Two hundred and forty two years ago, the Second Continental congress was under way in Philadelphia. Tensions between the Colonists and British troops had been running high all spring and although the early skirmishes had been decidedly in the favor of the Colonists, the Congress recognized the need to form a unified army. The New England troops were loosely organized and the officers in other states were under no obligation to follow their orders so on June 14th they made provisions for a grand army. On the 15th they determined the structure and selected Colonel George Washington as the General and Commander in Chief. George Washington humbly accepted his commission on Friday June 16th. (If you have not read the Journals of the Continental Congress I highly recommend them. The lack of ego expressed by Washington as he accepts his commission is very inspiring.) Shortly thereafter the Congress laid out a structure for the Army which included among other positions one Chief Engineer with two assistants. Thus the engineering branch was actually the first formal component of the Army to be established. The first Chief Engineer was to be paid sixty dollars a month. The day after, while Washington was en route to Boston, the British attacked Breed's Hill in what became known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. And although it was considered a loss for the Colonists, the hasty construction of a redoubt on the peninsula the Colonists were defending is probably the reason that the British suffered 1054 causalities and loses to the Colonists' 405 despite out numbering the Colonists at least 2 to 1. Essayons!
**Name, Goo Goo Dolls**
Garth carried a box of Riley and Aiden's things down from the quarantine room and waited for them in the main entry hall of the school. He immediately sent a few young guys up to begin cleaning and preparing the room again, just in case they needed to quarantine someone again. Although, after his conversation with Velasquez this morning, he had a feeling they would be closing the gates on this camp soon which should reduce their risk considerably. He'd asked to stay here, but Velasquez was hinting that he might promote him soon and Garth had a hunch it was so he would feel better sending him off to open another camp. It might make Velasquez feel better about sending him off alone, but it certainly wouldn't make Garth any better prepared for the additional responsibility. Besides, he felt an obligation to the people here now. But he supposed Velasquez's choices were limited.
"I know someone who is looking forward to meeting you!" He watched as she stood at the landing and squeezed Aiden's hand. It was hard to imagine that only a week ago he'd questioned if she knew enough to care for the boy.
Beside her, Aiden's head swiveled too and fro as he looked through the bustle of people in the main hallway. "Mimi?"
Riley crouched down and pulled him close. "No honey. Remember we talked about that? Mimi went to heaven. But remember when we looked at all those silly face pictures yesterday? That was Emma; she's my sister and she is going to love you."
His little chin quivered but he gave an exaggerated nod. "I 'member." His solemn little voice twisted his heart. How many people had the kid already lost in his short life?
Riley's sister dashed past him with a quick "Hi Garth" and met the pair halfway down the stairs with a squealing hug. "Oh I missed you soo much Riri!" She crouched down to where Aiden was clutching her hand. "And you must be Aiden. Hi. I'm Emma." The blond stuck out her hand for a shake but the little boy just ignored it and pressed his face into Riley's thigh. It was a move Garth had seen many times when he tried to engage the little kids around the camp. He had to admit it was reassuring to see that even someone as sunny as Emma got the same response some times. Emma straightened and hugged her sister again. "It's ok Aiden. We'll get to know each other later." Riley flashed him a glowing smile as she hugged Emma again and Garth wondered if Riley, who was much less exuberant, realized how much alike she and her sister looked when she relaxed and smiled freely.
She bent and picked up Aiden, letting him hide his face in her shoulder. As they swept past and into the hallway that led out to the camp side of the building he heard her ask Emma, "Did you talk to Mom? What did she say?"
Garth was called away to deal with one crisis after another and it was 1800 before he had a chance to even think about how Riley and Aiden were faring. Although there was a light drizzle, the temperatures were still in the high eighties and mosquitoes were having a field day, leaving everyone trapped in their muggy tents feeling cranky and out of sorts. Today's challenges included a noise complaint in Section17, facilitating a meeting about using part of the school for children's activities, and taking reports from seven teams of PFCs returning to camp from scouting and fact finding missions. He left his summary on Velasquez' desk and made his way toward the mess tent alone. Most of his recent duties were all well above his grade but he just kept doing his best and wondering when the cavalry was going to show up.
"Corporal Simpson, you look beat." PFC Chan passed him with a loaded tray. "It's late for your dinner! Were you caught up in that big row in sector 12?"
Section 12? That was where the Slattery's tent was located. His heart beat a little faster. If anything happened to RIley or the boy because he hadn't pushed Velasquez to make sure there was no more ill will floating around the camp he'd never forgive himself. He stepped to the side of the line. "What happened? Tell me everything John."
"Oh, just a cat fight of sorts. Old lady Slattery and her daughter had it out about the boy. Started shouting that the girl was disrespecting her brother's memory by bringing in another kid and all shorts of crazy shit. Oh my God, you should have seen it man. The mama was shouting and carrying on and that chick sure as hell gave as good as she got. She's got one dirty mouth I'll tell you that! Cursed up a blue streak telling off her own mother! They seemed like such a nice family too. Goes to show that you never know. Ya know?" Garth snorted. Yeah he knew. Flashes of every argument he'd ever had with his father came back to him; his father asking him why he couldn't just sit the fuck still in class, why couldn't he focus like his brothers, asking him why he had to be so impulsive and defiant at every turn.
Where are they now?" He set his tray on a nearby table and scanned the mess tent. None of the Slattery family were there.
"I dunno. The girl was gathering her things to move out. Guess she probably headed over to the supervised minors area. Velasquez called me out to section 3. Those Maryland State Patrol guys were out talking to the people waiting in line again. Making all the same promises about a quarantine area with air conditioning, beds, and fresh food for the people that pass their interview process." Shit, he had no idea what those Staties were doing, but they kept coming and recruiting people from the evaluation line and driving them off somewhere. Either they all made the cut or they were dying before they could make it back. Either way, something seemed shady about it. Velasquez was wary of them too but he felt his hands were tied. It wasn't like they were kidnapping people.
He thanked Chan and re-joined the line for food, his feet mechanically following the muddy ruts that had been worn into the grass over the last two weeks. As he shuffled forward toward another bland bag of whatever, a family with three kids got in line behind him. The mother was lecturing a teenager to stop complaining about the packaged food. After all, did he want to eat what was provided and be safe or did he want to risk his life outside the gates for a salad that any other time in his life he would have rejected as too healthy? It had been four weeks since Garth had a fresh meal and he understood exactly where the kid was coming from. What he wouldn't give for a salad right about now. As he neared the front of the line he could see that the bin of MREs was almost empty. It would probably take the two privates running the food tent a few minutes to get the next one opened. He quickly counted the number of people in line and the number of food packs left. With a sigh, he grabbed an apple from a picked over box on the next table and got out of line. He would find something later.
But after searching the camp high and low for Riley and Aiden he was too exhausted. Her mother was in a snit and told him on no uncertain terms that Riley was welcome to come home, but not with that boy. She wasn't in the unaccompanied minors section either. And her sister, who had organized a pickup volleyball night in the school gym, dismissed his questions saying, "If you knew her as well as I do, you'd know that by tomorrow she will have drafted an emancipated minors policy for the camp and lined up supporters to help her convince Velasquez. Trust me. My sister will be fine. She's tougher than she looks." He agreed but he still worried. So he had walked all the sections, asking people if they had seen her. Some responses had been helpful but many had said that it served her right given that she'd brought the boy into the camp. As the twilight deepened and mosquitoes rose up out of the grass, people began to disappear into their tents. Exhausted, hungry, and feeling guilty that she was getting blamed for what was ultimately his decision, he headed for the tent he shared with Chan.
One foot into the place he'd been living for the last four weeks and he stopped short. It was pitch black inside but the sound of delicate snoring told him Chan was definitely not in residence. He fumbled to turn on his phone and hold it up for light. Chan's bed was occupied by a tiny form. The little boy was curled up under a light blanket and sucking his thumb, no doubt fast asleep. A brown patch of dead grass marked the spot where Chan's locker and duffel had sat at the foot of the cot. Sometime between when he'd been in the mess hours ago and now, he must have moved out. He turned the light toward his own bed. Although it was against policy, he had substituted an air mattress for the cot he'd been issued. At his height, his feet hung off the end either way but the gently curved edge of the airbed was significantly more comfortable than the metal frame of a folding cot. If they had the proper number of officers he probably would have been found out long ago, but given that everyone was overworked, no one had time to write him up for it. And there, smack dab in the middle of the comfy place he'd hoped to spend at least five uninterrupted hours, was a shock of curly red hair. Incredulous, he gently shook her bare shoulder.
"Too tired. You can yell at me in the morning." She slurred as she rolled over and wrapped colorful quilt more tightly around herself. Indeed in the artificial glow of the cell phone her pale cheeks were marred by dark circles.
He slumped to the edge and the air redistributed with a shush. He didn't know if she meant she or he was too tired but either way, he was having this conversation with comfy feet. He shut off the phone light and began to unlace his boots in the dark. The camp was unusually quiet on account of the rain and for a few minutes he just sat and wrinkled his toes. After that he shucked his BDU shirt. It had cooled off this evening, but his sweaty tee shirt still clung to him. Stripping it off he stretched over head and enjoyed the feeling of cool air rushing over his bare skin. He glanced over at her and wondered if she'd be offended if he shucked his pants. He needed a shower and a meal and a decent night's sleep for once. The prospect of a sweaty night spent in dirty clothes was completely unappealing. "Fuck it. It's my tent and my bed." He toed off his socks and wiggled his bare feet with glee. His pants joined the growing laundry pile. Yep, that was totally worth it. Stretching out, carefully maintaining a decent space between them he pondered how to handle the inevitable fallout in the morning. On the one hand, Chan had moved his stuff so he obviously didn't mind. But on the other hand, shacking up with a teenage girl wasn't exactly going to make him look good. But he was asleep before he came to any conclusions.
He woke to the soft sounds of bird calls. Opening his eyes slowly he was surprised to see Riley was already up. She had her back turned to him and was pulling a tee shirt over her head. He cleared his throat. "Ah, good morning?"
She whirled around and met his gaze her cheeks slightly pink. "How long have you been watching me?"
He shifted to sit, hunching over since there wasn't anything to lean against. He was still only half awake. At least that was the excuse he was going with for why he gave her a lazy grin. "Long enough to give up on the idea of using you for a teddy bear."
"Ha ha." She deadpanned. "I need to stretch my legs, clear my head. Can you watch Aiden for twenty minutes while I take a quick jog?" Almost as soon as they had set up the camp a group had begun jogging the fence lines in the mornings but he'd never seen her in the group. With her flaming hair he would have noticed immediately.
"Yeah, sure. But if you're still planning on me yelling at you this morning you need to be back by 0630. I need to hit the mess tent before I get to work or I really will be in Hulk mode today."
The grin she shot him as she bounced out of the tent was pure gold. "You're messed in the head Garth."
Yeah, who was he kidding. He wasn't going to yell at her any more than he was going to toss Aiden out of the compound. He shoved the blanket off and rose. Even in the center of the tent he couldn't stand up straight so he quickly set about finding enough clothes to step outside. The garments he'd tossed on the ground last night were tucked into a laundry bag he hadn't seen before and his boots stood neatly paired by the entry flap. Usually he was a light sleeper but he bet gymnasts could move silently when they anted to. He pulled a clean uniform out of his duffel and dressed quickly. His stomach growled so he dug in his bag for a snack but all he came up with was a slightly squashed energy bar and a pack of gum. Well if he couldn't brush his teeth the gum was better than nothing.
He took a seat in his only chair, a black canvas folding kind with a Pittsburg Penguins logo on the back that he'd kept in his truck for tailgating, and put his bare feet up on the overturned milk crate that used to house his jumper cables and tow rope. Now in the daylight he could see that Chan had moved almost all his things out and neatly stacked Riley and Aiden's items from the classroom. He wondered how Riley had made that happen. She'd also moved his other current belongings from a pile at the foot of the bed to a neat arrangement at the head. They consisted of a rolling tool box he used like a trunk, his standard issue duffel, and a few textbooks. It seemed ridiculous that he'd kept those now. There wasn't an internet anymore, never mind an online bachelor's degree program. The fact that he'd spent all that money on something that was now likely worthless didn't rankle half as much as the idea of all the time lost. Chan's pile of things had been even smaller than his. Riley's belongings on the other hand consisted of a Navy duffel with about twenty visible repairs and patches, a stack of clear plastic drawers on wheels, a large trunk, a worn lavender and green quilt, and a battery powered camping light. A mess of cables connected an extension cord he'd never seen in his tent before to several electronic devices. While he'd been busy searching for her last night, she'd apparently made herself at home. He ran a hand over his scruffy face completely at a loss for how to respond.
There was a shuffle outside the tent and he looked up to see a man waiting outside, one of Velasquez's overly formal pink message slips in his hand. He sighed and reached for his boots. As soon as Riley returned from her jog, full of promises that it was "just temporary until I can get my mother to see reason.", he'd had to dash off to deal with one situation after another. And so without even discussing it, he acquired a new, albeit decidedly better looking, roommate.