Betrayed (Cry of the Guilty – Silence of the Innocent Book 2)

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

They headed into the bush and found a tall tree that had fallen over. Its shallow root system hadn’t been sturdy enough against the strong winds. The roots had pulled out of the ground leaving a large round depression. With the dirt still clinging to them they made a natural barrier. Georg and Jawn set up two pieces of canvas using the roots as the back wall and the extra piece of canvas as a flap. Sari began gathering wood for a fire.

  “Now, back to killing a sheep,” Georg said.

  “We could lie one on the ground and cut its throat with an axe,” Jawn suggested.

  “That will get awfully bloody,” Gwin said. “I’ll get some water while you start the fire.”

  When she returned they chose their first victim. They led it away from the camp.

  “I don’t know if I can,” Sari said. “I’ve never killed anything before.”

  “Neither have we,” Georg said. “But if we want to survive….” He left the rest unsaid.

  It required all four of them to pull the sheep’s feet out from under it. Then the three held the struggling animal while Georg hacked at its throat. It took two tries. Even with the blood gushing out of its neck, the sheep still kicked feebly.

  “Oh.” Sari stumbled away and was sick. Gwin stepped back, her hand to her mouth, her face pale. Georg and Jawn were silent.

  It was a few minutes before Gwin took a deep breath and asked. “Now what?”

  This brought Georg and Jawn out of their reverie. “Well, we’ve got to cut through the wool first to the skin,” Georg replied.

  He picked up the axe again and stood over the animal. He bent and tried to get the blade through the wool on the stomach of the animal. Even with Jawn and Gwin pulling on opposite sides it was hard work since the cutting edge had been dulled from chopping trees. Finally he made it and slit the skin open from the neck to the tail. They could see the meat and bones underneath. There was blood everywhere.

  “Pull on the skin while I cut it away from the meat,” Georg said.

  Jawn grabbed the wool and tugged while Georg used the axe to slice between the skin and meat. It came away easily and soon they had both sides down around the legs.

  “I’ll have to chop the legs off,” Georg said.

  Jawn straightened a leg on the ground. Gwin held the body steady. Georg raised the axe above his head. He brought it down with a thwack and they could hear the crunching of the bones. Sari, who had returned and was watching, left again. He did it two more times before the leg was severed. They worked until all the legs were lying in a pile. They yanked the skin over the stumps and pulled on the sides of the skin. They met in the middle of the back and it was suddenly all off. They were left with a meat and bone carcass.

  “How are we going to cook it?” Jawn asked.

  “It will burn if we stick in all in the fire,” Gwin said.

  “What if we cut strips off and lay them in the fire,” Georg suggested.

  “How do we get them out?” Gwin asked.

  “I think I have an idea.” Georg went into the bush and in a few minutes came back with some branches. He cut a strip of meat and wrapped it around a branch. When he held it over the fire, though, the meat slipped off.

  “What about if we stick the end of the branch through the meat and hang it over the fire,” Gwin suggested.

  They each picked a branch and Georg cut strips of meat for them. Sari returned as they sat on their log seats and held the meat over the fire. It cooked on the bottom but was still raw near the top. They ate the roasted part and returned the remainder to the fire.

  “Do you want some, Sari?” Gwin asked holding out a cooked piece to her.

  Sari shook her head.

  “This is great,” Jawn said. “If we are careful we may have enough to last us until the ship returns.”

  “We have to find something to feed this other one and give it water if we want to keep it alive until we need it,” Georg said.

  “The water will be easy but how will we sneak into the village and get grain for them,” Gwin asked. “Someone is bound to see us.”

  “We’ll do it after dark.”

  * * *

  Royd tried to push his way through the crowd around the stoves. He was starving and wanted something to eat. They fought back because they, too, were hungry. He’d just have to wait until everyone ahead of him had eaten.

  He still couldn’t believe that the Federer had left. He’d seen it pass over the village and he’d hoped they were going to land somewhere else. But as he and everyone else stared in disbelief, they headed upward into the sky. They’d actually abandoned everyone they’d forced to come to this planet.

  He shook his head bitterly. He was here all because he hadn’t gotten promoted. If they’d promoted him, he’d be safely at home probably eating in a restaurant. He knew they were all going to starve. There was nothing left to eat and they had killed all the animals they could find for today’s feast.

  Some of the prisoners had built fires in the pits and stoves while others had rounded up what pigs, sheep, ducks and chickens they could find and killed them. There had been a horrible stench when they’d placed them in the fires whole, but gradually that had worn off to be replaced with burning meat. That’s when the throng swelled, as everyone wanted to eat. He hoped there would be something left when it was his turn.

  The crowd slowly thinned as those with meat wandered off to eat it. He was able to see the fires and that there was little left. Anyone wanting some sliced off a piece with an axe or worked their fingers into the meat and pulled. It was hot and many burned their hands. By the time Royd got to an animal there was only bones with a few morsels of meat attached to them. He grabbed a leg of a pig and twisted it, watching it break at the joint. As soon as he had something he was pushed out of the way by the ones behind him. He hurried away, gnawing at the meat.

  * * *

  Judge Jym sat with his wife, Tame, in their apartment on the Federer. They had left the colony and were headed to the planet Pidleon. A total turnaround from just a week ago when he was holding court, making judgments, and deciding prisoners’ sentences. He was establishing the first law on the planet, making history. Now he was on his way back to an uncertain future.

  Again circumstances outside his control were dominating his life. And it wasn’t fair.

  Plus, he was now married. A decision had to be made about that. Would the vows he took on the penal planet hold true at home? Would the court evaluators take into consideration the fact that he now had a wife and promote him out of the Low Court?

  Then a thought hit him. Did he even have a job in the courts? Presumably his position would have been filled. What would he do?

  “I guess we have to make a decision about our marital status,” Tame said.

  He looked at her. So she had been thinking about it, too. “What about it?”

  “Well, it was an arrangement of convenience for both of us and it would have worked on the planet. Our problem is, how will it be viewed when we get back? Will it be of benefit to either of us?”

  Judge Jym shrugged. “It depends on what the evaluators decide.”

  “Do you think you will be able to get back in the courts at home? And I don’t mean the Low Courts.”

  “I was offered a small pension if I didn’t go to the planet, maybe they will give me one now.”

  Tame’s lips curled. “That wasn’t what I had in mind when I proposed marriage.”

  “It’s not my fault that the experiment was halted.”

  “Are you at least going to try for your judgeship when you get back? Having taken this position on the penal colony should give you some sort of prestige. It should improve their respect for you.”

  “What if I don’t?” Might as well quit scouting around the actual issue. “You will be a retired judge’s wife.”

  Tame stared at him. “Well, I am not ready to be a retired judge’s wife. I wanted more. You knew that when we married.”

  “Then I guess we go our separate ways when we get home.”


  * * *

  With rationing, the first sheep lasted them six days. Sari finally realized she needed to eat to live and she tried some. They’d learned that the outside meat dried on the carcass and it tasted good. They sliced some off and left the pieces hanging in the trees. The weather hadn’t gotten any colder and no more snow fell. To keep warm during the day they tied their blankets around their shoulders.

  On the sixth day they discussed eating the packaged meat and dried fruit or killing the second sheep. They decided on the sheep. This time the killing went better and the hide came off faster. When it was skinned Georg and Jawn went to the river to wash up and haul water for Gwin and Sari.

  They’d just headed back to the fire when they heard yelling in the bush. They picked up speed, the water splashing against their legs. They stopped abruptly when, through the trees, they saw a group of prisoners. They had on layers of dirty clothing, their heads, hands and feet were wrapped in strips of cloth, and they held pieces of wood in their hands as clubs. They were demanding meat from Gwin and Sari. The two women held them off with raised axes.

  Georg and Jawn dropped the buckets and looked around for pieces of wood for themselves. Then, yelling like madmen, they ran to help Gwin and Sari. This startled the attackers and gave them a chance to get in the first hits. With Gwin and Sari swinging the axes, they managed to beat the other prisoners off.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you came when you did,” Sari said, dropping her axe and collapsing to the ground. “I thought we were dead.”

  “Get up, Sari,” Georg said briskly. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they will try again. And this time we might not be so lucky.”

  “Where will we go?”

  “I don’t know,” Georg said. “But it’s got to be far away from here.”

  “What if we try the inhabitants?” Gwin looked at Sari.

  “What inhabitants?” Jawn asked.

  “We met two planet dwellers just before the rain came. There is a group of them that live in a cave overlooking a valley.”

  “Do you think they’ll let us anywhere near them?” Sari asked. “They weren’t too friendly the first time we saw them.”

  “Right now, I think they are our only chance.”

  They took down the canvas and put the pieces in the box with the packaged meat and the axes. Georg tied one corner of a piece of canvas around the neck of the dead sheep so he could drag it.

  “I should go back and get my records,” Sari said.

  “I don’t think that’s wise.” Georg said.

  “But it has all the interviews I did and all the information about how the village was built. There are also some empty scrolls.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Under my bed in the police barracks.”

  “Well, even if it’s found, it’s not food so I doubt that anyone will disturb it.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. And I have enough room on this tape for a while longer.”

  “Why are you continuing to record?” Jawn asked.

  “So whoever returns here will know what happened to the colony and to us,” Sari said dispiritedly.

  The four of them plodded through the bare trees and across the meadows where the golden grass had been knocked over by the weight of the snow.

  “Where are we going?” Georg asked panting from pulling the sheep carcass.

  “To those hills,” Gwin nodded ahead.

  “What do these dwellers look like?”

  “Much like us with a few slight differences.”

  “They have lots of hair,” Sari added.

  “Looks like someone has been on this path before us,” Gwin said, pointing to a faint line in the snow ahead of them.

  “Does anyone else know about them?” Jawn asked.

  “I don’t think so. I hope not.”

  When they reach the slope above the valley they stopped. The animals were still there, pawing through the remains of the snow for their meal of grass.

  Gwin pointed to the cave. A flap covered the entrance and there was no one outside. They could see where smoke wisped from a hole somewhere in the hillside above.

  “They live in there?” Jawn asked.

  “Yes,” Gwin answered. “I went in and there are a number of fire pits and furs and tools.”

  “How many are there?”

  “I don’t know. We saw them hunting those animals down there, but we couldn’t count them.”

  “Let’s go,” Sari said. “I’m cold standing here.”

  Walking slowly and warily they approached the flap which they saw was made of different coloured animal skins sewn together.

  “How do we get their attention?” Sari whispered as they set the box down.

  “I don’t want to scare them, so I think we should stand outside and speak to them first.” Gwin looked at Georg and Jawn. “It might be best if you stand back a bit.”

  They nodded and backed up the path.

  “Hello?” Gwin called.

  They waited expectantly. Nothing happened.

  “Try again,” Sari whispered.

  Gwin took a step closer and yelled again, this time louder. They waited. Finally the corner of the flap moved and a man stuck his head out. He looked startled to see them. Gwin knew they must look weird to him with the canvas tied on their heads and more wrapped around their hands. She smiled and held up her hands to show she wasn’t going to harm him. She pointed to Sari, herself and Jawn and Georg behind and then to the cave. The man shook his head and dropped the flap.

  “We’re dead,” Sari said sinking onto box.

  “No we’re not,” Gwin said. She hollered again and again until he poked his head out once more. She pulled her blanket that was tied around her shoulders across her arms and shivered, she rubbed her stomach, and she showed that they had no shelter from the cold. She bent and pushed the sheep’s carcass towards him and the cave.

  The man adamantly shook his head before pulling it back.

  “How can they do that?” Gwin demanded angrily. “How can they let us freeze out here?”

  “Maybe they don’t like strangers, or maybe the cave is full,” Sari said dismally.

  “Well, we’re not going to let them keep us out.”

  “How are we going to force them to take us in?” Jawn asked.

  Gwin looked around. The vegetation was sparse on the hillside, but back along the trail there was a group of bushes close together in a U-shape. “We’re going to make a shelter and stay here until they let us in.”

  Sari got off the box. “And if they don’t, we’ll be frozen here for them to see every time they come out of the cave. Hopefully they have a conscience.”

  Gwin and Sari kicked away the snow that lay on the ground in front of the bushes, then took the tattered remains of the canvas and flung them on the top branches making a roof over the centre. They tied the corners to the boughs so they wouldn’t blow off. Georg and Jawn found some dry twigs and branches and laid them for a fire in front of their shelter.

  “This isn’t enough to make a good fire,” Georg said. “Before we light it we’d better gather some more wood.

  They headed back the way they’d come and once in the bush found some old logs that were dry and easy to carry. They made more trips until they had a high stack of wood of various sizes. Georg then pulled out one of the lighters and lit the dry twigs. When the fire was going nicely he added larger pieces. Sitting at the fire they had a good view of the cave. They were also in the line of vision of anyone coming out of it.

  Sari held out her hands over the blaze. “I wonder if I’m ever going to get warm again.”

  It wasn’t long before a man and a child came out both dressed in animal skins. They looked at the four, then the man took the child to some bushes in the opposite direction where he relieved himself.

  “Well, at least we know they do that and so will be seeing a lot of us,” Georg said.

  Chapter
Fourteen

  Inside the cave there was another discussion as to what to do about the new arrivals. When the clan had returned from the meeting, Bane and Lyla told them about what they had seen. So they’d gathered their nuts, berries, and roots, and hunted for their meat as usual. And someone had gone to check on the newcomers every other day. They’d reported back on how the rain had affected them, how they had fought amongst themselves for the food that came in weird containers, and how when the first snow came, the big bird had flown up above for a while and then away into the sky. Illy and Talu had been there just the day before and had reported back some had frozen to death and those who were alive were eating them.

  “We should leave now,” Bru said. “We don’t know what those four want.”

  “We should kill them before they kill us,” Illy pronounced.

  “I don’t think they mean us any harm,” Bane said. “They seem to be looking for a place to stay.”

  “They have a place,” Lorth replied. “They can go back there.”

  “They offered us their meat.”

  “Let them eat it,” Bru said.

  “What are we to do, though?” Lyla asked. “They are right outside. We will see them every time we go out.”

  “Just ignore them and don’t go out alone. And we will take turns staying awake so they can’t raid us at night.”

  They continued going about their daily activities: some gathered snow, some, carrying spears, walked right past the small camp on their way for wood, and all went to relieve themselves. Although they tried to ignore the four, they would sneak peeks when they could.

  “They keep waving and making a face at us when we go by to gather wood,” Illy said one evening.

  “They haven’t tried to attack us,” Bane added. “And they don’t have much meat left. They will soon starve.”

  “Let them,” Lorth said.

  “I do not think it is right,” Mela said. “We have always helped people in trouble.”

  “I know, but they are different.”

  “So are some of the new clans that gather at the meeting and we welcome them.”