by Cal, Sarah
She wasn’t really the leader of their little group, she just took the position because no one else seemed to want to, and everyone else assumed she was. It was pretty much how her life went, and she was beyond fighting it at this point.
Also, she wanted to thank Harry, but she didn’t know how. The words just wouldn’t come out of her throat, and they ended up standing in silence for several minutes before one of them broke it. Harry was the one that spoke first.
“So,” she said, for lack of a better thing to do. “I really just have to ask here. Why would you even do this? I mean... you don’t know us, but you asked us to come up here with you. Then it turns out that you live alone out here. Was it just pity? Because we didn’t even get that in the last town that we passed through.”
There had to be more than just pity, right? All pity would get them was leave to take some of the crop and leave after. Or, he might have allowed them to sleep on the edge of the fields, not in his house.
“I have kids,” he started to explain, “But they’ve all grown up and moved out. Even before all this mess started. And my wife died the year before of cancer, so I live all alone.”
Emma understood, then, why he was so quick to invite strangers to his house. Most people, even in normal circumstances, would have just sent them on their way.
“It gets lonely, stuck in the middle of my land and sometimes not seeing another person for days. To be honest with you, I was relieved to see you and your group. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have shot you if you gave me a reason to, but I looked all of you and knew you wouldn’t.”
Emma smiled wryly. She wasn’t sure of that, herself. More like they couldn’t shoot back, because they were trying not to lose anyone in their number, and they were all worried he would have shot at them.
She was glad he hadn't shot at them, but it was a very near thing. If the others had been as alert as she was, they might have gone with the ‘shoot first, ask later’ route. The sad thing about it was, if they had done that and not felt a bit of Harry’s kindness, they might have written him off, and gone on to live in his house and on his land.
Emma was so grateful things ended up the way they did.
After a moment, she sighed. If he could be honest about himself, then she could tell him a little more of what they’d been through. She’d cut a great deal of the details, though, of course.
“We felt just as relieved to see you—we were close to desperation. We started off with a bigger number, had several cars. But then one of them got a flat, the one most of my friends and I were riding in, and while some of us went out to search for spares, they took off. We were left stranded with little food and nowhere to go. We decided to go through the woods because we couldn’t stay where we were anymore.”
She would have to corner Chase and thank him for his good judgment. It had been his suggestion to go through the woods, and Emma had been hesitant. The only reason she went that way, was because she’d needed an immediate escape, and the other reasons came after.
“So, Harry. How do you look after a field this big on your own?”
He scoffed. “With difficulty. I grow corn in one field, barley in another and parsnips in the third. People have been stealing from the outskirts of the fields, but I can’t man all three fields by myself.”
Emma grimaced. “We were going to steal the food too,” she admitted. “It’s just been one food crisis after another, and we were all down to scraps just to make it last longer. But I’m happy to work to earn my keep. Just... thank you so much for giving us the chance when so many others wouldn’t.”
If that was all it took, she would do it gladly. She’d never worked on a farm, her grandmothers gardening came nowhere near the scope of this, but it was something she could do and it would get them all food and a place to stay.
Really, meeting Harry was the best thing that could have happened to them, and she didn’t doubt the others felt the same and would work just as hard as she planned to. There was some lingering shame that this man had caught them about to steal and he was still being this nice to them. Earning her keep was the least she could do.
“You know, I have a good feeling about you,” Harry told her, turning to grin at her. “And you’re very welcome. The house had plenty of bedrooms where my kids used to sleep, so there’s room for everyone, if you squeeze a little bit.”
“No one would mind a bit of a squeeze,” she reassured him. “Honestly, just about anything beats sleeping on the ground, especially on the little ones.”
He hummed, nodding. “That’s very true. Also, because of my wind turbines and solar panels, there’s also some power for the house so you all can have hot showers if you wish.”
She almost laughed. Hot showers were a luxury now, one she hadn’t had in months, and the thought of having one immediately was tempting.
It was almost too hard to believe, to be real, that they made it here. Just yesterday morning, everything had been going to hell. They had no car, they were far away from home, and their food reserves were all but nonexistent.
She almost died again.
Meeting Harry had truly been a blessing.
Emma was so happy she felt tears come to her eyes. Harry turned to her when he heard her sniffle, and the concerned look he aimed at her only made her want to cry harder. Instead, she laughed through her tears and waved a hand at him, dismissing his concern.
“I apologize for my emotional response,” she said, and went on to explain; “you could say we’ve had a pretty rough few weeks. Not that long ago we were forced to flee from home, the reason we were out on the road at all was because our town was attacked. There were too many of them for us to do anything, so we grabbed as many people, and as many supplies as we could and headed out. Then, well, the flat tire and getting screwed over by people we trusted.”
She had to stop for a bit and clear her throat, wiping at the few tears that escaped her eyes, even as she smiled wide. But the smile died pretty quickly.
“And I just lost my grandmother in a shooting. We buried her body in the back yard, and I didn’t want to leave her behind but... I just have to accept that she’s gone. The people you have in your house right now are all my friends and family, and I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing for all of us.”
Harry gave her a pat on her shoulder, waiting as she tried to get ahold of herself.
“Don’t worry about thanking me, just keep up your end of the deal; protect my crops and keep an old man company from time to time. You’ll be better off on my farm.”
That just brought on a fresh urge to cry, but she held herself back this time as Harry guided her inside. She thanked him several more times, then Chase was heading her way, looking concerned, probably at her tears, but she waved him off with a smile. Carol and her sister pulled Harry aside so they could show their own gratitude.
Emma and Chase headed upstairs.
“I already have Merry set up in a room, and I gave her something light to eat.”
“Was she not feeling well?” she asked, instantly anxious.
They had travelled through forest grounds pretty much the whole day yesterday and for most of the morning. But Chase calmed her down with a shake of his head.
“No, just a little headache, she told me she just needed to lie down.”
Emma nodded and sighed. She still had to worry about Merry. She would ask Carol to look at her again, but for the moment, they all deserved some good rest. Emma was ready to put it above food even.
“I’m going to have a shower,” she said as she went through the rooms until she found the room she was looking for.
Chase didn’t say anything, and she didn’t look back, either, as she slid inside and closed the door behind her. Joy hit her again at the thought of having a nice, hot shower. Because of the water shortage back home, she didn’t get to bathe as much as she liked, having downgraded to wiping herself down to save more. There hadn’t been even that since they set out on the road.
Emma would have to remember to talk to Harry about his water supply.
She took off her clothes, despairing a moment that she hadn’t thought to come with extras for after her bath, but that wasn’t important. She stood under the shower head and slowly turned on the taps. She felt the water hit her skin, cold, and she stood and waited. To her delight, the water warmed up.
Emma relaxed under the water, relishing on what she had been missing for a while now. She’d never appreciated hot showers before, they were simply part of her morning routine. Feeling it now, brought the tears back, and Emma broke down in the shower. It was okay, because Chase wanted her to grieve what she’d lost, and she was on her own. The water washed away her tears, so the sobbing and jagged breath were the only things that gave her away.
Chase was still outside the door, and it took her a minute to realize he was speaking. He told her repeatedly that she was safe and that everything would be okay.
She began to believe it herself.
Chapter Ten:
Emma was woken in the night by a scream.
She shot up in her bed, disoriented for a moment. It was dark, but they weren’t outside, and it took her a moment to remember where they were. Chase still slept beside her, and she winced when she heard the scream again. She recognized it as Merry’s right away and ran to her room. Thankfully, it was the one next to her own.
She wanted to curse, having forgotten her sister’s penchant for nightmares. Things had been fine while they were on the road, and her biggest problem had been Merry’s head injury, that she might as well have forgotten all the other problems her sister had. It was her oversight, but hopefully now that things were cooling down, she could pay her sister the attention she deserved. Even better, Carol and Barbara were with them, so she could go to them for an opinion any time.
Inside her sister’s room, Emma walked hurriedly over to the bed, only to have her hands hover above her sister’s body.
Merry kept tossing and turning, and Emma worried what she was dreaming about. It was clearly something traumatic, which was to be expected with the events that had happened since they watched their grandmother die in front of them. Anyone was bound to have nightmares after all that, but for her sister, it was dangerous.
Carol had taken another look at her head wound, and while it was healing nicely, she had warned that it shouldn’t be aggravated, and Emma felt this fell into that. She couldn’t shake Merry awake for fear it might hurt her head, but she was moving enough on her own to do it. When her body gave another rough jerk, Emma decided to hell with it and reached for her sister’s arms.
“Merry,” she called, trying to keep her voice low, remembering others were still sleeping. “Calm down, it’s only a nightmare! Come on, sis, wake up.”
She held her tightly by her shoulders, shaking her as little as possible, hoping she would just react to her voice and wake up. It was the worst kind of way to wake someone from a nightmare, if anything, she probably just alarmed her more, but the most important thing was to keep her still.
Finally, Merry woke up with a gasp, and Emma felt her body tense for a moment, different than from when she was in the throes of her nightmares.
“Merry, it’s me,” she said quickly, thinking her sister was building up a scream.
There was a tense, still silence, than Merry let out a sound like a sob and scrambled into Emma’s arms. Emma held her sister tightly through her body’s trembling, rubbing her back and carding fingers through her hair. It had been a while since they were in a positions like this, and Emma’s heart broke for her sister.
“It’s okay, Merry. Shh... we’re all right. Everything is fine, no” she murmured, and for the first time in a long while, she felt the words weren’t entirely a lie.
Things were the best they could ever be, as fat as she was concerned. They had food and shelter, and they were all together. They’d even have work to keep them busy come morning. She squeezed her arms around her sister, feeling tears sting her eyes as she squeezed them tightly.
“We’re okay, Merry,” she whispered in her sister’s ear. And while Janice wasn’t a part of it with them, anymore, Emma thought they could get over it, with time.
Merry whimpered in her neck, but she calmed down in a few moments. Then her hands grabbed onto Emma’s arms tightly, making Emma wince, and her sister was pushing her away to look up in her face. It was dark, even with the window bare and letting moon light in, but her eyes had adjusted enough that she could see her sister’s outline.
Not that she even needed to see her sister’s face, because this situation was all too familiar. She had hoped her sister was getting better, but she knew, even before Merry spoke that that wasn’t the case at all.
“I had another premonition,” were the first words out of her sister’s words.
Emma grimaced, and was glad for the darkness because then her sister couldn’t see. Of course they were back to that again. Merry had gone quiet about her visions and premonitions a while back, and Emma had hoped she’d heard the last of it.
“Merry,” she muttered, apprehensive.
Her sister didn’t seem to notice her tone.
“Just listen! I had another premonition, where Harry’s fields were up in flames and everyone was dying. Emma, this is serious!”
Emma wanted to sigh, but she held back the urge. Merry’s dreams were always gruesome, or so she’d come to think, so there was nothing strange about her seeing everybody dying. When their neighborhood and house got attacked, she woke up saying they were all going to die back then, too. But then, a week later when their attackers came back to steal more from them, Emma and the rest of the neighborhood had been ready, and the worst they received on their end were a couple of people with light injuries.
It hadn’t made sense to Merry, how they weren’t all dead. She’d even expressed, out loud, that perhaps her dreams were wrong. Emma had hoped that would be the turning point, but clearly it wasn’t enough.
“Where are your pills?” Emma asked.
Barbara had prescribed them for Merry to stop her nightmares and hopefully start her on the road to recovery. At some point, Merry had stopped using them, accusing Emma of wanting to stop her visions. And while she wasn’t wrong, she didn’t get the context right, either, thinking Emma only wanted glory for herself.
Since Janice’s death, Merry had been taking her pills religiously. Emma just stopped checking some time back and hadn’t thought much about it since they left home. But it had been more than a week already, hadn’t it?
“I haven’t had any in a few days—I ran out of them on the road,” Merry admitted hesitantly.
Emma grounded quietly, but not enough that her sister wouldn’t hear it. Emma didn’t know what to do. She could just let Merry sleep, if her insomnia didn’t come back because of the constant nightmares, but she knew this kind of night would keep repeating. She didn’t think Barbara had any medication on her besides the painkillers she and Carol had brought along. But she didn’t really feel like doing anything before morning, either.
“I think you should go back to sleep and we can talk in the morning. I can stay here for a while, if you’d like...”
But Merry was insistent about her visions, like Emma knew she would be.
“No. This is serious, Emma, I saw...” but her voice trailed off.
Emma knew, even without having to see her face that it was more because she didn’t want to say the words than anything holding them back. So it must have been something bad. It also probably involved Emma.
Though it still surprised her that with everything Merry could survive through, that a nightmare still did her in. And this time, it wasn’t the recurring dream she’d apparently had since she’d watched their parents die.
While Emma could feel sorry for her sister, she couldn’t understand. Merry had been lost to her for years in a state not unlike the one she was in now. Where she thought she was some kind of psychic and could see visions and premonitions of the futu
re. Back then, the doctors had said it was simple mental trauma, but Emma never saw anything simple in it. It had felt, to her, like she’d lost her sister.
Not that Merry was entirely to blame. Emma had pushed her away while she tried to cope on her own. She did feel some guilt because of that, and she would help her sister no matter what, but she was more than tired of the psychic thing, had been a long time ago. Now that it had been gone for a while, she wouldn’t take it well that it was coming back out of nowhere, no matter how much she loved her sister.
Emma didn’t think she could even pretend.
Her sister seemed to notice Emma was no longer paying attention, because suddenly clawed hands were digging into her shoulders, making her wince, and Merry shook her until her teeth rattled.
“Merry!”
“Would you just listen to me!” Merry all but screeched, and she worried her sister might wake the rest of the house.
She didn’t want the others to see her sister in such a sorry state, but Emma didn’t think she’d have much of a choice, besides covering Merry’s mouth with her hand, and she didn’t think that would go over so well with her sister in the state that she was in.
“What the hell, Merry,” she hissed, trying to pry her sister’s hands away from her shoulders as she finally let up on the shaking. “Let go of me.”
But her sister didn’t even seem to have heard her. “Emma, this is real,” she said, voice growing frantic. “Why won’t you believe me? It is real this time, honest! I saw everything, and I saw you die—” she choked a little on the word, and Emma felt her heart clench in sympathy.
“Merry,” she said quietly, and her hands stopped trying to pry Merry’s off, instead placing her hands over her sister and tried to ignore the sting.