Chapter 00-39 Scars
[In this short chapter – Ayane makes a new friend]
Ayane stared out at the countryside flicking past the window she leaned against. She was in the furthest seat in the back sitting quietly and letting her mind drift along on a stream of random thoughts. She hugged her knees closer and listened to the sound of the wind rushing by her slightly opened window. The thin stream of air played in her hair and felt good on her face.
She could hear Trent snoring in the seat in front of her. A few seats ahead of him were Cahill and Boone. They were sitting very still and staring out of the window. Their faces were emotionless as they rocked gently to the swaying and rattling of the bus beneath them. Up in the front, she could hear Bass talking with Kyle. Their voices were soft so they wouldn't wake the others and blended into the background noises of the engine and the whistling of the wind.
Ayane was aware that someone somewhere, had been controlling and guiding the creatures that attacked them. Those people had not been found.
Most likely they ran when the bridge collapsed to avoid detection – but it's possible they're following us… I'll need to keep an eye out for that.
In the seat across the aisle from her was Ray. He seemed to be asleep, but his eyes were only half closed and he had been stealing fascinated glances at her. Ayane got up and moved over to his seat. As she headed over, she noticed how Ray's eyes shifted ever so slightly to the fully closed position as he continued to feign sleep. She smiled and rolled her eyes up briefly then plopped down right next to him.
"Ray."
"Hmmm? What –? Oh Annie… Hey, uh didn't see you come back here. What uh, whatta ya want?"
She threw her arm over the seatback in front of her and swiveled around to face him. Ray sat up straighter against the window he was leaning on and stared questioningly back at her.
"Can I talk to you about something?"
"Yeah – Sure."
"I want to thank you."
Ray was confused about that.
"Thank me… why?"
"For speaking up – when Murray wanted me dead. So… thanks."
Ray glanced down and nodded thoughtfully. He thought about Murray who was lying in the luggage compartment in the bottom of the bus all zipped up in a black body bag. Then his mind flicked over to Steve and Travis who were down there too. They were close to the blast and in a real mess. He and Trent practically had to scoop them into those bags. But the worst was Art. He was found out in the cement yard completely desiccated. There were puncture marks on his neck and abdomen where the spider creatures had literally sucked him dry. He looked like a 2000 year old mummy. Ray realized just how close they had come to the same fate.
The mere mention of Murray had caused all these thoughts to flash through his mind in the few instants it took him to look up at Ayane and answer.
"You're welcome. Shit, I should be thanking you – You saved us from those things. You did it even after we shot at you, blasted you with a grenade and then nearly executed you."
"You're welcome too… Don't worry about it."
Ayane swiveled putting her back against the seat in front of them and gazed out the rear window at the hills and farms that sailed off in the distance. Arching her neck slightly, she closed her eyes and turned her head slowly one way as far as it would go, then the other. When she stretched and turned towards Ray, he asked quietly…
"Hey Annie – you okay?"
"Yeah… I'm alright. But to stay loose, I have to stretch now – a lot. I've got more than a little damage left over from when I was Kouta's prisoner. Mainly neck and shoulder stuff."
"They hurt you pretty bad. Didn't they?"
"Yeah – wanna see somthing?"
She reached over with her opposite hand and unsnapped the button under her chin opening up her collar – pulling it away from her neck.
"Uh… well – that is I…"
Before Ray could even fully answer, Ayane unfastened the remaining snaps on her suit and unzipped it down to the waist. Then, she pulled it all the way back to reveal the entire left side of her chest and shoulder. At first he was stunned by her beauty as his eyes skimmed over her elegant and powerful body. Ray was entranced and couldn't believe that she would simply reveal so much without a hint of embarrassment or hesitation. As his eyes traveled up to her shoulder he saw the huge red scar just under her collarbone.
Whoa – shit!
It was then, that Ray's initial fascination with seeing her body gave way to something that transcended mere voyeurism. He realized at a deep level, that this was another warrior. A warrior who was honoring him by revealing this battle wound. His interest immediately switched tracks to one of admiration and respect.
"Whooo… Goddamn – Annie – that is one BAD-ass scar. What did it?"
"Nine inch long Ka-bar."
Ray shook his head and looked closer at the wound.
"No shit… Damn. How deep did it go?"
"I'll show you…"
Ayane pulled her left arm all the way out of her suit so she could roll it down and turned in her seat to show him her back. Under her shoulder blade there was another wide scar. Ray was incredulous –
"Shit – that's an...?"
"Yup. An exit wound. Blade went all the way through."
"Whoa – cool."
"Yeah – you should see the other guy."
Ray's eyes grew in admiration. Then he said excitedly –
"Hey Annie, check this out."
Bracing his back against the seat back, he lifted his butt off of the bench and undid his belt and slid his pants off as Ayane looked on curiously.
Along the inside of Ray's right thigh was a savage row of huge round scars that stretched up in a ragged line stopping just short of his groin.
Now it was Ayane's turn to be impressed.
"Wow – Ray – shit… How are you even still walking?"
"Sunuvabich stitched me up pretty good. Damn near thought I was gonna lose my leg."
Ayane looked closer at his wounds and her eyes narrowed. She could see what looked like faint burn scars in a ring around each wound.
"Ray – I – are those old powder burn markings? Shit – these were fired at really close range… what the hell happened?"
"Good eye – you don't miss much. Yeah - so, I was with a group in Kenya… some bullshit was going down around the 2012 elections and I was part of a team protecting the opposition leader, Odinga. Sounded simple enough – you know – quick money. Long fuckin' story short – RPG blew our SUV off the road. Odinga, bless his little heart, got away. But I woke up in a hut staked to a friggin' dirt floor with a dude standing over me holding a goddamn .357 Ruger Blackhawk."
Ray pointed to the first scar just above and to the left of his knee.
"That's how he introduced himself. He didn't say shit – just stuck the barrel an inch away and fired – with a big shit-eatin' grin on his face."
Ayane looked again at that first huge scar… then at Ray. She realized…
He needs to tell this story to someone – put these demons to rest.
She focused on Ray, listening with her head, heart and whole being to his every word.
Ray continued, but he was no longer on the bus, he was back in Kenya staked out on the dirt floor of that shack writhing in agony with a bullet hole in his leg.
"After I stopped screaming – yeah that's right – I screamed like a motherfucker – he introduced himself and his colleagues. Said he was 'Mr. Utubu' and his associates were 'Habeeb and Bisula Shabam.' I'll never forget those sons of bitches as long as I live… Mr. Utubu and the goddamn Shabam brothers. Before I could even ask him what he wanted – he fired again – right there."
Ray pointed to the next terrible scar a few inches up from the first.
"I must have passed out with the pain. But it couldn't have been for long because when I came around he was right there with the gun. I asked him what he wanted…"
Ayane continued to listen attentively as she pulled her sleeve back on and slipped her suit over her shoulder. Her genuinely concerned gaze made Ray feel reassured enough to continue his story.
"…he said that he only wanted to hear my screams. That's when Habeeb and Bizula went at it and beat the living shit out of me. When they brought me around, that fuck-head Utubu fired again and again – right there… and there."
He pointed to the two remaining scars as Ayane listened with a large, steady gaze.
"I was in hell. The pain was worse than anything I can describe. Annie – I was out of my mind."
Ayane touched him on the shoulder and said,
"That's four scars – but that kind of gun holds six shots – how did you get away?"
Ray took a deep breath and nodded. He was trying to keep his composure, maintain a healthy emotional distance from that time and place. But something felt… right – about talking. He looked at Ayane who was gazing back with compassion. There was no pity though. Zero. None what so ever – just a real, genuine understanding. The kind of understanding that can only come from a brother or sister in arms who's gone through the same kind of horrors. It gave him the courage to gut it out and finish his story.
"He grinned at me again like some demonic Cheshire Cat and said that the next shot was gonna blow my balls off. Then – the final bullet was gonna stay in the chamber while he and the fuckin' Shabam brothers watched me bleed to death."
Ray's mouth was dry and his throat was tightening involuntarily but he had come this far. He looked at Ayane and found the strength to finish his story.
"As the Shabam brothers stepped back laughing – Mr. Utubu knelt between my legs and shoved the barrel of his gun up against my nutsack… It wasn't pretty Annie – I was broken. Soaking in my own piss – begging and crying and pleading and you name it – I would have given up Moses, the Pope, Jesus Christ and the friggin' president just to be out of that situation – but it was when I heard that hammer go back… something popped in my mind and my body kicked into another gear."
Ray slid his pants back up and fastened his belt as he continued.
"I somehow ripped out the stake that was pinning my right hand to the ground and drove the fucker right through that sadistic ass-hole's skull. How he didn't pull the trigger is one of those magic little Christmas motherfuckin' miracles I'll never be able to explain. Then those dickheads – the Shabam brothers jumped up and started running over to me, but I had the gun now with two shots left. I didn't even think – it was just one for Bizula and the other for Habeeb – practically blew their fucking heads off – brains everywhere."
They sat in silence. Ray stared ahead as Ayane watched him thoughtfully. Then finally he spoke.
"You know, after the whole thing was over… and I was found nearly dead by friendly forces who got me patched up and saved my leg… All I could think about was how I failed. How I cried and begged… Annie, I would have done anything – traded anything to be out of that situation. When I should have felt great about killing those bastards – I realized that I was just an animal who wanted to survive at any cost – any cost… and in the end, all I really felt was… shame."
Ayane regarded Ray quietly for a few moments, then spoke gently but with a depth of conviction that drew his attention like a magnet…
"Ray, you honor me with your story. There is no shame in being human. There is only so much pain, horror and hopelessness a person can take before they shatter. And although you were pushed beyond your limit and broken – you still found a way – found the strength to prevail."
Ayane looked out the back window for a moment, then turned back to Ray and took his hand firmly with both of hers.
"I do not ever say these words lightly, but… I would be proud to call you my friend. Ray, will you be my friend?"
Shaking her hands vigorously, Ray was touched.
"Annie, I don't know what to say except, thank you and – sure – I'd be proud to call you my friend too."
Then he added softly, "Hey – you want to tell me how you got that shoulder wound?"
Holding his hands, Ayane smiled at him and said, "Okay. But before I do, we have to get something straight. Seeing as we're friends and all… the first thing you need to know is how to pronounce my name."
