by J. C. Allen
As the commotion died down, Rick took the necklace from the girl’s neck and placed it in his pouch, calmly prodding the girls to come with him.
“That was sooooo cool, Vespasia!” Alex gushed as they walked to the corner of the street, all grinning from ear to ear.
“Mission accomplished,” Kaylie declared proudly.
Rick stopped and turned, getting down on one knee. He squared Vespasia in front of him by the shoulders and went into father mode, “Now, little one, you could have been hurt or killed. You should have come to me when you spotted it.”
She lowered her head, afraid to look him in the eyes. “Sorry, I know I—”
Thwapp!!
Rick saw her eyes widen in surprise as she grabbed her side in pain. She pulled a bloody hand away from her side and stared at it with incomprehension.
Just then, over her shoulder, Rick saw him — Bergamiser. He was on a balcony across the street. He was loading another bolt into his crossbow.
As the shocked girl looked at her hand, she began to faint. Rick scooped her up and tried to stand when he felt his own pain. The bolt Bignose had fired had only grazed Vespasia’s side, but was lodged in his upper thigh. He winced and staggered, realizing he couldn’t make it around the corner before another volley was launched.
He fumbled, nearly losing the woozy girl but managed to maintain a firm grip on her. He was trying to cover her with his body when he heard the second missile impact his shoulder, going completely through. Vespasia saw this and instantly passed out. The other girls shrieked in alarm. Rick, full of adrenalin now, lunged to his feet with the limp girl still clutched in his arms. He awkwardly struggled around the corner before another arrow could be flung in his direction. The girls followed, shielding themselves behind him.
Rick staggered against the wall, feeling dizzy, smearing a bloodstain down the rough stucco as he slumped. “Alex! Grab that arrow and yank it out!” he ordered.
Alex was hysterical, “I can’t! You’re not supposed to do that anyway, Dad!”
“I know, but if you don’t, I won’t be able to run or even walk!”
“Why don’t we just use the necklace?” Christy insisted.
Rick considered that for a second while he fought back blackness in his own eyes, then looked at the lifeless girl in his arms, “No, we can’t leave her here, she could die.”
“But so could you, Daddy!” Alex sobbed.
“Nonsense, if I was in danger of dying the necklaces would have recalled us already. Now just quit complaining and do what you’re told!”
Alex clutched the basket in her arms as if hiding behind it and adamantly shook her head no.
Christy finally took the initiative as Rick stared angrily at his daughter, quickly wrapping her hand around the shaft and yanking it out in one smooth motion. Rick gritted his teeth through the pain, fighting to remain conscious.
Alex nearly fainted at the sight of the wound, which was only slightly trickling blood.
“See, I knew it didn’t hit an artery.” Christy casually pointed out.
“Now let’s go before one does,” Rick grunted. Somehow, his arms still held tightly onto Vespasia. He was glad her body blocked the view of his leg and he didn’t dare risk a glance at his shoulder. Steeling himself, he pushed off the wall and to his feet. “Come on girls, straighten up and let’s go, now,” he was saying this mostly to Alex, who looked a bit unsteady.
Rick half hopped, half limped, following Christy, with Kaylie and Alex at his side, helping him stay upright. Christy quickly led them to the main road where they hid behind a display while Kaylie doubled back to purchase some cloth. She quickly returned and tossed the white muslin to Rick and then went to stand guard.
Rick sat on the ground, back against the wall, and shifted Vespasia so he could see the damage to his leg. Blood ran all the way to his ankle, but otherwise it didn’t appear to be too bad. He then checked Vespasia to see how badly she was hurt. Blood covered her entire hip and back, but the arrow had caught nothing but the outer layer of her side, making an angry red groove above her waist. As Rick ripped the cloth into strips, he asked Alex to find some water.
Chapter 16 — Goodbye Dreams, Hello Reality
Vespasia started to awaken when Rick cleaned her side and back so he could dress the wound. She whimpered as Alex calmed her by gently stroking her face with a damp cloth.
“You got lucky, girl,” Rick told her casually, “The arrow went through your side, but mainly through skin.”
She looked down as he attempted to clean the blood and nearly passed out again.
Rick pressed a couple strips of cloth into the wound and asked Christy to hold it there as he worked four long strips around her tiny waist and tied them to hold it in place. Kaylie was busy doing basically the same thing to his shoulder; he had packed the wound and tied some cloth around his leg, but that dressing was already showing a deep red spot. He ignored the pain as he focused on the girl, finally finishing, and tying her tunic back loosely so it wouldn’t aggravate the dressing. Kaylie completed her first aid at about the same time, tying off several bandages on his upper arm and chest. His injuries began throbbing but he thrust the pain aside, shifting Vespasia so he could attempt to stand.
He struggled to his feet and asked the girls to help lift Vespasia up so he could carry her. He quickly realized he was in no shape to carry her a couple miles. He sat her back down, grabbed the bowl of water and splashed it in her face.
The little Roman girl spat and sputtered and angrily glared at Rick, “What was that for?” she yelled.
Alex and Kaylie held the girl up on wobbly feet while Rick slumped back down to the ground, half giggling at the girl’s face, half gritting his teeth in pain. “You’ll have to walk, I can’t carry you any further, Vespasia. You’ve got a deep cut on your side, that’s all.”
Vespasia slowly collected herself. Soon, the happy, smiling face of hers resurfaced when she realized her movement was not restricted much, if at all, and she barely felt the pain when she twisted or bent. She cheerfully asked then, “When do we go?”
“Do you think you can make it?” Alex asked her dad.
Rick seriously considered the question. He wasn’t completely certain; maybe it would be best to disappear and let Vespasia get home on her own. No, that wouldn’t be right; they were responsible for the girl. He tried to remember just how far it was to her house, but they had been so busy talking on the way into Rome and been so captivated by everything, he wasn’t sure how far they had wandered. He knew it would be a much different journey in his present condition. He could not run either — what if Bergamiser would see them? Rick realized he was very easily spotted, being much taller than most of the Romans. That was one detail he had never considered; in two thousand years, humans had definitely changed considerably. In 44 BC, a six-foot-tall person was extremely tall and very rare; in 2007 AD, a seven-foot-tall man was even more common than six feet was then. The captain, by far the largest man he had seen all day, wouldn’t stand a chance in a head-on collision with a high school field goal kicker in 2007, he mused. So yeah, he thought, he would be quite an easy target to spot. All those thoughts assailed his mind at once.
“Well?” Alex asked again, impatiently.
“I have to… Vespasia, can you lead us out of here without being seen?”
“We could go through the sewers,” she answered quickly.
A trio of protesting howls came from the girls. “You don’t want to do that, you have open wounds,” Christy stated.
He agreed, “No, probably not… But how else?”
“Well, we can take alleys just about anywhere, but we’d still have to go through the gate to leave unless we use the sewers. She looked around to get her bearings and easily calculated their best route.
Kaylie went once again and bought a blanket from a merchant. The girls helped Rick to his feet. They wrapped the blanket around Rick’s body and over his head to form a hood. He slouched over like an old man, ho
bbling along convincingly, thanks to his injuries. They were sure the crazy man from the future would recognize Vespasia and Christy, so the two girls clung to Rick’s side, partly to steady him and partly to hide most of their faces in the folds of the blanket. Alex and Kaylie did not believe Bignose had seen them, so they tried to fit in with the other Roman children.
They traveled awkwardly through a dozen or more alleys until they reached one just a few yards from the gate. The trip was agonizingly slow, but they made it without seeing more than a few dozen people — mostly homeless children who lived in these narrow, forgotten paths. Alex, always the mother hen, a trait she inherited from her father, couldn’t pass by any of these orphans without giving them a coin or two and a portion of bread from one of the loaves she carried. She had fashioned two skirts out of their leftover cloth for girls they met while resting. She had found the two girls hiding behind piles of trash. She also gave some small boys with distended stomachs part of their fruit. These respites were welcome to Rick and he admired the way Alex cared for the homeless waifs. The breaks were even more enjoyable to Christy and Vespasia, who grew tired and weary from the exertion of supporting Rick, combined with the heat under the blanket.
It was nearing dark when they finally reached the last alleyway. The girls rested while Rick crept forward to look around. He hobbled back to the girls and sat against a wall, beckoning them to climb under the blanket.
“What is it? Do you see him?” Vespasia asked.
“No, I can’t tell who’s out there. But it’s almost dark and I feel it would be much safer after the sun has set.”
“Who was that man shooting at us, and why?” asked Vespasia.
“That’s Bignose,” Christy answered angrily for him.
“Bergamiser... Bignose… is the man who stole the necklace from us,” Rick explained further.
“Who was that woman?” Alex questioned next.
“I guess she was probably just someone he paid to deliver the necklace to Octavian.”
“So that’s why you let her go?” the little Roman girl realized.
“Yes. She probably didn’t even know it was stolen; she was just as innocent as you, dear.”
“It seems this Bignose likes hurting innocent people,” she said hotly. “Are you still mad at me for stealing it back?” she seemed to be asking for forgiveness.
“Yes, but I forgive you, and I think you were overly punished for it anyway,” said Rick, patting her side, near her wound.
“It doesn’t even hurt now!” she bragged.
“Perhaps you weren’t punished enough then!” he teased.
As night fell, the streets cleared. Rick went to check again and saw nobody but a couple drunken soldiers. He slipped back and gathered the girls, half of whom had fallen asleep, and readied them to continue home to Vespasia’s farm. The rest of the trip was uneventful. Rick’s girls were all afraid of the dark, but the native girl thought the quarter moon provided adequate illumination. Any light was a blessing for a girl who never knew electricity and was too poor to burn candles at night. When they neared her home, a light was shining through the window.
“Mother must be worried about me,” Vespasia fretted. “She never wastes candles! Is it OK if I run ahead so she knows I’m all right?”
Rick nodded, and then reconsidered, “Wait,” he said, fumbling in his pouch for something.
The girl’s wide eyes watched curiously as he pulled something out but kept it hidden in his palm. He reached out and hugged her. “Thank you for all your help, Vespasia. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
She shoved back to look at Rick’s face, “What? Aren’t you coming with me? You have no place to stay tonight, you must stay with us! You can’t leave yet! Who will tell mother I’m not lying about the whole thing? I wanted you all to meet her, too!” She looked hurt.
Rick fought back emotions, “We have to go, honey... here…” he opened his hand, showing her the enormous jewel.
Her eyes widened, “I can’t take that! It’s worth more than our entire farm!”
“We want you to have it. Keep it unless you absolutely need it,” he suggested.
She hugged him tightly, refusing to let go for over a minute, then slowly released her hold and embraced the others just as fiercely.
Alex wiped tears off her face as she handed the large basket to the girl, taking one of the smaller baskets out of it, “Here, this is for you. I want this one to remember you by. I will never forget you, Vespasia.”
“You act like you’re never going to see me again. Can’t you at least come visit when you buy...” She suddenly stopped, comprehension dawning as she turned to Rick, “You’re not buying a home in Rome, are you?” her tears flowing freely now. She wiped them on her already wet tunic.
Rick shook his head, “Probably not. But if we do, I promise we will spend an entire day with you… if you promise not to get in the way of any arrows aimed at me!”
She giggled and reached her free arm around him for another hug.
“You’re a very strong girl, Vespasia. Take care of yourself and your family, OK?” he said, kissing the top of her head. He then turned her around and nudged her gently toward her home.
“Bye!” she sputtered.
As the young girl walked away, Rick pulled out his necklace, grabbed hold of the golden ball and started to huddle the girls close to him.
“Wait!” Kaylie screamed suddenly.
“We have to get back, Kay. I’m going to bleed to death eventually,” Rick joked.
“This will just take a minute!” she said quickly and started running full speed toward Vespasia. All Rick saw was a white blur and the back of her tunic trailing behind her like a comet tail. They all heard her yelling at the girl to stop.
Half a minute passed quite anxiously before they saw a dark form approaching them, jogging. It was Kaylie, now proudly wearing Vespasia’s ruined, dingy tunic.
“OK, we can go now,” she said with a satisfied grin on her face.
Everyone stared at her. The tunic was ripped in more places than it had places, but she was happy as a pig in mud.
“What? I needed it for history class!” she claimed. “Guess I’ll have to wash it to get all the blood off. Do you think it will survive a washing?”
Rick shrugged, “I’m sure we can find a way to clean it. But right now, we gotta go. He squeezed the necklace and commanded, “Return!”
“What do you think they’re doing?” Jessica fretted after only fifteen seconds had passed.
“They’ll be fine, stop worrying,” Anna told her.
“I wonder how long they’ll be there,” Jessica continued.
“One minute,” Abby sarcastically replied, “I just hope they come back with all their fingers.”
“Please remain outside the red area,” T’s voice suddenly announced.
Rick could see Abby, flanked by Jessica and Anna, fading into view. When they fully emerged, the trio rushed over to them and immediately noticed the blood and bandages. They skidded to a stop simultaneously.
“What on earth happened to you?” Abby demanded.
“I’m OK, but you should see the lion,” Rick joked.
Anna and Jessica fell for it and gasped, “Lion!?”
Alex filled them all in while she and Kaylie helped Rick to a seat at the table. Abby rushed to the lockers and located the medical kit while the girls went to change back into their normal clothes.
“This cannot continue now, Rick. If this Bignose guy is going to try to kill you when you go near the crystal… I just won’t have it! I’m not losing you now, mister!” Abby decreed as she slowly unwrapped the bandage on Rick’s shoulder. She winced when she saw the ragged bloody hole, and could barely keep her hands from shaking as she began to clean it with disinfectant. “You’re lucky he didn’t use poison, you fool! You’re not ever going back. No way!”
Rick twitched in pain as she wiped and scrubbed with every harsh word. “We don’t have to go back,” he m
anaged to state calmly through the abuse.
Abby taped a thick wad of gauze to the puncture holes. “You’re darn right you’re not going back, we should turn this over to the government and let them send specialists to—”
Rick fought to his feet as she finished wrapping and clasped his hands around both her arms, pinning her with his eyes, “You would suggest the government take over this machine? Do you have any idea how badly those corrupt, greedy, power-hungry jerks could screw up the whole universe if you gave them that kind of tool?”
She gently forced him back down and proceeded to work on his leg. She suddenly realized the content of his earlier words “What do you mean, you don’t have to?”
Rick grinned and pulled the crystal out of his pouch. Abby stared in amazement. Before she could comment, Kaylie walked over, carrying her new prized tunic like a priceless artifact.
Abby forgot her anger instantly. “What is that?” she asked curiously.
Kaylie proudly unfolded it and dangled it in front of her. “It’s a real authentic Roman Republic tunic that a real kid wore!” she proclaimed happily. “The very one our friend Vespasia wore. I traded her,” she grinned triumphantly.
Abby’s archaeologist persona kicked in and Rick’s wound became unimportant to her. She ran her hand over the tunic, “Wow, Kaylie, this fabric is so coarse, it must have been so uncomfortable to wear.”
“It is. It’s really itchy,” Kaylie explained, scratching for effect.
As Alex joined them, Abby turned to her, “Oh my god! Is that an actual basket made by Roman hands? Nothing like this has ever been found in any condition worth studying, these things just don’t last two thousand years! We’ve only had drawings or descriptions before now, but—” She nearly swooned as she ran her fingers around the basket, which was merely a bowl-shaped reed-woven creation, hardly remarkable. She studied every detail of the two items for several minutes, listing the properties of each and explained popular theories, right and wrong. Alex explained that there were literally hundreds of different types of baskets and Kaylie told her of all the various kinds of fabrics she had seen and felt.