"Pleased to meet you, conscious Mr. Fox. The samurai had you over his shoulder when he arrived last night. Caused quite a stir with the women, let me tell you. My name is Madam B."
I smirked. "Madam B? The letter B?"
"Correct."
"Unusual," I said, and she smiled thinly.
"Sorry you're put up in this run down shack. This is all we had to spare."
"I'm not feeling that bad. I'd rather not be here too long."
"Good," she said, unintentionally pleased. "We," she stuttered, remembering herself, "are not used to visitors here, Mr. Fox. Never here. Normally we would say no, but the request came from a great man. We could not say no…We would not. Not to him."
Newton, I presumed. Like the horses before and added extras of kings and mountains, the scientist had overseen every element of this task. I was in good hands.
"He is a great man," I agreed, returning her glass. "How long have you been in this village, Madam B?"
"A long time," she answered plainly. "I am the longest now. We are safe at least, perhaps the safest in all the Distinct Earth." Her eyes suddenly crossed upon noticing the broken window, the shards of bloody glass distracting her from the conversation.
"My companion," I said, apologetically. "He has a short fuse."
Lost in her daydream, Madam B picked up a piece of glass and examined Kat's blood dribbling along its edge. I studied her trance until enough time passed to make things uncomfortable. Coughing for attention, her tired eyes very sharply met my own. "Madam B?" I whispered. "Are…you alright?"
"Of course," she replied, robotically dropping the shard. "Everything is fine here."
I tipped my forehead and cautiously approached her. "Tell me, Madam B, how many people are there in your village? Do you know?"
"There are twenty-five of us, and although your surly friend wanders the grounds now, I would advise you not to do the same, Mr. Fox. Some are still anxious about your presence here. Best wait until dinnertime. A hearty meal will see you both full, happy, and on your way. Yes, no need to stay after your meal. No need at all."
"No," I replied, repressing my own feelings, feelings about this stinking icebox, this strange village, and her stranger behavior.
Madam B opened the door, and the protruding lump at her belly immediately appalled me. A trick of the light, I hoped, but a second glance left me with no doubt: She was heavily pregnant. I wavered back to the bed, unsure what to make of it.
"Don't be startled," she said kindly, caressing her stomach. "Be with us next month…my little miracle."
I briefly nursed a dry mouth before regaining some composure. "I, I never realized you could make babies in the afterlife. New life in death? How can such a thing be…possible?"
She forced a grin. "Get some rest, Mr. Fox. I will see you at dinner. I'll see you then."
Madam B left me alone, and I lay down. I was not tired any more. Here in the day and the dark, the frosty walls and rough mattress, roundabout thoughts bounced like countless sheep over the picket fence. Tiny little miracles Daniel, scattered everywhere.
***
It was the headmaster, Margaret McKinney, who told me the news. I could tell she was crying when I picked up the phone, or trying not too, for my sake. It's funny how you're life can change so completely in a matter of minutes, how the earth can so easily open up and swallow you.
"Are you okay, Mrs. McKinney? What's-"
"Their bus went off the road," she sniffed, apologizing before and after. "Six dead, Mr. Fox. Two teachers, and four…children."
The rest was a blur. Margaret didn't have to tell me; I already knew it.
Losing a child is an indescribable feeling. There's no feelings left when the heart has been ripped out of you.
***
I woke with a start, the early light now was replaced by a strong orange musk seeping in though the shed cracks. A young woman nursed me at my bedside, dabbing a soggy cloth over my forehead. No more than eighteen years old, she hid a pretty face behind a fringe of dirty blonde hair, and her body looked as delicate as any I had seen.
"You were crying, mister," she said, her voice soft and pleasant. "Never seen a fella cry before."
The drying tears on my cheeks confused me. I slouched up, then cleared them with both palms.
"A nightmare?" she asked.
I shook my head — not a nightmare, but a memory.
"Stinks awful bad in here," she said. "Awful, awful bad. You will need a cleanup before dinner. Just sit still now."
"What's your name?" I said, sitting back while she attended to me.
"Name's-" she paused, expressing brief confusion. "They…call me Madam L, you can call me L."
"L? That's weird, already met a B today."
"You spoke to Madam B?" she asked, unmistakably anxious. "Did she mention me at all?"
"Well, no." I said, puzzled. "Why would she?"
The girl turned from me, soaking the cloth in a bowlful of dirty water. I took her slender wrist and she allowed the cloth to sink into that murky bowl. "Why would Madam B mention you?" I asked again.
"Just thought she would've told you, that's all. After all, our purpose was her idea. Solution, she calls it."
"Our purpose?" I said, releasing her wrist. "Which is?"
She lowered her forehead to hide her blushing. She was a beauty with peachy skin, plump cheekbones, and two soft lips like streaks of red paint. Times like these I had to forget I was still a man of flesh and blood. "You take orders from Madam B?" I asked, regaining some composure. "Is she in charge here?"
"Madam B guides us from evil," she said. "She protects us all."
The girl's voice was sincere enough; there was no hint of a lie, as far as I could tell. I even sensed a fondness for her labored-looking leader. Intrigued, I continued with diligence down this line of questioning: "How does Madam B, a pregnant woman, protect you?"
The girl kept her face and her answers from me.
"Am I upsetting you?" I asked. "I'm sorry if I am, it's…"
She kept quiet, and attempting to meet her eye, I caught sight of the scratches scoring her arms and shoulders. Disturbed, I combed back her fringe to discover a lash across her forehead, the blood barely dry. "Who did this?!"
Her chin trembled with her bottom lip, and falling tears gave a polish to her emerald eyes, but if the girl wanted to tell me, her mouth kept the secret under lock and key.
"I can help you," I said, sure of myself. "I can! Madam B? Did she do this? Did she hurt you?"
"Everyone must have a use," she murmured. "A…purpose."
I took the drenched cloth from the bowl and cleared the grime from her face. "Please, don't cry. Whatever the problem, there is no excuse for marks like that. See there, really-"
Taking me by surprise, L smudged my lips with a rough and unfussy kiss, ending with the sound of popping lips. I was completely gob-smacked, lip-smacked rather, as she removed her raggedy top to expose her pear shaped breasts. I opened my mouth to protest, but before any words left my tongue, she flung herself on top of me and then smeared her tits through my hands.
"Our purpose!" she said, kissing my mouth and locking her legs around my hips. "Give me a child! Give me!"
"Wh, What?!" I choked, as the girl fought herself down on top. She wasn't strong, just extremely determined.
"Madam B knows!" she groaned, rubbing at my groin. "No talking now, mister! I'll enjoy it more it you don't talk!"
I too groaned, as this alluring creature's busy fingers unbuckled my belt. I wanted to let this happen, to go with it, but the more I let appetite take over, the louder the sense inside me screamed, "Get a hold of yourself, asshole!"
I turned the sprite over, sat on her flat stomach and pressed her wrists against the mattress. "I'm very flattered," I said, red-faced. "I really am, and I'd love to, but-"