The Walled Cities

Chapter 9

Our second night together was quiet. Once our meal was finished we got back to walking. Two hours before nightfall I stopped us in a clearing, the road having long disappeared. Unlike the crude tree structure, I built a lean too shelter after building a small fire. Kaelyn seemed to appreciate the space more and we had both woken up close but not nearly as close as last night, physically.

Having spent years traveling this way, I was not at all surprised when by lunchtime we had reached the West Woods. Benji was the only person we had seen but I had pointed out to Kaelyn multiple farms in the distance as we passed them. Once, we stopped to listen to the rumbling of a small tractor as it made its way across a field of corn.

Kaelyn having never seen one before stared at it as I explained, "It is a tractor. Only a few farmers own them, all out here in the West Woods. Mostly due to the fact that Notredram's blacksmith and machinists can build spare parts."

This piece of knowledge seemed to disturb her and after a minute she commented, "I was always taught that such a machine was wrong. That work needed to be done by your own two hands or by water, wind, solar, or heat. Why would my people help keep such a thing alive?"

Looking over at her I corrected her, "Not your people. I do not want to push but you and I both know you can never be a City Dweller again. You do not have to give up the custom or morals or traditions you have lived with, but you cannot call yourself a City Dweller anymore... Back to the tractor, seeing how it is steam power it is not against a City Dweller's customs. Besides building a part for a machine no matter what the machine does not break a moral." Rather than saying her customs I had said City Dweller. Though she could keep her customs, as I was not about to force her to learn something else, it would be better if Kaelyn referred to such things as City Dweller rather than her own. Here in the Outlands people did not think highly of those of the Walled Cities.

Naturally my explanation along with the fact that most Outlanders would not know such information had Kaelyn looking at me. Despite having wanted to wait until later to explain to her  how I knew so much I wanted to make sure she understood who I was and not imagine something else.

"No I am not a runaway. I was born an Outlander and I will die an Outlander. My knowledge comes from all the time I have spent in the Walled Cities. I know I mentioned him before, but Shaw from Notredram has explained much over the years. It is only fitting I feel that I am now teaching you."

Confused Kaelyn replied, "Teach me? So what is the lesson now?"

Understanding her confusion  I pointed to the ground a few feet away. "Can you tell me what animal made those tracks?"

Looking at them for a moment, Kaelyn in a matter of fact tone replied, "Of course not, but please do enlighten me."

Refraining from telling her I did not know what enlighten meant, I replied knowledgeably, "Wolf. Five or six from the looks of it. Not something we want to run in to. They do not normally attack people but a hungry animal will eat anything to survive."

Casting a glance at them, hopefully to study and memorize them, Kaelyn remained quiet for a few minutes. Taking advantage of this time, I took off my pack and searched in it for a tool I had thought that Kaelyn would appreciate. With all the walking we had been doing, everything had shifted a little but it did not take me long to find it.

Pulling out the small forked stick along with the piece of rubber attached to it, I coughed to get her attention. When she looked at me her eyes went straight to the thing in my hand and I forced myself to look at her face. Holding out the tool I explained, "This is a sling shot. If something tries to attack us, load a rock into the pouch. Hold the stick in one hand and pull back the pouch as far as you can. The first few times firing it will feel weird but you will get used to it. I don't expect you to start hunting with it, but it is a small measure of protection."

Hesitant Kaelyn looked from it to me. Of course this was similar to a gun and as a woman she had never been expected to carry anything besides maybe a small knife. But the wilds were dangerous and she had to get used to living with animals that could kill her.

If her hesitation was not enough to drive me crazy, I was still trying to figure out why I had wanted her to with me. Knowing that she had a slim chance of living free on her own was a good reason, but I was smart enough to know that was not the whole truth. Having a companion to travel with me was closer to the truth, but I had never wanted to travel with Benji or any of the other traders I knew. Perhaps their rough attitudes had something to do it, or maybe it was because Kaelyn was female. Having an attraction to my business partner would make for a interesting life. My sister in law or my brother would be able to explain the things I felt when we saw them.

Until I knew what it was and what was a good reaction I would keep these things to myself. Right now we had ground to cover if we wanted to get home in the next few days. Without any reason to stay where we were, I began walking. Before I had gone two paces, a noise startled me and with a fluttering of wings a group of birds burst  from the undergrowth into the sky.

Forgetting about the pellet rifle except to drop it, I shouldered my rifle and snapped off a pair of shots. Watching closely as a pair of birds dropped to the ground, I was unprepared for the scream from behind me.

"Ahhhhh!!  What are you doing?!"

In my haste to shoot the birds I had completely forgotten about Kaelyn. Her shriek of surprise conveyed her horror at the sight of me shooting down the birds, along with the sudden deafening noise from the rifle shots. I should have known that she did not understand death completely. Meat in the Walled Cities was prepared by a select few and no one but them ever saw the animals that were butchered. Being from the station she was, I knew that she had never seen a dead animal.

Whether or not she had seen a dead animal before, she had to learn how to at least clean and cook food. Killing something would come with time, but I did not want to push until she was ready. Luckily for both her and I, birds were one of the easiest animals to clean.