Penn had been back in town for a few days now and he was just about to arrive at the water mill inn, where Clara worked. Imaginatively, it was named the water mill inn because of the large water mill attached to the back of the inn.
Clara was out on the porch of the inn with her father who looked carefree enjoying a cup of tea and enjoying the weather.
Clara hugged her father and stepped off the porch to meet Penn. Penn saw Clara's father wave at them, they waved back and they walked down the street towards the gate.
Tom had just gotten there a little before the two of them walked up to the gate, Tom waved down and told Penn he would join them when they came back. He had spoken to Clara's father on the way to the gate that morning and would be joining them for dinner.
Penn and Clara waited while they opened to inner doors, walked through, closed the inner doors and then opened the outer doors, they heard the big outer doors close behind them as they walked away.
The exit to the fort was pretty close to where the river went through town, and there was a small path along the banks.
Clara wanted a particular kind of flower that could only be found where the river came out of the gap, so the two of them walked along the river until they reached the mouth of the gap.
It only took an hour to reach the gap, it was only a couple of miles away from the fort. Clara mostly needed Penn to come for company and because Penn had very good eyes. Clara's father trusted him to keep her out of danger, and Clara wasn't allowed to leave the fort by herself.
After looking around for a few minutes Penn found a few of the flowers they were looking for, they were little light blue flowers that looked like babys breathe, they were a favorite of Clara's mothers. Clara came over to pick some up but just as she got there Penn put his hand on her shoulder and crouched.
Clara looked back at Penn and Penn placed a finger on his lips. he then pointed towards the gap. there was a couple of coyotes taking turns pouncing on a rabbit and nipping at it, they were trying to eat the thing but they weren't having much luck because it's armour was pretty complete. They started yipping at each other and then they each picked up the rabbit in thier mouths and pulled from a different direction, there was a squelching noise as the rabbit was torn in half.
The coyotes turned to look around, and then walked casually back towards the gap.
Penn finnaly stood up, and they got back to collecting flowers again. Neither one of them talked for fear the coyotes would come back.
When Clara was happy with the flowers they had gathered they started back towards Fort Buxton.
"It almost looked they they talked to each other before they pulled that rabbit apart" Clara said.
"The creatures have been getting smarter, its more difficult to hunt now so they have to get more inventive with the way they kill. what we saw isn't uncommon behavior."
"yeah but its scary thinking about the way they worked together to finish it off. what happens when they start coming after humans that way"
Penn didn't know what to say to that, the creatures were definitely getting smarter.
Thier intelligence was something he worried about too, he had heard story's about wild boars that attacked wagons on the road. The attacks seemed to be at just the right time, almost like an ambush.
Penn and Clara got back to town, went through the gates that were like an airlock, they had to wait a few minutes because a rat had tried to get in, the guards scooped it into a wooden bucket and threw it into the crusher, basically a big dry well with a heavy rock that fell onto the rat and crushed it. it wasn't enough to break the bones but the flesh can only take so much. a simple device to make the job easier, there was every a wooden winch they could use to put the rock back up.
Tom joined them once they passed through the inner gate, and commented on how many beautiful flowers they got, Clara rolled her eyes and bid them to hurry, she didn't want to miss out on the meat, her father had purchased two wild boars from the hunters that morning, and what was left would be sold at the inn.