Rangers at Roadsend

by Jane Fletcher

  Ellis did not speak but waved her away with a gesture like swatting a fly. Katryn stalked out of the building and across the parade ground. If it were a joke, Ellis would have to run after her—either that or explain to Dolokov why she was playing silly tricks on her subordinates. However, when Katryn arrived, it turned out that the summons was genuine, and she was immediately directed toward the captain’s office.

  Captain Dolokov was waiting for her, arms crossed, perched on the front of a battered old desk. Lieutenant Bergstrom was also there, standing to one side. As Katryn entered, they both fixed her with hard, accusing stares. Something was clearly very wrong. A knot was forming in Katryn’s guts as she came to attention. “You wanted to see me, ma’am?”

  Dolokov examined her in silence for nearly a minute. Katryn felt the pulse hammering in her throat. The captain had been back from patrol for only three days, and this was the first time Katryn had met with her, but she had heard a lot. Dolokov had been promoted to captain less than six months earlier. It was predicted that she would soon be making changes in the squadron. Jan Sivarajah had implied that some changes were long overdue. Dolokov was said to have strong ideas that did not always fit with the rule book. “Arrogant,” “callous” and “bitch” were three words often used to describe her. She made many people nervous. Katryn could understand why.

  When Dolokov finally spoke, it was so sudden that Katryn jumped. “Are you aware that it is a severe disciplinary offense to impersonate someone of a higher rank?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And have you ever done that?”

  “No, ma’am.” Katryn relaxed a little as she guessed where the conversation was going. It should not take too long to get there.

  Dolokov leaned back and studied Katryn for a few more seconds. “Then can you explain why you’ve been receiving mail addressed to ‘Sergeant Nagata’?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I was a sergeant in the Militia at Woodside. I relinquished the rank when I joined the Rangers. The letter in question was from someone who knew me when I was in the Militia and used my old rank, unaware that it was no longer appropriate.”

  Captain Dolokov looked startled. “You were a sergeant?” There was a faint edge of skepticism in her tone.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Katryn answered. “It should be in my records.”

  Dolokov’s gaze became thoughtful but no less stern. Abruptly, her posture eased, and she gave a small nod, presumably satisfied that Katryn would not be stupid enough to make up a lie that could be disproved so easily. Her head tilted to one side as she continued to examine Katryn. “You must have been very keen to join the Rangers.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I was.” Katryn tried not to emphasize the past tense.

  “When you next write home, impress on people your new status, so that there are no grounds for misunderstandings in the future.”

  “I’ll try, ma’am.”

  “Try?” Dolokov challenged her.

  “I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again.”

  “Why not?”

  “My grandparents were very proud of my rank as sergeant, and their memories can be conveniently lax at times.”

  The faintest suggestion of a twitch pulled at the corner of Dolokov’s mouth. “Yes. I’ve got a grandmother like that as well.” Her expression hardened again. “Very well. Dismissed. And Private, I’ll leave it to you to explain the situation to Sergeant Ellis.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Katryn stepped outside the office and drew a deep breath. Surprise and alarm were giving way to anger. It had not taken the last sentence from Dolokov to work out who had reported her. Katryn thought of Ellis with contempt. As a sergeant in the Militia, Katryn would never have accused one of her subordinates without talking to the person involved first. She would have made sure that she had uncovered all the facts and would have supported her junior if there were any possible doubt of the woman’s guilt. Further, if the accused were guilty, she would have taken no pleasure from the consequences.

  Ellis had wanted Katryn to be in trouble. In hindsight, Katryn realized that it was obvious from Ellis’ face when she delivered the message. She stared across the parade ground, trying to compose herself before she returned to the bunkhouse. The captain had told her to explain the situation to Sergeant Ellis, but Katryn doubted her ability to talk to the woman in a civil fashion.

  Ellis was still there when Katryn entered the bunkhouse. The sergeant stood back smugly as Katryn pulled open her locker and kneeled to rummage through her belongings at the bottom, no doubt assuming that Katryn had been sent to collect the evidence of her guilt. It took a few seconds for Katryn to find the item she wanted: the letter from Militia divisional headquarters. She scanned it quickly, refreshing her memory of the details. It was an official dispatch with an authenticating seal. It made clear reference to her rank in the Militia and warned of forfeiture—as though she might have been unaware of the rules. It also contained the carefully worded promise of promotion to lieutenant if she abandoned her attempt to join the Rangers. Let Ellis chew on that!

  Katryn stood up and closed the door of her locker. She walked over and held out the letter. “I think, ma’am, that this will make the situation clear.”

  Ellis’ face froze in confusion. Neither woman moved. Then Ellis snatched the paper. Katryn turned and left. The anticipated pleasure of watching Ellis’ face as she read was still not enough to keep Katryn in the same room with the sergeant an instant longer than necessary.

  *

  From the hills above, the buildings looked deserted. Not even a guard dog roamed in the snow-covered yards around the six cottages. Then Katryn noticed the soft trickle of smoke from a chimney stack and heard the bleating of sheep inside a barn. When she got closer, she saw footprints in the snow. Yet only the sheep and the wind disturbed the utter silence as the column of Rangers rode into the center of the hamlet.

  Suddenly, a door opened, and an elderly woman rushed out. “You’re here! Praise the Goddess!”

  Three more doors opened, and other women emerged. Some had red eyes. All looked frightened. Katryn heard “Too late” muttered more than once.

  Lieutenant Bergstrom halted by the first woman. “You’ve seen them?”

  “No, but…” The woman broke off, fighting for control of her breath. “My two daughters went out to the East Woods early this morning, and they haven’t come back.”

  “They went out?” Bergstrom repeated. “Haven’t you heard there’s a pride of snow lions in the area?”

  “Yes, but we were running low on fuel, and we’ve got a woodpile already cut and stacked back there. They took the sledge. They should only have been gone half an hour.” The woman’s face started to crumple.

  A baby cried, too young to understand the words but old enough to sense the fear. Katryn looked around at the villagers. In a tiny community like this, they would all be related to the missing women: nieces, cousins, aunts. The expressions of grief and dread on some faces were hard to bear; even harder was the desperate hope on others. They stared at the Rangers as though they were a miracle from the Goddess. It would be a miracle if the missing women were still alive.

  After a few more questions, Lieutenant Bergstrom got directions to the woodpile and led the column up the valley. Once they were out of earshot of the huddled family group, Ellis said, “Looks like we’re closing in on the lions.” After the misery they’d just left behind, the cheerfulness in Ellis’ voice grated on Katryn.

  Bergstrom was also disapproving. She turned her head to glare back at the sergeant. “We don’t know yet that it is the lions. There may be another reason for their delay.”

  Ellis shrugged and dropped her voice. “True. A fool can always get into trouble. And you know what they say: ‘Only fools and Rangers go out when snow lions are around.’” She glanced purposefully at Katryn and added in an even lower mutter, “Of course, some folk belong in both categories.”

  The Rangers advanced as quickly as was safe, which
was not very quick. Stumbling into the jaws of the snow lions would help no one, but many were clearly chafing at the delay as each clump of undergrowth was checked. It had been ten days since word of the snow lions had reached Highview, and Lieutenant Bergstrom had taken B and D Patrols out to hunt down the dangerous predators. They had followed the trail of sightings and dead farm animals, steadily gaining on their quarry. Now they were closing in. It would be tragic if they caught up with the pride a few sorry hours too late to prevent the deaths of two women.

  Unfortunately, the tragedy was not to be averted. Before they got halfway to the woodpile, they came across the abandoned sledge, piled high with logs. Not far away was an area where churned snow was stained red. Jan Sivarajah swore under her breath. Others were not quite so restrained.

  “Quiet!” Ellis’ biting undertone silenced the outcry. “They’re close. We don’t want to make enough noise to scare them away.”

  Belatedly, Bergstrom appeared to realize that Ellis had given the order she should have issued herself. With a show of reasserting her authority, the lieutenant beckoned Ellis and Sergeant Takeda of D Patrol to her side. After a few minutes of talking, the two sergeants returned to their patrols with orders.

  “Agosta, Hassan, keep watch over to the right. Castillo, you and Panayi clear the logs off the sledge. Wan, stick with me. Sivarajah, check out the tracks; see what you can learn. Nagata…” Last of all, the sergeant turned to Katryn. “We’re going to have to take the bodies back with us. See if you can find all the bits and load them on the sledge.”

  The Rangers dispersed to their tasks. Katryn walked over to the blood-stained snow. “Bits” was a fair description; Katryn was not sure she could even identify some of the lumps of flesh as human. Her stomach heaved, but she fought back the spasm and glanced over her shoulder. Ellis was watching her, smirking. The sergeant would love it if she threw up or fainted. Katryn gritted her teeth, determined not to give Ellis that pleasure.

  Katryn knew it was not simply the luck of the draw that she was the one given the job of collecting the bodies. Ellis always assigned the most unpleasant and menial tasks to her. At first, Katryn had thought it was some sort of apprenticeship for the newest member of the patrol, but since the incident with the letter, it had gotten worse. Ellis seemed to have a personal vendetta against her. Not only was Katryn treated as the patrol drudge, but she was also continually criticized and ridiculed in front of everyone else. Her relationship with the rest of the patrol had gotten off to a poor start, and Ellis was doing her best to isolate Katryn still further.

  The parts of the dismembered bodies were strewn over a wide area. Katryn bent down and grabbed hold of the nearest large section—a torso. As she pulled on it, the guts spilled out into the snow. Katryn kneeled and took four deep breaths, building herself to scoop up the intestines with her hands.

  There was a voice at her shoulder. “I’d say this one was caught by an old male. You can tell from the distance between the incisor marks on the shoulder.” Katryn turned her head to see that Jan was crouched down beside her. Somehow, the corporal’s footsteps had not even squeaked in the snow.

  Jan met her eyes and then spoke in a whisper. “If I help you pick up the bodies, Ellis will get mad, but I was told to examine the tracks, and the best place to start is here. I know it can be rough, the first time you come across victims of snow lions. You have to learn to be detached. For one thing, getting emotional won’t help, and for another, there is important information to pick up here. It might save someone else from the same fate. So don’t think; just watch and listen.” She raised her voice again slightly. “Those prints there would be the male, and there are at least two adult females. One has a weakness in her back left paw. You do know what I mean by ‘male’ and ‘female’?”

  Katryn nodded, focusing her attention on the impromptu lesson. The assignment of Jan to investigate the scene had also not been random. Everyone knew that she was the best scout in the squadron. Her observations were astute, soon catching Katryn’s interest enough to let her step back mentally from the gruesome task she was performing. In fact, a faint smile touched her lips once. If she could have only one ally in the patrol, Jan was easily the best choice.

  *

  By late afternoon, the Rangers were again on the trail of the snow lions, heading toward the crest of a ridge. Dusk was not far off. Normally, they would have stopped and returned to their lodgings for the night, but dark clouds were building on the eastern horizon. A storm was blowing in. If they did not overtake the pride that day, the tracks would be lost, and then they would have more days of scouring the countryside for sightings—and maybe more bodies.

  Katryn was positioned in the rear of the column. Ellis had implied that it was the place where she would be least likely to get in the way. With nothing to do except tag along, she could allow her thoughts to wander. The place they went most often was to memories of the dead women. Jan had assured her that most of the damage had been inflicted after the women were dead, the lions mauling the bodies in frustration once they found that they were unable to eat their prey, but it could not have been a pleasant death.

  Jan had asked whether she understood the terms “male” and “female” in relation to the lions. The Rangers’ basic training had covered the topic briefly, as far as was necessary to understand the composition of a pride. And of course, Katryn was already familiar with the teachings of the Sisterhood—that the Goddess had to provide an alternative method of procreation for wild animals, because Cloners could not get close to them. Dual-sex reproduction meant that snow lions were genetically unique, like imprinted humans; so by the teachings of the Sisterhood they had souls. To prevent the sacrilege of eating anything with the divine spark, humans and wild animals were mutually inedible. It still left questions, such as the ethical status of wild animals eating one another and why lions could not eat cloned farm stock. The main question in her mind, however, was why Celaeno had not completed the job and given snow lions the sense to know that humans were not a source of food.

  The brow of the hill was only a stone’s throw away when Katryn’s thoughts were interrupted. A signal rippled down the line, and the Rangers came to a halt. The horses stamped their hooves in the snow. At the front, Bergstrom, Jan and the two sergeants slipped down from their saddles and walked the short way to the top of the hill on foot. Katryn waited with the rest in silence. After a few minutes, the four Rangers returned, and the signal was given to dismount and gather around.

  Bergstrom started to talk softly. “We’ve caught up with them. They’re settling down for the night on the other side of the hill. There are six in all, one a juvenile. A couple look unwell; they probably ate a mouthful of the women or some farm animal. We’re going to split—B Patrol left, D Patrol right. Follow your sergeant, and stick to cover. I’ll stay up top. When both patrols are in position, I’ll give the signal to attack. Three short whistles. Nobody must break cover until then. Okay?” She looked around. “Right. Go.”

  Katryn slipped into file directly behind Jan. Ellis led them on a wide sweep, crossing the skyline behind the shelter of an outcrop of boulders and then down into dense undergrowth. By the time the signal to stop came, it was starting to get dark. Katryn crouched beneath the straggly branches of a bush and drew her short Ranger’s sword. There was neither sight nor sound of the snow lions. She almost wondered whether this was another of Ellis’ stupid wind-ups. Then she heard a low, rumbling growl. It was closer than she had expected.

  Katryn’s mouth went dry. She braced her hands on the ground to hide the sudden shaking. Still, there was no signal. The waiting was a nightmare. Katryn found herself longing for something to happen. Action would be easier than thinking.

  Without warning, there were shouts, and the roars of snow lions broke out in a frenzy. Confused, Katryn looked at Jan. Had D Patrol attacked before the signal, or had something gone wrong?

  Ellis was standing a little way to one side, peering through the branches at
a point that offered a better view down the hillside. She was shaking her head with a smile that owed more to malice than to humor. Her only other movement was when Tina rose and started to advance. Ellis held out her hand. “Remember the lieutenant’s orders. Wait until the signal.” Ellis’ voice was a low growl.

  The sounds of fighting got louder. Then, above the shouts, came a long scream. Katryn stared at Ellis. D Patrol was in trouble. Was Ellis really going to keep them there in deference to a plan that had clearly gone astray? But at last, Katryn heard the signal, three short whistles. As one, the eight Rangers of B Patrol burst from the bushes and hurtled down the slope.

  Once she was in the open, Katryn was able to see what was going on. Forty meters away, in the gloom at the bottom of the hill, three snow lions were prowling around a huddle of women. A juvenile was hanging back, and one other beast already lay dead on the ground. The largest lion was closer at hand, crouched over something, but at the sight of the new group of Rangers, it leaped up and began bounding up the slope.

  The animal was huge, nearly the size of a horse. Its shaggy white pelt hung like a mat of knotted rope, stained red around the muzzle. Saberlike fangs slotted into grooves in its square lower jaw. The beast headed straight for Jan, probably selecting her as the smallest target—a mistake. As the lion sprang, Jan sidestepped. The dull light hit her sword in a silver blur. The lion either did not see or did not understand the danger. Its momentum carried it on, impaling itself on the blade. Too late, its body twisted aside and crashed down onto the snow. Even before Jan had torn her weapon free, Sal had come to her aid and embedded her own sword in the snow lion’s throat.

  Meanwhile, Tina had reached the juvenile and dispatched it with ease. The young lion, hungrier and less experienced than the others, had obviously forced down a mouthful from a body and was suffering the effects of iron poisoning. At the bottom of the hill, the attack from B Patrol had distracted the other beasts, and the defending Rangers seized on their confusion. Two more lions went down. The last remaining animal turned to flee—straight onto the swords of Bo, Nikki and Ellis. It was over.