Chapter 17: Accidents will happen

I let Karen take the lead since she had made the trip three times already. We weren't going very fast. I assume she was having the same problem I was. The native women were jabbering and pointing out various creatures. I was amazed at how many there were that I had not seen until they were pointed out. Many were almost the same as on earth, such as rabbits, foxes, deer, boar, and squirrels. Others were more unusual, such as the house cat-sized squirrel called a 'gorva' we had trapped, and the kam-bu that looked like a cross between a cow and a pig. There were birds of all kinds, the strangest being the eng-da; a flightless bird that had a furry coat. Lita said the were good to eat once they were skinned.

Karen called me as she suddenly sped up. "Kima says we need to either climb a tall tree or get away from here quickly. I don't think climbing is an option. There's something called a la-aru off to the left she says is very dangerous. We're almost out of the woods anyway, so we shouldn't have any problems if it doesn't follow us."

"I'm just playing follow the leader and enjoying the commentary on the wildlife. Did you see the HOLY SHIT! Step on it Karen! That thing is coming fast!"

Lita started pointing and screaming, "la-aru!" which set Etala off as well. It wasn't easy concentrating and driving with all the ruckus.

The truck shot forward like a dragster with this huge pig-looking creature with six legs coming at it from the left. I slowed down hoping it would chase the truck and not turn and come after us. It seemed to be working. I stopped completely and watched as the la-aru chased the truck out onto the plain. I started forward slowly, trying not to attract attention. Just as we reached the edge of the woods, the la-aru turned left and headed back towards us. I turned right and accelerated. I wanted as much distance as I could get between that thing and us! It was a bumpy ride and I hoped nothing got shaken off the trailer.

I called Karen and made sure they were alright. She said they were a little shaken up but fine otherwise. I told her I had gone to the right after the la-aru started back, but it didn't follow us.

"That's good, Andy. Just be careful and watch out for ravines!"

"Aaaauugh!"

"I'm sorry, Andy. If it upsets you I'll stop." she giggled "Maybe."

"I think I'm going to take the scenic route and circle this way a bit. Maybe I'll find someone who won't make fun of me. We'll meet you back at the camp."

"Okay. Just call if you need me to pull you out."

I could see a herd of some sort not too far away, so I drove towards it. What I found were long-neck horses. Or maybe short-neck giraffes. I decided on long-neck horse because of the legs. The girls called them 'chatan' and said they could be eaten. I was wondering more if they could be trained to ride and work. If they could then we could use them to herd kam-bu and abuga or anything else we might find. I asked the girls if they ever saw any different animals. They told me about animals they saw on their migratory trips that sounded more like the ones I was used to. Cattle, bison, sheep, goats, deer, wolves, bears, and ... jackalope? Maybe we would take a drive down to the winter camp and take a look around. If possible, we might transplant some of the animals from down there up this way. I'd have to make some pens for them. I wonder if there are any chickens? I wouldn't mind harvesting and transplanting some bamboo while we were at it.

I swung back towards camp and encountered a small herd of kam-bu. As we passed them, a few would look up and then return to grazing. I moved a little closer and they moved away, but didn't run. They seemed to be a fairly good tempered animal. I was going to circle around them when Karen called.

"Andy, keep your eyes open for Taabo. Mallie says he left not long after I did and headed out towards where you are. She said all he took was his spears, a knife, and a water skin. I'd hate for anything to happen to him."

I wasn't really worried about him. After all, HE was the native here.

"He'll probably be okay. He's a lot more used to these surroundings than we are. Maybe he's hunting for something special for dinner."

We pulled up to the cave entrance a few minutes later. After I got them unbuckled, Etala and Lita ran to the other women to help unload and to discuss their first vehicle ride. I found Emily and Karen sitting by the truck, talking, and watching the women working.

" ... I can't believe you actually slapped him, Em! I mean, I would have done the same thing if he was my man. Oops, here he comes."

"It's okay, Karen. He just needed a little attention getter. He knows I love him. Don't you dear?"

"Of course I do, baby. And you know I love you too. I was thinking that since they don't actually need all this stuff, why don't we take it to the storage area? We can put it in a container and fumigate it to get rid of any pests that are in them. I really don't want the house to get infested."

Karen scrunched her face. "Eww, good point. But they've almost gotten everything unloaded. I'd hate to have to have them reload it all again."

"I can handle reloading. Why don't you take everyone to the shower area and get them scrubbed down real good. Etala has experience so she can help. Once you get them cleaned up, dress them in t-shirts and bathrobes and take them up to the main bedroom floor and get them aquainted with our living style. Leave all the old clothing where I can grab them. I'm going to throw all this stuff back onto the trailer and get started on fumigation."

"Don't just throw it, Andy. They thought enough of these things to bring them, I think we should treat them with care. Mallie says there is a 'communal' shower and bath down here, so we'll use it."

"That sounds good. And you're right. I didn't mean I would actually throw them. I'll separate out the furs we plan on keeping and do them first. The rest can go in when the keepers are done. Or maybe I can use a separate container. Mallie, how many empty twelve food containers do we have right now?"

"Right now there are only two empty twelve foot boxes. One has wire rack shelves in it so you can spread things out in it. We have several different chemical bug foggers that you can use in there that should be very effective." She told me which units were empty and the location of the 'bug bombs'.

Karen and Etala came over and gave me a kiss, then led the others off for their baths. Emily stayed and helped me load the furs on the truck's trailer and personal items on the ATV's trailer. I wanted to run everything through 'decontamination' to prevent infesting our home.

Emily rode with me in the ATV as I followed Mallie's directions to the storage level. I explained that these vehicles were very easy to drive, but took some getting used to at first. I promised to teach her to drive them once everyone was settled in. I backed the trailer into one container and then took the ATV back to the garage.

Emily held my arm as we walked to the elevator. "There sure is a lot of room here. This is more like a warehouse than any garage I've ever been in."

"If you think this is big, just wait until you see the main house. It's like a ski lodge!."

"Really? That's awesome! Is there anywhere to go skiing? Dad and Jake used to take me every winter. I learned to downhill and cross-country ski and even how to ski and shoot like they do in biathlons. They taught me how to use snowshoes and ride snowmobiles too. Do you have a lot of snow here?"

"Tony said he's sure they have gotten quite a bit of snow here before, but since they move south during the winter he didn't know how much. I guess we'll find out in about six or seven months. He said it's late spring right now. As for places to ski, I haven't seen anything but flat ground since I've been here. If we go up on top, we might be able to spot something suitable. You might end up teaching everyone how to snowshoe though."

We got in the elevator and exited at the cave. "I hope there's a lot of snow. I can't wait to get out and go riding and skiing again. Do you have a snowmobile?"

"I haven't really looked for one. I didn't think I needed one with the current weather."

"I hope you do. Can we look around when we get back to the garage again? I'd really like to see what else there is in there."

I found the pile of clothing the women had been wearing and threw them onto the trailer, and then helped Emily into the truck. "We can do that if you'd like. We don't have to rush though. It's not like we don't have time."

"That's true. I guess it can wait a few days. There's just so much to see and do here! All I've seen so far is a cave and a garage!"

"Don't forget this area." I said as we pulled into the 'warehouse'. "We'll probably have to put this stuff into the container by hand. I doubt this trailer will fit inside like the other one did."

I pulled up to the container and we started transferring things to the shelves. They were made of an expanded metal mesh so there would be plenty of air-flow to circulate the insecticide. It only took us around twenty five minutes to get finished. I went and got the bug bombs and tossed a couple in each of the containers just before I closed the doors.

"We'll let them 'cook' for a few days to make sure all the bugs die. Then we can pull everything out and let them 'breath' and get the smell out. I wish there was some way to wash them afterwards to get rid of the dirt, smells, and dead bugs. Ready to head back to the garage?"

We took the truck and trailer back to the garage level and parked them in their stalls. As we got ready to head back to the elevator, I gave her a brief overview of the area. "Most of the travel vehicles are up near the elevators. All the trailers are next. The doors lead to the areas for special purpose vehicles. Farming equipment on this side and construction over there. I haven't really looked in on them yet."

"What about that door down there?" She pointed to a huge roll-up door near the exit. I hadn't even noticed it being there before.

"I'm not sure. Want to find out with me?"

She agreed and we headed over to check it out. I palmed the plate and the door rolled up. What I saw made me worry about the coming winter. I was looking into the maw of the biggest snow removal auger I had ever seen. This was the size they used to clear runways! There were units that could be attached to the other trucks and the ATV as well. Beyond those was a 10 ten passenger snow-cat with a trailer. I was starting to think the 'six to eight feet' of snow Tony had mentioned might not be unusual at all! Emily was tickled pink when she found the three person snowmobiles.