The Mother Warrior

by Marilyn Donnellan

  The group laughed uproariously as he pantomimed the purple spikes in his hair and people’s reactions. “We were afraid troopers might have our descriptions after we blew up the plant, so Brogan gets this bright idea to disguise us. Me, she makes look like a circus freak. Some disguise that turned out to be,” he said with a snort. “Herbert, she makes look like a decrepit old hobo.”

  He stopped for a minute when he realized neither Frank nor Emily know who Herbert is. “Herbert is this really smart professor type about yay high.” He held up his hand to about his waist. “He was in his late 50’s when Brogan and I ran into him. Emperor Priest had recruited him, against his will I might add, to build nuclear bombs for him. Anyway, the three of us blow up the nuclear generating station so Priest couldn’t build his bombs. And, now we’re on the run afterwards, see.

  “We found this antique quadricycle at an abandoned farm as our get-away vehicle. Just picture the three of us furiously pedaling the only bucket of bolts, trying to escape from troopers.” He shook his head. “I hope I never see another cycle of any kind. My legs hurt just thinking of that tortuous mode of transportation.

  “After a couple of run-ins with troopers, we finally made it to the Ohio River, headed south toward the rebel army. Brogan gets this bright idea to catch a river boat down the Ohio to the Mississippi. I guess she was tired of walkin’ or somethin.

  “Anyway, she approaches this big black dude who seems to be the overseer of a large paddle boat sitting by the river. Turns out it is a smuggling operation. Herbert and me, we’re hiding in the woods. Mind you, Brogan is disguised as a skinny man. She goes right up to this big guy and asks for a ride for the three of us. He first wants to meet the two of us, so we pop out of the woods. He doesn’t blink when he sees what we look like; which tells me he’s either blind or one cold-hearted dude.

  “He starts by askin’ how we are gonna earn our keep. He calls me ‘Purple Hair,’ and asks me what I can do. I tell him I’m a hard worker, which of course he can tell by my bulging muscles,” and here Mac flexes his muscles, to the delight of Allison and Emily.

  “So, he hires me. He asks Herbert what he can do, who offers to entertain the deck hands with card tricks and gambling, so he’s hired. What the dude doesn’t know is, Herbert is so smart he knows exactly how to count cards; he wins any time he wants to. Then he asks Brogan what she can do. She thinks for a minute, whips out a few knives and throws them right at the big dude.”

  Mac pauses for a moment, waiting for his audience to beg him to go on. When he gets the reaction he wants, he grins and continues.

  “The knives stick on either side of him into the boat behind him and he doesn’t so much as twitch. He says, cool as you please, ‘Is that all you got?’ So, she whips out her laser rifle and shoots the hat off a deckhand walking up the gangplank. He falls into the river in fright, with all the deckhands fallin’ on the ground laughing at him, so she is hired as security.”

  Everyone claps in appreciation for the great story. But things turn somber when Mac adds, “And it was a few days later the boat was raided and that’s the last I saw of Brogan until today.”

  He cleared his throat and asked with a grin, “Any more of those great fried-apple turnovers left, Frank?”

  Frank nodded and reached for the plate of turnovers.

  “What I want to know,” Mateo asked, “Is how you went from blowing up things to piloting a helicopter for Marco’s Dad?”

  “Good question, Mateo,” Mac replied. “When Herbert and I showed up in Mexico City, a couple of months after we jumped into the Mississippi, I thought I would end up handling explosives for the rebel army. But, it turned out General Veracruz, he’s your Dad, right? He had plenty of explosive experts. So, when he got a request from Marco Sr. for a pilot, I applied for the job.”

  “Had you ever flown before?”

  “Nope. But I figured, how hard can it be? I read the manual, took the test and passed, so here I am. Turns out, I love it; even though it is a bit of a tight squeeze for me inside the cockpit. Anyway, I’m studying to learn how to fly synergy jets, too. Not that the rebel army has any, but Marco’s dad has one which I hope to fly someday.”

  “What is Herbert doing?” Frank asked.

  “Herbert is doing what he loves: tinkering with electronics. Doc show them your pod.” Allison passed it around. “Herbert put that together. It works like a vid-phone but apparently it has a totally different frequency than the emperor’s equipment and Herbert has figured out how to make it cyber secure, so it cannot be hacked.

  “I think it is really going to revolutionize BL rebel communications, once manufacturing gets going. What the doc and some of the council members have is the prototype. They are testing them. I have one in the chopper. And, apparently, Herbert, who we all call ‘Professor,’ is also working on some other top-secret stuff that might really help the rebel cause.”

  The group was silent for a while as they watched the fireflies buzzing about, blinking in and out, a fitting entertainment for the group sitting around the campfire celebrating Brogan’s return.

  “Well, folks,” Frank said as he stood up, “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted from all the excitement. I know I speak for my daughter when I say, ‘thank-you’ for your all help today. How about we hit the hay? I know you have an early start tomorrow Allison and Mac, so Stephen and I will have breakfast for you early. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Allison said with a smile. “Now where do you want me to plant my old bones?”

  “Old bones?” Frank snorted. “You ain’t seen nothin yet, doc. Your choice as to where you can sleep. We can either put you in a cot with Emily and Brogan or you can take my hut and I’ll bunk with Stephen. Mac, how about you bunk in Mateo’s hut?”

  Allison decided she wanted to squeeze into the hut with Emily and Brogan, just to keep an eye on her patient. Everyone settled in for the night, content to have Brogan back and on the road to recovery and looking forward to whatever the new day would bring.

  Chapter Ten

  Escape to a New Life

  The sun was just peeking over the Sierra Madre Mountains when Mateo heard yelling outside his hut.

  “Senior! Senior! Policio! Policio! Vaminos! Vaminos!”

  Mateo recognized the voice of Alberto, one of the village elders. He quickly pulled on his body armor, slipped the peasant tunic over the top, and grabbed the emergency backpack from under his cot.

  “Mac,” he yelled, “Get up. Some troopers are headed our way.” Mac stumbled to his feet, grabbing armor and clothes.

  The family was always prepared for the possibility of troopers or law enforcement raids. Fortunately, the family was so loved by the villagers, they always gave them warning whenever troopers were headed their way up the mountain from the village.

  Mateo rushed out of his hut and saw Frank, Stephen and Emily were already dressed. Allison was helping Brogan get dressed and ready to flee. Mateo ran up to Alberto and asked him in Spanish, “How far away are they?”

  “There is a group of about 50 troopers marching up the trail from Cosala. I think Pedro told them yesterday about the chopper when he went to Mazatlán with a load of produce. You know how mean he can be.”

  “Thanks for letting us know, Alberto. Stay safe.”

  Mateo slapped Alberto on his back in farewell, as he turned around and headed back to the village, taking a hidden trail to avoid meeting the troopers.

  “We have to move to the caves, now!” Frank said emphatically. “Allison, I’ll help you with Brogan. Stephen and Mateo throw some freeze-dried food into a bag. Mac, can you fly Allison and Brogan out of here?”

  “Absolutely,” he replied as he sprinted toward the helicopter to get the rotors spinning.

  “Mateo, Emily, Stephen, we’ll head to the escape caves. Take only the emergency backpacks. Leave everything else. Go! We’ll call when we get to the other side of mountain through the caves. Then we can figure out a way to meet the res
t of you at the rebel camp in Mexico City as soon as we can get there.”

  Allison and Frank helped a weak and bewildered Brogan toward the helicopter, Frank serving as Brogan’s crutch for her broken ankle. By this time, the rotors on the chopper were spinning. They helped Brogan into the chopper, Allison fastening her seatbelt and then climbing in beside her.

  Before she could close the door and they lifted off, she saw Emily running toward the chopper, carrying Brogan’s old backpack filled with her journals. Emily ducked beneath the blades and tossed it to Allison. The noise of the chopper was too loud for words, so with a nod and a smile, the door was closed. The chopper smoothly lifted off and quickly assumed full speed over the treetops, disappearing east across the mountains.

  The remaining four members of the family jogged through the trees toward the waterfall, carefully erasing their tracks behind them. Within minutes they entered a cave behind the waterfall, grabbing torches conveniently placed on the wall and lighting them with solar lighters they carried in their emergency backpacks. Moving rapidly, they quickly disappeared into the warren of abandoned mining caves dotting the mountains behind Cosala. They practiced these moves so many times there was no conversation for the first hour, only efficient movements forward.

  After the first hour, they began to discuss whether they should wait for a while to see if the troopers would leave and then return to their huts, or if they should keep going to the rebel base as Frank had told Allison and Mac they would. Without hesitation, they all agreed it was time to leave their home and join Brogan in Mexico City. The last visit by troopers was only a year ago, so a second visit so soon did not bode well for their future at the location.

  After several hours of walking, they stopped for some water and a protein bar, collapsing on the floor of an immense cave with a ceiling so high it was impossible to see it in the dim light of their torches. Invisible directional markings, which could only be illuminated by a reader Frank carried, kept them from getting lost in the labyrinth of caves. Frank and Stephen meticulously placed the markings years earlier with the help of the village elders.

  Mateo was proud of Emily. She never complained once during the long walk. In fact, she was uncharacteristically quiet. He finally asked her why she was so quiet. Emily thought for a minute before she replied and then she asked a question. “How old would I have to be to join the rebels?”

  The men silently looked at each other, not sure how best to answer the question. Emily had never expressed any interest in the rebel movement before. Mateo finally decided the truth was best.

  “Rebel fighters have to be at least eighteen years old. However, we do have a program for cadets for students 16-18. Why, are you thinking of joining?”

  “I’ve been thinking; Dad died for the rebel cause and Mom almost died. They sacrificed so much. It seems to me it would be the right thing to do.”

  Frank, who had been leading the group as they walked but listening to the conversation, pulled back to walk beside his granddaughter.

  “Do you understand what the rebels are fighting for, Sweetie? I don’t think you should join just because your parents have been involved. It needs to be because you believe in what they are fighting for. We’ve talked about this a lot. Tell me, what are the rebels fighting for?”

  Emily was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment before speaking. “You and Pop-Pop2 have given me a fantastic education. I have read hundreds of books, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of what it would mean to be without the freedom of religion, thought, and the right to read and write. But I guess it was never personal for me until now, since you all made sure I had books and could read just about anything I wanted, or you could get your hands on.

  “It wasn’t until I started reading my mother’s journals the Book Liberator’s fight suddenly became personal. I realized most of our American citizens do not have the freedom I have, simply because we have a despotic emperor who wants to control our thoughts and minds.

  “When I read what mother has endured, everything from the emperor’s prison camp to the slave camp, and her burning passion to stop his reign, I realized two things. First, he must be stopped. And, secondly, somebody should pay for what they did to my mother and father.”

  The last comment from Emily was said with clinched fists and anger. Everybody stopped walking. Frank and Stephen looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words. Before they could say anything, Mateo spoke.

  “Em, if there is one thing I have learned as a member of the rebel forces, it is you cannot be an effective BL rebel if you have hatred or anger in your heart. If you do, then you are no better than the emperor. Yes, he and his troopers have done terrible things, like what they did to your mother and father. Yes, there are terrible people in the world, like the overseer in the slave camp, who do horrible things. But we fight the rebel fight to bring freedom, not hate to the citizens. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Since it was a good time for a break anyway, everyone sat on the ground, pulled out some water packets and a protein bar and talked some more.

  “Yeah, I think I understand what you are saying. But I’m just not sure how you can kill somebody unless you hate them? And don’t the rebels kill people?”

  Frank and Stephen waited to hear what Mateo would say, impressed with the maturity of his comments so far. He had obviously given a lot of thought to some very weighty topics.

  “Help me out here, Frank and Stephen,” Mateo pleaded.

  “Oh, no,” Frank replied with a laugh, “You are doing just fine on your own. Keep going. I want to hear how you answer Emily’s great questions.”

  Mateo gulped, thought for a moment and then continued. “Think of it like this. Remember the garden Frank works so hard on every year?”

  “Yeah,” Emily replied, “The one he makes me pull weeds in.”

  “Yes, and you’ve just answered your own question.”

  Emily look puzzled for a moment and then her eyes opened a little wider as she realized what Mateo was insinuating. “You’re saying the rebels are fighting the weeds, so the garden can grow better!”

  “Exactly. If you don’t kill the weeds, they eventually choke the vegetables and then you don’t have anything to eat. I know that is kind of a simplistic explanation, but it maybe helps to explain why sometimes the good citizens must get rid of the bad citizens.”

  Emily cocked her head for a moment as she thought some more about the metaphor. “But can’t the good citizens sometimes go overboard and kill the good, too?”

  “Yes, they can. And that’s why we have constitutions, laws and other safeguards to protect the citizens from that type of overreach.”

  “Very well said, Mateo,” Frank said. “Could not have said it better myself.” Stephen agreed, and the group stood and continued their walk, periodically discussing other philosophical issues to pass the time.

  It was a long walk to Mexico City, over 680 miles. If they walked 20 miles per day it would take more than a month to get there. Fortunately, Stephen had his pod with him. When they exited the caves not far from Durango, about 56 miles, they had been walking through the caves for almost three days. Stephen immediately called Mac on his pod. Once he pinpointed their location, he picked them up in the chopper and took them to Mexico City, saving them from an even longer walk. Now the family would begin a new life but still work toward rebuilding America.

  Chapter Eleven

  A Warrior Turns Her Back on War

  It took Brogan a couple of months before she was well enough to attend a BL council meeting. The Dengue Fever had weakened her to the point where just getting up to go to the bathroom and taking a shower were major undertakings.

  By now, the rebels had heard of the emperor’s death, but weren’t yet sure how the new king and queen would treat BL rebels.

  Emily was Brogan’s willing helper and nurse. The two had become inseparable since Emily arrived from Mexico City. After Brogan’s short stay in the rebel hospit
al, Papa Marco and Maria insisted the two of them move in with them in their Tegucigalpa hacienda while she fully recovered. They were thrilled to meet Emily and she was delighted to finally meet them after reading about their hospitality when Brogan and Allison escaped from the emperor’s prison.

  Brogan was delighted to meet Marco and Emily’s twins and spent hours entertaining the children with stories as she recovered from her fever and gradually gained back her strength. She became “Auntie B” to the toddlers.

  Two months after their arrival in Tegucigalpa, General Veracruz called Brogan, using the new pod he gave her, asking if she felt well enough to attend the next council meeting.

  How could she refuse? Even though she was pretty sure the council would not be happy with what she had to say, she needed to say it in person. She had not discussed her plans with anyone, not Emily or her father, Frank. Instead, during her recovery, she continued to read and crystalize exactly what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

  When she received the call from the general, she knew she could not put it off any longer. But she needed to talk to Frank and Emily first. If she could not convince them, how could she expect to convince the council? Frank was working with Papa Marco in the antibiotic’s factory, serving as an employee supervisor, a position he was well suited for with his gentle nature and his experience as a supervisor of energy grunts in Van Horn.

  So, the night before she was to travel to Mexico City for the council meeting, they all had dinner at Papa Marco’s hacienda. Maria was, as always, the perfect hostess. Marco and Allison were at the dinner, too, with the twins in the nursery with a nanny. At the end of the delicious meal, Brogan gently tapped her spoon on her wine glass and asked for everyone’s attention.

  Brogan put on some weight during her convalescence and her white hair was trimmed in an attractive bob accentuating her sharp cheekbones. She wore emerald-green tunic and slacks matching her eyes. She finally lost the gaunt appearance and the dark, haunted circles under her eyes.