Boondocks

Chapter 10: Stay

FERN

"Is that a mutation thing?" I stepped around and took one of the chairs his men had vacated. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. He was marking me, like territory, but anything that kept giant men and angry bears at a distance couldn't be bad.

Tex sat across from me and stretched back until his heavy boots thudded the ground on either side of my chair. "The mutations tend to match the wildlife. I'm guessing my sense of smell is equal to Maurice's. The man I was telling you about earlier is from another site. A swamp over in Louisiana. It changed him different than it did us. I got a boat I use for supply runs." He motioned west with his chin. "I've watched him swim alongside it, keeping pace for an entire day without breaking the surface for air. That's how he gets the fish so easy, and that's not all he can do."

"What else?" While the concept was terrifying, it fascinated me more. Before surviving became life, it'd just been fun. I'd loved going out with Daddy, learning new skills and perfecting them. It was the only time I ever truly felt myself. The natural Earth grounded me. What would it feel like to deepen that connection? To cocoon myself in this place and leave something new. A part of nature. It was what my dreams were made of.

"Like alligators," he said. "We've got a mass of them hanging out in the river, just waiting for him to point. My bears couldn't give a rat's ass what I command." He rolled his eyes as he sat up and leaned forward.

How much had he changed? Right then, he seemed every bit what he claimed to be. His sharp gaze. His massive size; the way he moved despite it. Would it really be a bad thing? If I could run like a rabbit, I'd never need to set traps. If I had the senses of a bear, I'd know the minute someone or something was headed my way. I sat up straighter, putting us even closer.

The corner of Tex's mouth crept upward, dimpling his cheek. "You see..." He lowered his tone, and his eyes cut around to make sure nobody was listening. "The bears are like the men. They respect me," he shrugged one shoulder, "but if I say something they don't like, I better be ready to fight their big ass, hairy or not."

He seemed capable, and the more he told me, the more intrigued I became. Capable was never a bad thing, not before, especially not after. Capable meant food. Capable meant warmth and shelter and survival. "How does he control them?" Hopefully it carried over to when he wasn't around. I'd bathed in that water. A gator was the last thing I'd have thought to worry about, but a gator that took orders? A gator that did work like any animal on the farm? It was too incredible to comprehend.

"Hell if I know, Sugar. He makes some noises, they come running like King Shit just walked into the room." His lips curved. "I haven't tried grunting at the bears yet. Something tells me it won't work, and they'll just have a good laugh for a long while."

A million questions fought to be the next one I voiced, but with his close proximity, his keen interest, and the knowledge that he wasn't entirely human, I couldn't manage to speak a single one.

Tex beat me to it. "Will you tell me about the plant? The one you used?"

"Snake root," I said, happy to talk about something I could recite in my sleep. "It grows wild all over. It's a good antibacterial, so it'll protect those wounds from infection."

"Snake root," he said as if memorizing the name with his mouth.

"It's what the Cherokee used to suck the poison out of snakebites. If you want, when you're up to it, we could take a walk through the woods and collect some things." Warmth filled my cheeks after I said it. For some reason, asking him if he wanted to go for a walk with me, alone, seemed intimate. But that was stupid. We were alone now.