Nina found herself amused by her choice of words, again to the point of nearly giggling.
“We’re going to get you to school so you can learn that stuff.”
“What does it matter?” Denise shrugged. “I mean, with all the monsters around. I should just be a soldier, like you.”
Nina thought Jim Brock would not like that answer.
“That’s a decision you have to make once you learn to read and write. Who knows, maybe you’ll be a scientist or an artist. Something that makes the fighting we’re doing now worthwhile.”
“You think it will be over by the time I’m your age? You think we won’t need soldiers anymore?”
Nina wondered if she should tell Denise the truth; the truth that this war might never end. Such a huge world, so many invaders, so few people…it might take generations for victory to be achieved, or it might take one bad campaign to cause it all to collapse.
“I don’t know about that, Denise. Maybe the war will be over by then, maybe not. But even before this invasion we needed soldiers and police. I’ll be honest with you, there will always be bad things; there were bad things before all this. You have to learn to protect yourself,” Nina thought, gave Denise a hug, and added, “and to protect the people you care about.”
“Man, what a downer. Let’s stop talking about this and think about what we’re going to shop for today. What are you getting?”
Some feminine impulse caused Nina to answer, “Shoes. Lots of shoes.”
They stopped first at a shoe outlet. The prices were right but the selection thin. Plenty of pump heels and sandals could be found on the shelves, but Nina saw no boots or sneakers until they happened upon a couple of boxes that had fallen behind a counter where looters from years gone by had failed to search.
Next they visited Independence Mall. The dogs barked and howled until Nina found, shot, and killed a Type B Sloth hiding in a video game store under a toppled shelf.
Denise then dragged Nina into stores, one after another, primarily clothing boutiques offering selections that had been in style five years ago. The eleven year old found jeans, shorts, even a skirt that fit.
Then she approached Nina with something for her.
“Try this on,” Denise said.
“You think I’d look ‘hot’ in that?”
Denise nodded and handed her a hanger on which hung a black party dress with a rather short hemline.
Nina held the hanger aloft and examined the skimpy outfit. The sight of the dress transported her mind back in time to the day when she awoke after having lost that year of memories.
On that day, Shepherd took her to the apartment where, he told her, she had lived for nearly a year. It felt like a stranger’s place, particularly when she heard Patsy Cline on the stereo and found a black dress in the closet.
She did not wear party dresses. Yes, she knew she sported a gorgeous figure but she never felt the need to put it on display. To Nina, her body was a very personal thing. She was proud of her strength and good form, but she preferred not to be the subject of leering eyes. That’s what made her decision to get the wolf’s head tattoo even more puzzling. The idea of her wearing a dress so short and so, well, sexy, felt just as crazy.
“C’mon, try it on,” Denise said. “You have just got to stop being Miss Military all the time.”
“Advice…from an eleven year old?”
“I’m just saying,” Denise retorted in a near-perfect imitation of Nina.
Forest laughed and took the dress into a curtained booth. A few moments later she returned.
They moved a mirror closer to one of the outer doors to make up for the lack of light inside. The sun bounced off the mirror and cast Nina and her black dress in a sharp glow.
“Wow,” Denise said. “I told you that was perfect for you.”
Nina gazed at herself in the mirror and saw all the things she had never been; popular in school, fashionable in life, sexy in a bar or nightclub, the center of attention at a party.
In that close-cut black dress she could see the allure of being those things. She could see herself-for the first time-as beautiful. And she was not embarrassed. She was not self-conscious. She did not look out of place, she felt comfortable…natural.
For a moment she did not miss the fatigues or balaclava. For a moment she was glad not to have a gun in her hand. She wondered how it might feel to play the role of princess for a night.
“Girl, you are all that,” Denise admired.
Nina realized, yes, the black dress hanging in her apartment closet had belonged to her, and she had worn it. When? For who? No doubt those answers were stolen from her, too.
“So,” Denise interrupted Nina’s thoughts. “Will that be cash or credit?”
“You know, for someone who can’t remember the old days you sure know a lot about them.”
“Hey, I talk to people. You should try it sometime.”
“Right. You talk to people.”
“And watch the occasional movie,” Denise admitted. “We found a Cadillac with a DVD player in it a couple of years ago. Watched all sorts of movies until the battery died.”
“Great, you’ve been taught pop culture. I can see we really need to get you into school.”
Denise jumped at the opening. “Guess you’ll just have to take me back to Annapolis with you.”
A few minutes later they left that store and walked through the mall. Denise carried bags full of shirts and underwear; Nina carried her new sneakers and one other package; a dress box.
Denise lugged her shopping bags inside the beachfront condominium she called home, leaving Nina alone outside with Jim Brock.
He asked, “Hey, since you were out for lunch today what do you think, I mean, how about dinner?”
Nina nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
The two wandered toward the beach. The Atlantic Ocean rolled in, one white cap after another, the same routine repeated for eons. Seagulls fluttered about in search of scraps, litter tumbled across the sand, and the long shadows of beachfront resorts stretched toward the water.
To Nina, it felt like summer vacation. She had spent ten days in Wilmington, a symptom, certainly, of the delay in General Shepherd’s advance. Nonetheless, other than her apartment in Annapolis, she had not spent this much time in one place for years, nor this much time with anyone other than her Dark Wolves comrades.
“I think it’s great that you spent the day with Denise,” Jim told her. “She really likes you. I’ve never seen her open up with anyone like that.”
“I know what that’s like.”
“I can tell that. Honestly, even with all the years I spent with her I didn’t get to know her that well. There were just so many kids, and I’m a guy. I suppose I spent more time with the boys because I understood them better. Women are different. Harder of figure out. Especially, well, you’re a bit of a mystery, too.”
Nina said, “Me? I’m not really that interesting.”
“You have to be. You are…I mean…you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. You’ve got a nice smile, too, you should show it more often.”
The words sounded nice, but Nina heard a familiar tone running beneath.
Jim said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl as tough as you. Probably not many guys, for that matter.”
Yes, there it was. It could have been one of the kids from her elementary school.
“Teacher…why is Nina so quiet?”
Or maybe a girlfriend from junior high.
“Hey, here comes Nina Forest; you trying out for the football team, Nina?”
Perhaps a high school date.
“Ouch! Let go! Geez, I was just being friendly you freak!”
Maybe even Scott from the Philly SWAT team.
“Hey honey, stop acting like you’ve got a dick.”
She knew he did not intend to be mean, he just did not know any better.
“You’ve never met a girl as tough as me,” she repeated.
“I like you, Nina. A lot. I haven’t known you that long, but I can tell that something is bothering you. It’s like you’re looking for something. Maybe you feel out of place. I’m hoping you might find what you need here. You could help us rebuild, and maybe we could help you, too.”