“Sure,” Jacob responded. Mike thought some more.
“Lily, are they keeping a close watch on those sheep?” he asked.
“They didn’t seem to be watching them at all,” she replied. Mike nodded.
“Jacob, I want you to write down a detailed description of how to prepare the sheep for cooking. Lily, you draw some diagrams for him. When you’re ready, Jacob, I want you and Jean to go to the Retreat. Steal a sheep. Slaughter it and prepare it, so it’s ready to be cooked. Then leave it where they will find it, and pin the instructions to the sheep.” Mike finished speaking and waited for their reactions.
For a moment, no one spoke, and then they all tried to speak at once. Mike raised his hand.
“One at a time. Erin?”
“Chief, I get your point, but if you do this, you are letting them know we’re here.”
“They won’t know which direction we are,” Jean said. “I’m sure Jacob and I can point them in the wrong direction.”
“I’m not crazy about your idea,” Howard confessed. “But there are children there.”
Mike looked at his carpenter. “Hector?”
Hector shook his head. “Amigo, you never fail to amaze me. We have a choice, here. We can keep ourselves safely hidden from these evil people, or we can try to save the children. We already know what you are going to do.” The room fell silent.
After a moment, Jacob spoke. “Yes, we know what the Chief will do. That’s why he’s the Chief. So let’s get it done.”
Two days later Mike’s plan took a drastic change. It began in the morning when Gabby came to Chief’s Headquarters to complain.
“Someone stole some food, Chief,” she informed him. “They took some of the smoked meat that we save for the patrols, and they took some roasted potatoes that we were going to serve for lunch today. And they stole a thermos.”
Mike was mystified at her report. “I can see why some of our goofballs might steal some of the jerky. But why would anyone steal potatoes?”
A little later, Jacob came by. “Have you seen, Lily?” he asked. “I need her to draw some pictures for preparing the sheep.”
“I haven’t seen her,” replied Mike absently. Then a thought came into his head.
“She’s having a hard time accepting that the Fog is real, isn’t she, Jacob?”
“Yeah. I don’t think she believes us,” Jacob answered.
“Jacob, go find her, right now,” Mike said.
Jacob gave him a questioning look. “Something wrong, Chief?” he asked.
“I’m not sure yet. But go find her. Now.”
Lily could not be found. But someone’s backpack turned up missing. And the last one to see her was the girl at the guard post on the road overlooking the camp.
“Sure, I saw her, Chief,” she said. “She told me she was going down to the Hanging Tree to draw it. She said something about drawing it for our history.”
“Did you see her come back,” Mike asked.
“Uh, no,” she answered fidgeting uneasily. “I got off my shift right after that. Did I screw up?”
“No, it’s all right,” Mike answered, and then he went to find Jacob and to tell the scout what had been discovered.
“She’s gone,” Jacob said. “Chief--”
“Yeah, go find her,” Mike said, shaking his head in disgust.
Jacob was on the road in minutes. He walked swiftly, not taking his time as he usually did. He was worried about Lily, more than he cared to admit to himself. Will she try to go through the Fog? He shuddered at the thought.
He walked far into the night, but he did not overtake her. Eventually, he had to rest. He slept for several hours, and then he set off again. He remembered the first time he had made this hike. He was in much better shape now. The days in the woods had toughened him, and had honed his senses.
For a second day he followed Lily. Then, a few hours after dark, he stopped. She was close. He did not know how he knew, but he sensed that she was close. Then very faintly, he heard her crying. His blood ran cold, and he began to run.
“Lily!” he called. “Lily!”
“Jacob? Jacob, is that you?”
She stopped crying as she called to him. He found her just off the road in a small clearing. She flung herself into his arms, and she started crying again.
“Lily, are you hurt?” he asked, desperate to hear her denial.
She wiped her eyes and gave out a shaky laugh.
“No. Sorry. Just feeling miserable, that’s all. I can’t see very well. I should have stolen a flashlight, too, I guess. I saw a dog tonight. It scared me.”
Jacob did not respond to that. He doubted that the animal she had seen was a dog.
Jacob had his flashlight, but he quickly made a fire. Shortly, they were warming their hands by its flame. Jacob saw that Lily was wearing all her clothes again, and she was carrying her purple bag with her blankets. And she had found a short, heavy piece of wood.
“You found out,” Lily said as, she stared into the fire.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry for stealing your food. I’m sorry I stole the backpack.”
“You could have asked,” said Jacob, his tone flat.
“Would your boss have given me some? Would he have let me go?” she asked.
“You know we call him, Chief. Yes, he would have given you food. Yes, he would have let you borrow a backpack. Yes, he would have let you go. He’s not running a prison. He’s trying to keep us alive. He’s even going to try to keep those men at the Retreat alive, because he hopes that will keep those kids alive. You would have known that if you had asked me,” Jacob finished, with sadness in his voice.
Lily was silent for a moment, and then she spoke. “I’m sorry, Jacob. I’m still not use to the freedom that your people have. But there must be a way out of here. I’ve got to find it.”
Jacob sighed. “I need to sleep,” he said. “Give me your blankets.”
Lily did not argue. She handed Jacob her blankets, and she took his mummy bag. Without another word, Jacob rolled himself in her blankets and fell asleep.
The next morning, Jacob said, “Let’s go.”
Lily balked at his command. “Where are we going?”
“To the Fog.”
By the end of the day, they were barely a half mile from where Jacob had first encountered the fog. Jacob insisted that they stop. He didn’t want to be closer than this to whatever was in the deadly mist. He didn’t make a fire. They ate cold food, and then they lay in their sleeping gear talking.
“I wonder why the men at the Retreat didn’t tell us we were surrounded by this mist,” Lily mused.
“Good question.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you knew about the Retreat?”
“Didn’t know if I should. Waited to talk to the Chief.”
Lily pondered his words. “You’re very loyal to him. Why it that?”
“He’s loyal to me.”
Jacob slept next to Lily that night. Lily reflected on the fact that she did not feel disturbed at having him so close. She accepted it as a sign that she was recovering. She was glad that he was near. Once again, she imagined a conversation with a woman from the distant past.
“They are not all like that,” the woman would say. “Some will feed you, clothe you, and protect you, and ask nothing of you in return. Whatever you decide to share will be up to you. Some of them will say it’s because they are decent. Some will say it’s because they are honorable. Some will say it’s because they are civilized. Whatever their reason, they are why our tribe has not just survived, but has grown stronger.”
In the morning, they packed their gear, and they walked to the fog. As they approached, Lily stared in dismay at the dreary brown mist covering the ground. She stopped walking, and her eyes filled with tears. She turned and walked well back up the road before she sat down, and then she put her head against her knees and sobbed.