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“Who is this?”
My eyes snapped to the source of that voice, suddenly aware there was now a fifth person in the room. As if the three I’d met so far weren’t enough.
A pair of dark green eyes met my own. They pierced through round, glass lenses as he evaluated me disconcertingly. The dark waves of his hair were neatly combed to the side. His uniform—a vest and trousers in a muted brown that tinged on green—gave the impression of someone who preferred order and professionalism.
That was, if not for the blood stain on his sleeve and the scent of flesh reeking off of him.
“Hendrik, you’re also here,” Davis said as I felt him place his hand lightly on my shoulder. I had to refrain myself again from immediately pushing it off. “I was just introducing everyone to this young lady over here.”
“I see,” he said, appearing quite disinterred in the whole exchange. “I heard some ruckus in here and thought it might’ve been another customer. But it seems I was wrong.” His stoic eyes flickered over to me, lingering on me for a moment before he turned back to Davis. “I’m going to be in the morgue if you need me. I have some unfinished work to do.”
Without even sparing another glance in my direction, Hendrik turned and left the room. My eyes followed his back as he disappeared towards the morgue.
Davis rubbed the back of his neck after that tense encounter. “Sorry about him. He’s the embalmer here and a bit on the quieter side.”
“There is no need to apologise, Mr Davis. His manner doesn’t bother me,” I said, not particularly minding his lack of acknowledging me. The briefness was preferable actually.
"Sure, but the guy can still be a total ass,” Alfred remarked, earning him a light hit on the back of the head from Davis who gave him an unimpressed look.
“What he means to say is that Hendrik takes a little time to warm up to people.”
“Hey! What was that for?”
“Oh calm down, I was holding back on you.”
Alfred shot him a look of complete bafflement as he rubbed the spot where he had just been smacked. “Where the hell did you ‘hold back’?!”
“Alright, that’s enough from you two,” Francesca finally said, interjecting herself between the two as she looked at them disapprovingly. She let out a low sigh before turning back to me to give me a warm smile. “I don’t think you’ve told us your name yet.
A flicker of panic flashed in Davis’ eyes as his mind scrambled for a quick excuse. “Well she’s-”
“I don’t have one.”
“Pardon?”
“Huh?”
Alfred and Francesca both looked at me with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, but I just repeated myself. “I don’t have a name.”
Francesca furrowed her brows. “Davis, what does she mean by that?”
Davis sighed as he didn’t seem quite sure about to explain the situation. “Look, Fran, she doesn’t really have a name.”
“What do you mean she doesn’t have a name?” Francesca questioned harder. She crossed her arms and sent Davis a hard look. “Just where did you find this girl?”
“It’s hard to explain… she has some certain circumstances,” he said before turning his focus to Alfred. He cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. “Alfred, while she’s here I want you to be her mentor. Teach her the ropes around here.”
“Sorry, what now?” He raised his eyebrows, shooting him a look of disbelief. “Why me?”
“What? Did you think I’d ask Hendrik instead? I thought you’d be best for the job. Besides, you’re closer in age to her than I am so I was hoping you’d both get along.”
Alfred and I locked eyes. There was a look of doubt in his. Even with no words, it seemed we both mutually agreed this arrangement would most likely end rather poorly.
“Look, I don’t need a kid following me around.”
“Stop calling her a kid, and she’s more than capable-”
“There is no need for you to concern yourself with me. It would be inconvenient to the both of us if you did” I said, cutting him off before I turned to face Alfred. “Mister Alfred, I assure you that if you were my mentor, I won't be ‘following you around’ more than what is necessary.”
The three of them seemed quite taken aback by my words, Alfred in particular. I could practically see the thoughts churning in his brain at my words. But regardless, I did not intend to stay here longer than what was necessary, and if letting that man become my ‘mentor’ was preferable to the situation, then so be it.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” he said, agreeing begrudgingly as he let out a heavy sigh. “And quit that whole ‘mister’ thing.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Hey, didn’t I just-”
“Great!” Davis said, clapping his hands together with a relieved smile. He turned to face me, looking far too happy about this arrangement. “How about I show you around now?”
“Alright, Mister Davis.”
“Then follow me.”
We left Alfred and Francesca back in the entry room as I followed him through the inner hallway of the building. It was narrow, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. But the interior itself was sufficiently clean. Every from wooden floorboards to the half-wall panelling was relatively spotless aside from a few marks here and there.
Davis led me up a pair of stairs which followed into a small kitchen, dining area and living space all ramped into the one room. He walked down towards an even smaller hallway, a few doors running along it.
“This room was only used for storage before, but I cleaned it up for you while you were still in the hospital,” Davis said as he opened a door on the right. “It’s not much, but still better than the trenches.
As he pushed the door open, it revealed a small room. There was little more than a bed, desk, closet and bookcase inside. Everything else was barren with even layers of dust lingering on most surfaces. It was essentially four drywall with one single window above the desk that peered out to the rest of the city.
He was right, it wasn’t much. But, everything was clean. There was no mud, rain, or blood. And most importantly, it was quiet. That would be enough.
I could feel Davis’ eyes following me as I took in the room. “So, what do you think?”
“It is satisfactory.”
“That’s the best I’m going to get from you, aren’t I?” he said with a small smile. “But, you must still be tired. How about you settle in and get some rest? Alfred will start mentoring you tomorrow.”
I turned back around to face him, nodding once in response. “Alright, Mister Davis.”
“My room is just opposite yours, so if you need anything, just give me a knock,” he said as he moved to close the door behind. But before he could grab the door handle, his eyes lit up. “Oh, and before I forget, I have something for you.”
I narrowed my eyes at his words as he reached his hand into his pocket. He rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling something out
“Here,” he said as he held out a small object in his palm. It was that metal case that the soldier had given me. “Liz found it in your uniform and gave it to me.”
I reached my hand towards it, taking it from him. The metal still felt cool against my fingers. I opened the lid and saw that his lighter and earplugs were still inside.
“Is it something important to you?” he asked, eyeing me curiously as I looked down at the objects in my hand.
“It’s just something a soldier gave me,” I told him bluntly.
“I see,” he said, his eyes still steady on me. “Was he important to you then?”
“No, he wasn’t. He’s dead now.”
—
There was something unforgettable about the smell of death.
That stench of rot mixed with raw blood reeked off both the dead and living on the battlefield. After six years, that smell had burned itself into my mind.
An explosion went off. The bang left a ringing in my ears that blurred into some cries that weren’t too far off from me. Someone was begging for it all to stop. But, the gunfires continued, muffling their screams. I wanted my ears, to obscure those sounds that kept bleeding into my hearing. But I couldn’t.
There were hands wrapped around my throat. My head was being pushed into the ground. A soldier hovered over me, his thumbs digging deeper into my neck. The rapid-fire hail of bullets continued around me, the sound echoing into an indistinguishable mess.
“Why won’t you die, damn it!” he yelled into my face as his fingers tightened around me.
Stop.
There was another explosion, closer that time as dirt from the ground sprayed onto us. But, that didn’t stop him. He kept his hand strained around my neck.
Stop.
The screams continued as every noise around us persisted mercilessly. His fingers stopped any air from leaving or entering my body. All I could do was close my eyes to try and block out the images I wanted to so desperately clean from every crevice of my mind. But that noise wouldn’t leave. It refused to, fighting to intrude into every spot in my brain.
I couldn’t breathe.
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