Prologue
When I was little, it was just me and Mama. We didn’t have much; our clothes were old and worn, our home on the bad side of town. I never noticed a difference and even though my stomach grumbled through a meal or two, mama provided. She took care of me, taught me, and loved me.
It was just the two of us until I turned about six, then something changed. People around us started getting really sick. It wasn’t everyone though, mostly ladies like my mama.
Some of the shopkeepers, like Missus Hawk at the bakery, stopped opening their stores. Me and Mama never got sick, but a lot of other grown-ups did. Then, more things got different. People didn’t stay in the streets anymore. There was scared whispering everywhere. I was a good secret keeper, but no one told me anything. I asked Mama what was going on and she got that look on her face like she tasted a sour berry.
Her nose would wrinkle up and her lips would go totally straight and all she would say is, “Nasty business in the world, baby. We just take care of us and we’ll be just fine.”
One day, when I was sitting at my desk working on my letters, Mama came home with a man. I never knew my daddy, Mama said he went to heaven when I was just a baby. I was excited this man might be my new daddy. Mama told me his name was Steve and he was gonna take care of us because it wasn’t safe for Mama to be alone anymore. I told her I was with her and she smiled at me and said she knew that. Steve didn’t smile at me like my friend Tony’s dad, but my mama was smiling and nodding, so I did too.
That night Mama tucked me into my own bed instead of cuddling with her like we always did. I was really scared, but Mama told me to be brave and stay there. I heard noises from her room, but I’m a good boy and I listened when she told me to stay. If Mama says it’s okay, then it will be.
A few nights later, Mama woke me up from a deep sleep telling me we had to get ready.
“Come on, baby, we need to go,” she said as she rushed me into my coat and shoes. I rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out of them, but it stayed dark and I think it musta been real late.
“Where are we going?” I asked, putting my arms into the sleeves of my secondhand coat, “Where is Steve?”
Mama got that sour look again before she answered, “Steve can’t help us anymore.”
She held onto my wrist as we creeped out the back door. It was super dark outside, but it was noisy in the square a few blocks from our house. I wanted to go over and see what was happening, but Mama shushed me and dragged me down the back alley. The noises got closer and anytime it sounded like someone was near, Mama pulled me to hide in the shadows. I saw people running by, but they didn’t talk. Big men, dressed in dark clothes. Even in the dark, I could see a weird symbol on a band on all their arms. I wanted to ask Mama about it, but she was squeezing my arm so hard I thought it was gonna leave a bruise. When they were gone, Mama kept pulling me along, still gripping tightly.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered.
I don’t think she was talking to me.
A Week Later
“I wanna go home,” I say as I sit on the edge of our bed looking through the rusted bars. Even though I’ve said the same thing probably a zillion times in the last few days, Mama doesn’t get mad. She seemed really worried when the men took us to this place, and I didn’t understand why, until we got here. It’s smelly and dark and we have to stay in a tiny room all day. There are no windows to the outside, just a giant hole in the ceiling in the big area outside. Mama only brought me out there once, and I just wanted to keep looking up at the blue above, but we had to go quickly.
Mama calls this place The Tomb.
There are people in other rooms around us. Cells, mama calls them. The other people are all big scary men. They like to yell things at Mama she doesn’t seem to like. When I told one of them to shut up and stop talkin’ to my mama, he only laughed.
“I know, baby,” she replies, sitting behind me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. Even though I’m hungry and unhappy, being in her arms makes it a bit better. Sighing, I lean back into her, letting the low humming that vibrates in her chest begin to lull me to sleep. The gross smells around me blocked out by that sweet and familiar scent of her.
Mama says it’ll be okay, and Mama never lies.
When I wake up again, it’s to the sound of metal on metal and shouts echoing over this entire place from the other men in cells. It’s always dark here, but I think its nighttime now.
Mama isn’t holding me anymore and I miss her touch. I have to blink a few times to wake up but then I see her standing in front of me, by the door of our room. Some of the men who put us in here are on the other side of the bars and it looks like one of them is going to open it.
Maybe they’ll let us go home now?
Bouncing up, I make my way to mama with a smile on my face until she whips around and faces me. Mama’s eyes look scary, kind of like the night we left home. She holds my shoulders, pushing me backward and I see water swimming in her eyes.
“Ax, baby I need you to go sit on the bed and stay there okay?” My lip quivers. I don’t like seeing mama like this and don’t understand what is wrong. She doesn’t want the men to come in here. Then why is she standing there waiting for them?
“But Mama….”
“Don’t you ‘but Mama me,” she replies quickly. The cell door opens behind us and she hugs me tight to her, kissing my forehead, “You do what I said, and stay right there and be a good boy for me. I’ll be back soon, baby.”
I nod and make my way back to the bed, hugging my knees tightly. The man who came for Mama is looking at her funny and when he grabs her arm, she flinches. When she grabbed my arm too tight, she said sorry after she saw the bruise, but this man is smiling at her and he doesn’t say sorry. Something hot builds inside of me as I watch how rough he is, and as much as I want to be a good boy for Mama, I can’t stay quiet.
“Leave my mama alone, you’re hurting her!” I shout, jumping to my feet to pry her from the man’s arms. A heavy hand smacks me, knocking me back into the cell.
“Axle stay back!” Mama cries out as the man drags her from the cell. My head hurts and I’m dizzy when I try to get up. The metal bars of the door slam in my face and I hear Mama’s cries fade into the distance. My arms push through the opening reaching for her, heedless of the cuts forming on them.