Scepter

by Scott Collins

Daniel awoke early the next morning and laid Olivia’s clean clothes near the bedroom door before heading to the kitchen. They would need the nourishment for the long trek that awaited them. The smell of bacon and coffee soon filled the small home as Daniel began cooking up a very large breakfast.

  Aidan stumbled from his room rubbing his eyes wearily and pulling on a long-sleeved shirt. Sitting down at the table, Aidan mumbled a barely audible thank you when Daniel set a cup of hot coffee in front of him. After taking a few sips, he got up and joined his brother in the kitchen. Aidan set his cup on the counter and hopped up next to it. He shifted around and cleared his throat.

  “Where are we going to go?” Aidan asked.

  “To Olivia’s house, to get her sister,” Daniel answered, looking at him as though he’d lost his mind.

  “I mean after. After we go get her, where will we go? We can’t stay there, but we can’t come back here either. Where can we go that we’ll be safe from Argyle and his men?”

  Daniel stopped his cooking and turned to look at his brother. He ran his hand over his hair, which was short enough to stick up. He played with it, rubbing it back and forth for a moment as he pondered the question. Finally, he shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far in my planning. All I know is that we need to go get her sister before Argyle sends someone to look for his gathering party. When his men don’t come back, the next group to go out isn’t going to show any mercy to anyone they come across. My guess is the first house that was visited by the last group was Olivia’s house. We were the second. I think the next group will follow the same path. We can decide where to go after we get her sister out of harm’s way.”

  Turning back to the stove, Daniel was mixing the eggs when he heard the bedroom door open. Both boys glanced over to see Olivia’s arm emerge from the bedroom and pull her clothes inside. Moments later, she meandered out stretching and yawning widely. She flushed deeply when she realized both Daniel and Aidan were watching her, and dropped her eyes to the floor as she shuffled across the room. Daniel smiled to himself and poured her a cup of coffee as well, setting it in front of her as she sat down at the table.

  “Who’s ready to eat?” Daniel inquired. Aidan pulled out three plates, and Daniel piled them high with food. Olivia’s eyes bulged at the amount of breakfast placed in front of her.

  Daniel noticed the look on her face. “Just eat as much as you can,” he commented. “It’s going to be a difficult trip, and you’ll need the energy. Plus, I don’t know when any of us are going to get another home-cooked meal.” Olivia glanced up at him at the last comment, but decided against addressing it. She picked up her fork and began eating. Daniel and Aidan both pulled up their shirt sleeves and then engaged in what could only be described as a feeding frenzy as they shoveled food from their plates to their mouths. After finishing his meal, Daniel walked to the sink, washed his dishes, and put them back in the cupboard.

  “Why bother?” Aidan asked, pushing his now empty plate away from him and leaning back in his chair, one hand rubbing his full stomach. He tucked a lock of long blond hair back behind his ear before grabbing his coffee and taking a sip. “It’s not like it’s going to matter. We’ll never be coming back.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Daniel snapped back. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get to come back. If we do though, I don’t want my rotting food sitting in the sink.” Aidan looked back down at his plate to avoid Daniel’s glare. “I need to grab something before we go.”

  Daniel closed the cupboard doors, walked quickly to his bedroom, and shut the door behind him. He had wanted to retrieve one more item before leaving on their journey and had been unable to last night while Olivia was sleeping. From the shelf over his bed, he took down a game. His father had given it to him when he’d turned eight, and they had spent countless hours playing it together. Although he had played it with Aidan on occasion, it had primarily been something special Daniel shared with his father. He slid off the wooden lid, revealing the small bowls within, each filled with polished stones. Daniel picked one up and gently caressed it between two fingers. Dropping the stone back in the box and closing it, Daniel quickly wiped his eyes and left the room. After tucking it securely into his pack, Daniel looked back to the others. “Are you two ready to go?”

  Both stood up from their chairs and followed Daniel’s lead in washing their dishes and returning them to their appropriate places. Olivia followed Aidan back across the room to where the packs lay on the floor.

  “Which one is mine?” Olivia asked, stepping up beside Aidan, her gaze moving back and forth between the two packs.

  “Whichever,” Daniel replied. “They both weigh about the same. We can move stuff around between the three of us once we get going and get a feel for what we’re carrying. This is for you too,” Daniel added, lifting the rifle he’d taken out the night before. Her eyes opened wide and she looked to Aidan for his reaction. “He’s got his own protection,” Daniel said, stepping forward and extending the weapon toward her. “My bow and quiver are by the door. We’re all going to need something to defend ourselves out there. There are bullets and cartridges in each of the packs.” Seeing the confused expression on Aidan’s face, Daniel explained, “I didn’t want to put them all in one pack in case it gets wet. As she uses up her supply, we can replenish it from our packs. We need to be careful. Also,” Daniel remarked, looking back to Olivia, “you’ve got two bags in your pack. One is black and has regular bullets in it. The other is gray, and that one contains silver bullets, in case we run into werewolves. I also packed some of my mom’s silverware. We can melt it down later and try to make some arrowheads. It’ll be better if both of us are equipped to fight them off if we need to.”

  Olivia picked up the pack in front of her and hoisted it onto her back, shifting it to distribute the weight evenly on her shoulders. Taking the rifle from Daniel and bouncing a bit to settle the straps on her shoulders, she moved quickly to the door and outside. Aidan knelt down and picked up the other bag.

  “Oh, I need to grab something real quick.” Aidan announced before disappearing into the back bedroom. He came out a short while later and shoved something into a pouch he had tied to his belt. “Got it,” he said. “Oh, and my sewing kit!” He disappeared into his room again and emerged, shoving the small kit into his pack. “I’ve got to keep myself looking proper,” he laughed and walked out the front door to join Olivia.

  Daniel scanned the room, partially to check for anything they may need to take with them, but mostly to take it all in one last time. He’d told Aidan he wasn’t sure if they’d ever return to this home. Even if they did, he had a strong feeling it would never be quite the same.

  Outside the house, Daniel stopped Olivia. “Can you shoot that?” Daniel asked pointing to the rifle she carried, “or do you need some pointers?”

  “Is it loaded?” Olivia asked. Daniel nodded. Olivia lifted the rifle to her shoulder and aimed toward the path she’d taken to the house the night before. “See that yellow flower just to the left of the trail?”

  Daniel’s eyes scanned the forest floor where she was indicating. At last he spotted the small petals through the tall grass. Just as he started to say he’d located it, the blast from the rifle drowned him out. The flower exploded.

  “Yes, I can shoot this.” Olivia slung the rifle over her shoulder and proceeded across the clearing toward the path.

  “Wow,” Aidan murmured with a grin and set off behind her.

  Daniel’s chin dropped to his chest. Unable to find any words, he followed.

  Chapter 6

  The Journey Begins