William Dietz - The Seeds of Man

After speaking with a second pair of guards, Twolakes led the group through an open gate and into the spacious and well-kept compound beyond. A large two-story framed building occupied the center of the space, with small structures all around. There were people too, a couple dozen at least, all of whom had stopped to stare. Lora noticed that they were well clothed and, most important, well fed.

Twolakes raised a hand and the column came to a halt as two men and a woman came forward to speak with him. Shortly thereafter, Lora saw Harvey Nix, Larry Fry, and her father go forward to join the conversation. Then, about five minutes later, Twolakes waved the group forward, not to one of the main buildings but out to a one-story structure that sat all alone. It was surrounded by a chest-high fence with a sign attached. As they got closer, Lora saw that the word “Quarantine” was printed on it. The community was clearly taking precautions against the possibility of communicable diseases, and that was smart.

As the group came to a stop, Nix waved the tail end of the column forward so everyone could hear. “This is the commune’s quarantine center,” he explained. “We are going to spend the next week here. Then, assuming everyone remains healthy and the leaders of the commune grant us temporary residency, a ninety-day trial period will begin.

“Please leave your horses outside of the fence. And many thanks to Twolakes and his people for allowing us to use them. Be sure to say your good-byes tonight, because our Blackfoot friends are leaving in the morning.”

The next couple of hours were spent getting settled. The inside of the building was empty except for two dozen cots, a couple of potbellied stoves, and a sink with running water. The bathroom facilities consisted of two outhouses, both of which were located out back.

Once people had settled in, a good-bye party began. There wasn’t much in the way of food and drink, but a number of leavers took the floor to praise the warriors and thank them. Each speech was followed by a chorus of “Hear! Hear!” and enthusiastic applause.

There weren’t enough cots, so Lora volunteered to sleep on the floor. It should have been uncomfortable, but thanks to the warmth from the stoves and an increased sense of security, she had no trouble falling asleep. By the time she awoke the next morning, Twolakes and his warriors were gone.

Over-the-fence negotiations were under way by noon the first day, but Lora had no say in the discussions. So, with only a minimal number of chores to do, she had time to repair her gear and take lots of naps. Still, by the end of day two, Lora was bored—and the rest of the weeklong quarantine seemed to last forever.

Finally, at the end of day seven, each member of the party underwent an examination by a self-taught doctor, who proclaimed all of them free of communicable diseases. And that, as it turned out, was a sufficient excuse for a celebration.

Lora joined the others as the group was ushered into the main building, where the kitchen and a huge dining room were located. Mouthwatering odors filled the air, all of those not on guard duty were present, and Lora felt very self-conscious as a girl named Nomi took charge of her. “Come on,” she said cheerfully. “Young adults have their own table. You can sit with us.”

Lora had no choice but to accede and, in spite of her fears, soon found herself seated at a long table with about twenty teens. Some were older, some were younger, but all were friendly, so much so that Lora began to relax a bit as the other diners peppered her with questions. With no instructions to the contrary, Lora did her best to answer them. After listening to Lora’s description of the Sanctuary, Nomi nodded. “So you lived in an underground commune.”

Lora had never thought of it that way, but realized that what the other girl said was true. “Yes,” she said. “I guess so.”

It seemed that while each member of the commune had a specialty, there were certain functions that everyone shared, one of which was waiting on tables once a week or so. And Lora had never seen food like what the servers brought to the table—not at the Sanctuary or since. Because there on her plate was a large piece of fried chicken, a mound of mashed potatoes with gravy, and a pile of sliced carrots. Saliva flooded her mouth, her stomach growled, and she could hardly believe that the serving was meant for her. Maybe she was supposed to share. But after quick glances to either side, Lora saw that the others had similar portions.

So she dug in, and even though Lora knew it wasn’t polite to eat without pausing every once in a while, the food was so good she couldn’t help herself. But if Nomi was offended, she showed no signs of it. “You were hungry, huh?”

At that point Lora realized that while her plate was clean, the rest of them were still eating. “Yes. I’m sorry about eating so fast.”

“Don’t be,” a boy named Evan said. “All of us know what it feels like to be hungry. Real hungry.”

Lora wanted to cry but managed to force a smile instead. “Thank you… That means a lot.”

The rest of the evening was a blur. All Lora wanted to do was sleep, but there were boring speeches to sit through, a silly “get acquainted” game to participate in, and a dessert she was too full to eat. Eventually Lora got to slip into her sleeping bag, where she fell instantly asleep. She woke to the sound of someone speaking her name. It was her father. “Time to wake up, hon… All of us have chores to do, and you’re working in the dairy.”

After a hearty breakfast, Lora went looking for the dairy. It wasn’t hard to find, thanks to the presence of some cows and the odor of the dung pile located nearby. Being from an agricultural community herself, Lora knew that the cow manure would make excellent fertilizer, which would be especially important given how short the local growing season was.

As Lora entered the barn, she saw that the black-and-white cows were slotted into stalls along both walls—and people were already hard at work preparing to milk them. Then, before she could go looking for the person in charge, he came to her. He was wearing a hat with ear flaps, was in need of a shave, and had bad breath. “Well, look what we have here… fresh as a prairie breeze and pretty as a flower. What’s your name, honey?”

“Lora.”

“Well, Lora, my name’s Pruett, Larry Pruett… and I’m in charge here. That means I can put you on the cleaning crew, the milking crew, or the poo crew. It all depends on how hard you work—and whether you’re a team player. And you are a team player… right, Lora?”

It didn’t sound right somehow, but Lora couldn’t say no, not on her first day, so she said yes.

“Good,” Pruett said, as if an important deal had been struck. “I’m sure you and I will get along just fine. Have you milked a cow before?”

Lora said that she hadn’t and soon found herself being trained to wash udders, an important step in making sure that the milk would be free of contaminants. Then came a lesson in milking, followed by a midday cleanup and a second milking right after dinner. Of course the cows had to be fed as well, checked for physical abnormalities, and given whatever treatments were necessary, all of which was hard work.

So by the time Lora left the dairy and made her way to the dorm where single females lived, she was exhausted. But that was when she found out that a “get out of quarantine” celebration was about to begin, and according to Arletta Ash, the event was too important to miss.

So Lora accompanied Arletta to the social center, where all the leavers were gathered. And there, sitting on a table, were the packages of seeds the group had worked so hard to bring south. Strangely enough, Lora had nearly forgotten about them in the day-to-day struggle to stay alive. Now, after sacrificing so much, the leavers were about to give them away.