Ship of Souls

others got away to safety.”
    “You want us to take you back there so you can help them feel better?” he asks sarcastically.
    “No! I’m just saying…”
    “This whole scenario reminds me of something,” Nyla says. She stops, and for a moment all we can hear is the faint trickling of water somewhere farther down the tunnel. After a moment Nyla haltingly begins:
    Take up our quarrel with the foe:
    To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high.
    If ye break faith with us who die
    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
    In Flanders fields.
    “What’s that? Some kind of…prophecy?” I ask.
    Nyla shakes her head and sloshes on. “It’s a poem. I had to memorize it for Remembrance Day.”
    “Remembrance Day—what’s that?” asks Keem.
    “You know—Veteran’s Day. It marks the end of World War One.” Nyla says the poem over again. “ If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep . Maybe they feel betrayed. Maybe that’s why they aren’t at peace.”
    “So take it out on the Hessians—not us! Talk about a bunch of sore losers.”
    “War isn’t a game, Keem,” Nyla says with an edge to her voice.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Keem asks defensively.
    “They didn’t lose a sports tournament—they lost their lives! Fighting for this country.”
    “So? That’s what they signed up for. They weren’t drafted, they volunteered.”
    “And I guess a jock like you would never enlist.”
    “Why should I? This country’s at war with my religion—Uncle Sam doesn’t want me joining up. I’m the enemy, remember?”
    “The war’s on terror—not Islam.”
    “Oh yeah? Too bad most Americans don’t know the difference!”
    Finally I spin around and hold up my hand so that the bright light stuns them both into silence. “All right, you guys—that’s enough!” Suddenly I hear something whimpering behind us. I know the sound didn’t come from Nyla or Keem—they’re heated, not sad or scared.
    “What was that?” I ask.
    “What was what?” Keem looks around warily.
    “Shhh—listen.”
    We freeze and strain our ears to hear the strange sound that caught my attention.
    “It’s coming from over there,” whispers Nyla, pointing to a corner where two sewage tunnels intersect.
    I slowly walk over to the dark corner. Something white is cowering near the ground. When the white bones disappear as I approach, I know it’s one of the dead. I tell Nyla and Keem to stay back. As I get closer, the crouching skeleton takes on flesh and becomes a crouching boy.
    “Are you OK?” I ask.
    “The light…” he says in a hoarse voice, his hand shielding his eyes.
    I pull my sleeve down over my hand to dim the light generated by Nuru. “Is that better?”
    He nods and slowly pushes himself up the curved wall of the tunnel.
    “It’s you! You helped me escape.” The boy nods and tries to smile, but it seems he’s forgotten how to look—or feel—happy. “Thanks,” I say. “I owe you one.”
    “You OK, D?” Keem’s deep voice booms down the tunnel, frightening the boy.
    “It’s OK,” I assure him. “My friends are with me.” I call over my shoulder, “It’s the boy who helped me.” This time the boy forms a genuine smile. “What’s your name?” I ask.
    “Billy,” he says, standing up straight.
    “Is it all right if my friends come and meet you?”
    Billy gives a nervous nod and tries to make himself more presentable. He runs a hand through his stringy hair and then pulls his jacket closed to hide the bayonet wound that tore open his stomach more than two hundred years ago.
    I motion for Nyla and Keem to join us. They aren’t too sure how to greet a ghost, so they just nod and say, “Hey.” It’s clear that Keem doesn’t trust Billy at all, but I do.
    “So…you followed us?” I ask.
    Billy nods and clears his throat. “I—I just wanted to ask…that is, I hoped you might…”
    “Yes?”
    “Could I—could I come with you?”
    Before I can answer, he rushes on. “I won’t be no trouble, I swear I won’t. I just…I don’t want to live like this no more. We can’t eat, we can’t sleep—we can’t do nothing like we used to when we was alive. I’d give anything just to be able to shake your hand!” Billy hangs his head. “I didn’t know it would be like this when I joined up. When the end came, I was so angry—it wasn’t fair! This wasn’t supposed to happen to me. I’m just a boy…”
    Keem grunts with contempt.