Chapter 5

We ate a good breakfast and loaded the wagon and hitched the team.

Night told me that she had worked at the hospital with Joy, and had been involved in the same political group, hence her imprisonment. We bought her some warm clothes, and I gave her my knife to carry for a weapon. I still had my pocketknife, if I needed one.

I walked ahead of the wagon as a scout, while Joy taught Night about driving the team.

It was pleasant and quiet, I could hear them sending to each other easily though I was a hundred yards or so ahead of the wagon.

We found a nice camping spot for the night. Both of them said they would stay up and keep a watch while I slept. I agreed and headed off for bed. Joy came and got into bed with me in a few minutes. She sent, "I am not going to sleep, Fred. I am cold, so Night and I will take turns resting with you."

I nodded off and awoke after a while when they changed places.

I got up the next morning to the smell of breakfast. We talked a bit about our trip and I asked if either of them knew how to shoot.

Night said that she had served in the navy and had been trained in fighting techniques and small arms. I handed her my pistol and asked if she was familiar with this type of weapon.

"I think I could aim and fire it, but the functioning is totally foreign to me," she sent. "Our military arms were energy weapons, and melee weapons like this knife and that sword."

I gave her a short lesson on the functioning of the pistol, and let her shoot a few rounds. She was a dead shot. I explained about the range limitations of the pistol, and gave her my holster and spare magazines.

We got away from the camp about an hour later than normal, but I felt much better with Night being fairly well armed now.

We stopped for lunch at a small, clear creek and let the stock rest, graze and drink.

In the middle of the afternoon, Night came up to me, touched my arm and sent, "Fred, I heard someone's thoughts from nearby."

I whispered, "Can you read them?"

She shook her head. I moved back nearer to the wagon and we continued to move along the trail.

I was really on edge, but it still surprised me when I heard yelling, as ten big red men rose out of the grass on the sides of the trail.

I heard my pistol pop three times and two were down, I quickly chose a target on the opposite side of the wagon from Night and fired, one down. I chose another and saw him fall with two arrows in his chest.

The pistol went off three more times and I shot again and killed another one.

They had closed with Joy and Night now and I ran up close and stuck my gun to one's side and killed him. I took a lick on the back of my head and went out.

I awoke later, and saw a mess. There were dead red men everywhere. Joy had her upper left arm wrapped up, but Night was walking around, covered in blood.

I tried to get up, but I was very shaky. I called, "Night, are you hurt."

Joy sent, "No, Fred, she saved us both."

Night was stripping the dead red men and putting their things in the wagon.

Joy was questioning one of them that Night had shot but was still alive. I could hear him talking, but I didn't understand a word he said. Joy bandaged him, and left him there.

After their things had been loaded in the wagon, Night picked up the empty cases and told me that she had found all but one. "Thanks, that will allow me to reload them for us to use again."

They both helped me into the wagon, and we left the area. "What about the one left alive?" I asked.

"I don't think he will live," Joy sent. "If he does he will think we saved his life."

We talked about the attack after we camped that evening. Night said that after I went down, she and Joy had fought hand to hand with the remaining two red ones. Joy had been wounded and dropped her sword. After Night had killed her assailant with her knife she shot her last bullet in that magazine and killed the one attacking Joy. Joy also said that Joy had saved me by jumping on the one that had hit me from behind. That was how she was wounded.