Dawn of Mammals (Book 4): Killer Pack

by Lou Cadle

  “A fishing net?” Zach said. “Isn’t it hard to use alone?”

  “I made it for one person.” Laina went to the nearest tree, selecting a small one, jumped up with no discernable effort and pulled down a slender limb. She stripped a side branch off it. Then she removed a sharp rock from one of her pockets and peeled up an end of the bark. She stripped it quickly, getting a long, even piece of bark. She tied it to the end of the branch, and then tied the other end at the same place, so that the stick now had a loop at the end of it. “Like this, but stronger. And a net tied to it.”

  “That works?”

  “With patience,” she said. “Trapping is easy. You set them and look every other day.”

  “How many do you have?” Hannah said. “Traps, I mean?”

  “Thirty, over about two and a half miles not far from here. Further down the river another five miles, I put twenty down in a mile. More animals there.”

  Claire said, “We’re anxious to hear about the jump, whenever you’re ready to tell us.”

  “Six days. We jump.” She scratched her nose. “Nothing more.”

  Zach said, “How do you know the timing? When we jump compared to when it appears? Why it works like that?”

  “You didn’t understand before,” Laina said.

  She had a point.

  Claire said, “But maybe if you have a table worked out. Or at least tell us when the crossover is between jumping forward and backward.”

  “Okay,” Laina said. But she made no move to do it right then.

  Hannah sided with Claire on this one. God forbid something should happen to Laina, but the more of her knowledge they had in case something did, the better she’d feel—not only the timegate knowledge, but everything Laina had learned about survival in sixteen years at it. In the ranger world, she’d heard stories of people surviving alone in the wilderness for days or weeks, using knowledge and logic, but sixteen years? That must be some sort of record for a modern American person.

  The workload increased over the days leading up to the jump. Most of the work was about stocking up on food, drying it, smoking it, and salting it. Dull stone knives were replaced and the big net repaired, and many more baskets were made to carry everything they’d have with them this time. Bob and Nari stayed at the cabin every day, but Zach did what he could one-handed.

  The day they had to leave, they agreed to meet Laina at the river, near the stand of woods where their second set of debris huts had been. As she wasn’t there yet, and it was a relatively warm morning, Claire suggested they all take a bath. “We might not have a chance for a long time if it’s cold where we’re going.”

  The men split off from the women and moved off beyond a bend in the stream. The women stripped, Hannah helping Nari take off her shirt. Nari’s wounds were still bright purple, but they were healing, thanks to the reed treatment. Her repaired shirt was stained permanently with blood, but she was wearing it for the trip. She wasn’t carrying anything heavier than a bundle of grass on the hike. Before they jumped into colder weather, she’d put on the hide pants and a cape.

  The soap made with Laina’s recipe made bathing easier, but as they had to wait for Laina, they took their time at it, washing their hair too. Claire made sure someone was in charge of watching out for danger, so that not everyone was underwater at once, and when it was Hannah’s turn, she looked back and forth, from her side of the river to the other, checking for danger.

  Her eye was drawn by Dixie propelling herself out of the river, her hair streaming water. Her breasts were still plumper than anyone’s, even Jodi’s, who had started out with the most up top of the group. Dixie leaned back to squeeze water out of her hair.

  And Hannah saw the change in her shape—a sort of thickening of the waist was all it was, but that made her look back up at Dixie’s breasts. And she knew. She blurted it out before she had a chance to censor herself.

  “Dixie. You’re pregnant.”

  Chapter 29

  There was a stunned moment of silence before everyone else started talking. Dixie’s face was a study. It moved from shock to defensiveness, as if she were going to deny it, but that quickly crumbled until her expression was shamed. It seemed so unlike Dixie. She turned away and slid underwater.

  “Is it true?” Nari said to Hannah.

  Claire muttered, “I swear, if it is, I’m going to punch her myself this time.”

  Jodi said, “It has to be Ted. Right?”

  Hannah believed so, but Jodi’s tone let her know she wasn’t one hundred percent sure it wasn’t Zach. Wouldn’t that be an unwanted complication?

  They already had one of those.

  Jodi said, “But you told everybody what to do! About birth control. And we all knew before you said anything.”

  Hannah shrugged. She also made her way over to where Dixie had disappeared into the river. She didn’t think the girl was the type to drown herself, but she wanted to get her up and out of the water anyway.

  Dixie popped up just as she got there, wiping river water out of her eyes.

  “It’s okay,” Hannah said to her.

  But her quiet words were overridden by Jodi saying, “How could you?”

  Claire said, “We need to talk about this. You’ve really given us a problem here.”

  Dixie’s eyes darted around. She looked cornered and afraid. And then her expression turned mulish. “Don’t yell at me. It could have happened to any of you.”

  “Not me,” Nari said.

  “Not me,” Claire said.

  “Of course not you,” Dixie said to Claire.

  “Or me,” Jodi said, her voice rising. “And Claire’s being gay doesn’t mean her uterus quits working.”

  Nari said to Hannah, “Can we jump? With her pregnant?”

  Claire said. “I can’t believe you did this to us. Or, no, wait. I can. I can totally believe it.”

  “What did I do to you?” Dixie was getting angry. “How is this anybody’s business?”

  “Okay, everybody,” Hannah said. “Calm down.”

  Dixie said, “Why did you have to tell everybody?”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I blurted it out like an idiot. I should have asked you privately.”

  Dixie looked surprised.

  Jodi let out a stream of shouted curses.

  Hannah said, “Hey, is anyone looking out for danger right now?” She was mostly trying to get everyone else looking somewhere but at Dixie for a moment. For the first time, she felt real sympathy for her. How long had she known? Had she told whoever? Ted, likely, but Rex wasn’t out of the running. Or had it been her burden to bear alone?

  Jodi’s tirade wound down.

  “What’s got you so upset?” Dixie said.

  Hannah kept her voice low when she said, “Tell her it’s not Zach, and I bet she’ll calm down.”

  Dixie shot another surprised look at her. She said, to Jodi, “It wasn’t Zach.”

  “Well of course it wasn’t Zach!” Jodi yelled. But it was the last thing she yelled. It did seem to defuse her anger—or, more likely, fear.

  “Hey, everybody,” Hannah said. “You know, it could have been any of us. I’m sure Dixie didn’t want it to happen.”

  “I doubt she was raped,” Claire said. “She would have told us that immediately. And none of our guys would do that anyway.”

  “I wasn’t raped,” Dixie said.

  Hannah said, “I’m afraid, and lonely, and scared a lot of the time. So are all of you, I’m sure. To seek solace in a connection with a person, or just distraction with sex? Those are normal human urges. We’re all normal people, Dixie included. So cut her some slack, okay?”

  Dixie stared at her, clearly shocked to have support come from this unlikely quarter.

  Hannah said, “In any case, I’m getting dressed.” She waded out of the river.

  She was pulling on her pants as Bob emerged from the woods, his beard and hair still wet. “What’s all the yelling? Are you in trouble?”
r />   The cat was out of the bag now, so Hannah went ahead and told him. “We just found out that Dixie is pregnant.”

  His face grew white, and she was a little worried about his health. Then it flushed red. “I’m going to kill him.” He turned on his heels and went back, presumably to meet up with the males. As she lost sight of him in the trees, he said, “You girls all stay away.”

  Hannah was glad she wasn’t whoever was going to get yelled at by Bob. He was not an angry man typically. But he was sure angry now.

  As far as she was concerned, it was a shame it had happened, but she felt no guilt and no anger. She’d told the others the truth. To her, it was an understandable human urge, for both of the parties involved. Things happen. Though considering the close quarters they lived in, it must have been a challenge to find the privacy.

  Dixie and the others were getting dressed too. The others had left off ganging up on Dixie. Hannah hoped they soon realized there was nothing anyone could do about it and yelling wouldn’t change the situation. She wished she knew something about pregnancy, but as she had made sure she’d never get pregnant, and only one close friend had ever been, she didn’t know much. Should Dixie be taking it easy? Not participating in hunts? Carrying less weight? Maybe Bob would know. He was a dad.

  “We about ready to join the others?” Hannah asked, pulling on her pack.

  “No,” Dixie said.

  “Mr. O’Brien knows,” Hannah pointed out, if that’s what was stopping her.

  “I’d like to give him time to get used to the idea.”

  “That might take a few days.”

  Claire said, “Where is Laina? I’d like to get a move on.”

  They geared up and hiked through the trees. Hannah was next to last in line, and she saw Dixie falling behind. Hannah said, “Come on. I know you want to avoid the next ten minutes, but it’ll be over with soon.”

  “Not soon enough,” Dixie said.

  “Please stay up with the group. It’s safer.”

  Dixie looked around, as if thinking of bolting.

  Hannah backtracked to her. “Doesn’t he know?”

  “Who?”

  “The father. Ted, I assume. Or Rex. Or whoever.”

  “I told him almost two weeks ago that I suspected. I still don’t know for sure.” A kind of desperate hope was in her voice.

  “Your body is changing. If it weren’t true, how could I have guessed?”

  “I’m not sick or anything.”

  “Small favors, right? It’s not like we can offer you crackers and white soda in the mornings.”

  “Why are you being nice to me?”

  “Just what I said. I’m not thrilled, but I think it’s a very human thing to have done. And there’s not much anyone can do about it now. What’s done is done.”

  “I don’t want to be pregnant.”

  “No, I imagine not.”

  “And he hates me.”

  Hannah realized it had to be Ted. And she finally had an explanation for his short temper the last little while. “You must have told him right around when we were moving into the cabin. And he’s still angry?”

  “He acts like it’s my fault. Like only my fault.”

  “Well, that’s biologically impossible.”

  “Mr. O’Brien is going to hate me.”

  “He won’t hate either of you. Though I wouldn’t want to be Ted right now.”

  “I don’t want to be me.”

  “Try not to worry. It’s a done deal. We’ll all cope, including you.”

  “By the time we get back to the real world, it’ll be too late for an abortion.”

  “Is that what you’d have done? If it happened six months ago?”

  “Absolutely. I don’t want some kid dragging me down. I have places to go. A life to lead.” She frowned. “Or I thought I did.”

  When the women emerged from the trees, the men were all dressed. Everyone but Ted was standing. Ted was cross-legged on the ground, his head hanging. Bob had finished with whatever lecture he’d been giving. Good. Hannah didn’t particularly want to be witness to that.

  She and Dixie caught up with the others. Hannah looked around and saw a very awkward group of people, most of them unwilling to meet each other’s eyes.

  Nari said, “Can we time jump?”

  Rex said, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what if it hurts the baby?”

  Claire said, “I hadn’t even thought of that. You’re right. I mean, what if it triggers a miscarriage?”

  Dixie said nothing, so Hannah said, “It doesn’t. Or didn’t.”

  Claire turned to her, obviously confused.

  “She’s more than four weeks pregnant, so she jumped once already.” Ted flinched at the word “pregnant.”

  Claire said, “So what medical concerns do you have?”

  Hannah said, “My main concern is that I don’t know diddly about pregnancy. She seems healthy. She isn’t having morning sickness, which is great. Otherwise, I’d be worried about her starving. I think we’ll have to rely on Dixie to tell us if she’s tired or can’t run or whatever.”

  Nari said, “If she can’t run, something might catch her.” She was still limping from the dog attack, but she had refused to ride on the travois on the way down to the river.

  Hannah said, “So if she can’t do things, we’ll just have three of you that need to stay in camp. Nari, Dixie, and Bob. Zach’s wrist is almost mended, right?”

  Zach nodded.

  Rex said, “Those three and whoever gets hurt next.”

  “Let’s not any of us get hurt again,” Hannah said. “Or pregnant. Okay?”

  “I feel fine,” Dixie said. “I can hunt. I can run. I can carry a pack.”

  Hannah was a little surprised she didn’t take the opportunity to bow out of extra work. Maybe she felt she had something to prove now. Or something to atone for.

  Laina appeared then.

  Claire said, “Where have you been?”

  “Right here. But you were yelling. Is the yelling done?”

  Claire sighed. “Yeah, I think the yelling is all done. Let’s get going. Guys, everyone, load up, please.”

  They walked for an hour and took a break. They walked slowly enough that both Bob and Nari were able to keep up until they had to leave the stream at a place it was barely deep enough to fill the water bottles.

  They were going to stay overnight there, fill the bottles in the morning, and make it back to the woods where they’d first found the chestnuts for the final night in this epoch. Hannah checked Nari’s dressings. “You’re limping pretty badly. I think you should ride most of tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be okay after a rest.”

  “You might be. Or it might feel tighter and worse after a rest. You’ve had that happen, right? With doing some kind of new exercise, and the morning after you feel like you can barely move.” She finished rewrapping Nari’s knee and ankle.

  “It helps that the worst bites were on different legs. I don’t know which leg to limp on.”

  “Your body does,” Hannah said. “It doesn’t want you putting full weight on that knee.”

  She moved on to check in with Bob. “You holding up okay?”

  “I had plenty of extra adrenaline to keep me going.” He shot a glance in Ted’s direction.

  “I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” Hannah said. “And being angry at Ted won’t change the situation.”

  “It makes me feel better.” Bob lowered his voice. “I’m angry with myself too. Clearly I didn’t impress enough on these boys what I meant.”

  “Well, you can’t control them. They’re not boys any more. They’re men.”

  “I’m sure their parents would say differently.”

  “Not if they got to know them—this new version of them.”

  Bob sighed. “I’m sure I’m the only teacher in our district to have this happen on a field trip.”

  Hannah couldn’t help but laugh. “Is there a form to fill out
? For injuries and so on?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then you just cross off ‘broken bone’ and pencil in ‘conception.’”

  “I’m not seeing the humor.”

  “Gee, I thought I was being funny, but no, it’s not funny,” Hannah said. “But it’s done. We have to accept it and move on.”

  The second day, Nari agreed to being pulled on the travois. Rex pulled her for the first hour and Ted for the second. Ted’s natural optimism and energy had not yet rebounded, and he hadn’t said two dozen words since Dixie’s pregnancy had been revealed.

  As far as she could see, the two of them hadn’t said a single word to each other.

  The healthy members of the group gathered all the nuts they could find off two chestnut trees, and they roasted them. They ate smoked fish and a few nuts for supper but stowed most of the chestnuts for the jump into a cold world.

  Laina stuck close to the group during the hike, but she still needed her distance at night. Hannah worried what that would mean for the next four weeks. In a cold world—and Laina had guaranteed it would be cold where they were headed—they should sleep close together for the warmth. Laina had survived it before alone, she knew, but that didn’t reassure Hannah much.

  The last morning they hiked back to the slope where the timegate would appear. Nari was in pretty bad shape by now, and the travois was impossible to pull on its wheels through the ravine. Instead, they had to carry her on it. One person took the front, and two were at the back where the wheels were. Even Zach took a turn at the rear position, using his good arm. They went so slowly that Bob had no problem keeping up.

  Laina didn’t allow a rest. “I want to be in position when it comes.”

  Hannah looked up at the steep slope and wondered aloud how they’d carry Nari up there.

  “I’m walking,” said Nari stubbornly.

  “Someone stay with her,” Hannah said. “Ted. You have the best balance. Walk behind her and don’t let her fall, please.”

  He nodded. Everyone waited until the two of them were halfway up before following. Laina went next. It was a hard climb, as they were loaded down by more gear than before. More than one of them slid back down several feet before stopping themselves, and Hannah stumbled and fell to her knees once. After making sure she wasn’t bleeding—or at least not bleeding badly—she got up and climbed on up.