Fools Errand

Chapter 4

Ghoti

Day 3

The dream you had last night was much like the first
The blue lizard was upon you this time but unlike the previous dream instead of tearing into your flesh you seemed to be much more comfortable with it laying on top of you.
Rather than the dream ending with a open mouth full of razor sharp teeth lunging at you she kissed you softly.
She
Was applying a gender to this now gentle monster just your preference or something else?
The dream stays on your mind as you eat and take down your camp.
After half a day's trek and a bit of circling around you finally find the cabin you had set your destination on.
Thankfully the door was unlocked, no need to cover up a broken window.
There is wood stacked against a wall on the outside of the cabin and canned food inside.
There are even some books on a shelf.
Fires during the day are a no go because of the smoke but you can keep the cabin warm at night.
As long as they don't find this place your chances of survival are much higher than before. They wont stay around forever to find some straggler.
But then what? You don't know where any holdouts exist.
The food here will only last so long, then you'll be scavenging twinkies and non-perishables from towns until the daxy find you.
The radio daxy mentioned you could talk to James. You decide to take her up on the offer tonight.
Thinking about that will keep your mind off of darker topics in the meantime.
You think about what you and James will say while bringing wood into the cabin for tonight.
Will they make him say things? You've known him since school, You'd be able to tell if he was talking with a gun to his head.
What if they brainwashed him or something?
This line of thinking isn't any better than your future of scavenging and hiding from daxy.
Maybe a book will keep your mind off things.
You grab one at random and lay on the bed.
You definitely forgot how great it is to lay on something other than a thin bedroll that doesn't keep the cold from seeping up from the earth.
Eventually evening sets and you start losing light.
The radio is set on shelf nearby. You switched it on about an hour ago waiting for a call.
Like clockwork she is there again.
"Daniel are you there? We didn't get to finish our conversation yesterday."
You sit up and grab the radio but wait a moment before responding.
Can't make it sound like you're excited for your only social interaction after all.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Are you safe?"
Again with the two faced patronizing.
You've not started the fire yet but the cabin feels warmer again, just like the last few times you spoke on the radio.
Are you really that starved for interaction?

"I'm used to the conditions. I'm doing fine out here."

Can't let on that things just got easier for you.
"Weather reports say that in a few days it's going to get a lot worse. We don't want you caught out there."

"I'm sure I've been though worse than whatever is coming."

An exasperated sigh comes from the radio.

"You said yesterday I could talk to James."

Suddenly you're hit with a bout of nervousness.
Her voice perks up. "Yes! He's been listening in, actually. Just a second."
A moment later a familiar voice replaces her.
"What's up buddy?"
He sounds as nervous as you feel.

"Hey man are they- are they treating you right? No war crimes?"

Hopefully a joke will break the ice between you two.
You can hear a smile in his voice. "Well I think being a war bride might count but honestly I'm okay with it."
"They hit me with a drug dart so I wasn't really in my head at first or I'd have been terrified but Saxis wanted me to stick with her. She treats me well and we get along together."
That doesn't sound like a gun to his head but it sure does sound like brainwashing.
With a dose of Stockholm syndrome too.

"They used what on you?"

"I learned afterwards it's their pheromones. It's like taking an oxy but so much better. It wore off by the next morning but really Saxis has been so nice the whole time."

"Saxis?"

"The daxy that claimed me. I guess she's my mate now."

"I knew you were looking for a girl before but really, a daxy?"

Hey don't be like that. I love being around her. Despite not even being from Earth I get along with her better than any other girl I've dated."

"Is she there now?"

"Yeah it's me, Saxis, and Axia."

"Axia?"

"You're telling me a girl has been chatting you up for days and you don't even know her name?"

"The radio daxy?"

James chuckles. "Yeah dummy. Shes nice too. The daxy are nothing like what they were saying on TV. No clawing at men's innards, no biting men to claim them, none of that."
Definitely brainwashed.

"James we both saw what happened to New York."

"Well the ones here aren't like that."
Axia chimes in. "New York was the beginning of our campaign. It didn't go the way we wanted at all. We've learned from our mistakes and have not repeated them."
You sigh. He drank the kool-aid.

"Alright I need to get to sleep. Lots of moving tomorrow. Goodbye James."

James laughs. "Goodbye? Listen man, I'm always rooting for you but this time I'm specifically rooting that you come back safe. How about see you later, sucker!"
You snort. That sounded like the James you know.
You set the radio on the shelf again and begin sparking a fire in the already prepared stove.
Axia replaces James' voice again. "Would you like for me to sing again, Daniel?"
Yes, but damned if you're going to admit that.
After a moment without an answer she starts something beautiful in her own tongue.
She doesn't even know if you're still listening yet she sings anyways.
by the time you've got the fire going and pulled yourself under the bed covers she's moved into a human lullaby that you don't recognize.
Between the comfort of a fire, a real bed, and Axia's singing you're quick to pass out.
The last thing you perceive before falling unconscious is someone wrapping themselves around you in a warm hug.

Day 4

You awake slowly from your nap to the sounds of a daxy lullaby.
You are sitting sideways in the lap of the blue lizard as she sits in a rocking chair. Your head rests below her chin and an arm cushions your back.
You look around lazily.
The two of you are on the porch of a cabin on a hill overlooking pines for miles.
They're just barely lit in the dwindling purple and red light of a beautiful sunset.
The lizard is more human shaped this time.
Like a daxy.
The warm summer air is lingering after the sun has gone down.
You could stay here forever. A beautiful view, just you and your mate,
Content,
Warm.
She notices you've woken up and stops singing to peck you with a kiss on the temple.
"You almost missed the sunset"

"Glad I didn't"

The casting light over the trees slowly fades.
"Are you ready to go back tomorrow?"

"I could stay right here forever."

"Mmh, too bad. We've got an early morning tomorrow and I want to get under the covers before it gets cold."
She loops an arm under your legs and steadies the one behind your back before lifting you up and through the cabin door.
She deposits you on the bed before grabbing the folded up bedding and draping it over her back.
She flumps down on the bed next to you causing both of you to rebound as the blanket drapes over both of you.
Before you know it you're wrapped up in her possessive but very welcome embrace again.
She peppers you with kisses. "I never knew your land could be so beautiful. We're definitely coming here again."

"If you get leave in autumn we could go east. The trees out there all change to reds and golds and browns. There's nothing like it."

Her voice has reduced to a soft murmur as she drifts off. "I'm making plans in my head already."
Having just woke up from a nap you aren't ready just yet to go off with her into slumber.
Instead you are content to listen to her relaxed breathing and the sound of crickets outside.
She shifts and hugs you a bit tighter.
You stay there just enjoying the closeness and warmth of your mate until sleep takes you too.

You wake up no longer nearly as warm or comfortable as you were a moment ago.
It's dark. The only light in the cabin is the dying embers in the stove.
You crawl out of the bed and toss a couple logs in to keep it going until morning.
The floor is cold and you spend as little time out of the bed as possible.
What a strange dream.
You've daydreamed before about having a wife who loved the outdoors as much as you but never actually dreamed about it.
And instead of a woman your wife was a daxy.
You wish you were still there.
No running.
No fear for the future.
Surrounded by the beauty of virgin nature looking at vistas that no photograph or painter could fully capture.
But what about being with her?
For the first time you aren't so happy to be away from civilization and hot water on tap.
Every outing has been entertainment for you, now it's survival.
And in the worst season for camping.
You don't want to go down this path when you should be sleeping.
You relegate yourself to counting sheep. Surprisingly by 300 you're out again.

"Axia, are you done with today's deployment orders?"
Commander Issaya leans out of her office door.
"Yes ma'am."
"Come in here. Plans are changing."
Axia stands from her station and considers what Issaya would want.
Is the group abandoning Daniel?
She certainly hopes not.
She steps into the office to fine the Commander and Huntress Tassis already seated.
Neither the Commander nor the Huntress look happy.
"Huntress, I hope your leg is healing well?"
"Well enough to re-enter the field." She responds flatly.
Axia seats herself and moves her focus across the desk at Issaya questioningly.
"Command isn't happy that we've not completed the mission. Tassis is redeploying and being that the risk of one male is minimal I'm deploying some of the engineer corp as well."
Axia releases a sigh of relief that she didn't realize she was holding. "Thank you ma'am. I was worried that we were going to leave Daniel behind."
Issaya waves the thought away dismissively. "We've got quotas to fill to keep everyone happy. That and I don't need another black mark on my record."
"I'm glad that Tassis is well enough to redeploy. I'm sure she will make short work of the issue."
A lie. Axia doesn't want Tassis anywhere near Daniel.
The Huntress finally speaks up. "Yeah I'll finish your job for you."
"Excuse me?"
Tassis' expression is somewhere between a smirk and an snarl. "I've read the reports, priestess. The male should have come crawling to us. You've got the best bait in the world. He's probably on the hook yet you cant pull him in."
Being a priestess to Axilis is a point of honor yet Tassis always wants to drag the position through the mud.
"I'm a comms officer, and you're being insubordinate, Huntress."
Issaya barks at them in frustration. "If you two don't shut up I'm going to throw your both outside without suit heaters until you freeze or make up!"
They both settle down.
"Lieutenant I'll have a list of new squads from engineering tomorrow. The schedule is changing to two days out one day in for everyone. Everyone, especially me, is tired of waiting around for one stupid straggler that should have been found by now. Is there anything else other than stupid squabbling that you have?"
Axia makes a spur of the moment decision. "I'd like to put forward Saxis as field commander for the engineers."
Issaya looks to Tassis.
"Another priestess?"
Issaya scowls. "No. Don't start. Axia, approved. You're dismissed Lieutenant."
Axia stands and salutes the two before leaving.
Hopefully Saxis will be alright about being moved into position like a pawn.

Later in the evening as the squads return Axia catches Saxis' attention as she walks in and waves her over.
"I've got news and an apology for you."
Saxis only crooks her eyebrow.
"Tassis is redeploying along with half of the engineering corp. Patrols are more than doubling and You'll be leading one of the new squads made up of engineers."
Saxis' brow raises even higher. "How'd I catch that position?"
"I put you in for it. I'd rather it be you to find Daniel than her. I think she's going to take out her wounded ego on him."
"Alright but a field promotion is a good thing, where's the apology coming in?"
"You'll be out there every day instead of two out one in."
Saxis gives a half smile. "Sure it sucks to be away from James but Axia, I want to find Daniel just as much as you do. If this is what it takes then I'm happy to do it. I was expecting worse honestly."
Axia smiles. "Thank you, I knew I could count on you."
"Are you about to call him again?"
"It's about time I think."
"Let me go get my mate then."

You spent the day reading to keep yourself occupied.
The book was about a teen stranded in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a hatchet after a plane crash.
A pretty good book, certainly a situation you could relate to right now.
The radio comes to life a bit earlier than normal today.
Axia's dulcet voices fills the cabin again.
The one good part of your days recently.
Not that you would admit that out loud.
After a daxy song and another English song she pauses.

"Good evening Axia."

"Daniel, I'm glad you're still with me."
The warmth in your chest spreads even further when you hear that.
"You know what I'm going to ask next"

"I'm still doing well."

You've fallen into a pattern.
"I think at this point you've proved yourself capable. I was going to ask you to please come in. We've taken every city and town in a two hundred mile radius. You'll either run out of food and starve or be picked up if you can make it to a city."
She's almost a mind reader.
But she doesn't know about your hideaway.
You think about being smug and telling her to give up but you're stopped when you realize that means no more listening to her.
You'd just be alone out here.
You sigh. "You know I can't do that yet."
Yet? Where did that come from?
"I shouldn't tell you this but I want to protect you Daniel. Do you remember the daxy that captured James? I think you called her a 'brute'."

"Yes."

She is being redeployed. We're expanding our numbers in the search squads. I want you safe, but I don't want her being the one to find you. I can deploy someone else to you location tomorrow-"
Something bumps her mic and the signal cuts.
"-or tonight even to pick you up without any trouble."
How likely are they to find the cabin?
"If you tell me where you are I can make sure it's not her who will find you."
"I feel good about my chances."
You don't.
You could gamble and maybe turn this into an advantage.

"You control where they search?"

Axia's voice sounds hopeful. "Yes."

"Send your hunter west."

"But Daniel I don't want her to find you!"

"Exactly, I'm not there."

You've probably just reduced the area they think you are in but you've also taken the huntress out of play.
"But you won't tell me where you are?"

"No."

You should.
She's probably not lying about the storm coming in.
She could be lying about having already subjugated everything in 200 miles but for some reason you think that's the truth.
News reports showed their rapid sprint across the continent from city to city with barely any slowdown.
"The storm is coming across tomorrow Daniel. It wont be safe for you. Temperatures are dropping dangerously low and there will be more than a foot of snow."
Thankfully you wont have to walk through it. The cabin should be insulated enough and worst case scenario if you wrap the tent around yourself that should keep the heat in.

"I thought you said I've proved myself capable?"

"I still worry for you, especially tomorrow."

"How about this: If anything bad happens I'll call you and tell you right where I am."

"Thank you, but I hope it doesn't come to that."

"Before I go can I make a song request?"

There is an unmistakable smile in her voice. "If I have it."

"Maybe it's a long shot but... West Texas Lullaby?"

You hear some tapping for a moment.
"Hmm, I think I could sing this. My instinct says I should squeeze more information out of you but it's a cute song."
The warmth rushes to your face and you can feel yourself flush.

"Thank you."

She's a bit shaky at first but grows in confidence as the song progresses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zjlj0FfD0M

"evnin' is falling"
"down from the skies"
"time now for dreamin'"
"so close your eyes"
"and I'll sit beside you"
"and I will try to sing you"
"a west Texas lullaby"
"hush now my darlin'"
"now don't you cry"
"'s only the tumble weed"
"tumble'n by"
"bring'n a west Texas lullaby"
You wish you could record this to listen again later but you don't think it would be the same as listening live.
Her singing just for you.
She finishes the song and you feel warm and at peace.

"Thank you, Axia. Goodnight."

Hopefully she didn't hear the hitch in your throat.
"Good night Daniel. Be safe."

Chapter 5

A/N: The book referenced in this chapter is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and it served as the early inspiration of "Anon gets saved from the woods" that led to the creation of this story. Thanks to MiataAnon for the song recommendation.