A Girl Called Badger (Valley of the Sleeping Birds) Read Free Page A

turned to look and someone shoved him from behind.
    “Hey!”
    He stumbled a few steps and dropped to one knee. A firm hand twisted his right arm behind his back.
    “Stop!”
    “Keep walking,” said Badger. She pushed him into the dark a few dozen steps, turned him right for a bit, then let go of the arm.
    “I wouldn’t move,” she said. “There’s a thirty-foot drop-off right here.”
    “You’re crazy!”
    Wilson couldn’t see anything. He kept both feet on the ground and a hand on the corridor wall. He considered backing away and thought it morbidly funny that he was more nervous about being alone with Badger than falling to his death.
    “What’s this about?”
    Badger snorted. “About? You tell ME what it’s about. Last night, when you two–”
    “I didn’t see anything!”
    “I hope not, you pervert. I’m not asking about that. I’m talking about my problem. You priests are supposed to have all the answers, but all I’ve been told is ‘don’t worry, it’s happened before,’ or ‘we can handle it, dear.’”
    Wilson smelled spearmint on her breath and cedar from her clothes.
    “I don’t know any more than you,” he stammered.
    “Do you think I’m a child? All your books and machines and you don’t know?”
    “We don’t … we don’t know everything.”
    “That’s for sure. Spotted bears aren’t in your books. Range lizards aren’t in your books. What I know and you priests don’t should be in a book.”
    After a long silence, Wilson cleared his throat.
    “Hello?”
    Footsteps echoed in the distance and he wondered if she’d left. His hand was still on the wall and he wondered if he could get back to the main corridor.
    “Keep still,” whispered Badger.
    Something squished against the wall and Wilson jerked his hand away.
    “What the–!”
    “It’s dead now. Answer my question.”
    “I told you, I don’t know what’s wrong.”
    “I’ve seen you staring at me, priest. I’m not stupid. You must be disgusted with me just like everyone else.”
    “That’s not true!”
    “Which one? That you stare at me or I’m a freak?” Wilson heard the smile in her voice.
    “Never mind,” she said. “Just use the power of the Holy Spirit or whatever stupid ways you priests have to find out. And by Holy Spirit I mean beg, borrow, or steal to find out why.”
    “All right, I’ll try.”
    “Don’t say that, just do it.”
    Wilson heard steps and Badger’s voice came from farther away. “If you don’t want a long trip in your future, keep a hand on that wall.”
    Wilson did as he was told and walked around the corner. He still couldn’t see a thing.
    “Oh, I almost forgot. Watch out for spiders!”
    Her laughter echoed in the hallway as Wilson walked faster. He realized he’d never heard Badger laugh before. He felt strangely elated she hadn’t punched him in the nose.
     
     

TWO
     
    W ilson went to his room and opened a medical text.
    Reed wanted him to study cardiac rhythms but his eyes glided over the pages like a lazy summer breeze. He carved a line into the wood of his desk with a fingernail and thought about the earthen smell of Badger’s skin and the scar over her navel.
    He found Reed in a small room packed with books, his teacher’s face covered with an emerald glow as he read from a display. The dim light and smell of ancient pages always reminded Wilson of mushrooms.
    “I have a question, sir.”
    Father Reed scratched his beard and didn’t look up. “Yes?”
    “The situation with Airman Chen ...”
    Reed smiled to himself. “Yes, what about it?”
    “I’d like to know what’s wrong with her.”
    “She experienced a tonic-clonic seizure, not idiopathic, but the result of a power connection issue.”
    “I’m sorry––what kind of issue?”
    “Power connection. That’s what the display indicated. However, between you, me, and the wall I have no idea what it means.” Reed waved his hands at the books on the walls. “Look at all of these