“…so then, when he’s doubled over from the gut punch, you can grab him by the ears and bash his face on your knee,” Adal said, demonstrating as she walked.
Ches nodded, fascinated. “I heard Trevi say you could kill someone, if you did that hard enough.”
“Well, I busted plenty of noses, boyo, and haven’t managed to yet,” she said, hiking the gecko carcass higher on her shoulders. “Takes the fight right out of ‘em, though.”
The day was ending as they picked up the trail back to camp. The massive bluffs gave way to low meadows between, and lazily winding rivers. Everything was deep in shadow as they neared the lush area the Walker had claimed, the only light coming from modest fires. Between them, the adults had gathered, and Adal could hear raised voices between them. She dropped the carcass at the edge of the camp and waved a hand at her son. “Go find your brother and get started on this.”
Adal pushed into the crowd, trying to hear. They made room, cousins and further relations. All shared the same dark, hooded eyes and near-black hair, skin tan and weathered. She found Jeth midway through the pack and took his hand, twisting her fingers through his. “What’s happened?”
He pulled his hand away, expression grim. “Peda and Sen found more of the Red men near the roads. They killed some of them.”
“We’ve seen what they do!” Adal stood on her toes. Peda, one of the older hunters, stood in the center of the ring. Her apprentice, Sen, held a strange rifle, the stock blank, missing the carving and paintings of a Walker weapon. Both wore scarred hunter’s hides, a mirror of Adal’s own. “Bodies tied up to rot! People stolen from their homes!” She gestured at the people around her, voice hoarse from yelling. “We can’t kill them all, no, but we can make their march painful as we can.”
“It’s not our fight!” one of the men shouted, wearing the rough cloth of a forager. “And it’s not our way. We’re Walker. We don’t have our feet nailed down like the townies, we can move on when things get dark. It’s served us long enough.”
“So we abandon the whole region?” Sen said, a little shrill with so many eyes on him. He clutched the foreign rifle tighter. “Walker move on when we can’t hold, but that doesn’t mean we don’t fight to keep what’s ours.”
“What happens if we leave?” Adal pushed her way into the center. Jeth tugged at her hood, trying to stop her. “Huh? These aren’t raids. These bastards don’t take what they need and go back to ground. The towns they take, they mean to keep. They break the people there. We leave, what the hell are we going to come back to?”
“So we find new land!”
“It might not be our problem, but other bands?” Peda said, giving Adal an approving nod. “Our children, when they Walk? What will they find? World’s gotten smaller. Land’s getting carved up. We’re running out of places to go to.
She looked around at the group. The rest of the Walker shifted where they stood, uncertain. Adal ground her teeth. “We have to fight. We show them the world isn’t theirs to take, make them hurt, maybe drive them off. But we can’t just let them trample us down.”
Crossroads (2a/9)
Ches nodded, fascinated. “I heard Trevi say you could kill someone, if you did that hard enough.”
“Well, I busted plenty of noses, boyo, and haven’t managed to yet,” she said, hiking the gecko carcass higher on her shoulders. “Takes the fight right out of ‘em, though.”
The day was ending as they picked up the trail back to camp. The massive bluffs gave way to low meadows between, and lazily winding rivers. Everything was deep in shadow as they neared the lush area the Walker had claimed, the only light coming from modest fires. Between them, the adults had gathered, and Adal could hear raised voices between them. She dropped the carcass at the edge of the camp and waved a hand at her son. “Go find your brother and get started on this.”
Adal pushed into the crowd, trying to hear. They made room, cousins and further relations. All shared the same dark, hooded eyes and near-black hair, skin tan and weathered. She found Jeth midway through the pack and took his hand, twisting her fingers through his. “What’s happened?”
He pulled his hand away, expression grim. “Peda and Sen found more of the Red men near the roads. They killed some of them.”
“We’ve seen what they do!” Adal stood on her toes. Peda, one of the older hunters, stood in the center of the ring. Her apprentice, Sen, held a strange rifle, the stock blank, missing the carving and paintings of a Walker weapon. Both wore scarred hunter’s hides, a mirror of Adal’s own. “Bodies tied up to rot! People stolen from their homes!” She gestured at the people around her, voice hoarse from yelling. “We can’t kill them all, no, but we can make their march painful as we can.”
“It’s not our fight!” one of the men shouted, wearing the rough cloth of a forager. “And it’s not our way. We’re Walker. We don’t have our feet nailed down like the townies, we can move on when things get dark. It’s served us long enough.”
“So we abandon the whole region?” Sen said, a little shrill with so many eyes on him. He clutched the foreign rifle tighter. “Walker move on when we can’t hold, but that doesn’t mean we don’t fight to keep what’s ours.”
“What happens if we leave?” Adal pushed her way into the center. Jeth tugged at her hood, trying to stop her. “Huh? These aren’t raids. These bastards don’t take what they need and go back to ground. The towns they take, they mean to keep. They break the people there. We leave, what the hell are we going to come back to?”
“So we find new land!”
“It might not be our problem, but other bands?” Peda said, giving Adal an approving nod. “Our children, when they Walk? What will they find? World’s gotten smaller. Land’s getting carved up. We’re running out of places to go to.
She looked around at the group. The rest of the Walker shifted where they stood, uncertain. Adal ground her teeth. “We have to fight. We show them the world isn’t theirs to take, make them hurt, maybe drive them off. But we can’t just let them trample us down.”
“No.”