A Maidens Grave

Elb.
    “Congratulations,” LeBow said quietly. “The first exchange. A success.”
    Budd was pale. He slowly exhaled a cheekful of air. “Brother.”
    “All right, everybody, let’s not pat ourselves on the back too much,” Potter said. “We’ve only got an hour forty-five minutes till our first helicopter deadline.”
    Of all the people in the van only young Tobe Geller seemed disturbed.
    Arthur Potter, childless father that he was, noticed it immediately. “What is it, Tobe?”
    The agent pushed several buttons on the Hewlett-Packard and pointed to the screen. “This was your VSA grid during the exchange, Arthur. Lower anxiety than normal for a mildly stressful event.”
    “Mildly,” Budd muttered, rolling his eyes. “Glad you didn’t take mine.”
    “Here’s Handy’s average ten-second sequence for the entire exchange.” He tapped the screen. It was nearly a flat line. “He was in the doorway with a dozen guns pointed at his heart and that son of a bitch was about as stressed out as most people get ordering a cup of coffee at 7-Eleven.”

3:13 P.M.
    She felt no thud of gunshots, no quiver of scream resonating in her chest.
    Thank you thank you thank you.
    The butterball Jocylyn was safe.
    Melanie huddled with the twins in the back of the killing room, their long chestnut hair damp from tears, plastered to their faces. She looked up at the bare bulb, which—just barely—kept the crushing waves of the Outside from smashing her to death.
    Her finger nervously entwining a strand of hair again. The hand shape for “shine.” The word for “brilliance.”
    The word for “light.”
    A blur of motion startled her. The huge bearded form of Bear, chewing a hamburger, stormed up to Stoat and snapped a few words. Waited for an answer, got none, and shouted some more. Melanie couldn’t read a single word of their conversation. The more emotional people became, the more ragged and fast their words, making them impossible to understand, as if just when it was the most important to say things clearly there could be no clarity.
    Brushing his crew cut, Stoat stayed cool and looked back at Bear with a sneer of a smile. A real cowboy, Melanie thought, Stoat is. He’s as cruel as the others but he’s brave and he has honor and if those are good qualities even in bad people then there’s some good in him. Brutus appeared and Bear suddenly stopped talking, grabbed a packet of fries in his fat hand, and wandered off to the front of the slaughterhouse, where he sat down and began shoveling food into his messy beard.
    Brutus carried a paper-wrapped hamburger with him. He kept glancing at it in an amused way, as if he’d never had one before. He took a small bite and chewed carefully. He crouched in the doorway of the killing room, looking over the girls and the teachers. Melanie caught his eye once and felt her skin burn with panic. “Hey, miss,” he said. She looked down quickly, feeling stomach sick.
    She felt a thud and looked up, startled. He’d slapped the floor beside her. From his shirt pocket he took a small blue cardboard box and tossed it to her. It was an asthma inhaler. She opened it slowly and handed it to Beverly, who breathed in the medicine greedily.
    Melanie turned to Brutus and was about to mouth “Thank you,” but he was looking away, staring onceagain at Mrs. Harstrawn, who’d fallen into another hysterical crying fit.
    “Ain’t that something—she . . . keeps going and going.”
    How can I understand his words if I can’t understand him? Look at him—he crouches there and watches the poor woman cry. Chewing, chewing, with that damn half-smile on his lips. Nobody can be that cruel.
    Or do I understand him?
    Melanie hears a familiar voice. So you’ll be home then  . . . .
    Get up, she raged silently to the other teacher. Stop crying! Get up and do something! Help us. You’re supposed to be in charge.
    So you’ll be —
    Suddenly her heart went icy cold and anger vaporized her fear. Anger and . . . what else? A dark fire swirling within her. Her eyes met Brutus’s. He’d stopped eating and was looking at her. His lids never flickered but she sensed he was winking at her—as if he knew exactly what she was thinking about Mrs. Harstrawn and that the same thing had occurred to him. For that instant the pathetic woman was the butt of an inexcusable, mutual joke.
    In despair she felt the anger vanishing, fear flooding in to fill its place.
    Stop looking at me! she