The Scout

Today was the day for Blake. Routines had been established for the survival of the Roberts Clan. What used to be parklike beauty in the mountains of The former state of North Carolina, in the former United States of America, were now ugly growths of weeds interspersed with great stretches' of barren rock. Grim reminders of the Final American Conflict were everywhere. The Roberts Clan had managed to find a small valley that was hard to find and easy to defend. Still, vigilance had to be maintained.

Blake was a newly minted Scout in his clan. He had trained with the other scouts and had learned all that he could. He had worked alongside others in the community to have an idea of how to handle many different tasks in case an extra pair of hands was needed. His specialty was Metalworking. He had spent many hours with his brothers and uncles on repurposing metals for use by the Clan. He could identify various assortments of metals, and he was good and sharpening the knives and other tools that were a product of the primitive forge in the Clan workshop.

Now that he was a scout, one of the responsibilities was to find scraps of metal that could be melted down and forged into something useful to the community. It was a small responsibility, but a vital one. Blake's other responsibilities would be to inspect the perimeter around the valley. He had a small mirror that he could use to signal watchers down below of any potential dangers.

Blake left in the predawn hours and began making his way up the long draw that was the lone way in and out of the valley. After he had checked the perimeter and signaled the All Clear sign to the watchers with his mirror, then he would take a bit of time to scrounge for metals. There were some structures that held promise just a few hours' march away. With any luck he may find some steel. That stuff was lighter and easier to carry. Blake had all the positive outlook any young man with a new promotion could have.

Blake didn't find any unusual signs or impending threats that the community would be discovered this day. He found a good spot to relay a series of flashes down into the valley. After a few moments he got a single flash back from the watch tower confirming his message was received and he could go ahead with the next part of his mission. He set out immediately.

Blake was always cautious on the trail. The war had taken its toll on a great many things, but there was still the possibility of a threat. The worst threat these days were from The Wanderers. They were human, but they had denigrated to the worst sort. They scrounged and scavenged, but they did not attempt to get things to grow out of the ground, or to harvest the occasional squirrel or deer for meat. They took a different turn in the days after the war. Rather than face starvation, they began to turn on their fellows and literally ate their own. A Wanderer was not something to be trifled with. Blake had a sharp half sword and a short spear that would deal with a Wanderer if there was no other option. They were not much of a threat one on one, but if they happened to be in a pack on a hunt for meat, that was a different story.

So far so good, Wanderers could usually be smelled before they could be seen. Their trailcraft was nowhere near the level of Blake's. As long as he kept his wits about him, he should have an opportunity to grab up a good find for the community and get back in time for a well earned dinner.

When he was a short distance away from the structures. He was alerted by noises in the brush over to one side. He crept up to investigate. A low growl followed by a human shriek told him that some Wanderers had made it to the structures ahead of him.

Without warning a shape exploded from the undergrowth to Blake's right. A Wanderer was less than ten feet away from Blake's position. The pale skin, the glazed eyes and the blood stained arms left no doubt of what it was. The Wanderer's eyes and Blakes locked for a split second. Blake's mission had just gone from a simple metal scrounge, to a fight for his life.

The Wanderer charged Blake with the fury common to his kind. Blake side-stepped the Wanderer and used his spear to parry its outflung arms . With a hard shove, Blake sent the Wanderer sprawling. The thing was quick. It rolled over and jumped to its feet again. This time Blake was ready. He had begun to draw his sword as the Wanderer was falling past him. When the Wanderer charged again, this time Blake stepped into the charge and thrust his sword at an upward angle into the creature's gut. The Wanderer collapsed and died with little noise after.

Blake quickly found cover and listened intently to check if there were other Wanderers nearby. After silently counting to sixty and repeating the count five times, all remained quiet.

Blake made his way to the first structure. He cautiously looked inside and began to search each room section by section. He wanted to get this mission over with and return to the valley as soon as possible.

There wasn't anything that would serve a useful purpose in the first structure, He had enough time to investigate one more then he would begin the return leg back home. As Blake made it to the entrance of the second structure, he saw what had caused the commotion with the Wanderers earlier.

There were bodies lying near the entrance to the second structure. Blake used every trick he had been taught to assess the situation. He tried to keep to the shadows where he could. He knew he had to investigate and report back everything he saw to the Elders.

Five Wanderers were all lying dead a short distance away. The wounds were fresh. The carrion eaters had not even begun to circle yet. As Blake moved up to the scene. It was the sixth body that gave him pause.

The sixth body wasn't a Wanderer at all! This wasn't someone from Blake's clan, he was sure of that. This fellow didn't carry the spear and sword like Blake did. He carried two long knives. They had been used to good effect on the Wanderers that was for sure. The Wanderer that Blake killed must have been the one that finally did in this stranger. The stranger had bite marks on his arm and face. His neck had a long gash in one side. The final Wanderer must have clawed at his neck and tore out an artery. That was the best guess Blake could make under the circumstances.

Blake took a deep breath and began the grim work of searching the stranger's corpse. Anything gathered would be useful to the Elders to determine whether this stranger's arrival would mean good news or bad news to the clan.

Blake took the knives and put them in his pack. That would be a great find for the tribe! Weapons already made and sharpened! He took the boots and socks and stowed them too. The curing of hides and the weaving of fabrics was something that required much labor by the clan's clothing makers. These would be a great gift. He might even get a special favor from his girlfriend Lainey if the stranger's shirt was in good repair. He removed the shirt and put it in his pack as well.

When Blake was checking the stranger's other items of clothing, he noticed a glint of metal from around the stranger's neck. It had been very hard to notice with all of the blood, but now there was definitely something around the stranger's neck. Blake traced the metal around and found a slender chain around the stranger's neck. he got the chain out from around the stranger's neck and inspected his find. There was a lump of metal at the end of the chain. Very strange indeed!

Blake took out his water bottle and carefully poured a small stream of water over the chain to reveal his find. He was rewarded with the gleam of silver! Silver was revered by the clan! If he presented this to the Mother Matriarch, he would be rewarded with extra food or even special recognition by the Elders!

The lump of metal turned out to be something in an odd shape. He had seen it before when the clan would gather the children for learning and stories, but it wasn't something seen everyday. Not something worked in metal to this degree either! The shape was something called a heart. There were little bands of metal on one side of the heart too. Most strange! He had to hurry and get his finds to the Elders. There wasn't a moment to spare!

After Blake had gathered all of the items he could from the scene, he set out at the fastest pace that he dared. He had truly stumbled upon quite a find! The Elders would be very proud of him for all of the hard work he had put in to find useful items for the clan!