“Thank you,” said Diana. “But at least take back your jackets.”
The two women and the two boys built the fire higher and rested for a time, and then the boys hoisted the packs of the two men onto their shoulders. Rasul led the way, as they started back toward Petersburg. He carried Imee’s baby inside his jacket. The women followed Rasul, and Ahmad brought up the rear while alertly watching the trail behind them. The women answered some of the boys’ questions as they traveled. The boys learned that Imee was from Hawaii, and that she was the daughter of Filipino immigrants. Diana was from Bodega Bay.
“I was there once with my parents,” Rasul remarked. “We collected sand dollars along the edge of the ocean. That is where they filmed a famous horror movie.”
“Yeah, ‘The Birds’,” Ahmad mumbled.
They walked back along the ridge, and when they got to the cliff they looked down. The two bodies were awkwardly arranged. One of them had Ahmad’s spear still stuck in his belly. A large grey bird stood nearby. The bird looked up, became aware of the people high above, and flew away. Already, the scavengers were about.
Imee leaned over and spat down the cliff. She pointed to one of the men. “Diego’s father,” she said, indicating the baby.
Rasul and Ahmad looked at one another. There was nothing to say. They found two rifles at the edge of the cliff. One of them looked familiar, and the other belonged to Rasul. They left the cliff. There was no talk of climbing down and burying the bodies.
It was a cold cloudy day. They made their way back towards their original trail. At noontime, Rasul could stand it no longer. He had to get out of this dress, and get into his own clothes. But, before he could say anything, they heard a noise. The two boys quickly put the women and the baby behind them. They pointed the rifles in front of them and held their breath. They could feel fear emanating from the women, matching their own fright.
“It’s Jacob,” they heard a voice call.
Ahmad expelled an exhausted breath. Rasul was so happy, he felt like weeping. Jacob stepped out of the trees. He stared at them as they stood there in the dresses, but he didn’t say anything. Ahmad and Rasul looked at one another and then at the scout.
“Jacob, I know that you like my pocket knife,” said Rasul. “I’ll give it to you, if you promise never to tell anyone that you saw me wearing a dress.”
The next day, the group met up with the burial detail. The detail listened to Diana, and then they heard the story of the fight on the cliff. There was a certain satisfaction in knowing that Luis’ killers were dead. The burial detail made its way back to Petersburg.
By the time the burial detail returned to Petersburg, Tyler and his unit had left. Tyler felt strange leading the guard post unit down the road. At any moment, he expected someone from Petersburg to catch up to them, and to tell him that a horrible mistake had been made. He would never forget the look on Gabby’s face when he told her that the Chief had put him in charge of the guard detail.
At first, she thought he was joking. Then she was perplexed. She wondered what devious plan the Chief had conceived, that he would put Tyler in charge. To her surprise, no one else seemed to think that putting Tyler in charge was all that unusual. Finally in the days before they left, Gabby had looked upon him with grudging admiration. He would always treasure that look. The day they left, she had kitchen duty and she personally packed a set of two day rations for his unit.
My unit. That sounds so cool.
Tyler’s unit hiked southeast to the RV guard post and spent the night there. The RV guards kidded him good naturedly about his new found respectability. He just laughed, and the other members of his unit did not laugh at all. The Chief had not seemed amused when he told them that Tyler was in charge of the unit, and they got the feeling that the Chief would not be happy at any sign of disrespect toward Tyler. And, after all, no one wanted to incur the wrath of the Chief.
The next morning, Tyler’s unit continued on to the Brown farm. They arrived that evening, just in time for dinner. Meals at the Brown farm were definitely a perk. Everything tasted scrumptious, and there was always plenty to eat. That night they feasted on rabbit, chicken, mashed potatoes slathered with fresh butter, Chinese peas, and cold milk. Paige asked about Nathan.
The boys in the guard post unit were given the attic as their quarters. The only girl in their unit, Makayla, stayed in the girls’ room at Mary’s insistence. Comet demanded to be allowed to stay with the boys, but his dad refused to permit it.
“The older boys needed their privacy,” he said. Tyler had a serious talk with the small, unhappy child.
“I need you to guard the back porch,” he told Comet. “The Chief is expecting visitors. If they get past us, you’ll be the next line of defense.” Wide eyed, Comet agreed to protect the back porch from invaders with the blunt edged spear his father had made for him.
Tyler set up his guard post a mile to the east of the Brown farm. One person stayed on the road, while the other three were hidden in the trees, back toward the Brown farm, well away from the road. The guard on the road carried the radio phone. They alternated positions early every morning, because the Chief had insisted that they be in place before sunup. It was boring to be the person on the road, but the Chief had insisted that there must be no interaction between the guard on the road and the guards in the trees, unless they made contact with the Army.
In mid-May, on a late afternoon, Tyler was the guard on the road, when suddenly he was grabbed from behind. A large hand reached around him and snatched the radio phone.
“Hey!” he yelped as he spun around and backed away.
Standing before him were two men wearing United States Army uniforms. They had packs on their backs and were carrying rifles. Pistols were strapped to their sides. The older man had a sprinkling of freckles across his face. Tyler put his hands in his jacket pockets and waited for them to speak.
“I’m sorry, son,” the older officer said as he smiled grimly. “But I’d like to arrive unannounced.” He handed the radio phone to the younger officer.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to come with us,” Major Collins told Tyler, indicating the road ahead.
Tyler shrugged and began walking. The three of them trudged toward the Brown farm.
They had not gone far when Lieutenant Kennedy remarked, “Sir, this radio phone is dead.”
He handed it to the Major. Major Collins studied the phone and wondered. Why was he carrying a dead phone?
Then Lieutenant Kennedy spoke again. “Uh, Sir we have company.”
The Major looked around. Two boys and a girl were walking quietly behind them. They carried what looked like handmade spears, and their feet were wearing moccasins. The Major looked at Tyler who still had his hands in his pockets.
“Apparently we were expected,” he said.
Tyler nodded. “Mrs. Brown’s place is over there,” he said, pointing in the direction of the farm. “She has little kids there. I know she would like it if you let us carry your rifles.”
“I don’t mean that you should surrender them,” added Tyler hastily, seeing the Major’s stony look. “I just mean that we would like to carry them for you. We’ll stay right beside you, and you can keep those.” He pointed to their sidearms.
The Major glanced at the Lieutenant, and then he looked back at the boy. “Very well,” he said.
He handed his rifle to Tyler. Lieutenant Kennedy handed his rifle to one of the other boys.
“Be careful with those,” Major Collins instructed Tyler.
“Makayla, run ahead and tell them we’re coming,” Tyler said.
“Okay, Tyler,” said Makayla, and she ran toward the farm.