by Dawn, M. K.
Britney pinched her lips together. “The farm is falling apart.”
“It’s no—”
“Yes, it is.” Britney’s chest tightened. “Don’t you see the tension buildin’? People are barely workin’. Everyone hates each other, hates the Council. I don’t know how things got so bad so fast.”
Axel brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Give it time. Things will get better.”
Tears burned her eyes. “People keep sayin’ that, but I’m not sure that’s the case. It’s been close to a month since Jerry left and people are still pissed. Plus, it’s already so damn cold. It’s only a matter of time before the people start...”
“Start what?” Axel ran his fingers down her arm.
“I don’t know. Freaking the fuck out.”
Axel chuckled.
Britney swatted his arm. “Don’t laugh at me. I’m being serious.”
“Come here.” Axel waved her over. “Let me hold you.”
Britney didn’t move. “What time is it?”
“Am I that repulsive?”
“Stop.” Britney swatted him again. “I just want to know if it’s worth trying to go back to sleep.”
Axel pulled his arm from under the covers and pushed the little button on the side of his watch, lighting up the face plate. “Five a.m. on the dot. Guess that means snuggle time is over.”
“Did it even begin?” Britney threw off the blankets and wrapped herself in a fluffy robe. “Lord, it’s cold.”
Axel shivered as he climbed out of bed and slipped on his clothes. “Damn. Guess we’re going to have to start lighting the wood stoves at night.”
A year ago, they had installed a wood stove in each of the upstairs bedrooms and basement. After the first winter of nearly freezing to death, they knew they couldn’t go through that again.
“Probably wouldn’t hurt.” Britney leaned against the wall and pulled back the curtain. A fresh layer of snow covered the ground below. “Looks like it’s going to be a cold winter.”
“Snow...” Axel peeked over her shoulder out the window.
Britney lay her head against his chest. “It would be a lot prettier if we had central heating.”
“Seems earlier than last year.”
“But not uncommon.” Britney stared out the window in awe at how the white powder twinkled in the moonlight. “I used to love the snow.”
Axel wrapped her in his strong arms. “Used to? Not anymore?”
“No. There’s too much danger associated with it now. Illness and death. It scares me.”
“It’s not all bad.” Axel rested his chin on the top of her head. “It keeps the infested away.”
Britney pulled out of his arms and spun around. “Oh, my God! Why didn’t I think of that before? The infested hate the cold.”
Axel furrowed his brow. “Yeah...”
“When Nathaniel got bitten...” Britney’s heart raced. “It was cold. Below freezing most mornings.”
“Yeah, I remember, but that—”
Britney paced the room, unable to think clearly. “How did he get bitten, then? How? The infested don’t do well in the cold. The past few winters, we haven’t seen any.”
“Brit, you need to calm down.”
Spots danced before her eyes. “I can’t! There’s something wrong...it doesn’t make any sense.”
Axel took her arm and helped sit her down. “You’re having a mild panic attack and not thinking clearly. Just because the infested don’t do well in the cold, doesn’t mean they’re not around.”
Britney leaned over her knees, rocking back and forth. “It doesn’t make sense. Their bodies don’t function well in the cold. They’re slow. He could have outrun it without any problem. He shouldn’t have been bitten.”
Axel crouched in front of her. “The infested could have caught him by surprise. He could have had an asthma attack. Sloan confirmed he was sick. We don’t know what happened. We probably won’t ever know. But one thing we know for certain was that he did get bitten. Nothing can change that.”
“You’re right.” Britney took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. “I know you’re right, but...it doesn’t feel right.”
“I know.” Axel patted her knee. “Why don’t you go back to bed and try to get some sleep. You’re exhausted. The kids can handle their chores without your supervision this one time.”
Britney shook her head. “No. I can’t sleep. I’m too wired.”
“I can ask Sloan if she has anything in the clinic that might help you relax.”
“No.” Britney flipped on the lamp in her closet and dressed. “I don’t want anything like that. What if something happens and I’m too drugged up to help?”
“I think we could manage,” Axel said with a chuckle.
Britney sat down on the bed and slipped on her socks. Her work boots she kept by the front door. “I don’t know if I should be grateful or offended by that comment.”
“You need to take care of yourself, Brit.”
“I’m okay, really I am.” She headed for the door. “I need to get my hands dirty, keep myself busy. Mucking out stalls will help clear my head.”
Axel seized her hand and pulled her in for a kiss. “Promise me one thing. Talk to me if things start becoming too overwhelming. No more dealing with this on your own bullshit. I’m your...”
Britney narrowed her eyes, curious where he was going with this. “You’re my what?”
Axel laughed. “I was going to say boyfriend, but it sounded so...lame.”
“Really?” Britney bit her bottom lip. “Got another word that doesn’t sound so lame?”
“No.” Axel scooped her in his arms. “But maybe we could work on that?”
Britney stared into his eyes, her heart thrashing. “What are you trying to say?”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “Marry me?”
Tears clogged her throat as a million emotions raced through her mind.
“I know it’s silly considering everything that’s going on. Hell, I don’t even have a ring but—”
Britney threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “It’s not silly. And I don’t care about a ring. I love you, Axel. More than I ever thought possible after what happened to John. Of course, I’ll marry you.”
Axel lifted her off the ground, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he stumbled toward the bed.
“What are you doing?” Britney laughed, unable to contain her giddiness. “You know I have to get to the barns.”
“The animals can wait.” Axel dropped her on the bed and climbed on top of her. “First, we celebrate.”
Every nerve in her body tingled at the thought of his touch. “Fine. But only a quickie.”
“Sure.” Axel started unbuttoning her flannel shirt, kissing her skin as he made his way to her breasts.
Britney arched her back as he exposed and nipped her erect nipple.
“Okay.” Her breath quickened. “Maybe not a quickie...but fast.”
Archer chuckled. “I make no guarantees.”
***
Britney skipped down the stairs as the sun crested over the horizon, more calm and happier than she’d been in a long time. She was getting married, and even though that didn’t mean a big wedding or a fancy dress, it felt perfect.
Molly glanced up from the Barbies she played with on the floor and smiled. “Morning, Mommy.”
“Hi, honey.” Britney relaxed on the couch beside her. “You’re up early. Where are the boys?”
“They’re still sleeping.” Molly stifled a yawn. “I wasn’t tired anymore.”
“Obviously. Did something wake you up?”
Molly climbed on the couch besides Britney and snuggled into her side. “I heard a noise.”
“You did?” Britney brushed Molly’s hair back with her hands. “What sort of noise?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did it come from inside the house?” Britney asked, afraid she and Axel might have
gotten a little too loud.
“Nope. It came from outside.”
“Okay.” Britney thought about all the possible noises that could have startled Molly awake. “Were the dogs barking?”
Molly shook her head, no.
“How about the cows? Or maybe it was the wind? We did get some snow last night.”
“No.” Molly scrunched her little nose. “It was like a crash. Like something got broken.”
“Huh. I didn’t hear anything.” Being such a light sleeper, Britney usually heard everything. “But I’ll make sure to walk around the house and check things out. Okay?”
Molly looked up at her and smiled. “You’re the best mom, ever.”
“Yes, she is,” Axel said as he plodded down the stairs. “That’s why we love her so much.”
“Good morning.” Molly beamed.
Axel picked her up from the couch and hugged her tight. “Good morning to you, little early bird.”
“I heard a noise.”
“Did you?” Axel propped her on his hip like Britney used to do when Molly was a toddler. “Is that what Mommy’s going to check out?”
“Yep,” Molly said with a pronounced head nod.
“Would you mind if I checked things out?” Axel asked. “Since Mommy’s already late getting to the barn.”
“That would be even better.” Molly hugged Axel’s neck. “You’re the bravest dad ever.”
Axel kissed her cheek and put her down. “Now go upstairs, wake your brothers, and get ready for school. Rainey will be here in just a little bit.”
“Fine.” Molly huffed. “But I’m not going to wear my jacket today.”
Axel went to argue as Molly raced up the stairs, but Britney stopped him. “She’ll step outside, realize how cold it is, and put it on. No use fighting about it now.”
“You really think she heard something?” Concern tugged at the corner of his eyes.
“I don’t know.” Britney grabbed her jacket from the coat rack next to the door. “I didn’t sleep much last night and didn’t hear anything. It could have been a dream and she just thought it was coming from outside. Or maybe she did hear us moving around this morning. Either way, can you check both the inside of the house and the outside?”
“I was planning on it.”
“Thanks.” Britney zipped up her jacket. “That would make me feel a lot better. And Molly, too.”
“I know how your mind works.” Axel kissed her cheek. “Before you leave, when do you want to tell the kids about us getting married?”
“Tonight, at dinner, if that works for you. I want to do it as a family.”
Axel shook out his hands. “You think they’ll be okay with it, right?”
“Of course, they will.” Britney threaded her fingers with his. “They already call you ‘dad.’ This just makes it official.”
“Speaking of making it official, we’re not going to have this long, drawn out engagement, right? I mean, it’s not like we have a wedding to plan.”
“Am I pregnant?” Britney shot him a sly smile.
Axel rolled his eyes. “Funny. It just...I don’t know...”
“It’s long overdue.” Britney gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Give me ‘til next weekend. We might be in the midst of an apocalypse, but I’m still a girl and it’s still my wedding. I promise, ten days from today, and I’ll be all yours.”
“Ten days, it is.” Axel smacked her on the butt as she turned to leave. “But if you get cold feet on me, I’m throwing you over my shoulder and doing this caveman style.”
“Shut up!” Britney laughed. “I mean, seriously, it’s not like I have a lot of options in this place.”
“I see. Got to take what you can get.”
“Ding, ding, ding,” Britney said as she tapped her nose with her index finger. “I got to go. Love you.”
Axel grinned. “Love you, too.”
***
Britney was still smiling when she reached the barn. It had been a long time since she felt so lighthearted, so content. Maybe Axel was right. Maybe the past few weeks had just been a hiccup. Things were bound to get better now. She couldn’t imagine them getting much worse.
She entered through the side of the barn, as she always did, and paused. By this time of morning, the kids should have already been here, cleaning out stalls and chattering away. Today, the barn was empty aside from the animals, whose stalls had definitely not been cleaned.
As she turned around to leave, the faint sound of talking caught her attention. Tilting her head, she listened closer, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.
Toward the end of the barn, a thin line of light flickered against the wall. A light that shouldn’t have been there unless one of the pens had been left open.
Britney hurried in that direction, the sound of voices growing louder with every step. She stopped at the pig pen and examined the sleeping sows, both covered in mud.
“Dammit,” Britney muttered as she entered their pen. The ground didn’t appear to be wet as she would expect if they’d turned over their water trough. But a turned over water trough was the only explanation she could think of to explain why they were so muddy.
“Hello!” Britney called out, still hearing voices.
Diego opened the door that allowed the pigs access to the outside pen. “Miss Britney?”
“What’s going on?” Britney moved closer. “What are you doing out there?”
Diego averted his eyes. “It’s bad, miss. Real bad.”
“Shit.” Britney sprinted out the back door and nearly fell to the ground at the sight before her.
The greenhouse, their lifeline to year-round fruits and vegetables, lay in shambles on the ground. Metal poles were bent in every direction. The film that surrounded it: shredded. Through the debris, she could sort of make out what remained of the uprooted plants.
“What the fuck happened here?”
Eli looked to Mia, Diego, and then to a distraught Juliet. “We think the gate was left unlatched. We found the pigs in there, tearing stuff up. Took all four of us to get them out.”
“You think the gate was left unlatched?” Britney screamed. “You think! I...I...I don’t even know what to say! It either was or it wasn’t! There’s no in between.”
Eli hung his head. “The gate was open. The door leading to the outside pen wasn’t latched.”
Juliet fell to the ground and sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I swear I checked them before I went home yesterday. I swear I did.”
Mia sat beside Juliet and held her close. “It’s okay. Accidents happen.”
“This isn’t an accident. This is a complete and total fuck up!” Britney felt herself losing control, but she couldn’t help it. “We have no other greenhouse. Nothing will grow here during the winter. That’s if any of our plants are even salvageable.”
“I checked the gates. I swear I did.” Juliet continued to sob.
“It’s okay,” Mia cooed as she looked at Eli. “You’ve been distracted. We understand. It could have happened to anybody.”
Eli kicked at the dirt. “I’m sorry.”
Britney had noticed Juliet was more distracted than normal these days, but for her to forget to lock the gate and pen? It was so out of character; she couldn’t believe it.
Britney buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. We had months’ worth of food growing in there. Dozens of plants ready to be harvested. How did this happen?”
“Guess pigs next to the greenhouse wasn’t such a good idea after all,” Eli mumbled under his breath.
“What did you say?” Britney stormed over and got right into Eli’s face. “This setup has worked for us for nearly two years. Two fuckin’ years and not once has anything like this happened. And I sure as hell didn’t see you complainin’ when it was your turn to clean the stalls and move the manure to the compost pile inside the greenhouse.”
Eli took a step back. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. I was just
stating the obvious, which was stupid and inconsiderate. I’m sorry.”
Footsteps slapped the ground from the other side of the barn. Seconds later, Axel and Archer came into view, skidding to a stop at the sight of the destroyed greenhouse.
“Holy shit!” Archer holstered his gun. “We heard yelling and thought...what the hell happened?”
Britney threw up her hands. “The pigs got out of the barn and found their way into the greenhouse.”
“What?” Axel climbed over the fence and joined them. “Did they break the latch?”
“No.” Britney gritted her teeth. “Seems like the barn and gate didn’t get closed properly last night.”
Juliet sobbed louder.
Axel met Britney’s eyes. “How bad is it?”
Britney cocked an eyebrow, confused by the question. “What do you mean how bad is it? You can see it. The greenhouse is destroyed.”
Axel took her arm and dragged her to the corner of the stall where they could talk in private. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t understand your question.”
Axel’s eyes drifted to the four kids. “Was this an accident? I mean, it has to be, right?”
Archer joined them. “Maybe we should talk about this in private.”
“Yeah.” Britney closed her eyes for a second and took a deep, calming breath. “First, we need to get this cleaned up. Check the plants and see if any can be re-potted and saved.”
Archer tilted his chin in the direction of the kids. “What are we going to do with them?”
Britney brought her clenched fist up to her mouth. “I don’t know what to do. This is just...it’s a damn mess. But if it was an accident—”
“If?” Axel asked in a hushed tone. “You don’t think...”
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” Britney said. “Maybe all of this—the infested, the water—maybe it’s all just a big coincidence. We went two years without an incident. This could just be the natural order of things.”
“Excuse me,” Mia interrupted. “I’m sorry, but if it’s okay with you, I’m going to take Juliet home. She’s distraught and needs to rest.”
“Fine. As for you two,” Britney addressed Eli and Diego, “we’re going to need to clean this up. Find some extra pots, soil, shovels, and anyone who can help. Lord knows we’re going to need it.”