Vermillion Dawn

[4] Questions

I had barely made it five paces on the trail when someone came running. No doubt, they had heard Mizzy's scream. Two men appeared through the limbs of the trees. They were breathless, eyes wide, and I chuckled alittle. It wasn't really an amusing situation, they thought we were under attack. They lowered their guns upon the sight of me and then gave each other confused looks.  

"What happened?" One of them asked, then he observed Mizzy, "Is she okay?"  

I situated the young girl on my hip, "She's fine. She just caught her hand on the wire fencing." 

"Jesus," The other man cursed, "I thought someone was getting gutted!" 

I scowled, "She's young, what can you expect?" 

"If someone were close by, they would have heard it. We could be raided or killed," He hissed back, eyes narrowed. Mizzy whimpered alittle and dug her face into my neck, attempting to hide from the two men. I didn't blame her. 

"It was an accident," My lips curled distastefully, "I bet you would squeal like a pig if a wire punctured your hand." I was seconds away from setting Mizzy down and swinging my fist into his arrogant face. 

He scoffed, "I'd suck it up." 

"Let's try it, then," I challenged, "I'll stab you with my knife, just for good measure." 

Before he could retaliate against my words, Rincho appeared on the trail. My eyes instantly flew to his. He knew exactly what I was thinking. No doubt having heard a good chunk of our argument. He silently told me to back down and I relented. I had to admit, my heart was pounding, and I was ready for a fight.

"Is there a problem?" Rincho addressed the two men. 

"No, sir." They said in unison. 

"Beat it." Rincho said, his voice even. Sometimes his composure scared me. He was always calm, emotionless. I don't think I've ever seen him crack a smile. He was just a cold man who did his part in survival. I wanted to believe he was a good man. That's why he taught me to defend myself. 

When the two men finally left, Rincho turned to me. His eyes did a once over, observing the situation. Then he asked, "What happened?" 

I sighed, "We were finishing pulling weeds and she tried to open the gate in a hurry. Her hand caught a loose wire and it pierced the flesh of her hand." I purposely left out the part about us playing. I knew Rincho would disapprove. 

He didn't say anything. I couldn't tell what he was thinking in those hard grey eyes. They used to say that the eyes were a window to the soul but I wondered if Rincho even had one. When I looked in his eyes, I couldn't see anything. He didn't let people in. There was a wall between him and people. I wasn't even allowed to know his secrets but I was determined to figure them out. 

"I'm taking her back to Laura," I decided to say, "She won't need stitches but I'd rather have it confirmed." 

Rincho nodded. I wondered if I would ever get used to his silence. He was a man of few words. I started walking, Mizzy's weight growing heavy on my hip, and Rincho fell in step beside me. I silently basked in the company of Rincho. Although we were close, I hadn't seen him much. He was either busy with patrol or raids. 

I chose not to say anything because I knew better than to break the silence. I wished the silence would scream a thousand words so I could understand the man who had saved my life. I didn't think he would ever tell me why. He would only say that he'd found me unconscious, his group was heading out of town and he took me along. I was in a coma for a while before I finally woke.