“Really? Who told you that?” Murdock asked.
“School, I think. It’s one of those rules that are always true,” Rebecca said innocently.
“Well, in my experience, water always flows downhill,” Murdock explained. “Downhill is not always south.”
“That was it,” Rebecca corrected herself. “I keep forgetting.”
“So, did Whittier ever say why he was heading downhill?” Mei Lee asked.
“He just said he wanted to escape the cold and head for the margaritas,” Rebecca said shyly.
“For my part,” Mei Lee said, “he can stay there!” Everyone else nodded.
After a good rest, the camp was struck, and the group continued upriver. When they saw the cliffs start in the distance, Murdock flashed to Mei Lee that she should keep a close eye on Rebecca. Then he flashed to Rose to view ahead on the plateau ahead of them, in case Thomas had felt frisky and had decided to follow them. As they neared the cliffs, first Rose, then Murdock and Mei Lee saw Beron approaching.
“Anyone who isn’t my family doesn’t need to see, Murdock flashed, “Including anyone up on the ridge.”
Murdock didn’t change his pace or indicate that Beron had joined them. After seeing Beron, Mei Lee moved a little closer to Rebecca, but was hard-pressed to levitate the other woman before she hit the ground.
“All sleeping,” Beron assured them.
Murdock and Rose levitated the cart and travois, and Mei Lee levitated Rebecca up the cliff face. Then Murdock and Rose set the cart and travois gently back to the ground and continued walking as if nothing had happened. Mei Lee was still levitating Rebecca an inch off the ground when she saw Rebecca coming around. Mei Lee stopped levitating and caught Rebecca as she stumbled.
“You okay?” Mei Lee asked with concern.
Once everyone was close to a body lying in their path, they stopped. Murdock recognized the man as the encampment armorer under Mei Lee’s leadership. Mei Lee, in turn, put a name to the body: Brian Scott. Inspecting Scott’s remains, Murdock saw that he was stabbed through one of his lungs. Did Whittier do it himself or had someone done it for him, Murdock wondered.
“Where are you going to bury him? Mei Lee asked.
“Make it away from the river, Rose suggested. “If we come by here again, we don’t want anything spoiled by the thought of someone buried so close to the river.”
Murdock agreed. Rebecca didn’t get a vote on the decision.
While Murdock dug the grave in a suitable spot, Rose and Mei Lee made a rest camp close by the river. The river bank was much lower than the level they were walking on and the river was wide and slow-moving at that point, so the women decided to bathe.
While Rose and then Mei Lee bathed, Rebecca stood close to the river’s edge, but she seemed reluctant to bathe at the same time as Rose and unsure what to do when Mei Lee was bathing. Rose’s actions and statements had made it very clear to Rebecca that she should not ask anything of her at any time, for any reason.
“You can bathe, if you want,” Mei Lee said to Rebecca when she finished, “I’ll stand guard.”
Rebecca thanked her in low tones and did so. By the time all three women returned to the camp, Murdock had finished burying Scott.
“You stink,” Rose told him. “There will be no food for you until after you bathe!” She pointed toward the river.
“Why does Rose hate me?” Rebecca asked Mei Lee as the pair went toward the river.
“She doesn’t hate you,” Mei Lee said. “She doesn’t even know you. How can she hate you?”
“I guess I don’t understand,” Rebecca said in a soft voice.
“It’s not that she hates you,” Mei Lee tried to explain. “It’s just that you are them.” Mei Lee could see from Rebecca’s expression that she didn’t understand. “To Rose, it’s us and everyone else is them. You are them. Understand?”
“Not really,” Rebecca said as she exhaled in exasperation.
“All of her experience and instincts tell her to trust us and distrust them,” Mei Lee explained.
“So, you’re saying she doesn’t trust me?” Rebecca asked.
“Yes, but it goes deeper than that,” Mei Lee said, piqued. “If I were you, I’d stay away from her until she gets to know you better. She’ll see how you are with me and Murdock and may want to get to know you better, but pushing it won’t help. Have you checked on Krysia?”
Rebecca got up and went over to check on the unconscious woman. Mei Lee began cooking some venison and was relieved for the break in conversation. She was starting to get frustrated with Rebecca, who was clearly one of those people who quickly get on others’ nerves.
“How was the water?” Mei Lee asked Murdock when he returned.
“Refreshing,” Murdock said.
“Refreshing? We thought it was damned cold,” Rose exclaimed, looking at him sideways. Mei Lee grinned at the minor return to normality — normal for them, anyway.
“I remember a hunting trip to Alaska once,” Murdock said in a serious voice. “I think it was in late February or early March, and I was in dire need of a bath.”
“Don’t even,” Rose warned him, “I’m not in the mood for one of your tall tales!”
“What?” Murdock asked her, trying to look surprised. “You doubt the veracity of my tales? You deeply wound me, Madam!”
That worked to decidedly lighten the mood while they ate. Rose even cheerfully offered some venison to Rebecca, but her mood turned a little dour when Rose realized what she had done.
“Why was Scott killed?” Murdock asked aloud as he finished eating. He didn’t direct the question to anyone in particular, but everyone knew whom he addressed. “Do you know?”
“Scott had said that he had killed the guy who was catching all the fish for us,” Rebecca said without looking at anyone in particular. “That made Whittier so angry that he killed Scott.”
“What a waste,” Murdock said as he shook his head slightly. “Well, we have dawdled long enough.” He got to his feet and wiped his hands on his leather pants. “We need to get to the cliff before dark. Let’s get packed up and moving.”
“Same as before?” Rose flashed to Murdock after several hours of walking in silence. She saw the cliffs start in the distance.
“The difference will be Thomas,” Murdock said telepathically. “Beron will knock him out before he can see. That assumes that he stayed where we left him. If he decided to head toward the pod, then he may not be incapacitated. Rose, have you tried to send your astral self up the cliff to see if he’s there?”
“I haven’t yet,” she flashed back. “It’s still too far, but I will as soon as I can.”
“Mei Lee, you need to be ready to catch Rebecca, again” Murdock instructed the other woman. “Find out how Krysia is doing.”
“She’s still out. I’ll check her when we stop again.” Mei Lee flashed.
“I’m not planning on stopping until we get up the cliff,” Murdock flashed to Rose and Mei Lee. They both understood, knowing that if they needed water, Mei Lee was to catch up to the cart and take the water skin to Rose. Murdock would drink when he stopped. If he didn’t want to stop, they knew he wouldn’t.
After a few more hours, Rose saw Beron again. Mei Lee saw him too, and caught Rebecca before she hit the ground. Beron had communicated to Murdock that Thomas was unconscious on top of the cliff. With Murdock hardly breaking pace, they levitated up the cliff. After reaching the top, Murdock stopped when they reached Thomas, and there Mei Lee laid Rebecca across Krysia. As the group waited for Thomas and Rebecca to wake up, Rose set up camp, and Mei Lee checked on Krysia as best she could with Rebecca on top of her.
“Where did you come from?” Thomas asked when he awoke. He was startled that the others had scaled the cliff without his seeing them cross the valley.
“Not our problem if you can’t stay awake,” Murdock said gruffly. “If you had stood a proper watch, you would have seen us coming.”
“How did we get up
the cliff?” Rebecca asked as she awoke. “What happened?”
“You fell asleep and landed on top of Krysia,” Mei Lee told her.
By the time the venison was cooked, the sun had gone down and Krysia looked to be coming around. Since her beating, her eyes had swollen shut and were covered in terrible shades of blue and purple.
“Where am I?” Krysia asked weakly through swollen lips. She touched the side of her face gingerly.
“What do you remember?” Mei Lee asked in a quiet voice.
“Is that Mei Lee?” Krysia asked. She appeared close to tears as she spread out her arms and hands to try to touch Mei Lee.
“Please, tell me what happened and how much you remember,” Mei Lee murmured.
“It was horrible!” Krysia started crying. “All I did was tell Whittier that he was going to be a father, and he started hitting me all over. I called for help, but no one would help.” She gingerly touched her face.
“That’s what Rebecca told us,” Mei Lee said, nodding. “She said she tried to stop it, but was beaten as well.”
“If that’s true,” Krysia said through tears, “it wasn’t very early in! I don’t remember her doing or saying anything.” Sobbing, she held her ribs. “Why do my ribs hurt so much?”
“I think a few are cracked,” Mei Lee told her. “Rebecca will bring you food and water.” Mei Lee patted Krysia’s hand two or three times and then went to the fire. “Cut up her meat quite small so it won’t be so hard to chew, and give her all the water she wants,” she told Rebecca.
“How’s Krysia?” Murdock asked Mei Lee after Rebecca left.
“At least she’s awake,” Mei Lee said. “I was getting concerned by the amount of time she was unconscious.”
“Will she make it?” Rose asked with a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
“Will she be able to walk the rest of the way?” Murdock asked.
“I would say she should not walk that far just yet,” Mei Lee said. “She should take it easy for a few more days. I still don’t know if the baby will make it or not.”
“Or even if there was a baby,” Rose muttered as she poked the fire with a stick.
Murdock motioned Thomas, who had been sitting by the cart, over to the fire.
“Do you know what you’re going to do?” Murdock asked Thomas. “We’ll see you to the transport pod. After that, you’ll have to decide. The transport pod offers year-round shelter. The underside is good for storage, after it’s cleaned up.”
“So, we’re right back where we started,” Thomas said in a soft voice. “How will we survive?”
“Do you know what happened to all the tools that remained after my visit and Whittier’s attempt on my life?” Murdock asked. “You had plenty of machetes and hatchets.”
“He didn’t haul all of them off when we left,” Thomas said. “He didn’t seem to have that many with him, so a search of the pod area might turn them up, but what good would that do?”
“Do you like being at the mercy of whatever comes after you?” Murdock asked in disbelief. “You’re going to need weapons to hunt and a spear to fish and to protect yourself. Axes and saws for wood — we have those, and you can use them. You have everything you need to survive.”
“What good is all that stuff if you don’t know how to use them?” Thomas asked, not understanding.
“You learn,” Murdock snapped. “If it’s a case of not wanting to survive, I can accommodate you right now!”
“No, I think I can learn,” Thomas said, back-peddling a bit.
Murdock offered Thomas a cooked chunk of venison and gave him a look that told him Get lost.
“And people wonder why I don’t associate with strangers.” Murdock said aloud to himself after Thomas left the area.
“You do seem to gather strays!” Rose said, smirking.
“As I recall, you were one of those strays,” Murdock said, glancing sideways at Rose and smirking back.
“True,” Rose said as she got up to check on Andy. “But you wouldn’t have it any other way!” She kissed his neck as she passed.
Mei Lee, taking a cue from Rose, hugged Murdock from behind. “We all owe you so much,” she said softly as she released him and followed Rose to check on Chun Hua.
Murdock sat for a while feeling good, but then he began feeling bad. He went over to Thomas, who was talking to Rebecca. “Sorry for the way I talked earlier,” Murdock said somewhat sheepishly. “If you’re willing to learn, I’ll teach you what you need to know.” Then he returned to the fire.
The next morning, the small troop started off again toward the transport pod. Murdock and Thomas both pulled the cart, as Thomas had regained some of his strength. Though Murdock had said he didn’t need help, Thomas had insisted on helping as best he could for as long as he could.
Rebecca walked beside Krysia to keep an eye on her so she wouldn’t fall off the travois, as well as to give the injured woman water. The walk became easier as the day passed. When they finally stopped for a rest, they had reached the point in the river that Murdock, Rose, and Mei Lee crossed to go home.
Rose and Mei Lee were pensive. Murdock had caught both of them looking off toward the cabin with longing looks that said they had been too long away from home and knew they were close.
“You can go on home with Andy, if you want,” Murdock murmured privately to Rose “I shouldn’t be here too long. Just have to get them started on cleaning up. That will take them a few days. You can take Mei Lee and Chun Hua with you, if she wants to go.”
“What about you?” Rose asked in a quiet voice. “I don’t like the idea of you walking home alone.”
“I won’t walk,” Murdock said with a little chuckle.
“And be home in a couple hours after you leave?” Rose asked, laughing as well.
Rose went to Mei Lee, exchanged pleasantries, and cooed toward little Chun Hua. In reality, however, Rose telepathically explained to Mei Lee that they could split off and go home with the kids. Mei Lee agreed, and both women informed Murdock. Mei Lee also passed on her recommendations for Krysia’s treatment.
Murdock went through the cart, pulled out one of the flint point spears, and handed it to Thomas. He cut off some more of the venison and put it on the travois with Krysia. He then untied the travois from the cart and held it up while Rose pulled the cart away. Thomas and Rebecca watched as the two women went upstream. As he watched them go, Thomas’ face revealed panic. Murdock initiated a mental link with Rose and Mei Lee so that they would know what he said. Then, loud enough for those present to hear, he said, “There are a few rules involved with this arrangement. The first one is this. If any of you are caught more than a quarter mile from this path —” He indicated the worn path heading toward the pod and then indicated Rose’s and Mei Lee’s direction. “On that side, without Rose, Mei Lee, or myself, your lives are forfeit. There’s plenty of game downriver from the border, so you don’t need to go that way.”
“So, where are they going?” Thomas asked. His manner and tone told Murdock that Thomas was prying.
“They are going where I sent them to do things I asked them to do,” Murdock said cryptically. Thomas looked at him with a question on his face. “To put it another way, in terms that even you can understand, it’s on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know. Are we clear?” he asked looking at the surprised look on Rebecca and Thomas’ faces. No one responded. “Are we clear?” he asked again with more volume, indicating that he expected an answer. He looked sternly from Thomas to Rebecca and back to Thomas.
“Crystal,” Krysia said firmly but weakly, startling Thomas and Rebecca.
Murdock and Thomas took up the poles of the travois and started off toward the transport pod, Rebecca solemnly following from behind. After a few more hours, they reached the transport pod. Then Murdock lowered the ramp, and the two men carried Krysia into the pod. Rebecca picked up one of the hides and spread it on deck for Krysia to lie on.
“Mei Lee highly suggests that you
stay off your feet as much as possible,” Murdock told her after setting her on the deck. “There’s no guarantee that you won’t lose the baby, but staying off your feet may help.” He turned to Thomas. “The pod’s batteries are getting very low. I don’t know if cleaning off the solar panels would help, but it won’t hurt. Until then, I’d leave the ramp down, and you and Rebecca switch off keeping watch at night.”
Murdock exited the pod with Thomas and Rebecca on his heels. Murdock didn’t stop until he was well past the pod’s underside, on the upwind side.
“How long will Krysia need to take it easy?” Rebecca asked meekly when they were out of Krysia’s earshot.
“That I don’t know,” Murdock told her. “It all depends on her. I’d lead her everywhere and make sure she doesn’t fall. After she can see, she should be able to do more on her own. You’ll just have to play it by ear.”
“What do you want us to do here?” Thomas asked.
Murdock looked sternly at him. “I don’t care what you do! This isn’t going to work that way. I give suggestions and you follow them, or don’t. I’d suggest you cook all food on the upwind side of the underside of the pod; at least, until you get the underside cleaned up. To clean it, you can try waiting for rain to wash it out, or you can take a shovel and spread dirt over the entire underside. I don’t know who had the idea to use the enclosure as a privy, but that was exceedingly stupid!”
Knowing that Whittier wouldn’t have been able to carry all the tools without attracting notice, Murdock went back under the pod and found the storage compartments. As he opened them again, he saw that he was correct. He immediately found the extra water skins and handed quite a few to Thomas, who had followed him and was watching closely. He decided to dig out everything he could find. “Put all this stuff inside the pod. You’ll need to know what you have,” he told Thomas and Thomas did as he was told.
When Murdock had emptied all the storage compartments, he outfitted Thomas and Rebecca as he was. Then he posted Rebecca at the top of the ramp while he and Thomas gathered up all the water skins and walked to the stream Murdock had first used.
Displaced Page 38