Sometimes Calli would visit Sergei's shop to make trades or purchase weapons or ammo. They remained good friends and business partners. She was happy when his wife became pregnant. If Sharon knew about their past history she never gave any indication. She had accepted her as an old friend and welcomed Calli into their home. When their son was born Calli had brought them a gift of one of Jericho's Kennels trained guard dogs so he would always be protected.
The Galens had brought sheep from the vault and they had been very successful raising them. Calli decided they would make a good trade item for what she had in mind. The Oasis would be a good place for sheep and the residents there would benefit greatly from the wool and meat. She consigned for a small flock of five ewes and a ram from the farmers. It was going to be fun herding them all the way north. The Galen's oldest boy would take the family's dog and go with them. He had become proficient at herding and really wanted to visit the wasteland. He had been educated in Vault 101 but this would be his first real time out in the wasteland.
Calli, Hawk and Joel left the Tradewind ll at its northern most post. They caused quite a stir when they offloaded the sheep and horses. Joel and his dog Bennie controlled the flock. They set out on the journey Calli expected to take no more than two days.
They headed north, skirting the river in a few areas. That's where they had their first encounter. Calli rode point with Hawk guarding the small group from the rear. As the sheep were herded up a fairly steep incline by Bennie their bleating attracted the attention of Mirelurks basking in the river below. Maybe they didn't know what sheep were but they felt instinctively they would make a good lunch. Two of the dangerous, armored creatures plunged from the water and headed for the flock.
Calli whirled her mare to intercept just as the big ram burst from the flock and hurtled toward the leading mirelurk with head lowered. The collision shook the wasteland. The mare danced and dodged at Calli's signals as she tried to get a bead on the small target of the mirelurk's face without hitting the ram. Suddenly she stormed the battling animals. As the mare swerved past she leaped onto the back of the mirelurk even as Hawk slammed into the ram, knocking it to the ground and wrestling it to a standstill with his great strength. Calli clung to the creature as it skidded around, trying to reach her, lifting its face… the blast of a shotgun rang out and the mirelurk toppled over, Calli leaping free as it hit the dirt. She looked up and nodded at Joel before going over to check if Hawk or the ram had sustained any injuries.
Joel whistled to Bennie to round up the sheep while Calli headed for the river to deal with any remaining mirelurks. She passed the remains of the other mirelurk that had fallen to Hawk's minigun. She left it to Joel and Hawk to calm the sheep and move on while she butchered the river creatures and cleaned up. They would make a nice dinner.
They stopped for the night in the scrapyard since they could herd the animals into an enclosed area where they could be guarded and kept from straying. Hawk scavenged some clean sheet metal from inside a vehicle while Calli started a fire. Hawk positioned the metal over the fire to serve as a grill. Grilled mirelurk and roasted potatoes were on the menu. Bennie sniffed experimentally at the strange meat before deciding it was edible and enjoying his share of the meal. They were moving slowly so the sheep could graze as they went but she really hoped they would make Oasis by the next night.
The sheep were milling restlessly by the time the sun was barely up. After a quick breakfast they moved on out. The journey went quietly for most of the day. Even the stop for lunch and to allow the sheep to graze passed without incident. They were approaching the demolished bridge when Calli raised her hand and Joel signaled Bennie to circle the sheep. Happy to be allowed to stop moving the animals fell at once to grazing and bleating. Hawk rode up beside Calli and they conferred. Hawk rode back to where Joel was watching his flock, leading Calli's mare.
"Calli senses something over that rise. She's going to go in on foot to check it out. I'll follow at a distance to keep an eye on her but you need to keep the sheep here until we're sure it's clear.", Hawk told Joel. The young man cradled his shotgun across his lap and took the reins of the horses. He nodded agreement. Hawk joined Calli. Holding his position he watched her slip over the crest of the hill.
Calli scented the air, tracing the whiff of unwashed human. It was a smell she was very familiar with but had never found agreeable. She counted the scents…two, no three.. the wind shifted slightly. That way, around those boulders. She slipped quietly around and up. The men were scattered with two on her side of the path, the third crouching on the other side. She could hear the bleating of the sheep and was sure they could too. It seemed they were looking to score some mutton. These weren't raiders, their scent wasn't that foul, probably bandits. They seemed half starved.
Hawk watched her move up the mountain. He read her signal 'take, no kill, go left, one man '. He silently slipped around to the left, his knife at the ready. If Calli wanted the man alive he would do his best to take him alive, but she wouldn't fault him if he had to kill. As it turned out, he didn't. He surprised the dirty, skinny kid and disarmed him with hardly a scuffle.
Calli watched Hawk head around the crest of the hill and she moved quietly down to where the two men waited. Moving up behind the smallest she had him by the neck before they even knew she was there, her knife at his throat. The bigger man whirled at the commotion with his rifle raised.
"Drop it!", Calli commanded, the body of the boy between them. "Or your friend dies." The rifle dropped to the ground. Hawk came up pushing the scared kid in front of him.
None of them seemed more than a teenager. Calli moved her knife from the boys throat as all of them were being covered with Hawk's mini gun.
"Just what do you think you were doing?", Calli asked the boys. They glared at her defiantly. Calli stared back. The youngest looked down, gulped, looked back up at her.
"We're hungry.", he sniffled. "We haven't eaten in days. We thought if we could just shoot one of those things you've got, maybe you'd just run off and we could eat it."
Calli sighed exasperatedly. 'That would never have happened. You see that man guarding the sheep? He owns them and he's a crack shot. You try that and you won't have to worry about eating any more. What are you doing out here anyway?"
They looked at each other. The oldest one spoke. "Our parents were killed a few weeks back and we've just been looking for a safe place to stay and maybe get some work."
Calli looked from one to the other. There was a good deal of resemblance between them.
"Brothers?", she asked. The older one nodded. He couldn't have been more than 14, she thought, and the younger barely 11.
"Well, come on, let's get back to the sheep and I'll get you something to eat.", she said as she picked up the rifle. It was in such poor condition she wondered if it would even fire.
"Really?", the younger boy said, his eyes lighting up.
The boys hungrily devoured the remainder of the food Calli and Hawk had in their saddlebags.
"Let's go.", Calli said. "I want to be at Oasis before nightfall and it's at least two more hours at this pace. You and you" she pointed at the smaller boys, "get on the mare. You get on Hawk's horse. He'll help you up. Don't try anything stupid. You don't know how to control these animals and you could get hurt. We'll lead them."
Hawk lifted the boys onto the horses. They were too tired to argue about it. Calli and Hawk took up the reins and lead the way north.
As they walked Calli thought about the boys, wandering alone and afraid in the wasteland, starving, risking their lives for a bite to eat. I reminded her of the Highwayman* and how he had gotten started on his colorful career. She did miss him quite a bit sometimes. He had been a good friend and a wonderful lover, a distraction after Sergei had left her, at least after they had gotten past his psychological hang-ups and that little episode when he raped her. Ah, well, he was gone now and it was unlikely she would ever see him again. She smiled to herself as she let her thoughts caress his memory, but she never let her attention wander. That wasn't safe in the wasteland.
A Treeminder greeted them as they approached the path. "Calli, Hawk, it's nice to see you. Harold sent me out to bring you in. He wants to meet the boys. He thinks they might want to join our community. He's been looking forward to seeing the sheep you're bringing us."
The treeminder didn't seem in the least surprised that Harold knew they were coming. The boys glanced at each other but had sense enough to remain quiet.
"Tell Harold I'll be right in to see him as soon as everyone is settled." Calli grinned.
"Hey, Sprout.", Calli greeted the old woman that met them just inside the gate.
She grinned, chiding Calli teasingly, "Now, Calli, you know it's Mother Treeminder Yew. Who's these boys you brought in?"
"They're just kids, Mother. They need a home and some minding. I'm thinking they should be taken to Harold tomorrow to see if he wants them before the Gathering, but I'll just leave that to you if you'll take charge of them.", she requested.
"Of course", Mother said. "Come on, boys, let's get you cleaned up before bed."
Calli watched them go off then headed for the Grove to confer with Harold.
"Calli!", he cackled. "You got good stories for me? The sheep are fun. Ha hahaha. creatures. Never saw 'em before."
Calli laughed. "Sure do, Harold. Good stories from the sea. What do you have for me?"
"You're gonna love this, yeah, love it, good. I was 'seeing' over at the Mart…" Calli settled down to listen. She had scattered Harold's seeds everywhere but especially in strategic spots throughout the wasteland and D.C. In return he did little spying jobs for her. It was their secret. He had so much to 'see' now that he couldn't 'see' everything and his ability to 'see' through the children diminished with distance, but if he concentrated he could pick up intelligence even as far away as the southern mountains. He loved to gossip with her about what he found out. It made him happy. He was one of her favorite sources of information.
* For the Highwayman's story see 'The Wasteland Warrior: Stealing a Thief'. Rated M for the mature theme of sexual slavery. Part 2 of the story is my first attempt at a murder mystery, though, as Calli says, can a death in the wasteland even be termed murder?