Chapter 3

The next morning early Roger left his "home" and headed for the meadow for more deer. This time he killed two, field dressed them and drug them back to his camp for processing. One he hung over his fire to roast whole as he had done before. The other one he cut thin strips from and hung over another fire made mostly of hickory to smoke and preserve into jerky. Roger was going to try to walk out of the forest and find people as soon as the deer was preserved.

It took another five days before Roger was ready to travel. He had two deer turned into jerky that he hoped would not spoil. He had most of another deer cooked and wrapped in plastic he was going to take for the first few meals. Roger filled his hunting pack with items he thought he might need on his trip, left a note about what happened to him and where he went on the dashboard of his truck. He took off at dawn the eighth morning after the accident. Roger walked steadily on a course due east all that day and the next. All he could do is assume he was near Birmingham, Al where he had been going to the airport. If he was right he should get to Atlanta, Georgia soon by walking almost due east by a little north. Roger laughed to himself and thought, 'of course that is assuming Atlanta is still there and I bet it isn't. Birmingham sure as shit isn't where it should be.'

Roger hoped he would find a road or town well before he walked the nearly 150 miles to Atlanta but he planned on going all the way if he had to. Every time he thought about walking to Atlanta Roger snorted. Truthfully, in his mind he was sure Atlanta did not exist. After all he had been walking for hours and never saw one sign of human habitation or civilization. In all the days he was here he had not seen or heard ONE airplane. There were no contrails in the sky, no sounds of civilization as he knew it either. The air he was breathing was even strangely clearer, more pure. No, Roger was almost positive he was somewhere or somewhen alone.

Roger really had no idea how far he could walk in a day through the dense woods and hills. He knew a man in as good a shape as he was could do twenty miles a day very easily on pavement but in the woods? He had no idea. He assumed he would make ten miles a day but who knew. Of course he spent some time hunting and making camp too, and then there were all the streams he might have to cross that would slow him down. No, there was really no way to estimate how far he could travel in a day.

On the morning of the sixth day of walking Roger saw something that shook him to the core. He was walking along not really paying attention to anything when he heard a scream then several screeching yells. He immediately dropped and began looking for whoever made the noise. He crept closer to the area the noise was coming from and stopped in shock. There was a small village of what appeared to be stick dwellings. What appeared to be Indians were attacking another group of Indians. They were using spears, rock tomahawks and bows and arrows. At first he thought this might be a movie set but then he saw arrows hitting people and real blood flowing.

Roger moved back into deeper cover and watched the carnage trying to decide what to do. He felt his old combat training coming back to him. He tried to decide whether to intervene or just watch ... He looked up when he heard panting and thrashing in the bushes nearby. Two women were running toward his hiding place with two Indians in pursuit. The women were getting closer and the braves were getting closer to the women. The two women were run down almost within reach of Roger. The braves each dove on one and wrestled her to the ground. They began beating on the women trying to pacify them. The women were clawing and scratching in their attempt to get away. Roger watched one of the Braves finally get between one of the women's thighs. He quickly brushed his breech clout aside and Roger watched his hard cock spearing down toward the woman's pussy. Finally Roger came out of his indecision. He knew then he had to do something.

Roger had seen enough. Without further thought he rose and grabbed his large hunting knife. He moved behind the brave attempting to rape the woman and grabbed his head. He pulled his chin up and rapidly sliced his throat. He pushed the now dead brave to the side so he wouldn't fall on the woman underneath, dropped him and turned to the other one. By the time Roger turned toward the remaining Indian he had been seen. That Indian turned the woman he was fighting with loose and rushed toward Roger with a knife in his hand, held low.

Thankfully Roger's body remembered his unarmed combat training from the Army and he made the proper counter moves. Almost effortlessly Roger got inside the Indian's defense and slid his knife under a rib. He angled it upward and it sliced into the heart easily. Roger stepped back and let the Indian fall. He turned to look at the two women. They were standing together holding each other while they watched Roger. They were panting from their exertion and perhaps from fear. It was obvious they needed to regain their breath. Dirt and detritus clung to their clothes and hair from their writhing on the ground with the now dead braves.

Roger made a shushing motion with his finger and then waved them to follow him farther from the battle. The two women looked at each other for a moment and silently followed. Roger led the women deeper into the forest. When they were about a quarter mile away from the battle Roger stopped and looked at the women. "What the hell is going on here," he asked.

The Indian woman looked at Roger then turned her attention to the other woman. This woman looked puzzled for a moment then said, "Eeenglish? Habla espanol?"

Roger stood looking at the women then at his surroundings. He dredged back into his memory trying to remember the Spanish he studied first in high school then years later in college. At one time he thought it might be beneficial to know when he took a job. He tried once more in his halting, broken Spanish. This time the Hispanic woman gave him a tentative, puzzled smile and responded.

Bit by bit, haltingly Roger found out both women were captives of the village being attacked. The Hispanic woman had been captured in Florida and the Indian woman with her was a captive from another Indian village. When the enemy braves attacked they decided to run and try to gain their freedom. Finally he could take no more and asked the date.

"Ahh the Senor has been in the woods much time, no? If I have remembered the dates correctly it is May in the Year of our Lord 1586. I am afraid I know not the exact day but surely you knew at least the year?"

Roger staggered. His knees felt weak and his stomach roiled at this revelation. He sank down on a nearby log and stared into the distance for a moment. He admitted to himself he suspected something was badly out of kilter but to find out he was somehow transported back in time roughly 443 years was staggering. Blue and Misty could tell something had badly shaken their master. They both came up to him, one on either side of him and lay their heads on a thigh. He absentmindedly caressed their heads while he thought.

Roger looked at the young woman and almost whispered, "443 years. How could this be? Where exactly am I?"

"What? Oh, you are in the forest just north of His Spanish Majesties colony of Florida. I was taken from there just after Christmas and carried off to the north. They killed many of my family and others in the settlement I am afraid."

"Shit, shit, shit. Now what," Roger murmured. He got up and paced around thinking for several minutes. Finally he turned to the women once more and said, "I suppose I need to see what I can do back there then I need to go back to Birmingham and think about this."

"I need to check on those idiots back there. I'll be back soon."

The two women made several rapid gestures during a very short conversation. The Indian woman followed Roger at a run until she caught him then she grabbed Roger by the arm. He turned to look at her just as the Spanish woman caught up and said, "No. Please. There is nothing there for any of us. We are afraid if you go back you will be killed then what will become of us? Please senor, can't we just go away now rapidly?"

Roger stood looking back toward the camp and sighed. She was right. It was not his battle. Besides, even with his modern weapons he might not have a very good chance of winning if attacked by several Indians. He looked at the women and said, "You're right. It's not my fight. I was going to walk east until I found out where I was and got some help but I suppose that's not going to happen now. I suppose I'll just go on back where I came from and see what I can do."

Roger started off to the west more or less following the path he had followed to this place. Thankfully he had thought to blaze some trees so he could find his way 'home'. He only walked a short distance when he heard something behind him. He quickly dove to the side and looked behind him as he raised his pistol. He was surprised to see the women following behind and quickly gaining on him. Roger stood and waited for them to catch up to him.

The Hispanic woman was named Margarita. She walked up to him and placed her hand on his forearm. "Please sir. Do not leave us here in the forest alone. We have nowhere to go and no one to care for us. We have no weapons with which to defend ourselves even if we could. We will either die or be captured once more if you do not allow us to accompany you."

Roger felt instant embarrassment and felt his face heat. "I am sorry ladies. I didn't think. You shocked me so much with the information you gave me my only thought was to go back where I came from. You may accompany me if you wish but I have to warn you I am not from here and may not be able to help you much. I am just going back to a place in the forest where ... I am returning to what little property I own now is located. I have no idea where I will live or how I will support myself much less you two ladies."

The women looked at each other. Margarita said something to the Indian and received a reply. She turned to Roger and said, "We think you have done very well so far Senor. You have defeated two Braves in hand to hand combat and helped us to escape. We think we could do much worse than to cast our lot with you. If you would be so kind we would be happy to accompany you to your home."

Roger sighed and said, "Well then by all means let's go. I have to warn you that you will see some things that will amaze and perhaps frighten you if you come with me. I am from a different society than you are and we had or I have many things that will be strange to you."

Roger walked slower on his return trip than he had on his way east. Finally the evening of the second day after he rescued the women he knew he had to hunt. Roger turned to the women after their camp site was selected and said, "I need to hunt this evening. Would you please set up the camp and get it ready so if I can kill something we can cook it right away?"

Roger had only walked about a quarter mile when he came upon a herd of deer. He moved closer to them and took aim at a large doe with his rifle. He quickly shot her and moved his aim to another near her and fired once more. He heard a stick break behind him and someone gasped. After seeing the Indian fight days before Roger reacted as he would have in the Army. He turned, moving his weapon to engage whatever was stalking him. He immediately saw the women slightly behind him and rapidly moved the weapon to the side. They were staring at him in shock.

Margarita looked at the deer and then Roger. "How did you do that? You shot twice within so short a time. I did not even see you reload. I was sure the implement you carried was a musket of some strange design but I never expected you to fire it so rapidly. I cannot believe with it you killed two deer from a distance farther than even the best shot could hit anything."

"Margarita I merely used my rifle. It is a weapon that is just better than those you are used to. It is better built and can shoot farther and more accurately than your muskets."

While he and Margarita were talking Sunny as he called the Indian woman, moved on ahead and began dressing the deer. Margarita rushed to help her, casting strange looks at Roger as she did so. Roger spent a moment to find and pick up his brass then moved to help dress the deer. Margarita stood to push him back. "No please. You guard while we do this. It will not take us long and it is woman's work after all."

The two women turned back to work. The deer were ready to take back to camp much faster than Roger could have done it. When they got back to the partially set up camp Margarita began preparing the meal while Sunny built a rack then another fire underneath it. Sunny sliced the venison thinly and laid the pieces over the rack to begin drying. Roger moved to help and was once again told in no uncertain terms he should just sit down and let the women do this woman's work.