Chapter 64

The first order of business the next day wasn’t Sygor. Neither was it chasing after the two men that Winslow had sent to hunt Struthers and the others, weeks ago. Instead, it was food. We were low on food and had too many mouths to feed. What food resources that we’d brought along with us had been used up. All we had was the left over plunder that Winslow had been dragging along behind him as he’d trekked westward, and whatever fresh meat my men brought in. We needed either a resupply of food, or even better, we needed to get rid of a few people. The issue being, how to do it.

“You can’t just teleport them to the south,” Lottie pointed out when the topic came up for discussion. “It would simply freak them out, and what then ... most of these people don’t even understand your language. You have to take that into consideration.”

“We will,” I reassured Lottie as best as I could, given the fact that none of us really knew for certain how the locals would react if I simply teleported them to the base in the south. So far I’d used the Gateway once, sending Carmen and her two charges south, in front of some of the locals. It had indeed freaked out those who’d been travelling with us. Some thought we were sorcerers and witches, and they wanted nothing to do with us, even though I’d gone around and explained that the magic that we’d used was good magic, and not bad. It had frightened them, and if there had been any other choice I was certain that the locals would have simply walked away, then and there. Unfortunately for them, there wasn’t a choice and they were stuck with us; strange magic and all. Now I was talking about using it again, this time to send everyone to the south.

“I really don’t see too much of a choice in the matter,” Dunbar interjected into the conversation. “We’ve acquired almost fifty extra mouths that need to be fed. While our people could provide them with all the meat they need and more, those people need to eat something other than roasted venison three times a day, especially if we want them tagging along after us ... which, personally, I don’t. We came up here to track down Winslow and his thugs. While Winslow is now dead, and so are most of his men, two might still be out there and I think they’re the ones responsible for all the damage Monty found in the other valley. Now, if we intend to track those two bastards down, we can’t be dragging along fifty women and children. We really do need to send them south.”

“There is another option, you know, depending on the way you look at things,” Burton pointed out in a tired voice. “We could just leave them here. Has anyone thought about that?”

“You know that’s not really an option,” I declared in a firm and absolute manner. “Even if there was a community here that could support all those women and children, which there isn’t, those women wouldn’t survive. At best they’d be treated like whores by the men, while the local women would probably treat them worse. Leaving them here would be tantamount to condemning them to death and I for one won’t allow that.”

“I know that,” Burton responded defensively, “but it is something to take into consideration. We’ve already have hundreds of women and children in the south, needing to be looked after by Monty, me and the men with us. Now you’re talking about adding almost fifty more. Maybe you need to look at another solution altogether.”

“Leaving them here isn’t an option,” I reiterated curtly, gazing about as I said the words, almost challenging someone to contradict me. No one did.

“What about a northern settlement?” Dunbar asked after a moment or two of tense silence. “That might be a better option than integrating them into a community in the south. You could set one up in that big valley. From what you’ve told us about it, a handful of hunters could keep a large community well fed.”

“It’s an option,” I readily admitted, “but it’s an option for a later date; not for today. Perhaps, once all of this is over with, and we’re sitting around the hearth back at my settlement, we can sit together and figure out who we could send north to set up such a community, but at the moment, our numbers of available hunters are few and far between.”

“You could send women hunters,” Ruba interjected tentatively, adding her two-cents to the conversation.

Tonko immediately bristled at that suggestion. While the hunter accepted Ruba as part of our fighting force, acknowledging her right to help bring down Winslow and his army of goons, he wasn’t as accepting when it came to the suggestion that women could be hunters. He didn’t snap at her, voicing his objections like someone else might have, but the look on his face told the rest of my band of councillors that he wasn’t in support of that idea. Personally, I wasn’t as well, although I had other reasons for opposing the suggestion.

“While your suggestion would help ensure that a new community in the north wouldn’t starve, or suffer from being attacked by predators,” I muttered in an appeasing manner, glancing over at Ruba as I went on, “it wouldn’t resolve the major issue that faces all our communities; the need for more men. Like it or not, most of these women want a mate who will be theirs and theirs alone, and while I’m certain that over time they will adapt to our way of life, in the short term we’re going to face problems with these people; which is why I’d rather send them south and split them amongst the communities that we’ve already established, rather than attempt to create a new one. Letting them spend a year with an established community will help them learn our language, our customs, and help them adapt to the fact that there aren’t as many men around as before, and they’re going to have to come to terms with that.”

That declaration brought the conversation to an end. Most agreed with me, and those that didn’t realized that pressing the topic right then and there would be futile. While I could see the point of establishing a new community in the north, I also knew we didn’t have the manpower (quite literally) to do it. With that discussion concluded, we moved on to other matters that needed to be dealt with before we turned our mind to actually sending the people south. The first issue we dealt with was Xypha as she’d let Kirov be killed. I had Ohba go and fetch the young woman. It didn’t take long for her to show up.

“Xypha, you know why you are here,” I stated pointedly when the young woman came to a halt before me. “I gave you a job to do and I trusted you to do it correctly. You didn’t. Instead you let your emotions and the emotions of another influence you, when you should have remained resolved in your duty. You were supposed to guard Kirov to keep him safe, and not allow someone to slit his throat in the night. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Xypha shook her head no. We’d already spoken about this, back when it had originally happened. At the time Xypha had argued that I’d threatened Kirov before having him staked out, telling him that I would let the scavengers chew on him in the night, and that was why she’d let the Plains woman kill the man. It was a flawed point and I’d explained that to her then, so we really didn’t need to speak about it again. I had pointed out to her what her orders had been when she’d gone on sentry duty. I’d left explicit words that if a scavenger did show up during the night, then the sentry was to discourage it from nibbling on Kirov, and that they could do so forcefully if necessary. Those orders implied that I actually wanted the man alive in the morning. Xypha had acknowledged receiving those instructions from the person she’d relieved, earlier in the night, and that she had disregarded them. With her admission all further discussion had come to an end. At the time I’d warned her that she would need to be punished. Now that Winslow was dead, the time had come to carry out the punishment. My council was in agreement, as was I.

“I intend to send you back to the southern base,” I told the young woman. “Once there I will have Kim send you back to our settlement. For the next year you will stay at the settlement and work, answering to Ramie and Catta. You will forage in the forest, or tend to our animals, or do whatever tasks those women give you to do, but you will not serve the community as a fighter during that time. Do you understand this?”

Xypha bowed her head and nodded yes.

“Good,” I told her flatly and with little emotion in my voice. “If in a year’s time, you wish to return to Ohba’s squad and serve the community again as a fighter, it will be considered by me and my council. However, you will be expected to re-train before being accepted once again as a fighter. Do you accept this punishment?”

Xypha agreed. I smiled warmly in response and then I sent her on her way, telling her to prepare her gear to return to the south, but to leave her horse behind as we’d need it.

Sygor was next on the agenda. I sent Burton to find him which wasn’t hard. The young man was still up on the knoll, staring in silence at Winslow’s corpse. It took Burton a moment or two to get him to follow him back to where we were meeting.

I looked Sygor over as he approached where we were sitting and talking. I sighed as did several others sitting with me. The young hunter did not look himself. He walked with his head bowed and carried himself as if exhausted. I felt sorry for him and silently wished that I could put off what I’d called him to us for, but I couldn’t. I’d made a decision, and while that decision had been made in a state of anger, it had been made, and everyone agreed that it had to be carried out. Sygor had been banished and now, regretfully or not, he had to be sent away.

“Sygor,” I said once the young hunter had come to a halt before me. “You know why you’re here, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Sygor replied promptly in a flat tone, empty of any of the fire that Sygor once spoke with. “You are sending me away.”

“Yes, we are,” I replied with a heavy sigh. “I have spoken to everyone gathered here and we are all in agreement. What you did cannot be left unpunished. I ordered you banished, and while some think I should reconsider, given the emotions of the moment and what you were feeling at the time, all have agreed that you were in the wrong, and that a punishment must be imposed. The question now is how severe that punishment should be. Should it be a short banishment or should it be for life? We’ve discussed the merits of both and now some of us want to hear from you on the matter. Do you have anything to say?”

“Nothing,” Sygor said with a shake of his head. “Do what you please to me. I have nothing to say.”

“Nothing at all?” I enquired with some disbelief in my voice. “There are people here who have offered you hope of returning to our tribe, and you have nothing to say to them. Have you given up all hope or do you seek another life?”

“I don’t care,” Sygor muttered dismissively. “It doesn’t matter anymore what you do to me. I’m tired and just want to be left alone.”

“I know you’re tired, Sygor,” I sighed sympathetically in reply. “I am as well, and I’m certain there are a few others here who feel the same. You’ve had your revenge on the man responsible for the destruction of your home, your family, and your way of life; but, to your surprise, his death has proven empty. It didn’t restore your home or your family, and by now your way of life has changed so much, you can’t go back to it. You’re angry and lost, and I can assure you others here feel the same. Still, there is hope. All you have to do is accept it when it is offered to you.”

“There is no hope,” Sygor declared with a shake of his head. “Nothing has changed. I just want to be left alone.”

“What about Tisa and Sapha?” Ruba asked anxiously. “What about your son? Will you turn your back on them? You need at least to return south and claim them once again. They are your family.”

“They would be better off without me,” Sygor declared bluntly. “Everyone would be better off without me.”

“I doubt that Sygor,” I told the young man sharply. “You are a good hunter and our people need you, whether you agree, or I like it or not. I cannot trust you again like I did before, nor can a few others here today; however Gogra says he will take you under his wing and give you a place at his hearth if you want it. It is your choice.”

Sygor just shook his head, refusing to look at any of us.

I looked at the young man for a moment or two, and then I looked over to Dunbar and Burton. Both men looked at me with concern etched upon their faces. I knew what they were thinking. We’d seen this kind of behaviour before, and we knew that ignoring it would only lead to Sygor doing himself harm or doing harm to another. Acknowledging this, I turned my gaze back to Sygor.

“I’m sorry Sygor, but you leave me little choice in this matter,” I declared firmly, my voice taking on an edge to it as I spoke to the young man. “I can’t punish you right now. In fact, I can’t leave you alone without someone watching you. I think, for now, you will ride with us. You will be under the watchful eye of Gogra. We’re riding east again to see what we can find out in the old valley. Perhaps we will find friends still living there. I don’t know. I do know that I need to recover the drone that I stored there almost four years ago. Once we have it, we’ll return to the south. Then we will see how you fare.”

Sygor took the news with a shrug of his shoulders. With nothing to say to us on the topic, we dismissed him. Once gone, others spoke up.

“He isn’t well,” Ruba stated with concern in her voice, pointing out the obvious. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but I can tell you that something is wrong with him. You can’t send him away.”

“I’m not as I’m keeping him here with us for now. He can travel with Gogra,” I said as I turned to Gogra. “Do you think you can manage him?”

“Yes,” Gogra muttered in reply. “I can manage the boy.”

I thanked him. I then made a mental note to send Sygor to see Clara, and possibly Wodon, once we’d returned south. Perhaps they could help him with what he was currently going through. I could only hope.

I went off after that and called another meeting, this one for all the people that we’d picked up in our travels here in the north. Once everyone was gathered in one place, I told them what I intended to do. Needless to say, that conversation turned into a very long one and it was well after lunch before people accepted the inevitable, and for the most part, the unknown.

There was a minor problem with regards to my plan, or so I believed. In addition to sending the locals south, I wanted to send the Huey along as well. To be honest, we didn’t really need it. It had been nice to have, and if the situation had been different, with Winslow and his people a little more aggressive in their attitude towards surviving, rather than the way they had been, it might have come in handy. Now it was more of an ornament than anything else. According to Lottie, the Huey had just enough fuel left in it to get it in the air for maybe a fifteen minute flight. It wasn’t much, and from my point of view I’d prefer to expend that fuel in a short flight in the south, rather than a short flight in the north. For the time being, the south was where my interests lay. Unfortunately, regardless of what I wanted, there was no way I was sending the helicopter south with the fifty or so locals, particularly since I was sending Xypha with them, toting a shopping list for me. My hope was that the Gateway wouldn’t use that much energy transferring the locals and there would be enough energy left in the battery farm for Kim to ship supplies up to us. It would mean staying where we were for a couple more days while the battery farm recharged, but it couldn’t be helped.

The transfer went smoothly. I sent a written report with Xypha to give to Kim so that someone in the south knew what was going on, and knew exactly what we were intending to do. As I handed it to her, I wished her luck. Then she activated the transponder. Two minutes later the Gateway opened and then in a blink of an eye, Xypha and the locals vanished. It happened as quickly as that.

“I think we should move camp,” I suggested once the Gateway had faded away. As I spoke, I glanced about looking at those people who were still with me. Most of them just blinked at me with surprise welling up upon their face.

“Why?” Lottie asked with a hint of confusion filling her voice.

“For something to do,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders, “and for a change of scenery. This place is too depressing.”

“What about the helicopter?” Lottie asked still not believing her ears. “We can’t leave it here.”

“Sure we can,” I replied dismissively. “Who’s going to mess with it?”

“What about the food you’ve asked for,” Sarah worriedly interjected. “It could show up at any time.”

“It could, and it probably will,” I stated in agreement, “but we can still move camp, if only by a mile or so. If necessary, you ladies can stay here for the night.”

“You’re kidding us?” Lottie exclaimed her eyes growing wider than they had been, after I’d mentioned the move. “Are you serious?”

I sighed in response and then shook my head, too tired to continue playing this game. I looked at Lottie and Sarah for a second, and then glanced over to where Dunbar and Burton were standing.

“Get people moving,” I told the two men. “You can send out a couple of scouts to have a look around. Personally I’d like a camp within two miles of here and definitely away from the trail we’ve been following. If possible, I’d like to move in half an hour.”

The two men simply nodded their heads in acknowledgement, and then got to work. They sent Gort, Geeta, and Bogdi out to find a new camp spot. Then they turned to the rest of our group to get them moving. They didn’t really need to as my people didn’t need to be told twice. While they handled breaking camp, I walked over and had a chat with the ladies.

“Lottie, I’m serious about this,” I told the woman pointedly. “I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but the air around here is filled with death. It’s depressing, and I want to get away from it. Now, I know you’re worried about the helicopter. Personally I think it is safe, but if you want, you can stay here and watch over it, until it is time for you and the helicopter to go.”

“Fine,” Lottie growled in response to the way I was treating her. “You don’t have to treat me like a child. I just didn’t get it. Besides, even if you think the helicopter will be safe, there’s the matter of the food. What about that? It’s bound to show up here as Koo will send it to the last known coordinates that the system back at the base registered. Somebody will need to be here to deal with it.”

“There will be someone here, other than you and Sarah,” I reassured Lottie. “I’m going to be here. I’ll stay behind with our packhorses, and once the food shows up, I’ll load it up and haul it to the new camp. You really don’t need to worry about that.”

“But Jake, are you really serious about us staying here alone?” Lottie persisted in a worried tone.

I told her I was, if she really believed it was necessary, which I didn’t. I doubted that anyone would come near the place, any time soon, and even if they did, they’d avoid the helicopter once they saw Winslow’s corpse sitting where we’d left it. With the village torn down by the surviving locals prior to them leaving, people would look at the area as the site of great evil and they’d avoid it like the plague. However, I did go on and point out that they could sleep in the Huey if they wanted to, and the fact that they were armed.

Lottie still wasn’t sold on the idea of staying where they were, without company, even though Sarah stepped in and reassured her it would be all right. By then, Dunbar and Burton had gotten everyone else packed and ready to leave. It was only then; when I let them know my intentions, did any discord rise up with them.

“How about we leave Ozmat or Tonko here with you?” Burton suggested. “They can help you with the pack animals and the food.”

“I’m sure I can manage on my own,” I countered in reply. “I just need a little time to be on my own and to think. It’s been a hard few days and I just want to be alone for a bit.”

“With Lottie and Sarah keeping you company?” Dunbar said in a questioning manner, his voice filled with doubt. “Sure ... I get it, but I don’t think you’re going to get anywhere with Lottie. She’s as gay as they come.”

I just sighed and shook my head at that remark, knowing full well that Dunbar was yanking my chain. Even so, I told him to cut it out, just in case Lottie overheard us.

In the end I gave in to the suggestion that someone stay with me, although I didn’t take either Ozmat or Tonko. Instead I asked Ruba to stay behind as I wanted to speak to her.

I did wait awhile before taking Ruba aside to speak with her. I assured Lottie we weren’t going far, and then the two of us strolled off on foot, leaving Sarah to watch over Lottie, our horses, and what was left of the camp.

“I wanted to talk to you about how you’re feeling,” I told Ruba as we slowly ambled along. “I’ll probably do the same with Ohba, Ozmat, and a couple of others, once I get the chance; however for now I thought I’d start with you. Do you want to talk or would you rather I leave you alone?”

Ruba looked at me for a moment, and in turn, I gazed into her face. I found a myriad of emotions there, all jumbled up and fighting over which would take charge. In the end, resignation won out. Ruba sighed and then she looked away.

“You’re worried about Sygor and his reaction,” Ruba pointed out soberly, “and in turn, you’re worried about me. I’m fine. A little sad and somewhat let down. Killing that man, the way we did, was good; but, afterwards, I felt so empty. It’s really hard to describe.”

“I know,” I sighed in response, glancing about us as we walked. “I felt the same, and I didn’t even throw a rock or stone at the man. He deserved to die, and I felt stoning would allow people like you and Sygor to release the anger and pain you’ve been bottling up in yourselves, but I hadn’t expected to feel so empty, afterwards.”

“There wasn’t any real satisfaction in it, once you told us he was dead,” Ruba pointed out in a distant voice as she reflected on what we were talking about. “I did expel a lot of anger and pain when I was throwing the stones, and as I watched others doing the same, but afterwards there wasn’t anything to replace that pain and anger. There was just ... emptiness. Does that make sense?”

It did. It made a good deal of sense, at least to me. I’d given my people release from the burden that they’d been carrying about in them for so long that it had become part of them, and I hadn’t given them anything to replace it with. Maybe I had hoped that they would have that thing they needed waiting to slide into place, once they’d had time to think about it, but then again, maybe I had hoped wrongly and should have given more to them than what I had. I didn’t know, and for now, there wasn’t much I could do to remedy the situation, although strolling beside Ruba and speaking to her had helped some. It had given me an idea. I’d have to reflect upon it some more, and it might only work for those people who’d been with me, here to witness Winslow’s death; but it was an idea worth giving a try. As I thought about it, a smile crossed my face.

“What are you smiling at all of a sudden?” Ruba asked me when she noticed.

“I’m smiling because I’ve had a thought that might make matters better, even for Sygor,” I told her, grinning happily as I did. “I can’t tell you about it yet, but for now just accept that I’ve got an idea and you’ll learn about it, when the time is right.”

“What if I can’t wait to find out what idea just popped into your head?” Ruba asked teasingly, pausing as she said the words, and then glancing into my face. As she did, she batted her eyelashes at me and smiled. “Isn’t there some way for me to find out now?”

“No,” I told her firmly and forcefully, although smiling as I did, “there is no way for you to find out, now. However, if you keep batting your eyes at me in such a suggestive manner, there is a good chance that you’ll get fucked.”

“Promise?” Ruba muttered softly, batting her eyes at me again.

I promised, and then I kept my word. We had stopped a far distance from the old camp, near a trickle of a brook. I simply reached out and pulled Ruba into me. Then I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. We kissed passionately for a minute or so before breaking our embrace. Ruba chuckled as she stepped back and then slowly removed the carbine that had been digging into our bodies while we kissed. It hadn’t been comfortable at all.

Once the carbine was disposed of (put down safely on the ground), Ruba started to strip. I followed suit a second later. I had my carbine and webbing on the ground a second later, and I was removing my combat shirt while ogling Ruba’s naked breasts.

Then Lottie showed up. The blasted food had arrived. Boy, Lottie’s timing really sucked!

Ruba helped me load the pack frames up with the supplies and the transponder that Kim had sent to us. The vast majority of the supplies were dry goods; beans, lentils, dried fruit, nuts, flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and a few other items. There was some molasses and honey as well, plus some root vegetables. I set aside a small stash of supplies for those of us staying at the helicopter for the time being, and then I packed the rest of the supplies off to where the remainder of our party was now camped. It was received with gratitude.

I ended up spending the next two days with Lottie, Sarah, and Ruba at the helicopter. We didn’t spend all the time in camp. I did a little riding about, stopping in daily at the other camp to make certain that everyone else was all right, and to chat with certain people about my idea. I spoke to Gogra who smiled broadly as I spoke of it, telling me it was a wonderful plan, and I spoke to Dunbar and Burton. Both heard me out, and both agreed that it would be something to try, once we got back to the settlements. For now though, both thought we’d been sitting on our ass too long and we needed to get moving. Personally I agreed, but until the Gateway was recharged we weren’t going anywhere.

The men did get away from camp a couple of times to hunt. We now needed less meat, so when hunts were organized, straws were drawn to see who got the chance to make a kill. Bogdi got lucky the first day, drawing the longest straw. He was able to locate a herd of elk when the party went out, and that night we feasted on a brute that he’d been able to drop. The next day Ozmat got lucky. He brought back a young bison with the help of the other men.

Dunbar was right. I didn’t bed Lottie. She was a hard core lesbian who had no intentions of crossing the line. I didn’t mind as Ruba and I spent the first night together, while Lottie and Sarah slept in the helicopter, and then I spent the next night with Sarah, while Lottie and Ruba got reacquainted. There were no complaints on anyone’s part, and no squabbling about having to share. Then it was time to move on.

When the Gateway opened again, we were greeted with an unexpected surprise. Carmen came back. The young woman reported that Helen and the local woman who’d been clipped by Jefferson in the shootout were doing fine, under the care of Alexa, and so, Carmen had convinced Kim to send her back to rejoin us.

“I hope you don’t mind?” Carmen stated questioningly, looking shyly up at me as she said it. I just smiled and told her no, that I was definitely glad to see her, as was everyone else. She learned this quickly, for as she moved away to transfer her gear to the pack horses and to mount up, she was promptly intercepted by Ruba and Ohba, both of whom welcomed her with a kiss. It actually took Carmen by surprise.

We rode for four days, moving quickly over the plain, skirting the death and destruction that we’d come across in our pursuit of Winslow, making excellent time. As we rode our mood improved, which was good. People were smiling more, and there was a lot more banter amongst the younger people. Even Sygor showed some improvement; willingly going out hunting with Tonko once when he was asked. Then we reached the ruins of the compound, and the good mood was wiped away.

“I wish we had some explosives with us,” Dunbar declared coldly as he eyed the compound, from where we’d made camp for the night. “I’d go and blow the place up.”

I didn’t say a word in reply to that. We did have explosives back at the base, in the form of the claymores we’d recovered from Bob, and that makeshift propane bomb he’d constructed. We could easily destroy what was left of the compound, once and for all, but in truth destroying the compound wouldn’t change a thing. The site would always have a hold on those of us who’d gone into it, and who’d seen what Winslow had done there. Even so, if Dunbar actually wanted to return and destroy the place I wouldn’t stop him. It might actually do him some good.

We spent the night in the shadow of the compound, then with the dawn we rode on. We rode north first and then turned towards the river, deciding to cross at the lower ford rather than the ford southeast of the compound. It was closer, and it meant we didn’t have to go anywhere near the place. No one argued the point, once I made the suggestion.