Chapter 9

Meryl stood blinking, unable to take in what had just happened. She ran his words through her head a few times, it still amounted to 'great danger, get out of town, oh and take the kids.' She looked down at the children.

"Are you his friend?" The girl asked, eyeing her too keenly for her liking.

"Vash? Yes, I suppose I am." She rubbed her forehead. "Who are you?"

"I am Jasmine and this is Doug. We're, er…" She glanced at her brother as her face crumpled.

"We're his kids," he said, staring at the ground, "now." He sounded heartbroken.

Meryl walked over and tucked her arm around each of them. Jasmine resisted a little, but they were soon sobbing miserably into her clothes.

She heard the patter of foot falls on the balcony outside and Milly in her pajamas, peered in through the door. Her face was all kinds of astonishment as she slipped in and closed the door behind her.

"Meryl, what happened?"

The children looked up and gave Milly a guarded stare.

"It seems Vash has been keeping secrets." She said as levelly and euphemistically as she could. She really wanted to scream to the rafters, but that would not help the situation at all.

Milly gave a soft gasp then looked hastily away, but not before Meryl caught the look of pity she was trying to hide.

"We need to pack and get out of town. We'll meet him at our last campsite."

Milly nodded and left the way she had come.

Meryl stroked Doug's head he was still sniffling.

"When did you last eat?" She asked.

"We had breakfast." Jasmine said, still hiccupping.

"I'll get you some food. Stay here, wash your faces and hands, and I'll be back."

"We don't want to be alone." Jasmine declared as her brother suddenly clung to her arm.

"Well you can't be seen around the hotel like that. Come here."

They were good kids, she supposed. They did what they were told without arguing. They even smiled when Milly presented them with a large pudding each and sat them on the side of the tomas stall while they loaded their panniers. Meryl lashed Vash's duffle bag to the back of hers. Meryl checked the shot in her derringer and the children eyed the stun gun Milly rested across the saddle with clear admiration. They mounted up, Jasmine riding behind Milly and Doug behind Meryl. She felt Doug lean out and turn around as they left the city, searching for something. After a while she felt him settle back in the saddle with his arms around her, his small frame shaking with silent sobs.

She put her hand over his arms, and he nuzzled his face into her back.

Vash and kids? This really was the last straw. When she saw that man again, she was going to pound him until he told her everything she wanted to know.

They were just exiting the city when a thunderous explosion shook the air. High above them, Meryl saw an orb of light. Milly was quicker on the uptake than she. She reached around Jasmine and hauled out the camera and set it to live filming.

"That has got to be a plant." Meryl breathed; she could not vocalize his name. Her heart was tangled with anxiety for Vash, as her mind cascaded with images she had been desperately avoiding. She gulped air as she felt the terror rise up inside her. She could not go to pieces here. Not while she had two children to protect. There was a crackle of gunfire and Meryl struggled to force herself into reality as she realized it was not as distant as she thought. She tried to speak, and only managed after several sharp breaths to force down the panic. She could not go to pieces.

"Milly!" She shivered as she booted the tomas into a run. She hoped the road was firm enough that it would not stumble in the dark. Her partner followed her, panning the camera across the landscape, using the infrared filter to try to make out potential dangers.

"Meryl! There are people coming! We need to get off the road."

They slowed their run to a loping trot and headed out into the open desert, but not fast enough. Trucks roared out from the city, and a swath of machine gun bullets juddered over their heads. There was a sudden loud crack and a shriek from Milly, but her partner still seemed to be able to keep her seat. More than that, she could not check. It was all she could do to keep her mind present and focused around the terror.

Meryl could hear Doug whimpering in fright at her back as they raced down between the dunes. They ran for almost two iles, heading west as best they could. They managed to lose the trucks and their erratic gunmen after a very tense half an hour, and spent the rest of the time plodding through the dark.

Meryl turned back to find Doug asleep, half curled around Vash's bag. She looked across at Milly, she was holding her cape to her face, that was now black with blood in the moonlight. Jasmine was clinging to her, and was dozing.

"Milly." She whispered, horrified.

"It just grazed me." Milly gave her a brave smile. "We went down that dune too slowly."

They gazed at each other, silently communicating worry, fear, concern and bewilderment.

"I can manage to keep it till we get to the campsite. I don't want to wait out here."

They rode relentlessly. They reached the campsite by two in the morning. She knew why Vash had sent them here, it was among rocks, and fairly sheltered and if needed, defensible. She rolled out her blankets and settled both children; they clung to each other and after settling, went to sleep. She helped Milly with the tomas's then lit a dim lamp and saw to Milly's wound. It was a raw scratch along her hairline and she patched it up and wound a bandage around it. It would do till morning, she did not think it needed stitches. Milly swallowed pain killers and volunteered to take first watch.

"I won't be able to sleep until the worst of the headache is gone." She said with a smile. "Take my bed, I'll wake you at four."

Meryl lay staring up at the cold stars; her hands clenched her hands together. She could not sleep. She could only breathe frustration and exhaustion. Why did she always freak out so badly after witnessing plant powers? She thought she had it under control. The occasional nightmare still woke her, but she had not had one in weeks. She focussed on releasing her breath evenly. She was sure to have one tonight if she could only get to sleep.

The image of Vash standing there, so upset made her want to hug him. She glared at the memory. What he had said made her want to pound him. He had no idea how hard it was for her. Since being trapped at Fort Ryuu Tsu Jou, she had spent the entire time trying not to freak out over the stupid man. He had used his powers right in front of her, to protect her. But the sheer weirdness of it all had twisted her mind into terror. She had also unintentionally shared his memory of July, which had only made it worse. Then to top it off, he had almost lost control again, with her trapped beside him, all within a few minutes of each other. Freaked out was not a strong enough expression for what had happened. It was as if she had been turned inside out with terror. She scowled at the sky, too exhausted to begin to find sleep.

Only it was not only terror, it was self-preservation, and the desire to cling to life. She turned onto her side and huddled in a tight ball under her blankets, her arms tightly around herself. She fought the overwhelming wave of helplessness with all she had, trying her best not to think of the man. If it went badly, she would never see him again. That finally brought tears.

She recalled her last conscious thoughts before falling asleep. The terror was an acknowledgement of the vast differences between her and a creature other than human.

Meryl sat with Milly's stun gun on her lap. She was working through the various policies Bernadelli offered for life insurance in her head. It was mind numbingly neutral and helped her remain calm. Anxiety was too close to terror and she needed to think clearly if she was to sit watch. She realized she was still very on edge at how hard she jumped noticed a figure approaching. She was on her feet, and had aimed the gun before she recognized the silhouette. She set the gun down and pelted across the sand as fast as she could. Vash walked wearily through the dim pre dawn light, his arm and face bloodied. His shoulders were slumped and he looked more defeated than she had ever seen him. He still wore his gun openly and clutched the revolver in his other hand. He didn't seem to see her as he walked past.

"Vash?" She caught his arm.

He gazed at her as if trying to work out who she was; the pain, sorrow, guilt and remorse clear in his eyes.

"I couldn't save her." He breathed, horrified, and too stunned to cry.

Meryl did not know what to say to that.

"Their mother?" She whispered.

His haunted expression answered it for her. She patted him on the arm, automatically, somehow the inner part of her had lost contact with her body, she felt numb.

"You're a mess. You'll scare the children if they see you like that. I'll go and heat you some water."

He seemed to become more self aware as she spoke. He slipped his revolver back into its holster and with a flick of his wrist, the machine gun returned to his arm.

By the time Vash entered the camp, plasters and bandages in place and clad in his leather armor, Meryl had the breakfast cooking. Somehow having him back safe had scared her fears away for the time being, or was it the sheer annoyance at this new development? How could she want to both hug and pound a person at the same time? It did not make sense. Vash tucked his red coat under one arm and stopped beside the children to stare at them, the sorrow still etched on his face. To her surprise, he smiled suddenly and crouched down and stroked the girls hair, nodding as if in response to something.

Doug opened his eyes.

"Sheesh you two are noisy in the morning." He grumbled.

Meryl stirred the porridge. Had she seen what she had thought she had seen? Could they somehow communicate mind to mind?

Jasmine turned over, stealing all the blankets and this started a fight. She was amused that Vash just walked away, leaving them at it. They watched him go.

"See, I told you he wouldn't fall for it." Jessica said aloofly.

"Is he really a plant?"

They both stared at him as he settled on the far side of the rocky cave and dug his bedroll out of his duffle bag. He spread it out, pulled the blanket over him, then threw his coat over that, and after tucking his head under the blankets lay still.

Meryl had to wait until midday when Milly roused herself before she could vent. The children amused themselves scrambling over the rocks and Vash slept. She had been alarmed when he had started crying in his sleep, but the children had immediately gone over to him and had patted his head and hugged him. She was not sure what he thought of this, but he waved them off after a while. They had sat watching him then had gone back to playing on the rocks.

Milly sat down beside her in the shade and sipped at their canteen.

"They're very lively." She smiled.

Meryl told her what they had done to Vash and the interaction she had seen that morning.

"If they are his, then they would be plants." Milly reasoned.

"I never knew plants could have kids!" Meryl said grouchily, realizing her reasoning was faulty, which made her even grouchier.

"Er, yes they can," Vash yawned and sat down beside them. "Where do you think Knives and I came from?"

Meryl jumped, mortified. Suddenly having him so close to her was infuriating. She glared at him.

"Okay, you. Spill. What in the hell is going on?"

He leaned back against the rock behind them and rested his long arms on his knees.

"I don't know." He sounded so bewildered and lost that Meryl believed him.

"What do you think is going on? Is it your brother? Who was shooting at you last night? Why do you suddenly have custody of the kids? In short, Vash the Stampede, tell me everything you know so I can at least try and help you!"

He smiled faintly, which jarred with his words; he seemed too far-gone in despair to care.

"I think the Terrans are hunting down independent plants and killing them. I don't know where Knives is. I think it was the Terrans last night. Their mother was killed last night. And I have no plan as to the future or any more too add that could help."

"Those poor children." Milly sniffed.

"Sorry I got you caught up in it." He said and put his face in his hands.

Meryl patted him on the arm before she realized what she was doing, and snatched her hand away.

"It was lucky we were there." She told him. "Or those kids would be dead."

He sniffed and she realized he was crying, tears running down his face.

"I don't know what to do any more." He whispered. "This is too big."

Meryl watched him.

"Well, stop being a plant with an agenda of your own and learn from the humans." She said knowing how much such an idea would rile him. "Get your fellow plants, form a gang and give them a taste of their own medicine."

He drew himself up and stared at her, hurt.

"That would only cause further heartache and suffering to everyone involved, and would only serve to drive a wedge further between plants and humans. Can they not see we are all just people? That we can all get along. Don't they understand love, or peace?"

"No, they understand power and war."

"That is all they know." He said with patience. "Until they are shown another way, how can anyone expect them to do differently?"

"There's your answer." She smiled at him.

His answering smile lit up his face.

"Love and peace." He whispered.


Jim's Farm

The outlying homestead they reached as night was falling was too much of an opportunity to pass up. The children were riding the tomas's and Meryl watched the two story mansion with undisguised longing. There were three large water tanks on the roof. Milly saw the notice tagged to the fence.

"Help wanted. Board and Lodging provided. Application in person only. Cliff Cottage."

"It does not say what help." Jasmine pointed out. "Nor does it say that they will pay us."

"But it says food and bed." Milly smiled. "We could do with that."

Their supplies were low and they had been on the road for a solid two weeks, and were marching on just over half rations.

"At what cost?" Jasmine asked.

"Hard work never hurt anyone." Milly told her. "And farm work is the best there is."

"Which is why you're toting a camera around." Doug said not quietly enough.

Milly smiled.

"I grew up on a farm. I thought I'd see the world, is all."

"Desert and more desert, great world we have here." Doug muttered grouchily.

"Hey," Jasmine looked around, "where's Vash?"

They all looked around; he had been with them as they had walked up the road.

A gunshot went off and Vash reappeared at a run. He leaped the fence as another bullet threw up dust behind him.

"Heee!" He breathed as they all hastily retreated further down the road. "Scary!"

"What did you do?" Meryl asked.

"That was the wrong house." He pointed down the hill. "Cliff cottage is that place."

Further down the valley was a stone house, built partly into the hill.

The visions of a wonderful bath faded dismally in Meryl's mind. This was a small home with a dog and a tomas loose in the front yard; they were familiar companions as they chased after each other up and down.

"I don't think they could hire all of us." Doug remarked, observing the dilapidated nature of the place.

"We won't know until we ask." Vash leaned over the gate, though cautiously did not enter the yard. At his voice, three tiny children peered over the split door.

"Hello!" He called. "We saw the notice."

A man looked out, the pipe slack in his mouth.

"It's our notice, my friend." He called. "But we're done hiring, forgot it was still up."

"It's planting season, right? You could use some help?"

"Sure could, but we can't pay you."

"So it is like the notice said, board and lodging for the work?"

He frowned and his pipe migrated from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Well, if you don't mind sleeping in the loft above the tomas stalls, then you're welcome at our table. We could use an extra hand."

"Jim!" A stricken voice called from inside, and a muttered conversation followed.

"Izzy, they have kids, and we ain't paying 'em, we both get a little worse but a little better for having shared."

A woman with wild curly hair leaned out of the door and her eyes widened at them.

"Of course they must come in!" She scolded her husband. "Go help them, and make sure Tomtom doesn't get loose."

"Aye, Izzy." He said easily and after shooing the children off the door went out to them.

The table was packed. The couple had eight children between the ages of seven and two, five farm hands and their five. Meryl spent the first three courses simply eating the food was so good. Even Vash shut up for five minutes, then could not hold it in any longer and spent the rest of the meal reeling off compliments. Milly had settled down happily and was telling the twins about how she had grown up with her numerous siblings and the fun they had had.


There was a bath. It was the tin washtub, with water heated over the stove, but it was wonderful. Meryl tried to hurry as both Jasmine and Milly were waiting on the other side of the blanket that hung from the drip line drawn across the room. Milly was industriously washing clothing by hand. Meryl declined the task; she could last until they made it to the next city and a Laundromat. She stepped out of the room to wait for them. She caught a snatch of conversation from the room opposite. From the pipe smoke and clink of glasses, the men were having a nightcap.

"So she's not your wife?" Jim said, puzzled.

"The big girl?" Vash sounded astonished. "No."

"But the kids are yours?"

"Yes, well, they're sort of, um."

There were some dark chuckles.

"So, big girl shows up with kids and a reminder of a certain night so long ago..."

"What? No! It's nothing like that!"

"You mean you don't remember the night?"

There was more laughter.

"Don't worry, Izzy surprised me in the same way a few years back. Can't say I was happy then, but I came to like it. Kids grow on you."

"It's not like that."

"Just accept it pal." Jim said kindly. "Them happy bachelor days are gone, and responsibility is nailing your foot to something for the first time in your life. Tell the big girl you'll do the right thing by her and you'll get a few more of those nights."

There was more laughter.

Meryl walked away. She went to stand in the yard and let the cool air play over her face. A few minutes later Vash stumbled into the yard, saw her and walked over to her.

"Where is Milly?" He fidgeted anxiously.

Meryl arched an eyebrow at him.

"Washing clothes."

"Tell her not to listen to what those men tell her tomorrow, no matter what they tell her."

"Why?" Meryl asked, hiding her amusement at how awkward he was.

He went still and hunched his shoulders.

"She still misses Wolfwood. They will only upset her."

Meryl stared at him, her heart softening slightly as she realised he was not trying to protect himself, he was honestly worried about Milly.

"I'll try." She said.

He scuffed his feet on the ground then seemed to come to himself. He straightened and scratched at the back of his neck, then laughed ruefully.

"Things have sure taken a turn for the unexpected."

Meryl could heartily agree with him on that.


Meryl walked down the hill with her spade over her shoulder feeling, for want of a better word, mortified. The day's work was digging holes for an irrigation system, which Milly and Vash seemed to have no problem with, but she had discovered the first time she had stood on the spade that she was simply not heavy enough. She had tried thumping the spade with her foot when her arm thrust did nothing but bounce the spade on the hard earth. She had then tried jumping on the spade, and had to leap awkwardly off when it fell sideways, and her antics had made the rest of the digging team almost wet themselves laughing. Milly had hurried over and had tried to show her the technique, but it had not worked.

"I'll dig enough holes for both of us!" Vash had said gallantly.

"Yer charming the wrong girl, pal!" Someone had said just loud enough for Meryl to catch.

"I'll go and find some other work." She addressed Jim who gave her a nod.

She left the spade in the tool shed and entered the house. Izzy had set the twins down with her children and had insisted that they do their reading, writing and arithmetic for the morning. She was not in the room when Meryl entered, but five children looked up from their work at the kitchen table. Jasmine leaped out of her chair with the paper she had and held it under her nose.

"I got them all right. Can I go?"

Meryl shifted the paper down to a more readable distance. They were sums suitable for a nine year old. She eyed the girl, who gave her a pleading stare not to give the game away.

"If that is all your work for today."

Jasmine was out of the door before she could finish her sentence. Doug came up to her a moment later and held out a stack of papers and looked shiftily at her. Meryl was quite astonished, he had the day's work on the top of the stack, the rest of the papers were the household accounts, all balanced and marked where the errors were and neatly written suggestions as to how to not make such errors in the future.

She gave him a nod, and he sped after his twin. Meryl left their worksheets on the table, but kept the accounts, she would not want to offend their hosts.

"Through here." An elderly gentleman followed the oldest son, a boy of thirteen years. He doffed his cap at Meryl and went along the passage towards the bedrooms. A short while later Meryl heard a wail and ran through with the rest of the children.

Izzy was sitting on her bed with all her children around her, cradling the youngest and sobbing. The children began wailing with her. The doctor, seeing her there, took her out of the room and closed the door on the cacophony.

"I cannot do anything for the child. His only hope is to go to the city hospital." He looked back at the door in anguish. "Poor mite probably won't make it even then."

The eldest son slipped out of the room.

"I'll tell pa." He ran past them.

Meryl went out to look for the twins. She followed their tracks up the edge of the cliff as she saw the people who had been digging now hurry down the hill. She came to the edge of the cliff and found a hollow. At the bottom of it were the twins, they both had spades and were industriously digging away the loose sand. They were certainly industrious about their work. When Jasmine crouched down and brushed away the sand to reveal metal, she stood indecisive for a moment, then left them to it. Even if it were part of an old ship, it would take them days to unearth it. At least it would keep them out of the sorrow in the house.

She walked back down the cliff and slowly over to the house. She had just entered the cottage courtyard when a series of gunshots went off in rapid succession. She followed the crowd who surged out of the kitchen and over to the road. Jim came pelting down the road at a dead run, he staggered the last few yarz and pitched over in the dirt in front of them. Meryl could not get a good look to see what had happened before the men lifted him up and carried him inside.

"Ella shot him." One of the farm hands sounded shocked.

"Pa!"

Meryl found herself squashed in the corner with Milly and Vash as pandemonium broke out. Vash silently sidled out, and Meryl and Milly quickly followed him.

"Stay there." He waved them back at the house.

"No thanks!" Meryl exclaimed.

Milly looked torn.

"I'll stay, you help Mister Vash." She turned and ran back inside.

Meryl had to run to catch up to his long legged stride.

"There's no need for you to also get involved." He said dismissing her.

"The twins are digging up part of a space ship." She told him. "Are you sure you don't want me to handle this?"

"Where?" He looked around for evidence of a ship skeleton. The only thing that could be seen was far in the distance where the town power plant rose high above the buildings.

"Top of the cliff." Meryl pointed in the other direction.

He glanced across at the site then shook his head.

"Aw man! Those two are worse than Knives and I ever were!" He looked at the cliff then the house on the hill then back at the cliff. "They can't get into too much trouble. Can they?"

"You'd know best."

He shot her a panicked look.

"You go and tell them to stop."

"No. I'm going up to the house."

"So am I. You only have one derringer."

"Never stopped me before."

He sighed and dropped his shoulders.

"I'm not on a winning streak right now, am I?" He whined dejectedly.

"Not quite, but you know when to quit." She gave him an encouraging smile.

She did not see the expression of pure frustration which consumed him as she stepped past, then suddenly a thought occurred to him and his expression became angelic. He sauntered after Meryl.

Vash was enjoying himself by the time they reached the house, and he opened the gate for the short girl. She shot him a suspicious stare before entering the yard. She leaped back as a shot went off and sprayed grit over their ankles. He waited. Meryl raised her hands to yell, then inched over to him.

"Why are we here?" She hissed. Ah.

"Go and get the twins." He told her. Digging up a space ship? She thought that was a worry? He would go and join them when he was done here. He just did not want her there. Somehow she seemed to be all over his thoughts, and having her around threw him. Watching her trying to dig a hole that morning had almost caused him to burst a blood vessel with the effort of not laughing.

He caught her fist as she tried to punch his arm. She always seemed to forget how much she hurt herself when she hit the prosthetic.

Another bullet fired into the ground and he stepped forwards with his hands raised.

"I'm here to speak to Ella, I have a message from your sister Izzy!"

A silence followed, then a female voice called out, strained by the need to shout.

"I can hear you, say it!"

"No. I would speak to you face to face."

"And I would not. We are at an impasse, sir."

He took out his revolver and placed it carefully on the ground.

"I have put my gun down, I'm coming in."

Meryl was still following him. She did not even know the situation here, why was she so tenacious?

"Get back!" He hissed at her.

She missed a step, startled and he flung himself around, he threw up his arm to deflect the bullet and pushed her back with the other. The bullet stung against his left arm, but only tore his sleeve.

"Go!" He darted out of the guns range, hoping Meryl listened this time. Fifteen, then silence, the magazine was empty, he had a few seconds window to reach the house. He sprinted.