Civilization

by Stephen Drake

  “Don’t come back empty-handed,” Murdock scolded. “Give Wagner a hand with firewood.”

  #

  It was just sundown when the camp was set and everyone sat around the fire cooking their own piece of venison.

  “So, Murdock, what do you get out of any agreements we make?” Rogers asked while he checked his cooking meat for the third time.

  “Hmm . . . not a lot. Maybe a peaceful walk in the woods without worrying about getting shot is enough,” Murdock responded with a sideways glance to Wagner.

  “Sorry about that,” Wagner said as he checked his own piece of venison. “You seemed to turn that situation around soon enough, though.”

  “I should’ve turned it around sooner than I did and spared Annie a wound,” Murdock replied, “but that wouldn’t have been friendly.”

  Rogers gave Wagner a puzzled look. “A group of men, under my command, opened fire on Murdock and the two women when they entered our lands,” Wagner explained, clearly uncomfortable with the explanation.

  “So, what happened?” Rogers asked after waiting a long time for Wagner to continue.

  “Murdock . . . explained that we were not being very friendly.”

  Annie snickered loudly.

  “You fired . . . twenty arrows? Or was it thirty?” Murdock asked.

  “Twenty,” Wagner corrected chagrinned.

  “And how many did Murdock fire?” Rogers asked. The sparse facts had piqued his interest in the tale. He was looking around the fire at the faces. The two women smirked, Wagner scowled, and Murdock remained stoic.

  “Two,” Wagner said quietly, sheepishly.

  “What?” Rogers asked. “I didn’t hear you. Can you speak up a little?”

  “Two!” Wagner shouted as he stood and started to pace. “Two, alright? We fired twenty he fired two! He demonstrated his clear superiority and I quit antagonizing him!”

  “Wagner,” Murdock said as he stood and gave his venison to Heather to finish cooking. “Sit and calm yourself.” Murdock took up his spear and walked into the dark.

  “Where is he going?” Rogers asked aloud.

  “We find it healthier to refrain from asking such things,” Annie said as she bit off a chunk of venison.

  A few minutes later, they all heard “ouch!”, “Stop!”, “We surrender!”, and several scuffle sounds from several men in the dark. A few minutes after that, they all saw Murdock prodding three other men into the fire light.

  “Nice of you to join us, Mister Hornsby, Mister Carpenter, and Mister Reed,” Rogers said as he ate his venison.

  Wagner had started to eat after he had calmed down. As he chewed, he watched the three men enter the camp, not too badly bruised or battered.

  “You men really need to learn the proper way to enter someone’s camp,” Murdock chastised. “You don’t do it by sneaking around in the dark!”

  “We weren’t sneakin’ . . . exactly,” Hornsby said sheepishly.

  “Yes, we were,” Carpenter said calmly. “We had to be sure it was safe, and I, for one, don’t know the proper way to announce myself in the wild. I apologize, Mister Murdock.”

  A stout man, not much taller than Murdock, pushed his way forward.

  “I’m Cliff Reed, Mister Murdock,” the man said with some confidence as he stuck out his hand to Murdock. “These men were doing as I asked and as seemed prudent to me. If there has been any offense given, I trust you will exempt them, as they were following my orders.” As he spoke, he glanced several times to his offered hand.

  Murdock just looked at the hand and then back to the man.

  “I trust you’ve been treated well, sir?” Reed asked Rogers without turning away from Murdock.

  “Very well, thank you,” Rogers responded. “Murdock, do you mind if I have a word alone with Cliff?”

  “Not at all,” Murdock said indicating that they should move out of earshot from the fire. “Take Carpenter with you.”

  “I want a word with you two,” Murdock said to Wagner and Hornsby after Reed, Rogers, and Carpenter left for their private conversation. “I know who you are. Heather knows who you are, as well. We have . . . concerns.”

  “Okay, so you know who we are,” Wagner said, distressed. “We used to follow Palmer, but I quit that a while back. I’m trying to make a fresh start with Tutt.”

  “And I’m doing pretty okay with Rogers and their group. I mean okay by them as well as myself,” Hornsby said, chagrinned.

  “Does Rogers and Tutt know about your prior allegiances?” Murdock asked.

  “Rogers knows very little,” Hornsby said, “and I’d prefer it to stay that way.”

  “Tutt knows nothing of my involvement with Palmer,” Wagner said. “I’ve been loyal to him since joining him and have made a small place for myself with his group. I didn’t offer the information and he didn’t ask.”

  Hornsby was nodding his agreement with Wagner while he spoke.

  “I’m not going to intrude on your lives,” Murdock assured them. “I’m all about redeeming yourself and turning your life around. This little chat was more for information, than anything else.”

  With that settled, everyone sat at the fire.

  “Tell me of Reed,” Murdock said as he picked up his now cooked and cold piece of venison and sat next to Heather and Annie. “Can his word be trusted?”

  “He’s a good egg,” Hornsby said as he struggled to sit. “If he gives his word, you can count on it. He does tend to speak plainly and carefully, though.”

  “You’ll be leaving to escort Rogers to the cave you call home, Hornsby. Can I trust you to take him there without doubling back on us?” Murdock asked.

  “Yes, sir, I’ll see him home and only there,” Hornsby assured as Reed, Rogers, and Carpenter were returning.

  “Well, gentlemen, you have settled your business, I trust?” Murdock asked as he ate.

  “I’ve given my instructions to Reed,” Rogers stated, “if that’s what you’re referring to.”

  “Mister Reed, this is your counterpart, Mister Wagner,” Murdock introduced.

  Wagner got to his feet and offered his hand to the smaller man, “Ted, please.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ted,” Reed said shaking the offered hand.

  “So, Rogers, you’re leaving tomorrow, with Hornsby and Carpenter, I assume,” Murdock stated.

  “I wasn’t going to,” Rogers said. “I thought I’d hang around and see how things go for a couple of days. It would give me a chance to get the low-down on Emily.”

  “You misunderstood me,” Murdock said sternly. “It wasn’t a question.”

  “That seems rude,” Reed said, concerned.

  “Not really,” Murdock said. “You and Wagner will be busy hammering out an agreement. I’ll be busy trying to keep you two from killing each other and won’t have time to protect what I need to protect. It would be safer, for all concerned, if Rogers went home.”

  “I’m going to need Carpenter,” Reed said.

  “For what purpose?” Murdock questioned between bites.

  “When I’m finished, I’ll require help getting home,” Reed replied

  “When I set this up, it was going to be just the two of you,” Murdock stated. “Now, you want an extra man. Wagner agreed to come alone. Is he the bigger man? He doesn’t need anyone’s help for anything and appears to be able to take care of himself. What does that say about you?” Murdock waited for a response from Reed. “It tells me,” he continued when Reed didn’t respond, “that you want to have things weighted in your favor. Do you really need an entourage? I can understand Rogers needing one, but you?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Rogers asked.

  “It means,” Murdock responded, “that it’s my considered opinion that you’d have difficulty locating your ass with both hands. You’re a hindrance to most everything that needs to be done and I think you enjoy being one.”

  Gary Carpenter interposed himself between Murdock and Rogers and glared down at Mur
dock. Murdock slowly got to his feet.

  “I’ll give you a choice,” Murdock said, to the bigger man, with a sardonic grin, “you can walk home or be carried, assuming, of course, you can find someone to carry you.”

  “Hold on,” Rogers intervened. “We don’t want any trouble. All we want to do is support and protect Reed.”

  “I told Wagner that I’d see to his safety. Do you think I would do any less for Reed?” Murdock asked without taking his eyes off Carpenter, as neither man had backed down.

  “Carpenter, stand down,” Rogers commanded. “Carpen—,” Rogers started when Carpenter seemed to be ignoring his command.

  Murdock saw Carpenter’s hand reach for his twelve-inch machete and responded with a stiffened thumb upward to the larger man’s solar plexus. Carpenter, gasping for air, stumbled back a few steps before catching his heel on a rock and falling backward to the ground. Rogers did what he could to catch the larger man, but ended up under him.

  “That was uncalled for,” Reed yelled.

  Murdock quickly turned to face the rotund man. Faster than Reed could blink, Murdock had his twelve-inch machete out and twirled it, by the hilt, on his finger a few times. “Would you have preferred this?” he asked holding the machete in his outstretched hand. “He reached for his own machete and I . . . handled it.”

  Reed backed away from Murdock and the small pile that was Rogers and Carpenter. “Is this the kind of treatment I’m to expect?” he asked, concerned.

  “Murdock is his own man,” Annie interjected. “It isn’t wise to threaten him in any way. Speaking from experience, I can assure you that he is . . . restraining himself.”

  “Well, then,” Reed started as he relaxed a little, “let us hope he is more successful at his restraint. Very well, Murdock, I’ll trust that you are a man of your word and will see me safely home. Hornsby, see to Carpenter and Rogers and the three of you can leave in the morning.”

  #

  The next morning, Murdock, who hadn’t slept the night before, saw to it that Wagner and Reed had their own area to discuss their agreement. It was a smallish clearing not far from Murdock’s camp. Murdock had stationed himself within sight and was armed with his bow. Reed and Wagner were both unarmed.

  “How is it going?” Annie flashed.

  “About as expected,” Murdock flashed back. “You have any thoughts on Heather?”

  “She’d make a good addition. She told you of the recognition of Palmer’s crew out of a sense of loyalty, loyalty to you,” Annie flashed.

  “Congratulate me,” Declan intruded excitedly. “I’m a new father!”

  “Congratulations!” Murdock replied, grinning

  “What did Emily have?” Annie asked, grinning.

  “I’ll introduce the two of you to Maureen Emeline Griffen when you return,” Declan responded. “She’s quite the beauty, if I do say so myself . . . and I do. Emily is doing fine. I haven’t decided how I’m doing, yet.”

  Murdock chuckled to himself and shook his head slightly. His concentration was disrupted by Reed storming away from Wagner.

  “Trouble in paradise,” Murdock remarked.

  “Already?” Annie injected.

  #

  It was sundown as Murdock, Wagner, and Reed sat in front of the campfire eating.

  “For the last three days, I’ve been listening to you two hammer away at each other,” Murdock said. “And I watched as you two gestured and threatened each other for three days before that. Please tell me that you are getting close to some sort of an agreement.”

  “This towhead is being unreasonable,” Reed said with disdain.

  “I’m being unreasonable?” Wagner disputed. “I’ve been most reasonable! We only have one major request — not a requirement, a request — and you say I’m being unreasonable! And what does my hair color have to do with anything? Is there some sort of Nordic bias here?”

  “Our group refuses to be involved in human trafficking,” Reed vehemently stated.

  “Who is asking you to engage in something like that? All we want is for you to allow your women to consider our group as an option,” Wagner defended. “What could possibly be wrong with that?”

  “Wait. That is your only request?” Murdock asked. “What about Reed’s weapons request?”

  “We’re willing to make the weapons they need and give them some training on their use,” Wagner stated.

  “And what about the payment for the weapons?” Murdock asked.

  “At this point, we require deer hides for clothing and protection when working with metal. We understand that deer hides are very difficult to obtain without the weapons we’re offering. Consequently, we’re willing to turn over the weapons and wait for the payments until the fall.”

  Murdock turned to look at Reed. “What would it take for a woman to leave your group?” he asked skeptically.

  “That would depend on the circumstances,” Reed replied. “Our group dynamic is different than Tutt’s. To us, every individual has a specific place and specific tasks that the rest of the group has come to rely on. Everyone in our group is currently engaged in polyamorous relationships. So, should a woman want to leave, it would be up to others as to what would be an equitable remuneration for any and all services rendered by that individual, in whole or in part, to the rest of the community.”

  Even though Reed had stopped talking, Murdock continued to look at him, mouth agape. “What if,” he began, after some thought. “A woman was outside gathering fish or water or something and ran across Wagner here. They speak and she finds him attractive and wants to continue to get to know him. Some time passes and she decides that she needs to be with Wagner permanently. What would be the procedure?”

  “Again,” Reed started, “that would depend.”

  “On what, exactly?” Murdock asked.

  “Hypothetically speaking, if she were a lay-about and refused to help anyone in the colony with anything, it would fall to Rogers to determine if she were valuable enough to warrant, for lack of a better term, a dowry. Other considerations could be, but not limited to, where she was planning on going, ancillary people she would likely interact with, and other skills she had and if the removal of those skills would negatively impact the group as a whole.

  “Given your scenario, if she wanted to leave to go to Tutt’s, she’d be incarcerated for a period of time until it was determined that she wasn’t impaired mentally. The same thing would happen if she went to your group, or any other group, or no group.”

  Murdock scowled, and Reed could see he was getting angry. “So, to break it down for us non-politicians, they are slaves, or they are delusional, if they wanted to leave your perfect society? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “If you think about it,” Reed started with a serious contemplative look, “you’d have to be crazy to want to leave perfection. As far as being a slave, it might appear that way to the uninitiated, but actually, we have only our fellow community member’s best interest at heart.”

  “Can you explain to me why the animosity toward Emily when she left?” Murdock asked.

  “Emily, by way of being elected to the leadership, had given up her right to choose what was best for her. She was precluded from leaving and depriving the rest of the community of her leadership. The only way for her to give up the leadership was to be voted out, but that wouldn’t have allowed her to just pick up and leave. Her skills were needed by the rest of the community in an emergency situation. So, we will be exerting our claim on her, should she show herself to our members.”

  Everyone heard what Reed had said and everyone was shocked into silence.

  26

  Murdock sat at the fire thinking. All of them had escorted Reed to the general area of his cave having immediately concluded their negotiations. When they left, they set a course for the ridge straight downriver from Rogers’ group. Everyone was still in shock of what they heard from Reed.

  “Now what do we do?” Heather asked. “Do we escort Wagn
er home or do you have something else in mind?”

  “I’ve checked all the water-skins and we are in dire need of water,” Wagner said as he came in close to the fire. “Sorry, things didn’t go as you planned. I was hopeful, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”

  “Can I ask what your group needs?” Murdock asked.

  “We barely made it through the winter,” Wagner explained. “I like to froze to death trying to take a deer just before the end of winter. Food wise, we have fish, a white fish that reminds me of tilapia or cod, only tasteless. Water is no problem and it’s warm in the mines, sometimes too warm.

  “Most of us would like to have something else to eat, venison and river-fish being the only other meat available, that we know of, and we need hides for making the leather clothes and tools we need in the mines. Since most of us are men, not too many women followed Tutt when he left ‘Paradise’. Most of us would like some female companionship.”

  “Is that all?” Murdock asked with a small chuckle.

  “That’s pretty much it,” Wagner said. “Why?”

  “The group of farmers needs metal tools, plows and such, to start with, but they have access to large amounts of the wild grain. I’m fairly certain they’d barter some grain for what they need,” Murdock suggested.

  “That would help,” Wagner said. “Personally, I would like some training in hunting, but I understand if you’re reticent.”

  “Hunting isn’t a mystical art. It’s just knowing your prey and being aware of what’s going on,” Murdock answered off-handedly. “I think our camp would be well-served if we had a large cooking pot and a wok. Do your people make anything like that?”

  “As a matter of fact, we do,” Wagner said.

  “Well, I’d be willing to trade some hides for a large cooking pot and a wok. What about some arrow points that would fit onto wooden shafts?”

  “I’m reasonably sure our people could figure something out. Especially if you provide a shaft of the size you use. We use metal arrows.”

  “We noticed,” Annie glared as she passed by the men.