Chapter 14: Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

We walked single file along the lakeside through the forest, about five-meter separations between us. I took the point, then unarmed Michal in the middle, and finally Abigail in the rear. The weather was very nice, bright sunshine and a temperature several degrees C above freezing. The thin layer of snow beneath our feet softened and began to disappear.

About forty-five minutes into our hike, we had traveled a full three kilometers. Michal turned back and smiled at Abigail. "Growing up, I was 0.1. How about you?"

Michal had just informed us she was in the 67% to 88% range of all the women graded for marriage, a very respectable achievement. It's not a bad ranking system, if you have to rank. Two-thirds of the population is graded as 0.0. There's no disgrace in being in such a large majority.

Abigail grinned and replied, "I was graded 0.9."

Michal gulped. "Really?! Wow! I thought..." She was silent for a moment and then turned to me. "Forgive me Ilias," she whispered. "I meant no disrespect."

I understood Michal's concern and desire to apologize. Girls graded 0.9 are usually snatched up by Royalty, if not Ruling Royalty. It's very rare for someone of mere Upper Commander rank (CL-12 to CL-15) to have the opportunity to marry a 0.9. The offhand comment Michal almost made would be taken by many commanders as a slur demeaning their rank.

I reassured my new wife. "Oh, I know. It's okay." We were coming into a small clearing, a perfect spot for a rest break. Across the field a large elk picked up its head and stared at us.

Michal gasped in pure delight at the sight. "Look!" she cried pointing. "It's so beautiful!"

We rested for five minutes, and then I spent the next ten drilling Abigail on loading, sighting, and dropping into a firing stance in one easy motion. Abby was getting very good at it. I concentrated on teaching the ejection of the pistol and speed loading a fresh clip. I wanted the motion to become automatic for Abigail, something she would do smoothly and correctly in one easy motion, even in an extremely stressful situation. Michal looked on as she did with the rifle training, bewildered but determined to remain politely quiet.

At 10:30 AM we continued our hike. I took the lead again. My plan was to use this single-file mode all the way to Jericho. The day was warming up nicely, the air was sweet and clean, and the last of the snow evaporating. I think all of us were enjoying the exercise, both for the simple pleasure of working our muscles, and also for relieving the stress of the morning's battle. I called out happily to my first wife, "Abby, why don't you tell Michal how I managed to capture you!"

Michal listened in fascination as Abigail described our adventure in Qataban. And then I filled her in a little on the history of what has happening in the world over the last six years. Michal had tears of gratitude in her eyes when I finished. She started telling us a little of her own life. She grew up in the monastery at Al Maqwa, at 34 o 53' S, 14 o 43' E, the ancient site of Montevideo, Uruguay. I've never been there, but it has a reputation of being very beautiful, one of the first townships ever founded, and like Hadramat one of the major fishing and agricultural centers of the world.

Michal asked for my approval, and then told us what was written about Sofian in her marriage book. He grew up in the capital Bandar Arenas, spent over a century as a laborer and manager Priest there, and had passed his gate to CL-8 just this year. He was then transferred to Cairo. He also took his class promotion as an opportunity to enlist as an officer in the Holy militia.

I shook my head in disgust. "I could almost have guessed as much. He had no previous experience with survival training, outside of what he got as a boy at Bandar Arenas. And I've heard some things about capital monasteries..." I paused for a few seconds. "Well... Michal, what was your morning like? Before the attack I mean."

She was quiet for a moment. "Ilias, do you want full details? I mean, do you want me to be explicit, even if they're disrespectful to Sofian?"

"Sure. I promise Michal, I won't take offense."

"Okay. He woke me at 5 AM. He did give me enough time to read my marriage book, and then we went straight to copulation. Very hard stokes, for about half an hour. He liked to slam into me, hammer my uterus on his downstrokes."

"Michal, are you okay now?"

"Yes. I guess my body is used to it. I still feel it where he gripped my hips though. He locked me very tight. Otherwise... I'm okay."

"Michal, don't try to be brave about this. Really okay?"

"Yes, thank you Ilias, really okay. After that it was 6 AM and we started praying."

"What?!" I was so shocked I shouted without thinking. "Praying?!"

"Yes! Sofian's plan was to hike eight hours between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. He also wanted to keep the full eight-hour Prayer cycle."

I turned around and stared at Michal in disbelief.

She looked back. "I know, I know! It scared me too! But it wasn't my place to protest! He hurt me as he fucked me, and then it was my job to pray silently with him for four hours!" She paused for a moment, calming herself. "His Prayer of Ascension was okay I guess, a bit complicated. My mind started to wander. And then for the Purification hour he chose Yoga meditation."

That was the last straw. I had to burst out laughing. "His eyes were closed as the bears moved in?!"

"Yes. I was ordered to close mine too. Under the burqa, I couldn't see much away. I just knelt there and froze. Sofian was trusting the proximity detectors. Ilias?"

"Yeah?"

"The bears were on top of him before he realized it. I heard a growl and looked up. Sofian was just grabbing his rifle when a bear bit his shoulder. He fired a few rounds into the ground, and then..." The memory brought a sharp gasp from Michal. "... and then the bear tore his arm off! Ilias? Why didn't the proximity detectors warn us?"

I shook my head. Such stupidity! Unbelievable! I rolled my eyes at Michal. "I can guess! The bottom of a ravine is the worst possible place for a proximity setup. If the bears were moving slowly enough, the sensors might trigger yellow warning displays but not the red confirmations that would trigger the audio alarm. It depends on how sensitive he tuned the system."