by Ison, S. A.
We watched their advancement, their heads bobbing and looking around. The heat and strength of Harper behind me stirred slowly, I felt him shift. His body deliberate and careful, moving slowly. He was getting ready to climb down the tree.
“I’m going to go around them and come up from behind. There is enough vegetation for me to get behind them.”
I was going to nod my agreement, but froze, something big was running toward the men, its long body moved with incredible speed. Harper froze behind me, his hands biting into my shoulders. It couldn’t have been more than a couple seconds, but it played out in slow motion.
We watched as a massive cat flew across the ground, covering nearly sixty feet within seconds. It leaped upon Bill, taking him down so fast, he barely got a scream out before we heard the horrific crunch of a skull in the mouth of a giant cat. Mike’s scream filled the cool night air and the man started running away, we watched, unable to move or make a sound as the cat jumped on the fleeing figure. His screams echoed through the night air until we heard the stomach-turning crunch and then the night was quiet once more.
The hair on my body was standing and my skin was bumped up as well. It was almost painful and the base of my tailbone tingled in primordial alarm. Harper’s breath was coming out harsh and fast on my shoulders and neck. The moist heat of it hitting my face and I realized I was breathing the same, quiet, rapid panting. I felt his heart against my back, slamming in rapid tattoo.
We watched in horrid fascination as the big cat easily carried off Mike, his body like a rag in the big cat’s jaws. We didn’t dare move or breath. We sat, staring at Bill’s body. I could only guess, but about an hour or so later, the cat came back and picked Bill’s body up by the neck, and we could hear the bones grind, which was loud in the silent night. The big cat disappeared into the forest.
“Jesus Harper, if you’d been down there, that cat would have gotten you too. Just as friggen fast.” I said shakily, the tears stinging my eyes. I wiped at them, my hand trembling badly.
“But I wasn’t. I’m going to wait a little longer, then let’s get down and get into the circle of fire.”
“Yeah, now that those two are gone, I guess we should be okay for the night. I’d feel better if we build that fire up too.”
“Don’t worry, I’m going to toss more wood on. I’m not sure if I will be able to sleep, so if you can, go ahead.” He smiled down at me. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him close. We had escaped with our lives from both marauders. And as far as I was concerned, Bill and Mike got their comeuppance. I truly believed they ate their companions. They didn’t try to work together, they took the easy way, the evil way. Though I didn’t know the people they killed, I was sorry that anyone had to suffer the two malevolent men.
After a time, we climbed down out of the tree and went into the circle via a low spot. We built up the fire around us and I laid down near the fire. Harper sat beside me, he was eating some of the dried dates.
“I’m glad they’re dead.” I said.
Harper looked down at me and smiled gently.
“Me too. I don’t want those kinds of evil men in our land, in our time.”
“You’re right, this is now our land and our time. I know I keep referring to our time as the future, but really, it’s now. I guess up until now, my brain was in the future. But when Bill said he killed those people, you know the original people, I thought, those are my friends. Even though I didn’t know them, I know Isi, and I care about her and her group. Does that even make sense?”
“Yeah, because there are so few people here, each is precious. For him to kill them and laugh, that was just wrong. He didn’t value life, he didn’t value people. I’m sure he was the same way in the future, but to be that way now? No, life is fragile here. He didn’t deserve to be here or in the future. He or Mike.”
“I’ll say it again, I’m glad they’re gone. I’m glad their influence is no longer in our time.
TWELVE
It was slow going the next morning. We took the travois back into the cold water. We wanted to keep the meat as fresh as we could and hauling it on land in the morning heat wasn’t a good thing. The water chilled us, but as we hauled that meat, we grew hot. I could feel the relentless sun beating down on me and was relieved only by the occasional cloud. We hadn’t had a lot of rain during the summer, a lot of brief summer showers and the occasional night rain.
It took us roughly five hours to get home and it was so good to see our cave. I have to tell you, it had become home sweet home. We dropped the travois in the water, leaving the pigs to keep cool. I laid several of my woven mats over the carcasses to keep the sun from beating down on them. We washed up in the river and then sat down for a long and welcomed break.
“I’m so glad we are here and tonight, I’m going to sleep so good.” I said with feeling.
“Me too, I don’t think I even slept. I think I might have nodded off inside the ring of fire, but I was so keyed up, I kept jerking awake.”
We ate some lunch, something fast and easy, dried fish and dates. Tonight, I would make us a feast. We took the racks and put them into the mouth of the cave. We couldn’t afford to dry or smoke the meat on the ground. It was an enormous draw for predators. After getting the racks up, we built low fires along the low entrance of the cave. In one of my bigger pots, we cut the meat into thin strips and filled it. Then I took the pot and began to lay the thin strips of pork along the racks.
The rest of the day, we went back and forth with it. I also made a low fire beside meat we were butchering to keep the flies away and I also had a pot with fat, we were rendering it. My other pot was filled with hot water, cleaning and sterilizing the stomach and intestines. Harper had offered to tan the hides for me. I didn’t argue.
For now, we rolled the hides and put them in the river and weighed them down with rocks. It was too late in the day to even try to work them or stretch them out. It was almost dark when we finished up with the meat. We were covered from head to toe with blood. Both of us took a river bath, but then I heated up a large pot of water and we used the towel to take a hot after bath. It felt wonderful on our sore muscles.
“God, I would kill for a cup of coffee right now.” Harper said and groaned.
I dipped the towel and rung it out, then placed it on Harper’s back. He moaned in bliss. Then he did the same for me. I groaned, I can’t even tell you how good it felt.
“I know. I wasn’t a huge coffee drinker, but sometimes, it was just nice to have a cup. I don’t think there are coffee beans growing around here.” I laughed.
“Where is Juan Valdez when you need him?” Harper sniggered tiredly.
We sat in the mouth of the cave, looking out over our home. It was peaceful and we saw our mastodons, the small family, moving along the river. There were no more dates, but there were other plants they ate. We heard a trumpet from time to time. We watched large bats fly through the air, diving and eating the flying insects. The clouds scuttled across the moon from time to time.
It was so peaceful and I have to say I appreciated it even more after what we’d gone through with Bill and Mike. I was glad that there weren’t many humans, and I hoped there wouldn’t be any more like them in our life time here.
As the it darkened, we fed the small fires with twigs. It was a slow process. With one of the rabbit skins, we made a small smoking tent. We had the pork bellies in there. I don’t know how, but Harper had found hickory and the smell of the hickory smoke and pork was driving me crazy. It was a slow torturous process, but well worth it.
“If you want to go and sleep, I’ll stay up and keep the fires going.” Harper said.
“I’m not going to argue, but wake me up in a few hours and I’ll take over so you can sleep. You know it is sad, it is only about seven in the evening and yet, it feels like midnight.”
Harper laughed, “I know, I never go to bed before eleven, but now, when it gets dark, I’m so damned tired I can hardly move.”
&nbs
p; “That is because we don’t stop until we drop.” I laughed and went back farther into the cave. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
It seemed like only minutes when I felt Harper gently shaking me awake. I sat up, rubbing my eyes.
“It is around eleven. I don’t think I can keep my eyes open. Do you mind taking over?”
“Sure, lay your head down lad.” I laughed softly and went out to the cave opening. I checked on the meat, added some twigs and sticks, then sat down. I was wearing my gym shirt and jacket. It was now my nightgown, sort of. I could feel the cool air around me, but the heat of the fires as well. It was pleasant.
The moon was high and lit the land below. I saw a herd of deer, they were slowly moving their way across our valley. I could hear the night birds and I saw the bats still catching the night bugs. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I thought about all the grain and beans that we had tucked into the larder. I felt rich.
I can’t even tell you how peaceful it was. I remember when we first got here, how frightened I was. Now, I felt nothing but peace. I heard an owl far up and behind us on the bluff. Soon the big oak would let go its acorns and I would need to make more baskets. I laughed at myself. This land provided all we needed, we just had to work to get it. Unlike Bill and Mike, who were so unhealthy. I didn’t even want to know how they survived.
I suspected that they ate carrion. I don’t think they even tried to gather food, or grow food. It had been hard for Harper and I at first, and it still was, but we taught ourselves to survive. We got to know our new world and we changed ourselves to fit in.
My stomach growled and I reached over and pulled off a piece of pork from the bottom rung. I chewed on it and found that it was good, it was chewy but I could tell it was ready to take off in another hour. I leaned back against the cave wall and watched the deer, chewing on my jerky.
After a time, I began to take the bottom rung meat and put it in the baskets. I let them cool with each layer, moving the meat down the rungs. I didn’t have to, but it kept me busy. I could hear Harper’s snores. I knew he was a tired man. He’d kept me safe, he’d protected me. I know most men would have done the same, at least I hoped they would, but I knew Harper was a rare man. I think that was why I was growing to care for him, and I believe love him.
This is for my daughters. I did love your father at one time, but I think we were too young when we got married and we just grew in different directions. Finding a good man is hard. After the five years from our divorce, I never met a man worth dating. I think I found or rather was given a good man in the way of Harper. I truly feel blessed.
I’m not sure what time it was, perhaps a few hours before dawn, when Harper called to me.
“I think the meat is near enough finished, you can come to bed if you want.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
I made my way to the bed and I laid down beside Harper. He drew me in close and spooned me. He pulled the small rabbit blanket over us. Our bodies were redolent of woodsmoke and pork. We haven’t become intimate yet, but we were heading that way. I was sound asleep on that thought.
Δ
The days were shorter now and going faster and faster. I’d laid out the grain and the beans to dry in the sun. It took a day or two, but I stored them back into the cave. Harper took the travois out and gathered more branches and heavy limbs. The dead ones we took into the cave. He chopped them into nice log sizes. He’d gone through four ax heads. When they dulled, he would knap them sharp again, but after several sharpening, they crumbled. He took my backpack and brought more of the rocks back with him.
“I want to work on them this winter, improve my hand. I know I can make a shaper knife for you and arrowheads for me.”
“I’d like to learn as well. Make sure you get plenty of rocks. Also, I’m taking some of the bones from the pig’s feet, I’m going to make dice. I figure we are going to go stir crazy this winter, so I figure we can play games.”
“You’re right about that. We’ll need to keep our brains busy.”
I told you the cave was about thirty feet deep. You’d think that would be a large cave, but it was filling up fast with wood, stones, baskets of food, and furniture. Harper was now working on a chair with no legs. The chair has a back to it, so when you sit, you can lean back.
We had nearly twenty pounds of pork fat, and roughly forty pounds of smoked bacon. Though we don’t have a real thermometer, I tried to guesstimate the temperature of the back cave to be roughly fiftyish Fahrenheit. We hoped that would keep the meat safe enough. Once the temp dropped outside, we planned to put the half of the bacon in a wood box that Harper was working on. It would keep the bacon frozen for us and we’d use that during our long winter.
I was outside today, early, with my baskets. The acorns had started to fall and as I gathered them, I was hit from time to time. I’m telling you it hurt. I went back up and got my woven frond hat. I filled my basked quickly. I went over to the stand of smaller oaks, the one that Harper had cut down earlier this summer. There weren’t as many, but I picked what I could.
I was planning on boiling the acorns. I knew they were bitter and I can’t remember, but I think they were somewhat poisonous too, so I figured I’d boil the hell out of them. I set up a fire and brought out two of my pots. I’m so glad that they worked. It made it so much easier than the wood bowls. We still kept those, just in case the clay pots broke.
I started the water to boiling. I was planning to make the pemmican tomorrow, with Harper’s help. He was the one that knew how to do it. But for now, it was boiling acorn time. I dropped handful after handful of acorns into the boiling water. I started another pot boiling and poured more acorns into them.
I used my towel as a pot holder and I dumped the dark brown water out. I let the pot cool for a bit before filling it with water and starting the process all over. It took quite a few hours, but when the water was clear, I figured I’d boiled the hell out of them. I spread the acorns on my mats to dry in the sun and I sat back and relaxed.
Harper was dragging the travois behind him and I laughed. He’d turned his jeans into a harness and looked like a beast of burden. The travois was loaded with large branches. He grinned and dropped his load, groaning.
“You’re a hard working man.”
“Yeah, I think I’m about done for today. What have you been doing?”
“I got the very first batch of acorns boiled and cleaned. I’m letting them dry for now. I’d like to go back and take a look at the figs and grapes; would you mind if we did that tomorrow?”
“No, that sounds like a good idea. On the way back, I can load up the travois with branches.” He grabbed up some fronds and began braiding. It was weird, it seemed even when we rested, we still worked. Our hands were rarely idle.
Δ
We headed out early the next morning, it was overcast. It was also cool. We wore our jackets. It looked odd, with grass skirts and a jacket. It worked, however. We left our shoes behind. This environment was hard on them. We wanted to save them for winter and so used them only now and again.
“You know you’re gonna have to make Flintstone footwear.” Harper sniggered and crouched over, his arms out like an ape.
“You’re such a smart ass.” I laughed.
“Yeah, I think that is genetic.”
“Goober.” I shook my head.
“But, at some point, we will need shoes.”
“I know, I’ve been thinking on that. What if we took the shoulder blades of the pigs, cut down the hump part and use the smooth inside for our feet. Maybe use the glue you made from the hooves and attach hide to cover the upper portions of the foot?” I suggested.
“Hmm, you could make one of your fluff pads and put on the bottom inside, so we don’t actually step on the bone. It might work. Maybe we can experiment between now and when our shoes wear out. Figure something out.”
I nodded. I thought about using bark as well, “Maybe we can fin
d a nice oak sapling, and use the hard bark from that, as the bottom of the shoe. Since it is pretty hard, it should last and might well be easier to mold into a closer proximity to a shoe. Maybe while it is still soft, drill holes into it to tie leather straps, then we can attach leather coverings?”
“I think I like that idea better than the bone one. Sounds more comfortable. A good winter project.” He grinned.
We arrived at the grape vines, and tested the deep purple fruit.
“Yeesh, the skins are still sour, but the inside is great.”
“I can try to make the raisins with and without skins. See if they tone down once dried. We’ll just have to see. I want to come back just before it snows. I want to dig up some of the offshoots. It would be nice if we can have our own little grape vines at the cave.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Better be buddy.” I laughed.
We gathered up large clusters of the globes and placed them into my baskets. I was going to hang them on the drying racks, I figured that would be the easiest way to dry them. We ate our fair share of them, spitting the skins aside.
We walked deeper and found the figs. Many had been chewed on, which was disappointing.
“Well, at least they left us some of the fruit.” Harper said, his face glum.
“We’ll maybe get a few of these saplings and transplant to the cave?” I asked and he brightened.
“In a few years, we’ll have an orchard and a wheat slash oat field and what ever else we can transplant there.”
“At least the daylilies are spreading as are those other tubers you planted earlier this spring.” He said.
“True enough. I think that is about it, unless you want to take some of the nibbled stuff.”