Blackbird

1 - The Goodbye

"It's just a graze," I told her. I mean that's all it was in my mind. Anything worse would have caused a lot of problems and slowed us down from what I was assuming another run for it.

Mom gave a nod and bit her lip as she took the first aid kit from me and turned her attention to Declan. "Dec, I need you to take that towel and hold it to your sister's arm as tight as you can."

Even as young and as scarred as he was, he knew now was not the time to question an order. So he nodded between tears as he picked up the towel and held it to my arm. I could tell he was trying not to hurt me as his little hands trembled. "It's okay, buddy, you can't hurt me." That seemed to do the trick as he tightened his grip, and I bit back a grimace. "Good job, bud."

 I then used my good arm to place him on my hip. We then followed Mom out of the bathroom as she told Declan to close his eyes. We stepped over the three dead men, and I briefly felt bad for the poor landlord. He was not going to have a fun morning. Though it wasn't the best neighborhood, so it probably wasn't the first time he had seen something of the sort.

I always knew something like this could happen, especially since Mom had taken Declan in. Now that it was happening, everything Mom had said to do in this situation was swirling around my head at alarming speeds. Declan and I climbed into the back seat of the car as Mom put it into drive. "Once we get far enough out of town, we can look at your arm. If you start to feel worse let me know."

"I'm fine," I said, well as fine as one could be in this situation at least.

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The car ride was silent other than Declan's soft hiccups as he continued to cry but no longer had any tears to shed. He still kept his little hands on my arm as I whispered lullabies. When we were outside of the city lights, Mom pulled over and climbed into the back seat with us. "You can let go, Dec."

"You did a good job, buddy," I praised, running my right hand through his curly hair. "You are the bravest bluebird."

He gave a tiny nod as he sunk into the seat next to me as Mom moved to work on my arm.

I winced a little when she rolled up my sleeve and started cleaning my arm. "You were right it's a graze. It's deep, and it's going to need a few stitches, though." She started pulling out what she would need to do the stitches. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," I replied, giving her a nonnegotiable look and continued before she could argue. "What happens now that they've found us?"

Mom talked as she stitched up my arm, which was good because it kept my mind off the pain, well, some of it anyway. "Remember me telling you about the safest place I know?" I nodded. Mom had told us stories of this place for as long as I could remember. I knew she had stayed there as a teenager and deemed it the safest place she knew. She had never given much detail about her time there, but I knew enough about it in case of emergencies like this. "I'm taking you guys there."

I didn't like the sound of that. "What about you?"

"I'll be back, but there are a few loose ends I have to tie up. We can't hide forever as we learned tonight."

That wasn't good. Those words were never good when Mom used them. Declan looked up at Mom. He didn't like those words either. "You're leaving?"

"Just for a bit, bud, but you're going to have so much fun. Did you know it's called the Mansion of Birds? You're my bravest bluebird, so you'll fit right in," Mom comforted momentarily, leaving my arm to run a hand through Declan's hair.

Mom loved birds. I realized that maybe this place had something to do with it. We all had bird associated nicknames. Declan was bluebird, I was dove, and Mom was blackbird. I heard Mom call out for a hummingbird once in her sleep, but I didn't have the heart to ask her about it.

"It's our next adventure," I told him. He was still naive enough that every scary thing could be made a little less scary by proposing it as an adventure. I missed that innocent belief in myself.

As Mom finished with my arm, she started giving me instructions for what to do at the Mansion of Birds. "When you get there, there will be a guard's shack at the gate. If there is someone there, identify yourself as a friend and tell them The Blackbird sent you. Inform them you need to talk to Mr. Rossi. Tell Mr. Rossi you need protection. Do not give him your last name, or mine, or the people you need protection from. It is much safer that way. If no one is in the guard shack, you will have to wait it out till morning. The window in the guard shack can be opened with a little fiddling, and it's big enough to climb through. You'll at least have shelter until Mr. Rossi takes his morning perimeter walk. While you're at the Mansion of Birds, I need you to be on your best behavior and don't worry about me. I'll be okay. Listen to everything Mr. Rossi says because he knows what he's talking about."

"How long?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even.

"I don't know my Dove."

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The rest of the ride was quiet. Declan had stopped crying and instead sat much too still for a five-year-old. Mom had stitched me up and gave me something for the pain. It was now just a dull ache numbed by my worry over Declan. Fittingly it started raining as Mom once again pulled over. Mom pulled her black leather jacket off and handed it to me. "Put this on."

I took my time, relishing those last few moments in the car. Mom also handed me a blanket from the passenger seat to use to cover Declan up as we trekked through the woods. "It's just a straight path right?" Mom nodded.

The moment we got out of the car the cold went straight to my bones along with the sinking worry over everything that was about to happen. "This is it," Mom said.

I allowed myself to be pulled into a hug. "I love you, Mom."

Mom kissed my forehead. "I love you too, Dove." She then kissed Declan's forehead. "I love you, my bravest bluebird."

"I love you, Mommy," Declan whispered.

I knew if we didn't leave then, we never would. With one last look, we turned to the forest and started our walk to our new life for an unidentified amount of time.