Read Online Reconception: The Fall by Deborah Greenspan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Deborah Greenspan
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after the man
as he would his own child.
Eye of Eagle snorted and said, "Don't let appearances
deceive you, Red Deer. The man is very brave to go without his
van."
"Or very stupid."
"Maybe a little of both, but then who among us
isn't?"
"This is true. Don't worry. I'll watch out for him.
Are you sure you don't want to go?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Red Deer eyed his friend critically. "She is very
beautiful."
Eye of Eagle tightened the fastenings on the
pack.
"Don’t you think so?"
"Yes, she certainly is."
"What do you think the Mother thinks of her?"
"I don't know. I guess we won't know until she tells
us."
"You don't think they can hurt us, do you?"
"No. Whatever they could do to us was done a hundred
years ago. These people are well meaning and harmless. I
believe."
Evie watched through the small window in the van as
the men mounted their camels. Garret looked powerful and proud, a
stranger to her, sitting astride the beast. He looked at the van
and seemed to pierce the glass with his eyes. She wished she could
stop him, or go with him. The small caravan turned and the camels
loped out of the yard, Garret looking a bit ridiculous bouncing up
and down. Suddenly, she couldn't let him go without saying
goodbye.
Leaving the van, she ran toward the group rapidly
shrinking into the distance and yelled out, "Garret! Garret!
Goodbye! I love you! Goodbye!"
At first, it didn't seem that he'd heard her, then
he turned and waved and even at the distance she could see his big
grin and feel the wound of their disagreement heal. "Goodbye
Garret," she repeated softly. "Goodbye."
Eye of Eagle strode up beside her. "How long do you
think they'll be," she asked him.
"Probably fifteen days there and fifteen days back,
if all goes well. Don't worry; our men are smart and tough. Why
don't you come inside for a while?"
Evie had never seen so bewitching a man. She loved
Garret, of course. They'd been together all their lives, but this
Eye of Eagle was so ... so powerful, so potent, he made her knees
weak. She both welcomed and dreaded his attentions. She would like
to visit with Teller and the other women, though. "All right," she
said. "That's a good idea."
The mountain people had begun raising camels when
they'd first settled in the area. Since they didn't know what was
coming, they'd wanted the most adaptable creature they could find
as a beast of burden, and that was the camel. Able to endure
extremes of temperature, lack of food and water, what more could
one ask in uncertain times? In any case, they'd known that soil
erosion would continue, that desertification was probable in many
formerly agricultural areas and for that they were determined to be
prepared.
Garret's camel was named Cashmere, and he was an
even-tempered beast, as camels go. His coat was surprisingly soft,
and he moved at a steady lope through the wasteland, carrying his
load without complaint. Red Deer led the party and Cries at the
Moon covered the rear. Nightstalker moved back and forth between
them. They'd traveled a long way since they'd left early that
morning, and Garret was very tired. Nothing in all his life had
prepared him for riding a camel in an oxygen poor atmosphere for
hours and hours.
His body was not used to the heat, the glare of the
sun, the exercise, the air, any of it. He knew what the mountain
men thought of his weakness, but he meant to see for himself what
had happened to the world, and he wasn't about to be intimidated by
a bunch of aborigines.
Well, of course, they weren't really aborigines. Far
from it. They were sophisticated, civilized people and he was very
grateful to them for helping him to bring the food to Southeast.
They were so competent, it made him feel weak and foolish, and that
made him angry. All his life he'd been the best, the brightest, the
most skilled. Here, he knew so little; he was like a baby.
Nightstalker pulled up alongside him and matched his
camel's pace to that of Garret's. "Red Deer wants to know if
as he would his own child.
Eye of Eagle snorted and said, "Don't let appearances
deceive you, Red Deer. The man is very brave to go without his
van."
"Or very stupid."
"Maybe a little of both, but then who among us
isn't?"
"This is true. Don't worry. I'll watch out for him.
Are you sure you don't want to go?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Red Deer eyed his friend critically. "She is very
beautiful."
Eye of Eagle tightened the fastenings on the
pack.
"Don’t you think so?"
"Yes, she certainly is."
"What do you think the Mother thinks of her?"
"I don't know. I guess we won't know until she tells
us."
"You don't think they can hurt us, do you?"
"No. Whatever they could do to us was done a hundred
years ago. These people are well meaning and harmless. I
believe."
Evie watched through the small window in the van as
the men mounted their camels. Garret looked powerful and proud, a
stranger to her, sitting astride the beast. He looked at the van
and seemed to pierce the glass with his eyes. She wished she could
stop him, or go with him. The small caravan turned and the camels
loped out of the yard, Garret looking a bit ridiculous bouncing up
and down. Suddenly, she couldn't let him go without saying
goodbye.
Leaving the van, she ran toward the group rapidly
shrinking into the distance and yelled out, "Garret! Garret!
Goodbye! I love you! Goodbye!"
At first, it didn't seem that he'd heard her, then
he turned and waved and even at the distance she could see his big
grin and feel the wound of their disagreement heal. "Goodbye
Garret," she repeated softly. "Goodbye."
Eye of Eagle strode up beside her. "How long do you
think they'll be," she asked him.
"Probably fifteen days there and fifteen days back,
if all goes well. Don't worry; our men are smart and tough. Why
don't you come inside for a while?"
Evie had never seen so bewitching a man. She loved
Garret, of course. They'd been together all their lives, but this
Eye of Eagle was so ... so powerful, so potent, he made her knees
weak. She both welcomed and dreaded his attentions. She would like
to visit with Teller and the other women, though. "All right," she
said. "That's a good idea."
The mountain people had begun raising camels when
they'd first settled in the area. Since they didn't know what was
coming, they'd wanted the most adaptable creature they could find
as a beast of burden, and that was the camel. Able to endure
extremes of temperature, lack of food and water, what more could
one ask in uncertain times? In any case, they'd known that soil
erosion would continue, that desertification was probable in many
formerly agricultural areas and for that they were determined to be
prepared.
Garret's camel was named Cashmere, and he was an
even-tempered beast, as camels go. His coat was surprisingly soft,
and he moved at a steady lope through the wasteland, carrying his
load without complaint. Red Deer led the party and Cries at the
Moon covered the rear. Nightstalker moved back and forth between
them. They'd traveled a long way since they'd left early that
morning, and Garret was very tired. Nothing in all his life had
prepared him for riding a camel in an oxygen poor atmosphere for
hours and hours.
His body was not used to the heat, the glare of the
sun, the exercise, the air, any of it. He knew what the mountain
men thought of his weakness, but he meant to see for himself what
had happened to the world, and he wasn't about to be intimidated by
a bunch of aborigines.
Well, of course, they weren't really aborigines. Far
from it. They were sophisticated, civilized people and he was very
grateful to them for helping him to bring the food to Southeast.
They were so competent, it made him feel weak and foolish, and that
made him angry. All his life he'd been the best, the brightest, the
most skilled. Here, he knew so little; he was like a baby.
Nightstalker pulled up alongside him and matched his
camel's pace to that of Garret's. "Red Deer wants to know if
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