From Fire to Frost

Next Steps

    There before them were the razed remains of New Haven, and Madelynn was shocked to see not a single building standing; not a house, nor a barn, not even a tree.  All she saw were piles of ashes and the lone, burnt remains of a wall or a floor, where the town used to be. At first she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but the closer the family got, the more she realized how badly the town's destruction was.  Everything was gone.  Even the grassy park had been devoured by the inferno. 

    Suddenly, she noticed some movement off in the distance.  Actually, it was Mudd that noticed it first, bounding off in a flurry of debris with some happy barking.  As the family's gaze followed after him, they saw someone, actually a few someones, wandering about in the remains of the town.  With Madelynn leading the way, the family walked towards the nearest person, and as they got closer, they could see that it was Mr. Spalding, a younger man who lived on his own near the outskirts of town.

    James Spalding had always been an engaging and pleasant man, even after his mother had died of pneumonia right after they had moved to the village.  With a head full of blonde hair, and a twinkle in his blue eyes, many of the town girl's had flirted with him, hoping for a hand in marriage and a comfortable home. But now he moved as if dead, his footsteps slow and beleaguered, his gaze vacant.

    As Mudd came bounding his way, he turned and watched the family approach, his expression unreadable.  "Mr. Spalding?" asked Madelynn, her voice worried.  "Are you alright sir?"

    He blinked slowly, then drew himself up, "Why yes, of course, Mrs. McDonoghue," he told her.  His voice sounded far more calm than his demeanor belied. He finally looked at her, and in his voice was a sound of incredulity. "I can't believe your family survived.  The town barely had any warning.  Most perished in their homes, still asleep. At least," he paused, his face grim, tears unshed in his eyes, "I pray they were asleep."

    "How did you survive?" Madelynn asked, curious.

    "I was using the loo," he told her. "I was awake when the warning bells rang.  As I peeked out the door, I saw the flames climbing over the houses in the northern edge of town.  I ran out of town as fast as I could, yelling the whole way.  I know Laura Mason's family made it,  because they were ahead of me, running towards the river.  I don't know if anyone else escaped the fire though," he said, his eyes deep with the recent memories of the night before.

    "I think we should all gather together and discuss what our options are," she told him.  "I will go speak with the other survivors.  Maybe we can gather together in a little while over where the park was." 

    He nodded, "I will come with you. I don't really know what to do anyways.  I've already looked through the remains of my house, and only a few items survived," he said, gesturing to a small pile near his feet.

    "If any of it is useful or dear to you, I would bring it.  Otherwise, it will just slow us down," she told him.

    "Slow us down?" he questioned.  

    "Yes," she said.  "I think we should discuss it with the others, of course.  But I don't see that we have a lot of options, especially seeing as we have no horses and no trees with which to build anything."

    "We are going to Fort Alamaqua," piped Devin in a knowledgeable voice.

    "Fort Alamaqua?" James asked.

    "Fort Alamaqua is the nearest city of any size to New Haven, and probably the nearest place that we can all find shelter before the winter arrives, and I can maybe get word to my husband that our home has been destroyed and we've had to relocate," Madelynn told him.

    He nodded, "Logically, it makes sense.  I doubt we'd even find the building materials we would need to make a place that all of us could stay in before winter comes," he said, thinking about it. 

    She gestured to the other people in the distance.  "Let's go talk to the others."

    The group walked towards the remains of the Mason's home.  There they could see Laura Mason, a ginger-haired, freckled woman a few years younger than Madelynn who was pregnant with her first child, and her husband, Eldridge, a tall, skinny man who had worked constructing buildings in the town, were sifting through the ashes.  As Madelynn's group approached, the two straightened and came to meet them.

    "Oh Madelynn!" exclaimed Laura, bursting into tears, and walking swiftly to her, embracing her.  "I am so glad you and your children were able to survive!" she said, hugging each of the children and Mudd in her joy.  "When I saw the destruction of the town, I honestly didn't put much hope in the survival of any of the folk outside the town.  The warning bells went off mere minutes before the forest fire roared through the town," she told them.

    Her stalwart husband nodded besides her, patting Mudd who had cozied up to his wife and placing his arm around his highly pregnant wife.  "We saw that the entire north end of the village was on fire and just ran.  We didn't have time to grab anything but our coats and shoes and just ran for our lives."

    "It must have been Thomas that rang the bells," said Madelynn somberly, her gaze falling on the ruins of the watch tower in the distance. "It doesn't look like he made it off the tower in time."

    Eldridge nodded.  "He sacrificed himself to give the rest of us time to flee."

    "He was a brave soul," agreed Laura.

    "It's a shame that he sacrificed himself for only four people," James said. The others stared at him, appalled by the implications of his words. He realized how he must have sounded, and shook his head, trying to retract his statement. "It's not that," he said, "it's just that, well, if he had been doing his job better, more of the townsfolk might have made it out alive." The others continued to stare at him, and he realized his next statement hadn't sounded much better. "I just, it's just..." he stuttered, finally falling silent as he realized he had no way to take back the words he has spoken.

    "Well, whatever the case," spoke Madelynn, "it is a shame that more of the townsfolk didn't survive. All of our friends were lost in this tragic incident."

    "And I'm sure we're all going to miss them deeply," finished Laura, her hands together in a gesture of prayer. The others nodded in agreement, including an unhappy Mr. Spalding.

     "Let's go talk to the rest of the survivors, and then we can discuss what our next step should be as a community," suggested Madelynn, and in agreement, the group moved towards the last two survivors in the distance, Mudd circling them happily. As they got nearer, they could see that it was the widowed Mrs. Bancroft, and her daughter Amelia. They were, just as everyone else has been doing, sifting through the remains of their home, probably hoping to find any mementos, usable tools, or supplies. The two ladies saw them coming, and turned to greet them.

    "Why, if it isn't the McDonoghue family," exclaimed Mrs. Bancroft in surprise. Typically, the tall, imperious, gray-haired lady was to be seen in impeccable dress, with her hair bound back in a bun atop her head. It was strange for the family to see her, hair down her back, dressed with her jacket over her night gown, with ash on the hem and dirt smearing her face. "You were the last family we expected to see approaching the remains of our poor town, but I'm glad you all survived the fire," she said.

    "Indeed," said Amelia, nodding vigorously, kneeling to pet Mudd, who kept trying to lick her face. Mrs. Bancroft's daughter was likewise in her night gown. Her long wheat-blonde hair fell to her hips in ringlets, and despite the ashes and dirt, her porcelain skin still shone as lovely as ever. James had once held the hope that he could woo and marry Amelia, but her mother had put a stop to it. She claimed that he hadn't enough wealth to give her daughter a comfortable home. Her daughter, always one to let her mother take charge of things, had never said a word otherwise, whether she had feelings for James, or not.

     "I'm glad you both survived. I had really hoped more of the townsfolk would have made it out in time," Madelynn said.

    "If Thomas hadn't been drinking on the job again, than many more of us would have," sniffed Mrs. Bancroft disdainfully.

    "Mother!" exclaimed Amelia, embarrassed.

      "Well it is true!" the widow said. "We all knew he was a drunk but thought it was a good idea to let him be in charge of warning the town during times of peril? What were we all thinking?!"

     "That doesn't matter now. He sacrificed himself to try and warn those he could," argued Laura.

     "Yes, and I know you two must be busy looking for your things," said Madelynn, but she was cut off abruptly by the widow.

     "Nonsense! We have been looking since morning and haven't found much of anything. That blasted fire destroyed EVERYTHING we had!" Mrs. Bancroft looked angry, the loss of her possessions written deeply on her face. "Say what you have to say," she told Madelynn.

     "I think we need to go over our options," continued Madelynn. "I don't think we can stay here," she said gently.

    Amelia gasped, " What?! Why ever not?" she asked. "Rebuilding is a simple manner, isn't it? We have some good strong men, one who specifically knows construction," and she flashed the two men a flattering smile, "And we women can help."

    "Yes," Madelynn said calmly, "but we have nothing to build with." She gestured around the town, to the forest that had been reduced to dust.

    "Oh, ummm..." Amelia said, looking at the devastation around her. "Yes, I suppose I see what you mean. But we don't really know how far the wild fire occurred, do we? Maybe there are trees not too far away!" she offered.

    "That's true, perhaps there are trees not too far away," agreed Eldridge. "But, we still don't have horses with which to haul the trees, nor the appropriate tools to build with. I don't know about you ladies," he said, but none of my saws survived the fire, and my axes and hammers may have, but the handles are all burnt up. And none of the burnt trees around here are suitable for making new handles."

    Amelia fell silent, crestfallen, and the group was quiet for a moment. "Madelynn suggested that we might have to travel to  Fort Alamaqua," suggested Laura.

    "Alamaqua?" said Mrs. Bancroft, in dismay, "But that fort is hundreds of miles away!"

    "Tis true," agreed Madelynn, "but it is also the closest town large enough that we might be able to find shelter before the winter comes. And without a doctor, it might be the only place Laura will be able to find medical aid when she goes into labor."

    Both Eldridge and Laura's eyes grew large as they realized Madelynn was correct. With the town doctor and midwife gone in the fire, Laura would most assuredly need medical assistance during her pregnancy, especially if something went wrong. Mrs. Bancroft knew it too, and she nodded. It wasn't just a matter of needing to rebuild anymore. There just wasn't any way to survive the winter with the limited resources available.

    Mrs. Bancroft was silent for a moment. Then she spoke calmly, although the decision was not favorable. She knew that a trip like the one they were speaking of would be one hell of an undertaking, but she didn't see that there was much choice. "I'm afraid that I agree with Mrs. McDonoghue," she said. "It's not ideal, but nothing about this situation is."

    "Yes, I too agree with Madelynn," said James.

    "And we do as well," said Laura and Eldridge. 

    "Then I suppose the matter is settled," said Mrs. Bancroft. "We should leave right away, if we hope to reach the fort before the first of the winter storms arrive."

    "I would make a suggestion then," said Madelynn. "I think  we should go through the remains of any of the buildings which might have something to offer, like the hotel, the farriers, the market and the blacksmith. If we can find some supplies that might aid us on our journey, it would be well worth an extra day. So I think that we should all find a place to rest for the night, search the rest of the town tomorrow, and then leave the day after."

    After a moment of thought, Mrs. Bancroft and the others nodded in agreement. The idea had merit and was well thought out.  "But where shall we rest for the night?" asked Amelia. "Everything is covered in ash and dust."

   "Well I don't know where you two slept last night, but we slept on the ground," said Madeynn. "We scraped out a divot in the earth and slept with our coats as blankets," she told them.

    "It wasn't that's bad," said Devon. "We stayed pretty warm."

     His sister nodded beside him. "Cozy," she agreed.

    "Yes, we did the same," said Laura, motioning to the remains of their house in the distance. "We slept on the ground near the ruins of our house."   

    "Well, I suppose there's going to be a lot of that in the near future,"said Mrs. Bancroft grimly. "We had best get used to it, although I am a bit too old to be sleeping on the ground, and my bones don't like it much."

    They selected an area of the village that had less ash on it than the rest. Madelynn, after a little observation, thought that perhaps it was the lawn of the hotel. While Mudd lay nearby, Mr Spalding dug out a divot for the two Bancrofts, and then one nearby for himself. Eldridge did likewise for him and his wife. 

    While Devin and Eva were scraping out a divot for them and their mother, Madelynn lit a fire nearby for warmth. "How did you and your daughter escape?" she asked the widow curiously. "Your house was closer to the north edge than either Mr Spalding's or the Mason's."

    "I have suffered from insomnia for a very long time," said Mrs. Bancroft. "I normally spend the sleepless parts of my nights in the parlor, reading a book. Last night, I rose from my reading and went to look out the window because something felt amiss and there was a strange sensation in the air. I saw the fire rising through the town on the north side. I had just enough time to run downstairs and wake Amelia. We didn't even have time to dress though, just grabbed our shoes and coats and fled for the river."

    "It was horrible," relived Amelia, her eyes large and horrified. "The flames felt like they were right on our heels.  We were running so hard we could barely breathe through the heat of the fire. We got out of town just before the warning bells started ringing."

    "BEFORE THE BELLS?! Why on earth didn't you start yelling the moment you stepped foot outside?!" questioned Laura.  "More people could have made it out of town in time! Thomas might have heard you and rang the bell sooner!" Her voice was outraged. 

    "My dear Laura, we could barely even draw enough breath to run. How could we have possibly yelled as well?" said Mrs. Bancroft calmly.  

    "You could have banged on people's doors as you passed -" Laura started, but her husband put a hand on her arm soothingly.  

    "It doesn't matter anymore.  There's a hundred things that could have gone better, but that's all in the past," he said wisely. "Let's keep things civil and just work on getting some rest."

    "Easier said then done," said James in embarrassment, as his stomach growled loud enough for the whole group to hear. "I think my stomach is trying to devour my backbone."

    The group laughed, although they all felt the pangs of hunger themselves.  Their eyes grew wide in surprise as Madelynn drew her oilskin pouch full of food out of her bag.  "I think I might have to start hunting sooner than I thought," she said thoughtfully.  "This food would have lasted the children and I a week, at least," she said as she handed out strips of chicken and quarters of apples every person in the party.

    "But what about the bread? And the cheese?" asked Amelia, still hungry. 

    "Don't be greedy, Amelia," said Mrs. Bancroft, wisely. "That food won't last but a couple of days as it is, so if we must all go a little hungrier than we are used to, so be it."

    Amelia pouted a little, but said nothing.  The group finished eating, tossing the scraps and the larger bones to Mudd who happily accepted them.  They all began to settle down for the night, pulling the coats around their shoulders and cuddling together for warmth.  

    Madelynn had wisely placed the fire near the feet of the pairs of people, and she banked the flames, allowing the coals to smolder throughout the night and help keep everyone warm.  She laid down with her arms around her children, making sure their feet and shoulders were covered by her long coat.  "Keep guard," she told their shaggy dog. Mudd panted in acknowledgment and nudged her hand with a lick, then circled around to sleep against the back of Devin as he had the night before.  

    She planned on rising early the next morning to look for any game in the area, although, she thought to herself, the chances were unlikely that any animal had returned to the barren forest so soon. Throughout the days toils, she hadn't heard a single peep from a bird, howl from a coyote, nor a bugle from the elk which were in rutting season currently.  She hoped fervently that they would be able to leave the burned area soon, otherwise she didn't place a lot of hope in finding enough food to keep the group alive.  

    She could always try her hand at fishing though.  Despite the fire, she was sure to still find some grubs in the mud of the riverbanks.  And she still had her handy reel, which she could use free hand, or lash onto a piece of wood that may have survived the fire in the water.  Finally, sleep overcame her, and warmed by the bodies of her two children, she drifted off into slumber, dreaming about fish.