365 Days At War

by Nancy Isaak

  “You okay?” I bent down and helped Cammie up. She was shaking and looked like she was about to cry.

  “I’m sorry. We thought that maybe you were a Crazy.” I waved my guards back. They retreated, taking up position toward the front of the small house. “What are you doing down here so early?”

  “Just looking,” she mumbled.

  Although I didn’t believe her, I didn’t press. There was a more serious issue to discuss. “Where’s your weapon?”

  Cammie immediately looked down at her waist, as if a gun would magically appear there. “I guess I forgot it.”

  “You’re as bad as Kaylee,” I groaned. “Seriously, Cammie…what if I had been a Crazy? What would you have done then?”

  She picked up Pugly and held him up to me. “His farts are pretty lethal.”

  I had to work at not smiling. “And where’s your guard? There’s supposed to be someone watching you when you walk the grounds. Why didn’t you ask the guard in the house to come out with you? Or do I need to have a talk to him, too—about security?”

  Looking at her feet, Cammie grimaced. “Maybe I snuck out…it’s not his fault.”

  “Let me get this straight. You ducked your guard, snuck out without a weapon, and took Pugly with you.”

  “He was whimpering,” she explained. “I figured he had to go potty.”

  “And the guest house was the perfect place for it, you were thinking?”

  Slowly, Cammie looked around—her eyes traveling over the wall next to her. When her gaze returned to me, she seemed confused.

  “What is it, Cam?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

  She sighed. “This is where he lived.”

  “Brandon?”

  “Kieran!” Cammie looked at me as if I was an idiot.

  “Yeah, he lived here. So what?”

  “So, I’m trying to see it, you know. See who he was here.”

  “Who Kieran was?” Now, I was the one who probably looked confused.

  “But there’s nothing here anymore,” Cammie continued, frustrated. “I’ve looked everywhere and there’s just no trace. Like everything from that time is gone, but I don’t know where. It’s like Kieran never lived here at all.”

  “Which is probably a good thing,” I muttered. “Trust me, Cammie. That Kieran you don’t want to know.”

  “That’s just the thing,” she said. “I do want to know. I want to know why he did it…why he lived here with Brandon…why he did all those things he did…the bad things.”

  I sighed, not looking forward to this. “Talk to me, Cammie.”

  After a moment, she spoke. “Kieran wants me to move in with him.”

  “Here?”

  “God, no. Kieran hates this place. He won’t come near the guest house.”

  “Because it holds too many bad memories for him.”

  “So, why did he do it?” she asked. “Why was he Brandon’s friend when the kid is such—an animal?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe there’s not an easy answer. I think that—when everything happened—Kieran was…well, lost. I mean, mom and dad were gone and we were all alone. It was a confusing time.”

  “But you never went bad…neither did Rhys.”

  “Neither did Kieran…not really. I mean, sure he did some questionable things, made some real dumbass moves. But, when push came to shove, Kieran made the right choice and stood up against Brandon. And I will always respect him for that.”

  “I just don’t want to make a mistake, you know,” Cammie murmured—her foot tracing nervous circles along the ground. “It worries me because my mom…she makes really bad decisions when it comes to men. I’ve had, like five ‘uncles’ in the last six years and they all sucked.”

  “Cammie, have you talked to Kieran about this?”

  She nodded. “We talk about it all the time.”

  “And what does he say?”

  “That he’s changed.”

  Reaching out, I placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Then, believe him,” I urged. “My brother is a massive pain in the ass—but he’s right. He’s changed.”

  “So, you think I should move in with him?”

  I removed my hand. “That’s not a question I’m going to answer. That’s for you to decide. Now, if you’ll excuse me—I have another girl I need to go and see.”

  Cammie smiled. “Almost time,” she giggled.

  “Almost time,” I agreed.

  * * * *

  “Kieran asked Cammie to move in with him?!”

  Kaylee and I were walking along Dume Drive, heading toward the Nature Preserve. Our guards followed at a polite distance, their muted conversation barely audible.

  “She hasn’t figured out what she’s going to do, yet.”

  “What do you think about it?”

  I shrugged. “If it was the old world, I’d be against it. But, heck, if it was the old world, we wouldn’t be getting married.”

  “That’s a horrible thought,” frowned Kaylee.

  “Well, do you think that your mom would be okay with what we’re doing?”

  “She’d be okay with us dating—I think.”

  “My parents would love you,” I said, squeezing her hand. “They’d think you were amazing.”

  “But would they want us getting married?” she asked.

  “Honestly—probably not. I mean, we’re only seventeen.”

  “Funny how that age is so old in this world and so young in the other,” she mused.

  I pulled her into my arms, stealing a quick kiss. “Well, I’m just glad that, in this world, we found each other.”

  “Fate,” said Kaylee. “It was simply fate.” She reached up and put her arms around my neck. “Do you realize that we’re getting married in a week?”

  “Counting down the days,” I murmured, leaning down to nuzzle behind her ear.

  “Stop it!” she cried, pushing me away. “You know what that does to me!”

  Chuckling, I took her hand in mine and started walking again. “So, you’re sure you want to plan the whole thing by yourself? You don’t need my help?”

  “Honestly…it’s the girls who are planning the wedding,” Kaylee admitted. “Jay’s in charge and I don’t think I could stop her if I tried. Frankly, I’m just sitting back and waiting for her to tell me where to stand.”

  “Then, I’ll plan the honeymoon.”

  Kaylee stopped, surprised. She turned and looked at me. The sun had risen just enough that its rays were reflecting off the golden flecks in her green eyes. I felt my body reacting to her beauty and quickly thought about—baseball.

  “How can we have a honeymoon?” she asked. “I mean, where would we go?”

  I leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. “You leave that to me, sweet.”

  KAYLEE

  My wedding jitters were really starting to get to me, so when Porter said the smoke bombs were finished—I jumped at the chance to leave the Point and all the talk of bridal-this and bridal-that. As much as I loved Jacob and wanted to marry him—I was still pretty much terrified by the whole idea.

  I mean, what the heck was I thinking?!

  Getting married at seventeen—that was something that pregnant girls with no future did, girls who had no chance of going to college or getting a good job.

  Honestly—part of me just wanted to run from the whole idea. Go back to my old life of being a silly high school girl whose idea of a good time was eating ice cream, watching old movies, and giggling over pictures of the boy that I loved.

  Only now, I was marrying that boy.

  Or—was I making the worst mistake of my life?

  * * * *

  Not including the three guards who traveled alongside, there were five of us who rode away from Point Dume that morning—myself, Jude, Lily, Andrei, and Ian. Porter had wanted to come along initially, but decided at the last minute to stay back. The distances we would be traveling were long and he wasn’t looking forward to the horse ride.

  Jude
and Lily rode on the chestnut, while I shared Beauty with one of the guards. Meanwhile, Ian and Andrei had the other black horse and the two remaining guards rode a young pinto that had recently been discovered on the far side of the Point.

  We had packed a picnic lunch, as well as the smoke bombs, and were looking forward to our little adventure.

  * * * *

  As we rode along Zuma Beach, Andrei pointed out toward the waves. Far out, I could see two guys sitting on surfboards, waiting patiently for their perfect ride.

  “That’s Nate and Xav,” said Andrei.

  I watched as Nate suddenly turned on his board and started dogpaddling. He moved forward no more than twenty feet when the wave he was thinking about catching collapsed underneath him. Spinning his board around, Nate returned to his place beside his brother.

  “I’m going to learn how to surf,” Andrei told us. “Ian’s going to teach me. He promised.”

  Ian turned to glower at Andrei, who was riding behind him. “Well, you’ll have to learn how to swim better, then.”

  “I swim good,” insisted Andrei.

  “You’re scared of the water.”

  “No, I’m not...I’m scared of the sharks in it, that’s all.”

  “There are sharks in the water!” screeched Lily, looking worriedly out at the ocean.

  Jude reached behind her and patted Lily on the back. “Just stay close to shore, Sailor Moon, and you’ll be just fine.”

  We trotted on for a moment, still watching Nate and Xavier—waiting for the wave that would send them flying toward shore. Unfortunately, it never came; at least, not while we were watching.

  A few minutes later and they had disappeared from our sight as we rode past Zuma, heading up the Pacific Coast Highway toward our first stop—Heavens Beach.

  * * * *

  “That’s where I lived,” said Andrei, pointing. “That house right there.”

  We were standing on top of a bluff overlooking the ocean. There were three houses almost directly below us, right at the water’s edge.

  “Do you want to go down?” I asked. “You can take a guard. Just make sure you’re back by the time we finish the bonfire.” I turned to one of the sentries who were presently stationed at Heavens Beach. They had met us on top of the bluff to help us build the bonfire. “It’s safe down there, right? I mean, you’ve gone through all of those houses, haven’t you?”

  He nodded. “He’ll be fine. We’re actually staying down at the house in the middle. I’ll go down with him, make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble.”

  “Can Ian come, too?” Andrei asked. “He’s never been to my old house.”

  “Of course. You’ll have about an hour until we’ve finished with the bonfire.”

  “Okey-dokey!” he grinned. Then, racing away, Andrei practically leapt over the edge of the bluff. For a moment, I wondered if he would be okay. Then, as the guard and Ian followed more slowly, I realized that there was an overgrown trail there, leading down toward the beach.

  As I approached the edge and looked over, there was Andrei, already at the bottom of the bluff—racing toward his past.

  * * * *

  “Do you miss your old townhouse, Kaylee?” This came from Lily, standing beside me, looking sad.

  “Sometimes,” I answered, honestly. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. Brandon and the Crazies burned it down.”

  “They’re big butt-heads, aren’t they?”

  “Absolutely,” I agreed. “The biggest.”

  Jude came up and tapped Lily on her head. “Hey, kid…get the lead out. There are branches that need to be gathered and—since the boys are slacking off—it looks like it’s going to be up to us girls to do all the heavy lifting.”

  “Just watch out for the snakes,” warned one of the guards.

  “Snakes!” Jude and I spoke—at the same time.

  “It’s a little cold for them, so you’re probably fine,” explained the guard. “But if you hear a rattle, stop moving and call us to come and take care of it.”

  “Snakes!” we said again.

  * * * *

  We had figured that it would take us about an hour to build the bonfire; it wound up taking more than two. By the time we were finished digging the base, building the wood pyramid, and surrounding it with rocks, we were all dirty, sweaty and exhausted.

  “Only two more bonfires to go,” groaned Jude. “Why did I want to come again? I’ve forgotten.”

  “My fingers hurt,” complained Lily. “I’ve got dirt under my nails.”

  “Bunch of whiners,” I teased them. “We’ll have lunch before we leave. That will make you feel better.”

  Jude immediately turned toward the grazing horses and the picnic basket that Sophia had packed for us. Meanwhile, I moved over to the Heavens Beach sentries and handed them a box of smoke bombs. “We’ve made it easy for you. The cardboard tubes have been colored the same as the smoke they’ll make, so there won’t be any mistakes.”

  “And all we have to do is light the bonfire and throw the tube in?” asked one of the guards.

  I nodded. “Just make sure that you put it directly in the fire. And, of course, it will be useless at night. So, if you light the bonfire then, we’ll simply assume that you’re in trouble and need help.”

  “What about the starter fluid to make the fire?”

  “Right under that rock there. We’ve buried everything you’ll need to start your fire. It’s in a plastic container a couple of inches down. If you’re smart, you might want to place the smoke bombs in the container, too. We’ll leave that up to you, though.”

  “Maybe what we’ll do is separate them,” suggested the guard. “Put some of them with the starter fluid and keep some down at the house. Then, if we can’t get to the bluff for some reason, we can still set one off down at the beach.”

  “You can certainly do that,” I agreed. “But know that the chances of us seeing it will depend on how high up the smoke goes. So, even if you can’t reach the bonfire, I’d suggest you try setting the smoke bomb off at the top of one of the other hills.”

  “Okay,” said the guard. “We’ll figure out some secondary hills we can use—in case we get cut off from this bluff.”

  Jude came over with the picnic basket. “Looks like Sophia outdid herself this time,” she beamed. “We’ve got cake!”

  Andrei’s head suddenly popped up from the edge of the bluff. “Cake?!”

  * * * *

  Our second bonfire was set up in the hills, just above Sycamore Cove—another hour’s horse ride along Pacific Coast Highway. We had a sentry station there and it was in direct line with the station at Heavens Beach.

  If anything, this bonfire was even harder to build than the first. There were less trees at this height—the branches more difficult to find. Still—by the time we left—we had a four feet high bonfire built, surrounded by rocks, and a plastic container of starter fluid and smoke bombs buried a few feet away.

  As we wound our way back down the hill—the horses choosing their footing carefully—Lily decided that it was time to talk about Valentine’s Day.

  “Shawnee is making a valentine for Rhys,” she told us. “Do you think I should make one for Wester?”

  “But I thought you loved me?” teased Andrei. In front of him, Ian giggled.

  “You do bring me chocolate sometimes,” reasoned Lily. “I can make you a valentine, too.”

  Ian turned and frowned at Andrei. “You give Lily chocolate?”

  Andrei shrugged. “I give Kaylee chocolate, too…so what?”

  “That’s true,” I agreed. “Two times now Andrei has given me chocolate. Maybe I should be making him a valentine.”

  He quickly shook his head. “No! You’re taken. You’re not allowed to send valentines.”

  “But Lily isn’t taken,” said Jude. “Does that mean that you’re interested in Sailor Moon, Andrei? Because, if so—you’ll have to answer to me.”

  Looking horrified at the thought, Andr
ei waved his hands—practically falling back off of his horse in his haste to let us know that he held no ‘unpure’ thoughts toward Lily.

  “She’s just a friend!” he insisted.

  “Then, you don’t want a valentine?” Lily asked, looking hurt.

  “I, um…well,” Andrei stuttered.

  “Consider carefully what you’re about to say,” suggested Jude, looking very stern.

  Andrei’s mouth fell open. His eyes started to flick back and forth—looking very much like a trapped animal.

  “Leave him alone,” I told Jude, coming to his rescue. “Stop teasing him.”

  “But he’s such an easy target,” she grinned.

  “So, what about you?” I said, mischievously. “Are you making Porter a valentine?”

  “Shaddup,” growled Jude.

  * * * *

  Later, as we were gathering branches to build the final bonfire at the Point Mugu sentry station—at the far end of our territory—Jude maneuvered herself so that she was next to me. Looking around to make sure that no one was listening, she leaned in to speak softly. “Do you think I should—make Porter a valentine?”

  “I don’t know,” I whispered back. “Do you want to?”

  She shrugged. “It just seems kind of weird, you know. Like what if Porter doesn’t give me one back? Or what if he gives a valentine to someone else? I’d feel stupid.”

  “Then, don’t do it.”

  “But what if he thinks I don’t care?”

  I grinned at her, trying not to giggle. “You could always ask him to go with you to the wedding.”

  She hung her head, frustrated. “I’m too stupid to figure out a valentine and now you want me to ask him out on a date?!”

  Lily must have been eavesdropping, because she came stomping around a bush—straight up to Jude—and whacked her hard on the shoulder.

  “You’re not stupid,” she barked at the older girl. “And you promised me that you would stop saying that!”