They reached the far side of the camp, where a large collection of soldiers and officers were gathered. Right in the middle, barking out orders in his deep, menacing voice, was the intimidating figure of Colonel Miller. The grizzled wolf was emphatically directing the troops around him, and she wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.

Ayers wasn’t having that, though. He walked right into the group, taking the place of a lieutenant who’d just run off with his orders.

“Colonel!” he said as he approached, and the wolf turned to him.

“Sergeant!” Colonel Miller growled approvingly. “Glad you made it. I need you to head over and check the weapons cache. I think they tried to burn it, too.”

“Yes, sir!” Ayers said. “I need to drop off Private Grant. She was supposed—”

“Oh, hell,” the Colonel said. “That’s right. Echo camp radioed about her situation before this all went to hell.” He looked at Alice with a glare that made her quail. “I haven’t forgotten about you, you little cunt. We’re gonna deal with you shortly.” He extended his arm, pointing behind her. “Sit your ass down by that tent, and don’t fucking move unless you want to be shot.”

Alice quivered involuntarily at his words. She had expected a nasty response, but not like that. She took a couple steps back from him and fell on her backside. She sat there quietly as the Colonel turned to the other officers still waiting for instruction.

Ayers made to leave, placing his hand briefly on her head as he passed by. One by one, the crowd around Colonel Miller thinned, and finally he was down to the last couple. As he told them what to do, Alice feared for what would happen when it was just the two of them here.

That didn’t happen, thankfully. Some low-ranking officers came back, hauling equipment and weaponry with them. Two of them were carrying a wooden mess hall table, and they set it up in the clearing at this edge of camp, back nearly where the forest began.

Someone else brought a chair, and a Captain was seeing bringing a pile of documents to set upon the table. As she watched, the Colonel took a seat at his makeshift desk, looking down and spreading out papers. He looked at each in turn, shaking his head and growling things she couldn’t make out every so often.

A slender lizard bearing an MP armband arrived after about half an hour, and he joined the Colonel at the table. They spoke for several minutes, during which time they both took turns glancing in Alice’s direction. Her heart leapt in terror each time, but they said nothing to her directly.

Then, the lizard MP came over and hauled her to her feet without a word. Guiding her toward the desk, he stood her right in front of the furious Colonel.

“Remove her gear, for god’s sake,” he told the lizard. “Not like she needs it.”

The MP walked behind her, producing a knife that he forced between her wrists and used to cut the zip tie. Once her hands were free, he spoke in an oily voice.

“Strip off your gear,” he said, reminding her unpleasantly of a snake.

Shivering in fear, Alice unbuckled the front of her pack and let it slide off her shoulders into the grass behind her. It was a great weight off her back, but she didn’t feel any better. If anything, she was more naked now without her things.

“Give me your hands again,” the lizard hissed, and bound her with a zip tie once more. It was, if possible, even tighter, digging unpleasantly into her fur and skin. Once done, he stepped behind the desk, next to the Colonel, who spoke now.

“That’s better. Now, I really don’t have time for this shit, so let’s get right to it.” He leaned forward, placing both hands on the wooden desk. “You shot Private Tom Niles, did you not?”

“Yes sir,” Alice said in just more than a whisper. “But—”

“And you delivered the fatal shot after he was wounded by an enemy sniper?”

“Yes sir,” she said, trying to make her voice louder. “But—”

“Then we don’t have much to talk about,” Colonel Miller said bluntly. “You had a history with Private Niles, as reported by your sergeant. You two hated each other.”

“Sir,” she said desperately. “I didn’t—”

“I had to deal with you before, didn’t I? When the two of you came to blows a couple months ago?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And now you’ve managed to kill him. ‘By accident’.”

“Sir,” Alice said, panicking. “When I saw him in my sco—”

“I really don’t want to hear it, Private,” he snarled at her. “The mere fact that I’m forced to sit here and deal with you while my headquarters is in smoking ruin says it all. I lost twenty great men and women today. And now twenty one, because this sniveling little cunt in front of me decided that murdering her comrade for breaking up a party was a fine thing to do.”

Tears of terror welled in Alice’s eyes. “No!” she said. “Sir, I didn’t know he was one of ours! His uniform—”

The wolf raised his voice and nearly scared her into taking a step back. “Private, shut up! I’m done with you. I’m washing my hands of you. Shits like you will make us lose this war. I will not let that happen.”

Colonel Miller leaned back in his wooden chair. “I find you guilty of premeditated murder, entering in the log that your personal feud with the victim was your chief motivation.”

This can’t be happening. She just stared at his glaring face, wide-eyed and afraid.

“Furthermore,” he continued, continuing to lock eyes with her. “I hand down to you a summary sentence of death, to be carried out tomorrow at dawn.”

Alice’s blood ran cold. Feeling light-headed, the world spun in front of her, and she felt weightless.

He spoke again, but his words sounded far away now. “Your execution will reflect your crime: You will be shot in the head or neck, whichever I feel like when we get around to this tomorrow. May god have mercy on you, you pathetic little fuck.”

Alice’s mind was blank, and all she could see was a small tunnel at the center of her vision. She was aware that the lizard MP had led her somewhere, and that she was shoved into a building of some kind.

It was light in here, from a window up near the ceiling, and there were a couple of unlit lights on opposite walls. This was, or had been a storage shack of some kind. There was a rickety wood table, a chair to match, and not much else other than a few crates scattered and stacked around.

The lizard left her here, and all she could do was stand still, in a silent trance of disbelief and pure, primal horror. She had no idea how long she stood there, but she was disturbed finally by the door opening behind her.

Alice turned slightly to see Staff Sergeant Ayers enter the room and shut the door behind him, looking somber and serious. She became aware that she was shaking like a leaf, and curiously, even to herself, she found herself feeling disappointed for putting on this childish display in front of him.

She said nothing to Ayers, but remained quiet and unengaged.

“I’ve been ordered to keep watch over you,” came his low voice. It almost sounded sad. “You’ll be staying here tonight.”

She gave the tiniest of nods in acknowledgement. He walked up alongside her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and turned her toward him.

“I’m sorry, kid,” he said. “I don’t think you did it on purpose. I don’t know why Miller has it out for you.”

“Doesn’t matter why,” she whispered, not looking at him.

He sighed, and gently guided her backward.

“Sit,” he commanded, and she obeyed automatically. She found herself on a small stack of crates up against the wall.

He turned from her, and headed to the table, sitting in the chair with a loud creak. Alice just sat where he left her, staring off into nothing, unable to muster a thought or desire to move a muscle. Her heart pounded painfully, as if trying to spur her into action, but it was no good; she was in shock, and may as well have been dead already.

They sat in silence for over an hour, during which time Alice was no less than statuesque. Her blank gaze was fixed on a specific wooden floorboard.

Another hour passed, and the room began to dim in the lowering sunlight. Ayers got up, paced around the room, and seemed to be, in her peripheral vision, trying to find something to say. She didn’t need him to say anything. It didn’t matter. She was dead, and he would obey his order to keep her here until it was time.

“I’m going to go out for a bit,” he announced suddenly, attempting to make eye contact with her. “Colonel Miller didn’t really want you to be given anything to eat, but I think what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

She didn’t engage, but remained staring at the floor.

“So,” he continued after a minute. “What would you like me to get for you?”

She summoned as much energy as she could find, and it culminated in the smallest of head shakes. In response, Ayers walked over to her, and knelt down in front of her. He placed a hand on her knee, and used the other to bring her chin up to look at him.

“Look,” he said softly. “This is a terrible situation, but there’s no reason you can’t have something nice to eat. It’ll take your mind off things. What’s your favorite meal out here?”

She shrunk away from him, retreating into the wall as far as her body could go.

He sighed again, and stood. Stepping to the door, he opened it, and seemed to look back at her again before leaving and closing it behind him. She heard the lock click.

How long he was gone, she couldn’t say. There wasn’t a clock in here, so the only indication of passing time was the steadily darkening light outside. Before long, she was sitting in the dark, observing the last orange rays of light from sunset.

A key turned in the lock, and her heart jumped just a little. It was exhausted, though, and could hardly muster more adrenaline. A tall shape stepped inside, and she saw its eyes glint and it shut the door behind it. Something smelled interesting, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“There are lights in here, you know,” the voice of Ayers said. He walked over to the far wall, and suddenly the shack was bathed in a golden glow from the two light bulbs. It seemed that Ayers was carrying something, and he set it carefully on the table.

Then he was standing in front of her again. A hand came down, grabbed one of her arms, and pulled her to her feet. She acquiesced, unwillingly, but submissively. He left her standing, and walked behind her. Something sharp worked in between her wrists, and then they were free as the zip tie was cut. Ayers put away his knife and dragged her crate stack to the opposite side of where his chair sat at the table. He walked over to the chair, and patted the seat expectantly.

“Sit down,” he told her when she didn’t move. Slowly, Alice shuffled over to him, and he helped her into the old chair. Then he walked around the table, taking a seat on the crates and looking at her.

She saw now that the thing he brought appeared to be a covered plate, and he pushed it toward her.

“Take a look,” Ayers said patiently. “I know you don’t feel hungry right now, but I think you might be pleasantly surprised at what’s under there.”

Alice silently declined, staring now at a small hole in the table. Ayers was persistent, though; he reached forward, pushed the plate right up to the edge of the table, and then took the metal cover off himself.

In spite of her, Alice’s eyebrows raised a little at what awaited her underneath. It was a beautifully grilled, fatty, bone-in rib eye steak. It was as big as her face, and accompanying it was what looked and smelled like creamed spinach, and to her utter disbelief, a slice of pumpkin pie. Ayers set the cover down to the side, and rested his chin on his hands.

She really looked at him for the first time in hours. Forcing her mouth open, and pushing her unwilling throat to make a sound, she finally uttered a word in a croaky voice. “How—?”

“Magic,” he said, smiling slightly. “Don’t worry about how I got this. The point is I did. It’ll be here all night for you, though that steak is freshly grilled, so I recommend you at least sample it now.”

Alice just looked down incredulously at the dish. He’d managed to collect every one of her favorite foods, against all logic. “But how…How did you know about this?”

“Lots of people know you around here, kiddo,” the lean coyote said. “I just asked around.” He took a napkin out of one of his breast pockets, and laid it by the plate. Wrapped inside was a fork and knife.
“That thing’s not overly sharp,” he observed. “But I still hope you won’t try to kill me with it.”

She looked into his eyes, and saw nothing but genuine kindness. Something about his gaze in that second broke part of the depressive spell she was under. Bringing her eyes back down to the steaming plate, she realized her stomach had in fact been trying to speak with her this whole time. It had been a long time since she’d eaten, and she was starving.

Abandoning her dignity, she picked up the juicy rib eye with both hands, and tore into it with her teeth. It was so tender, it fell apart and melted on her grateful tongue. She put on a ravenous display for a couple minutes as she devoured it like she had never done before. The fat caps were wonderfully browned, and the flavor was beyond any expectation.

Soon there was just the bone left, and she picked it clean like a woman dying of hunger. Then she regained her composure for a moment, using the napkin to wipe the carnage from her lips.

Ayers was still just staring at her, and he wore a soft expression. “I’m glad my intel panned out,” he said.

“It’s wonderful,” she muttered in return, feeling a strange combination of shame and numbness, with fear threatening in the wings. Rather than let it catch back up, she dug into the spinach next, savoring the homemade quality of it, perfectly cooked and bursting with salty flavor. It was gone in a minute, and she decided to leave the pie alone for now, pushing the plate away so she wouldn’t be tempted.

“Uh-oh,” Ayers said. “Did I get that one wrong?”

“No…” She couldn’t find the words to express herself. “Why did you do this?”

He appeared to consider her. “You don’t deserve what you’ve been condemned to. It’s not right. I just thought I could make things a little nicer in the meantime.”

Their eyes met, and her panicked and worn out heart was filled with something else. It was something she had forgotten in the stress of the day. It was like her normal mindset was trying to reassert itself, and remind her that from the moment she laid eyes on him weeks ago, she’d been smitten with his lean physique, intense mannerisms, and leadership qualities. He was confident, kind, and fierce. She looked up to him in every way possible, and her heart let it be known in the depths of its misery that she had wanted him.

“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice failing out of shyness now more than shock.

“There’s something else, too,” he said. “Just give me a moment to go and get them.” He stood and headed right for the door. Before he left, he turned to her again. “I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your hands behind you. Just in case someone walks in.”

Alice did so, and he flashed a mischievous smile as he left, locking the door behind him. A few seconds after he’d gone, her eyes drifted to the abandoned steak knife on the table. Without thinking, she reached forward and pick it up, turning it in her hand for optimal stabbing, and brought it down to sit hidden her lap.

For about thirty seconds, Alice sat there, perfectly quiet and still. Then her heart spoke up again, and it expressed dismay at what her logical brain was planning. Guilt erupted within her. What was she doing? She wasn’t going to get away. Even if she managed to kill Ayers, they would get her within minutes. Was she really about to kill the only man who showed her kindness in this awful situation?

She answered herself as she brought the knife back up, and replaced it on the table. Then she put her hands behind her back. Right as she did, the lock clicked again, and the door swung open.

In from the night came Ayers, and he was dragging a cot with him. It had a mattress pad, blanket, and pillow. There was also something else on top that was hard to make out. He moved with haste, bringing it inside and quickly shutting the door behind him. He caught her eye and grinned.

“I took this from one of the burned barracks tents,” he said. “Pretty much untouched, right? It smells like smoke, but we can’t have everything, I suppose.” His eyes fell on the table, and then back to her.

“Decided not to kill me, after all?”

Too late, she realized she hadn’t put the knife back down where it originally was. She hung her head. “You don’t deserve that.”

A thunk indicated he placed something hard on the table. It made a clicking sound, and then static burst from it, soft and familiar. She looked up to see a portable radio, and Ayers adjusting its dials. He found a working station, and it was playing a slow, smooth jazz number. It was soft and romantic, and she felt like she’d heard it before. He left it alone, and then extended a hand to her. She gazed up at the man towering over her, failing to understand.

Ayers bent down, gently taking one of her hands in his. He brought her to her feet, which she accepted submissively. Her heart was pounding again, but now for a different reason. He placed his other hand on her hip, and swayed her softly in a playful manner. Catching on, Alice brought her free hand up and wrapped it around the side of his chest.

Smiling reassuringly, he took the lead, guiding her in a series of slow dancing moves that she didn’t know. She tried to keep up, looking like a clutz all the time, and eventually he settled on swaying back and forth with her, moving slowly around the shack while the beautiful instrumental tried its best to set the tone. She let go of his hand after a moment, and wrapped it around the other side of his chest. She pulled him close, placing her head on his shoulder and squeezing him tightly.

In response, he moved his other hand down, so both rested on her hips. His deep breathing was soothing, and so was his steady heartbeat. A leader of men, she thought. Stoic always. His strong hands squeezed her in return, sending waves of excitement up her body. Her breaths were shuddering, though it was no longer clear what the primary cause was.