Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

house with a gang of canners coming after him.
    “Bryn, chillax, I’m going to be fine.” Peter rolled his eyes at me.
    “I’ll be there too, don’t forget,” said Fohi.
    I gritted my teeth together to keep myself from saying what I was thinking. Somehow the thought of a guy who had just shot his own reflection didn’t fill me with a huge sense of calm.
    “I’ll be there too,” said Paci. “Nothings gonna happen to Peter.” He looked at me intensely.
    “I can look after myself,” said Peter, leaving us to go stand at the front of the car. A few seconds later he said, “It’s getting really dark out here, guys. We should probably go before it pours.”
    “We will in a minute. I just want to be sure everyone knows what we’re doing here,” I said as Kowi folded up the map and put it in his back pocket. “Today is recon day only. We are not supposed to engage with them at all or let anyone know we’re there. We watch them until it’s dark and they go to sleep, then we regroup over here.” I searched their faces, looking for any signs of disagreement but seeing none. “We’ll discuss what we found, make a plan, and go in for rescue probably tomorrow morning. Right?”
    Everyone nodded except Trip.
    “You don’t agree?” I asked, slightly irritated.
    “Yeah, I agree. But I also think we need to stay open to the idea that we might have to engage today. If they see us, then your plan to do nothing kind of goes into the wind, doesn’t it?”
    “He’s right,” said Bodo. “We gotta be ready to make da big explosion and den get dose kids out.”
    “And end those canners,” said Fohi, cracking his knuckles.
    “I’m ready for the dogs,” said Winky, without emotion, patting her pocket.
    “You scare me, Winky. You really do,” I said, unable to stop smiling.
    She shrugged. “We are the indigenous people of this place. We do what we have to do to survive. I’m not going to apologize for it.”
    “And no one expects you to,” I said, putting my arm across her shoulders. “Come on, guys. Let’s go do some recon.”
    “Wait!” said Winky, unzipping her backpack and pulling a leather pouch out.
    “What’s that?” I asked, as everyone gathered around her.
    “Warpaint,” she said, dipping her finger into the opened pouch and bringing it out. She reached over to the closest person next to her and put her finger under his eye, pressing her fingertip to his skin. Then she spoke solemnly.
    “Fohi, member of my tribe, I send you off to war, to do what must be done to protect our people. Go with strength and purpose.” She drew her finger from his eye, down to his jaw, leaving a trail of black paint behind.
    Each person stepped up in turn, receiving the black line and words of inspiration. Kowi took the pouch from Winky to do hers, and then I was the only one still remaining.
    Kowi retrieved some paint from the pouch and walked over to stand in front of me, placing his fingertip under my right eye. He stared at me for a few seconds, and no one said a word. My heart was pounding and my breath came rapidly. I don’t know why, but this suddenly felt more than just ceremonial to me. As if the exercise and the paint carried some form of supernatural powers of protection that might make it possible for me to survive this ordeal.
    Kowi spoke in a deep, reverent tone. “Bryn. Nokosi. Member of my tribe. I send you off to war, to do what must be done to protect our people. Go with strength and purpose. You will not fail us. And we will not fail you.”
    ***
    The first ones out were Rob and Fohi. I don’t know about anyone else, but I was sending some crazy prayers up to any gods or angels who might be listening. Please, please, please don’t let anything happen. I stood at the entrance to the garage, watching them make their way up the street. They stayed close to the houses, crouching down when they got near windows.
    “Bryn, you’re next. You and Winky. Go,” said Kowi, nodding his head at us.
    I gave Bodo and Peter a quick hug before moving off, getting a good luck lick from Buster that for once didn’t gross me out. Winky and I followed in the trail of Fohi, who I could still see a couple blocks ahead of us, before he and Rob turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.
    Winky and I moved as silently as we could, the soft, animal hide of our moccasins making it easier. All I could hear was the soft rustling of the tall weeds and grasses that rose up to our knees, and in some