Instead, she had found dense green forests lazy, rolling hills majestic rock formations winding rivers and lucid, sparkling streams. She remembered the tales she had heard about huge, strange beasts and heathen red savages who ran around half-naked, performing terrible rituals and deeds against the whites and other tribes. She laughed lightly to herself as she recalled visualizing vast wastelands and tangled forests, filled with clutching vines and thick underbrush. She was thinking of how very different it was here from what she had imagined or had been told. She inhaled the fresh breeze from the surrounding forest that gently blew over the tall, spiked fence and through the slightly open gate, cooling its occupants as they labored and played. The men had insisted on speed, size and style to provide the needed protection against weather and the precious privacy denied on the trail.

She recalled how quickly and efficiently the cabins had been constructed. Only the varying colors of curtains fluttering in and out of open windows or a rugged work bench attached to the side wall of certain cabins marked minute differences to the naked eye. The bright sun beamed down on the fortress yard, which was cluttered by many one-room cabins, each an exact replica of the ones surrounding it. The fragrant scents of verdant nature and late spring flowers floated in the balmy air. Alisha opened the door to their small, one-room cabin and stepped outside to absorb the warmth of the sunlight.

Savage Ecstasy by Janelle Taylor