Chapter 5

“Boss? Hey Boss, are you there?”

Reality returned spinning back in a flash. Putting his hand on his forehead, Levi stood there a moment more in order to regain his balance. He looked over at the others. Hank had his hand on Levi’s shoulder, a strange mixture of excitement, fright, and concern layered upon his face. He also noticed that he had already drawn his standard-issue revolver. Abigail had a strong hold on Quincy’s arm, but she seemed more anxious than outright frightened. He wondered on that for a moment. Strangely, Quincy was looking somewhat pale and was holding onto Abigail just as strongly. A few deep breaths later, Levi turned to the others.

“You alright, boy,” Quincy asked.

“Yes, I’m fine.” He quickly took off his hat and coat, handing them to Hank as he did. This revealed the old service pistol that rested on his hip. Gripping it, he pointed to the doorway of a nearby building. “Hank, take them in there and close the door behind you. Nobody gets in, got it?”

Hank simply nodded his head.

“Good. Ms. Graner, Mr. Boone, we’ll get all this straightened out in a moment. Just stay with Hank. I’ll be back in a moment.”

They didn’t protest. He watched them move toward the building he had indicated before taking another deep breath then setting off down the sidewalk. It only took a few strides to get down to the gate of the harbor and what he saw shocked him. Large sections of the center command buildings were gone, caught in the explosions. It looked like those had been caused by the detonation of the fuel and hydrogen tanks that littered the area. A number of airships, mainly those with unprotected balloons, were on fire and settling upon the ground in a burning heap. Black smoke was starting to fill the sky.

He heard a commotion behind him and he whirled around to see what the problem was. Three men dressed in various shades of leather with orange strips of cloth tied around their upper arms were ripping open the doors of one of the vehicle trapped in the traffic jam. They violently pulled the passengers from the vehicle and cursed before moving down to the next one. Most of the people had fled their vehicles but some remained. They were obviously hoping to find someone among them. Taking his gun in hand, he took a quick moment to ready the weapon.

“Stop,” he yelled. To add emphasis to his words, he pointed the pistol at the nearest man.

They all turned hurriedly to look at him, confused. Then one of them chuckled and walked around the car to face him. This man was obviously the leader of the three. Levi shifted, leveling the gun at him, instead.

“And who are you to tell me what to do,” the man asked, twirling the knife in his hand.

“Hannan Security. Step away from the car.”

This only generated more laughter.

“Look at that, a Hannan boy actually willing to stand up to someone. I’m impressed. Do you even know how to use that gun?”

In reply, Levi put a bullet in the concrete between the man’s legs. That seemed to anger the man more than put him in his place. He was trying his hardest to keep his arm from shaking. He hadn’t done this in a long time.

“You’re working with Irons. Why are you here?”

“Aww, you know of our boss and us? I’m flattered. Was it the orange armbands that gave it away?” This generated a round of laughter from the other men.

“I’m not warning to again.”

“Of course not.”

A flurry of motion ensued as the man reached for a pistol concealed at his back. A number of shots rang out. Blood pattered against the car. Levi, to his surprise, was still alive.

“Good thing you stopped them,” a man said beside him, lowering his rifle. “They probably would’ve got away. Boys, I think the one behind the car was just winged. Gather him up.”

As the ordered men complied, Levi took a moment to register the situation. The men were dressed in dark blue uniforms trimmed in gold. They carried Springfield rifles and obviously knew how to use them. They were, of course, members of the Colonial Guard, the only military forces present in the Reach. Levi recalled that they had a barracks right on the harbor.

“Thank you,” Levi said to the man.

“Don’t mention it. It was the warning shot you fired off that let us know you were out here. You work for somebody or do you just like carrying guns?”

“I work with Hannan down in Meadowshire.”

“Ah, makes sense, then.” The officer’s eyes scanned the surroundings as he spoke, his hands working the bolt on his weapon. “Looks like this area is clear. We got a lot of ‘em, but some of them escaped. Had a few bloody airships waiting to pick them up and everything.”

“What’s going on,” Levi asked, partially to himself.

“It was the Devilfish. They’re a pretty big gang up here in the north.” Levi nodded. “This was a little more organized then they usually are, though. Men on the ground hit the fuel dumps and the hydrogen reserves. Went up like the Fourth of July. Then they just started shooting randomly as they jumped on some ships and took off. Don’t know what these guys out here were doing.”

“Casualties,” Levi asked, the numbness developed combat finally settling over him like a warm blanket. The commander glanced back into the harbor.

“Surprisingly minimal, I’d say. Harbor’s got a lot of automation nowadays. Maybe a few dozen, at most. Gonna set back flights out of here by a bit, though.” Shaking his head, the commander watched as his men finally dragged the wounded but alive bandit back toward the harbor. “I’ve got things to do. If you feel like helping out, come on in.”

Without waiting for a reply, the commander turned and followed his men. Levi checked his pistol and realized that he had only fired one round; the one into the concrete. Shaking his head, he holstered the weapon and walked back to where the rest of the group remained. Sighing, he knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it.

“Boss. What’s going on?”

“Devilfish. Blew up the fuel and lift tanks. General ruckus ensued. Everything’s okay, now, though we may have a little difficulty in finding a flight out of here.”

Abigail stood and moved to the door. Without thinking, he grabbed her and stopped her. They both looked at his hand, which rested there a moment before being pulled away.

“Where are you going?”

“There are wounded, yes? I am a physician. I’m going to go do what I can.”

“The Guard has plenty of doctors. Just stay here.”

“One more will not hurt. Please, move out of my way.”

Levi glanced at the other men in the room. Hank was simply watching the exchange, seemingly entertained by the whole thing. Quincy gave him a small nod. He dropped his shoulders in surrender and turned, allowing her access to the door. In a moment, she was through and gone. He reached for his coat, which was lying on a nearby table, and got something out of an inner pocket.

“Hank, take this down the street to the Hollow Oak Inn. It’s about two blocks down the way we came. Get us a few rooms; we’re not going anywhere today.” He handed him a business card.

“I remember seeing it. So your name on a card pulls that kind of weight around here? I’m impressed.” Hank smiled, trying to break the tension in the atmosphere.

“The Hannan emblem in the corner does, if nothing else. After that, meet me back at the harbor. They’ve got a big mess to clean up.”

“What about our stuff?”

Levi sighed.

“I’ll take care of that. Just get the rooms then get to the harbor.”

“Yes, sir.” In a moment, Hank was also out the door.

Levi looked at Quincy.

“You’re more than welcome to go down to the inn and wait for us.”

“Don’t be silly, boy. I may be old but I’m not that old. I’ll come with you. Sounds like everyone can pitch in somethin’ today.”

Levi nodded and the two of them left for the harbor.

The four of them spent most of the day laboring away at one thing or another there at the harbor. Levi and Hank spent most of their time clearing away rubble in search of survivors. After that, they were later sent to help move more rubble that was blocking the entrance to the powerhouse. It took some doing, but they finally uncovered the entrance. This is where Quincy really started to shine. He aided the technology crew that went in, hoping to get power back to the harbor as quickly as possible. In no time at all, Quincy was giving everyone orders as he personally fiddled with the various machines that sat idly in the room. A few moments later, the generator spun to life and the lights lit up all over the harbor. Strange as it was, most everyone there was cheered to see those lights flick on.

Abigail, however, was the busiest of all, as far as Levi was concerned. From the moment she walked through the gates of the complex, she was elbow-deep in blood. With expert skill, she moved from patient to patient as they were placed within the makeshift field hospital, inspecting their wounds and calling out the proper solution to those waiting to aid her. The commander had been about right: three dozen or so people were stretched out in the building. About half had simple concussions, scraps, and bruises that would heal by themselves in time. Others, however, were not so fortunate.

It was these people that drew the majority of Abigail’s attention as she worked. Some had serious broken bones that had resulted from falls, while others had deep gashes and puncture wounds from flying shrapnel. One man was even being asked to hold a portion of his intestines while the group of woefully few physicians and nurses did their best to put it back where it belonged. Despite the horrors within that room, Abigail seemed basically unfazed. It was a clinical detachment that Levi had seen during the war. Sometimes it was the only thing that could get you through the day.

The sun fell and the majority of the hand word being done by Levi was put off for the morning. With a sigh, he came down from the debris and whipped his face and hands off with an offered towel. He was filthy, as was to be expected, and he couldn’t seen to recall where he had put his tie. His coat and hat, however, were where he laid them. Feeling too warm for the coat, the slung it over one shoulder as the hat came to rest on his head. Just then, he noticed Quincy and Hank coming his way.

“Hey,” Hank said. “Rough day, huh?”

“I’ve seen worse,” he said, not knowing if he meant it in jest or not.

“Aye, dark times we’ve had recently,” Quincy said. He looked back toward the triage and aid center. “Abigail looked pretty busy last I checked. We should probably wait for her. Girl will give us heck if we don’t.”

“That’s okay,” Levi said, smiling. “You two can go on back to the inn. I need to catch my breath, anyway. I’ll wait.”

“Well suit yourself, but make sure she knows I wanted to stay, too. I don’t need yellin’ at after today.”

“Will do.” It hurt his face to smile, but he did so again, anyway.

“Take care, then. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, Boss. Take it easy.”

Levi took a moment to collect his thoughts and then stood once more. In no particular hurry, he made his way over to the building in which Abigail was working. A few people hurried in and out of the door, but it seemed to have calmed down greatly since that afternoon; which was a good sign. The majority of the critical cases had been moved to the Walton Hospital a few miles down the road but it had been difficult to get the ambulances in place because of the traffic jam. Levi wasn’t the only one who thought the jam wasn’t just a coincidence.

Stepping through the door, Levi saw Abigail sitting by a patient at the other end of the room. It was a boy of about nineteen, Hank’s age, and though he had the blanket pulled up to his chest, one of his legs didn’t look right beneath. It was as if one wasn’t lying quite right. Abigail was talking to him about something, holding his hand as she did. Levi could see the fear in the boy’s face, though he was hiding it well. Obviously it wasn’t good news. After a time, he smiled and nodded his head. Finally stood and started moving back down the room, at which point she noticed Levi. With a thin smile, she came over to him.

“Long day.”

“Very long,” she replied. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost nine. You’ve been at this for almost eight hours. How about you call it an evening?”

“Nine? Well. I am getting a little tired and that won’t help anyone. Are Quincy and Hank somewhere?”

“I sent them back to the inn. I figured the deserved a rest. Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you that Quincy wanted to stay so you wouldn’t yell at him.”

That brought a smile to her face, though a shallow one still.

“Alright, I’ll be along shortly. Let me just check up on a few things first.”

“I’ll be right outside.”

A few moments later, true to her word, Abigail exited the building and found Levi leaning against the nearby wall. The sun was completely gone now, with just the slightest glow of red on the horizon. The harbor, however, was aglow in artificial lights as people worked into the night. It would be a long time, Levi wagered, before the place would be back to full operational strength.

“Can I ask you a question,” Levi asked as they started for the gate.

“By all means.”

“What was wrong with that boy back there?”

Abigail paused for a moment.

“A large piece of the roof above him had collapsed down upon his legs while he was trying to escape. The right leg will be fine, I think. Only a minor fracture and some swelling. The other leg, however… There is severe damage just above the knee. I’ve never seen anyone who was able to keep their leg after an injury like that.”

“Did you tell him that? He seemed happier after talking with you.”

“Yes, I told him. It…it was only fair that he knew what was likely to happen.”

“Then why did he smile?”

“I think he was just glad to hear the truth. That, and I told him that maybe they’d get him a robotic leg for replacement.”

Levi smiled at that.

They continued on down the road for a while in silence. It was getting chilly and he offered his dust-covered coat to her. She had declined, politely. After that, they both seemed to struggle to find something to say. After such a day, however, their minds were spent and words didn’t flow easily. It wasn’t until they were nearing the inn that Levi spoke again.

“You were good out there today.”

“I was only doing what I had to. Like you and the others.”

“We carried rocks. You saved people’s lives. I think that counts for a bit more.”

She smiled tiredly.

“It wasn’t how I had expected to start my medical practice here on this world.”

“Ms. Graner, I’m truly very sorry. I don’t know how I can apologize to you for what happened today. Probably saying, ‘This sort of thing never happens around here’ won’t make up for anything. But it’s true. And I guarantee you’ll be safer at North Mine.”

“Please, call me Abigail. I think an experience such as this has put us on first-name basis. And it wasn’t your fault. Though I may regret coming here, I can’t lay this upon you. It is just… the way things are.”

“Still, I’m sure Hannan will send you a fruit basket or something to make up for it,” he said, smiling.

“A fruit basket would be lovely.”

They continued on up and through the lobby of the inn. With the owner’s help, they were able to locate the rooms Hank had acquired for them. After a little investigation, they determined which one was for Abigail. They stood there in front of their respective doors, which were across the hall from one another, simply looking at nothing for some time. Then Levi took a deep breath.

“Goodnight, Abigail.”

“Mister… Levi. Can I ask you a question now?”

“Of course.”

“What happened there on the road; when the first explosions rang out?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, with you.”

Levi nodded and proceeded to stare at nothing again for a moment.

“Just memories.”

“Of the war,” she asked, just the slightest hint of bitterness in her voice.

“Of the war.” It was a subject that Levi had worked hard to avoid thus far in their short journey. Abigail was obviously from Germany, based on her accent, and he had no idea what he opinion of the Great War’s outcome was. If it was like most Germans, though, he knew that it would be unfavorable. He waited for her next words, but they were gentler than he expected.

“Perhaps you can tell me of them sometime.”

“Yes,” Levi said, apprehensive. “Perhaps.”

“Well,” Abigail said suddenly. “I don’t mean to keep you in the hall talking all through the night. We’ve all had a long day. I will see you in the morning, then.”

“Yes. We’ll adjust the travel plans tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Levi.”

“Goodnight, Abigail.”

Levi closed the door quietly behind him as he walked into the room that he was sharing with Hank. The boy was already asleep, and no wonder as to why. He had worked his fingers to the bone, moving more debris than most of the other men there. Though Levi wasn’t exactly sure about his partner just yet, he had to admit that he was proud of him today.

Weary to the bone, Levi stripped out of his clothes and slipped into the gloriously soft bed. Only moments past before he was sound asleep. That night, his dreams were dark.