by Jaspre Bark
Hiamovi now had huge influence with every tribal council across the land. Many ways were now open to him that had previously been blocked. All this had happened as the Great Spirit had promised. The rebirth of his people was at hand. Were Ahiga's actions really evil if so great a good could spring from them? This was a circle of truth after all. No falsehoods could be spoken here. Would Ahiga dare say these things if they weren't true?
Then there was the matter of Ahiga's reputation. He was popular with the braves. His standing within the UTN was fast becoming second only to Hiamovi's. The young men and women of the tribes saw him as a virile, good-looking man of action. A leader of integrity.
He had led the most successful offensive against the white man and he had succeeded with minimal loss of life. What's more he had shown fairness and restraint to the white man, refusing to kill unarmed men, women and children. In spite of the lies the white man told about a massacre, there were too many witnesses to his actions for this to be disputed.
Ahiga was politically very useful to Hiamovi. To shame him now, to cast him out or have him killed would damage the whole UTN. It would sow discord where there had previously been harmony. It would inevitably break up the union of tribes that they had all worked so hard to build. Hiamovi would lose face by association and his standing with the tribal councils would be called into question.
Hiamovi held Ahiga's gaze again for a moment, without speaking. Eventually Ahiga blinked and lowered his eyes to show his submission to Hiamovi's authority.
"How do we know that this Doomsday Virus exists?" said Hiamovi. "How do we know this is not a trap? The squaws overheard them talking about a UTN party on their way to find this virus. Yet I know of no person within our organisation who has any knowledge of it, do you?"
"No. However I have received reports of a Native American girl travelling with three others in a motor -home who fit the description that the Neo-Clergy gave. They were picked up by some scouts in Wyoming by all accounts. Because of the occupation, the Neo-Clergy attacks any group with a Native American in it. They probably just assumed the group were with us because of the presence of the girl. This, however, only makes the story more likely."
So, Ahiga had been making enquiries about this supposed UTN party had he? This meant he probably knew in advance that Hiamovi was going to call him to a circle of truth. Hiamovi would have to watch his channels of communication in future. And watch this resourceful young Navajo even more closely.
"Most of North Montana is a wasteland now," said Hiamovi. "The nuclear strikes on Billings saw to that. Little Bighorn doesn't exist anymore, it's just molten lava. How could any white scientists be manufacturing a virus there?"
"If the scientists wanted to remain hidden," said Ahiga, "then what better place to build an underground laboratory?"
So, thought Hiamovi, Ahiga had been forewarned. This proved it. Hiamovi said nothing about an underground laboratory. Yet Ahiga dropped it into the conversation, flaunting the fact that he knew what Hiamovi hadn't told him yet. He was letting Hiamovi know he had someone passing him information. He wanted Hiamovi to be wary of even his inner circle. He knew Hiamovi would have to draw him even closer, to protect himself.
"To take such a place, and to get the white scientists to deliver such a weapon would take a great army," said Hiamovi. "We may even have to clash with the white man. If he already knows what we know he too will be raising an army. Do we have that many men?"
"We could raise them Great Chief," Ahiga said. He was calling Hiamovi by this title more and more, so were the other UTN members. Hiamovi liked it. "We must not sell the campaign to our people as a war over weaponry though. Rather let us sell it as a holy crusade."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Great Chief, my people have no love for the Hopi, this is well known. But they are seen as people of great wisdom and peace by many of our brothers and sisters in the cause. They are supposedly the record keepers. They have many prophecies, as I'm sure you're aware."
"I am. Is there one in particular that you're thinking of? One that will be useful to us in our struggle?"
"There is. They are awaiting the coming of the Fifth Age of Man. A time of great peace and spiritual rebirth. This will come after much persecution, such as your people are suffering, and involve a giant struggle, such as a clash with the white man perhaps. Then when this has come to pass a Blue Kachina will appear and the age will begin."
"This Kachina is one of their gods is it not? One that can take human form and come to earth to interact with human beings?"
"That's right Great Chief. The Blue Kachina will appear in the sky at the return of Pahana after a great struggle. She will herald the Fifth Age of Man, bring about an end to our greatest struggle and deliver us from our enemies without any bloodshed."
"I see. And you believe if we preach the coming of the Fifth Age of Man, alongside the danger of the white man we will generate the maximum amount of support needed to raise an army? Very well, I give you my blessing."
Hiamovi stood and extinguished the candle with the skull of a coyote. This signified that the circle was now void. The men stood and kicked the ashes to the wind, wiping away the circle.
"Great Chief," said Ahiga. "May I have a private word?"
Hiamovi nodded and they moved away from the other braves. "I thank you for your wise and merciful ruling on this matter and I do not want to call your just response into question, but there may be those among us who would not appreciate the discretion you have shown in this matter. Who may use your decision against you. I would not want this to happen."
"I appreciate your concern," said Hiamovi. "But only those who sat within the circle know of this matter. I trust their discretion."
"Because you are an honourable man Great Chief. There is much at stake though. Can we afford the risk?"
"What are you suggesting Ahiga?"
"Great Chief, do you really want to know?"
Hiamovi turned away. He did not want to answer that question. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ahiga turn and nod to his men. Akecheta and Hastiin smiled to signal their understanding. Hiamovi walked away without saying goodbye to Abedabun and Macawi. After tacitly condemning them he did not have the heart.
Ahiga had outmanoeuvred him at this turn. Hiamovi had been trapped by political expediency into a course of action he abhorred. The truth was the closer he got to achieving the power he'd been promised the further he felt from the Great Spirit who'd promised him. Yet for all that he loved the Great Spirit he could not let that power go.
"You shiver Great Chief," said Ahiga.
"Just a chill in the night air. That's all."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Greaves had been weird with Linda for about a week now. It wasn't anything she could put her finger on and kick his butt about. It was just the general way he treated her.
She knew he still felt uncomfortable about crying on her. He didn't have to get all pissy about it though. People acted in strange ways under the duress of battle, everyone knew that. No-one held it against you. A bit like at a swingers' party, no-one spoke about it afterwards.
That was the problem though, she had to keep her mouth shut. She couldn't confront the whole thing. So he had it both ways the little prick.
After the last guy had run from City Hall in Torrington, they'd done a thorough job of looking the place over. Greaves' instincts were good as usual and they'd made a pretty good haul. Guns, drugs, food rations, batteries and all kinds of things they could barter with. Anna had even come across a well stocked first-aid kit. They'd dressed Greaves' wounds and given him some industrial strength pain killers to get him up and running. He'd been a bit woozy for a day or two then he'd gone back to being his same irritating self.
They found bartering the stuff they'd scavenged more difficult than they'd imagined. They located a guy just outside of Casper who could get them gas. Soon as he recognised them, he was loath to do business. Seems word had already got out that the
Neo-Clergy and their men were looking for them, had put out a description and everything.
What they had to offer for the gas was just too tasty for him to turn down, though it didn't stop him trying to rip them off.
After that, if they wanted anything they had to split up and go find it incognito. They drove along the back roads and stayed away from any major populated areas, trying the whole time to get to Montana while staying under the Neo-Clergy's radar.
Technically Wyoming wasn't yet under Neo-Clergy control, but their power was growing daily. The three gangs who ran the State were rapidly losing their grip and most people expected the Neo-Clergy to take over any day soon. Considering how bad she remembered things being under the Neo-Clergy, Linda was surprised to hear the majority of folk thought it would be a good thing when they did regain control.
They heard similar reports when they skipped over the border into Montana. Linda still found it kind of strange that even though the America she'd grown up in had gone, people still clung to clung to its old boundary lines and markers. Then again, she guessed that's all they had left to cling to.
In this day and age territory meant everything. It represented security, identity and a sense of order to people. Which is why, Linda supposed, the Neo-Clergy suddenly seemed so popular again. More than anything, what they offered to most people was one of those three things.
They heard a lot about the UTN in Montana as well. Greaves had brought the name up soon after they left Torrington. He said that's why the Neo-Clergy guys had jumped them. They'd seen Anna and thought they were part of this Native American army that was forming all over the country.
There was a lot of hatred for 'redskins', as the locals called them in Montana. Apparently that was because they'd carried out a massacre of over a hundred innocent men, women and children. They made sure to keep Anna out of sight whenever they passed any kind of a town or inhabited outpost. Everywhere they went people were full of fear and anger. They wanted a reckoning. But more than that, they wanted protection, and that's what the Neo-Clergy promised.
It seemed to Linda that the whole political landscape of the country was changing. The Neo-Clergy were making a big comeback on one hand. On the other the Native Americans were suddenly a force to be reckoned with. Most ordinary folk seemed to be caught in the middle, busying themselves with their daily routine while living in a climate of constant terror. A climate both sides had created to further their own ends.
The fact that they were travelling with a Native American and were wanted by the Neo-Clergy wasn't helped any by the route they had to take through Montana. Whole sectors of it were still radioactive from the bomb that had hit Billings. All the earthquakes that had happened as a result of the nuclear strike had altered the landscape too.
This meant they had to drive west and come back on themselves to get to Little Bighorn, which was where Greaves had revealed the underground lab that housed the Doomsday Virus was.
Some days they couldn't leave Bertha at all. Greaves had done some calculations about wind direction and fall-out and had determined where they'd be safe and where things weren't so good. And wouldn't you know it, he even had pills to deal with the trace radiation. He doled them out twice a day from a bottle in that stinking great coat of his.
This also meant they couldn't make quite so many prayer stops for Cortez and Anna. They just had to do their God grovelling on the go. They seemed to have formed this little two person prayer group. Which was kind of strange considering one was a devout Christian and the other a strict Muslim.
Greaves tended to keep his nose out of their religious discussions most of the time. Probably because he was afraid of offending Anna, or that Cortez would kick his butt for being an infidel. They knew he was a sceptic anyway. He fancied himself above such simple minded superstitions. Or so he claimed. Linda couldn't help thinking his inability to accept beliefs that weren't scientific or rational made him the biggest zealot of all. At least Anna and Cortez seemed willing to listen to each others' beliefs.
The way Greaves spoke about science holding all the answers and providing the key to all man's problems made it sound like a religion in its own right. The way he spoke about Anna was kind of religious too, about her saving mankind and turning the world into a new Eden. That was practically straight out of the Bible. Even Linda knew that and it had been a long while since she'd been to Sunday school.
She guessed it was easier for Greaves to believe in paradise and saviours so long as there was a scientific explanation for them. If this Doomsday Virus was everything he claimed it was, then maybe all three of them were right. Maybe the day of judgement really was at hand. Perhaps God or Allah was about to call the world to account all thanks to a handy bit of science Greaves and his buddies had whipped up for Him.
And here Linda was, chauffeuring the key players to doomsday. She wondered if this would give her any special license with the 'Big Guy' upstairs? She wasn't even sure if she believed in Him herself. What Linda believed in was self reliance, that's why she loved Bertha so much. Bertha represented independence. There was no-one to hold her back and no-one to rely on her. It was just her and the open highway aboard her great big, beautiful bus.
"Jesus, is it me or is it getting hot in here?" she said, turning Bertha's temperature control down low. "What's the matter with your air conditioning girl?"
"Mistress Linda," said Anna. "You should not blaspheme so. You'll go to hell for it."
"Is that right? Well I'm sure getting a taste of what the temperature's gonna be like."
"We're approaching the lava flows," said Greaves. "The temperature's set to rise a lot more before we're through."
"You sure know the best spots to party don't you?"
"You know Mistress Linda," said Anna. "I think you use your humour as a way to protect yourself. To stop people from getting too close. But you should be careful what you joke about."
"Here we go. You're all set for another deep look into the dark caverns of my soul are you?"
"No Mistress Linda. I don't mean to pry into your soul, I just care about you. I know you give the appearance of being so brave and confident and I admire that, truly I do. But I think inside you're afraid to be the person you really ought to be. I believe God has a special purpose for you."
"If He has, then He's been pretty slow in telling me about it."
"Perhaps you have been slow in listening. God has created each of us with a very special purpose in mind."
"Allah says, in the Qur'an, 'Did you then think that we had created you in jest, without any purpose, and that you would not be brought back to us – in the hereafter?'" said Cortez.
"Hey what did I do to piss you off?" said Linda. "What is this, some kind of religious pincer movement you've got me in?" She slapped Greaves leg. "C'mon science boy help me out here. Don't you believe life is just one random great interaction of particles or something? Isn't the whole universe just one wild roll of the dice?"
"Don't drag me into your pointless arguments. And for your information, it was Einstein who said 'I cannot believe that God would choose to play dice with the Universe', so you're wrong there too."
"Is Einstein one of your prophets?" said Anna.
"What?" said Greaves. "No, he wasn't a prophet. He was a man of science. Possibly the greatest theoretical thinker of his day. Although it has to be said that his general theory of relativity and his famous equation, E=MC^2, did not predict fundamental particle masses, however…"
"He speaks like a prophet," said Anna cutting him off.
Linda laughed. "She's got you there sport, there's no avoiding that."
"I'm not avoiding anything," said Greaves, getting a little irritable. "You're the one doing that, trying to make me the scapegoat of this conversation. And if you want to avoid that landslide up ahead you better go off-road here."
Greaves was right. The road ahead was blocked with rocks and shale.
"Left or right?" said Linda.
"Right."
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For the next twenty minutes he guided them through a nightmare environment. The whole terrain had been torn apart by earthquakes and subsidence. The temperature continued to rise and Linda feared for Bertha's tires. Eventually they came to a tiny pass between two mountains.
"You expect me to take Bertha through there?" said Linda. "You gotta be kidding me."
"You want maybe we should park her up and walk then?" Greaves said. "In this terrain, in this temperature? It gets safer up ahead, I promise you."
"Okay," said Linda, slowly navigating the pass. "It better."
It didn't. The pass was bumpy going and there was little room for manoeuvre. It was only just wide enough for Bertha to fit through. The heat was becoming intolerable, it came at them in waves. There was a roaring sound up ahead.
"What is that noise?" Linda said.
"There's a major lava flow just ahead of us," said Greaves. "It's where the old river used to be. I'm afraid we've got to cross it."
"I thought you said things get better up ahead."
"They do… eventually."
Just as he said that there was a sudden earth tremor. It shook Bertha, causing all the crockery in her kitchen cupboards to shake loose and crash to the floor.
They weren't the only things shaken loose. Several large rocks came bounding down the mountain to their left. Linda swerved to avoid one of them then slammed on the brakes as another rolled right past Bertha's bonnet. Before Linda could start her up a third rock smacked right into their side.
Bertha tilted with the impact. Anna screamed as she was sent flying. Linda punched Greaves on the shoulder.
He cried out. "What was that for?"
"For hurting my baby!"
"I didn't know this was going to happen, I swear. There's a natural bridge over the lava just up ahead. It's not very wide but it's the only way across. Once we're over that we're onto a natural plateau. It will be safer there. That's where the lab is."
Linda wasn't impressed. "You've said that before, and look what happened."