World In Tatters Ch. 5

“How do you know me? Who are you?” I sense an edge to her voice, sharper than the blade in her hand.

“Well, that’s kind-of a stupid question. Isn’t it, doofus?”

After a long pause, she finally puts it together, “Steven?”

“In the flesh. You want to take that blade away from my spine?”

“No, not really,” her edge dulling with every passing second, I feel the tip drop away. “But I’ll manage.”

“It’s the first time we’ve been in the same room in, how long? And the first thing you do, is put a…what was that? A sword? ... to my spine?”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly know it was you.”

“Wait. My long gloriously flowing locks didn’t give me away?”

“Oh. Shut up, and sit down.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I can’t help but crack a wide smile. I walk over to the bed, shift the piles of knives enough to not get stabbed in the bum when I sit. Alice really does have an unhealthy obsession with blades, and she definitely knows how to use them. It’s one of the things I always liked about her.

As I’m sitting, I finally get a good look at her. She’s seems different from when I last saw her. It might be the combat boots, denim and leather. Or possibly it’s the shorter hair. Nope, it’s definitely the short sword in her hand and the scowl on her face. Beautiful as ever.

“So, Steven, what are you doing here?”

“What did Chris tell you?”

“All he said was that you need to get into the city. He didn’t really mention why.”

“Well, we’re kind-of in trouble.”

“Aren’t you always?”

“Fair enough.” I said my smile faltering. “There are mercenaries after us. Bounty hunters. We don’t really know why. We’re trying to figure that out. The contract we found says it comes from Atlanta. We were going to ask around in the city, see what we can dig up. Get some supplies then head to Atlanta. We figured your mom could help us out.”

“Atlanta doesn’t use bounty hunters. Or at least they didn’t. Not when my mom was president.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why we…Wait a minute? Your mom isn’t president in Atlanta anymore?”

“No, she’s not.” The edge returning to her voice. “About three years ago, there was a sort of uprising in the city. We were never really sure who started it. Or why. But my mom was deposed. Imprisoned. One of my mom’s loyal bodyguards was able to get me out of the city.” Gesturing to her drunken companion. “Bertrand there saved my life.”

“I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

“How could you have known? You left Atlanta and never came back…Six years. You left six years ago.”

“Alice… I… What do you want me to say? At the time, I had to go. I didn’t really have a choice.”

“So, why didn’t you come back?” there’s a tone pain in her voice. “If you had come back, you could have helped us. I thought you…” She cuts herself off, looking straight into my eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

She pulls over a crate and sits down across from me. Wiping a tear from her eye, she tries to hide it, but I can tell. “Yeah, well. Back to business.”

“Yeah, probably for the best. So what’s the plan?”

“We can get you papers. False names. We can probably get it done by midday tomorrow. Once you’re inside the city, we have a safe house. How long are you staying in the city?”

“I’m not sure. A few days. Long enough to get some answers, and maybe figure out a way to get to Atlanta.”

“Why would you go to Atlanta? The only person there who would even consider helping you is in prison.”

“I need answers. And I’m not going to leave your mom hanging.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying…I dunno… That I will do everything in my power to help your mom out. You and Aunt Nora are like family. You know that. I could never just let her rot. If I had known sooner, I would have done everything I could.”

“You think we didn’t try? They have her locked down tight. She doesn’t even get visitors. I don’t even know if she’s alive anymore.”

“Last time, you didn’t have me.” Trying to break the tension. “Or Rachel. She’s really the brains of the operation.”

A little smirk dances across her lips. “She always was wasn’t she? Wait. Where are your parents? You left Atlanta with them. You haven’t mentioned them at all.”

“They’re gone.” I’m sure she can sense the pain, but still, she asks.

“Gone? What happened?”

“That’s a long story. It was a long time ago.”

“I…I’m sorry…”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around,” rising from my perch and beginning to pace the tent. “Is there anything else I need to know for tomorrow? If not, I should probably get back.”

Resuming the all business tone. “No, there’s nothing else. Meet back here at midday tomorrow. Make sure Chris stays out of sight. The last thing we need is the stable-master catching wind that he’s back. It’ll raise far too many questions.”

“Midday. Got it. We’ll be here. I’m gonna go.”

I hate thinking about my parents. A lot has happened since then, but any time someone brings them up, it sets me on edge. I mean, obviously, she doesn’t know that. I haven’t spoken to her since before they died.

Now directly opposite the entrance, I really look at Alice for the first time since coming here. She still has the sword in her hand, but now it’s laying across her lap. I hear her leather and hide clothes creaking. I count six knife sheaths on her legs, probably one in each boot too. There’s at least three knives on her belt, and likely another few hidden inside her jacket. I’m not surprised that she carries this many on her person. She was probably the best martial arts student back in Atlanta. She was a master of bladed weapons by the time she was thirteen. I was definitely intimidated by her, but she fascinated me.

She’s looking up at me with her intense brown eyes, her curly shoulder length auburn hair falling loosely around her face. I say her hair is auburn, but that’s not exactly right. Her natural hair is brown, but she has always liked to change and color it every so often. Dyes are hard to come by and expensive at market, but she learned how to make her own out of plant pigments. Her first few attempts were pretty funny. We were only seven. One made her hair stick together so bad that we had to cut it down to almost nothing. Aunt Nora was livid.

I hadn’t thought about it in a while, but I really did miss her. She was my best friend. We were inseparable when we were young. As soon as we got back to the city from our travels, I ran straight to hang out with her. Now, I look at her, and I don’t see the dress-wearing, knife-wielding psycho who used to run around the city making trouble with me.

All I see before me is someone who has been on the run for a long time. No long term home, not many people to trust, and nowhere to go. We’re the same, she and I. Two people in a world that wants us dead, fighting to survive. But I look into her eyes now, and all of that simply fades. I let my body relax, and stop pacing.

“Alice, you should come with me. Back to camp tonight. I know Rachel and Jason would love to see you. By the time we get there, they should have some food cooking. Join us for dinner.”

“I don’t know. If I’m going to get you those papers, I’m gonna have to be up early.”

“Please. It’ll be nice to have a meal with someone who isn’t Rachel or Jason. I love them both, but they can really get on my nerves. And it’s still pretty early. So, please. Come back to camp with me, have a nice dinner, and you can leave whenever you want afterwards.”

“Fine.” She mumbles under her breath, “But only because I haven’t eaten today.”

“Oh, you either? Peas in a pod, you and I.”

A quick smile dances across her lips, immediately brightening the dank room. “Oh, shut-up. Dummy.”

*****

We make most of our walk back to camp in relative silence. A “this way” here and there. I guess I just don’t know what to say to her after all this time. I mean, we were so close back then, but it’s been six years. A lot has happened in that time. For both of us. Things that have fundamentally changed who we are as people.

I wonder if she is thinking the same thing about me.

We grew up together. Well, mostly. I spent a good deal of time on the road with my parents. But for the most part, we spent all the time we could in Atlanta. President Nora Falstrom, Alice’s mother, was a long-time friend of my parents. She and my mom studied together long before I came along. She was my mom’s best friend. Jason was my father’s. Jason and Aunt Nora never got along very well, but I always suspected that Jason had a little crush on her.

Alice always intrigued me. Her father died when we were only four. Still, she was this beautiful, lively, adventurous kid, but she was also extremely dedicated to her martial arts and healer studies. She liked to show off her skills when we’d play fight. She could put me on the ground faster than I even realized she was moving. She was insanely fast. She taught me a lot of what she learned from her tutors. She is how I learned to accurately throw knives. I’m nowhere near as good as she is, but I can do some damage.

On the outside, she looked like a perfect, dainty president’s daughter that she had to be. Poised. Distinguished. Articulate. But she had an edge to her, sharper than those knives she kept strapped to her thighs, even at state functions. She was a force to be reckoned with, even at fourteen, when I left. I’ll admit, back then, I had a bit of a thing for her. I never told her. I had plenty of chances to, but I never could. I was a kid. I never thought that day six years ago would be the last chance I had.

Now she is something else. Something much more dangerous. She’s someone who doesn’t have much else to lose. She still walks the same. Talks the same, but you can see the pain in her eyes. She has experienced loss. Loss just as deep as mine. Her mom may not be dead, but her entire life was upended. Everything she ever knew was destroyed when Atlanta was taken. But when I showed up, maybe I gave her hope. Maybe I just brought more painful memories. I don’t know.

What I do know, is that she still has the face of my old friend. I’m going to help her get her mother back. I’ll do whatever it takes.

About ten minutes from camp, she stops and just stands there for a minute. Her expression is unreadable in the flickering firelight, but she looks me in the eye for a moment. Then she does the last thing I expect, and hugs me. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in tight, burying her face in my shoulder. Not knowing what else to do, I enfold her in my arms.

“What’s this for?”

“I’ve missed you. You have no idea how many times I wished you’d come back. Now you’re here.”

“Alice… I’m sorry I didn’t come back. I couldn’t. After my parents… I couldn’t…I missed you too.” She pulls away, looking at the ground. “Come on. Let’s keep going.”

We talked the rest of the way back to camp. Not about anything in particular. Just picking up an old friendship. A joke here, a nudge there, the occasional smile. It was almost like we’d never parted ways. For a few brief minutes, none of the last six years seemed to matter. But behind the jovial banter, both of us are hiding our pains.

As we reach the edge of our camp, I see that the horses have been tied up on the tree line. Trusty ole’ Jason made sure to set up all of the tents and start a campfire. Clearly satisfied with his work, he’s sitting against a tree carving up a branch that he must have picked up. Rachel and Chris are back from getting supplies. Rachel is by the fire with her back to me turning the spit, the smell of roasting pork wafting across the clearing. Chris is mulling about by the horses, picking up bits of firewood. He keeps looking back toward Rachel. His interest could be for a few reasons. Fear. Mistrust. Attraction. Each more amusing to me than the last.

I whisper to Alice, “Hang back for a minute. I don’t want to startle any of them. Especially Rachel. She’s been a little trigger happy lately.”

Jason is the first to see me. “Hey, Steven. How did it go?” Rachel looks up and turns around. Chris sees me, but keeps his distance.

“It went fine. They’ll have the papers for us by midday tomorrow. We should be able to get into the city before nightfall. Uh…just one thing though. I kind-of brought someone back here with me. Don’t worry. They’re a friend. And… I think you’ll like who it is.” Calling back over my shoulder, “You’re good now!”

The way Alice slinks out of the shadows, she’s clearly been practicing. If I hadn’t known she was back there beforehand, there’s no way I would have spotted her. The look on Rachel’s face is priceless.

“Rach, close your mouth. You’ll catch flies.” I jest.

Completely ignoring my hilarious comment, “Uh… How…Where did you come from?”

“I haven’t seen you in six years. And that’s the only thing you have to say? Rude. Even your brother did better than that.”

Jason gets up and crosses over to the fire. “Hey, Alice. It’s good to see you. Would you like to join us for dinner? There’s plenty for all of us.”

“I would love that.” The words catch slightly in her throat.

“Chris,” I hail. “Come over here for a minute. There’s someone I’d like you to officially meet.”

“Steven. Chris and I know each other already. He was the one who brought you to me. Remember?”

“Yes, I am aware of that. But I’m pretty sure he is totally lost on how we know you.”

“He is right about that. I am quite confused now. Hi again, Alice.”

“But first things first: Dinner time. That roasted pork smells fantastic. Is it ready yet?”

“Yeah, it should be.” Rachel chimes.

“Then let’s eat! I’m starving.”