Murdock sat down by the fire. “When were you going to tell me?” Murdock flashed. He saw Rose still conversing with Mei Lee, all the while communicating with him mentally.
“I knew it was going to come up sooner than later,” she flashed. “I was hoping for later, though.”
Murdock had not thought it possible, but he would have sworn she blushed mentally without blushing physically. “Who else has this ability?” he flashed to Rose.
“I think it’s just us,” Rose flashed. “I think the Oomah have more than a little something to do with this. Maybe that was something you accepted when you took on your job as guardian.”
Murdock filed that away as something else he was going to ask Beron. The list just kept getting longer. I don’t want to offend Beron, he thought. I suspect that Beron may be getting frustrated with the difficulty in communicating with me. Maybe this is Beron’s way of making the communication a little easier for himself and me. Whatever the case, Murdock had more questions than answers.
“When did you want to go on your hunt?” Mei Lee asked Murdock.
“Early tomorrow will be soon enough,” Murdock said. “Why do you ask?”
“I need to let others know when to go,” Mei Lee said. “And I want our craftsmen to get a look at your travois. I’m hoping it will inspire a little creative thinking.”
“Sure, they can look, if you think it’ll help,” Murdock said. He doubted that it would help, though. Most individuals on Earth would not know anything about the primitive engineering required to make a simple cart. They were too sophisticated to think that simply. The term educated idiot was appropriate when he thought of them.
“Where did you get Rose’s dress?” Mei Lee asked Murdock.
“My husband made it for me,” Rose said with pride before Murdock could answer.
Mei Lee’s eyebrows lifted. “Impressive!” she said to Murdock.
“It wasn’t that hard,” he said sheepishly. He blushed a little.
“You know how to process the skins,” Mei Lee said. “You’re a wealth of knowledge that we’re going to need. I, for one, am glad to have you as a resource, assuming, of course, you’re willing.”
“Who’s going to help with the hunt?” Murdock asked, trying to get the focus off himself. “Do they have any experience?”
“I don’t think they have any experience,” Mei Lee said. “I think they’re just willing to learn.”
“Sometimes that’s enough,” Murdock said. He got up. “I think I’m going to go scout the area a little. I need to know where they are to harvest one.”
“Do you need me to go with you?” Rose asked Murdock as she got up.
“If you want, but you don’t have to,” Murdock said.
“What would you prefer?” Rose flashed.
“You can go with me, if you want,” Murdock flashed back.
Rose picked up the bow and the quiver of arrows. “I’m ready when you are, dear.”
“We should be back before dark,” Murdock told Mei Lee.
“Can I come with you?” Mei Lee asked quietly. “Or is it you two want to be alone?”
“What do you think?” Murdock flashed to Rose.
“Not my call, dear,” Rose flashed back.
“I’m going to have to get fairly close to them, so we need to be quiet,” Murdock told Mei Lee.
“I’ll do exactly as you say,” Mei Lee assured the pair. With a sheepish grin, she went on, “Truthfully, I need to get out of camp for a while.”
“Okay,” Murdock said after thinking about it. “I don’t think it’ll hurt anything. You’re going to need a water skin and to carry your weapons.”
“Give me a second to get a filled water skin, and we can go,” Mei Lee said enthusiastically as she ran toward the pod.
“You know the drill,” Murdock flashed to Rose. “I want you to bring up the rear and keep your eyes and ears open.”
“Yes, dear one, I do know the drill,” Rose flashed back. “Are you expecting trouble?”
“I always expect it,” Murdock flashed. “I’m glad when it doesn’t come, but I always expect it. My concern is with Mei Lee. I don’t know how aware she is of her surroundings, so until we know, we have to be prepared enough for her and us.”
Murdock tried again to find the deer using the technique Beron and Rose had shown him. From what he could ascertain, the deer hadn’t moved, and he had a general direction to travel in.
“Almost time to go,” Rose flashed. “Mei Lee is coming.”
Murdock saw Mei Lee coming, carrying the water skin and weapons. When she had reached them, Murdock took off the extra spear and handed it to her. Mei Lee hefted the spear and tested the balance.
“Once we start walking, walk single file and watch all around,” Murdock told Mei Lee. “There are snakes around, rather large ones, so you have to be aware of your surroundings.” Mei Lee nodded; Murdock knew she understood. “Rose will bring up the rear.” Rose nodded in agreement.
The three started off. In the lead, Murdock could not hear any of them walking. He smiled with pride in Rose and how well she had learned her lessons. Mei Lee’s skill of moving quietly impressed him as well.
Murdock monitored wind direction and also listened for the herd’s location. After an hour, Murdock stopped just down from the crest of a small hill. Sipping from his and Rose’s water skin, he looked back toward the pod to make sure no one was following. Then he tried to extend his consciousness back the way they had come to see if someone who wasn’t in sight yet had followed. When he was satisfied no one was around, he squatted down.
“I don’t think we were followed,” he murmured as he handed the water skin to Rose. Mei Lee and Rose both drank some water while crouched down.
#
“Would it matter if we were followed?” Mei Lee asked quietly. Murdock was making a point of talking quietly out here as well as walking quietly. She figured he had a reason for it, even if she didn’t know what it was. She had decided to copy his actions as best she could. She was sweating a little from the exertions and Murdock and Rose weren’t, that she could detect. It made her a little self-conscious.
“If we were followed, it would indicate that the others weren’t as trustworthy as you thought,” Murdock said.
“It could mean there is an emergency,” Rose offered.
“If there were an emergency,” Murdock said, “they would be running and yelling. They wouldn’t be sneaky about it.”
“Could we stop again soon?” Mei Lee asked. “I need to discuss some things with the two of you.”
#
“We’ll see,” Murdock said. Then he instructed, “When we crest this hill, stay low and get over the crest quickly.”
Murdock didn’t stand up all the way, but ran hunched over to the crest of the hill. Mei Lee and Rose copied him. Once over the crest, Murdock called for another stop.
“You two wait here and stay low,” Murdock instructed. “I’ll be right back.” Murdock bent over again and went back to the crest of the hill. The two women watched. He moved quickly, still bent over, and then dropped to his stomach and crawled the rest of the way to the crest. He didn’t go over the crest, but looked intently back the way they had traveled. While he watched, he felt pleased that the women weren’t talking or moving unnecessarily. After a few minutes, Murdock backed down from the crest and rejoined the women.
“What was that all about?” Rose asked softly. “I haven’t seen you do that before.”
“We’ve always walked in the woods,” Murdock whispered. “We aren’t in the woods, so we have to try to be as invisible as possible. You do that by being quiet all the time, not standing on the crests of hills, or dilly-dallying when reaching a crest. That’s when you’ll be seen, outlined against the sky.”
Mei Lee and Rose both listened and nodded.
“I’m glad to see that I’m out here with two quick studies,” Murdock said quietly. The compliment made the two women smile proudly. Murdock turned and scanned
the path he was trying to travel. He noticed a small section of low bushes close to the crest of the next hill across the small depression. “We’ll stop again when we get to the other side of those bushes,” Murdock said, indicating the low bushes. “We do need to be quiet, now — very quiet. The deer should be on the other side of that hill. One or two may be close to the crest, so the closer we get, the quieter we get. And if I fall flat, do the same, quietly.” The two women nodded.
Murdock stood and started off down the slight grade. Mei Lee and Rose followed. All were as quiet as a gentle breeze. All the way across the depression, Murdock watched the crest. More than once, he found himself holding his breath. He also noticed that even though he was traveling fast, he didn’t hear the two behind him at all. When they started to get close to the bushes, he saw that the bushes were higher than he’d thought which was good. He slowed as he rounded one end, and seeing it was clear, quickly got around the end and lay down on the grass. The two women followed quickly. Mei Lee moved to sip some water, but Murdock frowned at her and shook his head.
Murdock crawled as quietly as he could up to the crest of the hill. As he peeked over the crest, he saw a nice buck about twenty-five yards away, slightly upwind. He froze. Rose joined him. Mei Lee had stayed at the bushes, so he motioned that she should join them. Neither he nor Rose had taken their eyes off the buck. Joining them, Mei Lee peeked over the crest. Her eyes widened in wonder.
“Do you want to take the shot?” Rose flashed to her husband.
“No, you take it,” Murdock flashed back. He sensed her hesitation. “Don’t hesitate. You already know what to do, just do it calmly.”
Rose slipped downhill a little to nock an arrow and then slowly came back up the hill to get a clean shot. The arrow flew, hitting the deer just behind the front leg. The deer had been slightly turned away from them, and the arrow landed true and hard in the deer’s lower chest. The deer ran away and down the hill, and the rest of the herd ran as well. Murdock slid back down the hill and lay back with a broad smile on his face. Mei Lee made to stand, inhaling to yell, when Murdock swept her legs out from under her. She fell next to him, on her back, and he clamped a hand over her mouth. Rose looked as if she would be sick.
“Why did you trip me?” Mei Lee whispered indignantly.
“You were going to yell,” Murdock said. “You would have scared it, and it would have run farther. You okay, Rose?”
“Not really, no,” Rose said, starting to shake.
“Well, relax,” Murdock said. “You did great. Stick an arrow in the ground where you are, Rose, and we’ll go down to the bushes to relax a little,” Murdock commanded as he moved down the hill the short distance to the bushes.
“Shouldn’t we go after the deer?” Mei Lee asked as she followed Murdock.
“If you want to chase it for a few miles,” Murdock said, “go right ahead. Rose and I will wait here.” Murdock chuckled.
“Why did you want us to be quiet coming here?” Mei Lee whispered. “And why didn’t you want me to drink?”
“Sound carries, especially downwind,” Murdock said. “The deer could have smelled the water, and knowing the water is the other way, they’d have been spooked.”
Mei Lee nodded. “Can we talk here?” she asked quietly.
“If you wish,” Murdock said. “How are you doing, Rose?” he flashed.
“It’s just the adrenalin, I’ll be fine in a few minutes,” Rose flashed back.
“It’s occurred to me that you and Rose would be a nice resource for the rest of the colony,” Mei Lee began. “But you haven’t agreed to it. Can I count on you or not?”
“I’m game,” Rose said, “for what it’s worth.”
“It would depend on the circumstances,” Murdock said after deliberating. “But you can always ask.”
“Just so I’m clear, did you mean me personally, or anyone in the colony?” Mei Lee asked.
“You,” Murdock said. He was impressed that Mei Lee didn’t assume anything. Most people didn’t understand that about him, or didn’t want to.
“If we needed to, how would we contact you?” Mei Lee asked.
“I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Murdock told her. “I need to figure out the logistics.”
“We could always use string and two cans,” Rose quipped. “It would have to be after we re-invent cans, though. Not to mention the string.” Murdock and Mei Lee smiled. They sat in silence for some time.
“It should be okay to assess the hit now,” Murdock said as he got to his feet. Rose and Mei Lee did the same as Murdock looked back at the path they had traveled.
Murdock and his companions quickly made it over the crest of the hill. Soon they located the spot at which the deer was standing when the arrow hit.
“Looks like a good hit,” Murdock said quietly, but with excitement.
“How can you tell?” Mei Lee asked.
“The amount and color of the blood,” Murdock said. He walked around the general area and found part of the broken arrow. He held it up for Rose. “Looks like a good part of the arrow is doing its job,” he said, carrying the arrow back to give to Rose.
“Doing its job?” Mei Lee asked, looking curiously at the partial arrow shaft.
“The deer ran with the arrow in its chest area and broke this much of the shaft,” Murdock explained. “What do you think the rest is doing while the deer is running and breathing hard?”
“I see,” Mei Lee said after thinking about it.
“Well, we’re going to need help a little earlier than expected, and we need the travois,” Murdock said. “Which one goes back to get them?”
“I will,” Rose said. “It’s safer for me than Mei Lee.”
“I agree,” Murdock said. “You can leave the water skins. We’ll need them to help wash some of the blood off. You’ll have to bring as much as possible back with you.”
Mei Lee gave Rose the names of the individuals who said they would help. Soon Rose was ready to leave.
“If you want to run, trot,” Murdock cautioned. “You’ll get farther than with a full run.” Murdock gave his wife a quick kiss, and Rose was off toward the pod.
“How long will it take her to get to the pod and back?” Mei Lee asked as she and Murdock watched Rose disappear over the crest of the hill on the other side of the depression.
“Not too long,” Murdock answered. “Long enough for us to find the deer and maybe get it hung. Have you done any tracking?”
“No, I haven’t,” Mei Lee said quietly.
“See the blood? All you do is follow it and look around,” Murdock explained. “Be careful not to walk on the blood trail. You might need to start over.”
“Why do I look around?” Mei Lee asked as she followed the blood trail.
“Wolves or carrion birds will indicate the location of a dying animal, but you won’t see them unless you look,” Murdock explained. Mei Lee was doing quite well, considering she hadn’t tracked before. She took her time and didn’t rush things.
“You don’t trust me, do you?” Mei Lee asked as she continued to follow the blood.
“It’s not you,” Murdock explained. “I trust you more now than I did a couple of days ago, and I trust you a lot more than I trust the others.”
“I guess that will have to do, for now,” Mei Lee said. “There’s the deer.” She pointed at the deer, which hadn’t gone too far before lying down to bleed out.
Murdock had seen the deer lying in the grass from fifty yards away, but hadn’t indicated it so Mei Lee could find it. Standing next to the kill, Murdock looked around. No tree to hang the deer grew nearby. And Mei Lee was moving up on the deer too quickly.
“Is the deer completely dead?” Murdock asked her, stopping her before she got too close.
“I don’t know,” Mei Lee said sheepishly.
“See the size of those hooves?” Murdock asked. “Looking at the size of the hooves and the size of the animal, I’d say he would break your leg at least, if he
had one more kick left and kicked you. You can’t be too careful out here.” He poked at the deer with the butt end of his spear. The deer kicked a few times, but didn’t hit anyone. “See?”
When the deer had ceased kicking, Murdock grabbed a leg and rolled the deer over so its belly was downhill. Then he started to gut it for transport. It took several hours, with Mei Lee helping where and when she could. Just as they finished, Murdock saw Rose with helpers and the travois. He raised and waved his arms; Rose waved her arm high on the air to indicate she had seen them and headed toward them. As Rose approached Murdock, he brushed his hand against one of her cheeks, then the other, smearing blood on them.
“Thanks,” she said facetiously.
“You’ve been blooded, dear,” Murdock said, grinning, his pride apparent.
17
Several hours passed before the small group reached the pod. Dark had fallen, and the rest had fires going.
“Do you have a camp cook?” Murdock asked Mei Lee as he and the helpers hung the deer quarters under the pod.
“No, do you think we need one?” Mei Lee asked in her quiet tone.
“You should have guards posted to protect the meat, at least,” Murdock said. “You may get a few wolves sniffing around. You might want to consider having one or two people do the cooking for everyone.”
“I’ll take it under advisement,” Mei Lee told him. “How should we proceed with tanning the hide?”
“Find someone who knows something about it or someone willing to learn, and I’ll teach that person,” Murdock promised. “He can train others as needed. In the meantime, if I were you, I’d find out if the others have eaten and see about getting some of this venison cooking.”
Mei Lee left to find out who had eaten. She returned as Murdock finished hanging the venison.
“No one has eaten today,” Mei Lee reported.
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