Victory was facing something of a refugee crisis. There were about three hundred minions who were less afraid to stay than to set off toward an uncertain future. These were mainly unmarried women and their children, along with some elderly people. In addition, there were over one hundred dogs scavenging about, creating disturbances and being a danger to anyone who was not in a reasonably large group. There was incessant barking and howling day and night. Marco sat with Zeus, Mr. Li, and Commander Zach.
“What do you suggest?” Marco directed the question pointedly at Li, as if his former affiliation made this more his problem than anyone else’s.
In addition to the refugees, Ramius’s disappearance was a curiosity to everyone, and it deeply worried many—none more than Ana. Ramius had last been seen fewer than ten days ago. Even as the dust settled and the Victorian world reestablished itself, many who knew Ramius feared the worst.
His closest confidants, however, were more hopeful and met secretly to discuss the next steps.
“Let’s just take off on a search. We know where he’s gone,” stated Hook.
“If we know where he’s gone, then we know he will come back,” countered Johnny. “Besides, Marco will want to send men with us. He has already insisted.”
Hook hesitated and then said, “Let’s wait a while. But we need to tell Ana why we aren’t going. She’s very worried.”
“I will go … alone,” declared Picket. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, it was always well considered and probably not up for negotiation. Given his skills in the wild and his low-key nature, it made sense that he would be the one person to go to Eden in search of Ramius. It would be unlikely to draw any attention. Hook and Johnny looked at him and then at each other before nodding. It was decided. Picket started off to make immediate preparations and say goodbye to his family.
“Make sure no one sees you and that your wife has a story in case she’s asked,” instructed Johnny.
“Right. See you guys soon.”
“Be safe, brother,” said Hook.
Baggus thought it best to stay away from Victory for a while, at least until things settled down. He imagined that there were lots of lost, aimless minion refugees around and that it would take a long time for Victory to deal with them. His plan was to pretend that they were independent nomads—not connected to Saul or the others in any way. Of course, Mr. Li could reveal him as a liar, but it would be better to figure that out later.
Baggus was not bad at navigation. He was not as adept as Lobo, but he had learned from different people throughout his life, and in addition to having an inquisitive mind, he retained all the knowledge he acquired and put it into practice.
Saul had been one of his teachers. So had Mr. Li.
Baggus’s idea was to push west for a while and then turn north at some point. He expected that this route would eventually take him back to the river. Once at the river, he knew to head east again, which would take him back to the northern Victory camp. If they could survive on the move like this for a few weeks, it might be enough time to approach the village and try to gain acceptance. Baggus and those with him shared one known truth among them that they could state honestly: they had never eaten the flesh of another man nor woman.
Somehow, they had always managed and had even vowed to starve to death before resorting to cannibalism. It was a common bond among them.
Despite his appearance and demeanor, Lobo was a principled man from a distant tribe in the east. He was the one person among them who knew the methods of hunting, fishing, and even hand-to-hand combat, if needed. He was also a decent navigator, and between them, he and Baggus would steer them toward their objectives.
Baggus was busy establishing camp and barking orders to the ladies while getting a fire going. Darkness was approaching, and just as Baggus started to wonder about Lobo’s whereabouts, they all heard a call in the distance. It was Lobo, who was approaching with an animal strapped across his back. He labored into the camp and let the animal fall to the ground for all to observe.
It was a deer. He had brought it down with a thrown spear, which was an achievement that only he among them was capable. They were jovial and relieved that they would be nourished and strengthened to continue their journey. The two dogs, whom they had never named individually but who responded to commands as a category, tried attacking the dead animal, grabbing its legs and attempting to drag it away. But Lobo stepped in and waved the spear, thereby causing the dogs to reconsider.
Baggus’s wife, Cora, and Angie came over, grabbed the animal by the hind legs, and dragged it off for further processing. Megan was still in a state of catatonia and just stared off in the distance, oblivious to the critical details of survival. She was currently useless when it came to anything requiring effort, but no one felt the least amount of resentment toward her. They knew she was fragile at the moment. In addition, they all understood that she had been their key to survival under Saul and that whatever had mysteriously killed him had nearly killed her as well. Her light-colored dress, still marred, wreaked of Saul’s demise. They let her be and cared for her as they would a child.
In contrast, Angie was a rock. In her own way, she was as steady and fierce as Lobo. As such, she and Lobo were close, at least as defined in the context of Saul’s world. The freedom from Saul allowed them to look at each other differently. Now, they were even more devoted to one another. So, Megan was safe—safer than ever—with people around her who cared.
These five people, on their own in the wilderness, along with their two dogs, ate like kings and queens that night and then slept soundly with their vigilant dogs on the watch.
They were unaware that just ahead of them, taking nearly the same route west was a solitary man, whose nerves, hunger, exhaustion, and the extra weight of a large weapon were wearing him down. He did not sleep soundly, not knowing what might befall him as he slept. Baggus was behind Ramius on a course that was headed straight to Eden.
Picket left the village heading west along the river. He traveled the route they had taken before. If Ramius was in Eden, then he and Picket would cross paths. As the consummate survivalist, Picket knew precisely where they had camped on their last trip. After all, he was the one who had chosen the spots. He ran at a relaxed but steady pace to the point where they had previously crossed, and then he waded into the river to start his swim across. Once he had crossed the river, he pulled himself out and rested briefly to catch his breath before he continued his run toward the falls.
The Eden explorers had been lifelong friends for as long as they could remember. But their connection to one another was mainly through Ramius, whose dynamic personality and imagination made him the nucleus of the group. Picket in particular was focused primarily on Ramius. He had no other reason for being a part of the group. It wasn’t that Picket didn’t enjoy the company of the others—he was particularly fond of Louis, who, like him, was a bit quiet—but he had met Ramius before any of the others.
They had been very young. A boy had just found a large and impressive snake, and he had managed to grip it by the neck while holding the rest of the body up in his arms. A whole group of them had been out on a nature expedition with several adults, who had been trying to teach them about various things.
At that moment, the adults had been elsewhere, but a number of children had been there to witness and examine the snake, as the boy had marched along, proud to show off his catch. Ramius had come up, looked at the snake, and declared, “It’s poisonous. If it bites you, you’re dead.” All the kids had screamed and had either run away without looking back or kept their distance but jumped up and down out of both fear and excitement. The boy had been defiant and a bit angry, perhaps feeling as if Ramius had unfairly robbed him of his celebrity.
“Make sure you throw the body before you let go of the head. Do it. Throw it now,” Ramius had instructed. The boy had followed the instructions exactly—or so he’d thought. But something had happened when he’d thrown the snake; something had sprayed him in the eyes. It had stung terribly, and he’d screamed. Ramius and another adult had immediately put him in the pond and irrigated his eyes with the water.
After the pain had subsided, the boy’s eyes had continued to feel sore, and he had been unable to see very well.
The adult had stated, “I hope we got it out in time. We will know by tonight.” The boy had passed out from stress, exhaustion, and the effects of the poison.
That night, he’d opened his eyes and noticed the flicker of the campfire. He’d looked up to see all the adults looking down on him, along with Ramius and a few other curious kids.
But it had been as if Ramius had been one of the adults. He had known things. He had known what to do.
The boy with the snake had been Picket.
Ramius finally dropped into the basin after many harrowing days and nights crossing the ranges of mountains that separated the desert plateau near Victory’s south camp and the Eden valley. On this clear afternoon, as he looked at the lake in the distance, he felt relief as if he were arriving home.
But he knew that the only thing there that was close to a family member was Dream. It didn’t unsettle him at this point. Dream was reliable and was an ally, even if she was not warm nor even human. He knew that he had a place where he could sleep, recover, and gather his thoughts.
This time, as he rounded the south perimeter of the lake, he was even farther away from the cave than the last time, so he assumed that he would need to bed down, as the moon was not in sight this evening, and he was losing his ability to navigate safely along the shore. But not unexpectedly, he suddenly heard fluttering just above him.
“Ha ha ha!” He erupted in joy and excitement. “Oh, Dream! You are a beautiful thing, whatever you are. I love you!” he shouted out at the top of his lungs. Once again, Saginaw’s familiar light guided him home, this time over a distance that took him well into the night. When he finally stumbled into the cave, the first thing he did was to rack his weapon.
No sooner had he set the rifle down in its designated slot than Drake rolled in and extended an arm to retrieve the weapon. Ramius was exhausted but also curious. He watched Drake’s other arm manipulate the weapon, somehow opening it and performing some actions to restore it or check it after a long and difficult journey.
Wearing fresh pajamas, Ramius fell onto the bed in his private room in the habitat. Feeling completely at home and safe for the first time in weeks, he fell asleep immediately.
The next morning, he awoke and sat up. On the wall across from the bed was a large monitor that showed images of outside. It showed the mountains as seen from the vantage point of someone standing in the middle of the lake.
“Good morning, Ramius. Your breakfast is ready, and we have observed some outsiders approaching the area.” The image on the monitor switched to an overhead view of a group of five people walking along the south shore of the lake at about the place where Ramius had arrived just before Saginaw had come to guide him home.
“Who are they?” Ramius questioned.
“Some of them are matched to individuals observed during the assassination,” she replied.
“Assassination? Oh. Saul? Wait!” Dream processed close-ups of each individual so that Ramius could see their faces well. “The girl! That’s the girl who was with Saul! What is she doing here?” Ramius had identified Megan with ease, as she had been clearly visible to him as he’d targeted Saul. He did not, however, recognize any of the others. “I only recognize the girl.”
“All the females were present, as well as the two dogs. The two males were not previously observed.”
Ramius suddenly feared that perhaps his plan had backfired. Maybe others had stepped in to absorb the vacuum of power and Saul’s death had meant nothing. Now, he was being tracked and hunted down. If I confront them with a weapon from here, I have to kill them, he realized.
“Dream, I need to know what their intention is. Are they hunting me?”
“When they stop for the night, I can position Saginaw near to their camp, and we will be able to hear their conversation.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then. Let’s do that. We will wait until they stop and then see what they say. How do you do it, though?” Ramius inquired, baffled, following which Dream explained.
As Ramius sat at the mess hall table within the habitat, Drake brought a tray with fresh roasted fish on one plate and a pile of greenish compote on another.
“What is that?” Ramius asked, pointing at the compote.
“That is processed from plants growing underwater in the lake. The long fibers have been extracted to make it more easily digested. It has been cooked, blended, and flavored according to our preferred recipes.”
“Okay.” Ramius slowly put a spoonful in his mouth. He winced, indicating that he might spit it out.
“Ramius, this meal has an ideal nutritional balance. It is recommended that in your current condition, you consume all the items presented,” Dream instructed. Ramius swallowed. He continued to taste the residue in his mouth, assessing it.
“Not too bad,” he said and scooped another spoonful.
Ramius had the rest of the day to inquire about many things as they waited for Baggus to find a spot for the evening.
“Dream, how am I able to see the mountains all around the lake as if I am standing in the middle of the lake?”
Dream launched a UV and showed Ramius the underwater structure in the middle of the lake while she raised the periscope shaft and crested the waterline. She then panned three hundred and sixty degrees, giving him the ability to see all around the lake and zoom in with incredible clarity. He could see the details on the mountaintops or along the beaches and rocky shores.
After going through some additional questions that Ramius posed, Dream asked him a question. “Ramius, there are some maintenance requirements that Drake is not capable of performing. They require human action. Are you able to assist?”
“What are they?”
“I will provide assistance. First, the Zephyr 55 ballistic rifle. Drake can only reload it. However, the propellant residues should be removed from the inside of the barrel when it is stored for long periods. I will instruct you.”
Ramius went about several tasks, which included working on some faulty weapons from the armory. He was grimly reminded of the incident involving Louis, as these were the weapons in question.
The next project involved birds. “These drones are identical to Saginaw,” Dream explained. “They are Pontiac and Kenosha. They both failed and were retrieved by Saginaw many years ago. If Saginaw fails, we will be left without any drones.”
Ramius looked over the birds, marveling at their intricacy. “I can’t see exactly what’s wrong, but I can see that there appear to be some broken parts. Maybe if I could look at Saginaw, it would be easier.”
“I can have Saginaw wait at the cave entrance for you to bring it in and examine it.”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
After retrieving Saginaw, Dream took detailed pictures of the birds for the purpose of comparison, after which Ramius set Saginaw free.
“I can see what the problems are, but I’m not sure how to fix them. There are broken parts. Do you have any ideas?”
“I can have whatever maintenance parts that exist delivered from Main.”
“What does that mean? I don’t understand what you are saying.” When he didn’t understand what she was saying even after she explained a second time, he went on to other projects.
“Ramius, I have additional maintenance items that require your assistance, when there is time available,” Dream mentioned after several of the maintenance items had been completed. “Please let me know if you require another meal.”
Ramius sat down to the same fare as before, although the fish was flavored a bit differently this time. By now, Ramius was happy to have it, although he dreamed of a potato or corn bread as an accompaniment.
“Thank you, Drake,” Ramius offered as he ate his food heartily. In the background, Ramius watched a movie called “The Godfather” from beginning to end with interest. He realized that it was a good way to see how the ancestors lived over four hundred years earlier, according to Dream. There were many such movies, and Ramius wanted to be able to look at many more. But just then, he was pressed for time.
“Ramius, the other humans have stopped and are establishing a camp. Do you want to listen?”
“Yes, please.”
Saginaw perched itself on a low tree branch near the campsite and trained directional microphones on the interactions. In addition to the sound, Ramius was treated with decent images of the people as they went about their tasks. He was even able to manipulate the images so that he could look at what he wanted to see. The group had already passed by the cave entrance, and they were now near the lake to the north.
Ramius saw a large man approaching with his arms full of dead wood for making fire. Ramius had on a headset, which was bigger than the one he had carried with him. It put him into another world, enabling him to feel as if he was right there with the people whom he was observing.
“Bab, how’s she doin’?” the man inquired as he dumped the wood onto a mounting pile.
“She’s bettah,” the woman said. “Angie ’n Lobo’s down th’ lake roundin’ up fish … I hope.”
“’K. I’ll go fo’ one mo bit a wood. Should hold us fa da night.”
Ramius zoomed in on the girl whom he had recognized.
She was beautiful and serene yet somehow detached-looking.
The other woman, who was older and harsh-looking, must have been the one who was talking. Ramius continued to eat while viewing the scene.
After a while, Ramius finished eating, and he lay in his bed, still wearing the headset. He saw the man returning with more wood. Shortly thereafter, the other man and woman returned. The woman was carrying a string of fish and was smiling as she and the man approached.
“Look what we’s got,” she announced.
“Hey! Dat’s good. Lobo, dem fish love you so much.” Baggus smiled. “Okay, lemme get it goin’.” The large man started setting up a cooking fire.
Meanwhile, the woman who had brought the fish went over to the girl who had been with Saul when he’d died. Ramius followed them by merely moving his head and eyes.
“Meg? Are you okay? We got some food gon’ cook soon. Ye hungry?”
The girl named Meg nodded while looking off in the distance. Then, she spoke. “Angie, I hope we can find that nice fella … the one we helped escape. He said he’d come save us. I hope I can see him again.”
Ramius realized that they were talking about Harper.
“We will, Meg. I’m sure ’bout it. Baggus gon’ figure it out.”
“How’s we gon’ be part a dat tribe a people, though?”
“I’m sure day’s nice and will let us in,” Angie continued.
“Den you can fine yer dream boy and live happy ever afta. Won’ dat be sweet?” The girl Meg looked up at her with hopeful eyes.
Then, suddenly energized, she stood up, and the two walked back to where Baggus now had a fire, from which white smoke was beginning to billow.
Ramius realized that these people were not a threat. In fact, he figured that they could help him get back to Victory, and in return, he would talk to Marco on their behalf.
But would it be dangerous to approach them? I don’t think so, Ramius thought. He was right. And rather than run off immediately and approach them, despite the advantage of traveling with others through potential wolf country, Ramius focused on another pressing matter that he had to deal with. He wanted to somehow secure and conceal the cave entrance. His idea was to have the entrance somewhere within a house that he would build for himself. Then he could come and go, and none would be the wiser. For the moment, he retrained his thoughts on this challenge, shifting them away from the minions who were struggling to join the Victorians.
“Dream, do you have a way to help me do construction?
I need to hide this cave entrance somehow.”
“Drake is very useful in the arts of assembly and construction, including heavy labor. It may be retrofitted with different end effectors to accomplish many tasks.”
“Well, the task I have in mind is to build a house around this cave so that it is concealed and others will not discover it.”
“To build a house, we have additional Drake units that can be deployed.”
“More Drakes? How many?”
At the crack of dawn, Ramius was outside. He wore a headset like the one he had used to kill Saul. But this time, he was marking off the dimensions for the house as he explained to Dream how he intended it to be. Meanwhile, six Drakes zipped around him, excavating rocky soil and leveling the ground in the area close to the cave entrance. On the headset screen, Ramius could see the image that Dream had somehow created based on his description.
As he realized what was now possible, he was setting his sights much higher when it came to the dynamics of the building. The bigger the house, the easier it would be to make the entrance to the cave a small feature. For instance, perhaps the entrance could be situated inside a small room that no one would notice—maybe a storage room or a private room that he could go into for solitude. Yes! No one would be allowed in there. My private space, he envisioned.
While two of the Drakes excavated, four others were up near a rock formation, quarrying bricks from solid sandstone.
They would drill and cleave, and then they would saw one smooth surface, leaving the opposite face rough. When Ramius wasn’t talking to Dream about his wildest ideas regarding what he wanted, he was marveling at the Drakes and their useful attachments that could dig more rapidly than any man and make cutting solid stone look as easy as slicing fish. He realized more and more that whatever he said would actually come to pass and would not happen slowly, so he tried to remove the limits on his thinking, waiting for a time when Dream would tell him, “It’s not possible.” So far, those words had not been evident in her vocabulary.
“Dream, I am watching these Drakes,” Ramius said while wearing his headset. “You and I talked about the design down below. And now these things seem to know exactly what to do. They are digging in the right places, and they seem to understand everything. How is that happening?” Ramius was puzzled.
“Drakes are semiautonomous. I transmit the instructions to each Drake according to the plan.”
Ramius shook his head from side to side. “Dream, I don’t know how you can do all that. But I would like to understand it when we have more time.”
“Certainly.”
“It looks like we are using all bricks to build it. How are you able to build multiple levels with bricks? Won’t it all just come tumbling down?”
This is when Dream explained something to him about a substance called Portland Cement. “We have the materials here in the vicinity to produce a reasonably strong cement, and the Drakes will gather these materials and construct a kiln to produce the cement powder. We then mix the cement with sand and water, and it will chemically react and strengthen over time. Ramius, while they prepare, I suggest that you come into the command center, where we can finalize the design.”
Ramius didn’t argue. It was all way over his head, and he decided to just go with the flow.
After some time working, Ramius looked up with a surprised expression. “I need to go catch up to those people.
Did they leave their camp yet?” he inquired nervously.
Almost immediately, Dream projected an image of the minions on the move. “They have only recently departed. If you leave now, at your normal running pace, you will overtake them easily before the falls.”
“I had better have a quick meal now and then take off after them. While I am gone, can you finish this house so that it will conceal the cave entrance?”
“Yes. The house you have specified will be completed in approximately nine days. The Drakes can work continuously, stopping only for short periods to recharge their batteries.”
“That will be really helpful, Dream. The next time I come back will be many days from now—perhaps fifteen or twenty.
Please keep working on the house. Make it so that the entrance is not obvious. Now, I need to catch those people before they get to Victory.”
“Ramius, I suggest you take the headset. You will be able to find the people more easily, and you can travel in the dark. Saginaw can assist you for up to four days, which should cover the duration of your journey home.”
“Understood.”
With that, Ramius grabbed the headset and went into the habitat dining area, where his plate of food and a cup of water were just being delivered to the table by yet another Drake. Ramius just shook his head in amazement, sat down, and shoveled his food into his mouth as fast as he could without choking.
When Ramius set out toward the river and Victory, it was nearly dark. He donned his headset.
Picket got an early start from the base of the falls, scaling the mountain to get to the upper river, which was quite a steep climb. But it was nothing for Picket. He loved nothing better. It would be a relief to get up there, where there seemed to be no wolves, at least based on their prior trip.
He had suffered some sleep loss the night before, dealing with a thin pack of wolves—four, from what he could tell. He ended up spearing one of them and then cutting it up into several pieces. Then, as a warning to the others, he created a perimeter of blood and guts in an arc around the fire. As an added essential ingredient, Picket urinated along this perimeter, which Victorians knew to be a deterrent as well. After that, there were no more disturbances, and he managed to sleep for about half the night.
Picket moved with purpose, scaling the steep, rocky grade aggressively. He had no time to ponder nor worry about his own risks or discomfort. He was deeply concerned about Ramius and feared the worst. He had a sinking feeling that he would not find Ramius running toward him, smiling and laughing. Rather, he feared that his friend was ensnared in the battle, which never really took place, except for minor skirmishes. But there were all of those dogs out roaming.
It was unlike Ramius to simply disappear for so long without a word. Nevertheless, Picket pushed ahead with everything he had.
At the upper river, he rested briefly and then trotted along the familiar route they had taken before. On his previous journey, he, Johnny, and Hook had headed east, while Louis and Ramius had gone along the west side of the river into Eden. He wasn’t familiar with that route, but he knew that Ramius would definitely come that way if he was in fact here and alive.
Lobo woke up at first light and started up the fire again.
He looked around for the extra fish that he had not cooked the night before, but they were gone, dragged off silently by some creature in the night. He shook his head and made his way back down to the lake to try to catch more fish. A while later, when he returned, carrying a few nice-sized fish, everyone was still asleep. He gutted the fish and threw them on the now-hot rocks very near the fire. He soon heard the satisfying sizzle and smelled the fresh aroma of the cooking fish.
He marveled at the beauty of the place: a lake of seemingly endless size and abundance, as well as panoramas in all directions, capped by a blue sky dabbed with clouds moving southeast.
Baggus was now up, grunting, and starting to move about; he had no doubt been rousted by the aromas.
“We can jus’ stay ’ere. Can’t we?” threw out Lobo as Baggus walked over to see the progress that he was making with breakfast.
“You can. Ye got the outdoors figured out. If ye was ta disappear tomorrow, I’d be lost out ’ere when it comes ta fishin’, huntin’, ’n all dat!” Baggus scoffed. “Well, I guess ye trained me on makin’ fires. Now, I’m purdy good at it. Guess I could learn da rest of it.” Baggus pondered.
“Dis place got it all. Days big aneemals around, an’ fish is so easy to git. I’m more ’fraid a dem big runnin’ fellas dan bein’ out heya,” shared Lobo, squinting into the rising sun that was just cresting the distant range to the east.
“Easy fer you ta say. But only two of us men wit’ tree woman. Good-lookin’ too. Any group a fellas come along, we got trouble,” Baggus reasoned. Lobo kept tending to the fish as he considered the factors. “Dey got a good life down in dat village—safe ’n all. Dey ain’t mean folks. Comin in wit’ da girls, we can talk to ’em. Leave it ta me. Okay?” Lobo looked up at Baggus, who sounded confident that what he was saying made sense. Lobo nodded in agreement. “Let’s go! Git some fish in ya, and let’s move out!” Baggus projected so as to get the girls up.
When they finished eating, Lobo tossed some healthy scraps to the two dogs, who growled fiercely, warning one another not to come any closer. When the scraps were gone, they were once again best of friends, and together, they patrolled every inch of the area, hoping that more scraps had been overlooked.
As the group moved out of the makeshift camp, they were refreshed, fed, and feeling hopeful. On his headset monitor, Ramius watched the image of them as they departed.
He had been on the move for most of the night, when Dream informed him that he should rest a while and let Saginaw go back to recharge. Ramius was well positioned to intercept the minions well before the top of the falls, so there was no hurry.
His headset made a faint beeping sound that woke him, and he put it on.
The sun was just rising, and Saginaw was back, already far ahead of him and tracking the minions. With the arrival of daylight, Ramius could manage a decent run where the terrain permitted, despite the awkwardness of the headset. It was light and didn’t block his view, but it was disorienting to have the combination of his normal view ahead of him and the peripheral or overlay images from Saginaw. He became more comfortable with it as his experience level increased.
A couple of hours later, he received new information that was unsettling: “We have identified a new party traveling south directly toward the party of five that you are seeking to apprehend. One of them is recognizable as one of the men who were in the vicinity of the shelter during your first visit,” Dream reported. An image came up on the screen, and Ramius immediately identified the man as Picket.
“Oh no! Picket!” Ramius exclaimed. “I should have kept going.”
“The man will encounter the party in approximately one hour at their current pace.”
“How far apart are they? And how far am I?”
“They are approximately six miles apart. You are three miles behind the party.”
Ramius picked up his pace. He didn’t want some mishap or misunderstanding to arise. He knew his friend well. Picket was the most likely among them to be suspicious and take aggressive action if he felt threatened. It was a volatile situation.
“Will I be able to reach them before they meet with Picket?”
“At your current pace, you will apprehend the party after they have encountered the man … Picket,” Dream explained.
“Shit!”
Ramius picked up his pace even more. Despite his best efforts, he knew the encounter would follow its own course.
It began right on schedule. Ramius watched the bird’seye view in real time. As the contact became imminent, he stopped, feeling weak in the legs from his nerves shredding. He leaned back against a big rock and just watched.
Picket heard voices ahead—a woman laughing and then a man talking loudly. His first thought was to duck for cover and observe from a concealed position. But it was too late. Through the sparse trees and assorted boulders that surrounded the lakeshore, one of the ladies spotted him and pointed. They all froze, and so did Picket.
Picket started to scale up the mountainside to a higher elevation so that he could get a better look and be in a better defensive position. He knew immediately that they were minions by the way they spoke and dressed. He had heard that minions weren’t really runners. I could run back and alert everyone was the thought that came to his mind. They will never catch me.
He continued thinking these things as he scaled upward rapidly. Then, it was clear. There were only five of them, along with a couple of dogs. Only two of the five were men. This was definitely not a scouting party—not with three women in tow.
Picket was no longer as concerned, but he saw Lobo scaling upward, perhaps to intercept him. The larger man was also starting to move upward as a backup.
“Hey, you deya! We like to talk to yah!” called out the larger man from below.
Picket remained silent, which was not surprising to Ramius. “C’mon, Picket! Talk to them!” Ramius blurted out uselessly. But Ramius knew Picket. He anticipated trouble, noticing that the smaller man with the tattoos looked even less affable than Picket did.
“Lobo! You give dat fella some room!” called out the larger man. Ramius could hear them clearly.
Lobo stopped, and so did Picket. They were only about thirty feet apart at this point. Moments later, Baggus was right beside Lobo.
“You are minions,” Picket declared.
“Nah! We ain’t wit’ dem. I mean we was, but we ’scaped … took off to get away,” Baggus bumbled. “We’s wondrin’ if’n we could join dat udda tribe. You wit’ dem?”
“Yes. But there are hundreds of minions there trying to do the same. I think you’ll get turned away. Try if you want. But l’m headed this way, looking for somebody. Did you see anyone?” At that moment, Picket was imagining that maybe these minions had killed Ramius.
“Nah, nobody. Ya say day won’t take us in?” Baggus questioned.
“I don’t know. But I don’t think so. You can try.” Ramius was riveted and actually feeling a sense of relief that Picket was being diplomatic. “You sure there’s no one else back there?
Near the middle of the lake? I’m looking for a man.”
“No, nobody. Promise ye,” Baggus replied while Lobo remained stone-faced. “If we’s got no chance ova deya wit’ yo people, den maybe we stay ova heya. Is dis place okay fa us ta stay?”
Oh no! thought Ramius and Picket simultaneously.
“I suppose it’s okay. Victory people normally don’t come here.” Picket was wondering what to do. He wished that Ramius were around to do the talking and solve the problem.
What would Ramius do? he asked himself. “How about you stay here and wait for me to come back? You might have a better chance if you’re with me.”
Picket realized that he would rather have them in Victory than in Eden. Ramius jogged along listening, and he agreed with the approach that had been taken by Picket.
“Good!” Ramius shouted while listening and negotiating the complicated footfalls of the backcountry terrain around the lake.
“You are now within one half mile of Picket and the minions,” informed Dream.
“That’s great!” Ramius panted, keeping his pace. He formulated his story as he ran, and he started looking for a visual sighting that wasn’t coming from Saginaw. There they were just up ahead. When he was close enough, he shouted out. “Picket!”
All of them turned as Ramius slowed to a brisk hiking pace. In the excitement, he had forgotten to remove his headset and stash it in his small pack. He did so quickly. I don’t think they noticed, he thought.
“Ramius!” Picket was elated and ran toward him, closing the last few steps to reach out and grab his shoulders in affection. “You had me … well, you had everyone worried.
Why did you come back here?”
“I came through the mountains.” Ramius pointed east.
“I was following these minions, wondering where they would go. I was concerned about our plans, and I didn’t want minions to end up in Eden. Who are they?” Ramius asked, feigning ignorance.
“Some stragglers,” Picket reported. “They want to join Victory. But there are so many refugees already waiting, trying to do the same.” Picket dug out some jerky and offered it to Ramius, who snatched it up immediately. “I say we try to get them in so we don’t need to worry about them coming up here and messing things up.”
Ramius paused, as if considering options. But it was all an act, as he already knew what he wanted to do. “Yes. Good idea. Let’s bring them back to Marco. One of the girls was the one with Saul. Her knowledge might be of interest to Marco.”
“Her looks will be of even greater interest,” quipped Picket, referring to Marco’s wandering eye.
“Hello! I am Ramius.”
“Yes! This is the man I was searching for,” added Picket.
“We’s all togetha like a family,” began Baggus. “I is Baggus. This heya fella’s Lobo.” Lobo nodded, still looking tense.
“My wife deya is Cora. And these is two sistahs, Megan and Angie. We been tryin’ to git away from Saul fo’ a long time. We ’preciate dat y’all was able ta finely keel off Saul, who was da rottinist man evah to walk deez lands,” Baggus went on, trying just a little too hard.
“Thank you, uh, Baggus. We will try to help you get into Victory to talk to our people,” responded Ramius. “Now, I do have a question for you. This girl you say is Megan? I saw her with Saul.”
“Oh, Megan. Yah … poor thing. She was treated bad by Saul … like a slave. She don’t deserve dat kinda life,” explained Baggus. “All us heya, we nevah ate none a dem udda people.”
All of them nodded in unison, affirming what Baggus had said.
“I believe you, Baggus. Let’s head down to Victory and see what happens.”
Baggus flashed his wide toothless grin. The others also smiled, feeling hopeful. No one was sure that Lobo was capable of smiling, but somehow, the weight of his scowl lifted slightly, if not imperceptibly, and the new friends started their journey north along the lakeshore, not far from where the river exited the lake and made its way into the canyon beyond.
It was a little frustrating for Ramius and Picket, both of whom wanted to break into a run. But none of the others looked up to the task, so they walked along. Ramius and Picket were well up ahead, so they were able to speak privately as they walked.
“How is Ana? I feel terrible about it.”
“She has been in rough shape, worrying about you and fearing the worst.”
“She will be angry, I know. It will be hard to explain to her. I needed to go back to Eden after the threat was over. I started to build a house.”
Picket looked at him in amazement. “Alone? You will need some help with that. We all will,” stated Picket. Ramius wondered how he was going to explain it later when they saw the house.
“I will break the news to Marco soon. With all that has happened, he won’t understand. It’s going to be very difficult.”
“Good luck with that, my brother.”
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