Obviously, she had plenty of other guns stashed away, but I knew that when she said “gun”, she actually meant “the right to carry a gun around”. She felt naked and vulnerable without it.
“Sanity?” I smiled and asked her, “What the fuck are you talking about, girl? You have no sanity. You’re totally fucking crazy, remember?”
It took her a moment, but a smile bloomed on her face. She chuckled and said, “You got that right.”
I put my arms around her and reassured her, “We’ll get you out of here, okay? I promise. You just need to be cool for a little while longer. No more freaking out, okay?”
“You’re the only one I can trust, Doll,” she whispered.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “I’m just awesome like that, I know.”
I got her to sit down on the bed and went to speak with the doctors, “Sorry for the fuss, doctor...” I trailed off, waiting for him to tell me his name.
“Kassian,” he informed, “I mean, Casey.”
“Dr. Kassian,“ I continued, ”Bibi just really needs to get out of this place. She doesn’t like hospital, so... how much longer does she have to stay here?”
The other doctors were all reluctant, crossing their arms and shaking their heads at me.
Dr. Kassian spoke for the others, “We might not have the infrastructure for proper treatment here, but it’s still way better than discharging her. She was lucky the bullet went through the way it did, but it’s still a very serious wound. She needs to stay and rest for a few more weeks, at the very least.”
“Well,” I suggested, “let’s say, for argument sake, that I took her home. What would I need to take care of her?”
He studied me, unimpressed.
I stared him down and then told him, “Dude, just look at her. She stays here any longer, she’ll end up killing one of you. I’m taking her home, with or without your help.”
“Fine,” he finally agreed, “but she needs to be still. It’ll be months before she fully recovers, IF she does it right. And if she keeps forcing that shoulder, it’ll disrupt the healing process. She could end up with permanent and painful movement limitations. She might end up with limitations even if she does it right.”
“Thank you, doctor,” I said, as kindly as I could, “I know you mean well, but you don’t know her like I do. She’ll be better off with me, trust me.”
Stone, who was quietly watching the whole thing, finally spoke up again, “You can trust her on that, Doc. If there’s anyone who can get through to Beebs, it’s Dana.”
“Right,” Dr. Kassian accepted, “You’ll need to clean the wound and patch it back up every two or three days. Keep it dry. If you see any pus or redness around the wound, call me. It might be an infection. And, since she hates this place so much, I’ll make a house call if I have to. You’ll also need to drop by here every few days to get some antibiotics, maybe some painkillers as well.“
“Thanks,” I said, “I really owe you one, Doc.”
“You know,” he suddenly admitted, “I’m not even a real doctor... I used to be a physiotherapist, believe it or not. No one here has an actual medical degree. We just do what we can with what we have.“
His sudden showing of vulnerability, made me see him... them all in a different light. They were good people.
“Well, you’re all heroes in my eyes,” I told them.
One of them brought me Bibi’s clothes. She got dressed and we took her over to my new apartment. The neighbors watched us, with suspicious eyes. I just hoped none of them would snitch on us or anything. It wasn’t exactly allowed to have visitors stay over for prolonged periods of time. Bibi was actually really tired, she fell asleep only minutes after we had made her bed. We figured she preferred to be alone anyway, so we just left here there, resting.
Stone eventually went about his business and Xandy was with Singer for the afternoon. I was going to get him back at dinner, as we had agreed. Lexa was probably taking care of everything at the hut, so there was probably nothing for me to do there. Ranger was still there with me... I had almost forget all about him. I suddenly realized I had all the time in the world on my hands and we were alone together, just walking the streets.
He started up a conversation, “That was intense, back there at the hospital.”
“Yeah,” I agreed matter-of-factly, “living with Bibi is pretty much like that... Of course, it doesn’t help that Godric is on a God damn witch hunt after us.” As we walked, I looked around at the people in the street. “You know, I used to like this town...”
He raised an eyebrow at me and asked, “You don’t like it anymore?”
“Actually, I’m starting to hate it,” I admitted. Glancing at Ranger’s uneasy face, I thought it over and then elaborated, “I don’t know what to think anymore. I mean, sure, I’ve made some progress. My bow hunting squad is growing and some people appreciate what I do... but Mouse is gone, I miss my apartment... everything is upside down now. Sometimes, I just feel like packing up my shit and leaving, you know? It’s like everyday now, I lose something. I’m starting to run short on reasons to stay.” Then I suddenly remembered, “Oh, I um... spoke to Singer, by the way...”
Silently, he waited for me to continue.
I went on, “Yeah, so, I told him that I wasn’t going to be returning his affections after all. I know I should have told you earlier, but...” I trailed off. Butterflies were fluttering inside me again. No matter how jaded I was, I still felt nervous as hell talking about that kind of thing.
“Life has kinda been getting in the way, huh?” he deduced, “No need to explain yourself to me, Dana. I totally get it. So, Singer’s no longer... in the way?”
I hesitated.
“Well,” he said cautiously, “I think you already know what I want. So, what do you want?”
Blushing, I dodged his gaze. I was so nervous that my throat felt clogged up, I felt like I couldn’t speak. We had kind of walked at random, after leaving Bibi, and somehow we ended up in front of my old apartment. There were yellow plastic strips across the door. Apparently, it had become a hazardous place. Such bullshit. Instead of feeling anger though, it just reminded me of that first kiss. That was a good memory.
I knew what Ranger wanted, and I knew what I wanted as well. But I wasn’t going to be able to actually say anything without messing it up. So, I decided to take action instead. I took a step towards him, looked up into his amazing blue eyes... stood on the tips of my toes... and kissed him... He slid his hands around me, under my arms and I dug my finger into his hair. There was nothing to hold me back anymore... At first we just pressed our lips together, but then we kind of really got into it... and it lasted quite a while too. I hadn’t noticed it until that moment, but with all the shit that was going down, I guess I really needed that.
When we finally took a short break, Ranger swallowed, took a deep breath and said, “Wow...” He seemed genuinely overwhelmed.
I thought my heart would be racing or something, but actually I was in some kind of trance. I was at peace, finally... I didn’t want it to end, so I started kissing him again. He kissed me back.
- - - - -
We stayed there for a few hours. When the shadows of the buildings started getting long enough, we decided it was time to come back down to reality. Reluctantly, we went to check up on Bibi and take her to dinner. I did my best not to seem too happy in front of Singer, but he’s not stupid. He tried to act cool about it, but I know he figured it out. He’s a true gentleman, I hope someday he finds a girl who deserves him. Taking my brother for a bath in the common bathroom wasn’t as bad, thinking I’d see Ranger again tomorrow. It feels great having something new like that in my life. It’s revitalizing... and a brand new reason not to hate Harptown.
Entry 15
March 27th, 47
Tipping the scales
Fuck this town!
Yesterday, Bibi was finally charged with storing illegal goods. They said they had some kind of “evidence” against he
r and placed her under arrest. The doctors, who were mostly on our side, helped us out, saying she couldn’t be moved from my apartment. As a result, Captain Godric placed guards outside my home, twenty-four seven. We’ve been working around the clock, arguing her case at the council, trying to get them to drop the charge. But, this afternoon, they started her trial. Laurie is still detained, but when it came to Bibi, they somehow found a way to speed things up. In hindsight, I suppose we should have all known how it was going to be.
- - - - -
We still had a few hours before Bibi’s trial. Stone had stepped up as speaker, on her behalf. It was kind of like an attorney, if those still existed. I would have been her speaker myself, but Stone thought it was better if I didn’t get involved in the trial directly. He was right, I was more of an accomplice than anything else, having been there at the shooting. Still, I wanted to help in anyway I could.
“What are you going to tell them?” I asked.
“To begin with,” Stone replied, “we’ll ask them to drop the charges due to lack of evidence. That will at least force them to show us this evidence they say they have and we’ll be able to prepare for it. Even if they found the stash, they can’t really prove it’s hers. It’s not like they can find fingerprints or anything.”
“I don’t think that’ll be enough,” I told him, “We need to find something that’ll force their hand. Otherwise, they’ll just say she’s guilty and give her the death sentence or something. They’re out to get us.”
“I know, kid,” Stone agreed, “but we have to try it by the book first. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll start resorting to other strategies.”
“Like what?” I asked him apprehensively.
“I don’t know yet,” he admitted, “We’ll have to wait and see what they say first. The burden is still on them to come up with a compelling argument. One step at a time.”
I sighed and nodded in agreement. Looking up at him, I confessed, “I hate this. They’re only going after her to get to me. You know that, right?”
He frowned at me and asked, “How do you figure that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I explained, “She’s my best friend. She’s an easy target, because of her personality. If they didn’t think half the town would stand up for me, they’d have accused ME of something, not her. I’m the one they hate. Bibi, as crazy as she is, has never really pissed anyone off.”
He studied me and then said kindly, “Dana, you’re always so ready to take the weight of the world unto your shoulders... Have you ever considered they want us ALL out of the way? Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t tried to take Buba away from me, send me to the common dorms. Maybe they went after Bibi first... but who do you think is second and third? They’ll get around to the rest of us soon enough and we better be prepared.”
“You’re probably right,” I granted him, “Still, if they are trying to get to me... they’re succeeding.”
“Easy,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder, “We haven’t lost just yet.”
Just then, Lexa, Singer, Mimi, Nelly and Buba came up to us, with oddly smiling faces.
“What’re you guys up to?” I inquired.
“Check it out,” Singer cried proudly.
He held up small pamphlets, with the words “We give you our food, how about giving us your guns?” There was a cute cartoony drawing of a farmer, with a barrel of milk, a baker, with a loaf of bread, and a cook, with a cauldron of soup.
He grinned and explained, “They asked us to make some of these, to pass around. But I guess it kinda works for you too, huh, Dana?”
“Nice,” I chuckled, “You drew that?”
“Yep,” he replied.
“That’s awesome!” I praised, “The only trouble is, the other hunters are on their side. They’ll get their food, even if the farmers and cooks go on strike.”
“Yeah,” Lexa argued, “but they’ll have to learn to cook it themselves. And you think they’re ready to go without bread, soup, milk, juice?”
“Actually, I think they’re just about ready to start enslaving us,” I lamented, “but I’m being too negative. This is a great idea! Can I help you pass it around?”
Singer laughed and said, “We were just about to ask you for some help doing just that.”
I half expected him to be depressed, after my rejection... and Ranger... but maybe I was being too egocentric, thinking he’d be crushed without me. I was glad to see him smiling and engaged in projects like that.
I turned to Stone and said, “I’ll be back before the trial starts.”
“I’m going to talk to some people around town,” he informed, “try and find out some kind of angle we might have on this trial. I think I might have an idea.” He turned and walked away from us.
We watched him leave and then shrugged at each other. Lexa distributed the pamphlets equally between us and we headed out to start passing them out. Lexa and the girls took the northern part of town. Buba, Singer and I took the south. Half the people who took the pamphlets, smiled at it. The others half frowned, crumpled it up and threw them on the ground. Some didn’t even bother to see what it was, keeping their distance from us.
Singer stood next to me as we worked at it. I could see he was working up the courage to say something.
Finally, he blurted out, “Dana, I want to thank you.”
I looked at him and asked, “For what?”
“For saving my life,” he reminded me, ”at the hut showdown. If you hadn’t gone there, we’d all probably be dead. It’s just I haven’t thanked you yet, not properly anyway. I guess I was just... in shock or something... I had never really seen people killing each other. Somehow, I’ve managed to live a protected life... even in this ruined world. So, thank you. I quite literally owe you my life.”
“Oh,” I replied, feeling a bit embarrassed, “You don’t have to thank me, I just did what anyone would have done.”
“Ah, no,” he countered, “Actually, you did the opposite of what most would have done. You knew it was a trap and you went there anyway.”
“That was mostly Bibi,” I pointed out, “You should be thanking her for that recklessness.”
“I did,” he chuckled, “And she said pretty much the same thing you just did... well, all except the reckless part.”
“You spoke with her?” I wondered impressed, “And THANKED her?”
“Yeah,” he replied unashamed, “I stayed with Xandy and her yesterday, at your apartment, while you and Stone were at the council, remember?”
“What was that like?” I asked curiously.
“It was... enlightening,” he said, studying my face, “She told me that, if it weren’t for you, she’d have gone into the hut guns blazing and gotten her ass handed to her on a fuckin’ platter, as she put it.”
“True,” I said, recalling that night.
“So,” he repeated, “thank you, Dana.”
“You would have done the same for me,” I said.
“Sure,” he stated, “I would have tried... but even if I had figured out it was a trap, I’d probably just have gotten myself killed. I’m not like you, Dana. The fact remains, I owe you.”
I sighed and said, “You don’t owe me anything...”
“God dammit!” he complained, laughing, “Will you please, just accept my gratitude? PLEASE?”
His reaction surprised me. I thought it was implicit that I had acknowledged it, but he wanted to hear me say the words. I took a deep breath and said, “You’re welcome.”
“Thank you!” he cried in relief.
“Sorry,” I explained, “I’m not good with people praising me... or thanking me...”
He laughed at me some more. I was relieved to see that we were still able to talk like that. Chatting with Singer always made me feel better, even when we didn’t talk about anything particularly important. Obviously, we didn’t touch on the subject of Ranger and me. Instead, he told me how the kids in his class all thought I was some kind of badass hero. K
ids, what a silly notion they had. If they had seen how it really went down... I downright shot Flavian in the face. What kind of hero does that? I felt more like a villain...
We continued handing out the pamphlets until we were out. Then, we went back to the others and headed for the council, where the trial was going to take place. Stone was there talking to some people. I knew most of them, Liza, the cook at the cafeteria, Bill, one of the nicer guards, Dr. Cassino, the mechanic...
“What’s going on here?” I asked Stone, “What’s up with all these people?”
He smiled and explained, “These people are going to testify on Bibi’s behalf. I’m working on building up her character. Maybe if the council sees just how many people she’s been helping, they’ll think twice before condemning her.”
“Well, that’s great, but since when does Bibi help people?” I asked.
He leaned in and whispered, “Well, we’re not really talking about conventional help here.”
“Oh,” I understood, “So, these are the people who owe her favors and stuff. How did you know who to call on?”
“Spoke with Beebs,” he revealed, “I knew she had a network of contacts, if you will. I asked her if any of them would help us. She gave me a list of names. Didn’t say what kind of favors they owed or why... or if they owed her money, or if she had some kind of dirt on them... She just said to call these people and tell them all is forgiven if they come. Some of them came, so I guess it kinda worked.”
“Awesome!” I praised.
Looking from me to Singer and Lexa, Stone added, “I’m going to need you guys to testify as well. We need to play up how heroic Bibi was at the hut showdown.”
It was going to be extra easy in Singer’s case because he really believed Bibi had been a hero. His opinion of her had changed literally overnight. As we were talking it over, one of the guards announced the trial was about to begin. Another guard headed out to my apartment, to get Bibi. I accompanied him there. Bibi should have been resting, but she was playing with Xandy when I went in.
Dead End Chronicles (Book 1): Dead End Journal Page 17