Red Rock

Chapter 14: Commitment (Part 1)

Chapter 14 Commitment

'Four more days' was the motto stressed around camp. Jacob assigned everyone a 'to do' list for the day to maximize work efficiency. Daire, Grace, and Katheryn were on collecting duty, gathering all the traps set the day before. Sam and Mellissa were to help seal the shed for maximum dryness while Jacob built shelves to store the jerky.

When the traps revealed a total of sixteen rodents mixing of squirrels and rabbits, Jacob sent Sam and Mellissa back to the cabin to gut and salt the catch. Sam was already a natural after a couple hours of training from Jacob the day before, slicing through the small animals with ease while separating the skin and bone. Mellissa flipped her golden hair in frustration from the difficulty of the task, following Sam as best as she could, but being left behind by her fast fingers and steady hands.

Daire shook his head in disappointment from the catch. Jacob was right about the coyotes. Five of their traps had been grazed clean. There was nothing they could do to prevent them from coming in. No one had the skill to hunt them down nor could anyone spare the equipment needed to do so. Jacob needed the machete for working the shelves, Sam and Mellissa needed the gutting knife and the only person that could shoot a bow was Jacob. It was a hectic situation.

*

"Sixty-five pounds," Sam told Jacob in the post day meeting.

Jacob nodded. "How are we doing on the ration packets?" he asked Mellissa.

"We should be good for another few days," she responded quietly.

"So we need thirty-five pounds in the next three days," Jacob said shaking his head.

"That's less than twelve pounds a day. We've been averaging sixteen and a quarter. Easy!" Daire exclaimed.

"We can't count on the cannibals coming after we finish our last batch. The jerky takes a full day to dry. That means we have to average seventeen and a half for the next two."

"But our average is less than that!" Sam cried out.

Jacob clenched his jaw. "Yes, Sam. That's right."

"So what do we do?" Daire asked, thinking of alternatives.

"The coyotes are too unpredictable. We'll never be able to haul a full load with them around," Jacob said.

"What do you suggest?" Daire asked again.

"You and I are going to be on guard duty is what I suggest."

Daire frowned. "That seems more difficult than it sounds."

"It is. We'll have to patrol the area until its dark, give the coyotes less of a chance to dine."

"That area is huge. We'll never properly patrol the trap sites. Even if all of us patrolled, it would be a stretch."

"It's better than sitting for the rest of the day."

"I don't know if it is. I think the chances of us being successful are very low compared to the chances of us getting injured."

Jacob ignored the comment and grabbed his jacket. "It might get cold, grab your jacket."

"This is pointless, Jacob."

"We're doing things my way," Jacob reminded him. "Now pack the machete."

*

Daire shuffled around the tree line pouting at his pointless job. At one time the maximum amount of traps he and Jacob could be protecting was two. Any animal with half a brain would see them coming from a mile away and go to another trap or wait until they were gone. There had to be another purpose for Jacob's need to go out and protect the traps. But what was it?