He figured he was about five or six days away from Marshal’s. If he had a horse, he would be so much faster. Unfortunately, he had lost his horse a long time ago. It had to be shot not long after he had reunited with Cornelius. On his way to infiltrate Pig’s camp, Max and his horse had taken a path that led them through the foothills. They came across a small rock slide that was difficult to navigate through. Max got off his horse and tried to guide it through the rocks to a safer path. They had almost gotten through when the horse slipped, catching its hoof in a hole. Max could still hear the awful crack as it broke its leg and went down hard, crying in pain. Max couldn’t bear to see the animal suffering, so, he took out his gun and shot it between the eyes, ending its pain.
They probably would have let him take Cocoa but he couldn’t leave his friends without the loyal horse. They needed her more than he did, especially when they gathered wood for the stove. In this weather they would need a lot of it and Cocoa would be able to pull huge loads for them. Besides, he was always afraid that something might go wrong and he couldn’t bear the thought of having to shoot another horse in his care.
He knew that Howling Wolf had horses for himself and his men but, he also knew, that he didn’t have a horse for every man and he didn’t see any wagons anywhere in the camp. Marching with so many men and having to go at a pace that matched the men walking, they weren’t likely to get ahead of him if they did decide to head north. He also assumed they had to stop for the blizzard as well. They were probably a couple of days behind him at the very most. Just thinking about it made him hurry his pace and take less breaks.
It really had warmed up and he found himself walking through more puddles than snow. His feet were constantly wet and he started to sniffle a couple of days after leaving Sajni and Phil. The last thing he needed was a cold. He stopped before he really wanted to so he could build a fire and dry out his boots and socks. He would be of no use to anyone if he were to get sick. It would slow him down but he couldn’t help it; he was soaked.
The next morning, he got up before the sun came up. His clothes were dry and he actually felt better. His sniffles were gone and so was the feeling of a cold coming on. That was a good thing because he was only a couple of days away now. He felt a couple of butterflies’ flutter in his stomach at the thought of seeing Nicky again. Maybe being away had confirmed his feelings for the feisty girl who had captivated him since the first moment he saw her. One of the reasons he volunteered to go find the Blood Demons was to, hopefully, let her sort out her feelings for him but, to his surprise, their separation actually strengthened his. Life had a twisted sense of humour, he thought. After so many years of going from one woman to another, he had finally found someone he wanted to spend eternity with and she hated him.
Howling Wolf
When his men returned from tailing Max, Howling Wolf could see the relief in their faces as they told him that the Scott was, indeed, heading towards the coast. They saw no reason to bring him back and they assured their leader that he was no threat to any of them.
“I see,” said Howling Wolf. He was disappointed in his men. Were they really that stupid? Did they really think that his old friend just happened to stumble across them in the middle of the icy winter? There was a reason Max tracked them down and Howling Wolf thought he knew why. There had to be someone or something he was trying to protect. “Thank you. You should go to the fire and warm up and have something to eat.”
The two men looked at each other, not sure what to do. Howling Wolf had never been nice to them before. They knew better not to question him, though, and left before he could change his mind. Howling Wolf turned to look out to the west. He fumbled with his grandfather’s arrow which still hung around his neck on a string made out of rawhide.
What was Max trying to hide? There must be something. Maybe he should ride out and ask the Scott, himself but he knew it would be a waste of time. Even if he did catch up to him, there was no way he’d be able to get any information out of him. If he was truly protecting something, he wouldn’t talk, not to him, not to anyone. Torturing him wouldn’t help either, not with Max. He wasn’t your typical white man. He came from a land and time of strong men who could survive almost anything. Torturing him would only lead to one thing; the Scott’s own death. No, Howling Wolf could not go after him. He turned to face the north. There was only one thing he should do; head north now as quickly as he could.
He made his way back to his tent. There was no way he could reach his destination quickly with this many men. He had to do something to cut his numbers. He figured he could take twenty, maybe twenty-five men at most. If he picked out his strongest fighters, that should be enough to fight any group they came across. That meant he had to get rid of eighty men but how? He unzipped his tent and crawled inside. He had wanted to stick with the traditions of his people and use a teepee but the white man’s tent was faster to set up and take down so he begrudgingly gave in and used one.
He laid down on a pile of furs he had acquired from the animals he had killed. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. He needed to think and this was the only place where he knew he would be left alone to do so. He had to eliminate eighty men, make them disappear without causing any kind of dissention among them. How was he going to do that? An hour later he had his answer.
“Men.” The whole camp had gathered around Howling Wolf who was now standing atop a pile of snow he had built up before calling his men together. “I have been thinking about my old friend who came to visit us. He told me that the north holds nothing. It has been cursed by the gods and bares no riches. I didn’t want to believe him. I thought he was telling me lies to keep us away from his home but I was wrong.” A low grumble ran through the men.
“I have sent two of my best men,” he pointed to the two men who had followed Max. They raised their heads, showing how proud they were to have been chosen for this task. Howling Wolf tried not to show his anger in their self love. He knew they had been fooled and should only feel shame for their stupidity. “They have returned today to tell me that my friend was telling the truth. He is on his way to the coast as we speak. I was wrong to assume he was lying.” A murmur of shock rose from his men. Their leader never admitted his mistakes to anyone.
“Based on this information,” he continued, “I have changed my mind. Tomorrow morning, at first light, we will leave this place and head towards the coast.” The men erupted into confusion. This was a complete change. For months now, all Howling Wolf could talk about was the north and how rich the land would be. He promised that this was what the gods wanted for them; they would finally be able to settle and build their community. It was their promised land and now this. How could he change his mind so easily? Howling Wolf was expecting this, in fact, he had planned it.
“I see you have doubts.” The men nodded their heads and voiced their concerns. Howling Wolf raised his hand for their silence and then pointed to one of the men in the front. He wasn’t a good fighter nor was he very strong but he was known by everyone; either hated or loved and was a perfect choice. “Come.”
The man smiled and made his way to Howling Wolf, the men around him patting him on his back, congratulating him for being called upon by the prophet. He would be the envy of everyone today. He faced Howling Wolf and smiled as he looked into his leader’s eyes. What he saw terrified him but it was too late to do anything.
“You all have doubts about my decision,” he kept his gaze on the man in front of him, evil reflecting from his eyes. “Let’s see what the gods say!” He pulled out a knife and slit the man’s throat, soaking himself in blood. The crowd of men gasped as Howling Wolf moved to let the dying man fall, terror painted on his face. Soon, the white snow was covered in red as the blood crept down the snow pile they were on top of. Howling Wolf picked up some of the red coloured snow and put it in his mouth then turned to his men.
“The blood flows to the coast,” he pointed to the path of the blood. “The gods want us to go we
st. We must obey the gods.” He looked out at his men with complete authority daring any of them to question him. The men stared in disbelief as their friend’s blood ran out of his body until he was dead. They didn’t understand what had just happened. There were no gallows, no rope or pot to catch the blood. What kind of sacrifice was this? Howling Wolf saw their doubts and knew they were questioning his actions.
“The gods have granted me permission to sacrifice one of my own,” he explained. “It was how they wanted to show us the way. They will take this man’s spirit to the skies where he will live as a prince for eternity.” This seemed to calm the men down and they refocused on Howling Wolf and what he was saying. “We are the Blood Demons and we must obey the gods. Their word is final; we must go west to find the ocean. This is where the waters will wash away our wrongs, where we will build our community and live for the rest of time. We are the Blood Demons and we must obey the gods.”
“We are the Blood Demons and we must obey the gods,” the men started to chant.
“We are the Blood Demons and we must obey the gods,” Howling Wolf said louder and with more conviction.
“We are the Blood Demons and we must obey the gods,” they repeated again and again, getting louder each time. Soon, their voices could be heard from far away and there was no doubt that Howling Wolf had sacrificed their friend for a reason. Their prophet had done no wrong and his actions would never be questioned again. Finally, he raised his hands to bring silence to the camp.
“Tomorrow, we will pack our belongings and most of you will head for the ocean,” he said. “I will ask some of you to stay behind with me. If we want a community that will thrive and last forever, we can not do it alone. We need women to help maintain our homes. We need women who will cook our meals, clean our clothes and keep our beds warm.” The men gave out a small cheer. It would be nice to have a woman after all this time of travelling with just men. But Howling Wolf’s plan was not accepted without question. Some of the men were still confused.
“Can’t we look for women on our journey to the coast?” asked one of the men. He knew that Howling Wolf wouldn’t like being questioned, but he didn’t get it. It made more sense to collect women on their journey to the coast instead of looking for them here. The ocean was still far away; they could meet several women by the time they got there.
“We could look for women on our way, that is true. My friend informed me, however, that the people still living in the north are growing weak and will soon be following him,” he explained. “The gods have told me that it would be better if we captured them here, as they flee. They will be too weak to fight and will be thankful to come with us. We can teach them their duties before we meet again.” Now he would give the larger group of men their purpose, a reason for being the first to the coast. He had to make them feel important. That’s what every white man wanted; to think the world could not exist without them.
“I, and the gods, have great faith in those of you that are going straight to the coast. Your task is the most important. You are the ones who will build the foundation for our community. You will be the ones to clear out anyone or anything that gets in our way.” Howling Wolf was right; already he could see their evil pride possessing their minds. What he was saying made sense to them. They had their purpose now and returned to their tents to prepare for their departure the next day. Howling Wolf silently laughed at their foolishness. They would believe anything he said as long as he told them it was what the gods wanted. He shook his head and started selecting the men he wanted to take with him.
The next morning everyone was packed and ready to go. Howling Wolf had picked twenty-three men to stay behind with him and only kept a small amount of supplies. He didn’t want to be slowed down with the weight of extra cargo. He took a dozen horses, enough so they could ride in pairs if they needed to. He let the larger group take the rest. He watched as the large group slowly made their way over the land believing that, one day, their group would be reunited on the wet sands of the coast. Idiots! Now, he had to convince the remaining men that they had to march north. He already had his plan worked out in his head but it required one more night here. It was amazing what the gods could tell you in your dreams. They might even tell you to head north after all.
Chapter 18
The blizzard was over, the chinook was over and winter was almost over and we still didn’t know anything about the foreign substance that created the rocks that exist in this world and I, for one, was done with it. I didn’t know what else we could do. I think we tested a sample of rock from every square inch of the land in a fifty-mile radius around us. It was useless. Every sample came back the same, substance unknown, properties unknown, usefulness unknown. That’s it and I’m over it. I say we give up and try to fix the radio or the clocks whichever was easier. I say the clocks; they didn’t require any power. I wanted to take them apart, tweak the insides and put them back together again. Then I’d wind them up and they would magically tick away once more. If nobody else wanted to do it, then I would do it by myself.
So, now, I sat in the clock room with about ten different screwdrivers in front of me. Most of them were useless because they were too big to work on the tiny screws that held the clocks and its parts together. Still, I managed to take apart three clocks and now sat, staring at the parts, panicked because I had no idea what part came from what clock and how they all should fit together. I should have drawn diagrams and labeled parts as I took them apart but I didn’t think of that until after. I could just sweep everything onto the floor and start crushing the parts with the heel of my boot but I was trying to control my temper and not give in to it.
Billy and Kitten sat at the table with me but they seemed to be having way more fun than I was. They were taking apart the watches and I kept hearing oohs and awes coming from them like they were fascinated to see the inside of each watch. What made it worse, was that they managed to put all the pieces back after they were finished looking at them. What was wrong with me? Two ten-year olds could figure this crap out and I couldn’t?
I felt a chill and zipped my hoodie up to my chin. The chinook had melted most of the snow covering the ground from the mine to Marshal’s and, according Colonel Al’s calendar, there wasn’t going to be any more snow storms. In fact, there wasn’t going to be very much snow at all before we said goodbye to winter. That suited me just fine; intense cold and snow was not my forte. I was more of a warm weather girl, I thought with a smile and then shook my head. I was letting my mind wander and should get back to the clocks. I looked at the pile of gears and knobs and screws and sighed.
“Are you okay Nicky?” asked Billy. I guess I had sighed louder than I thought.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I answered. “It’s just really hard to put this all back together. I can’t remember where anything goes and it’s starting to piss me off.”
“Want some help?” he asked.
“Nah, I can do it. It’s just going to take a whole lot of patience,” I said, “and I think I’ve used my patience quota for the day. How about you guys? Anything, yet?”
“Nope, but it’s fun to take them apart,” he said with a look of excitement on his face. Kitten nodded her head in agreement. The girl still didn’t talk very much unless your name was Billy; she seemed to talk quite a bit to the boy.
“Do you wanna keep working at it?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “What else do you wanna do?”
“I was thinking of going back home and getting something to eat,” I said. “I don’t like the food the colonel eats; it’s all bland and yucky. We could go back and I could make us some soup or something.”
“That sounds good to me,” Billy jumped off of his stool. “Come on, Kit, let’s go eat!” The little girl smiled and jumped down from her stool to join her friend.
We went and told the others where we were going and were quickly joined by Emma Lee who didn’t like doing these experiments any more than I did. The only thing she
studied growing up was how to be a proper southern belle. All this talk of chemistry and physics confused her and she found her lack of knowledge embarrassing. Robert sensed how she felt and gave her books to read that explained the basics of science. She appreciated Robert’s help and read whatever he gave her and was starting to understand a bit of it but it was still overwhelming. When I told everyone that Billy, Kitten and I were going back to Marshal’s, she jumped at the opportunity to join us.
We took our time walking through the woods. Although the snow had pretty much disappeared in the fields leading to Marshal’s, the woods still had a blanket of white covering its floor. The elevation was higher here and it didn’t get as warm as it did on the prairie. Barker had come with us and Billy and Kitten had fun throwing snowballs for him to catch. This was one of the few times that I liked this world. It was peaceful. There was no buzz of a cell phone or rumble of a car passing by. I wouldn’t have said it when I first woke up down here, but I actually liked that there was nothing hi-tech here. Instead of looking down at a screen full of text messages, I actually looked around and noticed all the beauty that surrounded me. It was nice.
By the time we got to the edge of the trees it was early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly in the clear blue that surrounded it. We walked through the fields talking about everything and anything as long as it wasn’t about the mines or the experiments. Emma Lee and I talked about what we would make with the soup and decided we’d make biscuits. We still had a couple of big buckets of flour that Marshal had filled with bags of flour we brought from the city months ago.
“Hey! Who’s that?” Billy was pointing at the house which was now visible. There was a man standing in front of the door, hands on his hips, staring back at us. I felt my heart begin to beat faster and my hands clenched into fists. Who the hell was snooping around our house? I was furious that there was an intruder hanging around what was ours. Being afraid didn’t even cross my mind. I was ready to fight whoever it was and protect our stuff. We kept walking towards the house and I could see that Emma Lee didn’t share my fearlessness, she looked white as a ghost and her hands were starting to tremble.
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