“Phylicia has always been there for us,” Kimberly defended. “She’ll be there when we need her.”
“I wish I had your optimism. I’m hoping that Doctor Harris or Annie Cooper come around often before we deliver. The only thing we can count on with Phylicia is that we can’t count on her.” Heather clutched the hide closer to her as she sat looking into the fire. “I think the snow is going to get deep.”
#
Twenty-one days after the first snow, Murdock called for a meeting in the longhouse. He, Mei Lee, and their children had walked the one hundred yards to the longhouse and entered. Murdock was carrying a bunch of hides and placed them close to the huge hearth in the center of the building.
As each member came to the hearth and found a place on the log benches, they were all murmuring expectantly.
“I called you all together for some announcements and for some unfinished business,” Murdock said loudly. “First of all, are there any pregnancies to announce?” Murdock’s question wasn’t directed to anyone in particular. It was clear that anyone could answer.
Declan cleared his throat a few times: “Emily and I are excited to report that we are expecting.”
A loud cheer went up from everyone.
“Mei Lee is also expecting,” Murdock reported.
Another loud cheer filled the longhouse.
“Is there anyone else?” Murdock asked when things had quieted down.
Everyone looked around expectantly.
“No one else? Okay,” Murdock resumed, “there are a few unfinished business items to dispense with. Emily Brooks-Griffen, please come forward.”
Emily, puzzled, stood and came to Murdock, who handed her a bundle of hide.
“Annette Cooper, please come forward.”
Annie, looking puzzled, came to Murdock and was handed her own bundle of hide. By this time, Emily had unfolded her bundle and screamed in excitement and ran to the other side of the longhouse. She was back in no time wearing a buckskin dress and shoes that made her look like a larger version of Mei Lee. All of the women, once they were presented, retired to put on their new dresses. All were very excited.
“What about Declan?” Emily asked. “Shouldn’t he have a set?”
“Do you think he deserves a set?” Murdock asked. “Hmmm…I didn’t think he wanted a dress.” Murdock had a sly smile. “Declan, come here.”
Declan got to his feet and came to Murdock who presented him with his own bundle of hide.
“This, to some, would seem silly, but I take it seriously,” Murdock stated after handing Declan his own bundle. “From this point forward, you all belong to our tribe, and by wearing these clothes, you are showing your pride in it. It is our tribe because we all make it what we think it should be. We all belong to each other and that is a serious obligation.”
Shortly after Murdock sat down, he looked at each of the tribal members with pride. All were dressed as he was, or as Mei Lee was, and it made him feel the way he did when Beron had made him part of the Oomah. He was filled with a sense of pride and obligation to something greater.
#
Seven days after the presentation, another meeting was called to discuss Heather Stevens.
“When was the last time someone checked on the pod?” Murdock asked.
“Annie and I checked on everyone at the pod, yesterday,” Emily replied. “All seemed well, to a point. Heather seemed to be angry with Kimberly and Phylicia, about what I have no idea, but there was a definite tension in the air.”
“Physically, Kimberly and Heather are proceeding with their pregnancies as I would expect,” Annie Cooper reported. “Phylicia is feigning hip discomfort when she is around Heather and I suspect it is to garner sympathy.”
“Their food situation,” Emily continued, “is acceptable. They have enough venison for seven more days and enough fish for two or three more. The water situation is a different matter. The river has frozen solid enough that water will run out and no more fish can be harvested. The wood situation is also dire, for without the proper clothing they are unable to gather the wood they need.”
“Suggestions?” Murdock inquired. No one spoke. They just looked at each other or looked into the hearth and the flames. “No one has any suggestions?”
“I do, but I don’t think you’ll like it,” Annie piped in.
“So, tell me,” Murdock said. “I have an idea, but I want to know if the rest of you have a better one.”
Annie took a deep breath and let it out slowly: “I suggest you move the pod closer to the longhouse.”
Everyone waited to see how the suggestion would be taken. Murdock was tapping his knife on the bench he was sitting on with his head down.
“Would it be easier to bring them here individually?” Murdock asked finally.
“No, it would be easier to bring the pod with them inside,” Emily said. “That way if they get to be too much, they have somewhere else to go to give us a break from dealing with them.”
“They would have a way to preserve their privacy,” Declan offered, “as would we”.
“It would be more convenient for Irene and me,” Annie stated. “Not so much of a trek to see the patients.”
“I had already come to the same conclusions as the rest of you,” Murdock said quietly. “I’ll admit that I’m reluctant to force someone, who is clueless, to choose between starving and freezing. The first winter here, those in the first pod had to face that decision. Mei Lee, Rose, and I didn’t. Has Heather been true to her word about letting us know what Phylicia is planning?”
“She said that she hasn’t been privy to that information for some time,” Emily said.
“If we allow Heather and Kimberly into the longhouse, we’ll have to treat them as guests,” Murdock reminded. “They are to remain ignorant of our ways and our skills. Also, Phylicia will not be allowed into the longhouse. Anyone disagree?”
“At this point,” Declan piped in, “we agree with you, but we are also aware that the situation is likely to change.”
#
Two days later, Heather descended the ramp and was met with a snow-covered longhouse just to the right of the pod. One hundred yards past the longhouse was a snow-covered cabin and a frozen river was to her left, which was the wrong side. She stood on the ramp mouth agape as it dawned on her that the pod had been moved while they slept.
Currently, the snow had stopped and the wind was calm, but it was quite cold. As she looked around for firewood, Emily came out of the longhouse dressed all in hides.
“No need to build a fire out here,” Emily said with a smile. “Just knock on the door and someone will open it up. We have a nice hearth that is usually warm and cozy.”
“Water?” Heather asked.
“Inside, just ask. We have some venison cooking currently.”
Heather was looking around in shock: “Why?”
“We’ve decided to remove the choice of starving or freezing from you. Is Kimberly up and moving?”
“Are you two going to stay there so the rest of us freeze?” Kimberly yelled down from the top of the ramp.
Heather and Emily hurried off the ramp toward the door of the longhouse and they heard the ramp close. At the door, Heather hesitated, but Emily indicated the door for her to knock on. She rapped the door four times with her knuckles and Irene Harris opened the door. A blast of warm air hit her through the open doorway.
“Come in,” Harris smiled her greeting and turned away. “We’re not heating the outside, so shut the door behind you!”
Heather closed the door behind her and turned to look at what had been an unfinished meeting house a few weeks before. It was now a functioning longhouse for those who needed it. She was looking all around in admiration as she made her way to the hearth.
“Sit and be comfortable,” Irene said as she sat on the log bench by the hearth.
“This is more than I expected,” Heather said as she sat on the crudely made bench.
“It is very ni
ce,” Harris said excitedly.
“That is a nice dress! Looks warmer than what I have on,” Heather said while subconsciously gathering her torn denim shirt about her, “is it new?”
“Yes, it’s newly acquired,” Harris chuckled a little.
Heather looked around and noticed there were two doors, each at opposite ends of the longhouse. It was then that Murdock entered wearing a heavy, deerskin parka. He came over to her after shucking it off and hanging it from a peg behind the door.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked looking down at her and putting his hands toward the flames to warm them. She shrugged and he took that as an invitation.
“We decided to help you out this winter,” Murdock said. “As you can see, it does get pretty cold and snowy.”
“What do you want for allowing us to be here?” Heather asked skeptically.
“If you feel the need to add something to the group, feel free. We don’t particularly like strangers and we like watching someone freeze or starve even less.”
“Well, other than you, no one seems to have the clothing required to do anything outside. If I went to gather wood, I’d not last long.”
“Wood is stacked on the other side of that wall,” Murdock said as he indicated a wall away from the side where the pod was placed. “There is a door over there and the way the wood is stacked, you should be protected long enough to get some wood in. Usually, one of the others will stack a bunch inside the door and then carry it over to the hearth. I’m sure it would be a help if someone took it from the door to the hearth.”
“I still don’t know why we’re here,” Heather said suspiciously. “I’m enjoying the warmth and the company, but I’m just not sure what the price is.” Murdock looked like he didn’t understand her. “What do you want from me, Kimberly, and Phylicia? I understand that you’re being generous and I want to know what your expectations are.”
Emily and Kimberly entered by the door closest to the pod. Emily made a quick scan of the room and started guiding Kimberly over to the hearth.
“Here’s the pair of ‘em,” Emily said to Murdock as she indicated where Kimberly should sit. “I’ve already told her majesty that she will not be allowed entry. I need to take her some venison and water, though. Are they going to be okay here?”
“They’re fine. I’m certain they won’t be any trouble. After all, who would be foolish enough to give people cause to kick them out of a nice warm place? How did Phylicia take it?”
“She’s madder’n a wet hen, but what can she do?” Emily chuckled as she walked off with something wrapped in a leaf and a water skin.
“Why isn’t Phylicia allowed in here?” Kimberly began to rage. “She should be allowed in! I’m not staying here if Phylicia isn’t allowed in!”
“This is not an inn or a tavern, it’s someone’s home. They were generous to allow you to be here and, as such, expect you to be respectful. If you don’t like it, there’s the door,” Murdock said quietly.
“You bet I’ll go! Don’t think for a moment I won’t!” Kimberly yelled. Emily had stopped, at Kimberly’s yelling, and returned so Kimberly ran into the bigger woman as soon as she’d turned to leave.
“Have it your way,” Emily said as she handed the bundle and the water skin to Kimberly and took her by the upper arm to the door.
“She’ll be back,” Heather said sadly after the ruckus had subsided. “The pod may be built to withstand the heat of re-entry, but in cold like this, it’ll suck the life, and heat, right out of a person.”
“You look terrible, Heather,” Murdock observed.
“Gee, thanks,” she responded with a small chuckle. “Between the cold and being alone, I haven’t slept in a while. I had to feed the fire just to stay somewhat warm. Now, all I want to do is sleep.”
#
Elizabeth Reyes was hunkered down inside the cave that they had found on their first trip to this encampment. She had two deer hides draped over her back and head to help hold in her body heat and was putting the last of the wood on the fire. She glanced up when Bass Heartly came into the cave with an arm-load of wood.
“This should help take the chill off,” he said as he dropped the wood near the fire-ring.
“It would help if we could figure a way to block the entrance,” Reyes observed. “How’s everyone else holding up?”
“Everyone has someplace to go to try to get out of the cold. The guard posts at the entrance have quite a few people huddled together for warmth and they have fires in the lower levels. If it doesn’t snow for a while, we should be okay.”
“Water and food?” Reyes asked through chattering teeth.
“With the river and the small stream frozen, we’re going to chip away at the ice and try to melt enough for drinking. We have some fish and quite a bit of venison in the smokehouse.”
“Will it be enough?” Reyes asked.
“I have no idea,” Heartly said in a low voice, warming his hands in the fire. “I’m hoping so, but if it gets colder or snows more, we could be in a bad way.”
“I wonder sometimes if it would have been better to break up into smaller groups. Say, no more than ten people in a group. They could all answer to a local leader and all the leaders answer to me. It would help to insure some of our people would survive.”
“We can plan it and try to implement it in the spring. I’m going for more wood, it’s one of the few things we have plenty of,” Bass chuckled as he tried to stick his hands into his armpits to keep them warm. “You may want to see about some food for us,” he said as he left the cave.
#
Keith Rogers was standing at the main entrance of the cave complex. The huge door, it was more of a drawbridge than a door, had been opened to allow others to carry in more wood for the cooking fires.
I hope you’re happy, Emily, he thought as he pulled the deer hide closer. He had been trying to gather the hide to him to preserve some body heat, but had been largely unsuccessful. You deserted us when we needed you the most. As these thoughts ran through his head, he saw Jackson, “just call me Jax”, Hornsby returning with his arms loaded with wood.
Hornsby had been a late addition, having been admitted just before the first snow, to the rest of Roger’s charges. To Keith, the man looked familiar, but he couldn’t place him. He had resolved to keep an eye on Hornsby until he was satisfied as to his intentions.
“Are you done, yet?” Rogers asked Hornsby as he passed him to deposit the wood in one of the first small rooms inside the cave entrance. The first four rooms had been too cold for anyone to sleep in, two on either side of the main entrance, and Rogers had determined it should be used to hold wood. Until their population increased significantly, they would just be empty anyway. “I’m cold and want to get below!”
“So, go,” Hornsby responded somewhat testily. Rogers could tell by his tone that Hornsby knew he was being watched closely and Hornsby didn’t like it. “I need to do two more trips for wood before I can call it quits for outside work, but then, you knew that. You assigned the job to me,” Hornsby said with a bit of a scowl.
If I ever see you, Declan, I’m going to enjoy seeing you suffer. It’s what you deserve for disrupting our little community, Rogers thought. Of late, thoughts of revenge against Declan, Emily, and, of course, the ever accursed Murdock, had given him some comfort as he huddled in his room.
“When you’re finished, find Carpenter and he’ll assign a new job,” Rogers told Hornsby as he passed him on his way to the lower levels.
“Mister Rogers,” Cliff Reed interrupted once he was on the lower level. “We need to have a discussion about the food situation.”
“Follow me,” Rogers said without slowing his pace toward his room at the other end of the huge cave. “What is the situation?” Rogers asked once he had arrived at his room and placed the hide he had been wrapped in on the floor.
“Based on current consumption rates, it’s getting dire,” Reed reported. “By my estimates, we have enough for maybe t
wenty days.”
“Have you heard back from the runner we’d sent to Ray Tutt?”
“Yes, and he reports that Tutt is unwilling to help. His exact words were ‘stick it’.”
“So, that could mean that he can’t help, which is more positive than he won’t help. Send the runner back with the offer of a few of the women for food. We have more women then we need and he has few. It would serve both our needs to normalize the ratio between the sexes.”
“The difference isn’t more than eight and some of our men like having more than one woman,” Reed reminded.
“If those men don’t like it, then they could be on the menu. Remind them of that. Send another runner to Carter’s camp with the same offer. Maybe we can get the two camps to bid against each other. If I could have, I would have normalized the situation a long time ago. You’d think that out of one hundred forty, the sexes would have been more even.”
“We don’t have anyone available to run to Carter’s camp,” Reed said quietly.
“Send Hornsby, once he’s done with the wood for the day.”
#
Jackson Hornsby had just finished stacking the wood from his three trips outside when Reed came over to him.
“We have a job for you,” Reed said as Hornsby was exiting the wood storage room.
“I was told by Rogers to look for Carpenter,” Hornsby rebutted.
“That was before I talked to Rogers,” Reed said dismissively. “This has top priority.”
“Sounds important,” Hornsby said.
“It is. We need you to carry a message to the leader of the camp just off this terrace by the river. Do you know where it is?”
“I’ve seen it from a distance,” Hornsby replied guardedly. “Who is the leader?”
“We have no idea who their leader is,” Reed responded.
“So, give me the message,” Hornsby held out his hand expectantly.
Reed looked down at Hornsby’s grubby hand: “It’s not a written message, have you seen anything resembling paper here? You are to ask the leader to meet with Rogers here.”
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