Page 37 of Planet Zero
“By all the scouts.”
“The scouts?” Addie didn’t like the sound of that.
“Yes, the scouts. Every tribe sends them to patrol areas around the camp. They keep track of game migrations, they look for other tribes crossing the area, for rogues, for signs of Wrennlin activity. That’s how the tribe stays in the know. Didn’t city males scout?”
Addie shook her head. “Not that I remember.”
Zoark looked disappointed. “They had when I was there. No matter. Scouts rotate. Today it’s me, other days it’s someone else.” He paused. “You have interacted with the tribe. Every scout now makes a point to come by.”
Addie was beginning to understand. “Are you saying that I can be under surveillance at any given time and not know it?”
“Yes.”
“That is extremely intrusive!” She glanced around the vastness of the landscape around her. The great outdoors she had considered devoid of neighbors, it appeared, had eyes everywhere. “I have no privacy.”
“No.” He leaned closer and dropped his voice an octave. “You may want to rethink what you do in Jat sand.”
He was gone, and Addie stayed.
Her gaze landed on the Tek at her feet. “These Neanderthal people,” she complained. “They do whatever the hell they want. What a distasteful breed.”
The Tek didn’t respond, but its dead glassy eye agreed with Addie wholeheartedly.
Chapter 13
Making the second batch of jerky proved to be a whole lot easier, even though her knife was as dull and cumbersome as ever. But the experience was a wonderful thing, and this time she didn’t have to make a wicker tray.
Happy with the results, Addie packed a good portion into a small sack and headed for the settlement. She hadn’t seen her friends in days, and solitude was pushing her feet in their direction. She also decided to heed Zoark’s advice and ask to trade her jerky for a better stone knife.
The settlement was fairly deserted, but when she asked one of the little boys underfoot if Chele was around, he pointed Addie in the direction of her teepee, staring and giggling all the while.
Men, she huffed.
“Come in, Addie,” Chele answered to Addie’s tentative knock against the frame.
It was dusky inside, and it took several moments for Addie’s eyes to adjust.
Chele was sitting on a fur pad, knitting.
“It has been days, and you haven’t come,” she remarked, and it surprised Addie.
“Did you expect I would?”
“Yes, Addie-woman. Oh’na has been waiting.”
“Where is she?”
“Out foraging with Melmie and Vircea.”
“I see.”
Addie unfolded her small sack to reveal the meat to Chele. By now her eyes had gotten used to the low light, and she saw the other woman’s face clearly.
“I made more jerky, Chele. I came to ask if I could trade it.”
Chele showed some interest by inspecting the meat, even sniffing it with her delicate animal nostrils. “What do you want for it?”
Addie explained about the knife. Chele listened attentively, nodding.
