Surviving the Fog (27 page)

"We have to get back, Lily," said Jacob.
 "We have to get back and tell the Chief.”

Lily winced as she stood.  "Do you think
I can go back?  Do you think your Chief will let me come
back?"

He smiled at her, as they started walking
back the way they had come.  "Oh, he'll be pissed.  But
he'll let you back in the tribe."

“After hearing you talk about him, I guess
he’ll think of some gruesome punishment for me," she muttered.

“Yeah, probably," he said cheerfully.
 “But look on the bright side.  At least he won't hang
you."

"Ha, ha," said Lily as she scowled at
him.

But she was glad of one thing.  Jacob
seemed animated.  He seemed happy.  And Jacob’s
cheerfulness was infectious.  But three days later, the
embarrassed woman stood in front of Mike and listened to an ear
scalding lecture.

It’s
humiliating
, she thought glumly,
for a twenty one year old woman to have to listen
to a scolding from a fourteen year old boy.
 Still, it was only proper that she take her
medicine.

Mike sentenced her to clean the Porta Pottys
for a month, which actually caused the rest of the tribe to
generously forgive her theft.  One boy even suggested that at
the end of her month, she steal something else.  In addition
to cleaning the toilets, she was to begin a visual record of their
tribe’s history.

"And the first picture that you draw will be
the Hanging Tree," Mike had said sarcastically, causing Lily to
wince.

Jacob's report on the ebbing of the fog
excited Mike.  He had Jacob describe what the scout had seen
at Meeting that night.  By the time Jacob finished speaking,
the tribe was cheering.

"How low do you think the Fog is now, Jacob?"
Eric asked.

"I think it's down to about six thousand four
hundred feet," replied Jacob.  "Look’s like it dropped about
three hundred fifty feet in one year."

The cheers were slightly muted at that
observation.  Eric calculated it would take two decades for
the Fog to dissipate at that rate.  But they realized that
there was a chance, that one day they would live once again in a
world without Fog.

"But the problem of my moss covered, three
handled gradunza remains," Mike commented the next day.

"Huh?" most of the Council said.

"Cat in the Hat," Gabby explained.

"Who let you in here?" Mike asked.

"You know, Chief, it wouldn't hurt to have
one of us younger kids on your staff," Gabby suggested.

"One of the younger kids," Mike repeated.
 "Well, that would be me."

Gabby looked surprised.  "How old are
you, Chief?" she asked.

"I'm fourteen," he replied.  Gabby
giggled.  "And a half," he added defensively.  "Now get
lost."

"Going, going, gone," she said airily as she
left.

"Now where was I," he said.

"You were saying that we have a problem with
a moss covered, three handled gradunza," said Hector. "Whatever
that is."

"What I meant to say is that Jacob and Jean
still have to go to the Retreat and do the sheep thing.”

"We'll be ready tomorrow," Jean said.

The next day, Mike met with Jacob and Jean
before they left.

"Two weeks to get there, one week to do the
job, two weeks to get back," he said.  "Six weeks, if you run
into trouble.  After six weeks, I'm going to get worried.
 After seven weeks, I'm going to get really worried.
 After eight weeks, I'm going to get pissed.  And I want
you to take the Admin’s whistles.  Use them if you get
separated."

"We'll be fine," Jacob said, as they left
Chief’s Headquarters.

"Famous last words," Mike muttered.

Outside, the two scouts found Howard and
Lily.  Howard didn't say much.  He just wanted a few
kisses, and he warned Jean not to pick up stray men.

Lily had more to talk about.  First, she
asked Jacob if he had enough food.  He assured her he did.
 Then, she asked him if he had enough water.  He assured
her that he did.  She asked him if he had packed his tube of
Neosporin.  He assured her that he had.  She asked him if
he had packed enough clean underwear.  At that, Jacob blinked,
and told Lily that he and Jean really needed to leave.  Right
now.  So they left the camp on the first day of May.

April had passed, and May had arrived.
 Around the camp, the snow had melted.  Hector and Kathy
were busy making shingles for the roof of the Lodge.  Hector
vowed that the roof would have less than five leaks come winter.
 Mike didn't have enough guilty people to cover the waste
under the Porta Pottys, so Mike made everyone carry a few buckets
of dirt to cover the excrement.  Once again, the tanks were
installed in the Porta Pottys to everyone’s aromatic relief.

Mike sent another pair of boys to the Brown
farm in May.  Tyler returned, eager to see Gabby.  Gabby
sat him down for a long talk, and she told him that although she
was fond of him, she didn't think that she was ready for a serious
relationship, being that she was only thirteen.  Disappointed,
Tyler rose to leave, only to find that Gabby had covered the
plastic chair with a thin layer of glue.  Mike threatened to
make them stay in their underwear for a week, even if it took every
tube of sunscreen in the camp.

Desi and John were enjoying their single
room, now that Howard and Jean had their own, especially since some
of the girls were camping in the bus at night.  This meant
that it was less crowded in the living areas of the Lodge.
 The bus got very warm during the day which made the vehicle a
toasty place for the girls to gather together.  The only
problem the girls had was finding enough coverings to hang over all
the windows at night, since the area right outside the bus had
become a favorite loitering spot for some interested boys.
 The girls asked Mike to intervene, but he was surprisingly
unsympathetic.

Mary drove her tractor down to the camp and
plowed some of the meadow.  She sowed ten acres of wheat, five
acres of animal feed, and five acres of oats.  The kids griped
about the loss of so much of their playing area, but they helped
sow the seeds.

"We can make oatmeal and oat cereal," Mary
said.

The whole milk Mary brought was mixed with
water and Mary left in some of the cream.  She told the kids
that if they built a chicken coop, she would give them some
chicks.

Mike told them,
“
No, Hector cannot help
you
.”

Hector did tell them about a roll of metal
wire still up at the old logging camp.  Several of the kids,
led by Rasul, hiked up to the logging camp and carried the wire
back.  Hector didn't help them build the chicken coop, but
Kathy lent them a hand.  Kylie and Paige came to visit, and
they helped, too.

Mike worried that the patrols were not
covering the Brown farm.  One day, he thought about the RV
that was still in the biker’s clearing.  He asked Hector to
see if the RV could be started.  It could, but just barely.
 The cold winter had damaged the motor.  But Hector got
it started, and he and some of the kids managed to roll it down to
the junction of the gravel road and the logging road, before it
overheated and died for the last time.  It became a guard
house, and Mike asked for volunteers to man it.  Those who
were willing to stay for forty eight hours had to walk to and from
the RV.  Those who were willing to stay for a week were taught
to ride a motorcycle and were allowed to ride.  The tribe
referred to them as ‘RV guards.’  There were several who
volunteered to stay for a week, and after a vigorous discussion
during Meeting, Mike relented and allowed girls to be RV guards.
 This meant that one of the motorcycles was stationed about
half way between the Lodge and the Brown farm, and the Council
agreed that this was a good way to speed communications between the
two communities in case of an emergency.

By the end of May, Hector and Kathy finished
shingling the roof of the Lodge.  Hector told Mike that he
wanted to take a stab at building a fireplace on the east end of
the Lodge.  Mike agreed to give him forty five days after
which, if he was not finished, he would replace the wood wall that
he had removed.  Hector began to gather stones and to tear
down the wall.

Lily's latrine duty was finally over.
 During the day she was busy making drawings in charcoal of
the various historical sites of the camp, including the infamous
Hanging Tree and the graveyard.  The kids also insisted that
she make a drawing of ‘Mike's Throw.’  At night, she had been
helping Howard to develop drawings of plants that could be
harvested for food.  Howard knew most of them by sight, but he
wanted to wait until Jean confirmed their accuracy before he used
the drawings.  Together, they worried about Jean and Jacob.
 When the middle of June arrived, Howard and Lily went to see
Mike.

"Where are they?" Lily asked demandingly.

"Good question," Mike replied. "We knew that
this might take some time.  They know what they're doing.
 Let's give them another week before we panic."

Except for worrying about the two scouts, the
year was passing pleasantly, so far.  The grain was growing
well in the meadow.  The hunters had brought back another
buck.  They were getting regular shipments of vegetables,
milk, butter and bread from the farm.  There were the usual
squabbles but nothing too serious.  Even Tyler and Gabby were
behaving.

But another week passed, and
there was still no sign of the scouts.  
Seven weeks
, thought Mike with a heavy
heart.  
Seven weeks.
 Howard was grim faced, and he was becoming
unpleasant to be around.  The only person he would speak to
was Lily.

Another week passed, and the whole camp was
worried, now.  At Council, Howard demanded that Mike send him
and the Spears up to the Retreat to look for Jacob and Jean.
 Mike agreed to discuss it that night.  After talking it
over during Meeting, there was a unanimous consensus that they
would have to go in strength to the Retreat.

But the next morning, as they were making
preparations to depart, the motorcycle from the RV guard post came
roaring into camp with the message that Jacob and Jean were at
Davis Brown Farm.  Ralph had ridden one of the horses to the
RV guard post, and the guards had agreed that this was an
emergency, so they used the motorcycle to deliver the messenger.
 Jacob had twisted an ankle, and they were both bone tired and
in need of a long rest.

"They got in late last night," Ralph said.
 "Mary is planning to bring them home in the wagon tomorrow.
 They really need to sleep today.”

The community was filled with relief.

"Thanks, man, for coming to tell us so quick.
 I really appreciate that," said Howard, as he shook Ralph's
hand vigorously.

Lily wanted to ride the motorcycle up to the
farm, but Ralph convinced her that the two desperately needed to
sleep.

"I promise you, Lily, that you’ll see them
tomorrow," he said, and then to Mike he added, "I hope you can make
sleeping arrangements for all of us.  The girls are coming,
and so are Comet and Star.  I'll leave the boys to watch the
farm and to do the chores.  I need to get back, now.
 We'll need the horse for the wagon tomorrow, and I want her
rested."

"Anything you need, Ralph.  Anything,"
Mike responded, and he waited at the small bridge until Ralph and
the RV guard disappeared over the rise.

There was joy in the camp that day.
 Desi and Yuie suggested that pound cakes should be baked to
celebrate.  Mike agreed, but he suggested that they wait and
bake them in the morning, so the cakes would be fresh for the
scouts, who were expected in the late afternoon.

The next day, everyone waited impatiently for
time to pass.  The pound cakes were baked, and then fresh
butter was spread on top while they were still hot.  Mike
allowed people to wait at the top of the hill, but they were
forbidden to go down to the Hanging Tree, because he was afraid
someone's foot would get run over by the heavy wagon, if there was
a pressing crowd on the narrow road.

As darkness arrived, the wagon appeared on
the road below, and a cheer went up from the waiting crowd.
 Jacob and Jean were sitting on the bench next to Mary.
 Paige, Kylie, Star, Comet, and Ralph were riding in the back.
 The cheering got louder as the wagon approached.  Jean
waved to the crowd.  Jacob appeared to be startled and annoyed
at the fuss.  The wagon came up and over the hill, and the
boisterous crowd followed it down to the parking lot.

Jean and Jacob jumped down, and then were
immediately surrounded by the mob.  Mike had to yell at
everyone to let Howard through.  Howard got to Jean and lifted
her in his arms.  He couldn't speak.  He just held her
for a long time.  She put her arms, around his neck, and she
buried her face on his shoulder.  Finally, he placed her on
the ground, took her face in his hands and kissed her; a long kiss.
 A cheer went up, and there was some good natured razzing.

When he finished kissing her, he growled,
"Eight weeks?"

"Hey, you said it was okay if I went with
Jacob," she replied, laughing.

He was clearly not amused.  "Eight
weeks?"

"What can I say?  The kid held me up."
 She shrugged her shoulders and smiled.  "Sorry."

They went up to the dining hall.  Mike
decided that he would talk to the scouts later.  He followed a
crowd to the dining hall to have a piece of cake.  Eventually,
only Jacob and Lily were left, standing together.  She wanted
to hug him badly, but for some reason she felt too shy.  She
noticed he was limping.

"How's your foot?" she asked.

"Sprained it.  Had to get back.
 Need to rest it," he replied.