Echoes of War

by Cheryl Campbell

  The stairs rocked when one of the men climbed on to the fragile staircase. He rounded the turn, ignoring any boards he broke in the process, and charged at Dani. It was the man she’d choked. He cursed and called her every foul name imaginable as he approached. Oliver cried out with fear, but Dani couldn’t worry about the boy now.

  She decided against waiting for the man’s arrival and sprang toward him. The action startled the man, but he recovered quickly. They crashed into the brick wall and bounced down a few steps, breaking some on the way. He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her away from the wall, pinning her against the stairs and pushing her upper body downward. The steps beneath her broke and the man shoved her more, bending her so her head was pointed at the ground. Pain gripped her back at the awkward forced position.

  She drove her knee into the man’s groin and he released her. She rolled to her side, her hip on a half a step, and used one of the handrail supports to pull herself up to a safer spot on the rickety stairs. The man growled at her as he straightened his body. He was standing right in front of a broken window now. Ignoring the pain in her back, Dani rushed him and pushed his upper body through the window. While he was off balance, she crouched, grabbed his legs, lifted up, and flipped him out the window. His body struck the ground with a thump.

  She sagged to her knees and leaned her head against the bricks. Her ragged breaths and the thunderous heartbeat pounding inside her head deafened her to everything else. She jumped when something touched her arm.

  Oliver knelt next to her. “Are you okay?”

  “Look out the window to see where he went.” Dani took the time to slow her breathing while Oliver stood on his toes. He hooked his fingers over the frame and looked down.

  “He’s on the ground, not moving. The other one is running off. I don’t see Brody,” Oliver said.

  “Okay. Go to the bottom of the stairs. Brody may be there.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’m coming.”

  Oliver nodded and picked his way down the steps, pausing when they shook or groaned too much for his comfort. Dani’s back ached. She rubbed her side and winced when a muscle spasm tore through her back. She grunted at the pain but forced her feet to move as she half-crawled down the stairs.

  “Brody’s here,” Oliver said from somewhere below. “He’s limping, but he looks okay.”

  Dani couldn’t see the boy or the dog yet, but the news made her feel better. She liked that dog. She reached the final bend in the stairs and spotted Oliver kneeling next to Brody. At the same time, the step beneath her boot snapped, and the board she grabbed to stop her fall crumbled in her hands. She crashed through the stairs and fell eight feet to the concrete below.

  Her leg absorbed the initial impact, and she cried out as pain rocketed up from her foot to her thigh. She landed hard on her side and had just enough time to put her arms over her head before the lower part of the stairs that had followed her down crashed on top of her.

  When she came to, Oliver was shaking her shoulder. Her entire body hurt, and she appreciated the boy’s efforts in helping her sit up.

  “I thought you were dead,” he said.

  Dani moaned, wondering if being dead hurt less. She wiped at something dripping from her cheek, and her fingers turned red.

  “You’re bleeding a lot,” Oliver said.

  “It usually looks worse than it is. Help me stand.”

  On the third try and relying on Oliver for support, Dani made it to her feet. Her ankle sent pulses of pain up her leg with each heartbeat. She didn’t bother assessing the volume of new cuts and bruises.

  “I can tell you how to get back to the barracks,” Dani said.

  “I’m not going without you.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twelve.”

  “You’re old enough to make it back by yourself.”

  Oliver’s eyes widened with fear.

  She sighed. “I can’t go with you, Oliver. I steal from the MPs. A lot. They’ll add me to their ranks if they catch me. Odds are there will be a shitload of MPs coming here soon anyway. You can stay and wait for them.”

  “What if those men come back?”

  Dani groaned and shifted more weight off her injured ankle and onto Oliver’s shoulder. “Fine. You staying here is a bad idea.”

  “What if they come back for you? Can we hide at your house?”

  Dani laughed at the absurdity of the idea, and a spasm in her back turned her laughter to a grunt.

  She didn’t have many choices. She couldn’t fight off the men again, even if the one she threw out the window was dead. The other two could come back, possibly with more friends. The MPs would come for the kid, and she’d be captured. She thought of places where she and Oliver could go to at least be safe, wait out the night, and give her time to rest.

  “Dani?”

  Dani groaned and wiped more blood from her cheek. “I already regret rescuing your ass.”

  He smiled. “Yeah, thanks.”

  Dani sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t imagine the day getting any worse than now. “I need my pack.”

  “Where is it? I’ll get it for you.”

  She realized having Oliver around might not be a terrible idea. She pointed him in the right direction and waited while he sprinted for the tree line. He put it on his back and darted back to her.

  “If hell is real, I’m going there for sure,” Dani said. “I know a place we can go for the night.”

  CHAPTER

  19

  Sweat dripped from Dani’s face despite the cool night. The mile-and-a-half walk back to downtown Bangor was excruciating, and they stopped often.

  During this stop, Dani made Oliver smear mud and dirt on his face and clothes.

  After he was done, he wiped his hands across his trousers to remove some of the filth from his fingers. “Why do I need to be dirty?”

  “Because I’m taking you to a place where a clean kid will stick out. I need you to look like a street urchin,” Dani said. She rummaged in her pack, which Oliver still wore, and removed a notebook. She handed it and a pencil to the boy. “Write a note to your dad. Tell him you’re okay and to come alone to Aunt Hattie’s to retrieve you.”

  “Aunt Hattie? Who’s that?”

  “He’ll know who and what it is.”

  “We just transferred here a week ago.”

  “He’ll figure it out. Write the note, Oliver. Tear the page out, fold it, and write your dad’s name on the outside.”

  When he finished, Dani took the notebook from him and wrote two notes of her own. She stuffed the three slips into her pocket, then threw the book and pencil back in her bag.

  She pointed forward. “That way.”

  She leaned on Oliver’s shoulder as they approached a dimly lit room at the rear of a large house that was well lit from the front. Raucous laughter came from within. Dani knocked on the back door.

  A woman in a neat, royal blue dress that exposed her cleavage opened the door. She held the door with one hand and an ax with the other.

  Oliver flinched upon seeing the ax, but Dani remained still.

  “Jesus, Dani, you look like shit,” the woman said.

  “Hi, Aunt Hattie,” Dani said.

  Hattie lowered the weapon, and her eyes shifted from Dani to Oliver to Brody. “What is this?”

  “The kid got separated from his parents. …” Dani squeezed Oliver’s shoulder when he took a breath to speak. He closed his mouth, and she continued. “I just need a place to stick him for the night, and I’ll get him home tomorrow.”

  “You want a room for the kid?”

  “The dog and I are staying too.”

  Hattie’s eyebrows went up. “You expect me to let you, a kid, and a dog stay here? My rooms rent by the hour for entertaining. You’re not getting one for the entire night. I know you don’t have money, Dani.”

  “What do you want as a trade?”

  Hattie flipped the ax to place the head a
gainst the floor. She leaned against the handle, using it like a cane. “I want one of your solar panels with a battery reservoir.”

  “What do you have to eat?”

  “Brigand stew,” Hattie said with a grin.

  Sometimes it was best to not know what was in a Brigand stew.

  “I want eight bowls, a loaf of bread, two—no, three pitchers of water, a basin of warm water for a bath, and a room for the three of us. Oh, and I need these delivered.” Dani pulled the three folded notes from her pocket and passed them to Hattie.

  “Jace, Gavin … Who is Miles?”

  “An MP.”

  Hattie thrust the notes back at Dani. “Have you lost your damn mind?”

  “Yes. On occasion. Give the one for Miles to an MP here for, um”—Dani glanced at Oliver—“entertainment. You have at least one MP in there, Aunt Hattie.”

  Hattie scowled at her.

  “I’ll bring you a lamp when I deliver your panel and battery.”

  The older woman’s scowl slowly turned into a smile. “You would make a fine businesswoman, Dani. But don’t get any ideas on opening your own brothel. I own this town in that respect.”

  “Yes, ma’am, you do.”

  Hattie waved them in and led them through the back of the lower level of the house. Dani was tempted to cover Oliver’s ears with her hands. The sounds of moans, grunts, and screams of pleasure from behind the closed doors lessened as Hattie continued to the end of the hall.

  “Business is good tonight,” Hattie said, waving her hand as she walked.

  Oliver’s brow creased with confusion, and Dani was relieved he didn’t ask any questions.

  Hattie opened the door for them. “One of the girls will bring up the food and supplies.”

  Dani allowed Oliver and Brody to enter first. “Thanks, Aunt Hattie.”

  The older woman shook her head. “I don’t ask questions of my customers, but Dani, you make me want to break that rule sometimes.” The woman touched her chin and turned her head from side to side, inspecting her wounds. “It’s a good thing I like you and Jace. I’ll send up some medical supplies.”

  “Thank you.” Dani limped into the room and closed the door behind her.

  “Is she really your aunt?” Oliver asked.

  “She’s Aunt Hattie to all the Brigands and some MPs.”

  “Were the people behind the doors we passed in pain?”

  Dani’s face flushed. “Um, no. Not exactly.” What were you thinking, bringing a kid to a brothel?!

  “Why did you ask for so much food?”

  “Most of it is for Brody.” She limped to a chair near the wall, where she eased into it and sighed. The throb in her ankle lessened, but another spasm attacked her back. She tried unsuccessfully to get comfortable while Brody and Oliver curled up together on the bed.

  Someone knocked on the door, and Dani’s back refused to let her out of the chair. “Oliver, answer the door, please.”

  He went to the door and took the towels and other items from a young woman in a low-cut red dress.

  “My, aren’t you a handsome young man,” she said. “My name is Mary.”

  “Oliver.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twelve.”

  “Well, Oliver, when you get a little older, you come back to Aunt Hattie’s and ask to see me,” Mary said. “I’ll treat you right.”

  “How?” he asked.

  “For starters, I’ll—”

  “Thank you, Mary!” Dani forced herself from the chair with a groan and hobbled to the door. “Food would be great.”

  Mary winced upon seeing Dani’s battered face, but she still managed a smile. “I can take care of you too, Dani.”

  “I know. Thank you, Mary. Food and water will do for now.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Mary handed Dani a linen sack. “Medical stuff from Aunt Hattie. She said she put a bottle of medicine in there that will help with the pain. Don’t drink too much of it though; it’s potent.”

  “Thanks.” Dani closed the door behind Mary and leaned her forehead against it.

  “Dani, what’s a brothel?”

  “Ask your father when you see him tomorrow.”

  Oliver shrugged. “Okay.” He placed the towels next to the basin on the top of the small table near the chair and returned to sit on the bed.

  Dani rubbed her lower back with both hands and considered the chair. She instead stayed by the door to wait for Mary’s return. Several minutes later, Mary arrived with the food and water, as well as two other young women Dani recognized as workers for Aunt Hattie. The three women brought the food, water, and bucket into the room.

  “A lot of food for two people,” Mary said.

  “We’re hungry,” Dani said.

  “We’ve been friends for a few years now, Dani. Don’t bullshit me.”

  She shrugged. “The food is mostly for the dog.”

  “What the hell kind of mess did you land yourself into today?”

  “A big one.” Dani waited while one woman filled the bucket with hot water, and the other woman placed the pot of stew on the top of another small table.

  The two other women left, but Mary lingered. “Sure you don’t need an extra hand?”

  “I’m fine. Thank you, Mary.”

  Dani closed and locked the door after Mary left. She returned to the chair and slid into it with a groan.

  Oliver scooped the stew into the bowls and put one on the floor for Brody, who finished his before they did. Oliver refilled Brody’s bowl, and again the stew disappeared in seconds.

  Dani set her half-eaten bowl of stew aside and rummaged in the sack for Aunt Hattie’s medicine bottle. She unscrewed the lid and took a sniff. “Whoa!” The fumes made her eyes and nose burn. She closed her eyes and took a gulp—and her face pinched into a grimace at the bitter taste and insane burning as the liquid slid down her throat. She tried not to cough, but one erupted anyway, causing another spasm in her back.

  The burning sensation moved from her stomach and out through her body. Her limbs relaxed, and the pain in her back eased. Her body felt warm, and her head dropped forward.

  “Dani?”

  Her head came up, and she opened her eyes, unsure when she’d closed them.

  “Do you like the MPs? I know you don’t want to be captured by them, but do you like them?” Oliver shoved another bite of stew into his mouth while Brody watched him in case he dropped the tiniest morsel of food.

  With most of her pain gone, Dani stood and began the task of washing blood and filth from her face and hair. “The Wardens are the bigger enemy,” she said. “But the CNA and their MPs are too busy maintaining the status quo instead of going after the Wardens.”

  “What’s status quo?”

  “It means keeping things the way they already are. The CNA isn’t trying to change. The MPs waste their resources on capturing Brigands to increase their numbers and merely defend against the Wardens. It’s not that I don’t like the MPs, but they can be really fucking stupid sometimes. Sorry. Didn’t mean to drop an f-bomb on you.” Aunt Hattie’s medicine had lowered Dani’s vocabulary filter along with her pain.

  Oliver giggled. “That’s okay. The MPs I’m around swear all the time.”

  She placed the bloody towel aside and took a few more bites of her stew. She tore off a piece of bread and shoved that into her mouth. With the pain gone, she was ravenous.

  “Dani?”

  “Yeah?” she asked between chews.

  “Is Mary a whore?”

  Dani choked on the bread. When she managed to clear it from her throat, she said, “The men and women that work for Aunt Hattie are making money the best way they can. Whore is a terrible word, and don’t ever call them that in person.”

  “Calling them that would be rude?”

  “Very rude. They’re people who work for a living, just like your father.”

  Oliver nodded and fed Brody the rest of his
bread. “What do you do for work?”

  “I scavenge for my food and supplies.”

  “You said before that you steal.”

  “Yes, but I never take from someone that needs something more than me. If you were starving, I wouldn’t take that stew from you.”

  “Do you use weapons to rob people?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sad?”

  “About what?”

  “You killed that man today.”

  Dani remembered the man almost snapping her spine. “Yeah, I did. I’m not sure how I feel. No more questions. Feed Brody another bowl of stew and go to bed.”

  “Where are you sleeping?”

  “Floor. With Aunt Hattie’s medicine, I think I could sleep upside down if I had to.”

  Oliver smiled. “Thank you for helping me today, Dani.”

  “Yeah.” She picked up the cloth by the basin to finish cleaning the blood off her while Brody inhaled his third bowl of Brigand stew. His rounded belly swayed when he moved. He climbed back on the bed and settled in next to Oliver. The boy threw his arm over the dog, and both fell asleep.

  Once clean, Dani applied some smelly ointment to the cuts on her scalp and cheek. She sat and removed her boots and socks. Her right ankle was swollen, purple, and tender to touch. She found a rolled length of cloth in her bag and used it to wrap her ankle before pulling her sock and boot back on. The extra padding made the boot tight, but her foot felt better.

  Muscle tightness seized her back, and she took another drink of the medicine. Aunt Hattie’s magic bottle of goodness. She smiled. The heat flowed through her body again, and she lowered herself to the floor. Her eyes closed and didn’t open again until morning.

  Dani rose slowly and stumbled out of the room and down the hall to the toilet. Once her bladder was empty, she took a moment to enjoy the cold water from the tap running over her hands. She splashed water on her face and woke up a bit more. Her blurred image in the mirror stared back at her, and Dani remembered the picture Jace had shown her yesterday—or was it the day before that? She wasn’t sure. She and Jace didn’t have a mirror at home, or indoor plumbing, so where was she? Her ankle hurt, and she didn’t remember why.