Iron Rations

Lyall Hound- The Treaty

I don't think going back to the village is a good idea. It's been a battlefield, for crying out loud! Though the battle is done, the war-bringers might've left some trash. Like grenades. Or bombs. Or anything of that sort which might kill us.

I walked ahead of the group. Shiv flew above us, scouting ahead. Behind me is Yule, the fox pelt draped around her shoulders. Whenever I look at her, she flashes a brave smile and her posture shines bright with confidence. But when I look away from her directly, I could see from the corner of my eye she is just as unsure as I am, the smile gone, her posture slouching slightly, the confidence faltering.

Behind Yule is Thom. He kept an unreadable expression, the kind which hides some emotion no one could read.

James brought the rear, clutching his knife in one hand, eyes keen and waiting for something.

Soon, we arrived at the village. Or what remained of it. The cabins were gone, replaced by smoking piles of wood. The smell of death stung my nose. What remained of bodies lied on the snow, the worst a pale baby still wrapped in a blanket, clutched by its mother. They look asleep, underneath the smoke-screened sky. But we all know they're dead.

The soundless wail of mourning and sadness made me wince.

James kept a passive face, but his arm quivered. Thom tried to keep his face emotionless, but I noticed the slight wince of his right eye, the way his body shook. Yule made no effort to hide her emotions. She collapsed on her knees, her legs digging into the snow. She moved to the dead mother and baby, and stroked the baby's cheek with a shaking hand. Then she cried.

It was like a story which came alive, what I'm seeing. Everything I knew, everything which fed me, hated me, kept me alive, scattered in the snow, left as corpses.

I kicked away a vodka bottle near my boot, and felt guilty, remembering the vodka man. I saw Thom walk over to what was once his house. He went into the middle of the smoking rubble and just stood there, face pale and gaunt, the glow from his skin faded with grief. It's like he died with the house.

Shiv arrowed down from the sky and pulled back at the last second to flutter gently to my shoulder. She made a soft sound. 

I found my voice. "Do as Thom said." I tried to keep my voice firm. "Try to salvage anything."

James manage to nod, despite the intense quivering of his arms. He walked off to what was probably his and Yule's house.

Yule did not move. She simply stood beside the mother and the baby's corpses, tears dripping down her face.

Thom began to move rather mechanically. He dug around the rubble, a strange intensity masking his true emotions.

I moved to what was once my and Shiv's cabin. Only a pile of wood was is in its place. Shiv screeched. She was no fool. She knew what happened, and what was probably still happening.

She flew off.

I pushed aside several splinters, and found my father's metal chest. Maybe there's something useful inside.

Though it was locked, I managed to open it by jamming my knife into the keyhole. The chest opened slowly, revealing a stash of weapons. There were rifle parts, several containers of bullets and three expensive-looking daggers, as long as shorts words. Huh. No wonder he never allowed me to go near the chest when I was five.

I threw away my hunting knife and equipped a better dagger. It wasn't rusty, and had a finer blade. And it also looked better, with a smoother wooden handle, an arrow travelling down its length.

I assembled a rifle, loaded it with a click and swung its strap across my shoulders.

I'm not sure any of the people in my group could use weapons, but maybe James has some skll in a rifle if I teach him.

I went back to the entrance of the village carrying the metal chest.

James arrived a few moments later, holding a cigarette lighter in one hand. Yule arrived five minutes after him. She carried several hooded fur coats. Thom arrived at the same time as Yule, carrying a paper folder.

"Arm yourself," I said. I assembled and loaded a rifle for James and handed it to him. I was about to give the remaining daggers to him when I realized all of us needs to be armed, even Thom and Yule. I handed each one of them a dagger.

After putting on fur coats and trying out the lighter, I turned to Thom. "So why savage that?" I pointed at the folder.

Thom laughed. I almost forgot how much I hated that sound.

"This," he raised the envelope slightly, "contains father's plans. What he'd like to do in case the village is destroyed."

"So you're saying we should follow your father's instructions?" I said, reading between the lines.

Thom looked surprised. I was probably right. But his face changed back to the emotionless expression he wore lately. "Yeah, I think it's wise we should. It's for our own survival."

He opened the envelope, revealing several documents. Yule gingerly got one and after reading it quickly, said, "I thought these are plans."

"They are," said Thom, rummaging a sheet and reading it. "This one contains directions to the next village, where we can stay."

"This isn't a paper of instructions," said Yule. 'This is a peace treaty."