Gardens of Destruction
CHAPTER 16

Captain Davidson walked slowly across the grass, casting suspicious glances at those around him. Long ago, he had ceased to trust others, learning to rely solely on himself.

Jana and Valentina emerged from the bustling dining building, surrounded by a group of scientists who chatted animatedly about their recent discoveries. The child’s keen eyes quickly spotted the smoking figure of Captain Davidson, and she dashed towards him.

“Smoking kills, don’t you know?” Valentina remarked, her voice innocent yet admonishing. “After that, your breath smells like... well, you know, I’m not supposed to say words like these.”

Mark Davidson, taken aback by the unexpected commentary, promptly tossed the cigarette away.

“It’s a bad habit. We all make mistakes, don’t we?” he replied, his voice tinged with a touch of regret. “I’m just a little nervous, that’s why I smoke. Now go to your mom, leave me alone.”

Valentina observed the captain intently, and he, in turn, avoided making direct eye contact with her. The child, never one to hold back, decided to inject some humor into the situation.

“Yeah, I instantly believed you,” she quipped with a mischievous grin. “It’s not possible not to like me, I’m sure!”

Mark, still uneasy, remained firm. “It’s better for you to go home, kid. Your place is not here.”

Valentina refused to back down and continued to probe. “You are rude and a liar! What makes you nervous? Because of the asteroid, or because you lost this? It’s yours, isn’t it?”

With those words, she handed him a small dolphin toy. Mark accepted it with a trembling hand, his gaze fixated on the toy as if it held some profound significance. Then, as if abruptly awakening from a trance, he spoke.

“Um, thanks...”

But Valentina had already darted away, leaving Mark to contemplate the toy in his hand. He took a gulp from his canteen, his thoughts consumed by the encounter with the fearless child.

***

Couple of days later Captain Davidson walked slowly, his eyes scanning the soldiers gathered around the hummers. The towering monolith of the base loomed ominously in the background, its edges shrouded in a thin haze. Valentina noticed the captain and hurried over to him.

“I’m bored. Mom is in the lab, and I have a babysitter!” Valentina complained.

“What does that have to do with me?” Captain Davidson asked, his tone curt.

Val pretended she didn’t hear the question and continued, “What are you looking at? And what’s your name? You never told me.”

“It’s none of your business. And like I said, it’s not a place for a child,” the captain replied dismissively.

Valentina felt hurt by his response and turned to run away.

***

The dimly lit interior of Captain Davidson’s spartan barracks bore the weight of solitude as night settled in. Mark lay sprawled beneath his narrow bunk, his face pressed deep into the coarse fabric of a military-issue pillow. The pungent scent of stale alcohol hung in the air, an empty whiskey bottle discarded carelessly on the cold, unforgiving floor.

As he lay there, tears welled up in Mark’s bloodshot eyes, finding their way down his rugged cheeks in silent streams. Each droplet seemed to carry with it a fragment of his burdened soul, an unspoken testament to the hidden torment he bore.

In his hand, he clutched a piece of chalk, the white dust trailing off onto the drab, concrete floor as he drew small, intricate dolphins with a delicate touch. The soft scritch-scratch of chalk against concrete filled the room, a fragile echo of the turmoil within his heart.

The room’s bare walls seemed to close in on him, their cold, metallic frames reflecting the harsh reality of his existence. Outside, the world of the military base continued its relentless routine, unaware of the storm raging within the confines of Mark’s solitude.

In that moment of vulnerability, he found solace in the simple act of drawing those dolphins, their graceful forms etched into existence by his trembling hand. They were a poignant reminder of a world he had once known, a world that had slipped through his fingers like sand, leaving behind only tears and regrets.

As the night wore on, the room remained cloaked in darkness, and Mark’s tears continued to fall. His heart ached with the weight of unspoken words and unshared pain, as he grappled with the ghosts of his past.

***

The next day, outside the main building of the military base, Mark gave orders to some soldiers when Valentina suddenly appeared behind a frame house. Mark dismissed the personnel and turned to her.

“You again! Are you stalking me or what?” he asked, his irritation evident.

Valentina, undeterred, replied, “You know, you’re kind of rude! Soldiers have to be tough, but I think you still have to be polite, right?”

Mark began to feel embarrassed by the girl’s remark. Something cracked inside him, and he decided to change his approach.

“Okay then... you’re stubborn, in a good way! Shall we start over? I’m Mark,” he introduced himself. “Just wondering, where do you get all that energy from?”

Valentina beamed a wide smile. “Hi, I’m Val, pleased to meet you officially. You know, Mark, right now I can run from here to that... thing there. I’m not scared of it. No one talks about this rock, and I kind of like it. I’m not afraid like your General!”

“So you’re braver than me. I don’t really care what it is, but I’d certainly prefer to run in the opposite direction!” Mark admitted with a chuckle.

The little girl sat down next to the captain, looking up at him solemnly. “See, you can be funny! You know, my mom is a scientist. What’s your job?”

“I’m just a soldier,” Mark replied.

“I know that. I asked what you do in the base,” Valentina pressed.

Mark hesitated for a moment. “Well, that’s classified. But since you politely asked, I can tell you. My job is to keep anything that comes out from there to come here and vice versa.”

Valentina continued with her questions. “My mom says that all soldiers are rattle-brained. Do you agree?”

Mark chuckled again. “Who knows, she may be right. Can you keep secrets? I certainly don’t like them either.”

Valentina’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I can! Tell me a secret!”

Mark hesitated, then finally shared, “I’ve been watching you closely... and you are the brightest thing in this base. Others are so boring and not funny at all.”

Valentina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “True?”

“True,” Mark confirmed. “Why did your mother bring you here? It could be dangerous for you. Why didn’t you stay with your father?”

As he spoke, the child’s face faded, and clouds of sadness appeared on her face. “My granny does not live in the US. And my father... He doesn’t care about us! He even forgets my birthdays. I have to ‘erase’ him, that’s what mom says.”

Mark nodded, sympathetically, regretting his earlier questions.

“I also have a rare disease. Mom would never allow anyone else to take care of me. It’s called autoimmune disease. Do you know it?”

The Captain hates himself for asking the question. But Val was unmoved.

“No worries, most of the time I feel okay. But sometimes it’s really painful, it’s like my bones are broken. Mom says I’m so strong that the good cells in my blood attack my own body. If I don’t get my procedures, I’m going to die,” Valentina explained.

An awkward silence followed, and Mark looked perplexed. The thought that a child could die like that was unbearable. Valentina’s smile returned.

“You know, I’m not afraid to die. I need to be brave, for mom. She would never admit it, but I’m stronger than her!” Valentina declared proudly.

Valentina’s eyes, filled with childlike wonder and innocence, glistened like a pair of bright stars in the dark night. Her words, delivered with unwavering determination, hung in the air like a sweet promise of hope.

“You say it’s dangerous here, right?” Valentina questioned, her voice carrying a hint of curiosity and concern. “From now on, you could be my protector, my knight... my general!”

Mark, his guarded demeanor slowly giving way to a newfound warmth, couldn’t help but crack a small smile. He watched the spirited child before him, feeling a sense of amusement tinged with affection.

“I’m just a captain, Val,” he replied, his tone gentle yet tinged with a hint of humor.

Valentina, undeterred and brimming with conviction, shook her head in playful defiance. “Nope, you’ll be MY general. It’s decided... and non-negotiable!”

With a swift and carefree turn, Valentina shifted her attention away from Mark for a moment, her gaze fixating on the distant asteroid that loomed on the horizon. A flock of birds, their wings slicing through the air in graceful unison, added an unexpected touch of surrealism to the otherwise serene scene.

The military base, wrapped in a shroud of silence, seemed to hold its breath, as if recognizing the significance of this unlikely connection between the battle-hardened captain and the spirited child.

Meanwhile, unnoticed by both Mark and Valentina, Lieutenant Lipov lingered in the shadows at a distance. He sharpened a massive knife with a meticulous focus that hinted at a different kind of danger lurking beneath the surface.

As Mark stood there, lost in thought and he whispered to himself, his voice carrying a weight of uncertainty.

“Val... I failed to protect her... but I swear I’ll protect you this time.”

He reached for his canteen, hesitating for a moment, deeply torn, and then finally decided, pushing the canteen back into its place.

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