The burial detail left, and with them traveled Hector and Kathy to man the upriver guard post. Nine days later, Jacob and the others arrived at the site of Luis’ cairn. Jacob sent Ahmad and Rasul farther ahead to serve as a rear guard. Then he and Jean removed the rocks that protected Luis’ body. They lifted the plastic covered body and placed it on the litter. It was noon, and they had been traveling since sunup, so they rested before starting back.
After an hour, Jacob blew the Admin’s whistle to alert Ahmad and Rasul that they were leaving. The burial detail lifted the litter and began the long sad journey back to Petersburg. By Jacob’s estimation, their return trip would take a day longer.
Behind them, Ahmad and Rasul were watching the trail to their rear. When they heard Jacob’s whistle, they prepared to follow. Suddenly Rasul held up a hand, indicating the need for silence.
“Did you hear that?” he asked Ahmad.
“Yes, I heard it. What do you think? A deer?”
“Maybe. Let’s wait a few minutes.”
They hid in the midst of some trees and waited. Within five minutes, they could faintly hear something coming their way. Nervously, Rasul took a grip on the rifle he carried. He wished he had fired more than one round in practice, but the tribe was trying to save the ammunition for hunting game. Ahmad had his spear at least. Rasul wished that he had his spear.
The crashing in the brush was getting closer. Whatever it was, it was in a hurry. A minute later, two women appeared running down the path toward them.
When the women were about to pass the boys, Rasul leaped out of his hiding place and yelled, “Stop.”
The women screamed, and then they fell to the ground cowering away from the boy. Ahmad came to stand beside Rasul. One of them was carrying a baby.
“Oh, please, please, don’t hurt us,” the other women cried out. She raised her hands together in a pleading stance. “We’ll do whatever you want. Anything. Just don’t hurt us.” The woman carrying the baby curled up in a fetal position, covering the child protectively.
“We are not going to hurt you,” Ahmad exclaimed, shocked at their appearance. “You’re safe with us. Calm down. Who are you? Are you from the Retreat?”
The pleading lady was an older woman. She was tall, and she had short brown hair. The younger woman was much shorter, and she had long black hair like Yuie, but this woman’s hair was much thicker. She was dark skinned and looked vaguely Asian or perhaps she was a Pacific Islander, like Makayla. Her baby was crying. Both were wearing ankle length dresses that were much too light for the present temperature, and their faces were emaciated.
The older woman said, “Yes, we’re from the Retreat. We escaped four days ago. Who are you? You really won’t hurt us? You promise?” She was panting while trying to talk, as if they had ran a long ways.
“You’re safe now,” Rasul said. “Do you know Jean? The Forest Ranger.”
“I’ve heard of her,” the woman said as her breathing slowed. “My name is Diana. I’m a nurse. Imee, here, is a student nurse. There was a group of us at Eagle’s Nest, but we’re the last. The woman who helped the Forest Ranger is dead, too. The men killed her because she gave the Ranger some food.”
“Do you know Lily?” Rasul asked. “She lives at our village.”
Diana’s eyes widen in an expression of joy. “Lily is alive? Oh, thank God,” she cried. “I was sure she was dead.”
Ahmad heard something and held up a hand for silence. Diana looked back the way she had come, looking terrified again.
“Are you being chased?” Ahmad asked.
Diana nodded. Ahmad looked at Rasul.
“Damn,” said Rasul. “What do we do now?”
Ahmad looked toward the direction of the burial detail. “If we go that way, we will lead our enemies to our people. But we also have the women to consider.”
“Should we try to lead the bad guys in the wrong direction?”
“Maybe.”
“What if we lead the bad guys in the wrong direction until it gets dark? That should give our people a good head start,” Rasul suggested. “Then we can sneak around the bad guys in the dark.”
Ahmad looked at the sky. It was cloudy, and a stiff breeze was blowing.
“Good idea. Come,” Ahmad said to the women.
When they didn’t move, he strode to them and pulled the younger woman to her feet. As he took the baby from her, she gave a cry of distress. Ignoring her, he walked quickly away. Rasul followed, and the women hurried after them.
Ahmad and Rasul moved sideways from the burial detail; Ahmad carrying the baby. They had not hunted this far north, so it was slow going. They made sure they left a trail that the chasers could follow. Once in awhile, they stopped and listened. After a few hours, they realized that their chasers were gaining on them. They turned south in the general direction of Petersburg. The wind began to blow harder, and the temperature dropped.
It was almost completely dark when Rasul and Ahmad accepted that the chasers would catch them within another hour. The women had kept up as best they could, but they were exhausted.
“Let’s continue on for another fifteen minutes, and then we must find a place to hide,” Rasul said.
Ahmad agreed. After a bit, they came to a cliff. They turned sideways, and followed the edge until the land changed from a cliff to a steep slope with thick bushes.
“We can go down here,” Ahmad said.
Cautiously, fighting the dark and the wind, they made their way. Part way down, they discovered a patch of coffeeberry bushes that covered a hollow place. Inside the hollow, they were out of sight of the ridge.
“This is it, Rasul,” Ahmad said. “We’ll have to stay here.”
“Yes,” Rasul replied. “It will be hard to find us in the dark.”
After less than an hour, they heard the crash of someone stumbling in the brush above. A flashlight swept the area where they were hiding.
“See ’em?” a cold voice asked.
“No, but they’re down there somewhere. Hey! You stupid bitches! Come out. Come out, now!” another voice called.
“We’ve been here before,” observed the cold voice. “We found that kid here, remember?”
“Yeah, this was the place. He gave me this nice rifle.” The man laughed. “Listen up, bitches. If I have to wait ’til tomorrow to find you, I’m gonna beat the crap out of you. Now, come out now.”
Chapter Thirteen
SPEARS
In the hollow, the two women were shaking with fright. Ahmad covered the baby with his jacket to muffle the child’s cries. Luckily, the wind was blowing from their direction, preventing the baby’s cries from carrying toward the men. Rasul thought about what the men had said. He believed that he now knew what had happened to Luis.
“Hell with it,” the cold voice said. “They’re down there. We’ll find them first thing in the morning.”
They heard the men moving away from the ridge. Later, they smelled smoke from a campfire.
“This is not good,” Rasul said.
“No it’s not,” Ahmad agreed. “We can’t move in the dark, and we can’t stay here. They’ll find us in the morning.”
“Yes, we’ve got to do something,” said Rasul. “We need a plan. Where’s the Chief when we need him?” Ahmad laughed.
“Who are, you boys?” the older woman asked. “Where are you from?”
The teenagers began talking about Petersburg, frequently interrupting one another. The women were astonished to hear their story, and their spirits rose when they realized that there was a community of decent people who might be willing to help them.