Surviving the Fog (10 page)

Hector decided that it was time to ride back
to his camp.  He wanted to take an inventory of all the items
that he could bring back to the lower camp.  To Hector’s
surprise, Jacob asked if he could catch a ride.

"I'm going to explore a little," he told
Mike.

That worried Mike but he just asked Jacob to
be careful.  Mike had learned by now that Jacob was the kind
of guy that would always want to explore his surroundings.

Jacob climbed behind Hector, and the
motorcycle roared to life.  They rode back over the hill, down
past the Hanging Tree, and then onward to the junction of the road
that led up to Hector's camp.  Hector paused when they came to
the path on their right leading to the clearing where the dead
bodies still lay.

"We need to bury those men," Hector said.

Jacob gave out a non-committal grunt.
 Hector gunned his cycle again.  Before they came to
Hector's camp, they passed the entrance to another dirt road on the
left.

"Where does that road lead to?" Jacob asked
loudly over the roar of the engine.

"The firebreak road?  I don't really
know," answered Hector.  "I saw a man in a four by four pull
out from it once.  And once, I saw a woman on the road who was
riding a horse.  I think it must lead to another cabin or
maybe a house."

"How far is your camp, if I walked to it from
here?" Jacob asked.

"Walking?  Maybe an hour. The road goes
up and down.  It's muddy in places."  They continued on
until they came to the logging camp.  There were several
buildings and several pieces of heavy machinery.  The
equipment impressed Jacob.

"What do these machines do?" he asked.

"That one can take a downed tree and strip
off the branches.  The other one is a John Deere harvester.
 It can pick up a stripped tree, cut the end off, shoot a
certain amount of it out one end, and then slice it off, turning it
into a log.  That one over there can pick up the logs and load
them on a truck.  We were supposed to get a machine this year
that could cut the trees down safely, but the company said it would
cost too much.  So we still have big chainsaws to cut down the
trees.  It takes a lot more people to cut the trees with
chainsaws.  Luckily for us, because that's why they delivered
so much supplies this spring."

"Do you have gas for all this stuff?" Jacob
asked.

"Yeah, we have a big fuel truck back there.
 Thank heaven, it arrived before the Fog.  The supplies
came at the same time; food, water and plenty of toilet paper, plus
the stuff for the mujeres."

“Huh?”

“Women.”

"What kind of stuff for women?"

"Sanitary napkins I guess, Jacob.  Pads
and all that stuff they need for their periods.  I don't know.
 Hey." He stopped talking and looked at the heavy equipment.
 "Maybe, we can use that to lift those cabin floors up to the
second level."  He pointed to a forklift.

Jacob saw that most of the buildings at the
logging camp were made of sheet metal.  Hector led the way
into the only cinder block building.  It looked like a
combination office and storeroom.  There was a bunkhouse in
the rear.  After a few minutes, Jacob realized that Hector was
searching for something.

"Ah, here it is,” Hector said with a
satisfied smile.  He brought out a long box.  Inside was
a large roll of black plastic.

"What's that for," Jacob asked.

Hector stopped smiling.  "I'm going to
use it to wrap those dead guys before we bury them."

"Why bother," said Jacob.  "They were
murderers."

"Because I'm not like them," Hector answered.
 "I may not be the best guy in the world that's left, but I'm
not like them."

"Pete and Jackie didn't have any plastic to
be wrapped in," said Jacob resentfully. “We just had sheets.”

"I'm sorry about that, amigo.  I truly
am.  But I got to do this."

Hector went outside, and he placed the box in
a small pickup truck.  Then he and Jacob got in the truck, and
they drove back down the road.  When they got to the side
road, Jacob asked to be dropped off.

"Where are you going?" asked Hector startled
at the request.

"I'm going to explore that road some," Jacob
replied.  "Can I stay at your camp, if I get back there
tonight?"

"Sure. I'll be back later.  Hell, kid, I
don't like the idea of leaving you here."

"I'll be okay," Jacob replied and without
another word, he lifted his backpack and walked away.

Hector shook his head, and then he started
down the road again.  When he came to the path leading to the
clearing, he stopped.  He took the box out of the truck and
carried it to the clearing.  The bodies were emitting a rank
smell.  Hector rolled out the plastic, and he cut two pieces.
 He placed one piece next to the body still stuck to the tree.
 Gingerly, he worked the spear out of the tree and through the
man's mouth.  It was unpleasant work, but he finally got the
two bodies wrapped in the plastic.  Now he had to put the
bodies in the truck.

Undecided, he stared at the wrapped bodies,
and then he made a decision.  He got back in the truck, and he
drove to the kids' camp. When he found Mike, he explained what he
had done.

"Jackie and Pete didn't have any plastic,"
Mike said grimly.

"That's what Jacob said," replied Hector.
 "I'll tell you what I told him.  I'm not like those men.
 And I don't think that you are either.  I want you to
help me move them.  I'm going to take them to the tree where
you hung that guy and bury them."

"The one we hanged stays there," said Mike
flatly.

"Why?" Hector asked, puzzled by the intensity
of the boy’s words.  "He's long dead."

"He's a warning to anyone else who thinks he
can hurt us."

Hector nodded.  "All right.  But
let's bury the others."

So Mike and John went with Hector.  They
retrieved the bodies, and they buried them close by the Hanging
Tree.  Then Hector took Mike and John back to the camp.
 On the way, he told them where Jacob had gone.

When they got to the camp, Hector discovered
that they were having difficulty leveling the concrete piers for
the cabin that they had moved.  There was a laser level in the
truck, and he soon had the blocks leveled.  Mike decided to
give everyone a break for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow would
be soon enough to rebuild the cabin.  He walked with Hector
over the bridge and up to the pickup.

"Thanks for helping us, Hector," he said.

Hector held out his hand.  "Thanks for
helping me, Chief," he replied.  Mike shook his hand and
laughed.

"I guess it's kind of goofy, the way they
call me, ‘Chief’."

"No, it's not goofy at all.  You've done
a good job here, amigo."

"I've been really scared," Mike blurted, his
voice suddenly full of emotion.  Then to his embarrassment,
Mike choked up.  He couldn't speak, and his tears began
falling.  He stuffed his hand in his mouth to keep himself
quiet as he sobbed.

Hector looked around.  He and Mike were
behind the truck, and there was no one else around.  He
reached out, and he pulled Mike into his arms.  The boy cried
silently on Hector’s chest.  Hector just stood there a short
while until Mike was finished.  Then Mike pulled away and
wiped his eyes.

Hector got into the pickup.  Through the
window he said, "See you tomorrow, Chief."  He started the
pickup.  Mike waved silently, and Hector drove away.

When Hector was passing by the place where
they had retrieved the bodies, he decided to stop and search the
area.  He found many items that they could use, but the only
thing he took at that time was the ammunition that he found hidden
in the shack.  He drove back to the logging camp.  There
was no sign of Jacob.

After Jacob left Hector at the junction of
the roads, he hiked along the road he had chosen.  Mushrooms
were growing in abundance along the winding path.  He followed
the rutted road up and around the side of the mountain for a ways,
and then the narrow road began to drop.  Presently, he came to
a small stream that fell from his right, went under the road by way
of a galvanized steel culvert, and then turned and followed the
road.  The snow fed stream skipped merrily over the stones in
its bed, and Jacob was content to walk and listen to its music.
 The wind was blowing lightly through the tall green trees,
and the scent of the aromatic pine was heavy in the air.
 Jacob and the stream followed the road until he grew hungry,
and then he stopped, and he ate a tuna sandwich, an apple, and a
chocolate pudding cup that he had been saving.

After eating, he rested with his back to a
tall red fir tree and watched a couple of brown squirrels quarrel.
 An owl flew by.  He resumed his walk.  He loved
strolling through the woods, and he enjoyed his solitude.
 After a bit, he paused respectfully as a tan colored snake
crossed his path and disappeared into a patch of blue gentians and
yellow eyed daisies that were growing along the side of the
road.

The road would rise occasionally, and then it
would dip a little deeper as it made its way around the mountain.
 He knew by the light that the sun was only a few hours from
dropping below the horizon, but he did not worry that he would be
caught out after dark.  He didn't mind staying in the woods at
night.  He always seemed to find a sheltered spot where the
blanket in his backpack could serve to keep him warm enough.
 He had waterproof matches, although he tried hard not to use
them.  He thought that they might be needed later in the
year.

As the sun was just reaching the horizon, he
came to a small grassy valley on his right.  It probably
measured no more than twenty acres, and it was surrounded by steep
slopes.  The road continued on past the little dale, but the
stream came to an end in a small pond.  Jacob could see that
the pond was manmade.  Someone had filled in part of a gully
creating the pond behind it.  It was almost filled to its
banks from the spring runoff.  Large multicolored corn lilies
and blue-eyed-marys grew by the water.  As Jacob watched, a
golden trout leaped out of the water trying to catch a large
dragonfly, and then it fell back into the blue water with a
plop.

There was a dirt driveway leading away from
the main road to a large beige house set a little ways off the
road.  The house had a steeply pitched roof.  In front of
the covered porch, there were some chickens pecking at the dirt.
Next to the house was a large red barn.  On the south side of
the barn was an attached room, built with glass panels.  Jacob
could see a rough corral behind the barn, where two roan geldings
were feeding from a trough.  There were smaller buildings
closer to the house.  Jacob supposed they were storage sheds.
 Farther back, Jacob could see a wind turbine spinning in the
breeze.  He recognized it as the same type that provided
electricity for the kids’ camp.  Far in the rear, he saw
fields with some kind of grass or grain growing in them, and he
noticed a brown hare nibbling at a stalk.  By the tree line
was a structure that looked to be a raised water catchment
tank.

Jacob hesitated.  It was a little late
for company, especially when that company was in the form of a
stranger.  Making up his mind, he strode towards the house
until he was a ways from it, and then he shouted, “Hello! Hello!"
 Then he waited.

Presently the door opened slightly, and a
young woman peered out.  "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hello.  I'm Jacob.  I'm
exploring,” the boy responded.

The door opened wider, and the young woman
stepped out.  She had a slight build and her shoulder length
hair was black.  She was carrying a shotgun.

"Well, hello yourself, Jacob," she said.
 "Where have you come exploring from?"

Pointing back towards the main road, he said,
"Back down that road, then down the other road, then up to a summer
camp."

"You're a long way from home," the young
woman offered.

Jacob thought for a moment, and then he
asked, "Do you know about the Fog?"

"What fog?" she replied.  At that
moment, a small head peeked around her skirts.

Jacob found that he didn't want to distress
her, but he said, "We're surrounded by a fog down about the six
thousand seven hundred foot level.  It's all around us.
 We can't get through it.  There are some bad things in
it.  I think...something bad happens to anything that goes
into it."

The young woman paled.

"When is Daddy coming home?" a small voice
asked.

The young woman bent down to the child.
 "Go back inside, Star," she said.  "I'll be right
outside. I need to speak to this boy for a minute."  Gently,
she pushed the girl inside and closed the door.

"All right, what's going on?" she asked the
boy sternly.  "Who sent you here?  Is this some kind of
practical joke?"

Jacob shuffled his feet uncomfortably.
 "I'm sorry.  I'll leave now," he said.  He turned
around.

"Wait!" the young woman called.  There
was a sense of desperation and urgency about her, Jacob sensed.
 "Who are you?"

"My name is Jacob," the boy said again.

"And how do you know about this so-called
fog?" she asked.

"The adults at our camp left to find out what
was happening.  They didn't come back.  I got worried, so
I tried to walk out of the mountains.  That's when I found the
fog.  I saw a deer get taken into it.  So I went back to
the camp."

"When was this?"

"The end of May," Jacob replied.

The young woman’s face turned ashen.
 She groaned softly, and then she sat down on the wood floor
of the covered porch.  She dropped her head into her hands.
 Jacob thought that she might be crying.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She raised her head and stared at him.
 Her eyes were misty.  "Are you all alone?" she
asked.