365 Days At War

by Nancy Isaak

  * * * *

  It was at least an hour later before we saw Nate and Erroll moving cautiously along the edges of the houses, trying to keep to the shadows.

  “I told you they would be coming,” I said, quietly.

  Over the last thirty minutes, Ryan had been pressuring me to leave. I had refused, however—determined to wait for my people.

  “Whatever,” muttered Ryan—failing to hide his irritation. “You should put your sheet back on.”

  I pointedly ignored his advice—frustrating Ryan even more—but I didn’t care. As far as I was concerned, the tinted SUV windows would protect me from prying eyes. And the longer I stayed out from under that stinking sheet—the better I liked it.

  Ryan waited until Nate and Erroll had crept within ten feet of the SUV. Then, he reached across me and shoved the passenger door open in their path. The two guys immediately froze in their tracks, hands hovering at the guns at their waists.

  “You’d already be dead, guys!” Ryan admonished them. “Like carry your weapons in your hands, dudes!”

  Erroll lunged for the car—wrenching open the back door and climbing into the back seat. Nate was right behind him, practically flinging himself into the SUV in relief. He locked the door behind him with a click, pulled on the handle to make sure it had caught; then Nate turned and gave me a big grin.

  “Hey, Kaylee!” His hand went to the seatbelt at his shoulder, pulling it out a few inches before he stopped—blushing.

  “You just remembered that we’re not driving anymore, didn’t you?” I giggled.

  Nate let the seatbelt go, sighing as it retracted with a snap into its holster. “Guess it’s still automatic…get in a car—do up your seatbelt. My mom would be so proud.”

  I turned and smiled at Erroll—my amusement melting away.

  He was leaning back in his seat, his head against the back rest. With a shock, I realized that there were tears in the big guy’s eyes.

  “Erroll?” I asked, hesitantly.

  “Just give me a minute,” he whispered.

  Beside Erroll, Nate shook his head slightly, as if telling us not to ask questions. Ryan, of course, took the hint immediately and turned around, facing front, in order to give Erroll space.

  I—however—did not take Nate’s hint.

  “What is it, Erroll? What happened that’s got you so upset?” I reached back and placed my hand on Erroll’s knee—to show that I cared. He sat up almost at once, frowning down at my hand, and I wondered if I had made a mistake touching him. But Erroll merely placed his hand over mine and—with a tortured sigh—returned his head to the back rest.

  Tears were falling down Erroll’s cheeks now and his body trembled with emotion.

  It was a long moment before he spoke again.

  “My family on my mother’s side comes from Alabama,” he slowly began. “They were slaves on one of those plantations there—cotton or tobacco, something like that.” He stopped for a moment to swipe angrily at the tears on his cheeks. “Watching what Brandon and the Foxes did to those girls just now—selling them like they were just things. I mean, everyone knew what was gonna’ happen to those little girls, but it just didn’t seem to matter—like it was all a big joke. And I just kept thinking, watching those girls being pulled away by these guys who suddenly owned them…that this must of been what it was like for my relatives, right. I mean, somebody would have done that very same thing to them.”

  He squeezed my hand then, his eyes flicking back and forth as if watching the horror of the slave market all over again. “Oh god, Kaylee…we have to stop them! Dear God, but we have to stop them!”

  I squeezed his hand back. “We will, Erroll…we’re gonna’ end it. Here and now. This is where it stops!”

  At least—that was our plan.

  * * * *

  “You see it?” Ryan pointed to a small star carved into the bottom of an enormous mahogany front door. We had finally reached Alice’s house—a sprawling Mediterranean tucked behind a 10-foot high fence made of river stone.

  “The stars are on all of your front doors?” I asked.

  “Pretty much. So, if you need a safehouse, look for the star. They’ll usually be somewhere around the bottom. Not always carved, though. Sometimes they’re painted on.”

  As Ryan was talking, the front door swung open and a tall, excited girl came racing out. She was wearing yellow babydoll pajamas, with her long hair tucked back in a loose ponytail. With a loud squeal, she jumped into Ryan’s arms—latching onto him, her legs snaking around his waist. He stumbled for a moment under her weight before catching himself. His arms encircled the giggling girl fondly and he stepped inside the house, carrying her along with him.

  “Are you crazy?!” he admonished her. “You know you can’t wear those pajamas outside of the house! Do you want to get caught by the White Shirts?!”

  “They’re your favorite, baby,” she cooed, kissing his neck. “I put them on just for you.”

  “And there’s a good reason why they’re my favorite,” said Ryan. He gave the girl a quick kiss, then untangled her limbs from around him and set her down. “But I’d still rather not have everyone else see them, too.”

  The girl leaned over, so she could see out the door. She waved a hand at Erroll and Nate, who were standing on the front stoop, their eyes wide, their mouths open in shock and admiration.

  I had to admit—I was just as shocked as they were.

  But for a totally different reason.

  Because I knew the girl.

  * * * *

  The last time I had seen Reena, she had been sitting in the stands at Agoura High, reading from her bible, while I waited in a cage in the center of the football field to be murdered.

  Now, here she was—grinning—wearing a yellow baby doll and jumping from foot-to-foot in excitement.

  A very different Reena indeed!

  “I…well…I’m kind of gobsmacked,” I finally said, borrowing an expression from Jay’s “Doctor Who” television show. Then, I turned and whacked Ryan on the arm. “Like seriously, dude! You couldn’t have told me that your girlfriend was Reena?!”

  Ryan hung his head, sheepishly. “She didn’t want me to.”

  “I wanted to surprise you,” Reena said, happily.

  My eyes kept dropping to that babydoll; the Reena I knew would have found it scandalous and most likely—un-Christian. That she had become bold enough to wear the sexy pajamas—let alone in public—was astounding to me.

  “Well, you’ve definitely surprised me,” I admitted. “You’re so…so different.”

  She held up her left hand, showing me the large diamond on her ring finger. “I’m a married woman now.”

  “You and Ryan are married?!”

  “Alice married us.” There was a large silver cross around Reena’s neck—easily four inches in length, two in width. She lifted the cross now, giving it a kiss. “And God has blessed us with a baby on the way—six months and counting.”

  My belly twisted suddenly; I knew that it was too early to feel my own baby but, suddenly, I was very conscious of the precious life that I was carrying.

  Luckily, Nate and Erroll distracted me by finally making it through the front door. They advanced on Ryan, laughing and clapping him on the back. “Dude, you’re gonna’ be a daddy! Congratulations!”

  Blushing, Ryan reached out for Reena and placed a protective arm around her shoulder. Meanwhile, one of his hands drifted down to her belly. “Freaking babydolls! Like there’s just no defense against them, you know what I mean!”

  “But we were married first!” insisted Reena. “The babydolls didn’t come out until after the wedding.”

  Ryan leaned over and gave Reena a sweet kiss on her cheek. “Like you even needed them.” He turned and grinned at us. “Girl had me the moment I laid my eyes on her. Like have you ever seen anyone so beautiful? And she’s like so frigging kind, too!”

  A sadness passed over Reena’s face; she looked down, suddenly ashamed
.

  “You okay, Reena?” I asked, concerned.

  When she looked up again, there were tears in her eyes. “I don’t feel so kind. The things we did…the things we thought.”

  I knew what she was talking about; when we were all living together in Agoura Hills—when it was just us girls—Reena and Sophia had helped the Foxes capture us.

  “It’s over,” I assured her. “In the past.”

  Reena immediately reached out and pulled me into her arms for a hug.

  “Um…you really don’t want to do this,” I advised Reena, trying to pull away. “Like I smell like a butthole!”

  “I’m so sorry!” she cried—ignoring my stench; if anything, she held on even tighter. “Please, forgive me, Kaylee…Please.”

  “You’re forgiven,” I quickly said—desperately trying to untangle myself.

  “God, Reena—you’re a bigger baby than the one you’re carrying!” The voice came from the dark hallway to the right of us. It was Alice, walking out of the shadows. She was wearing a camouflage shirt and pair of pants on her lanky boy-body; a long rifle hung across her back and a machete bounced against her hip. “I think I liked you better when you were a holy roller.”

  “I’m still a daughter of God,” Reena protested.

  “Those sex-jammies might say otherwise,” taunted Alice.

  Reena finally let go of me to tug at the hem of her babydolls. “It was a welcome home gift—for my husband.”

  “Stop bragging,” ordered Alice. “We get it, okay. You’re married and you’re pregnant…congratulations.”

  “It is something to be congratulated,” I piped up. “Reena’s having a baby and that means she’s carrying the future of this new world.” My words sounded silly, even to my ears. Secretly, I wondered if my sudden need to defend Reena was for her benefit—or mine.

  “Whatever,” said Alice, looking bored. “Like babies aren’t my thing, so what do I care?”

  Her gaze moved on to Erroll and her smile was immediate, filled with a sudden warmth. “Damn, boy…I was hoping it would be you!”

  Both Erroll and Nate turned toward me, wanting further instruction; I shook my head slightly, just enough to let them know that they were to keep their mouths shut for now.

  Ryan, meanwhile, stared at his own feet—looking very uncomfortable.

  Luckily, Alice was so entranced by the size of Erroll and the cut of his muscles that she didn’t even notice. Instead, she walked around him, inspecting Erroll as if he was a prized horse that she’d just purchased.

  Pleased by what she saw, Alice pointed Erroll toward the rear of the house. “There’s a couple of guys in the backyard, waiting to train with you—kids who’ve sparred with Brandon before. We figured that you’d want to practice before the Arena—learn as much as possible about how Brandon fights. You can go now, if you want. We’ll call you when it’s dinner time.”

  “No!” I quickly overruled her. “What Erroll needs right now, what we all need, is something to eat and then we have to get some sleep. Fighting can come after that.”

  That did not make Alice happy; she glared down at me. “What you need right now, Kaylee Michelson...is a frigging bath! You smell like farts!”

  Reena giggled, slipping her arm through Ryan’s. “You gave her the butt-in-a-can, didn’t you?” she whispered up at him.

  “You had a good idea,” he whispered back. “Brandon came at her for first night.”

  The amusement immediately disappeared from Reena’s face. She reached out protectively and tugged my arm. “Come on, Kaylee. I’ll help you get a bath.”

  “Food, then rest,” I ordered Nate and Erroll. “Any talking will be done afterward. Understood?” They both nodded—looking unhappy and nervous that I was leaving them alone with Alice. “You’ll be fine, guys. Just follow the plan, right?”

  “And you,” Reena pointed to Ryan. “You go take your own bath, because we’ve got ‘family business’ to conduct after I’m finished helping Kaylee.”

  Ryan bowed low. “As you will, m’lady.”

  Alice stuck her finger in her mouth at that—pretending to retch.

  * * * *

  “It’ll take about fifteen minutes to warm up enough water for your bath,” Reena explained, as she escorted me through the house. “Until then, let me show you where you’ll be staying.”

  We wound up on the far side of the mansion, in two tiny rooms. Although they were probably intended for a maid, the quarters were still big enough to hold a queen-sized bed, an armoire, and a surprisingly large bathroom.

  “You can’t use the toilet. We’ve got so many people here right now, it mucks up the pipes,” Reena told me. “We’ve got a foul area out back for that instead. But the bathtub is okay to use. It doesn’t seem to have any problem draining.”

  “How many people are living here right now?”

  “At last count—ten guys and six girls. Not including Alice, of course, because who knows what category Brady Bob belongs in, right?”

  I burst into laughter. “Ohmigosh, Reena…you seriously have changed so much!”

  “So, have you, Kaylee. Like you’re the big chief or something down in Malibu, I heard.”

  “Or something,” I agreed. “I guess we’ve both been doing some growing up.”

  Another shadow passed over Reena’s eyes. She sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her feet. “Just so you know—it’s because of Ryan…the reason I changed. Before him—I was so scared all the time, you know.”

  “I think I do.”

  “But then we fell in love and—suddenly—it wasn’t just that I felt safe again. It was that I felt brave.” Reena grinned up at me, becoming happy again. “I’ve never been brave before.”

  “And then you got pregnant,” I added—wishing desperately that I could tell her so was I.

  “God’s plan in all His wisdom and glory.” Reena took a deep breath, centering herself. “But, first, I had to walk through Purgatory.”

  She was obviously talking about slavery and the abuse that came with it. “I’m so sorry, Reena. No one deserves to go through that.”

  “I was sold three times. The first time was to a very evil boy. When he got tired of me, he sold me in the market to another guy who was even more evil than the first.”

  “God!” I gasped, before I could stop myself.

  “You’re right,” Reena nodded. “He saved me…God. He kept me sane and alive and never left me alone with the evil. I always knew that He was there, that He was watching over me.”

  She took a big breath and released it slowly before she continued. “When my second owner got sick, he traded me in the market for medicine. That time it was to Alice. She picked up four of us slaves that day and brought us here—to this safe house. And then she took care of us—fixed our wounds, fed us, and gave us clean water to drink…and a safe place to live. Later, she told us about the Stars—about what they were all trying to do. And then she asked us if we wanted to join.”

  Reena held up her hand, showing me the star tattooed on the webbing between her fingers. “We all joined.”

  “And when did you meet Ryan?”

  “He showed up a few weeks after Alice bought me. I was scared of him at first because he was a guy. But he was just so sweet, you know…and gentle. We got married a month later…and a month after that…” Reena touched her belly, lovingly.

  I looked down at the slight rounding that was Reena’s child and—even though I didn’t want to—I wondered about the timing of her pregnancy.

  Two owners—evil young men.

  And then sweet Ryan.

  My curiosity must have shown, because Reena’s face immediately began to crumple; her happiness and confidence draining away.

  “It’s Ryan’s!” she cried. “I swear my baby is Ryan’s!”

  Quickly, I placed a comforting hand on her arm and squeezed gently. “Of course it is, Reena. That baby is one hundred percent yours and Ryan’s. There is not a single doubt in my mind
that God would have it any other way!”

  Slowly—the tension in her face eased up.

  “I think it’s going to be a girl,” she told me, confidentially. “Ryan wants a boy. He says it’s because it will be easier in this world for a boy. But I told him that we Stars are going to change that. We’re going to make it so that girls and boys are equal again.”

  Reena moved her hand to the large cross at her neck, wrapping her fingers around the bottom half. “And we’ll succeed because we have God on our side. Because we’re on the right…because we’re doing His good work. He has made us His warriors.”

  “And because we’re fighting not just for ourselves,” I added. “We’re fighting for everyone—and for our children.”

  Reena leaned in close, lowering her voice. “That’s why I wear this cross, you know…for when we fight. Alice has given one to each of us girls.”

  “To remind you all that you’re warriors of God?”

  With a slight grin, Reena gave a sharp tug on the bottom half of the cross; it separated from the top, revealing itself to be a vicious-looking dagger. “We wear these crosses for when we will kill the beasts. Not those stupid, imaginary beasts that the Foxes told us about—the real ones—the ones God sent to test our faith.”

  “Holy crap!” I whispered—shocked at the violence in Reena’s eyes, the deadly dagger in her hand. “Alice wasn’t buying you guys just to protect you. She was also buying you to become her soldiers!”

  Reena grinned at me. “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.”

  * * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, I was immersed in a tub of very hot water, scrubbing away at the dirt and stink that still clung to my body. Reena, meanwhile, gathered up my sheet to take it to be washed and headed for the door.

  “If you go back through the slave market, you’ll probably have to wear a dirty one again,” she advised me. “We all do—to keep us safe. But around here—you should be okay wearing a clean sheet.”

  “Oh joy,” I griped.