Surviving the Fog (33 page)

"Tyler, I need to talk to you about
something," Mike said and Tyler tensed.

"I've been thinking about Major Collins.”

Tyler relaxed slightly, but
he was baffled by the Chief’s statement.  
What does the Army have to do with me
?

"If he figures out where we are, I think that
he'll send someone to find us as soon as he can.  He might
come, himself.  I think the earliest date they could arrive is
in the middle of May.  So I want you to pick three people.
 The four of you will man a guard post a mile beyond the Brown
farm.  I've already talked to Mrs. Brown about it.  You
can share the Brown attic, but you’ll be jammed in unless you want
to sleep in the barn. You'll be in charge."

Stupefied, Tyler stared at Mike an instant,
and then he stammered.  "You want me to be in charge of a
guard post, Chief?"

"Yes, Tyler," Mike replied mildly with a nod.
 Mike picked up the dead radio that had been sitting in the
cabin since he had first moved in.  "And I've got a plan."

Amazed at the notion that the Chief was
putting him in charge, Tyler listened to Mike's plan.  When
Mike finished, Tyler got up to leave.

"I want you to be ready to go by the seventh
day of May," Mike added.  "And Tyler, you can’t take
Gabby."

I can't take
her
, Tyler thought, as he grinned while
walking away from the cabin.  
But I
can tell her
.

The third week in April, an exhausted runner
arrived from the guard post upriver.  Jean and Jacob had found
Luis' body.  They would arrive at the Lodge the next day.
 It was a weary and grim pair of scouts that returned.
 They met with the Council in Chief’s Headquarters and
described what they had found.

"His body was in a bad state of decay," said
Jean.  "But he was still wearing his jacket, and we could tell
that he had been shot in the back by, what I think, was a high
powered rifle.  We found him about four days from the
Retreat."

For a few minutes, there was silence among
the Council after they heard the news.  Until now, they had
supposed that Luis had been killed accidentally, or that he had
been caught in the snow and had froze to death.

"Murdered," Mike said, stunned at the
news.

"Yes," Jacob said.  "Someone from the
Retreat?  Maybe."

"Is there any doubt?" Howard asked
angrily.

"Yes," Jacob answered.

"We wrapped him in the plastic,” Jean said.
“We didn't have the tools to bury him.   We were so far
away that we couldn't carry him all the way back, and still be here
when we were supposed to be, so we carried him as far as we could,
and then we found a crevice in the side of a hill.  We put his
body inside and built a cairn of rocks.  We know where he is.
 Give us some help, and we’ll go get him."

"Yes, certainly," said Mike.  "You guys
rest a couple of days, and then take Nathan, Kevin, Ahmad, and
Rasul, and bring him back.  We'll bury him in the graveyard.
 Howard, pick a crew to start digging a grave."

"One more thing," Jacob said.  "His
rifle was missing."

"Not good," Eric said.

"It was someone from the Retreat," Howard
maintained.

"Howard, we're not sure, but we're not taking
any chances either.  Jacob, make sure the burial detail is
armed," Mike said.

"We'll post guards behind us on our way
back," Jean said.

"Good idea," Mike agreed.  "When you get
back to the guard post, leave some weapons there.  We'll man
it armed from now on."

Alarm and consternation filled their
community when the news was reported.  The villagers still
remembered the violence they had experienced two years ago.
 Mike had Hector make a list of all of the firearms and the
corresponding ammunition that they had accumulated from the bikers.
 He thought about the Major and his unit, but he was not yet
ready to contact them.  He put Eric in charge of the spear
throwing exercises, and he put Yuie in charge of the archery
practices.  Everyone in Petersburg, except for Desi, was
required to practice one skill or the other for at least two hours
daily.

The burial detail left, and with them
traveled Hector and Kathy to man the upriver guard post.  Nine
days later, Jacob and the others arrived at the site of Luis’
cairn.  Jacob sent Ahmad and Rasul farther ahead to serve as a
rear guard.  Then he and Jean removed the rocks that protected
Luis' body.  They lifted the plastic covered body and placed
it on the litter.  It was noon, and they had been traveling
since sunup, so they rested before starting back.

After an hour, Jacob blew the Admin's whistle
to alert Ahmad and Rasul that they were leaving.  The burial
detail lifted the litter and began the long sad journey back to
Petersburg.  By Jacob’s estimation, their return trip would
take a day longer.

Behind them, Ahmad and Rasul were watching
the trail to their rear.  When they heard Jacob’s whistle,
they prepared to follow. Suddenly Rasul held up a hand, indicating
the need for silence.

"Did you hear that?" he asked Ahmad.

"Yes, I heard it.  What do you think?
 A deer?"

"Maybe.  Let's wait a few minutes."

They hid in the midst of some trees and
waited.  Within five minutes, they could faintly hear
something coming their way.  Nervously, Rasul took a grip on
the rifle he carried.  He wished he had fired more than one
round in practice, but the tribe was trying to save the ammunition
for hunting game.  Ahmad had his spear at least.  Rasul
wished that he had his spear.

The crashing in the brush was getting closer.
 Whatever it was, it was in a hurry.  A minute later, two
women appeared running down the path toward them.

When the women were about to pass the boys,
Rasul leaped out of his hiding place and yelled, "Stop."

The women screamed, and then they fell to the
ground cowering away from the boy.  Ahmad came to stand beside
Rasul.  One of them was carrying a baby.

"Oh, please, please, don't hurt us," the
other women cried out.  She raised her hands together in a
pleading stance.  "We'll do whatever you want.  Anything.
 Just don't hurt us."  The woman carrying the baby curled
up in a fetal position, covering the child protectively.

"We are not going to hurt you," Ahmad
exclaimed, shocked at their appearance.  "You’re safe with us.
 Calm down.  Who are you?  Are you from the
Retreat?"

The pleading lady was an older woman.
 She was tall, and she had short brown hair.  The younger
woman was much shorter, and she had long black hair like Yuie, but
this woman’s hair was much thicker.  She was dark skinned and
looked vaguely Asian or perhaps she was a Pacific Islander, like
Makayla.  Her baby was crying.  Both were wearing ankle
length dresses that were much too light for the present
temperature, and their faces were emaciated.

The older woman said, "Yes, we’re from the
Retreat.  We escaped four days ago.  Who are you?
 You really won't hurt us?  You promise?"  She was
panting while trying to talk, as if they had ran a long ways.

"You're safe now," Rasul said.  "Do you
know Jean?  The Forest Ranger."

"I’ve heard of her," the woman said as her
breathing slowed.  "My name is Diana.  I’m a nurse.
 Imee, here, is a student nurse.  There was a group of us
at Eagle’s Nest, but we’re the last.  The woman who helped the
Forest Ranger is dead, too.  The men killed her because she
gave the Ranger some food."

“Do you know Lily?” Rasul asked. “She lives
at our village.”

Diana’s eyes widen in an expression of joy.
“Lily is alive?  Oh, thank God,” she cried.  “I was sure
she was dead.”

Ahmad heard something and held up a hand for
silence.  Diana looked back the way she had come, looking
terrified again.

"Are you being chased?" Ahmad asked.

Diana nodded.  Ahmad looked at
Rasul.

"Damn," said Rasul. "What do we do now?”

Ahmad looked toward the direction of the
burial detail.  "If we go that way, we will lead our enemies
to our people.  But we also have the women to consider."

"Should we try to lead the bad guys in the
wrong direction?"

"Maybe.”

"What if we lead the bad guys in the wrong
direction until it gets dark?  That should give our people a
good head start," Rasul suggested. "Then we can sneak around the
bad guys in the dark."

Ahmad looked at the sky.  It was cloudy,
and a stiff breeze was blowing.

"Good idea.  Come," Ahmad said to the
women.

When they didn't move, he strode to them and
pulled the younger woman to her feet.  As he took the baby
from her, she gave a cry of distress.  Ignoring her, he walked
quickly away.  Rasul followed, and the women hurried after
them.

Ahmad and Rasul moved sideways from the
burial detail; Ahmad carrying the baby.  They had not hunted
this far north, so it was slow going.  They made sure they
left a trail that the chasers could follow.  Once in awhile,
they stopped and listened.  After a few hours, they realized
that their chasers were gaining on them.  They turned south in
the general direction of Petersburg.  The wind began to blow
harder, and the temperature dropped.

It was almost completely dark when Rasul and
Ahmad accepted that the chasers would catch them within another
hour.  The women had kept up as best they could, but they were
exhausted.

"Let's continue on for another fifteen
minutes, and then we must find a place to hide," Rasul said.

Ahmad agreed.  After a bit, they came to
a cliff.  They turned sideways, and followed the edge until
the land changed from a cliff to a steep slope with thick
bushes.

"We can go down here," Ahmad said.

Cautiously, fighting the dark and the wind,
they made their way.  Part way down, they discovered a patch
of coffeeberry bushes that covered a hollow place.  Inside the
hollow, they were out of sight of the ridge.

"This is it, Rasul," Ahmad said.  "We'll
have to stay here."

"Yes," Rasul replied.  "It will be hard
to find us in the dark."

After less than an hour, they heard the crash
of someone stumbling in the brush above.  A flashlight swept
the area where they were hiding.

"See 'em?" a cold voice asked.

"No, but they're down there somewhere.
 Hey!  You stupid bitches!  Come out.  Come
out, now!" another voice called.

"We've been here before," observed the cold
voice.  "We found that kid here, remember?"

"Yeah, this was the place.  He gave me
this nice rifle." The man laughed.  "Listen up, bitches.
 If I have to wait ‘til tomorrow to find you, I'm gonna beat
the crap out of you.  Now, come out now."

Chapter Thirteen Spears

In the hollow, the two women were shaking
with fright.  Ahmad covered the baby with his jacket to muffle
the child’s cries.  Luckily, the wind was blowing from their
direction, preventing the baby’s cries from carrying toward the
men.  Rasul thought about what the men had said.  He
believed that he now knew what had happened to Luis.

"Hell with it," the cold voice said.
 "They're down there.  We'll find them first thing in the
morning.”

They heard the men moving away from the
ridge.  Later, they smelled smoke from a campfire.

"This is not good," Rasul said.

"No it's not," Ahmad agreed.  "We can't
move in the dark, and we can't stay here.  They'll find us in
the morning."

"Yes, we've got to do something," said Rasul.
 "We need a plan.  Where's the Chief when we need him?"
 Ahmad laughed.

“Who are, you boys?” the older woman asked.
 “Where are you from?”

The teenagers began talking about Petersburg,
frequently interrupting one another.  The women were
astonished to hear their story, and their spirits rose when they
realized that there was a community of decent people who might be
willing to help them.

“So you are Rasul and you are Ahmad,” Diana
said, pointing at each boy.  “Are most of your people, uh,
like you?”  Embarrassed, she tried to explain what she
meant.

Rasul grinned, and Ahmad laughed.

“No, you were lucky,” said Ahmad.  “You
have the only Pakistani Moslem and Hindu Indian in the camp, here.
 I was born in Karachi and Rasul was born in Mumbai.  Our
families moved to the US when we were babies.  But don’t
worry.  We are savage warriors, and besides, we belong to the
Spears.”

“Yeah, right,” Rasul scoffed.

"We've got one thing going for us," Ahmad
said, “They are looking for two ladies and a baby.  They are
not looking for two guys."

"True," said Rasul.  "On the other hand,
they have a flashlight and we don't."

"I have a flashlight," Diana told him.

"Why didn't you say so?" Rasul grumbled,
irritated at her announcement.  "We could have broken our
necks climbing down that slope."

"I'm sorry.  I wasn't thinking.
 I'm just so frightened," she replied.

"Why are you out here anyway?" Ahmad
asked.

"Imee had to leave.  They were going to
do something to the baby.  They didn't like having it around.
 They said it was a nuisance, and that it cried too much.
 I couldn't let Imee run away by herself, so I escaped,
too."

As Diana said Imee's name, the younger woman
began to unbutton her dress.  The boys watched wide eyed as
she lifted up one cup of her bra, so the baby could suckle.
 They looked at one another, and then they averted their
eyes.

"You have a flashlight?" Rasul asked.

"Yes, I stole it from them,” Diana replied.
“I thought we might need it.  We left five days ago.
 They bragged about killing a kid in this area.  We
thought if there was a kid here, then there must be some other
people over here, someplace.  We thought we might find someone
to help us.  Was the boy they killed your friend?”