6: Clear Creek

A Chapter by HGRolen

Chapter 6: Clear Creek

"Chip! Where have you been all day?" Asked old Joseph, directing his question at Moses.

"Fishin, out at St. Clair," replied Moses. He had just come from his house after having a tasty lunch of fish and potatoes with Mamaw. He came into town to see if he could help old Joseph with their project.

"I reckon then, that you didn't find anything worth bringin in yesterday huh," Joseph said disappointed.

"Well reckon again," said Moses. He smiled, then pulled an object out of his pocket and laid it on Joeseph's old, wooden table. Joseph's eyes lit up.

"A Nvram! you finally found one still in one piece." Old Joseph lept out of his chair with a vigor he hadn't shown in 20 years and gave Moses a giant bear hug.

"Oh just wait until the townsfolk hear about this. We'll have a right fine shindig tonight we will!" Joseph finally stopped squeezing Moses and looked down to where the Nvram sat on the table. It was in almost perfect condition. Now they held all the pieces they needed to make a router that would connect every citizen of Clear Creek.

"I knew keeping you around would pay off someday, Chip." He told Moses. "Why don't I get us a couple glasses of milk and we'll get right to work."

"Sounds great," Said Moses. One perk of working for Old Joseph was that he got to drink as much deer milk as he wanted. Joe's daughter and her husband kept about 20 does and a few bucks on their farm located a ways out of town.

It took until seven for them to finish the router. Afterwards, they connected the computers they had built to it and voila; their town had its very own internet network. This project had taken them years to accomplish. Between doctoring his soil, finding food, and helping build houses for the community, Moses hadn't had much time to spend assisting Joseph.

The town did have a shindig that night. The Mccarthy's brought two buckets of corn from their field, Joseph's daughter and son in law slaughtered one of their fawns for venison steak, and Aaron showed up with a basket of berries that he had picked earlier that day.

"Moses was sitting on a log in front of the fire, watching the townsfolk's sweethearts dance around while Houston Lee played his fiddle. Houston used to live in the dome when he was younger, but he'd been tossed out after he couldn't pass his annual, mental examination. Just another valuable resource that they had found cast out the dome. Food, Clothing, Computer parts, and people; What wouldn't the domers throw away? Moses almost thought that maybe they were giving these things to help the scraplanders, but he knew that wasn't right. The people in the dome hated those like him; he knew because half those that the domers kicked out treated the scraps like they were no better than wild animals. Some people would come around and even join their small community, but others would just go their own way, never interacting with anyone.

His thoughts were interrupted by little Susie Thomson running past him, carrying something fluffy in her arms

"Mama, papa, look I found a puppy!" She said.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomson took one look at what was in their daughters' arms, and sprung from their seats.

"Susie, that's a wolf!" they both yelled in unison. At this, most of the town members started circling around the scene, including Moses. He realized that the little girl held the same wolf pup that he had freed from a trap earlier.

"But, what's it doin here?" he thought.

"Isn't she pretty? she came up to me and asked for a piece of my venison. She was really hungry." Said Susie, oblivious that she was holding a wild animal.

"So, you've decided to try begging for food." thought Moses. "Still, it is better than stealing."

"Sweetie, that is a dangerous animal, put it down right now" Said Mr. Thomson sternly.

"I'll get my rifle and get rid of it, said Joseph's son-in-law. "I don't want it growin up and goin after my deer."

"No!" shouted Moses to the surprise of himself as well as everyone else. He looked around, everyone was staring at him now. He cleared his throat and stammered

"G-give it to me. I'll ensure it doesn't hurt any of your animals."

"That there is a wild animal, boy. It ain't meant to be a pet." Said Mr. McCarthy.

"He's tamed raccoons before, and foxes too." Spoke up Aaron.

"If she ever does hurt any of the farms' livestock, then I'll take care of her myself," Moses said, with slightly more confidence.

________________________________________

That was how Moses found himself walking home with a red wolf tied to a piece of rope. Aaron was beyond excited, but Moses was mentally kicking himself. How was he going to explain this to Mamaw, and how was he supposed to feed a wolf? He looked down at the pup happily trotting along the road.

"This is the second time I've saved your life," he thought. hoping that he wouldn't live to regret it.

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