CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

BLADES AND FIRE

 

 

LONG HOURS WERE spent discussing Them and the threat they posed. Them could not be ignored. Killing one was not enough.

“There is strength in numbers,” said Walter Sickert.

“My father, him said that, too,” said Evelyn War. “Us, we must make alliances. The Aux, we must stand together.”

“Tempelhof Pack, them turned us away,” said Oscar so Wild. “Them have territory on Track Six. Tempelhof Pack, them are safe.”

“Atticus Flinch, him despised Ezra Pound, Alpha dog,” said Robert Browning. “Tempelhof, them might make alliance with Holeman Hunt.”

“No,” said Walter Sickert. “Atticus Flinch, him no Hearer. Him no Alpha dog.”

“Hansa Pack,” said Holeman Hunt. “Us, we make an alliance with Hansa Pack.”

“Them, their territory is Track Nine,” said Dorothy Barker.

“Us, we killed the Them,” said Holeman Hunt. “Us, we can kill more Them.”

“That, it was a fluke,” said Oscar so Wild. “The Them, it killed twelve Aux. The Aux, them didn’t get whet.”

“Oscar so Wild, you got whet,” said Dorothy Barker. “Ezra Pound, him got whet.”

“No,” said the lieutenant.

“Oscar so Wild, you got whet, you felled the Them,” said Evelyn War.

The dams had seen it. They had not run. They had retreated, because they had no choice, but they had not run scared. And even when Dorothy had left, Evelyn had stayed.

“Me, I saw it. Me, I saw your blade fell the Them. Me, I saw Ezra Pound, him raise his blade.”

“You, what else did you see?” asked Oscar so Wild.

“Nothing,” said Dorothy Barker, her head dropping in shame. “Me, I turned away. Me, I believed in Ezra Pound, Alpha dog. Me, I saw the Them felled. Me, I thought the Them, him was killed, deader and dead.”

“The fire, it killed the Them,” said Evelyn War.

“Then us, we take fire,” said Holeman Hunt.

“Better to fight Them outside,” said Walter Sickert. “Gene the Hackman, him got whet and him killed Them, deader and dead. Him killed Them outside.”

“Them are underground,” said Oscar so Wild. “Them are only underground.”

“Us, we cannot escape Them in the tunnels,” said Dorothy Barker. “Them are fast, skittle-scuttle fast. Us, we cannot scatter. Us, we cannot hide. Us, we cannot take cover in the tunnels.”

They had wrestled with the problem for hours and no one had anything new to say. Edward Leer had listened. He was used to being listened to – he was the tale-teller – but he had listened. When no one had anything left to say, he began.

“Gene the Hackman, top dog, him done the great Walk Around,” he said. “Not for him the darkness, not for him the cold, not for him the Time of Ice. Gene the Hackman, him got whet. Gene the Hackman, him got whet and walked the Earth, and him killed Them.

“Two-Feet-Walk-on-the-Ground, him ran the World. Him big fella. Them hated him very much. Two-Feet-Walk-on-the-Ground, him make Gene the Hackman to keep Them off his lawn and him sleep long time. Two-Feet-Walk-on-the-Ground, him the Master. Gene the Hackman, him keep Them off the lawn while the Master sleep long time.

“Them got together, tighter and tight. And Gene the Hackman, him Heard his Master’s Voice and him got whet and him killed Them. Him clever; him had muscles in his head. Him knew the one thing always drew Them quickest. Him built fires and Them come. Him pulled his two great blades and him swung and him hacked and him scrapped and him killed Them, deader and dead.

“Gene the Hackman, him heard the Master’s Voice and him felt the Urgings. Gene the Hackman, him led the Pack on the Walk Around, and him kept the lawn clean of Them.”

“Blades and fire,” said Oscar so Wild.

“The best blades and the deadliest fire,” said Holeman Hunt.

“Them like the fire,” said Walter Sickert.

“Then us, we use it to catch them and we use it to kill them,” said Oscar so Wild. “Zoo Pack, we avenge Ezra Pound, Alpha dog’s death.”

Dorothy Barker clenched her fist and punched the air, ferociously.

“And us, we make an alliance with Hansa Pack,” said Evelyn War.

Dorothy Barker loosened the fist and put her arm around her pack sister, squeezing her shoulder.

“Us, we make an alliance, tougher and tough,” she said. “There is strength in numbers.”

“Me, I can do fire,” said Ben Gun. He had said little throughout the meeting, except to back up Walter Sickert or to agree with Evelyn War. He was loyal, and would remain loyal, whatever the cost.

Holeman Hunt laughed at the pup. Everyone had always laughed at Ben Gun. He didn’t care. Evelyn War, Robert Browning and Dorothy Barker didn’t care either. They had scrapped with Ben Gun. They appreciated the value of his ideas. He understood how to listen and he understood how things worked.

“Let the pup, him speak,” said Evelyn War.

Holeman Hunt glanced at the Zoo Pack dam.

“Let him speak,” said Oscar so Wild, quietly.

“You, speak,” said Holeman Hunt. Ezra Pound was dead, but the alliance was solid; it meant more now than ever.

The Hacker Pack Alpha dog did not want to be responsible for dozens more Aux in conditions that were already difficult. He did not want one of his own lieutenants to get the bone to challenge him, or one of Zoo Pack’s. Better to respect Oscar so Wild. Better Oscar so Wild should be Alpha dog and Zoo Pack should remain.

“Me, I have my slingshot,” said Ben Gun. “Me, I can make a fire wherever you want it. Me, I can shoot a spark into your fuel and light any fire at a distance.”

“Ben Gun, him is right,” said Evelyn.

The next two hours were spent devising a plan.

At the same time the Hacker lieutenant John Steel was sent to rouse Zoo Pack scrappers. They would need training with the flame weapons.

The armoury was opened and whetstones prepared. All blades would be honed.

Blades and fire. The Them would be killed by blades and fire, deader and dead.