Red Walker

by Scott Allen

  “What is it, Dana?” she whispered.

  “Four men, with two rifles and two crowbars, up to no good! They’re in the cornfield over there. I think I hit two of them. I doubt they’re going to go away. We need to cover the house from both sides. I’ll take the south corner and you take the north. Shoot at anything that moves.” He could still hear one man moaning in the corn. He quickly climbed down and peered around the south corner of the house, terrified, alert, and angry.

  Finally, he saw two men emerge from the corn in the dim light, and move toward the north side of the house. Why didn’t Nance shoot them? Dana ran across the front of the house, yelling, “Hey! Hey!” One man froze and began to raise his rifle. The other disappeared behind the northwest corner of the house, headed for Nance. Dana sprayed the one he could see, and he went down. He heard Nance scream, then the “pfft, pfft, pfft” of a rifle firing. Nance must’ve been shot! His heart was racing. He reached the west side and saw the dark form of a body on the ground. Nance! He would kill the bastard who shot her! He raised his eyes and saw a shadowy form backed against the wall of the house with a rifle raised, and began to raise his rifle.

  “Dana …” he heard Nance’s weak voice, but it was coming from the figure against the wall, not the figure on the ground. He stepped toward her and could see her face now.

  “I .. I never shot anyone before,” she said. She was staring, wide-eyed, at the body on the ground. She was trembling. She dropped her rifle and fell against Dana’s chest, pressed herself against him, and began to cry.

  Dana didn’t know how to respond. He clumsily shifted his rifle to his left hand, and held her around the waist with his right. Her tears were making his shoulder wet. Having a young woman’s body pressed against his was something totally new. He patted her back and said, “It’s OK, it’s OK.” This was a woman who could casually kill and butcher a pig, falling apart at killing an evil man. Dana realized he had much to learn.

  The next morning, Dana asked Nance to stay inside while he disposed of the four bodies. He dug a deep, wide hole in a bare patch in the abandoned cornfield across the road. That took him all morning, and left him very sweaty and sore. He tied a rope around the feet of each body and dragged it to the hole and buried all of them. But, before he buried them, he used the saw with which they had cut off the pig’s head, and decapitated each one.

  He put the heads in a sack, and carried four poles, wooden signboards, and tools to the intersection below the house. He drove two of the poles into the ground on opposite sides of the intersection. He put two of the heads on top of the two poles, and nailed a sign to each pole that said, “BANDIT,” facing south. He did the same with one head about half a kilometer down the west road, and with the last head a half-kilometer down the east road. He had recently read in a history book of such things being done in ancient times. No matter how disgusted he was by the work, if the grisly signs kept any more robbers away from them, he was willing to endure the grisly task of erecting them.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  As the weeks went by, Dana and Nance harvested as much corn as they could by hand and put it through a shucking machine and then a machine that separated kernels from cobs. They put the kernels in the feed bin. They were perpetually exhausted by the farm work and the nights standing watch. But, one day, they took a chance and drove in her cramped little vehicle down the west road to their new neighbors, the five men they had directed to the farm abandoned by the six women. The weeds had grown high next to the road, and Dana looked particularly carefully up ahead to make sure that no one was hiding among them, rifle ready. It was Dana’s first ride in a personal vehicle. He enjoyed it, and Nance offered to teach him to drive on the way back.

  On the way, Nance noticed the decaying heads on poles at the intersection and down the west road. She stared at Dana, and he looked back at her frankly. She shook her head, and said, “You amaze me.”

  The men seemed to be doing well. The farm was orderly and neat, the men appeared well-fed. They welcomed their two neighbors happily, and offered them apple juice pressed from apples grown on the farm. Nance offered them a deal. They could harvest all the corn they wanted, and Nance would trade for an equal amount of any fruits and vegetables they wanted to spare. She would also trade pork for beef, kilogram for kilogram. Nance would trailer their corn behind her vehicle in a wagon to their place, and return with a load of produce and beef. The men went into a huddle, and then agreed. They had horses and cows to feed, and had been gleaning grain and corn from the surrounding fields, going miles from home, then shucking or processing it by hand, a time-consuming task.

  Dana and Nance arrived home without incident, Dana having enjoyed the driving lesson, and she plugged the vehicle in to re-charge.

  The next day, the men arrived in the mid-morning, on foot, and Dana pulled the empty cart by hand up to the edge of the field. The men, Nance, and Dana all carried their rifles over their shoulders. The men emptied their baskets into the shucking machine, and then the shucked corn into the cart. When the cart was full, Nance pulled up her vehicle to it, with some frozen pork in the back seat, and then she and Dana drove to the men’s farm with one of the men, where they emptied the cart and back seat. Dana drove, with Nance giving instructions. It was not difficult to drive, except for the potholes, but backing up the cart properly took Dana five tries. The three of them went into the fields and picked as much as they could, loaded up the cart with beef, fruits, and vegetables, and drove back. They made two more trips that morning.

  At midday, they served a hearty lunch to the five men at the outdoor table. They now knew each other’s names, and something of their histories. The men told stories of the rebellion. They had lived lives much like Dana’s, except that most of their work was outdoors, with armed guards from Male Control. One day, a small army of rebels had appeared, and their guards had “vamoosed,” as one of the men put it. The rebels had freed them from their hardware, and armed them. They were given rudimentary training. They had participated in some raids on military installations and Male Control stations southeast of Dallas, just ahead of the Mexican army. They had seen some of their comrades killed, and had in turn killed American soldiers and Male Control officers. They seemed to regret having to kill the former, but not the latter. Dana gave them his history, not failing to mention the killings he had both witnessed and committed. The men were impressed by his trek to freedom, and said so.

  They tried speaking in Spanish, but no one but Nance and one of the men whose ancestors had come from Mexico was very good at it. Still, they tried, mixing Spanish and English words, and learning from each other. The talk turned to the future. The men did not know what plans the Mexican government had in mind for their newly-conquered territories, although they had heard they were allowing freed men to take over land and businesses that had been abandoned. Apparently, the option of Mexican citizenship was open to everyone if they learned Mexican history, law, and the Spanish language, and passed a set of tests.

  They mentioned that, they, too, had seen small roving bands of men, some of them probably wishing to settle, others probably out to rob and rape, wandering across nearby land. No one had approached them, although they knew at least one band had observed them from a distance and had turned away. The more interesting news was that some of the rebels had decided to carry the fight into the remaining United States, apparently to free what men they could. The men all agreed that without the backing of a substantial modern army, it was a foolish endeavor.

  Dana noticed that all of the men would occasionally surreptitiously stare at Nance, particularly at her breasts and hips, even though she was dressed modestly in work clothes. He felt his first pangs of jealousy, but kept himself from saying anything. As they lingered over their dessert, conversation turned to humorous stories. One of the men described his difficulties trying to chase down one of the horses in a large grassy field, fit a saddle and bridle on it, and ride it, with no experience at any of it. It had taken the
better part of a day, and had left him tired and bruised from falls. He didn’t mind the laughter at his expense.

  They made three more trips that afternoon to the men’s farm and back. The men’s grain bin was full, and Nance’s refrigerator/freezer and spare refrigerator/freezer in the garage were full. As the daylight began to wane, the five men piled into Nance’s vehicle and the cart, and Dana and Nance drove them home. Nance explained how they needed to monitor the instruments on their corn bin. She also showed them how to cinch a saddle on a horse, noticing from the way the saddle was hanging in their barn that they had done it wrong. It had been a good day, and they said their farewells with warmth. Dana reflected that it was good to have friends, if that is what these men came to be.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  The next evening, they decided to take a few hours off from surveillance to watch a movie, sitting on the couch together. Nance chose an old romantic comedy. This one, however, showed a young couple not only falling in love, but getting in bed together. They were under covers, but obviously having intercourse, and in the throes of intense pleasure. He could see the woman’s naked breasts. It made Dana both aroused and uncomfortable to watch it. Nance looked up and asked Dana, “Have you ever wondered what that would be like?”

  Dana had no idea where she was going with this. “Of course I have,” he said. “What about you?”

  She grinned at him, “Of course I have,” she said, mimicking his tone. “No, seriously, everyone must wonder. I know my grandparents had a good love life, and they both enjoyed it. My grandmother explained sex to me when I was about 13. She said it was just in case things changed, and men and women were allowed to have sex again.” She looked up at him with wide eyes and an expectant smile.

  Dana looked at her and suddenly realized why she had been wearing shape-hugging dresses and jeans, make-up, and perfume, and why she had shown this particular movie this evening. It wasn’t out of habit. She wanted to make love. She wouldn’t scream rape or shoot him. She wanted it! His brain went twenty directions at once. He had a flashback to the aggressive soldier he had disappointed in her barracks months ago.

  “Uh…um…” mumbled Dana, and Nance giggled.

  “I’m scaring you! I’m sorry,” she said, still mirthful. “Living under the Rules would make any man terrified of women. I guess you could use some basic sex education. My grandmother explained a lot to me. She couldn’t afford not to. After all, working around farm animals, you see sex a lot. You know what? I should give you an old book my grandmother gave me, written for teenage girls. It’s about sex, but also about relationships between men and women. It’s in my bedroom. Come on.”

  Dana followed, his head still spinning and his groin throbbing, wondering what she had in mind. Did she want to have sex right then and there? But, when they reached her bedroom – very feminine decorations – she reached into a bookshelf and drew a book off the shelf, handing it to him. Then, she said, “I guess I’d better take my shift on the roof,” and smiled, obviously knowing how conflicted and aroused he was.

  Dana was alone in his bedroom, with the alarm box beside him. The first chapter of the book advised teenage girls about how their bodies were changing. It was an anatomy and physiology lesson for Dana, with color drawings. He had no idea about menstruation, hormones, and the anatomy of women’s genitalia. The drawings alone got him very aroused. It also discussed how young men’s bodies were changing, something he had experienced but had never been taught about.

  The next chapter was about sexual attraction. The author made passing reference to the fact that there were many other types of sexuality besides the conventional man-woman pair bond, but they were beyond the scope of her book. The author was frank about what attracted young women to young men – their activity and ambition, their self-confidence, their size and muscular builds, their wit and humor, their ability to dominate social situations, and – when considering marriage – their future financial prospects, their willingness to commit to one woman, and their generosity and kindness toward children. All those things were indicators that a man could father and protect healthy children, although women usually didn’t realize this was why they liked those things.

  The book also discussed quite frankly what attracted men to women – their general health, evidenced by bright eyes, shiny hair, smooth skin, symmetrical features, and a waist-hip ratio of about 0.7. All were indicators of the likelihood of bearing healthy children. Men were attracted to those things out of impulses buried deep in the brain, and were usually unaware of why. The author discussed make-up, hair care, diet, exercise, and wardrobe to make these female attractors stand out. Also, there was a discussion of what men usually looked for in women when considering marriage: not only their sexual attractiveness, but also their personalities – cheerful, intelligent, stable, caring, assertive when necessary, and not prone to unpredictable or manipulative emotional outbursts.

  The author pointed out that when not considering marriage, both sexes tended to focus on superficial characteristics looking for sex partners. As long as they had access to reliable birth control, women often sought to have sex with men who were handsome, exciting, and somewhat indifferent to them. Men were biologically programmed to have as much sex as possible with as many women as possible, and were usually even less discriminating. Both strategies changed when seeking marriage. She was quite clear that men and women had different mating agendas, because they were different biologically. Men could in theory father thousands of children, while women could carry and give birth to only a few. Thus, women, unless very well-off, usually sought to long-term pair-bond with men who could dominate the space around them and provide resources when they were pregnant or raising small children. The author cautioned young women, when seeking marriage, not to settle for a man who had too many deficits, unpleasant habits, or a lack of integrity – that planning to change him in any major way was a project doomed to failure. She also reminded them that their fertility declined with age, as did their sexual desirability, hence finding a good marriage partner while younger was probably a wiser strategy if they wanted marriage and children. All of this was new to Dana.

  Much of the following discussion was about how a good relationship should proceed. First, the author discussed flirting, and urged young women not to flirt with men in whom they had no interest – it was unfair to men to use them just to validate their attractiveness. The book gave a number of flirting techniques, a few of which Dana recognized Nance had used on him.

  The author pointed out that most men would show interest in certain ways, usually by approaching a young woman when she was alone and initiating conversation, frequently awkwardly. There was a discussion of old-fashioned “courting,” in which the young man would invite the woman out on dates. As they got to know each other, the two of them, if they liked each other, might proceed from kissing, to petting, to intercourse. She pointed out that “modern courtship” sometimes involved women making the first move. Possibly, there would be sexual intercourse on the first encounter, and the author pointed out that this could be fun for both, but also possibly emotionally dangerous if one got attached, or medically dangerous if the right contraception was not used.

  The book was careful to distinguish between lust and love. Mature love was rare until people were in their twenties, and was still uncommon then. Real love meant that one acted for the benefit of the other party as much as for himself or herself. It meant that one wanted the best for the other one, and tried to bring it about. It sounded strange to Dana.

  Then, the book got to the discussion of sex. There was more about the fact that women usually took longer to be receptive to intercourse and to reach orgasm, a discussion of erogenous zones, and various ways to bring either party or both to orgasm. Dana had no points of reference for anything having to do with female anatomy or sexual response. As he read, though, he discovered a great interest in the subject, and absorbed it all eagerly.

  He looked at the clock, and saw
it was a few minutes past time for his shift on the roof. He walked out the back door and called up to Nance, “My shift!” She clambered down the ladder, and Dana admired her buttocks in her tight jeans as she did. It seemed they were swaying back and forth quite a bit more than necessary. When she reached the ground, Dana impulsively took her around the waist, pressed her to him, and kissed her resoundingly on the lips. She yielded immediately, pressing herself against him, and kissing back. After a long moment, they separated. Nance had a grin on her face.

  “Woo! You’ve been reading instead of sleeping, you devil,” she said, putting her forefinger on his nose. “Well, you’ll just have to get up on the roof with that erection. I’m going to sleep!” She walked into the house, leaving Dana very excited and very frustrated at once.

  Up on the roof, peering into the darkness, Dana had time to think. If Nance had taken the advice in the book at face value, she probably didn’t have him in mind for marriage. He had zero financial prospects at present. She was educated, he wasn’t. She had financial assets, he didn’t. She was a couple of years older. Neither of them had any way to know what opportunities, financial or romantic, would present themselves after the governmental situation stabilized. He saw the exciting prospect of sex on the horizon, but also was wary of the possibilities of pregnancy and heartbreak, and that one of them might want to take a path that didn’t include the other. As his excitement returned to normal levels, he had much to think about.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Dana slept later than usual the next morning, and Nance didn’t wake him. When he woke up and realized what time it was, he dressed hurriedly, looped his rifle over his shoulder, and went out to the barn, where Nance was doing her morning chores with the pigs. He saw that she was finishing her washing down of the concrete floor of the barn, so he got the cart and loaded crushed corn into it. As he loaded it into the pigs’ feeding trough, he could feel her eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. He felt a little sheepish. When he had made three trips, she was already in the house, cleaning up. He sat out under a tree, breathing fresh air, since the wind had picked up and was blowing the stench of the barn away from him. It was a pleasant morning, but he could see dark clouds in the west.