She stopped. There was astonishment on the faces of the Council.
“Wait, no. Are you telling us that the US Army is up here with us?” John asked.
“Yes,” said Jacob. He looked at Mike. “Chief, I honestly didn’t know what you would do. I knew I needed to get back and report. But, I didn’t know how badly we needed information about the Army. Jean thought we should turn back. But I decided to try and find them. It’s was my decision, so you should blame me. It took us a week of hiking, but we found their post. To the northeast. They built an old fashioned fort, and they surrounded it with a palisade.”
“A what?” Yuie asked.
“A palisade,” John explained. “A wall of timbers. You know. Like you see in the old west movies.”
“There was a sign,” said Jean. “It’s a unit of the United States Army Corp of Engineers. But we could tell that there are regular soldiers with them. We don’t know why, and we didn’t try to find out. And there’s civilians there, too. We saw a guy with some kids playing outside the walls. When it got dark, the guards yelled at the guy to get his ass into the fort.”
“We didn’t make contact,” Jacob said. “The morning after we found them, we turned around and high-tailed our butts back here. It took us almost four weeks, but that’s only because I twisted my ankle. We could have made it in three weeks or less, otherwise.”
“Man, were we glad to find out we were on the right road,” Jean said, as she finished their report. “We saw the farm. Jacob knew right away that it was the Davis Brown Farm. He knew we were okay. That Ralph is a good guy. He and his lady took care of us.”
The Council was silent. “We need to think about what this means to us,” said Mike. “Jacob and Jean will tell their story tonight at Meeting. Everyone will be invited to express their opinion.”
There were a few more items to discuss not related to Jacob and Jean’s trip. Hector waited when the others left.
“Yes?” Mike asked politely.
“I know what you are thinking, amigo,” Hector said with a serious look at Mike.
“Um…”
“You are thinking that we have to rescue those children,” Hector stated. Mike was silent.
“I understand how you feel. I do. We have guns. We can try to rescue them. But remember. Some of our people might get shot. If they get shot, they will die. There are no hospitals here. Please, remember that, Chief.” Hector was finished speaking. He left the cabin, as Mike pondered his words.
It was a silent tribe that faced Mike that evening. By then, everyone had heard the news of the two diverse camps. The information about the bikers was worrisome, but the news of a United States Army unit above the Fog was the talk of the tribe.
“All right, you have all heard about the army guys,” said Mike. “So here is what we are going to do. Everyone is going to have a chance to speak. We’ll talk for two hours tonight. Then we’ll stop. I want you to think about what you hear tonight. Talk to other people about it. Then, tomorrow night, we’ll all get a chance to speak again. See if any minds are changed.”
The discussion quickly turned into arguments.
“We should contact them immediately. They’re the US Army. They’re supposed to help us.”
“We shouldn’t have anything to do with them. They’re the Army. They might be responsible for the Fog.”
“They are too far away to help us, anyway. We have to depend on ourselves.”
“How do we know they really are the Army? What if they just stole the uniforms?”
“How will they treat us?”
Mike let them go on and on. He did not try to stop anyone from speaking of their hopes or their fears, no matter how silly the conversation became, sometimes. When the arguments tapered off, he closed the meeting. The tribe went to their beds. But once they were in their bunks, many spoke with their bunkmates far into the night.
The next day, the arguments continued. Mike asked Ralph and Mary to stay an extra day, so their voices could be heard. Ralph and Mary agreed to stay, for they were just as concerned. The only ones not concerned were Star and Comet. Star was enjoying being with the older girls. Comet coaxed his dad into letting him go hiking with Nathan and Kevin.
The feelings of the Council were mixed. Yuie furiously argued against making contact with the Army. Erin thought they should. Kathy worried that Hector would be taken into custody as an illegal alien. Ahmad worried that his religion would be held against him. Jean pointed out that the Army might have a doctor with them, and they might need the services of a doctor. They discussed the kids at the bikers’ camp, but they were similarly divided. Night came. Once again, everyone had their say. Mike asked Ralph and Mary for their opinion. There was no consensus.
And then, at some point, John asked Mike what he thought. That’s when the tribe realized that Mike had not given them a hint as to what he thought. People began to demand that Mike make his feelings known.
Mike decided. It’s time to speak.
“I like the idea of making contact with them,” he began. “But I would like to be cautious. We don’t know how being trapped here by the Fog has affected them. We don’t know how it’s changed them. In the old world, they would be the Calvary coming to our rescue. But we don’t know if that’s true, now. I think we should watch them. Let’s see how they treat people. If we have a medical emergency, then we might have to make contact. We know the Fog is dropping. I think that we should wait until next year to decide if we want them to know about us.”
Eric spoke. “Mike has been a good Chief. He’s always thinking of ways to keep us alive. To make sure that we survive. I think we should trust his judgment on this. He’s right. Unless it’s an emergency, we don’t have to rush into anything. He’s the Chief. He told us what he thinks. We should follow his lead.”
There was a general murmur of approval. The meeting came to an end. The Council gathered around Mike.
“Good going, Chief,” Howard said.
“Yes, we can wait a while,” Rasul said.
The next morning, the Brown family left. After that, Mike gathered his Council again.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said.
“Uh oh,” John muttered.
“Shush,” Desi whispered.
“Maybe we can get the Army to rescue those kids from the bikers,” Mike suggested.
Surprised, Hector said, “Now, that is a good idea.”
“I’m going to think about it, Hector” said Mike. “One thing I’m sure of. It’s going to use a lot of our fuel. Is it worth it to get those kids out?”
“Si,” Hector said.
“Hell, yes,” John said,
“You bet,” said Jean and the others agreed.
The very next day, Mike began to work on a plan. First, he spoke to Jacob.
“Tell me about the layout of the Army post,” Mike said.
“The post is built on a knoll,” Jacob told him. “They have a clear line of sight on all sides, except on the south edge of the knoll. On that side, there’s bushes and a small oak tree. The east side is too steep to climb. There is a cliff on that side, about twenty feet high. The west side is steep, but not as bad. I climbed it. That’s how I got a look at that side of their camp. The road from the knoll leads north down to a saddle, but just before that, there is a short rise, so if you are on the saddle, you can’t be seen from the camp. After the saddle, it’s forest. It’s a lot drier there than here. Won’t be as easy to see tracks.”
Mike questioned Hector. “Can you muffle the sound of the motorcycle?” he asked.
“Si, I can put a potato in the exhaust pipe,” said Hector. “For a short time. It is not so good for the engine.”
Erin was the person who was most interested in making contact with the Army. Mike spoke to her next. By the beginning of August, he had formulated a plan in his head. At Council, one morning, he explained his plan. There was a heated debate at first, and then slowly the Council came to the conclusion that Mike’s plan could be successful.