“And here’s your bedroom, honey.” Blaire announced as she strode into the adjoining room. “The bedding is all nice and clean, don’t you worry. I try to keep the unoccupied rooms as livable as possible. I’m guessing you want to stay in here for dinner tonight? If I know Dan, you need some recovery time before we barrage you with introductions. I’ll bring you your supper.”
“Yes, thank you,” Selena said, feeling incredibly relieved.
“Alrighty then, be back in a jiffy.” She handed Selena the lantern.
And just like that, Blaire bustled out of the cabin leaving Selena alone in the quiet dimness. Listening to all that talk was starting to grate on her. She thought she liked Blaire, but in the past few years she had become totally unaccustomed to chatter. Selena sat on the bed, admiring the decent condition of the blankets and the frame. There was even a little pair of tables, one to each side, with drawers. Selena tossed her pack on the floor next to the bed and lay down, testing the mattress out of curiosity more than anything else. It was only moderately sunken in the middle so it couldn’t have had a lot of use over the years. Selena couldn’t remember the last time she had lain in anything so soft. All at once she was uncomfortable and hopped to her feet. The room suddenly reminded her of a very small cave she had once ventured into during a bad rain. She had almost opted for the rain after a few minutes in there.
Selena noticed a separate door adjoining the bedroom. Behind it was an empty closet. She wandered back into the main room and found another door that opened to a completely neglected bathroom. With no plumbing, the only thing it would be good for was storage. She shut that door and heard footsteps coming briskly up the stairs.
“I’m back!” Blaire hollered as she opened the door carrying a tray with an actual plate on it. “Here’s your dinner. It ain’t gourmet but it’s the best we got,” she said, setting it on the desk.
There was a steaming hot, generous cut of steak on the plate, as well as some fresh tomatoes and green beans. Not gourmet? Selena thought, wide-eyed with surprise.
“Where’d you get fresh vegetables?” she wondered aloud.
“Oh, those. Well it just so happens that you’re inheriting the station of the first person that came here to hide out when everything went to hell. Old Brian was smart enough to steal all the seed packets from the hardware store when everyone else was thinkin’ they were smart for taking the canned foods,” she chuckled robustly. “I miss that ol’ coot. Anyway, we’ve got a real nice garden. Everyone takes a turn workin’ it since it’s probably the best thing we’ve got goin’. We don’t want to forget how to propagate the seeds so we make sure everyone knows how. We weren’t so smart about the leatherworking. No one was itchin’ to learn from Brian. Not because they didn’t like him, mind. It’s just they thought it was tedious.”
Selena listened attentively, but with no intelligent reply to offer, Blaire got set to leave.
“Well, I’ll quit talkin’ your ear off for now. No promises tomorrow,” she told her with a wink. “Enjoy your dinner. And if you wind up feeling social, we like to get together ‘round a fire for storytellin’ when anyone gets back from a trip. Not that Dan’s much of a storyteller, but the boys enjoy the reports. They’re settin’ up for it now so feel free to pop on over. No hard feelin’s if you don’t want to, mind.”
With a wave, the older woman went out the door.
“Oh and the doors have got locks,” she said popping her head back in. “Feel free to use ‘em.”
Four
Selena took her time eating. There was a fork, but she opted for the knife and her hands. The food seemed to taste better that way, and her family had never bothered with forks. She hadn’t tasted beef in ages. Her small family hadn’t needed to kill anything big for just the three of them, so it was rare they would hunt anything larger than a rabbit. The real delight for Selena was the fresh produce. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d tasted a tomato.
Thoroughly satisfied by the end of the meal, Selena felt revitalized and ready to face the night. Resolving to carefully examine these new leatherworking tools as soon as it was bright enough the following morning, she blew out the lamp and stepped out the front door into the darkness. Emerging quietly from the doorway, she watched for signs of any people lurking about. There seemed to be no one nearby, but she heard several clear voices in the distance. Heading down the stairs, Selena stealthily set off in that direction. It was strange hearing people make so much noise with no fear of discovery.
When she saw the golden flames of their bonfire, Selena continued her approach as silently as she could. It wasn’t hard with the din of the gathering drowning out everything else.
There were other cabins around and paths cutting through the grass everywhere. A huge tree towered nearby and a few of its colossal branches sprawled high above the fire pit. Selena listened to the many voices as she mounted the trunk. Finding handholds was difficult, so she chose one of the lower branches and slowly pulled herself along towards the fire. She made sure not to set the leaves shaking unless there was a breeze to disguise it. When she felt near enough, she was lucky to find a twist in the branch that she could lean against comfortably. Selena wasn’t too worried about being seen. She probably wouldn’t be, but if she was, so what? She only wanted to observe them.
An inspection of the scene fifteen feet below revealed that they had built a very respectable fire. There was a big log close by for sitting, as well as wooden and plastic chairs scattered around.
There had to be at least ten people down there, and there was so much chatter the noise sounded surreal and overwhelming. Selena had a very difficult time focusing on one conversation without being distracted by all the others. She bit her lip in concentration and spotted the two men that had come out to greet them earlier. Ben’s droll tone was easy to distinguish.
“So you left all those supplies for some chick who can sew. Way to go, Dan.”
“Yeah Ben, and you’re gonna ride back and get ‘em for me,” Dan threatened, looking as cheerful as she had ever seen him.
“Like hell I am,” he muttered, making his long face look longer still.
“I won’t give you too much of a hard time about it,” said Cal. “I mean, God damn.”
As before, he stood with his arms folded and his legs far apart. A strong alpha attitude radiated from him, Selena observed, but he still managed to look unassuming somehow. Maybe it was the blue eyes and his easy smile.
“Keep it in your shorts, Cal,” chided a woman before snickering to another. He shrugged unapologetically at them.
Selena took a moment to survey the two girls. The one who had spoken was of African descent with a pretty face and a confident manner. She was probably about Selena’s age. Her friend looked more introverted and at least ten years older. Her limp, mousy hair and long torso gave her a slightly masculine appearance.
“Lust all you like, but don’t cry to me if you get stabbed,” Dan told them, looking peeved.
The same girl giggled with delight. “I gotta meet this girl now! Someone finally managed to give him a hard time. Poor Dan.” She guffawed sarcastically, adding, “I hope you didn’t think anyone was gonna feel bad for you.”
“I’m with Gina,” Ben said flatly.
“Me too,” chimed a blonde. She was sitting close to a very big man with a ponytail and beard. They had their backs to Selena, so she couldn’t see their faces.
Dan acted as though he hadn’t heard them, and Selena was momentarily distracted by a pair of men that stood apart from the others. One of them was bragging loudly about some amazing thing he’d done while hunting. He was short but loaded with bulky, undefined muscle. He looked shifty and there was something obnoxious about his attitude. Selena disliked him immediately. The man he spoke to looked lean and older, with wisps of grey in his black hair. He was Asian, but Selena couldn’t say what country his lineage had come from. His face was totally inexpressive, so she couldn’t gather much from him.
Selena’s focus returned to Dan as he began to speak again.
“There’s something else,” he told them. A subtle change in his voice held Selena’s attention. She frowned as everyone else hushed, even the pair of men standing apart from the others. Dan seemed to be eyeing the big guy with the blonde girl.
“They’re back,” he said.
Suddenly there were several voices at once.
“How many?” Cal asked.
“Where?” inquired another.
“Was Jake with ‘em?” the big guy demanded.
“Bear—“ Dan started, with his brows knit together seriously.
“Was Jake with ‘em?” the man pressed, in a quiet but dangerous tone.
“Yes,” came the grudging reply after a moment’s pause.
Selena’s brow furrowed. What kind of enemies had these people acquired, she wondered. Squabbles often broke out between various bands, she knew, but based on their reaction, it seemed a safe bet that this conflict was particularly serious.
There were, of course, gangs of men who took what they wanted from others rather than going through the trouble of working for it themselves. Selena figured that the men she’d run into were just such people. Perhaps the conflict was with the very same group? What did this Jake do to Bear? Selena wondered, watching the big man.
Dan’s answer had rendered the group momentarily silent just as Blaire approached with a basket of small apples.
“What’s all the fuss about?” she asked no one in particular. Her question seemed to jolt the others back into talking all at once.
“How many?” Cal asked again.
“That’s the problem,” Dan said, still watching Bear. “There were more than twenty.”
Even from behind, Selena could tell that the man was fuming quietly, but Dan went on, “This isn’t the kind of thing where we ride out and get revenge tomorrow. We get into a scuffle and people are going to die, not just on their side. The odds are terrible. It’s not a good time.”
“There is no good time,” Bear growled obstinately, looking angrier by the minute. “There are more and more of ‘em. If you hadn’t gotten in my way—”
“You’d be dead,” Dan finished for him, looking even more immovable.
After a few moments of terse silence, Bear went on. “Not so easily. I’ll be damned if I couldn’t have taken five out with me.”
“Bear!” shouted the blonde woman at his side. She looked horrified. “And what about Becky?”
A daughter?
Bear dropped his gaze to stare at the ground.
Dan let her words sink in before pushing on. “The odds were bad before. Now they’re worse. Three to one.”
“Either you’ve got the math wrong or you’re being a damn sexist,” Gina glowered quietly.
Selena was impressed. This bold accusation had clearly taken some courage. She awaited Dan’s response with rising curiosity.
“Men only get killed, Gina,” came an agitated reply. It was clear from his demeanor that he would have none of it.
Selena lifted a brow.
“It’s all or nothing,” Gina persisted bravely, shaking her head. “If anyone’s gonna fight, everyone should fight. What good does it do us girls if you men all get yourselves killed? Where’s our future then, Dan? I say we’re screwed whether we participate or not. We may as well help.”
“I agree with Gina,” her gap-toothed friend put in. “I vote no one fights, but if we have to, it should be all of us.”
Dan was not swayed.
“I want those men gone and Jake dead,” Bear put in. “No one is safe while they’re prowlin’ around here.”
“They’re still miles away,” Dan pointed out.
“A hundred miles away is too close,” Bear insisted.
“Well! I’m with Sara and Gina,” offered Blaire matter-of-factly, nodding at the two women. “Susan?”
Dan looked incredulous that the subject of women fighting was even under discussion, much less that the consensus was going in this direction. He bit his tongue and watched the blonde carefully, waiting to hear what she would say.
The woman sighed and gave it all a moment’s thought. “Bear, you lost your brother in a horrible way. I cared about him too. Everyone did,” and she rubbed his back soothingly. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting that man gone from the world, but whether we all fight or only some of us, we’re going to lose more people. We should think about the children. Jake will get his someday.”
Ben spoke up now, “They do have some idea what area we’re in. Even if we set a limit to how far anyone’s allowed to go in their direction, we don’t know how far they’ll range. I don’t think we can control the overlap.”
“That’s right. But I say we wait and keep an eye out for now,” Cal told them. He paused before turning to Dan. “There’s no way they followed you?”
Dan shook his head, looking slightly relieved that Cal’s suggestion would at least buy time. He grabbed a pair of apples out of Blaire’s basket, taking a bite out of one. “We took our time getting out of there,” he explained as he chewed. “No sign of them on the way home.”
“Are you certain?” Bear persisted.
He nodded again and chucked the other apple up to Selena. “Ask her.”
She caught it easily and tried very hard not to look irritated when all eyes had turned up at her.
“No one,” she said quietly. It was the best she could do under the circumstances and she took a bite out of her apple in a desperate attempt to look casual.
“Okay,” Cal told Dan as he grinned broadly up at Selena, “We believe you.”
After deciding to post a night watch as a safety precaution, the party started to break up. Dan volunteered to take the first shift so he headed up the hill right away. As the others left, some waved to Selena up in her tree before filtering out to their respective cabins. They looked less disturbed than she would have expected, considering her strange introduction.
Blaire doused the fire and bid her goodnight with a wink. Only when everyone was gone did Selena make her way down from the tree and in the direction of her cabin. When she reached the steps, she found she wasn’t ready to retire for the night. Feeling restless and thinking on everything that was said at the fire, Selena made her way up the path on which they had ridden into camp.
Dan’s actions were making less and less sense to her. Why did he drag her here against her will and then dump her in this place where she was free to leave at any time, especially when they thought their community might be threatened? She resolved to get some answers. When Selena reached the top of the hill, there was no sign of him. He knows I’m here, she thought impatiently, wishing he would give her some sign. She was in no mood for hide-and-seek.
“Dan,” she called out quietly.
“Here,” came a reply from a low growing oak.
She worked through the bushy, hanging branches. The dead leaves crackled loudly underfoot. (That was the problem with oaks.) He was sitting on one of the lower boughs, leaning against the trunk, and made no move to climb down. He didn’t even look in her direction, focusing instead on his view of the land outside their sanctuary.
“Can I ask you a question?” Selena inquired, trying to start tactfully.
Dan turned his eyes to her now and waited silently.
“Why did you bring me here if you knew your community might be in danger? If you’re so worried about my safety, why didn’t you let me go my own way?”
“You were in the middle of their turf and you didn’t know it.”
Before she could argue, he went on, turning his gaze away again.
“They camp out over there on and off. It was such a long time since I’d seen them, we hoped they’d moved on for good. I had no reason to think you wouldn’t run into them again, and there are some smart ones. After you behaved like a wild animal,” he said looking back at her pointedly, “I knew I couldn’t reason with you, and you’d never accept help. You’re at a safe distance
and now you know the situation. You can decide for yourself about the people here. If you want to leave, then you can. Just don’t go in that direction,” he gestured back toward the town.
Selena was suddenly angry with his dismissive attitude. At the same time, she was frustrated that she cared. She took a deep breath and when her emotions were under better control, she tried to piece it all together.
“Why didn’t you let me go before we got here?”
“Would have been stupid. You should know what you’re missing before you decide.”
“That’s the reason you chased me when I ran?” she asked quietly, reddening at the memory and staring down at her feet.
“There was camp smoke not far off. Could have been one of ours, but I didn’t know for sure. You didn’t notice it or you’d have headed in the opposite direction. You were going to get yourself into trouble again.”
Selena frowned at him in the darkness. He had the nerve now to sound amused.
“For your sake,” he added, “you might want to stay, even if we go to war.”
Her temper was beginning to rise again, so she spoke slowly.
“I have been avoiding people at all costs for the past nine years. Can I help it if fifteen men ride right to the house I’m at? That’s what happened and it was terrible luck. If I missed the smoke it was only because I was too busy dealing with a closer threat—”
“You can’t help it, Selena. You can’t be blamed for what you don’t know, and how much could you possibly know with only one set of eyes and ears? With no one else to talk to? People live in groups because it’s the only way to survive.”
“But you’re all afraid of these men and you’re sitting ducks here. All you have to do is pack up and just walk away from your danger, but for some reason, none of you even thought of that. You would rather risk your lives—”
Surviving Passion Page 5
