by Bella Knight
Dina stepped forward. “This is Mom. That’s Mama. Mom says if you don’t want to call her Mama, call her Wraith.”
“Weird name,” said Sondra.
“Valkyries,” shrugged Dina. “I’m Dina. I lost my mom too. You’ll cry and do the zombie thing for about two weeks, maybe three. Just go for it. Don’t worry about it.” Sondra stepped forward, and Dina hugged her in her bird-boned embrace. “Don’t worry,” said Dina. “We’ll take care of you.”
War petted the dog. “Cool dog,” he said. “Sorry about your mom. I lost mine, too.” He grinned. “I don’t mind girls crying. I just go do a project in my room.” He stood. “Come on. You’ve got your own pod, in silver. You’ll love it.”
“What is a pod?” asked Sondra, confused.
“We sleep in pods, makes our rooms seem bigger, more room for our stuff,” said War. “Come in, guys. It’s too damn hot out here.”
Herja rode up with the bike as Sigrun led the kids back in. They traded keys, and embraced. “Follow me, and bring me back here. I’m taking time off to help you two. Three kids at the same time is a lot.”
“Thank you,” said Sigrun.
“Shut up,” said Herja. “You’re our sister. Now, get on your damn bike.” They clasped the back of each other’s necks and went to return the car.
Sondra loved her pod, and crawled in. Dina gave her headphones and her own MP3 player, and a box of tissues, with a trash can underneath. A steady rain of tissues came out of the pod as Sondra cried herself to sleep.
In the morning, they took her shopping, as her clothes were old and threadbare. They got Sondra her own tablet and MP3 player, wireless headphones, and school supplies, including a new backpack. They got more board games, and they played Dungeons and Dragons, Monopoly, Risk, Splendor, and more at the table, and watched stupid movies. They enrolled the kids in the Nighthawks’ school, and soon they were arguing about projects and doing 3D puzzles together. Herja went home, but came back for the funeral.
It took a while to close the case. Sondra’s mother had died of an aggressive cancer, discovered during X-rays after a car accident, and hadn’t explained either the diagnosis or the effects of the cancer drug to Sondra, probably due to not wanting to make her daughter worry, or being in denial about the seriousness of the cancer. The house was cleaned and sold, and the money went into Sondra’s trust for her college that Lily created for her. Sondra’s mother was cremated, and they went to Lake Mead to set her free. The Valkyries sang the song to sing her into Valhalla, and taught the words to Sondra. So, Sondra got to sing her mother home.
Reno
Freya’s kids, Chance and Rhodes, were enrolled in the Nighthawks version of school, on track to graduate high school as soon as they could, and to pass practice tests on all the segments of the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam. Freya was able to revamp destroyed bikes in her own damn garage, but that wasn’t eyes-on. So, she’d moved the equipment out and back to the porch, covered it over, and added a glass wall both inside and out. Three girls set up a station in front of the wall, on tablets while sitting on beanbag chairs. They took the kitchen table, which Freya could see through the window, for projects.
The girls had taken up arguing in Latin, so Freya was now proficient in Old Norse (and Latin cursing). She could hear with the door cracked, and alternately blew out the speakers Primal Scream’s Rocks and Wolfmother’s Woman, and listened to Latin dickering.
Her schedule was theirs, timers going off every half-hour. She enforced snacks and constant drinking of water and fruit juices, took turns through the rotating of chores, and made them run around, with the indoor Nerf basketball and the yard covered in fake lawn for the kids to kick around a ball. They preferred going all Valkyrie, and went after each other with padded swords and shields. She taught them lessons every day, and let them practice in the mornings and evenings so they could run around in the desert air without getting cooked.
She helped them with math, showing them how they needed it to build Roman roads and make Roman arches. They learned science, learned how those roads stayed in business thousands of years later. She took them down to Henry’s farm to see the hydroponics farm, so now they grew beets to use for horse feed, and stole Alo’s recipes, and their own corn, potatoes, bell peppers, three kinds of lettuce, spinach, and wheat. She had them taking measurements, checking the water sprays, and keeping scientific logs, twice a day. They wrote papers on their experiments. She had them learning Spanish, a relatively easy leap after all that Latin.
Herja would simply ride up and steal them. She’d refinished a sidecar, and the girls would compete to get more done on their checklists to decide who got to go in the sidecar.
At night, she laid on the couch as the girls called up YouTube videos, with the computer hooked up to the TV screen with a HDMI cable. They watched everything from Roman history, to wild rock, like the Dandy Warhols’ “Bohemian Like You,” jumping around like maniacs.
Freya did her accounting work, both keeping track of bikes she needed to pick up —she and some of the Soldier Pack split them, and the parts she needed to put in her garage-turned-part-warehouse, including the courses she took for her CPA. She figured the Valkyries needed a CPA, like Lily for the Nighthawks. She also traded bitcoin on her cell phone to build up things —the girls each had their own college funds, which came up fast with genius kids who would be taking university classes in two years. Freya had her own retirement, or lack thereof, to fund, not wanting to be a burden to her kids.
The last thing was for Freya’s own special project. Or a duplicate one. She wanted to fund a mixed Soldier Pack/Wolfpack dorm, complete with hydroponic beds around back, full of sweet corn and veggies, and all the bikes they could disassemble and reassemble, with a double garage. The Valkyries would match funds. They needed people to be legal foster parents. She’d taken all the foster parent and adjunct parenting classes, and found them quite useful. She wished all parents took them.
The girls danced around, and once her classes were taken and she’d tracked the bitcoin, checking whether to sell or buy, then Freya would dance wild dances with them.
Ghost sat very still on the balcony of the Ghostie’s apartment called Fire, for Orange and Thorn, in a plastic chair. She was beyond exhausted. Killa had her baby for the nice couple, so her wifey was exhausted too.
Little Bit’s best friend, China, eventually came over, after being stabbed in the side. Blue, Thorn, and Orange took parenting classes, and Blue became Thorn and Orange’s babysitter. D’Shawn and Rudy got into the Nighthawks school, and they were thriving in the rich environment. D’Shawn and Rudy both began learning Paiute, and learned how to ride horses on David and Henry’s farm.
They were cooking inside, making collard greens, red beans, rice, and gumbo. Killa sat at the table inside, showing Rudy how to finish his math segment before dinner.
Little Bit came out, and handed Ghost a pink lemonade. “Ya’ll K?”
“I’m good,” said Ghost. “I be chillin.’ Long damn day. Two bikes done gone to their homes, just today.”
“Chill,” said Little Bit. She popped the top on her Coke, and sat down next to Ghost. “You be happy wif da mini Harleys we been makin’?”
“I good,” said Ghost. “I be happy. Too much to do; not enough hours. Ya’ll are taking a lot offa me. I be happy.”
“We be makin’ da green. Da girls, dey not think we be makin’ the green by jus’ makin’ little stuff. An’ da ‘partment not cost dat much wif us all sharin’ and dat. An’ da Lily chick, she show us da budgeting program. We gots plenty fa food, an’ even nails an’ hair. Orange be goin’ inta hair, gettin’ her cosmetology license once she get past dat test she gotta take afore she git her GED. She says she kin do it, an’ still make da little stuff. Now, she braids, gets paid.”
“Good,” said Ghost. “Anyone wanna learn da big bikes?”
Little Bit laughed. “None ‘a us wanna not have our nails.” She held up her crimson nails with tiny golden
flowers. “Cars, we think, could be good. Paintin’ em, not buildin’ em.” She grinned. “An’ makin’ da tattoos. China’s a really good artist.”
“Glad China showed up,” said Ghost.
“She came ta lay low,” said Little Bit. “Stayed ta paint da little bikes. An’ she thought of both, da cars an’ da tats.”
“She can do whatever the fuck she wanna,” said Ghost. “Pass the classes, and ya’ll kin do as ya want. Even go ta college, or getta certificate. We kin get scholarship money, like fo’ da boys goin’ to da Nighthawks school.”
“This is betta den sellin’ drugs on da street. Leticia scared da fuck outta me,” said Little Bit. Leticia ran the drugs in a certain part of town, and was heading toward the alphabet streets.
“Don’ get dead as much,” said Ghost.
“Word,” said Little Bit. They clinked cans.
They made it back inside, and headed in for dinner. The boys pushed each other, and ate like wolves. They passed around the food, and belly-laughed. They played music, and danced. Little Bit did nails and Orange did some braiding. Skuld and Rota came over with some peanut butter pie, and the boys ran around in circles. Skuld and Rota took them to the park, and let them run around like maniacs. They had a little karate lesson, and the boys threw each other onto the soft plastic surface of the playground. They went for a run, and came back gasping. They threw themselves on the couch, and watched some television before they threw the boys in bed with their tablets in their pods. The boys loved the pods, and happily played video games before falling asleep.
Lily came over, ate the last piece of pie, and gave them the lowdown. “Your rent and food is fine. Cable bill’s going up, so I suggest switching to Netflix. Much cheaper, and you can watch it on your phones and tablets.”
“Word,” said Little Bit.
“Works for us,” said China.
“Boys watch kiddie shows,” said Orange. “But we wear them out, so they don’t watch so much.”
“Works for their tablets too,” pointed out Blue.
“Is the problem,” said Orange. “Gotta regulate what they watch.”
“Block it on their tablets, or set times,” said Lily.
“We kin do dat?” asked Orange.
“Awesome,” said Thorn.
“Vote,” said Lily. They voted to take out the cable and add Netflix. “Good,” said Lily. “You got new ways to make money?”
Thorn nodded. “I got me a search engine. Da Soldier Pack don’ have da time ta find da parts dey need. I do da searches on da net, order da stuff. I’m gettin’ wif da Wolfpack ta build me a website. Dey got me doin’ Black Girls code, an’ Little Bit goin’ do it wif me. I kin make a good profit, findin’ parts.”
Lily’s jaw dropped. “That’s totally awesome,” Lily said.
“Ya gotta talk ta Bonnie. She has da good places ta go, an’ gets discounts,” said Killa.
“I will,” said Thorn.
“An’ talk ta da Soldier Pack,” said Ghost. “Dey always be lookin’ fo’ da smashed-up bikes.”
“Good,” said Thorn.
“I be wannin’ ta help ya,” said Blue.
“Be Soldier Pack in other cities,” said Ghost. “Dey be spreadin’ out. Kin help dem. An’ dey always need da new smashed Harleys. Or old ones, gettin’ dust in someone’s garage.”
“Be a crime ta do dat,” said Killa.
“Word,” said Ghost.
“Well, that’s a good business,” said Lily.
China said, “Still make more money flat on my back, or on da street sellin’ drugs or guns.”
Ghost glared at her. “An’ ya get dead. You wanna go dat route, dere’s da door. Ya getta GED, ya kin get all sorts o’ certs, from nails ta Harley building, o’ da college.”
China snorted. “No one be payin’ us ta go to college.”
“There’s funds for scholarships,” said Lily, “for both certificates and the community college, even universities if you can get into one.”
“What da fuck?” asked China.
“We kin find da scholarship money fa ya,” translated Ghost.
“Ain’t no one care ‘bout us,” said China.
Herja glared at her. “We’re here, trying to help you. We care because we’re here. You’re being an ass.”
China glared at her. “I be tellin’ da truf.”
“Naw,” said Ghost. “Ya be wrong. Ya gotta get ya head outta da street. No one cares dere, yeah. Here? Ya got a fuckin’ roof ovah ya head, food on da table, safe jobs to do. No one doin’ drivebys. No one puttin’ a shiv in ya ribs.” China glared back.
“Ya scared,” said Killa. “Scared ya be out onna street, scared ya gonna be kicked out. Ya actin’ da fool, so dat could happen. Ya grow the fuck up an’ be nice ta dose aroun’ ya, ya be fine, kin stay here. Quit bein’ da fool.” China ground her teeth.
“She right,” said Blue. “Quit bein’ scared. Just hang out. Ya wanna go out in da desert and get ya money on ya back afta ya get ya GED, whateva. But, give it a fuckin’ rest.”
“Let go a China,” said Little Bit. “Let her think. Now, we gotta find more ways to make da green. We wanna pay fa all da stuff we want. Tired a takin’ da bus.”
“Well, ya cain’t get a license yet anyhoo,” said Blue. “Ya still fifteen.”
“She has a point,” said Skuld. “You want to buy and refinish your own bike? You can ride a scooter. Kind of a baby bike.”
“Sure,” said Little Bit. “Cain’t bring home many groceries, but I kin put a backpack on my back.”
“Easier to save up for,” said Lily.
Rota grinned. “We’ll get you into a Harley when you’re old enough.”
“Any other new businesses?” asked Lily.
“Not now,” said Blue. “But, we gonna think on it.”
“That’s how it’s done,” said Lily. “Get some new ideas.”
“Thank ya,” said Little Bit. “Better, here. An’ da boys don’t get shot walkin’ down da street, and no one tryin’ to buy my ass on da way to da store. Be safe, here.” She giggled. “Even got school in da puter, don’ have ta deal wif da girls dat tink I’m somfin’ on da bottom of dere shoe.”
“It be good,” said Blue.
“Thank ya,” said Thorn, her eyes tearing up. “My brotha is safe. Don’ have ta worry ‘bout him steppin’ onna needle, or my motha givin’ him drugs, or hittin’ him when she be high.”
Blue and Orange both rubbed her back. “We be safe. And, that be good,” said Blue.
Herja came in, her certificate in hand. She was now a licensed foster parent, and could legally look after the kids. Freya made a peanut butter pie. The rest of the celebration dinner was more simple —fresh bread, grapes, grape juice, cheese, olive oil, including cracked black pepper and herbs for dipping the bread.
“This has been the meal people ate for thousands of years,” said Chance.
“And we’re fighters, and we need a lot of food,” said Herja.
“That’s why I made this,” said Rhodes. She brought over roasted red peppers stuffed with chicken and spices in a tomato sauce. Everyone clapped, and dug in.
“Leaving tonight,” said Freya. “Got the new bike all checked over and gassed up.”
“Henry will love the bike,” said Herja. “Off-road, just the way he likes it. That was smart. Poor Robert on the farm can’t keep up, and neither can Bonnie, with three of them sold a week.”
“So,” said Freya, “do we keep her or send her on?”
“Keeping her would open another slot in Vegas,” said Herja.
“But we have no room to put her anywhere,” said Freya.
“Who?” asked Rhodes.
“Soldier. Ex-soldier, as in, not currently in the military, but trained, highly trained,” said Freya. “Got her arm blown off and she has a blade leg. We sent her specs to Sigrun, have a lovely arm and working hand waiting for her. Take her a while to learn to use it, so she’ll wield a wrench one-handed for a while. Drop a few on her foot.
”
Rhodes shrugged. “I’ll move out of my pod. Set up a tent outside, or inside in the corner here.” She pointed to a wide space at the end of the room; the bookshelves hadn’t gone up yet. “Read by flashlight.”
“Kind of a time-honored thing,” said Freya, “a kid reading in a tent by flashlight.”
“Hey!” said Rhodes. “Either one of us will give up our pods, or we can have a third one built against the back wall.”
“Or add one in my room, or the office. Mama, you mainly do my work on the couch anyway,” said Chance. “And what’s this about having one built?” Chance glared at her sister. “We can build it ourselves.”
“We can hear about real campaigns,” said Rhodes. “And, my bad. I’ll have Callie send us the specs, and her supplier. I hear they sell the kits now, since they asked what the heck she was building.”
“We’ll earn it, pay it off,” said Chance. “It can be in my room. We’ll dress in the pods, or the bathroom.” She shrugged. “She’s been with soldiers. She can hack it.” She grinned. “And then, when she’s in her own place, I can get me a little brother to boss around.”
Freya’s face froze, and Herja laughed, a big booming sound. “Gotcha,” said Herja. “Looks like I’ve got this gig in the nick of time.”
Freya pointed a fork at Herja while Rhodes stole grapes off of Chance’s plate. “You can disassemble it, and order the parts, but leave the putting-together to me.”
“Yes,” said Herja. “Not my first soldier rodeo. Got all of ours in houses, and they take up couch space while we get ‘em trained. Got them as far away as northern California now. Hoping to get a cold-state one so we can send them up into Montana, and Idaho, and Wyoming.”
Freya nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay,” said Rhodes and Chance. They all bumped fists around the table.
Freya pointed a fork at Rhodes. “Get that stuff ordered tonight. Use the credit card I gave you for your stuff. You’ll have to all earn your way outta this one, you hear me?”
“Yes, Mama,” the girls said together. Freya grinned fiercely. She’d built a compassionate (and wild) pack.
