Children of a New Earth (25 page)

Lexa noticed her watching and slid over. “That’s Salmontears, but everyone just calls him Sal. He’s one of the Laughing Crones. They’re the oldest family out here. Started the community years before the blast.”

Sal and Willowshade were now shuffling toward the pool. “You are a true blessing, child,” he was telling her. “These old bones don’t work like they used to, especially not before my morning soak.”

Once in the pool Amy and Sal were formally introduced. While Amy’s modesty was rapidly disappearing, it was still somehow incongruous to make polite introductions while standing stark naked in chest deep water.

“Salmontears, that’s an unusual name,” she commented. 

“It is a name of mourning,” he told her. “I worked the Alaskan fisheries in my youth, long before the collapse. When the Salmon went extinct . . .” he shook his head, “that’s when I realized how bad it was. I changed my name and dropped out of society for good, just in time to find a bunch of city witches wanting to move out into the deep woods.”

Michael—or maybe it was Lorn; they looked so similar—came in and crossed the shower room without bothering to undress. He leaned down and said, “Ten minutes until council.”

Amy waited until he had crossed and exited the building before following the other women to the shower, but she gave only a fleeting thought to Sal as he also followed them. 

On the path to the community hall, they ran into Luke. His eyes widened as he looked at Amy. She looked back perplexed.

“Wow,” he said, “you look so different.”

“Boy, he sure knows how to woo a lady,” Lexa teased.

He blushed. “I’m sorry I’m just not used to seeing you so—”

“Pretty?” Lexa supplied.

“Feminine,” he mumbled going even redder.

“I am not pretty,” Amy declared. She had been described any number of ways throughout her life. Many graphic words had been used, none of which were synonyms for pretty. Still, she could not help but notice the same wide-eyed look from the other men as they gathered. It was a novel sensation, one that she wasn’t sure she liked.

Another novel sensation, one that she did enjoy, was the respect the outsiders paid her. As they filed into the community hall, she was again placed at Luke’s left. The message was clear. Next to the leader, the mechanic’s input was second most important, regardless of her sex. Patrick’s angry glare showed that he had read the situation the same way, but was less happy about it.

Lady Sapphire sat the end of a long table with Luke beside her. Amy sat on Luke’s left with the others in the expedition behind her. On Sapphire’s right sat Michael, Lorn, and the other council members. Sal shuffled in, moving better since his bath, and sat down at the far end of the table. “I apologize for my tardiness,” he said.

Lady Sapphire’s gaze softened as she looked at the old man. “No apology is needed, Sal. We are glad you could make it.”

He pulled out a notebook and opened it. “Let the record show that with my tardy entrance all the council members are present.”

“So noted.”

“Then I call this session to order,” Sal continued. “The purpose of this session is well known to all, but for the record: we are here to discuss the visitors from Freedom Ranch. The villagers of Bullhaven have given us a rather thorough account of their plight and mission. We discussed this last session, so unless there is anything new to add?” He gave Luke a meaningful look. Luke shook his head no.

Amy looked at Lady Sapphire. She was the leader here, wasn’t she? Why wasn’t she running the meeting? Obviously there were aspects of this community Amy didn’t understand.

“Good,” Sal went on. “In that case, we can dispense with any further background, since we discussed it less than a week ago.

“The villagers have indicated that they have made a barter arrangement for supplies and parts these people need. If we provide the items we discussed at the last session, the villagers will settle with us at harvest time. They have always dealt fairly with us in the past, and I see no reason to doubt their word now. I see no reason to object to this arrangement.”

“Nor do I,” Lady Sapphire put in.

“Then I move that we accept the credit of the villagers for the items requested by Freedom Ranch and extend a similar arrangement with the Cyclers,” Michael put in.

Lorn said, “I second.” There was a chorus of “ayes” around the table.

“Motion carries with no dissent,” Sal said. “Duly noted. That was mostly a formality anyway. Now we can get down to the real business. What help does this mission need from us, and can we provide it?”

“But,” Daniel burst in, “didn’t you just agree to provide us help?”

“Yes,” Michael replied. “We will give you the parts and equipment you need from us. Most of your list, however, will have to come from the Cyclers. With both the village and us providing credit, acquiring what you need should be no problem. Actually getting there could be another matter.”

“It seems,” Sal said. “That you have not yet taken into full account the extent of your mission. The Cyclers are established in what used to be the city of Kansas City. That was maybe a couple days’ journey long ago on the interstate highway. That interstate no longer exists. On foot, it could take you several weeks or even months to travel that far.”

The entire mission groaned. At each leg, they’d thought they were done, that they’d somehow completed their mission. Then they found there were months more to go. It didn’t seem fair, but they’d been forewarned of how long this journey might take. Amy stared at her group in contempt.
Don’t they listen?
Jacob had said as much at the outset. The villagers had said as much. Now they were surprised to hear it again?

“We have always helped those in need,” Lorn told them. “We will not let you down.”

“It’s just that charity breeds dependence,” Lady Sapphire explained. “We would prefer a solution that leads to interdependence . . . a trade, if you will.”

Luke shook his head to clear it. Obviously much of this was going over his head too. “All I know is that fair is fair. We obviously need your help, but we want to earn it in an even trade.”

“That is all we want as well,” Michael assured him.

“And we have a plan that will achieve exactly that,” Sal added.

Lady Sapphire held up a finger. “I want it noted for the record that I have reservations about this plan.” 

“Reservations or objections?” Sal inquired.

There was a moment’s pause. “Reservations,” she replied. “I will not stand in the way of consensus, if they consent.”

Amy marveled. At the ranch, any hint of Amos’s disapproval generally halted all discussion. Of course, the most common hint he gave was when he banged his gavel and shouted. This quiet discussion was new to her.

“What sort of reservations do you have?” Luke asked.

“I worry about your youth and condition,” she replied.

“Our youth?” Patrick exploded. “Our condition? I’ll have you know we have made it this far without your help.”

Michael deflected the attack with a laugh. “Nobody here has any doubts about your stamina or your abilities. Indeed we have marveled at the incredible journey you have made already. If you will listen for a moment to our plan, I think you will understand Lady Sapphire’s reservations better.”

Patrick settled back with a huff. A middle-aged woman with dishwater-blond hair and a square, masculine face held up her hand to be recognized.

“Yes, Lucy,” Sal said with a nod. “You are the best qualified to talk about it.”

“The project I have been spearheading is a cleanup project,” she began. “The river that flows a few miles west of here has become increasingly problematic. Silt laden with toxic chemicals and radiation has been building up in the sandbars for years.

“There are two major issues. One, that water feeds our water table. Second, if we go ahead with our expansion of the irrigation networks, we may have to utilize that water directly. The only solution we have been able to come up with is to remove most of the silt. The Stewards have agreed to take it.”

“Who are the Stewards?” Luke asked.

“A monastic order,” Lorn said. “They have taken vows to clean up the mess humans have created. Specifically, they monitor waste sites and have marked off areas where the radiation levels are too high for human habitation. They have agreed to accept the silt and either process it or keep it at one of their sites.”

“And they agree with Lady Sapphire on one point,” Lucy went on. “These young people should not be directly involved with the waste. We cannot in good conscience expose people of your age and potential fertility to radioactive material. The human race needs every fertile member it can get.”

“That is indeed the nature of my reservations,” Lady Sapphire said. “And I apologize to you, Patrick, and any of the others who might have misinterpreted it.”

“However,” Sal interrupted. “The Stewards have provided lead-lined canisters for shipment. They claim that once the waste is sealed the danger is minimal. The levels of radiation should be no higher than normal background level. It should be perfectly safe for you to help with delivery.”

“But,” Kurt began slowly, “I thought our problem was how long it was going to take to get to the Cyclers. If we help with this delivery first, won’t that take even longer?”

“Our first delivery will be ready to go within two weeks,” Lucy explained. “Only we can’t possibly spare the people. If you take it, with some of our people to help of course, you could then have the trucks on loan.”

“It is a considerable detour, but traveling by truck is much faster, so you will end up coming out ahead. It should be possible to complete the whole trip in as little as two months.”

“Two months?” Shawn howled. “But we need to be back before fall. We’ll never make it.”

“My companion is right, if a bit dramatic,” Luke said. “We need to get these supplies back before the passes close. It may well be life or death for the ranch if we don’t.”

“Then it is a race against time,” Sal said. “May I propose that we extend the loan of the trucks to the return trip? We could easily send a few of our own people with you to drive them back.”

“The roads out that way are almost nonexistent,” Luke said.

“Our EVs can handle it,” Lucy assured him. “It’d still be close, but they could make it. Hell, our EVs could probably plow the passes if necessary.”

“Can we spare the trucks that long?” someone asked.

The woman just shrugged, “They’re all committed to this project, and they’ll likely sit full of waste all summer if we don’t get more drivers. So it’s about the same either way.”

“So let’s make this official,” Lady Sapphire said. “I propose that we ask the members of this mission from Freedom Ranch to deliver five trucks of toxic waste to the nearest stewards. We, in return, agree to loan said trucks to the mission for the trip to the Cyclers and back to Freedom Ranch. Any objections?”

There was an immediate second, and the motion carried easily. Lady Sapphire turned to Luke. “Do you understand our proposal sufficiently, or have you any questions?”

“We understand,” he replied.

“Then we will give you some time to discuss this amongst yourselves before asking for an answer.” She rose. “Food and tea will be sent in; otherwise, you will be given one hour’s privacy. We will reconvene at that time to hear your answer.”

As trays of refreshments were brought in, Luke unrolled a large piece of paper. “Michael gave me this,” he explained. “It’s a map of this region, updated as much as possible. One thing is for sure, they aren’t kidding. It could take us months to walk that far.”

“Worse still, the parts we need aren’t light. I have been dreading the thought of the walk back under heavy packs.”

“But I thought we were getting most of the stuff from the villagers?” Shawn asked.

“Yes and no,” Luke replied. “They are providing most of the household stuff; bulk-wise, that’s the majority. But the rest of what we need is mostly electronics and mechanical parts, such as parts for the tractor and the Jeep. Once we get new gaskets for the still, Amy will be able to keep that Jeep running, with parts, of course. Most of that stuff is metal. Smaller, but a lot heavier. Weight-wise, that will be the biggest share.”

This was greeted by groans. “I just don’t think we can do it without help,” Luke continued. “And I’ve been thinking: if we have vehicles, we can get even more stuff and not have to do this again.”

“That’s true,” Amy agreed. “I say let’s do it.” She was hard pressed to feel bad about another two weeks here.

There was a general murmur of ascent. “Well, if Amy thinks it’s a good idea,” Patrick sneered, “then it must be. Our good old Luke, always doing what his woman wants.”

“What did I say?” Amy gasped, her mood deflating instantly.

“Since when do the men of Freedom Ranch go around kowtowing to women?” Patrick continued angrily, glaring at Luke. “I held my tongue at the village. They at least seemed like ordinary folk. These people here are serious freaks. Have you seen how all these long-haired men all meekly follow that witch?”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Shawn who interceded. “Hey, even I can I see that we need their help, and they are good enough to provide it. What’s wrong with taking help when it’s offered?”

“Pussy whipped already?” Patrick responded. Shawn blushed and didn’t answer.

Daniel stepped in next. “I don’t know where that all came from, but Shawn’s right for once. There is nothing wrong with taking help when it’s offered.”

“Walk or ride,” Mark threw in. “That’s a damn easy choice, Patrick. Why spoil it?”

Patrick glared around the room. Seeing everyone arrayed against him, he deflated. “I’d rather walk then take help from that bitch,” he muttered, sinking into his seat.

“I am tempted to let you,” Luke replied. “But we need to stick together. We are going to help these people, and they are going to help us, regardless of what anyone thinks of their leader. Understood?”

“She’s got four husbands,” Patrick said.

“And two wives,” Amy put in with a grin. Luke shot her a dark look.

“Understood?” he repeated to Patrick.