Prologue

Welcome to Book Three of the Darwin’s World Series.

Matt is one of several transplants from a parallel timeline. Their new home corresponds to Earth’s late Pleistocene Epoch, a version of Earth where humans didn't survive. He names it Darwin’s World because survival depends on individual fitness and luck. The time is about 15,000 years before Matt’s 20th Century birth.

The transplants adapt and form associations, familial, then tribal and village.

A variety of factors forced Matt’s ‘family’ to join a larger tribe (Darwin’s World), then seek a permanent home (Darwin’s World II: The Trek). Their journey began in late winter and lasted until early fall.

Discovering a suitable location, they built a fortified village in a narrow valley between limestone cliffs. The village is near a small river that empties into a narrow seaway, an arm of the future Gulf of Mexico. The Seaway is fed in part by the lower Rio Grande of future North America.

The river is a dependable water source, a plus for the village. It may also be hazardous; the canyon walls show evidence of past floods, though none appear to have happened recently.

The tribe’s numbers are few, despite having absorbed other people during the journey. Matt, the tribe’s leader, felt that the best solution would be a cliff dwelling similar to what the ancient Anasazi built. Despite being outnumbered and surrounded by enemies, they prospered, safe in their canyons and cliff-hollow villages.

Two engineers, transplants from the 20th Century, believed that the cliff-hollow was not large enough and could definitely not allow for future expansion. They decide to build storage bins in the cliff-hollows and construct a walled village below that will be the tribe’s permanent home. Matt accepts the decision and work begins.

Then tragedy strikes; two tribe members, Laz and Lee, are captured by slavers. The tribe has had trouble before, but this is the first time they’ve lost members. Earlier encounters have seen the slavers killed, their captives released, but other victims were not so fortunate; they were sent south into the area corresponding on Earth Prime with northern Mexico.

None have ever returned.

Matt intends to strike back, but there’s a problem; almost nothing is known about the lands across the seaway. Small parties cross the seaway, capture a few people who are working in the fields, and take them south, presumably to become slaves. How many live over there is unknown.

No matter; he will take the war south. Lee is the son of Matt’s consort Lilia and Matt accepts him as his own son. Meanwhile, winter is coming; the tribe must prepare shelters and stock them with food. This reduces the manpower available to Matt.

Will this winter be as harsh as the previous one? No one knows. Survival of the many must take priority over rescuing two. There’s much to be done, not much time to do it, and few hands to do the work. They must hunt, harvest plants, cut and stack firewood, the work is endless. The rescue expedition will need warriors, people who must come from the same group that does the hunting and building. Rescuing the two might mean starvation for the others, even should the raid be successful.

These are the issues that Matt must resolve, and time is running out.

Chapter One

“I don’t see anyone, Matt. How about we steer for that little cove?” Piotr asked.

“Go ahead,” Matt said. “We’ll drag the boat up on shore and hide it. If it cracks, it cracks. We can patch it again or just steal another one. We took this one, we can do it again.”

“Sounds good, Matt. You want to go in now or wait until dark?” Piotr asked.

“We go in now,” Matt decided. “We're in one of their boats, so if anyone’s watching they won’t be suspicious. But if we waited offshore until dark they'd wonder why we didn’t land.”

The boat, driven by the paddles, glided smoothly into the sheltered water of the cove. The beach was a gentle slope of sand mixed with pebbles and a few shells. A small overgrown gully at the upper end offered concealment.

The men dragged the boat into the gully, turned it upside down, then covered it with branches. Moving farther up the slope, they concealed themselves to watch the beach and wait for dusk.

***

Planning had begun the week before.

Five people, buckskin-clad, gazed south across the seaway. They appeared to be in their early twenties but looks were deceiving; all had undergone the Futurists treatments before being transplanted. Aging bodies had been rejuvenated, their memories retained and augmented, and none now showed signs of further aging. Even scars, the result of living in harsh conditions, had vanished after a short time.

“We’re never going to keep those bastards away if all we do is respond! They’ve got to learn there are consequences!” The speaker was tall, dark-haired, and armed with bow and spear. His name was Matt, the only name he'd known since being picked up in the past by the Futurists.

“I agree, Matt,” Lilia said, “but they’ve got more people and their weapons are as good as ours, maybe better.”

“Even so,” Matt argued, “if we don’t act now, they’ll just keep taking our people. As for numbers, there are probably more of them as you say, but I'm guessing only a few hundred total. Otherwise, wouldn’t the raids be bigger?”

“What if they’re also raiding south, Matt?” Colin asked, “They may also be raiding further to the west.”

“They’re not capturing many people, less than a hundred slaves during the course of a year I’m guessing,” Matt argued, “because there just aren’t many people here. I'm thinking that slavery has to be no more than a sideline, a part of all the other things they’re doing down there, and only a few of them are involved in taking slaves. The rest have to be farming or ranching, although some may be involved in manufacturing. We won't know until we get there.”

“Matt, I’m not sure I understand, but I guess if you know what you’re doing the rest of us can just go along,” Sal said doubtfully.”

“We have to go soon if we're to have any chance of success,” Matt pointed out. “They could be taking Laz and Lee farther south right now! It's a hard choice, I realize that, because sending a rescue party south hurts our own chances for survival. Just to start with, we have to finish the shelters and gather enough food to last us until spring. I figure there's not much time before the first snow, no more than a month, although this far south and west I can't be sure. We just don’t have the manpower for everything that needs doing!” His tone was bitter.

“They picked the right time, probably why they prefer to raid in late summer and early fall. The raiders are not slaveholders themselves, they can't be, because farmers and miners can’t leave their slaves unguarded. Besides, who would make sure the crops got tended? Put it all together and it means that the ones that grabbed Lee and Laz are middlemen like the ones we killed last month, captors who sell the ones they catch to the slaveholders. Laz and Lee too, which means they could be anywhere over there, anywhere at all.

“Right now, we need information. We don’t know how many there are over there, how well organized, what kind of weapons, and that’s just for now. The only way to find out is for me to take a small patrol over there and spend a couple of days sneaking around. With luck, the slaveholder farms won’t be far inland, but I’ll go farther into the interior if I have to.”

“Just looking around, Matt?” Piotr asked.

“For now. Think you might be up for a little walk in the woods?”

“Absolutely!” Piotr said. “It beats sitting around on my butt and chipping stone! How long before we leave?”

“As soon as I've had a word with the people I want,” Matt said decisively. “Five should be enough, six might be too many. If we take more, the odds of being discovered go up and I don’t want them to know we’re coming!”

“I want to go too, Matt.” Lilia wiped a tear from her face.

“Not this time, Love. I can be risked, but if you’re in danger so is our baby. No, you stay here and help Colin. Get the village built and see to stocking it with food. We'll need furs and firewood as well as meat during the coming winter, plus whatever vegetables you can gather.”

Reluctantly, Lilia nodded agreement. She obviously didn’t like being left behind, but understood.

“How are we going to do this, Matt?” Piotr asked.

“Move after sunset, find a hide and rest during the day. With five people, there’s enough for two pairs, one watching while the other sleeps, and a spare. That’s me, and I’ll fill in where I’m needed. Figure three or four days, maybe as long as a week. I'm not intending to fight, not yet, because I’d rather get Laz and Lee back first. But as soon as I’ve got that done, I intend to teach the slaveholders they’ve got something to lose! I’ll burn them out, destroy their crops and farmhouses, anything else that hits them where it hurts most, in whatever they use for money!

“If we can free other slaves in the process, great, but the priority is to get our guys back. Chopping out the slavery cancer itself might have to be left until later. Finish building, pick up a few more people—the villagers who’ve lost some of their people might want to join us—horses, enough for a cavalry unit maybe, whatever gives us an advantage. Get our people back, get through the winter, then see what can be done to make sure the slavers never come back!”

The others nodded, then left to go about their business. Lilia remained behind. “What are you going to do about the rest of our people, Matt? They depend on you!”

“I’ve got you and Colin to look after them, Lilia. The engineers too, they’ll be working with Sal and his crew to get the shelters built. For that matter, everyone will have to pitch in. With luck, the houses will be up and the walls finished by the time I find our guys.

“No idea how long it will take, I can’t just amble up to the slavers and ask them nicely to return our people! At the same time, I won’t be able to operate over there after first snow because we would leave too many tracks. That gives me a month, maybe two, but probably not more than that.”

“That’s not much time! You’re sure you can do this, Matt?”

“I have to try, Lilia. He’s my son, even though he had a different father! We fought together, risked our lives for each other, Laz did too. I can’t abandon them! I’ll bring them out or die in the attempt.”

“Don’t talk like that, Matt! You’re the heart of the village! The buildings are just buildings, they need people to make them into a town, and that means we need you.” Lilia paused for a moment. “It’s not easy to say, but if the choice is rescuing Lee or coming back alive, leave him. He might escape anyway, he’s very resourceful, and in part that’s because you taught him. But I can’t lose you, our child can’t lose you! We need you!”

“I’ll keep it in mind, Lilia, but what kind of leader would I be if I didn’t at least try?” Realizing that nothing was going to be resolved, Matt left to find Marc and Michel. “I need you two to find that boat, the one we hid after we wiped out that raiding party. I’ll get the other guys together, the ones who are going, and we’ll meet you when you get back. Can do?”

“As soon as we’ve got a supply of trail rations, Matt.”

“Thanks, Michel. We’ll be ready.”

***

Marc and Michel paddled wearily up the river, late on the afternoon of the second day. They rested, leaning on the thwarts, while Matt, Piotr, and Santiago dragged the boat up on the beach.

“Took longer than we expected, Matt. We found it where we left it, but the bottom had dried out and a long split had opened up. We decided it could still be used, so we punched holes along the crack and laced the edges together. It looked pretty good, so I sealed it with pine sap, the ties too. After a while, it stopped leaking. I think it swelled and caused the crack to close up, but I tightened the laces anyway before we left this morning and only a few drops have leaked in since.”

“Good work! Get something to eat and rest. We’ll be ready to go in another two days, three at the most.”

***

Matt called the four men together at dawn.

“Final briefing. Weapons, we’ll carry spears, bows, and a dozen arrows. Emergency kits go on your belts, and add a spare bowstring to them. Backpack with two water gourds, dried fruit for snacks, and dried meat for four days. See Lilia for the dried fruit, Colin for the jerky. No sleeping furs, we’ll huddle together if necessary. We’ll travel after dark when it's coldest anyway, moving will help us stay warm. Questions or suggestions?”

“Knives and hatchets too, Matt?” asked Santiago.

“Good idea, on your belt and tied so they don’t rattle. Bows across your back, unstrung. If we’re ambushed we may not have time to string them, but spears work better close-up anyway.

“Daily routine, one pair alert during the morning while the other sleeps, swap places at noon, everyone up at dusk and we stick to the schedule until we get back. We’ll probably be short of sleep, but if someone’s too sleepy to keep watch I’ll take his place.

“The idea is to get ashore without attracting attention, hide the boats and wait until dusk, then it’s sneak and peek while looking for a place to land a larger raiding force. If we do it right, nobody will know we’ve been there.

“Objective for this trip, find out as much as can about our guys, collect them if possible, and then it’s back to the beach and head for home. I don’t expect it to be easy. We’ll have to find out where our guys are, their condition—they might be wounded or injured—how many guards there are, how alert, and whether our guys might be moved if we have to come back for them. We need to know about roads, obstacles, terrain features, anything that will help or hinder us later on.

“Chain of command, Piotr takes over for me if necessary. If both of us are down, then abort the mission. If we’re discovered, evade if we can, fight if we must. If we get separated, try to escape in pairs. If you’re alone, go back to the beach and wait by the boat. Wait long enough to see if anyone else got away, then move the boat offshore. You can watch for another day or two, see if anyone else gets away, but after that the priority is to get whatever information we’ve picked up back.

“Today, we’ll practice setting up a typical hide. I’ll show you how to keep watch, the signals we’ll use, then we’ll practice moving while it’s still daylight. Tonight, we rehearse moving after dark, dismiss about midnight. Collect supplies tomorrow, get a good night’s sleep, and cross the seaway next morning. Let’s get to it.”

They did.

Two days later, they crossed the seaway.

***

The slow minutes passed as they crouched in screening brush, only a hundred yards away from where they’d concealed the boat, remaining close in case they had been spotted.

Wavelets lapped on the shore and a light breeze stirred the sparse grass, but there was no sign of others. Still they waited, silent, listening for any indication they’d been discovered as the sun sank behind the western mountains.

The sun had disappeared entirely before Matt decided it was dark enough to move. Motioning to the others, he soundlessly made his way toward the treeline, a short distance south along the beach. The men, accustomed to maintaining silence, followed.

Matt set the pace, Santiago came next, carrying the knotted end of a woven cord, dark-stained by soaking in a solution made by steeping oak chips in hot water. Other knots had been tied, five feet apart. Marc held the first, Michel the second, and Piotr held the coiled end.

Santiago had wondered at the extra length, but Matt showed how the patrol, despite the darkness, would remain together yet far enough apart to keep from blundering into each other. “Shouldn’t we cut off the excess, Matt?”

“We’re looking for information. We explore the terrain first, but we’ll snatch a local if we get the chance. That’s what the extra rope is for, and don’t forget we might even find Laz and Lee. We don’t know what condition they’re in and that extra rope might come in handy.”

Walking was easy; the ground was even, mostly sand, and only a slight slope leading up from the shore. Grass was sparse and there were few bushes beneath the trees. Shallow creeks slowed their pace from time to time but otherwise presented few difficulties. Their wet buckskins were uncomfortable, but soon dried.

Matt estimated they’d traveled at least a mile, possibly as much as two, when they came upon a well-traveled path that led south.

***

Across the seaway and farther north in the mountains, summer had begun to give way to fall. Days were shorter now and the leaves were changing color. New ice from the previous winter had melted, though an offshoot of the glacier still plugged the upper valley. In time it too would vanish, victim of increasing warmth, but for now the cool, runoff-created stream fed the warm green lowlands that teemed with wildlife.

The massive glacier had been advancing and retreating for centuries. Winter snow turned to ice each year, joining what was already there. The ice mass complained at the extra weight, a series of loud popping and cracking noises as it ground its way downhill.

But that was about to change.

A large block of ice suddenly cracked off the glacier’s face, tipping over then sliding downhill until it reached the ridge of boulders that had been deposited by the melting face of the glacier. It became trapped there, joining the growing terminal moraine and filling in the gaps between the boulders.

Meltwater continued to flow from beneath the glacier, eventually becoming backed up behind the ice dam and forming a lake that reached all the way to the base of the glacier. The water level continued to rise, and soon, loud noises sounded from deep within the ice.

Rumblings were followed by explosive cracks as fissures opened across the glacier’s front. If one was wider than others and the block of ice forming it was larger, such is the way of glaciers. Ice always pushed its slow way downhill until blocks calved off.

Behind the ice block, suddenly-freed meltwater swelled the lake. Inquisitive birds looked for food near the new shoreline but found nothing and soon flew away downstream.

Small fish swam to where the sudden inflow of cold meltwater joined the small creek. The birds that had flown away when the crack happened returned and soon began wading near the banks.

Quiet returned.

Behind the ice dam, the meltwater pool grew larger.

 

Chapter Two

“Wait here. I’ll take a close look at that trail,” Matt whispered. Piotr nodded, then turned back to pass the message along.

Matt returned a few minutes later. Gathering the patrol around him, he whispered, “The only recent tracks go south. I’m guessing they were probably made by the raiders on their way to wherever they came from, and judging by the lack of traffic, there’s nothing else up here. No village, no farms, nothing. I’m guessing they only come up here when they’re raiding, but even so, we stick to the plan. The trail looks like it leads where we want to go, so we’ll follow it until it gets too dangerous. We’ll stay off to the side, able to see anyone on the trail before they see us. Comments or questions?”

No one spoke, so Matt resumed. “We’ll eat now. If you need to crap, do it well off to the side and cover it up. Don’t make it easy for them to find! Michel, you’re lead when we move out, Piotr second, I’ll be last. Fifteen minutes, people.”

***

The half-moon provided the only light when they resumed walking, but Piotr had no trouble seeing Michel when he stopped suddenly, hand up in warning. He whispered, voice barely audible, “Matt, Michel’s spotted something.”

“Wait here. I’ll see what’s going on,” Matt whispered, then crept up to where Michel waited. “What have you got?”

“Looks like a skeleton, up ahead of us but closer to the trail. I wanted you to know before I went any closer.”

“Good call. I’ll bring up the others, but we don’t want to make a lot of tracks around it.”

“Understood, Matt.”

The skeleton appeared to be complete. A large ant’s nest was nearby and it seemed likely that the industrious insects had picked the bones clean. He picked up a femur and hefted it, thinking.

“Piotr, feel the weight. If the bones had been here long, this one should be lighter.”

Piotr examined the bone. “You’re right, Matt. I figure a month, maybe two, but less than a year.”

“My guess too, which means it’s not Laz or Lee. It wouldn’t matter anyway, we keep going.” The others nodded and Marc whispered, “Should we do anything, maybe bury the bones?”

“We can’t,” Matt said. “They might find the grave and wonder who dug it. Anyway, it’s time to swap scouts. Piotr, you’re lead, I’ll be behind you, Michel’s tail-end Charlie.”

They soon crossed a stream, taking time to refill their water bottles before taking a short break. The trail remained deserted and judging by the quiet, no one else was anywhere close by.

Two hours later, Matt, now back in the lead, found a brushy covert where they could wait until the next night. They moved in, made themselves as comfortable as possible and waited. Dawn found three asleep while the remaining two kept watch.

The watchers woke the sleepers at noon. The men ate more of their dried fruit and jerky, washed down from their water bottles. New sentries took over, the others slept.

The day passed slowly. There was no traffic on the trail and few of the natural noises they had expected. Where were the small animal and insect noises? Were they reacting to the presence of strangers?

The sun moved to the west and the men stirred, stretched, and crept away to take care of their personal needs. “I think we can use the trail tonight,” Matt decided. “Nobody’s stirring, and even when they do use the trail they probably only do it in daylight. Any objections?”

The men remained silent. The decision was made.

Piotr led the patrol onto the trail just before day turned to dusk, now moving faster. They saw only a few small animals, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, squirrels, others Matt couldn’t identify. The squirrels vanished with the light, but the nocturnal raccoons and opossums occasionally forced the column to halt and seek concealment in the brush alongside the trail. They waited, resting, while one of them investigated the noise.

Rising moonlight silvered the trail, making it light enough to see details. Matt looked first for tracks of people, then for big cats, wolves, or bears, but found only a few moccasin tracks, all heading south.

The time was perhaps three o’clock in the morning when Santiago, now leading, stopped and held his clenched fist overhead. The moon had not yet set, but dawn would soon make it necessary to hide. Matt whispered, “Bring up the others and wait here, Piotr. I’ll join Santiago, and we’ll either wave you up or come back.”

There was a new tenseness about them when Matt and Santiago rejoined the patrol. “There’s a cleared field and a house up ahead, the house about two hundred yards off to the right. No lights, they’re not stirring yet. The field’s not big, basically just a cleared area in the forest with a house in the middle. There’s something growing in the field, but it’s too dark to tell what it is. We’ll bypass it and find a place to hide on the far side. I want to get a better look in daylight, but unless we see Laz or Lee, we keep going.”

***

Daybreak found them spread out, concealed behind brush a few yards past the edge of the field and watching as two men armed with bows and spears carried hoes out to the field. Laying the bows and quivers aside, they began working among the plants. The spears remained slung across their backs.

Minutes later, Matt signaled to Piotr, who passed the signal on. One by one, the men slipped south, moving deeper into the forest.

The team reassembled half a mile from the small farm, once again near the trail. “Nobody I recognized,” Matt said. “How about the rest of you?” The patrol members shook their heads.

“There was no overseer and they weren’t wearing collars or restraints, not that I could see,” Piotr observed. “They also had weapons, so they’re not slaves. Just because some people keep slaves down here doesn’t mean they all do. In fact, according to what I remember from history, only a few could actually afford slaves. Maybe this is one of the poor ones?”

“Could be, Piotr. We’ll move on a little farther, then lay up for the day; just keep your eyes peeled, we don’t want to be spotted now.”

Short conference over, the team moved away through the trees.

An hour later they found a thick covert and found places to rest, resuming the security arrangement from the previous night. The day passed as had the day before, and the sentries saw no one.

Moving out at dusk, they headed farther south.

***

The next farm was different, larger, and the main building was similar to the blockhouses they intended to build for Home, with a second story and extended walkway around the building. The surrounding fields were larger too.

“There’s a light on that second floor, a fireplace or maybe a candle,” Matt whispered. “There aren’t any lights on the bottom and if that part even has windows, I don’t see them.”

“The fields are big enough that they’ll need more people to work them, Matt,” Piotr suggested. “If they’ve got slaves, maybe they keep them on the bottom floor. I don’t see any stairs, but there may be a ladder by the railing on the second floor.”

“Probably. Anyway, I want to do the same thing we did last night, lie up on the other side. We’ll watch for a while, but we’re getting short on rations. We’ll have to start back tomorrow night. We’ve gained a little information, not much, but the fact that everything is so spread out is important. It means we can raid a farm and be gone before anyone else even knows about it, and for sure before they can respond.”

They settled in for the rest of the night, but once again they were not disturbed. But there was no question about what they saw when the sun grew bright the following morning.

Two men came out onto a veranda on the second floor. Looking around, they lowered the ladder, then one climbed down, slowly. Bracing the ladder, he nodded to the man above. The door opened wider and seven other men filed through the door and awkwardly climbed down the ladder. An eighth man followed, carrying a bow. He had a quiver of arrows at his waist and a spear slung across his back.

“Slaves,” Matt whispered, “and they’re tied to a long strap, just like the captives in that village we raided.”

“I don’t see much chance of capturing just one of those slaves, Matt,” Piotr said. “You still don’t want to raid this place?”

“I’ve been thinking about that, Piotr. There’s one man with weapons and two others, workers, but they’re not tied. The rest are linked to that strap. We do almost everything outdoors, so if there’s anyone else, what would they be doing in the house? Wouldn’t they be out here working or supervising?”

“Maybe not, Matt; this many people will need a cook. Could be a man, maybe a woman, and maybe more than one. If you look close there’s smoke, not much, but it’s coming from the chimney, so I think someone’s still in there. It will take time to cook enough food for the next meal and I think that’s what’s happening.”

“That overseer and those two working by themselves are probably the only free men on the place, Piotr. If we killed the overseer and maybe the other two, depending, we could take the slaves with us. Spread out the way the farms are, it would take time before anyone realized there had been a raid, and even after that, they’d have to get a group of people together before they could investigate. I figure we’d have at least half a day before anyone came after us. We’d have to travel fast, but I think we could do this! There are seven captives working the fields and maybe the cook too, so figure eight, maybe nine. The boat can carry sixteen people, so we won’t have any trouble crossing the seaway with anyone we rescue.

“This is only the second farm we’ve seen and the first one that’s keeping slaves. We don’t know anything about their mines or industry, but that arrowhead we recovered after the raid on our settlement tells us they’ve got them. As for what’s around here, we haven’t seen any sign of organized enemy forces and no one seems to move around at night. The way I see it, our best chance to get the information we need is to rescue the slaves and ask them.

“Here’s what I’ve got in mind. We shoot the overseer and maybe the unarmed workers, depending on what they do after the overseer is down, then take the slaves with us. I’m sure Colin and Lilia would like to talk to the woman or women doing the cooking. We know the one in charge here keeps male slaves so why not women too? Anyway, what the fieldworkers don’t know the women likely will. We don’t have enough rations to feed them so we’ll loot the place and have the fieldworkers carry everything we get.”

“Sounds good, Matt. How do you want to do this?” Piotr asked.

“You and Santiago hide near the house,” Matt decided. “You’re the stoppers in case the rest of us miss one.”

“What if those two guys are trusties or freedmen, Matt? They might be former slaves.”

“Can we take the chance, Piotr? If we miss any, they’ll get away and warn the others.

“Matt, no weapons on those two, only the overseer is armed. I think that if we take him out, the rest will be easy. Marc and Michel can watch the other pair and if they try to run, shoot then. If they head for the house, Santiago and I will ambush them before they can get inside. You plan to burn the house anyway, right?”

“That’s what I was thinking, Piotr, make it look like this was a slave uprising. Put the bodies inside and burn the place. Even if someone sees the smoke, I doubt they’ll be able to put out the fire.”

“Matt, the freedmen, would the slaves kill them?”

“Good point, Piotr, but probably not. The slaves might take them along to keep them from warning others, but they probably wouldn’t kill them. We’ll have to bring them with us, leave nobody alive to tell what happened here.

“Okay, we’ve got a plan. Piotr, you and Santiago hide by the house, signal us when you’re ready and I’ll take out the overseer. If the workers run for the woods, Marc and Michel will deal with them. As soon as the overseer is down, Piotr and Santiago go up the ladder. If anyone heads for the house, you should be in a position to shoot them. Make sure the door doesn’t get blocked. I’d rather not burn anyone alive, but we can’t leave witnesses. Did I miss anything?”

“Hopefully we won’t have to kill anyone except the overseer,” Piotr said. Matt nodded, then headed for a large bush with overhanging branches, good concealment and within bow range of the overseer. Marc and Michel slipped away, heading for their own ambush site.

Piotr and Santiago worked their way around behind the house, crawling most of the way and creeping on their bellies where cover was sparse, intending to approach from the rear by using the house itself for cover. Their pace was necessarily slow, but two hours later they signaled that were ready.

***

Matt had been watching for Piotr’s signal and needed only seconds to arrow the overseer where he stood idly watching the forest. Even as he collapsed, Matt had a new arrow ready on the string, but none of the workers noticed.

Piotr and Santiago had watched the overseer fall. Now they slipped around to the ladder and climbed, attention fixed on the door above.

As they disappeared through the door, one of the fieldworkers finally realized the overseer had fallen. They stood upright and stared at the body.

Matt watched them as he walked over to Marc. "Keep your eyes peeled, this isn’t over yet. You go talk to the two freedmen, Michel keeps watching the road as backup in case we have a problem, and I’ll talk to the slaves.”

Marc nodded, then walked slowly toward the two freedmen, now standing near the slaves. He held his bow loosely at his side, the arrow in the same hand that held the bow. He did not look threatening, but even so, he could have the arrow ready in seconds.

The attack had gone well, but the patrol wouldn’t end until they were safely across the seaway.

 

Chapter Three

“Can you understand me?” Matt asked.

“Yes, Master. Is the boss dead?”

“I’m not your master, and yes, he’s dead. We don’t have much time. You’ll need food, so let’s go over to the house and see what we can find.”

“If you’re not a master, what shall I call you?” he asked.

“I’m Matt. What about those other two men?”

“They were like us before the boss freed them. They work without the collar now, but they won’t run away. The boss told us we would be freed too if we work hard.”

“The boss is dead so you’re free anyway,” Matt said. “Who else is here, other than you and the two men?”

“There are two women who cook the food. They’re like us, not free. They stay upstairs with the boss.”

“All right,” Matt said. “Two of you drag the boss’s body into the house, the rest of you gather up as much food as you can carry. If you have any personal possessions, get them too. I intend to be gone from here in an hour, so don’t waste time.”

“Matt, must we go?” the slave asked.

Matt just looked at him. “You’re slaves, why would you want to stay here?”

“The work’s not hard, the boss didn’t beat us if we worked, and we knew he’d free us in a few years. Before we were brought here, our village got raided each year and some of our neighbors got killed, always. There were dangerous animals too. We’re safe here, nobody gets killed, nobody gets taken away. I’m not saying we won’t go, I’m just asking why we should.”

“You’re going,” Matt said harshly. “We’re going to burn the house with the boss in it. The other masters will think you did it. What will they do then?”

The man thought for a moment. “You’re right, we have to go. Are you taking the freedmen too? And what about Berry and Molli?”

“Are those the women?”

“That’s what the boss called them,” the man said, and shrugged.

“We’re taking everyone. Get your possessions, load up on food. If you don’t bring enough, you won’t eat. As soon as you’re ready, wait in front of the house.” Matt walked up to the house as Piotr came out. Behind him came two women. Santiago brought up the rear. “Did you talk to these two, Piotr?” Matt asked.

“Yes, they’re slaves too. I thought they were going to kiss my hand when I told them their owner was dead. He keeps them shut in the house, cooking, cleaning, and warming his bed at night. They didn’t mind the cooking, but the owner wasn’t gentle and his breath smelled bad.”

“OK, but watch those field hands,” Matt suggested. “At least one of them didn’t mind being a slave, and I haven’t talked to the others yet so I don't know how they feel. Tell the women to help the others collect up as much food as they can carry. They can bring their personal possessions too, but food comes first.

“See if there’s leather around, deerskin would be ideal. Make it up into bundles. Everyone carries something except us, we’ve got weapons and packs already, so unless you see something we really need, leave it. Santiago and Michel will collect anything that will burn and set it near the door. Put the body inside, recover my arrow, make sure we don’t leave anything that’s tied to us. As soon as it’s burning well, we hit the trail.”

“You’re following the trail, Matt?” Piotr asked doubtfully. “I thought we weren’t going to do that.”

“I think we have to. With the extra people, trying to hide no longer makes sense, and anyway it’ll be dark soon so I doubt anyone will see us. I’ll take point, you bring up the rear, and space Marc, Michel, and Santiago in with the others so they can keep an eye on them.”

“What about that small farm we passed?”

“We keep going,” Matt decided. “It’ll be dark when we pass there, so hopefully they won’t see us. If they do and decide to come out and investigate, too bad for them. Even if they’re not slaveholders, they’re part of the culture over here so I don’t have a lot of sympathy for them.”

“You’re the boss, Matt.”

“I’d rather you didn’t call me that, Piotr. I—just don’t like it, OK?”

“Sure, Matt. No offense intended.”

“None taken, Piotr, but that’s what they called the overseer I killed.”

***

Everyone had been tired when they started, and the freed slaves were unaccustomed to the patrol’s fast walking pace. Matt led, Piotr brought up the rear, making sure than none lagged behind. Santiago, Marc, and Michel handed the knotted rope to the rescued people and told them not to let go. The untidy clump blundered along behind Matt, shepherded by the others but at least together.

Matt met with Piotr while they rested. “I had hoped to be farther along by now,” he whispered, his tone revealing worry.

“Can’t be helped, Matt. They’re not used to this and they’re not used to trail discipline either; they want to talk, but at least when you tell them to shut their mouth you don’t get any argument. They’re too tired to talk now.”

“How long can they keep going, Piotr?”

“We’re going to have to take a longer break at some point and that might help,” Piotr said. “Most of them fell asleep as soon as we stopped.”

“We’re all tired. How are you and the other guys holding up?”

“We’ve got a few more miles in us. You’ve got to be tired too, we were short on sleep when we hit that farm and we’ve been going ever since.”

“Yeah, sleep. I think I remember what that was like, vaguely.”

Piotr chuckled. He was tired too.

“I hate to waste the moonlight,” Matt fretted. “We need to get as far away from that farm as we can. One good thing, now that the moon’s up we can move faster. I figure about an hour before we pass that first farm, but if they spot that bunch behind us we’re in trouble. Even if they don’t come outside, they’ll tell others.”

“I understand, Matt,” Piotr said, “but unless they’re allowed to sleep, these people aren’t going to make it.”

“OK, then. I guess this is as good a place as any. You guys need sleep too, so I’ll wake you about midnight. That’s about two hours from now, not much, but it will have to do. Once we’re past that farm up ahead, we should be safe enough. Find a place to hide, sleep for a couple of hours. As long as we’re not spotted we can afford to stop for a few hours, but if anyone is stirring about when we pass...” Piotr nodded understanding and went off to tell the others.

Matt moved back along the trail and leaned against a tree, looking back along the trail. If anyone was coming after them, this was the direction they’d be coming from.

With luck, the deception had worked, but even so someone would eventually realize the slaves were gone and start looking for them. The only real solution was to have everyone across the seaway before that happened.

A pair of slave-takers coming down the trail, that the patrol could handle. Even as many as four, Matt would expect to take on that many and win easily. But he might find himself outnumbered with no good place to make a stand, maybe unable to protect the former slaves. Four were now armed, their weapons formerly the property of the ‘boss’, but whether they knew how to use them was questionable.

The liberated bows seemed to be of good quality, not so strong as his own, but the arrows had steel tips so that should compensate. The spears were ordinary things with chipped-stone points.

Whether the former slaves would fight, for that matter how well they could fight, was unknown. Even so, the weapons were now in the hands of the people who’d found them when they searched through the farm’s barn, so an advantage, maybe.

Matt watched the trail and thought. The tactical problem nagged, but he saw no solution. Finally, he woke Piotr. “Get our guys up, hit the bushes and eat a little something, then wake up the others. Give them a few minutes to eat too. You take the lead, Marc takes rear security. I’m pretty sleepy so I’ll just march along in the middle for now.”

“Understood, Matt. I’ll get us there.”

Matt remembered little of the journey back to the seaway. It was just one weary foot in front of the other, then do it again. There was enough light to see the trail, just, and patches of darkness that hid even that.

Piotr called a halt as the sky grew light in the east. “Everyone get some sleep. I’ll watch this time, the sun will be up in a couple of hours and we’ll push on then. I figure we’re only about two hours from the boat. I talked to Marc, Matt, he said there’s been no sign of pursuit.”

Matt nodded groggily. He was asleep as soon as he lay down.

***

The sun was peeping above the trees when a worried Piotr woke Matt. “Matt, how many people did we pick up from that farm?”

Matt shook his head and blinked, trying to think. “There were two women, I remember that much. Two freedmen and...” Matt thought for a moment longer, “...seven men that were roped together. Is that what you remember?”

“Yeah. The women are here, but only seven men are.”

“Did the other two get lost?”

“Maybe, but one of the freedmen didn’t want to leave and one of the guys on the neck-rope wasn’t sure. The missing ones may have gone back to warn the slaveholders.”

“It’s done now,” Matt decided. “No choice, we push on as hard as we can. I don’t like the idea of leaving anyone behind. If the slaveholders figure the slaves were in on killing that overseer, there’s no telling what they’ll do.”

“Matt, there’s another possibility,” Piotr suggested. “I don’t know if they got lost, ran away, or just hid, waiting for us to move on. They may even have fallen asleep along the trail and we didn’t realize it. It was pretty dark after the moon went behind the clouds and we might have just missed them. I'm willing to go back, try to find them but if they’re heading south to warn the slaveholders, I’ll kill them. If they simply got lost, I’ll hustle them along until we catch up. I'm sure we’ll be able to move faster than this mob! You take everyone else to the boat and wait for a couple of hours, but if I haven’t shown up by then take them across. I'll be okay.”

“I don’t like it, Piotr, leaving you over here!”

“I’ll be okay, Matt,” Piotr repeated. “I think we have to take the chance. If the slaveholders find those two before I do, they’ll be watching for us when we come back and we won’t have much chance of rescuing our guys. Even if the two we lost don’t want to tell, they will, it’s that, or take the blame for the overseer’s death. No, if they’re taken, the owners will know, which means I have to try to make sure that doesn't happen.”

“OK, Piotr, and thanks. Just in case you don’t catch up, take the rest of our jerky. That’ll give you a couple of days rations.” Piotr nodded and stuffed Matt’s jerky in his pack. A brief word to the others as he collected their remaining food, then he was gone, swallowed up by the trees.

“Santiago, you’re rear security, I’ll lead,” Matt said. “Marc and Michel, you herd the rest along and keep them moving! No more stops, the seaway is only a few hours ahead and it’s daylight. They don’t need the rope, just make sure there are no stragglers. Encourage them with the butt of your spear, the point if that doesn’t work. Walk or die, and make sure they know it!” The others nodded and they were soon on the trail. The former slaves were limping, but there was no help for it. They would just have to cope.

The forest opened up as they approached the shore. Wary, Matt stopped the group, then slipped ahead to see if anyone was waiting.

Half an hour later he was back. “We’ve got half a mile to go. The boat’s there, but it’s got another crack in the bottom and we won’t have time to patch it. Have everyone pick up one of the large seashells for bailing.”

“Matt, what about Piotr?”

“Marc, we’ll get out past the rollers and wait offshore. We’ll give him a couple of hours but if he doesn’t show in that time, we’ll have to leave.”

The three looked at each other, then nodded. “Matt, Michel and I will fix the boat after we get across. We’ll come back for Piotr.”

“Thanks,” Matt said. “How about this, we take a day to rest up, gather a few more men, then all of us head back?”

Santiago chimed in. “Piotr would come back for me. I’m in.”

Matt nodded, unable to speak for a moment. “It may not be necessary, but thanks. We’ll wait offshore for a while. Piotr may turn up. He could still make it before we have to go.”

But Piotr never showed. Matt waited as long as he dared, wo hours turned to three., and finally he was left with no choice. “Head for home. Piotr had enough food for a couple of days, three if he stretched it, and we’ll be back before then.”

 

Chapter Four

Exhausted, Matt fell asleep as soon as he reached Home. A leg cramp woke him later and he had trouble going back to sleep. Images of Laz and Lee in captivity haunted him. Had he done all he could? Finally, he drifted off again.

An insistent bladder woke him next morning and sent him stumbling for a place to relieve himself. There was a screened-off area near the bluff and Matt decided to look there. As expected, it concealed a simple straddle trench. He added his own deposit, cleaned himself using leaves from a box, then sprinkled a thin layer of dirt over the evidence before heading back into the village.

The sun was well up. People were busy, some working on construction projects, others on their way to the next task. Much had been done. The wall was not yet finished, lacking a gate to close the entrance. Still, the lower levels of two houses were complete enough for occupancy. They served as bunkhouses for the time being, allowing the villagers to sleep safely with fewer guards on watch during the night.

Roofs would soon be added to the other dwellings; the timbers had already been cut and dragged into camp, ready for use. As labor became available, the logs would be lifted into place, then the spaces would be filled in with branches. This would become the floor for an apartment, built atop the lower building.

Matt drank the cup of hot tea that he’d gotten from the kitchen. A second cup, plus a slice of bread and a thick slab of fresh meat completed his breakfast. Still hungry, he cajoled the cook into giving him a second slice of bread. A dab of honey made it more palatable. He thanked the cooks politely and went on his way.

He found Lilia and Colin talking to the newly-rescued slaves. Gesturing to Colin, the two walked a short distance away, leaving Lilia to continue the conversation.

“Morning, Matt. I see you’ve returned to the living!”

“I was pretty tired, Colin. That last day was rough on all of us; I thought my feet were tough, but I’ve got blisters and my moccasins are so thin you can see daylight through them!”

Colin chuckled. “Anyway, you’re up now. We’ve found out some very interesting things from the ones you rescued.”

“I hoped that would happen. How much do they know about the area south of where I found them?”

“Not much, unfortunately,” Colin confessed. “Only the two women had ever been farther south. The slaveholder bought them from a trader maybe fifty miles farther inland, based on what they remembered, but that was two years ago so they don’t have clear memories of the trip north. The men were bought before they ever went south. Most of what we’ve found out has to do with the slaveholders. Many of them are rejected transplants!”

“Colin, I’m still sleepy. What do you mean, rejected transplants?”

“I mean they’re descendants of people who were transplanted here more than a century ago. They were picked up, ‘harvested’ as the Futurists called it, educated by having new memories implanted—that seems to be how the Futurists educate everyone—and turned loose in Futurist society. Some of the transplants probably worked out, but some took advantage. Even with everything available to them, they turned into bullies, and a couple were rapists. I have to wonder what kind of society they grew up in! If it happened here, the woman would likely gut the would-be rapist, and if she didn’t someone else would.

“Anyway, the Futurists don’t have execution as a punishment, so they exiled them back here and most of them were transplanted into the area that was Mexico before national borders disappeared. The rapists got a different destination, the middle of South America; none of the Futurists had intended to transplant anyone into that jungle, but that’s what they did with that pair and I doubt anyone will ever see them again. They’re immune to the tropical diseases, but there are snakes, spiders, any number of other baddies to contend with. The thinking was that even if they survived the thick jungle, they’d head south and not interact with people in North America.”

“Huh. Sounds like they took a leaf from 18th-Century countries. That’s what the British did, deport criminals to North America or Australia, while the French sent theirs to Devil’s Island. Were any women transported into Mexico?”

“Not as far as we know, although this is second-hand information, but the story is that the rejects started out by kidnapping women. They soon realized they could do the same with men, and that’s how the slavery started.

“Apparently, as slaveholders go, they’re not all bad. They aren’t like the North American slaveholders were, they treat their captives more like indentured servants. Mistreatment of an investment is bad business, you see, and the best way of motivating people to work is to promise them eventual freedom. Slaves become freedmen, who then become slaveholders in their own right. That’s why the two we took away weren’t happy; they intended to invest their wages in slaves, clear land, and become owners themselves. The man you shot was a former slave.”

“Colin, were all of them like that, resigned to the system over there? But I guess it doesn’t matter; they’re killing people during the raids, capturing others, and selling the captives into slavery. We spent almost a year on the trail to get away from people like that, and now there’s no place left for us to go. The north has more mountains, even higher than the ones farther west, plus glaciers. There are high mountains to the west and desert beyond that, or at least that’s the way it was, the sea is to the south and there are slavers on the land beyond that. The raiders were operating to the east, and even though we wiped out one village, I’d be willing to bet there are others doing the same thing. The way I see it, we don’t have a choice; we’ve got to convince the raiders to leave us alone, and the easiest way to do that is destroy their market for slaves.”

“Not the women, Matt, they were glad to leave. About half the men would have stayed if you had given them the choice.”

“Colin, what about the two we lost on the way back?”

“One was a freedman, probably wanted to stay. He would have been an owner himself in a year or two. The other, they don’t know. He hadn’t been there long.”

“What about our guys, the ones they captured?” Matt asked.

“Not good. Captives who resist are treated pretty rough from what they’ve heard, and incorrigibles wind up in the mines.

“They’re primarily using iron for manufacturing, so they locate blacksmith shops and forges near the mines. That’s where the hard-cases go, and the next step down from there is a mine. Some work the lifts and haul ore, but the worst ones end up down in the tunnels. There’s quite a lot of gold and silver around too, but it’s not worth much. They use it for bullets! Slings throwing metal bullets are deadly and they’ve killed mammoths with catapult balls, so lions and saber-tooth cats don’t stand a chance.”

“You’re joking! Gold and silver bullets?”

“Well, there’s probably a lot of lead and copper mixed in too,” Colin said. “They don’t worry about it, just melt down everything that’s not iron into a round blob. They recover the balls after use and use them again too.”

“They’re that accurate, slinging those metal balls?” Matt asked.

“They’re accurate, Matt, but they don’t need to be. Toss a hundred of those two-or-three-pound bullets, repeat as necessary, and you’re likely to hit something! The range is something less than two hundred yards using metal ammo, but slings can throw rocks too. Longer range, but they’re not as effective.”

Matt shook his head. “This world keeps throwing surprises at me. I thought I had it figured out, but this one...it’s something I would never have imagined!”

“Yeah. I was surprised too, but it makes sense. Anyway, I figure we’ll need to keep it in mind if we ever have to face an army from down there.”

“Are the raiders former transplants too?” Matt asked.

“No, they’re simple thugs who’d rather raid than work, and when they get tired of that the owners hire them as slave-catchers. We know that because the captives recognized some of them when they stopped in at the farm to ask questions. A few slave-catchers have become owners, but from what the freedman said, the other owners don’t like it. They also discourage raiders from just bringing slaves in and setting up their own farms, because they think it creates unrest among the slaves. The other owners would need more overseers if escapes got to be a problem.”

“So Laz and Lee are probably in the mines by now?” Matt asked

“There, or in one of the shops,” Colin confirmed. “Some shops smelt metal, others are forges, and the blacksmiths that work them make arrowheads plus some other things. Mostly they make arrowheads for hunting, because they get per pound that way. They don’t need many new spear-points anyway, now that they’ve suppressed the big predators down there.”

“How did they manage that, Colin?” Matt asked.

“Simple. They hunted the grazers until they’d pushed them away from the farms, the cats and wolves followed the herds. There are still dangerous animals further west, but they’re scarce now and they've learned to avoid humans.”