A random chappie
Boars Head was a rush of activity. The quarantined persons were going to be released today. Jack watched with apprehension. Mrs. Jones had orders, which were being followed to the letter. Three men were to open the door. They were armed with pistols. Five meters behind them were fifteen men with shotguns and rifles. Finally there was a mob of about thirty people armed with.. well, anything. Broken bottles, sticks, rocks and clubs. Jack was sure she saw an urn bring waived at one point. Everyone else was behind a makeshift fence. John had warned them to keep back. Helen and Martha were talking, planning. Ben was absent. He had said something about going to the bathroom. So Jack stood off to the side, feeling completely left out. John tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up at him a grinned weakly.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
It wasn't often you got betrayed on such large a magnitude. Jack could begin to imagine their pain.
"Fine," John said, and it seemed he meant it. Jack was about to ask for an explanation, but Helen interrupted.
"It's starting."
The whole thing had a surreal movie like quality. The three men rushed forward. Two knelt in front of the door, guns raised. The third ripped it back. There was a pause. A woman stumbled forward, blinking in the light. Jack caught her breath. The woman was fine. Zombies wouldn't blink. But one of the troops was trigger happy, and his gun barked. The woman stumbled. Her scream ripped the air.
Mrs. Jones rushed forward shouting, "Who fired? Who fired?" Mrs. Jones pulled one of the troops aside and was yelling in their face.
Nine other people ran out of the cell. The troops launched a volley on them. Jack watched a child fall.
Helen was screaming, "Their safe! Can't you see their safe?" She was banging her fists on the rickety fence.
John was shouting at Mrs. Jones, who was trying to restore order. The mob had a mind of its own and rushed. Suddenly an air horn sounded. Ben walked forward slowly, the blare clearing a path. Jack was gurney being wheeled out. Everyone stopped. The doctors loaded the people onto the stretchers and wheeled them away. People began to disperse. The woman was still lying on the ground. Helen rushed forward. Mrs. Jones and John were arguing, troops one in a awhile joining in. Ben and Martha were forcefully removing some morbid spectators.
She was still alive. Jack saw that the woman was younger than she thought. Her reddish hair was damp with sweat. Helen was holding her hand, speaking comforting words. Jack crouched beside her.
The woman gasped a few times. She was staring to hyperventilate.
"We need to get her to calm down." Helen whispered to Jack. "If we do, she will have more time."
"What should I do?" Jack whispered. The woman's eyes were unfocused and glazed.
"You need to talk to her. As about her family, her friends…" Helen shrugged. "I'll try and patch her up."
Jack looked at the copious amounts of blood on the ground. "Why didn't the doctors take her?"
Helen clenched her free hand. "They didn't think she was worth saving."
Helen gave Jack the woman's hand and begin her work. The woman gaped and whimpered.
"Hey," Jack said. She felt stupid and out of her depth. The woman's eyes focused slightly.
"Hey," Jack repeated "I'm right here."
"You're American." The woman whispered.
"Yes. Where are you from?" Jack had to get her to remember good things, happy things.
"Russia." That was far.
The woman flinched, and Jack revisited the urge to look at what Helen was doing.
"You're a bit far, aren't you?"
The woman nodded. "I want to go home." She whimpered.
Jack patted her head. "You will. I promise. Everything will be hunkey-dorkey."
The woman grinned. "The boy said that some times." She coughed slightly.
Jack rubbed the woman's hand. "Does he have a name?"
The woman nodded excitedly. "He was looking for an American. He looked and looked…" She trailed off.
Jack had to keep her. Jack patted her face. "Hey. Hey, look at me now." Jack was alert on the woman in front of her. The eyes flickered up. "It's me, the hunkey-dorkey American. What's your name?"
The woman coughed again. "I'm dying."
"No. No you are not." Jack was firm, like a primary school teacher. "I need your name."
"Why?" The woman whispered. "It won't matter."
Jack had to keep her focus. What would Alex say? Something witty, right? "So I can put it on your tombstone."
The woman laughed softly. "That's something he would say."
Jack nodded. "Tell me who you are, so I can help you."
The woman shook her head. Jack was grasping for straws.
"He could be here."
'"Who?" The woman was defiantly drifting now. She even started to close her eyes! Jack wasn't going to let that happen.
"The boy, the one who make jokes. Your friend." Jack had no idea if the boy was this woman's friend. She had no idea if he was real. "If you tell me your name, I can find him for you."
The woman was back now."Really?"
Jack looked into the woman's eyes. "Really."
The woman swallowed. "I'm Anna. Anna Alecovna. My…my…"
Jack rubbed her had. "Shush. Calm down. Take a deep breath. We're not leaving Anna."
Anna nodded. "My husband…husband Leon…"
"I'll look for him ok?" Jack said. "I'll look for your boy."
Anna shook her head. "No. Don't look for him. The Rangers…" She mumbled off.
The Rangers? Jack had no idea who Anna was talking about, besides the Texas Rangers, a baseball team. The wets baseball team.
"..lied to them." Anna whispered. "Did bad…they…hurt Leon…so…" She coughed deeply now, and it was a horrible sound to Jack. She stole a glance at Helen.
Anna was still mumbling. Jack heard 'Eagle'. Didn't Ben train with someone named 'Eagle'?
"Eagle boasted…so they…not take him…take anyway…and they took the boy…" Anna burst into tears.
Jack franticly tried to calm her down.
"All my fault…all my fault…"
"Hush, hush, it's not your fault." Jack said. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Helen appeared at Jack's elbow. "She's stable now."
Jack made to down the woman's had, but Anna held onto it like a life line.
"I never meant to hurt him!" She hissed. "I thought the acid would hurt the dead, not a boy."
Jack was about to speak, but Helen cut her off. "Where did the acid hit him?"
"The eyes," Anna moaned. "In his eyes! And all the brown ran away! Ran away like water!"
Jack was confused.
"Possibly pigment bleaching," Helen whispered. "Nothing serious."
Anna moved her hands now, waving them in front of Jack's face. "Horrible scars. He was so handsome…" Anna sobbed. "And old eyes. Old, old eyes."
Jack felt a jolt of fear. "Old eyes?"
Anna nodded. "Such old eyes."
Jack's stomach did a flip. "And you said the Rangers took him?"
"I didn't want him to go!" Anna moaned. "They all die, Everyone knows they all die!"
Helen was professional. "Ma'am, you need to calm down. What to the Rangers do?"
"Anything. They are the police." Anna nodded. "That's what Kate said. The police. To protect us. But they killed Leon to make him shoot, and stole him away!"
"Alright." Helen rubbed Anna's back, pulled her into a sitting position. Jack glanced down and was surprised to see a superficial gash. She had been keeping Anna out of shock.
"I didn't want them to take him. I wouldn't let them! But Kate stopped me…" Anna was crying now.
Helen looked over a Jack and shouted over the noise, "Give her some time. She'll calm down soon."
And with repeated back rubs and soothing words, Helen had the woman speaking quietly and softly again. Jack had no idea how much time they had lost on this woman, but was grateful when she saw John, Ban and Martha close by.
Helen spoke softly, and Jack just listened. "Is the boy yours?"
Anna shrugged. "I took care of him."
"That's fine." Helen said. "I'm sure he loved you too."
Anna shook her head. "He never loved. The boy was scared to. He locked himself deep inside and never let anyone close."
"I'm sure he was just scared." Helen said, trying to comfort the woman.
The woman snorted. "The boy was something to be feared. He could fight and he could kill."
Jack was tired of the woman bashing on this nameless boy. "What's his name?"
"Sasha."
"Sasha?" Jack tried not to laugh. Maybe he was teased. That's why he was so closed off. A shadow fell behind her. Jack looked up. Ben was standing there. He said something softly. The women looked up and begin to jabbered. Ben spoke a few words, and then pointed at Jack, then Helen.
Anna looked at Jack for a moment, judging her. "You are American?"
Jack sighed. She was sure they had gone over this. "Yes, the hunkey-dorkey American, at your service."
Anna's moth dropped open. "Jack Starbright?"
Jack reeled away. "How do you know my name?"
But Anna was now focused on Helen. "Are you Helen Rider?"
Helen nodded.
Anna looked confused. "You are dead… all of you." she pointed a shaking finger. "Ben Daniels," Anna turned to look at Jack. "Jack Starbight, and Helen Rider. Am I dead too?"
"No." Helen shook her head. "Me being dead, it was a mistake."
Anna nodded. She seemed to be collecting her thoughts. Jack was surprised how calm she was.
The next words shocked Jack.
"Alex has a message for you." Anna said. "He's sorry, and he'll come find you. No matter what."
