Dauntless (7 page)

We started to stand and the barn groaned again. The floor was busted up, humps and bumps from the fall leaving it a land mine of rusted nails and splintered wood. Loose hay made the footing even more treacherous, our feet slipping in it as we slowly made our way to a window opening and peeked out. No movement, no sign of the pack. I flexed my back, feeling the sting of a deep cut. Probably a rusty nail with the luck we’d been having. I did my best to ignore the pain; for the moment there was nothing I could do about it.

“We’ve got an opening, woman. We’ve got to go now.” Dan’s voice was sharp and I knew he was right.

“Sebastian.” I ran to his side. He groaned and rolled away from me. I didn’t have time for this; I couldn’t baby him if we were going to get out of here alive.

I slipped and skidded my way to the trunk and pulled out the jug of water. Un-screwing the cap I poured it all over Sebastian. He was slow to respond, but at least he opened his eyes.

I grabbed his hands and started to pull. “Up. Now.”

Sebastian’s movements were stiff, more like that of a ninety-year-old man than that of one in his prime. He shuffled, his feet kicking up dust and hay, but he was moving.

We were able to step out of the barn and onto solid ground, which was a blessing. I didn’t think Sebastian could do anything more than the shuffling gait he was managing.

“Come on woman, get him moving!” Dan snapped, his face pale, his teeth clamped hard over his cigar. I pulled at Sebastian, forcing him to move faster, but to no avail.

“This is it Dan I can’t make him go any faster. Besides, the pack is under the barn, remember?” I hoped this was still true.

“You think they were the only pack around here?” He leaned in and grabbed Sebastian’s other arm with his good one, helping me half drag, half carry my husband.

We made our way back out onto the street where there were the least amount of obstacles for our feet. No words between us, we just forged ahead, ears and eyes scanning the area, waiting for the moment we’d have to run.

I forced my exhausted muscles to keep working, made my mind stay away from the pain in my back and focused on one thing: Getting to our farm.

10

It took us over an hour to make it the rest of the way to our farm. Twice the three of us fell to the ground, stumbling over something; maybe just our own tired feet. We slid inside the gate and Sebastian dropped to his knees. Though he hadn’t done much of the actual work, he was covered in sweat head to toe and his skin was a nasty pallor.

I sat on the hard packed dirt and stared around me. The grass had gone brown, the weeds had grown tall and the house’s doors and windows were hanging open. I knew that Marks and the other men hadn’t left it in this disarray.

“Did you ransack our place Dan?” I wasn’t upset, not really. I would have done the same, only I would have shut the doors and windows.

He sat across from me and shook his head. “Nope, somebody else beat me to it.”

I nodded. It was the way of our world now. I stood, my body protesting every step. Everything hurt from the muscles in my neck down to the arches of my feet.

“Help me shut the gate.” I motioned at the massive wrought iron panels.

“It won’t keep them out. It’s not tall enough,” Dan said, pulling himself to his feet.

“What?” My brain didn’t like that; neither did my heart, as the words sunk in. I could feel my breathing escalate. I thought we’d be safe here, that we could heal up and then try and find a boat. That we would have time.

“You saw how the pack took down the barn? They’ve started to work together, as one unit, to get at food. To get at us.” Dan walked over to me, his face in a twisted grimace, no doubt from the pain of his broken arm.

“I still think we should shut it. Why give them an open invitation?” I asked. Together we pushed the gates shut and I slid the bar that locked them into place.

Feeling totally exposed, I forced Sebastian to his feet once more and prodded him until I had him inside the house. Dan followed and I began to wonder why he was still here. He made himself at home on the couch as I put Sebastian in the guest room on the ground floor. There was no way I was going to try and get him upstairs to the master bedroom.

I went through the house, locking doors and shutting windows, not really caring about the rising temperature. I just wanted to feel safe and secure for a little while. The cupboards were bare, dirt and dust floated everywhere, but overall the house was still in good shape. A few broken windows; that was the extent of the damage. Anything of value had been taken by Vincent and his men, but that was to be expected. As I walked through, I collected what was left of our personal items—my journal, our wedding photos and scrapbooks—and carried them with me upstairs. Our bedroom was musty smelling and, after putting the memorabilia on the dresser, I opened the window to air the room out. Unless the Nevermores learned how to fly, it was safe to open the upstairs windows.

I checked in on Dan who was attempting to make a splint and a sling. I helped him until we had his arm strapped close to his chest. Sweat beaded his upper lip and the scent of sour smoke drifted out of his mouth. I wrinkled my nose and blurted out a question before I thought better of it.

“Why are you helping us Dan? The first time you were here, you couldn’t brush us off fast enough and now…” I waved around my head as if to encompass everything. “You’ve risked your life to help us. I don’t get it.”

Dan leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. For a minute I thought he was going to sleep, that he wouldn’t answer me.

Without opening his eyes he spoke. “There are some people in this world Mara who can make it through anything. The odds seem to be in their favour; they make good choices, but more than that, they have an instinct for survival.” Now he did open his eyes and lean in towards me. I stared at his craggy face, breathed in his smoke-ridden breath and held my ground. He smiled, yellowed teeth peeking out at me.

“You are one of those people. I saw it when that first Nevermore jumped you.” He tapped my head with a thick finger. “No matter what this world throws at you, you fight back for yourself and your man.”

He leaned back and closed his eyes once more.

“You are dauntless Mara. That’s why I helped you.”

I sat on my heels and absorbed what he’d said. High praise from a man who seemed to have nothing but critiscm for everyone else.

Dan let out a cough. “And, I need a place to stay. My house burned to the ground.”

I let out a laugh and he laughed with me. But I had a feeling that what he’d said earlier really was how he felt. He wouldn’t say those things if he didn’t mean them. It wasn’t his style.

“How?” I managed to get out.

For the first time, I watched the colour rise in his neck and cheeks.

“Fell asleep with my cigar lit,” he mumbled.

I tried to bite back the grin, but it slipped through despite my efforts. I changed the subject.

“We need to find a boat Dan. We have to get to the airport in Vancouver,” I paused, then went on. “Have you been down to Deep Bay?” That was where all the local boats were kept, if there were any left.

“Nope. Didn’t go that far. You got any painkillers? This arm is aching like a bitch in heat.”

I grimaced at his expression. He could be so foul. But, I said nothing. It was hard to think of nagging at a man who’d saved us from the Nevermores. I stood and walked out into the kitchen and opened the small cupboard where I’d kept my medicine, not really thinking there would be any left. To my utter amazement, it was all still there.

It must have been their placement; the painkillers and antihistamines were on the same shelf as my bowls. Most likely whoever was looking was going fast and saw only the white and blue designs on the bowls and not what was in them.

I grabbed the bottle of extra strength Tylenol and popped three tablets into my hand. Scrounging around I found a decently clean container and went outside to fill it from the well.

Drawing water took some time and I looked around our property. It really didn’t look all that different then when we were taken by Vincent and his army. The garden was actually doing not too badly. Even at this distance I could see that some of the veggies had come up in our absence.

I took the water back in the house, gave three Tylenol to Dan along with a glass of water, then took the same to Sebastian.

He was on his back, panting, though it wasn’t that hot in here.

“Sebastian, sit up love. I need you to take this medicine,” I said.

He struggled to get upright and ended up slumping against the headboard. I put the pills into his mouth and encouraged him to drink the water down with them. As soon as he swallowed, he slid back down.

“I think Dan’s right,” he said.

I stroked his hair with one hand, the other cradling my ever growing baby bump. My heart constricted with what I knew he was going to say.

“Shhh. Don’t say anything,” I whispered, tears clogging up my throat.

“I think I’m dying Mara.”

I shook my head, though he couldn’t see me. “No, that isn’t what’s happening at all.”

Sebastian said nothing more; just lay quietly, his breathing evening out as I stroked his hair. Tears slid down my cheeks as I cried silently. I lowered my chin to my chest and bit back the sobs that threatened.

So much pain, fear and loss had dodged my ever footstep. I made myself consider the question that haunted my dreams.

Could I go on without Sebastian, if it came to that? I looked down on my belly, thought of the child I carried and the love I already had for him or her. Of how, even as a Nevermore, Sebastian’s love for the baby helped him stay true to who he was, how he remembered me though the drug’s haze. That love would continue, no matter if Sebastian was there beside me or not.

Resolve flickered through me, slowly hardening to a solid belief that I could do this, that I could finish this frightening journey we started together.

If Sebastian died, I could go on. It seemed that Dan might have been right about me after all.

11

The next few days passed in a blur of picking up old routines. Checking fences, bringing in water, finding food. There were a few peas on the vine, some baby carrots and the start of some squash, though they seemed to be behind in their growth. So the garden hadn’t been a total waste of our time.

The blackberries had come in on a heavy crop; Dan and I spent the mornings picking enough to go with whatever else we managed to put together for meals. Sebastian seemed to improve with the steady diet of Tylenol, cool compresses and mashed berries. Though still weak, his conversations with me were longer and more cohesive.

Picking berries next to the front gate on the second morning, I broached the subject of the boat again to Dan.

“Woman, I don’t know what you’re thinking. Sure there might be boats, but you’ve got not one but two invalids to deal with. We have to wait until at least one of us is more capable.”

I yelped as I pricked a finger on a thorn. My yelp was echoed back to me from the other side of the fence.

My head snapped around and Dan spun slowly.

“You heard that too?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

Dan nodded.

Another whimper and now I recognized it, though the shock nearly brought me to my knees.

Nero.

I was running along the fence line, struggling with the gate before Dan could stop me.

Shoving the one panel open, I let out a whistle. A sharp bark answered me and I ran to the right, the direction of the noise.

I pushed my way into the bush; I was ten feet in when I found him, lying on his side. He was skinny and scabbed over, dull-coated and wide-eyed with fear, but he was my Nero.

I dropped to my knees and reached for him, then paused. He was pinned to the ground by two sticks jammed through the loose skin on his flank and under his front legs. Blood oozed out of the wounds and he whimpered again.

“Who would do this?” I said.

Dan came up behind me, breathing hard. “We’ve got to get back inside the property woman.”

“I have to get him out of here without making the wounds worse,” I said, my hands brushing the sticks.

“Remember when I said the Nevermores were learning?” Dan asked me, his voice getting softer as he spoke.

I looked over my shoulder at him and took in the wide eyes, the tight line of his lips. I tried to swallow but couldn’t get past the fear clogging my throat.

“Yes. I remember,” I said, also keeping my voice soft.

“Why do you think they did this to your dog Mara?” He asked me.

Jaw clenched, I already knew; I didn’t have to say it and neither did Dan.

They’d used him as bait.

Dan nodded and a crack of a branch off to my left slowly brought my head around. Three Nevermores crouched in the shadows, watching us watch them. Their hunting strategies were changing. In the past they would have jumped us immediately, now they seemed to be stalking us. Dan was right, they were learning, getting smarter. It was a terrifying notion, one that left me feeling sick to my stomach.

I knew that if Dan, Nero and I were going to make it out of this mess we’d have to move fast.

“Dan. I can’t leave him.”

He let out a grunt and the Nevermores shifted. “Then it’s going to be on you to get him out of here.”

I nodded. “On three.”

Dan counted. “One.” The Nevermores shifted towards us, their mouths open, their eyes wild.

“Two.” I put my hands on the tops of the two sticks.

“Three.” Dan leaped back the way we’d come and I ripped the sticks out of Nero’s side. He let out a howl and I scooped him up and turned, already in a flat out run. Though we were only ten feet in, the bush was thick and slapped at my face, forcing me to duck my head. Instinctively, I closed my eyes to protect them from the branches rushing at me. That was a mistake.

I was all turned around; I didn’t know which way we’d come in and I could hear the Nevermores in the bush around me. Were they herding me? My breath was coming fast and sharp and Nero quickly became a weight in my arms.