Blood

by Cheryl Twaddle

  Max followed Howling Wolf into the camp. He was introduced only to the men Max figured were the most trusted, the ones that obeyed every word the warrior spoke. The fire was in the centre of camp and its flames reached high into the air. There were logs positioned around it so, Max put down his pack and sat on one of them and held out his hands towards the flames. Oh, it felt so good to gain warmth back to his fingers. Howling Wolf sat beside him and presented a plate full of food to him.

  “You must be hungry, hiking in such cold,” he said.

  “Well, I do have plenty of rations,” he looked at the food longingly and took it from his friend. “But I haven’t had a warm meal in a long time.”

  After he ate and was warm enough, Howling Wolf showed him around his camp, which was more like a portable village, and introduced him to more of his men. Max noticed how every man they passed would gaze at their leader in awe and, if they were so lucky as to get a nod of recognition from him, they would quickly bow their heads in reverence. Max realized, with great trepidation, that nothing had changed. Howling Wolf still had these men completely under his power. They truly believed he was a prophet, a speaker for the gods or, perhaps, a god himself. In fact, through their tour of the camp, Max didn’t see one man show any sign of doubt in the warrior. It was worse than he thought; Howling Wolf had gotten better at his deception. If he didn’t approach the suggestion of changing direction carefully, they would all turn on him.

  “Well, mate,” Max said after they returned to the fire, “you’ve grown yourself quite the army of men. How’d you do it?”

  “It was really quite easy,” said Howling Wolf proudly. “I speak of ideals that make their stay in this place bearable. I give them a reason to work together and survive.”

  “And what reason is that?” asked Max.

  “To please the gods, of course,” he said. Max looked for any sign of deception but saw none. Maybe he actually believes he’s a god now, thought the Scott. “If the gods are happy, then life or death will be filled with pleasure.”

  “Of course,” said Max.

  “So, tell me,” said Howling Wolf, “where are you going in such weather?”

  “I told you,” said Max. “I’m running from something not to something.”

  “Yes, the woman,” Howling Wolf shook his head and smiled. “Tell me what happened.”

  “It’s really not that exciting,” Max explained. “I fell for a beautiful girl who had a problem she just couldn’t or wouldn’t get rid of.”

  “And what was that?”

  “A boyfriend,” Max said. Howling Wolf laughed at this. “He took offence to me kissing his girlfriend and chased after me with a shotgun. It’s a good thing he had a lousy aim and it was snowing like mad otherwise I might not be here today.”

  “It serves you right,” scolded Howling Wolf. “According to the white man’s bible it’s a sin to covet thy neighbour’s wife.”

  “Hey, she didn’t tell me she had a boyfriend!” Max held up his hands in defence.

  “Would that have stopped you?”

  “Probably, maybe,” Max stumbled over his answer, “probably not. You should have seen her though! She was gorgeous! Hair down to here, eyes that were green like emeralds and a figure to die for.”

  “Which you almost did,” said Howling Wolf, “and it would have been a wasteful death too. No woman is worth dying over.”

  “Never a truer word was spoken,” said Max as he wondered if he would risk his life if this man and his ‘Blood Demons’ made their way north towards Nicky.

  “So, tell me, my friend where are you thinking of going?” asked Howling Wolf again, convinced that the Scott had some kind of destination in mind. Max knew that this was the chance he needed to drop the seeds of doubt in the warrior’s plan to head north.

  “Somewhere warm,” he said. “Somewhere where I can feed my belly without having to thaw it out first.”

  “Ah, the trials of winter,” smiled Howling Wolf. “Was the cold season bad where you were.”

  “Bad is not the word for it,” answered Max. “I don’t know how anyone can live so far north. The snow comes early and never stops. I swear, I never once walked in snow below my knees the whole time I was there.”

  “How far north were you?” Howling Wolf asked the question without a lot of emotion but Max could tell that the warrior was very interested in hearing about the north.

  “Oh, about a week’s journey,” he had to be careful. He didn’t want to reveal exactly where he came from but he wanted it to be close enough that he could discourage them from going there. “A long week, too. I haven’t seen anyone since leaving the little group with the jealous boyfriend.”

  “You’ve seen no one?” Howling Wolf found this interesting. Surely, in a land known for prosperity, there should be more people taking advantage of it.

  “Nope,” Max said. “Come to think of it, that group was heading west, themselves. Seems they’d spent the last five years there and were tired of working like dogs to survive. Do you happen to have any coffee? I’ve tried the brew a few times and drink it whenever I can find it. Next to whiskey it’s the only thing that can warm you from the inside out.”

  “Yes, we have some coffee,” he turned to one of his men. “Dolton will you get my friend here a hot cup of coffee.” The man quickly left to retrieve the coffee. Max smiled his appreciation, hoping he was presenting a believable picture of what life was like in the north.

  “You don’t know how much I appreciate your hospitality,” he said as he took the cup of coffee from the returning Dolton. He wrapped his hands around the cup and took a sip. “Ah, this hits the spot. Thank you.”

  “Nothing is too good for the man who saved my life,” Howling Wolf said and then returned to his questions. “So, how long were you up there?”

  “Maybe a year, maybe less,” Max blew into his cup and took another sip. “I thought I had found the promised land. You’ve heard the rumours, right?”

  “What rumours?” Oh, sure act clueless, thought Max. The warrior wasn’t fooling him; why else would they be camped in the middle of nowhere waiting for winter to end?

  “You know, that life is so pure in the north,” said Max trying not to roll his eyes. “Especially by the Rocky Mountains. They say the water is plentiful and the wildlife is prosperous. It’s the place to go and live out eternity in peace and harmony with the land. Blah, blah, blah.”

  “I have not heard these rumours,” said Howling Wolf. “Is it so? Is it the promised land?”

  “Not if you want to relax and enjoy life!” exclaimed Max. He had to make this sound convincing if he had any hope of changing the warrior’s mind about his travel plans. “Hell, from the first minute I got there, I worked. There’re hardly any people there and the ones that are there are half crazy. I had to do everything for myself: cut wood, build shelter, set traps, gather food, keep warm, so many things.”

  “You have to do that wherever you go,” said Howling Wolf.

  “True,” said Max, “but at least you get rewarded every once in a while. Do you know I went two months straight without catching anything in my traps; I didn’t even see a rabbit, or a squirrel, or anything. I had to forage for berries, which was fine until I ran into a bear foraging in the same bush. I’ve never seen anything so big!”

  “Bears are good omens,” said Howling Wolf. Max cursed inside. Who thought a bear was a good omen?

  “Yeah, well it destroyed my pack and ate the bucket of berries I worked so hard to pick!” Max took another drink of coffee; it was almost gone now. “I tell you, everything I heard about that country was a lie! Serves me right for listening to rumours. I should know better.”

  “Where are you going now?” asked Howling Wolf.

  “To warmer weather,” said Max. “I think I’ll head for the ocean that touches the western shores. I’ve been in the one that touches the east; I’d like to compare the two. Besides, I’d rather dig up clams in the sand and sun then dig through snow
for frozen potatoes.”

  “That does sound pleasant,” said Howling Wolf.

  “You should come,” said Max as if this idea had just popped into his head, “bring your men!”

  “It is something to think about,” the warrior’s face showed no emotion and Max didn’t know if he was serious or not. At least, the seeds were planted, he thought, no need to overdo it. That would only arise suspicion.

  “Yeah, well, enough about me,” Max said. “Tell me how’ve you been over the years besides gathering admirers.”

  “I’ve been well, as you can see,” said Howling Wolf. It seemed that was all he was willing to say.

  “That’s it?” asked Max. “You’ve been well? No special someone in your life? No girl to drive you crazy?”

  “I’ve told you before,” said Howling Wolf. “Women are unimportant in your life. They only complicate matters.”

  “Well, I know they’re unimportant,” said Max with a look of disbelief on his face. “But, mate, they’re a great distraction for the mundaneness of this world.”

  “That’s a distraction I can do without,” said Howling Wolf. “There are too many other things in this world to keep me occupied.”

  “I know that but every once in a while it’s nice to get your feather tickled,” he elbowed the warrior jokingly, smiling and winking as if this was a joke they shared with each other.

  “You are hopeless,” Howling Wolf smiled back. “Someday, some woman will be the death of you.”

  “Well, may it be her lovemaking not her ex-lover that takes me out,” said Max. “Then I shall die a happy man with a smile on my face.” The two talked for a couple more hours about nothing in particular. They talked about snow and sun; what was the best fur to keep you warm, what was the best fur to keep you dry. They talked about food; what kind of traps worked best. Did they fish? They talked about life from their old world, both withholding important details; Howling Wolf didn’t know that Max had been a pirate and Max didn’t know that Howling Wolf had killed his teacher when he was just a boy. Finally, as the sun went down and darkness began to swallow the camp, Howling Wolf offered Max a place to stay for the night. There was a small tent that slept four but only had one man in it right now. He could sleep in there in a warm sleeping bag.

  “That would be great,” said Max. “I want to keep going but, I must admit, a night in a warm tent sounds pretty good right now.”

  “Then stay,” said Howling Wolf. “You can continue your journey tomorrow.”

  The next day Max woke up feeling exhausted. Although he was given a warm and comfortable place to sleep, he couldn’t keep his eyes closed for long. He didn’t trust Howling Wolf and kept himself awake most of the night. It helped that the man he shared the tent with snored so loud that the ground shook. How anybody within hearing distance of this man could sleep was beyond him. All night he struggled with whether he should re-emphasize how bad it was up north. If he tried to sound too convincing it would sound suspicious. He decided not to say any more. If the warrior asked, then he would offer more information but it was probably a good idea to stay away from the subject. He lay awake, staring at the inside wall of the tent, waiting for signs that others were waking.

  After about an hour, sounds started to rise from the camp. Max listened as men started to unzip tents, put on boots and head out to the fields to relieve themselves. That was something he’d had to do for a while now. In fact, his stomach was starting to hurt from such a full bladder. If others were getting up, then he would get up too. He sat up and looked over at heavy snorer. The man was on his back, mouth wide open, sucking in, with great force, all the air around him. Max doubted he would wake him by quietly getting dressed. He was right. Five minutes later he unzipped his tent and reached for his boots. They were freezing inside and he winced as he squeezed his feet into them. His tent mate didn’t miss a snore as Max pulled himself outside and then closed the tent door.

  There were a handful of men awake, some relieved the lookouts who were always patrolling the camp and some were sitting by the fire, which they never let die. It reminded Max of the fire in Pig’s camp. He asked one of the men where he could go to empty his bladder and he was directed to the field outside the camp. He returned ten minutes later and was surprised to see Howling Wolf waiting for him with a cup of coffee in his hand. He was sitting on one of the logs in front of the fire. The warrior looked exactly the same as he did the night before and Max wondered if he, too, was awake all night.

  “Good morning, mate,” Max greeted his host with a wave and a smile.

  “Good morning, friend,” said Howling Wolf. “I’ve made coffee for you.”

  “Thank you,” Max took the cup and sat down next to him.

  “I’ve told my men to gather some more rations for you to help you on your journey,” he looked at the Scott friendly enough but Max got the impression that the sooner he left the camp the happier the warrior would be.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” he said, “but thank you. I was starting to run a little low. How far do you think it’ll be before I leave the snow behind?”

  “I think you have a couple of weeks yet,” said Howling Wolf. “You should make your line diagonal, heading south as well as west. It will put you in sunshine quicker.”

  “I will,” said Max. “Sure you don’t want to come with me?”

  “I have too many men,” replied Howling Wolf. “My camp would take days to pack up.”

  “Well, if you change your mind,” said Max, “look for me on the sand covered shores, digging up clams and browning my shiny white skin.”

  “I will keep that in mind.” The two talked for a bit, eating breakfast and waiting for the sun to come up. Once the sky turned blue and there was no hint of any winter storm, Max could tell that his visit had come to an end. For some reason, Howling Wolf looked anxious to send him on his way. Maybe he was getting too many questions from his men and it would be hard to keep them satisfied with his answers.

  “Thank you, again, for your hospitality,” said Max. It was midmorning now and his pack had been replenished and his clothes had been dried and carried the scent of campfire on them. He was ready to go. Knowing how savage these men could be, Max didn’t want to overstay his welcome. He knew that Howling Wolf owed a debt to him but he wondered what he would do to him if he considered the debt paid off. Would he still be friendly and welcome him so easily? Max didn’t want to stick around to find out.

  “Safe journey to you, my friend,” said Howling Wolf. He held out his hand to give him the white man handshake. “It was nice to see you again.”

  “It was nice to see you as well,” said Max as he shook the warrior’s hand. “I’ve always wondered what happened to you and now I know.”

  “Me as well,” said Howling Wolf. “Maybe we won’t have to wait as long between visits.”

  “Maybe,” Max didn’t know how to take this statement. Was this a hint that the warrior would be heading west in the future? If only that were the case, then Max’ mission would’ve been a success. “Take care of yourself, mate.”

  “And you. Stay away from the women as much as you can,” smiled Howling Wolf. “They will destroy you eventually.”

  “My weakness is sometimes also my power,” Max said. “But I will try to cut down.” They said goodbye once more and then Max turned and headed out of camp, southwest like the warrior had told him to do. He supposed he would follow this direction for a couple of days at least in case Howling Wolf sent spies after him to make sure he was going where he said he would. He would head that way and then we would double back and go home to warn the others that Howling Wolf and the Blood Demons were only a couple of weeks’ journey away. They should prepare themselves for a battle.

  Howling Wolf waited until Max had disappeared into the horizon then turned to the two men who had been standing behind him, waiting for his command.

  “Follow him,” Howling Wolf said. The two men were dressed and waiting for this. They had
packs of their own, filled with rations and clothing to last at least five days. They would follow the man until they were positive they knew exactly where he was going. Then they would return and report everything to their leader, hoping that this would please the gods and bless them with good fortune.

  Howling Wolf watched his men disappear into the distance before he turned back to the fire. He knew from the first minute he talked about the north that Max was lying. The blond boy who they had sacrifice all those months ago had told him exactly what it was like up north by the Rocky Mountains. He bragged about how beautiful it was, about the food and waters. Max had lied and he didn’t know why. Perhaps a woman had finally captured his heart and he wanted to protect her. If that was the case, he would use it to destroy the deceiving Scott. Howling Wolf hated liars, even if the man did save his life.

  Chapter 15

  “Oh my God! This is so frustrating!” I threw my pen down and looked at my calculations one more time. “Even if I forgot to count thirty-one days for August, it’s got to be at least two weeks after New Year’s and, according to Colonel Al’s calendar, we still have another week before the storm comes, then, we’ll get a really long chinook.”

  We were sitting around the table in Marshal’s house, trying to get ready for the storm. If we could agree on the date, we could be more precise with out preparations. I thought we still had at least another week before being hit by the blizzard but Marshal said that was impossible. According to Colonel Al’s calendar, the storm would hit tomorrow or the next day no later. We finally convinced the colonel to leave the mine and come to Marshal’s. He was sitting at the table with us, looking like he enjoyed watching us fight over his calendar and its accuracy.

  Max was still not back and I was getting a little worried. It must be over two months now and I thought, for sure, he’d be back already. I had talked to Robert about it and he agreed with me. If Max wasn’t back by next week, we would have to put our assumptions in order. Did he freeze to death? Did he just bugger off somewhere? Or did he actually find the Blood Demons and fall victim to their savagery? By next week, I thought, finally admitting to myself that I missed him and that I cared what happened to him.