Alden reached down and picked up his crutch. Pulling himself up, he looked down at her and rubbed the top of her head, “You think about that kid. Then come on in, it’s getting dark. I’ll leave an oil lamp on low for ya on the front porch.”
Ceara watched him as he hobbled to the porch. He stopped and lit the lamp then turned it down low and disappeared inside.
Chapter 2 – Trading Post
Alden had woken up from the throbbing in his ankle. When he rolled over, his foot hit the floor. The pain shot through him and brought him straight out of bed. Sitting on the edge, he looked out the window and saw the sun’s rays were just beginning to shine over the horizon. Alden grabbed his camo pants and pulled them on. Alden then put on his typical O.D. green wool socks and laced up his jump boots.
Grabbing his cane that now replaced the crutch; he made his way to the kitchen, stopping briefly to see Colt and Beth sitting up but sound asleep on the couch. He shook his head. Months before he would have been yelling, but things had calmed down. Tonto was on guard outside, so he had no worries that an alarm would be sounded early enough.
Alden made a pot of coffee and took it outside to the fire pit and soon had a small fire going. Walking back in, he headed to the bathroom for his morning shave. Finishing quickly, he returned to the fire and poured his first cup.
As he sat and sipped his coffee, he watched as the sun rose. The air was cool and crisp. He could see jack rabbits skittering across the desert nibbling on plants. The sky was blue with a few large puffy white clouds. Many birds were flying back and forth including one eagle.
As he lowered his head to take another sip of what he jokingly called his lifer’s juice, Alden saw a small dust cloud in the distance. Picking up a pair of binoculars, he looked to the cloud. A grin came on his face as he noticed two horses pulling a wagon. Next to it rode five men. Although his thought he needed to get the rest of the kids up, he decided to just let Tabitha sleep.
Walking into the room, Alden quietly woke the first two on the couch by shaking them gently. “You two need to wake up and be quiet. The neighbors are coming but I don’t want Tabitha up yet.”
Alden moved to Ceara and Charlie’s room. They were in there sleeping soundly. Charlie on his back with Ceara cuddled up to him. He gently shook Charlie’s toes as he had done for months. Charlie opened his eyes, “What’s up boss?” he said sleepily.
“We got company, the neighbors are back to trade, I think. Rise and shine and keep quiet. I don’t want Tabitha to wake up.”
Ceara raised her head, “Why not, she’s part of the group.”
Alden looked at her, “With Tabitha’s temper? I don’t want to blow this deal. If I knew she would be polite, I would have no problem, but I’m afraid she’ll go off and that would put a wrench in the works.”
Ceara nodded and Alden headed back down the hall. Beth and Colt were up. Colt was folding the blanket they had been wrapped up in, and Beth was now in the bathroom. Heading outside, Alden could see the Indians coming close. He figured they’d be there within fifteen minutes. From the dust cloud, it didn’t look like they were riding hard.
When Ceara finished with her normal habits, she headed outside, Charlie and Beth were already out there, “Morning guys, how far out are they?”
Charlie pointed with a nod of his chin, “Shouldn’t be more than a few minutes.”
Ceara looked over; their new friends were just about there. “Alden, before they get here and I piss you off again… What do you want us to do?”
Alden didn’t smile, nor look at her, but kept his eyes on the progress of the small caravan, “I expect you to trust me and let me deal with this. You help once the deal is done, and be nice.”
Ceara sneered, “Damn, I wasn’t that bad.”
Charlie laughed but he was the only one and he quickly tried to hide it with a cough. Ceara smirked, “Well, I wasn’t… was I?”
Beth watched as the new men joined them, “Ceara, you weren’t that bad, just very much to the point, and well, that isn’t always the best.”
The men pulled up and Ceara noticed that now there was a woman with them too. She leaned over to Beth, “Wonder why they brought her?”
Beth simply shrugged, “We send females on our runs too.”
“Yeah, but that’s because there are so few of us, right?”
Beth gave her a quizzical look, “The world went to hell, so I’m thinking equal rights has just started meaning each and every one of us has to pull our own weight.”
The men went straight to Alden but the woman went to Beth and Ceara, “Hi, my name is Nizhoni, it means beautiful, “She gave Ceara a little wink, “but just call me Niz.”
She looked around their area, “We are in need of spices and sugar, and the men don’t think they need to be bothered with the simple things, so I asked to come with them on this trip.”
Beth smiled at Niz, “My name is Beth, and this is Ceara. We can completely relate on the simple things. Once we went on a run, it was Ceara and I that looked for both soap and razors.”
Ceara started laughing and both women looked at her, “Hey, you have to give Alden credit, one time he did ask if we needed female things.”
Niz got a surprised look, “My men have never even thought of those needs. I’m not going to tell you what we have been using.”
Ceara got a bigger grin, “You are in luck, in the trailer is a whole box of ummmm both styles.”
Niz got a genuine smile, “Our women will be forever in your debt!”
Beth waved the girl in the house, “Let’s go see if there is anything else you could use that we can deal to part with.”
Alden met with Stray Eagle, Running Buffalo, and the young man Billy. There were two more young braves driving the wagon and two more on horseback, who were herding four head of cattle. A bull was tied to the back of the wagon which also contained a few crates of chickens and one rooster. A fourth box was covered with a small blanket.
After the pleasantry of normal greetings, Alden along with Stray eagle and Running Buffalo walked to the trailers leaving Colt and Charlie with the young braves.
Alden smiled at the two men. “I’m glad you waited to come back. Things have been a bit tense around here since we lost two of our members.”
Running Buffalo hung his head, “The rains that will fall from now till the end will never match the tears and sorrow that have been shed for those you have lost.”
Alden shook his hand and thanked him.
Stray Eagle spoke up quietly, “We held an old fashioned Pow-Wow,” grinning as he said the last words. We all decided that four cows and a bull to help breed more would be a good start. Along with some chickens and a rooster again to help breed more. For that we wish to look into your general store.” He smiled big as he pointed to the back of one of the trailers.
Alden grinned, “I think we can work something out that will benefit all of us and be fair.”
Alden walked up the steps that Colt and Charlie had made out of old pallets and opened the first trailer. The two Indians’ eyes went wide when they saw all of the paper goods and other essentials such as blankets, towels, washcloths, and an entire section of tools. All the items had been organized and placed on shelves that they had built from the pallets and other piece of wood they had found.
Alden grinned, “The men’s wear section is back a few feet on the left, the women’s wear is on the right. We got a bunch of those newfangled Hi Def T.V.s in the barn if you’re interested. There are also some movies, dvd players, and Blu-ray players,” he said as he pointed to the barn.
Running buffalo turned and looked at him, “You’re kidding, right?”
Alden shook his head, “Nope dead serious. We put them in there, because we needed the space in the trailer for the stuff that needed to be kept dry and away from mice and other critters.”
Stray Eagle had walked to the back of the trailer and had come back carrying two axes and a sledgehammer, “How much for these oh great white m
an of Wal-mart?” His sarcastic smile let everyone know he was making jokes.
Beth and Ceara were showing Niz what they were willing to part with and Niz began telling them about their camp. Beth motioned for her to sit at the kitchen table and poured all of them a glass of water. Colt came in just as they all sat down, Beth gently rubbed his arm, “Colt this is Niz, she came with the men to trade. Niz, this is Colt. You have met or at least seen everyone but Tabitha, I am sure she will be up and moving soon.”
Colt shook her hand with polite greeting added, then looked to Beth, “I’ll leave you ladies to talk, and I’m going to go join the men.”
As soon as Colt was out the door, Ceara looked to Niz, “I don’t want to sound rude but could I ask how your people survived the outbreak?”
Niz set her glass down and watched the men working outside the back door, lost in thought. Ceara sat in silence but wondered if she messed up again just as Niz began talking.
“We were not left alone, we have quite a few, and they were losses we would not wish on anyone. We are not so set in the old ways that we didn’t have some of the modern conveniences. Many of us had TVs and computers, most of the teen-agers had cell phones. We watched as the newscasts showed what was happening, we watched videos that were posted. Our chief banned anyone from leaving; those returning were checked before they were allowed back in.”
Niz looked into her water as she twisted the glass, “My younger brother was returning from Albuquerque, he went to school there. We were calling everyone back, the chief saw what was happening before most of the government did. He wanted his people home. My brother arrived and I ran to greet him as I had each time he returned, but he pushed me away. He was bit and didn’t want others near him. He said he returned to die at home but to also allow us to see what the true result was of the infection.”
Beth laid her hand on Niz’s arm, “I’m so sorry, you don’t have to tell this story. We have all had horrible losses.”
Niz took a sip and shook her head, “No, it is better you know how we stayed safe, perhaps you will be safer for the knowledge.”
Beth nodded and moved her hand away as Niz continued, “We took him to what was to become a quarantine building, and we restrained him for his own protection. He had a very high fever and would thrash about so much that we feared he would hurt himself. We had no idea that it would save our lives.”
Niz looked to Ceara with tears brimming in her eyes to see tears in Ceara’s, “My brother joined our ancestors the same night he returned. Whatever is happening to the world happened to him the next morning as we were building his funeral pyre. I went to say good-bye alone and I saw my brother trying to break free. Our medicine man said we had to kill him again or his spirit could not leave. My father did it…. We now saw what my brother wanted us to see.”
Our chief setup lookouts, he sent men out for food, weapons and ammo, he cut off all communications. The women were making hand-made bows. You may have noticed we ride horses more than drive. Our Chief told us it was better to feed a horse than to rely on a supply of gas. He put our village back to the eighteen hundreds. Those that disagreed were allowed to leave but knew they could not return. Our number is small but thanks to our chief and our knowledge of the old ways we have done ok.”
She took another drink, “So to answer your question, those that did survive have survived because of our chief.” Niz lifted the glass looking at the water, “Your water well is fed as ours is, by the river. You would do well to still boil it, we don’t know if or when the river will get contaminated.”
Ceara pushed her glass away, “I’m sorry I asked you that, I had no right.”
Niz looked confused, “You have every right to know about anyone in your camp!”
Beth stood picking up the glasses, “Niz, I think she just meant she was sorry she made you relive it.”
Niz had a small smile and stood, “Oh…. well, should we join the others?”
The men were moving around stacking things in the yard, Niz saw one of the large TVs sitting with many other things, “Billy, what the hell would we need that for?”
Billy set a box down, “Who said I picked that?”
Niz cocked her head and put her hand on her hip, just looking at him. Billy ran his fingers through his hair and got a coy look, “It will make a great target for the young to practice with their bows!”
Niz shook her head, “That gets put back, even if you did mean it for that, which I doubt, it would make noise. You know the rules, Billy.”
Billy got a defeated look, “Fine, just thought it could be cool to have.”
Ceara started laughing, “Damn girl, you got to teach me how to do that. I talk and I get ignored, you talk and there ain’t no arguments.”
Niz smirked, “One of the few benefits of being the chief’s daughter.”
Before Ceara could register what Niz had just said the girl walked off, “Why are the little ones still covered?”
Stray Eagle joined Niz by the last crate, “Alden said no.” He said it in louder voice than Ceara thought necessary, but she was curious what the little ones were. Hand guns, knives or even grenades, but she didn’t know why Alden would say no to weapons.
Niz looked a little confused, “They will be needed to help with the animals we have given them. Why would he say no?”
Alden joined them by the covered crate, “We have just lost one of our own and Ceara wouldn’t be ready now.”
Ceara joined them, “Ready for what? Why wouldn’t I be ready? What is it?”
Stray Eagle pulled the cover off a litter of puppies, “They are blue heeler pups, they are great natural herders and very good protectors. But Alden said no and we must respect that.”
He started to cover the puppies, but Ceara stopped him. “Alden, why did you say no?”
Alden looked from her to the puppies, there were four and each had its own distinct markings. “You aren’t ready and puppies are loud. You got Max after he was grown, these will take a lot of time and training.”
Ceara got that stubborn look that Alden was hoping to see, “I can decide when I’m ready and I say I am. Niz said we need them to help with the cows so I think we should keep them. You can train them, you trained Tonto!”
Alden reached over and grabbed one of the puppies by the scruff and held him up, “They are yelpers at this age, and we don’t need that.”
Ceara quickly took the puppy, “They haven’t made a sound yet! Please Alden, it’s been three weeks and I know that isn’t that long but we could use them and I bet they would be smarter than… I mean smart.”
She didn’t want to say Maximus was not smart; he was a great dog, just not as well trained as these could be. “Plus you can teach me as you train them.”
Stray Eagle lifted a second puppy in his arms, “These have been taught since birth not to make noise. You won’t have to worry about that.”
Ceara hugged the one to her chest, “Alden, I can take care of them! I promise!”
Alden grinned, “Ok kid, but every training session I want you there, no bitching.”
“DEAL!”
Stray Eagle set his puppy on the ground and motioned for Alden to follow him, once they were away from Ceara he turned smiling at Alden. “That played out just like you said it would.”
Alden leaned on one of the trucks, “I knew if I just said we got new dogs, Ceara would have thought I was not just forgetting Max but replacing him. I had to make her want them and make her think it was her choice.”
“I have one last thing to talk to you about. Our chief wants to meet you. That is why we waited so long to return, he wanted to see if you would survive out here and see if you would try to attack us. Once time had passed, he knew you and your group had passed both those tests. He thinks it would be good to know one another.”
Alden did what he always did, he looked to the horizon and thought, weighing out the pros and cons.
Charlie walked up to Ceara who was holding one of the puppies. �
��Alden said you can keep them?”
Ceara nuzzled the little pup taking in the puppy scent and smiling, “Yes he did, but I had to almost beg him.”
Charlie reached up and rubbed the little pups head then gave Ceara a kiss on the cheek. He turned and walked over to help Billy and the other young men load the wagon. As he walked, he suddenly was tripped by something under his feet. Looking down one of the pups was running around his feet biting at his pant leg.
Colt was chuckling as Charlie was high stepping to keep from hurting the pup. The pup had other ideas and was nipping and pulling at Charlie’s pant leg and boot laces.
Colt and the other men were laughing at the sight.
“Charlie, if you quit that damn dancing, the dog will quit his playing.” Charlie looked at Colt and stopped. The puppy pulled at his pant leg a couple of times then bit at his boots. When it realized that Charlie no longer wanted to play, it simply laid down across his boot.
Charlie looked at Colt, “Okay Einstein, now what?”
Colt smirked, “You haven’t had much experience with dogs have you?”
Charlie shook his head, “No, the sisters never allowed pets in the orphanage. They said they were dirty little creatures.”
Colt frowned a little realizing he may have struck a nerve. Rebounding quickly, he looked at Charlie then the pup, “Okay here’s what you do. Slowly kneel down and pet his head. Let him know you’re a good guy. Then gently but firmly push him off your boot. He’ll sit up then you pet him again and say c’mon.”
Charlie looked at Colt, “Really, it’s that simple.”
Billy spoke up with a kind tone, “Yea man, it is. The dog feels your spirit and it trusts you, otherwise, it would have stayed with the others.”
Surviving Day by Day (Book 3): Still They Come Page 3