the four of them traded patrols in a rotation that kept someone watching over the city most of the time. They did nothing against the scavengers that invaded Huntington, looking for scraps and leftovers, but they _did_ actively intervene when any of them tried to cross the river, or came towards their enclave from the Ohio side. Several times over those days they worked on the power, they had all heard the report of a plasma rifle being discharged, as the sentry fired down in front of scavengers from the airbike to scare them away. The airbike's scanners could easily pick up scavengers with its onboard scanner, so there was no way they could sneak up on the enclave. Jason tightened their patrol to ignore most of Huntington and focus mainly on watching over Chesapeake, virtually allowing the sentry to park the bike over the houses of Chesapeake and get everything within a mile in any direction in scanning range, because what happened in Huntington really no longer concerned them. They had everything that they wanted out of the city, and what was left was available to anyone who could find it. Some of the old gang members were very angry, because they couldn't find any guns left behind; Symone had been _very_ thorough. But there was little they could do. Everyone in the enclave now had a pistol and rifle, and they were armed at all times. That would matter if they could even get close enough to threaten anyone, because the airbike was over them and they got plasma rained down on them as they tried to get close. And then, even if they got to the edge of the settlement, there was the fact that there were the _traps_. Those gang members still remembered the nasty traps Jason had devised, and they had no idea where any of them were now, since there were many more people over on that side of the river. If they even lived to reach the outer edge of the community, they'd have to deal with armed opponents when they had nothing but homemade weapons.

The strangest part was seeing the scavengers, some of which were old gang members, standing on the West Virginia bank of the river and looking over in the evening hours, just before sunset, and seeing houses with _electric lights_ going. Even from across the river, some of them could almost hear them sighing.

The sensor system was first on the list of things needed after getting power restored. That was simple enough to set up, for they already had a sensor array in a position to do the job. It could _easily_ perform the double duty of scanning the valley while it defeated Faey attempts to scan the area for Faey-origin materials and energy signatures. Jason, Tim, and Steve set that up before they started working on the power, because all it took was a little programming of the sensor array to stagger cycles of sweeping the valley with searching for Faey sensor sweeps, and a protocol that told it to stop scanning the valley if it detected a Faey pulse inbound and devote all resources to defeating the pulse. The sensor fed its data back to Jason's panel, letting him see the movement of absolutely everyone from either side of the valley, and about ten miles in both directions in the valley proper. It was also set up to broadcast a warning if it detected any activity in the "danger area" inside a mile of community's defined boundaries on all sides but the river, and using the far bank of the river as its border on that side, so it wouldn't go off when scavengers were going through downtown Huntington. It broadcast the alert using the same frequency that the old downtown gang's radios used, which let anyone with a radio hear the warning. There were enough radios for every person to carry one, so everyone would immediately know if someone was approaching them. There was some trouble with it at first because it was going off any time anything larger than a large dog got in the danger zone, but Jason and Steve worked out a sensor filter that only caused it to react to anything human-shaped, the presence of firearms or PPGs, or the movement of any mass greater than five hundred pounds. That would catch squatters, Faey in armor, their weapons, drones, and any vehicle moving towards them.

Temika came back two days after they got power restored, and she wasn't alone. Not only that, she had three huge barrels tied to the undercarriage of her airbike, hanging by thick ropes. She landed outside Jason's house with an older fellow on the back of her bike, whom Jason immediately recognized as Doc Northwood. Jason, Tim, and Steve were sitting on his front porch, going over contingency plans for bringing up more sections of the city for power if it was needful, and were also in the first stages of trying to work out the rather sticky water situation. Everyone was still drawing water from the river or streams, and they were looking into ways to get running water going to everyone... _not_ an easy task.

"Well, I see you wandered back," Jason said. "What are you hauling now?"

"Mah stuff," she announced. "Ah'm movin' in."

"Oh really," Jason chuckled. "And did you ask anyone?"

"Ah don't have tah," she grinned. "Ah seem tah recall a certain someone sayin' Ah was welcome heah any time, if'n you don't recall. Besides, Ah told you Ah'd do most anythin' for some air conditionin'," she added with a wink. "Ah took some stuff tah Doc, and he wanted to come up and check on his patient up heah, so he came up with me."

"That's right," Northwood said as he dismounted. "I need to make sure that arm's healing up right, Timothy."

"It's doing fine, Doc," Tim told him.

"Well, lots of new faces," Northwood said as he looked around. "We heard that you attacked the gangs and kicked them out of the city, and that some people started moving in around you."

"Something like that," Jason told him. "Most of these people _are_ the old gang members. They decided to try a life of honest work instead of stealing. So far we've done rather well. Everyone more or less gets along, and we're actually getting things done by working together rather than waste all our time fighting."

"Well, let's not waste time, Timothy my boy. May we borrow your house, Jason?"

"Be my guest," he said, motioning to the door.

Jason walked up to Temika after excusing himself from Steve. She was righting the barrels that had fallen over when she landed. "So, you want to move in," Jason chuckled. "I hope you realize it's not just my decision. We have a rule here that any newcomers have to be accepted by a vote at a town meeting. You also have to pass a screening from Symone, the Faey. If she deems you trustworthy, you're in."

"Yo' serious," she said in surprise.

"Deadly," he answered. "But that's no biggie. We could really use your contacts and your airbike right now, because winter's coming, and we need to start trading with the other enclaves for some things we need for winter."

"Well, Ah should ask for a meeting then," she said nervously. "Though Ah _really_ don't like the idea of that blueskin pokin' around mah brain."

"I'll call one for tonight. Until then, make yourself at home."

She did. She ate half of the contents of his refrigerator, then wandered around and talked to people. She seemed a bit leery of some of them, probably old grudges, but she quickly got a general feeling for what was going on. Everyone was busy getting ready for winter, and she saw activity on multiple fronts. Jason didn't see much of Temika until that evening, when they met down at the Chesapeake Town Hall on the corner of Route 7 and the bridge, in the old auditorium in the building that had been a church before becoming a town hall. It had no air conditioning, but fans in the meeting hall kept the interior cool. Everyone was there but Irwin, who was on the airbike running a patrol, and Jason, Regina, Leamon, and Clem sat at the table at the head of the meeting room. Temika and Doc Northwood sat in the front row, looking around in curiosity. Jason banged the gavel down on the table to call the meeting to order, and everyone quieted down. "Settle down people," he said as he stood up. "It's a quick meeting guys. Temika here wants to move in, so we're voting on that tonight, and that's it. Some of you probably had run-ins with her in the past, but remember that this place is all about forgetting that stuff and moving forward. Besides, with her airbike and her contacts through the region, she'll be key in getting us set up for winter. With Temika horse trading for us out in the field, we'll have a much more comfortable winter. So, anyone have anything to say?"

"Only that she packs a mean punch," someone shouted, which caused some chuckling.

"That's it? Any other remarks?" Jason called, then he waited a moment. "Fine, all in favor?" Just about everyone raised their hand. "Opposed?" Nobody raised their hands at all. "Symone, it's your turn."

"You got it, cutie," she told him, standing up from her seat. "Alright, Temika, come with me. This'll just take a minute."

"You gonna look in mah head?" she asked nervously as she stood up.

"Afraid so, hon," she nodded. "Nobody lives here that we can't trust, and this is the only way. Everyone else did this, so you have to too. Don't worry, I'll only look where I have to look to make sure you won't backstab us. Your privacy is very important to me."

"Alright," she said, putting her hand on her stomach. Jason opened himself up just enough to hear her thoughts, and found them to be a whirlwind of fear. She was deathly afraid of Symone and the power she represented, but that fear was overwhelmed by what she saw as a once in a lifetime opportunity. She had reserved judgment on Jason's crazy idea because she didn't think it would work, but seeing them get the power back on had made her realize that this might be her only chance to find a better life for herself.

"I think from now on, people who ask to join should go through Symone before we vote on them," Regina announced as Symone took Temika into a side room. "In fact, I put it on the floor as a motion."

"That's a good idea," Leamon agreed. "I second."

"In favor?" Jason asked. All four raised their hands. "Okay, motion carried. Symone screens any applicant before they come up for vote." He looked out over the people. "While we're here, anything anyone wants to bring up?"

Ross Michaels stood up. "Yeah, I know you're still working on the water, and we know it's gonna take time, but you think you could come up with something temporary? Getting clean water is getting harder. Just a central tank somewhere we can draw water from will do."

"We know, we're kicking around an idea for that right now," Jason answered. "We were thinking of finding a tanker trailer somewhere and using it for holding water, at least after we get it cleaned out. But yeah, it's going to be a _while_ before we figure out a way to get running water in the city. There's only three of us on the tech team, and working on a water system isn't anything any of us have done before. But we'll figure something out."

"We'll come up with something," Tim called to them.

"Until then, a central tank of clean water will work just fine," Ruth called.

"We're starting to run low on ammo for the thirty-thirties," Clem called. "Anyone who's carrying one, keep a mind on that and try to conserve ammo when you hunt. If you want, bring it to me and I'll trade it for an aught-six or nine mag. I have some extras, and plenty of ammo."

"You're running low on everything, or just the slugs?" Jason asked.

"Just the slugs. I have plenty of casings and powder."

"We can make a mold of a bullet and I'll see what I can do to make you some," he promised.

"Talk to me tomorrow, and remember to police your brass, people, I can reuse it."

Symone came back out with Temika. The woman was pale and shaking, but she had a grin on her face. "Temika's got my stamp of approval," Symone called to them. "She's trustworthy."

"Okay then, welcome to the community Temika," Jason announced, then he waited for a round of enthusiastic applause to cease. "Mary, would you show her around and explain the rules?"

"I'd be happy to, Mister Jason," the young lady replied.

"Any other business?" Jason called.

Steve stood up. "I wanted to announce that when I have the time and the equipment, I'm going to set up a little cable service for everyone," he told them. "Nothing fancy, mind you. If we can get a transceiver and a good satellite dish, I can pipe the signal out on the old cable company system's wires. It won't be fancy, but at least we'll get some TV out here. I'll need a couple of volunteers to help check the cable though, and we'll need to find a transceiver capable of picking up Faey channels."

"Ah think Ah can get one of those," Temika said. "Some of the squatters that live up near the border have stuff like that, and if they don't have it, they can get it. They do black-market business with the Faey guards that patrol the border."

"Well, talk to Steve about that. Any other business?" Jason asked. He waited a moment, but there was silence. "Okay then. Next scheduled meeting is Friday. That's it, we're adjourned." He banged the gavel on the table, and that was that.

On the way out, he talked to a few people about the water situation, then found himself being pulled aside by Northwood. "Would you mind if I stayed the night, son?" he asked. "It's a bit too late for Temika to take me home, and I don't think she really wants to right now, with all her stuff sitting in your house."

"You're more than welcome to, Doc," Jason nodded. "You can stay in my house. I'd be happy to have you."

"Thanks, my boy," he said with a nod.

                                        * * *

Temika fit in rather quickly, though she was a bit shocked at how _nice_ everyone was. She admitted at breakfast that she expected everyone to be more combative, more fussy, but nobody was like that. She also expected some of them to be ugly to her, but again, nobody was like that. Jason explained that he was a bit surprised too, but perhaps it was because maybe they'd seen what they could do if they worked _with_ each other instead of _against_ each other. Sure, their thoughts didn't always match their words, but that was human nature. The fact of the matter was that everyone was cooperating, because now they all understood that they had to depend on each other in order to make it through the winter. These people had had the courage to try, and already they'd seen some of the rewards for working with the system, in the form of power. Some of them had been a bit skeptical until he had delivered on that promise, and now they had faith in the idea of the community.

She wasn't there long though. She stayed a couple of days, only leaving to take Northwood home the next morning. She was there long enough to find a house, move her stuff in, make a couple of deals, then lock it up and head back out. She was leaving with a rifle and a thousand credits of Jason's money, that the city council had released to Steve so he could trade for a transceiver for his television project. Temika had been on the CB most of the afternoon, finalizing the deal with a small group that lived near the border in Chillicothe. Jason's money would buy the transceiver and pay the agent doing the buying, and the rifle was payment for the squatters who were acting as the middle men.

She came back early the next morning with two things. Steve's transceiver, and Northwood again. The doctor had his medical bag with him, and he approached Jason as he, Luke, Leamon, and Tim tried to get a backhoe going down on Route 7, outside the old pizza place. Luke had this obsession with heavy equipment, but Jason saw the use of having some big equipment around for doing really big jobs. The bulldozer he'd got running had already proved its worth, and a backhoe would make it much easier to dig trenches for pipes, or dig pipes up. Jason and Tim stood there with the maintenance manual for it, which was badly sun-bleached on a few pages from where it had sat in the seat of the enclosed cab for two years, while Leamon and Luke, the community's two best mechanics, tried to get a fuel pump out of it. Jason and Tim had no experience with heavy diesel engines, but both of them were curious to learn.

"Hey Doc," Tim said brightly as they watched the two mechanics working. "What you doing back so soon?"

"Well, I was making a house call, and Temika came over and picked me up so I could see you, Jason," he said seriously. "I recalled you saying that you had another town meeting tonight, right?"

Jason nodded to him. "Eight."

"I'd like to apply to live here," he announced.

"Really? That's great, Doc!" Tim said brightly as Luke said "we could sure use you, Doc."

"That's not a problem, Doc," Jason told him calmly. "Believe me, having a certified doctor around would make _everyone_ much more secure. Just be at my house at noon, so Symone can screen you. If she passes you, you'll be the first order of business tonight."

"We could get that done right now, son."

Jason shook his head. "I need Symone right now," he told him.

"Ah, okay. Just so you know son, I'll still be traveling to visit patients outside the community. I'm the only doctor around, and I'm needed. I've never played favorites and I never will, but you have _power_ here. I can set up a good clinic here, even do some minor surgery if it's needed. That can help people much more than where I am."

"Moving here doesn't mean you lose your outside life, Doc," Jason assured him. "As long as you abide by the rules, you can do whatever you want." He looked at his watch. "Damn, I'm late," he grunted. "Sorry guys. Doc, feel free to wander around if you want and talk to some people. I gotta get home."

"What are you late for, son?"

"An appointment."

"It's one of his secret Mayor things, Doc," Leamon chuckled. "He won't tell us what it is."

"It's what I need Symone for," Jason told him. "I need to get her a replacement piece for her armor, so I'm going to deal with a Faey contact I have on the outside. She's going to buy it for me, and then arrange to deliver it."

"Oh, I get it. I see her wearing her armor all the time, though. What's wrong with it?"

"It's patched," he answered. "Symone got shot up escaping with Tim from the Faey. I patched it up with what I had laying around, but it's not entirely safe the way it is. If she gets hit in the same place, the armor won't do much to protect her. I want to get her replacement pieces that aren't jerry-rigged."

"Ah."

He sent to Symone to have her come to the house, then he got home and claimed his panel and called Kumi's number. He tried to call yesterday, but she wasn't home. He left her a message telling her he'd call back around this time, which was about noon her time. This time he got her and not her answering service, wearing a tight halter top that she commonly wore when exercising. "I thought you forgot," she teased. "What's up?"

"I need something delivered," he told her immediately. "Can you swing it?"

"As easy as a man pees standing up," she replied with a wicked grin. "You got a list ready?"

"In a minute, important things first." Symone came into the room, and he glanced back at her. "I was wondering," he told her.

"What do you need me for, Jayce?" Symone asked as she came up to him.

"Symone, meet Kumi. Kumi, this is Symone," Jason introduced.

"So she's the one that rescued your friend," Kumi said, looking at her. "You're brave for a commoner."

"And you're awful young to be the conniving noble Jason talks about, my Lady," Symone replied with a wink.

"I'm a bad girl," she admitted with an outrageous grin. "So what do you need?"

"Armor for her," Jason answered, nodding his head towards Symone. "_Real_ armor, like mine."

"Armor? How the hell are you going to manage that, Jayce?" Symone asked.

"He can swing it, girl," Kumi chuckled. "I can have it there in two days."

"How do they make it so fast anyway?" Jason asked curiously.

"It's already partially made," she answered. "The company I deal with keeps virtually every size of every piece on hand, and they just pick the piece that's closest to the size they need and customize it for an exact fit. With the machines they use, they can have a full suit of fitted armor ready in about six hours after getting the order."

"Nice," Jason said with a nod.

"Symone, is it? I need you to strip," Kumi ordered. "I'm going to take a vid of you so I can get your exact size. That way the armor fits right when you get it."

"No problem, my Lady," Symone said, immediately reaching for the tail of her shirt.

"Can it with the Lady shit," Kumi told her. "Just call me Kumi."

Symone did as she was told and stripped, even taking off her panties... which probably wasn't really necessary. He couldn't see how those bikini-style undergarments could possibly interfere with Kumi's measurements. But, Kumi told her to strip, so Symone stripped. Jason moved out of the way so Kumi could get an unobstructed angle on Symone, who did more than Kumi had asked of him. Kumi had her turn around, raise her arms, bend this way and that, until he realized that Kumi was just dragging it out. "You about done Kumi?" he asked pointedly.

"Almost," she said. "Men don't have the same curves as women, babe, so the armor's fit is a bit more important to let us move freely. That and I had enough vid of you dressing and undressing to compile a good dynamic size. You moved the right ways," she winked. "You don't want her armor to break her ribs the first time she bends sideways, do you?"

"Yeah, they measured everything you can imagine when I was in basic, in a bunch of different positions. This isn't unusual, cutie," Symone told him.

"Sorry, I thought you were just messing with her or something," he said contritely.

"I don't mess with girls, babe," Kumi told him with an evil grin. "I don't get much out of seeing something I can see by looking in a mirror. I dabbled with girls a couple of times out of curiosity, and I admit it wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as much fun as having sex with boys."

"That was too much information, Kumi," Jason said with a grunt.

"You're such a prude," she accused with a laugh.

"I'm just not as worldly as a spoiled noble debutante," he replied, which made her howl with laughter.

Kumi had Symone do a few other things, like deep knee bends, kicking her leg, and then she gave Jason a wicked smirk and had Symone touch her toes. Now _that_ was just to get at him. He added that to the list, for she was going to get hers when she delivered Symone's armor. "Okay, that's enough," she told them. "I have enough for a good sizing. I'll send this through and get them to work on it. I'll pay for it, and you can pay me back tomorrow, babe, when we arrange the meet. That work for you?"

He nodded as Symone gave him a curious look. "Meet?" she asked as she pulled her panties back on.

"That's how he gets what I buy for him," Kumi winked. "You need anything else? May as well make a shipment out of it."

He uploaded a small file to her. "Actually, I do. I'm going to need a replacement sensor transceiver pod like what's in my skimmer, to start off with. I also need ten cases of double-stranded twenty gauge flux cabling, a box of twenty-ten plasma magnets, three spools of dataline fiber, thirty PGX-10 PPGs, twenty AJX-3 lasers, eighty EI-21 multipurpose microsensors, twenty PCM-1021 moleculartronic microprocessors, twenty AT-2 smartgun pads, and twenty MK-2 backglass displays. It's all in the file. Oh, yeah, I want something else, Kumi. Something you might not be able to get. Something that might get you in trouble."

"What?" she asked curiously.

"I want a replicator," he told her.

She whistled. "Babe, those are pricy. You're talking a hundred thousand credits, at _least_, and that's _used_. And the armor's going to run you about sixty."

"You can get one, though?"

She gave a snorting laugh. "Babe, I can get _anything_. Replicators aren't controlled like you must think they are. Any industrial supply company sells them. I'll have more trouble buying the armor than I will a replicator. The main issue for you is _cost_. You're talking money when you start talking replicators. You can buy a _skimmer_ for less."

"Oh, I thought they were because in school they-"

"Well, there you are. They lock them down in schools to keep the students from doing something stupid with them," she told him, then her eyes widened. "Jason! You're building _more_ of them?"

"A few," he admitted with a nod, understanding what she was asking about. "Enough so the group I'm with can protect itself."

"I want one!" she said immediately. "I'll trade you-hell, I'll _buy_ one from you!"

"Remember what I told you, Kumi?"

"Yeah, but you really think I'm going to give it to the Imperium?" she scoffed.

"No, but that's puts it out there for them to find, take apart, and copy. I'm sorry, hon, but the answer's no."

"Jason, I will trade you a _hundred_ Mark IV MPACs for one of those guns," she said seriously. "You can stick a bomb in it so it explodes if I try to take it apart, I don't care."

"I can't do that, Kumi, I'm sorry."

_She knows about the railgun?_ Symone sent.

He looked over at her. _One of her bodyguards fired it when she delivered the airbikes,_ he replied. _She's doesn't know what it is, but she's seen what it can do. She was impressed by it._

_I can tell._

"Come _on_, babe," she almost pleaded. "I _want_ one."

"Why?" he asked. "You can never use it, Kumi. If you do, someone's going to want to know what it is, where it came from, how it works, and I told you that I'll _never_ give it to the Imperium. You'd be buying something you'd have to keep in your closet."

"I can keep it in the closet, just so I _have_ one," she told him.

"I'm sorry Kumi, but no. It's not that I don't trust you, but you're not the only one there, and I can't risk something happening that puts it in the hands of the Imperium. If that happened, both of us would be in serious trouble."

She gave a squeaking growl and slapped her hands on the top of the table. Kumi had a bit of a temper, he noticed, and she didn't like not getting her way.

"He's right, Kumi," Symone said seriously. "If the Imperium caught you with it, they'd hang _you_ out for the _korpas_, then they'd come swarming down on _Jason_ like a pack of _giruzi_. It's safer for everyone if you don't have one. But I'm sure Jason will let you play with it for a while when you're here," Symone winked.

"Now that I can live with," Kumi said with a slight smile. "This is going to get expensive, babe. All that equipment _and_ armor _and_ a replicator? Tack on my fee, and we're talking a minimum of two hundred grand. Probably more, it's going to depend on what kind of replicator you want and what's on the market."

"The bay only needs to be about four _shakra_ by four _shakra_ by two _shakra_," he told her. "I don't need a _big_ one, just something that can produce some material for me."

"Like parts for that gun of yours?" she asked with a grin.

"The stock, yes," he admitted immediately.

"You know, I could probably figure it out," she said with a sly little smile. "Going on what you ordered."

"Maybe, but am I going to use _all_ of it for the gun? Some of that stuff is for other purposes, you know. You have no idea what's in my gun or how it works, so you have no idea what I need for what's inside that pretty black casing now, do you?"

She gave him a sour look. "You're being mean to me, babe."

"You're the one who's beating her head against the wall, Kumi," he said seriously. "I really like you hon, but you're edging into dangerous territory here. My _life_ stands in the balance, hon. I'm not going to take any chances."

She sighed. "You're right, you're right," she admitted, waving her hand absently. "I'm sorry, babe, but it's just such a fucking _cool_ gun. A girl couldn't help but want one."

Jason chuckled. "Well, thanks Kumi, I appreciate the compliment," he told her sincerely. "And I've got, um, a little over two hundred fifty thousand in my account right now. That should cover it. That's the limit, hon, so work with that figure, and don't forget your five percent."

"Another deposit?"

He nodded. "Two, actually. Seventy thousand and forty thousand this time."

"Got it, babe. Call me this time tomorrow _my time_ so we can work out when we're meeting. Oh, and make sure you bring something _big_ to get the replicator. I'll try to find a small one, but even small ones are pretty big."

"This time tomorrow _your time_," he affirmed, doing the conversion on his panel. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Think you can throw in one more panel, one that you don't have to worry about CivNet access for? My panel's getting a little stressed with everything I'm doing on it, I need a backup."

"Off the shelf?" she asked, and he nodded. "No problem, babe. I'll get you a couple, that way you have a spare."

"You're a lifesaver, Kumi."

"You know it," she grinned. "Talk to you tomorrow. Later, babe." Her image disappeared from his panel.

_That's an interesting girl,_ Symone noted as she finished putting on her boots.

_She's a pirate,_ he told her immediately. _Don't ever think that's she's not. But she's trustworthy. She's loyal to the money I pay her._

_Where are you getting that money?_

_It's mine. Kumi had someone hack into the Ministry and redirect my royalty payments to a bank on Moridon. She gets fifteen percent of each royalty payment as a fee for it, but it's worth paying her. That money's buying your armor, and it's buying me the materials to build more railguns._

Symone laughed. _The Imperium wouldn't_ dare _trying to take on Moridon over that account!_ she sent, her thoughts amused and mischievous. _Your little noble friend is a clever monster._

_She's moderately monstrous, yes,_ Jason agreed blandly.

_I'll never be able to pay you for the armor, cutie,_ she warned him.

_You'll use it to defend the community. That's payment enough,_ he told her. _After I get enough money built up, I'll buy armor for Luke and Irwin, too. But that's going to be a couple of months down the road._

_They won't mind, that's for sure._

_I'd hope not,_ Jason sent with a chuckle.

                                        * * *

Jason wasn't alone this time, as they waited for Kumi to arrive. He was hidden in the woods in the same place where he was before,