The Lost Tribe - Part 3
By Submissive Romantic	



This is the story of an amateur historian and his search for evidence of the
existence of a lost tribe; he's not prepared for what he finds.

Part 3

Chapter 1 - The Planning Begins

Jason sat at his desk. In front of him was the latest sketch of the floor plan
that he had in mind. The house was approximately 2,500 square feet including
the attached garage. It had three bedrooms, including a master bedroom suite;
an eat-in-kitchen and a large living room and a dining room; all in an open
floor plan; and a full guest bathroom, all on one floor. He was pleased with
the design; it was a good-sized house, but was not overwhelming. They would be
overwhelmed as it was. The cost to construct the house based upon what he was
told was a well constructed home would be $150 per square foot or $375,000.

He put that sketch aside and pulled out his next design. This plan entailed a
cluster of six of the houses, forming a circle around a common backyard. Each
house would be connected to the house next to it by a solid block wall with an
access gate and a walkway leading into the enclosed backyard.

'That will be a grass lawn; there will be plenty of space for kids to play or
parents to relax on. In addition, it will be relatively secure. The only time
anyone other than the residents will have access to the area is when the
maintenance company is there.'

He put that sketch aside as well and pulled out his final design. It was the
master plan for the entire development. He looked over the plan; 'it's really
good' he thought to himself.

Jason sat back in his chair; the plan was coming together; now he just had to
make it become reality. His thoughts were interrupted by knocking on the frame
of the doorway. Maria and Carlita stood in the doorway.

"Are you going to be done soon?" Maria asked. "We're getting hungry and you
said you were going to take us out to eat tonight." Carlita chimed in.

"Before we go; come here and take a look."

They stood on either side of his, looking down at the master plan.

"The community center will be in the middle facing the entrance. It will be
flanked on each side by three clusters of six homes. There will be a road that
circles the entire project providing access to all the houses and to the
delivery entrance to the community center. There will be a large swimming
pool, with a children's side and an adult side with a hot tube. We will have
large canvass tarps suspended over both sides of the pool providing shade. The
community center will be big enough to have a spa, a fitness center, a caf�,
and a large leisure area that opens onto a patio allowing people to gather
either inside or outdoors. It will have a banquet hall, with a full kitchen so
we can have meals together as a group if we desire. There will also be several
rooms for a small school so we can educate our children here. The idea is to
build something that will serve our immediate needs and still be useful to our
people far into the future. So, what do you think?"

"Jason, it looks really great. But I can just imagine how overwhelmed they
will be when they first get here."

"I know, but we'll have to work through that. It will take time for them to
get used to it, but once they do, I want this place to feel like a home to
them and their kids and grandkids. I have an appointment Monday morning with
an architectural firm in Phoenix. Do either of you want to go with me?"

"I'll go, said Carlita, "I want to hear what they have to say about how it
will look."

"Me, too."

"Then it's settled on Monday morning we'll leave here about ten o'clock, my
meeting is scheduled for eleven. Now let's go; I'm staved. You pick the place,
my treat."

__________________________

The meeting went better than Jason had anticipated. The architect liked his
concept, suggested some minor changes, and agreed to act as the general
contractor if awarded the job. His firm had worked on several large
residential projects in the area, which he gave them directions to so they
could evaluate his company's work.

Each one was much larger than what they were going to need, but they were all
impressed with the overall appearance and feel of each of them; especially the
community centers.

"Jason, any one of these would be just perfect for us. We could have a gym, a
spa, an indoor lap pool, a school, and a medical clinic. We could be totally
self-sufficient and isolated from the rest of the reservation until we felt
that the tribe was ready to go out into the world."

Three weeks later, they were presented with a formal set of drawings, a
projection of the costs involved, and a timeframe for the construction.

"Our only issue will be water." The architect explained. "I've worked on the
reservation before. You are going to have to show that there is sufficient
water available for the project for the next fifty years. For that, we are
going to have to get a geologist's report and a well drilling company.
Fortunately, because of the size of the project, we won't have to find a major
source of water."

It took another month of surveying and drilling exploratory wells, but in the
end, they found their water and a week after that the Reservation Council
approved their plans and construction began.

__________________________

Six months later, Jason, regaled in his construction boots and hardhat, walked
the circular street that surrounded the project with the construction
supervisor. The curbing for the road had already been poured; the six-foot
high wall that surrounded the project was already complete, the concrete pads
for all the houses were complete and the ironwork for the three-story
community center had been erected. Things were going faster than he could have
imaged.

"We'll be ready to pour the floor of the community center next week. We will
also begin the framing of the houses as well. Because they are all the same,
they should all be framed and weather tight by the end of next month."

"How's the water reclamation system coming along?

"The recovery pipes from each cluster are in place, as is the piping from the
community center, all we have to do is put in the equipment, the underground
storage tanks and the distribution system. When we are done, all of the
landscaping will be irrigated using the non-potable water. The waterfall at
the entrance to the complex will also use the non-potable water as well."

"Great, we want to be good stewards of the environment; here in the desert,
water is a terrible thing to waste."

Chapter 2 - The Talk

Jason sat on the other side of the large circular table. Jenny and Becky were
celebrating their fifteenth birthdays with several of their classmates and
Maria and Carlita.

'They're getting so big, so mature for their age; they're young ladies now.
Where did the time go; it seemed like only yesterday that I was playing 'hide
and seek' with them. T Growing up, they had never given us any problems. There
was some mischief, for sure; they weren't perfect, but never anything
serious.' All of this flashed through his mind.

'Even their teachers, the principal, and their classmates had long ago
accepted their unusual family structure. So, why am I worrying about this?
Maybe I should just allow it to take its own course.'

However, he knew the answer to that question as well. This was something that
he had to do and now was the time to do it, before he had to do it.

After dinner, after they had dropped off the other girls, they returned home.
The girls got ready for bed and retired to their rooms for the evening, while
Jason, Maria and Carlita sat in the family room watching the end of the local
news.

"I think it's time we told them." Jason said as he shut the television.

"Tell them what?" Carlita replied.

"Everything; the tribe, Anna and Summer Rain, us; tell them everything. No
more secrets." Jason countered.

"Why now, why so soon, they're only fifteen?" Maria responded.

"Because I have a really bad feeling that we are running out of time. I want
to tell them, now, before we have to tell them; and I want to be the one to do
it."

"How would you do it?"

"I'll just tell them the whole story. I will let them form their own opinions
and questions; but I won't be the one who'll answer them; you two will, one on
one with your child. Then they can compare notes if they want; and finally, as
a family, we'll discuss this if that is what they want."

"I'm worried about what they'll think of us." Carlita said.

"It will be better than letting them form opinions without knowing all the
facts."

The three of them sat in silent contemplation for what seemed like an eternity
and then Maria looked over at Carlita, who gave her an almost undetectable
nod.

"Okay, we'll go for a hike up the trail tomorrow at eleven. We will be gone
about two hours, which should give you plenty of time. After we return, you
will do the same. Let's hope that our dinner conversation tomorrow will be
pleasant; I know it will be lively."

_____________________

The next morning after breakfast, Maria and Carlita announced that they were
going for a hike. Jenny and Becky looked like they wanted to join them but as
they were about to leave the table, Jason said, "Not you girls, I want to have
a talk with you; see me in the office in five minutes."

The girls looked at each other as if to say, "What did we do?" and left the
kitchen.

When Jason entered the office five minutes later, they were both sitting with
their hands folded in their laps, with a worried look on their faces.

"We're not in any trouble are we dad?"

Jason laughed, "No you're not in any trouble; is there anything that I should
know about that would make you think that you were?" He let them off the hook
a few moments later with a hardy laugh. "Relax girls, I just want to talk to
you about something very important, and I wanted to be sure I had your
undivided attention."

The girls both visibly relaxed and asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Jason took a deep breath to settle himself and then began to speak.

"First of all, I just want to let you know that I love you both very much. In
addition, that I love your mothers just as much. You know I have been doing a
lot of research and writing and that your mothers have been helping me. In the
past, we have told you that I have been planning to write a book, a history of
the Arizona Territory before it became a state. Well, that was not quite true.
What we have actually been doing since before you were born, is researching
and looking for evidence of a tribe of female warriors known as the Amazonians
who were said to have lived in the Superstition Mountains dating back to at
least the early 1200's AD.

"That's so cool; did you find any evidence?"

"Please, no questions right now, let me finish first. However, I will answer
that one. Yes, we found a whole lot more than evidence that they existed; we
found the remnants of the tribe themselves."

"Let me start back before you were born. I was a college graduate, doing
research for my own pleasure, looking through the Arizona State Archives, when
I stumbled upon a series of letters between several historians, one of which
was adamant that the tribe did exist. I worked hard following the trail of
documents, but after a time I needed a break, so I took a weeks' vacation in
Acapulco; that is where I met your mothers. During a conversation with Maria,
I told her what I was looking for. She said that she was researching the same
thing at the University of Arizona and asked for my address so she could send
me some information that I might find helpful.

Several weeks later, she sent me a letter telling me to look for a specific
journal. It was the break that I was looking for; that journal gave me a
general location to look in. Shortly thereafter, I hiked into the mountains
expecting to spend a couple of days looking for artifacts left by the tribe.
What I found, or more accurately, what found me, were the living members of
the tribe. I was taken captive and brought before the tribe's High Priestess,
Souring Eagle or her white man's name, Anna. There were seventeen members of
the tribe; all were female, thirteen young warriors about my age, three in
their mid-forties and one in her sixties. I lived with them for nearly four
months before I completed the task that I was held there to do. They used me
to impregnate all the members of the tribe that were able to have children."

He watched the girls' faces flush as they realized just what he was saying.

"During that time, I lived with Anna, and fell hopelessly in love with her.
She told me that she had spent the first thirteen years of her life living on
the Gila River Reservation, going to school until the age of thirteen and that
she had two sisters, identical twins that she loved very much. She found out
later, after she was brought back to the tribe, that she and her sisters had
been part of the tribe and that she was brought back to become the tribe's
high priestess, but the twins had been banished from the tribe at birth.

I wanted to stay with Anna, but was told that that was not possible. There was
only one way for me to leave the valley that they lived in, alive; I had to
agree to live for the rest of my life being watched over by my two keepers."

He paused his narrative again, until they fully grasped what he had just told
them.

"Our mothers are your keepers!"

"Yes, you have to remember that they were actually members of the tribe, but
because the tribe is very superstitious and have been very isolated, they did
not understand and had never experienced the birth of twins before. I think it
was commendable of your mothers to remain loyal to the tribe and to take on
the role of being remote members.

"I remember the first night we spent together here. I was very hurt and I
missed Anna, I considered her my wife, and I was very upset and wanted nothing
to do with Maria and Carlita. However, very quickly, they made me realize that
we all were in this together; that if we did not get along, we would be living
a very celibate and lonely life. It didn't take long before we began to become
romantically involved with one another. If we did not, at some point, they
might have decided to return me to the valley so that they could live a more
normal life here. However, to their credit, they knew what that would mean for
me. They held my life in their hands.

"And then we had the two of you. That was a conscious decision on our part.
Your mothers had given up so much already, they wanted to have a child, they
needed that, so we had the two of you. You have made our lives complete. By
the way, you have a half-sister back in the valley; actually, now that I think
about it, you have fourteen half-sisters."

The girls sat in stunned silence. Jason could tell that they both wanted to
ask questions; but he continued.

"Now, there's a problem in the valley and Anna doesn't know what to do about
it. Today's modern age is slowly but surely inflicting itself upon life in the
valley. It is partly our fault, over the last twenty years we have been
bringing bits and pieces of our technology, of our life style, into the
valley. They can see for themselves, how differently we live our lives then
they do theirs. They hear and see the jets that fly overhead; they see the
cars and trucks that we drive, they see the houses we live in, and they see
us, how we seem to live our lives without having to work for everything we
have, the clothes on our backs, and the shoes on our feet, and the food in our
bellies. They probably don't even realize how much we are affecting them, but
we are, and sooner, rather than later, they are going to want what we have and
that that will be the end of the tribe as they know it."

"We know it's going to happen, and we know that it will happen in my life
time. It has been foreseen by one of my ancestors, who had a vision of the
future, and provided the knowledge and the resources that will allow us to
help them. We just do not know exactly when.

"I wanted you to know about all of this before it was actually happening,
because I don't think that when it is happening that we'll have time to cope
with them and the two of you, and I don't want you to think that we are
abandoning you in any way.

"I know you have a lot of questions. I want you to hold them for now. Your
moms will be home in a little while. Go to your rooms now and wait for them;
they will tell you anything you want to know. Just remember that we will
always love you. Now go."

The girls slowly got out of their chairs and walked towards the door. As they
came even with the painting of Anna and her child, Jason called out to them.

"That's Anna." He said pointing to her image on the wall. "She's holding your
sister, Summer Rain", and that's the entrance to their cave, their home. What
you see all around you are the images of life in the village as Carlita
remembered it from her visits there. She painted them just before you were
born so you could grow up experiencing life in the village, the life that she
and Maria weren't allowed to experience, and for me, a small piece of the life
that I longed for."

As he was talking, their eyes traveled around the room, they were truly
experiencing, for the first time, what the whole meaning was of the murals
that they had grown up seeing.

___________________________

Jason waited in the kitchen. Over a cup of coffee, he sat, reviewing in his
mind how the conversation had gone. He knew he had only scratched the surface
with them. Maybe he should have said more he thought, or he could have said
some things differently; but in the end, he knew his girls, they were smart
and mature enough to know what he was trying to tell them. And where he was
vague about some things, Maria and Carlita could fill in the blanks.

He was staring into his empty cup as his wives entered the room.

"How'd it go?"

"I think it went well. They are up in their rooms waiting for you. You should
probably get up there as soon as possible before they burst at the seams. I
know they will have a lot of questions for you. Do not hold anything back from
them; they have a right to know. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

___________________________

Upon his return, he found the four of them busy in the kitchen. Maria and
Carlita were preparing dinner, while the girls were busy setting the table.

"Go get cleaned up, dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

As Jason left the kitchen, he turned to see his daughters watching him. 'Were
they checking him out, as the kids say?' Just as quickly as the thought came
to him, he dismissed it as just his imagination. 'They're good kids, far too
young to be thinking about boys, right?'

When he returned, everyone was already sitting at the table. There were large
bowls of beef stew on each place setting, and in the center of the table, a
large plate stacked high with squares of corn bread.

"In honor of those still in the valley, we thought we'd have a meal just like
what they are probably eating." Maria said, as she reached for a piece of corn
bread.

"I hope you like it," chimed in Carlita, "I couldn't find any mystery meat at
the grocery, so you'll have to settle for cubed chuck."

All broke into laughter; putting Jason at ease. Their conversations came easy,
with many references to life in the valley.

"Mom told us all about the valley, the hidden caves, and the kitchen, where
you ate your meals, the public bath, the toilet room, and the fertility cave."
Becky blushed as she ended her sentence with a little more enthusiasm than she
had intended.

Jason turned to Carlita and gave her a frustrated glance.

"Well, you told us not to hold anything back."

"Dad, are you really the father of all fourteen girls there?"

Jason, turned back to face Jenny and as he spoke, his eyes connected with
those of the girls. "No, I fathered fourteen girls in the valley, that was
what I had to do; but I am the Father of only the two of you. There is a big
difference. I have an emotional bond with the two of you. I have watched you
grow up and mature into young women, I truly love you both. Of the fourteen
young women in the valley, I have only seen Summer Rain, once, for only a
couple of hours when she was a baby; they are all strangers to me, even Summer
Rain. Please always remember that."

They ate the rest of their meal in silence. When they were done, Jason stood,
picked up his dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, and went outside to
sit on the front steps.

"You were a little harsh on them don't you think." It was Maria; she closed
the door behind her and sat down beside him.

"I realize that now. She touched on a raw nerve. I did not mean for it to come
out that way, but I had to make them understand that there is a big difference
between them and the kids in the valley. Actually, they are not kids anymore,
they are nearly eighteen, grown women, especially with how they have to live
there. Moreover, someday, maybe sooner than I imagine, I am going to be called
back to the valley and the ceremony will happen again. And I'll be reminded of
the fact that I don't even know my own children, even Summer Rain."

"Oh, you'll know Summer Rain."

"What are you saying?"

"Never mind."

"I think I'll go upstairs and say good night to the girls."

"Just knock before you enter their rooms. You wouldn't want to embarrass them
now would you?"

Chapter 3 - The Call Back to the Valley

The alarm sounded in the valley; the first fissures in the dam that held back
the tide of modern civilization appeared. It was shortly after Jason and his
family celebrated Jenny's and Becky's sweet sixteen birthdays. It had been
Carlita's turn to go up to the valley to see if they needed anything. What she
found was Anna, crying in her cave. When she could finally calm Anna down, she
exclaimed.

"I'm losing control of the tribe, even my own mother has voted against me."

"What do you mean, what's happened?"

"Two of the girls have been sneaking into the fertility cave."

"Let me guess, one was Angry Sky?"

"Yes; and the other was my own daughter."

"Okay, Anna, it's bad, but not the end of the world."

"It gets worse; one by one they've brought all the other girls in there. Now
they're demanding that we hold their ceremony; and council has agreed, even
Starry has voted against me."

"Well, after all, they are grown women now."

"They're not even twenty yet. This is too soon. We should let them be children
for a few more years. Besides, I do not know if the tribe can survive here
with another generation of children. We have only lost one from our
generation. There are twelve of us, thirteen of our children, and my mother
and her child. That's twenty-seven of us, and only one of them is past the age
of having children."

"I see what you mean, the valley could never support that many. What are we
going to do?"

"The council has already decided. They want me to bring Jason back to the
valley."

"What if he refuses to come back? He's already indicated that he could never
be with our girls in that way."

"The choice will not be his to make. The council has spoken, if necessary,
they will send a war party down to the valley to get him. I know he will not
run away. I have been foretold of his destiny. "

They sat in silence for several minutes, each contemplating the repercussions
of her last statement. Finally, it was Anna who broke the silence.

"How is he? Is he healthy enough to survive this; after all, there are now
twenty-seven of us?"

"He's slowed down a little, but we've been able to keep him healthy and
interested. The fire still burns hot in his hearth, especially for you. It
will be hard to let him go, but I know it's truly what he has longed for all
these years."

"I miss him so much. That is what made this all the harder. Even as I was
arguing against having the ceremony now, inside I longed to be with him
again."

"So, how will we do this?"

"I'll give you seven days. A week from tonight I will come for him. That
should be enough time for you to say your good byes. I know it will be hardest
for the girls to understand why their father is leaving them."

"Our daughters already know all about this. Jason told them that this day
would be coming soon. He wanted them to know beforehand so that they would
understand why he was leaving and that he loved them and would return as soon
as he could. He will be returning to us, right?"

"Of course, the old ways are dead and buried forever. He will return to you;
he's still got more to do down there."

"Everything is in progress; but how do you know all this?"

"My High Priestess told me. I don't know how she knew, but I was told that I
would be the last one, that the tribe would leave here forever during my
lifetime."

"Don't worry, everything will be ready soon."

Both women stood, appraising one another. They were both forty-two years of
age; both were physically strong, powerful women. Both were very pleasing to
the eye; but upon closer examination, one could tell that Anna had led the
harder life. There were age lines at the corners of her eyes; her skin was
darker and less supple. Her breasts, though still firm, had begun to sag
slightly, the effects of gravity, nursing a baby, and always being
unsupported. They hugged one another, as only sisters could, no other words
needed to be spoken. Now, Anna had new doubts in her mind, would Jason still
find her desirable after being in the arms of both of her sisters?"

_____________

It took Carlita less than an hour to get back home. She found Maria down in
the gym and after a quick shower; they joined Jason in his office and closed
the door.

"Jason, there's a real problem up in the valley ... .."

She proceeded to explain all that she had been told.

Maria was the first to speak. "She's known about this all along and yet she
has not said a word about it to any of us for all this time. The poor dear, it
must have been eating her up inside; knowing that it was going to all end
under her watch and not knowing if we were doing what we had to do at our
end."

Jason slowly nodded his head as a tear slowly dripped down his cheek.

"I knew this day would be coming sooner rather than later, but I'm still not
sure I'm ready for it. I love you both more than I ever thought I could ever
love anyone other than Anna. Now I am going to have to leave all of you, to do
something I really do not want to do. Nevertheless, I know it has to be done
and it has to be me who does it. I just wish everything was already in place
and ready for them. They tell me that everything will be done and ready to be
occupied in less than a year. You will have to take over for me until I
return."

"Do we tell the girls tonight?"

"No, let them get a good night's sleep tonight, tomorrow will be soon enough."

___________________________

However, the atmosphere at the dinner table that night was anything but
jovial; and the girls being as smart as they were, knew there was something
wrong. Therefore, after dinner, before the table was cleared, Jenny spoke up.

"So, are you going to tell us what's wrong or do we have to guess?"

"We didn't want to tell you until tomorrow, but I guess we couldn't hide it
from you. I have to go back to the valley. I don't know when I will be able to
come back; but I will come back as soon as I can. Just remember that I will
always love you; listen to your mothers, and do your best at school."

"I guess this is the reason why we had our little talk last year. When do you
have to leave?"

"At the end of the week; your Aunt Anna is coming to get me."

"That's good, we'll all have time to prepare for your leaving, and we'll
finally get to meet Anna. Will Summer Rain be with her?"

"I doubt it. I do not believe any of the young women will be allowed to leave
the valley. The less they are exposed to our modern life style the better for
everyone concerned."

"I guess we'll just have to wait a little longer before we get to meet our
sister."

"It will probably be sooner than you think."

___________________________

For the next six nights, Maria and Carlita alternated sleeping with Jason. The
girls, when they were not at school, spent as much of their time as they could
with their father, allowing him to help them with their homework and watching
television together as a family.

On the seventh evening, they sat together in the living room waiting for the
sun to set. About eight o'clock the front doorbell rang and the girls jumped
up and ran to the door.

When they opened the door, a sight that they weren't really expecting greeted
them. A tall woman, dressed in jeans and a long sleeved cotton shirt and
wearing hiking boots stood before them; her long red hair hung down past her
shoulders and she greeted them by name.

"Hello, you must be Jenny & Becky, although I'm sorry, I don't know who is
who. I am your Aunt Anna. Can I come in?"

"Of course, they're in the living room, follow me," said Becky, as Jenny
stayed behind to close the door. Just before she shut the door, she spotted
several figures looming in the darkness in front of the house.

As she entered the living room, Anna greeted her sisters with a hug and a
kiss. "Thank you for the clothes; they fit really well. You can take them back
the next time you come to the valley."

Then she turned to Jason; there was an obvious awkwardness between them.

"You're looking well Jason; obviously my sisters have been taking good care of
you."

A snicker came from the other side of the room where the girls were standing,
but was ignored by the adults.

"We should be going; I was given an armed escort by the council. I am sure
they are beginning to get a little antsy out there. I told them that I would
only be in here a short time. I'm afraid that if we don't emerge soon, we'll
have them pounding on your door."

Jason moved to each of the four women, gave each of them a reassuring hug, a
kiss on the cheek and whispered, "I'll be back as soon as I can. Remember what
I told you, I love you all very much."

Turning back to Anna he said, "I'm ready, let's go."

The two walked quickly across the desert landscape down to the hiking trail
escorted by four of Anna's generation of the tribe. They were dressed in their
normal manner, loincloth, hunting knife in its sheath at their waist, and
moccasins on their feet. Jason greeted them in their native language, looking
into each face, trying to find a familiar face; he could not. He was just
about to turn back to Anna, when he spied one of the escorts break into a wide
grin and drop her hand to her loincloth. The hand looked like it was grasping
something and then began to move slightly from side to side, as if aiming what
she was holding.

That's when the memory of a long ago forgotten incident in the toilet came
back to Jason, and he began to blush. Seeing his embarrassment, she, too,
began to blush and turned away from him.

Even though it was only the end of September, the night air was already
turning cool and he noticed the obvious effects it was having on their exposed
nipples; which, in turn, began to have an obvious effect on his member as
well. It had been a long time since he had walked among the tribe and
experienced, on a daily basis, the sight of so many beautiful, athletically
built, nearly naked women.

"I see we still excite you, that is good; I just hope that you will find the
sight of my body pleasing as well," she whispered into his ear as they began
the slow trek up the trail towards the spring.

"We can speak freely in English if you wish; none of the others speak your
language."

"Anna, how bad is it?"

"It's really bad; they are a rebellious group of young women. They are very
opinionated and do not respect the authority of their elders; including our
daughter, I might add."

"Speaking of Summer Rain; how is she? Will we be living together, the three of
us in your cave?"

"She is well. She has grown into a beautiful young woman; but I am afraid her
longtime friendship with Angry Sky has made her like all of the others. She
won't listen to anything I say; she only takes my advice when it advances her
own goals. As to our sleep arrangements, I felt it was best that she stay with
Starry for as long as you are here with us."

As they walked, Jason could feel their many years of separation melting away.
He could not believe how quickly his long suppressed feelings for her were
bubbling to the surface.

They moved as one tight unit along the trail. One of the escorts leading in
front, one on either side of Anna and Jason and the last protecting their
backs. A lone coyote issued a howl off in the distance ahead of them, followed
a short time later by a single response, seemingly from the other side of
trail off in the distance.

"All is well." Anna said matter of factly. "We shouldn't run into any
problems."

It took less than two hours for them to complete the journey to the valley.
Jason noticed the looks of envy that they received from their escorts as he
and Anna entered her cave.

Upon entering, Jason spied that there were now two beds in the room. He stood
next to what he assumed was Summer Rain's bed and began to get undressed. He
had just removed his jeans and was placing them in a pile next to the bed,
when he heard Anna's voice.

"Don't even think about sleeping over there. I've waited nearly twenty years
for this night; I won't wait a second longer."

Jason turned to face her. She was already naked, standing next to her bed,
displaying her forty-two year old body for his appraisal. As he dropped his
shorts to the ground and stepped out of them, his arousal was already becoming
evident.

"You are still as beautiful as you were back then. I've never stopped thinking
about you." He said as he closed the distance between them.

"You look stronger than you were back then; I guess Carlita has been pushing
you hard in the gym. It looks good on you."

They embraced, their arms wrapped tightly around each other as if saying they
were never going to be separated again, but each knowing that this was only a
temporary situation at best.

They made love twice that first night. The first time was with a sense of
urgency, until they had momentarily quenched their thirst for each other. The
second time took place much later, and was a slow passionate loving experience
that lasted into the early hours of the next day; they greeted the morning sun
together still locked in a tender embrace.

"We should probably go over to the bath and clean up and take care of business
before the rest of the tribe gets up. This time, I will make sure the toilet
cave is empty. I noticed that little display last night; we wouldn't want any
repeats of that incident now would we." She said teasingly. "Besides, now she
knows what to do with it."

___________________________

Refreshed and ready for the day, they walked together to get their breakfast.
The dining area was more crowded than Jason remembered. All conversations
ceased as they took their places in line. He was aware that he was the reason
why, so it didn't bother him. Glancing around the area, he did notice that
there appeared to be two distinct groups, each sitting apart from the other.

"Is it always like this?" Jason asked Anna. "They almost seem hostile towards
each other."

"I wouldn't call it hostile, so much as, indifferent towards each other. The
young ones are just showing their independence from their mothers. They feel
they are adults and want to be treated as such."

Jason nodded his understanding as his gaze was drawn towards two women from
the younger group as they stood and began walking towards them. It was then
that he noticed the streaks of red in the long straight hair of the taller of
the two.

"Hello mother, I assume this is Jason." She said in her native language as she
gave him a visual inspection. Her companion was also appraising him, but her
eyes were filled with contempt.

"He's so old; I thought he'd be younger." She said disapprovingly.

"Jason, this is my daughter Summer Rain and her friend Angry Sky, she's Starry
Sky's daughter."

Jason, wishing to please the two of them, greeted the young women in their
native language. "I'm very pleased to meet the two of you." He was amused as
he watched the look of surprise and embarrassment come over their faces.

"Mother, you never told me he speaks our language."

"Sorry, the topic never came up."

Jason and Anna turned, picked up their bowls and spoons, as the young women
returned to the seats.

"Jason, it's good to see you again." Starry said in a loud voice. "You look
well; I hope you had a good night," she added in a more hushed tone.

"Hello Starry, It's good to see you again as well. And yes we had a very
enjoyable night."

"Well, don't tire yourself out; there are a lot more of us now and we are all
looking forward to being with you again."

Chapter 4 - The Ceremony Begins Again

After breakfast, on the walk back to their cave, Anna said,

"You know, she's right. You should rest as much as possible; you're not the
young stud that was here the last time."

"Are you calling me old?" Jason retorted.

"Of course not; it's just that there are now twenty-seven of us. In addition,
based upon our conversation with Starry, all of them are going to want at
least one time with you. That means that on some of the nights you are going
to have to do at least two of the younger ones."

"Speaking of that, we had better get over to the fertility cave and plan this
out."

They walked across the valley, lit the torch, and entered the cave. As Jason
glanced around the walls of the cave, he was reminded of the first time he had
entered this cave and had become a participant in the ceremony. After several
moments lost in his own thoughts, he felt a tug on his arm as Anna pulled him
towards the entrance to the smaller waiting area, which held the ancient
calculator.

The stones were still placed just where he had placed them the last time he
was here. Jason looked to Anna for her input; the day she last began to bleed
would be their new starting point.

"Let's see; I started to bleed about ten days after the full moon. I'm not
exactly sure, it could have been nine or eleven; I wasn't really keeping track
because I wasn't planning the holding the ceremony again this soon."

"That's okay; it's close enough. We can get more exact next time. I'm assuming
you all start to bleed on the same day; is that still correct?"

"It seems so, judging by the atmosphere around here during the times that I
start."

"Alright, let's place the stones into the correct holes." Jason said as she
placed the first stone in the hole situated under the drawing of the last
quarter moon. He then placed each of the stones in their proper place, and
then stood contemplating just how they should proceed.

"What phase of the moon are we in right now. I was not really paying much
attention last night on the walk up here. I know there was a moon because
there was light on the trail."

Walking over to the wall, she studied the symbols and the holes and pointed to
the first quarter moon as she stated. "We're here now."

"Oh my; if you're right, we have to start tonight; so much for getting any
rest."

"Jason, why don't I skip my turn this time around? You'll have one less night
that you have to do two."

"Alright, it's up to you. Here is what we can do. Starting tonight, I will do
one of our generation for the first two nights, then I will switch to the
youngest generation, one each night for the next three nights, then I will
have to do two a night for the next four nights and one a night for the next
three nights. That will put all of the youngest generation into the most
probable period for them to get pregnant. Then I'll do one a night of the
remaining members of our generation, and last, but not least, I'll do Starry."

"That sounds good. Now we have to decide where. I think we should have the
ceremony right here. Most of the caves have at least two people living in
them. There just weren't enough caves to house everyone separately, and I
didn't feel it was necessary for us to dig out more."

"Okay, with the youngest generation we'll do the ceremony just as it is
depicted in the cave's artwork. And you will be here to assist me. As each of
the youngest generation gets pregnant, they drop out; the ceremony ends when
they are all pregnant. As you said, I'm not the young stud who was here the
last time. Finally, once the ceremony ends, I get to return to my other
family. I have a lot to do there and I don't think I have a lot of time to get
it done."

Jason turned to hold her as she digested what he had demanded.

"Anna, it's not that I don't love you, I do; but I have a family back there
that I also love and they are depending on me to be there. I promise you that
our time together will happen and for that to occur I have to get everything
ready."

"I know you do; our time has not yet come; but it will. Let us go back to the
cave. I have to tell the council what we have decided so they can make the
arrangements. You will rest until tonight. We'll eat in the cave."

___________________________

Jason spent much of the day resting his body, but his mind was going over each
part of their plan. He worried about maintaining this kind of pace for more
than a few weeks at a time. Back home, Maria and Carlita had tempered their
enthusiasm, as he had gotten older. There had been nights when all they wanted
was to be caressed and held; that all they wanted was to know that they were
loved. He could do that with Anna; but with the rest of the tribe, he had to
perform.

He finally fell asleep and was still sleeping when Anna returned from her
meeting with the council and then with the entire tribe.

"I'm sorry I took so long, but I had to convince them that this was the best
plan for everyone involved. However, the really tough sell was to the young
ones. They are convinced that you are too old for this. Some actually
suggested that we kidnap some poor unfortunate young hiker off the trail.
Someone else questioned why Starry or any of their mothers should be allowed
to participate in the ceremony. Things really got tense after that. But
eventually, cooler heads prevailed and we came to an agreement. The first time
will be as we have planned; after that, they want to be more involved with the
planning."

"And you agreed?"

"I had to, I had no other choice. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.
Let's get through this first time before we plan for the next one."

They settled into a period of contemplation, the silence of which was broken
by Anna who asked.

"Jason, we never really talked about this. I was wondering, how do you feel
about having your children participate in the ceremony?"

"Anna, they are my children, I admit that, but they are all strangers to me,
even our daughter is a stranger to me. It will be just like the first time.
You were all young, beautiful and very desirable young women and that is what
they are now. Had I been allowed to stay here, to live with them and watch
them grow up, I would feel differently, especially about Summer Rain, but
sadly, that was not allowed. I can assure you that if I was asked by your
sisters to be with Jenny or Becky that I would have refused."

"I understand and believe you. I was told by my High Priestess that there was
only one male who, as far as she knew, had ever been allowed to remain here
after completing the ceremony with the intent that he would participate in the
next one as well. That was a long time ago, and it never actually happened. He
died before the time for the next ceremony."

"Do you know anything else about him?"

"Not much, she only knew what she had been told. The man had been allowed to
stay here, as a prisoner. He lived in a small cave that was dug specifically
for him at the far end of the valley. One morning he never came out for
breakfast. Later, when he did not come out for dinner either, they entered his
cave; they found him still in bed; apparently he died in his sleep. That's all
she knew."

"Have you ever actually seen this cave? Was there anything still there?"

"No, I've never been there."

Jason sat quietly, deep in thought. 'Could that have been Ezekiel, Joshua's
lost son?" He could not know for sure until he was able to examine that cave.

___________________________

Later, they eat in silence. Jason looked down into his bowl of stew and
chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"A few of months ago, the three of us told Jenny and Becky all about the
tribe, my relationship with you, the ceremony, and the possibility that I
would be leaving them to return here to participate in the ceremony."

"That must have been a very interesting conversation."

"You have no idea. Anyway, that night Maria and Carlita decided that they
would make mystery meat stew in honor of all of you up here. Carlita had
apologized saying that she couldn't find mystery meat at the supermarket, and
that I would have to settle for cubed chuck."

"I know you miss them; I do too. Please be assured that this will all end
soon. I would not be telling you this, except for the fact that I believe you
already know how this will end. I was told by my High Priestess that the
beginning of the end would occur when the last Priestess and the Seventh son
joined and had a child. She told me that I would be the last Priestess, so you
must be the Seventh son.

"I was still young, still learning the history of our people, and I had never
been with a man before; so I questioned her. She told me that that was the
story that she had been told by her Priestess. I had completely forgotten
about it, even after I had Summer Rain. But the events of the last couple of
weeks have brought back those memories and now I see more clearly the meaning
of that prophesy; and I believe that you do too."

Jason took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Anna, you're right, I am the Seventh son. What I know is that in my lifetime,
a lost tribe of Amazon warriors will be lead out of the Superstition
Mountains, presumably by me, and escorted to a new land. I found this out
through the research of my family's past, as well as yours. Our story was
given to my fourth great grandfather through a vision he received from the
Great Spirit. He provided the means necessary for me to accomplish this task;
that is the reason why I have to return to my family, so I can complete what I
have started. My biggest concern is that I don't know when this will happen."

"We don't know when, but we do know who will instigate it; Summer Rain, our
daughter."

"This is not the time yet. It does not feel right to me. Now that I think
about it; I would have thought it would have been Angry Sky."

"I'm sure she will have a part in it, those two are inseparable and remember
it's because of them that you are here at this time."

___________________________

Jason waited in the room adjacent to the fertility cave. He could hear Anna
arguing with the first warrior; and then all was quiet.

"Jason, she is ready."

Jason entered the cave, spied Anna holding the preparation bowl and the
warrior on her knees near the bed.

"Jason," Anna exclaimed in a voice filled with frustration, "she says that she
will not assume the ceremonial position, that that is for the uninitiated. She
wishes to do it her way and asks that I leave now."

As Anna left the cave, Jason turned towards the woman. There was a smile on
her face and a glint in her eyes as she beckoned him to join her. Jason
recognized her immediately, she was the young warrior who had "helped" him in
the toilet cave all those years ago and who had been one of the four armed
escorts on his latest trip to the valley.

When he was within an arm's length of her, she reached out and grasped his
rapidly growing erection. Her hand was already slick with the lubricating gel,
which she quickly spread along his entire length.

"I don't want another baby" was all she said as she reclined on the bed,
pulling him between her open legs.

Jason nodded slowly as he entered her. She was incredibly tight, her body
clinging to him as he slowly moved in and out of her. Her eyes were partially
closed, a smile on her lips as she reveled in the feelings of sexual bliss
that were pulsing through her body. This went on for several minutes longer,
then as her first orgasm rushed through her body, she announced once again, "I
don't want another baby."

Jason just nodded to her that he understood and continued his onslaught of her
sexually overloaded body. Knowing that by being first she was still days away
from her fertile period, Jason increased his pace. When her second orgasm
rocked her world, however, she began to panic and grasping him by the
shoulders extended her arms until he could no longer maintain his penetration
of her without painfully arching his back.

"I want to see." She exclaimed as she simultaneously grasped his still very
stiff and slick erection and pulled him forward, through her opened legs,
until he was straddling her stomach. Still firmly in her grasp, she began to
rapidly move her hand up and down his overly stimulated cock. He wasn't going
to be able to hold off for much longer. His breathing began to quicken as he
approached the point of no return. Curious, he opened his eyes just as he lost
control, spurt after spurt shot out of him and landed on her now laughing
face, the last one into her opened mouth.

"No baby, right?"

"No baby," he replied as he regained some semblance of control over his body.

Just as he tried to lift his leg over her body so he could roll off her, she
pulled his still oozing erection towards her mouth, clamped her lips around
its head and sucked out whatever remained, until he had to urge her to stop.

"Thank you, they are very lucky to have you." She said as she got to her feet.

"No, I'm the lucky one." He replied as he hugged her. Then she turned and left
the cave.

After a few minutes, Anna returned, a puzzled look on her face.

"What happened, I thought you'd be in here a lot longer."

"She didn't want a baby, she's the curious one, remember? She really just
wanted to watch, to see what came out."

"That's good, one down, twenty-six more to go. Let's get you dressed and home
so you can rest."

___________________________

For the next four nights, Jason performed the ceremony just as the ancestors
had depicted, over the protests of his partners, especially the first timers.
Both he and Anna insisted that they maintain the traditions that the ancients
had established. It was also the tradition that the rest of the tribe maintain
a vigilance outside the fertility cave in a show of support for the first
timers. This, too, took place, with each newly initiated member receiving the
jubilant war cries from the assembled crowd.

After the next four nights of two first timers per night, Jason had all he
could handle just to get dressed and return to her cave with Anna's help.
Jason felt her strong embrace as he cuddled in her arms.

"Jason maybe you should rest tomorrow night. You could do the last three first
timers over the last two fertile nights and then one each night after. I'm
going to suggest that to the Council."

Jason never heard her suggestion; he had already fallen into an exhausted
sleep. The next morning when he finally awoke, Jason found himself alone in
their bed. When Anna finally returned home, Jason was still resting. "Jason,
you have the day off. I convinced the Council that you needed a day of rest
before continuing."

"But we only have three more fertile days left; I could handle one per night.
After all, we only have fourteen more to go." However, even as the words left
his mouth, he realized she was probably right.

"That's the good news; the bad news is that Summer Rain and Angry Sky were
both within hearing range and insisted that they go next; and the Council
agreed."

___________________________

Jason was well rested, but very nervous as they approached the fertility cave.
"Jason, are you alright, you're very quiet. Are you going to be able to do
this?"

"I'm not sure. I told my girls back home that this night would be just like
all the others; that I had no attachment to these two because they were
strangers to me. But now that the time has come I'm having second thoughts."

"Would it help if I blindfolded you tonight? Each girl could assume the
position and I could guide you through it. This way you wouldn't know for sure
who was who."

"Ok, that will be better than nothing."

They entered the cave and Jason retreated to his alcove while Anna prepared
the ceremonial bed. He could just barely hear a conversation taking place on
the other side of the wall; and then all was silent.

"Jason, come they are ready."

Jason stood and entered the main room. He tried to not focus on the two
gorgeous backsides that were presented in front of him; but just before Anna
placed the blindfold over his eyes, he spotted the streaks of red hair. When
the blindfold was secure, Anna placed her hands on his shoulders and begin to
guide him slowly towards were the girls were positioned. Just before she asked
him to kneel, he felt movement and heard the soft noises of shifting bodies on
the bed. He felt the familiar coolness of the lubricating gel just before Anna
guided his member to the first of the girls.

Now nature took over and in his mind's eye, he could picture the woman before
him and just what he was supposed to do. Grabbing her by the hips, he slowly
applied pressure with his hips until he felt his organ slowly become engulfed
in her moist heat. He heard a soft moan and felt his partner shudder as he
began to move deeper into her until he had nothing more to give her. After
waiting a moment or two for her to grow accustomed to the feeling of being
stuffed for the first time, he began to slowly withdraw from her until he
nearly left her, only to press forward once again. Knowing that this could be
Summer Rain, but not knowing for sure, made the act, on some level, more
exciting for him, more the taking of the forbidden fruit.

His pace quickened as the woman before him responded in kind. Soft mewing
sounds mixed with the slapping of skin filled the cave as their urgency
intensified. Suddenly her whole body seemed to shudder and shake. Her
breathing became a series of short gasps as the heat from her climax reached
its peak. Jason felt her clamp down around him as he poured his essence into
her, his body collapsed forward and he held her tightly to him.

Jason didn't know how long he had held her; all he knew was that the feeling
of her body rhythmically grasping his slowly deflating member, seemingly
trying to milk every last drop of his seed from his body, felt like heaven on
earth.

Then reality kicked in and, realizing whom this might be, he jerked his body
upright, disengaged from her body, sat back, and slowly allowed his breathing
to return to normal.

Jason sensed the woman was no longer prostrate before him, but rather, had
risen to her feet and had left the cave. This was confirmed a few moments
later when the amassed group of warriors let out a triumphant war cry.

"Jason, it's me," Anne whispered as she took his now flaccid member in her
hand and gently began to spread the lubricating gel once again. She lightly
kissed his lips, bit gently on his ear and the knap of his neck; all the time
her hand continued to manipulate his awakening organ.

When she was satisfied that all was ready, she paused and gestured to the
awaiting woman for her to assume the position.

"Jason, she is ready."

He rose onto his knees as she guided him to the proper place. His hands slid
across her smooth skin as he found her hips and prepared to gently enter her.
Instead, at the moment of his first touch, he felt her arms extend below her
and her back and shoulders rise. Suddenly her whole body seemed to surge
backwards, his cock engulfed to the root. Back and forth she rocked with such
force that, instead of his hands gently holding her in place as he thrust into
her, they were holding tightly in an effort to keep himself upright and their
bodies connected.

Repeatedly she pounded into his body, his cock firmly held deeply within her.
There was no other way to put it; he was being fucked and fucked hard. She
showed no signs of letting up and the longer it went on the harder she seemed
to pound him.

Suddenly, Jason felt the familiar signs on his impending crisis rapidly
approaching. His last conscience thought was, 'I hope and pray that this is
not Summer Rain.' Just as he began to cum, his hands joined tightly under her
body and he lifted her off the ground and held her firmly against his body as
spurt after spurt of his baby making seed erupted into her. He held her that
way until he felt her arms collapse under her as her upper body crashed down
to the bedding.

All Jason could do was to release his grip from around her and fall backwards
until he was sitting on his feet. He heard her laughter as she slowly stood
before him; and then, before he could respond, she snatched the blindfold off
his head and allowed him to see once again.

"I wanted you to know for sure who was who. And don't worry about your
performance, I started cumming even before we started and never stopped."

Then, she directed her gaze in Anna's direction. "I hope I'm not pregnant; I'd
really enjoy fucking your man again."

And with that said, she turned and left the cave and moments later, the
familiar war cries filled the air.

___________________________

For the next eleven days, the ceremony continued one warrior per night, until
only Starry Sky remained. At breakfast the next morning, a very weary and sore
Jason stood in line waiting for his breakfast. When it was his turn, Starry,
seeing the pain in his eyes filled his bowl to the brim and said, "After all,
we are going to have to rebuild your strength for tonight." A sad smile
crossed her face as she whispered, "come to my cave tonight, I'll make sure
that we will be left alone."

Later, after breakfast, back in their cave, a quarrel erupted between Jason
and Anna.

"She wants what? I think not, what right does she have to change the rules of
the ceremony."

"Anna, be reasonable, she's only asking for a little more privacy. She doesn't
want this to become a spectacle. After all, she's the oldest person left,
she's over sixty years old, and she's your mother."

"Don't remind me; and what about that bitch of hers, Angry Sky. I thought I
was going to have to rescue you before she killed you or broke it off. Will
she be there?"

"No, Starry confirmed to me that we will be alone."

"Well, I don't like it, not one bit. I'm going to be right outside her cave
until you come out. And if that little bitch takes one step towards that cave
while you are still in there, I will cut her heart out, if I can find it.

"You stay here and rest; I'm going over to her cave and make sure all the
proper arrangements will be ready for tonight."

Jason sat at the entrance to the cave taking in all the activity taking place
in the valley. Crops were being watered, animals were being fed, food was
being prepared, and all the other domestic work for a typical household was
being completed by the women of the village just as it had been for hundreds
and hundreds of years. Only he and Anna knew for sure that it was all going to
change; to what they didn't know, and neither did they know precisely when;
but changes were coming sooner than later.

"Everything's set. Angry Sky and Summer Rain will be on sentry duty tonight so
they will not disturb you. Starry will prepare her bed for you, she already
has a small bowl of gel for you to use. I told her I would be waiting for you
outside her cave. She said that that would not be necessary but I insisted."

_________________

Later that evening, after they had eaten a light meal in their cave, Jason and
Anna prepared to walk over to Starry's cave. On the walk there, Jason asked,

"How many do you think will have to be included in the next ceremony? After
tonight, we'll probably have to start the next one in seven or eight days at
the latest."

"Assuming that at least half of the first timers become pregnant, you will
have at most nineteen women, twenty if you count me; and only seven of the
youngest group."

"Good, we can work it so all of those are centered on the middle of the
fertile period, one a night, and then the rest as needed."

"Jason don't worry about that now, just concentrate on pleasing her tonight."

When they reached her cave, Jason turned to Anna and gave her a long
passionate kiss. During their embrace, he felt her hand slide between their
bodies, find its way under his loincloth, and grasp his flaccid member. When
they finally ended their embrace, it was no longer flaccid.

"There, now everything is ready. I wanted you to make a good first impression
once again. Now get in there; I'll be here waiting when you return."

Jason turned, walked up the short incline to the entrance to her cave and
entered. The interior of the cave was bathed in the soft glow of one small
torch, on the wall just inside the entrance. He could just barely make out the
human form that reclined on her bed, covered by an animal skin.

"Jason, thank you for coming. You do me an undeserved honor by coming here in
such a state." She said as she watched him remove his loincloth and carefully
place it on a small boulder near her bed.

"I told you the day I first met you that you were a noble woman; in my eyes,
nothing has changed." He said as he lifted the blanket off her naked body and
reclined next to her. "It is true that your body is not as tight or as supple
as the first time we did this, but neither is mine. Enough about our lost
youth, let's enjoy the feelings that we can share together, free of judgement
or criticism."

He kissed her gently on the lips and then allowed his kisses to travel to her
neck and down further to her chest. Her breasts were larger than he remembered
and not as firm, but her nipples were already erect, just begging to be
sucked. He suckled on first one and then the other as a soft moan escaped her
lips.

"Oh Jason, if only I had met you forty years ago; the good times we could have
had."

"I would have been crying like the baby that I was, for the lack of milk to
ease my hunger. Now sshh, and let's enjoy the time we have now."

He continued down her body, until he was able to place little kisses all
around her entrance, nibbling on her blood-engorged lips. Her moans became
loader and he felt her pulling on his leg encouraging him to recline next to
her. He knew what she wanted, but was still surprised as she first engulfed
his throbbing member and the lifted his body onto hers as she reclined onto
her back. Now it was his turn to moan as he experienced all the pleasures that
her mouth could offer. Reciprocating, he ran his tongue over and around her
lips and the small mound of flesh that peaked out from under a hood of skin.
He ran his tongue around and around that morsel and was rewarded for his
efforts as she began to scream around the mouthful of flesh on which she was
sucking. Suddenly their bodies began to tremble and each experienced a
mouthful of the love juices of the other.

When Jason's mind began to function clearly again, he gently rolled off her
and reluctantly pulled his still rigid erection out of her mouth. He then spun
himself around until he was facing her.

"Jason, that was wonderful, what were you trying to do, kill me. I thought my
heart was going to explode. As she felt his erection begin to poke her, trying
to get in between her legs, she grasped his throbbing cock and whispered,
"Jason, that's enough for me, I'm sorry, but I can't endure another climax
like that. Please, save that for the others."

Reluctantly he acquiesced to her wishes, slid an arm under her and held her,
his head resting on her shoulder.

"Jason, I'm sorry for how my daughter acted with you. Anna told me all about
it. I am afraid I may have inadvertently misled her as to how she should react
to you, by telling her about my first time with Anna's father. Please do not
judge her too harshly; she is young and inexperienced. Moreover, if she is
lucky enough to not be pregnant this time around, I'll be sure to explain to
her how to act properly.

"Jason, there's something else on my mind. Do you remember our last
conversation; the one on the valley rim?"

"I haven't forgotten. I have been preparing things since that very day, and my
preparations are almost complete. But I'm sorry; I can't tell you anything
more. Just be assured that you will get your wish."

"Thank you, thank you for everything. Now I think it's time for you to go."

Jason emerged from her cave, spied Anna sitting on a boulder not far from the
cave. As he approached her, she stood and opened her arms and hugged him
tightly to her chest.

"That was quick. What happened in there?"

"A gentleman never tells; let's just say that we came to an understanding and
that she will not be taking her turn when the next ceremony begins."

___________________________

For that matter, neither would nine others as well. Four days later, they
awoke to the sounds of nine young warriors congregating outside their cave. As
Jason stood in the doorway looking out at the young warriors laying prostrate
before him, he noticed one with streaks of red mixed in with her otherwise
nearly jet black hair and her best friend, who at that very moment, was
staring at him with a look on her face that suggested that she was less than
happy with the results of her participation in the ceremony.

After breakfast, Jason and Anna returned to the cave to plan the next
ceremony.

"I asked one of the remaining first timers when her bleeding started. She
indicated right on this day." Anna explained placing the first dark rock on
the day of the half moon.

After she had placed the remaining rocks in their proper place, Jason noted,
"That works out great for us. We can have all of the young ones in the heart
of the fertility period; in fact, we can have them each go twice. The first
time will start here on the second day of the fertile period, one each day
until all have been done, and then in the same order for their second time.
That way they each will have one time in the most fertile period."

"As far as the others including myself, maybe we can get some of them to drop
out and therefore, limit the remaining days to only one per night."

"I know of two who will not be participating, one will be Starry, she already
told me she's done. The other is the woman who went first last time." "You
mean Morning Dove." "Is that her name, I never knew it. Yes, she's scared to
death of having another baby."

"That means only eleven will remain for the next ceremony, but that still
means that either you do two on one night or one during the first or last day
of the fertile period. Which would you prefer?"

"If it were up to me I'd choose, you, on both the first and the last day of
the fertile period."

"Jason! Isn't that a little dangerous? I'm not sure I want to have another
baby."

"There are things we can do to limit the danger. We can use the rhythm method.
This means that I cannot cum inside of you less than 3 days before you release
your egg and at least one day after. Therefore, the last day of the fertility
period would be the best of the two days."

"And what about the first day?"

"Well because we don't really have the time or the supplies to determine when
you release your egg, plus the fact that your bleeding period has been less
than regular the last couple of times, I'll just have to either not cum inside
you, in other words pull out before I cum or not have intercourse with you at
all."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of either of those choices. Not that I don't
trust you, but I've seen you when you get really excited; you may just forget
to pull out. And not having sex at all doesn't sound too good either. I have
already spent far too many nights without you. Is there anything else we can
do?"

"Well, there are several other options, but the best as far as I'm concerned
would be mutual oral sex."

"Ok, that sounds good to me. Then it's settled, my turn will be here and
here," she said pointing to the two white stones at either end of the string
of white stones. "The five remaining first, or now second, timers will go
twice in the remaining white stones and the rest of the tribe will go between
the white stones and the black stones."

"Almost forgot, if on any of the nights that are not during the fertile
period, you are feeling extra frisky, it will be my turn again."

"OK, that sounds like a good plan to me."

"Me, too. Let us go tell the council. We only have a few of days before we
have to start again."

___________________________

That is precisely how the ceremony began again. Little did they know that
before Anna had taken her second turn, they or rather Jason, had already
completed his task.

Two weeks later the five second-timers all paid homage to the father of the
child that was growing inside them.

"Jason, I don't want you to leave. I'm going to be so lonely with you being
gone. I know you have your other family to think about and you still have to
complete the preparations for us to leave the valley but its felt so good
having you here again. I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle what's going to
happen here all by myself."

"You'll be fine. You know what is going to happen, and you know that you will
be fine when it does happen. What you do not know is when it will happen. I
want you to be strong, push it out as long as you can. Maria and Carlita will
continue to come here weekly; they will give you updates on how everything is
progressing on our end. Ask them for anything you need, don't worry about the
cost, they will get you anything you feel you need. I just need a little more
time, no more than a year and everything will be ready. Remember I will love
you forever, and the next time we are together will be forever. I'll never
leave you again."

Chapter 6 - Home Coming

It took less than a week to prepare for Jason's return to his home. It was
Carlita who came to the valley and who escorted Jason back up the trail out of
the valley, across the face of the mountain, and down the hiking trail back to
the house. All during their journey, she updated him on the progress they were
making, any problems they had encountered, and what remained to be done.

"And finally, we're going to need a bus."

Jason stopped dead in his tracks. "A bus?"

"Yes, a bus, and someone is going to have to learn to drive it and get a
Commercial Drivers License with a Passenger endorsement. You need that in
order to drive a bus that is going to carry more than 15 people including the
driver. Right now, the tribe has twenty-seven people. By the time we need it;
there will probably be at least fourteen more plus the driver, plus at least
three, possibly five, more. That's forty-five people; we're going to need a
big bus."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"How'd you expect to bring them all from here, all the way across the valley,
and to the reservation, walk?"

"See, that's why I need the both of you. You guys see and think about the
things that I miss working on the big picture. You see the trees, while I'm
looking at the forest."

"We didn't think about it, the girls did."

It took them less than five minutes to reach the cutoff from the trail that
led up to their house. Jason's level of anticipation was reaching critical
mass as he opened the front door. Instead of being swamped by two high school
teenagers and a very affectionate wife, the house appeared to be empty. Jason
turned Carlita, "Where is everybody?"

"I'm not sure where Maria is, but the girls are spending tonight and tomorrow
night with friends from school. It's homecoming weekend, and there's a lot
happening at school, including a bonfire tonight and the big football game
against their archrival tomorrow."

Jason was momentarily depressed; he had so wanted to hug his two girls that
his heart ached.

"Jason, Let's go upstairs, maybe Maria fell asleep waiting for us."

Just as they reached the second floor landing, Jason caught a glimpse of Maria
running into his bedroom. When they reached the doorway, Jason abruptly
stopped. There was Maria, stretched out seductively across the bed, her
nakedness not quite concealed by the bedsheet.

"Well, what are you waiting for, strip, get into the shower and wash two
months of your latest conquests off that sexy body of yours. You have ten
minutes; if you're not out here and in our bed by then, we are coming in there
to drag you out."

He made it in eight. There was no fooling around, no make believe ceremony,
just three loving adults satisfying the hunger in their hearts for one
another. Their lovemaking lasted well into the wee hours of the morning and
resumed in the early afternoon of the following day after a quick, naked
breakfast.

As they lay in bed trying to decide what they wanted to eat for dinner, Jason
broke the silence, "who do I have to thank for this glorious welcome home?"

"Actually it was the girls' idea. They figured something like this might
happen and felt it best to give us as much privacy as we felt we needed."
"Yeah," chimed in Carlita, "but when I told them that maybe two days would not
be enough and that they should call ahead so they wouldn't catch us doing it
on the living room floor; they responded, 'eew TMI, next time just get a room
somewhere.' Then they burst out laughing and said that they would see us early
Sunday morning, so we had better have gotten it out of our systems. 'Besides,
at Daddy's age, after two months of having sex every day, we'd better get back
here so that he doesn't have a heart attack.'"

___________________________

The following morning, Jason was shocked out of a very pleasant dream by two,
barely seventeen year olds, as they jumped onto the bed and smothered him with
kisses. In his mind, he thanked Maria and Carlita for suggesting that he wear
pajamas to bed when they finally settled in for the night.

By later that afternoon, everything had more or less gotten back to normal,
just below the status of organized chaos. Jason had retreated to his office
and was reviewing the latest status report on the "Hawke Tribe Village" as the
project had become known as. He added the acquisition of a bus and the
training of its driver to the ever-growing list of things to be done. The big
question was how much time did he have left. If nature ran its usual course,
the babies would be born in July and August. Could Anna hold the tribe
together there in the valley until after the last of the babies were born? It
would be a whole lot easier to bring the babies and their mothers out of the
valley after their birth than it would be to bring fourteen very pregnant
women up out of the valley and across the mountain trail.

The next day, after the girls had gone to school, the three of them traveled
to the other side of the valley to visit the job site.

Jason could not believe the progress that had been made in the three months
since his last inspection. Half of the houses were already completed and
landscaped. The remaining houses were in various stages of completion, with no
more than a month or two of final construction left to do. The community
center building was a beehive of activity; tile was being laid; rooms were
being painted; the gym equipment had been delivered and was being moved into
place. Outside, the pool area was still in the late construction stage,
however the plantings that shielded the pool area from the community road
behind the building were in place, as was the ornate wall that ran between the
plantings and the road. When it was finally completed, Jason was confident
that this area would be the most used area in the entire complex.

As they were returning to their car, the construction supervisor assured them,

"We'll have everything done and approved by early spring; you'll have your
certificate of occupancy no later the May 15th. We'll clean up any punch list
items by the end of June."

'I hope we have that long;' was on the mind of each of them as they traveled
back to the house.

___________________________

"But why do I have to take the driver's license test, you're going to actually
drive the bus?"

"Maria, it's only fair, besides you know how bad I am at taking tests. What
happens if I flunk the test? I can handle anything on the road that has
eighteen wheels or less, but what if I freeze up on the test. Come on, it will
be just like when we were in high school. No one will ever know. Besides,
Jason said that we are only renting the bus for a couple of months, just long
enough for me to take my road test and for the night of the exodus from the
valley. He said, at that point we'll have no need for such a large bus, maybe
just a commuter van that holds ten to twelve people at the most."

___________________________

The next several months seemed to fly by. Jason received weekly reports as to
any problems that the builders encountered, however, he was assured that this
was nothing out of the ordinary and that they would meet their targeted
completion dates.

In the meantime, Maria and Carlita alternated their weekly trips up to the
valley. In late April, Maria reported that the atmosphere was becoming more
tense with each visit. That Anna was having a harder time than ever trying to
keep the peace between the sixteen pregnant warriors and the rest of the
tribe.

"Tell Jason to please hurry; I'm not sure how much time we have left. If we
can get through the month of May, I will be able to argue that the trip will
be too dangerous for pregnant women. That will give us to the end of August,
but after that, all bets are off. Tell him I love him and have faith in him."

___________________________

In mid-May, Jason received the Certificate of Occupancy for the project, and
control of the site was turned over to him. This brought to the surface a
whole new set of problems; and, just as the seemingly benign seating
arrangements become more and more troublesome the nearer to the day of a
wedding, the living arrangements for members of the tribe suddenly became the
most important and most frustrating task at hand.

Carlita had a list of all the names of the current tribal members and their
relationships to each other. A plus sign followed the name of each pregnant
woman.

"I think we should start by having each pregnant woman living with her mother
if she's still alive. That way the grandmother can provide help and guidance
with the newly born babies."

"I agree with Maria, plus there won't be the problem of privacy since there
are no men involved, at least at the beginning."

"Ok, I agree with both of you. I would like to scatter these families around
the entire village; leaving several houses empty in each cluster. This way, if
needed, the grandmothers can be relocated to an empty house close to her
daughter and grandchild, if necessary"

"Agreed," chimed in the two women. Then an uneasy silence settled over the
room.

After several minutes, Maria finally broke the silence.

"That leaves the seven of us."

"Seven?"

"Yes; you, Anna and Summer Rain, Carlita and Becky, and Jenny and me; how are
we going to live?"

"I've been so busy overseeing everything else that I haven't really given that
much thought."

"Well, Anna, Maria and I have. We have talked about this for several months
and think we have come up with a solution that will make everyone involved
happy. However, we want to hear your thoughts about it as well. We want the
four of us to live together. You and Anna will share the master bedroom; Maria
will have the front bedroom; and I will have the side bedroom."

"What about our kids?"

"Becky and Jenny will be heading off to college at the end August. They have
indicated that they want to live on campus. When they do come home on breaks,
they can share one of the spare houses. It will be a growing experience for
them; besides, they both plan to live here after they graduate. They want to
be part of all this."

"And what about Summer Rain?"

"Anna feels that the last thing she wants to do is live with her mother. She
and Angry Sky feel that they are adults and should be allowed to live
together, along with their babies."

"What does Anna have to say about all this? I've always assumed that once we
were together again that we would live the rest of our lives as husband and
wife."

"She's the one who first brought it up. She has been forced to be on her own
for so long, she feels she needs all of us, here close to her, to be her
family."

"And what do you want?"

"Of course, we'd be more than willing to share you with her. Maria added. "We
were thinking that you'd sleep with her most of the time; and maybe once a
week or so, you'd come visit one of us."

Carlita injected, "who knows, maybe, if the mood suits us, we'll all get
together for an old fashioned orgy, just like we used to talk about when we
first began living together."

"Do I get a say in all this?"

"Of course you do; we just assumed that you wouldn't want to disappoint any of
your three wives."

"Then I guess it's settled, the four of us will live together as husband and
wives. What will the rest of the tribe say about that?"

"We don't care. Rank has its privileges. Besides, they are going to have
enough on their plates; adjusting to a whole new way of life, learning a new
language, caring for their young children."

"Then I guess I'd better get a hold of our interior decorator, we're going to
need a whole lot of new furniture, starting with three king-sized beds."

___________________________

By the end of July, after an almost continuous caravan of furniture delivery
trucks, the entire community was completely furnished; all punch list items
were taken care of, and all was ready. All they needed now was the call from
the valley.

____________________

The call came three weeks later in the form of a daytime visit from Anna.
Jason was in his office packing the remaining files from his desk into boxes,
which would be transferred to his community center office when the house was
finally sold. Suddenly the silence of the empty house was shattered by the
frantic ringing of the front door bell.

When Jason opened the door, Anna burst into tears and threw herself into his
arms.

"I've done everything I can do to delay the inevitable, but today I was told
in no uncertain terms that I was to get in contact with you and inform you
that we can no longer live in the valley; and that you were to do everything
that you could do to rescue us. Is everything ready?"

"Have all the babies been born?"

"Yes, there are fourteen more mouths to feed. Right now the mothers are
getting enough food to support themselves and their babies; but that won't
last for long."

"Okay, everything is ready at our end. Today is Saturday, I want you to go
back to the valley and have everyone prepare to leave on Wednesday night. Have
them pack only the things that they can easily carry. Don't worry about any
clothes or bedding, we will have plenty of that in their new homes. As far as
the animals are concerned, slaughter any animals that can be eaten and have
everyone eat well between now and Wednesday. Release any that can live on
their own in the wild. Store everything else in the caves. If we discover that
we need anything, we can always return to the valley and carry out what we
need.

"Do the mothers have anyway of easily carrying the babies, keeping their hands
free in case of an emergency?"

"No, we have never really had a need for anything like that."

"No problem, we'll bring baby wraps with us. The mother or whoever is carrying
the baby puts it on and places the baby inside resting against her breasts.
It's comfortable and reassuring for the baby and allows the carrier free use
of her arms and hands. Don't worry, everything will be fine. We'll get
everyone down from the valley and to their new home safely with minimal
disturbance to the babies."

"And then what?"

"That we'll have to take one step at a time."

Chapter 7 - The Exodus

On Wednesday morning, a big bright shiny bus backed its way up the street and
parked in front of Jason's house. Five people, four females and one male
exited the bus. All were dressed in hiking clothes and boots and all carried
large back packs seemingly stuffed to the brim. To the casual hiker, they
appeared to be over-outfitted for the degree of difficulty that the trail
presented. They paid no attention to those who stared at them and continued up
the trail until they reached the spring pond.

From there, the five headed east across the face of the mountain and soon
disappeared into the rugged landscape. However, they were under the constant
observation of the two sentries who, through the calls of a lone coyote,
passed along the group's progress to those eagerly awaiting word of their
arrival.

Anna and Starry Sky met them at the top of the trail that led down to the
valley below. After exchanging greetings, Jason asked Anna,

"Is everything ready here?"

"Almost, the animals have been taken care of. The crops have been turned over
and will eventually die away. We are working on the flow of water that enters
the valley floor. When we're done it should provide just enough water for the
trees to survive, so that from above, the trees will continue to hide what
we've done to the valley floor."

"Good. How are the babies and their mothers? Are they ready to travel?"

"Yes, ready and eager. We have decided that, once we get to the spring, the
grandmothers will carry the babies in the center of the group. The mothers
being the youngest and the strongest of the tribe will provide protection on
the outside of the group. You and I will lead the tribe down the trail until
we reach your house. From there, everyone will be in your hands. We'll also
have scouts about five minutes ahead of us making sure that the coast is
clear."

"Sounds good, we brought the baby carriers and outer clothes for everyone. We
can't have the tribe moving as a group down the trail dressed in moccasins and
a loincloth. If we run into anyone on the trail or on the road to the village
we don't want to call any more attention to ourselves than we will already be
doing."

___________________________

By nine o'clock, Jason determined that it was as dark as it was going to get
and called everyone together.

"All right, everyone. We will travel in single file until we get to the spring
pond. From there we will form our protective formation until we get to the
house; and remember no talking and keep the babies as quiet as possible. I
don't think we will see anyone on the trail, but if we do, please do not
attack without provocation. Anyone we encounter will be more scared of us than
we will be of them. Just keep quiet and keep walking. Let's go."

With Jason leading the way, forty-five individuals from the age of less than a
month to somewhere in her middle sixties made their way up the hidden trail to
the rim of the valley. They traveled single file across the face of the
mountain until they reached the spring pond. They were fortunate that the moon
was full, easily illuminating their way. Jason took it as a positive sign of
good things to follow.

They paused briefly on the hiking trail to allow those carrying the babies to
group together in the middle, while the young mothers, their knives on their
hips, took up positions on both flanks and their rear. Jason and Anna took the
lead, followed close behind by Summer Rain and Angry Sky each holding their
babies, trailed closely by Starry Sky.

The journey from the valley to the cutoff to Jason's house took a little over
two hours. The entire group circled around the house until they reached the
street and then suddenly stopped. The bus looked absolutely huge in the
moonlight. While Carlita climbed in and opened the rear door, Jason tried to
reassure the group.

"This is nothing to fear. You are all great warriors; this is the first of
many obstacles that you are going to have to overcome if you want to live as
we do. Maria, Carlita, Jenny, Becky, Anna and myself will be right here with
you, all the way to our new home. Nevertheless, this is the first step on that
journey. Come, your new home waits."

Each of the girls led small groups of the young mothers to the doors, up the
stairs and into the bus. Anna and Maria were stationed in the aisle, trying to
sooth their frazzled nerves, telling them to find a seat and prepare for the
ride ahead of them. It took considerably longer than Jason had anticipated
getting all the members of the tribe seated. Finally, they were all set; Jason
gave a slight nod to Carlita, who turned the key and pushed the starter button
and the bus engine rumbled to life.

Jason stood briefly in the front of the bus. He could see the fear in the eyes
of those immediately around him. He reassured them once again that everything
was going to be fine, and warned them that Carlita was going to shut the
lights and that they were going to begin their journey.

As the bus slowly made its way down the street and turned onto the road that
would leave his neighborhood, Jason was reminded of Joshua's dream as
described in his will; he quickly turned as the trail briefly came into view.
Was it his imagination, or was there a lone figure standing in the shadows,
waving goodbye.

Carlita, true to her word, could handle anything with eighteen wheels or less,
and had little trouble guiding the bus along the nearly deserted roads across
the Valley of the Sun. After a little over an hour of driving, she turned the
bus into the entrance of the Hawke Tribe Village. There was a brightly lit
waterfall, with water cascading down a terraced wall on one side of the
entrance. Jason pressed his remote and the iron gate slowly opened allowing
Carlita access to the complex. She drove down the palm tree lined access road
to the front of the Community Center. The lights were still on, illuminating
the entrance and the large foyer beyond the doors.

"All right everybody, we're here; Please follow me."

One by one everyone left the bus. As each person first set foot on the ground,
they paused and looked up in amazement at the large glass and steel entrance
to the building and, particularly at the sculpture of the large hawk, its
wings spread wide, staring down at the newcomers from its perch mounted over
the entrance.

"This way please; come don't be frightened, this is your new home, and there
is nothing to fear here."

When Jason had them all gathered in the banquet hall of the facility he began
to speak once again.

"We'll be spending the night here. There are plenty of mattresses and
blankets. This is just for tonight. Tomorrow, we will get you settled into
your own houses. It is too late to do that tonight. Anna, Carlita, Maria,
Becky, Jenny and I will be here to answer any questions and get you anything
you need."

At that moment, the silence was broken by the piercing cry of one of the
infants.

"See, one of you is brave enough to ask for what she wants. Come, we will see
to her comfort. You others, pick out a place to spend the night and make
yourself comfortable."

After about an hour, after a quick lesson in basic feminine hygiene, and
several detailed demonstrations of how the toilet facilities worked, the tribe
settled in for the night.

They say that every journey starts with the first step. The tribe had taken a
great leap that first night, but the journey into the modern world would
require hundreds of tiny steps, and years of patience.

Epilogue:

Jason walked the dark halls of the community center as he often did on the
nights when he could not sleep. Everything was quiet: the sun was probably an
hour away from clearing the horizon. He could just make out the upper peaks of
the Superstition Mountains far to the east.

It was hard to believe that today marked the twentieth anniversary of that
special night. The night that the tribe had left the valley and settled here.
The night that he had fulfilled what he had been destined to achieve more than
one hundred years before he was born. Getting the tribe here had not been the
hard part; the hard part was the assimilation of the tribe into the modern
world. The learning of a new language, the use of modern technologies, the
acceptance of a new culture and new people; these were the problems that had
to be overcome and which led to many times of frustration, but also to many
moments of laughter as well.

To see the entire tribe sitting on the floor in the community schoolroom,
their eyes fixed on the large television mounted on the wall for hours and
hours watching Sesame Street and Mr. Rodgers. The numerous times that the
plumber had to be called to clear out one of the toilets because one of the
mothers had tried to flush a soiled baby diaper down the toilet. Getting the
women to adhere to the dress code, which stated that all women must wear a
shirt and a pair of shorts while walking to and from the pool area and their
home, proved to be particularly distracting for the landscaping crew as they
did their work around the village grounds, and which caused more than a few
accidents?

As a group, they did fairly well; some better than others. Starry Sky, the
last of her generation, saw little need to try to learn a new language. The
next generation, which included Anna, Maria and Carlita, learned key phases
and could make themselves understood and, when the situation suited them, they
could understand as well. It was Summer Rain and Angry Sky's generation that
adapted the fastest to their new surroundings. However, it was the infants
that benefited the most. They became bilingual almost as quickly as they could
learn to speak. They grew into the electronics age without missing a step, and
became the interpreters and instructors for the older generations.

Not that everything went smoothly. There were some times when the tribal
council brought demands from disgruntled members of the middle two generations
to Jason and Anna's attention.

"They want what!" Jason said to his wives at the breakfast table one morning.

"They want access to men once in a while. They are jealous of us sharing you.
They need sex, and since there are no men here other than you, they want you
to do something about it."

"We can't have them going out among the rest of the community yet; they're not
ready. Who knows what kind of trouble they could get into? They could ruin
everything for all of us."

"They understand that. What Carlita and Maria suggested and what they seemed
to be in agreement with, is that we bring in, on a regular basis, a group of
male escorts, sort of like a bachelorette party, maybe once a month or so. We
could use the community center's banquet hall, set up temporary screened-off
rooms and using those mattresses that we used that first night. "

"Absolutely not; I won't have this village turned into some sort of brothel."

"Well, what's the alternative? Are you going to hold another ceremony once a
month?"

"No, of course not. I guess you're right; but we will have to keep it low key.
I do not want our girls involved. We can set up a baby-sitting service for
those who need it. Maybe even having sleep overs with the grandmothers
watching them."

"Ok," said Carlita, "Maria and I will set everything up. I think ten guys
should be enough."

___________________________

The party took place three weeks later and featured ten male escorts from the
largest escort service that Phoenix had to offer. Jason made sure to lay down
the ground rules as to health and safety requirements and restrictions on the
use of drugs and alcohol. The business end of the occasion was negotiated to
the satisfaction of both parties and a time limit was set.

The event was attended by all of the adult women, with twenty-four
participating in the after the dancing portion of the evening. By three
o'clock in the morning, every escort had been visited by numerous very horny
women and were totally exhausted as they staggered out to their cars. The
event was considered an overwhelming success; but after several days to
reconsider, it was decided by all involved that once every six months would be
sufficient.

___________________________

One day, shortly after celebrating their fifth year in the Village, an excited
Anna approached Jason.

"I can't believe I forgot all about it."

"Forgot about what, dear?"

"Do you remember me telling you about the hidden cave on the other end of the
valley? The one in which they held the male prisoner. I can't believe I
completely forgot about it at the time we were getting ready to leave. I never
got a chance to try to find it."

"Yes, I remember; everything was so hectic back then that I completely forgot
about it as well."

"I was talking to Morning Dove a few hours ago. I asked her if she ever saw an
entrance to a cave along that wall of the valley."

"Why ask her about it?"

"That was the side of the valley that she was assigned to when she stood
sentry duty. She told me that she never actually saw the entrance to a cave,
but from her sentry post on the rim of the valley she used to throw rocks down
into the valley trying to hit what looked like a hole about ten feet from the
valley floor."

"Could she show us where it is?"

"That's just it, whenever she went down into the valley, she could never find
it. The only time she could see it was from above."

"What if we were to walk along the valley wall, while she stood where her post
was; does she think she could guide us to the spot?"

"There's only one way to find out. The three of us are going to have to go up
there and try."

"Tomorrow's Monday, there's usually fewer people using the hiking trail after
the weekend. We'll leave here first thing in the morning."

___________________________

They got to the trail by nine o'clock the following morning. There were only
two other car's in the parking lot. Although all three of them were nearly
fifty year of age, they had little trouble getting to the valley rim.

"I'll go over to my old sentry post while you two head down to the valley
floor and cross over to the back wall on the side were the bathroom was; then
start walking towards me. I'll tell you when to stop."

When everyone was in position, Jason and Anna started to walk towards her
keeping one eye on her and one eye on the valley wall. Morning Dove started
picking up small stones and began throwing them towards where she thought the
hole was.

"I see it," she yelled down to them." Keep coming my way. That's it you are
almost right in front of it. Stop, it's right in front of you."

Jason and Anna started to climb up the embankment to the base of the wall.
Anna's experienced eye saw the telltale signs of man's hand changing what
nature had created.

"Jason, we found it. Look it's like the others only this one seems to have
collapsed a little. That's why she was able to see it from above. Hand me a
flashlight."

With flashlights in hand, they entered the cave. The floor was littered with
small stones, the handiwork of Morning Dove no doubt, and there were spider
webs in various parts of the cave, but for not being used in a very long time,
it appeared to be in very good shape.

On one side of the cave there were the remnants of a bed; the vegetation and
animal skin blanket were completely dried out and covered with dust. Jason's
light fell upon what appeared to be a pile of objects that seemed to be placed
almost as a monument to their owner. Carefully using the flashlight to lift
the top object he turned to Anna.

"Looks like a loincloth."

"What's that," she asked, pointing to a large leather belt folded onto itself.

"If I'm not mistaken it's a gun belt and a gun." He said as he carefully
unfolded the dried out leather. "Look, there's something written on the
inside, there's initials, ZH, this belonged to Ezekiel Hawke. He was here,
we've got the proof."

"What's that, it looks like some sort of book."

"Give me a little more light." He said as he placed his flashlight down so he
could use two hands to pick up the book and carefully open it.

"It's a journal. The journal of Ezekiel Hawke."

While he was slowly placing each of the treasures that they had found into his
backpack, Anna reached down to pick up a small leather pouch, which had been
hidden under the journal. Pulling on the drawstring, she carefully opened the
pouch and spilled its contents into her hand.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"I've only seen one metal that shines like that. It must be. Zeke indeed found
his gold. Too bad he was never able to profit from it like his father had
done."

Putting the gold back into the pouch, she placed it in Jason's backpack and
they quickly swept the rest of the cave for anything else of value. Finding
nothing, they turned and left the cave, signaling to Morning Dove that they
had found what they were looking for and that they were coming up.

After a cursory look around the rest of the valley, seeing that nothing
appeared to be disturbed, they climbed the hidden trail back up to the rim and
joined her. After a quick explanation as to what they found, the three hikers
headed back the way they had come. It was a very jubilant pair of treasure
seekers that joined Carlita and Maria at the dining room table.

While the women examined the rest of the items, Jason began to read the
journal. The beginning pages detailed life at the mine. How the miners
suffered from the heat, the occasional cave-ins, and the daily boredom of the
work.

Jason skipped over some blank pages and discovered what he had hoped he would
find.

"My name is Ezekiel Hawke. I was captured by female warriors and held as a
prisoner. I don't know if any of the others that were with me survived, I
doubt it. The only one who could have gotten away was Samuel Strong. I had
sent him to town to pick up supplies just before the attack occurred. I hope
he made it.

At first, I thought they were going to kill me too; but when they brought me
to who appears to be the tribal priestess; she explained to me in the language
of my mother's people that no harm would come to me if I obeyed their rules
and performed well. When I asked what they wanted me to do, she would only say
that it would done during the full moon.

I had never been with a woman before that first night. They say that too much
of a good thing is almost as bad as not having enough. Let me tell you it is a
whole lot worse. They had me take four of the young warriors that first night,
and only let me stop when I could no longer perform. Then it started again the
next night and every night there after until all had had a turn.

Then I was allowed to rest until the next full moon. I was only told that it
was my task to get every young warrior pregnant. This went on for nearly eight
months before any of them became pregnant. It took three more months before
all of them were pregnant. Once they were all pregnant, I thought that they
would allow me to leave. The priestess explained to me that none of previous
males had ever been allowed to leave. She had argued on my behalf that I
should be allowed to remain in the valley if I did what they told me, worked
hard and promised to not be with any of the women until the next time they
needed me.

I have watched the ten babies that I helped make, grow into young beautiful
women. How can they ask me to do that with them? It would be wrong, against
everything I was taught.

I have been told that the ceremony, as they have called it, will take place
again in six more moons. I don't think I'm going to last that long. I can't
work as hard as I used to. If I work for too long a time, I can't breathe. At
times, if I bend over and then straighten up, I get dizzy and practically fall
over. I've noticed something new, my ankles and feet are beginning to swell if
I stay on my feet for too long.

God help me, I only have one moon left before I have to do it again. I do not
want to do it; it will kill me for sure. Either way I'm going to die."

Jason looked up; the three women were looking at him as if they knew.

"When we saw the tears begin to run down your cheeks we knew it was over.

___________________________

Jason was brought back to the moment as he turned at the end of the hallway.
Directly across from him was the entrance to Ancestry Hall. Opening one of the
double doors, he stepped into the room, triggering the lights to turn on. He
stood at the entrance, his gaze moved slowly around the room. Carlita had
worked her magic once again. The mural ran completely around the room,
starting at a height of five feet off the floor and stretched upwards to the
twelve-foot-high ceiling. It depicted life in the valley. She had managed to
incorporate the likenesses of nearly everyone who had lived there during her
lifetime and at Anna's urging, she had placed a pair of identical teenaged
twins, walking hand in hand with a red haired teenager. 'His future wives,'
Jason thought as a smile came to his face.

Scattered around the room were display cases, revealing the story of the
tribe. Joshua Hawke had a large display. His biography was prominently
displayed, as well as a copy of his will and the story that it told. The
journal of Samuel Strong was featured in the next case. In the next case were
the belongings of Ezekiel Hawke, his Colt Peacemaker and holster, along with
his loincloth and his pouch of gold. Centered on the top shelf was his
journal, brief as it was, it told the story of how the tribe had survived to
the present day.

Next came the case displaying the research notes of Jason and Maria, along
with a narrative written by Jason about his quest from its start to its
ultimate ending. There was also a family tree, which depicted Joshua and his
decedents and followed as best as Maria could show it, how each generation was
related to the next. It was the craziest family tree that Jason had ever seen;
especially when it came down to him, his children, and his children by his
children; not to mention his three wives.

Finally, there was a bookcase containing books written about the Pima and the
Hohokam Indians and two computer workstations for additional research. In the
center of the room was a long conference table and chairs, along with two
groupings of casual chairs for reading or just meditation and contemplation.

Noise coming from the kitchen broke Jason's train of thought. With a contented
sigh, he turned, shut the lights, and went to investigate what the commotion
was all about.

When he entered the kitchen he discovered that nothing was out of the
ordinary, it was just the morning crew coming to work to begin the
preparations for breakfast for sixty tribesmen and guests. They would also be
preparing the banquet hall for this evening's event.

___________________________

Jason sat at the head table along with Anna, Maria, and Carlita. As he gazed
out over the assembled tribe and guests, he could not help the feeling of
pride that filled his heart. These were his people and he was proud of all of
them and what they had accomplished. He also realized that of the original
members of the tribe that had left the valley that night, thirty-nine
remained, and of those, twenty-eight were his children.

Satisfied that it was time, he stood and moved to the podium.

"May I have your attention please?" When everyone became quiet, he began to
speak.

"I want to thank you all for coming tonight. This is truly a momentous
occasion. We are here to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of our tribe's
exodus from the valley and our entrance into the modern world. Ladies and
gentlemen, and I couldn't always say that, I would like you all to rise for a
moment of silence as we give thanks to the Great Spirit for guiding us along
our journey."

The entire room rose as one and a moment of silence was observed.

"Thank you, please remain standing as we remember those who have passed before
us, those whose ashes remain in the valley of the dead, but whose spirits have
joined with the Great Spirit. I would also like to add to those, Starry Sky,
who is the only member to pass over from those who first settled here with us.

"Thank you.

"Something like what we have accomplished is not the result of one person. I
would like to thank the three women that are seated at the table with me.
Without their help, none of this would have been possible. Please stand when I
call your name. Anna, Soaring Eagle, the last High Priestess of the tribe, my
first wife, was given a daunting task as a child. She was sent to live among
the moderns to learn their language and their ways. Then she returned to the
tribe to learn the language and the ways of the tribe. She was also given the
knowledge that she was destined to be the last High Priestess and would see
the tribe leave the valley. She lived her life among you, knowing what was
going to happen, but not knowing when. It was her task to hold the tribe
together until everything was ready.

"Maria and Carlita, the twins who were banished from the tribe at their birth
and grew up with Anna as sisters; they were given the task of assisting their
sister from afar. They were told to look for the one who was going to be
searching for the tribe and to steer him towards his goal. They did a superb
job and once they succeeded, were asked to be my keepers. I thank the Great
Spirit that they were able to convince me that it would be far better for us
all to become lovers and ultimately, they too, became my wives.

"Jenny and Becky Hawke, my loving daughters; they had to put up with our most
unusual family life; always having to explain why their mothers had the same
husband. They volunteered to become part of this tribe, first as young helpers
during those first days here. Then, after their education, they came back to
live and work among us. Jenny, or should I say Dr. Jennifer Hawke has run our
clinic for the last ten years. Becky Hawke has been the only teacher that our
school has ever had. She has educated both children and adults for over
fifteen years.

"I think they all deserve our profound thanks for a job well done."

When the applause died down, he continued.

"We have come a long way in the last twenty years. I will go by generation
starting with the eldest. Starry Sky was the only one of her generation to
leave the valley. As an elder of the tribe, she felt she was too old to learn
a new language, but that did not stop her from helping in the kitchen and the
school whenever she could. She adored all the children, especially her
daughter, Angry Sky and her granddaughter. On a personal note, 'Starry, I kept
my promise.'

"The next generation, who I'll call, the first warriors, were twenty-two when
I first met them. They had never met a man before and were very curious
indeed. 'Right, Morning Dove'. They came to our village as grandmothers,
already set in their ways. Yet, all eventually learned English and most
received their high school equivalency certificates. They worked here in the
village, some in the kitchen, some in the gym and spa, some as guards at the
entry gate, and some as lifeguards at the pools.

"The next generation can only be called the impatient ones. For them the
modern world was an ever-present temptress calling to them. They grew up fast
and were very opinionated. Moreover, thanks to Angry Sky and Summer Rain, they
were the most knowledgeable in the relations between a man and a woman of all
the generations before the ceremony. They were the catalysts for the exodus
from the valley, and once here, they adapted quickly to the modern world. So
much so, that several of them left the village choosing to live totally in the
modern world. Some married and had additional children. All have returned here
for tonight's celebration and I am pleased to say that several have indicated
that they would like to return to the village. Know that all are welcome to
return.

"Finally, we have the babies. They came here as infants, having never known
anything of life in the valley. They have had the easiest time adapting to
life in the modern world. They grew up speaking two languages, English, the
language they were taught in preschool and school, and Pima, the first
language of their mothers and grandmothers. They grew up with all the modern
conveniences and have seen first-hand the technology revolution. They
graduated from our school, went on to high school and college, some will go on
even further as well. They are truly adults of the twenty-first century.

"One more note, one of the babies, the child of Summer Rain and her husband,
Michael, is the first male child to be born to any member of our tribe in at
least one hundred years. Anna's grandmother, Running Deer, told us that no
male child had ever been born in her lifetime. And, no, he does not have red
hair. It is a good thing that he was not born up in the valley, can you
imagine what his life would have been like having thirteen sisters all the
same age. Life certainly would never have been boring that is for sure. I
almost forgot, they have named him Joshua.

"One more thing, while you're here, take some time to study our history in our
Ancestry Hall. For you husbands and boyfriends in the group, it will be
especially useful in understanding what motivates the actions of your wives or
girlfriends.

"On that note I'd like to close my remarks, so we can enjoy all the great food
and drinks that have been provided for us.

"As of this moment, I declare that our transition into the modern world is
complete."

The End

I want to thank you for reading my story. I would appreciate any comments that
you care to make. This has been my COVID 19 story. It has been what has kept
me sane for all these months.

SR

Submissiveromantcione(at)Gmail(dot)com