(ALT) Day 6

[Norbert]

Day 6 Weather and Events:
Weather Report: Cool, 48 F daybreak, high of 63 F
Partly Cloudy, Winds from West gusting to 35 mph

Events (Times are General nearest hour)
0200 Predator near Herd
0800 Skunk Encounter Near Latrines
1100 Tracks found of herd of Elk
1500 Group of Amerinds spotted, flee if headed towards
1500 Cow gets loose and runs into swamp and gets stuck
1700 Four Elk spotted by a Patrol
2200 Wild Boar encountered near Herds, at first mistaken for one of the pigs

[Flocculencio]

Flocc roused himself from his slumber and slowly disengaged Vicky's arms from around his neck.

Time for another day of recruiting He brushed the dust from his fedora, strapped on his Colts and put on his snappiest waistcoat.

"See you later honey," he said giving the now-awake Vicky a kiss and heading out.

As he headed towards the main square, Flocc passed one of the herders heading back to his tent, tired out after a night of guarding the flocks.

"Anything interesting happen?" asked Flocc.

"I dunno...there was somethin' out there last night. The animals were pretty spooked so we doubled the guard. Whatever it was didn't come close enough for us to get a shot at it though..."

"Well...at least it didn't try to go for the animals."

Flocc hurried on towards the square. The surveying expedition was leaving tomorrow and he still needed to get together with MBarry to select the priavtes who would be chosen to come along.

[Hendryk]

For Hendryk, the last couple of days hadn't so much dragged by as painstakingly crawled on their bellies like fish left high and dry by the receding tide. Nor was it just the recent fit of homicidal insanity by Romulus Augustulus, though witnessing the violent death of two people would ruin anyone's mood; it wasn't the forthcoming trial either, though the very idea of a man--and a man he knew, if only from online chats--being likely sentenced to capital punishment hardly cheered him up. It was the more mundane problem of spending all his waking hours managing the community's supply stocks. The chore of writing down what was going in and out--mostly out in fact--of the stocks started to look a lot like his old job, only without a computer, without an office and without a roof over his head. "There's all of one paper-pushing job to be had in all of this TL's Western hemisphere," he thought, "and I'm the one stuck with it. If this isn't karma, I don't know what is."

Wendy, on the other hand, had taken to her new life with gusto. The self-discipline that had been drilled into her since childhood had come back to the surface. "Behold twenty-five centuries of Confucian ethos at work," Hendryk mused as he watched her run to and fro like a human-sized worker ant, controlling that every single item borrowed from the stocks ended up where it was supposed to. What a strange contrast with the Wendy he had all to himself every night, all unselfconscious sensuality.

Word had come to him of Ward's stroke, and he had actually warned Wendy to be careful when around him. One of the symptoms was apparently temporal disorientation, and Hendryk wondered whether the sight of a rifle-toting Asian girl rushing to him may trigger a Vietnam war memory flash. It didn't help that the type of gun Wendy had chosen for herself was indeed used by the North Vietnamese back then.

[Doctor What]

OOC: Sorry to be so nitpicky but wild boars aren't native to north america. All wild boars are descendents of european animals that were brought over by the spanish and other groups.

There is, however, a pig-like creature called the Peccary (http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2000TexNatHist/TexasNatHist/Members/SchullerL/Default.htm) that lives in the southwest U.S. They have very sharp canines that can take a chunk out of any creature that comes near them. They also smell almost as bad as skunks. You don't want to mess with them, as they have been known to attack predators. Maybe one of them almost takes a chunk out of the leg of someone who goes to investigate them? :cool:

[Ward]

OOC: Sorry to be so nitpicky but wild boars aren't native to north america. All wild boars are descendents of european animals that were brought over by the spanish and other groups.

There is, however, a pig-like creature called the Peccary (http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2000TexNatHist/TexasNatHist/Members/SchullerL/Default.htm) that lives in the southwest U.S. They have very sharp canines that can take a chunk out of any creature that comes near them. They also smell almost as bad as skunks. You don't want to mess with them, as they have been known to attack predators. Maybe one of them almost takes a chunk out of the leg of someone who goes to investigate them? :cool:


Lets make it so .

[Ward]

At the Ward Campsite Frank, Doug and Jammiee are talking .
Frank finaly states boys we are screwed blued and tatooted .
We don't have even a 10 % of the seeds we need to get by with .
And this area is begian to stink to high heaven pople are reliving themself almost anywere.

Doug Yes I know what you meen these people think we can go to a store when the food runs out . Now I know why Dad lost it . Pia was telling me that it was like Dad was trying to herd over 300 Teen age boys .
She said Dad was trying not to yell at them and he was bottoling it all inside . We know Dad he's a yell and screamer when people are being assholes . But he was not screaming at people and we all know thats bad it means he was really pissed at most of these people.

Frank oh hell yes rember Doug when we were 16 and rolled Dads new truck .

He never raised his voice at us . But when we got back home he moved all are stuff out of our room . And he had the razor strap out and he was ready to use it on us if Mom had not stoped him .

Jamiee Hell rember what he had to say when your sister brought me home .
The Brothers just noded .

Frank we have to go with this first group and get some crops in .

Ya I know we really do need to go with in the next 4 days

[GBW]

0805
GBW shook his head as he headed away from the latrines towards the 'main square', as it was becoming known. The skunk that had wandered into the area had been a bit more combative then the ones he'd encountered back in the 21st Century. It had raised it's bushy tail and had been prepared to spray anyone near it; that had sent everybody nearby running, though one unfortunate individual had stepped into one of the slit trenches in her haste to get away. Eventually, the skunk had decided it didn't like all the noise and people around, getting louder as more people awoke, and scurried back off into the trees.

He felt better than he had in previous days. MBarry and Flocc had begun recruiting for a company of 'Rangers', as they called them, the day before. Not having heard word back from Ward after he'd sent people to tell him about the fire, GBW had set people to keep them apart and had headed out to find Ward himself. He'd arrived just in time to hear MBarry's recruiting announcement and had stopped to mull it over. He'd been nearby for the shooting involving Romulus Augustulus and had seen the victims in the immediate aftermath; he'd heard about animal attacks and even an encounter with a local tribe, though he hadn't seen the local who'd been brought back; and he'd just come from that fire. Beside all that, he wanted to be doing something concrete to try and make this whole thing work. I don't want to see everything and everyone around me break down in a hail of gunfire, and, he thought uneasily, possible cannibalism. So he'd walked up to the desk along with the others and signed up.

Now he was heading back to see if he could catch wind of the latest news in general and on Ward's condition. As he approached the area, he saw MBarry and Flocc together talking. As soon as he saw Flocc, he had to swallow a laugh: the immediate thing that popped into his mind was a picture of him with a thought bubble that read, 'Me so scared!'. Smiling a bit, he walked up to them and asked, "Hey guys, what's going on?"

[Matt]

0800

Matt and Flocc stood in the steadily warming morning sun. The experenced veterans, now NCOs had mustered in early this morning. Ed helped issue out the rifles to them, and Matt appointed Perdedor99 company first sergent. P99 came to him with a plan for training, and Matt signed off on it. And then the NCOs marched off to zero their weapons.

But 3 stayed behind. Matt and Flocc interviewed everyone while the rifles were being issued. The most qualified were told to stay behind. Those with prior command experence, or ROTC were to be made into officers. Matt and Flocc would train them personally, they were told. Then they were chased off to zero the rifles also.

Matt sipped from his canteen cup, warm tea flowed into his stomach. "Lot of work ahead of us."

"Hmm, we do." Flocc said. He then took a sip of his own. "I got some idea of who I want to come with me tomorrow."

"And the privates?" Matt asked.

"I've been interviewing em as they try to sign up. Those I like I told to meet me here tomorrow morning, 0400 hours."

"Ouch... no rest for us weery eh?"

"Nope. None is sight."

xxxxxxx

[Flocculencio]

"Ah, GBW, old chap?" called Flocc.

"Yep?"

"I'm very pleased to tell you that you've made the grade- if you're still willing, that is. Othniel, Dr. What and their teams need an escort and I've already picked out 9 men. Now I need someone who can be trusted as an NCO and thou art the man, GBW!"

"Sounds good," replied GBW laconically, "0400 tomorrow you were saying?"

"Be there with bells on."

"No problem. What sort of experience do the men you picked have?"

"Well they can all handle guns. I wasn't able to nab any with actual military experience- Matt wants all of those to be available to train the militiamen. On the bright side we've got some people who have been hunting since they were in single digits almost- they'll have better woodcraft than me, I reckon."

"We expecting any trouble?"

"No idea," replied Flocc, "We're going in blind. We're going to hug the coast and not cut inland like Sion and Phred did so hopefully we won't run into any hostiles."

"And we're stopping at the coastal village where you and Matt made first contact right?"

"Yep- we'll probably halt there for a day or two to let Bruno work his magic. With a bit of luck they'll have news about the movements of the tribes further off too."

"Sounds good then."

"I've got to go see Othniel and Bruno so I'll see you 0400 tomorrow with..."

"...yep, with bells on. What the hell does that mean anyway?"

Flocc looked faintly nonplussed...

"Y'know I'm not totally sure," he said as he wandered off, presumably to find either Othniel or Dr. What.

[Matt]

Okay, I was trying to be polite.... for now just dismiss jolo's postings as a delusional observation..


Any dicussion well be deleted, keep it in chat.

[Norbert]

(By the Way: Exactly who is to be going on the scouting expedition. Lets make it clear for everyone (me too, I've lost track of the compostion)).

[Bulgaroktonos]

Bulg's day was composed to busily hurrying about in an effort to get the required labor to the required places. Things were finally picking up, and thus there was a lot of attention required. Bulg had made sure that the field workers and woodsmen had everything required of them, for the most part axes, rope, and animals (for clearing the stumps).

With the makeshift census drafted by Darkest, Bulg started sending extra labor to the wagon-builders and herders, as they were of the second tier importance. Grimm had gotten his labor in the form of mostly 10-12 year olds who could be trusted to bring in a fish of some kind.

As the day progressed, Bulg moved around the camp, taking stock of what they had on hand, making sure they had all the replacement parts.

[Norbert]

The news that the scouting group would be moving out in the morning baothered Norbert a bit. He hated to leave after his friend Ward had had what sounded like another stroke, but he recognized the need to get moving, and he didn't really know anyone yet that may be able to look for the things he had suggested looking for. So he spent the morning gathering what he thought he would need together for the trip,
'Norbert? Do you think its such an good idea that you go now? After all, your leg...'
'Carla, this needs to be done, and the leg is not so bad, the scratches really are not that bad. I've done as much with worse injuries, and I plan on getting some things from Glenn to keep it clean. And I know what to look for as to signs of infection. I'll be fine.'
'What about Ward? He's your best friend!'
'When I am done here, I am going to look in on him. His wife would have sent me word if it was real bad, she knows how close we are.'

At noon, Norbert got food for two people and went to see his old friend. This is the second time I have gone to look in on him after a stroke. I hope we can keep from having to have another visit like this

[Ward]

06:30 Pia gets up sick to her stomach NO she tough it can't be there tied .
I will kill him if its true . I will have to go see Dr. Glen .

Glen rember the female animals are with child just think if all the women are that way , Also .

[Glen]

The news that the scouting group would be moving out in the morning baothered Norbert a bit. He hated to leave after his friend Ward had had what sounded like another stroke, but he recognized the need to get moving, and he didn't really know anyone yet that may be able to look for the things he had suggested looking for. So he spent the morning gathering what he thought he would need together for the trip,
'Norbert? Do you think its such an good idea that you go now? After all, your leg...'
'Carla, this needs to be done, and the leg is not so bad, the scratches really are not that bad. I've done as much with worse injuries, and I plan on getting some things from Glenn to keep it clean. And I know what to look for as to signs of infection. I'll be fine.'
'What about Ward? He's your best friend!'
'When I am done here, I am going to look in on him. His wife would have sent me word if it was real bad, she knows how close we are.'

At noon, Norbert got food for two people and went to see his old friend. This is the second time I have gone to look in on him after a stroke. I hope we can keep from having to have another visit like this

OOC: Actually, he sounds like he had a transient global amnesia, which is a mystifying neurological entity, but is likely to be related to either transient ischemia like that warning of stroke risk, or from wierd migraine variants.

In either event, I'm a bit peeved at Ward. The ASBs removed physical illnesses, so he shouldn't be having transient ischemic events or strokes or wierd migraines. I don't know what he's playing at here....

BTW, Ward, who is pia?

[Psychomeltdown]

OOC: Actually, he sounds like he had a transient global amnesia, which is a mystifying neurological entity, but is likely to be related to either transient ischemia like that warning of stroke risk, or from wierd migraine variants.

In either event, I'm a bit peeved at Ward. The ASBs removed physical illnesses, so he shouldn't be having transient ischemic events or strokes or wierd migraines. I don't know what he's playing at here....

OOC: ditto. we need our Ward whole and hale. :(

[Norbert]

OOC: Actually, he sounds like he had a transient global amnesia, which is a mystifying neurological entity, but is likely to be related to either transient ischemia like that warning of stroke risk, or from wierd migraine variants.

In either event, I'm a bit peeved at Ward. The ASBs removed physical illnesses, so he shouldn't be having transient ischemic events or strokes or wierd migraines. I don't know what he's playing at here....

BTW, Ward, who is pia?

Pia is Wards 36 year old daughter-in-law Physical Therapist from Sweden, who already has 3 children under age 6:D

[jolo]

08:30

I and my wife decided to leave. We build us an improvised sledge and packed our personal belongings. At 09:30, we left the camp to the south, where my fields were.

[Doctor What]

Leo's Tent-Morning

Dr. What, Leo and Ahmick were sitting together sharing a breakfast. Ahmick was wolving down another plate of food of various vegetables, nuts and berries that had been collected from supplies that other people brought or that had been foraged from the surrounding area.

"He does seem to eat a lot, doesn't he?" said Leo

"Well--'feast or famine' mentality is a tough one to break--if you're not 100% sure when or where your next meal is coming from, you're not going to turn your nose up at food, no matter how weird some of it may look." said Dr. What

"I thought this area was practically the garden of eden when it came to food?"

"A garden of eden that gets hit by floods, fires and earthquakes on a semi- regular basis plus is crawling with lots of creatures bigger than you with many sharp teeth and claws that like having the occasional person as a snack."

"Ah--so Extreme Garden of Eden...." said Leo with a smirk. Dr. What laughed.

"So--any luck with Ahmick's language, Leo?"

"I'm not 100% sure but if I had to make a guess then I think that his language is agglutinative in nature"

It took a minute for Doc to remember what that meant.

"You mean like the Inuit? Where they stick all the adjectives after the word snow?"

Leo nodded.

"So--snow is 'qanuk', snow-on-ground is 'qanikcaq', snow-floating-on-water is 'qanisqineq'--and so forth all the way up to-" -Dr. What took a deep breath before continuing-"qaniktshaqmoritlkatsioatsuniartoq"

Leo raised his eyebrows- "What does that one mean?"

"Snow-large amount-observe carefully-how it fornicates greatly" said Doc.

Pause from Leo.

"Look at all this fucking snow?" he said dubiously

Doc grinned. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to use that word. So--how does this help us?"

"Well--the short answer is once we figure out the root words in his language, we're pretty much good to go. The nice thing about a polysynthetic language is that you sort of make it up as you go, so it's okay if we screw up the order of the words a bit, as long as we pronounce the words carefully. It's going to be a pain in the ass to wrap our minds around the idea of adding suffixes to every word but once we've got that straight, it's pretty easy to learn."

"So when do you think we can be speaking his lingo fluently?"

Leo let out a sigh- "Jeez--we're months away from learning his lingo with any degree of fluency. Right now we're still in 'tourist-miwok' --and will be for the foreseenable future. Still--it's a start."

Ahmick finished off the plate of food and smacked his lips appreciatively. He looked at Doc and Leo. "Ahmick." -pointing at himself- "I-ez" -pointing at his eyes with his fingers- "Caa-amp?" he said, questioningly.

"I take it he wants to see the camp?" said Leo.
"Man knows what he wants" said Doc.
"Any idea why?"
"Beats me"

**
Ahmick wandered around the outer fridges of the camp for a while, Leo and Doc in tow. He seemed to be just ambling along the edge, averting his gaze and avoiding looking at the great expanse of the camp too closely. He suddenly stopped, backed up a step and looked more closely at a bush. He pulled out a small clump of fur.

"Vaja" he said holding the fur proudly. When he saw the confused looks on Doc's and Leo's faces, he held out his fingers straight up along the side of his head and wrinkled his noise, making chewing noises. "Vaja" he repeated.

"Rabbit?" said Leo questioningly

"Wa-bit?" repeated Ahmick.

Hey--who's teaching who here? thought Dr. What, smiling.

**

They continued their way.

"Leo--I need to tell you something. This isn't common knowledge but...". Doc looked around then made his voice into a whisper "You know that the scouting party got attacked?"

"Yeah--but that's well known--why are you whispering?"

Doc looked around again "The scouting party may have killed some of the attackers"

"Oh shit"

"Got the info from Matt--who got it from the the two scouts. I don't blame them--they were being attacked after all. They showed remarkable restraint in fact. They tried all the usual 'firing over their heads' stuff before they switched to deadly force"

"What do you think will happen now?"

"Beats me. Ahmick's tribe doesn't seem to be the one who did it, thank God."

"You sure about that? They met just the one band--it could have been another band of the same tribe. You sure it's a different one completely?"

"Not completely--but the descriptions of the weapons they used plus a few other little details makes me think that it may have been a completely different tribe. Just a guess at this point, of course. Won't know for sure for a few days, I guess."

"What are you worried about?"

"Something that was mentioned by one of the scouts--they were attacked out of the blue and then when the attackers saw them clearly, the attackers hesitated then attacked again." He paused. "They were waiting for someone else and the scouts walked into it"

Leo thought about this for a minute "Ahmick's tribal enemies?"

"No idea. I've tried drawing maps for Ahmick but for hunter-gatherers a 'map' is 'walk for 3 days until you hit a river then turn right and follow it until you get to the cliffs' kind of thing, not the kind of map you and I are used to. I've got a few ideas to make the concept more clear to him that I'm going to try over the next two days"

"So--once again--what are you worried about?"

"If it's a different tribe completely, we can pretty much forget about making friends with them now. Blood has been spilled. If that tribe is enemies with Ahmick's tribe and they get wind that we are allies with them, then we have become, by default, their enemies as well." He sighed deeply. "It looks like we're going to be playing politics with the different groups here."

**

[Norbert]

FOR Ward:

After spending the second day at Glenns medical tent, Wrad is heading back to his tent site. He spots a young child defecating beside the tent, and he yells at the parents 'Hey, you shitheads! If you can't control your children, you don't need them!!' And he then storms back to his campsite, muttering to himself.
Walking into his campsite, he yells at his wife: 'Hey, Damnit! Wheres my supper, and someone get me a damn cup of coffee!!'

And the fireworks erupt at the Ward camp.

From Norbert:

'Hey you stupid old fool!!! Let a person get some damn sleep around here, I've got to be on the road early tomorrow!!! Someone tell Glenn to give him a chill pill!!!!'

Wards three sons look at each other and say to each other 'Dads back to normal, isn't he? Shall we see if there is room to sleep at the firing range? It will be quieter if their using it!'

[Norbert]

3 AM (Actually Day 7)
Norbert got up, and he was grouchy. The Wards fight had gone on long into the night. He got dressed, and took an hammer and an axe outside, and started to hit the side of the blade of the axe with the hammer. TING, TING, TING, TING, TING!
Ward yelled out 'Who the hell is making that racket???"
Norbert, satisfied with his revenge, went back to getting ready to head out on the survey trip.

[Dave Howery]

6:00 am. Dave had been patrolling around the sheep herd for 8 straight hours, for the 4th night in a row. "Damn, I'm wearing a rut in the ground" he thought. At least nothing had happened on any of those nights. There had been a flurry of excitment over by the cow herd earlier, but no one had seen whatever it was that had them nervous. Now, the barest hint of dawn could be seen on the horizon. Glancing at his watch, he saw that he still had four hours to go... not so bad.
As we prepared to resume his patrolling, he noticed two men heading his way, barely visible in the dark. One of them was Psycho, the other someone he didn't know. Psycho yawned in the early morning chill, and then grinned at Dave, who asked "What's up? Why you out here so early?" Psycho paused a moment, and said "We're changing our organization a little. I'm taking on a little too much, what with organizing the water brigade and the new '4-H' program, so I'm turning over responsibility of the herds to you. NPC2 here will take your place for the rest of your shift. Why don't you get some sleep. Let's get together about 6 tonight and go over the personnel and plans." Dave was a little surprised by that blunt statement, and thought it over for a minute. "Okay, that's probably necessary. It's already hard to get clean water now, and too many people need a crash course in this old style farming and ranching we're doing. I can have Michelle help me with the paperwork, and me and her can probably keep everything going. Still, I may come bend your ear every so often... I'm still pretty out of practice at a lot of this." "No problem. So long as I'm not handling all the day to day stuff, it should all work out."
Dave and Psycho gave NPC2 a quick outline of what he needed to do, and both headed back to the camp. Dave asked, "So, anything happening at camp?" Psycho replied, "Well, the rangers brought back a real honest to God Indian. He's staying with Dr. What, and we're trying to learn his language. I think he's learning English faster though". Dave thought about that. "Dr. What? Dang, I haven't run into him yet. I should drop in on him, say hello. And he's our ambassador to the natives? Cool. Hey, I should teach our guest some things in English, like 'you have a cheesy goatee' or 'Die Canadian Die'". Psycho snorted at that. "Sure, Dave, let's start an international incident before we even have any nations."
Leaving Psycho to start his own day, Dave walked back to his tent. The camp was quiet, with only a handful of people up and around. However, with the awakening bird life and all the noise that went along with it, he was sure that people would be stirring soon. He stopped in front of his own tent, and started to reach for the zipper opening. Then he remembered that Michelle had a pistol of her own, and wasn't expecting him. He scratched at the flap of the tent and softly called her name. He heard her stirring around inside, then the ominous cocking of her pistol, and her soft "Que?". "It's your devoted husband, come home at last." The tent flap unzipped from the inside, and Michelle poked her head out, looking a little bleary eyed. "What's wrong? Why are you home so early?" Dave quickly explained to her about the change in organization, then crawled into the tent. "What do you think, babe?" Michelle thought for a moment, and said "I like it. We can handle it. And we'll actually both get to be here at the same time." Dave nodded and then yawned. "I want to get a little sleep before Psycho hands everything over to me. Wake me about 4 or so, okay?" Michelle nodded and then both stretched out on the sleeping bags. Putting one arm around Michelle, Dave quickly dropped off to sleep....

[Psychomeltdown]

OOC: erm... Big Hunt and Survey are tomorrow, Day 7...

[Dave Howery]

yeah, I fixed it right after I first posted it, realized that at the last minute...

[Dave Howery]

OOC: Sorry to be so nitpicky but wild boars aren't native to north america. All wild boars are descendents of european animals that were brought over by the spanish and other groups.

There is, however, a pig-like creature called the Peccary (http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2000TexNatHist/TexasNatHist/Members/SchullerL/Default.htm) that lives in the southwest U.S. They have very sharp canines that can take a chunk out of any creature that comes near them. They also smell almost as bad as skunks. You don't want to mess with them, as they have been known to attack predators. Maybe one of them almost takes a chunk out of the leg of someone who goes to investigate them? :cool:
OOC>>> to be even more picky, peccaries never lived in CA. We'd have to go over the Rockies to AZ to find one. So, let's just do away with the wild boar encounter... or make it an encounter with a wild gopher (oooh, scary...)...

[Norbert]

OOC>>> to be even more picky, peccaries never lived in CA. We'd have to go over the Rockies to AZ to find one. So, let's just do away with the wild boar encounter... or make it an encounter with a wild gopher (oooh, scary...)...

Wait!!! We still can have a wild boar!!! Maybe Wards wife????:D

( Since he is sitting here at my place at the moment, I might need to go into evasion mode when he reads this!!!:D :D :D )



Yes and she heared about this and she got her gilding knife out .:eek:

As she saids he dose not need them:rolleyes:

[Doctor What]

OOC>>> to be even more picky, peccaries never lived in CA. We'd have to go over the Rockies to AZ to find one. So, let's just do away with the wild boar encounter... or make it an encounter with a wild gopher (oooh, scary...)...

He got lost! He forgot to take a left turn in Alburqueque and ended up in Frisco! :p

[Forum Lurker]

~6:00 PM

What a week. I should have been studying for finals, but instead I'm somewhere in prehistoric California, more tired and hungry than I've ever been in my life, and hoping that it'll get better before it gets too much worse. At least I'm not alone, FL thought, looking at the woman next to him. On the bright side, I've been magically cured of kidney stones and nearsightedness, I'll get to be a doctor just like Mom always wanted, and I'm making history. Little bits of it, but history.

Plus, it's Shabbat. His voice joined that of the handful of Jews (but a minyan nevertheless) they had managed to gather, beginning the service with Lecha Dodi. Tomorrow, there would be no rest, but for one night, they could pause and reflect, as the beginnings of a community.

[Norbert]

~6:00 PM

What a week. I should have been studying for finals, but instead I'm somewhere in prehistoric California, more tired and hungry than I've ever been in my life, and hoping that it'll get better before it gets too much worse. At least I'm not alone, FL thought, looking at the woman next to him. On the bright side, I've been magically cured of kidney stones and nearsightedness, I'll get to be a doctor just like Mom always wanted, and I'm making history. Little bits of it, but history.

Plus, it's Shabbat. His voice joined that of the handful of Jews (but a minyan nevertheless) they had managed to gather, beginning the service with Lecha Dodi. Tomorrow, there would be no rest, but for one night, they could pause and reflect, as the beginnings of a community.


For Ward: 'Shalom Shabbat'

[Psychomeltdown]

0530

"I'm getting too old for this shit." Psycho muttered pulling on his boots. He'd been working like a dog the last couple of days and barely getting six hours of sleep, he could feel the exhaustion weighing down upon him, along with the beginnings of a constant nagging hunger from rationing that Nizhoni had been enforcing.

Not fair at all.

Psycho awoke NPC2 and told him to grab his gear, he'd be on watch all day. The NPC grumbled but tagged along.

0600

Psycho relieved Dave and told him about his new plan. No need beating around the bush, so he told him bluntly what was going on. Gods. Psycho thought. I'm starting to sound like my dad. Straight to the point and no nonsense was his father.

0630

After breakfast Psycho and Nizhoni wandered over to where Ahmick was making his camp. A bit dark and still chilly, but the Miwok was up and about staring at the rising camp. To Psycho he looked like those kids engrossed in a TV program. Big eyed, slightly agape mouth, and all attention focused on what was going on before them.

They spoke with him, as much as they could, and just made their greetings. Ahmick was fascinated by Nizhoni, but thankfully didn't run his hands all over her face. Psycho wondered what his reaction would be? Luckily Ahmick seemed to understand that Nizhoni was his woman and politely talked to her.

0715

Nizhoni and Psycho went their separate ways. Nizhoni back to the Herd Camp to figure a few things out and start up the recruiting drive for the "4H club". Psycho gave her the names and the locations of the 30 odd people he had met the other day and hoped she'd get at least as many more people by noon.

0730

With a little direction receiving, Psycho found the Wagon Making Area of the camp. A large group of men and women were getting ready for work and after a little asking Psycho found the foreman, a man named Gerard. After a talk he acknowledged that the Council had given him notification at the forming of a Water Brigade. He offered 10 wagons they had just completed, stating that was all he could offer.

Psycho gladly accepted them, knowing he'd gotten lucky. Horses were brought over along with a couple of the people that had been bringing water to the camp, an unofficial water brigade that had been supplying a few people with their water. Now with horses and wagons, things could go a little smoother.

if they could only get how to guide two horses pulling a wagon...

0900

With a few false starts and a lesson by an NPC the wagons and horses managed to lumber out of the Wagon yard and toward the river, where people were gathered to help in the water hauling. Then the real problem showed up. There was water, there was labor, but there was no way to get water into the jugs other than entering the river and filling them up one by one.

On that chilly morning, Psycho and 35 others plunged into the river, knee deep, standing still so as not to muddy the water and began filling up jugs, buckets, a barrel or three.

"We're gonna have to find a better way to get out water." Psycho muttered.

"Damn straight."

[Bulgaroktonos]

At about 2 o'clock, sensing a lull in the need for rapid labor and resource shifting as the day grew hotter, and thus, people took their lunch breaks, Bulg took a short break from logistical support. He firstly made sure that at least Glen and the more sendentary organizers knew where he would be before heading off. He made himself a can of New England Clam Chowder, and wandered into the woods west of the camp, where the rugged terrain sloping terrain had led to less clearing. As he always did on excursions of this type, he carried with him his 4ft paint roller, sans brush, his Colt .45s, a nice canvas sack, and the scutum.

Of primary importance was finding the proper location. After about 20 minutes of searching, he spotted a rocky outcropping well in the sun. Of the places he had so far surveyed, this was probably the best. It would certainly contain the prey he sought. And his trek was not a waste of time, for it was well rewarded. If the snake that had bitten the man the other was not a speckled rattlesnake, as Bulg surmised, then it was most likely the snake he saw before him, sunning itself in the midday sun. Too far north for the Western Diamond backs, and too hilly for the sidewinders, it could only have been the Red Diamond Rattlesnake.

Bulg's approach was not unnoticed by the snake, and it quickly moved into a defensive coil. Bulg unslung his scutum and put it infront of his vulnerable legs, moving slowly forward. It risked the snake's fangs (and thus the trip), but if he moved slowly enough in his approach, and pinned it quickly enough once he got within striking distance, then he would not have to worry. It was an average sized snake, about 3ft, so Bulg could safely antagonize a strike and remain out of range, with his 4ft roller. If it were a larger snake, it would be a bit more difficult, as its striking range would be longer than he could safely operate from, and the scutum would have to be discarded in favor of the more dangerous forms of snake wrangling, that in truth, Bulg had no experience in with poisonous snakes, and didn't feel like trying out.

Using his roller, Bulg managed to provoke a strike that fell well short of the scutum. Quickly readjusting, he slipped the roller's corner under the now extended snake and lifted it into the air. Having effectively neutralized its striking capacity outside of the immediate area around it's head, Bulg opened the sack and placed it on the ground with the top propped up just enough to keep it above ground.

After a good 20 minutes of wrangling and readjusting, Bulg was finally forced to pin the snake, which was now far more intent on escape than defense and thus easier to pin, grip it by the base of the skull, and place it in the bag. Clearly he was going to have to work on the whole roller technique if he was going to land some of the meaner snakes California sported.

Heading back to camp, snake in tow, Bulg was satisfied with his days work, and thought up more strategies for maintaining an antivenin supply from local snakes than the rather risky one he had now......

[Matt]

OOC: We really need to give our NPCs better names the NPC2 :p

[Ghost 88]

OOC: We really need to give our NPCs better names the NPC2 :p
NPC Two better:rolleyes:

[GBW]

OOC: We really need to give our NPCs better names the NPC2 :p
Well, Norbert mentioned that members would be NPCs unless the actual member decided to start playing, so why not choose a random member? Like tetsu-katana, midgardmetal or G.Bone, just picking three at random.

[Ward]

OOC: We really need to give our NPCs better names the NPC2 :p


How about Dogface 69

[SionEwig]

Late afternoon over at the Wagon Works.

Sion was talking with his wife (Annie) about what needed to be done before he left the next morning with the scouting group when they heard a thud from the other side of the just finised wagon. One woman on the crew let out a bit of a scream that she choked off and people turned to see what the comotion was.

Their second son (Daffyd) was just sitting up on the ground with blood beginning to pour from the side of his head. Several people began yelling for the doctor as Sion and Annie reached him.

"All right little man, let's see what you did this time," Sion said crouching down to take a look. "Um, nice gash there, how many fingers?"

The eight year old looked up. "Four, Daddy. Will I need sutures?"

"Yeah I think so. Let's get you over to Dr. Finney and see what he thinks."

"Cool," the boy replied.

Sion put a clean handkerchief on the wound and picked up the child. Looking over at his wife, he asked "Who won the pot?"

"Me" she replied, shaking her head. "I'm actually surprised it took him this long."

"It is a miracle." Sion said laughing. "See you and the rest of the monsters back at camp."

Annie turned back to the crew, "All right folks, let's get back to work, we should at least be able to get the frame for the next one knocked out before we call it a day. Don't worry about Daffyd, this is nothing he hasn't done before."


Sion carried his son over to Glen's campsite. "Hey Glen, got a patient for you."

[pisces74]

Pisces traded the beaver he killed for a pair of brushes for Jen, early in the morning, and spent the rest of the day wandering around the protoianoplois listening for what needed to be done. after hearing about the great hunt He signed on as a camp guard and called it a day.

[Psychomeltdown]

1230

Psycho staggered back into camp, bone weary and chilly. Three hours had been spent knee deep in chilly waters and now he was both cold and tired. He'd hauled water before, during the winter time back home when the pipes and hoses froze and water had to be carried from home to the horse corrals. Then it had been a chore and had been exhausting, but hefting dozens upon dozens of gallons of water, one after another, over and over again...

"Cold?" Nizhoni asked, handing him a cup of tea.

"Yep." Psycho muttered.

A man walked into the camp, looking around.

"Psycho?" the man asked.

"Yeah. I'd get up, but I think I'd pass out." He said.

"I'm Frank, one of Ward's kids."

"Nice to meet you Frank."

"I saw you hauling water this morning, thought I'd offer you something that'd make your job a whole lot easier."

"What a water plant?" Psycho asked, jokingly.

"No. A windmill pump. With a bit of tinkering and a bit of know how, I think I can get it to work, hand operated. With it you could pump water into your containers without back breaking labor."

Psycho stared at the man. "If I wasn't married, I'd so be all over you." He said with all honesty.

Frank laughed. "I can imagine the work you guys had to go through."

"My poor back's gonna give out." Psycho said.

"If you lend me a wagon, I think we can get it over to the water site quickly and in about an hour or so, get it working. You'll get a good 2 cubic feet of water a minute."

"Round up the boys and girls. I gave them a lunch break so that they wouldn't keel over. But with this, they'll be kissing your cheeks and man handling you to get it set up." Psycho said, getting to his feet. "Wife, keep lunch warm for me. Come on, Frank, my newest friend. We got some good news and work ahead of us."

"If you're not back in an hour, I'm eating your food!" Nizhoni shouted after Psycho.

[Doctor What]

Midday

Leo and Dr. What were going over their notes for what had felt like the one thousand time. They estimated that they knew about 100 words of Miwok with some degree of fluency--although Leo was hesitant about their interpretations of about 1/3 of those. They figured that Ahmick knew about twice that many words of english--and Dr. What was of the opinion that he may actually be holding out on them.

"He really is an amazing study, Leo. Never seen someone so good at picking up a foreign language before." He paused. "Well--present company excluded, of course"

"Thanks. So what makes you think he's holding out on us?"

"Call it a hunch."

"Think it might be a problem?"

"He's a very smart and very motivated young man who wants to know everything about us. I'm just hoping that we have been giving him a good impression about us."

"How did he take the news about us taking him back?"

"Pretty good, I think. He seems very eager to go home"

"Can you blame him? He's spent nearly 4 days with us. Hell--I'm getting a bit freaked out being here."

Ahmick was the first to spot 'Flok'.

'Flok! Tagasa!"

Flocc walked up and did a small bow. Ahmick returned the gesture.

"Hello there Leo. Hello Bruno, old chap. How goes the study?"

"Tiring. If I read these notes one more time I'm the one who's going to run screaming into the woods"

"Well--hold off on the meltdown for a few more weeks, ok? Othniel and the others have worked out all the details. Myself, GBW and 9 other Rangers will make up the escort. You, Leo and Ahmick will be our foreign relations team. Norbert, Sion, Oth and a rather clever young engineer by the name of Brad will be our surveyors. We leave first thing tomorrow."

"How long will the trip last, you figure?"

"Difficult to say--figure 2, maybe 2 1/2 weeks round trip."

"Good. That reminds me--I think we should send Ahmick home in style.Gifts, a knife, skins, beads and stuff for him and even more stuff for the tribe. Maybe a few pots and pans, a canteen or something? I want them to really understand that we're looking for friendship. That we don't want them to be our enemies."

"Already on it, old chap. I figured you'll probably be thinking that so I took the liberty of putting together a list of various odds and ends we've got lying around. I can probably have the whole pile put together by this evening"

"Gosh--you're smart" said Doc, smirking.

"But of course..." said Flocc.

"Right." said the Doc, standing up. "Now comes the really hard part"

Confused looks from Leo and Flocc.

"Telling the wife that I'm going to go away for nearly 3 weeks" said Doc, sheepishly, as he walked away.

[Hendryk]

"Good. That reminds me--I think we should send Ahmick home in style.Gifts, a knife, skins, beads and stuff for him and even more stuff for the tribe. Maybe a few pots and pans, a canteen or something? I want them to really understand that we're looking for friendship. That we don't want them to be our enemies."

"Already on it, old chap. I figured you'll probably be thinking that so I took the liberty of putting together a list of various odds and ends we've got lying around. I can probably have the whole pile put together by this evening".
1800

"Leo? Doc? Floc?"

All three turned at the same time to see Hendryk coming to them, carrying a bulging canvas bag. Walking alongside him was a very earnest-looking Wendy, clipboard in hand.

"Here's the stuff you guys requested. Huh, honey?"

Wendy handed them the handwritten list of items. "Please sign at the bottom. Both copies. We'll keep one."

Doctor What raised an eyebrow. "If this community of us ever turns into a sprawling bureaucracy, we'll know whom to blame," he said half-jokingly.

"Don't blame me," Hendryk replied. "I want out of this job already. Problem is, I don't know where else to make myself useful. I wouldn't mind being part of the foreign affairs side of things, it's at least related, however distantly, to what I learned in university. And... you know... since we arrived, the farthest I've been from the camp is the latrine area."

"I can stay at supply management if nobody else is available, though I'll need an assistant," Wendy said. "But I might apply for a position in the militia."

"Anyway, here's the good-bye presents for... what's his name already... Ammick?"

"Ahmick," Leo corrected. "Emphasis on the first syllable."

"Okay," Floc said, "if it's all right with you lady and gents, Doc and I need to get some sleep. You know what's coming up tomorrow."

[Gerard-ABC]

Day 6.... midday....

Seems like we're doing ok. Wagons are being built.

I'm still not sure what happened to that kid, but the doc thinks it's not serious.

I hear that someone had a good idea about pumping water, so they don't need to fill each bucket by hand. Sounds like the sort of idea that we need to keep having. I thought maybe some sort of pipe / tube to siphon water might work, but a pump is much better.

We'll have enough wagons ready for moving the meat tomorrow. Only need them for the large animals. You can carry a squirrel or similar in one hand.

Hmm...... I hope that no one starts chasing any skunks out there.


Regards,
Gerard

[jolo]

Supposing that the deleted parts of history did actually happen (especially as others are referring to them), an account of what came later (subject to possible retcon).

11:00

Our drawn out trek of about 20-30 people had nearly reached their destination a few miles south of Ian's Fort when an ambush by a hunting party of the Amerindians from the river across the eastern hills hit the people in the middle of the trek. Two families at the end of the trek fled towards the coast in panic. Most of the people in the middle were killed or wounded before they could shoot back. When we got to the scene, the few survivers had shot most of the Amerindians, while the surviving Amerindians had successfully stolen a few guns and fled when they saw their peers dying.

The arrows of the Amerindians were poisoned - all the wounded died within minutes. Three of the large animals were also dead. Now we knew why the Bay Amerindians were so afraid of this tribe.

We collected the survivors and all the equipment of the dead, and continued to our proposed settlement site. Shooting sounds in the distance assured us that the Amerindians soon wouldn't have any ammunition left in the guns - but they'd definitely come back for more. I asked in our group of about 10 people left who would like to return to warn the others of the danger, but no-one volunteered. There'd be another day for that.

12:00

Everyone had arrived at our proposed new home. We now had nearly twice as much equipment and stocks as before per person. At least we'd probably not starve.

After our tents were set up and a little meal was taken, we discussed our situation and our next steps. A miracle would be needed to help us survive the next weeks. I had night vision equipment, but as my solar panels were left in the camp, they'd only be good for a single night. It would take a few days until we could have finished the dam and the hydroelectric generator. An offensive against people armed with poisoned arrows was also too dangerous for a group of so few people. The people elected me the mayor of our little camp. So my dream of becoming a mayor was finally fulfilled. Great!

We decided to build a watch tower from the logs made earlier in the nearby woods, to better be able to detect intruders. Our two dogs would hopefully also warn us of any danger. The grown up males and the two childless women would sleep in the open, for easier taking turns in the night shift and faster reaction times. Thanks to modern sleeping bags, that should be no problem. There would be no fire during the night.

We experimented a little bit to find out which kind of wood produced the least smoke and began using only that kind for cooking. We also made a better protected fire place, so that the fire wouldn't be visible from a distance. Much too colorful clothing, equipment, and tents were not to be used for now, if possible.

We decided our future settlement would be build in the hills above the pond-to-be.

Some of us built the watch tower while the others made the camp more cozy.

16:00

We gathered some food and got to know the area better. I made a new local map (a simple drawing of the main features) and inserted the constructions that were planned.

20:00

Women were comforting the children, the men were comforting the women, and some people were soon trying to sleep to prepare for their night shift.

[Matt]

Why on earth are you leaving?

Your IC interpetation of OOC discussion did not happen. No one stormed your marketplace. This is the online equvalant of a temper tantrum

[jolo]

Except that I'm not the one who's temerament is going wild.

Considering this (http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=389373&postcount=159) and this (http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=389371&postcount=2), and the open end of the chat about the matter, I had to assume some people wanted the little trip to have some more extreme highs and lows. Psychomeltdown corrected his post - though it doesn't make sense, as the rebels weren't sent out by Fort Ian, and they left in the opposite direction.

But I'll leave that to you guys - I suppose we can play the game either way - I just don't have any idea what Fort Ian is like if we take the more peaceful path - and it's difficult to play that part then...

[Matt]

But I'll leave that to you guys - I suppose we can play the game either way - I just don't have any idea what Fort Ian is like if we take the more peaceful path - and it's difficult to play that part then...

None of it's flying in my book. Pyscho can have the homesteaders coming in... but only the ones that took off on the first day. I logged off last night thinking that we came to an agreement about the rate of advancement in Fort Ian. I would like that to hold. A break like this would be bad for the game right now, and I would be really disappointed.

But do what you want, I don't want to restrict choices. But remember the catalyst for you leaving didn't happen.

[jolo]

Retcon

08:00

I left to work on the dam I intended to build. My wife did the gardening in our future home.

20:00

I came back after a long days work. I brought a few fish from the creek for us to cook and eat.

Later, my wife and I made plans about how our future home would look like, and debated whether it would be build in the city or on the farm.

(Moderators may delete posts 10, 18, 42, 43, 44, and 45 if they wish)

[Dave Howery]

4 PM. Dave woke up feeling more rested than he had in days. He remembered that he was going to meet with Psycho in a couple of hours and go over the herders' lists and schedules. "Hey, it's just management, I can do that", he thought to himself. He ran a hand over his chin, feeling a week's stubble on there.. actually, it was closer to a real beard than anything else; he'd always had a healthy growth of facial hair that required daily shaving to keep under control. "Can't have that", he mused. He noticed that Michelle was gone, probably out and about helping around the camp. So, Dave spent some time cleaning himself up. He shaved (slowly and painfully), made an effort to sponge off the worst of the dirt, and put on fresh clothes. "Gotta look the part", he said to himself.
He was just lacing up his boots when Michelle opened the tent flap and crawled in. She looked at him a moment and grinned. "About time you got rid of that stubble". Dave looked at her in mock anger. "I'll have you know that I had a beard for about 8 years in my younger days. It looked good too." "Yeah, did the girls like it?" "Well.... no. Except my nieces when they were babies... they loved to grab fistfuls of it." "Come on, Jedediah, we got business to take care of."
Dave and Michelle walked through the camp, which was winding down for evening meals. Reaching Psycho's tent, he noticed that the man was looking a little harried. "Bad day?" he asked. Psycho just nodded. "Yeah, getting this water brigade up and running was kind of a hassle. Wagons, horses, barrels and buckets... well, it seems to be all shaken out now anyway." Dave sat down and began going over Psycho's notes on the herds and herders. "This isn't too hard", he thought to himself, "Psycho's already done most of the organizing. I just need to keep everything going." After gathering up all the written notes, he got together with the herders who weren't on duty and confirmed the scheduling over the next few days. The next day was going to be a little tight, what with the great hunt and all, but so long as nothing major happened, it should all work out. He also put Michelle in charge of everything for tomorrow, since he was going to be out on the shooting lines himself. The main problem was security... there never seemed to be enough men on horses in case of a problem. So, hopefully, there wouldn't be any for a while. Walking back to his tent with Michelle, Dave began to feel that there was actually a decent chance of surviving. To be sure, there would undoubtedly be problems and unexpected hazards ahead of them, but the camp finally seemed to be getting organized....

[Psychomeltdown]

Just for me to finish up Day 6


1322

Frank helped out installing the windmill, now a hand pump, in the river. and made work tremendously easier for the Water Brigade.

1345

a bit late and a bit tired, Psycho met with the recruits for the 4H club. he was dismayed at the turn out, only 41 people. Adding the 26 from the Herders, he was really short.

Guess he'd have to talk to Bulgar...

A third of the people had handled animals regularly, a third more had done it once or twice, and the last third hadn't had much experience.

The main thing it seemed was handling the draft animals, those would be the main thing to be used by everyone and there needed to be people who could handle them.

Class began with the basics. Luckily there were a few men and women who knew about the animals and Psycho found himself among the recruits, taking notes.

1600

Psycho sent most of the students to help in the Water Brigade to give them a bit of experience in handling a team of two horses, which was not a terribly difficult thing, but one that still needed learning.

Psycho stayed with the men and women who were more experienced with animals and began trying to form a hands on training course to teach those that had come how to handle the animals.

The more experienced people would take the younger and less experienced under their wings. A form of apprenticeship, including a group study at midday for the important facts concerning the animals they were devoting themselves to.

1705

Psycho arrived to give a hand with the last two wagons of water. He and the remaining people packed up the water pump and carefully pulled it back into camp, He didn't want anyone taking off with the thing or accidently ruining it.

1755

Psycho arrived back at the Herder Camp, tired, sore, and dreading tomorrow.

Dave came around and they began talking about the Herders and what could be done about it.

1822

Psycho and the new teachers of the 4H club grabbed their flashlights and began inspecting the animals, the Great Hunt was tomorrow and Psycho and the others were determined to make sure that the animals were in good condition.

Of the horses, 6 had to be pulled,
donkeys, 9

the rest were hale and good for day.

2219

Psycho stumbled back into the Herd Camp and crashed out.

[Matt]

2100

Matt spent the night going over the training details with Top Perdedor. The training with NCOs went well as to be expected; the skills were still there, just a little rusty. He also started training the company's orderly, Specialist Luakel.

At around 9 o'clock the two called it a night. The day was already longer then most, starting before dawn and ending after nightfall. Top gave Matt a friendly reminder about actually sleeping. He couldn't argue with that logic, there just so much to do. Even paper work! Somehow paperwork followed them downtime. Matt silently cursed Hendryk for that, but he knew it wasn't his fault. Mostly.

Matt exited the impromtu Ranger HQ, and cautiously made himself towards his parties area. Most of the settlers were already asleep, a days work leading them to quick exhaustion. Those that weren't... well. It's no secret what people do to pass the time when there's no electricity.

Half way there the path got dark. Campfires that were burning since sunset were finally dying out. It was by one of these fires that he tripped over something. Rather someone.

Nearly falling to the ground Matt cursed out, "God dammit." Recovering his posse, he looked and saw he trip on a person. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," she mumbled. She was a woman not that far from Matt's own age. "I was sleeping much anyways."

"I'm, um.. Matt. Can I ask what you're do sleeping out here when it's barely above freezing?"

"I don't have anywhere else to go."

"No tent or nothing?" She shook her head. "Well you must of came downtime with someone?"

"I did. But the bastard left the second day. I wouldn't put out. Left me this sleeping bag and the clothes on my back." when she spoke, an australian accent clearly lept out. "He was my friend dammit, but something happened."

Matt took that in. What kind of asshole would do that. And she was here nearly a week, and no one noticed her plight? "How have you been eating?"

"Scrounging mostly. Ate something no one else wanted. Ever have bear or horse meat before?"

"Look, I came here with no spouse. I've got room in my tent. Some extra food. Why don't you come back with me?"

She looked hesitant. "I have two cots. My sister and some of my friends are here, you can work with them during the day."

"I wouldn't want to...."

"Don't worry about that. It's not right that your here. Why don't you come with me?"

[Gerard-ABC]

Matt,
That's something that we should have checked on.

That everyone got somewhere to sleep / eat/ drink / task-to-do.

btw: Once we get to the new place, I wouldn't mind some military training. Not as far as Ranger level, but some, maybe militia or more.

Depends how much I time I got left, after all the building. I expect to be doing construction then, and let my team chiefs look after the logging. They'll know it as well as me by that time, with all these wagons.

Regards,
Gerard

[Matt]

2110

"Psst... Jenna. Wake up!"

Matt's sister shot up from her inflatable mattress. Dan, her fiance', was still asleep next to her. "What the hell do you want?" she mumbled.

"This is Robyn." She waved feebly at the mention of her name. "I tripped over her before."

"Thats how you meet girls now?"

"Shutup," he growled, "Her 'husband' left her when we got here. She doesn't have shelter or food or nothing. She'll be staying in my tent. Take her to the water brigade tomorrow?"

"Fine fine... Robyn. Trip. Water. Now go away."

The two exited the tent, and Matt zipped it up behind them. "Comon, mine's right over here. I got my air mattress you can sleep on. I can stay on the cot. I'm used to cots anyway."

"I really appreicate this." She said. She had her arms cross, and was shivering. She wasn't left much clothing either.

"It's the right thing to do." Matt said as he entered his own tent.

It was a 7 person tent, but only Roxie and himself were staying in it. Roxie got up stretched, and walked over to see what the fuss was about. She sniffed at Robyn for a few seconds, and content went back to her spot near Matt's cot.

Matt took the small air mattress he had on his cot off, and placed it on a clear spot. Then he dug some blankets out of a foot locker. "Here you go."

"Thanks."