by Bella Knight
“And I wouldn’t damage those hands or lungs working with us,” said Thandie. “Besides, he’s not ready.” She sighed. “Possibly years not ready.”
“He’d be super-protective,” said Gregory. “Maybe train him as backup, and on the Evade classes.”
“Later,” said Thandie.
“Later,” agreed Gregory. They headed to their tents.
In the morning, they had coffee and oatmeal with brown sugar, dried blueberries and strawberries, and honey cooked over the hot coals. They put out the fire, and took a ride down to Lake Mead, following the line of the lake. They ate barbecue, pulled pork and fries, and baked beans at a great restaurant, rode out until the light started to go, and stayed at a campsite. They used a pie iron to make chicken, tomato, and bacon Panini’s, and then they had smores. They played fireside soccer, and then split up into groups that played cards and told tall tales. The musicians who had brought their instruments provided Spanish guitar, ukulele, and trumpet music, alone (and eventually in a group), in between stories. They went to bed hearing the lake lap nearby.
Breakfast was coffee and brown sugar pecan oatmeal. They packed up, and headed for home. A trumpeter named Slim Bone, an ancient man with more wrinkles than face, decided to teach Jerry all he knew. He talked about sessions with Joss Stone and B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt. Jerry realized he’d found a trumpeter gunny, someone old and wizened who had seen everything, been everywhere, and who knew more about blowing notes than Jerry ever would. Gregory also made a passing comment to him during a particularly loud dinner to finish off his college credits to finish his bachelor’s degree in information management. He had to take cheaper online courses to remember what he was supposed to do. He bought a cheap refurbished laptop, and struggled to remember. It seemed like a lifetime ago. He fought to remember things that made perfect sense to him before. That part of his life seemed closed off. Henry made him go work in the Wolfpack house, and half a dozen kids helped him recall his distant memories. They explained things to his slow brain, gently leading him back to channels of memory. Empty channels became streams, then floods.
He took the first course, after nearly emptying his bank account to send his brother money after their car died and his brother still couldn’t get to work. Ivy sent full backpacks for the kids for school. His G.I. bill paid for the course and the e-textbooks he needed. He felt the fog slip away, sliding into distant memory. His fingers felt clumsy; sticky on the keys, then he began to type faster and faster. Eventually, his fingers flew over the keys.
Still, the trumpet and the walks with Robert, and a girl that wanted to play for the snakes and coyotes continued. He built his first bike, from cutting off the parts damaged in a crash in the desert, to ordering new parts, to cleaning and reconditioning all the old parts, to letting Robert paint his Zuni magic onto it, to putting it back together, to doing the chrome, to the Zuni man who came from two states away to take his new bike. He was beginning to do good session work, thanks to Slim Bone and his limitless network of contracts, so he sent the entire bit to his brother, minus the cost of a new bike to refurbish.
He decided he needed to go back, to refurbish the house. He told Pomp, and Pomp told others, and soon they were all on a ride across the country once again. They rode straight through to New Mexico, then across Texas. They raised money along the way on their ride for soldiers. They played Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Highway to Hell and some of the best Bonnie Raitt and her slide guitar (ever).
They made it to Rudon in three days. First, they headed to the Home Depot in Birmingham, Alabama, and bought what they needed and put it in a rental truck. Then, they put the house to rights, from the falling-down porch to the leaky roof to the holes in the walls. They put it back together, painted it inside and out, and took the kids for new school clothes. They bought a used refrigerator, and filled it up. They bought a new small convection oven and a microwave. They bought a used truck for Jerry’s brother Frank. They built shelves and got rid of broken things. The kids got little tablets stuffed with educational software, courtesy of Henry. By the time they left, the entire family was smiling, their bills paid, and the kids had shoes.
On the way out, they spread out and picked up the soldiers coming into the Iron Knights, and two each for the Valkryies and the Gearheads, and one for Bonnie. Most of them were missing something —an arm, a leg, an organ. Some had plates in their heads and on other bones.
They came together just outside Amarillo. They ate a huge steak dinner then found a campground because of the collective nightmares that woke most of them up screaming. They cooked smores over a fire, and Jerry played out Taps for the growing dark.
They spread out again after Boulder City, the two Valkyrie women went to Pahrump and to the Valkyries and Herja’s garage. The rest spread out to the Iron Knights, the Gearheads, and to Bonnie.
They used the money they raised to buy destroyed bikes for the Soldier Pack to refurbish. Jerry went back to his session work, worked on bikes, and did one course at a time. The nightmares faded, and he began seeing the dawn instead of just the nights.
But, always, he chose the section of tent that let him see Damia with her horses. That little girl showed him bravery, every day, in the sun, in the paddocks with her horses. She rode horses five times her size, and they loved her, each and every one.
“Running as fast as you can is often the better part of valor.”
2
Teacher Mine
“Teaching is the method to help everyone succeed.”
Alo recorded the segments for his class in the working hydroponics he and Nantan did with Mike and the Wolfpack. He showed every plant, and how every hydroponics part worked. He then showed “from hydro to table” and how they picked the veggies and grains, turned them into breads, soups, salads, sandwiches, and more. The cauliflower pizza dough was their current best seller. Parents loved it, and simply never told their kids they were eating cauliflower.
He packed his 3D models, his laptop, and whiteboard pens, and went to teach at the same college where he was getting his agricultural degree. He wore simple jeans and a T-shirt, just like his students. He recognized most of the students, of course.
He began with the walkthrough segment then took out the 3D models. He took them apart like a puzzle, and walked them through, step by step, how to put them together. They loved it, and he had one for each student. He had them put their desks together to make tables, and they helped each other put them together in pods of four. He then had them compete to put them together, without breaking any parts. They did it, laughing, and he sent them out on the first day.
One student asked, “Where are the textbooks?”
Alo said, “You’re holding it in your hand.”
By the second week, he had to print more, because he had forty students. He asked to split the class into two segments, so he didn’t have to try to explain to so many students at once, and he could pay close attention to each student. He showed them every part of the business, from raising seedlings “planted” in a cottony material, to spraying the roots with water and nutrients, right up to finding the LED light color each plant liked. He walked them through to harvesting, and talked about keeping the profits flowing by creating food products for people and animals. He talked about the relationship between beets and horse feed, and how easy it was to make rabbit food.
He culminated the class with a trip to the farm, to learn how it worked in reality. They loved the farm walkthrough; he used the van and trucks, and the students who had vehicles piled in their friends to get them there and back. He sent each pod of four out to explore each aspect of hydroponics, and report back to the others. They loved every minute, even learning how to make bread from fresh grains and animal feed from beets and alfalfa. He walked them around, showed them happy horses and fat rabbits. They went back to school, and created their own hydroponics with PVC pipes and sprinkler heads and LED lights.
Alo got the best ratings of any teacher at the colle
ge. He got credit for his class, and doubled up on taking his classes, just to graduate early.
Henry and David, all of the Wolfpack, and Nantan and Chayton were at the graduation dinner; only Henry and Nantan were able to see him get his degree. They ate outside at giant tables. The Nighthawks showed up, and they brought out more tables and chairs, and benches too. Kids played along the side of the house, and the soccer game got fierce. They grilled and ate in shifts, so the cooks could eat too, and everyone got fed. There were chicken tacos, enchiladas and biscuits, chicken, green salad, potato salad, twice-baked potatoes, bacon-wrapped tiny hot dogs, and sweating carafes of strawberry limeade, and peach tea and water.
Inola sang down the sun, and Taps came out in two trumpets, small and large, and the violin sang out, and the pipes. Then, Ivy stood, and sang a very simple Wonderful World. Then, Hu broke out in skirls, and they danced to the Irish bodhran that David played. They laughed, singing the numerous verses, each dirtier than the last, of what exactly should be done with a drunken sailor. There was a lot of laughing, dancing, and drumming. Inola came up to drum. Everything from hard rock to Irish step dancing played a part in the festivities, and they played well into the night.
The families went home, and they ended up on the back patio. They sang Alo into his new life of freedom, the freedom to make his own choices, to live any way he saw fit. Henry told him to keep the needs of the tribe in his mind as he made his choices. Inola suggested he listen to his heart. David suggested he go out into the desert and listen to the wind. The Wolfpack, past and present, were happy to see one of theirs finish, from high school through college. Alo was only twenty years old. He had done it all in less than three years.
“What will you do now?” asked Ivy.
“Montana,” he said. “You guys here will take over for me while I’m there. The Crow need me; need help getting their hydroponics program up and running. I need to give back to the Wolfpack. We have a list so long that we can’t get to everybody the way it is now. We must expand if we want for everyone to be like me, high school through college. We can’t sit back and pretend we don’t have a responsibility toward them. I may move there; if so, April gets to take it over.” April nodded. “I’ll have them do it there, kind of a licensing thing, making horse and rabbit feed.”
“As long as it remains a Wolfpack business,” said April.
“It will,” said Alo. “It will. I want to help them. And, I’ll bring plenty of things to do over a long winter, like David’s beadwork, and carding for the rabbits, and carding, spinning, and weaving wool. I can set up as many cottage industries there, but I have to know what they are. I need to know every trail, every mountain, every river, the best places to fish, hike, and take pictures of the wildlife there.”
“We’ll visit,” said Leafort.
“Absolutely,” said Henry. “We all have a responsibility toward the Montana Wolfpack.
“Alright,” said Ivy. “What can we do to give Alo an easy passage?”
April laughed. “He can fill up his own damn saddlebags.” Everyone laughed. “When are you leaving?” asked April. “Since I’m taking over that segment of the business and all.”
“Tomorrow, at dawn,” said Alo. Everyone seemed startled, and stared at him.
“The young man does take responsibility seriously,” said Henry.
Ruby sighed. She got up, and gave him the wolf emblem from around her neck. “I love you,” she said. “Stay warm in winter, find the right paths to walk, and stay true to who you are.”
Alo blinked, then hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Thank you,” he said.
April gave him one of her silver feather earrings. “Take care of yourself,” she said. He grinned through the tears in his eyes.
Nantan gave Alo a silver bracelet, woven with blue and silver beads, from Triesta’s hand. He slid it on Alo, and kissed both his cheeks. “Walk well,” he said.
David gave the young man a tiny drum. “Remember your rhythms, and the rhythms of the sun and moon, summer and winter. Never forget your beats.” Alo slid it into a pocket.
Henry stood. “I give you my family,” he said. “This is your family, every step you take. You have a home here, and you can come back any time you want. The Crow are a hard people, but they walk a true path. They will be as true a people as you have ever seen. We will see you off to your new life, and you will walk your steps in a cold land with a warm heart. Your work will be hard, but your eyes will be filled with beauty. Do not become so overwhelmed at your tasks that you forget to see it.” Alo wept then, and they all embraced him.
The entire household was there just before dawn, when Inola sang the dawn. David danced a morning dance with Alo. Vi gave him a breakfast sandwich, a thermos of coffee, and a kiss. They embraced him, one by one, and Alo got on his bike, and rode out into the sunrise.
Mike met Shiva at Dirty Rock. They drank red beer, something the tourists apparently liked, and watched the dancers gyrate, and the Gearheads argue over how the new Harleys were put together. Bonnie had to go over to their table to tell them what was what, as she’d rebuilt each type herself, had her hands in Harley guts, saving them for more rides.
Drinks were literally everywhere except the dance floor, served by bartenders, bar backs, cocktail servers, and one’s buddies after bellying up to the bar. The band wailed Tube Snake Boogie. People in jeans and leathers with wallets chained to their belt loops danced to the ZZ Top song. Ivy was everywhere, from dropping off money in the safe, to serving drinks, to dancing with the dancers, to wailing a number onstage. The Iron Knights danced with the Valkyries they’d managed to impress.
Mike was confused; he’d never had to impress Shiva. He just worshipped her, and was real with her. She seemed to like that. He did increase his horseback riding with Nantan and the tiny Damia, and began training with Skuld. He quickly determined that Skuld was trying to kill him. To be fair, she was also trying to kill all the FBI, ATF, and DEA agents, cops, and High Desert people in her classes, too. So, he was sore, and he needed his Killian’s Red lager to take it away.
Shiva was all dark, with snapping eyes and blue-black hair in Valkyrie braids and a steely competence that was terrifying. She carried a knife in one boot and a .22 in the other. She didn’t have her full battle rattle on, only a bulletproof vest that looked like leather, a knife in a side pouch, and something lethal in her hair. He didn’t know if it was a garrote or a knife, only that there was a certain spot in her hair he wasn’t allowed to touch, for fear of losing fingers. It made losing total control during lovemaking a bit dicey.
She was the one that specified the Killian’s, so he drank the surprisingly-good red beer, and watched the room. He was deeply glad, a moment later that he had. A tourist, known by his baggy black cargo shorts and loud shirt in an abominable yellow, had been drinking the drink tubes in wild colors, and gyrating on the dance floor. He was tall and a bit hefty, with the beginnings of a beer belly, with too much brown hair everywhere. He’d made the rather stupid mistake of thinking that he was ten feet tall and bulletproof, something normal to drinking. He crossed the line into suicide when he thought the dancers on the plinths and the Valkyries in the crowd wanted to dance with him, kiss him, and have sex with him on the dance floor.
Drinking Guy grabbed a dancer’s foot. Mike was up and running before she could fall, leaping past a little two-top. He held up his hands, and she grabbed the top of his hand as she pivoted and slipped out of her dancing boot. Thwarted, he threw the boot over his shoulder, which hit an Iron Knight’s shoulder. The drunken tourist then reached for a Valkyrie dancing around the corner of the plinth, and touched her shoulder. Shiva came flying past Mike and had the tourist up against the plinth, a knife at his eye. The Iron Knight threw the boot back up to the dancer. The dancer caught it, and slipped it back on.
The band kept playing as the guy still didn’t get how much trouble he was in. He reached out toward the woman he hadn’t been able to grab. Mike blanched as he realized it was A
lvitr, a young Valkyrie, Skuld and Rota’s daughter, who fixed Harleys in Pahrump. She often came down to spend time with her moms. Alvitr grabbed the offending hand and twisted the arm, while the Iron Knight who’d been hit by the boot stepped forward.
Mike held up his hands, and the dancer walked onto his shoulders. He walked her to the other plinth, and she began dancing with the other dancer, making the crowd roar. He kept his eyes on the action.
Alvitr got the guy onto the ground as Shiva stepped back, knife in hand. The Iron Knight got handcuffs on him, and they all picked him up. The man’s face was bright red, his mouth in an O. Mike followed them out, the crowd parting for the shocked drunk, an Iron Knight, two angry Valkyries, the bar’s bouncer Bear, and Mike. Ivy personally held open the back door.
“Shall I call someone, Bear?” she asked.
“Naw,” said Bear, a man the size of a tree with a shaved head and a bushy black beard. “He’s going to regret this, but charges won’t help him.” They walked out.
“Mine,” said Shiva, as Bear got the cuffed man against the wall just outside the bar’s back door.
“You can’t…” stammered the man.
“You grabbed a dancer on a plinth while she was dancing. A fall could have injured her to the point where she couldn’t have danced again, or even killed her. Do you get that?” asked Shiva, in her most dangerous voice, her dark eyes flashing with rage. “Her name is Sheila, by the way, and she’s a college student. Last year of school. You gonna pay all her medical costs and for her schooling?”
“I…” said the swaying, stammering drunk.
“Then you tried to grab a woman, twice, dancing on the floor. If you had succeeded, this woman, Alvitr, would have removed your face. Then her moms would have removed all your functional body parts, one at a time.”