by Logan Jacobs
The group poured into the pub, and it was soon packed beyond capacity as more locals arrived to hear the story. The girls and I were treated to slaps on the back and plenty of ‘well dones’, and breakfast was starting to look like nothing more than a pint and piece of stale bread. But Rory quickly asserted control, and she soon had all of the new arrivals at tables while the locals crowded around the bar. The smell of sausage and toast started to fill the air, and an English breakfast soon appeared in front me, minus the large heap of beans.
“Damn good show,” a man with a walrus mustache declared after hearing the story. “But what are we to do about this Dean character? What if he decides to come here?”
“I don’t think he will,” I said. “But I doubt he has any more guns, even if he does.”
“We can show that Coates buffoon what a real Englishman can do,” another man added.
The locals started to argue among themselves about the best way to help house the people of Coates, much to the relief of everyone from the bus. We finished our breakfast quickly, and I debated whether to check on the soldiers or step outside for fresh air. The pub had become hot and uncomfortable as it filled up, and add a large cup of steaming coffee and the weight of the chest rig on top of that, and I was starting to feel the need for a blast of cold air. I noticed Becka and Hae-won were looking uncomfortable as well, especially since they still had their armor on beneath the rigs.
“I could use a moment outside,” I whispered.
Becka and Hae-won both nodded in agreement, and we slipped past the crowd as quietly as we could. We received another round of handshakes and shoulder slaps, but we finally cleared the crowd and ducked out through the door. It was a gorgeous day outside, with a few wispy white clouds against a brilliant blue sky and the scent of roses in the air. The three of us drew deep breaths as we moved away from the door and took a moment to soak in the sunshine.
“This feels much better,” Hae-won noted.
“It was getting pretty stuffy in there,” I said.
Hae-won pulled off the jacket she’d been wearing since the day before, and for the first time, I noticed she had a small bandage on her left wrist, just below the palm.
“Hey, what’s that?” I asked. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that,” Hae-won replied as her cheeks turned pink. “It was just something I did when we were here yesterday.”
“Do you need to see the doctor while he’s here?” Becka asked.
“No, no,” Hae-won said quickly. “It will be fine. In fact, I can take it off now, and wash it. I need to go back to the shop and find some cream to put on it.”
“What is it?” Becka asked.
Hae-won carefully removed the gauze to reveal a small heart tattoo. It was a dark red color, much darker than similar ones I’d seen before, and a brilliant white sash ran just beneath it, with two pink and white roses on either side. There was a name in blue script inside the sash, and I had to lean closer to see what it said. It was a beautiful display of penmanship, with perfect cursive letters that spelled out the name Jason.
“That’s…” I gasped when I saw what had been written. “That’s me.”
“It is,” Hae-won agreed as she watched me. “Do you like it?”
“It’s wonderful,” I assured her quickly. “I can’t believe you tattooed my name onto your wrist. Where did you find someone to do it?”
“I did it,” Hae-won replied.
“You did it?” Becka asked in disbelief. “How? When?”
“Yesterday,” Hae-won said. “When I was on watch, Rory came out and offered me some tea. I asked if there was anyone who did tattoos in town, and she told me that shop I went to had a tattoo parlor in back, but the man who owned it had left early on to return to his parents’ home. So I decided I would do it myself, since I knew what I wanted.”
“You know how to do tattoos, along with all your other skills,” I said in disbelief.
“I do,” Hae-won agreed. “Some of my father’s… employees showed me.”
“I want one,” Becka declared.
“A tattoo?” I asked.
“Just like that,” Becka added.
“You want my name on you as well?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” the blonde replied with a grin. “I want everyone to know who has my heart.”
“We will be like sisters,” Hae-won said with a smile.
“I love it,” Becka added with a laugh. “Let’s do it.”
“Not that I disapprove,” I replied. “But we do need to get back to Peterborough.”
“Oh, we’re almost there,” Becka said. “What’s another hour or two here in Whittlesey? Besides, you know everyone will have to use the loo, and then they’ll have to have their elevenses. And then everyone will use the loo one more time. We aren’t leaving here anytime soon.”
“Um,” I hesitated.
“Come on,” Hae-won urged as she started to cross the square toward the hookah shop slash tattoo parlor. “There was a pretty yellow color that I think would work well on the roses.”
“Ooh, I love yellow roses,” Becka replied.
The girls ran across the square and stopped outside the shop long enough for Hae-won to pick the lock again. They ducked inside amid a burst of laughter, and then I was all alone in the square. I looked around, but apparently, any locals that had been willing to venture outside their homes were all piled into the pub. It was just me and the orange minibus, and I took a deep breath of fresh air.
Everyday we stayed alive was a blessing, and I was especially blessed to have the love of those two wonderful women.
I heard the door to the pub open, and I glanced over to see Corporal Grant step outside. She looked around, and then she marched toward me when she spotted me slouched against the wall.
“I wanted to thank you, for helping us escape that place,” the curly-haired soldier said. “I know you were sent to find Brills and that’s really the only person Walston wanted.”
“The brigadier had no idea you were there,” I said. “He wouldn’t have left you there if he had known.”
Grant nodded and then looked around the square.
“The doctor says Michael… Corporal Terry will be fine,” Grant added. “He’s given him plenty of antibiotics and suggested bedrest for today. He’ll probably be able to travel tomorrow.”
“That’s good,” I said.
“I wanted to ask…” Grant began and then paused. “I wanted to ask if you would consider waiting a day before returning to Peterborough. It might be safer to travel as part of a group, and frankly, I don’t know what kind of transportation we could even find around here.”
I looked toward the tattoo parlor, and then at the minibus. I knew Walston was anxious to have the engineers back, and we were already a day overdue. On the other hand, having a pair of trained soldiers along couldn’t hurt, and I had a feeling that Brills and his cohorts wouldn’t mind a day of rest in Whittlesey either.
“I know it seems nice here,” I said since I felt like I ought to at least warn the corporal, “but we killed three dinos that attacked that house over there, and took out a fourth one that chased us from the railroad track. It might be better to get everyone back on the bus, including Corporal Terry, and take advantage of the fact that there aren’t any dinosaurs around at the moment.”
I saw Grant’s lips twitch, and she looked back toward the door to the pub.
“You could certainly try,” she said. “But it’s not me you have to convince to move. I’m afraid Brills and the others have gotten quite comfortable, and the locals are all encouraging them to spend the day here and help them come up with ideas for protecting Whittlesey against the hordes that will no doubt be arriving soon from Coates.”
“I don’t think Dean is crazy enough to attack Whittlesey,” I replied. “And that’s if he’s even still alive. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of his thugs killed him last night and took over.”
“I happen to agree
with you,” Grant said, “but it might be a hard sell. Most of these people just want to stay here for a moment, where it seems safe, before they have to face down more dinosaurs just to get home.”
“I guess we could stay one more day,” I agreed. “Though I don’t think Rory has enough rooms for everyone.”
“Some of the locals have already offered to put people up for the night,” Grant replied.
“Oh, great,” I sighed. “Then we’ll have to try and get everyone back here tomorrow morning. We’ll be lucky if we’re back at the power plant in time for dinner.”
Grant laughed, and it was hard to ignore how beautiful she looked when she wasn’t trying to maintain her military sternness. Her hazel eyes danced with merriment, and despite the bruise on her cheek and the plaster on her forehead, her whole face seemed to light up.
“You’d be surprised how quickly the English can move when they need to,” she said. “You watch. If you tell them to be here in the square at eight tomorrow morning, they’ll be here at seven fifty-nine, queued up and ready to go. But I do think they need to rest today, and if we have the chance to do it, I think we should.”
“I guess I could use a break as well,” I admitted. “I didn’t sleep at all last night, and even that cup of coffee is starting to wear off. I might fall asleep at the wheel if we tried to drive back now.”
“I’ll let them know inside,” Grant replied.
The soldier gave me a smile and then turned on her heel and marched back toward the door. I saw her take a deep breath before she ventured back inside, and then I was alone again with the minibus. In the distance, I heard a sound that I now recognized as a Pterodactyl, but the sky remained empty. Well, I decided, if I wasn’t driving anywhere today, there were plenty of other things I could do, starting with a call to Walston, if I could get through, and maybe some time alone with my girlfriends.
Maybe staying put for a day wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Chapter 10
Eventually, I moved back inside as well, though I took a spot near the window so I could watch out for the girls. As Grant had predicted, everyone seemed happy at the idea of staying in Whittlesey for the day, and one of the engineers even managed to reach his wife on his cell phone. He told her we were safe for the moment and expected back the next day, and would she kindly let the other families know.
After that, the party started to wind down. Several of the local men left to start building their own barricade along the road to Coates, and many of the escapees began to drift upstairs to the rooms. I stayed where I was until I saw Becka and Hae-won step out of the store and start across the square. I picked up one of the hunting rifles and went outside since I was still suspicious of the fact that we hadn’t seen any more dinos since the snake in the night or the boar.
“All done,” Becka said happily as the girls stopped in front of me. “How are the engineers doing?”
I noticed that Becka had a bit of gauze taped over her wrist, but when she caught my look, she only tucked the arm behind her back and shook her head.
“Napping, for the most part,” I said. “I think we’re staying here until tomorrow morning. Brills and his gang aren’t in any rush to leave, and the doctor suggested that Corporal Terry should stay in bed today and not move until tomorrow.”
“Is it safe?” Hae-won asked as she looked around the empty square.
“As safe as anywhere, I suppose,” I said with a sigh. “But, yeah, I know what you mean. It’s probably safer at the power station, but I’m feeling pretty tired myself. I told Corporal Grant we’d wait a day until it was okay to move Corporal Terry. Rory said we could have the same rooms we had before.”
“I guess we can settle in, then,” Becka noted.
We stepped back inside the pub where we found Brills and some of his fellow engineers drawing up elaborate barricade plans for Whittlesey. I nodded as Brills handed me several drawings, and after looking at the designs for a few moments, I agreed they looked like just the thing to keep the goons from Coates out. I didn’t mention that all the folks from Coates had to do was walk around the fields until they found a way in. Really, the only thing keeping Dean and his kind in Coates was the dinosaur threat. That, and the weird English sensibility that prevented behavior like driving your car around an empty field until you found a way into the town.
The day went by slowly, and other escapees reappeared every so often to enjoy a meal from the kitchen or to offer to help around the town. One woman, a thirty-something with red hair in a stained pant suit, spent several hours trying to call her husband on a borrowed phone. When she finally got through, she had just enough time to tell him that she was fine and looking for a way back to Wansford.
“She’s not one of ours,” Brills mentioned to me. “She’s a sales rep of some sort. She was out at the center trying to get them to buy doilies or something.”
“Well, we can get her to Peterborough, but after that, we’re heading north,” I replied.
The redhead stared out the windows for a few minutes, and then she started to move among the other escapees. She found three more people who wanted to head in the general direction of Wansford, and after talking with Rory, the group went off to find Mick and see what he had to offer. It was quiet again after they left, and the sun started to lower in the west. Rory emerged from the kitchen and looked around the pub, then she approached the table where I sat with Becka and Hae-wan.
“Are you Korean?” Rory asked a bit shyly.
“I am,” Hae-won said.
“Um, I have a question for you,” Rory said. “And I don’t mean it to be insultin’ or anything. And it’s quite alright for you to say no.”
“I can’t wait to hear this,” Becka murmured.
Rory blushed and looked around the pub, which was down to a handful of people. She fluffed her apron, then sat down at our table and took a deep breath.
“There’s a lovely Korean place in Coventry,” Rory began. “I’ve been a few times now with the Ladies Auxiliary Group. It’s all quite delicious, but my favorite are the dumplings. They’re so light and flavorful. I’ve tried making them here, but I can never get the dough right….”
“Ah,” Hae-won said with a smile. “I know the ones you mean. They are called mandu. My grandmother still makes them by hand.”
“I don’t suppose you would know her recipe…?” Rory asked hopefully.
Hae-won frowned for a moment, and then she made the so-so motion with her hand.
“She’s never written it down,” Hae-won explained. “And it changes a bit depending on what’s fresh, but I think I can remember the basics.”
Rory looked as if she’d just won the lottery.
Hae-won laughed and without saying another word, the two women stood up and made their way back into the kitchen.
“Well, I guess that just leaves the two of us,” Becka noted. “We’ll have to find some way to entertain ourselves.”
“I can think of one way,” I snickered. “But I think it’s a little crowded upstairs right now.”
“Who said we had to stay here?” Becka asked. “I know of at least two places that have available rooms. And I need to dab some lotion onto my new bit of art now anyway.”
We stood up, slipped out of the door, and stepped across the square with our rifles at the ready. Becka pushed open the door to the hookah shop, and we ducked inside before anyone spotted us. The front of the store was the hookah shop, with various sized water pipes on display and an endless array of flavors packed onto shelves and the tops of display cases. There was a hint of tobacco in the air, but it was hidden beneath layers of clove, cinnamon and citrus.
Becka walked around the counter and through the beaded curtain into the back of the store. She clicked on the light, and I found we were in a professional tattoo parlor. Pictures of completed works hung on the wall, along with various pre-made designs for those clients who didn’t have a design of their own. There were two customer chairs and a pair of stools, as w
ell as a wall of inks and needles. The girls had cleaned up, although I spotted a batch of yellow dye on the table for one of the stations.
“This is it,” Becka said as she picked up a jar. “Hae-won said I should rub it in gently and to make sure I covered the whole thing.”
I sat down on one of the stools as Becka peeled off the gauze. I could see that the skin was still red, and when she first dabbed some of the cream onto her wrist, I saw her flinch. But as she worked the lotion into the skin, the pain seemed to fade, and by the time she was finished, she was rubbing the skin more vigorously.
“Now do I get to see your tattoo?” I asked.
Becka glanced over at me, and with a smile, she lifted her wrist so I could see the heart for myself. It was the same size as Hae-won’s with the same dark red heart, but the roses were yellow and clustered together on one side of the heart while a blue sash with my name picked out in purple was draped across the other side.
“Well?” she asked.
“It’s amazing,” I said.
“It means I belong to you,” she whispered as she glanced at me and blushed a bit.
“I love it,” I said as I leaned closer to look at the art.
Somehow, Hae-won had managed to create an almost 3-d effect, and I wanted to touch the tattoo just to reassure myself that it was nothing more than ink and skin.
“She really is quite talented,” Becka said as she looked at the heart. “I don’t know why her parents are pushing her to be a computer jockey when she has so much artistic talent.”
“They’re probably worried that she won’t find a job as a pianist or… tattoo artist,” I replied.
“But she’d be a lot happier,” Becka pointed out.
“Well, it may not be a problem,” I said. “Unless they figure out how to get rid of these dinosaurs soon.”
“Now that’s a mood killer,” Becka replied. “Come on, let’s see what’s upstairs.”
Becka grabbed my hand and pulled me to a door at the back of the studio. The door opened into a small hallway, with a room marked ‘storage’ to the left and a winding staircase to the right.