by Trinity Crow
"Ab-beee. . ."
My eyes shot open in panic. Inside my chest, my heart was beating an obscene tattoo. I reeled in confusion, straining to see through the pitch black air surrounded me. With a jolt, I realized I was on the couch inside Rickrack House.
Safe.
It had all been a dream.
Of course, it had.
But. . .something had woken me. Something that made me afraid.
“Sorry. . .Ab-bee. . .”
The whisper floated through the blackness and brushed against my ear. I leaped up, crashing into something warm and yielding. Not something. . .someone.
I opened my mouth to scream, but Nikki beat me to it and the sound echoed through the house. The flashlight clicked on and shone across me.
“Holy crap!" she cried. "Abby! Why did you leap up like that?”
“Why did you wake me up with a whisper like that?" I shouted. Cold terror still bleaching me from the inside out.
“Wake you up?! Abby, you were talking when I came back in the room."
"Came from where?" I said, feeling disoriented.
“I had to pee. Okay?" she said sounding annoyed. "FYI, the bucket is just inside the parlor door.”
“Oh.” I was silent for a moment, then abruptly sat down, my legs shaking from the adrenaline. “That's fine. I guess I was talking in my sleep. I don't remember anything until I heard you whisper.”
“Yeah, okay,” Nikki said. “Sorry about that.” But her voice sounded doubtful.
“I don't think I have ever talked in my sleep,” I said a bit defensively. “What did I say?”
“You told me not to go outside.”
There was a long, uneasy pause as I waited for her to say whatever she was holding back.
“It was nothing," she said finally. “It didn't make any sense. So, yeah, I guess you were talking in your sleep.” She gave a little laugh that fell into the air between us, brittle and unconvincing. "I kind of thought you were trying to scare me. Our first night and all.”
“What did I say, Nikki?”
“You said. . . Don't go outside. Don't go. Them something about someone walking. someone coming here." I heard the couch creak as she sat down across from me. "It's a new house, strange bed. That's all it. . ."
Something slammed on the side of the house making us both jump. Nikki barely bit back a shriek.
"What was that?" I said, my breath coming in short gasps. Flashes of breaking branches and impossible shadows looming against the sky burst in my mind. The stark image of wheeling stars above a bone-white spiral made me dizzy.
"I don't know," Nikki whispered. The couch creaked as she moved. "It's really windy outside. I could hear the shutters rattling the whole time I was . . .going."
I froze as the light from her beam swept across the table, my skirt and my bare feet. Dirty, dusty feet. Feet I had washed just before bed.
"Abby?" Nikki questioned. "Are you okay?"
"Oh," I said, looking up. I gave her an unconvincing smile. "That must be what it was, just a loose shutter banging."
Outside, a howl curled up to the sky. The eerie sound wavering in the night air.
"Uh-huh," Nikki said, unconvinced. "Do you mind if I leave the flashlight on for a bit?"
"No, of course not," I told her. I was glad she had asked and not me. The wait for dawn now seemed endless and I could almost feel the night pressing hungrily against the house. A second howl answered the first. I tucked my feet under my skirt, hoping she had not seen the dust and bits of leaves on them. I knew now the sound had not been a loose shutter, but the back door slamming shut. A door left open when I returned from that nightmare beyond the waiting, wicker hedge.
Chapter 10
Morning broke cool and clear. The strange fog of memories from last night seemed fantastical in the bright light of day. I convinced myself it was just a dream. Leaving Nikki sleeping, I walked out through the kitchen where my eyes drifted to the firmly bolted door.
Let it go, I thought desperately as I let myself out of the house. It was still safer here than at the motel or in New Eden. In front of me, a tangle of bushes and weeds begged for me to make a start at clearing them away. The garden had been neglected for a long time and it would be a joy to be the one who would set it to rights.
I knelt beside the edge of the path and began pulling years of scrubby growth. The ground was slightly softened by the early morning dew allowing the annual weeds to come up easily. Working my way along the path, I stacked them in small piles to be gathered later for compost. Any nutrients I could return to this sandy soil would help bring forth more fruits for my labor.
The unease of yesterday's events faded as I worked. Alone in the garden, I could forget so many things. For a happy hour, I moved along the tangled path, leaving stubborn perennials that would require a shovel and any plants which I recognized as beneficial in some way.
A branch snapped to my right, the sound sending a flash of alarm through me. Turning quickly to stare at the overgrown brush, my fear faded as the quivering black nose of a rabbit poked cautiously out from under the Texas sage. Two slow hops and a twitch of its ears carried it from the bush to the edge of the next raised bed. She paused, sitting up to study me. I smiled slowly at the sight, hoping the shy creature somehow knew it was welcome here. I could stand a little damage to the plants if it meant living this close to nature.
The thick brown fur ruffled in a stray breeze. At this range, I could see the white tips of each hair. Her long ears, the shell pink interior laced with veins, twitched again, and then my visitor hopped slowly out of sight. I let my breath out with a slight whoosh. I could not say why the encounter had moved me so. To be so trusted by something so wild and free. . . it felt almost as if some covenant had passed between us.
The sound of the screen door creaking broke the spell the moment had cast over me. Nikki was up.
"Abby, it's 7 a.m.," she said in amazement. She wrapped her sweater against her. "How long have you been out here?"
I offered her a smile, but wondered if rising early was somehow abnormal. A weird routine only practiced in places like New Eden.
"About six," I told her softly. "Sunrise was at 5:45."
Her eyes widened. "Whoa! I'm impressed! I don't think I've ever known what time a sunrise is."
My smile faded a little. Another way I was not normal. At New Eden, the sunrise was considered the Lord's alarm clock, though we worked long past the sunset. There were always chores to be found inside. Now I brushed my hands together and shrugged. "Should we make some breakfast?" I asked, darting a cautious look at her.
Nikki was looking past me curiously. "How come you skipped those?" she asked, pointing.
Pleased with her interest, I turned back to pluck a few leaves from the plant she pointed to and held them out to her. "This is mint. It's not just edible, but medicinal. Good for depression, immune systems and fighting bacteria or viruses."
Nikki's expressive eyebrows went even higher. "I never knew that. I just thought it tasted good!" She sniffed the bruised leaves and her face softened in pleasure. "Mmmm," she breathed, "that smells amazing."
"We can pick some for tea," I told her, my mood lifting, "but we'll need a fire to heat the water."
"Make our own tea?" A smile lit up her face. "That is too cool. Hey, are all those ones you left good for something?"
"No. Some of them I'll need a shovel to get out," I admitted. "But everything's good for something, Nikki. Good for humans or for other species. Everything created has a place. Maybe it's food, maybe it's just ground cover to help keep the dirt in place."
"Where would the dirt go?" she said with a skeptical laugh.
I stared at her. Did she really not know?
"The wind would blow some of it away," I told her. "Rain would wash away more. And eventually, all the good soil would be gone and only a hard pan where nothing grows would be left."
"Wow," Nikki said. "You're like a walking biology lesson."
U
ncertainly, I shook my head and moved for the stairs. I was never going to fit in with the people out here. Why had I said all that about plants and dirt? Nikki caught me by the arm as I passed her.
"Abby," she said, her eyes concerned, "wait. If I was sitting in class, I probably wouldn't be interested. Out here, it's kind of amazing. I mean, you could actually grow food here."
The complete awe in her voice made a smile flicker across my face.
"I am going to grow food here, Nikki," I told her. "I've been helping grow food since I was about ten years old." My smile dropped. "It's the one thing I loved doing at the compound."
Nikki stood in the path, gazing out at the tangle of weeds, and then she looked at the part I had already cleared.
"Okay, you've inspired me!" she said suddenly. "Let's get breakfast and then if you want, I can help. But fair warning, I'm not saying I'll be up at 6 a.m.!"
My smile came all the way back at her emphatic tone. "It's better to work outside in the cool of the day," I told her, "and then move indoors when the sun begins to heat up the day."
Nikki looked thoughtful as she turned to follow me inside. "I guess that makes sense when you have no air conditioning. I know my grandma was always saying that's how they did it when she was a child."
I felt a flash of envy that Nikki had memories of her grandmother. She hadn't shared why she was on her own and I wouldn't pry. After all, I didn't want anyone prying in my history. And I was happy to have her here. The quiet, mostly serious girl would be easy to have around until she got on her feet. Besides an extra pair of hands would come in handy.
Inside, we spread peanut butter on white bread with a plastic knife. The awful taste of the bread making me wince. All I could taste were chemicals and I had to force myself to eat it. I stole a glance at the other girl who was eating without any sign of distaste. Store-bought food was rare at New Eden and if this was a sample, they might actually have a point.
"Maybe we should work on getting these cinder blocks out the windows?" I suggested.
Nikki looked unconvinced. "The problem with that is then you have big holes and nothing to close them up with at night. I may not get a vote, but I say you wait for the grant money so you can buy some windows." There was a thread of tension running through her words and I knew we were both remembering the noises from last night.
"I think," she went on, "that the upstairs windows are just boarded up and not bricked. Maybe we could get those open?"
"That would be good," I said, thinking it through. "There are beds up there, though I doubt the mattresses are any good."
Nikki licked the last of the peanut butter from her fingers and smiled, her black eyes sparkling. "Don't know till we try, huh, boss?"
***
We decided to start with the top of the stairs. The light from the opposite window would illuminate the stairwell and hopefully through the doors of the two rooms to the right. Neither of us mentioned noises or nightmares as we went up the stairs, Nikki with a candle and matches and me with the flashlight.
The beam hit the wall at the head of the stairs, revealing planks nailed horizontally across the window frame. I frowned at the thick nails that had been pounded carelessly into the trim.
"Oh, that's good," Nikki said with enthusiasm.
"What's so good?" I asked, running my fingers over the rough boards.
These weren't nailed in very well," she said. She lifted her candle to show some of the nails were only halfway in, while others had been bent and hammered across rather than straight in.
"More graffiti," I remarked as I played my beam up and down the large window. The space in front of it was occupied by a settee, the bench upholstered in a plush fabric whose nap was wearing away with time or maybe use. The backless seat left the window unobstructed and the curved, padded arms promised a comfy back rest for anyone curling up here with a book. Suddenly, I was impatient to see the view. I wanted the boards down and this tiny glimpse of me living here, seated and reading right here, looking through this window, to be more of a reality and less of a dream.
Nikki was quiet a moment and then made a murmuring noise. I looked over at her, but her face was blank and quiet.
"We're going to need some tools," she said after a minute. "Have you seen any?"
"No," I admitted, discouragement swamping me.
"We could wait for Adam and Cassie. . ."
"Oh, let's don't," I said impulsively. "I don't want to be dependent on them. You said they aren't nailed in very well. We just need a pry bar of some sort, right?"
Nikki grinned, her face looking mildly impish in the flickering light. "That should work, though I don't know much about construction. Hey! We haven't checked that old shed outside."
"Oh, that's a great idea," I said.
We clattered down the stairs and out into the yard. The feeling of independence had gripped us both.
"Won't they be surprised when they see all we've done?" I gloated.
Nikki laughed. "We haven't done anything yet. Well," she amended, as we walked down my newly cleared path, "I haven't."
The shed in question was weathered and had a decided lean to it. It also had no door, and as we peered in at the piles of junk, old boxes, bits of metal and coffee cans of old nails, I began to doubt we would find anything useful. Nikki stepped in and began rummaging around.
"Ugh, spiders," she said, over her shoulder.
I shuddered. Gardening I loved, but creepy crawlies were low on the list.
She pulled out a long, slim piece of metal, bent at one end.
"This might work. Oh, wait!" She hopped over a crate filled with what looked like straw.
“Be careful,” I begged her. The small room was filled with objects that could mean a trip to the hospital and we were so far from town.
She turned and grinned at me triumphantly, then frowned as the object she found proved too heavy to lift.
"Tool box!” she called out. “Let me see if I can open it.”
There was a clanking and the squeal of rusty hinges.
"Score!" Nikki waved a wooden handled hammer over her head. "Two hammers,” she reported. “Screw drivers, and um, lots of stuff I have no idea what it is for."
“As much as I want to rush in and get those boards off, I think we better get the tools out and into the house where we can use them.” I started pulling boxes and crates to the side to clear a path to join Nikki. She gave me a grin as I stared at the massive metal box.
“No wonder no one stole it,” she told me. “It's too heavy to lift.”
I located an empty wooden box, checking gingerly for spiders.
"Let's just take what we recognize,” I decided, after staring at the assortment of metal objects. We piled things into the box, finding a third hammer, but the tiny rounded head looked useless against the boards. Nikki shrugged and tossed it in. It took the two of us to carry it back to the house and slide it on the floor near the pantry. Then armed with a hammer each, we made our way back upstairs.
“You go first,” Nikki urged me.
I set the flashlight down so the light would shine up to give us the most light and then braced my hammer against the end of one board. The nails squealed in protest as they rose out of the wood. Startled, I dropped the hammer. Nikki handed it back to me without comment. I took a breath before trying again. The end came up easily and I repeated my actions on the other side.
“It's still dark.” Nikki said in a disappointed tone when I pulled the board free. “Shouldn't we see light?”
“I don't know,” I said. “Let's do the rest.”
We went to it. Nikki working on the right side and myself on the left. When the boards were too high above our heads, the settee made an excellent step stool. The last board came off and I lowered it to the floor.
Nikki hopped down and grabbed the flashlight. The beam reflected off the glass of the closed window and through them to the outside wooden shutters.
"Oh, the shutters!” Nikki said, slapping
a hand to her head. “I remember seeing them outside!”
I climbed down and checked the window for locks before trying to tug it open. The window resisted, making my heart sink and me realize how badly I wanted it to open. Nikki added her efforts and it slid upwards slowly. She shone the light again and I saw the latches holding the shutter closed.
“Go for it,” Nikki said, her voice eager.
I slid the latches open and then pushed the shutters outward. Light and air rushed in to greet us, The morning, still new, filled the landing. Inhaling deeply, I was stunned at how musty the house air was in comparison. Of course it would be, being closed up so long, but it took this fresh breath of the day to bring that realization home.
"Oh my goodness," Nikki's voice was breathless with wonder. “Look at that view.”
The scene spread out before us was from the front of the house, a patchwork of fields and far-away houses and barns. Roads were marked curiously by the dark green lines of trees along the fences beside them. Here and there, we spotted glimpses of the ant-sized cars moving along them.
“Look, there's Tasmyn's house.” Nikki leaned out the open window, pointing across the fields.
“She has a lake,” I said as I joined her, catching the glint of water.
“Good eyes,” Nikki complimented me. “Oh, I can't wait to do the rest of them.”
She twirled around on the seat and then gasped.
“Abby. . .look!”
Chapter 11
The light flooded in from the open window revealing the upstairs hall. Vibrant scrolls of blues and greens swirled across the wallpaper. Denied the light of the sun, it had remained untouched by time. The light pine of the woodwork gleamed as if freshly polished. No longer a dark and unknown space, the light from the window had revealed a house that could be lived in and in time, made into a home.
“It's beautiful,” Nikki said in awe. "I love the colors. It makes the place so. . .” She paused, searching for words.
“Alive?” I suggested.
To my surprise, Nikki visibly flinched at the word. She summoned a weak and unconvincing smile.
