His Army Doctor

Chapter 2: Welcome to Thanatos Island

    Delilah had drifted off asleep during the 2 hour boat ride, but awoke as she felt the air get cooler. It had been a nice fall day in Acadia, but she had heard the rumors of the cold weather on Thanatos. In fact, the ferry only ran until early fall. After that, they say it was too dangerous to travel in the icy water. Unfortunately, this was the last ferry until Spring. Delilah knew she would need some time to look for Daniel so she could only hope that he would accompany her back to the coast on that next spring ferry. She stood up in the ferry and looked over the rails. Not only had the air become cooler, but her surroundings had become brighter. The leaves on the trees were gorgeously colored shades of vibrant yellow, orange, and deep red. The ocean water had transformed into a deep blue rather than the tea colored waves that washed up on the sands of Acadia. She could see old cobblestone roads and seashell lined sidewalks that looked untainted by modern vehicles. The rocky coast was not loud with the hustle and bustle that could be found in Acadia and, instead, was quite serene. A few fishing boats could be seen pulling up to the docks with their haul for the day. Thanatos was actually quite beautiful. This was not at all what Delilah had pictured. She wondered what it had been like before the war.

    She returned back to reality as she felt the jolt of the ferry hitting the dock. As she stepped on to the wooden, creaking docks of Thanatos, she pulled her hat down. She had worn plain, worn clothing and a hat big enough to hide her long brown hair. The Acadian blacksmith had insisted that she try to fit in amongst the fisherman crowd and maybe not be identified as a woman. He also warned her not to disclose her title as a doctor here. The army camp was in great need of doctors and it would be better if she could focus on her brother so she could return back to the coast as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, her disguise had not fooled the old captain so she wondered if it would fool any predators she might encounter. She had a very feminine face with long eyelashes hiding bright green eyes underneath. Her high cheekbones and petite figure was also no help. There was no way of hiding the fact she was a woman so it’d be best if she kept a low profile. She kept a fast pace as she hurried off the dock onto the cobblestone street. She kept her head down to avoid the stares of the dockmen and fisherman. It was obvious that not many women came to Thanatos alone. That’s when she ran into what felt like a brick wall. She stumbled backwards and fell back on her back. Delilah looked up to see a man with an army uniform on. He had dark olive skin with black hair and a strong jawline. He was much taller than she was and had a strong build. Delilah would say he was a handsome man if he didn’t look so menacing. His dark eyes seemed to be piercing into her soul. Unfortunately, her hat had fallen off and her long brown curls fell below her shoulders. Delilah stumbled back to her feet, grabbing her hat, as he stood there just staring at her with an almost angry look. “You’re going to want to put that hat back on.” he said as he glanced around them suspiciously.

“Will do,” Delilah mumbled as she quickly walked off. 

    Jeez, he was kind of rude, she thought to herself. Normally, she’d have taken the opportunity to ask a soldier in uniform where the army camp was so she could start asking about Daniel, but he didn’t look like the most approachable soldier. Oh well, there will be someone else.

Delilah found an older lady sewing fishing nets along her way who pointed her in the direction of the army camp. She walked for a couple of miles, but soon realized the sun was going down and the chilly fall air was quickly dropping. She would need to find some place to stay for the night. She saw some bright lights coming from a wooden cabin off the road. The closer she got, she could hear the loud music. It must be some sort of bar. At the very least, maybe she could get some hot food to warm her up. The fruits and produce she had stocked up on in town wouldn’t last forever. She walked down the small beaten road and opened the heavy wooden door. The smell of smoke and alcohol nearly knocked her down. As she opened the door, she quickly realized that this looked much more like a brothel than it did a bar. 

    There were by far more men than women, but women were sitting between groups of men and in their laps. Some were serving drinks while others were performing more … elaborate services. The women were half naked in skimpy lingerie with money hanging out of their panties. Some women looked to be enjoying their entrepreneur opportunity while others looked like they were not here on their own account. Many men stopped to stare at Delilah as she stepped inside. She quickly realized there would be no buying a hot meal here. She kept her head down and walked up to the bar. A small, middle aged man was bartending and seemed to be running the place. 

“Excuse me, is there a hotel somewhere nearby?” Delilah asked quietly.

    The bartender looked at her with a confused expression and then quickly looked back down at the bar counter he was cleaning. “Uh, no sir. We don’t have many tourists here.” 

Why did he say “sir”? Even with her baggy clothes and hat, she was still obviously a woman. The way he kept nervously glancing around though made it clear he was trying to hide this from the guests. She needed to get out of here fast. 

“Ok, then where is the army camp?” “2 miles east,” he replied, keeping his voice down. “Ok thanks,” replied Delilah as she turned on her heels and started heading to the door. That’s when she felt a hand grab her waist and pull her down onto his lap.