Some people had a bit of trouble descending from the plateau to the forest floor with one hand occupied, but every one made the trip without incident. To be perfectly honest, the entire time we spent on the plateau, there were no injuries or incidents to speak of. Some tempers did occasionally flare when someone accidentally knapped a piece of obsidian incorrectly, however Morris proved his worth when he designated himself the quality control supervisor and morale booster. That man knew all kinds of little tricks for knapping and his patient personality and jovial demeanor soothed every frustrated person like a balm. Brinsin knew almost as much about knapping as Morris did. It didn't take long before I was sitting down with the group and taking tips from the two of them.
Anyway, we reached the forest floor without incident and we brought all the knappers with us. They were hungry and stiff from sitting in one place for the whole day. We made our way through the forest and out into the field.
There was a large bonfire already burning merrily even though it wasn't even fully dark yet. I cast my eyes across the field and spotted a good thirty lean-to structures. They were chest high and looked to be made of branches and leaves. All around the bonfire were people putting fish on what looked like flat rocks. People seemed to be eating any fish they wanted and more and more were being put on sticks every minute. Other people were sitting down a few feet away from the bonfire cutting up cabbages with small obsidian knives. The whole field carried a feeling of merriment and that feeling was expressed on every person's face. They were all obviously tired from their work but each and every one seemed content, not happy, but content.
A single person broke away from the gathering of people and approached us in the encroaching darkness. I recognized Joyner easily.
He waved as he approached us, "We were wondering when you guys would show up. How did the tool making go?"
Morris stepped forward and held out his best piece of the day. It was a nine inch long teardrop shaped fleck of obsidian that was blunt on the fat end and sharp on the thin end. The best part was that its edges were almost flat. Morris had Pressure Flaked it from scratch and the edge was nearly surgical quality.
Joyner accepted the finely crafted tool and felt its weight and edge, "This is good. Really good. Who did this?"
Brinsin stepped up behind Morris and slapped him heartily on the shoulder, "That'd be the esteemed Mr. Almond here. This dude knows his stuff. He taught all of us a couple of things."
Joyner shifted the knife to his left hand and extended his right, "It's a pleasure to have you with us Mr. Almond."
Morris shook Joyner's hand firmly, "I'm just glad I could help. And I prefer just Morris."
"Can't argue with that. I'll call you whatever you want as long as you keep making tools of this quality." Joyner said.
"Give me a proper forge and I'll make you bronze, brass, iron and eventually steel. I'm no good with wood but I can forge like a true blacksmith, knapping is a hobby." Morris said.
"I'd like all of you to distribute your tools to the shelter construction group. They could have used them today. As of right now we have enough lean-tos for about one hundred and fifty people. We need a lot more of them. Good work today everyone. We appreciate your efforts. Everyone go get something to eat. Sleeping arrangements are the same as last night. Spoon up close to preserve body heat, no unnecessary touching and please no sex for now. None of us can afford to take care of a baby out here at the moment and with all the possible complications with a birth, it could kill someone. If you want to do other things, go for it, but please don't do anything that might end in a pregnancy."
Everyone dispersed and I was heading off to get something to eat when Joyner stopped me, "Pering, I want you to eat slowly and eat plenty. When you get up in the morning, eat some more and take a whole cabbage with you." he handed me the fine obsidian fleck Morris had crafted, "Take this with you. Find a stout stick and make a spear if you can. You're going to be out there on your own so be really careful. If you're not back and if we haven't seen any signs of aid in one week we're going to have to move on to a place where there's enough food. I'll see if I can get everyone to head to the North-West. That's farther down the river so maybe we can find a lake that it empties into. If we can, we should be able to sustain ourselves with fish for quite a while." he stopped and took a breath, "Everyone is going to want to see you off tomorrow so don't be surprised, but don't let it slow you down. Be sure to take some of that wonder weed with you in case you get hurt. Now go eat. You've earned it."
I headed over to the bonfire and plucked a fish off a rock, apparently it had been set there to cool. I had no idea where the fish were being cooked or where the flat rocks had come from but at that point, I didn't care. I then made my way away from the bonfire. I had to let the fish cool a bit before I ate it but honestly it smelled like heaven. The fish had to have been all of nine inches long and that was without its head. I could only imagine how large it had originally been.
I plopped myself down on the grass of the field and began picking at my fish. It was still hot and it was completely unseasoned but right then it was manna from heaven. I picked at it with my fingers, being careful of bones, when I heard someone walk up behind me.
"Hey Pering," Ludwig said as he sat down beside me, "I wanted to talk to you about your trip tomorrow. It was fairly warm last night and it looks like it's going to be pretty warm tonight too." he said looking up at the millions of stars in the sky, "When you're out there these next couple of days you're gonna need something other than cabbage to keep you goin'. When you're walking try to keep an eye out for oak trees. Pick a bunch of acorns and shell them as you walk then split them in half and wrap them in your blanket at night and dunk them in a stream, if you can find one, and let them seep overnight. The next morning they should be edible. They'll taste like hell but they'll be edible."
"How in the world do you know that?" I asked surprised, "You're not an extreme camping enthusiast."
"I lived under a bush in Seashore State Park for two months. One of the other homeless guys taught me how to do that. His name was Alan. He got beat to death by a bunch of kids after I left. It never made the news because he was homeless. He didn't matter to anyone."
I knew Ludwig had a hard life but I didn't know he had ever been that bad off, "How did you get back on your feet? Most people who end up homeless spend the rest of their lives in that state."
Ludwig leaned back on the grass and laced his fingers behind his head, "Did you ever see those people who stand on the side of the road with signs asking for help? Well I did that for a while. I got about fifty dollars each day. I didn't spend it though. I buried it and just ate out of a 7-11 dumpster. One of the employees always bagged the best sandwiches separately so I would know what to look for. Anyway, I saved and saved and eventually I had collected six thousand dollars. I rented the cheapest hotel room I could find, changed my address to the hotel, and hit a thrift store. The hotel was only two hundred a week. I dolled up and applied for the job at Security. The job paid more than my bills so I saved again. Eventually I had enough to buy a car. I bought it and paid the whole thing off in cash and got a post office box and lived in my car until I could afford an apartment. The rest was downhill from there. I've been in some tough places, Pering. I survived those and I'll survive here. I have to get back to my son. Fredrick is the most important thing in my life since my wife passed away. I swore to her that I'd always take care of him and now I can't. He has his grandmother but I'm his father. It's my responsibility to take care of him. He's my son and I'll be damned if he has to go through what I did." he sighed heavily, "You'll understand someday Pering." he lapsed into silence for several minutes while I sat eating my fish.
"There's more grilled cabbage here than I can eat." he said indicating the flat rock in front of him, "You want it?"
"Sure." I said quietly, "Thanks Ludwig."
"No problem Pering." he sighed, "No problem."
* * *
The following morning I woke up and ate a slow, filling breakfast. Everyone in the field was crowded around trying to give me things to help on the trek. I turned them down again and again, saying they probably needed it more than I did.
Joyner had me stand in front of the field of people and wave for a minute or two before he let me leave. The people cheered and yelled and hollered and carried on, like I was some sort of hero. Honestly it annoyed me more than anything.
Joyner finally let me get going at the same time the knappers headed up to the first plateau. Brinsin, Hord, and Vacca came too, leading people up to the plateau. The trip was exactly the same as it had been before, except this time no one strayed or hurt themselves. I led the climb up to the first plateau then helped everyone else up as they came.
The knappers bid me a second farewell as they went back to their knapping. It honestly surprised me that modern young people, used to all the convenience afforded by technology, would be so compliant when asked to use their bare hands to shape bits of rock all day. I took a moment and dunked my cabbage into the stream. I unwrapped the blanket from around my waist and tied it around my shoulder like a sling then knelt down and drank until I couldn't drink anymore. Brinsin stayed with the knappers and Vacca and Hord climbed up to the second plateau with me. The climb seemed to take freaking forever.
In all honesty, I did not want to go. I did not want to be alone for who knew how many days, maybe eaten by a bear, maybe starving or freezing or injuring myself or falling into a chasm and breaking my neck and slowly dehydrating to death. Suddenly, I REALLY didn't want to go, 'Suck it up milk toast.' I scolded myself mentally, 'People are depending on you so man up, suck it up, and stop sitting around on your pussy and do something to actually help them.' I didn't feel much better even with my internal pep talk.
We climbed over the edge of the second plateau and just stood there for several minutes. I didn't say anything. I was scared. I didn't know what I would find out there.
I suddenly found myself enveloped in a firm hug, "Stay safe out there Dan." Hord said, "If anything tries to eat you, return the favor." he finished by giving me hearty slaps on the back.
Vacca extended his right hand to me, I took it obviously, "Be careful man. You don't know what they're like, keep an eye out and watch everything."
"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it." I swear I was not misty eyed, "Well, these tracks won't follow themselves. I'll see you guys when I get back."
With my good bye complete, I turned and ambled off, following the still very visible tracks of the two equinoids. The tracks were easy to follow even after they left the plateau and entered the light underbrush. They seemed to follow the plateau partially around the mountain, so I followed as well.
After only about ten minutes or so of walking, I heard a twig snap lightly behind me. I hadn't been expecting to have anyone following me so I turned around quickly. I figured that if someone was following me I would try to get them to go back to the field but if they were set on joining me, I wouldn't complain.
I never expected to come face to face with Masonete, "Hey Pering." he said quietly, "I got you something."
He held out a long, thick, stout piece of oak. It was about five feet long and one and a half inches thick. The bark had been carefully peeled off of it revealing the rich texture of the wood underneath. The walking stick was heavy too. The thing had to weigh all of five pounds.
"Wow," I said appreciating the work he had obviously put into it, "Thanks Andrew."
"No problem. I saw everyone else offering you crap that would only slow you down and I'd made this for myself yesterday, so I thought you could use it. There's plenty more that came from so don't sweat it. You know I'm terrible at goodbyes so I'll just stand here till I can't see you anymore."
I smiled at my socially awkward buddy and patted him on the shoulder, "Just don't be staring at my ass. O.k.?"
He punched me in the arm, chuckling, "Man, get the heck out o' here, you nut."
"See you Andrew." I turned and walked away following the tracks.
I didn't look back.