The front entrance to the cabin was inviting. Fresh red paint covered the walls, creating a warm environment. A framed painting that declared Home is where the heart is hung across from the front door, and what was probably the door to a coat closet was directly to his left.
Past the foyer, he could see the large family room. An overstuffed leather sofa and loveseat in a warm honey brown lined the walls, and a heavy oak coffee table was pushed up against the other wall with a good sized television set on it. A rag carpet covered the floor, and more country styled art hung on the walls around them. A few large pieces of furniture filled the room: an antique wardrobe, a hope chest.
Derek looked back at Hud, who was cautiously following him. The look on Derek’s face told Hud that they were safe, and he started to explore on his own.
Through the living room, there was a stairway that led to the upstairs, but Derek went past that and into the kitchen. It was exactly the kind of kitchen his mother had always tried to talk Dan into building for her. Spacious and brightly lit through several windows, rays of sun fell on clean granite countertops. An island counter sat in the middle, with a copper pot rack hanging above it. Canisters lined the counters, Derek recognized raw pasta and cookies in a few of them.
A backdoor led to a yard that was overgrown but looked neat. He turned back toward the entrance to the kitchen towards the stairs, and passed the small bathroom underneath the stairs. He climbed the steps, which curved halfway up and led to a short hallway with a banister. There was a space above the living room that had a desk and a futon, like a loft. There were two more doors.
Hud was standing inside one, checking out the master bedroom. It was painted a deep green, and an ivy printed border followed the top edge of the room all around. A large, overly soft bed faced the windows, with dark stained wooden nightstands and matching dresser sets. There had to have been at least 6 pillows on the bed. Derek suddenly had the urge to jump into them like a child into a pile of just raked leaves. Hud had the same expression on his face.
Derek moved towards the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom. It had a full bath and two sinks. Another commodity that his mother had mentioned a few hundred times. The bathroom connected to the spare bedroom, which was painted in a powdery blue, relaxing and serene, with an equally lavish bed. He felt like a child waking up on Christmas morning.
He remembered everyone else, and how anxious they must be, too. He jogged down the stairs to the front door, followed by Hud, and when he pulled the door open, everyone was huddled as close to it as possible, dying to see the inside. Ripley pushed her way to the front and began her investigation, tail wagging.
As they took their own tours around the cabin, Derek watched happily as he saw the expression of child-like glee on their faces. He tried to avoid looking at Sasha, but even the events between them for the past few days was not able to dampen the reprieve they all felt they had in this cabin.
Adam and Travis began to call dibs on beds, and it was then that Hud must have realized that some type of organization was needed. He explained that he had an idea, and while he and everyone else helped unload the Mauler and bring everything into the cabin, he looked thoughtful. Once everything was inside and all seven of them were seated in the living room, he explained what he had come up with.
“Sasha and Nora should take the master bedroom. Travis and Adam can have the spare. Lily can have the futon in the loft, and Derek and I will sleep down here. Derek was disenchanted when he realized he would not get to experience the comfort the beds would have obviously provided, but he understood Hud’s reasoning. Derek and Hud would be the first line of defense in case of a break in. Lily would be the second at the top of the stairs. Travis, Adam, Sasha, and Nora would be protected by them and by the heavy wooden doors closing the bedrooms. No one argued, and even Lily seemed perfectly satisfied with the plan.
The only one who wasn’t thrilled with the idea was Sasha, but she realized it was only because Derek would be so far away from her. She hated herself for even caring, and instead of dwelling on it, she grabbed Nora’s hand and pulled the smiling child up the stairs to check out their new room a little more closely. Adam and Travis followed behind, heading towards the spare bedroom, making jokes about having to share the bed, although neither of them really minded in the least. Lily went quietly behind them, carrying some blankets to spread out on her futon for later.
Derek watched Sasha bound up the stairs. She didn’t seem to care one way or the other that Derek would be so far away, so he tried not to care either. It didn’t work.
At the top of the stairs, Sasha pulled Nora back into the room they would be sharing. She sat on the edge of the bed; it was so soft, especially in comparison with the rough floor of the mauler. She let herself fall backwards into the quilt, her arms over her head. She closed her eyes, and felt Nora’s weight settle on the bed beside her. She tried to let her mind clear, willing herself to concentrate on the downy feel of the mattress and how it felt like she could sink into it forever.
Sasha was watching the swirls in the darkness behind her eyelids, feeling her body begin to relax, when suddenly she saw Derek’s face from her nightmare again, his black eyes filled with hate and his lips peeled back as he brought his teeth close to her neck. She gasped and sat up again, feeling Nora’s large brown eyes on her, and exhaled deeply. She collected herself and then looked at Nora reassuringly.
Nora smiled back at her from her reclined position on the bed, and then her eyes turned to something behind Sasha, towards the doorway. Sasha turned to see Derek standing there, looking awkwardly inside like he was waiting for an invitation. Ripley had quietly followed Derek up the stairs and was taking a seat on the hardwood floor in the hall behind him.
“Hey.” He said, forcing a smile. “You like it?” His head nodded towards the bed she and Nora were on.
“It’s great. It’s better than I could have imagined.” Sasha said, averting her eyes and watching her hands as they ran along a seam in the quilt. Nora was sitting up now, watching Derek and Sasha with interest.
Derek stepped into the room, leaning on the doorframe. Sunlight was pouring through the open window, and even with the sunglasses on, Derek was having a hard time keeping his eyes from squinting, so he looked at the ground.
“Hey, Sasha, it’s not you. I don’t know how – I don’t want to be like this.” Derek stammered, his mouth was betraying him; he had been fighting against this.
Sasha’s eyebrows came closer together, making little wrinkles in her forehead. She could tell he was trying to say something that she either really wanted to hear, or really didn’t, but his fragmented words weren’t clearing anything up. She remained silent, and she could tell that her silence was killing him, but she had no idea where to even start replying to him.
“I just…” he started again, but this time his eyes landed on Nora, and he shut his mouth again.
Sasha looked at Nora too, who had a perplexed look on her face. She looked from Derek to Sasha, and then back to Derek again.
Derek cleared his throat, and stood there for a moment. His heart was pounding harder than he imagined it could without exploding, but he could hear Sasha’s pounding, too. He realized how ridiculous he looked, not even able to spit out a coherent sentence, and he abruptly turned and headed back down the stairs. He almost stepped on Ripley, she scrambled to get out of his way and Derek did a little hop to avoid crushing her. His face burned red. He could feel Sasha’s eyes on his back until he hit the bottom step. He made it to the sofa and let his body drop down on it. He replayed the last 5 minutes over in his head, agonizing at the awkwardness of it. He was more than relieved when Hud came back into the living room from the kitchen and slapped Derek on his way out the front door, indicating he wanted help unloading. Derek jumped up gladly.
Sasha had watched Derek all the way down the stairs. She was fighting the urge to run after him, although she had no idea what would happen if she did. The way her emotions had bee
n lately, she was just as liable to slap him across the face as she was to try and speak to him. Nora watched with dwindling interest and after a moment, laid back down on the heavenly bed. She curled her legs up to a fetal position, and either fell asleep or was faking it really well. Sasha finally stood up.
She left the room and met Adam and Travis as they were heading down the stairs. Travis wanted to find the generator, if he had anything to do with it, they would be taking hot showers later tonight. Adam followed and Sasha fell into step behind them, feigning as if she had wanted to explore with them all along. They rounded the steps and went through the door to the backyard. As soon as they stepped outside, just to the right of the backdoor, they saw it. It was huge, planted on a concrete slab next to the house, and Travis whooped.
Chapter 31.
Fifteen minutes later, Hud had already checked the propane and flipped the switch on the generator. Sasha was genuinely impressed. She knew her father had a generator for storms, but from what she could remember it was a smallish red tank with some wheels on it. The generator in the back of the cabin was about the same size as a large dog house. Hud and Travis were examining a pump that apparently could make the well water run in the house.
Near the stairs, there was a small closet that had almost gone unnoticed. Inside, however, was a water heater. As everyone except Nora stood near the small closet with bated breath, a few clicks signaled that the water heater was doing its thing, and there wasn’t a face in the room that didn’t portray a smile.
“Okay, this generator is only strong enough to run the power for a couple of hours a day, providing we can keep supplying the propane for fuel. There’s a lot here now, but we will have to get more. Looks like it can power the downstairs lights and wall sockets, the kitchen appliances, and the water heater. We should probably have some kind of schedule for showers, just to conserve the fuel.” Hud was in his element, making decisions and delegating duties. No one disagreed.
“Who’s getting a shower tonight?” Adam asked, looking around hopefully.
Sasha spoke up, but not on her own behalf.
“Lily and Nora.” She said matter-of-factly. She scanned everyone’s faces. Adam looked a little put off, but Sasha was right. Nora was only a child, she had also obviously suffered greatly. How could anyone deny her the small pleasure of a hot shower? And Lily was filthy, her hair was matted and dirt seemed to have penetrated into the sub layers of her skin. Again, no one disagreed.
As the water heater warmed up, Sasha, Hud, and Derek went to retrieve the last of their things from the Mauler. Sasha got her small bag that contained her medical equipment which basically consisted of things you could find in any household bathroom. She grabbed the few clothes that would fit either Nora or herself, and possibly Lily, hoping to hand wash them and let them air-dry. She just wanted to do something productive. As she was carrying her belongings into the house, Derek was coming back out to the Mauler for another load. Sasha kept her eyes down, afraid of embarrassing him again, even though the dark sunglasses hid his eyes.
Derek grabbed the large black bag that held a few weapons. Besides the handgun he always carried, Hud had also been able to get several rifles. Sasha’s shotgun had already saved them more than once, and Derek still had the revolver that had belonged to Lawrence. He wished he could tell Lawrence how grateful he was for the ride to the base, the weapon, and this cabin that seemed like an oasis.
The day went on, an atmosphere of relief and lightheartedness, and just after dusk, Adam and Travis built a fire in a pit they had dug in the backyard. To save the generator’s fuel, they set up a rack to be able to set a pot or two on the fire. After raiding the cabinets in the kitchen, they were making a feast of macaroni and cheese and canned tuna.
Nora had woken up a while earlier, and after Hud testing the water, was able to take a hot shower. Sasha sat right outside the bathroom door, Nora had started protesting to being left alone at all when it was dark. Sasha was not lacking in any feelings of being needed because of Nora. Sasha had lit several candles in the bathroom, the lights didn’t work on the second floor. She watched the steam swirl around the outside of the shower curtain, she lost herself in thought about the future. How long could they stay here in this cabin? If they made supply runs, they could probably last a long time. How long could she stand to live in the same house as Derek with this incredibly thick wall of uncertainty looming over them? She told herself that she would stand it as long as needed.
The water turned off in the shower, and absently, Sasha rose to hand Nora a towel that had been in the cabinet in the bathroom. It was a moment later when Sasha snapped back to reality, looking into Nora’s face. She was surprised at how pretty the girl was. Her long eyelashes fluttered over her dark, gentle eyes, and there were splotches of pink across both cheeks that could be seen vividly even in the flickering candle light. Sasha thought this must be what Nora looks like when she is happy and healthy. Her new goal became to make Nora look like this all the time, even if she couldn’t make her talk.
“And how was your shower, Princess Nora?” Sasha asked, with a badly faked English accent. “Was it to your satisfaction?”
Nora’s bright face went into a half grin as she finished drying herself off. Sasha had been able to use a bucket of water to wash a few items of clothing as well as she could, but they weren’t dry yet. Nora didn’t seem to mind putting on the same clothes, they hadn’t been as bad as the others.
Nora sat on the edge of the bed as Sasha moved the candles to the nightstand, and then helped Nora dry and brush her hair. Then they headed downstairs, letting Lily know that the shower was available as they followed the delicious scent of macaroni and cheese out into the backyard.
Derek was sitting on the patio, his eyes finally not squinting, and was almost in pain because of how hungry he was. He would have never thought that boxed pasta would have made his mouth water so bad. As soon as Adam announced that it was done, he was standing up to scoop some onto a plate.
Sasha and Nora appeared in the doorway in that second, and even Derek noticed the difference in Nora’s appearance. His face loosened up when he saw her rosy complexion and brighter eyes. He scooped several spoonfuls of the macaroni and tuna mix onto the plate, then handed it right to Nora, against his stomach’s wishes. But the smile he received from her in reply more than made up for the retaliating growl of his belly.
Nora went just inside to the island counter and sat on a stool to eat, which she did voraciously. Derek reached for another plate, and in another attempt at some kind of reconciliation, scooped another helping of the concoction onto it for Sasha. She took it graciously, holding his eye contact longer than necessary to ask a silent question. Derek didn’t know what she was asking, but was glad for the communication.
Sasha joined Nora and soon everyone was circled around the island counter, aside from Lily. Sasha had kept a tee shirt and pair of sweat pants upstairs instead of washing them, and she was glad that she had when she realized the clothes would not be dried fast enough. Lily’s clothes were torn and filthy, and at least she had something decent to wear after the shower.
When Lily came down the stairs and into the kitchen to eat, everyone had to look twice. Sasha was pleasantly surprised at how picturesque the girl was, her blond hair framing her heart shaped face. Adam and Travis’ gaze didn’t waver, and it was Hud that had to shake them back into reality.
“Good God, close your mouth and get the girl some food.” He said, nudging Adam hard.
Sasha smiled and saw Lily blush. Her black eyes hit the ground and she put off a coy vibe for a split second. This was definitely going to be interesting, living here with these people. Every single one of them already mattered to Sasha, they were her family now. That thought made her want to move closer to Derek, but his confusing demeanor and sudden standoffishness kept her from doing it.
After everyone had eaten their fill of macaroni and tuna, and the dessert of chocolate chip cookies, Hud left the room and
came back with a pack of playing cards. The generator was shut down, and candles were lit all around the kitchen. Hud taught them all to play a few different card games, and with all the laughter and cheery tone, it was easy to imagine that there were no lost loved ones, no mass destruction, no superhuman killers hiding in the shadows. So that’s what they did.
Chapter 32.
Days passed more quickly at the cabin than they had at the Navy base. This realization was rolling around Sasha’s head when she remembered it had already been a month.
They had already made several runs into nearby houses and to the stores further into town. They had managed to get fuel for the generator, plenty of food, and even a few books and board games to pass the time.
The little group had fallen into a natural routine. Travis and Adam were usually following Hud around, while Hud had set up a security perimeter around the cabin. The backyard had already been surrounded by a privacy fence, and they had sharpened the tops of each plank to a dangerous angle. They had set up trip wires all along the front and back of the house that connected to the remaining car batteries and lights. They had hung chimes from web like traps nearer to the house, which would alert them of any movement.
Sasha, although she was in no way used to being in the kitchen, had volunteered to divide their food into rations, and prepare it daily with Nora. Betty Crocker had never been one of Sasha’s idols, and the only thing that kept her from passing the duties to someone else was the fact that Nora seemed to enjoy the time in the kitchen. On any given day, they would get help from Lily or Adam, or whoever was looking for something to do, so it wasn’t that laborious.
Derek and Lily had taken to sleeping for most of the day anyway. It was easier on their eyes, for one, and it made Derek at least, feel like he was doing his part in protecting everyone by keeping the night watch. He could hear far better than any of the rest of them, with the exception of Lily, and he was reassured that if something came looking for a meal at night, he would be there to stop them in time. He could usually be found sitting in the kitchen or back porch, Ripley nearby if she wasn’t sleeping on the floor in Sasha’s room. Lily kept him company sometimes. He couldn’t figure her out, she seemed like part wild animal, although he liked her well enough. She spent a lot of time alone upstairs, either reading one of the books Lawrence’s wife had left, or just sitting quietly in the dark. Conversations with Lily were usually her asking him a million questions about his life before. She would listen, so intrigued, as he rattled off seemingly monotonous details about his life; high school friends, boring office work, rebuilding engines.
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