In Custody by Roseau Robin

Author:Roseau, Robin [Roseau, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Robin Roseau
Published: 2014-03-23T16:00:00+00:00

Escape

February fourteenth came. Dillon was excited. I had gotten another deer two days previously, and we weren't in immediate danger of starvation, but otherwise our situation was unchanged.

She cooked dinner. I wasn't expecting much, as we were out of almost everything. The tea had run out a week ago, and most of the dry goods were looking frightfully low. But Dillon put on a good meal, including hot tea.

"I saved enough for tonight," she said. "But this is the last of it."

It was the best cup of tea I'd ever had.

After dinner she told me, "I have a present for you."

"Oh," I said. "You went shopping for me!" I looked away. "I don't have anything for you."

"That's all right," she said. "Close your eyes. I've been working on this for six weeks, and I finally got it right."

I closed my eyes. She made noises in the pantry, and then she set something down on the table in front of me.

"Open your eyes, Jess."

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at, well, I didn't know what it was. I looked up at her in confusion.

"Snowshoes," she said. "See?" she separated them, and I realized there were two.

They didn't look like any snowshoes I had seen before, but Dillon seemed excited. She had made them from small tree branches and deer hide. "What did you tie them with?" I asked.

"Sinew from the small deer you got," she said. She explained how she had made them. They were brilliant.

"I've tried them out," she said. "They work. You don't walk across the top of the powder, but you don't sink anywhere near as deeply. And honey, I'm working on another pair. They'll take me another week."

I stared at her handiwork. They were sturdy, and I could see how they would strap onto my feet.

"I've also made two pair of overshoes," she said. "They will fit over your boots and ride up almost all the way to your knees. They should keep your feet and legs dry. I made yours with one hide, with the fur out to shed snow and water, but I made mine with two to help keep my feet warm."

I had good hiking boots, but all Dillon had were her tennis shoes.

"What about a jacket?" I asked her.

"You have your parka," she said. "And several layers to wear under it. I'll have to wear everything else we have. I didn't have enough deer hide to make a jacket for me. I think it would take several deer, and it still wouldn't be very warm without some sort of lining."

"You want to leave," I told her.

"Don't you? We're almost out of everything. We're losing weight. If we don't go soon, we won't have the energy to do it."

"We won't make it," I said. "Not in one day."

"I think we can make a sled. And maybe we can pull a makeshift shelter. We have tarps. If we bring the axe, we can chop limbs off a spruce tree for more insulation."

"You've thought about this, Dillon," I told her.

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