The Journey Home

by K'Anne Meinel

  Cass explained.

  “Thank you but your bedside manner needs a little work,” Annette joked before rubbing her arm where the shot had been administered.

  Cass grinned unrepentantly. She sat up and looked around. Being on the water she couldn’t see far and they were sitting in the bottom of the boat, she didn’t dare stand up to look. She looked around for Leona but other boats were in the way so she couldn’t even ask her where they were or where they were going.

  Cass and Annette were handed a paste that Cass knew the villagers ate. It was disgusting in flavor but nutritious. It took a long time for them to eat as their body kept wanting to throw it up but Cass warned Annette it was probably the only food they had so she better eat it. The villagers laughed at them trying to eat it but they had years of experience over the two white women.

  If the men slept it wasn’t obvious to Cass. She dozed but when she found Annette shivering next to her she snuggled up closer to her to share body heat.

  Annette didn’t know if she was shivering because she was cold or from the fever in her body from her burns. When Cass snuggled up close she shivered from reaction. She was excited by the closeness and dreamed feverishly that it was more.

  They traveled for two days like this before a shout went up and land was sighted. It was a good thing to. They were out of water; the last had been given to Annette who was slipping into unconsciousness from her infections. The antibiotics making her thirsty and the fever even more dehydrated. Someone summoned the only doctor on the island and Cass had to assume he was efficient as she couldn’t speak with him but they carried Annette on a stretcher to his hut and he examined her, removed the stained and dirtied and now soused with bodily fluid bandages. Despite changing them they were a mess. He clucked and murmured as Cass looked on concerned. He went to a box he had and opening Cass could see he had some sort of powder there. She hoped it wasn’t just something to throw into a fire and cause sparks, Annette needed medicine and she needed it now! He put the powder into a bowl and added a liquid forming a paste which he applied to each of the burns. Going out of the hut he quickly returned with large leaves that he wrapped around each of the burns and tied down. Cass was relieved. She knew a lot of people would have no faith in native remedies but she had known Indian cures that were a lot better than Western medicine. She smiled and nodded when the man murmured something to her.

  Cass pulled back when he reached for her and for the first time she became aware of her own burns, she remembered the rain of fire she had walked through. He applied some of the paste to the spots she couldn’t see but he didn’t wrap any of them and when he was finished he grunted and gave her a smile showing gleaming and even white teeth. She smiled again and nodded in response.

  He showed her two pallets and they lifted Annette between them and placed her on one. Cass laid down on the other one and was soon asleep, the first ‘comfortable’ sleep she had in days.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  “Missy Lieutenant, Missy Lieutenant, you wake now,” a voice called from far away. Cass didn’t want to wake. She was on the farm, it was a hot summer’s day, the grass smelled extra good from cutting the front lawn, she could smell the rich pine smell from the woods, there was a nice breeze blowing through the trees, she could hear the leaves rattling against each other… “Missy Lieutenant, you wake NOW!” she was shoved quite hard and began to awake from her dream.

  Cass could see she wasn’t on the farm; she wasn’t lying on a hammock and enjoying a few minutes of peaceful silence. She had anticipated seeing Stephanie and it had seemed so real. She saw instead a thatched roof and realized she was somewhere on an island and she had no idea where. She looked up into Leona’s concerned eyes.

  “Missy Lieutenant, you awake?” she asked as Cass blinked open her eyes.

  Cass shook her head, the dream had seemed so real…she sat up. “What is it Leona?” Perhaps if she hurried she could capture the dream again if she went back to sleep.

  “Soldier’s come,” Leona told her.

  She had no trouble waking up as she looked at Leona in alarm. “Which soldiers?” Her heart was in her throat. She glanced at Annette who was still unconscious but she could see had no fever.

  “Missy come,” Leona gestured.

  Cass got up and followed her, she noticed she had slept with her boots on and she could really have used a shower or better yet, a bath…

  Leona beckoned her to a path running behind the huts. Several of the people she had seen in the boats the previous day were standing in front of the huts and many were running down the beach. Cass followed Leona into the brush and they walked quickly and quietly to the end of the beach where she could see someone had landed. It was obviously a military kind of boat she could see, but which military she couldn’t tell. She looked out further into the water to see if a larger boat was visible but saw nothing. Where had this smaller boat come from? What was it doing here? She had been warned about what the Japanese could and would do to her and the other nurses if they found them. She had to get closer but Leona grabbed her arm.

  “No missy, they come,” she gestured further down the beach. Some men were returning from the brush. They had bottles with them and were chatting.

  Cass peered at them and broke away from Leona to run down the beach, “Hey, hey!” she called waving.

  The men dropped their bottles and drew their weapons in one smooth motion.

  Cass froze at the sight of four guns being turned on her. Her heart was beating so loud she was certain it was about to jump out of her chest. She raised her hands out to her sides to show she had nothing in them.

  They began to approach her cautiously, looking beyond her and around to see if it was a trap. As they got closer she could see that not only were they not Japanese but they looked white, very white which was why she had broken away from Leona. It hadn’t occurred to her that the Germans were allies of the Japanese and these could very well be them.

  “Who are you lady? And what are you doing here?” one of them asked when they were close enough not to shout.

  Cass noted they hadn’t lowered their guns and were still looking about suspiciously. She recognized their accents even if it was hard to understand their English. She was relieved and yet at the sight of the guns perhaps not so relieved. “My name is Lieutenant Cass Scheimer, I am a nurse assigned to Wiquaqua Island Hospital…” she began but was interrupted.

  “Wiquaqua, wasn’t that the island that erupted the other day?” one of the men asked another. The men exchanged looks but kept their guns up.

  “Yes,” she confirmed nodded. “We were some of the last ones on it and barely made it off alive!”

  “How in the world did you end up here?” she was asked.

  “Some of the islanders came back and put us in their boats and they brought us here.”

  “Lieutenant…Scheimer you said?” At her nod he continued. “You expect us to believe you were on an island that blew up and are now hundreds of miles away across open water on another island?”

  “Well when you put it that way…” Cass said sarcastically getting angry. Her arms were getting tired and she began to lower them despite the guns. “Look, if you’re going to shoot me, shoot me. I just don’t care. But, if you gentlemen are officers in His Majesty’s Army or Navy or whatever I would appreciate some help.”

  They were surprised at her audacity and it showed on their faces. One by one they lowered their guns feeling almost foolish for having held them on her.

  “Next time, you might want to remove the safety,” she said to one of them and he flushed in embarrassment as he looked closer at his gun.

  “You say they brought you in their boats?” one of them asked again.

  “Yes, myself and another nurse who was injured, can you help us or are you as bad off as we are?” she indicated the rubber raft boat pulled up on the beach.

  “Oh yeah, about that, we’ve lost our rig,” one of them said cockily.

  Cass rolled her
eyes, of all the luck. She was God knew where in the world and now these four Australian men were almost as bad off as she and Annette. Annette…she had to get back to her to check on her. It was then that she noticed they were looking at her…appreciatively. She looked down at her torn and dirty t-shirt with the regulation shirt pulled over it and visible holes burned in it from the rain of fire and her shorts. She thought the combat boots were a nice touch but unfortunately the length of her legs was visible to their eyes. Perhaps that was what Leona was warning her about.

  “Yeah, we’re trying to find out way back to the lines ourselves, we pulled in here to replenish our supply of water but we could do with some grub.”

  Cass turned slightly to look back down at the other end of the beach and the line of huts. Several villagers were looking their way but the rest were going about their business. “I can’t offer you anything, we’re kind of castaways ourselves.”

  “Can you speak their lingo?” another one that hadn’t spoken asked now.

  Cass shook her head and they looked disappointed. “I do have a friend here who speaks it though.” She glanced unconsciously into the trees looking for Leona but saw no sign of her. “Why don’t you come to the village and I’m sure there are others who speak English as well.”

  The men exchanged glances; they had only come ashore because they were desperate for water. Seeing the village they had worried but kept to themselves and trusted the overpowering force of their rifles if necessary.

  Cass walked a few steps away so they could discuss it. She looked closer at the foliage to find that not only Leona was hidden there but several others and they didn’t look too friendly. She could imagine if she were these men she too would be hesitant to put themselves into the islander’s hands.

  “We’ll get our water and bring our boat,” one of them called to her.

  Cass nodded and began walking back down the beach towards the huts, slow enough that the men could catch up if they hurried. Apparently they wanted to as they caught up as she entered the small village.

  “You think our boat will be okay there, they won’t mess with it?” one of them asked her as they fell into stride with her.

  Cass blinked a moment to process their English. Sometimes the accent was a little thick and certain words took a little longer to understand. She smiled as she answered and said, “I’m sure it will be fine, they are people, not cannibals.” It was part of the prejudice she had noted elsewhere, people just didn’t try to trust, they made assumptions that led to misunderstandings.

  Leona and the others were waiting curious when Cass reached the hut she had slept in with Annette. Cass spoke to her and Leona nodded and pointed to a youth who ran off into the jungle on the path they had taken earlier. A couple of women Leona spoke to hurried off and returned with fresh fruit and platters of other food. Leona gestured to the men and Cass to sit down.

  “I’ll be right with you, please, help yourself,” Cass told the men as she ducked into the hut to check on Annette. Her fever was down and the wounds looked better today. Whatever the paste was it must be doing the job. She tied the leaf wrappings back on her and let her sleep, it was a sleep now and not the unconscious state the fever had put her into. She joined the men outside.

  “This is real good,” one of the men commented to the women who hovered around in their curiosity and murmured among themselves. He said it slow as though he were talking to an idiot. Cass hid her amusement behind some fruit as she ate but her eyes danced and she exchanged an equally amused look with Leona who translated for him. The women nodded and smiled appreciatively.

  After eating they began to discuss where they were. The nearest any of them could figure was they were hundreds of miles from Wiquaqau. Cass sighed. These guys didn’t have any more idea than she did where they were. She turned to Leona to ask only to find one of the men standing there. Leona was smiling and gesturing. He must be someone important. Cass stood up and bowed slightly. He grinned a little and returned the bow. Leona spoke to him rapidly and he nodded as he listened. She spoke for a long time and gestured as though flying and then to the horizon. He nodded repeatedly.

  “What do you think they’re sayin?’” one of the men asked Cass who gestured him to silence. If they wanted Cass and the men to know Leona would translate, she was sure of it.

  The men and women who had stood around looking on curiously began to wander away including the man that Cass suspected was a leader of some sort. Leona pulled Cass aside. “You trust…men?” she asked gesturing to the Aussies.

  Cass glanced at them and shrugged, “I have to get back to my outfit, do you know how I can do that?”

  Leona glanced at them again too and back at Cass, “Pulio say he show you, he take you and missy,” she gestured to the hut where Annette was inside.

  Cass nodded. “Can they go along or …?” She shook her head trying to understand what had been decided for her.

  “They follow, they no ride with Pulio,” Leona told her.

  “What about you, can you come too?” she asked. She was imagining trying to communicate with the villagers and with no common language it could be a nightmare.

  Leona looked at her doubtfully but seeing the pleading look in Cass’s eyes she brightened up and said, “I ask!” Cass was relieved as she rejoined the men and told them that the villagers would show them the way. She began to have doubts soon afterwards; Leona hadn’t specifically said that they would take them to the Americans or the Allies after all. It was why many people who spoke with the various villagers treated them like children with their pigeon English and their different ways. Specific questions were in order when she saw Leona again.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  They were three days out on the ocean. Cass’s nose was peeling from the sunburn she had acquired from the sun reflecting off the waters. The men paddled in shifts and the Australians were having difficulty keeping up with their boat. The villagers rarely rested from what they could all see, determined to find an American boat or settlement. Apparently the lines had shifted from what they knew in the past which meant the Japanese could very well be on any island they approached. No one liked that idea, the villagers, who were treated just as bad by the Japanese as they were by some of the Allies, or Cass and the Australians who would be taken prisoner and tortured, possibly killed.

  They did have plenty of food if you liked eating the paste they had brought along. The fruit had lasted until late yesterday and the water the Aussies had filled their jugs with was still plentiful. Cass was just grateful Annette had woken up late the first day and she had someone to talk with besides Leona and the Australians. She was confused at first but the wounds she sported were healing. The village healer had given Cass more of the ointment to rub in the wounds and Leona had translated that if the salt water got into the wounds she was to use more of it. Cass explained to Annette fully, filling her in on what had happened since they left Wiquaqau, repeating some things as her confused mind refused to process some of it.

  “So I’ve been out of it for days then?” she said amazed as the story came out. She distinctly remembered sleeping at some point in Cass’s arms. It couldn’t have been a dream could it? She didn’t dare ask.

  The two nurses checked her wounds, it was obvious they had been pretty bad and between the antibiotics and the paste they were on the road to recovery. They needed to get to a settlement or a ship soon though.

  “Hey, do you know where they are taking us, we’re about knackered,” one of the Aussie’s who introduced himself as Blake complained good-naturedly. It was obvious that the islanders were more physically fit and working in ‘shifts’ clearly outdistancing the Australians. They had stopped to ‘fish’ and as both Annette and Cass had refused to eat raw fish they were feasting on the products of their labors which allowed the Australians to catch up.

  Cass shook her head. “I have no idea but I trust them, if they were going to take us and drown us why go this far out of their way?” She could tell Leona
was listening and understood every word. It was something that had stood her in good stead many times, people underestimated her.

  “Maybe you should ride with us?” one of the men introduced as Dirk suggested.

  Cass looked at him, there was more in the suggestion than met the eye. She didn’t want to be in a boat with a bunch of horny men. It was obvious from their looks that they had certain thoughts. She’d been hit on many times in the course of her work at the hospital. Doctors, orderlies, patients, she was fair game because she was female. A rough sort of camaraderie existed in the hospital though that allowed joking to ease off any tension unwanted advances might bring on. She tried to be polite about her response, “Yes, but these guys know where they are going,” she joked and shared a wry smile with them.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked in genuine concern, they were paddling hard to keep up but she could see they were less prepared or fit than the villagers.

  “We’ll manage but I’d bloody well like to know where we are and where we are going?” he answered annoyed at her joke. They’d discussed it and thought that the white women should be in their boat rather than with the villagers. They hadn’t thought they’d be refused.

  “I don’t know either but I trust them,” Cass replied stiffly. She might not know how to speak ‘Australian,’ but even she knew that the word ‘bloody’ was considered a swear word.

  Her tone must have penetrated because he reluctantly apologized. Several of the islanders offered some raw fish to the men and two of them took it ruefully and managed a swallow, only one of them choked on it. The fisherman had a good laugh over that and commented on it. Cass smiled as she had refused and even Annette knew what was going on now.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Several hours later when they were on their way again, no land in sight they did however see a mast on the horizon. It was hard to see much from the boat as the water wasn’t completely flat but they could see something. The question was whose mast was it they were seeing. The islanders who had considerably better eyesight than the rest of them pointed it out to Cass who they indicated should stand up and look. With much trepidation and balance she stood up, raised her hand to shade her eyes from the glare off the water and looked, she couldn’t see a thing. It was just too far away. The islanders however headed for it as Cass took her seat again in the bottom of the boat.