Marysvale (15 page)

T
HE
guns looked just like Sarah’s and were held by a
dark-haired female, about my same age, who glared at me through
deep green eyes. She, too, was dressed like a man, in brown
breeches and black boots.

We stared at each other over the tops
of our pistols.

“
Who are you?” she
demanded.

“
Who are you?” I replied
neutrally.

“
Since I have two pistols to
your one, I’ll do the questioning.”

“
It only takes one shot,” I
pointed out.

“
If you’re so sure you’ll
win, then why don’t you try?” she asked, with what I imagined to be
the most threatening voice she could manage.

Time to find out what I’m really up
against.

I read her soul. She was confident and
sure of her abilities. She was also scared; but it wasn’t for
herself, it was for Sarah. She was also a good person and had no
more of a desire to hurt me than I did her. I started to dig
deeper, to pick more from her thoughts. Surprisingly, a veil closed
over her soul, just like Sarah had done to me not four days ago. A
curious expression crossed her face and the tips of her pistols
dipped slightly.

Taking advantage of her sudden
confusion, I decided to disarm her, before either one of us got
hurt.

“
Mister, I wouldn’t,” said a
young girl’s voice, coming from behind me. “You better just drop
your pistol.”

I stopped and started to turn, so I
could see who else I was dealing with.

“
No…don’t turn, just do,”
ordered the new girl.

I flipped the pistol in the air,
grabbed it by the barrel, and offered it to her.

“
I’d better not drop it; it
might go off,” I suggested.

She bought the excuse and took the
weapon by the handle. Her companion came to her senses and
screamed, “No, Hannah! Don’t!”

But it was too late. With lightning
speed, I seized the girl, Hannah, by the wrist, twirled her around,
and grabbed her from behind. Quickly, I twisted the pistols out of
her hands. Both girls were stunned, and they seemed scared. I
leaned over and put the guns down on a nearby piece of furniture.
Then I released Hannah, who immediately dashed behind her
friend.

“
There,” I said. “I’m not
going to hurt you.”

The older one still held her pistols
up, nonetheless.

With both girls now in front of me, I
had a better look at them, and predicted they were sisters. Both
had clear skin, rich green eyes, and long, flowing, dark brown
hair, which almost looked black (though the older one’s had a hint
of red). I guessed Hannah to be around fourteen. Both were pretty;
but they were gaunt, dusty, and haggard.

Hannah turned to her companion, “I
couldn’t see her out back.”

“
What have you done with
her?” demanded the older girl.

“
If you mean Hannah, I let
her go,” I replied coolly.

“
Do you think I’m stupid?
And if you think that stunt you did with my sister is going to buy
you some goodwill, it won’t. I don’t trust you,” she said
flatly.

So they were sisters after
all.

“
No,” I sighed. “I don’t
suppose I blame you; trusting strangers can be a risky
venture.”

Raising the pistols slightly to
emphasize her point, she demanded, “Let’s try this once more—and I
am not going to ask again. Is she hurt?”

“
I don’t know, probably…have
you seen the boat she takes fishing?”

Hannah giggled, obviously aware of its
condition. The older girl shot a warning glance at her sister,
conveying the message to keep quiet.

I looked into Hannah’s soul and found
it still open. She was amused by this exchange and felt measurably
more relaxed. She was also pure in heart. Once I knew she was
innocent, I felt guilty for invading her, and I stopped.

I walked over to the overturned chair
I’d been sitting in, and sat it upright.

“
What are you doing?”
snapped the older girl.

“
Straightening the
furniture; this may take a while to resolve. Besides, you two look
tired.”

I sat down.

Hannah liked the idea and moved for a
chair of her own. Her older sister glared at her again, and she
sighed to express her disapproval, but stayed put.

It turned out we didn’t have long to
wait.

“
Hannah! Jane!” cried an
excited Sarah.

The older one, Jane, flinched. I
cringed and braced for the impact of not one, but possibly two
shots from her pistols.

Nothing happened.

Sarah swept into the room and embraced
them both, forcing Jane to lower one of her weapons, as she and
Hannah were squeezed together like little dolls.

Sarah released them. “My goodness, you
look starved! We must fix that.”

Then turning to me, she said, “I
thought I told you to stay out of trouble.”

“
Yes…that. Well, I suppose
I’m just gifted when it comes to trouble.”

She broke into a smile then looked at
Jane.

“
Oh, for heaven’s sake,
either shoot him or put away your pistols.”

I shot Sarah a dirty look, and she
laughed.

“
She wasn’t really going to
shoot you. Were you Jane?”

Jane didn’t answer, but slowly put the
pistols back in their holsters.

Hannah giggled and said, “She’s just
sore because she knows we were had when you grabbed me, and she
doesn’t like to lose.”

Sarah broke in before Jane could
retort, “Well…you’ve all met; but have you been
introduced?”

I answered, “The young, pleasant one is
Hannah; and the one who still wants to kill me is Jane.”

Hannah beamed and said, “That about
sums it up.”

“
Except for who you are,”
snorted Jane.

Sarah introduced us.

“
John, this is Jane and
Hannah Wolfe.”

My eyes went up in recognition of the
name, and I remembered the story and the loss of their mother.
Knowing their heartache, and seeing the condition they were in now,
I felt compassion for them.

“
Girls, this is John Casey.
He’s my guest here while he heals up.”

Jane looked questioningly at Sarah and
was about to ask something when Hannah broke in.

“
Healing? Healing from what?
I bet I can guess.”

“
You’re quite right,
Hannah,” said Sarah. “John was attacked by three Brean.”

“
That’s amazing! And you
lived! You have to tell us what happened,” exclaimed Hannah
excitedly. “It must have been a terrible fight.”

Even Jane softened. She looked
impressed for a moment, but quickly regained her contemptuous look,
though it was not as hard as it was before.

“
I’m afraid there’s not much
to tell. If I hadn’t come across Sarah, I’m sure they would’ve got
me.”

“
Oh, there’s quite a bit
more to tell,” Sarah refuted. “But, before we discuss all that, I
want to know what under heaven made you girls risk such a dangerous
journey? You know they’re watching you.”

Jane replied, “We know; but things are
getting worse…there’s not enough food.”

“
We’re starving to death,”
piped in Hannah. “And not just us; everyone is suffering. Except
for ‘the almighty’ and his puppets,” she spat.

I looked quizzically at
Sarah.

“
I’ll explain later,” she
said. “First, let’s have some tea, and I’ll make us something to
eat. We don’t want you to collapse after such a long
journey.”

“
Oh, yes!” exulted Hannah,
her eyes widening at the prospects of food.

Jane added, “Thank you. We are very
hungry.”

“
Come sit in the kitchen
with me, while I get things ready,” invited Sarah.

She led the way, rattling off all kinds
of questions, such as: “When did you get here?” “How long did it
take?” “Did anything happen?” And so on.

I smiled, remembering the inquisition
I’d received when telling my story—the difference being that Jane
and Hannah enjoyed it and were much chattier than I’d been. Wanting
to give them some privacy, and feeling a bit like an outsider, I
slipped out the front door while they migrated into the
kitchen.

I walked over to the pasture railing,
climbed up, and sat on it. Smoke had given up trying to harass the
cows and now joined them in grazing the lush grass. He wandered
over after noticing me sitting there. I wrapped one arm around his
head and patted him with the other.

With Jane and Hannah here, reality was
setting in. I recognized that I was only a guest, and the time was
close at hand for my departure, maybe a day or two at the most. Of
course, I’d known I would have to leave eventually, but I had kept
shoving it out of my thoughts. Now, I knew I couldn’t wait any
longer, if I were to find a place before the real cold set in. I
had already pushed my luck and would have many a frigid night ahead
before I found a suitable town and place to live. And though I was
certain Sarah would be willing to keep me over the winter, I had no
right to impose myself on her goodwill anymore. She was no doubt
sincere in her fondness of me, but was probably putting up with me
out of loneliness or perhaps even pity.

Where to go was the question haunting
me now. I supposed there was Marysvale. I wondered if this is what
Sarah meant when she said, “I expect before too long you’ll want to
go there.” However, a town plagued by monsters and famine didn’t
sound at all appealing. And I doubted if there would be people
willing to feed me when they, themselves, were starving. Perhaps
someone may, but I wouldn’t feel right about taking their food if
another option existed. Besides, what was the difference between
that and staying with Sarah—other than Sarah didn’t look like she
had any lack of food? The only plan I could think of was my
original one: travel west and then far enough to the south where no
one would know my name.

Maybe I could even learn a lesson from
Sarah: instead of trying to live among them, I would find a nice
piece of fertile ground and start a little farm of my own; just
close enough to a town to get supplies, but far enough away that I
wouldn’t be bothered. If I rode hard, I could make it in a few
weeks: find a room to rent, obtain some work, and wait for spring
when I could put my plan into action. The only difficulty with this
plan was the Brean; but that was something I would have to deal
with no matter what course I took. I wondered if it really mattered
whether I lived or died; no one would miss me, except maybe
Smoke—that is, if he survived.

The smell of frying fish and baking
bread floated in the air and made my mouth water. I could
sympathize with what it must be doing to the sisters. I stroked
Smoke a few more times on his dark neck, then hopped down and made
my way back to the cabin. I halted after a few steps when I
realized that Sarah, Jane, and Hannah were standing on the porch
watching me. Both the sisters munched on apples (Sarah’s temporary
cure for hunger). When Sarah saw the look on my face, she smiled,
turned to the others, and said something. They, too, broke into
grins. Suddenly, a debate waged in my head….Which was worse: a
forest full of monsters or a house full of women? Without the
ability to tap into their feelings, I felt utterly
outgunned.

Sarah, seeing my consternation,
hollered, “We’re not going to hurt you.”

I called back, “I’m not
convinced.”

All three of them broke into
laughter.

“
How about a peace offering?
I have some tea brewing on the stove and supper is almost
ready.”

“
Very well,” I said
hesitantly. “I accept.”

We went into the kitchen where Sarah
poured tea and Jane served it.

“
You didn’t have to run
away,” said Sarah.

“
I know; but I thought that
you might like some privacy.”

“
Nonsense, you’re as welcome
here as anyone.”

Jane looked as though she didn’t agree,
but said nothing.

Hannah piped in, “Besides, I want to
hear about your escape.”

“
You might as well tell your
story,” warned Jane, while trying to pretend she wasn’t interested.
“She’ll never leave you alone until you do.”

“
Like I said, there isn’t
much to it. However…since Jane is so fascinated, I’ll
tell.”

She furrowed her eyebrows and I dove
into my story before she could fire back.

Sarah, ever vigilant with the details,
interjected now and then some bit of information that apparently I
had omitted.

“
You’re right; there wasn’t
much to tell,” said Jane with a mocking smile when I had
finished.

“
I think he is very brave,”
said Hannah coming to my defense. “You only had to deal with one.
And John at least kept his clothes on.”

“
Hannah, that’s enough,”
breathed Jane threateningly.