Yosemite
Chapter 4
I embrocates the lotion on Naria's skin as she lays in the tent on some soft quilts, and Rota acts indifferent to the little Irathient child. I don't know how I kept her so healthy when she suffers from the same affliction, because with the way she treats me, I feel all alone trying to keep Naria healthy. The bumps are all over her forehead, neck, chest, and back. I check her legs, but they are bumpless. She looks frail, absolutely ready to break laying on the grass on terrorforming ground under the shade of my military tent. She's warm, but has the chills. She shakes. I think she's doing badly, but Rota doesn't seem to care, and this isn't an Irathient thing. Something is wrong with my beloved, and I don't know what it is. But since Rota suffers from an attitude problem, Naria is my only concern, at least my only major concern. She isn't crying or anything like that, but her breathing is labored. I can see that, and I'm thinking about taking her to the Votanis Collective.
The heat and humidity is something I can barely withstand, and I know it's killing Naria in her condition. I give a white cloth to Rory, and I ask her to wet it for me. She pours some water on it, and hands it back. I keep the cool cloth on Naria's head to keep her cool. I take her temperature, and it's nearly one hundred and three degrees. She looks up at me with her big, round green eyes, and I see tears rolling down her face. I feel badly because I'm afraid I'm going to lose her, and my girlfriend isn't giving the situation her attention. I pop the bottle of fever reducing medicine, and give her two. She flushes it down with a cool glass of water, and Rory stands on the other side of the tent venting.
"What the fuck, Daddy?" Rory asks. She has her hands on her hips, and ask, "Why isn't Rota helping?"
"Don't know. All I know is if I don't do everything to keep her alive, I won't forgive myself," I say.
Ion gathers food, and Rory sits in the corner of the tent near the weapons. She reads in silence, and is teaching the Irathient boy English. He's a quick learner, but he gravitates to words like kill, guns, and bows. All he thinks about is hunting on the daily, and he always returns with something to eat. He stands apart from the rest of us since his sister has the pox. I explain to him that she's infectious, and the disease is deadly-in many cases-to Irathients. He understands, and eats near the river. I examine Ion's face, eyebrows are thick and coarse, but straight and orange, the space between them are the closest it can be without touching. His eyes are large, round and green, and with a small twitch in the right one, and when life is better, I will take him to the Votanis Collective to have them examine him.
It's hot. The temperature gauge in the roller reads one hundred and five degrees, but I don't think it's that hot. Rory develops an acute aversion to clothing, and she won't respond to, "Please put on some clothes." She runs around in her bra and panties, and when I say something, she snaps back with, "What's the difference between this and a two piece bathing suit?" She runs down to the river wearing her tennis shoes, and jumps into it. Surprisingly, she has never said, "You aren't my father," but I expect her to say it at some point. Though very adultlike in attitude, Rory has a child's body, and Rota will need to convey the importance of keeping it covered when in this chaotic world.
Rory's the fairest of all the kids, and she's like a milky, pasty white, the kind of white that burns easily, and when the temperature spikes above ninety degrees, she pukes from sun sickness. I tell her to spend no more than thirty minutes at a time in the sun, but she's defiant about it. The next day I embrocate the lotion on her back, and she puts it on the rest of her body. I put some rules in place, and the number one rule is everybody uses the sunscreen and bug repellent without complaints, and that includes me.
Rory knows about the bands of ravenous, uncontrollable soldiers raping the countryside, but she doesn't seem to care. I talk about keeping on the lookout for strangers in the area because I hear about child sex markets popping up next to army bases all over the world. It's hard to divorce fact from fiction in the stories because of the fear that plagues us. I think Rory cares, but sometimes she jokes about letting soldiers kidnap her under certain conditions.
"If they got ice, I'll probably go with them," she says. I just look at her like she's crazy.
"There are more important things in the world than ice," I say.
The ground vibrates, and I run into the tent for Naria. I almost stumble to the ground because of the quaking. I pull her out into the hot sun until the ground stops shaking, and I hear things falling over inside the tent. I have Naria in her blanket because I don't want the sun beaming down on her bumpy skin. I give her two fever reducing pills, and she falls asleep in my arms.
"Rory!" I yell for her, and she screams back.
"What?"
"Come here," I say, "I need your help."
She runs to me in her bra and panties, and they are stretched-worn. I grab a bath towel from my roller's trunk, and hand it to Rory.
"What's this?" She asks.
"Wet it," I say, "I need it to keep Naira cool because that face towel isn't doing the job."
Rota sits at the picnic table, but isn't participating in anything at this point. She sits quietly as the ground trembles, and it doesn't jolt her out of her daze. When we first arrive, she seems okay, but after Plywood attacks us, she isn't the same. I don't know why she can't differentiate between killing in self-defense and murder. It's a big difference, but she says it all goes against her principles of nonviolence. She seems to ignore us as we're discussing about wetting the towel, and Rory scowls at her.
Rory's frustrated, and looks directly at Rota. "It would be nice if you had a wife."
"Rory!" I say. I don't know why I think Rota is going to react, but she doesn't. She sits at the picnic table quietly as if she doesn't see or hear us.
"Just saying," she says, "I don't mind helping my father, but we have ONE person not pulling their weight." Rory runs to the river with the towel, and I can tell she's frustrated.
When I kill Plywood Heller, it changes Rota, and I'm seeing it now. She's distant. When I touch her, she flinches. I talk to her, but she doesn't answer. She wanders around the area in a daze, and then Rory snaps. She hands me the towel, and starts pleading with Rota.
"Snap out of this, Rota," she says. She's clapping in front of her, and then Rota grabs her hands.
"That's rude," Rota says.
Rota scowls at her, and walks over to the river, and I tell Ion to keep an eye on her; she's having a breakdown, and I don't know exactly what to do. It's shameful. Rota's worn; she's barely herself, and in a matter of a day, she's weaker than Naria. I could take her back to the commune, but that's not reachable because of the terraforming. Much of Oklahoma is completely changed, and now there are mountains all over the place. I never thought death and weakness are tragedies, but when humankind suffers mass death and mass weakness because of her own stupidity, the tragedy is immeasurable. If Rota leaves me, I'm in this world alone, at least as far as my social status is concerned. We no longer have the safety of Yosemite when it comes to our mixed reunion. I have nobody that understands us. There's a definitive line that society draws in the sand when it comes to human and Votan relationships, and it is indefensible to millions to cross it.
Rory heads back to the river, and Rota sleeps next to the water. I give Naria some more pills, and she drinks plenty of water. She isn't sweating, and that's a problem. I sit her back in the tent, and she lies down on the quilt. It's only January the tenth, and it's hotter than the end of July. There isn't a breeze at all. Naria sits back up, drinks the entire bottle of water, and lies back down on the ground. I feel good about that, but I'm still ripe with worry. She breaks out in a normal sweat, and that pleases me. Her temperature goes down a bit, but I don't think she's better. The medicines are working, but I know if she throws up, I have to rush her to the doctor's office. In Iraths, the pox is turning deadly when the afflicted throws up.
"Rota!" I exclaim. She lies at the bottom of the hill, and doesn't pay me any attention. I run to see her, but she lies on the ground like she doesn't hear me. Rory sits on the other side of the river in her panties and bra, and watches me. Her hair is wet and she sits with her legs cross, and looks drab, but attentive.
"Is she sick?" Rory screams from the other side.
I lean over her, and she stares at me, but it's an empty stare.
"Just let me be, Derrick," Rota says in a soft voice. Tears roll down her face. "Shouldn't have left Yosemite with you."
"What are you saying?" I ask.
"The violence, living off the land, and raising all these kids isn't what I want," she says, "Now I'm pregnant. What kind of place is this to raise our family, Derrick Shooty."
I'm excited for a moment until I realize that she's experiencing depression. How does she think we can escape the violence of a changing world? With each battle, with each terraforming change, and with each person that crosses our path, we are at risk of death. Hellbugs, one of the newest arrivals to the Earth could feed on us in our sleep, and they're everywhere. I sit next to her, and feel her forehead, but she seems normal. She stares at me with her green eyes, but there isn't any feeling in them. She's blank faced with an attitude. "This is a new world," I say, "It's our world."
"I don't want it," she snaps, "Any of it. I want to rip this thing out of me, and run back to Yosemite."
Even though I love Rota, I leave her by the river to wallow in her feelings because she's angered me. I'm hurt so badly that I can't think normally. I want to scream at the top of my lungs, but I don't want the children to see that; but at the same time, I can't allow them to see a teardrop roll from my eyes. I stand over her for a moment, and say calmly, "Do whatever." She chooses to get pregnant because as of late, she wraps her legs around me when I try to pull out of her during my climax when we have sex. She tells me that she wants a baby, and I don't fight her on it. I want a baby to; so when she says that she hates what's in her, I can't help but be hurt by it.
"I will," she says.
Ion returns to the campsite with a bundle of rabbits, and skins them about twenty feet from Rota, and she continues to lie next to the river. He pays her not a bit of attention, and I feel it's the right thing to do. I carry Naria into the woods, and she relieves herself, and then says, "Aizob!" That translates to "Done!" I carry her back to the tent, and place her under the quilt. She runs a little fever, but it isn't time for her medicine. I give her some more water, and she drinks voraciously. At this time, I see no reason to pay attention to Rota until she decides where she wants to be.
Naria hands me the water, and says, "Ahiha." That translates to "Thank you."
"Na inyee soya?" I ask. It translates to "Are you okay?"
"Me. Ooduka Nia." she says. That translate to "No. I am sick."
I look in the pill bottle, and I don't have many fever reducing pills left, and if Naria's going to pull through, I need plenty of medicine. Down the hill, I see Rory and Ion skinning the rabbits, and she's only wearing her under clothes. Ion wears shorts with no shirt, and some worn tennis shoes. It's hot. It's over one hundred degrees, and it's January the tenth. I grab some fallen tree branches next to our campsite, and start a fire in an old barbecue pit. Ion and Rory walk over with the rabbits, and place them on the fire. I'm turning them with a stick, and the smell permeates through the forest.
"I don't know what's going on with Rota," Rory says, "She's acting crazy." She sits on the park bench looking down the hill at Rota. "She wants to go back."
"Yeah. Nothing I can really do about that," I say, "We have to be tolerant."
Rota drives me crazy, and she has a lot of problems-anything that has to do with the real world. Ion continues to turn the meat, and Rory and I walk down the hill to be with Rota. She lies on the ground like her feet don't work, and I'm tired of it. For an entire day, she has laid in the hot sun, and her skin is bright red. I sit beside Rota and Rory stands by her feet.
"Get up," I say, "It's way too hot. You're going to end up dehydrated and sick." I place my left hand underneath her body, and gently raise her up.
"Just let me die," she says in her whiny voice. "I'm tired."
Rota stands up, walks slowly up the hill, and Rory and I walk behind her. Her backside is dirty from laying on the ground the majority of the day, and I see that she's visibly sunburned. She goes into the tent, and sits in the far right corner, but doesn't say anything to anybody. I know why she's acting crazy, and it has to do with the guns. The weapons turn her stomach, and she can barely take it. She isn't capable of understanding why weapons are needed in a hostile world. I walk into the tent, and sit beside her for a moment.
"The kids need you," I say, "It's time to adult."
She stares at the guns, and say, "Can you store those in the roller?"
"All but one," I say, "We need something for protection."
She sighs. "I can learn to live with one."
Rory darts into the tent, and says, "That's crazy. We need those weapons."
"It's okay, Rory. We can make due with one."
Rory storms off, and then sticks her head back into the tent. "It was a gun that kept soldier boy from chopping off your head," she says.
After I place all the guns back into the roller's trunk, we enjoy a meal of rabbits. Ion eats next to the river because I don't want him anywhere near Naria. She's puny, but after I give her some more medicines, her fever breaks. She's enjoying her rabbit, and tearing into it like she hasn't eaten all day. Rory sits on the end of the table, and chomps on her rabbit, but doesn't want to look at Rota who isn't eating, but sits quietly opposite of me.
"Are you going to eat?" I ask. I hand her a rabbit, but she doesn't want it. Her face is so red that I know she's running a slight fever from it. "You have to snap out of this funk, Rota."
"I'm glad we're not in Yosemite," Rory interjects, "This is a kill or be killed world. No time to be a pacifist."
I realize the goal is to see how these two titans, Rota and Rory, can live in the same tent. I see now that they hate each other on every level. "We're family."
"I didn't sign up for that," Rota interjects.
"You're confusing me, Rota," I say, "Rory, Ion, and Naria are a package deal." I sit in front of Rota, and she crying, and all I can think is what is wrong with her. She's losing her mind. "You can leave," I say, "I'll return you to Yosemite."
"That's not what I want," she says.
"Really? 'Cause it sure does sound like you want to jump ship," Rory says softly. She places the bones in the trash, looks back at Rota. "I thought you loved us. My heart hurts. Maybe nobody else will say it, but I'm disappointed."
Rota places her head on the table, and says, "I'm sorry, Derrick. I just miss my home."
"It's only been a few days," I say, "We're at your home. All of us."
"I know. But I know there's no returning to Yosemite," she laments.
My feelings, which I keep hidden, which is the reason Rota feels alone, is what I need to show at this very moment. "I love you, Rota. I do. I need you by my side, so we can raise these kids into strong adults." I walk around the table, and hug her. Rory hugs her too, and so does Naria. Rota cries so hard that I think she's going to pass out on the table. I speculate in my mind on why she's in so much pain, but I don't know for sure. Maybe it's the guns or all the kids or because we left Yosemite, and if I have to guess, I say it's a combination of everything.
Suddenly, Naria throws up all over the ground, and passes out into my arms. I grab her, and rush her to my vehicle because this is a major problem with Iraths and the pox. I grab the shotgun, place it next to me, and Rota hops in the passenger seat.
"Ion!" I scream for the boy, and he runs up the hill.
"Yes," he says.
"I'm taking your sister to the Votanis Collective for treatment," I say. I pull out two of the Volge weapons, and give them to Rory and Ion. "Trust no one."
"Yes, sir," Rory says.
The landscape of Arkansas changes overnight, and I don't recognize anything. I know the Votanis Collective has a base approximately ten miles away, and they have several Indogene doctors who can assist me with Naria. She's so red, so hot, and so weak, and if I don't get her help, she will be so dead. I think she's getting better, but that's not how the disease works in Irathients. If they make it without throwing up all over the place, then they're usually out of danger; but as soon as they throw up, it means the disease is winning. The child sits strapped in the backseat, but I can tell she can barely keep her eyes open. With all the arguing between Rota and I, I must have missed the signs. I'm afraid for her, but Rota is calm. She's telling Naria that everything will be okay.
It takes us about ten minutes to find the alien base, and there are Irathients, Indogenes, and Castithans everywhere. It reminds me of Mexico, and when they see me, they immediately stop me from entering the base with my weapons. I take Naria out the backseat, and an Indogene doctor named Meh Yewll meets me at the shack. She grabs the child, and rushes her to the infirmary that sits next to the front gate. I hop back in the roller, and park it in the parking lot that's near the shack-approximately five hundred feet from it. Rota and I enter through the checkpoint with our IDs, and a young guard escorts us to the medical facility. Doctor Yewll puts Naria inside of a large tank filled with a clear jelly like liquid, and she has tubes coming out of face.
"Your daughter should have been in here yesterday," Doctor Yewll says. She wears her utilitarian dress with so many pockets that I think the designer is crazy. "This pox is deadly to Irathients. She looks at Rota for a moment, and says, "I need to do some scans on you too."
"How come?" Rota ask.
"'Cause I see you've recently had a pox spell," she says, "You could be a carrier."
I sit in the waiting area, and a slew of aliens walk in and out of the infirmary until one of them seems to know me. It's an older Irathient with braided hair, a male, and he looks around fifty something. When he sees me, he says, "Devil." His eyes are wide, and I mean wide as in a state of shock. Beads of sweat pour off his head. I can tell he's distraught over my face.
"Do I know you?" I ask.
He stumbles backwards, and falls on the ground. Rota walks back into the room, and kisses me on the lips, and says, "I'm not a carrier."
"I hope Irzu curses you for being with that devil," the Irathient says. He sits across from me, and Rota is shocked.
"How dare you?" Rota asks.
"Do you know who he is?" He asks.
"Shut up," I say.
"He slaughtered my whole tribe in Mexico," he says, "Gunned them down like dogs."
"That's not true," Rota says, "Derrick, tell him?"
I look down at the ground for a moment, and the Irathient is seething. I look over at Rota, and I see the worry in her face.
"I was a soldier," I say.
"Oh my God!" She says. Rota stands up, and faces me. "Yes. You were a soldier, but.."
"An elite soldier," I say, "Trained to kill."
"You say you love me. You say you love Ion and Naria. How is this if you're killing us?" She asks.
"The military gave me bogus info," I say, "And it played into my biases." I look at the Irathient man sitting across from me. "I thought your people kidnapped an American ambassador. I was ordered to bring her back at all cost."
"But why did you kill my people?" He ask.
"One of your people killed one of my men, and the situation escalated," I say, "I went back to my base thinking I did the right thing. Later my commanding officer told me there was never a kidnapped ambassador."
Rota sobs loudly. "You never told me this."
"I know. I immediately resigned my commission," I say, "And moved to Yosemite."
The Irathient shakes his head in disagreement. "Did you feel anything?"
"Yeah. Until this day I'm haunted by what I did to your people," I say, "I've tried to make amends for that day, but I realize that I can't."
Rota sits on the other side of the room, and says, "I can't with you on this, Derrick. This is too much. Do you even love me?" She's crying, and I feel bad about it. She's not looking at me at this point.
"With all my heart," I say.
"I feel like you've lied to me," she says.
A nurse brings Naria out, and her hair is wet from the gel, but she looks healthy. She runs up to me, hugs me, and says, "Ahiha."
"Vadica, inyee shopa?" I ask. That translates to "You feel better?"
"Thei," she says. That translates to "Yes."
I sign some documents, and that is all I have to do for Naria's treatment, and when I leave out the building, I turn to the Irathient, and say, "Oshea, Nia. Efargay inyani finkicki, Ni geeta sho," I say. That translates to "I'm sorry. I will never forget your tribe."
The Irathient cries a little, and says, "I hate you, Derrick Shooty. I always will."
Later that day…
Rota retreats to the tent, and says she needs time to think to herself, and after the revelation she just had, I don't argue with her. She sits in her far right corner, and doesn't speak at all. I realize that this is going to be a steady event in our relationship, and I'm trying to think of how I'm going to stop it from happening. I take Rory's and Ion's guns, and she's upset about it, but I don't want her carrying weapons for no reason. She wants to carry it everywhere like a soldier, but I tell her that's dangerous and not necessary. I place the weapon in the tent, and tell her it's for emergencies only. I take Ion's gun, and put it in the trunk of my car, and then I look at him for a moment, and say, "I'm taking you to the doctor's office."
"Why?" He ask.
"Rota and Naira had the pox and survived," I say, "Maybe you won't be so lucky."
"What will the doctor do?" He ask.
"Give you something to stop it before it starts," I say.
He hops into the passenger seat, and I jump in the driver's seat. I don't know where Naria and Rory are until they run right up to the vehicle.
"Where y'all going?" Rory ask.
"To get Ion checked out by the doctor," I say.
"Pick me up a bathing suit?" She asks, "A nice two piece."
"Me too?" Naria asks.
Rota walks out of the tent, and says, "Maybe we should all go into town. It will be a family day." She looks unbelievably happy in spite of the earlier revelation, and to be honest, I thought she would pack her clothes, take off down the road, and risk a hellbug attack instead of staying with me.
"Really?" Rory ask. Her grin is from ear to ear because we haven't left the area since we arrived. She stands next to the vehicle in her white bra and panties, and she bounces up and down with joy. I haven't seen her this happy since she changes her name, and it's a joy. She runs into the ten, and grabs her clothes.
"Why not?" Rota says, "We need to spend more time as a family."
I take Ion to the doctor's office, and Rota spends some time with the girls. They're buying hygiene products and summer clothes. The Votanis Collective's base takes up a few blocks, and it's teeming with soldiers. I immediately notice that thousand-miles stare is in their eyes too. In my younger days, I wonder if they have souls, and that's why it is so easy to slaughter them, but their faces are like all soldiers of war: lines of misery. Every soldier of these Pale Wars wears the face of misery, and if I didn't know any better, I think the terraforming is god's punishment. I look over at Ion sitting quietly next to me, and I think how did we deny such a beautiful people admittance to our planet.
Now all I can do is think our boys and girls are dying too young, and our planet is sick of it. It hurts that we took such an adamant stance against the Votans, when they offer so much science and technology to our world. Doc Yewll calls us back, and she takes some of Ion's blood, and his eyes are wide open at this point.
"Your son needs the same shots I gave your daughter," Doc Meh Yewll says, "It's like they just arrived."
"Will all these shots make him safer?" I ask.
"Yes," she says, "Normally Iraths don't take kindly to shots."
"He's a warrior," I say.
"Aren't they all?" She asks.
It's obvious that family has happened to me, and maybe this family is a result of my guilt; but whatever the reason is for my family, I'm thankful. We walk out of the doctor's office with a clean bill of health, and I'm thankful for that. The ladies are still shopping in the Bazaar, and Ion and I browse the area. There are so many people roaming in and out of the Bazaar that I don't see Rota, and because of safety reasons, I'm searching for her. The Bazaar is on the outside of the base, in the left corner, and it has a Gentlemen's club called "Busy Booties." It has a huge sign across the front of it with blinking lights. Irathient soldiers enter into the building and some of them come out of it. Three Irathient women approximately twenty something stand outside the bar in salacious garb, and I cover Ion's face when we walk by.
"Dad!" He says.
The Bazaar is bustling, and it is full of humans selling cheaply made trinkets, and every now and again, I see a Castithan tucked between two humans. There's some Irathient vendors, but they're in the back-almost out of sight. The smell of hellbug meat draws my attention, and I head for it. Ion walks around the corner to a young couple selling roasted hellbug meat, and it permeates throughout the Bazaar. They have a black kid with them in the rear of the booth reading. They are well groomed Irathients with braids, and fine clothes. The woman's long braids are beautifully orange, and her skin isn't beaten by the ailments. The young black kid is no more than five possibly six, and his hair is braided like his Irathient mothers.
The Irathient lady says, "Two for two." She looks directly at me, and I walk over to her booth. She's a beautiful woman: slender but curvy with a flat stomach. I reach into my right pocket, and pull out some script, and pay for the hellbug sandwiches. We sit at some tables in front of the boothe, and the man keeps looking at me. I try ignoring his stares because I'm already familiar with his pain. His hair is groomed; his countenance leaves nothing for the imagination because it's one of anger and stress. Though he's well-built, I can tell he likes the liquor, and he carries himself like he hits the sauce first thing in the morning. I keep eating my sandwich, but Ion immediately notices the man's gaze, and he's startled.
"Why is he looking at you like that?" He asks.
"Don't worry about it," I say, "Just eat your sandwich."
Ion pulls up his pants leg, and pulls out his blade. He places it on the table in front of me, and says, "Soldiers have to soldier." The knife sits there for a second, and then I slip it into my right pocket. I have to use tact in this situation because I don't want a fight, but at the same time, I am obligated to protect my family.
The Irathient slowly walks over to the table, and I hear the lady say, "Irocuz, Miat es tiani?" She asks. Her lips turn downwards, and fraught with fear. Her words translate to "Irocuz, what's wrong?"
"I'm looking at the Devil," he says. His eyes are wide-eyed, and fearful. He looks like he can't believe what he's seeing. "The Devil of Olmec, Mexico," he says with a guttural tone.
I immediately take our food, and toss it in the trash receptacle next to my table, and Ion has a conniption over it.
"Dad? I wasn't finished," he says, "I only got two good bites. Damn!"
"We have to go," I say.
"It's you!" Irocuz screams. His eyes are filled with tears. He lumbers over to me. "I drink myself to sleep praying Irzu killed you." He snarls.
"Irocuz, don't start anything," the woman says, "That was a long time ago."
"Keep out of it, Iroza," he snaps. He looks back at his worried wife, and says, "This guy is the devil incarnate." He looks at me, and points. "How does the bad always survive the longest?"
"Daddy," the little boy says.
"It's okay, Tommy," he says, "It's okay. There won't be any trouble, son." He looks at me. "You're a disgusting person."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," I say. I'm on edge because I don't want to hurt the man, but I'm willing to do what I have to do to protect myself and Ion. At the same time, I don't want anything to happen in front of his wife, and child. I just want to back out of the Bazaar with my son.
"I ran into the bush as you slaughtered my people," he says. I see the pain in his face, and I feel badly because I know I'm the cause. "We did nothing to you."
"I know," I say, "My government set up your people. I was young, capricious, and full of prejudices, and I truly thought your people were involved in the kidnapping."
"Excuses!" He screams.
"The government lied to me," I say, "I resigned my commission when I found out."
Ion looks up at the man, and says, "My father is good people. I promise."
"All I have in the world is my family," I say, "And I promise to raise them right."
Rota, Rory, and Naria walk over to me, and Rota hugs me. They have a lot of bags in their hands. "What's the problem?"
"So, this is your family?" Irocuz ask.
"Yes," I say, "I wish I could turn back time, and redo that day. I promise you I would do it differently."
"You've brought my people so much pain," he says, "All the Iraths in this town came up from Olmec."
"I know. And I hope your people can forgive me someday," I say, "It's hard living with this mistake. It's even harder when living in a world without forgiveness."
"I can forgive you," he says, "Maybe one day, but not today. Maybe you can find solace with your fellow soldiers."
"The majority have passed," I say, "I might be the only one left."
My family and I walk over to our roller, and I look back to see a Castithan man gawking at me, and it made me nervous. He's a tall, pasty skin man with a drab looking face. His hair is scraggly looking and white as snow. He's poor. His clothes are in tatters, and his eyes are red. He looks familiar, but at this point, I'm paranoid because too many people recognize me. By the time we make it back to our campsite, I don't know what to think about the situation. Ion didn't say anything the whole trip, and now he's down by the river fishing. I sometimes wonder if Ion fully understands what's happening in the Bazaar, and if he did, would he trust me. The girls are in the tent trying on their clothes, but Ion isn't into that stuff. He's not worried about his style, and he doesn't care about fashion at all. I see him pull a huge catfish out of the water, and he immediately cleans it on the bank. He brings it up to me, and looks happy about it.
"Let's fire up the grill," I say. I fake my enthusiasm over the fish because I think about the way that Castithan man looks at me. It's obvious he stares at me because I've wronged him in some way. I think back while I am in the military, and remember that I kill two Castithan guards, and when I did it, I did it to prove my strength. I have no reason to kill those men, and I should be ashamed to show my face in public. I remember his kid saying he will kill me one day as he cries over his father. I take so much from those kids, and even though it happens nearly ten years ago, it's still fresh on my mind.
"Yes, sir," he says, "It nearly hopped in my lap, that one."
I scrounge around for some loose wood, and find a few good branches, and chop them up with no problem. Ion cleans the grill, and I'm thinking the girls should be involved in the food preparation, but they're trying on their new clothes. I place the wood in the pit, light it, and wait for a good flame. Ion cuts the fish into chunks, and places them on the grill. It's about four o'clock in the afternoon, and we only have about ninety minutes of sunlight left. I walk around to the rear of the tent, and I realize that I can't see the actual road from my location. If I attack a man and his family, I would probably take them under the cover of darkness. The kids play all over the area at any given time, and I know there are bad people in the area.
The ground quakes underneath my feet, and I nearly fall to the ground. Mountains of rocks grow in front of me, and it's a major landmass shift. A mountain grows where the road is, and it might be harder to maneuver out of the area. The girls run out of the tent wearing their new clothes, and as soon as Rory exists the tent, the entire thing falls to the ground. A sea of dust pops in the air, and something is happening on the other side of the street.
I turn on the roller's radio, and the Votanis Collective discusses that several major changes will take place over the next few days. They mention that the Earth swallows Missouri and Kansas, and millions are feared dead, and my heart sinks into my chest. The thought of millions dead feels surreal. It's like I'm in a dream world. I'm not sure how to digest so many deaths.
Radio Broadcast:
"Do not enter into Kansas or Missouri at this time. The areas were hit by a catastrophic event, and millions are feared dead. The National Guard in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and New Mexico are deployed to the location."
End Broadcast: