by Jack L Knapp
“I’m fine, Matt. Not easy to order those men killed, but I understood why it had to be done. We can’t help them, and if we left them behind, wounded, some animal would have them within an hour. Killing them quick was the merciful thing to do.”
Matt nodded. “I’d burn the bodies if we could, but we don’t have the manpower. Our people have to get ready to move. Those slavers are still out there. We don’t know where, but if we aren’t careful they’ll hit us when we least expect it.
“I’ve got a final job for your prisoners. I can’t take the time to supervise them myself, you’re going to have to do it. Take my three spearmen to help, Willie and Carlo and Karel…I’ll keep Piotr with me …and when the prisoners are done, give them one of our emergency packets. I’ll send someone up with food, so feed them and then turn them loose.
“Here’s what I want them to do.”
Lee looked at Matt in shock.
“Matt, you’re sure?”
“Yes. Did you find Vlad or Pavel?”
“Vlad’s dead. Arrow in the chest, broken shaft. Not yours or mine, someone else shot him. I saved the arrowhead. I put the prisoners to doing that as we went around, gathering up arrows. One of the scouts bundled them and took them back. We found your bow and quiver, too. You can pick it up when we’re back at camp. I couldn’t be sure which arrows were yours because of the blood.
“But Pavel’s alive. He’s hurt, arrow through an arm that pinned it to his chest. I left it. It’s one of my arrows.”
“Thanks, I forgot about my bow. All right, finish up, turn those people loose, then bring your scouts to camp. Robert’s hurt bad, I’m going there as soon as I can. Where is Pavel?”
“He’s right over there, by the two guards. That rifle…long black thing?”
“That’s it.”
“I moved it away so Pavel couldn’t reach it. But I didn’t know what else to do with it.”
“I’ll take care of it. I’m going there now.”
Lee went back to where his guards watched the prisoners, bows and spears ready. But the cowed prisoners showed no signs of wanting to resume the fight.
Matt walked over to where Pavel lay. The rifle was as Lee had described. Matt picked it up and looked at it; it was similar to others he’d seen downtime, if not quite the same. Well, he’d have time to figure it out later. He found the safety lever on the left side, noticed a similar one on the right, so the rifle was meant for left or right-handed users. He moved the lever to the S position and slung the rifle over his shoulder.
Despite the wound, Pavel was conscious and still full of hate. He glared up at Matt.
“That rifle wasn’t much use, was it?”
“Fucking thing jammed after only two shots. I would have…”
“You should have made sure of me, Pavel, back there on the river. We found the place later.”
Pavel looked back at him and said nothing.
“Are you going to keep talking or get this arrow out of my arm?”
“Neither, Pavel. I’ve had enough grief from you.”
Matt lifted his spear as Pavel’s eyes opened wide in shock. Stepping forward, Matt put the steel blade just below Pavel’s rib cage. Leaning on the spear, Matt watched the point slide into Pavel’s chest. When half the long blade was in, Matt levered down on the spear, forcing the sharp blade to slice through lungs and up into the heart. Pavel’s mouth sagged open and blood gouted as he coughed. His eyelids half-closed, then stopped moving as the blood flow slowed to a trickle.
“Tell Lee to collect his arrow and throw this body with the others.”
Matt turned and walked away. Piotr looked pale…well, if he hadn’t known before, this world wasn’t long on mercy.
#
Lee’s guard watched the prisoners work as Piotr led Matt to the Wise Woman. She was working on Robert, now mercifully unconscious.
“How’s he doing?”
She shook her head. “That arm is shattered. It will have to come off. It’s just fortunate that Robert’s not feeling it, he’s out cold. I’ve never done major surgery before. I know how, of course, but only from watching the surgeon do it. He had anesthetics and antibiotics, I don’t even have any surgical tools.”
“Do the best you can. You worked in a hospital downtime?”
“I was a medical assistant. I had some training and I watched surgery done, but except for basic anatomy and things like nutrition, I’m not qualified.”
“You’re the most qualified person we have…Doctor. Get help, plan what you’ve got to do, get it done before Robert wakes up. You can use my knife, camp-axe too if you need it. We had classes on battlefield first aid, the history of combat medicine. One thing I remember from that, surgical procedures from the Civil War and the age of sailing ships, good surgery was fast surgery. The sooner it’s done and the stump bandaged, the better.
“I can’t keep calling you Wise Woman; don’t you have a name?”
“I do. But I preferred what Robert called me, the Wise Woman.”
“So what’s the name?”
“It’s Bambi, all right? But if you laugh or call me Bambi, you’d better hope I never have to cut on you!”
“You don’t like Bambi, I don’t like Wise Woman. You can pick any name you want. No rule says we have to stick with what parents or the downtimers gave us. Any name you’d prefer?”
“Elizabeth. Call me Elizabeth.”
“Fine, Elizabeth. I’ll let you get to work. Draft people to help, anyone except Lee and Colin or Margrette. They already have jobs.”
“I’ll take the new girl, Shani. Millie too. Millie’s been working with me and Shani’s not afraid of blood.”
“Done. Do the best you can for our people.”
Matt looked around, but people were working and there was nothing that needed his immediate attention. He went back to camp and helped people as they packed their bedding on the carts.
#
An hour later four tribesmen brought Robert into camp, two carrying him with their arms slung under his torso, another supporting his head, one carrying his feet.
“Bedding furs first, make a thick pad on a cart for Robert. Lay him on the pad with his head up, feet down. We’ll be moving out soon. Find Margrette and get something to eat.
“First, let me thank you for all you did this morning. Not easy I know, but it had to be done. I wish we could stop to rest, but we can’t. The slavers are still out there somewhere and we’ve got to move. All those dead bodies, they’ll attract scavengers; predators, too. I’ll look for a place to stop a few hours down the trail. Thanks again, and let’s get to work.”
Matt made the rounds and repeated the same short speech whenever he found people together. The tribe had been relatively fortunate. The only serious injury was Robert, victim of the two gunshots that Pavel had gotten off before the rifle jammed.
The rifle needed cleaning, but the stoppage was a simple stovepipe jam where a brass cartridge case had failed to eject completely. Matt pulled back the charging handle and pried the stuck case out of the extractor. He would clean the rifle tonight when the tribe stopped for the day. It would probably fire if he needed it, but for now his bow was more reliable.
Leaving the rifle unloaded, magazine inserted and safety on, Matt laid it with the rest of his gear on the cart that would be pulled by Sandra and Millie. He recovered his bow and picked his own arrows out of the collection salvaged by Lee’s crew. Two would need repair, but the others were usable, if bloody. Matt put them in the quiver and slung it over his shoulder. Elizabeth returned his knife and camp-axe, newly cleansed of blood.
Lee found him in camp where Matt was munching on a slab of the meat Margrette had prepared.
“All done?”
“Yes. I turned the captives loose…they weren’t happy, but I pointed out what had happened to Pavel. They understood. I left the bodies in a pile across our trail. Animals will scatter the bones, but they’ll be a warning as long as the drag marks are visible.”
Lee nodded.
“Pick the freshest people you’ve got, put two of them out on point, two on flank security. We’re moving out.”
Half an hour later the tribe was gone, wheels creaking. The sound slowly faded in the distance and a thin trail pointed northwest.
#
Behind them, a line of crude spears, collected from those who’d had them, stood across the trail that led to the slavers’ village.
Atop each spear was a slack-jawed head, chopped from a dead guard by his companions. Matt had left a mute warning of what the slavers could expect should they follow.
Pavel got a final honor, although it was doubtful he’d have appreciated it.
His head faced down the trail from the center of the line.
Chapter 15
By Matt’s rough estimate, the tribe had traveled perhaps ten miles by late afternoon. This was far enough to leave the carnage from the fight well behind. Scavengers would be after the bodies, but they wouldn’t follow the tribe.
As for the slave raiders, if they followed Matt intended to be ready.
Lee had found a place where the stream widened and flowed over a sandy bottom. Matt consulted briefly with Colin, then decided to cross the stream before setting up camp.
Lee took charge of transporting Robert, still unconscious, across to the campsite. He looked shrunken; the wound and subsequent crude amputation had taken a lot from him. Matt touched Robert’s forehead. It felt warm, almost hot, and the touch got no response.
Matt spoke to Margrette where she worked by the kitchen fire, newly started.
“Robert’s going to need broth or something like that when he wakes up, Margrette. Maybe that willow bark tea you used before? Talk to the Wis…uh, Elizabeth…about that. She might know of other herbs you could include.”
“I’ll take care of it, Matt. Just as soon as I’ve got food cooking, that will be my next priority.”
Matt nodded, then left to find Lee and Colin.
“Lee, guards out as soon as you can. Rotate them around every hour or two tonight, say two people patrolling around camp until just before dawn, then add two more. Pair them up and tell them to keep a sharp lookout. The slave raiders have a lot more experience at raiding than the guards. The raid this morning might even have been their first attempt and the rifle didn’t do them much good.
“Our people are going to be tired, but we can’t quit just because we’re tired. We all got a little soft, living at Riverbend Camp. It’ll take a few days before we’re able to do fifteen miles a day. Plus we had that fight this morning and it took a lot out of everyone. Some are going to start remembering what they did, so if they’re tired they’ll get to sleep easier. Killing people is never easy, even when you know it has to be done.
“That reminds me, check your security people too, make sure they’re not having problems. I’ll pass it on to Colin to do the same; I’m putting him in charge of the camp until Robert recovers. Sal, too…he’s a responsible guy, and he ran the maintenance crew at the mine, so I’ll give him a job with more responsibility. He’s already built the kitchen fire-pit and put up a couple of forked sticks with a crosspiece for cooking. I’ll talk to him about having a latrine dug and putting up a shelter for Robert.”
“I’ll talk to my folks, Matt. Let me know if there’s anything else you need, all right?”
“I will. I’m thinking we travel on for a week or so, then take a break for a few days to get caught up on things that need doing. Keep looking for a stream or a spring for water, someplace that also has shelter from weather and that offers advantages if we need to defend our camp.
“Once everything is set up, you can send someone reliable to scout our back trail. We don’t know what those slave raiders will do. They may not be willing to let us keep going. I’d like as much warning as I can get if they decide to come after us. It will be work, but I’ve got a few ideas to make them sorry if they do.
“Meantime, I found those bows we kept, the ones we replaced when we made stronger ones. Even the arrows were saved; we had to make new ones because the older ones flexed too much. They didn’t have a stiff enough spine to be used with the new, stronger, bows.
“The new guys have the old bows now, except for Cindy’s, and Shani has that one. We’ll need a lot more arrows. I’ll start teaching Piotr what I know about knapping flint points for the new arrows and spears.
“Someone can take those short swords we salvaged after the fight and start removing the handles. We should have enough now to put steel blades on everyone’s spear, maybe even make a few replacements. Some will break eventually, so having spares ready will be a plus.”
“We’ve got enough, Matt. We ended up with about thirty of them after the fight. All of the raiders we killed had at least one, and the ones we turned loose had one or two.”
“Talk to Sal. Tell him to leave a couple of the short swords with handles. I want to make one of them into a saw, file some fine teeth into the blade and use very little set to the teeth. Elizabeth had a hard time taking Robert’s arm off. She needs a bone saw.”
Lee nodded. “I’ll take care of it, Matt. You need to rest too.”
“I’ll rest as much as I can. Who’s your most reliable assistant?”
“Probably Laz. Marc is good too.”
“Which one is the better archer?”
“That’s probably Marc. Laz has more power, but Marc rarely misses.”
“OK. Put Marc in charge of teaching our new guys to shoot. Have him set up archery butts down by the stream. They can use small branches with lots of leaves, tie them tight, set them up and start the new guys shooting at them from close range. I’d like them to shoot at least a hundred arrows each day until they’re skilled.”
“Uh, Matt…I don’t think they can count. They didn’t come from the future. They’re like me, if it’s more than what I can count on my fingers, I get lost. Shani and Bella are that way, Cindy too I think.”
“Oh, my. I didn’t think about that. All right, I’ll work on it. Tell him to have them shoot as much as they can, then turn them loose after supper’s ready. They can turn in after they eat.”
#
Matt found Lilia and the two ate supper in companionable silence. Matt spoke as they were finishing.
“I need a schoolteacher. If you were picking someone for the job, who would it be?”
“That's a tough one, Matt. Maybe Millie? Why?”
“We’ve got a few people who have never learned to do simple arithmetic. I’m guessing they can’t read, either. Can she teach the basics, reading, writing, and arithmetic?”
“Matt, I don’t know. But I’ll find out. I’ll look at other people too, see if there’s someone better or at least someone who could assist her.”
“Sounds good. How’s Piotr settling in to the group?”
“He’s doing fine. He’s a hard worker, helps everyone get their camp ready. He’s staying next to our new woman, Marja. I don’t know if you noticed that.”
“I hadn’t, but I’m not surprised. I haven’t had time to notice much of anything lately, what with the security problems and deserting guardsmen and escaping slaves!”
The two shared a grin.
“Maybe it will get easier now that we’re moving, Matt.”
“Maybe. But I’m going to delegate, delegate, delegate. You’re my contact with the other women, the one I turn to when I need answers. Lee’s the general and chief cop. If we ever need one, that is. Marc’s teaching archery, Millie’s the education department, Colin will see to running the camp at night, Elizabeth is the medical corps, and I’m going to just sit back and let them solve all our problems!”
“Sure you are, Matt.” The two laughed and Matt left to see how Robert was faring.
Elizabeth was clearly worried.
“He’s not responding. I tried to slip a bit of that herb tea I made in his mouth, but it dribbled out. He’s feverish. I just don’t know…”
>
“Elizabeth, you’ve done all you can. Let Shani or Bella watch him for a while. Take a break, get some of Margrette’s tea with honey, talk to a few other people. There’s nothing you can do here that Bella can’t do.”
“You’re right, Matt, I could stand a break. Can you send Bella to me?”
Matt nodded and left.
He toured the camp. People were working, although most showed the signs of what they’d done during the day. Finally Matt decided to call the various activities off.
“Start gathering at the cookfire, people. I’ve got a few things I need to say, and it’s better to say them there.”
A few minutes later found people around the fire, waiting.
“It’s time to stop working and get some sleep. We’re going to be stiff and sore tomorrow, all of us. There are things to do, but there are always things to do. Guards are going to be out tonight, watching for animals and those slave raiders who held Bella and Shani. It may be necessary to call you out during the night if you’re needed. For now, everyone’s had food and some of Margrette’s excellent tea.
“We’ve had a long day. I know you’re worried about Robert, but there’s nothing left that anyone can do. We’ll do our best to care for him, but it’s up to him now. I just wish we had medicines, even alcohol, but we don’t. One day, when we get to our new home, we can set up a distillery and begin developing better medicines, better ways to care for our sick and wounded.
“For now, the best thing we can do for Robert is let him recover on his own. I know you want to visit, but he won’t realize you’re there. He’s getting the best care we can give him and Elizabeth, the Wise Woman, will be with him all the time or her assistant Bella will be. He won’t be unattended until he wakes up.
“Everyone else, get some sleep. We’ll start archery practice tomorrow after we stop for the day. There’s also going to be a school for our youngest, and anyone else who can help or who wants to learn will be welcome to attend. Education is a community effort, and that’s the way we’ll treat it. Defense, too, all of us are responsible for defending our camp. Keep your weapons sharp and always nearby.