by Han Yang
I turned my head for them to see.
“A lobo chopped it off.”
“You poor thing,” Roma said.
Lillo giggled. “She’s been worried sick. Same with Kayla. I said Yilissa would take care of you and keep you safe.”
“She certainly became a better shooter. She also has a new boyfriend… or two,” I said shyly.
“New men you say?” Hariet asked with a smirk. “The other hens have been clucking about the lack of…” She paused, eying Lillo who rolled her eyes.
“As much as I want to curl into this bed and join you, we have a mountain of supplies to move, and the outside is devoid of threats for the moment. As soon as we can, the doctor and I will inspect your hand,” I told Hariet.
“You know medicine too?” Hariet asked.
“I amputated Craig’s leg, providing him a swift recovery. A doctor can only do so much with the tools available,” I said.
“Supplies?” Roma asked. “And sunshine!”
“Yes, um… you should probably get into something less nippily,” I said, and she slugged my arm with a gasp. Hariet and Lillo giggled, and I chucked. “I tease. Speaking of it being cold. Zachary is sleeping well. Get it, he’s out cold.”
Roma smiled with an eye roll. “I missed you, Theo, I missed you so much. Zachary, yes, he tends to sleep through anything. If you’d carry him, I’ll join you after a girls’ trip to the privy and an outfit change,” Roma said, rubbing my arm. “I’m glad the Great Mother answered my prayers and brought you back to me.”
We shared a quick kiss, and I hoisted the young man up. I just had to hope the party split at the docks was going as well as our reunion was going.
41
Snagglewood Day 44
Lornsto Docks
“Madame Hariet, this never set right,” Kevin said in a faint tone I could hardly hear. The man was sucker for a pretty woman and Hariet swept him off his feet. “If you would join me in the captain’s quarters, I can set it with my mallet. I dare say, I’d hate to damage this further, and it will take longer to feel better, but it will heal correctly.”
“You can trust him,” I told her.
She nodded unhappily. “I just wrapped it and didn’t complain.”
“We have something to help with the pain, but Doctor Karo insists on minimal applications,” Kevin said.
“No need to be formal and my medical training is not as thorough as yours. Plus, I don’t even remember your last name,” I said with disappointment, mainly about myself.
“See, a gentleman admits his faults, not like that little shit Max,” Kevin said. “Malcolm, Malcolm is my surname. I still can’t believe the audacity of that Max kid.”
Cella rolled her eyes. “You boys, there's little to worry about, it was only a grazing wound.”
“A what?” I said in shock.
Cella lifted her shirt, revealing an angry seam above her right hip. “There was an -”
“Zachary!” Beverly screamed running to the boy.
I put the first conversation on pause, slowing Beverly. “Right. Shit. Roma, this is Beverly, Zachary’s Aunt. Beverly, this is Lady Roma, the wonderful woman who has been doing her best to act as Zachary’s guardian.”
“He looks so damn good. You had me worried to no end,” Beverly said, with a huff.
She pretended to be flustered by the little boy because he clung to Roma instead of recognizing his aunt. She placed fingers in her ears and stuck out her tongue in a silly way. The toddler chuckled and his eyes shifted as if suddenly remembering her.
Beverly grinned in victory and said, “Better. May I hold you Zachary? Do you want to see your cousins?”
The boy smiled at seeing Rita, the girl waved with a freehand, the other occupied with a pistol.
“Are you training kids to kill now?” Hariet asked.
“If she were a boy, no one would pester me, get over it,” I said.
I could see Hariet mulling over to respond but I turned on Cella. “What… Happened?”
Kevin led Hariet away and Roma went to help load supplies while Zachary and Beverly got reacquainted.
“They - they didn’t like the terms. Said it was the exact reason they were leaving. When I asked what they expected of me, Max said they needed someone to haul the extra supplies,” Cella said.
I licked a thumb, tracing it over her stomach and ensured to keep my saliva out of her wound. I wanted to see how far up it went and if the seam would pop.
“Cauterized. A graze for sure.” I huffed at her luck. “They wanted to turn you into a pack mule?”
She snickered. “Lenny had this one plan, Max had another. Both wanted to go to Laro. Max figured they’d find some horses and a wagon, as if they’d magically be waiting for them. Once there, they’d loot and ride hard to Bisben.
“Lenny figured they should stay in the cellars or the boat and see how bad it was before trekking off to Laro. The boys argued for a while, and I just worked. Eventually they quieted into whispered yells, and I stepped in to tell them I was staying. I knew this wouldn’t go over well.”
“As if Laro would just have easy supplies. And I bet, Lenny is a nice young man. Filled with heart,” I said, stepping back.
“Well, Lenny took it hard. The kid, I still see him that way, lost everyone but his sister. Then she sacrificed herself to keep the old man away. With her return, the four of them kinda lost a bit of their cohesion. Especially with other people to rely on. Does that make sense?” Cella asked.
“They’re young, hell, I’m only twenty-one. However, I have a stable foundation and a wealth of fake experience and years of knowledge. But yes, I understand. What happened?” I asked.
“Oh, Lenny said he was staying when I put my foot down. That seemed to be a tipping point. Me, his sister, and hope for a future had him change his decision. He’s in the bow hold of Apple moving stuff.
“Anyway, Nancy said that would mean a divorce if he did something so foolish. They got in a fight, and she hit him. When he shoved her away, trying to avoid more hits, Max drew on him. I stepped in, socking Max. His gun went off, pinged against the ship and zinged me.
“As you can imagine, shit escalated real-quick. Max left with about a dozen guns pointed at him. In a turn of events Nancy went with Max, but Nia stayed. Can you believe that? I think she stuck to Max out of survivalism and after getting to know both of them well.
“Well, Lenny is a saint. Max is not. Nancy is in trouble, letting emotions rule her but there’s nothing to be done about it. She made it perfectly clear we were all dead to her. The duo left with two bags and enough supplies to make it to Laro. Even gave them extra guns,” Cella said.
“Talk about some teenage drama, you catch all that Roma?” I asked as she returned.
“I’m Roma,” Roma said, extending a free arm, the other held a clingy Zachary who clamped onto her hip.
“We heard so much about you from this man who’s clearly smitten,” Cella said, shaking her hand. “A true gentleman, the kind a lady hopes to find.”
I blushed, feeling like the situation just turned slightly awkward. I tried to grab Zachary and he smacked at my hands.
“I see we are on the same page I left one,” I muttered.
“He’s going through a lot.” Roma slid a hand down my back, turning to Cella after. “Thank you for helping Theo return to us. I will be in your debt for quite some time. All these supplies are a wonder,” Roma said.
Cella smiled and Zachary reached for her of all people. “We’re a team now. For a bit, I had this notion I would be abandoned or enslaved again. Instead, Willow is on the mend, and I am able to bury the past… somewhat. All because of a crazy man who says the Great Mother sent him.”
Cella excused herself, leaving Roma and I. “I see you brought some men too. We… Eric is smart but weak. Gregory is old and cautious, where Mark is bitter. All three are married and not in their prime. There’s a reason our best shooter broke her hand.”
“You’re not jea
lous, are you?” I asked, keeping the conversation on Cella.
“Of Cella, no. Yilissa yes, and more like... concerned. You’ve been around her longer now and I know her, she has a way with corrupting good men,” Roma said. “I just... The mind wanders when it is worried.”
I swept her off her feet and laid a long kiss on her lips. “About that babysitter.”
“I guess that’s as good as an answer a woman can expect, especially since Yilissa watched with fondness. She is nervous around… Shut the front door, did Yilissa and -”
I crushed my lips to hers again before whispering in her ear, “We live in a confined home and if you finish that sentence it could lead to something wonderful - becoming disastrous. He lost his leg and was high on drugs that she partook in. Not making an excuse, merely letting you know the circumstances. Nothing between her and I ever happened.”
Roma’s blue eyes locked to mine. “My dear, Theo. You are a true gentleman and I fear you are correct here. Bury the horrid past. We saw their reunion. It was wonderful to witness. And it wasn’t ongoing?” I shook my head emphatically. “Thank you for being honest with me. I can’t imagine what you went through, and for weeks, I wanted nothing more than this.”
“We need a hand,” Fen shouted, struggling to get a crate of ammo higher on the wagon.
Another interruption. We just wanted to catch up, and the reality was, there was work to be done. I grabbed a chunk of her butt, causing her to gasp in surprise. She flushed red before I hurried away.
“No interruptions later, my lady,” I shouted loudly.
Of course, this caused giggling and Roma’s face reddened further. I hurried over and aided Fen with a heavy ammo box.
I glanced at the barge, at the minimal space on the carts, and back at the barge; the ship was fully loaded too, causing me to sigh at the fact there’d be no rushing this.
Without a doubt, it’d be a long day.
∞∞∞
The sun edged onto the horizon and Roma pinched my butt.
I must have fallen asleep standing up, proving I pushed myself too hard. I didn’t intend to catch some shut eye, or even close my eyes, but I did drift off.
“How’s your arm?” she asked, tucking a hair behind her ear.
My arm started bleeding from heavy lifting. The reality was, the big constraint was the hand wagons' limited space, not the need for people to lift. I pulled guard at Apple, while Yilissa guarded the mine, and Craig watched over the path between the two.
“It stopped bleeding, again. I pulled a night shift and now a day shift, but I think the arm is dragging on me. Everyone else isn’t falling asleep as they walk,” I said.
“Actually, they are. We got everything besides about a quarter of the canned fish. Can we go home?” Roma asked.
“Yeah, let’s call it. We’d be cutting it close anyway on the last haul, I doubt they even unloaded yet,” I said, gesturing for her to go forward. “I’m tempted to ask if you want to take a shower with me on the ship but imagine my surprise when the curtain vanished right away.”
She giggled, standing on her tippy toes to kiss my cheek.
“You always have a way of making me smile,” Roma said.
“I hope we can continue that. I really do. Next week or two, you get your consultation, we can take things slow until then,” I said.
“Nope!” she said confidently, dragging me down the stairs. “All I did was talk about you with Hariet while you were gone.”
“I kinda did the same. I can’t help but feel bad about your parent’s though,” I said, and we stepped onto the barge. I shifted my attention to a chipper Dex and Fen who chatted with Joana and Hariet. “Time to go home, no more for tonight. I’m falling asleep from pulling the night shift last night and we can continue tomorrow.”
“Sure thing,” Fen said with a friendly wave.
The group of four headed down the dock in front of us. When they had enough distance, I offered a hand for Roma to cross the plank.
“We won’t have this conversation again, Theo. Let me say this clearly. You’re not to blame. Father would be dead without you. You literally saved his life. Mother, yes, she should have waited.
“You asked her to wait for the hero with the amazing gun skills. Instead, she was a concerned woman who never shoots and threw caution to the wind. Her decision, not yours. You didn’t kill them, and you would have saved them if you could have,” Roma said.
“Damn straight. Sorry, I tend to be a cocksure kinda guy. This one had me doubting myself and I appreciate the reassurance. How has it been adjusting to the mine?” I asked, shifting the conversation.
“I did a lot of soul searching when you were gone. Especially during that first week. I expected to be a mom at some point, I really did. But not the way I am now. Lillo is a joy but Zachary has proved troublesome. That first week did wonders though.
“Hariet would go out, shoot a few narocks and we’d spend all day looting Lornsto. The kids played, the animals ate the local vegetation, and I tanned. Then disaster struck. Eric wanted to build an escape ladder.
“We all agreed: that since we had the wood, and the time, we would build a backup escape tunnel only big enough for a woman and child. Well, Hariet was stacking boards. Gregory dodged Beatrice, who carried a cauldron of water, and stomped on her hand in all the wrong ways. The rest is history. I went from loving the mine, to hating the mine.”
“I wish I could have been there,” I said, slinging an arm over her shoulder.
I couldn’t help but grin at her approving smile. The only thing that made the walk better was the beautiful sunset ahead of us.
“About that. I was so happy when we inspected the damage the next day. We all figured it out - the great mystery of you never coming back from inspecting Apple. The docks were a mess, and the boat was gone. Based on the massive turtle crab thing that we saw, we concluded you ran, instead of fighting the beast,” Roma said.
“Yeah… There were some valuable lessons learned that day and later when I killed one. Do not make a neutral party an enemy until you are ready to fight them on all fronts,” I said as if reading a proverb.
“Well, we were right. Two to three days there, six days back. After ten days I started to angst. After fourteen I began to break down and Hariet had to help with the kids. The narocks wormed their way into the tunnel smashing at the entry with shrieking roars.
“We started sleeping during the day after a few nights. I almost gave up hope. Almost. Honestly, I never expected to wake up with your handsome face hovering over me with moist eyes.”
I pulled her in and kissed her sweat filled hair. I chuckled and said, “Sudden sandstorm kicked up a helluva lotta dirt before I entered the -” She grabbed a healthy helping of my butt cheek, squeezing tight. “I missed you so much it burned my chest.”
“Well, you’re home. Eric will say how he needs wood. Gregory will mention how we need livestock feed, chickens, bunnies, and all sorts of animals. I was going to say Joana would say we need to rescue more men but… you did bring back some roosters to the hen house,” Roma said with a grin.
“Uh… happy to help. Maybe the shower curtain going missing will be good for the men,” I said, and she enjoyed this thoroughly with a cackling laugh.
“Speaking of privacy. We talked about building walls. As in, the new expansions would be halls with rooms, not just massive bays. The open areas would be common spaces instead of sheet sections,” Roma said.
I nodded in approval. “Would you share a room with me, Lady Roma?” I asked.
She leaned into me closer. “Are you sure? I come with two youngins that may not call you daddy.”
“Life is about finding joy in the moments you can, and being proud of your actions, especially the tough ones. I waited a long time to give love a real chance. To both Roma and Natasha,” I said, and she sighed.
“I want that report,” she said with a finger pointed at my nose.
“Soon. In the meantime, we use all the wood
from the barge to build our own room and finally have some privacy,” I said.
“And a room for the children.”
I chuckled. “Hell yes, a room for just us. How else will we ever find alone time?”
“Oh, I happened to have it on good authority that the waterfall will be free and Hariet is watching the children. Would you care to join me?”
I paused, seeing we neared the mine’s basin. “I wish I could carry you through the threshold but my shoulder.”
“Look at you trying to be all romantic. That can come later, this lady wants you naked under a waterfall. Join me or miss out,” she said, sauntering away from me with the setting sun casting her in a wonderful glow.
In the far distance, a roar preceded gunshots. Did I rescue the idiot teenagers, or did I follow Roma’s shapely behind and her amazing offer?
I did give a final glance toward Laro before shaking my head. I didn’t check my linker, to see if there was a quest. I followed my heart and ran to catch up to Roma.
Intermission 3
Councilman Marius
Starship Tranquility
“Where to, boss?” Pavel asked, shuffling his feet over the pristine floor to keep up.
Marius didn’t answer right away, waving him to the awaiting shuttle. They walked across the bay, seeing less drones than ever in its hold. Darcy was losing the war and the attrition was adding up. Her grand schemes for humanity to sustain on Earth, instead of Alpha Centauri, were proving costly.
“I read the report about the dragon sized monster that’s been knocking down shuttles,” Pavel said with concern.
Marius wanted to rub his temples. He deserved to. Pavel was Russian, he never held that against the man. Others did because of their betrayal to humanity. The issue was he had trust issues and was always questioning everything.
“Pavel, you always bitch and moan but you’re like a rock, capable and dependable. Get in the shuttle, we will run the risk. Darcy is letting my faction shift to Hope. Our goal is to free space here, while winning council seats on that ship,” he lied with a straight face.