by Allan Joyal
I scanned the clearing again. Everyone in our group was clustered near the end of the path in small bands. William, Eddie and Elizabeth sat in a small cluster and glared at me. Albert, the college student, was sitting with the two Lisas and involved in some quiet conversation. The other co-eds had found a rock at the edge of the clearing and were leaning against it huddled under several cloaks. I was thinking about what to do when Steve reached out and put a hand on my shoulder.
"We should open the packs and see what we have," he said. "And Lydia can play with her crossbow."
"It's broken," she snapped. "I've looked at it since we entered the clearing and sat down. I figured out how to put an arrow in position to fire, but the string is still loose."
"Let me see it," I said, and put a hand out. Lydia handed it to me. I took a closer look at the crosspiece and the string. The first thing I noticed was that on the left arm of the device, the string was firmly attached at the end, but that the string was not in the grooves that adorned the right arm. The position clearly reduced the tension on the device, but also explained why Lydia could not understand what she had.
I tried to simply pull the wire to the groove, but I was unable to bend the bow with arm strength alone. Standing up, I walked over to a tree and pushed the strung side of the bow against the tree and leaned my body weight against the stock. The arm of the bow bent towards the stock. With slack added to the string, I was able to push it down the bow until with a snap it dropped into the groove and pulled the bow back into the classic curved shape.
"So that's how to do it!" Lydia yelled in my ear. I stood up slowly as Lydia snatched the bow from my hands. She immediately started trying to pull the string back to the catch, but found that she lacked the strength to move it.
"Wow, I thought you said these were easy," Steve said.
"To fire perhaps," I replied. "But think about it, if it's hard to pull back, it must have a lot of power it puts into the shots when it's fired."
"We'll never fire it," Lydia moaned and set it down. Steve immediately picked it up and looked it over. I noticed that his gaze lingered on the attachment at the firing end of the stock. It looked a bit like a saddle stirrup. He ran a hand around the inside and then smiled.
Steve turned the crossbow over and placed the stirrup on the ground. He put his right foot into the opening and then reached down for the string with both hands as the stock rested against his stomach. With a huge pull, he strained to pull the string back to the catch. It moved a little, but finally Steve let go with a sigh. "Man, this thing is tough."
Lydia had knelt down to watch Steve. When he was about to step out, she put a hand on his leg to halt him. She then reached up to the butt of the stock and pulled out a strange metal hook attached to some wires. It slowly pulled out of the butt as a wheel on each side of the butt turned. When she had enough slack in the line, she attached the hook to the bowstring.
"Those wheels have little knobs," she said as she pointed to them. "Try turning them," she instructed Steve, who was looking down at the bow.
Steve started turning the wheels. Immediately the wire and hook began a slow pull back towards the butt of the stock, pulling the bowstring back. It was a very slow process as a full turn of a wheel only moved the bowstring about an inch, but after seven minutes of slow progress the bowstring was just past the catch. At that point, Steve began to fiddle with the two wheels until he figured out how to let just enough slack out to guide the bowstring into the catch and then to release the hook. Once it was free, he used the wheels to pull the hook back to the stock.
Lydia was clapping. "It worked!"
"Slow though," Heather observed. "I don't think it would be any use in a battle."
Lydia shrugged as Steve handed the bow back to her. "Not for a moving one, but a siege or castle defense where the time to reload isn't a concern might see these used." She was looking at the arrows she had. She put one hand on the end of the stock away from the trigger. Cautiously, she slid an arrow into the slot and pushed it back until it engaged with the string. Once the crossbow was loaded, she lifted it to her shoulder, pointing it towards the pool at the far side of the clearing.
"We should look at the packs," Steve said. I smiled and nodded at this, so we walked the short distance back to where we had left them and knelt on the grass to start investigating.
The first pack I checked out proved to have a rolled up fur at the top. Once that was removed, the remaining space proved to be one large bag, with several smaller bags and boxes inside. I pulled out the first one and opened it to discover that it contained some kind of dried meat. Steve grunted when I opened the bag.
"This one has three canteens attached to it. Well, not canteens like we are used to, these are soft bags, perhaps made out of leather, but they definitely contain liquid," he said.
"Useful," I mused. I was going to try drinking from one when the one of the coeds jumped to her feet.
"Aww, look at that!" she cried. She was pointing towards the creek. I turned my head to follow her gaze and saw that at the far edge of the clearing a small animal had come down to take a drink. From a distance it looked like a short and slightly stocky deer.
The coeds were slowly getting to their feet. They had been resting in a circle near the rocks and were not all facing the animal. I could see Steve rising to his feet as well. I was about to say something when a low thrum cut through the air. The deer looked up and froze for a second. His front legs were separated out in an inverted V. He stayed there posed for a brief moment and then slowly collapsed to the ground.
"Oops," we all heard Lydia say. "I think I hit it." She then lowered her arms. "Ow."
"Lydia," I called out and ran over to her. Steve was dashing over to the fallen deer.
Lydia's arms were hanging by her side when I ran up. When I touched her shoulder the crossbow dropped to the ground, and she slumped down. I held her tight and lowered her to the ground before looking at her arms to see what had happened. I found no marks on her arms and finally grabbed her chin to make her look at me.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked.
Lydia pushed my hands away and then shook her head. "No. Although I was a bit surprised at what happened. I had aimed high. I was thinking to just shoot over that creature's head. When I pressed the firing bar, it pulled forward and down on me. I didn't mean to hit whatever that creature is."
"Well, it's too late now, and we did learn something. When firing a crossbow, aim a bit above where you want to hit. At least someone your size should with a bow that powerful. Shall we see how your shot turned out?" I asked.
Lydia nodded. I stood up while she rolled to her knees and grabbed the crossbow. She looked at it for a moment and then sighed. "I think I should put this back as we found it for now." She walked over to a nearby tree and reversed the actions Steve had made an hour before. Moments later, the string was hanging loosely and the arms of the bow stood out straight from the stock.
I nodded and looked over at Steve. He had rolled the deer on its side and was examining it closely. Finally he looked back. "Anyone here know how to field dress a deer? And does anyone know what kind of deer this is?"
His comment confused me, and I walked over to get a closer look. Two of the coeds came over as well, although the rest of the group remained huddled in their cloaks.
Once I was there, I could see what was causing Steve's confusion. The animal's coat was a glossy almost chocolate brown. The deer I had seen on Earth had always had tan coats. Also most people think of deer with long thin legs and a neck allowing them to reach the ground. This creature had much shorter legs. The legs were thick above the knee making them look drumstick shaped, but able to bend. The neck was longer than necessary to reach the ground. I found myself thinking that it was like someone had crossbred a Shetland pony with a giraffe. The coeds appeared equally confused. One knelt down to look at the animal's feet.
"I thought deer had only two nails on each foot. This creature has four," the young
lady said.
The co-ed I now recognized as Martha was holding one of the front legs of the dead deer up for us to examine. She used her free hand to trace the four individual sections of hoof that comprised the foot of this animal. I shrugged. "Well, for now I guess we might as well consider it as dinner. The only questions I have now are: how does it taste and does anyone know how to carve it into steaks for travel?"
Martha shrugged. "I know a little. My father loved to hunt, and I've watched him, but who knows if this creature is similar. I guess I can try. Do you have a knife though?"
Lydia immediately held out the knife she had found at the battleground. "We have this, will it do?"
Martha took it and examined it closely. "This looks like it's more for fighting than field dressing a deer, but when in Rome... ." She then held up the front leg. "One of you hold this up while I cut the chest cavity."
"Chest cavity?" Steve asked. "Is that how it's done?"
"I have no bloody idea," Martha growled. "I just figure that every bearskin rug I've ever seen showed that the animal had been cut from neck to crotch."
Steve reached down and grabbed the leg, holding it up. Martha then slid between the legs and started sawing through the animal's hide. She said nothing and I took a moment to look back at the rest of the group.
Back where the rest of the coeds had been resting, I could see Jennifer working to clear an area. A moment later, Natalie walked up to the cleared area carrying some branches. Lisa came over and began stacking the wood in the middle of the cleared area while Natalie walked off again. Jennifer also left, returning a moment later with a couple of stones. By the way she placed them, it was clear that the coeds were building the walls of a fire pit. The process continued for some time.
"I see Useless is doing what he does best," Lydia snorted, bringing me out of my reverie. Her hand crossed my field of vision and pointed off in the distance.
I turned my head to follow her gesture and found Eddie still sitting with William and Elizabeth. He was between the other two, but it appeared that their mutual animosity had been set aside as the trio stared at the coeds. Occasionally one would look our way, but the growing darkness made it impossible to see their faces. Still, the stiff posture and straight backs made it clear they were very unhappy.
"I'm not sure they could help much," I admitted. As I said this Albert, Victoria and the other co-eds who were not helping at the fire pit stood up and wandered over. I could not hear what was said, but they were soon assisting in organizing the stone ring while Natalie returned with another armful of wood.
Just then a large slab of raw meat stuck on the end of a knife was thrust in front of me. "How's that?" I heard Martha snap.
"Interesting," I replied reservedly as I took a close look at the meat. It was as red as any steak I could have purchased back on Earth, but there was little fat. Some blood and other juices continued to drop off the bottom as it hung in the air. "What should I do with it?"
"Usually you'd want to put some flame to it and cook it," Martha said. "Right now I want it off the knife so I can make a few more cuts."
"Will we have any we can take with us?" Lydia asked.
Martha's reply started with a loud snort. "We don't have a way to preserve it right now, and unless you want to have juices staining whatever package you use, we don't even have a way to carry it. Also, I've never done this before. I'm hoping I can get a few decent size steaks before I ruin all the meat. I don't have any experience with this, and my first attempt to take any meat from the legs failed. The best I can do is cut steaks from the body of this animal. Everything is going to be rib or rump meat this time; I just don't know how to do this."
Steve sighed and then looked over at me. I noticed him looking over my shoulder and realized that I was still carrying the spear I had picked up at the battlefield. "So we need a flame to cook the meat and a way to hold it over the fire? I don't see any grills or barbeque pits around," he mused as he reached for the knife.
Martha hissed. "Don't you have any experience with barbeques or picnics?"
Steve shrugged. "I'm from downtown Chicago and lived in cities all my life. What about you?"
Martha had her arm deep inside the body of the deer and splashed out some blood from the cavity when she shrugged. "I've been hunting with my father and watched him, but he always brought a huge trailer and a propane powered grill. I have never seen meat grilled over an open flame like we are going to try to do."
"Anyone here been camping or otherwise cooked outdoors?" Steve called out, looking back at the rest of the group. The entire group was silent. Albert shuffled his feet momentarily, but none volunteered.
"Well, I don't think we want to hold the meat next to the flame using a knife, we'd burn our hands. Put the meat on the spear," I muttered. I dropped the spear from my shoulder and held it so the blade was in front of me. It was a bit on the wide side. Before I could say anything, Steve thrust the knife forward, nearly hitting the tip. The haunch of the deer-like creature caught on the spear's blade and slid up a couple of inches before stopping.
"Help the girls get a fire going and we can cook with that," Steve told me, pointing towards the growing fire pit with the knife.
"Steve, this is a spear. I wasn't thinking. What about the wooden handle? It might burn."
Steve laughed and tapped the blade of the knife on the shaft of the spear. Instead of the thud of metal hitting wood there was a muffled ringing. "Not the first foot or so," he said. "Just keep to the edges of the fire and it will be fine."
"If we have a fire," I replied as I left the group by the deer and began heading to the coeds and their still unlit fire pit. When I arrived, Natalie had just brought one last bundle of logs, but Jennifer was looking around. Her upper teeth were worrying at her lip as she stared at the pile of wood that had been assembled.
"Um..." she said slowly. "How can we light this?"
Natalie gasped. "Oh god! Don't tell me that we don't have anyone with a lighter."
The coeds looked around. Jennifer gazed at me briefly, but I gave a slight shake to my head and she turned away. All the coeds were aimlessly moving around when Victoria wandered over. She had wrapped one of the cloaks completely around her body. "Why don't we get the fire going?" she asked. "It's already chilly even for me, and a fire might keep us a bit warmer."
"We would," Jennifer said mournfully. "But we can't light it."
Victoria shook her head. "Is that all? I can help there." There was a bit of movement under the cloak and then one of her hands emerged holding a plastic lighter. "Stopped smoking over a year ago, but I found having a lighter useful and still keep one around. Not sure how long it will last though."
Natalie took the lighter and walked near the fire pit. She knelt down next to a pile of bark shavings she had made. With a quick motion she picked up the shavings and held them above the lighter. The lighter might be low on fuel, but it quickly ignited the shavings and Natalie slid them back into the pile of wood. "That will work," she said. "But we need another way in the future. I don't think that lighter has much fuel left."
I nodded over to the three packs that Steve and I had been looking through just before Lydia shot the deer. "We'll probably find something in there," I said. "But first, I was going to scorch some meat."
The coeds giggled nervously. Victoria rolled her eyes. The fire was still barely started, so I found a comfortable spot to sit and held the spear out, putting the meat into the small column of smoke. Heather watched me and then gasped. "I could do that with the axe!"
The young blond dashed off for a pile of bags and spare cloaks that the coeds had made. I noticed she was in still in shorts, unlike most of the others who were now wrapping the cloaks more and more tightly around their bodies.
"It's not really that cold," I heard Victoria say as she sat down next to me. "It's more the uncertainty and fear. Most of us were dressed for a vacation and now we find ourselves lost in a forest. Huddling in the cloaks brings a bit of
comfort."
I nodded as the stacked wood finally started to catch fire. Flames flowed through the stack and jumped into the air. The coeds gave a small cheer and started to gather around the fire. I was leaning the spear into the flames when Steve sat down next to me. He was holding another slab of deer meat hanging from a knife.
"For when you finish that one," he informed.
"What about the rest?" I asked, bobbing my head towards the downed deer.
"Martha doesn't really know much about butchery. She thinks she might get one more piece that's edible and then says we might just want to leave the rest. We don't have salt to dry it and she doesn't know how to smoke it quickly."
"So little? That's a big deer. I'd expect we could get much more than that," I replied.
"Sure, if anyone knew how to butcher it and preserve it," Steve said. "Martha's trying to make clean cuts, but she's guessing. And she ruined one area when she cut through some kind of scent gland. The meat around that cut turned green."
"Too bad we can't make jerky out of it," Jennifer said. "But that requires a lot of time and a way to contain the heat. Or at least that's what my friends told me. I'm not much of a cook."
There was laughter from the rest of our group. Lisa Rhodes smiled. "From what I've seen, none of us are. But we also didn't have much to work with when we arrived."
Steve was shaking his head. "Find anything in the packs?" he asked me. All of the coeds turned to look at me. Conversation stopped and I could see that Eddie, Elizabeth and William had approached closer and were watching intently.
"A roll of fur, looked like some kind of bedroll and pouches with what looked like food and drink. But that was only about half the contents of the one pack. Lydia shooting the deer ended the search for the night," I replied as I turned the spear in my hands to rotate the slab of meat.
Juices fell from the haunch, sizzling as they fell through the flames. I was thinking that it was going to take a long time to cook enough food for everyone when a spiked axe was thrust into the flames. Both the spike on the end and the spike on the backside of the blade were speared onto some meat. The meat began to scorch in the flames. I looked over to see Heather sitting on the ground. She was holding the axe in her right hand but had turned her face away from the flame.