Chapter Five

“Mushroom, mushroom.” Having filled the two baskets to the brim with mushrooms and then piled some wild onions and leeks on top of that, she lugged her haul back to Mother Vance’s house while humming in a slightly nonsensical voice. It was the final countdown, and she couldn’t afford any slip-ups.

She was being watched, after all. The feeling hadn’t gone away after she left Aiden behind, and she knew there was someone tailing her. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant because if shit hit the fan, they might extract her. Better to avoid that if possible, though. She just had to get through one more day, and then all of this would be behind her.

Slipping in through the back courtyard gate, she called out softly, “Mom, mushroom mushroom!”

Hearing her voice, Mother Vance came out, eyeing the two baskets as Vivian carried them into the kitchen. For once the woman didn’t pinch her, too busy opening up the baskets and looking them over, greedily grabbing a few handfuls of mushrooms and an onion to put on her own counter before she nodded in satisfaction and told her in a rare moment of praise, “Good job, Vee. Now take these to the Chief.”

“Vee did good! Mushrooms to Chief?” She tilted her head as she asked innocently.

Pushing her far more gently out the door than normal, Mother Vance reiterated, “Yes, take the mushrooms straight to Chief.”

“Mushroom Chief, mushroom Chief.” Vee chanted obediently as she settled the baskets on her arms once more and went out the front, nodding cheerfully to Auntie Wang who was peeking curiously over her wall.

The old biddy cackled as she asked, “What have you got there, little Vee?”

“Mushroom chief!” Vee called back sweetly, bobbing along.

“Don’t delay her or I’ll have your hide, you old hag!” Mother Vance’s voice came from the door, and Auntie Wang tsked as she went back to her work. Walking along the road, Vivian kept up her stupid mantra of mushroom chief. Even with her hair covering half her face, the way some of the men had started to look at her as they realized she was reaching adulthood gave her the chills. A woman was still a woman, no matter how thin.

Knowing she was on the way to the chief and would be making the bread tomorrow was her saving grace, for the moment. She usually stayed out of sight, out of mind. But now that she was walking in front of them, they remembered her existence. Watching them trade considering glances out of the corner of her eyes made her stomach churn with anger and disgust, but she allowed none of it to show on her face.

One more day, and they would face retribution. One more day, and they’d never be able to hurt anyone again. In the meantime, she listened to their mundane complaints until she finally picked out the information she wanted. “Jones is a lucky bastard. He bragged all afternoon about how tender that girl’s skin was. I reckon she won’t be able to walk for days.”

“Had a good voice, too. We could hear her screams all morning.” His companion leered as Vivian felt like a rock dropped in her stomach.

Thankfully, they were still talking, so her steps slowed minutely to stay in hearing range. “I heard Brother Levi wasn’t so lucky. The brat puked all over him and cried himself to a fever. Levi didn’t want his brain burnt out, so he had no choice but to take him to Doc.”

“Maybe that’s a mistake. Look at how obedient stupid Vee is. She’s none the worse for her brain being burnt.” She picked up her pace as soon as the conversation started turning to her, and only just caught the last man’s reply.

“She’s an exception. You know more than half of them die when they get fever brain.” She let out a silent breath of relief once she was well-past them. She was still thinking about that little boy, and knew she’d be making an extra stop to Doctor Tang’s place on her way back. These masochists liked to watch their victims scream, so if she could keep him unconscious until after they’d already gone to the field tomorrow…

“Mushroom chief, mushroom chief!” She called out as she entered the village center. Exiting his office, the chief was a man who looked to be in his forties. He walked with his chest puffed out self-importantly, and his clothes didn’t have any patches, showcasing his chubbier body. Sitting in the office meant he’d lost most of the mean muscle and tan that the rest of the village sported, and he claimed it gave him a more elegant air. Mostly he was just pompous.

Thankfully, it seemed he wasn’t entertaining Mr. Lee at the moment, so he had time to deal with her. “Ah, if it isn’t little Vee. Did you bring me your mushrooms? Come, come to the kitchen and let’s see them.”

“Good Vee! Vee bring mushroom to Chief!” She bobbed excitedly, clearly amped up on the little praise she’d received. She followed him obediently into the kitchen, setting the baskets on the counter and unpacking them into the basin as she usually did. They’d be washed and chopped in the morning, so she just followed Vee’s memories to act naturally.

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“Very good, little Vee. Now look at me.” He ordered sternly, and she turned her full wide-eyed attention to him. “You must come back tomorrow morning to make mushroom rolls for the whole village. Remember to tell your mother. You must come straight here to make lots of rolls, and then she’ll get her string of coins. Can you remember that?”

Screwing up her face, Vee repeated slowly, “Make lots of rolls, mom gets string.”

He sighed and muttered, “Close enough.” Louder, he repeated, “Come straight after breakfast.”

“After breakfast.” She nodded obediently, and he seemed to figure that was good enough.

“All right, back home you go!” He gave her a little push, and she nodded like a chick pecking at the ground, picking up her baskets and exiting the building. He’d already gone back to his office, not bothering further with her. No one was paying attention to her as people started to gather round the old banyan tree, so Vivian quickly veered onto the side street with Doc’s house.

She knocked once on the door before opening it, giving a goofy smile to the doc as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a flattened stalk of peppermint she’d plucked and stuck there. She was usually the one they sent to him to refresh his supplies, so it wasn’t unusual for her to bring a stalk here or there of the things she recognized. “Doc, mint!” She called out happily as the legless man turned to face her.

Her happy face turned into a small frown as she asked innocently, “Doc, sick baby?”

Taking the sprig of peppermint from her hands, he gave her a kind smile. “Thank you, Vee. Yes, the baby is sick. Can you get him a glass of warm water from the kitchen?” He casually ordered her around, used to her help.

“Warm water for sick baby.” She nodded her head like a little chick and quickly went to the kitchen. There was a kettle, and she quickly got out one of his cups to pour the water in. After glancing at the room, she decided to take a risk. Pulling her shirt up, she took out the bottle and looked at it, only then realizing that Aiden hadn’t told her how to use it. How much was too much?

It was a decent sized bottle, but it needed to be in order to knock out the whole village. How much was enough? She didn’t want to completely overdose the sick child. Deciding that less was more in this case, she scooped out a quarter of a spoon and quickly mixed it into the water. If it wasn’t enough…she’d just make time to stop by before she went to the village center in the morning. Brother Levi was a lazy person and usually showed up late to the field, so she should have time. She’d have to take the chance.

Making sure the drug was well-concealed again before she went back into the room, she called out softly, “Doc, warm water.”

He reached out, touching the cup and verifying that it was around the right temperature before he nodded to her. “Feed that to the sick baby, I’m going to finish making his medicine.”

“Feed the sick baby.” She nodded obediently as he scooted his modified chair back to the kitchen, content to let her watch over the child temporarily. She moved closer as the little boy, even in his feverish state, watched her warily. As soon as she heard Doctor Tang making noise grinding herbs in the kitchen, she sat on the side of the bed and whispered, “It’s okay, I’m here to help you.”

His eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything as she put the cup down, reaching down into the bucket of water and wringing out the rag the doc had been using to wipe the boy’s sweat. Her movements were slow and gentle as she reached out, tucking a strand of sweat-soaked hair behind his ear as she laid the cloth on his forehead. Still whispering, she went on calmly, “My name is Vivian. Can you tell me your name?”

“Alex.” He still seemed wary, but she was at least getting somewhere. She still had to be quick though.

“Alex, what a pretty name. Do you remember your last name, Alex?” For some reason this felt important to her.

He hesitated, then finally muttered, “Williams.” She paused as the pieces finally started falling into place.

Giving him a bright smile, she patted his hair, smoothing it down as she said, “You’re such a good boy, Alex. Can you keep a secret?” He nodded, his eyes laser focused on her even in his illness. She glanced at the kitchen, then whispered to the boy, “Aiden is coming to save you, so you don’t have to worry. But I need you to do something for me, Alex. This water is going to make you very sleepy. The bad man who brought you here will come back in the morning, and if you wake up before then, you need to pretend you’re still asleep and sick until I visit to give you more. And then, when you wake up again, you’ll be with Aiden again. Can you remember that for me?”

As soon as she’d said the name Aiden his eyes had brightened, and he asked softly, “Sister, are you sure he’s coming?” When she nodded, he seemed to settle. His little eyes showed clear intelligence, and he nodded to himself. “Okay. I’ll wait for Uncle Aiden to rescue me. I’ll pretend to be asleep.”

“Good boy. It’s gonna be okay. Now, drink up. You’ll have a long dream, and then all of this will be over.” She patiently helped him drink the water, though he was fairly proficient on his own. It was clear he was a clever little master, and she could tell by his exquisite little clothes that he’d come from a rich family. She removed the rag from his forehead, hugging the tiny boy to her body as she hummed a soft lullaby.

That’s how Doctor Tang found them as he brought in a bowl of thick brown medicine. Alex wasn’t entirely asleep yet, and both of them wrinkled their noses at the smell. “I see you’ve made a friend, little Vee. Come now boy, drink up.” Under his breath, he sighed as he lamented, “You’ll have to get better sometime…”

She hugged the tiny boy close, patting his back as he forced down the bitter medicine. His eyes were already drooping as she finally laid him down, finger-combing his hair one last time as she murmured softly, “Poor, sick baby.”

“All right, it’s best you run along home now, little Vee. You don’t want your mom to get angry.”

She nodded, sliding from her seat on the bed as she said, “Okay, Doc. Go home.” Casting a reluctant glance at the bed, she smiled as she whispered, “Be better, baby.”

Picking up her baskets, she slipped out the door into the deepening night, sending a prayer to the heavens that at least the child would continue to be spared.