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Andrew Roller Presents
GIRL PATROL
Chapter Fifteen
She was walking home when she saw it floating face down in the
river. It looked like a beaver. For a moment she thought it was. Then it
seemed like it was a dead beaver, and that scared her. She watched it
floating along, bobbing in the river, and then, as if knowing she were
there, and wanting to get to her, it veered, with the current, closer to the
shore. It hit some sticks that were floating along. They went a little
further downstream and she ran along after them, passing the village
where her parents lived, following the little bear downriver. Two other
children, even younger than herself, for she was six, saw her running along
the river and came running after her.
ÒWhatÕcha doing?Ó a three-year-old asked her as she went chasing
the dead beaver down the river.
ÒJust following something,Ó she said. There wasnÕt much to do in
the village and everyone owned very little. Even a dead beaver might be
worth something, and she wanted to have first dibs on it if it proved to be
worth having.
ÒOh! Look! In the river!Ó the second child, a four-year-old,
announced.
ÒI seed it first!Ó the six-year-old, whose named was Chloe, told the
other two children who now ran along with her.
ÒI want it!Ó the three-year-old said.
ÒI SAW IT FIRST!Ó Chloe yelled and, as if to enforce her right to the
dead creature, she splashed down into the river water and dashed along a
small sandy strand that abutted, and was partly washed over by, the river.
Then she got bolder, and fearing the other children might somehow get to
the dead beaver first, she splashed out farther.
ÒDonÕt swim without telling your parents!Ó the four-year-old called.
Chloe ignored him and paddled out into the river. She reached for the
floating debris. She managed to grab the fur of the dead creature and
gingerly lifted it. She wasnÕt afraid of dead things. She helped her mom
kill and clean creatures all the time, things that her father shot. But of
course if the beaver was truly dead, which it certainly must be since it
wasnÕt moving or resisting her, they wouldnÕt want to eat it. It was bad
to eat things that were dead of their own accord, and not freshly killed.
But it wasnÕt a dead beaver. It was a dead bear. Except it was cute
looking, with little button eyes and a nose that seemed made of thread,
and a thread-mouth to go along with the nose. A small bow-tie was
affixed to the front of it, and tied about its neck with ribbon.
ÒThis sure is a funny-looking cub,Ó Chloe said to herself. SheÕd seen
bear cubs before, but never one wearing a bow tie! ÒHello,Ó Chloe said to
the bear. It said nothing back, but it smiled at her, with its little thread
smile, and suddenly Chloe loved it. She hugged it, in fact, even though she
was still a little afraid of it. With such a cute smile, such a creature
could hardly harm her, even if it was dead.
Chloe swam ashore, clutching the bear. It felt soft throughout. She
could squeeze it and she felt no bones pressing against her hands, just a
cuddly friendly feeling.
ÒI like you!Ó Chloe told the bear, once she had it ashore. The four-
year-old and the three-year-old clamored to hold it. ÒItÕs mine!Ó Chloe
assured her friends, but you can hold it if you want to. She gave it to the
three-year-old. Watching with parental concern, she let the three-year-
old hug it, and then the four-year-old, both of them commenting on how
soft and friendly-feeling the little bear was. Finally Chloe took it back,
and walked triumphantly back toward the village with it.
ÒCan I hold it some more? IÕll be your BEST friend!Ó the three-year-
old told Chloe.
ÒMaybe in a little while,Ó Chloe said. The two other children tagged
along with her as if she had found the remains of a saint. With their
treasure they passed two men who, despite the obvious thrill of the
discovery, ignored the children.
The men were dressed, like the children, it what could only be
described as rags. But they did not have the dejected demeanor of the
poor, in fact, they knew nothing else, or hardly so, being far from Darkness
City or anyplace where wealth was accumulated. One man leaned on a
rusty old hoe, one of his most prized possessions, something which he got
good use out of every day. Here in this village the utility of things in
agriculture determined their worth. Admittedly the ground was not good
and the farming was just of the subsistence sort, but the idea of having a
Òbumper harvestÓ or something left over to sell was a concept unknown to
these people. For one thing, there was nobody around for a thousand miles
or more to sell anything too. Nobody, that is, who would have a use for
food. Blood was another matter.
ÒI donÕt like that sun,Ó the man with the hoe said to the other man,
who was leaning on a shovel. The two men looked up, hiding their eyes
from the sun but trying to take in the exact color of its light. ÒItÕs gotten
redder,Ó the man with the hoe said.
ÒWhat does your book say?Ó the man with the shovel asked.
ÒIt says if it gets red enough it bursts, like a dropped tomato.Ó
ÒLike a dropped tomato,Ó the man with the shovel mused, the analogy
helping him to understand what the man with the hoe was saying. ÒI
suppose we wonÕt have to grow any tomatoes next year then.Ó
ÒNo, no, Frank!Ó the man with the hoe, who was named Ebenezer, said.
ÒIf it bursts weÕll all be dead!Ó
ÒIt would be tough to fight off the vampires if itÕs night all the
time,Ó Frank agreed.
ÒIt would burst all over us and destroy us. Like a great fire!Ó
Ebenezer said.
ÒYou worry too much about your book-learning,Ó Frank said to
Ebenezer. ÒExploding suns, great cities that grew next to this river in the
past, your mind is filled with too many things. Irrelevant things, as IÕve
told you before! ItÕs why your crops donÕt grow as good as mine. I may not
have a hoe, like you do, but I could make better use of it if you gave it to
me.Ó
ÒItÕs mine!Ó Chloe cried out, from somewhere in the distance, as
more children learned of her find.
ÒFarming is something I have to do, but book-learning is what I
enjoy,Ó Ebenezer told Frank. He pointed skyward. ÒAnd if that sun does
blow up, then youÕll see that book learning is necessary too.Ó
ÒBah!Ó Frank spit on the ground. ÒGood for starting fires, thatÕs
all.Ó EbenezerÕs eyes widened.
ÒHave you been using books to start fires again?!Ó Ebenezer asked, a
note of panic in his voice. Frank looked sideways. He had found a
collection of musty old books recently, down in a sink hole that heÕd come
across, half destroyed with mildew but still, in the hands of Ebenezer, no
doubt readable. He had let the leaves dry in the sun and they were proving
great for starting his household fire at night. He wasnÕt about to let
Ebenezer cart them off to foolishly save them and read them.
ÒNah,Ó Frank said.
ÒWell donÕt be burning any,Ó Ebenezer said. ÒIf you find any give
them to me.Ó
ÒAnd help you with your crops too, eh?Ó Frank said. Ebenezer turned.
ÒI guess IÕd better go tend my field,Ó he said, though in fact he
wanted to go look at his book again, and compare the color of the light
under the heading ÒNovas and SupernovasÓ with the color of the sun in the
sky. It was redder, he was sure of it. And even if Frank didnÕt believe
him, he was sure that the sun blowing up was a much worse problem than
vampires were.
30
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