Rene had shaken hands with Khal at the end of the Saturday gala.

“Will this be the last time I see you?” Rene asked. “I assume you’ll be heading back across the country now?”

Khal had smiled as he held Rene’s hand, “I’ve decided to stay for your fundraiser tomorrow. I figured I might be able to help out. Besides, I’m in no hurry to leave. I like this town. It’s growing on me.”

“That’s great!” Rene had said. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow then.”

If he was being honest with himself, Rene definitely wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Khal yet. He still felt that connection, like the man was meant to be important in his life. Of course, he was no threat to Rene’s relationship with Misha. Rene and Misha were forever inseparable. It just felt important to stay in touch with his new friend.

Luckily, he and Misha had sobered up enough to drive home safely. Misha rested his head on Rene’s shoulder for the drive. He was extra cuddly tonight. 

“What a perfect evening.” Misha said. “You should win more awards.”

“This is a one time thing. Definitely don’t get used to it. Also, you’re perfectly capable of winning awards too, you know!”

“But I don’t want to do CPR. What if I mess it up?”

Rene scoffed and shook his head. 

Misha half dozed on Rene as they made their way home. Emory was staying with Ari that evening, so they both made their way up to their room, managed somehow to brush their teeth, and fell happily into bed. Misha began to kiss Rene, but nothing progressed as he was passed out a minute later. Rene smiled to himself as he caressed Misha’s face for a moment. 

Eventually, he rolled over, clicked off the lights, and settled into slumberland. 

Dreams took no time at all to form, and Rene found himself walking in a temperate forest, his large boots crunching the underbrush. He looked down to see himself carrying a shotgun. It was a Remington Model 870. How he knew this, he couldn’t say, but he was 100% certain. Just as he was certain that his hair was no longer light brown, but dark black, and rather shaggy. He was due for a cut per regulations, but he hated getting it all chopped off. 

“Adam, man! We should get back to base!” Someone called. He knew that voice. Knew the man was named Evan, and he was a good buddy.

Adam. His own name was Adam. It suited him. 

He turned to Evan and put a finger over his lips. Evan responded with his palms up like “what gives?” 

Adam gestured for Evan to follow him, and they continued moving stealthily  through the woods, quiet but for the crunch of their boots and the shifting of their weapons as they dodged around tree branches. There was something in the air. A feeling of some impending action. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew they needed to keep going, that they needed to reach the other side of those trees.

There was a metallic scream overhead as a bomber flew by on patrol. Adam looked up in awe, wondering what they saw from all the way up there in their little cockpit. Wondering what their next course of action would be. 

Adam and Evan had been separated from their platoon. It was getting dark, and they needed to find shelter soon so they weren’t sitting ducks out in the open. Adam (Rene fully embraced that he was Adam now) found himself driven forward rather than backwards. Everything in his gut told him this was the way to go. 

Finally, they reached a clearing, and he was relieved to see they’d come across a house. It was dark now, and there wasn’t a light to be seen inside the building. Adam gestured to Evan, and they ran across the clearing and up the steps, busting into the front door and securing the main room before closing the door behind them. Adam indicated he was going to go in the back room, the kitchen area, and gave Evan a gesture that he should stay there in the main room. 

He hoped there would be food. As awful as it was to steal from the locals, the place looked abandoned, and he would happily take whatever the house could offer before they had to break into their emergency rations.

With his shotgun raised, he slowly made his way into the kitchen and looked around. There was a ladder to a small loft. He could just see over the edge, and no one was up there. In the kitchen,  there were a few bags of rice and some vegetables. They all looked fresh. Someone had been here recently. He scanned around. There was a prickle on the back of his neck, and he had the sneaking suspicion that he was being watched. 

Adam slowly crouched down to look under the kitchen counter. His stomach leapt as he saw a young Korean woman looking at him with wide eyes. She flinched back at the sight of him. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Adam said, pulling the shotgun off of him, strap and all, and setting it off to the side. He placed his hands up passively and sat back to give her space. “You’re safe.” He struggled to recall what little Korean he had learned. “Dangsin-eun anjeonhabnida. You’re safe.”

Even in the dark, he could see that she was shivering. His heart went out to her. How horrible to have battles raging around your home that you had no say in. At any time, someone could come in and take advantage of her. 

He pointed to himself and muttered, “Adam. I am Adam. Naneun Adam-ida.”

She slowly pointed to herself and said, “Naneun Ha-Na.”

“Ha-Na?” Adam repeated. He pointed to her, “Ha-Na” then pointed back at himself “Adam.” He then pointed toward the living room. “Evan.”

She looked toward the living room, and he could see her fear spiking again. 

“Adam? What’s going on.” Evan stepped into the room, and instantly noticed the young woman. 

“Well hello sweetheart.” Evan said with a grin. Adam immediately didn’t like the way that Evan was looking at her. He had only known his friend for as long as they’d been in the country together, and he realized he really had never seen him interacting with women. There was something predatory about the way he looked at her now. 

“She’s scared.” Adam said, grabbing his shotgun and standing up so that he was level with Evan. 

“What’s there to be scared of?” Evan asked. He’d noticed an oil lamp on the counter, and had taken to lighting it and crouching down so that he could get a better look at the young woman. “Well aren’t you a beauty.”

“C’mon,” Adam insisted. “Leave her alone. Let’s just find a place to rest for the night and find our platoon again in the morning.”

“Why’s she looking at me like that?” Evan asked, crowding her in more. “Doesn’t she know we’re the good guys?”

“Evan, man. Let’s just go to sleep, okay.” Adam said. 

“Don’t you think we should tie her up first so that she doesn’t slit our throats?” Evan turned to Adam. 

The thought had briefly crossed Adam’s mind once he found her, but it felt abhorrent. The poor girl was scared enough as it was. She didn’t need two soldiers tying her up in her own house leaving her feeling that much more vulnerable.

“I think she’ll be fine.” Adam said. “Her name is Ha-Na.”

“Sweet Ha-Na.” Evan reached out a hand to caress her cheek. Adam swooped down and dragged Evan up, almost causing him to drop the lantern. 

“Leave her alone.” Adam warned. 

“Or what?” Evan asked. His tone was so dark, a wild difference from the man Adam had thought he’d known. He was livid. Adam could tell. It was like someone was telling a toddler he couldn’t have the last cookie. 

“We didn’t come all the way over here to hurt these people. We are strangers in her house. Let’s act like the soldiers we are supposed to be.”

Evan’s eyes flashed, but he said nothing. Adam hoped that was the last of it. Adam gestured toward the main room, and Evan begrudgingly went. 

“Get some shut-eye.” Adam said. “I’ll be in in a minute.”

He sat back on the floor, far enough from Hana that she could run out if she wanted. 

“Can you cook?” Adam rubbed his stomach to indicate his hunger. He slowly formed the words he’d previously read in his Korean dictionary. “Yoli hal su issnayo?”

She slowly nodded, and eventually crawled out from beneath the counter. When she stood up, she was so tiny. Probably just around 5 feet tall, maybe a little shorter. Adam, who was 6′ 3″ and brawny, felt uncomfortable standing up next to her. As if she wasn’t already vulnerable enough. She seemed to trust him though. She rushed about the kitchen, then briefly stepped outside to retrieve some water from the pump for soup. He watched her expertly chop up vegetables and throw in rice for a stew that smelled frankly delicious. Adam could feel his stomach grumbling. 

He walked into the other room to see Evan thankfully dozing away on the floor, using his pack as a pillow. Adam wasn’t sure if he should even bother waking him up for dinner. The stew should keep until morning anyway. 

Finally, Ha-Na dished him up a bowl and handed it to him. Adam muttered thank you in English and Korean. She dished herself a bowl as well, and they both sat on the floor to eat in silence. Adam felt it was the best meal he’d had in the whole time he’d been in Korea. He wished he was more fluent in the language so he could have an actual conversation with her. He was curious why she was here alone. Was her husband fighting in the war?

He happened to glance at her stomach, and noticed it was filling out a little bit. He gestured, and made a motion of a large stomach, hoping he was not offending her. 

“Baby?” He asked. “Umm, ag…agi?”

She nodded, and he saw tears forming in her eyes. Uh oh. He’d asked about something he shouldn’t have. 

“Sorry.” He muttered again. 

She forced a smile and wiped the tears from her eyes. She began to speak rapidly in Korean, but Adam could only pick up words here and there. Baby, first, husband, dead, running. He felt like he got the gist.

“We may be able to get you to safety. If there’s somewhere you want to travel. Uhh, you come with us? Dangsin-eun uliwa hamkke gaja?” 

She looked toward the main room where Evan was sleeping, and shook her head. 

“You stay here?” Adam asked, pointing to her then gesturing to the house. She nodded. 

“Home.” She said. The first word he’d heard her say in English.

“Home.” Adam nodded. 

He finished his stew and thanked her again. She smiled and took his dish to clean it. Adam indicated the main room, and went to find a soft bit of floor to lay down on. He was pleasantly surprised when a moment after drifting off, he woke to find her draping a blanket over him. 

“Thank you.” Adam muttered, before falling back asleep. He vaguely heard her climbing the ladder to the loft. Hopefully she felt safe up there. 

Adam was roused by the clunk of boots across the floor, and a whimpered scream. He looked over to see Evan climbing up toward the loft like a tiger on the hunt. Ha-Na was kicking at him as he tried to grab her and drag her down. 

“No!” Adam cried, jumping up and rushing across to the ladder to grab a hold of Evan and drag him back. “Leave her alone!”

“Why?!” Evan roared, wheeling on Adam as he stumbled off the ladder and just managed to keep his footing. “Who the fuck is going to miss her? We can do whatever the fuck we want right now, and who is going to notice? Blame it on the commie rats!”

Adam’s blood ran cold at Evan’s words. This man wasn’t his friend, he was a raging psychopath who had just found himself with the opportunity to do whatever he wanted to the poor young woman whose house they had invaded. 

“We’re leaving now.” Adam said evenly. “We’re going to get the fuck out of here and find our base.”

“But I like it here.” Evan said. “There’s food and beautiful women to fuck. Why bother leaving? Maybe I’ll just fake my death. Let those idiots fight their stupid war without me.”

Adam shook his head, “Don’t do this.”

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want.” Evan said. “And who’s going to stop me?”

Adam didn’t even register the knife at first. It took a moment to realize that Evan hadn’t just punched him in the chest, but had plunged the blade deep into his ribcage. Adam stumbled back, looking down at the knife, which hung out of him in a surreal display.

“Why don’t you just sleep?” Evan hissed, and turned back toward the loft. Ha-Na screamed again, and Adam, despite feeling consciousness begin to trickle away, managed to grab Evan and drag him down to the floor. Adam grabbed his pistol from its holster, held it under Evan’s chin, and pulled the trigger in one swift motion. 

His ears were ringing as he rolled to his back on the floor. His gaze was beginning to white out. The knife had pierced a major artery, and he could feel his body bleeding out internally, painfully. He vaguely watched as Ha-Na climbed down from the loft and rushed over to his side. She looked at the knife, placed a hand on his wound around the blade, pressing down. He grabbed her hand and shook his head. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Adam muttered. “Joesonghabnida.”

His eyes were on her pale face as the life slowly drained from him. It didn’t hurt anymore. It was like slipping into a warm bath now. He felt terrible about leaving such a mess for her. Maybe she’d be able to use their weapons to protect herself. As his mind turned to fuzzy darkness, he only hoped that she would be okay. That she would be safe. 

Rene gasped awake with a start. He took a moment to orient himself, then grabbed his dream journal off the nightstand and began to scribble away every detail he could remember about this one. It had felt so real. They always felt so real. 

Misha continued to sleep peacefully beside him, that handsome face lost in a perfect dreamworld. When Rene had finished recalling everything he could from the dream, he set the journal aside, laid back down, and rubbed his eyes. He’d died a dozen times in his dreams. In a dozen different lives. 

He wrapped himself around Misha, who almost purred in his sleep, then slowly drifted back into a dreamless slumber.

Chapter 8 https://storiesfrommontana.com/2023/03/05/writing-challenge-2023-part-8-untitled/