World In Tatters Ch. 35

After Kiera and I finish our meal, I opt to head back to the hospital to see if I can lend a hand. Kiera stays with the relief station to help them feed the crowds. I spend the next several hours washing blood out of bandages and rags. By the time the sun starts going down, a new group of volunteers come in to trade off with us.

Most of the injured have achieved a stable condition. Many of the more critical cases succumbed to their wounds. When the chaos died down enough, the lead medics started sending volunteers away to eat and rest. Many of them had been working non-stop since the attack. Everyone looks exhausted. A few even collapse against the walls once relieved of duty. Most are able to walk out of the hospital under their own power, but looking into their eyes, you can see the toll the last couple of days have taken. Both physically and emotionally.

Alice is one of the few medics who decide to hang back. Rachel and Chris join me to find lodging for the night. Jason heads back to where Richard’s platoon stashed the horses and carriage. After some wandering around, we run across Richard and Kiera. They’ve been searching for us.

“Steven!” Richard calls out. “Over here!”

When the three of us approach him, Richard has a bright smile across his face. “Hey. What’s up?”

“We have a bit of a surprise for you two.” Gesturing at Rachel and myself. “Are you free to join us?”

“Um… We’re just trying to figure out where we’ll sleep tonight. What kind of surprise?” I look over to Rachel who’s clearly uncomfortable with this. Even after Richard and Kiera freed us from Butch, and gave us food and all of our gear back, Rachel still doesn’t trust him. Truthfully, I don’t know if I trust him yet either. But I have seen how much he cares for his people.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Would it? Jedd’ll take care of the accommodation.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“Well, I hope you’ll like this one.” His smile turns mischievous. “Someone’s here I think you’ll want to see.”

“What do you…?” Suddenly realizing who he’s referring to. “She’s here?”

“Who? Who’s here?” Rachel’s confusion evident.

I turn toward her, my mind racing with all the things I could tell her. All the things I should tell her. “It’s…uh…” I lose my nerve just as I open my mouth. “Don’t…don’t worry about it.” Turning back to Richard. “Take me to her. Please.”

A little confused about my reaction, Richard leads on ahead of the others. Under his breath, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you hadn’t told her.”

I look back to see Kiera hanging back with my sister and Chris. Kiera reassures Rachel that everything is perfectly alright, and that she shouldn’t worry. “It’s fine, man. Don’t worry about it. I just didn’t know how.” My mind shifts, “But what is she doing here? I thought she was in Atlanta.”

“Yeah. I thought so too. She arrived about two hours ago.”

“And you didn’t send for me?” I snap.

“I’ve been looking for you since she got here.”

“Of course. Sorry… I just didn’t expect this to happen right now.”

“I get it, man.”

“I don’t know if you do. How could you? How could anybody? I mean, how often does something like this happen?”

“True.”

Richard leads us through the desolate streets of Birmingham, winding our way around charred cityscape. After what seems like forever, we exit the city proper, entering the militia side of the encampment. He takes us toward a large tent somewhere in the center, where soldiers with very large guns stand guard.

Looking around, there must be a few hundred soldiers setting up their tents for the night. These aren’t the same kind of fighters we’ve encountered recently. This is an army.

Well, mostly. The closer I look, the more cracks I see in the veneer. The core of this fighting force is definitely well-regulated and well-equipped. Trained soldiers going about their duties, cleaning weapons, building tents. My guess is that most of them defected from the Alliance after Drum’s coup d’etat. But, many of the people here look like farmers or working classes. Several of them children, the same age or younger than Rachel. The youngest can’t be more than twelve years old.

It’s not like these children are just camp followers either. They’re too comfortable with their weapons, too alert to not have experienced combat. It’s frightening really, to see kids out here riding alongside experienced fighters.

“Hey, Richard.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s with all the kids?”

“Some of them are refugees, displaced by Drum’s conquests. Others are the children of fallen soldiers. A few are the sons and daughters of Drum’s political rivals. Most just have nowhere else to go.”

“They’re just kids. You let them fight on the front lines?”

“Honestly?” Richard puts his hand on my chest to stop me. Dropping his voice, “I don’t like it any more than you do. My grandfather and I have tried to convince the council to put a stop to it, but it’s not my choice. They’re convinced that we need to use every soldier at our disposal. I don’t allow any of them to serve in my platoon, but not all the CO’s feel as strongly as I do. For the most part, the younger ones hang back, but…”

“That’s horrifying. And my—” As soon as I feel the heat rising in my voice, I reign it in. “Charlotte lets this happen? Isn’t she supposed to be some high muckity-muck?”

“Steven—”

“You know what?” Holding up my hand, letting Richard off the hook. “I’ll her ask myself.”

I look back to see Kiera, Rachel and Chris still trailing pretty far behind us. Richard and I continue the rest of the way in silence, with me contemplating what’s about to happen.

Once we arrive at the tent, Richard is greeted by some of the guards.

“You ready?” Before he even gets the words out, he starts toward the entrance.

“No, not really.” Richard pauses, surprised at my reluctance. “Just…give me a couple minutes.”

“Alright. Well, I’m gonna head in. This meeting isn’t all about you, you know.” Richard flashes that kind smile of his. “Take all the time you need.”

As soon as Richard walks away, my nerves start getting the better of me. What was I going to say to her? What could I say to her, when to me, it’s like she’s been resurrected. My breathing quickens. I’m nearly hyperventilating by the time Kiera and Rachel get close. As soon as I see them, I reign in my anxiety. I step off to the side, composing myself before they can notice.

Suddenly I feel a hand grab my shoulder, startling me out of my thoughts. I take a deep breath, straightening my back while I turn around.

“Hey, bro. You okay?” Rachel’s voice pulls me fully back to reality.

“Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. You just looked like you were about to vomit.”

“Must have been something I ate,” I lie, forcing a smile.

“If you say so.” Rachel learned a long time ago that she can’t get me to talk about my feelings if I don’t want to. After an uncomfortable pause, “So...why exactly are we out here?”

“There’s someone Richard wants me to meet. She’s in the tent over there.”

“So, why are you standing out here?”

Kiera flashes me a knowing glance. Covering for me, “I’m sure they were just in the middle of something, but you should probably head in now, Steven.”

“Um…right. Yeah.”

“You want me to go with you?” Rachel patronizes.

“No!” I snap. “I mean, just, uh, wait here for me. Okay?”

“Fine. Wierdo.” Rachel scrunches her face in confusion, taken aback by my outburst. Said outburst was definitely a mistake, but she doesn’t seem to be questioning it right now. As I walk away, she turns her back to me, looking around the campground.

I head toward the entrance of the tent, accompanied by Kiera. Before heading in, I turn to Chris, waving him over to me. He’s just as confused as Rachel, but comes over anyway.

“What’s up?” he asks bashfully. I gesture for him to lower his voice.

“I…I need you to keep Rachel out here.” I whisper. “It’s kinda important, but I can’t explain right now.”

“I mean, I guess…But do you really think I could stop her if she wanted to go in?”

“I need you to at least try. Can you do that for me?”

“Sure, okay, Steven. I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you.” I flash Chris a strained smile before accompanying Kiera inside.

The two of us quietly slip through the entrance. The tent is huge, rising a good ten feet in the middle, tapering down to the posts set about twenty feet apart. The inside is lit up by lanterns placed at the four corners and one hanging over the center table. A group of people who I assume are members of “the council” gather around the round table, pouring over maps and clusters of paperwork. A redheaded woman stands next to Richard and Jedd, nodding along to a plan being laid out by one of the advisors.

No one really notices us come in until Kiera walks up behind and touches Richard’s shoulder. He gets the redheaded woman’s attention, directing her over to me. It’s like time slows down. My heart pounds in my chest. As soon as our eyes meet, it leaps into my throat.

“Hi, mom.” I manage through the knot.

My words turn the heads of every person in the room. I don’t know if anyone was expecting me, but by the looks on their faces, they’re shocked that I’m here. My eyes stay locked on to my mother’s, the lump in my throat only growing as I stand there overcome by a number of emotions.

After what seems like an eternity, Charlotte breaks the oppressive silence. “Steven! I can’t believe it’s really you.”

Even though I am trying desperately to stay composed, my body shakes uncontrollably, tears welling in my eyes.

“Five years.” Of all the possibilities of emotion, anger takes the lead, “You’ve been gone for five years! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!”

“Steven.” Her voice unreadable. The fact that her expression betrays absolutely zero emotion just digs my rage in deeper. Turning to the crowd around the center table, “Everyone, this is my son Steven. I will gladly introduce each of you later, but for now, please give us some space. We have some catching up to do.”

“Richard. Kiera. Stay…Please.” I force through gritted teeth.

Charlotte nods to them letting them know it’s alright. As soon as everyone else leaves, a smile cracks across my mother’s face. It’s not a warm or gentle smile, but a smile of someone who’s been through an ordeal. It’s like she’s holding herself back, burying any real emotions behind a dense wall. Despite that, she walks over to me. She wraps her arms around my neck.

I stand there shaking in her embrace. Against my will, my arms wrap around her back, clutching the leather in my fists. I bury my face into her shoulder as tears stream down my cheeks. Once I realize that fighting it is futile, I let the tears flow freely.

I lose track of how long we stay like this. It could be a couple minutes. I could be an hour. Maybe longer, I don’t know, but by the time we release each other, I’m able to rein in my emotions. I finally pull back, turning away from her.

“Mom…Where have you been?” I croak.

“That is a very long story.”

Spinning back around to her, “Yeah, well, I clearly have time. So, start explaining.”

“I’m not even sure I know where to start.”

“Well, Jason filled me in about the night you...died. Or I guess, disappeared is more accurate isn’t it?”

“Steven…”

“Don’t ‘Steven’ me, mom.” I snap. “You disappeared for five years. We…I deserve an explanation.”

“Of course you do. Please sit down.” She directs me to a couple of chairs at the other side of the tent. “Richard, do you mind getting us some water? There’s a pitcher and cups in the other room.”

Richard vanishes through a set of flaps leading deeper into the tent. He returns only a moment later with the drink. He pours into one cup handing it to Charlotte, then passes the other to me. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I nod, taking the cup from him and lowering myself onto the chair. I sip at the water, waiting for my mother to start.

“I guess I should start at the beginning.”