Wind

by Cheryl Twaddle

  “Don’t need them,” was all Marshal would say about it.

  The front of the house was higher than the back so that the huge piece of pre-built roof could sit at an angle. “So the snow can slide off in the winter.” Snow? I had forgotten about the snow that would come in the winter. How was this house supposed to keep us warm when it was minus thirty? Then Marshal pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

  There was a hole in the roof that I wondered about but didn’t ask. After everything was built, including a door, Marshal and Billy spent hours digging out a hole. I guessed that he had something else stashed away but I had no idea what. I had other things to do. Emma Lee and I still had a ton of seeds to plant in the garden. The winds had removed all the topsoil and left a dried up field which we had to turn over with shovels and small hand powered rototillers. When we came back for lunch, we found out what fit in that hole in the roof.

  It was an ancient looking pot bellied stove. I think I had seen one similar to it in a museum on a classroom field trip. It was made of cast iron and I wondered how the two of them could have pulled it out of the hole without help. It had a round stack that fit perfectly through the hole in the roof. I shook my head at the simple logic in it. The house was small enough that a few logs in the stove would keep all the rooms heated on the cold days of winter and we could cook on it. I was so pleased with Marshal’s brilliance that I gave him a huge hug. He blushed and tried not to look too pleased with himself.

  We spent the rest of the day bringing up furniture from the hideout. Emma Lee and I decorated as best we could by putting up pictures and placing some of Marshal’s ‘collection’ around. I put a small table by the chair in the living room and put an old rotary Mickey Mouse phone on it. Emma Lee put a tall lamp in one corner and I found a fake white bearskin rug that I placed on the floor in front of the stove. Sleeping bags and pillows were set up in the tiny bedroom and, when they were unrolled and spread out on the floor, we could see that there was not enough room. So, the guys agreed to sleep in the living room only if they could store all their personal stuff in the bedroom.

  “That’s it! My house is now a home,” said Marshal as he stood in the living room surveying our work. “Now...”

  “We can go find out about our water,” I finished for him.

  “No, no, no, Nicky,” he said, shaking his head. “We can all help finish the garden.”

  “But...” I started.

  “Listen, Nicky, Miss Emma Lee was right. We can’t just barrel down the river and attack whoever blocked our water. It’ll just get us all killed. We need to take our time, pretend we don’t care. Talk to some neighbours; see if they know anything. Then we can kill two birds with one stone.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “We can find out what happened to the water and we can start recruitin’ for Miss Emma,” he said.

  “That’s a good idea,” said Emma Lee. I glared at her because I thought she was on my side. “I know you want to get to the bottom of the dried up river but having the support of other people will help. Besides, we’re almost done the garden and it will feel good to know there’s food growing while we’re gone. It could take a few days to gather information and hike down the river.”

  “Okay,” I said. I knew they were right but I had to pretend to put up a fight. I mean, I already killed a man, I had a reputation now of being a badass. I couldn’t let a little thing like being agreeable ruin that.

  Two days later the garden was done. We had planted a variety of vegetables, a multitude of herbs and spices and some things that I had never eaten before; at least I didn’t think I had. Well, maybe, in a can of vegetable soup. Marshal had planned out who we would visit first then second and so on. We were going to head out first thing in the morning. He said that some neighbours would be too scared to tell us anything but it was still a good idea to pop in and say hi, see if they needed anything. Some would tell us everything we needed to know but would never participate in our little army against the Blood Demons. Marshal knew everyone around here and he could tell us who would help and who wouldn’t.

  We packed four backpacks full of food, water and clothes and set off the next morning. Even Barker had to carry something, so we strapped a makeshift pack on his back and he carried his own dog food. I told them that they now had actual backpacks for dogs but no one believed me.

  “Why would they do anything so ridiculous?” laughed Marshal.

  “You’d be surprised at how ridiculous people are nowadays.” I told them about dog booties and dog sweaters. I even told them that they had Halloween costumes for dogs now. They all thought I was crazy and I had them laughing as we left our little valley to begin our trek of the countryside. Our first visit would be to a couple that had been together for sixty 360s and lived just a couple of miles to the south.

  Chapter 7

  “Madge is forty-five and fell down here in 1929. She’s married to Robert, who’s fifty-two and fell in 1946. They’re both from down east but didn’t meet until they were already here a couple of years,” Marshal explained to us as we walked through an empty field of dirt. The winds had blown away whatever crop had been planted there. “They’ve been married for well over sixty 360s now. They’re real nice and I’m sure you’ll like them. She bakes lots of yummy things. I always go to their house in the fall to get apple pie.”

  “Madge is pretty nice,” said Billy. “But Robert can be a mean old man sometimes. I don’t know why they’re together. They don’t have anything in common.”

  “Do they have kids?” I asked. Everyone stopped and looked at me. I didn’t notice right away and walked another few feet before Barker nudged my hand. I turned around and saw the anger on their faces. “What? What did I say?”

  “I’ll explain,” said Emma Lee. “You two walk ahead.”

  “What did I do wrong?” I had no idea why they were so mad at me. “I just asked if they had kids. What, did they get killed or something? Is it a touchy subject?”

  “Nicky, there’s something I have to tell you,” said Emma Lee. Marshal and Billy walked past me with their heads down.

  “What?” I couldn’t understand what was so serious.

  “Nicky, I’m sure you’ve noticed that none of us have aged since we came here,” she said as we slowly walked together, Barker still by my side.

  “Yeah, I figured that out when Marshal told me he came here in 1909 and he’s still seventeen.”

  “There’s more to it than that,” she said. “Down here nothing in our body ages; nothing.”

  “And?” I didn’t get what she was saying.

  “And, well, our bodies, a woman’s body, can never grow a baby,” she explained. “We’ve tried, but it just doesn’t work. I don’t even know if a baby starts and just doesn’t age or what. I just know that no one has ever been able to have a baby down here.”

  “So, you can’t get pregnant?” I thought about this and didn’t see why it was such a bad thing. The other world, the real world, was already overpopulated. It was good they couldn’t do the same thing here especially since no one seemed to die of old age. I guess they didn’t realize how too many people can be a bad thing. Why would they? When they lived in the real world the population was still small. There was still enough resources for everyone. They had no idea how much waste and pollution was in the world today.

  Wait a minute if you can’t have kids then that meant, “Do you still get your period?” I had to ask. “Because, if you do, that would totally suck. I mean the only reason we’re supposed to have that monthly cramp festival is so we can get pregnant. You know, join womankind and create life.” Emma Lee stared at me as if I had just set off a firecracker.

  “Does everyone up there speak so frankly about such things?” I guess she was taken by surprise by the straightforwardness of my question.

  “You can’t begin to imagine what people talk about nowadays,” I said. “So, do you still get you’re period or not?”

  “If you mean th
e curse then, no, I have yet to get mine since I came here,” she whispered not wanting the guys to hear her.

  “Seriously!” I laughed scaring Barker. “Finally, something good about being here.” Marshal and Billy looked back at us and Emma Lee glared at me for being so loud.

  “This pleases you?” She looked at me, confused by my joy.

  “Well, duh. No more cramps or bloating or huge zits,” I laughed out loud. “Doesn’t it make you happy?”

  “No, Nicky, it doesn’t,” she frowned at me and crossed her arms. “What’s the point of being a woman if you can’t make a new life?”

  “Oh my God, Emma, the purpose of a woman is not to create life! That’s so old school,” I said to her. “I forgot that you came here so long ago. Trust me; women can do a lot more than just have babies. Look at you! You survived a bloodbath that killed all the men in your cave town and I killed a man that everyone was scared shitless of. Does it all go away because we can’t have kids? NO. It makes us just as good as anyone else. Is a man any less if his sperm doesn’t swim fast? No one ever tells him he’s less of a person, do they?”

  “Sperm?” she asked. “What is that?”

  “Really?” I looked at her as if she was the younger one. “All these years down here and no one ever explained the birds and the bees to you?”

  “No,” she looked down at the ground, obviously embarrassed. “Women don’t talk about such things.”

  “Well, they do now,” I said. “At least up there.” I proceeded to explain all about where babies come from. To me it was all very scientific but to a woman from 1811, it was a taboo subject. Women from her time were never allowed to talk so openly about such things before. Our conversation brought us closer together and lasted until we reached the home of Madge and Robert.

  When we got there, I noticed that they had done something similar to Marshal. They had dug out an underground hideout, although not as big and elaborate as Marshal’s, and were now trying to erect a sort of half tent, half wooden house. They seemed like an odd little couple. Robert was very tall and thin while Madge was short and dumpy. She had gray hair cut short and sticking up all over. Robert barely had any hair and what he did have was combed flat to his head. She wore pajama bottoms decorated with Christmas trees and bows, a blue and white striped sweatshirt and black rubber boots. Robert was dressed in a suit. They were yelling at each other as we approached and didn’t seem to mind that we could hear every word they said.

  “I’m telling you, woman, the pole goes over there,” he said to his wife with a red face and a waving hand. “It went there before the winds and it will go there after the winds. We have this argument every time.”

  “Well, maybe it’s ‘bout time we moved it is all I’m sayin’.” She stomped away and went behind the structure. “And don’t you ever curse my chickens again.”

  “Chickens?” I looked at Marshal.

  “They keep chickens,” he said. “’Bout thirty of them.”

  “Why?” I was confused. “Do they lay eggs?”

  “No, Nicky,” said Marshal.

  “Then why do they keep them?”

  “Madge keeps hoping they will,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, by the time winter comes, she usually gives up and we come here for yummy roasted chicken. It’s really good. She keeps her favourites but then kills most of the rest and waits for the next 360 to get more.”

  “Really, but how do they survive the winds?” I asked.

  “Oh, they stay down in the hideout with them.” I looked at him in disbelief. Thirty chickens down in that hole for two weeks? I couldn’t do it.

  “Hello, Robert,” Marshal called out to the tall man as we approached.

  “Marshal. Making your rounds I see.” He looked our way, pushed up a pair of round glasses on his nose and nodded a greeting.

  “Marshal, Billy; how good to see you again!” Madge came running over and gave each of them a hug. She seemed much friendlier than Robert and I could see why Billy questioned their union. “Made it through the winds all right?” Neither one of them acknowledged Emma Lee nor me.

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Billy. “How’re the chickens?”

  “Oh, they’re good,” she said. “The winds sure scare ‘em, though. They’ll take a couple of days to calm down. Want some bread?”

  “You baked bread already?” asked Marshal, sticking his nose in the air to catch the aroma.

  “Puttin’ up the oven is always our first priority. The oven and the chicken coop,” she smiled.

  “Yes, and we all have to suffer until we can erect a proper abode for the dainty fowl.” Madge glared at her husband as he made his way over to shake hands with Marshal. It was a stiff greeting. “I see you have company with you today.”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” Marshal turned to us, “may I introduce Miss Emma Lee, a traveller from the state of Kentucky and Miss Nicky a newcomer from Calgary.”

  “You come from that far?” Madge looked at Emma Lee.

  “Yes, ma’am,” her accent sounded especially thick, “just got here before the winds hit. Always wanted to see the north. I’ve heard so much about this country, I had to see it for myself.”

  “It is a beautiful country up here,” said Robert, “at least in the summer. The winter, on the other hand, can be very harsh and cruel. Are you planning on staying?”

  “Oh, I plan to stay for as long as I can.” Emma Lee was assessing the couple. “Been havin’ some trouble back home.”

  “What else is new?” said Madge as she made her way back to the house. “There’s always trouble somewhere in this world.”

  “What kind of trouble, miss?” Robert wasn’t so quick to brush off what Emma Lee had just said. I could tell that he was an intelligent man who could read people easily and Emma Lee was giving off a vibe that seemed to make him a little uneasy.

  “Talk, talk, talk; we can talk later.” Marshal tried to change the subject. He wasn’t ready to spill the Blood Demon story just yet. He was more interested in getting information about the water before he scared them off with tales of blood and guts. “Where’s that bread you were talking about Madge?”

  “Yeah,” I chimed in, “that sounded good.”

  “I’m afraid newcomers don’t get to eat my bread,” said Madge as she reappeared with a loaf of bread and a knife. “Billy, you want a piece?”

  “Really?” I couldn’t believe she just said that. It pissed me off how she just dismissed me with her remark. “That’s not very nice of you.”

  “Nicky, Nicky, Nicky,” Marshal tried to shush me.

  “What?” I stood there with my hands on my hips, Barker sitting down beside me. I couldn’t believe Marshal was taking her side. I could feel my anger rising up and, as usual, spoke without thinking. “I’m not allowed to be pissed because this fat bitch doesn’t want to give me a piece of bread?”

  “What did she call me?” Madge stopped and stared at me, mouth open and trying to digest my words.

  “I called you a fat bitch,” I said. Barker whimpered and nudged my hand. I pulled it away. It was too late to stop now; my anger was already in control of my mouth. “No, Barker, why should we be ashamed of being newcomers? For Christ’s sake, like we had any choice in coming here! Keep your damn bread, I’m not even hungry. Besides, by the looks of you, it’s probably got some kind of fat enhancing ingredient in it.” I walked away from the whole group and went and sat on a hill with my back to them. Barker followed me. I pat him behind the ears and he put his head on my lap. I picked up some rocks and starting throwing them as far as I could.

  Twenty minutes later, I was still sitting there. It was getting hot out and I took off my jacket. I had given up on the rocks; it seemed pointless and my arm was getting tired. I stretched it a few times and groaned with thoughts of sore muscles tomorrow. Robert came up the hill with a small piece of bread that he held out to me.

  “I must apologize for my wife,” he said as he sat down next to me. I didn’t want the bread; it seemed hypocr
itical after my little tirade. “She is quite ostentatious when it comes to newcomers.”

  “If that means nasty, then I agree with you,” I said.

  “Believe me, she is a nice person once you get to know her. You may have the bread, there is nothing, how did you say, fat enhancing in it.”

  “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that.” I reluctantly took the bread and broke off a tiny piece and put it in my mouth. I guess I should be nice; we did want information from them after all and the bread did smell delicious. “Hmm, it’s good.”

  “Yes, my Madge has a way with the oven,” he smiled and I could tell that he loved the plump woman very much. “Tell me, how is our precious world above lately?”

  “Good and bad,” I said as I chewed the rest of the bread. “How was it when you came here?”

  “Clever, avoid answering a question by asking another one.”

  “You talk funny,” I said. He did though; like a snotty professor or something.

  “I was a very educated man up top,” he said as he winked at me. “I’ve not found a lot of need for that down here. That’s why Madge is perfect for me; she balances my energy.”

  “Yes, I suppose she does,” I said.

  “Now, satisfy my curiosity and tell me about the world,” he said. “We don’t get people dropping down here very often and I like to keep up with what’s going on up there.”

  “Okay, let’s see, where do I start?” I thought about how I was going to explain everything to him. “The world in 2012; it’s becoming a little messy I’d say.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Okay, let’s start with the population,” I started. “It just reached eight billion, you know.”

  “Eight billion?” Robert let out a small gasp and I nodded. “It was only a couple of billion when I fell. Eight billion; so many people.”

  “Exactly. That’s why I couldn’t understand why Emma was so upset about not being able to have babies. It’s so overcrowded up there and everything’s being used up; oil, water, trees. There’s not enough food to feed everyone. There’s millions of people starving all over the world and there’s so much pollution! The air’s dirty, the water’s dirty. We even have pollution forecasts, like the weather forecasts, everyday. You guys don’t want that here. It’s better you can’t reproduce.”