Chapter Seven

The smell of freshly baked bread warmed the air as Vivian packed mushroom rolls into bamboo baskets to keep them fresh, occasionally returning to the fire to stir the soups. Granny Stone had popped back in to check on them, but otherwise left her alone while they dragged tables and chairs into the courtyard.

Being alone helped hide the rising anxiety as she tried to appear normal while also going through a hundred different possibilities of how this all might play out in her head. She just had to act normal. Normally stupid. How long did the drug take to work? It had knocked Alex out rather fast…but he was also a sick child who needed, and was trying, to sleep regardless.

“Vee, get the rolls for the guards.” Grandma Stone re-entered the kitchen and ordered her, bringing out two smaller jars that she began to ladle soup in. Dutifully, Vee picked up the two smaller baskets that each had four mushroom rolls and presented them to the old lady.

“Roll for guards, roll for guards.” She bobbed quietly.

Given they couldn’t join the feast because they had to keep watch, a bit was always separated out and taken to them beforehand. “And the plain rolls?” Grandma Stone asked again, and Vivian quickly brought over another basket. She was trusted to make the rolls, but not to pass them out to the women who weren’t allowed to leave their houses. Grandma Stone looked them over then nodded, taking all three baskets as she hollered, “Brother Chu, come and get the baskets for the guards!”

It was time. Quietly nomming the single plain roll she’d kept aside as her own meal, Vivian tried not to vibrate with nervous excitement. She shoved the last of it into her mouth like a foolish chipmunk as several men entered the kitchen, two of them leering at her. “Time to start. Take everything out!”

Ducking her head as she hurriedly chewed and swallowed, Vivian murmured softly as she picked up two baskets, “Rolls out, rolls out.”

She followed the men who hauled the remaining baskets, pots of soup, and the casket of baijiu out. It was set up like a lunch line, and coarse brown rice appeared at the beginning, cooked in other households throughout the day. They were set up near the entry so people could grab their food as they came in.

Standing dutifully at her ‘station’ as three other women were put in charge of the rice, soup, and ale, Vee bobbed her head as people lined up and started collecting their food. “Two men, one woman, two men, one woman.” Vivian repeated her rules aloud as she handed two rolls out to any man that came through, handing one to the women. Even if they’d long become part of the village, even if they were the grannies that ruled their families with an iron fist… they only got one roll.

One woman who muttered about it being unfair got cuffed by her husband and nearly dropped her soup, quickly going quiet once more. Vivian pretended she didn’t feel the men who tried to hold onto her hand when she passed them bread, or the considering look Mr. Lee gave her when he passed in a spot of honor and deference from the others. She ignored the jeers, tuned out the comments that she was ‘getting ripe,’ and smiled foolishly at anyone who called her little Vee or said that her rolls smelled divine.

There were still a few people drifting in as the Chief stood in front of them all, holding up a cup of baijiu as he declared, “I know you’re all hungry, so I’ll make this short. A toast to Mr. Lee, who brought in two new members of our Clear Mist Village for Brother Jones and Brother Levi! To the continued prosperity of our Clear Mist Village!”

“Hear hear!” They stomped their feet as the men raised their cups, many downing them sloppily. She watched the liquid dribble down their chins as they wiped their faces with the backs of their sleeves, if they did at all.

“To Brother Levi! Better luck tomorrow!” One of them joked.

The ribbing began in earnest as the chief yelled out, “Dig in!” Almost all of them reached for their rolls, biting into the bread that she’d made as smooth and delicious as possible. There were a few lewd moans, and more than a few contemplative looks her way.

“Good thing we’ve got little Vee here. These rolls are delicious!” They seemed to speak only in yells as the cacophony rose, the men already slightly tipsy from downing the strong baijiu.

“That’s my girl!” Madam Vance beamed proudly, clearly counting a string of coins the chief had given her for Vee’s work. Looking over at Vee still standing stupidly behind the now-empty table, Mother Vance chided her, “What are you still standing there for, stupid girl. Go start on the dishes!” As Vivian nodded slowly, collecting the pots, she could hear her continuing, “Really, I have to order her to do every little thing or she just stands there staring at me.”

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Hauling the now empty pots back to the kitchen, she listened as the merriment outside continued. Why were they still so loud? Was the drug not working? She put the pots down next to a basin of cold water that had been left for her, staring at a wok that had been dirtied doing who knew what at some point in the day. Probably one of the grandmas being lazy snuck it in for her to wash, knowing she couldn’t ask questions.

“There you are, little Vee.” A slurred voice came from the directly behind her, and she looked up, eyes wide as she spotted James Tanner. The man had already killed three women in the last six years, with his job as the village tanner giving him more coin than the others. “You’re all grown up now, aren’t ya? Pity to waste a girl like you on that foolish brat.” Putting a restless hand on her hip, he pulled her towards him as he leered, “I’ll just have a taste. It’s not like he’ll be able to tell the difference.”

She could smell the vile rot of his breath, the putrid leftovers of his tanning solution sticking to his clothes as he moved his hands to grope her in the darkness of the kitchen. He’d almost kissed her when her knee took him straight in the family jewels. Staggering back, he only got out a startled, “You dare hit–” before, having a clear angle, she brained him with the wok in her hand.

Crumpled on the floor, she sneered at him as she whispered angrily, “Damn scum.” She considered hitting him a few more times, but settled for a few kicks to the rib.

Taking a deep breath, she reached for the largest kitchen knife they allowed in here, taking it and the wok as her sword and shield as she walked into the dark building, heading for the bright courtyard once more. There was a different kind of noise now, and she needed to inspect.

“What’s happening? Why’s everybody sleeping?” As she appeared in the shadowed doorway, she surveyed her handiwork. Men and women were slumped in their chairs, some falling to the ground. Others face planted directly into their food. Others were struggling to stay conscious.

The Chief was one of them, and she figured he’d been late to eat because he was toasting. He was trying to check on Mr. Lee when he noticed her. Clarity dawned as his face contorted into hatred. “You did this? You bitch!” He stumbled to lunge for her as she watched dispassionately, a cold look in her eyes. As soon as he was close enough, she stepped into a backswing, clocking him clean in the face with the wok. She heard the crunch of cartilage as she destroyed his nose and he went flying back, only giving her one last disbelieving look before he passed out, blood streaming from his face.

Silence. Those who’d been making noise before had all been drawn to the commotion, watching as she stood like an avenging angel, her smile full of spite as she brandished her knife, looking at them with clear eyes and asked, “Anyone else want to try me?”

“Die!” Surprisingly, the scream wasn’t directed at her. One of the other serving women who’d retreated to her husband’s side to sip on soup had realized what was going on and was now strangling her unconscious captor.

The reality of the situation finally seemed to sink into the two other women in similar situations, and they began looking for weapons as they realized the others who’d been awake were also falling beneath the shroud of drugged mushrooms. One seized a dagger from the belt of a nearby man and was violently stabbing it into his chest, over and over again. The third was just running around kicking people as hard as she could.

Vivian stood there, frozen as she watched the three women go crazy, before her senses finally kicked back in and she ran to Sister Lena, holding onto her arm to stop her from stabbing anymore. “Lena, he’s already dead, stop, stop. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

The woman began sobbing, blood splattered everywhere as she looked at Vivian with a face straight out of a murder scene(because it was), her voice choking out, “Thank you, thank you.”

Sister Angie, who’d been kicking people, finally seemed to run out of steam as she came back to the two of them, spitting on Lena’s husband’s corpse as she said, “Good riddance! But we’ve gotta go. You didn’t kill them all, did you?” She seemed to be maintaining some of her rationality, but the blood and gore on Lena didn’t even phase her.

“Uh, no. They’re just unconscious.” Vivian responded honestly. Unless Aiden had lied to her and given her poison, in which case she was screwed because she fed it to Alex.

“Then we’ve got to leave, now!” Angie decided, tugging at Lena’s arms to help her up. She called out, “Sister Liane, leave him. We’ve got to run!”

While Liane’s side was missing the blood of Lena’s, her so-called husband, as well as her mother-in-law, were no less dead from the look of things.

“I think it’s too late for that.” Vivian replied honestly as she picked out the sound of booted feet quickly approaching. Angie’s face filled with fear and Lena’s with despair as they too, heard the signs of an oncoming crowd. Seeing they’d misinterpreted it as the wrong kind of backup, she quickly added, “It’s okay, they’re on our side.” Hopefully. She added silently. Although looking at the three people dead in front of them, she started to worry about the women instead. They were surrounded by unconscious bodies and one very bloody, clear murder scene.

They looked like the villains.