whispered in a little voice inside her head that she could not ignore.
The trees were black and bare in the moonlight. The canopy of leaves that was often their shelter and their shield hung silent and unmoving. The crickets and tree frogs were also silent, they did not croak or sing and there were no splashes of water from the nearby ponds. Even the night birds had lost their voices, and that alone worried Reena more than she could’ve said.
To hide her feelings she said as calmly as possible, “I think we should all go to bed now. We have to get up early tomorrow and we have to do some serious hunting. There is no way we can go into the desert without food, and for that we have to kill a deer.”
Lucas asked, “Have you lost your mind girl?”
Lauren added, “There haven’t been any deer in these woods in almost a decade. The only place to bag a deer is closer to the outside, and not even on the outside but within feet of the city walls.”
Reena knew she was asking for trouble, but she also knew that if they went to the desert without a substantial amount of food they would never make it out on the other side. “I know that. I also know that it’s worth the risk; we have to have it.”
Dax said in a mild tone, “Have you considered how long it will take to clean it, dress it, and preserve it for travel?”
“Yes, I have. But there is another way besides smoking.”
“Are you thinking of using the ground radish? I know the city old folks used to use it to keep meat fresh for days but that hasn’t been around in at least a decade.” The person speaking was an old timer, someone who had been an Outlaw since long before Reena had even been born.
Reena turned to look at him, “Have you ever used it?”
“Of course. But that was when it was available; it is not available anymore. It’s nowhere to be found, at least not in the woods.”
Reena said, “Perhaps not in the woods but it is available. They burn it in the temples in the city. To get it they go to the farmers right outside the walls. The farmers that we never go to because their too close to the city, and we risk too much by going there. We already have to get closer than we would like to get a deer, so we might as well get the radish stew.”
Lucas said, “Girl, you have completely lost your mind. First you want us to go get a deer within feet of the city walls and you want us to steal a radish while we’re at it that may or may not exist.”
Anger made her face turn bright red. “It does exist! I have seen it!”
Lucas said, “So you have seen it. That’s fine, for you. But for the rest of us we haven’t and yet were supposed to just take your word that it’s there.”
Why was he bucking against her leadership? They needed the deer and they needed the radish and surely he of all people needed to know that.
She glared at him as she said, “Lucas, you of all people know that there are things in the city that can get us across that desert that we simply do not have and we cannot do without. Besides, if they are looking for us in the woods they would have no reason to look for us in the city.”
Silence fell over the entire gathered tribe. Nobody had seen that coming; in truth Reena had not even noticed she was going to say it, but now that she had, it made perfect sense. If the soldiers were roaming the woods, then going into the city was their best bet. They could access the road to the desert from the city just as easily as they could from the woods and if they could get things from the city that would keep them alive crossing the desert, why not?
Lauren said, “She has the right of it there.”
Eventually they all agreed.
**
Without the children to slow them down, they made it to the city within 2 ½ days. They made better time than any of them expected, considering the massive amount of soldiers roaming the woods looking for them. As they walked they had worked on ways to disguise themselves. Some of the ideas had been so
The trees were black and bare in the moonlight. The canopy of leaves that was often their shelter and their shield hung silent and unmoving. The crickets and tree frogs were also silent, they did not croak or sing and there were no splashes of water from the nearby ponds. Even the night birds had lost their voices, and that alone worried Reena more than she could’ve said.
To hide her feelings she said as calmly as possible, “I think we should all go to bed now. We have to get up early tomorrow and we have to do some serious hunting. There is no way we can go into the desert without food, and for that we have to kill a deer.”
Lucas asked, “Have you lost your mind girl?”
Lauren added, “There haven’t been any deer in these woods in almost a decade. The only place to bag a deer is closer to the outside, and not even on the outside but within feet of the city walls.”
Reena knew she was asking for trouble, but she also knew that if they went to the desert without a substantial amount of food they would never make it out on the other side. “I know that. I also know that it’s worth the risk; we have to have it.”
Dax said in a mild tone, “Have you considered how long it will take to clean it, dress it, and preserve it for travel?”
“Yes, I have. But there is another way besides smoking.”
“Are you thinking of using the ground radish? I know the city old folks used to use it to keep meat fresh for days but that hasn’t been around in at least a decade.” The person speaking was an old timer, someone who had been an Outlaw since long before Reena had even been born.
Reena turned to look at him, “Have you ever used it?”
“Of course. But that was when it was available; it is not available anymore. It’s nowhere to be found, at least not in the woods.”
Reena said, “Perhaps not in the woods but it is available. They burn it in the temples in the city. To get it they go to the farmers right outside the walls. The farmers that we never go to because their too close to the city, and we risk too much by going there. We already have to get closer than we would like to get a deer, so we might as well get the radish stew.”
Lucas said, “Girl, you have completely lost your mind. First you want us to go get a deer within feet of the city walls and you want us to steal a radish while we’re at it that may or may not exist.”
Anger made her face turn bright red. “It does exist! I have seen it!”
Lucas said, “So you have seen it. That’s fine, for you. But for the rest of us we haven’t and yet were supposed to just take your word that it’s there.”
Why was he bucking against her leadership? They needed the deer and they needed the radish and surely he of all people needed to know that.
She glared at him as she said, “Lucas, you of all people know that there are things in the city that can get us across that desert that we simply do not have and we cannot do without. Besides, if they are looking for us in the woods they would have no reason to look for us in the city.”
Silence fell over the entire gathered tribe. Nobody had seen that coming; in truth Reena had not even noticed she was going to say it, but now that she had, it made perfect sense. If the soldiers were roaming the woods, then going into the city was their best bet. They could access the road to the desert from the city just as easily as they could from the woods and if they could get things from the city that would keep them alive crossing the desert, why not?
Lauren said, “She has the right of it there.”
Eventually they all agreed.
**
Without the children to slow them down, they made it to the city within 2 ½ days. They made better time than any of them expected, considering the massive amount of soldiers roaming the woods looking for them. As they walked they had worked on ways to disguise themselves. Some of the ideas had been so
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