Dell (part 2 of 3)

Dell

“This little town? Why?”

Dell.

“One of Merol’s men had said that Don had been killed so all of us except one or two moved to the forward rendezvous point,” she began softly.   “By the time I got there someone was already telling you about your family. That was hard.”  It had been two days since they had told him that his mother and brother had been forced into black SUVs and driven off during the fight.  All the hours sleeping in dirt and eating squirrel stew had been for nothing, Dell thought bitterly.  This means more bug bites, early mornings, and dirt.  Dell hated all of the dirt but the anger made him feel guilty so his thoughts returned to his mother and brother.  That scared him, will they be okay?

“And then they were all around you,” Mara continued.  “They wanted to get your family too.  So they started talking strategy on how to find them.  But by then you really had enough and when I saw you we just hugged. Do you remember that?”

“Yea a little.”

“Yea, so we just let you be and figured the next step,” Mara said cautiously.

“Which is?” Dell asked standing up and offering her a hand.

“Which is,” she grabbed it and pulled herself up. “To gather our strength in the woods and take Sam’s Town in a week or so.”

“This little town? Why?”

“Well it looks like it cuts off the North from the South they were saying. And then we have a straight shot for the capital,” Mara said.

“Woh,” Dell stopped and stared at her, now eye-level. “A lot has happened in the last thirty-some hours.  There’s war coming, because of my family, that’s what you’re saying.” Dell looked down and thought about everything. And then looking down he said, “I mean Newtopia will be a push-over there’s no standing military.  But the Culturalists are militarized now, they have power and aim to keep it,” he thought out-loud.  “There’s a whole withering world out there spinning out of control,” He looked up at her. “And the only country that is staying neutral is about to have a civil war.”  He threw up his hands and laughed.

Mara traced her finger around his back, “you have a very healthy way of releasing aggression.”

“I’ll show you aggression,” Dell slapped Mara in the rear and she let out a yelp.  He kissed her small smirk and then they started walking.”