by Maddy Barone
Her side was aching again by the time the trucks stopped. She, Renee, and Anna were kept inside the truck for another thirty minutes before the engine started up again and they moved over bumpy ground at a slow pace. The six soldiers dismounted from the truck first and then helped the women down. They were in what looked like a decaying ghost town. Tall buildings stood like crumbling rocks scoured by wind and weather, windows gaping darkly like empty eye sockets. Less than a hundred years ago these buildings would have been bright and clean, their windows reflecting the sun. Victoria glanced at Renee. Her aunt would have walked through cities like this in the Times Before, when they were alive with people and technology that Victoria could only imagine.
“This way, ladies,” one of the soldiers said, and led them along an ice-rimmed path to a narrow bridge.
“We must be in Iowa,” Renee murmured. “I think this is a famous bridge over the Missouri River between Council Bluffs and Omaha.”
There were soldiers stationed along either side of the bridge, standing at attention with their weapons propped against their legs in a non-threatening position. Ahead Victoria could see a bunch of people standing in the middle of the bridge. They wore the Kansas-Missouri uniform. She assumed Ryan McGrath was there too, but he must be past Todd’s soldiers. She wanted to see what was going on, but the bridge was too long for her to see or hear anything.
The six men of their escort arranged the women single file and took up flanking positions on either side of them. It was a long walk to get to the center. The bridge must be at least a mile long. They were halted twenty feet away from the men, and even with her height, Victoria couldn’t see anything except the dirty ice on the river on either side and the backs of Todd and his men in front.
A thin sound came from Anna, not quite a wail, not quite a moan. Renee stepped out of formation to put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”
Anna put a hand over her mouth. “I want my dad. I want my mom.”
“So do I,” said Victoria. It surprised her, but she really did want her parents. Her dad would mow down the soldiers and take her home. “Let’s try to listen and hear what they are saying.”
They could hear Todd speaking, but even though his voice was raised to carry, the wind blew past them toward him, pushing his words away from them. Victoria recognized Ryan McGrath’s voice but couldn’t make out any of his words either. Tears leaked down Anna’s cheeks. “Dad,” she whispered.
There was a flurry of movement ahead of them, and one of the men from Kansas-Missouri turned and waved at them. The six soldiers marched them forward. Victoria strained to see the group on the other side of the bridge. The bridge curved out into a roundish central place, probably so pedestrians could look out at the river. On the side closest to Omaha was Ryan McGrath, along with Captain Erickson and a few other men she vaguely recognized from the stage in the legislative chambers, and there were Hawk and Stone to one side. A breath seeped out of Victoria, and with it, some of her anxiety.
Hawk tended to be stoic, but when he saw Renee, his face turned to stone and his black eyes burned with icy fire. He was twenty feet away, but Victoria clearly saw death written in the flat line of his mouth.
President Todd gestured Victoria, Renee, and Anna forward. He draped an arm around Victoria’s waist and the other around Anna’s shoulders. Renee, mercifully, was spared being touched by the president. Good thing. Hawk might have lost his habitual cool if the slimy little turd had put hands on his mate.
“As you can see,” Todd called jovially, “your ladies are quite well in my care. I think we can reach some arrangement that will ensure they remain safe and well, can’t we?”
McGrath looked almost as stony as Hawk. “We’d like to hear from the ladies themselves. Send them over.”
Todd laughed. “I don’t think so. You can hear them just fine from here.” He nodded at Renee. “Is that your husband, my dear? Please, reassure him that you are being well treated in my care.”
Renee fixed her eyes on her mate. “He’s absolutely right,” she called earnestly. “We’ve been treated like honored guests. In fact, last night we were invited to dinner. It was the best meal I’ve ever eaten. I wish we had a cook as good as the President’s.”
Hawk blinked. “Uh. Good.”
Victoria hid a smile. That blink was the equivalent of another man gaping. “It’s true,” she agreed, loudly. “Except for me being shot, we’re fine.”
The was no hint of shock on Hawk’s face now. He was back to being stony. Stone’s usually mild expression matched Hawk’s.
She went quickly on. “I was shot by accident,” she assured them. “It’s not serious, but President Todd sent his personal physician to me. He couldn’t have treated any of his own wives any better. Cousin Anna and I are fine.”
McGrath’s gaze flicked to Anna and casually away, but his jaw was clenched. Todd was stiff beside her. “My dear, I think you’ve said enough.” His smile, directed at Anna, chilled her more than the wind. “Not another word, do you understand?”
Victoria swallowed and nodded.
“Excellent.” The president turned back to the party from Omaha. “I’m told this young lady is one of your people.” He nodded at Hawk. “But I think she bears a striking resemblance to Mayor McGrath.” He put a finger under Anna’s chin and lifted her face to examine it before looking at McGrath. “Yes, she certainly does resemble you. How curious.”
The mayor of Omaha almost managed to look bored. “Return the ladies to us now and we’ll be much more open to negotiating terms that favor you.”
The president laughed. “Oh, no, that’s not how this works.” Todd’s arm gave Victoria a squeeze that nearly forced a hiss of pain from her. “You see, because I have your women, you will agree to whatever terms I want. Then, after you have proven trustworthy, you may get your women back. It all depends on you.”
Anna tried to muffle her sobs against her shoulder. Todd patted the top of her head. “Now, you girls scurry back to your truck and let us men finish our talk.”
Girls? Us men? He’s going to die, Victoria reminded herself. Don’t get angry. It’s only a matter of time before someone kills him. Hopefully, me. With great reluctance, Victoria let the soldiers form up on either side of them to begin the march back over the long bridge to the truck.
“Be patient,” Hawk shouted in Lakota. “We’ll get you back.”
Renee turned her head to search out her mate. “We know,” she shouted back.
The soldier beside Renee gave her a gentle but firm nudge. Obediently, they marched down the bridge to the trucks. Victoria kept her eyes open for any sign of the other wolf warriors skulking in the brush, but didn’t see them. They were around, she was sure. Rock, Eagle, Quill, and Sand wouldn’t be napping back at the Limit. They were probably up to something right now that would cause trouble for Todd.
They waited in the truck for another hour before the truck’s engine roared to life and the fumes of its fuel clogged their noses.
“We’ll be back to camp in less than an hour,” one of their escort remarked. “We should have brought some rations. It’s past lunch.”
“Supplies were just delivered last night,” another said. “There will be plenty of food waiting for us.”
Victoria’s shoulders slumped. It hadn’t been likely, but she’d hoped they would be returned to Omaha right away. Renee must have felt the same. Over Anna’s head she nodded grimly.
They had been travelling twenty minutes when a new stench cut through the engine fumes. Renee pinched her nose closed.
“Something’s burning,” she muttered.
The scratch at the back of Victoria’s throat turned into a cough. The light coming through the opening at the back turned dim. A haze of dirty smoke filtered in. Something was burning, but it didn’t smell like grass or wood. Victoria had seen more than one prairie fire in her life, but those occurred in hot, dry weather, not in damp springtime. S
he could tell by the way the soldiers readied their weapons that this wasn’t a natural disaster. They expected trouble of the man-made sort.
The truck picked up speed, jolting over the uneven ground. Victoria clenched onto the bench to keep from being bounced off the seat. After several minutes, they slowed to a crawl. Voices outside the truck were raised. Not all the words were clear, but shock and anger were. From the little she caught, the new supplies had been set on fire, and the fuel and ammunition had exploded.
She was dying to see what was going on, but the soldiers stopped her.
“No, ma’am,” one said. “You all stay put until we know it’s safe.”
Two of the escort slipped out to find out what was happening.
“The Clan,” said Renee with satisfaction.
The soldiers spared her a brief glance, but didn’t remark. They were probably too focused on what had happened.
“Did all the food burn?” one of their escort asked another. “What about lunch?”
Victoria’s stomach growled, but she shared a smile with Renee. “The Clan,” she agreed.
The canvas at the back of the truck opened and Lieutenant Mott looked in. “Bring the ladies out,” he ordered. “Take them to the harem and make sure they stay there.”
Somehow the smell was even worse outside the truck. Victoria fanned her hand in front of her face to try to clear the haze. She could see the harem tent ahead and to the right, and to her left, President Todd stood with fists shaking in front of his face, which was contorted into an ugly mask, clenched teeth exposed by curled lips, eyebrows pulled so low his eyes couldn’t be seen, and nostrils flared.
“That doesn’t look good,” Renee muttered. “Is he foaming at the mouth?”
A glistening strand of spittle rolled from the corner of his mouth. Victoria took a step back. “Eeew.”
The President slammed his fists into the truck he stood beside. “My son,” he screamed. “They took my son!”
Victoria stared, repelled, while he threw himself to the ground, screaming. “Get them back. Get them back!” he shrieked, pounding the grass with his fists and slamming his heels into the ground. “I’ll kill them! All of them. I want them dead! Dead, dead, dead!”
Anna was staring too. “My little brother Nick used to do that when he was two, but he doesn’t do it anymore.”
“Everyone I know outgrew it,” Victoria said. She watched the President writhe around, biting the collar of his uniform.
General Atwater hurried toward them. “Ladies, please go to the harem tent. It’s best that you aren’t in sight right now.”
Their escort bunched around them and herded them away to the harem tent. The soldiers looked nervous, like they wanted to be out of sight too. Renee paused when they got to the tent. Strangely, there were no men guarding the tent. “Wait a minute,” she said, when the escort turned to go. “What is going on?”
The soldiers looked at each other. “Dunno, ma’am.” The tallest one, whose uniform name tag read Smithers, shuffled his feet. “Our supplies were vandalized, and the President’s harem was captured.”
“He said something about his son,” Victoria said. “I don’t think we met him.”
A different soldier answered. “Not born yet. Fourth Mrs. Todd is expecting. It’s the president’s first child.”
“Shut up,” muttered Smithers. “Ladies, please go into the tent and stay there until you are called for.”
Renee opened the flap. “Lunch?”
Smithers shook his head. “If there’s any food we’ll try to get you some.”
His voice said he doubted there was any food to be had. Renee led the way into the tent. The passed through the main room, down the hallway made by canvas hangings, to the room they had left only a couple of hours ago.
“Kind of creepy with no one else here,” Renee observed.
Victoria agreed. “Yeah. Let’s go sit down in the front room.”
After they were settled, Anna asked, “Do you think there really isn’t any more food? At all?”
“There might be some,” Renee said thoughtfully. “I bet the president keeps his food separate from the army’s supplies. But if he has three thousand men, his private supply won’t go far. Either they’ll have to go looking for more food nearby or wait for more to be sent to them from another place. Either way, the army will be hungry.”
“I’m already hungry,” Victoria put in.
“And hungry men aren’t as disciplined,” Renee continued. “Todd could face a mutiny. Or whatever it’s called in the army.”
“Did your husband do this?” Anna asked.
“My husband was on the bridge with your dad.” Renee jerked a thumb at Victoria. “Her husband might have. I suppose they came here looking to rescue us. When we weren’t here, they took the harem.”
“Yeah,” Victoria agreed. “Burning the food and the other stuff was brilliant, but I’m getting pretty hungry.”
Anna sighed. “Me too. How did your husband get the other women out of camp? There were lots of people here who would have stopped them.”
“That must be why they burned stuff. Everyone probably ran over there to save the food.” Victoria frowned a little. “Stealing women doesn’t seem like something they would do.”
Renee shrugged. “At least the harem will be completely safe with them.”
Victoria glanced at Anna. “True.”
Hours passed. Suppertime came and went with no food and no news. Anna was snoring with her head on the table when a male voice announced he was entering. It was General Atwater and a younger soldier holding half a loaf of bread. The general gestured and the man set the bread on the table, gave a crisp salute and left. The general sat down. Victoria divided her attention between him and the bread.
“It’s interesting,” he remarked dispassionately, “how many big cat prints are around our camp. Wolf tracks I had expected. But big cats? No. What can you tell me about the cats?”
Marty? Victoria hid her elation behind a confused expression. “Cats? You mean kitty cats?”
“I mean lions,” the general snapped. “Don’t play dumb. And don’t pretend you’re sweet and helpless either. I saw what you did to Mott. Now answer the question.”
“I don’t know anything about any cats.” She turned the tables and gestured to the bread. “What happened? Is this all the food we get?”
“You’re lucky to get that much, after the destruction your friends and family caused.” He leaned forward and glared at her. “You’re lucky to be alive. The president wanted to execute you three. His temper sometimes gets the better of him. Cooler heads prevailed.”
Victoria returned the glare. “Does he have these little tantrums often?”
“Be careful,” he warned softly. “He could still have you given to the men. Think about it before you say anything else.”
Victoria was done minding her mouth. “Today my husband and my family burned your supplies. If anything else happens to me, they will burn a lot more. Thank about that.”
He shoved his chair back. “Eat your bread and get your bags together. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
Renee stood up too. “Leaving?”
“Back to the bridge for a prisoner exchange. Be ready.”
With that he turned sharply to the door and left. Renee let out a long, shaky breath. “Thank God.”
“We’re going home?” Anna asked in a hopeful voice.
“I think so,” said Renee. “Here, let’s divide the bread and eat quick.”
Chapter Thirteen
When they jumped down from the truck at the bridge, sunset was painting the clouds gold and rose. Victoria squinted to try to see the other end of the bridge, but between the distance and the glare of the sun, she could only make out some indistinct forms. On this side of the bridge were only a dozen people, among them General Atwater, President Todd, and Major Ellis. President Todd’s face was oddly tranquil as he greeted them. Perfectly groomed and smiling, he did not look
like the man who had rolled around on the grass having a tantrum.
“Ladies, I’m so sorry your visit is being cut short like this,” he said warmly. “It would be lovely to see you again sometime.” His smile was polite, with no sign of mockery or hint of threat, as if he were a normal host saying goodbye to guests at the end of a fun visit.
Victoria exchanged a glance with Renee. Either he was a good actor or flat out crazy. “Thank you.”
General Atwater took over. “In a few minutes, when the signal is given, you will walk slowly across the bridge. The president’s ladies will do the same. Don’t stop. Don’t talk to the other women when you pass them. Just walk slowly. We’ll stay on our side, and your men will stay on their side. Once you are across the bridge, each group will depart immediately.”
The pretty major sidled over to them. “We’re leaving Omaha for now,” he said. The sweet smile didn’t reach his eyes, which were stormy with rage. “But you haven’t seen the last of us. We will destroy you. Those bags?” He nodded at the suitcases their escort had handed down from the truck. “When we’re done with you, everything your entire tribe has left won’t fill even one of them.”
Victoria eyed his smile and curled her fist, but Renee jabbed an elbow into her side. Victoria turned her back on him. It wasn’t as satisfying as punching his teeth in.
“It’s time,” Atwater said. “Start walking.”
Victoria picked up her suitcase. “Good thing we didn’t pack everything when we left Omaha.”
Renee, carrying her bag, stepped onto the bridge. “Doesn’t matter. Right now, I would gladly drag everything I own across this bridge without batting an eye. Come on, Anna.”
