The Pueblo Part IV

The Instructor

The next morning Beth finishes reading the letter from the High Priestess and leaves it on the table next to a round magnifying glass. The youngest woman Jeanine, enters the school house and picks up the magnifying glass. Jeanine looks through the round lense at a small pile of large, black whiskers also on the table and sets the magnifying glass back down on the table top. By this time it is noon and time for lunch. The children have wandered outside, looking for cougar tracks in the dusty dirt surrounding the Pueblo.

The Caretaker can be seen standing outside his backdoor, watching the children in the afternoon desert sun. Eventually, all four children return to the schoolhouse, hungry and in need of a meal.

Andres, Iris's twin brother discovers a pantry next to the schoolhouse stocked with dry goods. He opens the pantry door and grabs a few edibles off the shelves and takes them into the schoolhouse where he places them on the table next to the magnifying glass and the letter from the High Priestess.

“Get some more Iris!”

Andres yells to his sister who returns momentarily with a few packets of dried soup, nuts, granola bars and something that looks like beef jerky. Andres finds a black kettle near the fireplace and puts water in it. The older girls, Sydney and Kai strike a match to the kindling and Andres sets the kettle on the fire to boil. Soon enough, everyone is eating dinner and the children are eventually joined by the women.

The wind howls outside in the desert night, and a low growl emanates from somewhere inside the fireplace. Jeanine gathers her shawl around her shoulders as Beth scowls at the letter from the High Priestess. Eventually, Beth crumples up the note, throws it into the fireplace and watches it burn.

Jeanine glances at the magnifying glass and the whisker pile on the table.

"Perhaps we should leave these things as they are and wait until morning."

Anna and Jenny look around the schoolhouse room as lightning flashes and strikes outside. Large, heavy raindrops start to fall outside and the women shiver to keep warm. Iris finished eating and had already started to crawl into her sleeping bag for the night. 

"What about the fire mama?" Andre, Iris and the older girls had moved their sleeping bags closer to the fire for warmth and were settling in for the evening, but the women seemed hesitant and uncertain. They were huddled together shivering and talking amongst themselves.

“Don't worry Andres.” Anna was nibbling on a white, round wafer cracker.

“We're going to check out the other houses in the village. Back in a few!” 

The Instructor

Suddenly lightning strikes in the desert sky outside and the instructor mentioned in the letter appears out of nowhere as a wolf howls in the distance. The terrified women shriek and run off into the night, arms flailing.

When the children wake up the next morning, the women are obediently stirring the kettle over the fire in preparation for breakfast as the instructor reads a book in the corner.