The Twenty Five Percent Rayanna

Where is She?

        I open my eyes to find Altair's face, inches from my own. "Aahh!" I shout, startled. I'm laying down on the floor of Altair's office. What?

        "Are you okay?" Altair asks, sounding concerned. He is squatting down near my head.

             "Yes, I think so. I just wasn't expecting your face so close to my own. What happened?"

              "You passed out. You are very lucky you didn't hit your head on anything on the way down." He says getting up and moving back behind the desk.

                  "I passed out?" I question. Wolfe. He's dead. The whole world starts to swoop around me, again. I hold my hand to my head and close my eyes. Holding my breath, I wait for the dizziness to pass. "Where is she?" I manage to choke out.

               "I'm sorry?"

                     I open my eyes, look up at Altair, and clear my throat. "Where is she?"

               "Where is who?"

                 "Lou. My niece. Wolfe's daughter. Where is she?"

                 "Oh, she's fine. She's being looked after. I told you that already."

                  "Being looked after, by who?"

                  "Does it really matter, so long as she is safe?"

                 "What do you mean, 'Does it really matter'? Of course, it matters."

                 "I told you the other day, I made arrangements."

                 "For whom?"

                   "A friend of a friend."

                    "Look, she is the only family I have left, now. She is now my responsibility. I have to look after her, for Wolfe's sake. So, who has her? Where is she?" I ask, getting angry.

                    "The only family you have left? I don't think so. We are married. We are family!" Altair shouts, slamming his fist on his desk.

                  I flinch. "I meant blood relations."

                 "Get out!"

                 "But Lou..."

                  "I said, 'Get Out'! Now!" he thunders.

                     I take off running out of the office and through the barracks. Several men call out to me, asking me if I am okay, but I ignore all of them. Because, no, I am not okay. I only married Altair to save the lives of Wolfe and Lou. Now Wolfe is dead, and Lou seems to be lost. For whatever reason, Altair is refusing to tell me where she is. But I'm not going to give up. I think to myself as I slam through the main doors of the barracks. I pause outside and let the warm sunshine on my face. Breathe in the smell of horses and fresh-cut hay. Think. How do I go about finding her? Where do I look, first? Who do I ask? And that's when it hits me. The first place I need to go ask questions is that neighbor of my brother's.

                A while later, I find myself pounding on one of the doors in my brother's apartment. I'm pretty sure this was the one I saw that guy coming out of. There's movement on the other side of the door and then the handle rattles and the door opens up to reveal the same man I talked to earlier.

              "You, again?" a man asks. The same man as earlier, same cameo clothing. His dark hair has greys starting to peek through. He must be in his late thirties or early forties. His grey eyes look tired and dark circles ring them, further proving my theory.

             "Yes. I need to talk to you if that's okay." I say, timidly.

             "I already told you all I know about that Wolfe character." He says.

                "Actually, I'm not really here about him. I need to know about my niece, his daughter."

                 "I don't know much about her either."

                   "Did he by any chance mention where she was going?

                       Or maybe someone come by here to pick her up? Please, it's really important that I find out. I just found out that her daddy died, and I want to be the one to tell her. She already lost her mother, and it will be easier on her if the news comes from me and not someone else."

                   "There was a lady. The little girl left with her. But I don't really know where they went to."

                 "Oh, thanks anyways," I say, disappointed. I turn and start to leave when I hear the man call out to me.

                      "Wait. The little girl said something about apples. Loving apples. Can't wait to live with them. I don't know what exactly it means, but I hope that it helps."

                Apples? Living with apples? The apple orchard! It's on the other side of town, and only one house is located in the center of it. "It does. Thank you so much!"

               "No problem. I hope you are able to talk with the little girl before someone else does."

                Me too. I make like I'm leaving and then when the man shuts the door, I turn and hurry towards my brother's apartment. I feel along the top of the doorframe for the key, but don't find it. What the heck? I'm sure I left it right here, in the middle. I feel all along the top, all the way down to the far edge of the door. My fingers finally feel the cold metal, and I pull the key down. Huh. In my hurry, I must have stuck it way down on the edge. I quickly unlock the door and slip inside, pocketing the key. I walk through the small place, past piles of dirty clothes, and into Lou's room.

              I rummage through the closet looking for a backpack or something. I spot a blue one at the bottom, in the back, sitting on the floor. I reach in, grab it, and look inside. It's slam full of different drawings. Mermaids, unicorns, trees, and countless other pictures drawn by Lou. I dump all of them into the closet floor and then shut the closet door. I race to the dresser and start emptying it into the backpack. We are getting out of here. Now that Wolfe is gone, there is no need to stay married to Altair. Lou's going to need clothes. I'll just have to make do with the clothes on my back. I don't want to be tipping off Altair. Wait. I can just grab a few of Wolfe's clothes. They will be a little big, but I can make them work until I get to the next town. It's not like Wolfe is going to need them anymore.

                 I find another backpack in Wolfe's closet, this one green in color, and then rifle through his dresser, grabbing some of his shirts and pants. It's just temporary. I have to remind myself. I rush into the living area, next, flipping open cabinets, looking for nonperishable foods. There isn't much here since almost everyone eats in the mess hall. But he does have a small collection of what I like to call "traveling food", food that can be shoved in a bag and carried with you as you travel from town to town. I empty his cabinet of traveling food, into the green pack and then dig around until I come up with matches. Digging through the pack, I fish out a balled-up pair of socks and unroll them. Then I pull out several boxes of matches, drop them into the sock, ball it back up with its mate, and place it in the middle of the clothes. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep them dry if it rains.

               I quickly check both packs, making sure they are zipped up, sling them both over my shoulder, and head for the door. I look around one last time and spot the note I had left for Wolfe, earlier. Grabbing the note, I shred it and toss it into Wolfe's trashcan. I make another quick sweep of the room, but don't see anything out of place. Just the usual mess Wolfe and Lou make. Okay, good. No sign of me, at all. I open the door and slip back out, making sure the door is locked behind me. Instead of putting the key back, I keep it in my pocket. Maybe that will make it harder for Altair and his men to get in, once they notice Lou and I are gone. It's time to go find my baby girl, I mean my niece, and take her away from all of this. I'll tell her about her daddy once we are on the go. I don't need her breaking down before we get a chance to leave.