Chapter 7

With the shell off and the bed and cab mostly empty I opened the cave's door, unhooked the lights, and we loaded up and left. Traveling was much more pleasurable for me today. Since we were all pals by now I found a better rest for my shifting hand when it wasn't needed for driving. Down between my nearest passenger's legs and up against her pussy seemed just right to me.

Noni was in the spot this morning and she giggled a little when I made the move, but apparently she wasn't a women's libber. She spread her thighs to give me room and then patted the offending hand with hers. I leaned over a little and gave her a kiss on the cheek and she let out a small sigh. The rough road even helped me out by providing a few delightful motions along the way.

We were the stars of the show again this morning when we pulled into camp. We got by without any sort of formal greeting this time and I pulled over to Ayla's hut. We gathered her things first and went to Arleeta's next. We ended up nearly needing a shoehorn but we were able to pack in all of her things too and a big portion of Raysha's. The girls said quick goodbyes after we were ready and I'm sure they told the others we'd be back soon.

Back at the cave we made use of one of its best features. Plenty of space. We unloaded everything and scattered it around mostly like we'd done unloading my things. The girls fixed a light lunch and we were off again.

Everything went pretty much as they had this morning while we finished loading Raysha's things. I noticed a little grumbling got started among the residents when we got to moving Zolta's things.

Just as we were nearly done Dagarth came over to talk to Zolta. The conference was a little involved and I really couldn't tell what was happening. I could tell Dagarth wasn't pleased with what Zolta told him, but he didn't make a fuss.

The fuss started as we began loading Noni's things. She didn't have that many, but a man I didn't recognize came out of the hut next to hers and started yelling at her not long after we started. I went back to stand beside her but he didn't pay any attention to me. It was easy to tell things were getting angry out, but I didn't do anything until he raised his right hand as if to strike her.

I blocked his blow easily and then let him have a straight right hand on the end of his suddenly broken and bleeding nose. He might not have realized he was fucking up so badly at first, but he did himself a bad turn when he backed up and tried a roundhouse at me.

Let's face it. There were a lot of things Cro-Magnon man didn't know about way back when. The manly art of self-defense was definitely one of those things. Boxing was not their forte' or at least it wasn't his.

This time I stepped inside his wild swing and gave him four solid blows to the breadbasket and finished it with a left jab to his face and then a right cross to the ever-popular end of his nose again.

I'm pretty sure he lost at least a couple of teeth that time. He was listening to the birdies sing before he hit the ground. I didn't give a shit whether it had killed him or not, but I doubted it had. I didn't make a show of it either, I just went back to loading Noni's things. The rest of the girls lost interest in his plight then too and joined me.

There was a lot of talking on the way home this time. Noni was clearly upset. I knew the general reason for distress, but not the specific details. I'm sure someone told me she was a widow so the best I could come up with was a jilted suitor. Noni was in the middle again, but instead of fondling her beaver I put my arm around her and hugged her to me this time.

The women explained things to, or at, me all the way back home. I was pretty sure I understood Cardo, the one I'd handled roughly, had been sort of stringing Noni along since her mate's death two years ago. He'd been letting her feed him and in return had provided most of the meat they ate. From the way they all talked I knew their idea of things put him down deep on most everyone's shit list. Apparently the blowup had come because he saw his free labor and occasional pussy moving away.

I made them all understand I'd kill him at once when we went back if it was what Noni wanted. She claimed it wasn't so I said I'd leave him alone as long as he didn't bother us again.

All we had left at the old camp was the skin coverings for their huts. The wooden framework wasn't worth taking down and hauling off. I figured it would be best to go on and get the skins now, and after a little talking the girls agreed.

We were back in a flash, as they say, and I drove near Noni's hut first. Cardo was ambulatory again and he was working on Noni's hut with his spear. He was using the sharp flint point to cut it to pieces.

The girls gasped when they first noticed and then settled down to low-level squabbling noises. I listened for a few seconds to see if I could remember words that might be used against me without my knowledge later.

They bailed out after I did, but I told them to stay back and was pretty sure they understood it. Cardo was facing me by now, yelling and grinning in apparent merriment over what he'd done at the same time.

Even with him armed as he was I knew I could kick his ass again, but I couldn't see the point. After all there was at least a chance he could damaged my hide with that pig sticker.

I didn't say a word at first, but when he made a threatening wave of his spear I palmed the Glock and shot him in the mouth. Boy, was he surprised, or I guess he was, in the last few milliseconds of his life. He fell in a heap.

Some people are of the opinion every life is precious. Hell, they even bitch about executing murderers. They won't even consider allowing castration of child rapist. I'm not one of those people, and here and now I didn't have to worry about them.

For a few seconds I'd considered taking out both his knees, but that would just be mean. In this day and time he'd be irreparably crippled and be forced to suffer for the rest of his life. I knew it was at least possible it might be a mind-altering revelation for him when his legs no longer worked. Hell, he might be the next, or actually the first, Gandhi type champion of the downtrodden.

I decided to take the chance on loosing such a humanitarian treasure. My guess was he'd spend the rest of his life as an asshole like he'd spent the part when he could still walk. He'd be constantly hating me to boot and would spend most of his waking hours thinking of ways to do me ill. You can never tell what he might be able to accomplish. Hell, even a blind hog finds the acorn once in a while.

Texas had been a wonderful place to grow up and to live, but even in Texas there are more than plenty of assholes who are barely worth killing. My mind was made up Cardo wasn't even that valuable to mankind. I was tied of fucking with him so I killed him, and I'd better not hear anyone say me nay.

"I don't know what this stupid motherfucker had on his mind, and I don't know where he was when brains were passed out. I do know his ass is for the worms now and so will be anyone else's who tries to pull a low down shitty trick like he did.

"I try to be nice to everyone I meet, but for your information, I'm not going to take any shit. I can kill anyone else who wants me to just as easily," I said, to the crowd, yelling it.

Most of the hangers on were staring at me open mouthed by now. I made sure to stare right into the eyes of any man who was, including Dagarth.

I wasn't looking for more trouble, but from the situation and from my tone of voice I hoped they could figure out fucking with me wouldn't be healthy.

Of course none of them understood exactly what I said. That came under the heading of their problem to me. My women couldn't understand it either, but it was plain they got the idea. They gathered around me and I made sure they knew I wasn't mad, at them anyway.