Surviving the Fog (36 page)

"Did Tyler do as good a job as everyone says,
or are they trying to make me think he did?" she asked, as she
wiped their table.

"If your Chief would let me have him, I'd
sign him up in a minute," the Major replied.

"That girl at the Brown's place sure thought
he was something," the Lieutenant said.

Gabby stiffened.  "Which one?" she
demanded, her eyes narrowing.  "Kylie or Paige?"

"Um... I think her name was, uh, Star,"
Kennedy answered with a smirk.

Gabby gaped, and then she huffed and walked
away.  Collins frowned at Kennedy.

Kennedy started laughing.  "I'm sorry,
Sir," he choked out between guffaws.  "I just couldn't help
it."

Major Collins saw Desi and a young man
standing in the buffet line.  The young man had his arm around
her ample waist.  Hector and Kathy waited behind them.  A
boy came into the dining hall, and he sat down across from the
officers.  He did not speak, but he nodded to them.
 Soon, the two couples had their plates, and they sat at the
table with the officers.  A young woman came by, and she
placed a plate with bread and a plastic glass of milk in front of
the boy.  The bread was buttered and cut into squares.
 The young woman sat next to the boy.

"Why do you rate such special service,
Jacob?" the young man with Desi complained.

Jacob looked up at John, mystified.  "I
don't know," he replied.

Kathy and Desi laughed, and Lily smiled
demurely as John grumbled under his breath.  While the
officers lingered over their meal, the others ate and left.
 Gabby came by again as she was wiping tables.
 Lieutenant Kennedy noticed an Asian-American girl enter the
room.  His eyes widened.

"Wow," he said softly.

"Oh, her," said Gabby.  "That's Yuie.
 She's the Chief's, 'Special Friend’." She made quote marks in
the air with her fingers.

Kennedy scowled.  "I see," he said.
 Gabby walked away with a naughty, satisfied smile on her
face.

The officers finished eating breakfast.
 They went back to the Lodge and made their beds, military
style.  Then, to their surprise, Desi told them that they had
been bumped to the head of the shower line.

"We can wait our turn," the Major stammered,
not meaning it a bit.

"No, you guys go ahead," Desi said.
 "These stinking boys can wait."

"Hey!" a nearby group of outraged boys
chorused.

The shower was heaven.  Ten minutes went
by too fast, but while it lasted, it was wonderful.  Back in
their rooms, Major Collins stared at the Lieutenant in stunned
amazement.

"They have hot showers," Collins stated
reverently.

"Uh, you know, Major, my term of enlistment
is almost over.  I was thinking of asking Tyler to recommend
me for a job here," Lieutenant Kennedy said.

"El, oh, el," was the sarcastic reply from
the Major.

The surprised Lieutenant’s eyes widened.
 “I didn’t think that you even knew what that meant, Sir,” he
said.

“I use the internet,” protested the Major
with a frown. “Or at least I used to.”

There was a knock on the door, and when the
Major opened it, Tyler said, "The Chief wants to see you, if you're
ready."

The officers went down to Chief's
Headquarters and found Mike inside, seated at his desk.

"Good morning," Mike said.  "Our Council
meeting will start in a few minutes, but before that I want to
explain a few rules we have here in Petersburg."

Mike mentioned several rules of Petersburg
including those concerning sex.  Lieutenant Kennedy was
outraged.

"I can't believe you think we need a lecture
from you on sexual protocol.  Especially, since the rules
apparently don't apply to you."

"Lieutenant," the Major said sternly.

Mike held up a hand.  "Wait, please," he
said to the Major, and then to the Lieutenant he asked.  "What
do you mean?"

"I know that even though you are not sixteen
yet, the girl named ‘Yuie’ is your 'Special Friend’," the
Lieutenant sneered.

Mike gaped at him in astonishment, and then
he burst out laughing.  A moment later Yuie knocked and
entered the room.

"Hey, Yuie," Mike said, collecting
himself.

"Hey, Chief," said Yuie
wondering,
what’s so
funny
?

"Yuie, guess what?  Lieutenant Kennedy,
here, says that someone told him you're doing it with me," Mike
said.

"What?" Yuie exclaimed.  She turned to
Kennedy.  “Who told you that bullshit?”

"Conned again," murmured Major Collins.

"Oh, boy," Kennedy muttered.

"I'm sorry," he added hastily.  "I must
have misheard or maybe I misunderstood."

Yuie glared at him.  "Military pig," she
mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Now that’s settled," said Mike.  "I
want you to understand, that I tell these rules to everyone.
 It's not just you."

"Understood," the Major replied. “And those
are good rules.  I have similar rules at our post.”
 Kennedy nodded, and he gave Mike and Yuie an apologetic
smile.

The rest of the Council arrived, and Mike
allowed the officers to witness the Council meeting.  Hector
talked about his plan to build a sawmill.  John reported on
the status of the patrols.  Yuie, with a sniff in Kennedy's
direction, reported that Diana and Imee were settling in nicely,
and that Diego was healthy.  Diana had suggested that she give
a physical examination to everyone in the village, and the Council
agreed to accept her offer.

“We’re getting refugees from the Retreat,”
Mike noted.  “Does anyone have any ideas on that?”

They discussed the Retreat for a few minutes,
but there was no consensus on what to do.  When asked, Major
Collins agreed that the situation at the Retreat was serious, and
he said that he would consult with his people when he got back to
his base.  Lieutenant Kennedy explained that much of the
Ranger’s munitions had been expended during the rescue of the
children.  There were other reports before the Council meeting
came to an end.

Then Mike suggested that the officers observe
a disciplinary hearing.  A boy and two girls were brought into
Chief’s Headquarters.  The boy was accused of deliberately
urinating on a toilet seat.  The two girls had reported
him.

"I went in first, Chief," the first girl
said. "And when I left, I made sure that everything was clean.
 Then he went in."

"And after he left, I went in," said the
second girl.  "There was piss all over the toilet seat.
 It was deliberate."

The boy smothered a laugh.  "It was an
accident," he said.

Mike asked the girls to leave, and then he
turned to the boy.

"This is the second time you’ve been in here
for this offense,” he said.  “What the hell is wrong with
you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me," the boy said
insolently.  "The girls just like to complain."

Silently, Mike stared at him for a long time.
 Gradually, the boy’s indifferent smile left his face.
 He grew nervous.  He glanced at the unsmiling
officers.

"I wonder, Major, if you can find a place for
this person at your post?" Mike asked.

The Major exploded.  He slammed his hand
down on the desk.  The boy gasped and jumped back.

"Yeah, I've got a place for this shithead,"
the Major stated loudly.  "In the bottom of a shithole.
 Let me have him.  I'll teach him what it's like to clean
a latrine from the bottom, up."

"No!" the alarmed boy squeaked. "Don't let
him have me, Chief.  Please!  I’ll be good.  I'll
never do it again, I swear, Chief, I swear."  He cringed away
from the still growling Major.

"Give 'em to me, Chief!" the Major begged,
practically slavering.  The terrified boy thought he saw drool
dripping from the Major's red mouth.  "Give 'em to me!"

"No, Chief.  Please, don't let him have
me!" the boy pleaded, his eyes moistening.

Mike put up a hand.  The Major sat back
with a last growl.

"I'm going to give you one last chance," Mike
said.  "You are going to clean toilets for one month.
 But if this happens again, I'm shipping you off to the Major.
 Understand."

"Yes, sir.  Yes, sir," the boy said
eagerly, hoping to get away from the crazy man.

"Now get out," Mike ordered.

“Yes, sir.”  With one last terrified
glance at the Major, the boy fled.

Mike and the Lieutenant looked at the
Major.

"Damn," said the Lieutenant.  "When I
grow up, I want to be just like you, Major."

"Me, too," Mike said, grinning at the senior
officer.

"It was nothing," the Major replied
modestly.

Chapter Fourteen The Army and the Lodge

That night, Major Collins and Lieutenant
Kennedy talked about what they had witnessed in the village of
Petersburg.

"I was going to demand to be allowed to speak
to these people," the Major reflected.  "I was going to offer
to move them to our post, where we could protect them.  But
the truth is, they are better off here, aren't they?"

His eyes met those of the lieutenant, who
looked uncomfortable and did not answer.

As they ate breakfast the next morning, Gabby
passed by and gave them a gloating smile.  Lieutenant Kennedy
scowled at her.  She stuck her tongue out at him.  Mike,
Jacob, Lily, and Howard were sitting with the officers.  Yuie
came in and saw them.  Reluctantly, she sat down across from
Lieutenant Kennedy.  He smiled at her, and she frowned at
him.

"Good morning," he said.  Yuie glanced
at Mike and decided that she had to be polite.

"Good morning," she muttered.

"I hope you’ve forgiven me for thinking that
you were romantically involved with your leader," he said
winningly.

"You mean, have I forgiven you for thinking
that I was screwing the Chief?  Sure, I forgive you," she
answered sweetly.

He winced and tried again.  "I hope your
boyfriend was not too upset about it?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," she snapped, and
then she grimaced.

"Ah," he said with a triumphant smile.

"Damn," she muttered, and then she said,
"Well, have you military guys cased this place yet?  Figured
out how to take us?  I don’t suppose that you have any nukes
handy."

"I beg your pardon?" said Kennedy taken
aback.

"Nothing," said Yuie with a private
smile.

“So, are you one of those anti-nuke
peaceniks?” he asked.

“Yes, I am definitely one of those
anti-warmongering peaceniks that don’t like you
nuclear-bomb-dropping military types,” she replied proudly.

Kennedy was annoyed.  "That’s
ridiculous.  The United States has only used nuclear weapons
twice," he stated stiffly. "And that was in a dire emergency."

"Yeah, I bet that the people of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki thought it was a dire emergency," she shot back.

"It was wartime," he said, outraged by her
statement. "Dropping the bomb saved countless lives by us not
having to invade Japan."

"Why would there have been any need for us to
invade, Japan?" she countered.  "The Japanese were beaten.
 The only thing they had left was their homeland.  Why
should we have invaded?  The war was over.”  She gave him
a so-there smirk.

He fell silent for a moment, and then he
asked softly, "I wonder, how do you think the Chinese would have
felt about that?"

"What?" she replied, confused by his
question.

"The Chinese, the Koreans, the Vietnamese,
the Burmese, and a lot of other Asians were still living under the
occupation of the Japanese Army.  Murder, rape, and torture
were still happening.  But not to us.  We could have just
walked away.”

He stood and went to the trashcan to clean
his paper plate which the villagers would reuse.  For a
moment, Yuie stared after him, and then her gaze shifted to the
others at the table.  Everyone else was studying their plates.
Yuie stood up and left the dining hall.

Two days later, Mike and the officers were
strolling out by the graveyard. The officers had been told about
Luis.  They saw the fresh grave in the graveyard, making it
the third grave that had been dug.

"We’ve been luckier than you, so far," Major
Collins admitted. "We’ve only had to dig one grave.  One of my
engineers had an accident.”

Collins hesitated, and then he said, “Mike, I
would like to hear your version of the hanging.”

Mike looked up at him, and then he looked
back at the graves.  “I thought we would probably starve to
death after we ran out of food, or maybe we would freeze to death
during the winter.  All of the adults were gone, except for
Jackie, and she wasn’t any use to herself, much less to us.
 It was just us kids.

“But I wasn’t ready to give up and die, so I
tried to convince the others that we had to prepare for whatever
might happen.  And it seemed to be working.  Some of the
others started helping me.  I began to think that we might
have a chance.

“Then those guys came, and they killed Pete,
and they took Jackie and Maria.  Looking back, I guess it was
crazy to think that we could get Jackie and Maria back.  But
we had to try, anyway.  We were too late for Jackie, but we
saved Maria.  We killed three of them, but one of them was
still alive.  What were we going to do with him?  Let him
go?  He would have come back and killed more of us, I believe.
 We couldn’t hand him over to the police.  We didn’t have
a jail.  Maybe we could have guarded him night and day.
 But we needed everyone’s help just to get ready for the
winter.

“I thought about all these things when we
were marching back to our camp.  So I decided to kill him.
 But I didn’t want to just kill him; I wanted to make sure
that everyone understood why we were killing him.  So I had
everyone speak who actually saw what had happened.  And when
everyone was convinced that he was the person who killed Pete and
Jackie, I killed him in a way they would think of as an execution
not just a killing.  I think that by killing him, I prevented
us from having to dig more of these graves.  And that’s my
answer, Major Collins.”