Back To Our Beginning (32 page)

Tansy handed Cord a bowl of stew with a freshly cooked piece of flatbread. He accepted it and stirred the bread into the bowl lifting up a chunk of meat. As his mouth closed around the food he groaned in content.

“This is good,” Cord said and ate heartily.

Tansy smiled at him and handed Clint a bowl as he sat down; she then proceeded to retrieve bowls for Ethan and Aidan.

“You don’t need to wait on us,” Aidan told her, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Tansy looked at him thoughtfully then shrugged. “I guess old habits die hard. Besides, it’s not really waiting on you, it’s just being courteous. We’ve all had a strenuous day. Besides, I’m not busy.”

“Ain’t you eatin’?” Clint asked, grabbing up another piece of the bread.

Though the day had been hot, the mine always offered a cool shelter and Clint always enjoyed Tansy’s rabbit stew thickened with comfrey and grains, mixed with wild onions, chives, roots, garlic, wild herbs and any vegetables she could find.

“We already ate, and don’t worry Ethan, Ricky had a good appetite and ate well before he went to sleep.”

Ethan went directly to his son upon arriving at the mine. He placed his hand on his son’s brow finding it cool and not feverish. He smiled at the berry stains on his lips and the doll clutched in his arms. The boy’s cheeks glowed pink from health and not red with heat. The shock of losing his mother had regressed Ricky emotionally. As time passed, the child balanced between immature when wanting to play with Mike, his only playmate, to wanting to act his eight years. The attack of the anaconda once more set him back. Ethan knew it would take time, but at least Ricky had time. Ethan wouldn’t push. Ethan glanced gratefully at Tansy then settled himself and ate with enthusiasm.

“I like having a beautiful woman wait on me,” Ethan informed her and the group in general. He helped himself to a healthy handful of blueberries that were picked that morning.

Tansy sat down with them to talk after pouring some tea. She and the girls had been busy that day with Ricky. Unable to move about, he needed to be entertained, his spirits kept high and they all took turns. His bandaging needed to be cleaned and changed to keep infection from setting in. They made certain to push boiled cool water at him to drink. Tansy watched his skin, pinching gently at it for elasticity and his lips for chapping, to make certain he remained hydrated. They washed out laundry at the stream, Ricky’s being a priority; the cleaner and more sterile his environment and surrounding area was, the better his chances were. They’d gone foraging for the ingredients they needed for the stew. The others retired early and it was just the five of them who talked.

“I was thinking,” Tansy said, turning her cup in her hand.

“Not a good idea,” Cord told her. Tansy threw one of Ricky’s toy cars at him.

“What were you thinking?” Ethan encouraged her.

“I was thinking maybe we should go back into town again on a salvage mission.”

“More booze,” Cord whooped.

“No,” Tansy said glaring, “I meant I would like to see if there’s anything left in a bookstore, or maybe some of the library is still standing.”

“You want some of them romance novels?” Cord asked, leering suggestively.

“No, I don’t want romance novels,” Tansy snapped.

“Because if you do, we could always make our own,” Cord taunted and winked at her, this time a toy car came flying at him from Clint’s direction.

“It’s a long walk, Tansy. Ricky couldn’t go, and you remember what happened the last time we left the girls alone with the children. It’s dangerous to travel too far from the protection of the mine with the storms so unpredictable. The weather seems to change so quickly one moment to the next, from almost unbearable heat to somewhat colder torrential downpours and wicked tornadoes. Even the hail comes down hard enough to cause serious injury, or death and maiming in the smaller animals. When the lightning strikes it hits like some kind of laser weapon. And it doesn’t even hit the highest points; it goes after whatever is moving. Remember the char-broiled caribou half-submerged in the swamp? We barely made it back from town before the tornado hit last time,” Ethan reminded her.

“Since you’ve already been to town, I’m certain you’re aware of a few safety nets that you must’ve been watching for and marked. We can stick to that route. Besides, now that there’s another man here, maybe Cord could stay with one of you and the girls and Ricky then me and two others could go,” Tansy suggested.

“No,” Clint stated.

“Well why not?” Tansy asked with some surprise.

“Too dangerous. Hell, look at what attacked us. Some damned snake on steroids.”

“But I need to find more books on herbs and preparing meat for the winter. We can’t just keep eating dried meat, sausages and pemmican all winter; we need to find a way to freeze it, or learn how to keep meat fresh for a reasonable amount of time. That one cold tunnel we’ve been using only keeps things fresh for a few days before we need to dry the meat before it spoils. We need some ideas. I need to make preserves. I don’t know how to make preserves. My last attempt at freezer jam was a disaster,” Tansy pleaded, trying to make a point.

“You cook real nice,” Clint told her.

“But all of this has taken time, lots of time. I need more ideas. You used to hunt before, that isn’t new to you; this is so different for me. I had cookbooks and internet, other people to share new recipes, grocery stores, farmers markets. Never once have I had in the past a conversation with friends or colleagues on the usefulness on drying fungi. I can’t imagine what they would say if I informed them I can make a coffee substitute from nut grass.

“When I worked late, it was takeout, fast food or a twenty-four hour supermarket at my disposal with frozen foods or readymade dishes, TV dinners, drive through. Now I rummage amidst the woods like my ancestors must have, my very distant ancestors,” Tansy told him frustrated, becoming agitated with her thoughts.

“Okay wait,” Ethan said holding up his hands. “Tansy has a point. Maybe we could salvage more from town.”

Clint glared at him.

“Well, Tansy ain’t goin’.”

“Now, you look here,” Tansy began, jumping up, hands on her hips, tired of his chauvinism.

“No, you look here,” Clint jumped up as well and stood towering over her, his own hands firmly planted on his hips. “You ain’t goin’, it’s too dangerous; I’m puttin’ my foot down.”

“So am I!”

So saying, Tansy then effectively put her foot down; in fact she stomped it down, right onto Clint’s toes.

* * * *

The next morning bright and early near dawn, Tansy walked quietly between an amused Aidan and a slightly limping Clint. Tansy told him the night before that she decided she was not going to argue with him. She was a grown woman; Clint was not her boss and besides she knew what she was looking for, and if need be she would venture off alone. Clint mumbled he could read and sat rubbing at his bruised toes. He then informed her for such a small woman she weighed a lot.

“Imagine that, even without the germs,” she had said and glared at him.

Tansy was surprised as she gazed around at the devastation of the town. They reached it before noon and walked while eating dried venison. The tornadoes had wreaked havoc on the small town, it lay in ruins. Soon enough there would be no evidence it even existed.

To Clint’s dismay the liquor store was now a pile of rubble. But with Tansy and Aidan’s scrutiny they were able to help find him a few of the plastic bottles that had flown free.

Clint held, to his delight, a particularly coveted bottle of cherry brandy, his favorite. He found it nestled in a tree branch untouched. He cracked open the seal and took a deep swallow. Tansy cast him an assessing look, eyes wide. Clint smiled and informed her it was strictly for medicinal purposes, shaking his injured foot for good measure. Shrugging, Tansy continued on toward another pile of rubble. She found a ball of string and put it inside her backpack. Aidan found a lighter with half the fluid still left and pocketed it after first making sure it worked. As they moved farther into town, Tansy realized not much was to be had. Mostly everything was destroyed and useless. Clint reached down and picked up a crumpled five dollar bill, fingering it with a look of sadness.

“Sure, now I find money, jist when it’s useless,” he grumbled; squeezing it further, he prepared to toss it.

“Save it,” Aidan told him. “It’ll make good tinder.”

Clint stuffed the money into his pocket. They crawled around debris and refrained from looking into dark places. They were sure never to let each other stray too far away.

The vegetation was overgrown in some places and non-existent in others. It gave them an odd feeling of living in some type of disturbing reality show.

“Oh, look,” Tansy exclaimed a bit breathlessly.

Seeing the treasure, she cupped in her hands Aidan smiled indulgently. It was a bottle of perfume. Tansy sprayed it on herself and smiled delightedly as a bouquet of lilacs drifted to her nose.

“You’re gonna get eat alive,” Clint told her matter-of-factly.

“I’ll put up with the bugs,” she declared.

“It was Cord I was talkin’ ’bout.”

Tansy chuckled and tucked the bottle of perfume into her backpack. To Tansy’s delight, Aidan found a bag of unopened razors. She gushed over them, thanking him profusely when he handed them to her, asking only that she share with the others. Tansy was ecstatic; the sharp edge of a knife was difficult to maneuver over the backs of her legs and often left her with small nicks. Clint had told her she should just give in and let the hair grow, Shanie had.

“Shanie has white-blond hair,” Tansy railed at him, not like her own light brown hair. Tansy stuffed the razors into her backpack and kissed Aidan’s cheek. His smile radiated as he cast a glance at Clint who glowered in return. Clint determined to find her a gift of his own, stalked away farther into town, Tansy and Aidan followed.

“Wow,” Tansy said. Curiosity overcoming him, Clint strolled closer and looked over her shoulder.

“Wow,” he voiced as well. Clint reached out and took from her a large hunting knife. The sheath was almost destroyed but the knife had fared much better. The blade was twelve inches long with a mud caked bone handle that clearly resembled ivory with various animal carvings engraved. Once cleaned and sharpened it would be beautiful, and deadly.

“Damn, Tansy, whatcha want to trade for it?” Clint asked excitedly.

“Don’t be silly, Clint; I’m not going to trade you for this,” Tansy told him. Clint looked so heartbroken she felt her own heart hurt at the misunderstanding. Clint handed the knife back but Tansy didn’t take it. He looked at her puzzled. “What I meant was, you’ve saved my life and my children’s so often if I can give you something to make you happy, I’ll do it gladly.”

Tansy smiled up into his handsome face that now wore the look of childish delight she loved so much. She strode off to look for other treasures.

“Well damn,” Clint muttered thoughtfully as she moved away. “If I’d knowed she felt that way I woulda asked for sex instead.”

“Ah well, you snooze you lose,” Aidan said and clapped him on the back.

Clint smiled and, taking a last look at his knife, he stored it safely away. They continued their long trek around the small town finding bits and pieces of things.

To Tansy’s dismay, they were unable to locate any type of books or rubble that would vaguely indicate a store had once been present under the debris. All in all, they found enough to fill their backpacks until they bulged. Toys for the kids, tin cups, a few forks and a bent spoon, a few more plastic bags, a handful of toothbrushes near where a drugstore might have stood. They found a few cans of vegetables, fruits and brown beans. Clint was already drooling over the thought of homemade sausages and brown beans; he wistfully wished for ketchup.

“Well, ask for it and you shall receive it, my friend,” Aidan paraphrased, holding up a double fistful of ketchup packages that must have come from a fast food restaurant.

Tansy squealed in delight when Clint also found a lone cupboard containing a huge box full of small undamaged individual packets of salt and pepper. They would make a great additive to cooking and if used wisely would last quite some time. Glad he found something that made her happy, Clint spun her around until she collapsed on a rock that was warmed from the sun.

“What the hell?” Aidan said, his gaze searched the distance.

“What?” Tansy asked, concerned she rose to her feet to stand with Clint.

“I saw something.”

“A big somethin’ or a small somethin’?” Clint whispered.

“A weird something.”

The three stood closely together with Tansy pressed between them. She saw it then, a tail slid slowly back and forth under a huge pile of rubble with a cliff-like overhang. There was a great amount of vegetation covering the debris.

“Wha...what is it?” Tansy whispered, terrified of another anaconda.

“I don’t know,” Aidan whispered back. Then more forcefully; “But it’s stalking us.”

Clint grabbed hold of Tansy’s arm in a tight grip and they began to back away. The giant lizard burst from under the foliage and went straight for them. Tansy screamed and Clint sent his old hunting knife into the lizard’s side slowing it momentarily. The three scrambled up onto a large pile of debris, cement and rock pieces tumbling with their frantic ascent. The lizard hissed from below but didn’t back down. The three huddled together at the top of the huge rubble pile.

“Jist what the hell is that thin’?” Clint asked wide-eyed with amazement, unsure they hadn’t been invaded by aliens after all.

“A Komodo dragon,” Tansy whimpered and clutched at Clint’s arm.

Tansy looked down at the ten-foot-long dragon with its long flat head and rounded snout. It had scaly skin, bowed legs and a huge muscular tail.

“Damn, that thin’ looks like it weighs at least three hundred pounds,” Clint declared.

“What do we do?” Tansy cried out. The Komodo dragon began its ascent toward them. There was no escape behind them or on either side; a steep ravine plunged straight down at least thirty feet, jagged rocks and debris below ominously awaiting a fall into a fast flowing river. They were trapped.