Order of the Solar Temple

The cold march wind blew in a strong tide ruffling the leaves of the tall Figs and leaving them swaying from side to side like a hula dance as it passed by. To say the least It was cold. Very cold. Guarded in a dress shirt under a thick sweater, a long thick parka, Thick muffler covering the neck to the tip of her underlip, a woolen beanie, long underwear covered by thick jeans and an insulin wired shoe. Aidèen Pierre still felt the icy wave as it permeated through her thick mitten gloves and slicked through her muffler, freezing her body parts. She gave an unconscious shiver contemplating whether to pack everyone back into the bus and return back to the University but her more determined mind stayed put. She knew she had to run with this. Licking her lips, she cleared her throat. "All right everyone" her voice only came out as a croak She cleared her throat again "All right everyone" Her voice was more powerful "I want you guys divided into groups. Ten persons to one group and i want it mixed five boys and five girls. Chow chow" she clapped her hands "Ma'am we don't have much girls for that number a group" A student commented. She glanced at the Student, the wispy blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes told her all. it was Samantha. Aideen had taken pride in herself for getting to know all hundred and fifty students by name and face. The University even got interested by this and she was voted the best lecturer the previous year but she hadn't done it for the attention. She had read somewhere once that getting to know students individually makes them know that they aren't just clumps forming a piece. They all have value to be personally recognised and it made interaction easy as no one felt sideligned . Aideen could testify to that. "How many do we have Sam?" "About seventy" Aideen thought for a brief second "Alright, i want atleast three girls in each group" She turned to Samantha "That would do right?" "Yes ma'am" the girl replied chirpily then turned to mingle with the rest as they divided themselves. Ten minutes later, fifteen groups stood before Aideen excitedly awaiting the next set of instructions. Aideen raised a finger and stalked to one of the buses. She romped hard on the window, a startled cheery face appeared and she glared at him before returning back to the awaiting students. "Lazy sod" she muttered under her breath. Few giggles erupted from the group nearest to her. They heard her. She offered them a sly grin. The red faced offender tumbled off the bus clumsily trying to rub away the trails of sleep left in his eyes. The giggles erupted into quiet guffaws from each group causing the offender to shrink with embarassment. "All right guys. That's enough" The laughter quietly sizzled down Aideen turned to Luis. He was recently admitted as her new secetary in lieu of the resignation of the former. Though she tried not to be hard on him but Luis always put her at her wits end: he never knew what to do, couldn't go through simple task without supervision, always fell sick or so he said. Maybe he just had life rough. "Are you okay?" "Yes ma'am" he gave her his best tight-lipped smile. She ignored him and face the students once more "Now, I want each group to walk over here in an orderly manner. Luis is going to hand you your material and then you select a marker" The students followed her indication as she pointed towards the rear of the land. Each part has been sectioned with yellow stakes and secured with tapes in a rectangular fashion. The bus beeped and the trunk opened as Luis pressed a button on the key. As each group passed by, Luis handed a small sack while Aideen gave each group a number and a leader. When all were settled at their positions Aideen briefed them on what to do next. She explained the angle the trowel should be dug into, the placement of soil Into the buckets and finally sifting them on the mesh screen and making sure of their balance using sawhorse supports using a sample marker "Y'all know what happenes when you hit the big Dee" she stated faking a southern drawl accent "Yes" the students said in unison "Hit me" "The innermost layer takes a darker colour in contrast to the upper layer" They replied proudly "Good. Let's get started then" Aideen signalled to Luis who gave a curt nod and rounded off to a lone bus at the mouth of the field "Ma'am?" "Yes" Aideen glanced at a pale raised hand "Are we positive we're going to find bones?" She smiled, not that the student doubted her they were just bewildered with the idea of excavating real bones and she didn't blame them. It was a thrilling feel. "Guys we've talked about this. Yes Nina we are digging up real bones. We are standing on the famous Cusabo mass funeral site. They are burials of Sewee. Indians.In those days, they deflesh before burying the corpse sometimes in a box or little bundles. The scaffolding of bodies is to allow decomposition prior to burial. So heads up for wood fragments" Aidèen headed back to her vintage point that was now gathered a litter of camera men and a few officials. "How is it going?" Charles Vernon asked as Aidèen approached "Good. They're really excited about it" She replied as the camera men began spreading throughout the axis taking snapshots of the working students "They should be" Charles grunted "The UNCC had to shift this exercise to March because of issues needed to be addressed. Your University was the only one that was ready if not it wouldn't be picked for the next couple of years. Its good they see the value" Aidèen shared a glance with her Supervisor. Eileen gave her a comforting smile. She bit back a wicked reply Standing shoulder to shoulder they watched the students work hard as the chilling wind continue to blow this time giving eerie sounds. Aidèen's pager beeped twice as if on cue her phone rang. All eyes turned to her "Excuse me" she gave an apologetic smile and walked few paces back. Flipping the phone she answered the call "Aidèen you there?" "Oui" "Its Bértrand, we've got a situation. Chief needs you down here" "I can't. I have a situation here too. I can't leave" She glanced at the pair, they were focused on the students "Chief doesn't mind calling in for you" She heaved a sigh "Is it that bad?" "You've no idea" "How bad?" "You've got to see for yourself" She deliberated "All right. Fill him in" "Merçi" She hung up and pulled the pager from her pocket. It was Jean. He had sent her a code which eventually was saying the same thing Bèrtrand was. Walking back to join the pair, she pulled a schooled facial expression and joined them Few minutes later, Eileen's phone broke the silence. She walked away from them as she answered. Aidèen could pick out a few insistent bouts of "No", "We need her here". She didn't need to look to know Eileen was staring at her. After a short argument Eileen walked back still staring at Aidèen. "Mr Charles if you please, Aidèen needs to be excused" "Are you kidding me?" he faced them somewhat disappointedly "Yes, she's needed by the LML. She works partime here so we can't keep her, not to worry i'd have a replacement join us from the University. It won't take long" Charles gaze shifted to Aidèen, he looked genuiely surprised to hear about her involvement with LML "You don't really need my approval. Do you?" Both women shook their heads "Well then, go for it" Aidèen gave a curt nod to the both of them, she regarded the students for a while as they teased the soil layer by layer. Goodluck with that. She swirled around and began walking towards the mouth of the field whipping her phone out in the process. She dialed Bèrtrand "I'll need a ride" She said breaking into a light jog