Second Chances (38 page)

“Something!” Ciara snarled back, wet hands on her hips.

“The stupid girl should have just spread her legs and let it go,” he snarled. That got him slapped by Ciara, who then stormed off. He rubbed the soapy wet red mark on his face thoughtfully. Sydney shot him a hurt look then rushed off sobbing as well.

“Damn,” Miles sighed.

“Women,” Jake said with a sniff of derision.

“Don't...” Miles shook his head, eyes closed. “Kid, don't let them hear you say shit like that. Trust me,” he said.

When the perp wasn't jailed and mutterings of a white wash ran rampart through the community, the women stopped doing stuff and refused sex with their men. Some of the men tried to force their attentions; Vicky broke it up. Fights and domestic arguments broke out all over the community as people took sides. Single women started carrying weapons. Ciara made a show of carrying her colt revolver and a belt knife.

When a mob of women met the hunters and demanded the male for summary judgment, Miles was forced to act. He realized they were serious when he saw Ciara's grim face and gun. They were dead serious, and either he had to get on board or he'd be shunted off to the side and forever disregarded as a leader.

“We're not going to do this; we're not going to turn into a mob,” Vicky said, keeping her voice cool and professional. “We're going to hold a trial.”

They held the trial in the community center. Each witness took the stand in turn to give their testimony. The entire community was the jury. Vicky absented herself from the jury pool and prosecuted.

“Miss Dakota and I ran a rape exam. The victim has bruising at the five and seven o'clock areas in her vagina characteristic of forced penile insertion.”

“And that means what?” Miles asked. “Some people like it rough,” he said with a shrug.

Vicky glared at him. “Contrary to popular belief, if a woman says no, that doesn't mean go. It means stop. In my case it means stop or I'll cut the damn thing off and shove it down your throat,” she growled. She glared at him for a long moment then switched targets to the accused. The man flinched under her gaze.

It came down to power Miles realized. He had the guy's life in his hands. It felt good in a way but scary. A lot was riding on the decision. He looked over to the perp. The man was small, head bowed, shoulders hunched, the picture of contrite. He looked over to the woman, Mariah. She had been upset, shattered for the first couple of days. But with care from the ladies sitting around her for support she was now out for vengeance. Most of the women wanted the guy castrated or fed to the dinosaurs.

“Can we all just calm down and look at this logically for a moment? We're talking about a man's life here,” he said. He tried to get the two to reconcile; the woman wouldn't have it. She shuddered and refused to look at the guy. Angeni stood and reported the woman was pregnant. That caused a chatter in their community, and it proved that the man had indeed had sex. Miles scowled. It was in Spanish, and he barely understood a word. They chattered off like machine guns back and forth.

Eventually the community came to a decision, he was found guilty. He rose to run, but Carlos forced him to sit back down grimly. “I'm not going to allow a lynching or...anything else. Eduardo is sorry. He will make up for what he has done,” Diego said. The young man nodded.

“Not enough,” Ciara growled, eyes flashing. They held a discussion. Eventually it was agreed upon that the rapist was to be exiled.

He was allowed to gather his things, then Diego and Carlos escorted him to the north gate. He looked back several times, face streaked with tears. Diego patted him on the shoulder and murmured to him a few times.

He stumbled as he walked through the gates, then flinched as they closed resoundingly behind him with a clang. He lingered in the area, unsure where to go or what to do. Near evening he pleaded with the sentries to take him back. They did their best to ignore him or assure him that they'd keep trying to get him back in, but for now he had to take his lumps like a man.

That went on for several days until a pack of turkey-sized raptors came around and chased him up a tree. The man screamed bloody murder for help. Miles watched grimly through his binoculars as the animals climbed the tree and then tore the man apart. The tree shook, then he saw body parts fall. The small raptors followed.

He was grim. “Happy now?” he demanded. Vicky and the others didn't say anything.

\------{}------/

The third time Miles’ bigotry confronted when he watched his son emulating him and spouting the same racist rants when Pedro and Mataeo beat him and Miriam at soccer. The disappointed looks from the others as well as from Sydney and Miriam made Jake pause. “What?” he demanded, spreading his hands. The others turned away from him, no longer interested in his company. Miriam looked back at him briefly, then away, obviously sad. Jake looked hurt, then turned away himself.

“Come on son,” Miles said quietly, waving him back to the trailer. Jake shook off the hand on his shoulder and marched on. Miles thought it was some shit about sportsmanship at first, but the rant...he wasn't so sure.

Ciara didn't say anything at dinner. She fed them cold meat and tubers, then went on her way. Sydney picked at it listlessly, then pushed it away. “I'm not hungry,” she said, then left.

“I'm not either,” Jake said, also quiet. He took his plate and his sister's and saved the food for later in a battered plastic butter container. Then they left.

“He put his foot in his mouth,” Carlos said, coming over. Miles looked up. “I heard,” the farmer said, shrugging.

“I...”

“I heard he was sweet on Miriam. She liked him until today. Now...” Carlos shook his head.

“Yeah,” Miles said, frowning thoughtfully.

“Best thing for him to do is think about it, jefe. We're all in this together now, like I said,” Carlos said. He tipped a finger to his straw sombrero and then went on his way.

That made Miles sit back and think about what sort of role model he was setting for his kids. He realized, like it or not, they were on the planet to stay, and the people they had around them was all they had for a community. Alienating them wasn't helping him or his son...or his daughter. Their survival depended on working together. That and he'd come to like Ciara, the quiet dancer. She was a looker, and he really missed Nicole. If he didn't figure out how to get a lid on his own mouth,...he sighed and finished cleaning up before he went to take his shift as a sentry.

Chapter 22

In late summer they realized the excessive hunting and fishing in the immediate area had driven the animals away. That and they'd killed off the animals that they liked the best, well, killed off or caught.

The fruits in the area had also been picked over, and Jake's joyride had done a number on the crops, the second and third harvest was bitterly limited.

The chicken lizards stopped laying eggs. One by one the cocks and hens were killed, plucked, and used for food. Meat from rats and other pests started cropping up in the burritos and other meals over time.

They blew through the produce and jerky first, then the yogurt, butter and cheese they'd stockpiled quickly. Some of it spoiled in the heat, so they fed that to the animals. Miles grew heartily sick of cheese for meals; they blocked him up and gave him gas.

The meat situation got to the point where they had to choose to cull their herds; even the animals they had trained into riding animals had their heads on the chopping block. “Look, we can get more,” Miles said, hands spread in appeal when Diego and the gauchos balked. “Now we know what to do, how to do it,” he said.

“And what do we do in the meantime man? We're low on fuel remember?” Diego said. “I put a lot of blood and sweat into training these animals; some are pregnant. And you want to kill them?”

“Well, we're low on a lot of materials,” Joe said. “Not metals of course but...” he shrugged.

“We'll discuss it in council,” Vicky said, ushering them into the community center.

Grimly they laid out the food issue. Everyone was restless, it was nearly one hundred degrees and the hand fans Miss Dakota had made only helped a little bit. Everyone was soaked in sweat and irritable about the flies and situation.

“We got a little too cute. The herds have moved away,” Vicky said.

“I've heard some thoughts about raiding other communities,” Carlos said hesitantly. “I am not...I'm not happy with the idea, but I thought it should be brought out into the open,” he said.

His bombshell went off as planned, stirring the apathy in the room. A few looked grim and nodded, but others shook their heads vehemently no. “Oh hell no! We're not banditos!”

“We've got to find them first!” Diego pointed out. Irma's assurance that the smoke on the horizon had led to a false lead. They'd investigated and found a fire had burned the area.

“Trade!” Mya said. Moira nodded. So did Ciara and a few others.

“No, we take what we want!” Rodrigo said, stamping a foot.

“No, we're civilized. Yeah, we may look like some post-apocalyptic side show, but we're not. We've got stuff to trade. So do they.”

“Like what?”

Carlos waved a hand. “I don't know. Food stuff we don't need for one. Seeds. What about machinery? We've got plenty of stuff from Joe's junkyard right?”

“Yeah, but no fuel,” Rodrigo said.

“Some fuel. Not a lot. But we can use that,” Carlos said. “The problem is where they are. And what they've got to trade. I'm betting they are as bad off as we are for some stuff.”

“No better, no worse? So why not take what we want? Might makes right! Right, dad?” Jake demanded, looking at his father.

Miles grunted.

“No it doesn't!” Vicky snarled, slamming a fist onto a table. “Listen to you! This is a new world; we don't need to make war on our own people! It's hard enough trying to survive the dinosaurs and aliens here without trying to kill each other ourselves! We need to work
together
.”

Carlos nodded. “The chica's right,” he said. Vicky shot him a poisonous look but he waved it off. “We may need their help down the road. Piss them off and we'll be alone. We need to think long term,” he urged.

“Long term? Who the hell can think that man, when we don't have food for today!”

“Long term man, winter's coming fast. We've got to do something about that. Store food for one. Plan. If we go off hunting people, we're wasting time we could be out getting food for ourselves. And if we do find people, then we have to break through their defenses to get what we want...
if they even have it!
” That made Rodrigo and the others pause in thought. “Think about it hermano, you know how bad off
we
are, now are they any better?”

“Not to mention anyone who does raid could get hurt or killed,” Vicky said. That brought a hush to the group. She looked around and then snorted. “What, you think they're just going to hand you what you want no questions asked? That no one's going to get hurt or killed? Get real. You know they'll defend themselves, they have kids too! They've got to feed themselves and their kids. We'd do the same in their shoes,” she said, looking at Miles.

There was a long thoughtful pause as people digested that second thought. From the looks around the table it was an uncomfortable thing to digest.

“Trade,” Miles finally rumbled. “Vicky, think up a list in your off time. That way we'll have something if it ever comes up. Stuff we've got in surplus or we can replace easily,” he said.

She nodded. “Easy enough. Feathers and skins are top of the list,” she said. That got a snort from Rodrigo.

“What about the pottery and plates we've been making? Or the drums and stuff?” Sandy asked. That got a nod. “And I know we've got those pigments for paint. That medicine plant...I know we've got a bunch of stuff people could use. Not edible, but...” she shrugged.

“Go to it then,” Miles said, waving a dismissive hand. When the women were gone, he pulled Rodrigo aside. “You find me a couple guys, no more than a dozen who want in on a raid,” he said quietly. “Figure out the weapons needed and a couple vehicles, trucks obviously. We'll have to think of some way to get into the walls if needed.”

“What about a Trojan horse?” Rodrigo asked. “We go in playing nice traders, then take what we want?”

Miles nodded grimly. “Could work. It all hinges on us finding someone else though,” he said. Rodrigo nodded. “So, until then, keep this under your hat and we won't catch any flak from the splits,” he said. Rodrigo snorted.

“Just planning for the future,” Miles told himself after Rodrigo left. “Just in case,” he said.

\------{}------/

Carlos, Cita and other farm-oriented people had them dig root cellars to store food. Miles hadn't liked the projects at first, but he'd reluctantly come to agree that yes, the basements were cooler and therefore would save food longer. He also liked the idea of a storm shelter, though he was a bit concerned about flooding.

Carlos surprised a lot of people by marrying Fuji, a young woman who had worked in the ski resorts in the southwest. He wasn't the only one to settle down; Diego shacked up with Mya Camacho. Rodrigo had been a bit put out when he'd found out. He'd thought he'd staked Mya out for himself, but the woman had apparently had other ideas. He'd muttered a bit for a couple days, even falling into the bottle once or twice before he'd gotten his act back together. Ming Li Yu and Mariah scandalized the community by becoming a couple, but Miles and Vicky had shrugged it off. “Their bodies, they want to go that way, their choice,” Vicky said.