Civilization

by Stephen Drake

  “Six people are quieter than you two,” Murdock said in the darkness; so softly that neither was certain that they had heard him or were just imagining it.

  Annie Cooper physically jumped back and let out a tiny yelp. Declan stumbled back and fell to the ground.

  “Where did you come from?” Declan finally asked with difficulty catching his breath.

  “I’ve been around,” Murdock responded.

  Being dark, Declan couldn’t see it, but he could hear the grin on Murdock’s face in his tone.

  “Who are you to make requests of me?” Annie asked warily.

  “My kids want their mother may,” Murdock spoke the coded phrase as an answer.

  Annie seemed to get disoriented momentarily. “Murdock,” she said with great excitement.

  “Oh, so, now you know who he is?” Declan chided.

  “Just a little precaution,” Annie explained, “in case Phylicia or Palmer decided to torture me.”

  “I don’t get it,” Declan said, confused.

  “It’s called a post-hypnotic suggestion,” Annie tried to explain. “I only had a very dim idea of who Murdock was, but I wasn’t able to say what I did remember. The rest of my memory was blocked off. It took hearing the key phrase to allow me to remember everything.”

  “You do know that Phylicia sent guards to follow you,” Murdock said matter-of-factly.

  Declan jumped back and faced the way they had just come. “Are they still out there?”

  Those cat-like reflexes, Murdock thought. “Sort of,” he said. “They were taken care of’ an hour back.”

  “He probably killed them,” Declan stated.

  “Bullshit,” Annie chided. “If that’s what you think, then you don’t know Murdock at all.”

  “He threatened to kill a dozen men I was working with when they violated his edict.” Declan responded greatly piqued.

  “You really should learn to control your passions,” Murdock warned quietly. “They could very well be your undoing.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Annie stated scornfully. “The Murdock I know would have to have a very good reason for doing such a thing. More reason than just a show of force for defiance.”

  “We need to table this discussion, for now,” Murdock stated. “We need to get moving,” he said as he turned and started walking toward the river.

  They had cued up with Murdock leading, Annie in the middle, and Declan bringing up the rear. After a couple of hours, Murdock called for a halt.

  “How much further are we going before stopping for the night, Murdock?” Annie asked. “I’m exhausted.”

  “I thought we’d walk all night,” Murdock said sarcastically.

  “Very funny,” Annie chided. “Now, can I have a serious answer?”

  “I was thinking of stopping shortly after we cross the river,” Murdock said matter-of-factly. “We are a little ahead of schedule, since Declan did such a good job sneaking you out of camp.”

  “Phylicia came up behind me and over-heard,” Declan justified immediately after the perceived ridicule. “I guess I underestimated her.”

  “I saw her coming up behind you, but I couldn’t say anything to tip you off,” Annie explained. “Since I didn’t remember anything, seeing her was no threat to me. Say what you will, Phylicia is no dummy.”

  “Let’s move on,” Murdock stated.

  About an hour later, they reached the river. Murdock had intentionally led the pair further downriver than he had initially indicated to Declan. Annie, at Murdock’s request, started working on getting a fire started. Declan helped by gathering what wood he could find. Murdock went to the river and quickly caught and cleaned two fish. It wasn’t long before they were all three sitting around the fire waiting for the fish to cook.

  “How are you two holding up?” Murdock asked. “How much longer can you go?”

  “I can’t go any further. You seem to be in a bit of a rush,” Annie observed, “how come?”

  “Mei Lee will be delivering soon,” Murdock stated.

  “Has it been a month already?” Annie asked.

  “It’s been twenty-four days, roughly,” Murdock answered.

  “I’m done in as well.” Declan chimed in testily, even though no one asked. “You certainly aren’t one for small talk, Murdock.” Declan observed. “Most people would like more information than you usually offer.”

  “I say what I need to, when I need to,” Murdock responded as he looked into the flames.

  Everyone sat quietly waiting for the fish to cook. When it was finished, they all ate their fill. After eating, Annie and Declan tried to get comfortable on the ground while Murdock had the first watch.

  #

  When Declan awoke, it was morning, but he was not lying on the ground by the river. He was under a man-made roof, which caused him to sit up with a start and immediately fall out of the hammock he was lying in. Hitting the floor, he was surprised to find it was wood. He was expecting compacted dirt.

  “Are you okay?” Annie asked poking her head inside his sleeping area.

  “How did we get here?” Declan asked, confused. “Where is here?”

  “We’re inside Murdock’s cabin,” Annie informed him, “and I have no idea how we got here.”

  “You seem to be lacking perplexity with the fact that we went to sleep in one area and are now somewhere else without any memory of how we got here, how long it took, or how we are going to get back,” Declan said with a scolding tone.

  “I, for one, know where we are and have a very rough idea of where the transport pod is,” Annie responded coldly. “I have no questions as to how we got here. I don’t need to know everything to be able to accept something. I can accept that we are here, now, safe and cozy. Why should I care as to the means of transportation? What difference would it make if we arrived by elephant caravan or wagon?”

  “I’m not like you,” Declan snapped back.

  “Obviously! Why don’t you come out? Calm yourself, first, and I’ll introduce you. I would caution you to be civil to these nice people,” Annie chided as she turned and left his presence.

  When Declan finally parted the hide, he saw that the hide was for his privacy. It was all that separated him from the main room of the cabin. There were several people in the main room, the majority being children, and everyone sporting a knife of some kind. Annie introduced him around to everyone.

  “You are brother to my mother?” young Andrew asked suspiciously, his hand on the hilt of his knife, when Declan was presented to him.

  “Who is your mother?” Declan asked innocently.

  “Rosa Lea Griffen bore me and nurtured me, until she died,” Andrew responded coldly. “Mei Lee raised me and is now my mother.”

  “I guess that makes me your uncle, then,” Declan said with a shrug and a grin as he stuck out his empty hand to the youngster.

  “Until I have more data on the subject, I have no choice but accept what you say as a given,” Andrew responded while staring at the proffered hand.

  “Shake his hand, Andrew!” Mei Lee interjected. “Sorry, Declan. The children tend to be off-putting to strangers.”

  Andrew took his offered hand, but Declan could see the suspicion in the child as a palpable thing.

  “I’d count your fingers, Declan,” Murdock interjected with a chuckle, as he entered the cabin just as the handshake was ending. “Sit, Declan,” Murdock said indicating the table where Annie and Mei Lee were already sitting. “Take all the water skins and refill them,” Murdock said to Andrew and Chun Hua, who took up all the water skins and headed to the river.

  “I can see my father in Andrew,” Declan said as the two children left the cabin, “and Rose as well.”

  “He’s lucky. He favors his mother,” Murdock quipped. Mei Lee good-naturedly slapped his upper arm.

  “Nice place you have here,” Declan said as he looked critically around the room. “How long did it take you to build it?”

  “It took as lon
g as it took,” Murdock answered. “There weren’t any watches or calendars.”

  “How did we get here?” Declan asked with more than a little anger.

  “Pachyderm parade,” Murdock said sarcastically. “Does it really matter?”

  “It does to me,” Declan said, his anger swelling. “I don’t like being shanghaied or feeling like I have been.”

  “You haven’t been shanghaied,” Murdock responded, anger tinging his voice. “I brought you here to meet your nephew and to visit your sister’s tomb. After that is done, I’ll be more than happy to return you to your own little corner of heaven.”

  No one said anything for quite some time. Mei Lee first looked to Murdock and Annie first looked to Declan. After a few seconds, they each switched who they were looking at. Both women had been shocked at the level of anger that had developed so quickly between the two men.

  “Wow! The testosterone sure is thick in here,” Annie said finally. “I think I need some fresh air. Why don’t you two take it outside?”

  Murdock, finding wisdom in Annie’s suggestion, beckoned Declan to come outside the cabin with him. Both men were angry, but Declan was by far the angrier of the two. He decided to join Murdock outside, to spare the women and children his anger.

  “What’s your problem?” Murdock asked after he and Declan had walked out of ear-shot of the cabin.

  “I have a problem with anyone who hides things from me, especially if they are a killer!” Declan said heatedly.

  “I’m at a loss. In what way have I offended you?” Murdock asked trying to calm Declan.

  “You killed those workmen.” Declan accused.

  “You saw that they were still alive for yourself, so I’m curious what you have for proof?”

  “I have no proof, yet. When I get back, I plan on publicly accusing you!”

  “You won’t have any proof,” Murdock said with a small grin. “The men that you and I moved to the edge of the cliff are as alive as you are!”

  “You shanghaied Annie and myself, for what purpose, I have no idea!”

  “If you ask Annie, she’ll deny being shanghaied. The purpose of her being here is to help my wife deliver a baby, not that you need to know. You have not been shanghaied. You were simply transported in the most efficient way available.”

  “What was the means of that transportation?” Declan asked, his voice full of disdain.

  “That information is on a need to know basis and, frankly, you don’t need to know,” Murdock answer calmly. “So, that is something else you can’t prove. Anything else?”

  Declan stood glaring at Murdock, his hands clenching and un-clenching rhythmically. Murdock could see that there was something else behind his anger.

  “You killed her,” Declan finally blurted out.

  “Whom have I killed, in your opinion?” Murdock asked quietly. He had closed his eyes dreading what he knew was coming.

  “Rose! You killed her,” Declan accused hotly.

  “I didn’t kill her, Declan,” Murdock said quietly. “I would have given anything if I could have taken her place.”

  “If she wouldn’t have been with you, she’d still be alive,” Declan accused as he started crying openly.

  “If she wouldn’t have been with me, she would have been dead long before she finally died,” Murdock tried to explain. “They tried to kill her within thirty days of our arrival.”

  “And how are you going to prove that?” Declan asked with venom.

  “You’ll have to take my word for it,” Murdock said quietly. “Or you could talk to Mei Lee.”

  “I should ask your current wife about my sister? I already know she would lie for you! So, that would be a useless exercise!”

  “If that is how you feel about it, then I will take you to your sister’s tomb and then return you to the transport pod.” Murdock got up and went back into the cabin, leaving Declan outside alone.

  “What’s going on?” Annie asked Murdock as he entered the door.

  “I’m taking Declan to visit his sister’s tomb and then I’m taking him back to the transport pod,” Murdock said coldly as he collected his and Declan’s water skins and rest of his gear. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I need you to stay with Mei Lee and the kids.”

  “I will,” Annie said quietly.

  When Murdock had exited the cabin, he saw where Declan was now unconscious. He levitated Declan and strode out toward Rose’s tomb.

  “Can you give him the information we discussed?” Murdock flashed.

  “Certainly,” Beron responded.

  “He doesn’t need to know about the Oomah,” Murdock said. “He also doesn’t need to know my position with you.”

  #

  As soon as Murdock had entered the cabin, Declan felt very fatigued. He sat on a log and closed his eyes; he felt like he couldn’t keep his eyes open another second. As he closed his eyes, he could feel himself falling over, but it felt like slow motion. He had time to hope he wouldn’t be hurt when he hit the ground and braced for the collision with the hard surface. The collision never came, or if it did, Declan was unaware of it.

  He felt like he was floating, but was unable to control any movement. He could see his sister following a few men into trees. He could see Murdock talking to the men, from a distance away. He then saw one of the men threaten Rose with a knife. Apparently, some time passed and he then saw one of the men hit his sister from behind rendering her unconscious. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but he saw clearly the man who knocked Rose out. He didn’t see Murdock around anywhere, but he did see the men tie her to a tree and leave her naked, bleeding and beaten. The scene tore at his heart, but he couldn’t move or yell or do anything.

  He then saw, as if watching through some night vision contraption, Murdock finding Rose and tending her injuries. He saw Murdock care for Rose over some course of time. He didn’t know if it was days or weeks, but he did see how Murdock genuinely cared for his sister. He saw Murdock teaching her to shoot a bow. He saw Rose filling water skins by a stream. He could see that Murdock was looking around and both were talking. Suddenly, he heard his sister in a clear voice say, “I was just thinking that I have never been this happy, that I can remember.” To Declan, she looked very happy and it made his heart happy to hear her voice say so.

  He saw a thin man being beaten and tied and a very thin Mei Lee being beaten. He saw his sister shoot one of the men with an arrow and saw her and Murdock deal with the two thugs that were beating the couple. He could see that Murdock trusted Rose by the fact that he had his back to her when she was armed. It filled his heart with pride to see his sister standing up to apparent bullies.

  He saw an unarmed Murdock take on the two armed bullies and defeat them. He could see Rose behind the fray with arrows ready. He saw the thin man jump in front of Rose and get hit with a knife in the throat.

  He saw Murdock, Rose, and Mei Lee working together on making something with skins inside the cabin. All three seemed to be a team and all looked very happy. It was then that he noticed that Mei Lee and Rose were both pregnant and Rose seemed to be further along than Mei Lee. He saw Mei Lee help Rose deliver and then he got to see Rose help Mei Lee deliver. He also saw the three adults work together to care for each other and the two kids.

  He saw Rose getting cold weather gear on and trudging through snow to a stockade. He saw her tied to the stockade wall. He saw her escape and hitting someone with all her weight and he saw the knife enter her. It was then that he heard Rose’s voice again saying, “I love you both! I wanted to thank you both for loving me the way you have. I have never felt so loved, wanted, needed as I have with the two of you! Love each other to the hilt, just as the two of you have loved me. I want you both to remember that no one took my life, I gave it freely!” Declan wished he could cry aloud. He knew he had just heard his sister’s last words.

  #

  Declan finally woke up. When he did, he was lying on grass and he could see Murdock standing in front
of what looked like a granite tomb. As he stood, he felt his cheeks and found they were damp, even though the grass was dry. As he got to his feet and approached the tomb, he saw the plaque and read it to himself. “Rosa Lea Murdock. Beloved wife, friend, mother. She saved us all.”

  When he looked at Murdock, Declan could see the tears on his cheek.

  “Did she have words carved into her back and chest?” Declan asked.

  “Yes, she did,” Murdock said quietly. “Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know how you managed, but I think I saw glimpses into Rose’s life,” Declan said quietly, “and her death.”

  “I did nothing to allow you to see things like that,” Murdock said as he turned and walked away a little distance to wait for Declan.

  “I take it she liked this place?” Declan asked as he joined Murdock after ten minutes of communing with the spirit of his sister.

  “It was her favorite place,” Murdock said coldly.

  “When you return me, will my memory be wiped?” Declan asked quietly.

  “Yes, it will,” Murdock informed him.

  “I would like to retain the memory of what I was shown about Rose, and of this spot,” Declan requested quietly.

  “I have no control over what you will be allowed to remember,” Murdock told him, “but I’ll see what can be done. Are you ready to go back to the transport pod?”

  “Not quite yet,” Declan said. “I understand that you have been transporting me, somehow, to keep me from seeing things I shouldn’t. I was shown how much you meant to Rose, both you and Mei Lee. I could see that she was very happy with you and that you did your best to keep her safe. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it.”

  “Being safe, all your life, isn’t a good thing. It’s better to step out, take a chance, to stand for something, even if it isn’t safe. Rose understood that. I didn’t do anything for you or your appreciation.” Murdock corrected, rather harshly. “I did it for her, because it was easy to do things for her.”