What would you do about the Orcs we’re soon to meet, Pop? Lenny wondered, watching the continuous, chalk-like trail of steam that both followed and vanished in tandem. How would you keep these other idiots here all joined for what comes next? How do I focus them so that we keep each other safe until we can all get to New Pearlaya and go our separate ways?
The darkness held no answer for him, nor did any of his father’s frequent lessons return to the forefront of his mind with any hope of guidance.
When the train whistle signaled again, Lenny came alive. For a moment, he thought to reenter and march through each and every train car on a direct path for the main engine, all to throttle the fool who continued signaling to anyone up ahead that a train was on its way. Lenny was reaching for the door handle when it opened from the inside instead.
A red-haired giant filled the door frame. His bulky, Southern Elephant Seal suit hung off him like a collection of tattered rags that had been hastily sewn together. Tom Weaver’s face was beaten and bruised from his time as a hostage among the Orcs, but his hard eyes shone with resolve when they looked on Lenny. “You heading in, Dolan?”
“I was gonna,” Lenny admitted. “But only to tell whoever’s blowing that whistle to pipe down. They’re gonna let all the Orcs in Bouvetøya know we’re coming.”
Tom Weaver snorted. “Great minds think alike,” he said, pushing through the door, joining Lenny on the caboose. “Which is why I sent Brutus on up there to take over.”
Lenny stepped back to the caboose’s rail when Tom closed the door behind him. “You ran things in Røyrkval,” he said. “Wouldn’t whoever’s running this train listen to you before Brutus?”
“Might be they would,” said Tom. “But Brutus has a way about him that people tend to heed when he’s of a mind to make them listen . . . and we’re not in Røyrkval anymore, Dolan. Thanks to you, that is.”
“My Pop, you mean.”
“Aye, and him too.” Tom’s expression softened. “Mind if I sit with you?”
“What’s a matter, Tommy? You don’t wanna party with all the rest in there?”
“Hardly,” said Tom, settling down in the eave of the train car doorway. “My wife always used to go out and try to meet new people. Wanted to make new friends once we got ashore and settled in to our new lives there. I used to frustrate her when I said that I had all the friends I’d ever need. Didn’t see much point in making any new ones.” He glanced to the door behind him. “Can’t say as my time in Røyrkval has changed me much.”
“Why you coming to sit out here with me, then?” Lenny asked.
“You’re quieter than most,” said Tom. “Definitely smarter than the lot back inside these cars. Thought I might sit and talk with you awhile, at least. Better than suffering through the rest of those fools inside celebrating one battle won when there’s still a war out in front of us.”
Lenny shrugged. “I don’t got much to talk about. Least of all a war.”
“No?” Tom asked. “I figured that’s why you came out here. Gather your thoughts and plan out our next move.” He chuckled. “That, or think up a way for you to slip off alone the moment we stop in Bouvetøya, no? Maybe search out a way up to the surface to go it alone?”
Lenny shot him a look.
“No, then, huh?” Tom said, more to himself than Lenny. “No . . . I guess that’s not like you, Dolans, is it? At least from what Brutus and others have told me. ‘Dolans don’t run’ and all that.” Tom gave Lenny a sideways look. “So, it’s the other plan then, huh? What comes next for everyone inside who’s already forgetting what it cost to get them to get this far?”
“Maybe . . .” said Lenny. “Or maybe I just wanted to be alone for a while.”
“A word of advice, kid? Aye, something my wife was trying to teach me all those years of making new friends; alone only gets you so far in life, Dolan. Take it from one who knows. Had to learn that lesson the hard way in Røyrkval.” Tom smiled half-heartedly. “But I imagine you know that already. That your father would’ve taught you as much.”
“He did,” said Lenny. “Or tried to, at least.”
“Good man, your father,” Tom said quietly. “Hindsight being what it is, I wish I’d believed him sooner too. All those warnings he gave us about what was coming. What we should have done different.”
“Me too,” said Lenny.
“Yeah.” Tom clucked his tongue. “Full truth be told, I kinda think me and Declan might’ve gotten on pretty good together, if we’d had more time to get to know one another. Maybe knew each other in a different life. Different circumstances.”
“Probably so,” Lenny agreed, taking up his old position on the flooring nearby when it appeared Tom Weaver would not move away from the door.
They sat in shared silence awhile then, Lenny’s mind blanking as to what reason Tom Weaver had truly come out to join him, or even noticed his absence to begin with. Yeah, you and Pop would’ve gotten on real well, Tommy, he thought when the elder Weaver seemed content to allow the quiet between them to linger on, much as Declan had done in life. And, as all the times when his father had done the same, Lenny could not tolerate it for long. “You really think there’s a war coming, then?” he asked.
“I think it’s already started,” said Tom. “Or the last one never ended. After you’ve been around awhile, it’s hard to say where one war ends and another begins. Then again, I guess you could say there’s always one brewing somewhere to tie them all together. Way I figure it, the wars won’t stop coming until there’s not but a couple people left, Dolan. And even then, those two would likely find something to spat over. It’s just in us, I guess. Greed. Envy. Murder. All of it.”
“Yeah, but who put it in us?” Lenny asked.
“Don’t know,” said Tom. “But whoever did, or wherever these instincts come from, they sure don’t mean for such things to die easy in us, I can tell you that.” He shrugged. “Then again, some of us don’t really die easy to begin with. Maybe we gotta have all that need and drive to keep us going too. Can’t have one without the other.” He gave Lenny a sideways look. “All that to say, I don’t guess you have a lot of quit in you, Dolan.”
“Picked up on that, huh?”
“I did,” said Tom. “And some others filled me on all that I missed after them Orcs took me away. What Vasili and them others tell me is that busting free of Røyrkval might have been Declan Dolan’s plan, but it was his son who pulled it off.”
Lenny scoffed. “I didn’t do nothing except get Pop killed,” he said, fending off the memory of his father slipping down the ice before the Orcs mauled his seal body and flung Declan Dolan away for their commander to finish.
Tom Weaver distracted Lenny by reaching over his shoulder and rapping on the wooden door behind him. None answered it, the noise lost to those inside. “You hear that, Dolan?”
“Hear what?”
“The sounds of all the lives you helped to save.”
Lenny shook his head. “I’d trade them all to get one back, Tommy. You included. No offense.”
Tom nodded. “I know the feeling,” he said. “Wish I could help you there too. Honest, I do. But seeing as nobody can bring your father back, you might think to honor his memory instead from here on out. Give yourself some credit for helping to see his plan through too. ‘Cause all that noise in there?” He motioned his head toward the door. “That’s the sound of more than empty bellies getting filled right now on account of what you and your father did to help us all.”
“What Pop did,” Lenny clarified again. “If it wasn’t for his plan and his being able to get free of his seal form without anyone releasing him, then none of us would’ve gotten out.” He glanced toward the door and the continued chatter from inside. “And most of those in there have already forgotten him.”
“Short memories tends to be the way with most folk,” said Tom. “But I think your confusing forgetfulness with gratitude.”
Lenny’s eyes widened. “Gratitude?”
> “That’s right,” said Tom. “It don’t always come in the way we expect or hope, but it don’t mean people forgot either. When the dust settles and all those who survived look back on things, they’ll remember those who showed the way and led them out. The true legends never die, Dolan. And your father was one, if ever I met any. Someday, they’ll sing songs about what you and him did for our kind.”
“Yeah?” Lenny asked. “Well, when that day comes, Tommy, remind the singers it was Declan Dolan who did it all and leave my name out of it, will ya?” He scoffed. “The greatest catcher there was or will be, killed trying to save his worthless son instead of taking care of himself like he should’ve done.”
“Succeeded,” said Tom.
“What?”
“You said ‘he died trying to save his son’,” said Tom. “Given that you’re here sitting with me still, I’d say Declan Dolan succeeded in that final act. No greater love than that, either. Any good father would say the same.”
“Well, I wish he would’ve saved himself,” Lenny growled back. “Him being here would’ve done all of you’s more good than me.”
“Might be you’re right, ‘specially if you keep on sulking the way you are now,” said Tom, going on despite the look Lenny gave him. “From what Vasili tells me, it was you who saved him and your father from the Orcs down in the ice tunnels. I’ve heard whispers too that it was the younger Dolan who went into the water to lure the Orcs back. Not just once either. Went out and did it again to stir enough courage in the other Selkies who were sitting on the sidelines to dive in and take action and arms against those soldiers too.”
“So?” Lenny shrugged. “Pop did the same thing before he got hurt. Vasili would’ve done it too, if I hadn’t went in first.”
“Maybe he would’ve, maybe not,” said Tom. “But the truth is we can ‘maybe’ things all day long, Dolan. That’s half the reason I never liked that word. Give you one guess who taught me different.”
Lenny rolled his eyes. “Pop.”
“That’s right,” said Tom. “So, maybe you oughta give yourself a little more credit, kid. ‘Cause this war that’s coming? The one you and me both know is waiting up ahead of us in Bouvetøya? Maybe even beyond? Our side is gonna need people like you who know how to lead and take action, Dolan.”
“You lead them, then,” said Lenny. “All the people who ever followed me just get killed.”
“Then it’s lucky for those who follow you next that you already know how to bear that burden,” said Tom. “The real lessons in life don’t come easy, kid. Losing your father? Your friends and crew? It’s a heavy price, I know, son. Believe me, I do. Nothing harder than those lessons. But it’s a price that hardens you too. Helps you to see and understand things that most others can’t, or won’t, all so that you can spare them from the same.” Tom sighed. “Yeah, or maybe sometimes you just choose to forget it all instead ‘cause it’s easier to close your eyes and pretend that everything’s one way and not the other.”
“Like what?” Lenny asked.
“Like imagining that you can live with yourself if and when you make it back to wherever it is, or whoever it is, you’re trying to get back to,” said Tom. “All the while, you go on knowing others won’t ever make it back. That you could’ve done something about it all, but maybe you didn’t. Or maybe you tried and it failed all the same. Those are the kinds of poisons that’ll really eat at you, Dolan. Eat at your soul more than any loss ever will.”
Thoughts of Declan swelling in his mind, Lenny shook his head. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do,” said Tom. “And much as you miss your father now, much as you’ll miss him all the rest of your days, at least you can live with knowing he made his choice and did right by you and everyone else. That he held true to that choice and his convictions, right till the end, no matter the cost to himself. A man and father who can do that, why, I’d say he’d be right proud to go off and swim them waters of Fiddler’s Green. Aye, and rest easy knowing he did all he could to leave the world a better place for his having been in the thick of it.”
Lenny chewed on that awhile before speaking again, imagining his father lazing on his back in the green waters of Salt lore, looking up at a night sky filled with stars. Maybe even swimming with Racer, Paulo, and all the others gone before, all of them waiting for others to come and join them. Sniffing, rubbing his nose with the back of his Selkie sleeve, Lenny looked over to Tom Weaver, the giant man likewise glassy-eyed and staring at the darkened tunnel they ran from. “Hey, Tommy.”
“Yeah?”
“Your son will know those things about you too,” said Lenny. “Once we get you and Garrett back together.”
Tom smiled wistfully. “I hope so, Dolan. I been dreaming about that day longer than I care to count now . . . see him and my wife again. Try to tell them . . .” He shook his head, licking his lips. “Try to explain to them where I’ve been all this time. That there wasn’t a day gone by I haven’t stopped fighting to get back to them.”
“They’ll know,” said Lenny. “You’ll tell them. Or I will, if anything happens to ya.”
“Appreciate that,” said Tom. “And nothing personal, but I hope to tell them myself.”
Lenny snorted. “Hear, hear.”
Tom nodded. “I suppose all things being equal, we gotta figure us a way to get past them Orcs waiting on us in Bouvetøya first.”
Lenny stewed on the thought, remembering the pit stop they had made when being taken on the way down to Røyrkval. His father had been with him then, Declan warning Lenny to keep back from the door when all others had surged for any hint of light or air. Lenny sneered at the memory of the Orcs waiting on them the moment the doors were opened, the soldiers driving back the Selkie prisoners with their spears only to load still more chained others inside. But will they do the same when we’re going back the other way? Lenny wondered. He glanced at Tom Weaver. “You got a plan?”
“I got the inklings of one,” said Tom. “But, after seeing you wander off back here alone, I thought just maybe you might be cooking something up too. Care to swap ideas?”
“I got nothing,” said Lenny. “It’s like I said . . . Pop was the real planner. All my calls ever do is land me and those following me in more trouble.”
“Well, then it’s like I said too, Dolan – you ought to give yourself more credit. ’Cause I got a feeling we’re gonna need that brain of yours before we reach the end of this road.”
“Yeah, sure,” said Lenny. “So, what’s your plan?”
“Depends,” said Tom. “I’m generally of the mind that if you got something proved already, no point in reinventing the wheel, right? All that to say, your father led us on a good run in Røyrkval. With all those Orcs dead and gone, I’m wondering if we might tweak Declan’s blueprint a bit and use it on those waiting on us up ahead in Bouvetøya too.”
Lenny cocked an eyebrow. “Divide and conquer?”
“Maybe,” said Tom. “The trouble is, it’d mean relying on certain people when I’ve got wind from a few others that maybe we shouldn’t.”
Lenny grimaced. “Henry . . .”
Tom nodded. “Brutus told me that when the fighting time came down in the mines for their group, he saw Henry cut out on them. Abandoned all the rest to save his own skin.”
“Surprise, surprise,” said Lenny.
“Not the first time he’s pulled such a move then, I take it?”
“Hardly,” said Lenny. “Back when we was sent out as catchers, Henry never followed orders. And when we found him in the mines, Henry told us that he was sent on to make sure somebody got back to stop the trains. He was the first one on board too.” Lenny’s lip curled at the memory of Henry riding off with the train while he, Vasili, and Declan were marooned on an island of ice as the Orcs circled them. “I saw him standing where we are now before the train disappeared into the tunnel. Figured he meant to leave us all behind.”
“Might be he did,” said Tom. “Still, I’m to
rn on what to do about him.”
“What’s to be torn about?” Lenny asked. “He left us all.”
“No,” said Tom. “Not all the way, rather. He might’ve got on board to save his own skin, sure, but Henry was there to fight the Orcs on board and help take it over with me and Jemmy’s group too.”
Lenny snorted. “That was still Henry saving his own skin, Tommy. No point in being on a train full of Orcs if you’re the only Selkie left.”
“True enough,” said Tom. “But Henry could’ve found a place to hide, I’m sure. Waited to slip off when the train got back to Bouvetøya, or else rode it all the way back to New Pearlaya. Assuming that’s where we’re headed, that is, and that the tracks don’t divide off to take us somewhere else. Either way, Henry jumped in when it mattered to help us get this train backed up to save the rest of you.”
Your rescue came too late. Lenny thought to himself, his face twisting at the realization his father might still be alive if Tom and the others had returned five minutes earlier. “Nah, Tommy,” he said in reply. “If Henry jumped in to fight the Orcs with all of ya, it’s ‘cause he saw a benefit for himself. Nothing you or anyone else can say will convince me otherwise.”
“Agree to disagree then, I guess,” said Tom.
Lenny nodded. “So, why you asking me all this stuff, if you already got your mind made up anyway?”
“I like to hear all sides of a tale,” said Tom. “And you and Henry ran together long before Røyrkval, right?”
Lenny squirmed. “Got thrown into a crew together, more like.”
“Aye, the one that brought my son into all this mess,” said Tom. “But, if memory serves, I heard you were the one leading that merry little band ashore. Captain Dolan, no?”
Lenny held his ground, even as his mind screamed at him to inch away from Tom Weaver. “I was captain,” he admitted. “And Henry did his best to help me fail at every turn. Only time ever he sided with me was if he saw a profit in it for him . . . and taking Garrett captive was one of those times.”
Salt Storm: The Salted Series: Episodes #31-35 Page 8