Barry Longyear - Enemy Papers

Nicole sat back upon her ankles and turned her head in the direction of the voice. "Ni benga," she whispered.

The light from the oval window dimmed slightly, then a louder, deeper voice came from the window. "Hada! Hada! Talma hame cha?"

Is there life inside?

"How quaint. Is there life inside? Well, not a whole bunch, toad face. She shook her head, mumbling "Damn… damned if I know."

"Ess? Adze nu!"

Nicole shouted at the window. "Ae! Talma cha! Teani!"

She stood up, lurched, climbed up on something shaky, until she was against the wall next to the window. "Gavey nu? Hey, sucker! Did you hear me? Talma cha! Talma cha!"

"Ae!"

She faced the window, reached deep within the opening, and felt solidly planted bars. A heavy grillwork was over the opening. She tried shaking it, but it didn’t even rattle. "Go around to the other side!"

The wall suddenly glowed with yellow light. Nicole looked behind and saw that the fire had cut off her escape route. Her gaze was drawn down by the sight of countless dismembered children. There was no time to react. The tiny voice called again: "Benga, Echey benga."

It seemed to come from beneath her feet. She looked down and saw a heavy floor grill next to a winding stairwell. Pulling some of the trash from the grill, she knelt down next to it.

"Tean! Hada, tean!"

"Echey…"

She pulled at the floor grill, and when it refused to budge, she ran at a crouch toward the stairs, climbed over the wreckage, stumbled down the steps, and soon was in a huge room, fire dripping from the ceiling.

To her right, large wooden cases filled with rolled documents-huge books, rolled and flat papers-covered the floor. Beneath where the fire had eaten through the ceiling, the paper was blazing away. To her left was a wall lined with more book-filled cases, one of them tipped over in front of a heavy door.

Nicole put her shoulder beneath the obstruction, pushed with her legs, and righted the case. She pulled open the door and two young Dracs slumped against her legs. A third leaned against the far wall of the tiny windowless room and looked at her through half-closed eyes. Its lips formed the word "Irkmaan."

Nicole held out her hand. "Child… Benga, tean. The fire… aakva; aakva …" The words just wouldn’t come. "Help. Help me."

She squatted, grabbed one of the youngsters beneath its arms, and lifted it. Keeping an unwavering gaze on her, the third child moved cautiously toward the door. When it reached the door. it stopped.

"Nue su korum, Irkmaan?"

Nicole shook her head. "No- ne. I won’t kill you. Ne korum."

The child stooped down, tried to lift the other unconscious youngster, then slumped against the wall, exhausted.

Nicole dragged the child she was holding into the big room. Half of the paper-covered floor was blazing, and she put the child down in the stairwell to go back for another load. Back at the door, she picked up the second child and helped the third to its feet.

"Let’s go: Benga."

They reached the stairwell, Nicole deposited the two children with the first, then she stumbled up the stairwell to see if they could get out that way. As soon as the flame-filled opening for the upper floor came into view, she turned and ran back down the stairs. As she reached bottom, she knelt next to the semi-conscious Drac and shook it by the shoulders. "Wake up. Loamaak, tean! Is there an outside entrance to here- echey?"

Nicole pointed at the flaming room. "Where? Is there a door? Gis istah cha? Echey?"

The child nodded and pointed toward the wall away from the flames. "Istah." It pulled at its belt and held out a heavy key and strap. Nicole took the key, grabbed the first youngster, and began moving down the wall. She passed two of those barred windows, then came to a door. Books and papers were piled up in front of it, and the flames were getting closer as she thrust the key into the lock.

"This thing better open outward."

She turned the key to the left, then the right. The lock wouldn’t budge. Hell, the little jerk gave me the wrong key!

"Queda, Irkmaan!"

She looked through the flames and saw the one who had handed her the key bending over the third child.

"Ess?"

"Queda!" It lifted an arm and made a pushing motion with its hand. "Istah queda nu!"

Nicole pushed the key hard, the door swung open onto the remains of a small sunken garden, and both she and the Drac sprawled through the opening. In the distance she could just make out a few dim figures moving nearer. Her lungs were too raw for her to call to them. She pulled the child away from the door and returned for the other two.

The room was a furnace, and as a blast washed her face, she closed her eyes against the heat, her eyes feeling as though their sockets were made out of sandpaper.

Shielding her eyes with her hand, Nicole moved down the wall until she stumbled over the two children in the stairwell. She pulled one up, threw it over her shoulder, and tried to pull the other up by its arm.

"Dasu! Benga dasu!"

Using her arm for a crutch, the child pulled itself up and began slapping her in the head.

"Aakva!"

"Are you crazy? Poorzhab?"

"Su aakva!" It kept slapping her head." Su lode aakva!"

"My head…" Her hair was burning! She grabbed both of the children, shut her eyes.

…and ran for the door, her feet kicking slowly through heavy oil, the heat taking the breath from her lungs, unseen things striking her head, the chilling wonder of a cold paving stone against which to place her face… voices… hands… an end to pain…

…Motion.

In some kind of vehicle. She could hear the hum and feel the roughness beneath the wheels. She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t.

She tried to lift a hand to touch her face, but her arm was bound. And numb. Her entire body was numb.

"Major Nicole? Can you hear me? Major Nicole?"

"Yes." The word came out harsh and dry. Her throat was on fire. "What’s happened?… Who are you?"

"You’ve been badly burned, and the field surgeon thinks you might also have a concussion."

"Mitzak?"

"Yes."

She swallowed, but there was nothing to swallow. "Throat dry."

She felt a tube inserted between her lips, she sucked on it, and a slightly cool, soothing liquid filled her mouth. The tube was withdrawn, and she swallowed. "Mitzak, what about the kids? The three Drac kids?"

"They are alive." He was silent for a long moment. "Three children out of a school of two hundred and sixty." He coughed. "You’re being taken to a health science kovah, Major."

They rode silently for a while, the roughness under the wheels smoothing out. "Mitzak, why are my eyes bandaged?"

"Burned. The field surgeon packed and bandaged them. I don’t know your prognosis. The surgeon never said." A sneer crept into Mitzak’s voice. "It was very busy. You know, the war and all."

"Where is… Sergeant Benbo?"

Mitzak coughed again. "They’re dead, major. Your soldiers. All of your soldiers. There were four direct hits on the V’Butaan field…"

Nicole grabbed the edges of her litter as the voice faded and the darkness of her universe swam…