365 Days At War

by Nancy Isaak

  “Good to have you back,” I told her. “We really missed your cooking.”

  “Thanks,” she said, a little shyly.

  The door opened and Peyton’s head peered around the corner. “Is that chocolate I smell?”

  “Sophia’s made muffins,” said Jay, holding one up high. “Chocolate muffins!”

  “I’m so all over that,” said Peyton, letting the door slam behind her. She walked over and grabbed a muffin off of the plate. “God, I needed this!” she exclaimed, taking a big bite—the crumbs falling down the front of her blouse. “How in the world do you manage getting them so moist, Soph?”

  “The trick is using applesauce,” said Sophia, proudly. “Mommy taught me how.”

  Peyton held the muffin up to the sky. “Gracias, Mamacita. Now, if only you could do something about cramps.”

  “Your time of the month?” Jay asked. “Is that why you’re chocolate-jonesing?”

  “The big existential joke on us,” Peyton nodded. “Poof…no adults, no school, no laws—but girls still get their periods. Where’s the free will in that?!”

  * * * *

  To celebrate the new year—and to let off a little ‘Local’ steam—we decided to have a small barbeque on Zuma Beach. The Council and I were hoping that spending some time away from the compound might lower the cabin fever that we’d witnessed building among some of the tribe members.

  Throughout the day, volunteers carted down blankets, pillows, and barbeque food. Some of the guys brought their instruments—guitars and ukuleles mostly—and they played while others of us danced or set up buffet tables. Meanwhile, many of the younger kids cavorted in the surf or ran up and down the beach, chasing each other.

  Like Jay and Jude, I kept a close eye on Lily, Hannah, and Shawnee. The younger girls were given strict boundaries; we had told them exactly how far they could go in either direction. And—most important of all—they were instructed never to go anywhere alone with a guy unless one of us older girls had first given permission.

  This caused some embarrassment later on as the sun began to set and Rhys asked Shawnee to go for a walk. She felt foolish, having to come get permission but—once I pointed out Victor, hanging around, ogling whichever girl was nearest—Shawnee sucked it up and pretended to understand.

  Still, I pulled Rhys aside and made him promise not to go too far. “And don’t take her where it’s really dark…and do you have your gun with you…and if anyone bothers you, call out for help…even if it feels stupid, you don’t take the chance, right?”

  Rhys patiently nodded his agreement to all of this—Shawnee standing beside him, looking absolutely humiliated.

  Then, as the two of them finally walked off down the beach, I heard Rhys say to Shawnee, “Let’s go drink beer and smoke some meth.”

  I was about to race after them when Rhys turned and gave me a mischievous grin.

  Wicked little Riker!

  * * * *

  “Do you think they’re going to do the nasty?” asked Peyton, when I returned to the blanket us girls had spread out on the sand.

  “Don’t be disgusting,” I said, sitting down beside her. “They’re just kids.”

  “With hormones racing and young bodies getting all nubile and sweaty.”

  “Oh, lalalalala,” I sang, putting my hands to my ears.

  Jude reached out and pulled my hands away. “Peyton’s right, Kaylee. You need to talk to Shawnee about sex.”

  “What...why me?!”

  “Because Cherry isn’t here,” said Jude. “So, that makes it your responsibility.”

  “Or I can do it,” suggested Peyton. “I’ve got a few tricks I’m sure Rhys would like.”

  “I’ll do it!” I said, quickly.

  Peyton leaned over and drew a finger along my bare leg. “Or maybe I should be telling you, Kaylee,” she teased. “Since you’re the one who’s going to be getting some come Valentine’s Day.”

  Jacob chose that exact moment to flop down on the blanket next to me. “That’s my girl, Peyton, so you might want to get your hand off of her.”

  “Just giving her some sex tips,” Peyton cooed, removing her finger and sticking it in her mouth suggestively.

  “Stop it!” Jude whacked her on the head. “And close your legs. Creepy Vic is standing right there, trying to catch a look up your whatsit.”

  Peyton peered over at Victor. The moment he saw her looking, he turned and quickly walked away.

  “Perv,” muttered Peyton, under her breath.

  * * * *

  I was worried about Peyton—being there on the beach with all those guys.

  She was part seductress, part child—a dangerous combination when so many boys on our tribe seemed to be aching for female companionship. Because of that, when Jacob asked me to go for a walk, I almost said no—wanting instead to stay on the blanket and make sure that Peyton was protected—if only from herself.

  Then, Frank walked over and kneeled down on the blanket, and I watched something startling wash over Peyton—a shyness that I’d never witnessed before. Her head lowered as Frank whispered a sweet nothing into her ear, and Peyton turned a bright red.

  “See—she’ll be fine,” Jacob whispered to me, tugging on my hand. “They’ll all be fine. Don’t worry, Frank will watch out for the girls. He won’t let anything happen to them.”

  And, taking a deep breath and assuring myself that everything would be okay, I turned and walked off into the dark night with the boy that I loved.

  * * * *

  “Do you think that Frank and Peyton will hook up?” I asked, as we walked along a sand dune.

  Jacob grinned. “No doubt. That boy’s been pining for her since 9th grade.”

  “I like them together. Frank calms Peyton.”

  “What was that with Victor?” Jacob asked. “Is there something going on that I need to worry about?”

  I shrugged, not really wanting to get into it at that moment. “Don’t worry about it. We girls are dealing with it.”

  An enormous wave suddenly crashed to the shore in front of us, lighting up neon blue all along its crest.

  “That’s so beautiful!” I gasped. “I’ve never seen the luminescence that bright before.”

  “Once, when Kieran and I were night surfing down in Mexico,” said Jacob, “the waves were, like this neon green and yellow. Kind of like the aurora borealis, but for the ocean.”

  I suddenly stopped moving.

  “Oh-oh.” I whispered. “We should probably go back the other way.”

  Jacob ignored my pushing at his shoulder, looking past me to the two bodies lying on the sand—kissing.

  “Holy crap!” he exclaimed.

  Quickly, I grabbed Jacob’s hand and started pulling him back the way we’d come. “They’ll be humiliated if they knew we saw. Come on, before they see us.”

  “But it’s Rhys and Shawnee!”

  “I know,” I whispered, trying to move him along quicker. “And I’ll deal with Shawnee later but, right now, let’s just go a different way.”

  * * * *

  A few steps later—as we came around the other side of the sand dune—Shawnee and Rhys disappeared from sight. I breathed easier—although I also started to giggle.

  “What’s so funny?” Jacob asked.

  “It’s your brother.” I tried to smother a laugh. “Looks like he’s gotten more than you have tonight!”

  “Oh, you think so, do you?!”

  I squealed with delight as Jacob picked me up and practically threw me down on the sand. He jumped on top of me and, moments later, we were kissing, too.

  It was wild and it was passionate—but we both knew that it wouldn’t go any farther than that.

  Valentine’s Day had become precious to both of us.

  We were determined to wait.

  * * * *

  Not five minutes later—when our kissing became more desperate, threatening to break our vow—Jacob and I took a deep breath and separated, running our hands t
hrough our messy hair.

  Then—begrudgingly—we began to wind our way back to the barbeque.

  “What did you mean back there?” asked Jacob, as we walked. “When you said that you’d deal with Shawnee later.”

  I sighed. “Jude wanted me to have a talk about sex with Shawnee. Considering what we just saw, I guess she’s probably right.”

  Jacob groaned. “Which means that I should probably talk to Rhys.”

  As we neared the girls’ blanket, I began to giggle again.

  “What is it this time?” Jacob sighed.

  “Just…who’s going to talk to us?”

  * * * *

  When we sat down, I noticed that Porter and Connor had joined our small group. While Connor was sitting next to Hannah, playing a game of ‘rock-paper-scissors’, Porter had chosen a seat almost equidistant between Jay and Jude.

  “Oh-oh,” I said, under my breath.

  “What oh-oh is it this time?” asked Jacob, frowning.

  “Porter.” I motioned with my head, trying not to be too overt. “Probably the worst place he could have chosen to sit. Could he have found a more obvious way to show that he doesn’t know which girl he likes better?”

  Jacob grinned. “Leave the kid alone. He’s never been in a position where more than one girl is into him.”

  I smacked Jacob lightly on the shoulder. “And you have?!”

  “Oh, the stories I could tell,” Jacob teased.

  * * * *

  “Where are Cammie and Kieran?” I asked, sometime later.

  Peyton pointed to a couple of dark shapes, down near the edge of the beach. As the neon waves crashed nearby, lightening the area with their bioluminescence, the shapes suddenly took form, transforming into Cammie and Kieran—deep into some heavy petting.

  Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones who had noticed.

  Some of the older guys were staring—not looking happy at all. A few were frowning and grumbling among themselves, disturbed at such an open display of affection.

  And, closer to the couple, I noticed Victor—once again staring—his demeanor a mixture of hostility and hunger.

  “I’ll take care of this,” Jacob whispered in my ear. He got up and walked toward the surf. Seeing him coming, Victor immediately turned and walked off down the beach—hands in his pockets and looking angry—disappearing behind the sand dunes.

  A moment later, I realized that Victor was walking straight toward another kissing couple—Rhys and Shawnee!

  “Tell Jacob I’ll be back in a second,” I told Peyton. “I’m just going to go check on something.”

  * * * *

  Moving quickly, I threaded my way around the sand dunes, trying to remember exactly where Rhys and Shawnee had been lying. In front of me, I could see the dark shape of Victor, still aiming in the same direction.

  Behind me, meanwhile, the sounds of the barbeque slowly faded away.

  The sand dunes became higher and more steep—the shadows they threw ominous and frightening. I hadn’t realized how far away Shawnee and Rhys had actually gone. They were definitely behind the boundaries I had set—far out of hearing range of the rest of the tribe.

  * * * *

  I finally came across a series of sand dunes that I recognized. Racing around them, expecting to see two embarrassed and sweaty kids on the ground, I was shocked when I found the beach empty.

  However, when I looked down on the sand—where I knew Rhys and Shawnee had lain—I saw footprints leading back toward the Locals.

  Good…the kids had gone back to the group.

  Turning back myself, I managed only one step before someone came at me from behind. An arm snaked around my waist, while a hand slapped over my mouth.

  “Bad choice, girlie,” snarled a low voice, right next to my ear. I tried to turn around but, whoever had me was holding me tightly from behind—probably so that I wouldn’t see his face. “Very bad choice.”

  For a moment, terror threatened to overwhelm me.

  I thought I might faint—I was so scared.

  And—then I got angry.

  * * * *

  It didn’t matter that I hadn’t seen his face. I knew instinctively that it was Victor behind me; the same creep who’d been peeping at us girls for days—watching us practice all those self-defense moves. But, luckily, he’d been too busy checking out our bodies to really clue into what we were actually learning.

  My right foot came down hard on his instep!

  At the same moment I flung my head forward and back—a quick movement that resulted in a satisfying crunch as I broke open his nose.

  When he gasped and released my waist—I reached out and grabbed his arm, twisting and pulling forward, using his own momentum to throw him over my shoulder and onto the ground.

  He grunted as he fell and I moved in quickly—viciously kicking him right between his legs. As he twisted forward in pain, I laced my hands together and brought them down on the back of his head.

  There was a thudding crack!—then, he stopped moving.

  * * * *

  Huffing and puffing—as much from nerves as from the exertion—I turned to find Jacob, Rhys, and Shawnee standing behind me. They were all just staring, not saying a word.

  “How long have you been there?” I asked, gasping for air.

  “We were coming to rescue you,” said Shawnee. “Peyton thought you might be in trouble.”

  “Oh—okay…well, thanks.”

  Down by my feet, Victor groaned and began to move. Jacob quickly came over and—rolling Victor onto his stomach—lifted up the big guy’s shirt and ran a hand down his back. “No tattoo. I don’t think he’s a Crazy.”

  “Neither do I,” I agreed. “Probably just your garden-variety pervert.”

  Jacob looked up at me, frowning. “Where’s your weapon?”

  “You’re looking at her,” was my answer.

  * * * *

  While Jacob was furious with me for having gone down the beach without a weapon or an escort, Kieran was ecstatic that his self-defense training had actually paid off—and let everybody know it when we returned back to the party.

  “Dude, she knocked the douchebag out!” he cried, slapping me on the back. “I mean, Kaylee kicked the freaking crap out of Victor!”

  “I just did the stuff you guys taught us,” I explained. “It worked, by the way.”

  “Man, this is so amazing!” crowed Kieran. “He like had a foot and sixty pounds on her, and she still took him out!”

  “It’s not amazing,” growled Jacob—still unhappy. “And—where the hell were those whistles you girls were all supposed to have?!”

  Josh, standing nearby, slapped a hand to his forehead, looking horrified. “Oh god, I completely forgot! They’re in a box in a cupboard, down in the meeting room. I meant to give them to Kaylee for the girls a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Well, fat lot of good they did her tonight!” Jacob yelled at Josh. “You could have got her killed!”

  I reached out and touched Jacob on the arm. “It’s not Josh’s fault. I was the one who made the mistakes tonight, not him.”

  Jacob swung around to waggle a finger in my face. “You’re damn right you did…and look what almost happened!”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Before he could say anything else, Rhys and Frank came up. They were dragging a barely conscious Victor between them—his nose broken, blood dribbling down his chin. They stopped in front of Jacob, standing Victor up as best they could.

  “You want to say anything, Victor?” snarled Jacob.

  “Bitch ‘tacked me.”

  Jacob moved in close, his face mere inches away from Victor’s. “I want you to understand this real clearly. You are damn lucky Kaylee ‘tacked you, because if I had gotten to you first…I would have killed you!”

  Victor snorted—a little blood bubble of fear that popped out of his shattered nose.

  Disgusted, Jacob turned to Rhys and Frank. “Take him up Oxnard way. Give him a bac
kpack, some food and water and send him on his way.”

  Then—he turned back to Victor. “You come anywhere near Local territory….you put one foot on it, you even look at it—my guys will be under orders to kill you.”

  “But I…”

  Ignoring Victor’s protests, Jacob waved him away.

  Immediately, Rhys and Frank grabbed Victor by his arms and pulled him off down the beach. As they passed by Peyton, she hawked up a big loogie and spat it in Victor’s direction.

  “Sweetie,” sighed Frank, wiping at his pants, “a little better aim next time, okay?”

  * * * *

  Jacob and I were the last to leave the beach that night. We waited until everybody had started back up the hill before we followed. As we reached Dume Drive, our guards somehow appeared out of the darkness.

  “Any problems?” asked Jacob.

  One of the guys shook his head. “All quiet.”

  The guards moved farther behind us, trailing in our footsteps—allowing us some privacy.

  I slipped my hand into Jacob’s. “I’m sorry if I made you angry.”

  He sighed. “Mostly I was just scared of what could have happened.”

  “You were right, you know. That was stupid of me to go off alone without a guard or a weapon.”

  “Where is your gun?” Jacob asked.

  “I left it back at the house,” I said, feeling dumb. “I guess I thought—with everybody going to be at the barbeque—I wouldn’t need it.”

  “And what if it had been a Crazy who had attacked you?”

  “Then, I probably would be dead—or worse. Look, I know I did a ridiculously stupid thing.” I squeezed his hand. “Promise—I won’t be such an idiot. Not ever again.”

  Jacob stopped, pulling me into his arms. The guards also stopped, politely turning their backs to us.

  “I just spent 365 days thinking that I’d never see you again,” Jacob told me. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, Kaylee. It would kill me.”