THE HUNT, Chapter 7: Our Life

THE HUNT, Chapter 7: OUR LIFE


Only a half year later, everything had changed. The nearest plantations to the mountain range had been overrun, burned to the ground. With the mountains to the West and the canyon to the North, the rebellious slaves had become too numerous and organized to be recaptured and controlled by the few remaining slavers in the region. The army, for its efforts, has lost too many good men for the profits of others, and for a cause that was losing support in other parts of the Commonwealth. Political speculation was already predicting the end of favor for slavery. Yes, it was also well known that for the wind of societal change to take root firmly, years and more blood may still be required. But, the army had given up on the lands to the East of these mountains. Nobody had any interest in claiming the region despite its fertile land for growing. The slaves have taken over the land for growing what they needed and for trade. Sympathizers in the regional towns and small cities had provided markets and trade routes. There is still outrage, small violence, and political pressure from those wanting to return the regional economy and society to what it was before. Change of this scale would be slow. But, change was happening.

Our village has flourished, largely unmarked and unaffected by the turmoil to the East. It had become a true settlement, the population increasing with larger numbers of runaway slaves and young being brought into their lives. More families are being formed with the influx of women. As a result, life was becoming civilized. Although much more primitive compared to the region to the East, it didn’t take long for the attitudes to change. At least before, if our way of life and attitude didn’t exactly fit in with theirs, they still needed us and gave us some allowance and consideration as a result. It didn’t take long for those considerations for what we had given to be forgotten.

For us, of the ‘Warrior’ group (three men, three canines, and me), we became bored, under-challenged, and unmotivated. Worse, perhaps, we became unappreciated. With less and less apparent need to protect the valley or guide runaways to safety, we left quietly, never to return. Initially, we left to explore to the West putting days, then weeks, and months between us and what was known to us as civilization. Such as it was. Our intention was merely to seek out the region beyond the mountains to the West that Jona had spoken of.

We have encountered new peoples and we had largely left each other alone. We essentially just wandered. We weren’t at all sure what we were looking for or what we were expecting of ourselves, as a group or individually. We spent some time in the area Jona talked about on the other side of the mountains to the West. It seemed remote and it certainly had everything we might want. It was quiet and undisturbed except for occasional sightings of a completely different race of people, which was fine. Actually, it was better than fine because we were clearly coming into their land and they didn’t seem to mind as we kept to ourselves. But, in the back of our minds, it never left us that this was where Jona had been coming. Not that we wouldn’t like to see the man, again, but if he found his way across the southern route, certainly others could just as well in the future, if not now.

It was that thought that kept our eyes on the next range of mountains much further to the West and South. Finally, we made up our minds and headed in that direction. I say we made up our minds, but there was never any real discussion or decision. One day, we simply packed up the horses of our camp and as a group we headed in that direction. Nobody said it, nobody questioned it.

It was nearly an entire year later that we found ourselves on the other side of that range, too. As we rested on the far side of the pass, after spending long days in cold and snow, despite being the summer season in the low lands, we gazed at the new land before us. I think as a group we sighed in unison. Before us was a truly magnificent sight. We had found a deep valley between two mountain ranges. Yes, just in front of us was yet another range of mountains just as formidable as the ones we had somehow managed to struggle over. There was an immediate and unwavering feeling or belief that no matter which direction ‘civilized’ man might attempt to migrate from, these two ranges would stop them for a long time. Only the most hardy and most desperate for escaping to something completely unknown and different would even attempt it. In other words, people as crazy as us.

To the North was a steady narrowing of the valley between the ranges. To the South was the opposite, it opened up into a wide valley. To the North was some of the heaviest forest I have seen with a jagged, raw scar running down the middle of it, which could only be a deep cut, fast running river. Directly below us and spreading to the South was a large, crystal blue lake reflecting the majestic snow covered peaks on the opposite side and the expansive blue sky with billowing white clouds sailing with the winds like ships carried on the sea. I smiled at the thought; I have never seen the sea, but my father had spoken of it, always with wonder and awe in his voice.

Further to the South, at the end of the long lake, is a slower moving river leaving. Apparently, the valley levels off and slightly depressed there to form the lake. There is forest along the slopes of both mountain ranges and meadow near the lake on all sides. Further South still can be seen an expansive prairie and even from this distance we can see the waving tall grass and herds of various species of grazing animals. It felt perfect to me, it looked perfect. But, as was our custom now, we held judgment until we had explored the area and seen what it truly had to offer.

The sun was approaching the tops of the mountains in the distance. It would be getting dark soon. Tupac indicated that we would make camp tonight down along the lake and divided us into tasks with the last of the light available. I think he was still amused every time he heard the words come out of his mouth, but he sends me and Wolf off to find some game or foul for our meal while they get wood, a fire, and unpack the pack horse to set up camp. The lone woman was sent off to kill something, but to us it was a recognition of our strengths and one of mine was my ability with the bow. Silent killing of game allowed for less spooking of the animals in general and resulted in them moving less far after the kill.

A couple days later, we were still in the same location. What was a temporary camp forced on us by impending night had become comfortable. None of us seemed in a hurry to move further. It wasn’t that we were excessively tire, tired of travelling, or lonely for what we had all left far and long behind. We were in no hurry because something felt right about this place … and us in it. I feel at peace here. I feel completely at peace, comfortable, and nurtured. It was as though the surrounding mountains, the waving grasses of the prairies, the towering pines, the soft, languid waters of the lake, and the crashing, churning waters of the river feeding it were all providing life, energy, peace, and safety all at the same time.

On the third day in this place I felt myself being completely and utterly wanton and insatiable for sex and love, a need to be taken by my men and the canines, sometimes hard, sometimes soft and slow (not the dogs, clearly), but always to feel them, to be one with them. We had never stopped being sexual, that’s as much a part of who or what we are as much as strength, reliance on each other, and driving ourselves to not let the others down. But this was different. I couldn’t explain it and as much as I might think I should understand the change, the need, I didn’t really think it mattered. There was no place we had to be, no big event we had to prepare for, and no pressing demands on us. We were far, very far, from all of that. Our pressing issue before us was still unspoken, although I don’t think I was the only one who repeated it frequently to myself: What are we looking for? What do we want for ourselves? I smiled; I know I did, because the question was never, what do I want? It was always ‘we’.

There was another interesting thing happening. After our morning fuck, the dogs all took off down the valley with Wolf. I wondered if his natural instincts weren’t more powerful here, too. An abundance of wildlife to hunt, they were off to take care of themselves. That was fine, they were never pets; they were dogs that aided in the efforts of tracking and defense.