by Karen Badger
Spencer forced herself to take several deep breaths to calm her wildly beating heart. Suddenly, a buzzer sounded and she immediate stood on her mark. With her left hand raised at a ninety-degree angle, and her weight poised on her bent right knee, she held her sword pointed toward her opponent. A second buzzer set her into action.
Little did Spencer know, the flickering light of her hurricane lamp through the windows of the warehouse drew the attention of Bear and his crew. One by one, they made their way toward the warehouse door and stood mesmerized by the sight of Spencer’s intricate swordsmanship as the bags of sugar posed as stand-ins for actual opponents. She weaved in and around the bags, striking blows, parrying, attacking, lunging and feinting. At one point, she did several back-flips across the room, landing on her feet with a striking blow to one of her opponents.
This went on for an hour until it became evident to the men that Spencer was beginning to tire. On Bear’s signal, one by one, they returned to their work and left Spencer alone to finish her match.
Finally, exhausted, Spencer fell to the floor and lay on her back. Her chest heaved up and down until her breathing returned to a strong, but normal rhythm. The oil in the hurricane lamp dwindled and the light in the room dimmed.
Out of the corner of her eye, Spencer saw her opponent approach and kneel by her side. She felt her mask being removed and suddenly everything was clear again. Her gaze was drawn to the woman beside her as she shed her gloves and then removed her own mask.
Spencer wept. “Makaya,” she whispered.
“I’m right here, love. It’s all right. You’re going to be all right.”
Spencer’s gaze darted around. Confusion was clearly evident on her face.
“Don’t be afraid, my love. I am here for you. I love you with all my heart.”
Spencer closed her eyes and whispered the name once more. “Makaya.”
***
Leilani spooned herself behind Frankie and pulled her close. She buried her face in Frankie’s hair and inhaled deeply. “I will never tire of your scent,” she whispered.
Frankie rolled so that she was face to face with Leilani. “Nor I, yours, my love.” Frankie traced Leilani’s eyebrow with her fingertip. “I can’t imagine living without you, Lei. I don’t know what I would do if I suddenly couldn’t remember our life together.”
“You’re thinking about Spencer?”
“Yes. I can’t help it. I feel a bond with her. I don’t know why.”
Leilani grinned. “You have a way of picking up lost strays. Why should Spencer be any different?”
“I feel such a sense of helplessness in her. She is so out of her usual life. It’s as if each day is a struggle to get through for her.”
“Makenna isn’t helping matters,” Leilani pointed out.
“Lei, why do you think Makenna isn’t being honest with her?”
“I think your observation was correct, Frankie. I think Makenna cares more for her than she’d like to admit and she’s afraid of her getting hurt. That, and I don’t think Makenna trusts her.”
“Why wouldn’t she trust her? She’s like a lovesick puppy around Makenna. As far as I can tell, she hasn’t done anything to give her reason to be mistrustful. On the other hand, she is the one giving Spencer reason not to trust her. I can’t believe she’s keeping the details of the schedule from her.”
“Frankie, do you know if she’s said anything to Makenna that might make her suspicious?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like yesterday when she slipped and said she was in love with Makaya? My shin is still sore from that slip up. Do you think she might have said Makaya’s name in front of Makenna?”
“This is going to sound crazy, Lei, but I believe Makaya is real to Spencer. Whether Makenna and Makaya are the same person is what I don’t know. I’m not even sure Spencer knows the difference between the two. She has said Makaya’s name a few times now, but she seems to be unaware she’s done it.”
“I think keeping Spencer in the dark about certain things is not a bad idea. I mean, what if her memories come back at precisely the wrong time? That could be catastrophic for her...and for the cause. I think it’s safer for her not to be in the thick of the action in the event something like that does happen.”
“I can’t help but worry that when Spencer’s memories do come back, someone’s heart will be broken. Maybe Makenna realizes that, and maybe she’s already made the break before Spencer has the chance to,” Frankie said.
“Or maybe Makenna realizes that she will need to disappear as soon as this thing is over, and if she can keep Spencer away from the action, she might be able to make her escape without a messy goodbye. I personally think she said her goodbyes two days ago.”
“Would she leave just like that? Is she that heartless?” Frankie asked.
“I don’t think she would see it as heartless, Frankie. I think she would see it as being compassionate to Spencer.”
***
Spencer woke up near dawn and sat up. She was lying on the floor in unfamiliar surroundings. Her first instinct was to grab her sword and climb quickly to her feet. Upon doing so, she bumped into something, and swung her sword around quickly to defend herself. Her sword encountered something soft with a thud. The next thing she knew, something spilled from the object and gathered at her feet. What the fuck?
Spencer dropped to her knees and felt around. Is this sand?
Just then a beam of sunlight shone through a nearby window, and dimly illuminated the room she was in. She looked up and was startled to see several empty sugar bags hanging by ropes from the rafters. On the floor beneath each bag was a large pile of sugar.
She sat on the floor in this middle of it all, and held her head in her hands.
“You’ve got quite the mess to pick up.” Bear’s voice boomed from the doorway.
Spencer looked up. “What happened here?” she asked.
“You happened. Don’t you remember?”
“I remember hanging the bags, but I certainly don’t remember doing this.” Spencer moved her arm in a sweeping motion to indicate the empty bags.
Bear walked across the room and reached down to help her to her feet. “The men and I saw the light on inside the warehouse, and when we came to investigate, we found you in the middle of some pretty intricate swordwork. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a good thing those were bags of sugar and not people. Otherwise, I’d be calling the police force right now.”
“I don’t remember doing this. I woke up on the floor this morning. I must have spent the night here.”
“I’m not surprised you don’t remember. It was as if you were in a trance.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up right away.”
“There’s a shovel and a wheelbarrow in the shed at the end of the docks. I hate to do, it Red, but I’ll have to dock your pay for the bags you destroyed.”
Spencer nodded. “Yes, of course. I understand.”
***
It took Spencer three hours to shovel up all the spilled sugar and to put the warehouse back in order again, after which, she executed her first round of inspections. After her rounds, she stood at the end of the dock and looked out into the harbor. It was empty of all ships, save several small skiffs with fisherman collecting their catch for the day. She felt a tremendous sense of loss and loneliness and fought back tears. “Come back to me, Makaya. Please come back,” she whispered.
With a heavy heart, Spencer turned away and walked to her room, where she laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
I won’t let you do this alone, Makaya. I will be there to protect you. I will die for you if I need to.
Fatigue brought on by emotion, quickly overcame Spencer and she promptly fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 22
On Thursday afternoon, Frankie searched the dock for Spencer, to no avail. Just as she was about to give up, she ran into Bear. “Bear! I’m so glad to see you. Do you happen to know where Spenc
er is?”
“You mean, Red? I saw her complete her rounds a short time ago. Have you checked her room?”
“I’m not sure where that is.”
“I can show you. Is everything all right?” he asked.
They walked slowly down the length of the dock.
“As good as they can be,” Frankie replied. “I worry about Spencer’s emotional state with all that is about to happen. I’m afraid Makenna hasn’t been forthcoming to her about it.”
“I know. She’s been trying to get information out of me, but I’m under orders not to say anything to her. To be honest, the less she knows, the better off she’ll be. If Makenna had her way, Red would be far away from here on Monday.”
“Has Spencer told you anything about how she came to be here?” Frankie asked.
“No, she hasn’t.”
“She was found unconscious on Princeville beach in Kauai more than a month ago with a pretty severe head injury. She woke up with no memory of who she is, although some of that has been slowly coming back. Unfortunately, the injury has also left her with periodic blackouts.”
“That might explain why she doesn’t remember what happened last night.”
Frankie frowned. “What happened?”
“I think she intended for it to be a practice session with her sword, but it turned out to be something else altogether.”
“What do you mean?”
“She hung bags of sugar from the rafters, I assume to represent opponents. Some of us stood in the doorway to watch her. Her skill with a sword amazes me. It was like a dance when she began, but a few minutes into it, it seemed like she went into a trance. The men and I had to get back to work, so we didn’t witness the whole thing, but when I checked on her this morning, she was kneeling on the floor in the middle of the warehouse, surrounded by empty bags hanging above her. They were empty because she had slashed the hell out of them and all of the contents spilled into piles on the floor. Funny thing is, she didn’t remember doing it.”
Frankie sighed. “I’m pretty sure there’s some connection between her sword skills and the memories that are still eluding her. A couple of weeks ago, she had Lei pinned to the wall with the tip of her sword, but didn’t remember doing it. I’ve seen the trance-like state firsthand.”
“All the more reason to keep her out of the way on Monday,” Bear said.
“I won’t disagree with you, but I don’t know how to stop her. She doesn’t have all the details, but she knows enough to understand how dangerous this will be to everyone involved. She has convinced herself that Makenna is someone she was in love with before she came to us, and there is no way she will allow her go to into this without being there to protect her.”
“Based on what I’ve seen, she’d definitely be able to take care of herself, and Makenna too, but if she gets into a mental state like she did last night, she could end up killing someone, which you know is the last thing any of us want.”
Frankie nodded.
“Here’s her room,” Bear said. “If she’s in there, try to encourage her to take it easy for the next few days. The dock will survive a day or two without her.”
Frankie watched Bear walk away before she knocked on the door. “Spencer? Spencer, are you in there,” she called. When no response came, she pushed the door open. The room was dark; too dark for Frankie to see adequately. She walked toward the window and opened the shutters. Daylight immediately flooded the room. Frankie heard Spencer before she saw her. She turned around quickly at the sound of whimpering behind her. Spencer was there—sitting on the floor in the corner—with her knees drawn into her chest, her arms hugging her legs and her forehead resting on her knees.
Frankie ran across the room and dropped to her knees in front of her friend. “Spencer. What happened?” Frankie quickly sat beside her and took Spencer into her arms. Spencer sunk down and laid her head in Frankie’s lap. She shook violently. “Relax. You’re safe. What happened, Spencer?” Frankie asked.
For several minutes, Spencer did not reply, but Frankie sensed the tremors subside. Finally, Spencer’s breathing normalized to the point that Frankie thought she had fallen asleep. She leaned forward and noted that Spencer’s eyes were open. She brushed the hair from Spencer’s face. “That’s better. Are you okay?” she asked.
Spencer wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
“What happened to cause this?”
Spencer sat up and leaned her back against the wall beside Frankie. She stared straight ahead. “I’ve been having visions. I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t.”
“Makaya?” Frankie asked.
Spencer looked at her. “Yes. She came to me last night. She said she loved me and would always be here for me. Doc, why is she lying to me?”
“You don’t believe her?”
“How can I? She tells me she loves me and then she intentionally keeps the schedule from me, and she’s telling people to lie to me as well.”
“Who is she telling to lie to you?”
“Bear…and maybe you and Leilani.”
Frankie reached and turned Spencer’s face toward her by her chin. “Spencer, Lei and I have not lied to you. You can be sure of that.”
“I don’t know what I can be sure of. I feel like I’m standing on a cliff with one foot over the edge, Doc. I am terrified that this is as good as it will get.”
Frankie took Spencer’s hand. “Tell me about Makaya. Tell me everything you can remember about her.”
Spencer smiled. “She is the most beautiful woman in the world. The intensity of love that I feel for her terrified me when we first met. I never believed in love at first sight until I saw her on the ship. I was drawn to her like a magnet. I know you told me to wait until you got back, but I had to see her.” Spencer closed her eyes. “I remember I was in Hawai’i with her for a wedding, but I don’t remember whose wedding it was. I know that she’s a fencer, just like me. In my vision, she was my opponent. She came to me at the end of the match and removed her mask. It was her beautiful face hovering above me. She told me she loved me and would always be here for me. I want to believe her, but she’s lied to me time and time again. She told me not to talk to Bear about the insurgence, and it turns out he’s part of it. I don’t know if I can trust her, Doc.”
“So you and Makaya are sword fighters?” Frankie asked curiously.
“Yes, fencers. That’s how we met.”
“I guess that would explain why you’re so good with a sword.”
“That would make sense.” Spencer looked at their clasped hands, and then back into Frankie’s eyes. “I wonder why she became a pirate?”
“Makaya?”
“Yes. Maybe it pays better than nursing.”
“That could be. I know being a village doctor has its rewards, but riches is not one of them.”
Spencer squeezed Frankie’s hand. “Today is Thursday, right?”
“Yes.”
“Three more days before Makaya comes back. Then I intend to get some answers.”
Frankie lifted their entwined hands and kissed the back of Spencer’s. “Hey, why don’t you come spend the next few days with Lei and me? There’s no sense in you waiting here alone. It may even make the time go faster.”
“I can’t. I have to work,” Spencer said.
“I ran into Bear this morning. He showed me where you room was, and before he left, he told me to encourage you to take a couple of days off. He knows how hard you’ve been working and he thinks you could use a break.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.”
Spencer nodded. “Okay. Let me pack a few things and then we can go.”
***
Frankie pushed the door to their hotel room open and encouraged Spencer to enter before her. “You can put your bag in the same room you stayed in before.”
When Spencer emerged from the bedroom, Frankie turned. “Catch!” She said as she tossed a small pine
apple to Spencer. “How does pineapple fried rice and glazed ham sound for dinner?”
Spencer grinned. “What, no loco moco?”
“Aren’t you tired of that yet?”
“Not when you make it. In fact, I’ll need your recipe. I think Makaya will like it too.”
“You are going to cook?” Frankie teased.
“I can cook! Just because I haven’t, doesn’t mean I can’t, you know. Oh, and for the record, pineapple fried rice and ham sounds yummy.”
Spencer grabbed a knife and began shaving the rough outer layer from the pineapple while Frankie prepared the rice. “Will Leilani be late tonight?”
“Not too late. She has been trying to indirectly prepare the council for what is going to happen on Monday. That’s not an easy task, considering she can’t warn them in advance. She is more or less trying to convince them that they should be developing a disaster recovery plan in the event any economic, political or natural disaster should occur. They’re pretty set in their ways, so I don’t know if they’ll listen to her.”
“What are you and Leilani going to do after Monday?”
“Our plan is to leave with Mak and then to go back to Kauai after a few days. As far as the council knows, we are leaving on Sunday. In reality, we will row out to the ship when it returns and stay there until after it’s over. Chief Kanhanamoku believes we are going from here to Maui for a two-week vacation before returning home. Lei is hoping that by returning to Kauai after only a few days will convince her father that we came home early to help the monarchy deal with the catastrophe.”
“Doc, I agree with what you are doing and why you’re doing it, but I can clearly see why this would be considered treason.”
“We are hoping the end justifies the means. Recovery under U.S. protection should be quick—especially with the new trade treaty to rely on.”
“Where will Mak go after it’s over?”
“That, you will have to ask her. Of course, there will be loose ends to tie immediately afterward, but once everything is settled, she can basically go where she wants.”