Eric Flint - Time spike

Blacklock took his own deep breath. "There's something else you haven't said. Something bad. I can tell by the look on your face."

"Joe Schuler's in bad shape. Real bad. He got attacked by some kind of bear after we made it into the woods. Mauled him before we could shoot it." Blacklock nodded. There was still no expression on his face beyond that general look of concern. Marie thought that same expression would probably be on Andy's face if he found himself plunging down into a pit full of sharpened stakes. The man really was a little eerie, the way he could keep his cool when nobody else could.

Like Rod, for instance. Who, once again, was up and pacing about. This time, slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Those fucking sonsabitches!" Andy turned his head toward him. "Rod, please calm down a little. We need to think." "Calmdown? Andy, those fucking-" "Calm. Down. Now." Rod shut up. Marie almost giggled. Andy Blacklock was about the only person she could think of who could have squelched Hulbert that way. The captain was normally such an easygoing boss that you tended to forget how iron-willed he could be in a crunch. Another voice came from the door. Jenny Radford's. "How bad is Joe?" She must have come in just in time to hear Marie's last words.

"Pretty bad, Jenny. To be honest, I don't think he's going to make it.

He might even have a rib flail. For sure, he's got at least one rib broken loose and internal injuries. And…" She made a little shrug. "We managed to get some supplies out of the infirmary before we ran, but it's not really that much. Not for something like that."

Jenny turned to Blacklock. "Andy, Ihave to get back to the cave. As fast as possible." "We all do. Rod, please see to getting everybody organized. We need to be out of here as soon as possible." Hulbert went out the door. Andy came to one knee next to Marie, who was still lying on the narrow bed she'd woken in. It was the lower of two bunk beds. There were three other bunk beds in the room, two on each side.

"Okay, Marie. Now tell me everything that happened. Don't leave anything out." Marie started talking. By the time she was done, Jenny was crying softly onto Andy's shoulder. But Blacklock's expression never changed at all. That was a little disconcerting, in a way. But Marie didn't mind. She knew that the person who'd eventually get really disconcerted was a certain Adrian Luff. After Marie finished, Andy rubbed his temples. The headache he'd had in the first period after the Quiver had blessedly gone away. But he sensed it waiting, ready to return. "How sure are you the prisoners didn't follow you and the others to the cave?" "I'm not. They weren't there when I left.

That's all I can guarantee." Geoffrey Watkins came into the cabin. "I just got the news from your lieutenant Hulbert. "These prisoners, they are a danger?" Andy nodded. "Yes, they are. Potentially, a much worse danger than de Soto and his men. For one thing, there are a lot more of them-almost two and half thousand. For another, they're armed with modern rifles and they have access to the prison's machine shop." "So, my people are still at risk." "I'm afraid so, Chief." "Hulbert tells me you're prepared to fight them. Two hundred against two thousand."

"We don't have any choice. If they get out of the prison, they'll rampage over everybody. Us, you, every Indian village out there. The Spaniards too, most likely, not that I care about that. Most of those men were put in prison for a very good reason. And those in charge will be the worst of the bunch." "It seems our alliance remains, then.

We will go with you." Jenny hissed in a breath. "Geoffrey, youcan't.

The Spaniards are still out there. You told me yourself that at least two hundred of them survived the battle. If you leave the town unprotected, there'll be nothing to stop them from taking it. And kill or capture everybody here." The Cherokee chief chuckled. "Susan Fisher told me of an expression you explained to her. 'Don't teach your grandmother how to suck eggs.' It's a nice saying. I will add, 'don't teach your grandfather how to run a town.' I have no intention of leaving anyone behind. We'll all go with you to this cave you talked about, and set up a new town there." Jenny looked out the door.

"But…" "It's just work, girl," Watkins said gently. "That's all a town is. There was nothing here when we started. If the Spaniards come and burn it, so what? We'll build it again. It will hardly be the first time a Cherokee town was destroyed. I'm much more concerned about the corn. But I don't think the Spaniards will destroy the corn, because they'll want it themselves. And Susan says she can uproot some of it and maybe replant it near the cave. Who knows? It might even work. She has a way with plants." "We could certainly use the help,"

Andy said softly. "My thanks, Chief." Jenny Radford was gone within an hour. She wanted to get to the cave as soon as possible, to look after Joe Schuler, and it was obvious that if the Cherokees planned to move as a group, there'd be no way to leave until the following morning. Rod Hulbert went with her, along with Brian Carmichael and Jerry Bailey. The only other men he took were Sergeant Kershner and his squad of U.S. soldiers. Marie was dubious. "For Pete's sake, Rod, all they've got are those antique muskets." "Antique or not, they're. 69 caliber, Marie." He held up his own semiautomatic rifle. "These things are great for taking down men. But you want to try taking down a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a. 223 round? I sure as hell don't." He gave her a big smile. "Besides, I know 'em and you don't. I like those boys, especially Kershner. The guy's solid as a rock. If a dinosaur shows up, he'll just form a line and give it a volley. Cool as that.

I'm not kidding." "Well…" "I'm telling you. They'regood. Enough so's I'm even thinking about trying that salt pork sauced with hog lard they keep raving about, whenever they can put together the makings." Marie puffed out her cheeks, mimicking someone trying not to barf. Rod laughed. "It does sound horrible, doesn't it? But I swear I'm gonna try it, when the time comes." Mostly, though, Marie was just sorry that Rod was leaving. She'd been looking forward to sharing a bed with him that night. To hell with fooling around any more. Life was too short-something which the Cretaceous never let you forget.

After Jenny and Rod left, Marie went back to sleep. She was still feeling exhausted, and since the rest of them wouldn't be leaving until dawn, she figured she'd take advantage of the time to get some more rest. She was awakened at dawn. The sun hadn't even come fully over the horizon yet. A tiny Cherokee woman was busily removing the door to the cabin. When Jenny sat up and stared at her bleary-eyed, the woman just nodded and kept about her work. "Cabins are easy to build," she said. "Even the longhouse isn't too bad. But good doors are a lot of work and they're not too hard to carry. Go back to sleep, woman." Marie tried, but a stray thought just wouldn't go away. "How in the world do you make a basket that'll hold water?" The little woman stopped her work at the door and peered down at her. "Do you want me to adopt you?" "Huh?" "Adopt you. Only way you'll find out.

Basket-making is a woman's secret, and every family has its own methods. Passed down from mother to daughter." Marie thought about it.

"Sure. Why not? And what's your name, while we're at it? I should probably know, if I'm going to become your daughter." "Susan Fisher.

We'll do the ceremony later, when there's time. Now listen to your mother and go back to sleep." Marie was asleep in seconds. She might have thought it was all a dream, when she woke up, except that Fisher came into the cabin and started ordering her around. Marie didn't mind. It was kind of nice, actually. Reminded her of her own mother.