Born Page 16

  I pull my knife out and squat next to it. I gut it. I split the back tendons and hang the deer from a branch. It's heavy, even gutted.

  "Wow."

  I look back at Will standing watching me.

  I pull the fur and drag the knife along it.

  "I think I love you."

  I laugh, "Good you can carry it." I have let it bleed and decapitated it. I drop the head and leave the skin and innards in the pile of blood. I know the cougar is waiting for us to leave. I cut a huge hunk of the tough meat along the front quarter off and leave it there too.

  He throws it over his shoulder. It's about seventy-five pounds with meat and bone.

  Will carries it like it weighs nothing.

  "You are an amazing shot."

  I nod, "I know. I practiced for years. I hunt regularly."

  He laughs, "Good to see you're humble."

  I look at him offended, "I am humble."

  He shakes his head. I don’t get the joke.

  "What's the plan for the breeder camps?" He says.

  I look at him and know he can read my face perfectly.

  "I don’t know. We have to do something. They're killing them off for no reason. Healthy women."

  "It's not no reason to them. These women will live long healthy lives and become a burden to society. They will require help and old age assistance. The New World Order is all about breeding to succeed not recreating the entire population. They don’t want the women, just the babies. Grown people are harder to brainwash. They want the new children to see that what they have done was for the greater good."

  I stop "You don’t believe that do you?"

  He frowns, "Christ no. They have killed billions of people off Emma. They don’t deserve to run the world just because they're more organized than we are and they were prepared for the fallout. I'm just saying how they think."

  We walk into the camp to see Jake making the girls laugh. I smile and feel like I brighten up. He makes everything feel lighter.

  He scrunches up his nose, "What the hell is that?" The girls giggle at him.

  "Venison." I say.

  He looks relieved, "Oh I actually like venison."

  I roll my eyes at him and Will and I start taking the deer apart. We cut several small steaks and stew meat. Anna starts making a stew in the pot and Jake grills the meat. Sarah cuts up some apples we got from the camp. They seem really small and old but none of us care. She adds them to the stew. Apples and venison sounds weird but when Anna adds water it makes a sweet gravy.

  Will looks at me and frowns, "Guess we're in the same boat as last time. Nowhere to wash up."

  I shrug and hand him some of the cooking water, "You clean me and I clean you?"

  He nods and grabs a small piece of the lavender soap Jake still had from my cabin.

  We walk to the edge of camp and he pours a small amount on me. I wash up my arms and hands and face. He pours the water on me slowly.

  When it's his turns he removes his shirt. I watch him scrubbing his body and feel my stomach knot up the way it does around him. His skin is soft and strong looking. I want to touch it. Instead I pour the cold water on him. He strips to his boxers and I pour more water on him. His tanned skin gets goose pimples. I rinse him off some more and try not to get lost in the water trickling down his skin.

  We walk back over to the camp. He puts his clothes in a backpack and pulls on the baby blue t-shirt he was wearing when I met him with a pair of jeans. The shirt stretches across his chest.

  "Emma."

  I look at Anna smirking at me, "You want to get the bowls?"

  I nod and she giggles. I blush. I know I got lost in him. I know if I'm not careful I will lose myself to him. I can feel how big he is to me. He could swallow me up whole.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The old farmhouse sits alone in the field. I close my eyes and let the wind sway the tree and I. I had feared I would never see it again and here I am. Nothing moves in the field, the door to the barn swings with the wind. Everything moves in sync with the wind.

  I climb down and take my bow.

  Will and I sneak through the field first. I can hear the others as they enter the field. It's no doubt Jake and his inability to do anything quietly.

  We slink up to the farmhouse and wait in the hay.

  Will gives me a signal for going to look. I shake my head and creep from the field. I have the bow. I kill quieter than he does.

  My arrow is at the ready. My feet make their first crunch on the gravel, which starts my heartbeat.

  I don’t do circles. I know Will has my back. It's a nice feeling. I lower the bow and put the arrow back. I unsheathe my hunting knife.

  Sweat lingers on my face. Summer has started. It comes earlier every year.

  I look in the barn first. I hear footsteps but I know they're Will's. He is walking behind me, watching my six. Anna is next out of the forest. Hopefully she has left Jake and Sarah in the field.

  The barn is empty. I lift the bunker cover on the floor and am excited when I see my stuff sitting there.

  "We'll clear the house."

  I look at Anna as she walks behind him into the barn, "Don’t forget the basement cellar." She nods. I pick up my hunting rifle with scope and toss it at her. She beams when she sees it.

  Will frowns, "That’s a lot of fire power for her." He's too serious.

  I raise an eyebrow, "She saved my life with it. She's probably a better shot than you with it."

  He snorts. She pushes his arm but it looks forced. I can see she isn’t as playful or friendly with him yet. She sees the differences in him. At least she is pushing and teasing him now.

  I pull the boots off and rub the bottoms of my feet. I pull on some socks I have stored and the boots I always stock piled here. My feet sigh with relief as I tie the laces. I instantly feel better.

  I grab a few sealed bags of jerky and some water bottles.

  Jake and Sarah are standing in the wheat field. I can see his face.

  I wave at him to come.

  I am happy. I wish we could live here. I can see us running this farm.

  I don’t hear it until it's too late. Sarah and Jake are walking across the gravel chatting like blue jays.

  A shot echoes through the clear sky.

  I see a dust spot rising from the ground in front of Jake and Sarah.

  I hear a scream, "RUN!" My arms are waving. The jerky drops from my hands and the water bottles roll along the gravel. I have an arrow out and pulled and am running to where they are ducking.

  Jake picks her up and sprints in his hobbled way to the side of the house. I see the flash from the scope and let loose the arrow. I have another pulled and am searching the windy field.

  I don’t see anything but a shot rings out again and a dust spot appears to my right. I run into the field. I duck and run with the arrow drawn. A dark shape appears through the wheat and leaps me from the right side. I am surrounded.

  My bow drops but I have my hunting knife out again. I am stabbing but the person taking me to the ground moves faster than I do. His hands grip my wrists. I see his smile as he takes me to the ground.

  He pins my wrists to the ground and I cry out, "Why?"

  He laughs, "I knew you would have places like this. I knew he would set you up."

  Serge has me pinned. His weight is holding my body to the ground. I try kicking him, but he is too wide between my legs for me to get a good kick in.

  "You sure have gotten pretty Emma Ray."

  I cringe, "Fuck you."

  He presses himself into me, "I think that can be arranged." He whistles. I hear the hay whisper where the other people are in the field. It sounds like the wheat rustles in about seven locations.

  "I never imagined you would be a rebel though. When we saw you heading there, I was pretty surprised. Your daddy would be proud of the woman you've become." His eyes leer. He licks his chapped lips. I gag.

  I expect several outcomes. Will will fight and pro
bably kill three, Anna will get at least two and Jake will die. The rest will take us captive and Will will die trying to stop them.

  What I don’t expect happens as Serge lowers his face to mine. His hot breath is an inch from my face, when a dark shape rolls him from me. I see fur and fangs. He cries out but the huge jaw tears open his throat.

  I reach for the fur. Leo growls at me. He is scolding me. I know this. I bow my head to him. He snorts and shakes his head. Blood coats his muzzle.

  I hear a gunshot and know the fight has started.

  I lift the bow from the ground and pull an arrow fast. My hand trembles. I steady my arm and release the arrow hitting a man with red hair in the throat. It's the man who's nose I broke.

  I pull another arrow. Tears start to drip down my cheeks. I hit a dark haired man who is holding Sarah around the throat and pointing a gun at Jake. My arrow slices through his temple.

  Anna has shot two men and Will is ground fighting with what I think is the last of them. I don’t see movements. I hear the sobs in my chest but I can't stop them. It's like my body needs the release and whether I like it or not I am going to cry. I look down at Leo and drop to my knees. He doesn’t leap at me like normal. He can sense the differences. He comes slowly. He nudges me and covers me with his warmth. I cry into him. His thick dark fur sticks to my tears and spit. He senses the shift in me. I know he does.

  I sense it in him too. I've left him for too long and he's come looking for me. He's thinner than I remember him being. How long has he waited in the fields for me to come to him? A moment passes that contains all of the things that could have happened. I don’t fight the bad thoughts. I let them pass through me and leave from the other side.

  "Jake, it's Leo." Anna is running to me.

  Her footsteps on the gravel scare me. Not because someone is running to me but because she is making noise in a place that’s always been quiet. The quiet is gone. I fear for the old farmhouse.

  "Goddamn Emma. That was disgusting. His brains came out the other side. Sarah is throwing up." Jake says making a gagging sound.

  I chuckle. It's soft and probably not a real laugh but I need something. My father's friend was going to tear my clothes and tear me the way he probably has a hundred other girls. The world is upside down now. Nothing has goodness in it except the people we are with.

  I hear my father's words in my head, "Survival means taking from everyone else. It's just you and me Em. It's us and them."

  But my circle of hugs and warmth grows and it's not just him and me. I feel Anna join and Jake. Then Sarah who is nervous of the wolf and hugs me only. Will hovers over us.

  "You are a deadly shot Anna. You deserve that rifle."

  She looks up at him and smiles, "Someone had to keep Jake alive."

  Jake laughs. Will smiles but I can see the hurt the comment causes on his face. She doesn’t mean it the way he takes it.

  Leo sits with his eyes closed and his mouth in his wolf smile. He loves the pets and strokes Anna and I are giving him.

  "I missed you too. I missed you bad. Where's Meg?"

  His eyes open. He whines. I sigh, "Christ, is she gone?"

  He nuzzles into me.

  "You speak wolf?"

  I laugh at Sarah's bewildered face, "No I speak Leo. He doesn’t speak wolf either. He speaks me."

  I hold his massive face and look into his yellow wolf eyes, "Buddy is Meg gone?"

  He licks his lips and whines. I feel sick. He's anxious. Something isn’t right. I look up at Will, "Do the camps get attacked?"

  Will looks like he might say no, but he stops himself and nods, "Once. It was a long time ago. Not that camp but another one. Why, is he saying that?"

  I shake my head, "He's anxious and I left him with Meg. He left food and a bed to come find me. Seems weird. He's lost weight. He's been hunting for himself. He leans out when he hunts alone. Sometimes when I would camp out in one of our houses he would stay in the woods nearby and hunt. He would always lean out."

  Will looks toward the mountain, "We need to get going then."

  I want to stay one night but the dead men scattered about the yard make me rethink that plan.

  "Anna go close off the bunker and Jake close up the house. I'll get Leo some water and refill the water bottles."

  Will smiles, "I'll stay guard and Sarah can give me a hand."

  She smiles at him. She likes him a lot. I wonder if she feels safe with him the way I do?

  I stay focused on his blue eyes for a second and then force myself up.

  I run my fingers along Leo's fur as we walk to the huge well. I pump the primer and then lift and pump the handle. I always let the first few pumps of water leave the spout and spill on the ground. Leo knows not to drink them too.

  He waits patiently. I pull the pan I leave lying around the well house, out of its hiding spot. I rinse it and fill it with the cold water after about fifteen wasted pumps. Leo laps it up fast. He looks when the shallow bowl is empty. I fill it three times before he doesn’t seem interested.

  I fill the water bottles in my backpack. I drink one full bottle of the fresh clean water and then refill it. Anna comes over and drinks one and lets me refill it too. Jake joins Will and Sarah. His limp is still pronounced. I wonder if it'll ever be better.

  We leave the farm in a way that makes me feel odd. We walk and talk and snack on the jerky I had stored the last time I was stocking my supply cupboards.

  Leo doesn’t seem to like it either. He is restless.

  I worry about Meg. We pass by the meeting tree. I can see Leo has slept here. The grass and branches around it are in the shape of one of his nests.

  We turn the opposite way of my cabin and my heart tugs. I want to go home. Leo stands there for a second and whines.

  "Come on boy."

  He trots after me and keeps perfect pace with me for a while. Soon he relaxes and starts to trust I am not going anywhere and moves ahead. He scouts perfectly. He is silent and sharp.

  We move along the hillside without talking. I have given Jake a dirty look every time he started talking to Sarah.

  I look up as we near the camp to see the scout in the tree. Will waves and the scout shouts down, "Holy shit look what the cat dragged in."

  Will waves and laughs, "Actually it's what the wolf dragged in." He looks back at me.

  Leo raises at lip at Will. I stroke his face.

  The camp is bustling, just as it was when we left.

  Mary comes running up and I hear the squeal of the little white haired brat.

  "Wolfie!"

  Leo curls into me. The little monster comes barreling at us. Before I have a chance Anna has his little arms, "The wolf is going to bite you. We trained it to bite little kids."

  She turns and growls at Leo who growls back. The little monster cries and runs away.

  Anna gives me a look. I've warned her about the little monster.

  I laugh. Mary gives me an evil stare. I laugh harder.

  "He means no harm." Her voice is soft and insulted.

  He runs to her and hugs her. He fake cries and snuggles into her. He looks back at us and makes the production even louder. I roll my eyes, "Mary this is Sarah."

  Will cuts me off, "And my sister Anna and my brother Jake." Mary smirks at Jake.

  Jake blushes. I feel funny. She kissed me and now she's eyeballing the guy who I happen to like a lot. I feel angry. I don’t know why. Mary isn’t my girlfriend and Jake isn’t my boyfriend but the idea of them being together hurts me.

  She walks over and kisses Will on the cheek, "Well come home and welcome to the rest of you."

  Okay I've had enough. I walk away and head to the tent.

  Leo is clinging to me. He keeps looking back at the bratty kid in Mary's arms.

  I look down at him, "I know buddy. I won't let him hurt you."

  Our tent looks smaller than I remember it. I open the flap and feel heat rise in my face instantly. Meg is in the embrace of a guy I would guess is somewher
e around thirty. Before I wait for explanations or introductions. Meg's eyes flicker on me and she starts screaming, but I can't stop the momentum. I leap into the tent and rip him away from her. I'm choking him on the ground and she is tearing at my arms. Leo is in the tent and growling. His slobber is falling all over the man's face.

  His hands go up in the air. He tries to choke words out but I'm holding his throat with all my might.

  "Emma sweet mother of all things holy stop trying to kill him. He's my boyfriend. Eric honey this is Emma. Emma. EMMA!"

  I ignore her and smash his head down on the soft cushy pillows. I wish it were a rock.

  Leo leans in closer. I understand his anxiousness. He knows this pervert has been taking advantage of Meg. She probably kicked him out of the tent. I want to throw up thinking about this asshole hurting her.

  "EMMA!" A man's angry voice fills the tent.

  I feel arms grabbing me. Strong hands lift me off of him but I kick. My boot lands square in his face. I hear the crunch. Blood gushes from his face. His hands fly to protect his face but I get a few more kicks off before I'm dragged from the man's body.

  Meg is in my face slapping me, "STOP EMMA! STOP!"

  I growl, "He's an old man Meg. He's taking advantage of you."

  Mary is in my face. She pets my cheeks, "Emma, Meg's turned sixteen. She is allowed to choose her lovers at sixteen."

  I kick Meg in the thigh with my boot, "She lied to you. She doesn’t turn sixteen yet. She's still fifteen."

  Mary looks at Meg who blushes. Mary looks pissed at her but looks back at me, "You have no right to attack anyone Emma. Not here. We are a peace camp."

  Will shakes me from behind and grips my arms tighter, "Emma call him off." I can still see the tent wiggling. I know Leo is probably eating the bleeding man. I wait and let him suffer for a few more seconds.

  Will grips me harder and I scream as my arms go up my back. Leo is out of the tent before I have to call him. He jumps at Will and knocks us both to the ground. He is growling in Will's face.