by Crist, J. D.
Marley yawned back at her in response. Emily took it as a sign that he was done and ready for bed.
"We got a bit longer before bedtime, but you can nap once we get home."
Marley looked to be pouting but stayed beside her as she walked through town. Emily made sure to check on Jose to ensure that Derick did not try to start anything. Jose was working with Cole and Sam to sure up some loose boards on the garage. Emily knew that Sam would find something to fix and was glad to know that Derick would have a much harder time stealing the moonshine. Emily then did a surprise visit to Derick to ensure that he was sober. Derick was not thrilled by her visit but kept his answers short and civil for the most part.
The afternoon would soon be turning to evening. Emily headed down the stairs from the apartments and headed home. Marley strolled behind her, obviously worn out from his day of full activity. Emily opened the door to the house and led them all inside. It wasn't quite time for dinner yet, so she instead grabbed a book and sat on the couch and read to Hope. Hope stared at the pages as Emily read, and it looked almost as if she was reading along.
Once they finished, Emily headed to the kitchen and made supper for everyone. Marley ate his food with his usual gusto and slept on the floor before Emily had finished feeding Hope. Emily set Hope on the floor to snuggle Marley while she ate her dinner. Hope had not been allowed to play with Marley until his stitches were out, and she missed her puppy time. Emily allowed Hope to continue playing while she did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.
"Time for bed, you two," Emily said as she finished and carried Hope upstairs and put her to bed.
Marley hesitated at the base of the stairs but followed after a bit of encouragement. Emily tucked in Hope while Marley curled up under the crib. Emily looked up at the bandana that hung on the wall and then headed back to the door.
"I'll come back for you later," Emily said to Marley as she left the room and closed the door.
Emily walked to her room and sat on the bed. She grabbed the photo album from her nightstand and began to flip through the pages. She looked at her family's faces as she slowly turned the pages. She paused and looked for a long time at a picture of her, Joe, and Rachael. The photo must have been taken from Joe's senior year of high school, and the three of them looked like they were all sharing an inside joke. Emily focused on Joe and the bandana he was wearing. It was the same one that he wore when he got in his motorcycle accident. The doctors couldn't explain how he survived, but Joe was convinced it was because of his lucky bandana.
Emily whispered good night to her family and returned the photo album to the nightstand. Emily went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, and brushed her teeth. Emily then returned to the bedroom and sat on the bed. Emily folded her hands together and closed her eyes. She prayed for God to give her the strength and wisdom to keep Sanctuary safe. She prayed for Hope and everyone in her family. Lastly, she prayed to be free of her vows to Chad. Emily opened her eyes as she finished. She had not prayed this much since she was a child and her mother made sure she said her prayers each night.
Emily stood and went to Hope's door. Marley stood as she opened it and began to walk towards her. Emily looked at Hope asleep in the crib and then at the bandana that hung on the wall.
"I hope you left a little bit of luck in it," Emily smiled as she closed the door and led Marley to bed.
Marley carefully jumped onto the bed and snuggled down. Emily flipped off the light and crawled in beside him. Marley slept on the floor while he recovered, and Emily missed him lying next to her. She threw her arm over the massive dog and closed her eyes. Tonight, Emily felt at peace and allowed herself to relax. Emily laid in the dark, listening to Marley's rhythmic breathing for only a few minutes before she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 11
Emily found herself running down the main street of Sanctuary. She could feel the heat of the fire from the nearby buildings, and the sound of screams and gunfire filled her ears. Emily looked down and could see Marley running beside her. There was bright red blood wet on his fur, and Emily could not be sure if it belonged to him or someone else. Emily didn't have time to stop, though, and continued running. She was near the gate when she saw him.
Jeff was standing there holding Hope in his arms. Hope was screaming, and the blanket she was wrapped in was covered with blood spatter.
"You let her go!" Emily yelled at Jeff.
"Now, Love, we had a deal."
"I would never give you Hope!" Emily reached for her knife but found it was not at her waist. "You let my daughter go, you son of a bitch!"
"Not you, Love." Jeff smiled in his creepy way. Jeff then turned towards someone, and Emily's eyes followed. She watched in horror as Jeff handed Hope to Chad.
"A deal is a deal," Chad grinned as he took Hope into his arms. "You can have the bitch."
Jeff began to walk towards Emily with his hand out to her.
"You are free of your vows, and now you belong to me."
Emily stood frozen and watched as Chad walked out the gate holding Hope. She looked down to Marley, but he was no longer by her side.
"Come on now, Love. It's time for us to go home."
Emily woke covered in sweat and discovered Marley was lying on top of her. He was awake and looked like he was trying to hold her down. Emily patted the bed to call him off of her and sat up. It had been a long time since she had a nightmare, let alone one that vivid. Emily ran her hand through her hair and tried to calm her heartbeat. Nothing in the dream made sense. How would Jeff find Chad? How did Jeff get into Sanctuary?
Though Emily knew that the dream did not make sence, it still shook her to her core. She glanced at the clock to see it was three in the morning. Emily tossed back the blankets and quickly got dressed. The range on the baby monitor was pretty far though she had not tested it. Emily threw on a jacket and put the monitor in her pocket. She opened the door as Marley jumped down from the bed to follow her. Emily turned and opened the door to Hope's room and ushered Marley inside.
"You lay in here for a bit, and I'll get you when I come back," Emily said as he walked in. Marley seemed confused but curled up under Hope’s crib.
Emily shut the door and headed outside the house. She checked the monitor as she walked to ensure she could still hear the sounds of Hope and Marley sleeping. Emily made her way to the armory and grabbed her rifle from the locker, and headed up to the wall. Isabelle was on watch at the control building and looked confused as Emily walked up.
"Is everything all right?" she asked as Emily walked towards her.
"Yeah, just couldn't sleep and figured an extra set of eyes couldn't hurt." Emily was not up to going into the details and prayed that Isabelle would not ask.
"You've been through a lot lately. I'd be concerned if you weren't having some trouble sleeping," Isabelle smiled. "If you want, I'm sure Doc could give you something to help."
"No, I just needed to get some air," Emily replied. "How much longer until the next shift change?"
"It's at four," Isabelle replied.
"Okay, I'll be watching the road for a while."
Emily turned and walked to the edge of the wall. Emily looked down over the edge and scanned the road. Emily set the baby monitor and the ledge and listened to Hope and Marley sleep.
Emily had no idea how long she was standing at her post when she spotted movement on the road. Emily raised her rifle and looked down the scope. If it weren't for the way it walked, she would have thought it was a living man. Emily couldn't get a clear enough view of his eyes to see for sure. Emily waited as the man shuffled closer down the road. As it neared, she could see that the clothing was torn in several spots. Emily was sure that this man no longer had a heartbeat. Emily carefully lined up the shot and squeezed the trigger. She watched as the bullet penetrated the skull and the body fell limp to the ground.
"Nice shot." Shawn spoke behind her.
Emily pulled down the rifle and turned towards him.
"How long have you been there?" Emily asked.
"A little over an hour." Shawn looked at her.
"You looked focused, and you warned me about armed women."
"What time is it?" Emily asked, noticing for the first time that the sun was starting to
peek over the horizon.
"Nearly six-thirty," Shawn replied. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"I have to get home. Hope will be waking up soon." Emily picked up the baby monitor and headed for the stairs.
"Are you not going to tell me what's going on?!" Shawn called after her.
"I just couldn't sleep!" Emily called back as she ran down the stairs.
Emily walked in her door as Hope began to make noise. Emily made her way upstairs and got Hope from her crib. She set to work changing Hope and dressing her for the day. She then led Marley down the steps to the kitchen and set to feeding everyone. Emily worked quickly and soon had them all out the door. Emily was surprised to find Father Nathan standing in front of her house.
"Good morning, Father," Emily greeted him as she walked out.
"Good morning," he replied. "Though I hear you were awake before the sun this morning."
Emily rolled her eyes and breathed heavily.
"Who told you," she asked.
"Shawn. He's worried about you."
"It was one night, and I couldn't sleep. Why does everyone think something is wrong?"
"It's just not normal for you, and we all know you have been through a lot."
"So, are you here to be my therapist?" Emily knew she sounded annoyed but couldn't help herself.
"You have confided in me before, and I thought it would be easy for you to talk to me if something was wrong."
"But why would Shawn think that? Have you told him what we talked about?"
"Oh, my no." Father Nathan shook his head.
"That man sees everything and noticed you coming to the church and staying. He assumed that we were talking and asked me to speak with you."
Emily looked at Father Nathan with both annoyance and a bit of anger. However, if she had raised enough red flags with Shawn for him to seek out the father for help, perhaps she should talk with him to quiet the worries.
"We could talk after service if you like," Father Nathan spoke.
"I will ask Julia if she can watch Hope," Emily responded shortly.
"I will look for you afterward." Father Nathan smiled as he began to head towards the church.
Emily walked onto the road and slowly began to make her way towards the church as well. She was in no hurry to make it to service this morning but felt compelled to make sure that Hope still attended. Emily finally arrived to see Shawn waiting in front of the church.
"Since when do you attend service," Emily glared at him as she spoke.
"Do you hate me now?" Shawn asked, looking at his boots.
"No," Emily felt part of her anger slip away.
"Are you coming in?"
"Would you like me to?" Shawn asked.
"I think it's only fair." Emily tried to sound angry but knew that she didn't.
She walked up the steps into the church. Shawn reached past her and opened the door. Emily entered and sat down in the pew towards the center. Shawn took a seat next to her and sat in silence. Marley laid next to the pew on the floor.
Shawn had never attended the services before, and Emily had a feeling that he was only here to try to smooth things over with her. Emily turned her attention back to the front just as Father Nathan began to speak. Emily found it hard to concentrate on the service. While she heard the words, she didn't fully register what they were.
Emily kept looking out of the corner of her eye at Shawn. She knew that he was worried about her behavior this morning. He didn't want to force her to talk to him and tried to find someone she would speak to. Suddenly, everyone started to stand, and Emily realized that the service was over. Emily stood with Shawn and followed him to the door.
"Shawn," Emily asked, and he turned to face her. "Would you mind watching Hope for a while?"
"Sure," he replied. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm going to hang back and talk to Father Nathan for a while." Shawn nodded and took Hope. "You go too Marley," Emily looked down at Marley. Marley followed Shawn out the door and looked back at Emily a few times. Emily smiled at him and then closed the entrance to the church.
"I half expected you to try to slip out with the crowd." Emily turned to see Father Nathan sitting in the front pew.
"I considered it, but I am a woman of my word," Emily grinned. Emily walked towards him and sat down in the pew.
"So, what brought you to the wall so late last night?" Father Nathan wasn’t wasting any time.
"I had a dream, and it scared the hell out of me." Emily thought he might let her get away without telling all of the details.
"What was the dream about?" Emily should have known he would ask. Emily took a deep breath and searched for the words.
"Take your time," Father Nathan encouraged her.
"I dreamed that somehow Jeff had gotten into the walls," Emily began. "He was burning everything, and I heard gunfire and screams."
"That does sound terrifying." Father Nathan tried to comfort her.
"He had Hope and traded her to Chad for me." Emily felt the tears roll down her face.
"Where was everyone else?" Father Nathan asked. "Your family, the townspeople?"
"There was no one else." Emily continued to cry. "Marley was with me at first, but when I saw Jeff, he disappeared."
"Well, that should tell you that it was nothing more than a dream." Father Nathan's voice was soft. "We would never leave you, and Marley has proven that not even a bullet can make him leave you."
"Chad said that he was setting me free of my vows and giving me to Jeff." Emily felt like her mouth was full of ash as she said the words.
"Have you been saying your prayer each night?" The question caught Emily off guard.
"Of course," Emily replied as she wiped the tears from her face. "I have every night since you told me to."
"I think your dream may have partially been my fault." Father Nathan confessed. "The prayers combined with your recent trauma may have been too much."
Emily looked at him and couldn't believe what he was saying. How could her screwed-up dream possibly be his fault? Emily looked down at her hands and realized she was twisting her wedding ring. She hadn't realized that she was wearing it.
"No, Father, you were right." Emily smiled as the tears started to fall once more.
Emily slid the ring off of her finger and felt like she had just removed a weight. She held out the ring to Father Nathan.
"I don't need this anymore," Emily said with a surprising amount of confidence.
"Are you sure?" Father Nathan asked as he took it.
"I'm sure," Emily replied. "I can't promise my late nights on the wall are done, but that has more to do with Jeff still being out there. I can say that I'm done with believing that Chad is still in control of my life."
"Well, I think that completes step two," Father Nathan smiled.
"I get the feeling that step three involves more prayer?" Emily smiled at him.
"Yes, but perhaps the prayer should change. Maybe now, instead of praying for the freedom, you should pray for the strength to follow your heart." Emily nodded and allowed the last few tears to fall.
"I appreciate your help, Father."
"I'm always here if you need to talk," Father Nathan stood and held out his hand to help Emily to her feet.
Emily took his hand and stood, feeling different than she had when she had sat down. She followed Father Nathan to the door and smiled at him as she walked out the door. The summer breeze greeted her and guided her down the stairs. Emily stood for a moment and allowed the wind to dry the tears away from her cheeks.
"You look happy." Cole's voice brought her back to earth.
"Hello, Cole," Emily smiled.
"I didn't mean to interrupt. I was hoping to talk to you after service. When you went back in, I decided to wait."
"That's perfectly fine, Cole." Emily smiled at him. "What's going on?"
"I got a batch of our new fuel source ready, and the truck retrofitted. I thought you would like to be there when I fired it over."
Emily couldn't help but notice that he spoke slowly so she could understand him with his accent.
"Let's do it!" Emily was excited to see Cole's plan in action.
Cole smiled and led Emily to his home/garage. Emily looked at the old flatbed truck and couldn't see anything different about it. Cole removed the gas cap and placed a funnel. He then started to pour in jars of a clear liquid that Emily knew was moonshine. Once he finished, he removed the funnel and replaced the gas cap.