The pool of blood from the man’s head spread out and stained the carpet on the floor.
Before we could think about how to how to act or say anything at all, Adlai raised the window up several feet, letting the heat and insects through. The voices grew louder outside, and several loud popping noises made me jump. Four holes appeared in the barricaded door as the table started to slowly slide across the floor.
This seemed to snap everyone into reality as we started to run over and climb through the space, hoisting each other over the ledge. Just as the last person slid through, we all booked it down the street, pushing our way through the crowds. Kia clutched her stomach, panting and huffing as she tried to catch up. I wrapped my arm around her waist to support her.
More popping sounds rang out from the apartment, including a mixture of loud voices.
* * * * * *
My chest burned as my heart continued to beat rapidly. Even though the trees that now surrounded us provided plenty of shade, we still weren’t walking. It wasn’t until we finally reached the top of a hill did everyone stop, bending over. Kia’s knees gave way, panting hard, and I knelt down next to her, rubbing her back as she began to hack her lungs out.
Toku immediately rushed to her side, a look of fear in his eyes. Malcolm sat down, wheezing extremely hard. Adlai was leaning forward, clutching his knees. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead down his nose as his brown eyes studied us.
”Have you lost your senses?” Toku snapped, glaring at him. “She’s eight and a half months in, how dare you make her run. What’s wrong with you?”
Kia leaned against my shoulder, coughing. Her face was so hot I was afraid she had a fever. Malcolm wiped his sweaty forehead with a bunch of leaves he had gathered in a fist and gave Adlai a questioning look.
“Why was there a dead man in your home?” he asked. “Did you just shoot him, and that was why we ran? For you to escape punishment?”
“I think it was a soldier,” Kia said faintly, before closing her eyes. “It was for the best, I’m sure.”
A wave of panic rushed over me. “Does anyone have water?” I signed. “She’s about to pass out.”
Malcolm and Toku looked confused, but Adlai stepped forward, unzipping his backpack. To my surprise, without a word, he began to respond.
“How much do you think I should give her?” he signed. “I only have four bottles in here, since we were running low. It’ll be a while before we can find water again. There has to be a river nearby.”
I smiled at him, and he returned it. In the corner of my eye, I could make out Toku’s eyes glowing with anger and bewilderment. It made me nervous, but I kept my focus off of him. Malcolm, on the other hand, appeared to be quite interested and leaned forward.
“Let’s try to get her to swallow down half,” I gestured. “Then maybe she can finish the whole thing.”
Adlai nodded and handed me the cool water bottle. Kia gladly accepted and gulped it down, water spilling down her pale throat and chin. The old man rose to his feet and placed his hands on his hips, chuckling to himself, while Toku slowly shook his head and started to move away from us.
* * * * * * *
It wasn’t until the sun began to set that the scent of pond water met our noses. By now, I was so thirsty I immediately dropped down on my knees and began scooping it up with my hands. Everyone else likewise did the same, greedily drinking their fill.
Adlai kept stumbling forward, the straps of his backpack floating in the water behind him. The edge of a gun poked out from the back pocket of his jeans. As the tea colored water rose from our knees to our chests, the green bamboo stalks seemed more and more impossible to get through. Lily pads and other critters appeared in the water, and I felt grateful to be wearing a sweater, despite the heat. So many mosquitoes swarmed around us, and Kia mumbled to herself as she slapped at her bare arms.
“Damn things,” she swore underneath her breath. “They’re eating me alive.”
“We’re almost there, surely,” Malcolm said in a low voice. “We have to rest and make camp soon. My feet are killing me, and I can barely see. I think we’re in a swamp, actually.”
Toku grunted and stretched. “The old man has a point. It’s growing dark, and we need to find food.” He stopped and then turned around, a look of determination in his eyes, before fumbling in his side and handing me a knife. Water dripped from the blade as I took it from him by the handle.
“Honda, can you cut down as many bamboo stalks as possible?” With one pale hand, he pointed to a dry patch of land not too far ahead, right below a cluster of trees. “We need to build shelter. Malcolm, you collect firewood. Kia, I need you to just lie down. I’ll try to look for some game nearby. I know this area is full of wild boars, and we could use a good meal for sure.”
My stomach growled. That sounded wonderful.
“No. I...I don’t think we should.”
We all turned towards the voice. Adlai stood in the shadows, one of his hands clutching the bamboo. Toku observed him, his face turning red.
“I say we keep going,” he said. “It’s too dangerous to stay here by ourselves. There could be civilians and soldiers lingering around in every corner, and we could—“
“But aren’t you a civilian?” Kia interrupted. “If anyone comes, they’ll assume that you have us under your control. You’re not the one being hunted, after all. You’ll likely get away with what you did with that man, since things are so bad right now.”
“Yeah, it’s easier for you,” interjected Malcolm. “Toku’s right. We don’t have any energy left. Plus it’s getting dark.” He squinted his eyes and looked at the sky.
Adlai looked down for a moment and hesitated. “But I think that—“
“Well, let’s go on now, shall we?” Toku said, with a smirk on his face. I didn’t know what was so amusing. “Just a few more steps, everyone.”
He pushed past Adlai, causing the water to slosh around his waist. As the others followed suit, I took several steps to catch up before I saw the deep, faraway look in his eyes. Before I could sign to him, he had already disappeared in the growing darkness.
* * * * * * *
It took every ounce of strength I had to break down the large green bamboo stalks, using the last precious hours of sunlight left to construct a hut. Even though Malcolm begged her to lay down, Kia stubbornly insisted that she helped, by looking for grubs for us to snack on while Toku came back with dinner. Adlai was nowhere in sight, and I was worried that he maybe abandoned us.
I had just finished thatching the walls when Malcolm came out of the bushes, dropping an armload of firewood into the grass. Kia and I both looked up. Fear was in his eyes as he stammered to find his words.
“Come. There’s trouble.”
We raced down the hill, Kia’s sweaty hand clutching mine. There was the sound of muffled voices as Malcolm peeked behind a tree and pointed at the two figures wrestling on the ground. My heart skipped a beat as Toku threw a punch at Adlai, who grunted in pain and staggered backwards. Immediately, I ran down past the bushes as he struggled to his feet.
Adlai kicked him hard in his knee, causing him to double over, before slamming his fist against the side of his head and tackling him into the mud. Toku’s bare feet slid around helplessly on the damp soil, mixing in with Adlai’s wet shoelaces. He couldn’t stand properly, and Adlai began delivering a series of heavy punches that he tried to shield himself from.
“No, no, no!” I signed frantically. “Please!”
Neither one of them looked at me. Kia and Malcolm appeared behind me, yelling things, but all their voices blurred together, making it impossible for me to understand the words coming out of their mouths. At this point, both boys were rolling on the ground, clouds of dirt rising in the air around them.
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I tried to pry Toku off Adlai by yanking backwards on his shirt, but it was no use. He was simply too strong, and I ended up slipping in the mud and landing on my behind. Malcolm immediately reached and pulled me at out of their way as Adlai managed to get the upper hand by holding Toku in a headlock. Toku cursed as he struggled to break free, spitting in the mud. His fists kept frantically pounding into Adlai’s side; his shirt torn and bloody. But it was clear how little of an impact this had on him due to being shorter, and Adlai suddenly smacked him in the face.
“Stop this!” Malcolm bellowed.
He grabbed at Toku’s arm to prevent him from delivering yet another heavy blow, but fell down on his side as the man shrugged him away, hungry to get a blow in for revenge. With both arms, Adlai raised Toku in the air like he was a sack of potatoes, gritting his teeth. As the shorter man struggled helplessly under his grasp, his legs flailing in the air, Adlai swung him hard against the ground, causing his body to land with a gruesome smack.
Toku was on the ground, groaning loudly, twitching due to the excruciating pain. I could only remain there, shaken as Adlai dragged Toku back and pinned him against a tree, slamming him hard against a tree trunk. Leaves floated in the air. The man was still biting, spitting, weakly hitting at Adlai again, but it was useless. A gunshot rang in the air.
“Enough!"
All four of us looked up.
Kia stood there, pointing Adlai’s gun high up towards the sky. It must’ve fallen out of his pocket during the scramble. Adlai immediately loosened his hold on Toku, and the other man slid to the ground, wheezing and coughing. Her face was red with rage and confusion. I helped Malcolm up, and he lightly patted my arm to show his gratitude.
”You’re dead,” Toku yelled at Adlai. “You’re nothing to me. You’re a freak, you hear? I never want to see you again.”
Adlai stared at him, even though he clearly looked hurt. His breathing grew heavier as he slowly released a fistful of his shirt with a muddy hand.
“What is wrong with you two?” Kia cried.
With one swift movement, Toku gave him a final push before scrambling to his feet at the sound of her voice, looking startled. He had a busted lip, and angry gashes and cuts lined his arms and face. His green eyes settled on her for a moment. Before he could take a step forward, she dropped the gun and began to weep, before turning around and walking through the bushes.
Toku chased after her, calling her name.
Adlai slowly looked up at me. His gray sweatshirt was covered in mud, and the front collar where the drawstring used to be had been ripped off, revealing his sweaty collarbones and bruised neck, which had the imprint of Toku’s dark fingerprints on it. Leaves and twigs stuck from his bright red hair. His right eye was so black and swollen it looked like he could barely put it it. A great deal of blood spilled from his nose and mouth as he quietly rose to his feet and placed his hands in his pockets, looking down.
“What happened?” Malcolm gently asked. “Why on earth were you guys doing this? That’s the last thing we need. It’s been a long day. Come on, let’s go back.”
“I can help with your injuries,” I signed. “Don’t go, they look very painful. Please?”
Adlai quietly stared at us for a long time, before turning and slowly walking away into the dark woods. I started to run after him, but Malcolm placed a warm hand on my shoulder. When I looked up, I realized how many wrinkles surrounded his kind face.
“Let him be,” he said. “He just needs to cool off. Both of them do. He’ll come back later when he’s ready. In the meantime, I want you to help me look for food.”
I sighed.
* * * * * * *
By the time we reached the camp with dozens of berries and yucca roots in our arms, Kia’s screams echoed in our ears. We rushed towards the unfinished hut that I made. Toku was kneeling by her side, trying to talk to her. When he looked up, his eyes glistened with tears as he quickly ran towards us.
”Baby’s coming.”
The food I had in my arms fell on the grass.
“What?” Malcolm squeaked.
“Please, I—l…”
”How the hell is it coming now?” Malcolm hissed. “She isn’t supposed to be due for another month.”
“Her water broke a few minutes ago,” he whispered. “This is all my fault, I ... I should’ve never...”
”It damn well is your fault, you fool. You’ve stressed her out to the point giving birth in the middle of goddam nowhere with snakes and reptiles. Look at what you’ve done now. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”
Toku gripped his shirt. “Please, you must help me. I…I don’t know what to do. I thought I had more time, I swear. First we thought it was cramps, then there was a lot of water that suddenly appeared on her skirt. I don’t know a single things about babies.”
”Well, maybe you should’ve considered that before you decided to make one.”
I ignored them and knelt down by Kia, beginning to roll her dress upwards. More water escaped from between her legs. The sight was not unfamiliar to me; I had seen many midwives assist other women at home with the birth of their newborns and often saw what they did. Toku held out his hand to me, and I wrote against his palm quickly.
“See the head? It’s starting to crown at a few inches. Do you mind if I cut off some of her skirt for some rags and a cloth to wrap around the baby?”
Toku shook his head as Malcolm ran off to get water. After I tore off some fabric with his knife, Kia’s whole body seemed to shake as she began to push once more, her face twisted with pain and fear. I wished I could speak to her, but I could do nothing as I grasped her hand tightly, trying to signal for her to keep doing so. Gently, I guided the baby’s slowly emerging head with both hands as the contractions continued. Toku kept speaking to her softly, stroking her hair. His own injuries looked painful but he seemed to have forgotten about them due to her own hollering. Her hand gripped his tightly as she releases several deep, guttural shrieked.
Malcolm set down a turtle shell of water nearby and tried to clean up the blood between her legs the best he could. Although I could tell he was worried that her yells would attract attention, he seemed more focus on trying to softly encourage her.
It was after several long hours when I heard a small wail. My eyes were drooping from the lack of sleep and hunger. The baby’s dark brown skin was wrinkled and covered slightly in blood. I looked down quickly and smiled when I noticed it was a girl. Her cries were so weak they were barely audible, as she waved her small arms in the air, Kia began to helplessly sob; gasping for air.
After carefully cutting off the umbilical cord, I made sure to gently clean off the excess blood and fluids with the water, before wrapping the squalling child neatly in a piece of cloth and placing her in Kia’s eager, waiting arms. It took her a while to deliver the placenta, which cost her a great deal of strength. She kissed her new daughter’s forehead before they both fell asleep. The newborn sucked on her tiny fingers.
Toku pulled me into a tight hug. “Thank you so, so much.” He released a shaky breath. “You have no idea how much of a help you’ve been so far.”
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I wrote in his palm. “You had no right.”
“What?”
“You shouldn’t have hit him. What did he do to you? He’s my friend. Why did you treat him like that?”
A look of guilt spread across his face. “That civilian should not be your friend. You ought to know better, and why on earth would you teach him how to sign?” Toku pulled away and placed both hands on my shoulders. “He’s a bad influence, and has improper ideas about you. Matter of fact, I want you to stop hanging around him all close like you do. He’ll use you, for sure.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Yes, he will. You see what he just did to me? He’s using all of us. If it’s not now, it will happen later. I’m warning you. He threatened me, and I put him in his place. That’s all. We had a little disagreement, and I was trying to be reasonable with him. It’s not my fault the guy has a few loose screws; his hair matches his temper. He threw the first punch at me; I simply gave him what was coming. I don’t start fights, I finish them.”
“Why were you arguing?”
“He thinks all of a sudden that he knows what’s best for the group. I’ve been taking care of everyone since the first day, so I know what I’m doing. Unlike him. He wants to play leader now. I don’t think so.”
“But he took care of us, too,” I scribbled. “How can you say that? He just wants to help. We owe him our lives. That soldier was about to come and take us away; you shouldn’t have hit him.”
Toku sighed, but said nothing as I rose to my feet and walked away. My head hurt, and I felt tired.
“Honda, wait,” he began, but I didn’t look back.
* * * * * *
As I kept moving between the trees, I chomped greedily into a yucca root, its tart flavor exploding in my mouth. Even though it was still nighttime, it was very hot. The warm mud clung to my bare feet as I stumbled over a branch and made my way through the bushes. I tried to remember which direction Adlai had gone, having saved some food for him. Maybe he wanted to see the baby and was feeling better now. As I approached the cluster of trees that lead to another area of woods, I stopped.
There was a white, almost transparent tunnel. For a moment, I wondered if I was in a dream.
Where had this come from?
The further I stepped in, the colder it grew, which felt good against my sweaty skin. It looked like everything was covered in powdered white sugar. The grass was frozen stiff beneath my bare soles, and crystals marked the trees and the branches. Icicles hung from above, right nearby the elaborate ice patterns. When I exhaled, my breath became visible.
It was at one point when the ground itself became smooth with thick clear ice, and I had to bend over to catch myself from slipping. It was only until I reached the other side of the swamp did I gasp.
The most beautiful thing in the world met my eyes.
In the moonlight, dozens of ice spikes which were taller than me, stuck out towards the sky from where the water used to be. As I slowly passed by, I could make out my reflection in them. The ends appeared as sharp as daggers, but even the frozen ripples of the waves looked like art. I wished I had a pen and paper to capture it all. Maybe I could ask Adlai later for it so I could show him.
I wished he could see this, too.