The Trespassing Crew by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Chapter 15
Dominick: “I was under the impression that the only problem we would have out here would be the coyotes.”
Zelda: “I made a serious mistake in judgment. I thought the Indians would leave us alone, the same way they like being left alone. I apologize to all of you. But, what can we do now? Let’s gather up some of our things and get moving as soon as possible. I can honestly tell you all that this journey will be a lot easier than the first one, because we won't have to cross the river again.”
Gunther: “Since you’re capable of such serious misjudgments, maybe we ought to look to someone else to make the plans.”
Zelda: “Fine with me. I’d like to hear some ideas other than my own.”
There was a minute of silence, since nobody else had any ideas other than to get moving.
Dominick: “All right, let’s all follow Efscot and Zelda again. Nobody knows anything better. But, I say, that we should do everything possible to stay away from all humans, no matter the meaningless distinctions drawn between them. If any others approach us why can’t we just run away?”
Zelda: “Your hindsight is 20-20. I’m sorry. I clearly was too trusting of the little human. But, no one else voiced any objections until it was too late anyway. Efscot and I will lead the way again, unless there are any objections. If anyone’s got any bright ideas I’d really like to hear them. In the meantime, let’s get moving out of here right now.”
The usual pecking order persisted. They went through cottonwood forests, which were shedding in preparation for winter; fields of predominately cotoneaster, not currently in bloom; sandy beaches near the river with sparse varied small growth; rocky areas devoid of growth, newly exposed by a shifting current; and mixtures of many types of grasses, which formed a floor for numerous varieties of trees and shrubs. They saw squirrels, rabbits, butterflies, snakes and scores of birds enjoying the warming day under an unblocked sun, as the wind settled down after it dispersed the gray army of timid, heavenly invaders. They must have covered ten miles, which was not easy for Gunther, Hilda and Dominick. They all periodically stopped for five minute drink breaks when they came near the river.
They really didn’t have any path. What they were following was a series of four different types of possible terrain. The first was slightly bent grassy depressions which were coyote trails. The second were places where there were a large number of mole hills which prevented anything else from growing. The
third were areas of five foot tall grasses, which were soft and easy to get through, except for the smaller animals who couldn’t see over the top. They just followed the bigger animals nervously, but with trust. The fourth were areas of dense forest, with 100 foot cottonwoods every thirty feet or so and broken branches on the ground, requiring careful, slow movement.
When Zelda and Efscot came to a halt the others followed suit.
Zelda: “This is far enough for today.”
Gunther: “Today! You mean we’re going to have to do this again tomorrow?”
Efscot: “Of course. We want to get a good distance away from the Indians. We should be at least far away enough that they could not easily reach us taking a casual walk on foot.”
Hilda: “How about resting two days?”
Zelda: “I’ve got a better idea than that. How about Gunther and you hop up on Efscot’s and my backs and we’ll carry you the rest of the way. Dominick can ride Annabelle if she has no objections.”
Dominick: “I keep trying to tell everyone that I don’t need any special help.”
Vanessa: “Take the ride, stupid. I don’t want to listen to how your legs hurt for the next month.”
That satisfied Dominick. The goats and Annabelle didn’t register any objections. They spent a warming day in a new area and they slept.
They woke up to a brilliant clear sky the following morning and they all ate grass and drank some water. When they commenced what was to be another ten mile walk, one of them should have had a camera. They had to appear as one of the silliest looking groups ever assembled. In front were Efscot and Zelda, precariously mounted by Hilda and Gunther, the two goats. Next, came Vanessa, who looked reasonably normal, but as a Dalmatian, her bright white fur interspersed with randomly shaped black spots made her strikingly beautiful, especially when her tongue was hanging out. Next came Pablo and Apple carrying Charlene and Charlie, the chickens, though, unusual as it may seem to the uninitiated, this situation was becoming rather routine. And bringing up the rear was Annabelle carrying a very relieved Dominick, a pug in most ways, but probably a mix. It seems that the paparazzi missed the opportunity for the photo of the year.
They pursued a leisurely, uneventful, very slow walk, because goats have trouble holding on to horses. Efscot and Zelda cut down the pace and enjoyed the new company. The group of four had never previously talked that much, but they spent the time telling goat and horse stories and goat and horse
jokes. Pablo, Apple, Charlene and Charlie didn’t talk much anymore. They already knew all about each other from countless walks. Dominick and Annabelle had a peculiar conversation.
Dominick didn’t want to say it directly, but he occasionally said things showing that while he was very comfortable riding Annabelle, he wasn’t as comfortable that the female was so much stronger than he was. Annabelle just smiled at the comments, every once in a while saying something like, “I can’t help having been born a horse as you can’t help having been born a dog. What is there worth thinking about?” Dominick didn’t really have an answer, so this commentary usually shut him up for a while.
For the first time the group saw a group of ten coyotes within thirty feet.
Zelda: “Just keep walking as if you don’t even notice or care in the least about them.”
The group basically did that, but there were more than a few furtive glances passed as they split right through the group of coyotes, six on one side and four on the other. When Zelda thought that the quiet coyotes were staring in an aggressive manner, she would veer off two steps in their direction, which would cause the coyotes to back up a few steps. After the group passed through, the coyotes feebly followed for about fifty feet, but then headed back in the other direction, no doubt
looking for some easier situation to assess. The increasingly confident group finished the trip without incident and found another suitable spot similar to the first. They rested, ate, drank, did a little exploring and eventually went to sleep for the night.
Zelda had a disturbing dream. She was in her stall back at the farm and saw Joe and Mary coming out of the house to feed their flock. They seemed not to know that their flock was gone.
Zelda was the only one left. When Joe and Mary got to her stall they dropped in a hay bale, without looking at her.
Zelda called out; “Hey, don’t you see what happened? Don’t you see me?”
They just quietly and somberly walked back toward their house. They were expressionless.
Zelda started yelling; “Look at me! Look at me!”
They didn’t and seemed to fade into the air.
Zelda woke up with a start, seeing that she was still in the woods. This dream would prove to be recurrent. She would never discuss it with anyone, not knowing that every one of her friends was having the same dream, with small variations. They also chose to keep it to themselves.