Peter turned up his collar. The ruins blocked out the worst of the wind, but the cold air still nipped at his nose. He ineffectually rubbed his hands together as he turned to Anna and Nel. The crows feet at Anna's eyes deepened as she squinted at the whiteness that surrounded them. The haggard woman hefted her late partners bag over her shoulder and sighed.
"Guess I be goin' now."
"I'm sorry we couldn't be more help, Anna. But this is for the best." Nel held the old woman's hands. The morning light was playing hide and seek through the thick rolling clouds to the east. Anna turned her face to this sun.
"You helped good 'nuff."
"Head east until you reach Oldman River. To the south is a bridge. Cross it, and take the first left. With the snow it might be hard to make out the road, just look for sled tracks. Turn left, follow the road and then take the first right to get to the Fort." Anna's eyes glazed over. Peter cleared his throat, but Nel quickly went over the directions again in shorter sentences.
"Sun, river, follow right to bridge, cross, left, then right. Got it." Anna smiled and muttered the directions a few more times to herself. She then looked around. "No Rena?"
Peter linked his arm with Nel, standing closer with her to help stave off the cold. "She's still asleep. We'll tell her you said goodbye."
"One more thing, Anna," Peter interrupted. He passed Anna a small drawstring pouch. It wasn't easy to spare the coveted item, but he felt bad sending Anna off on her own.
"What's this?"
"Mistletoe. Wherever you rest at night, hang it up over your entryway. The things that killed Jad won't pass under it."
Anna furrowed her eyebrows, bringing them low enough they could be seen under her cap. Her eyes watered as she looked again at Peter and Nel.
"Thank you." Taking in a deep breath, Anna turned and began the long, lonely journey to a new life.
Peter and Nel watched as she trudged off, and then looked at each other. "We better get ready. The children are anxious enough about leaving."
Peter glanced over to his two children. Ash and Maple added snow to one of their forts, but with more care and less mirth as if to say goodbye. "Ash has never seen Fisham, and Maple probably won't remember it."
"They've always been curious about the home we left."
"Well they'll learn its ups and downs soon enough."
"Sure you saw it land this way?"
"Yup."
Two men trudged through snowbanks, some rising as high as their hips. Behind them they pulled a rickety sled. The taller of the two expelled a puff of steam into the frigid air.
"Dunno who those O'Worlders think they are, patting 'emselves on the back 'cause they sometimes drop goods on us. Why don't they do something actually useful like get us outta this God-forsaken place?"
"Stop creaking. The goodies are useful. Sides, they prolly think we'll disease 'em all." A raucous chuckle erupted from one man, and the other joined in with a sneering snigger. The stouter of the two squinted, trying to see through the veil of falling snow. "Been over a year since anyone's heard a plane. Got thinking they gave up on us."
"It's getting dark. Think anyone else saw it?"
"You mean anyone, or anything?" They gave each other apprehensive glances then continued on their journey.
The two men crested a hill, discovering a couple of large crates submerged in the snow. Flapping, like the crack of a whip, could be heard as the wind tried to tug one of the attached parachutes free. The taller man swore under his breath. "I was looking forward to bringing back lots o' canvas. Well, one chute'll do."
The shorter man grabbed a crowbar from the sled and busied himself with prying the box open.
"Remember to save the nails this time, Fred."
"Yeah yeah..."
With the crate open they began removing vacuum sealed ration packs and medical supplies. After the first layer of items had been moved to their sled, the tall man yelped and drew his hand back. The short man laughed, cussing affectionately at his comrade. Fred escalated with a few choice words of his own, which were not so affectionate.
"Alright, what's got you in grips?"
"Hair... I think there's a body in here." Fred gripped the edge of the crate. "Bring me the light, Hans."
"A body, eh? He got anything good on him?" Hans asked as he began cranking the hand lantern. There was, indeed, a mop of black hair in among the packages. Fred gingerly removed a few more of the supplies, revealing a human head. To his relief, it was attached to a body. Eventually they pulled the body out and laid him on the limp parachute. The man was short in stature, allowing him to be more easily concealed in the crate. Protruding from his chest was an unusual weapon. It appeared to be a sharpened wooden stick, but it had a shiny, metallic handle. The two men looked at each other, perplexed.
"Unlucky stow-away?" Fred mused.
"Who'd wanna come to this hell-hole?" Hans squinted at the ornate stick. "Hey, is that gold?"
Greedily, Hans grasped at the weapon. It was wedged in more firmly than he thought, forcing him to grip it with both of his hands. With a grunt, he pulled the stick out from the corpse. A tendril of tarry, viscous liquid trailed from the wound, until it thinned and snapped. The two men huddled close, inspecting the golden handle. They were completely unaware that the corpse's eyes had shot open. It wasn't until one of them suddenly had a white hand about his throat that they were cognizant of the danger. Fred screamed and jumped away, watching in terror as the corpse pulled Hans closer, biting his throat ferociously. Hans spluttered and gurgled, his body convulsing before going limp. The monster remained clamped on to Hans's throat, pulling him down and slurping.
Fred did what any sane man would do. He turned and ran, leaving the crate, the sled, and his unfortunate comrade behind.
"Mom, tell me again about the vamps! Come on! Tell me!" Ash pleaded, tugging on his mother's mitted hand.
"No! Tell me about unicorns!" Maple insisted.
"Unicorns aren't real! Vamps are! Anna saw some!" Ash insisted.
"Unicorns are so real!" Maple cried back.
"Children! Please!" Nel stressed plaintively. It had been a long trek through the night and weariness descended upon both parents. Peter sighed and smiled as he pulled their sled, keeping close so as not to lose his family in the darkness.
"Remind me again why I'm pulling the sled?" Peter eyed the six canines which ran alongside them, hopping and yipping in the moonlit snow. One of them, a wolfish mutt, came up to Rena, licking the snow off of her gloves and whining affectionately.
"They needed a break." Rena patted the wolfdog on the head. He licked the fringe of snow that had formed below his nose and padded ahead to nip at one of the other dogs' heels. There was a yelp and the dogs growled at each other, but no further posturing took place.
"I think we all need a break," Nel muttered as she trudged on, keeping hold of a child with each hand lest they wander into the inky night.
"Just a little further," Rena encouraged. "Here, I'll take the sled."
Grateful for the relief, Peter handed the lead to Rena and took the torch from her. The sled, bundled down with their belongings, slid effortlessly behind her.
"If vamps are real, then why can't unicorns be real?" Maple asked, not ready to drop the fight just yet.
"Maybe unicorns are." Rena smiled grimly. "But I've never seen one. And they might not be anything like the stories we tell."
"Are the vamps you saw like in the stories? Anna said you killed two of them!"
"Ash, stop pestering Rena."
"It's fine, Nel. I'm not bothered." Rena pulled on the lead to wrap it about her wrist for a better grip. "Well, Ash, what do you expect Vamps to be like?"
"Really tall! Kind of like men, but bald, with white skin, and their faces are all wrinkly and bumpy and they got horns too! They got fangs THIS LONG!" Ash said excitedly, holding his hands apart, although Rena could not see it from behind him. He looked over his shoulder, and raised his hands above his head to show her. His mother made a grab for his wrist to keep him close. Ash continued, unperturbed. "And claws! They run on all fours like a dog, but can stand up like us, too! They got goats' feet. And-"
"But you never seen a goat!"
"AND-" Ash continued, raising his voice over Maple's protests, "...they have glowing red eyes! And they eat people!"
"No, stupid, they don't eat people, they just drink their blood." Maple sniffed with the superiority afforded to her of being three years her brother's senior.
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"Same thing! And they come in the darkness! They hate the sun, which is why we live in the north! Because the Bleak has covered the south, so there's Vamps everywhere!" Ash slipped his hand out of Nel's grasp and threw out his arms, accidentally hitting his mother in the thigh.
Peter and Nel looked at each other then began laughing at Ash's descriptions. "Did you tell him all that?"
Peter shook his head. "Not I. I think he made those embellishments himself."
"What's so funny?" Ash asked, not sure why his terrifying description would end in laughter instead of the appropriate quaking in fear.
"Nothing, Ash. We just love you," Peter chuckled, patting his boy's head. Maple scoffed but didn't say anything.
"So, Rena, will you tell me what you saw?"
"They were pale. Their eyes did not glow. One was about your Dad's height, and the other a little taller. They didn't have claws or cloven feet, and their teeth weren't that long, but they were sharp. One had some white hair, but the other was hairless. Their faces were wrinkled, but no horns. But you got most of it right, Ash," Rena said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Ash grumbled as he digested this itemised list of features. "I think my version was scarier."
"It was," Peter reassured.
"Does sunlight really hurt them?" Maple asked, finally joining the conversation.
"Yes."
Maple squeezed her mother's hand tighter. "And mistletoe? Does it really keep them away?"
"It stops them from passing beneath it," Rena clarified.
"So if they move around at night, why aren't we moving during the day?" Maple asked, looking around at the darkness and moving even closer to her mother, her shoulder against her mother's hip. Nel looked towards Rena, and then faced forward.
"Well, uh, it took us all day to get ready, and once we had everything packed, we needed to get going," Nel explained.
"Oh. Well, why do you only put mistletoe by our room? Why don't we put it on all the doorways?" Maple pried further. Peter coughed, and the parents again shot anxious glances towards Rena, who just kept walking.
Peter stepped in with his explanation. "Because you matter to us more than anything and we want to make sure you are safe. And it's not always easy to find mistletoe."
"It's fine, Maple, we've got Rena. She can keep us safe!" Ash said cheerfully.
Maple snorted. "I guess..." She looked over her shoulder at Rena. Nel and Peter shared uneasy glances as they kept walking.
The small group of travellers finally stopped and made camp in the wee hours before sunrise. The family all worked together to get their tent up. Everyone, except for Rena, who had begun to pile up a large mound of snow near some trees.
When the tent was almost ready, Ash wandered over to Rena. "Cool! Are you building a snow fort?"
"Sort of." Rena packed some of the snow with the back of her shovel.
"Why aren't you helping us with the tent?"
"There isn't room for me in your tent. So I'm making myself a quinzhee," She set the shovel aside and tested the firmness of the mound with her hands.
Ash looked back at the large tent, then to Rena. "You could squish in! You can share a sleeping bag with me," he valiantly offered.
Rena grinned as she picked up the shovel again. "Aren't you sharing one with your sister? I don't think all three of us will fit." She grunted as she shored up more snow.
Ash scrunched up his nose. "Maple kicks and always has cold feet. She can share a bag with Mom."
"Then where will your Pop sleep?"
This matter took Ash careful consideration. "Um... outside with the dogs?"
Rena laughed in spite of herself, but kept on working. "That's not very fair. The dogs kick even worse than Maple. And they drool."
"Oh. Right." Ash grabbed an armful of snow and added it to Rena's pile. "Well, then, can I come sleep with you?"
"No."
"Why?"
Rena paused, glanced back to see how the campsite preparations were going. Peter was trying to coax a fire into existence, while Maple and Nel were securing the tent. An extra pair of little hands would certainly still be of use. Eyebrows raised mischievously, Rena turned to the young boy. "Because all this work is making me hungry... so... I might eat YOU!" Rena dropped her shovel and brought up her hand like claws. "C'mere!" She playfully swiped at Ash. He squealed in terrified delight and he ran back over to his parents.
"Rena's trying to EAT ME!"
There was a snapping sound and his father let slip a naughty word. His mother dropped the spare stakes she was carrying, her face going pale. In moments Nel had her arms around her son and was pulling down his hood, inspecting his neck. Maple just looked as confused as he was feeling.
Nel placed her hands on Ash's shoulders looking him in the eye. This was her serious face, when someone did something bad. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Ash blurted, bewildered. "We were just playing!" Her mother hugged him, and the bemused child just stood there. Maple didn't know what to do, so she giggled nervously. He looked over at his father who was sucking his finger, his hunting knife in his other hand and his flint stone discarded on the ground.
By this time Rena had walked over. Nel pulled Ash away, putting herself between Rena and her child. Rena tilted her head to the side, but then in a moment her eyes widened, then narrowed. She looked down demurely.
"I didn't mean to upset anyone."
"Ash, Maple, I need more sticks for the fire. Go find some," Peter said in his Father-knows-best voice. Maple turned to leave, but Ash stomped his feet and crossed his arms.
"I don't want to! I want to play with Rena."
"Ash, for once just do as your father says!" The words fell on Ash like a physical slap to the face, and he stared at his mother, mouth agape. He sniffled a few times, but then went running off after his sister.
As the two children walked side by side, Maple looked over at Ash pensively, her young face not shaped for conveying such expressions. He would have found it humorous if not for the dark storm cloud hanging above his head. "What?"
His sister looked straight ahead, holding up a lantern as she scanned for sticks and twigs. "I think Mom's scared of Rena."
"Don't be silly! Rena is cool and she's our friend! Mom's always been nice to Rena," Ash babbled as he picked up a stick. He gave it a few swings in the air. "Hyah!"
WHACK!
Snow fell down from the wind-dwarfed tree he struck.
Maple glanced over her shoulder. "Then why did she get so upset?"
"Because that's what Moms do," he spat as he used the stick to shake a large clump of snow off of a dead bush.
"Mom loves us, you know."
"Then why does she yell at me all the time?" Ash nearly shouted, shaking his stick. She bent down to pick up a handful of recently fallen twigs.
"Because you don't listen and do dumb things!" Maple responded in a matter-of-fact voice. Ash scowled at her stupid, morally superior face and swung his stick at her.
"TAKE THAT BACK!" Ash yelled. Maple gave a small yelp and grabbed the biggest stick she could find, and the two children clacked their sticks together in a clumsy sword fight, although to them it was as elegant and witty as a swashbuckler's duel.
Once the children had gone to hunt for wood, Nel stood up, her gaze bearing down on Rena. "Whatever game you were playing, I don't think it was appropriate. It's not at all funny to joke about eating children."
Peter stood up from his crouched position by the unfinished fire, briefly taking his finger out of his mouth to speak. "Calm down, Nel. Rena'd never hurt them."
"No, and we will make sure of it. Where's the mistletoe?" Nel demanded.
Rena remained statue still, wearing that mask of neutrality she'd developed over her unnatural lifetime. "The left front pouch of the yellow rucksack."
Nel looked up at her with a frosty gaze which was colder than the night air.
"Nel..." Peter sighed his wife's name as she pulled the yellow rucksack free of the sled.
"Dawn's almost here. I need to finish my shelter." Rena turned and headed back to her mound of snow.
"Nel!"
"What, Peter?"
"We don't need the mistletoe. Using it now would be a waste."
Nel pulled out a leather pouch, ignoring him. Peter walked over, placing his hands over hers. They shook in his grasp and he tried to catch her eyes. She kept her gaze averted, but with her husband holding her hands, there was nowhere she could go. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to stare into his hazel eyes. He repeated softly, "Rena won't hurt our children."
"Not now, but what about when they are older? Will they be expected to take the same oaths?" Nel asked, emotion and bile rising in her throat at the thought.
"It will be their choice. Where's all this coming from? You've treated Rena as part of the family until now - you took the same oath yourself," Peter said with consternation.
"I took that oath so you didn't have to share the burden alone! But..." Tears welled up in her eyes, "...it disgusts me what she does to us."
"She can probably hear you." Peter fretted as he glanced over to Rena.
"So what? We'll be rid of her when we get back to Fisham," Nel snapped. Peter squeezed Nel's hands tight and pulled her closer, frowning sternly as he looked straight into her eyes.
"You want me to kill her?"
Nel shook her head. "No! No, I don't want you to kill her. Not if you care about her as much as you seem to."
"I do care about Rena!" Peter shook Nel, causing her to whimper. "She's like a sister to me." He let go, and she pulled away, wiping her eyes with one hand and clinging to the pouch of mistletoe with the other.
"I don't care what she is to you! I'm your wife!" She sniffled. "I never realised how afraid of Rena I was until now." Nel looked over, watching Rena in the distance, all that was visible of her was her rear and and feet, as the rest of her had made significant progress in her dug-out. "I don't blame Fisham for wanting her gone."
"I still don't understand why you are worked up like this all of a sudden. We've both let her feed from us in the past." Peter shook his finger which began to bleed again after squeezing Nel's hands.
Nel glanced at Peter's hand, and then over at Rena, as if expecting her to come rushing over at the mere smell of blood. "Why would she expect you to kill her if she wasn't a threat?"
Peter grunted as he finally picked up the flint he'd dropped. He stared at the dark stone in his hand for a moment or two before he looked over at Rena as well. "That's not... I just thought we were the only thing she had to live for."
"Really?" Nel placed her hands on her hips. "Because I think that whatever she is, she'd become like those abominations without us."
"That'll never happen. She's not one of them."
"Then what is she? No one ever told me, and the longer we lived with her, the more I felt like I should know already. But I don't! I've just been playing along and... Peter! What is she?"
Peter resumed working on the fire, squinting in deep concentration. "A true vampire."
Writing children is hard. Do you find Ash and Maple are written believably?
