Every Last Mother's Child

by William J. Carty, Jr

  Chapter 1: On the Long March

  “Lamile,” Rhonda one of her lieutenants woke her from a sound sleep.

  “What wrong,” the young Thonian asked coming awake instantly.

  “One of the little guys is sick.” Her lieutenant said, “He’s got a fever and is vomiting.”

  “You think it might be the food we got last night?” Lamile asked.

  “No,” Rhonda said, “No one else is ill. He’s not been feeling well for a couple of days. I think it could be his appendix!”

  “Huh,” Lamile said, she knew what an earthling’s appendix was. They always seemed to cause problems during earthling’s historical dramas. She asked, “Are you certain?”

  “No,” the sixteen year old said, “no but he’s getting sicker.”

  “We hear Wander,” the voice that had been her constant companion for the last couple of weeks called. “We’ll get someone to you.”

  “Let me see him,” Lamile got off the ground.

  She walked around the groups of sleeping kids. She shook her head in wonderment as she saw nearly a thousand kids that were walking with her to Trenaport. When she started on her mission she had no idea that there were this many kids hiding out on Trena. She was astounded. So were the marines who contacted her every once in a while. She knew that she was at least two weeks from the outskirts of Trena. Some of the marines wanted to evacuate the kids right now. They didn’t want them to make the long trip to Trenaport. The more she did this the more she wanted to complete the task. She knew she was being bull headed, but she also knew that if the Marines and Militia just swooped down and picked everyone up they wouldn’t get everyone. It had to be done her way. Now as she went to where a couple of Trena Scouts had set up a first aid tent she wondered if she wasn’t being too stubborn and bull headed?

  A boy not more than two crimens, was laid out in the make shift first aid tent. Yo’ni a Thonian teenager not much younger than Lamile came up to her, “Carlin is running a fever, and isn’t keeping anything down. I checked the book and it’s an appendix.”

  “I see,” Lamile knelt down by the little boy and felt his forehead, doing what her mom called her mom act. The child was running a fever. Lamile looked at their pitiful resources and wondered still again if she was doing the right thing.

  “Lamile, there’s a car approaching,” T’rani called from the nearby road, he was one of the older kids who acted as sentries. Lamile looked to where a car could be seen cresting the hill down the road a bit.

  Lamile waved to T’rani and said to herself. “They didn’t waste any time did they?”

  “All right,” Lamile said, “Let’s see about keeping him cool. You guys aren’t docs and it could be a tummy ache.”

  “Okay, let’s get him close to that stream over there,” Yo’ni said. Lamile nodded and went to the road where T’rani had the night watch. The police car slowed down as it approached them. The militiaman had been dozing in the car about a mile behind the kids. They had settled down for the night and he thought he could get a nap. The controller had called him and asked him to go up to the kid’s encampment. The young militia officer was one of about fifty militiamen, marines, IRS men, and others who were shadowing the kids. They had successfully worked up a rotating team of people that made it seem they were not watching the kids; but always was there if something was going on. He was also one of the many people who admired what Lamile was trying to do. As he approached the kids he was pondering what to say. But he didn’t have too. Lamile flagged him down.

  “Hey officer,” She said, “can you help us?”

  “Maybe,” he responded. The story was he was patrolling this part of Trena’s country side.

  “We have this sick kid here and we can’t find his parents. HHHHHHe needs to get to a hospital. Can you help us?” Lamile asked.

  “What are all you kids doing out here?” the man asked innocently.

  “We’re having the last Trena Scouts Jamboree.” Lamile said, “I am in charge for a while. The adults went back to town to pick some things up, and old Mr. Marian got drunk and passed out. We got to get this kid to the hospital.”

  “I can do that,” The man said amazed at Lamile’s ability to concoct a story.

  “Yo’ni,” Lamile yelled, “Bring him over here.”

  Yo’ni brought the kid over to the car. One of the kids helping him was coughing, she made a decision. “This police officer’s going to take him to the hospital. Ronnie, you go with him and let the medics take a look at you also.”

  They piled both kids into the car and soon were on their way. Parked a few miles away on the other side of the stream an IRS landing craft had settled in for the night. Langtree and Wilson had thought that the alert landing craft could be somewhere near the kids, and still be ready to launch on their runs to other parts of the area should something come up. Some of the crews protested, others didn’t. Wilson, the Queen, and General Qoum didn’t care what the crews thought of their field deployments. The kids were nearly twenty miles outside of Trena, if they needed help they would need it in a hurry and Wilson had told Langtree and Qoum to make sure nothing happened to those kids.

  As Lamile walked the encampment before settling down again for the night she saw the landing craft lift ten miles away. Her ear bug also said, “Wanderer, it is an appendix, and Ronnie only got a cold. We’ll be in touch. Over Watch clear.”

  Lamile tapped her ear bug twice. She seldom spoke to them. But she let them know she had heard them. It was midnight when she crawled back into her blankets wondering when she would next be awoken. She slept until Rhonda woke her a little past sun up.

  She wandered over to where one of the boys with a couple of others had set up a kitchen. They had broken into a store and got dishes and utensils. Later they had found an abandoned truck or what they thought abandoned, with military rations on it. As they left the driver of the truck came out of the woods yelling and screaming at them. Lamile had thought the truck had been set up for them. It hadn’t. The private had been out of the truck attending to nature when they had stumbled upon it. Lamile chuckled at that, especially the scolding she got from Over Watch. They stumbled across another food drop about ten miles up the road. There were ration packs all over the road.

  “Think we’ll be in Trenaport Tonight?” Rhonda asked.

  “We’re close,” Lamile said, “We get over that hill we should see the city. But we won’t get there tonight.”

  “Look!” one of the kids said, as landing craft burst over the top of the hill. It had several containers snuggled up under it. It was an indication that they were getting close.

  “Lamile,” Timmy one of her lieutenants came up leading a man. “This guy is asking for you.”

  “Me,” Lamile asked. She turned to see a thirty something man who had a pouch over his shoulder and dressed in mostly black. He was unkempt, but seemed to have an inner discipline she had seen in her Uncle Mike, and a couple of SWAT officers she had met, or possibly Mr. Kellogg. But she also saw that he met the general description of the adult who had been giving bad information to some of the kids that the Evac had already picked up.

  “Well not you by name miss,” the man said, “but I asked to see who was in charge, and this lad led me to you.”

  “I see,” Lamile said, she was doing her best not to over react, but this guy had to get out of here. She was certain that he was from the Theocracy. He might be one of the terrorist her Uncle Mike and her mom were hunting. “Do you want something to eat?”

  “No I’m good,” the man said, he had heard about this march. So had father Pierce. Although the priest had gone underground, he still managed to make contact with his team, if only limited contact. The priest had simply thought it was an opportunity to hurt the evacuation command. Nothing would get the news media’s attention more than a thousand kids being killed. He had no qualms about killing these children. The rest of his team was hidden up the road a bit. They had take
n out a young militia officer who was sitting in a car up the road. They had been following them for a couple of days getting into position. They had been careful not to let the militia know they were there. It had been difficult; but they had managed not to be seen by all the people following these children. They were certain there was no one else watching them. As soon as he came back they intended to finish the job.

  She took her meal and walked away from the kitchen wagon. She looked around the encampment. She had been about the last to eat so the kitchen was about to close up. A couple of her lieutenants were getting the kids ready to get on the road. The camp was being cleaned up and packed up. She was proud of her kids; there were a couple of scouts in the group who made sure that they didn’t leave a mess behind when they left the area. As she looked over the camp she tapped her Ear bug unobtrusively. She knew that this would turn the bug on, and allow Over Watch to hear what she said, possibly see what she was seeing.

  “Some friends and I heard about your march and we would like to help.” The man who had followed her to the kitchen said.

  “We have some adults who will be back in a while to help us. The Jamboree is about to close up. We have a hike into Trenaport where our parents, and scout authorities will meet us.” Lamile had come up with the story a few days back talking with a couple of the scouts in her group. “We are not supposed to allow strangers in the group.”

  They walked to road where Lamile wished one of the over watch team members would come up. As they did the man produced a gun and put it into her side.

  “Not a word,” the man said, “I will kill you where you stand!”

  Her ear bug said, “We’re aware, Wanderer. We have no one who has an eye ball on you.”

  Lamile nodded, her mind working furious. She didn’t want this guy harmed in front of her kids. He was going to have to go down. She knew she could do it. But when she did she wasn’t going to be able to stop. If there was anything her teachers had taught her, it was when it came time to do what you have to do; do it and don’t think about it. Uncle Mike and her instructor had drilled her to the point where she could go on automatic if she had too. The only one she could go full contact with was her uncle Mike. More than once she had bested him. She had thought at the time he had let her, but not after she had broken his arm that time. But timing was everything. She walked down the road with the man as Rhonda came up.

  “Lamile,” Rhonda said, “We’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Okay,” Lamile said, wondering if Rhonda could see the gun. “I’ll be back in a second. This guy wants to show me something. Something he thinks might help.”

  “Want me to get them on the road?” Rhonda asked sensing that something was wrong.

  “Yes,” Lamile said, “Ronda get them to Trenaport!”

  Rhonda had been watching the entire situation; she knew there was something up. She could feel that Lamile was concerned about something. Lately she had been feeling things about people. Not sure exactly what was going on but lately she able to read emotion. She could tell that Lamile was upset about this man, and this man for a lack of a better word dripped evil. She also could feel that Lamile was hunting for an opening. Lamile wanted some distraction that would let her resolve the situation once and for all. She smiled as she tripped and fell into guy. It was exactly what the young Thonian needed. It broke the grip the man had on her and take the pistol away from him. She made a sweeping kick that connected with the priest’s knee, taking him to the ground. It was all she needed. As the priest dropped to the ground she came up with another sweeping kick that connected with his head. The kick knocked him unconscious immediately. She was about to give him the coup de grace, when she realized that she couldn’t do it. Her instructors had also drilled into her that defense meant just using enough force to disable, and to contain the incident, that to kill was a last resort and only if there was no other way to contain the incident. She pulled her punch just enough to send him deeper into unconsciousness and turned to Rhonda, “Get me some rope we’re going to leave him by the side of the road. But we are also going to strip him naked.”

  The kids did just that. When he awoke he was in the custody of the Trena Mounted Patrol. They had found his suicide device disarmed it and had placed him in isolation. The Jailer, an AI had posted the man’s name to the booking computer, which was appropriately noted. The remains of the priest team was found and trailed for a while. When they were certain that they had all of the team the Mounties attempted to arrest the priest’s team, there was a vicious fire fight and none of the team had been taken alive.