Youth World

Chapter 22 – On to the Waterfall

After eating breakfast, we continued our trek towards the waterfall. The wagons were rearranged from the circular barrier formation, while the teepees were loaded into the storage compartment of the wagons.

This time, I wasn't at the forefront of the wagon train. Instead, I was meeting with a group of Syrian refugees inside one of the relatively empty wagons. They wanted to have a meeting with me, so I gladly agreed.

This particular group of refugees came to my city after their country was engulfed in a civil war for a few years, and my family with our massive house decided to house a few of them and generously provide them with nearly everything they needed. Therefore, I grew to know many of them quite well. As I was so addicted to weaponry, I frequently asked them for advice. As a matter of fact, some of the refugees' fathers built guns in a workshop, so they helped me a lot with the creation of some of my weapons.

This group of refugees was one of my biggest backers while I was building the camp of Fort Factoria. Most of the people around here accepted my rule because I was nice and liked to help everybody when I had the time, but these guys had a special connection with me. I ȧssigned the majority of them to build houses since many of them were skilled carpenters, but I eventually switched them over to gunsmiths.

"So why did you want to see me, Said?"

"It's about weapons. I know that you love weapons of all sorts, and I think that we can build you some better ones. You've seen that the military guys who joined you have slightly better equipment than the rest of us?"

"Yep, I noticed. Mostly in terms of artillery, where we are really outmatched. However, we're the only ones with rapid fire weapons. Anyways, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Positively so. I want to recreate some of the weapons made in the workshop during the civil war. Could you appoint us as heads of the military development team once we get to Alexanderburg?"

"Certainly. I was going to ask you guys anyways once we got there. Is there anything else you'd like to say to me?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Well, nice talk then. Bye, Said!"

"Bye, Alex!"

I got off the wagon and mounted my mule. We continued the placid journey, much of the hazards and obstacles that were on the road already cleared by the expeditions I'd sent before.

Two hours after we left the temporary camp near the former hospital, we'd reached the outskirts of the settlement of North Bend. We'd veered slightly off course, but this might end up being even faster than we'd anticipated. I originally wanted to follow the original course I'd planned for since it was easier to follow, but this works too.

The chief of North Bend, my former tennis teammate Roy Maslow, greeted me near the city gates. He'd probably heard all the commotion and come out to see what was happening.

"Hi, Alex! What a surprise to see you here? Weren't you going to go around us?"

"Yeah, that was the plan. However, we've gone slightly off course. By the way, how are you here already? You only left a few hours before we did."

"I rode a horse all the way here. It took me less than a day."

"Oh, yeah. I remember that you rode to camp on your horse when we were having that meeting. That must have slipped from my mind. This is a nice chat and all, but we really have to get going. I'll send messengers this way once I successfully build a city out east. Goodbye!"

"Good luck, Alex! Have a nice day!"

I shook hands with the tall teen and remounted my mule. I ordered everybody to march onwards once we got a chance to take a brief break. If I haven't emphasized it enough, keeping everybody happy would be the only way to make this journey a success. If they got mad and started to complain, we'd probably devolve into a power struggle midway through the Snoqualmie Pass.

I'd like to take a moment to appreciate just how beautiful the scenery was, devoid of all human contamination. I could appreciate all sorts of weather, rain or shine, deeming it irrelevant to the beauty of a particular location. The sun, which was shining bright just a moment ago, had hidden like a shy girl behind the gloomy clouds, and the sky began to lightly drizzle. An endless stream of water droplets trickled upon the surface, emanating quite a musty smell.

The white oak leaves were emerald-green, typical of the season of spring. Typical for the regional weather patterns, raindrops were dripping off the edges, as more raindrops battered down and took their places. The swirling and scouring wind blew conifer needles littering the damp dirt path straight into my face and ears, causing me to instinctively brush them off. Amidst this chaos, I still felt calm and relaxed.

As the pellets of rain began to wither away and the fluffy clouds pushed the storm aside, I could finally take in the full majesty of the forest, which was soon to be disturbed by the lengthy wagon train that could be seen for miles. Squirrels scurried down the trees to bury their nuts, their small and slender paws fervently clawing at the dirt. Rabbits poked their petite heads out of their burrows, frantically glancing left and right to ȧssert their surroundings, while a family of white-tailed deer bowed their heads and began gently nibbling on the lush, verdant grass. Sparrows and robins chirped and chattered, singing an etude to the beautiful sight.

As the mustiness in the air dissipated, a new smell wafted through the air, not resembling any one smell. Truly, it was the smell of autumn, an amalgamation of a multitude of different scents lumped into one. I continued to skip through the forest, twirling in circles and eyeing every little thing that was going on. There were just too many things to describe.

The trees were like a conflagration of red, so much red that I thought a forest fire was looming. A myriad of bumblebees zoomed out of a banana yellow beehive, descending upon a salmagundi of flowers, including vibrant pink azaleas, lemon yellow buŧŧercups and canary yellow daffodils. The molten gold beams of sunlight bombarded the dimly lit forest with rays of brightness, vividly illuminating and drastically enhancing the beauty of the forest.

Continuing through the pulchritudinous forest, ripe berries and fruits dangled on the quivering tree branches by just a thread. As another gust of wind ċȧrėssed the branches and caused them to sway from side to side, a charming, mellow apple crashed down at an unbelievable speed and bashed straight onto my forehead. That snapped me out of my fantastical state.

We were here to journey across the mountains! We weren't here to get distracted by the scenic view!

Leaving the forest behind us, we approached a small waterfall, the crashing sounds of the cascade sounding like music to my ears. Seeing waterfalls always brought peace to my mind, no matter how chaotic the situation. These majestic works of nature were one of the reasons why I liked to spend so much time outside.

We continued to travel through the meandering valley, struggling not to get distracted by the gorgeous scenery surrounding us from all angles. It was a shame to know that much of it would eventually be destroyed to make room for further human settlements. Due to fatigue, we even invoked the triple hammock strategy where two people would carry one person on a hammock for the latter to rest, and then after he got enough rest, they would rotate one of the other carriers onto the hammock. This was a successful strategy most of the time, though often they would get tired and would abandon the whole method altogether.

After two hours of travelling, we had arrived at our intended destination. As we were still way ahead of schedule, I decided to push on, as we had done the day prior. However, I did allow everybody to take a well-deserved break. Anyways, we would have to dedicate all of tomorrow to cross the few miles that constituted the Snoqualmie Mountain Pass. Before America and Britain had colonized the region, the indigenous peoples of the region had used this very same pass for frequent crossings through the Cascade Range. It was by far the safest way to cross the mountains since the other routes were further away and narrower, as well as being at a higher elevation.

The sun was setting, and we approached the former location of an area called Mason Creek. This area was pretty good for a camp.

"That's enough travelling for the day! Let's set up camp!"

The same process that had occurred the previous day transpired yet again, with the wagons being put around the camp's perimeter to serve as barriers while an entire city of teepees was set up inside this vast barrier. One thing to note was that wooden palisades, similar to ones that the Romans used to carry, were used to fill the gaps between the wagons in order to better defend the camp.

Yet again, I was the last one to eat, waiting until every other person got their share. At this point, I was more like a soup kitchen volunteer than the leader of what was quite possibly the most powerful country in the region. However, that title would be moot if we didn't even successfully cross the mountains.

I made another speech, giving attaboys to people who deserved it. Then, I slipped into my teepee and began snoozing.

Until I was woken up by a tap on the shoulder.

I mumbled and ġrȯȧnėd, since I was not fully conscious.

"W-Who's that?"

"It's me, Lucas!"

"L-Lucas? It's the middle of the night? What do you want?"

"Uh… it seems like I'm in somewhat of a predicament."

"What do you mean by predicament?"

"So, you know that you sent me to tame some horses?"

"Yeah, and?"

"And you also sent a bunch of beautiful women there as well?"

"I mean, a lot of them have tons of riding experience, so that was the best option. Wait, don't tell me you…"

"Ughhh. Do I really have to tell you?"

"Well, you're the one who woke me up in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, but that's because we were too busy travelling and I didn't have the time to talk to you."

"Fair point."

"Alright, let's stop beating around the bush already. I'll put this bluntly. I did you know what with a few women, and now three of them are showing signs of pregnancy."

"You've got to be bleeping kidding me! I sent you there to do work for the country, not to chase tail! Besides, we already have enough kids to take care of as it is! Why do you think it'd be a good idea to get even more women pregnant!"

"Sorry, but my instincts got the better of me."

"I can tell! You're going to take full responsibility for it. Leave immediately and I'll think things over for the night. Out!"

The football star and now promiscuous teenager scrambled out of my teepee, while I frustratedly rolled around on the grass, not knowing what to do with Lucas. Most likely, he'd have to get married to one of them.. However, there were two pregnant women. Ahhh! What do I do!