A Distant Eden (23 page)

Adrian gave the guard a quick rehearsal. He was to shout that Adrian challenged Fowler to a man-to-man knife fight, winner take all. He included that the combat would be at the midpoint between the tree line and the compound wall and that each side could have one armed man with him. Adrian also pointed out that should he be shot, then the favor would be instantly returned. He gave the guard a white flag to be sure that the panicked men inside didn’t shoot him.

The guard walked slowly out of the woods waving the white flag. He was spotted immediately and shouting could be heard briefly in the compound. The guard walked to within fifty feet and the gate opened up. Then he stopped and shouted. Adrian wanted everyone in the compound to hear—it would make the challenge harder to refuse. Adrian did not think Fowler would refuse given how successful he had been as a fighter in the past. His ego would make him jubilant at the challenge following such a horrific insult as he had experienced this morning. From not suspecting they were in danger to finding someone had slipped in and taunted them by slitting every other throat in the barracks? “Oh yes,” Adrian thought, “He’ll be out here in a few minutes, dancing on his toes with glee and rage at the same time. He’ll be happy to show his manhood to his men, especially in the state they are in now.”

Almost immediately out strode the giant with his armed aide. Adrian walked towards them with his armed man. They arrived at the chosen spot at the same time. Adrian had his surgically sharp knife already in hand; a Bowie knife with a long wicked blade. It was heavy, weighing over five pounds. Adrian liked the knife because with its heft it cut much deeper than a lighter knife. It was a micro-second slower than a lighter knife, but Adrian was so un-naturally fast that didn’t matter.

From the treeline, Alice and John watched. Alice was visibly shaking. “He could be killed! What is he thinking? That man is a giant! Why would Adrian want to fight him?”

John placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled. “Adrian isn’t going to fight him. Adrian is going to kill him. There’s a huge difference. You watch Adrian close and don’t blink. That giant is already dead.”

Fowler also had his knife in hand. In his hands it looked normal; to a regular person, though, it would be like a machete. It was easy to see why Fowler, especially with his reputation to go along with his size, would intimidate anyone. Fowler came out roaring with rage. Adrian liked that. Rage was a drug that killed the mental processes. Rage stopped thinking from taking place. Humans weren’t dangerous because they were angry; they were dangerous because they could think. Thinking was what Adrian did not want his enemies to do, and this one was cooperating beautifully.

Fowler didn’t waste time on talking: he roared and came running, slicing the air wickedly with his knife. The man was fast, Adrian would give him that. That speed must have assisted his fighting career, but Fowler wasn’t nearly as fast as Adrian. For Adrian, time began to slow down as it always did in a situation like this.

As Fowler came towards him, Adrian stood his ground for a second, gauging the monster’s speed and getting a sense of his timing. Then Adrian moved forward. He saw giant’s surprise that Adrian was moving towards him; it must have been rare in his experience. He expected to see his opponent in shock and fear, if not trembling or running away—but not calmly attacking.

By the time they were eight feet apart, time had slowed to a crawl for Adrian. He had Fowler’s rhythm down now and Adrian deliberately exposed his throat, making an irresistible target for the giant to take a swing at. Fowler took the bait and made a huge right to left slash. Adrian, timing it perfectly, leaned back just enough for the blade to miss his throat—and then as the giant’s arm continued to swing on past to the left, Adrian stepped forward and slashed upwards with his knife, cutting through the right deltoid muscle and tendons, all the way from under the arm up to the bone of the shoulder socket, instantly making the arm useless. Momentum forced the arm to continue its swing, the dead weight dragging Fowler around with it. Adrian leaned back and raised his left leg—then stomped down and through the giant’s right knee, sideways. The knee has almost no support in that direction and was instantly destroyed.

Fowler was not only still swinging around to his left, but now was also dropping downwards to his right in an unbalanced spiral. This had the anticipated effect of exposing the back of Fowler’s neck to Adrian’s knife. This was exactly as Adrian had planned and he finished by plunging the knife upwards into the inside of the giants skull—in the soft spot where the vertebrate enter. Adrian made this a fast in and out stab to keep the knife from being jammed as the giant went on down.

By the time Adrian had removed the knife, Fowler was dead and still falling. Adrian took two steps back to observe Fowler’s aide to see what he would do. Fowler was no longer of interest. The entire fight lasted only a bit more than one second after Adrian leaned back from the knife flying by his throat. Less than three seconds total from the time Fowler roared and charged. It had gone exactly as Adrian had planned. He could have made it last longer, but the point of the exercise was to demoralize the enemy troops, as well as remove their leader. The faster he killed their leader the more they would panic.

The aide stared, mouth agape. Fowler had ruled these men with fear and intimidation and they had grown to believe that he was invincible. To see him dispatched so easily and so quickly left them in a daze. Adrian raised and dropped his arm and the attack began. This was their moment of advantage, and they would not waste the momentary confusion. Adrian killed Fowler’s aide then charged the gate.

The battle was a textbook mopping up operation. The men threw off the gilly blankets, scaled the walls and were inside and shooting within seconds. They had memorized the layout of the buildings, and practiced moving between them so many times that it was second nature. Each man knew his route and followed it. Their lanes of fire had been carefully calculated to not catch each other in crossfire. Nothing had been left to chance. The shooting was over in minutes. The opposing army had barely enough sense to fire back and was completely ineffective. Then, after searching for any hidden soldiers, the group found the slaves and finally let them free.

Two Years Later

John and Jennifer married and have one child, and are expecting their second. John has taken over Fowler’s compound with enough food and weapons to make the new colony work. The former slaves were now functioning citizens. John recruited new people as they could. They have a population of fifty-three and are growing every month as word spreads about their location.

Roman’s Fort Brazos rapidly grew into a village, outpacing his most optimistic time-table. His guiding hand is responsible for not only Fort Brazos, but also two villages and four tribes in the region. They trade with each other and have formed a defense alliance. Roman is widely seen as their regional leader, although he has not formally sought the position. His advice and wisdom are respected by everyone in the area.

Jerry and Dave are farmers and hunters. They captured and began breeding hogs. They also plowed several acres, planting corn and beans. Everyone became thoroughly tired of corn and beans, yet they are still the most practical crops for the area. Jerry obtained seed potatoes in trade and had begun raising them also. The potatoes promised to be a popular item for consumption and trade. The seeds that Roman had collected were planted in large garden plots and were growing successfully.

Karen and Shirley started a school for the village. They did not follow the previous pattern of a centralized school system with the children gathering in one location. Instead, they are training the mothers and fathers in the basics of home-schooling. The parents are responsible for their children’s education. Home-schooling allows for far more flexibility in the family, allowing the children to learn at their own paces—who better than parents to understand a child’s natural pace? It also allows for the children to help in harvesting and hunting as the need arises. These children are learning more and faster than they had before. There is discussion of eventually creating a college to take advantage of those with specialized knowledge that can be passed on.

Matt became the blacksmith, and perhaps more importantly, the village’s preacher. Between creating useful items with his hands, preaching on Sundays, taking care of his flock, and raising his family, he couldn’t be happier. Matt perfected a compact wood gas generator that mounts in the back of a truck or on the front of a tractor. It is a great trade item. The tractors allowed the villagers to plow larger fields, providing a surplus of food for storage and trade. The wood gas generators are also used to power electrical generators for the hospital and a welding machine for Matt’s blacksmith shop.

The village acquired a shoemaker who drew almost as many people as the hospital. Roman had not guessed that footwear would be so necessary. The footwear that could be salvaged was generally of poor quality for people who lived and worked outside. Sometimes good footwear could be found, but it had been sitting on shelves and often chewed on by rats or had been exposed to too much weather. The shoemaker was also adept at making leather, operating a small tannery by hiring local help. Leather had once again become a valuable commodity, and buck skins were often used for trade. No one had a use for gold or silver, except as poor substitutes for lead in bullet making. With ninety-seven percent of the population gone, large stores of gold, silver and jewels were commonly found. They had no value. Twenty-two caliber bullets were the new equivalent of the penny and were traded universally. The common large caliber bullets were, in comparison, much like dollars.

Alfred, Wilma and John check in regularly by radio. They are doing well, and have balanced the deer population with the carrying capacity of the land and their food needs. They still have an occasional poacher problem, but John handles them. He has created a defense coalition of his contiguous neighbors that band together whenever poaching is discovered on any of their properties. They have adapted to eating deer brains and swear it makes them smarter. They act serious enough when they say it that Roman is never quite sure if they are sincere or pulling his leg. They have garden plots at all of the windmills, protected by high fences from the deer.

Roman’s homemade whisky had become a big hit, and he is now experimenting with growing tobacco for cigars. He recently learned about the sotol plant that grows in Texas. The plant can be fermented and distilled into a liquor similar to tequila. It is very popular, and because the plants are wild he doesn’t have to wait for a corn surplus to make whisky. He also learned that the plant’s core could be baked and eaten, providing a good calorie load. However, Roman uses it to make the liquor for trade. The leaves also contain fibers useful for cordage and rope making.

Sarah works in the hospital, the church and the school. She stays busy helping the villagers far and wide. Sarah is the most loved person in the region and travels with Roman to visit other tribes and villages. Sarah is the glue that binds all of the people in the region together. They admire and respect Roman, but they love Sarah.

Adrian’s men spread out among the region’s villages and tribes. They provide security advice and coordinate closely with each other to maintain an overall scout program. They have regular military exercises that include all of the men in the region. They are considered the most valuable people in each of their groups, and each one is the designated war leader of his people.

Adrian and Alice married and remained at Fort Brazos. It took Alice a few months to overcome his shyness, but she dedicated herself to the task and as was usual with Alice, got what she set her heart on. Adrian has been restless most of the previous year. He understands the importance of the hospital and Alice’s leading role in it, but he wants to see mountains. Adrian had been fascinated by the Mountain Man era his entire life. Now he wants to travel to the Rockies and explore the mountain region, see who is living there and how they are getting along. He and Alice have talked of it many times and she is ready whenever he is. They think they might be able to create important friendships along the way, perhaps creating a larger regional alliance.

Adrian decided they were leaving at the first signs of this spring.