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Choices, part 6 Cierra and the honor guard didn't leave the next day. They decided to wait for the arrival of the other survivors and help those here until then. They studied the surrounding area with the people Cierra thought most likely to be leaders. They decided where everything would be set up then began organizing people into work groups. One group began assembling the temporary pens for the animals. They couldn't remain penned in the trailers without food or water much longer. After getting them started, she had the soldiers help her unlock the provided trailer bed where large canvas covered crates were tied. "What are they?" JP asked. "Maintenance tents. We have six of them. Each one is large enough to house about 50-75 people depending on how we cram them in there. Some people will have to stay in the smaller tents." "What do we have to do to set them up?" Cierra asked. He told her the steps and she had men grab shovels and begun leveling out an area for the first tent. Making a game of it, she asked the kids to make piles of rocks and sticks. Whoever collected the most would get a special blanket for their cot. The children eagerly began the game while their fathers turned over the soil. The soldiers began removing the tent sections from the trailer and began setting up a few hours later. They hoped to have them all assembled by the end of the day. Another set of people assembled the cooking tents. One would be for cooking and serving meals while the other would be used as storage. Cierra and her honor guard began digging out the root cellar. They figured people needed to see them laboring too or have troubles later. It didn't help. By noon tempers were flaring. Cierra and Robbie went over to two men who were fighting verbally for the moment. Then one of them threw a swing at the other. One of the county sheriffs grabbed the man and pulled him away. "What is going on here?" Cierra demanded. Both men tried to speak at once and Robbie shouted at them to shut up. Cierra then turned to the officer and asked him. The officer pointed at th man who threw the punch. "Josh there decided he didn't want to shovel no more and told Billy to swap jobs with him." Cierra turned her eyes to Josh. "You were given your assigned job. Everyone has to cooperate or things won't get done. Grab your shovel and get back to work." "Why should I? Just because you're queen over at your town doesn't mean you're in charge here. In fact, Charles is the Mayor. He ought to be in control." Cierra sighed. Some people just didn't get it. "Look, everyone that came here knew that you had to follow the laws of the land. We will consider this community to be a sister village. The rules aren't hard to understand. We all work in harmony and share in the burdens and bounty. There are no cushy jobs and here, bonded couples and council members lead the community. Until I know more about the people here we'll just assign leaders until the village is established enough to vote on them. The ones I assign are in charge. No if's, ands, or buts. This isn't optional. Now get back to work. We can't set up the tents until the ground is cleared and leveled." The man answered by throwing his shovel to the ground. Cierra turned around to face him tiredly. She said one word. "Robbie." The security expert rushed forward and placed the man in an arm lock. Once he was subdued Cierra stepped forward, touched the man and Robbie, and the three of them disappeared from sight. The two women returned without the man a few seconds later. "What did you do with him?" A man asked. "Isn't it obvious?" Robbie smirked. "We took him back to Earth. We don't have time to say 'Pretty please with sugar on top.' and beg people to pull their own weight." "Please, my cousin is a stubborn cuss sometimes but he isn't all bad. I'll keep an eye on him. Bring him back, please!" a man asked of Cierra. Cierra looked thoughtful then disappeared. She returned a moment later, her hand around the arm of Josh. The man was covered in a thick layer of ash and coughing hard. She let him drop to the ground. The sight of the man brought home the fact that everything was gone, covered in ash back on Earth. Going back would mean death. "Take him to the stream and wash him up. The ashes will burn after a while," Cierra told the cousin. The frightened man nodded and helped his relative to his feet. "Does anyone else want to go back or do you want to work together so you can eat and sleep comfortably tonight?" Robbie asked the crowd. People turned around and headed back to the chores given them. No one else wanted to risk being sent into that hell hole on Earth. _______ "You sure you two want to do this?" Jenny asked Laura and Kelly. The women had agreed to go to the new colony as council members and rule until they could establish their own society and leaders. Laura waved her hand dismissively. "It'll be a challenge. We were getting bored at the Embassy. Besides, Carey won't have new housing built until spring. By then the colony should be doing okay and handle things without us." "All right, if you're sure. Let's get things packed. We're going to have a drawing to see who gets to stay in Napa and the rest will be travelling with you." Kelly looked at the truck and van Jim brought. "I hope Jim and his family get to stay. They've done so much for all of us and don't deserve starting over with nothing." "Beat you to the punch line. They're already moving into the last quad unit," Jenny chuckled. "Good. But tell him to save me the fluffiest and softest sleeping bags. I'm too old to sleep on anything hard and lumpy," Laura grumbled. "You got it." _________ The waiting people stood nervously as Paul drew the names from the crock. They would draw the names of three families for the quads and seven couples for the empty adobe homes. The families had to have children under twelve years of age. The rest would have to travel the next day to the new colony. Paul unfolded the first paper. "The first quad family will be the Ketcham family," he said. The father was the brother to one of the women in the barracks. "The second is the Foley's." JP's sister pumped her arm in victory. "And the third is the Guthrie's." That family was related to Joyce who lived in the Napa-Sonoma village. For the houses, seven names were drawn, including Pam's parents and Muriel's, the potter. Jenny and Judy stood up to get everyone's attention. "Okay, let's start sorting through what Jim brought. We want to keep a little of it for the families staying here and the rest will go to new colony. I want to clear enough from the large truck to empty out the van. The van will stay here." They removed one stack of canning jars, sheets, bedding, and towels for the 11 families, clothing, candles, cookware and eating utensils for the quad unit, just a few of the garden tools, a bag of mortar, and assorted small items. Judy couldn't believe Jim even remembered to bring items such as brooms, decorative windows, and tomato cages. The man must have grabbed a little of everything just in case. Then they sorted through the van, giving all the families some grooming items, pillows, hats and mittens, sewing supplies, candlesticks, and matches. Once the van was emptied they began bringing out the wagons and two-wheelers and set them up, loading assorted items that would be taken to the survivors; such freshly jarred foods and fresh veggies. The rest would wait until morning. People began heading for the kitchens to eat and then to their beds to get some sleep. The next morning everyone felt the first cool morning of Fall. The morning air was chilly and people shivered, putting on more clothing to keep warm. They wouldn't need them long. The day would warm up by noon and they'd be hot again. The ones moving headed for the kitchens. They knew this would probably be the last time they ate this well until next fall. Many slathered fresh butter onto the still warm bread and covered it next with jams. Both communal kitchens had prepared double the normal breakfast fare. Sharon was sharing cooking secrets with one of the women. Maybe they wouldn't go totally hungry eating all that canned garbage. The baggage and children were placed on wagons and horseback while the adults would have to walk. It would probably take most of the day to get to the new camp. The guides told everyone to stay in a rough line while the front people, experience travelers, scanned the path for animals and snakes. Both the front and rear guards would be armed and do their best not to let anyone get lost. The person driving the truck would travel behind them. It would have to travel slowly since the path wouldn't be smooth and no one wanted to unload the thing and haul all that heavy cargo to the new camp if it broke down. By the time the weary group made it to the where the survivors were gathered, Kelly and Laura understood why Jenny was surprised at their willingness to take charge. Even though these people today were friends and family, Laura was quite tired of their behavior. If friends were like this then how would all those strangers act? Laura wondered if she should carry a whip and chair around the new camp. Cierra ran up to them and gave each tired woman a warm hug. "Hey, how did you two get suckered into coming here?" "Jenny must have spiked our morning tea," Kelly teased. "I hope my mother didn't give you too hard a time. She can be...a bit bull-headed." Laura bit her tongue. Cierra was a doll but her family needed to be put in a weighted sack and tossed into the lake. "Oh no dear, they were fine," she lied. The woman hadn't stopped bitching the entire trip. Everyone had been ready to throttle her and only knowing that the witch was Cierra's mother stopped them from doing just that. Laura was now sorry that she insisted that Cierra write to her family. "All of you must be tired. I think there's some leftovers in the cooking tent. Help yourselves and find an empty cot someplace." "Sounds good to me. I think I'll go use one of the solar showers I saw set up too. I feel grungy." Kelly bumped Laura with her hip and grinned. "I'll join you." "I wouldn't have it any other way, dear." _________ Cierra assembled everyone the next day after breakfast. She introduced Kelly and Laura, letting everyone know they were in charge until the couple deemed the village ready to elect their own leaders. The shaman also appointed three people to the council as advisors and soldiers and officers as troubleshooters. Among the other Napa Clan members that would remain for a while was Maggie, the blacksmith, who would help build bath houses for the population and supervise the sewer system. Another person from Napa was Muriel and Roberta. They would try to teach their skills to others if no one was available. A kiln would need to be built as well as an oven. Cierra and her honor guard got onto their horses and headed south, following the river to their own village. As far as the women could tell, the river was deep enough to allow them to travel by boat and would probably visit by canoe later on. JP positioned her horse close to her wife's. "I noticed you didn't speak at all to your mother." Cierra ground her teeth, not wanting to snap at JP. "I know. Not speaking to one another is considered our good behavior." "If you say so. At least I don't have to watch you avoid her any more. It was getting a bit nerve wracking." "It's better this way. She's alive so people won't be saying I let my own mother die and I don't have to deal with her. I feel sorry for the girls though." "I'm sure God will give them a special place in heaven for their sacrifice," JP teased. "At least the red carpet treatment, for sure." Next Chapter |