Every Last Mother's Child

by William J. Carty, Jr

  Chapter 4: The Kids Come Home

  Lamile was tired. But it was the type of tired that she had never expected to actually enjoy. She stopped by the side of the road as she watched the kids go by. She was shocked, dismayed, and pleased at the same time. Almost a thousand kids were walking with her to Trenaport. They could actually see the outskirts of the capital as they walked along the shore road. One of the kids near her same age came up and stood by her. Alan, was big for his age, and stood almost eye to eye with her. Lamile stood six two, and was considered short for her people.

  “What’s up Alan,” Lamile asked.

  “Taking a breather,” Alan said, He was a farm boy used to working hard in his parent’s fields. He had come home one day from the fields to find his family gone. His sisters and parents were not home. They had left a note for him to go out to the south fields of the farm. He got there just in time to see a landing craft take off.

  That had been in the early days of the evacuation.

  He couldn’t find them. He had assumed they had left on the landing craft. He tried to work the farm; but it was just too much for him. The farm was going to pot. He was sitting on one of the tractors, when he saw Lamile’s gaggle of kids approaching the farm. He had quickly gone to the barn and filled the livestock water tank and hooked it to the tractor. He took it to the kids with everything he had that could hold water. He let the kids sleep around and in the barns overnight and slaughtered and barbequed a stag like his father had shown him. He had been taken aback, when none of the kids hadn’t known how to help him. He had thought everyone his age knew how to do this. Latter Lamile had convinced him to come along. For a while he had driven the tractor pulling a couple of trailers that held the smallest kids. Later he let one of the other kids who walked with a limp do that.

  “It’s almost over,” Lamile said pointing to a landing tug roaring into space on the edge of the city. They could see several containers hanging from the tug, “We can’t be more than ten miles out.”

  “Not more than that anyways,” Rhonda, one of Lamile’s assistants came up. Rhonda was a short girl, younger than Lamile; but was filled with life and was Lamile’s whip. If one of the kids acted up it was Rhonda who took care of it. Lamile had scolded Rhonda a time or two that her methods were too rough; but the kids would follow them anywhere.

  “What’s that?” Alan pointed to the woods on the other side of the road. He thought he had seen a wisp of smoke. When he didn’t see it again, he said, “I guess nothing, time to move on.”

  They shouldered their packs and moved on. Not before Alan looked back one more time to where he thought he saw something. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen smoke. As a farm boy he had seen what fire could do if not controlled.

  They walked for another hour, when Lamile decided it was time to halt for the day. Although it was early, not even 16 yet and very maddening to stop so short of their goal; the little kids just couldn’t go any further today. She knew that in the morning, that she and her kids would enter the city proper. She suspected that by midday if not by sunset she would be back in her mother’s home. She was a little apprehensive about her home coming. She had gotten one short note from her mother. It simply said, “We’ll talk when you get home.”

  As they set up camp, she pondered the events of the last month. They had been incredibly lucky. The general and the guardsmen had made things happen for them. Every once in a while they would stumble onto supplies. Medicine, food, clothing once for a couple of the little guys who were all but naked had been left for them. She knew the SpecWars were looking after her. Every once in a while she would be walking around the perimeter of the camp, when one of them would make themselves known. Sometimes they would have an adult walk with them for a few days. That adult would be a guardsmen and he or she would pass on information. Every once in a while after she came from the latrine or from a nearby creek where she had wiped the grime from her face and hands, one of them would talk to her. They would pass on weather information to her, what roads to follow, what roads to avoid. They let her know about a group of men who were ransacking homes ahead of them and that they should stay where they were for a night. Carlin wasn’t the only kid that they had to get help for. One of the kids had been very sick and Lamile had let her watchers know. One of them came down the road in a jeep. She explained that they were on the last jamboree of the Trena Scouts and their adults were in town. The man who Lamile knew simply as Big Brother took the kid and got him to help. Later she thought she had seen a landing craft land and take off again. She had worried herself sick over that one until Jill’s message saying he was at the Royal Corps of Cadets Academy. They had heard about the academy. The kids were all talking about it as it was a place they could go and be safe.

  Now as she wandered the camp, as the kids settled down for the day, she wondered what she would do after this. She wasn’t old enough to be on her own. Yet she felt that she was not a child anymore. Although this journey had been harrowing, and nerve wracking, she had also enjoyed the sense of accomplishment she was getting by ensuring these kids got to safety. It had been a lot of work, more work than she thought it would be. And yes she knew that part of her success was because of the extraordinary men and women who had been shadowing her out of the sight of her kids. What amazed her the most was that many of the kids had not tried to challenge her leadership. A couple of the boys had tried to challenge her in the beginning, and had come close blows. But something her uUncle Mike had taught her. If you had to lead by being a bully you weren’t leading. So when the boys had tried to take over, she had just simply said okay and let them have their way. Within a day, they boys were referring to her for leadership. Now on the eve of their arrival in Trenaport she surveyed the camp wondering what was next.

  “Hi Lamile,” Timmy one of the first kids to join her troop came up to her, “Rhonda said to give this you.” This was a mug of soup.

  “I wonder where mom and dad are,” Timmy asked as they sat down on a fallen tree by the side of the road. Timmy was greatly disturbed over his parents leaving him behind. “I don’t understand why they left me behind.”

  “We may never know,” Lamile took the cup. She tousled the kid’s hair, “maybe it’s something we need to move on about.”

  “Yeah,” The kid said leaning out of Lamile’s reach, “But I sure want to know why. Was it something I said, or did?”

  “Timmy,” Lamile looked into the kid’s eyes. “You don’t worry about that. You’ve helped me as much as any of these other kids. You just keep up the good work. Don’t worry about the past. Let’s work to the future.”

  “Okay,” Timmy said taking the empty cup from her. As he walked away Lamile had a glimmer of an idea what she wanted to do after this. Someone would have to work with these kids. Get them ready for adulthood. Too many of them had cried themselves to sleep many a night. She had heard kids crying every night. She couldn’t mother all of them; but she could sure be their big sister, and help them make it after they got to civilization.

  Lamile walked into the woods where one of the older kids had said they set up latrines. As she got there her ear bug came up.

  “Wanderer, Big Brother.” The ear bug said.

  “Go ahead Big Brother.” She recognized the voice as one of the Black Guardsmen who was watching over them.

  “I am coming out of the woods. Stay where you are.” The man said. “I need a face to face. wWe got some trouble.”

  “Okay,” Lamile said wondering what sort of trouble. Usually they talked only over the ear bug, seldom face to face, so the kids would not be spooked. When they did talk face to face it was in places where they had privacy.

  “Hi kid,” the marine NCO said. He was old enough to be her father. “Look, you have a forest fire behind you.”

  “How bad,” Lamile asked.

  “Bad enough.” the NCO said, “The brass want you moving. I told them that your little guys are worn out.”r />
  “Damn.” Lamile said. “Did Chief Able drop her FireBots on the fire?”

  “I don’t know,” The NCO said.

  “Lamile!” Rhonda yelled, “Where are you?”

  “Here!” Lamile yelled. The girl came up stopping cold in her tracks when she saw the Marine. She had known that Lamile had been talking to people and she was more than she let on to be; but this was really the first time she had seen anyone the marine talking with her.

  “What’s up?” Lamile asked.

  “We have smoke on the horizon behind us.” Rhonda said, “We need to break camp and get moving.”

  “Make it happen, Rhonda! Sarge, I know this is going to spook my kids,; but bring your troops in. I need some help. I don’t know if you can get us lift fast enough; but can you try to get us some elsiesElsies or trucks?”

  “Call General Langtree direct while I get my troops and talk to the LT.” The Black Guardsman said.

  “General Langtree this is Lamile.” Lamile called.

  “This is David, Lamile,” the gGeneral’s baritone was not degraded by the small ear bug.

  “General I have a situation. We have a forest fire coming up behind us. I need some transport fast.” Lamile asked.

  “It’ll be an hour before I can get anything to you on the ground.” The Ggeneral said, “Let me get air ops on the horn and see what I can do. In the meantime get your kids moving.”

  “Aye sir,” Lamile said.

  “Lamile, take care and you’re doing great! I’ll tell your mother what’s going on.” General Langtree said.

  Lamile relieved herself and ran to where the kids were breaking camp. “I want a nose count! Alan, Rhonda. Get some kids left and right of our group. Walk everyone to the road. Keep them on the road.” Alan nodded pointed to a couple of older kids and worked to the left of the group Rhonda waved and grabbed a couple of kids and pointed them to the right of the group.

  As she worked to back of the large group of kids she found the marines. They were respectfully waiting for her. This surprised her. The lieutenant approached her. “Major, what are your orders?”

  “Major?” Lamile asked.

  “Major,” Big Brother replied, “You have been carried on the Queen’s Own Royal Corps of Cadets as major, and the second in command of them since it was founded a month ago.”

  “Our orders are to support you and your kids and to take our orders from you. This comes directly from Evac One, and the Queen.” The lieutenant relayed his orders.

  “Oh,” a stunned Lamile said softly, “We’ll be the back of the back Lieutenant. Send a couple of your guys up to help the kids get on the road. We want to herd the entire group on to the road and towards town. General Langtree is promising trucks in an hour. That’s about a mile and half maybe two down the road for my guys.”

  “Aye-aye,” The LT nodded to the marines who started to take up their positions. As they walked at the back of the group as it moved down the road the Lieutenant turned to his young companion. “Major, a couple of us have been watching you for nearly a month. I’ve been with you the entire time and before we both get separated by fate, I want you to know I have written an endorsement for the Guard to recruit you.”

  Lamile looked at the lieutenant not knowing what say to say as he put a piece of paper with his name grade and duty station in her hand. She knew that the Black Guard was the Special Forces, Special Force. They didn’t have to be a SpecWar before they were ever invited to become one of the Empire’s legendary Black Guardsmen; but most of them were. There were officers from law enforcement units, the Interstellar Rescue Service, the Imperial Navy and others who were the best in their units. She was flattered;, but she had made up her mind. She was not going to be a SpecWar. She didn’t have the mind set to be one. What she wanted to do was work with these kids and see that they got settled. Maybe working with social services on Home helping to resolve some of the problems that were sure to crop up. “Thank you Lieutenant. But I don’t think the Military is in my future. I think I want to work with families and kids in trouble.”

 

  “Major,” The LT said turning around to watch behind them for a second, “There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the military. It is more than just guns and blood. We need people who understand people and can help our families. Even when we are not forward deployed, things happen. We are just like other families anywhere with our problems. We need people who have been on the sharp end of the stick and who know what it is we do. If we know that our families are taken care of then we can do our jobs.”

  “Thank you I will keep that in mind.” Lamile said. “Now let’s catch up with these guys I don’t want to be left behind.”

  The two began walking a little faster behind the gang of kids now spread out along the road.