Chapter 2: Still no answer

Early before the sun rose I got up put the rest of my water on to boil, rolled up my bedding and restowed it on my pack. Using half the hot water to make a cup of tea and the other to shave with I started the day fresh. Water was essential I had to find another stream to fill my water bottle. I needed to clean my teeth, but that would have to wait until I reached a pool or running water. Burying the wrappers and tins from the compo rations I left the site as I had found it.

The passage down the hill to the south-east was nice and gentle. The woods were teaming with wildlife, I could hear birds I knew but also others I couldn't distinguish. A short way down I found what I wanted - water. A small spring was coming out of the rocks and trickling into a tiny pool. It was here I refilled my water bottle gave my teeth a good clean, washed my face and hands and felt like a new man again.

Now let's find out what is going on, I said to myself and see if I can find someone to tell me where I was.

About two hours later I came to the edge of a small clearing. I lay down behind a low bush took out my binoculars and started to scan the area. There was a low round wooden building with a thatch roof, one opening. The opening had a hide hanging to cover it. At one end was a low enclosure and I could see a couple of pigs. There was no smoke to day and on the roof I could see had a hole in the middle and the thatch around it was all burnt and sooty black.

The ground around the house-if that was what it was- was all churned up and looked muddy. To the far right lying on the ground was what looked like a dead animal, but I could not distinguish the shape from where I was lying. I lay there for 10 minutes, but no other movement other than the pigs foraging in their pen could be seen. So I slowly got up and made my way into the clearing. I walked towards the building and about halfway there I had a better view of the object lying on the ground. It wasn't an animal, it was a person wearing a fur, who was staked out on the ground with arms and legs wide and another body also in furs, laying across it.

People wearing furs and the buildings, what were these people, were they back-to-nature nuts or what? This flashed through my mind as I made my way to the bodies on the ground.

I knelt down and felt for a pulse on the body on top, I saw that it was a man and had his throat cut from ear to ear. In addition the body below was covered with blood. I pulled him off and saw that the body below was that of a woman. She looked about forty years old, dirty matted hair and generally dirty looking. I felt at the side of her neck for a pulse, expecting to find none, but yes, I could feel a weak pulse. So I immediately cut the thongs which bound her to the four stakes driven in the ground and carried her to the house. She was light and easy to carry.

On entering the house I could hardly see, it was that dark inside. The interior smelt of soot and the sweet odour of blood. I looked around, saw an area on the floor, which I worked out, was a sleeping area. The area was a heap of straw and it was covered partially by fur skins. I placed the woman's body there. I got up and the first thing I did was to tear the covering off the entrance. Then I took a good look around the room. There were two other bodies, which had been stabbed, a girl I would say in her teens and a small boy about ten years old. They hadn't been dead for long, as they were still slightly warm, but again they also were dressed in furs.

I carried the two small bodies outside and laid them with the other, which I assumed to be their father.

I went back into the house and checked on the woman, I had seen when I examined her outside that she had no visible injuries. I lifted up her long dress length furs and saw a well formed female figure, with a well-rounded figure narrow waist and well developed breasts, not saggy and wide hips. There were no marks on the front of her body. Turning her over there were welds what could only be caused by a whip on her back, there was about ten of them. Some had bled, but the blood had clotted. Looking closer I saw a bruising just on the hairline over her temple, which could have been caused by a blow to the head which no doubt resulted in her unconscious state.

All I could do at the present was to lay her down and keep her warm, so I covered her with some hides that were lying there.

I unloaded my pack and took a good look around the room. There wasn't much at all, but the cleanliness left a lot to be desired. Not my cup of tea.

The injured woman stirred and started moaning. So I went over to her. She stared at me as if I were a monster from the deep, pushing herself back against the wall and drew her knees up to her chest, eyes bulging.

"What is your name?" I asked in slow precise words.

All I got was a blank but puzzled stare. I patted my chest, said "Me Charlie," pointed to her and asked "You?" I repeated it several times and then I think the penny dropped and I got what sounded like gibberish. It wasn't English anyway. So I just nodded. I had to do something to get the dirt and the dried blood off her and looked around for something that holds water. I saw a goatskin hanging by the entrance and on examination discovered it was indeed water. How was I going to wash her? I opened my pack, got out my spare singlet and tore it in two. I went over to her, poured the water on to the singlet and used it like a facecloth. God, she jumped about a foot into the air when I put the wet cloth to her face. Almost like a vampire touching Holy Water. Maybe they didn't wash? It looked like it anyway with the state of her hair and face.

I held her, poured the water over her head and washed her head and face, even though I didn't use soap she looked a lot cleaner, in the face anyway. How I was going to get the blood off her hides was another matter. Once I dried her with the other half of my singlet I could see that she was a very attractive looking woman.

She relaxed a good bit now, realizing that I wasn't going to harm her and was trying to help. She started gibbering away and I just could not understand one word she said, but she kept pointing to the exit.

I picked up my pack and walked to wards the opening and she followed me. She ran to the three bodies lying on the ground and burst into tears. I think it was her family that lay there and there is nothing I could do. One thing for certain, I wasn't going to hang about here. I went over to her and put my arms around her shoulders; she turned and began sobbing into my chest.

I took her and my pack over to the edge of the clearing and sat her down, put both hands up and signalled to her to stay there. Hurray! She got the message. I went back, dragged the three bodies into the house, placed them on the bed of straw and set fire to it.

I went outside and set the pigs free. As I did that she came rushing over to me grabbing my arm and began pleading in her gibberish. I just took her by the arm and dragged her away. Picked up my pack and headed into the forest in a northerly direction. She was struggling for a bit but soon calmed down and walked beside me.

About half an hour later I heard a lot of yelling, coming running towards us from behind were three men. All three covered in a blue colouring, also dressed in skins, brandishing spears, which appeared to have flint points. The woman on seeing them started screaming. I knew right off that these must be the ones who had slaughtered her family. They must have seen the smoke from the burning house and came to investigate.

By this time the nearest was about 25 yards from me, so I just took out the 9mm and shot him in the head. If he was going to try to kill me, then I had no hesitation to blow his brains all over the forest floor. The noise of the discharge slowed the other two down, but they still came on slowly waving their spears at us. I was having nothing of this, so I unslung my rifle, loaded a Styx round and fired at the sternum of the nearest attacker. At 50 yards it went in and took out most his back. I quickly loaded and shot his pal the same way.

I went back and checked the bodies out and their weapons. They were flint tipped spears and they also carried what I presume they used as knives, sharp flint stones. They each had a small pouch round there neck. Inside it were pieces of carved bone and other small twigs. But each of them had a small sandstone image of a fat woman with bulbous breasts and thighs, with the vagina clearly scratched in. I kept the pouches, spears and knives but left the bodies where they lay.

When I got back to the woman, she was standing there petrified. Staring at my rifle and then back down towards the bodies lying on the ground. She then did a funny thing, she got on her knees in front of me, grabbed my trousers and started on the gibberish once again. I had to teach this woman some Basic English or learn her language, since I seem to have been stuck with her. I got hold of her arm and lifted her to her feet. She was only about 5 feet tall and as I said previously not very heavy. I think what she was trying to tell me she was grateful for killing the three men, but then again it could have been anything.