Chapter 6

The area was almost like a park with little undergrowth. Baker voiced his concern as he and Nancy walked. "This area worries me, Nancy. More undergrowth would mean warmer winters. Finding shelter and food is going to be vital. We will need a source of water that won't freeze, too."

Nancy said, "What are you hoping to find, John?"

"My preference would be some large caves. Lacking that, we need a hill area that would offer some protection from the wind and elements. I'm afraid we will have to get down into Kentucky or Tennessee to find any sizeable caves and a more moderate climate. That's a long way on foot."

Nancy said, "Do you really think we could go that far?"

"No, winter would catch us first. I am hoping we can find a place to hold out over the winter and prepare as best we can. We didn't go five miles yesterday and will be lucky to make that much today. If we try for the same distance tomorrow, people will start to drop out. That's a death sentence."

Nancy said, "Yes, I know. Look at Captain Jeffries and Eve. He's a little older than we are and Eve's about the same age as us. They're both in pretty good shape. They are both starting to show signs of fatigue. I hope you get us to water today before we stop. Tomorrow, we probably won't go at all."

John directed the columns easterly though continued south as the primary direction. He had an old road map and was using dead reckoning to guide the group. No one had found any signs of roads or buildings as they walked. John asked Fred and Millie St. James to come to the front while they walked.

John said, "Professors, I asked you to walk up here so I could pick your brains. We aren't seeing any obvious ruins." Both nodded. "That being the case and, if we are in our future, how far would you guess?"

Fred got a distant look on his face. He finally said, "Let us think on that a while but my quick guess would be thousands of years. Concrete buildings don't just vanish. It takes a long time for them to wear down and be just simple mounds. That would be particularly true if there were no major climate changes.

"Frankly, I like the idea of a dimensional transfer better. However, Millie's group was finding some badly deteriorated ruins by the plane a few days ago. If I see something, John, I would like to stop and examine it for enough time to make some sort of educated guess."

John nodded, "I think many of us would like some idea even though it will make no difference in the greater scheme of things."

The columns continued their slow pace. Fred and Millie were alert for possible ruins and John was alert for a good spot to stop with water.

He looked over at Nancy and said, "Nancy, I'm becoming worried. We are moving so slowly that winter will catch us before we are really started. By my figures, it's over four hundred miles to get into Kentucky. If we average four miles a day, we will be still walking in the middle of October. I don't think many will make it. We will have to find a good place to winter and that entails risks."

"What else can we do, John?"

"Nothing. It's just frustrating knowing that our inability to move faster makes this trip more dangerous for us. We need to talk to Todd and Cindy and determine what we need to do to build something that will provide us with some safety.

"Most of these people are depending upon me to save them and it won't happen. I'll try but I see so little progress in just walking that I am more worried than I was."

Nancy continued to lead the column with Fred and Millie while John went back to Todd and Cindy Wells. He asked them to join him up front to talk about what they could do and what they would need to do it. They agreed and moved forward during a break that Nancy had called.

Even though they had made little progress in a day and a half, many people were showing signs of fatigue because they were not used to walking.

The two columns stretched back well over three hundred yards and were gradually dividing into three groups. There were those in front who were better able to handle the walking and could have moved faster. There was a large group in the middle able to walk at the slower rate but who were beginning to feel tired. There was a final, small group that was gradually falling behind. They were unused to walking or unable to handle the continuous effort required for walking. Even with the level ground, walking was already a trial for them.

John talked to Todd and Cindy, "You had said something about making bricks. Tell us about it, please."

Todd said, "With the right materials, I can and have made bricks. Bricks require clay and straw and a kiln to cure them. The other half of having bricks is cement to hold them together. That's a tougher proposition. You can use clay but it doesn't hold as well. To build something to keep out large animals may be more than I can do reliably."

Nancy said, "Todd, the problem we have is that we don't have the gear to cut trees. What can you do about axes or saws?"

"Actually, that's easier than bricks. It's easy to build a bellows. I can make some tools from wood until I make the other stuff I need. We will need a source of metal for me to work though."

They were coming up to a large creek.

Fred said, "I may have some hope to extend on that issue. There are mounds here worth examining."

John said, "What do you suggest?"

Millie answered, "We would like to stop and dig. It won't be a fancy dig trying to be careful and preserve everything. We will try to figure how long the ruins have been here though it will be a guess. On the other hand, we may find metal that Todd can work. Getting some kind of guess on age and finding metal would be the optimum results. However, it may take the rest of today and some of tomorrow. I just don't know. All we have just to dig with are sticks."

John called a halt and people huddled along the side of the creek while Fred and Millie went to a mound and asked for help. There were a number of helpers and, even with sticks; holes were quickly dug until sounds of metal were heard. The first bit was found at about ten inches depth. The holes were widened to give a better view of the metal.

The people with the sticks scraped and dug until they had exposed what looked to be a sign. It wasn't easy but the sign was removed and cleaned off as best as it could be.

People looking at it were not comforted. It was a sign for a place that was unfamiliar and in a language that no one knew. The spelling and the shape of the letters were different from English. The thought that they were in "their" future went by the board as many viewed the sign.

Fred and Millie huddled together having measured the depth of the soil above the sign. Finally, Fred said, "I'm not sure it matters but Millie and I guess that the sign is at least one and possibly two thousand years old. However, it doesn't look like one that would have been in our Chicago. We would like to dig more but that's our initial thinking on what we have."

Todd said, "The metal is not like what we would use for a sign. It is more like a forged iron where we would use aluminum. It also has what looks like a scorch mark."

That started a buzz of conversation as the information spread throughout the groups and discussions began. The diggers proceeded at a slower rate and began to uncover more metal. Some of the metal was damaged and Todd's verdict was fire damage at least. John told Ted, Eve, and Nancy that some holes looked to have been from bullets or similar projectiles.

The diggers continued and began to uncover bones. Millie identified them as human though with slight differences. Neither she nor Fred was willing to comment upon the differences. They did agree that the skulls had a Neanderthal look to them and weren't what they had expected. They agreed that violence was involved in the deaths that resulted in the bones, which had never been buried.

Todd wanted to stop for a day and let him make some axes and spears. John and Ted huddled with Eve and Nancy. They agreed and all the people were told that we would stay for a day. All those with foot problems were told to report to Nancy or one of the three nurses in the group. There wasn't much that could be done other than to instruct them in care and to bandage popped blisters. The third group and the second group supplied all the foot problems. When Nancy reported that to John and Ted, they realized that problems with continuing on the trek at a decent speed would grow.