Avarice Secret Unquiet CH 29

New Blood

They had left early, as the first hint of lemon began to imbue the landscape with delicate color. The day promised fair weather and a light breeze. The men were mostly well-rested and in good spirits, though they were well aware they were about to enter the toughest leg of the expedition. The home run to their base camp across the unforgiving nothingness. There was so much that could go wrong to jeopardize all their efforts and dreams.

The initial turn inland from the river had been harrowing and full of surprises. Though only a short distance until the terrain evened out as it approached the lifeless desert, the path became fraught with difficulty. Bennett had deemed it wise to try and take the trail that still remained, snaking across the wide flats and into the dunes. The others had also agreed it was probably the best course. However, it had been many years since that track had been traveled by anything more than foot traffic, and wild pigs.

Predictably the path was rough, and in places it completely disappeared beneath the shifting sands and marginal undergrowth, leaving the men to try and scout the best path forward. Progression was slowed to a crawl. Though the river had been kind to them, it appeared leaving its banks would not be.

Nathan was tired, he had not slept at all. Initially, he had attempted to sleep, that was until the wretched dreams began. He was cursed and spat at by the terrible and frightening being who stood over him, casting black shadows and a vitriolic rage. Nathan was so fearful, that he woke almost immediately after the dream had begun. His jade eyes wide, staring upward to the starry night above. He spent the remainder of the night too afraid to return to his rest. So today was doubly taxing on his tired body and senses. Worse still, he now had a dull ever-present headache in his temples, and he moved sluggishly behind the loaded dray.

Will almost trod on a deadly red-belly black snake, it was just dumb luck he was not bitten, the tough hide of his long boots and gaiters saving him from the snake's swift strike. A reminder not to be careless in this place.

They had to go very carefully on such a rough trail, and by evening they still had not reached where the river flats ended and the desert truly began. So they settled down to camp and lit a small fire. Tomorrow they would tackle the last of the difficult terrain whilst fresh; besides the exhausted horses had clearly had enough.

Dwayne had shot a kangaroo, and was deftly relieving it of its hide, they would roast the best cuts on the fire. The horses stood heads down, the animals were tired from the rough day, tethered to a coolibah tree, its rough, dull, gray bark made it look as though it had been cast from concrete.

Nathan sat down in the dirt, feeling somewhat nauseous and faint from lack of sleep. He rubbed at his throbbing temples and tried to adjust his blurred vision. He hoped that tonight he would be too tired for dreaming, and tomorrow would be a better day.

Yet the dreams came, the demonic specter lectured Nathan on his disobedience, and warned him that the next time he visited, the young man would do as he was told!

*****

The morning was warm, there were no traces of fleeting frost that often accompanied the chill nights of spring, and that could only mean one thing. The heat was coming, and they had little time to reach the fortress before the worst of the heat set in. The men harnessed the horses again in their traces, and the slow procession resumed.

By midday, the party had found themselves axle-deep in stinking, sticky mud, the horses foundering in the mire unable to pull the cart from its predicament. So they had to unload it. This was a bad case scenario, one Bennett had feared. The flats looked dry and solid to the untrained eye, but the recent floods had caused them to become a treacherous sea of mud. The animals struggled vainly to pull the unloaded cart from its predicament, the men strained and pushed to assist the animals. They were making so much noise they didn't realize it had attracted another set of eyes.

Bennett looked up with a start, his hand automatically racing to the butt of his Sig, but he declined to draw the weapon. He was not usually surprised in this way, neither were his men. The urging of the horses ceased. All eyes were on the rangy young man who stood a short distance away watching on.

"Can I help? Those horses really are not the most ideal for that heavy load Mister."

Bennett let his hand leave his weapon, and his men mirrored his action.

"Unfortunately they are all we have." Bennett answered him.

The young man walked down from the sandy hillock interspersed with dry grass, he was barefoot, and his clothing was threadbare and several sizes too small for him. Although he had seen the men reach for their weapons, he appeared confidently unafraid.

"I'm Josh Mitchelmore." He shook Bennett's hand with a strong grip, and his clear blue-eyed gaze did not falter as he appraised the group of dangerous-looking travelers.

"Wezley Bennett." Bennett answered, assessing the man's bright blue gaze, that he may read better perhaps the intentions that lay beneath. Josh gave off the appearance of an impetuous youth who would not be averse to danger. Bennett at once recognized a similarity with his younger self, and he liked what he saw there. A fierce young man who did not back away from danger, and possibly something darker, and unnamed lay behind his eyes as well.

"Our home is not far Mr... er Wezley. Just up there and over that dune. I know it's only midday, but perhaps the horses need to be unhitched, watered and rested. I have something far better we could harness to that cart to retrieve it." He pointed northwest into the dunes.

Bennett looked where the lad had pointed, but he could see nothing there to denote habitation, except for an old barbed wire fence, that mostly lay in ruin. He then cast an eye over his already tired men, the day was warm, and the horses were spent. To push them further would be foolhardy.

"Lead the way." He said to the young man, but not before turning and imparting his orders to the others. "Todd, Will, Dwayne, I want you to stay with the load, and be vigilant."

Josh helped the men unhitch the tired horses, he worked quietly and confidently with the animals, with a method born of practice. He then led the way, as Bennett, Gareth, Pig, and Nathan followed him into the dunes.

Josh's modest stone and tin home was indeed not far. It was reminiscent of many of the homes that were built in the area in the 1800s. Solid stone wall construction a good foot or more in thickness, with wood eaves, hardwood floors, a corrugated iron roof, a rear lean-to, and a single veranda that ran down the front face of the building. A few chickens dotted the dry yard, a rusted tank sat next to the structure holding precious rainwater, and a corral made of felled and interlocking Mallee wood stood to one side of the building. Two sturdy Hereford bullocks stood quietly in the shade of the home, idly swishing flies with their tasseled tails.

Josh walked up to the two resting beasts, "Bruno and Brutus here can get that cart out easily, but we need to wait until it's cooler." He scratched at one of the bullock's white curled polls, the animal clearly enjoying the attention.

All Bennett and his men saw was prime beef being wasted.

The group turned abruptly at the sound of stumbling footsteps coming from somewhere behind them. The lad also barefoot was trying to remove a painful three-corner jack from the sole of his dirty foot, hopping about and grimacing in pain.

Josh was not slow on the introductions. "Oh, this is my brother Louis. Louis this is Wezley, he and his men got into some trouble with their cart in the river flats."

Louis was a good three years younger than his brother Josh, by Bennett's estimation he was about fifteen. He had the same dirty blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes.

"Hi," was all he said.

"It's just my brother Louis and me here. After Mum, Dad, and our baby sister Joylene died, we have been managing what's left of the farm. It's not much. We run a few sheep, keep a few chooks, and try and grow some veggies if there's enough rain. There are a few young guys here just like us on the adjoining properties. Stuck here with nothing much to do, all our families gone."

Bennett nodded, he had not anticipated anyone still living here and certainly had not expected they would be remotely welcoming.

"Come", Josh gestured to his visitors, "there's a pitcher of cool water inside, later there's some mutton cooking in the pot. We'll get your cart out when it gets a bit cooler. The boys work much better then."

Josh and Louis led the way into the dark recesses of the stone farmhouse. The men followed. The air here was surprisingly cool, and it was not unwelcome. Nathan was glad to be out of the constant bright light that hurt his head and sat on the floor, his back to the cool stone wall. He hoped to rest his tired eyes and not be noticed for a while.

The interior of the main room was sparsely furnished and simple. A useless electric light fixture hung from the center of the room over a plain scratched wooden table and a few mismatched chairs. The men sat, while the boys brought a pitcher of cool, clear rainwater, and some enameled tin mugs for their guests.

Bennett glanced about the room, there were so many accouterments of a forgotten age that stood quietly collecting a layer of bull dust. A museum to another time. He did not miss the rack of guns that sat above the blackened stone fireplace.

Josh immediately registered his guest's interest, "those were my dad's, we still use them on occasion, but the ammo is almost gone."

Bennett nodded. "You boys always lived here?"

"Yeah, we don't know nothin else."

"There are others nearby you say?" An idea formulated in the leader's cunning mind.

"Yeah there are seven of us all up. There is Barrel and Owen Reese over that way, then there is Murray, Danny, and Wyatt Deer, a bit further to the north. We have all lost our parents, and we have tried to stay here over the years. We do talk about maybe all going south to the Bridge, but we never do. We probably should though, but it's a damn long way."

"Are you all grown?"

"Yeah, we sure are Sir. Murray is the oldest of us, then me, the youngest is Danny, he's still a bit of a kid. But the rest of us are grown."

Bennett's mouth twisted in a cunning grin, and his eyes sparkled even in the dim room. "Well why not come with us? I need more men, and you lads look like you are at a bit of a dead end here."

Josh's face lit up at the big man's suggestion. "We would love to Sir," he said speaking for the others, even if they didn't know it yet.

"Well why don't you go get them all and bring them back here, and we can leave first thing tonight."

Josh nodded eagerly and bolted out the door.

*****

Bennett, Gareth, Pig, and Nathan rested that afternoon in the dark kitchen, the morning had seen some heavy exertion so it was most welcomed. The men said little, but it was obvious they wished to talk amongst themselves, but not with Louis listening in. So the conversation would wait until later. However, there was much communication with body language and eye contact. Bennett could see the surprise at his decision to take the boys as untried recruits. It was something they had rarely done in all the long years the war band had fought together. He could already tell his men were very uneasy at this.

Nathan dozed, he was so weary it was thankfully a dreamless rest. The other three men also dozed intermittently, watched over by the faded Mitchelmore family photographs and the broken mantle clock, its hands stuck permanently at nine minutes past six. Louis sat fidgeting in the doorway pitching stones into the sand and staring out at the distant horizon. Occasionally he would peer back into the room at the men who lounged there.

About an hour before the sunset, Josh returned with his five neighbors as promised. They filed into the small living room, their eyes on the battle-hardened strangers. Bennett noted they each had their scant possessions eagerly packed in old backpacks or hessian feed sacks tied with bailing twine. Some of them were shoeless and instead had hides fashioned into rudimentary footwear. Poor protection from the scalding sands, and the menace of the abundant three corner jacks that littered the dune country.

Bennett cast his eyes over the seven rag-tag boys that stood before him. They were young, strong, and most importantly eager, and he was sure he could with the right conditions transform them into killers just as he and his man were. He was relying on it.

Josh quickly put his friends at ease by making the introductions. "This is Wezley Bennett and his friends Pig, Gareth, and Nathan."

The group of boys who were almost men looked at Bennett and his accomplices with wild eyes.

"This is Murray Deer, and his two brothers, Wyatt, and Danny."

The three boys were wiry and darkly tanned, enough to suggest perhaps some aboriginal blood or Indian, with jet black hair and dark eyes, so very like another he had once coveted. Bennett seeking to banish his sexual thoughts. He must stay in the moment. This was an important decision he was making. These boys would become warriors with the right supervision and encouragement, and be useful to him in ways that Carlos never could. This was all business, and he must stay firmly on track.

Murray looked to be twenty or so, well built, his shirt had no buttons and hung open, revealing a hard, muscular torso. Yet his eyes were furtive under his long fringe of unruly straight black hair that hung to his shoulders, greasy and unkempt. Wyatt was about eighteen, and similarly built, and Danny was no more than a half-grown teen. All the brothers had that same shifty manner about them, and Bennett was unsure if it was shyness, or something else. Their clothing was ragged, but at least they had boots. He noticed that Murray had a good-sized Bowie knife tucked into his belt and a twelve gauge shotgun that had seen much wear attached to his heavy backpack.

"Does that work?" Bennett said pointing to the battered weapon.

"Sure does Sir," Murray replied never once meeting the leader's gaze.

"You have ammunition for it?"

Murray nodded in the affirmative but didn't say anything more.

Sensing the awkward lull in the conversation Josh continued with the rest of the introductions. "This is Barrel."

The portly boy moved forward and shook Bennett's hand with a confident grip. He too was seventeen or so. He wore a nice sharp tomahawk at his wide waist.

"Nice to meet you Sirs."

He seemed most congenial, gazing at Bennett and his cohorts with an open directness. He was a big lad, tall, stocky, and strong. Bennett could see why the boy bore the moniker of Barrel, even in this hardship the young man had not done without meals, that much was plain. Friar Tuck of Sherwood Forest came to Bennett's mind. His hair was brown and cut short, neater than the Deer boys. His gray eyes were honest.

"And lastly this is Owen, Barrel's younger brother."

Owen had to be around sixteen or so, he was of the same solid build as his elder brother, though slightly more athletic. He had ruffled brownish hair that ran to blond at the tips and eyes of a bright hazel. He likewise imitated his elder brother's gesture and also shook Bennett's hand. However, he did not choose to speak, but merely nodded and returned to the other boys.

"You boys need shoes, and better clothing." Bennett commented, the boys all looked at their feet in unison. "I think we may have some on the cart. I see some of you have brought weapons," and he looked out through the open doorway to sight some horses tied to a stunted tree, and a sturdy blue merle dog sitting on the veranda, its tongue lolling out one side of its jaw, and tail wagging happily.

Now, Bennett thought, it was time for the indoctrination, he could see the youths were keen, but now he intended to see what they were truly made of. "I see all you boys have done pretty well out here fending for yourselves with the farms your families left you, considering the times we live in."

The Deer boys nodded and looked most serious, the others were quiet, all eyes trained on the wild-looking leader with the shaven head and the ice-blue eyes.

"I called you young men here for a rare opportunity to do better than just... this..." He gestured around the walls of the simple room and out of the open doorway. "You don't have to spend all your lives scratching a living from this hard land of no rainfall or abundance, or going without. There are other opportunities to be had..."

He paused for a moment to let what he had said sink in.

"There is a place far to the west of here, a very large fortress. It offers a rare chance to live better than any of you can imagine. It has an abundance of food, fresh water, electricity, and women too. Or perhaps you men wish to just live lives here as farmers... alone?..."

The youths looked at one another confused, and then back at Bennett with incredulousness.

"Indeed, hardly a life to be desired for any self respecting man. You would toil here endlessly for what?..." Bennett saw the fear and hopelessness he had generated, he was sure the boys thought about these things at times. Unpleasant facts of life in this new age.

"As one of my men you would all be privy to this new life. Of course you must earn your place in my war band. You need to understand I am the leader here and my word is law, break the rules and you will be severely punished. Right now you boys as the newest recruits are last in the pecking order, you will give all my men the respect they deserve as your superiors in rank, do you understand?"

The boys nodded, still unsure what the vicious leather-clad man had meant by his words. However, their eyes glistened with excitement at the specter of a new adventure. Perhaps the Bridge could wait?

"Good," Bennett continued seeing he had their zeal. "Now this is Gareth, he is my second in command, and when I am absent his word too is law. My other men are also above you boys in rank. That means you must rescind your horses to your superiors and walk."

The boys all looked at one another querulously, doubt crept across their features. Suddenly they didn't look so sure of themselves. Perhaps they should just stay here farming.

"I know all of you have had to live out here independently surviving, but if you are to join my war band that has to stop, do you understand? We all work as a team, and you always follow orders."

The boys all nodded.

"In time as you prove your worth to us, you will all achieve the status of your fellow warriors. We will go back to rescue the cart and kit you all out from the supplies."

That last promise seemed to pull the boys from their hesitation, they did after all possess very little, following the big man from the stone farmhouse and on to a new life.

*****

With the onset of the evening coolness, Josh took Brutus and Bruno back to the site of the bogged cart. Bennett and his men stood away from the lads watching the recovery, they could at last converse freely while Josh and his neighbors were occupied. The powerful beasts had the dray out of the mire in no time.

"They are just boys." Gareth commented. "Completely untrained. Cannon fodder."

Bennett snickered at his second in command. So were Dwayne, Aran, and Todd? They all became fine killers. Your point?"

Dwayne drew himself up straight and looked directly at Gareth, knowing he was being used as an example by his leader. He rarely got any praise, so today he basked in the moment small as it was.

"We need every able hand we can get, if we are to take that damn fortress. They are young, impressionable and will do as they are told." The big man added.

Gareth nodded slowly, even if he was far from convinced. "They are farm boys who have not tasted war..."

"Yet their families are dead, they are no strangers to hardship. They will make good recruits. We have had no one for a very long time that was suitable, but I think these lads are. We need new blood."

"Well let's hope it doesn't stain the sands, they have a lot to learn and very little time to learn it in." Gareth's level gaze met his leader's, he was for the most part unafraid to say his peace. Although the battle at the fortress was well over a year ago, that stinging defeat was still vivid in his memory.

"Since when did you grow a conscience Gareth?" Bennett's words were laden with sarcasm. Bennett chuckled, and Gareth said no more.

Will stood with his arms folded across his sturdy chest, this time he remained silent on the matter, which was unusual for him. New recruits to his way of thinking would not necessarily be a bad thing, if the lads could be trained they would have double the number of men to take that fortress with. To him that was a win.

Pig sat picking his nose, not really listening to the two men who were grating on one another, while Nathan languished in the shadow of some scraggly brush. He pulled his trench coat tighter about his thin shoulders, the rest had done him good and he felt a lot better this evening. He was glad of it, as he had a long walk ahead.

The cart had been successfully retrieved and was fortunately undamaged, and the men set to reloading it. There were twice as many hands to help, and the task was completed swiftly. Which was fortunate, as darkness was descending rapidly. Though the boys were all spooked by the warheads, and somewhat hesitant to touch them even when ordered. Bennett could tell though that the young men burned with curiosity after seeing them and were now even more intrigued.

With the onset of the beginnings of the heat, it was decided that it would now be much kinder for the animals to travel by night and rest up in whatever shade they could find by day. It would greatly help conserve the water too. In many regions further south this would have been a dangerous idea, but it appeared that the subhumans did not inhabit the lands this far north, and would pose little concern.

First before setting out, they took the cart back to the homestead where boots, appropriate clothing, and weapons were procured for everyone. Dwayne was almost envious as Owen selected Jormugar's confiscated longbow from the trove of weaponry. Dwayne had practiced with that weapon for months and still did not have the strength to use it properly. Yet Owen had the physical size and strength to pull it back with ease, the lad would grow to be very powerful by the time he was fully grown.

As the party was much larger, they took on more water from the tank by the farmhouse. Extra food supplies were also added, and anything else of use from the house. Bennett hoped that the bullocks as strong as they were could haul the load, which was growing heavier by the moment. Though Josh cheerily reassured Bennett that they could, as long as they got a good ration of water.

Josh looked over the familiarity of the farmstead which had always been his home, this day here would be his last, and he was not entirely sorry. Though he did wish he could have brought the chickens, he sure would miss the fresh eggs for breakfast every morning.

This acreage was a four-generational holding. The life of a simple farmer though had never called to him, right from a young boy he had always wanted to enlist, but with the unrest in the world that was brewing, his father had encouraged him to pursue the traditional family path. The young man was never truly content with this though. Wezley Bennett's words had drawn him like a moth to a flame. This was not the enlistment he had dreamt of, but it would suffice.

The moon was high in the sky as they departed. The boys saying goodbye to their memories of a simpler life and family. Some of them seemed pensive and a little sad, but it was to be expected Bennett thought. In time they would forget, and grow used to the ways of the raider and the fine rewards it could provide.

Josh drove the bullock cart. He had a way with the beasts that no one else did, and the original cart horses were freed up to carry extra supplies, and could now be ridden by the most senior men. Though Nathan still had to walk along with the boys.

So it was that seven became fourteen.