They were out hunting with their new spears. Leo and William, who was a part time carpenter made the spears and the launchers. Each person had their own custom spears and launchers. They had practiced hours and hours, perfecting their throwing technique. She and Gabe were the best shots, then Sam, and then Hunter. She was trying to learn how to reload the launcher faster, but it was awkward, but she kept at it. She also had her stone knife. She’d seen Sarah’s and tried to copy it. It had taken her a bit to find the right stone for it. It was in her back pocket, though the shaft was only three inches.
Diana had volunteered to go out with Gabe and Sam to hunt for a couple of small deer. It was becoming clear that with so many mouths to feed, the occasional rabbit or snake wasn’t going to cut it. They’d killed one deer, and though they had made jerky, the rest of the animal hadn’t lasted long with so many. Her experiment with the pemmican was going well. So far, no signs of decay.
She would see about having William make wooden containers to store the pemmican once it was perfected. They were going out daily now, and so far, no luck in finding the elusive deer. They were going farther afield as well. They had killed a monkey yesterday, but there hadn’t been much meat on the creature. To Diana, it was strangely off-putting to eat something that was somewhere along their genetic lineage. They’d all talked about Connor’s group and their cannibalistic ways.
It was grewsome and what nightmares were made of. She didn’t think she herself could do that. She was glad, she didn’t want to think what she would do if she were so desperate. They were collecting a lot of nuts and grapes, berries, and tubers, but they desperately needed the protein of meat. She was glad there were plenty of snakes. They had also used wiring from the equipment to set snares. They ate a lot of stews, because of the scarcity of larger prey animals.
Henry and Gabe had caught fish and were very good at it. Diana thought they would be in serious trouble by now if they weren’t good at fishing. But everyone was wanting meat from the deer, something substantial. They had come across several other plants and tubers that they were now incorporating into their diet. But still, meat was high on the list. They heard the snap of a twig and everyone froze. Diana turned her head this way and that.
Listening and looking, she hoped there were several deer, they could use the extra meat. Then she heard a horrible scream, and the hair raised along her arm and down her back, her eyes widened and she looked frantically around her. There was a blur to her left and then she saw Joey going for Gabe, before she could say anything, Joey took a large branch and bashed Gabe in the head. She watched in horror as Gabe fell boneless to the ground.
She screamed as Sam turned and Connor rammed a long spear into his abdomen, she started running forward when her head exploded and she was gone.
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Aiden and Sarah paused at the waterfall to drink their fill of the cold water. It was refreshing and the day was hot. Aiden could smell the resin from the pines around them. Once more the thought of making a hardening resin came to mind, that was something they needed to experiment with. He grinned and splashed Sarah and she laughed and stuck her head into the rushing water. He joined her and stole a kiss.
He felt like a young kid again, silly and goofy. He wasn’t sure if it was love, but it sure felt like it. It was the first time in a very long time that he’d felt this happy and free. Being with Sarah was like the shedding of an old heavy coat, he felt lighter. He laughed more and most of his bad dreams had stopped. Now his dreams were filled with tasks and Sarah.
They continued on down the path, which was becoming well worn. They had taken another route today, going nearly a half hour out of their way to come in from a different direction. Aiden knew he was being paranoid, but with Connor, he didn’t feel safe taking the same route every time.
They’d not seen Grayson, and Aiden figured he was out in the woods, self-tormenting. He understood only too well, and hoped that one day, Grayson could forgive himself and rejoin the others. As they drew near, they noticed that something was off. There was activity, but it seemed strained.
Leo and Marla came striding forward, “You didn’t happen to see Diana did you, or Connor?” Marla asked, her voice filled with fear and worry.
“No, what’s happened?” Sarah asked, her face clouding over.
“Gabe just dragged Sam back two hours ago, they’d been attacked by Connor and his boys. They almost killed Sam. Hunter and William are taking care of him right now. They knocked Gabe out, nearly bashing his brains in. He’s okay, but has one hell of a knot on the back of his head. William put a couple stitches in him.
“Christ, you were right Aiden, we should have gone to kill them all.” Leo said, shame framing his face.
“You couldn’t have known he’d be so bold, I think he’s gone crazy. And I think the people with him as well.” Aiden said, his jaw line hardening.
“We are getting ready to go and look for them. We have an idea of where to find them.” Leo said, looking around, his hand going to his knife.
Aiden looked at him and then
