“Such a shame, two young girls on your own. Well, come on. Let’s get you cleaned up,” Francis says with a smile. She walks across the house and opens a door. “Hurry up. You need to get cleaned up before you eat at my table.” She waves her hand to hurry us along.
The room turns out to be a small bathroom with a white, claw-foot tub. It’s pushed up against the back wall. I’ve never had a bath before. Francis bends over a spout with a long handle. She pumps water into the bathtub, but only fills it with about three inches of water.
“That should do for one of you. When you’re finished, pull out the stopper, and then you can fill it again the same way. Here’s a clean towel.” She hands us each a fresh white towel. “Dinner’s in 15 minutes,” she tells us as she shuts the door behind her.
I let Lily bathe first so I can have some privacy when it’s my turn. While she bathes I sit on the floor and rummage through my backpack. I didn’t dare leave it out there with the strangers. My knife belt easily slips off, which I put in the bag for safekeeping.
Right before Lily finishes bathing, there’s a knock on the door. “Girls, hand me your clothes, and I’ll give them a wash. I have some things here that you can wear while they’re drying.” I crack the door and hand her Lily’s rags. She hands me two neatly folded, light blue nightgowns in return. They are the color of Ethan’s eyes.
“Thank you.” I tell her.
Lily is thrilled with the new fabric, even though it’s way too large. She twirls around on her tiptoes and giggles while I let the water out of her bath. After a few moments, I stop the child from spinning. “My turn. Get out. And don’t tell them I’m from the Republic. Okay?”
Lily nods and scurries out to the kitchen.
After depositing my dirty clothes outside the bathroom door, I climb in the cold water. I soak until Francis raps on the door. “Dinner’s ready,” she says. The blue nightgown is ridiculous. An Exalted wouldn’t be caught dead in something like this. This is certainly not the attire of someone of honor or rank.
“Mena, hurry up!” Lily shouts.
Finally, I step outside of the bathroom and see Tom, Francis, and Lily waiting patiently at the table. Tom says, “Thought maybe you drowned in there.”
This makes Lily giggle. Her hair is clean, and her curls spring to life as she bounces in her seat.
“No, sir. I was just enjoying the clean water.” I say what’s expected of me as I sit next to Lily at the dining table. It’s a long rectangular pine table that looks as if Tom must have built it. Handmade nails hold it together, and some of the planks are different lengths. The chairs are all mismatched. A few of them have legs that have been replaced with pieces of pine. But they serve their purpose. I sit with them.
Francis ladles a meat and vegetable stew into all of our bowls. I don’t ask what kind of meat it is. Since there are no cows around, I can only guess that it’s squirrel, rabbit, or something I may not want to know about. It’s warm and filling, so I have no trouble finishing every last drop.
“So where do you two come from?” Tom asks us with a mouth full of stew.
I answer before Lily can. “We’re from back East. Our parents were killed, and we escaped before they found us.” Lily looks up at me with a confused look on her face. I kick her foot under the table, and she seems to get the hint. She rearranges her face to reflect her grief. Ryker told me about grief.
“Oh, that’s terrible. Isn’t it Tom?” Francis says as she pats Lily’s little hand. “Do you have any other family?”
“No.” My answer is simple.
Tom and Francis share a knowing look across the table from each other. Tom clears his throat. “Well, you two are welcome to stay as long as you need. You’ll have to help out around here, of course. You’ll need to earn your keep. We could use some extras hands around here.”
“Tom and I lost our only child when some thieves came through here, years and years ago. We’d love to have some young’uns around here again,” she beams.
All I can think about is the Republic. They never told us there were people like this on the outside. Why? I’ve never met anyone like them in my entire life. They blindly trusted two strangers in this post-apocalyptic and violent world. I realize that in this situation, I’m fortunate that I’m small in size for an Exalted. They have no clue what I am or where I am actually from.
My headache returns, causing me to shut my eyes and rub my temples.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” Francis asks me.
“It’s just a headache. I’m feeling really tired all of a sudden.”
Francis gives me a sympathetic smile. “Of course you are. Well, when you two are ready, you can stay in the second bedroom. You’ll have to share a bed, but it’s better than the floor. It’s through that door over there.” She points to a closed wooden door by the bathroom where we bathed.
“Thank you. And thank you for the food too. I think I’ll go to sleep now, if you don’t mind,” I say. I push my chair back under the rickety dining table and head for the bedroom.
“Rest well. See you in the morning,” Francis chirps.
My backpack and boots are waiting for me by the bathroom door where I left them. I grab my belongings and then find the room I will be sleeping in for the night. After shutting the door behind me, I check out the space. The bed is made of iron, and there is a patchwork blanket thrown across the mattress. There’s nothing else in the room except a mirror hanging on the wall. It has a crack running down the length of it. As I peer in its reflective surface, I see that I do actually look tired. I also notice the two fading marks on my neck. My mind screams for sleep not answers, so I climb into the bed and pull the blanket up under my chin.
I shift uncomfortably. Francis may have exaggerated a bit when she said this bed was better than sleeping on the floor. The mattress is horrible. A few of the springs have come uncoiled and are poking me in the back. There’s also a big dip in the middle. Eventually, I find a decent position and settle in for the night. I need to get to sleep early so I can sneak out before the sun comes up. This is the perfect place for me to leave Lily. Tom and Francis will take good care of her here, and I can get back on track to finishing first.
FORTY-EIGHT
I wake before the sun has risen when Lily rolls into the dip in the center of the bed. She rolls right into the side of me, her knees digging into my hip. It’s time. After quietly slipping out of bed, I cover her with the patchwork blanket and grab my bag and shoes. I leave my boots off for now so I don’t wake anyone as I leave the bedroom. I realize I’m still wearing the ridiculous blue nightgown. That won’t do. I’ll have to find my clothes before leaving.
I tiptoe into the main area of the house, past the rickety dining table and into the kitchen. I take a few hefty handfuls of dried beans that I find in a cabinet and four strips of dried meat that are hanging above the counter. I also find two containers that will hold water. It all goes into my backpack, which weighs it down considerably, but not enough to make me leave any of it behind.
As I pull my hand from the backpack, it brushes against the bag of nails that I found on the first day. I pull it out and place it on the rickety dinning room table that was made from scraps and handmade nails. It’s payment for the food I’m stealing . . . and for taking Lily of my hands. I can’t imagine that I’ll need the nails; so leaving them is easy.
I continue searching the house for my clothes, but they’re nowhere to be found. I head outside. The door creaks loudly as I try to open it slowly. Hopefully, no one heard it. I creep down the porch steps toward a clothesline. My black shirt, pants, and undergarments are hanging and swaying in the light breeze. They’re all still damp since the sun hasn’t had the opportunity to dry them, but I don’t care. Wet clothes are better than this silly dress, even if the color does remind me of Ethan. I strip down right there in the yard and put my regular things on. I instantly feel like a strong Exalted again, more like myself.
I sling my bag onto my back after fastening
my knife belt on my waist and securing my watch on my wrist. I take one last look at the old farmhouse before I disappear into the brush. Making my way through the tangle of bushes, weeds, thorns, and trees is not the easiest task in the dark. I have to use my skinning knife to clear a path, though it doesn’t help with the noise I’m making.
When the sun finally comes up and lights the forest, I’m able to be a little less noisy. This allows me to focus on the other sounds around me. The birds have begun singing, and out of the corner of my eyes I notice squirrels and rabbits scurrying about. Traveling alone is going much easier than when Lily was tagging along. I may still have a shot at first place.
I notice the trees are starting to thin out making way for an easier footpath. This will be a good time to pick up my pace. My legs have been aching for a proper run. I wasn’t able to run to my full potential with Lily hanging on my back.
Seconds after I take off in a full out sprint, I hear, “Wait! Mena! Wait for me!” It’s a faint cry from the forest I left behind.
“No!” I slam my foot on the ground. I spin around, looking for her blonde curls.
Lily comes stumbling along about 100 yards behind me. She’s wearing the blue nightgown that Francis gave her. As she gets closer, I can see that she’s crying.
“Why are you following me?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“I didn’t want to stay there without you. I heard you leaving this morning. The backdoor woke me up.” Her face holds a mixture of longing and fear. It has no effect on me.
I silently scold the stupid door for putting me in this situation. Then I scold the girl. “Lily, they were going to take good care of you there. You can’t come with me. You have to go back.” I turn her around and nudge her forward. “Go!” I shout.
She’s crying as she turns back to face me. “You can’t make me. I’ll just follow you.”
“Why do you want to follow me? They had everything you needed there. It was safe there.”
“But you saved me. I want to be with you, not them,” she sniffles.
I know I should be feeling all sorts of emotions right now. I should be crying with her, but I’m not. I feel nothing. I want her safe, yes, but I don’t feel guilty, sad, regretful, or any of the feelings that I would have felt last week.
I hold the sad little girl by her shoulders and tell her, “Lily they were going to save you too. They were going to give you a home and food. You need to go back.” I let go of her shoulders and walk away from her. If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll listen to me.
* * *
Lily apparently has little knack for self-preservation because she’s still following me hours later. She hasn’t made a peep. I stopped once and pretended to dig through my backpack for something so she could rest. We should make it back to the interstate tomorrow where it will be easier to travel.
It’s dark now, and we need to sleep for the night. There hasn’t been anywhere suitable to settle for the night yet. The landscape has been pretty barren and I don’t want to sleep out in the open where it’s so exposed to passing marauders or worse.
“We have to keep walking for a while longer, until I can find somewhere safe for us,” I yell back at Lily.
“Okay,” she says, but I can hear the strain in her shaky voice. She’s tired and ready for a long break.
* * *
Finally, we find a strange, cement parking lot with old yellow buses on them. There’s nothing else around, only the buses glowing golden in the night. It’s so strange that they are all here, lined up row after row, in the middle of nowhere. I wonder what they were used for.
“Stay here. I’m going to go check things out.” Worried that marauders may camp here, I leave Lily a good distance back with my backpack and a dagger in her hand. I take out two daggers for protection.
There must be about two-dozen yellow buses here. I run along the rows peeking into the back windows, some have been shattered, but most are still intact. The shining moon is giving off enough light to let me see what I need to. The buses are all empty so far.
About three quarters of the way through the search, I come across a bus that seems to be a home to someone. There is a blanket thrown over one of the seats and a bag with clothes spilling from the opening. I pry open the door and dig through the duffle bag for anything useful. There are no weapons or food. All I find are men’s clothes with holes in most of them and a hat made from straw.
I leave the bus without taking anything. As I step from around the bus, I stop short when I see a shadowed man holding Lily by her curls.
FORTY-NINE
As I get closer to them, I can see that Lily’s eyes are wild. She’s clawing at the top of her head where the marauder is yanking at her hair. The man jerks her head to the side and brings one of my daggers up to her throat. My bag is slung over his shoulder. This is unacceptable.
“Find anything you like in there?” he asks as he nods toward the bus where his things are kept.
“No, but I see you found some things you like. You better leave them here and take off before you’re unable to.” The marauders clearly have never heard of the Exalted. If they have, my small stature must be concealing my Exalted status.
“I’m not leaving here empty handed. I want that belt and watch you’ve got there, and I’m taking this bag here along with the girl,” he says. “I want you to go back in that bus there and get me my things. Now!” he demands.
“What do you want with the girl?”
“She’ll fetch a nice price when I sell her. Now hurry up before I have to cut her,” he threatens. Lily squeals under the blade of his knife as he presses it deeper into the delicate skin on her neck.
I climb back into the bus and start shoving the man’s dirty clothes and blanket into the bag, while trying to come up with a plan. I couldn’t throw a dagger at him because Lily was caught in the crossfire. One slip of his hand would be devastating for her. Maybe I can sneak up behind them and take him out. I quietly pry open the front door of the bus and slip out into the night. I scoot around the side of the next bus without him noticing me.
“Hurry up!” he yells. Lily lets a tiny scream escape.
There they are. I run up behind the marauder and slip an arm under his, the one holding the knife at Lily’s throat. I force his limb out and away from Lily. My actions are violent enough to snap his arm, and then I shove him to the ground. He receives a kick to the rib cage for good measure while he’s down. The man coughs and screams and calls me horrible names.
My Exalted training is telling me to finish him, but the memory of who I was a week ago is slowly creeping back into the forefront of my mind. The “me” last week couldn’t have killed this man. I grab his duffle bag, twist his shirt in my fist, and yank him to his feet. “Take your stuff and get out of here before I kill you. Now!” I shove him along. “And don’t even think about coming back.”
He doesn’t say anything. He runs as fast as his broken body will carry him from the bus graveyard. Lily and I take over his bus for the night, confident he won’t be returning anytime soon.
FIFTY
It’s day five of my journey back to the Republic. I check the map stored in my wristwatch. It appears that I am only three or four more days out. The watch hasn’t beeped or lit up yet, so I feel like I’m making good progress. Detouring to Tom and Francis’ only added one extra day to the trip. I need to do some running to make up for the lost time. I’ll have to carry Lily on my back again. I look over at the young girl. I am still at a loss for what to do with her when I finally reach my destination. Again, I put the decision off.
Lily and I each eat a strip of dried meat before setting off for the day. As we sit, I ask her, “Why didn’t you get your clothes off the clothesline this morning?”
“You were going so fast. I didn’t have time,” Lily admits.
“You’re going to have a hard time getting around in that thing.” The dress is huge and dragging on the ground.
She smiles a b
ig toothy grin and says, “I like it better than my old clothes. I’ve never had a dress before or something this color. Blue is my favorite color.”
“Well, don’t come crying to me when you get your legs tangled up in it and you fall over.”
She giggles. I wasn’t trying to be funny.
“At least let me make it shorter for you.” I reach over and grab the bottom of her dress. Using a dagger, I cut and tear off about two feet of fabric from the bottom. I leave her sleeves as they are, but roll them up so she won’t have to keep pushing them up.
“Stand up and let me see,” I instruct her.
Lily bounces up from the ground and spins around on her tiptoes, as she shows off her blue gown. I shake my head. “It’s just so big. Come here, maybe this will help.” I tie the extra fabric that I cut off the bottom of the dress around her tiny waist. It helps and she seems happy. I think she’s also enjoying the extra attention she’s getting from me. I never thought that at 17, I’d become some kind of a surrogate mother to a 10 year old—especially not while I’m battling my way back to the Republic in my Third Trial. My life has become so unexpected as of late.
I hop up from the ground so we can get started on a long day of travel. It’s so much hotter today than yesterday. Lily struggles against the heat and her pace slows considerably the longer we walk. It’s a good thing that we have more water since leaving the farm. But it won’t last forever.
Lily slows down even more, though she never completely stops. Her pace is too sluggish for me to meet my goal of winning. I heft the girl onto my back and shift my backpack around to my chest. I run as fast as I can. The muscles in my legs and lungs rejoice for the exertion. I run for a solid two hours until the landscape changes, and I have no choice but to put Lily back on her own two feet.
The trees are becoming dense again, so is the brush. The canopies of the leaves and branches provide some relief of the scorching sun. Earlier in the day, Lily had tied the skirt of her dress up on one side to make it even shorter. She needs to let it down now that it’s slightly cooler. She also needs the protection on her exposed legs. As I watch her fiddle with the fabric, I notice that her legs have lots of scratches, most likely from following me in the dark this morning. The girl never complained once. I’ll have to clean them for her when we take a break.
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