In short order they had laced all the squashed shrubs into the thatching of the roof and had a solid layer. For a bit of extra insulation Cooper grabbed even more grass and layered this on top of the shrubs. He started at the bottom and placed each row upon the last until he got to the top. This overlapping method helped keep any rain out, just in case Mother Nature decided to up the ante a little.
Looking at their finished structure, it was nearly black inside. Cooper was proud of this. It meant that it should be well insulated. For the final task, the pair gathered as much live bark off the small trees from the river as they could. Then they braided this into a rough rope and secured their roof down with it. The roof was holding well in the current wind, but they wanted to be sure it was not going anywhere if the gusts got more powerful.
With the structure complete, Cooper and Handro began exploring the area. They immediately walked over to the flat, skinny field.
“Does this seem odd to you?” the dark skinned man asked.
Cooper pulled his scratchy wool shirt tighter to his neck. “Yeah, I’ve never felt air this cold.”
“No, this field. I have traveled many places and what I have learned is that nature is rarely symmetrical. This field is almost a perfect flattened rectangle. Come over here.”
As they walked to one of the long edges, Cooper noticed a distinct line running down the field. The whole area was pretty flat and treeless, except for near the river. This field had a central area that looked to be wiped totally flat. It had no small undulations, no little hills, and no random rock outcroppings, all of which were present just outside of the small strip.
“This was made by the hands of man. Just like those giant rollers in the water. There is more here. Let’s spread out,” Handro said, while walking to other side of the field.
“Ok, but grab any good firewood you see. There doesn’t seem to be much around here and we will need that fire soon.” Cooper walked off the other side of the field and began walking its edge.
Other than the topography of the field, which was obvious the more he looked at it, he saw nothing else out of the ordinary. While Cooper was walking around he was keeping one eye turned towards the sun. They would need to get back soon and get a fire started. He was worried about how cold it might become once the sun was down.
The two men met back up at the other end of the field. They had seen no signs of dwellings or even paths heading off from the field. Thankfully, they both had armloads of dry wood. The wind had picked up and they decided to talk more about it around a warm fire.
As they walked back, Cooper began worrying about where the dogs had gotten off to. He was accustomed to them running off, but this whole area seemed odd and with the temperature, he was nervous for them.
As they approached the little makeshift camp they had constructed, he saw his fears were pointless. Lupe took three steps out of the structure they had built and took a long stretch. Her two front paws extended far in front of her body as she slowly lowered her pointy snout until it nearly touched the ground. All the while her spine stretched to its fullest as she pushed her tail high in the air and let out a small squeak as her yawn ended.
“Looks like our bed meets their approval,” Cooper said as Rufus peeked his head around the side pole. Both dogs had snuck back here while they were gone for a quick nap.
Handro let a half smile creep across his face. “They have warmed it up for us I would bet. With all that fur, I welcome them in our camp on any cold night!”
Cooper grabbed a clump of the dried grass and started getting a fire going. As he struck the flint over and over to get a spark, he thought about Handro. It was much nicer being on an expedition with him. They were both good at surviving, as well as taking charge, but they didn’t have any qualms about being the leader of their small group. They knew what needed to be done and each one of them fell into each task without even so much as a thought of who should be doing it.
Plus, unlike a journey with the brewers, there was no arguing.
+++
With a warm fire blazing in front of their structure and a belly full of their food reserves, both dogs were fast asleep inside the little structure. Cooper and Handro sat around the warm fire, still trying to understand the oddities of the place they had floated into.
“So, we have dozens of giant wheels and a flat spot in a field. No sign of where the floating square came from,” Cooper said, frowning.
“Think of what we do know, though. Something was here. Those things in the water had a purpose. They may still have a purpose. They were moving after all.”
“Yeah, but I hate to go home empty handed.”
“Far from that, friend. I see those two things as a certain reason to come back here when it’s warmer and with more people. This land is hiding things from us, I can feel it. I have never come across anything like what is out in that water.”
“Ok. When you look at it like that, I get it. Still, I wish we had found where the square came from.”
“This journey was never about the square, Cooper. You and I are not so different. You were craving a trip too. I could see it in your eyes for some time. I am well aware that I am not meant to sit still for too long. I think you need to look inside yourself and realize that as well.” Handro continued staring at the red hot embers of the fire.
Cooper stared at them also. He never had figured out what hypnotic properties a fire had, but it certainly had the ability to put a person into a trance. As he stared into its fiery center, he thought of what Handro had said.
He didn’t think he was meant to be on the move all the time. Heck, for the first twenty years of his life he was in the same place. He hated it there though. The first year he had spent at the village he was preparing for the trip home, gathering information. As soon as he was settled back into the village, he had begun daydreaming of going off on another adventure.
Perhaps Handro was right in his assessment. Cooper wondered if he was meant to be nomadic as well. He certainly enjoyed the adventures and he did get a little bored in the village from time to time. A foray into the wilderness was just the right thing to take the edge off.
It was as if watching the fire unlocked doors in his mind, allowing his thoughts to flow freely past any barriers he had thrown up. In his heart, he wanted to stay in the village, with his friends and loved ones, all the time. His soul had a different idea. It had gotten a taste of adventure during his trip away from his old city and even though it nearly killed him, he had been changed on that journey.
“It’s okay, Cooper. I think we are both coming from a different direction on this. I was constantly on the move and have learned that I prefer a home base to journey from. I like the security of knowing I can go back there. You were stuck in a place forever and are just now learning to explore, but that home base is just as important to you.
Cooper furrowed his brow as he stared into the glowing chunks of what used to be wood.
“Wanting to leave to explore does not mean you want to leave permanently. You are sensing that your natural place within the village is to go out and find new things. It is one of the most dangerous jobs and it will be respected. No one will think you want to leave them.”
“When did you start talking this much?” Cooper laughed.
Handro filled the cold night air with the deep thrumming of his own laughter. “My father taught me to say what needs to be said, but not much more than that.” He paused and looked back to the fire. “I am very happy to have you as a friend. It means a great deal to share a journey with someone.”
Cooper caught himself staring out into the black foreverness spread in front of him. The fire was so bright that when he looked away from it he was rendered nearly blind. He looked over at Handro, lit up in the oranges thrown off from all the burning wood. It was like the logs were releasing all the sun they had soaked up for the many years they grew along the riverbanks.
“Thanks Handro, I’m glad you’re here too,” Cooper said as
one of the dogs let out a large groan from inside the shelter at their backs. “But now, I’m going to sleep. Wake up in the morning and head for home, then?”
“I think that would be best. I don’t like the air this cold.” Handro tossed the rest of the wood onto the fire, giving it enough fuel to throw off heat all night long.
As Cooper climbed onto the grass bed he had made, he found it quite warm. The dogs had done an excellent job of heating the small space! The redhead lay down between both pooches and Handro slid in between Rufus and the side of their small boat.
Cooper was proud of their small shelter. As he drifted off, he thought about the absurdity that he feared he may be too warm to sleep!
16
Morning brought a stark surprise to Cooper as he left the bubble of warm air that had been trapped inside their tiny house. As he pushed the shrub and log door open, he found a landscape very different than the one he had come upon just the day before. The field along the river looked to be splashed with white.
At first, he thought it might be snow. He had learned about snow from one of Katherine’s books and was interested to see it. As he bent down to inspect the blades of grass he saw it appeared to be ice growing on top of the grass itself. It was all over the top of their boat and motor as well. Looking back at their shelter, he noticed it was absent on there, but instead a thin layer of dew had formed.
It struck him instantly. This was frozen dew. It didn’t freeze on the shelter because of heat escaping from it. Cooper rubbed some between his fingers but it melted instantly. Never in his life had he seen something frozen before. The elders spoke about it from their own youth, but his village had never frozen in his lifetime.
He grabbed at more and more of the powdery cold stuff until he had enough that it didn’t melt right away. He touched it to his tongue to see if it tasted differently, but was disappointed. It just tasted cold.
Handro emerged from the structure and stared at his own breath as it if were running away from his mouth. “Wow, this is amazing! I had no idea it had grown this cold overnight. I think I will bring dogs on every journey from now on, they kept me plenty warm,” Handro said with a half-smile. “We should get going in case it gets any colder.”
Cooper agreed and they began pulling their packs out of the boat to make it easier to push into the water. As they moved around the sides of the boat, they noticed the river looked different as well.
Cooper walked up the edge and tapped the water with his hands. Instead of a cold splash, it made a ‘tick-tick’ sound. A few more resolute taps resulted in a ‘crack’ and the cold water quickly found its way to the redhead’s fingers.
Reaching out, he picked up one of the broken pieces of ice. It was very thin and completely transparent. He and Handro both stared at it for a minute before Cooper put a corner in his mouth and snapped off a mighty bite.
Laughing as he crunched down on the ice, he looked over to Handro. “Hey, I’m chewing on water!” he said as a little line of drool slipped out of the corner of his mouth. Handro laughed along with him until Coopers expression slowly changed. He stopped laughing and stared off into nothing for a second. Then he dropped the ice and placed both hands on his head.
He began hopping around and howling. Handro was confused but reached out to steady him, worried he would tumble into the frozen river. Just as quickly as the pain had come, it went away. Cooper stood back upright and looked at Handro.
“I don’t know what that was, but suddenly the inside of my head grew cold and then a pain like none I have ever felt was inside my head!” he said shakily. “It seems to have passed now.”
Handro had picked up one of the broken pieces of ice and looking at it he said, “So, we don’t eat ice. That’s good information.”
Cooper smiled again, his hand absently rubbing his head, “Yeah, no more eating ice. Do you think the boat can break through it?”
“I think so. It’s not even as thick as some tree bark. I can snap it in half with one hand.”
There was really only one way for them to know. They began pushing the light boat out into the river. It slid onto the ice for a bit, but then quickly broke through and floated in the frigid water amongst the chattering frozen pieces.
Once they had the boat all the way in the water, Cooper looked back to Handro. “Do you think the ice can hurt the boat?”
With his brows creased heavily, he responded, “I was just thinking about that. I think we need to go very slow at first and use the paddle to break up the ice instead of forcing the boat through it.
Cooper got out the paddle as Handro loaded their packs onto the boat. The dogs were running around on the shore. Both Lupe and Rufus were enamored with the ice and playing a spirited game of keep away with it. Finally, Rufus started eating it. Cooper thought about telling him to stop, because of what happened to him, but the ice was eaten in the blink of eye. He watched the furry black beast for any signs of pain, but saw nothing other than billowy white froth building on his chin.
Finally, both pooches jumped onto the boat and took their spots at the bow. Handro was already up there smashing the ice in front of the craft. Cooper grabbed the cord on the small engine and gave it several hefty tugs. Nothing happened. Usually the boat started up with only a single pull, rarely two. Stopping to catch his breath, he checked to make sure it had enough fuel. Everything was normal; the engine should fire right up.
Handro had smashed all he could and came back to look at the engine. He knew nothing about motors, but from the line of sweat that had quickly grown on Cooper’s forehead, he knew he could help pull the cord.
A dozen pulls from Handro surprised them with the same effect. The motor refused to sputter to life.
“Scoob showed me how to run these, I could take it apart. The cord might not be catching right, or maybe some of the frozen dew got inside there somewhere. Scoob always said water is bad inside motors”
“Well, we can float down. That has always been an option.”
Cooper looked up at him. “Yeah, about that…we haven’t floated at all yet.”
Handro glanced around the boat. He had broken the ice all around the boat as far as he could reach, but still it rested in the same spot. “Maybe we’re stuck on the bottom? Let’s push off.”
As they pushed off they began to move. The paddle could barely reach the bottom and Handro quickly dismissed that as the reason for no movement. He raised his head and looked around as Cooper smashed more ice around the boat.
“I think I know why we’re not moving,” he said ominously.
Cooper stopped obliterating the ice and peered questioningly back to him.
“Where the river got wide and deep, I think the current slowed way down. I saw that on several rivers far west. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it yesterday. I was just so interested in those underwater wheels.”
“Sometimes the current is slack on one side of the shore, I have seen that plenty,” Cooper responded confidently.
They proceeded to alternately smash and then paddle the little vessel further out into the water. They were nearly into the middle now, directly over the deep water and some of the moving wheels, but they still had no current to push them.
“Something is turning the wheels,” Handro said.
“I think you were right, I think there is less current here and this boat sits too high to be grabbed by it. You’ve seen leaves get blown upstream right?”
Handro nodded that he had. He used to watch them all the time as a child and loved seeing them going the wrong way.
“Well, same thing. The leaves don’t sit deep enough to be pulled by the current. If we get down to where the river gets skinny again, we won’t have any problems.”
They both raised their heads up and squinted down river, desperately trying to see where they needed to get too.
With shoulders shrugged, Cooper looked back to Handro. “We’ve spent almost a half day trying to get this far out. I think we need to re-plan this.”
“Ok, now we’re getting somewhere. We shouldn’t rush this. I know the people back home are getting anxious for us, but I was always taught that rushing causes mistakes and those are deadly here.”
“Agreed,” the dark skinned man said.
Slowly, they paddled their way back to shore. The dogs seemed slightly confused at what was going on when the men got there and immediately began putting their shelter back together. They quickly grew bored and began playing with the ice again.
+++
As the men searched out good sticks to make into large paddles, they also collected more wood for the night’s fire. Trees were scarce here, but they were finding what they needed.
The day progressed and Cooper grew more and more cold. A quick glance at Handro’s slight shivering told him it was a shared problem. He hurriedly gathered more wood and they headed for the shelter to build a fire and try to warm up.
Sitting around the fire, they began talking as they weaved the thin sticks tightly together to form a paddle. They were both worried that they were getting colder before the fire was lit. They hadn’t been that cold out in the boat, so the temperature must be dropping still.
As they sat around the fire, Handro noticed something different. He stood up and walked around while touching the covering he had wrapped around his head. His hand came back wet.
Cooper also stood up looked across the field. It was snowing! Very small flakes, but once he got away from the melting warmth of the fire, he could see them falling. He was wearing a big grin as he looked out over the field, then turned back to find Handro was not smiling.
“Things are getting worse, Cooper. We need to finish these paddles and leave first thing in the morning. We can use a log to smash through the ice better than the paddle and without damaging a useful tool. We need to get out of here.” Handro was quickly realizing why his father had warned him never to come this far north.
Further: (Down The Path Book 2) Page 10