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  He passed this idea around the crowd and it garnered approval from all. The best part was that he could utilize the children for this task. John gathered them all up and instructed them to listen to Cooper. This wasn’t a hard task even though they were so young. They had all heard the stories of the flame haired boy and he was idolized by all of the kids.

  Before long, he had sent the young ones scurrying about the city to bring back objects that were heavy enough to not blow away that was a different color than the rocks in the paths throughout the city. He wanted contrasting colors so these arrows could not be missed. The men all split up and followed the small groups of kids to build the arrows as they brought them supplies.

  Cooper decided the best place to actually leave the supplies was inside the chamber of the council of elders. It was far and away the stoutest building in the entire city and it was already a gathering place as well as a location that everyone should know. That was where he headed to write out the directions as well as an explanation.

  Once inside the chamber, Cooper’s mind wandered back the day he went before the council to ask permission to leave. How the woman, Nancy, had asked him all those questions. He thought back to how much she cared about him as well as his safety. John had said most of the council had passed away in the cold of the winter. He wondered if she was one of them, and if she had suffered. All he could hope was that here time had come easily.

  He tried to push all that out of his mind as he searched around for something to write on. He opened all the rooms, and looked inside everything but couldn’t find anything to scribble his words onto. Just before leaving the chamber to go search other areas of the city, the solution dawned on him. He could just write on the walls! It would be strange to scrawl all over the walls inside the building of the council of elders, but it would certainly accomplish the task at hand. Taking out a thick piece of charcoal, he began drawing a rudimentary map on the walls.

  +++

  It had taken most of the day, but Cooper had drawn several maps inside the building, just in case something happened to one of them. He had also written directions on how to use the supplies and an explanation for the whole situation on several walls. His hands were covered in black charcoal dust as were most of his clothes. He assumed his face was blackened too, but thankfully, he couldn’t see that.

  He heard the sounds of the children outside and knew they must be done with their task. As he stepped out of the building, two of the kids let out a high pitched screech. Cooper immediately went on guard looking around for something amiss, but soon enough the kids started laughing. The men all came up the path and immediately started laughing too. Cooper was now certain that his face was totally covered with the dust from the charcoal, so he laughed right along with them.

  FZ, Doc, Seabee and Lakewood all started stacking the extra supplies in the main room of the chambers while Tim and John accompanied Cooper down to the water to explain how they had built the arrows.

  They described positioning the arrows all around the city, so you would have to bump into them no matter how you entered. Then a new arrow was placed along the main paths every so often to guide anyone directly to this building. It was a good system that would probably never be used, but Cooper liked it. If they had just spent an entire day’s work protecting John’s sanity, then that was a day well spent.

  The water was still cold from the winter. It took a long time to warm up that big lake. Cooper found himself having to move around frequently in the icy water because as the charcoal came off him, it just floated on the surface clinging to his legs. Judging by how much came off, it was no wonder the little children had screamed.

  Soon enough he could see the men building a fire in the same location as the previous night and he pushed his way out of the frigid water to go warm up. Approaching the fire, Doc looked up at him. “So, man, I think we’re done here, right?”

  “Yeah, we’re all set to start hiking tomorrow. With much lighter packs this time!”

  “Well, I think that calls for a bit of a celebration,” said Doc as he yanked the stopper out of a canteen of beer and tilted it back to his lips.

  “Heck, we’re not leaving the rest of the beer so we either drink it or have to carry the heavy stuff back to the barge.” Tim piped in.

  Cooper had no problems with that line of thinking. Besides, they hadn’t brought very much beer with them on the hike. What they had brought they intended to share with the people of the city…a kind of mood elevator. Since the children weren’t in need of elevating their moods, they may as well get rid of it all now.

  All the men came in and filled their mugs with the frothy, deep amber liquid and returned to the fire.

  “I want to try some of that,” squealed Albert. Cooper handed him his own mug, already knowing the likely outcome of this exchange. Albert raised the mug up to his lips and smelled it. His eyebrows went up curiously and he tipped the mug back to have a sample. His chubby cheeks turned red and he started coughing. The mug slipped from his stout fingers and began falling to the ground. Ever vigilant for wasted beer, Doc snagged it in mid air, only spilling a handful of drops and the men all laughed, having seen Doc’s prowess for catching beers before.

  “That tastes like the bitter greens that no one likes!” Albert exclaimed with a shocked look on his face. “Why do you guys drink that? It’s terrible.”

  All the men around the fire started laughing and howling into the night. The other children weren’t sure what was so funny, but they all began laughing as well and chasing the dogs around the small campsite.

  Rufus had grown especially fond of the young ones. He seemed to figure out quickly that once he had worn one out, there was always another small person, full of energy and willing to play with him.

  8

  Morning came a little early for some of the men, but everyone still got up and broke camp. After a quick breakfast of dried deer meat, they began a slow march towards the city gate.

  Everyone was curious how the kids would do on the hike. Except for John, no one had very much experience with children, especially this many of them. Albert was very good at keeping all the kids on the right track though, so Cooper hoped he would continue this as they got into the brunt of the hike.

  As the group approached the gate, some of the kids began to voice their anxiety. None of them had ever been outside the city gates. Cooper himself had never been outside the gate until he started his adventure a year ago and he was nearly twenty years old then. He was able to calm many of them of the worries they had about the outside world by simply telling them that the dogs were there to protect them. He only hoped the pooches played along and didn’t run off immediately once they left the gate.

  Before leaving they had instructed all the kids to wash well with the special soap, but they had still informed them to pick off any little bugs they saw crawling on them. John also was comfortable looking over the younger kids in order to make sure they were clean of the parasites.

  It had taken the crew a day and a half to get from the river to the city, and that was with much heavier packs. With the children, they were hoping they could make the journey in two full days of hiking and arrive tomorrow evening.

  Due to some of the children’s anxiety, Cooper didn’t make any mention when they passed through the gate and left the city. It was harder to determine where the city ended because of the overgrowth of honeysuckle inside the walls now. This was the last time he would see this place and once he returned to the village the rest of his life would begin, just as Seabee had told him. Cooper grinned with excitement at the thought of it.

  He thought about how lucky these few children were. They were fortunate to have John around to keep such a watchful eye on them as the city collapsed. He couldn’t even imagine a childhood spent in the village in the woods instead of this miserable city. He looked at the little ones as they marched in front of him. Little Lucas, a blonde 4-year-old, stomped his feet, apparently enjoying the sound it made in
the dirt. An even younger boy, perhaps only 3, who was named Thomas, was already sitting squarely on the shoulders of John staring out into the honeysuckle wasteland. It was an odd image because both of the boys hands were resting right on top of John’s big head and John’s own hands were holding the boy’s knees down onto his shoulders. John had told all the men the proper way to secure the children on top of their shoulders so they didn’t fall off. Cooper smiled as he thought about the reaction of the villagers when they showed up with all these wide-eyed kids.

  The hiking that day had gone well, all things considered. Half of the kids, mostly the youngest, required a ride by midday and the men had not failed to hoist them up. Seabee pointed out that having Lucas on his shoulders, leaning against his nearly empty pack made it about the same weight as the previous journey before they had dropped off the supplies.

  Everyone built camp quickly that evening and fell asleep almost as fast. It had been a long day and had taken its toll on many. Even John fell asleep without hesitation.

  Cooper had been concerned about John, but it seemed he didn’t need to be. For the kids, this was all just a big adventure. They most likely didn’t really understand the situation. John understood completely, but his world had been turned upside down several times that year already and this seemed minor in comparison. All he seemed to care about was keeping the kids safe and staying with Cooper. Anything aside from that didn’t warrant his attention.

  The next day was much the same as the first. Some of the children who had hitched rides the previous day were actively trying to hike as much as they could. Apparently Albert had given them a private pep talk in the morning and it had taken root within the little army. Even Thomas, the smallest of them all, was stomping along the ditch, avoiding the crawdads all morning even though the blisters on his feet were visible to everyone.

  At lunch break John decided to go around and look at all the kids’ feet. He chose the ones that were blistered to get rides. Every single one of them fought the command; they wanted to walk. John explained that it was best if they didn’t get hurt out here.

  They were still resistant until Lakewood began complaining about a lack of visibility. “If only I was taller!” he had yelled. He was lamenting the whole journey until one of the kids, named Jackson, exclaimed that he could see much farther if he was atop Lakewood’s shoulders.

  The children stopped arguing about walking once they saw a job that could be done by riding. Cooper silently reminded himself to pour a few mugs of beer for Lakewood when they returned home. He had quickly found that protesting children frayed his nerves.

  +++

  Just before sundown, the merry band of people reached Scoob and his barge. Scoob was thrilled to see so many children, even if they didn’t react to his barge as enthusiastically as he had hoped. Cooper explained to him that boats were very common in the old city. Scoob hoped firing up the engine in the morning would illicit the reaction he was hoping for.

  Over mugs of warm ale that evening, with the kids long asleep, the men filled Scoob in on the happenings of the short trip to the city. John appeared to not want to speak of it anymore and instead wandered around the flat topped boat. Cooper could sense something wasn’t right, and walked after him.

  “What’s on your mind, John?”

  Turning to see his friend, John smiled. “It’s all just happened so fast Coop, you arriving back home, and now we left there...forever.”

  “I know buddy, but the place we are going is very nice and it’s so much better for these kids.”

  “I trust you. I’ve always trusted you. I was the only one who believed you would come back. No one else did.”

  Cooper and John had sat on the edge of the barge, their feet barely touching the slowly moving water beneath. The redhead placed his hand on John’s shoulder and said, “I know John. I realize what you went through this past year and I feel terrible you had to do all that. Here I am talking about what an amazing time I had in the village and your memories of the last year are very different. I apologize for that, I wish I had come back sooner.”

  “It’s okay Coop, you were told to stay out for a year. You did what you were asked. I just need some time to adjust to all this change.” Then the big man’s voice got even quieter as he said, “And I don’t know if I will ever fit in with these guys. They talk so fast and about so many things! Are all the people in the village like that?”

  “No, buddy, the village is full of all kinds of people. You’ll find a place to fit in. I would guess you’ll fit in better with some of these men after they settle down too. They’re all a little ramped up for this trip, you know?”

  “Yeah, I guess. Thanks again for saving all of us Coop, it was real nice of you.”

  Cooper smiled big and said “Don’t mention it again John, I never imagined not coming back for you.”

  Having said all that needed to be said, the two men hugged again, this time without one lifting the other off the ground. Then, they got up and walked back across the barge to sleep on the soft earth of the shore.

  +++

  The next morning, Scoob got up early and fired up the motors on the boat before anyone else was awake. While the other guys were on the trip to the city, Scoob had been tweaking the engines to get a little more muscle out of them. This also made them louder.

  He opened the throttle up and the coughing sputtering sounds turned into an even louder growl that traveled all down the corridor of the river. The kids all came rushing onto the barge. It appeared easier for them to shake off the throes of sleep than the adults.

  By the time Lakewood walked to the back of the barge, Scoob was surrounded by all the kids, explaining what the engine did to a surprisingly rapt, albeit pint-sized, audience. “Been doing some modifications while we were gone, eh?” asked Lakewood.

  “Of course. Had to pass the time somehow, right? Fished a little too. Remind me to tell you all about the giant fish I almost caught!”

  Rolling his eyes, Lakewood responded, “Oh yeah, I’m sure that’s a great story. I figured you were just drinking all the booze the whole time we were gone.”

  “Well, yeah. I did that too. I can do several things at once!”

  The other men had all managed to stumble down towards the engines to see what Scoob had changed. While he was showing them, Doc asked, “Wait, I didn’t think we were going to motor downriver? I mean, the water wants to take us there anyway, right?”

  “Ha!” exclaimed Cooper. “I learned its best not to be at the whim of this muddy lady.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” said Scoob. “I have heard the tale of Cooper’s trip down the river several times and I think it’s best if we have the engines on in case we need to change course to avoid a shallow area or debris or anything like that.”

  “Are we going to go faster than the river?” asked Doc.

  “No, I think that’s a bad idea too. We might not see a hazard before it’s too late. We’ll only use the engines if we have to, but I would rather have them on in case we need them. We still have plenty of fuel,” smiled Scoob.

  While Scoob was talking, Albert had begun taking control of the engines and now looked squarely into Scoob’s eyes. “So, how do I drive this thing? I row the boats while John sets the nets on the lake, I can do this.”

  All the men wanted to laugh, but they sensed an honesty within the young boy and didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Scoob was unsure what to say but settled with a tried and true statement. “Listen here Albert, no one drives this boat but me.”

  “What if you get hurt or fall off or something?” said Albert.

  The men quieted and the smiles slowly melted off their faces. They hadn’t really addressed that before they left. Scoob had been protective of his engines and didn’t want anybody wrecking them. Truly, most of the men could figure out how to drive the boat, and Doc could fix something to a functional, although rigged, state. The kid was right though, at least a few people needed to know how to nuanc
e this beast around the mud flats and stump fields that the river presented.

  Scoob looked back to Albert after meeting eyes with all the other men, silently agreeing on the same thing after having been put in their place by a large six year old. “Son, you have an excellent point. Today, I’ll show several people exactly how to drive this barge. The first will be you.”

  Albert beamed with excitement while staring at the engines.

  +++

  They had been making great time floating down the river. Scoob had taken to giving the engines a little throttle every now and again in order to keep them from gumming up and had grown confident that they could safely move slightly faster than the river current. The only tricky part had been the first day of river travel. Once they rounded the large bend in the river, they were able to increase speed as the river widened and deepened.

  Scoob assumed he would be able to give it even more gas when they met up with the larger river. He had seen how wide and deep it was in those areas up to the point where the river hit the gulf.

  Little Albert had taken to driving the boat very well. He was never allowed control of it solo, but he sat on Scoob’s lap and steered as well as worked the throttle. At first, Scoob had assumed the young boy would treat it like a toy. Instead, Albert took it very seriously. Sometimes his nasally voice would call out across the deck to one of the men who was blocking his line of sight.

  Cooper found the whole thing hilarious. Watching this mini-man command the brewers was a shocking thing. He was also curious to see that the men had seriously cut back their own drinking while in the presence of these kids. They were much more interested in keeping the kids from falling off the barge, which nearly happened twice, than drinking the ale they brought.