A Girl Called Badger (Valley of the Sleeping Birds)

by Colegrove, Stephen

  Late in the night Wilson walked with Badger back to his room. They were inside only a moment when a heavy knock vibrated the door. Wilson pulled it open and Father Reed stepped inside.

  “Yes, Father?”

  “Ensign, listen to me. You need to stay away from this Teacher character.”

  “He doesn’t seem that bad.”

  The priest sighed. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. At last he held out an empty palm.

  “Your cross, please.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  Wilson pulled the silver necklace from his neck and put it in the priest’s hand.

  “You don’t realize what you’ve done,” said Reed.

  “What choice did I have? The people at Station can handle things until we get back.”

  Reed snorted. “I wish I had your confidence. I’ve made a decision––the expedition stops here.”

  “You can’t be serious!”

  “I’m nothing but serious. Without a priest to monitor the systems any number of things could happen. I have a duty to perform and I won’t abandon it like you.”

  “But we’re halfway there!”

  “Halfway to Springs is halfway home and I’m going back. You’re at the same midpoint in your life, Wilson. Make the choice to come back and I’ll do my best to help Airman Chen at Station. Perhaps we can find a medicine to reduce the seizures.”

  “She doesn’t have that much time. Everything points to Schriever and you know it.”

  “What I know is irrelevant compared to what I must do. Since you’ve obviously forgotten what it means to be a priest, I’ll remind you. Our duty is to the greatest good for the greatest number of our people.”

  “But there’s so little we know about ourselves and Station. You can’t predict the future. We might find something that helps everyone and not just her.”

  “You’re right––I can’t predict the future. We could find something valuable in the east. But these old eyes of mine have seen lives wrecked by too many bad choices.” He walked to the door. “We’re leaving the day after tomorrow and I hope you think seriously about this. Anyone who stays behind, stays for good.”

  Wilson watched the door close. Badger came out of the bedroom and hugged him.

  “I didn’t come this far just to go back,” he said to her. “Will you stay with me?”

  “Are you serious? They’d have to pull me off you.”

  VILLAGERS IN WHITE AND yellow outfits packed the central plaza the next morning and left little room to move. Wilson wondered where they’d found all the flowers hanging from the balconies around the plaza. He wore a yellow hemp jacket and Badger a dress of the same color.

  Confused at where to go, they stood at the back of the crowd until a pair of women in purple led them to the meeting hall. At the top of the steps stood Teacher, with Yishai on his left. The chief of the village wore the same brown tunic as before. Teacher was dressed in a purple robe and a silver band circled his head. The women led Wilson and Badger up the stairs to Teacher and bowed away.

  “Friends,” said Teacher. “It is only through your efforts that Mina and Kaya are safe. Please take the honored place on my right.”

  Musicians in yellow tunics began to pluck a series of stringed instruments, while a flock of girls moved through the crowd and set baskets of gifts at Teacher’s feet. Mina and Mast followed arm-in-arm and stopped below the offerings. The silver patterns on the bride’s white dress glittered in the sunlight. In a simply-cut robe the shade of fresh mud, Mast suffered in comparison.

  Teacher spread his arms and smiled with broad, white teeth.

  “Friends of David. Hard work and the favor of the gods has returned to us two lovely children. Now our daughter Salalimakitotosimew comes to us and wishes to take Sergeant Masterson as a partner. Do her friends approve of this partnership?”

  The crowd roared.

  “Do you approve, Minamakitotosimew of David and Sergeant Masterson of Station?”

  The pair bowed heads in agreement.

  Teacher looked to Yishai. “Does the father accept?”

  Yishai nodded and the crowd roared again.

  Teacher used a white piece of fabric to tie the wrists of Mina and Mast. He stepped back and clapped his palms in prayer:

  Now you will feel no rain, for you will shelter each other.

  Now you will feel no cold, for you will warm each other.

  Now there will be no loneliness, for you will be a friend to each other.

  Now you are two persons, but there is only one life between you.

  May beauty surround you in the journey ahead and through all the years.

  May happiness follow you and your days be good and long upon the earth.

  As Teacher prayed, the sleeves of his robe fell to his elbows. Wilson saw something that twisted his stomach and made his ears burn.

  Teacher whipped his arms apart and lifted his chin. “The knot has been tied!”

  The village cheered and the feast began.

  NINE

  Rings of villagers surrounded Teacher in conversation. Wilson knew he was an honored guest but didn’t want to push his way through the crowd. What he planned to say required privacy, not a public forum. After the main celebration had ended and the crowds began to thin he approached the tall figure of Teacher.

  “Your Grace, may we talk? Alone?”

  “Certainly.”

  He followed Teacher across the plaza to another red-painted wooden building. Before they could walk up the steps a boy ran up to Teacher. The tall man bent down and the boy whispered in his ear.

  “Yes,” said Teacher. “They can enter the village, but watch them constantly.”

  The walls inside the building were lined with old signs and artifacts. Teacher led Wilson into a small room with tables piled high with books. Wilson flipped casually through a few volumes.

  “I need to borrow a few men for the trip to Springs,” he said.

  Teacher raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t Reed bring enough?”

  “Father Reed is turning around and going home. It doesn’t matter why. What does matter is that I’m not giving up. I’m going east and I need help.”

  “I’m sorry, Wilson. We can’t spare anyone, not this soon after an attack. Fields have to be replanted and more patrols will be needed.”

  “I promise any old books or artifacts will be yours to keep.”

  Teacher shrugged. “You’re very generous, but it’s not possible.”

  “How about this? Give me ten men and I’ll keep your secret quiet.”

  “What on earth are you talking about?”

  “Your secret,” Wilson said. “The lies you’ve been telling these people. Lie number one: your village wasn’t destroyed, because I was there last week.”

  “Ridiculous!”

  Wilson held up his bandaged left arm.

  “You have the same scar as the rest of us.”

  Teacher smiled. “A simple, coincidental injury. Go ahead and spread the word. Who will my people believe? A man whom they’ve known for years or a boy who’s been in the village less than a day?”

  “At least they’ll know the truth. Tell me what foul, disgusting thing made Reed throw you out. Murder? Rape?”

  Teacher rubbed his temples. “I should have expected this after I started teaching them English.”

  “Why are you living with these people?”

  “I wasn’t thrown out of Station––I left. The main reason is personal, but there were other factors that led up to it. To put it simply, I became bored. You Station-born are walled up by the mountains and kept warm and safe in underground rooms. I couldn’t stand the thought of living like that for the rest of my life. The tribes interested me, so I joined the priesthood. I was Reed’s apprentice for ten years before we fell out. I bounced around other professions, but still remember what it was like in the valley. Most people never question the rules. They think what the priests tell them
to think and don’t care about anything else.”

  “That’s not–”

  “Don’t interrupt. The Station rules are constantly hammered into your tiny brains. What’s the third one? Protect others and give meaning to your life. Take a look around. I’ve protected more lives by treating disease and infant mortality out here in the wastes than I could anywhere else. I’ve given the people ways to make their lives better. I see that you don’t understand and I wouldn’t expect you to. Few Station-born wanted to hear this. But think about it––aren’t you ashamed to have all that knowledge and do nothing with it?”

  “Nothing? We’re preserving the knowledge!”

  “That’s the second rule, you’re just repeating Reed’s dogma. Show me there’s a brain between your ears. Who benefits from your skill and your treasured database? Some magnificent, glowing people in the future, arriving from the stars in rockets, or those who are actually suffering here and now? Can’t you see how I’ve changed their lives, on the most fundamental level?”

  “It’s too much to risk. If we’re discovered–”

  “Listen to yourself! You risked your life to come here. Was that worth it? You challenged your fears for the same reasons I did. If I’m buried in the wastes and can’t pass into the next life, then so be it. I’d rather save hundreds of lives than my own.”

  Wilson sighed. “I understand. But you just packed up and left? I’ve never heard of someone doing that.”

  “Reed was part of it,” said Teacher. “He and I were constantly at odds over working with the tribes or giving them machines, even after I stopped being his apprentice. So we decided I would disappear during the next hunting trip. Everyone would be told it was an ambush.”

  Wilson stumbled backwards and tripped on a rug. “No!”

  “What’s wrong?!!”

  “Father …”

  Teacher’s face turned white. “That’s impossible! Cubbie?” He held a hand to Wilson.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  “You’re about his age, and your face–”

  Wilson stood up. “The fake ambush … how could you do that? You abandoned us!”

  “You had friends and family, food and shelter. I was the one abandoned. Everyone laughed at my ideas and no one shared my vision, not even your mother. Still––it was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. I don’t know if you’ll ever see that.”

  “I didn’t have a choice.”

  Teacher turned away. “All of us make mistakes. I didn’t want the two of you to suffer out here with the tribes. Your mother would have missed everyone at Station. But, by the time I realized I’d made a mistake it was too late to go back.”

  “There’s no such thing as too late. Whatever crazy thing you wanted for your life, you didn’t have to make us pay for it.”

  “All I can say is I’m sorry.”

  Wilson looked at the floor. “She never took another partner, but you wouldn’t know that. You don’t know anything about us.”

  Teacher had a sad, distant expression on his face. He touched Wilson’s shoulder and Wilson shrugged it off.

  “It would have been worse if you knew I was leaving. Did you want to grow up with a delinquent father? What about the shame? I didn’t want my choice to curse you.”

  “Well, you failed, because it did.”

  Teacher sighed. “What can I do?”

  “You can fix the mistake. You apologized to me, now apologize to mother. After that, it doesn’t matter if you stay at Station or leave. I don’t want to keep this a secret from her, but the truth should come from you.”

  Teacher crossed his arms and paced. “I’ll give it a great deal of thought. It’s not a trivial matter.” He paused. “As for the soldiers you need, I can spare five.”

  Wilson shook his hand and reluctantly gave him a hug.

  “How is your mother?” asked Teacher. “How is she, really?”

  “She’s doing fine. Should I tell the others?”

  “Wait for a day or so.”

  “I’ll have to tell Kira– I mean Airman Chen.”

  His father raised his eyebrows. “So she’s the reason you left.”

  “Yes.”

  “I still think of you as the boy I left behind, but you’re a man now.” He stared at Wilson carefully. “You’re more like me than I realized.”

  Wilson rolled his eyes. “I think Kira’s sickness was caused by her name-giving,” he said. “I’ve got a few documents about it. I think we can find more information or a cure at an old place east of Springs.”

  “Let’s talk about the details soon. I promise to do what I can.”

  Badger waited for him at the bottom of the steps.

  “What happened?”

  Wilson put his arm around her waist.

  “Kira … you’re not going to believe this.”

  LATER THAT DAY WILSON held a conference. His father, Badger, and five hunters from the village gathered in his room. An afternoon cloudburst had doused the village and the smells of damp leather and hemp scented the air.

  “The plan is to follow Route 24 through the mountains,” said Wilson. “It’s well-travelled and dangerous but we’ll make good time. The first day we’ll camp west of Springs. Later that night we’ll avoid the dead zone by curving around the city to the north. We’ll look for book repositories. If we find anything we’ll camp until the evening. Schriever is the goal and lies over the eastern plain. It’s flat and treeless in that area, so we’ll have only darkness for cover. After spending the daylight hours at Schriever we’ll return over the plains at night.”

  “When do we leave?” asked Badger.

  “Early tomorrow,” said Wilson. “We could leave sooner, but we’ll be traveling rough and need a good rest.”

  “I’m also waiting for a scouting report in the morning,” said Teacher. “As far as supplies go, my people can provide weapons and a week of provisions.”

  “The help is much appreciated,” said Wilson. “Any other questions? If not, we meet in the square at first light.”

  AFTER THE EVENING MEAL Wilson relaxed in his room. Badger sat on his lap facing him, with her arms around his neck. With a finger, Wilson traced the pale scars down her temple and cheek.

  “Do you remember?”

  Badger yawned. “Remember what?”

  “When you got the scars?”

  “Of course, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Wilson sniffed. “You’re more like a water spider than a badger.”

  “Better a water spider than a sad frog!”

  “You’re starting to get on my bad side, girl.”

  She giggled. “I don’t think I’ve seen the good side yet.”

  “Really? Maybe I’ll just stay here. I’m a god, after all. The girls around here faint in the street when I walk by.”

  “I think they’re passing out for a different reason.”

  Wilson pouted. “The tragedy! I guess you’re stuck with me.”

  “Good,” she said, and massaged his shoulders.

  A flicker of melancholy passed over Wilson as he remembered Flora.

  Badger touched his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I was wondering … do I look like my father?”

  She leaned back. “If you had a beard. But you’re more like your mother.”

  “I didn’t want to leave everyone behind, Kira. I just had to do it.”

  “Don’t worry what the others think. You’ll have plenty of time for that later.” She paused. “You know, I think you’re actually very much like your father.”

  Wilson turned red.

  “That’s not what I mean,” said Badger, “Both of you have a strong heart and mind.”

  “I won’t abandon you like he abandoned me.”

  “I know.”

  He touched the collar of Badger’s yellow dress.

  “I told him to come back to Station and apologize. But I have no idea if that’s what I really want.”

  Badger sighed. �
��Don’t kill your patient with the cure, Will.”

  THE GLASS PANES HUMMED in the wooden frame.

  Wilson opened his eyes halfway and heard the pop of firearms in the street. He searched the floor for his clothes as a group of men raced past his window, their steps thundering on the wooden planks. Wilson grabbed his knife and pistol belt and slipped on his moccasins. His crossbow and bolts hung from a peg on the wall.

  Badger looked through a crack in the front door, crossbow in hand. Her black hair stuck every which way and she’d strapped a knife belt over her flimsy nightdress.

  Wilson started to lift the locking bar and Badger grabbed his hand. More boots galloped past on the springy planks. Badger ran to the back of the house and squeezed through a small window. Wilson tossed out both crossbows and climbed after her. They ran toward the central plaza through a maze of narrow alleys. The sharp crack of rifles grew louder and a hot-metal smell filled the air.

  Badger stopped at a building that bordered the square and looked around a corner. She pushed Wilson back and shot her crossbow. A man screamed out of sight and Wilson heard tribal curses. Badger switched her spent bow for Wilson’s and aimed again. Wilson reloaded and heard another scream in the crackle of gunfire.

  Badger ran to the back of the building and slung the crossbow over her shoulder. She wedged her fingers and toes in gaps between the wooden slats. Wilson followed her up the side of the building and across the sharp peak of the roof.

  A haze of smoke covered the front of the meeting hall and long weapons boomed from the open windows. Half a dozen dead or wounded villagers were sprawled on the steps. Directly opposite the hall, tribals leaned around corners and shot back. Bodies of villagers and buckskin-clad raiders were scattered across the gravel of the open plaza.

  Badger reloaded and spoke in Wilson’s ear.

  “Four shots left, make it count.”

  They slid across to the eave and looked down. On the porch of the next building, raiders in yellow buckskin fired at the meeting hall.

  Wilson exhaled and focused on a pale jacket. He pulled the release and the raider jerked and crumpled. Wilson pushed back from the eave of the roof and rolled onto his back. He put his left foot in the rope stirrup and pulled back on the reload lever with his right hand. He put a sharp-tipped bolt in the channel and slid to the edge. Badger had already shot again. Wilson aimed and pulled the trigger. His bolt jerked away and stuck in the neck of a falling raider. Many of the raiders were confused, and looked left and right through a haze of smoke. Wilson shot a third bolt. Something zipped past his head as he slid backwards.