Mary slept in the room with me. She didn’t mind the floor, so I gave her the extra comforter and gladly took the bed. I slid under the covers, closed my eyes, and pretended I was back home. Despite everything that had happened, I slept well.
When I woke at first light, Mary continued to breathe softly from her place on the floor. I quietly used the bucket then went to the window. In the yard, several of the wolves slept on the ground while some already walked in and out of the trees. Those who wandered seemed bored, yet they didn’t stop to talk to one another or interact in any other way. I watched them for a while and noticed some studied the area. It seemed as if they were new here, like me.
One stopped and stared at a shed directly across from the main building where I slept. The small structure leaned at a precarious angle. Many of the cedar shake shingles had disappeared into the black hole that pierced the roof. However, the boards covering the walls seemed solid enough. As I studied it, I thought a few of those boards might help cover the broken windows in the main building.
“I smell…” Mary said suddenly, startling me. I turned and watched her sit straight up and sniff the air. “Pheasant. Good. I was getting tired of rabbit.” She stood and stretched. I heard her stomach growl and grinned at her.
We made our way down to the main room and found the pheasant roasting.
“Who brings the food?”
Mary shrugged. “They’re either hunting on their own and the first one here provides it, or they’re fighting for the right.”
The idea that they would argue about who could bring us food had me shaking my head. Why was that okay to do, but helpfully collecting grass was not?
I opened a can of green beans to eat with the bird and scooped half onto Mary’s plate. What I wouldn’t give for a bowl of Sugar Crisps.
We ate in companionable silence for several minutes before she spoke again.
“So what do you want to do today?”
“Start boarding up some of the windows, I think.”
“You know it’s summer, right?”
Since I’d left home, I’d watched spring change to summer, and with each passing week, I knew summer’s hold wouldn’t last forever. Just another reason to find somewhere to burrow in.
“Summer and sunny. But it’ll rain eventually and start getting cold. There are a lot of broken windows and no ladders. It’ll take time to get it done.”
She gave me a long look.
“Where’s your family, Charlene?”
Hopefully, safe where I left them, I thought. I finished chewing before I answered.
“Where I’m not.” I tossed the bones into the fire as she’d done the day before and went to wash my plate. Thankfully, she didn’t push for more of an answer.
“Some of the broken windows still have unbroken panes,” she said, coming up behind me. “Do you think we can take them apart and fix a few of the windows in some of the other rooms?”
“Sure.”
Someone knocked on the door. She handed me her plate. I washed it as she moved across the room and opened the door.
“We’d like to help,” a deep voice said.
I turned and glanced at the men who stood just outside. Their faces were familiar this time, and I recognized Anton from the day before. When his gaze met mine, he offered me a smile, which I automatically returned.
“Thank you for the offer,” I said. I wiped my damp hands on my jeans and moved closer to the door. “We need some of the boards from that shed over there.” I pointed in the general direction of the building since I couldn’t actually see it through them.
“Will you show us what you mean?” one of them said.
He wanted me to step out the door? I glanced at Mary. She nodded.
My stomach churned as the men parted to make a narrow path between their bodies. They waited, watching me closely as I hesitated, swallowed hard, and tried to obliterate my fear with logic. If they made a move toward me, I’d grab their wills and force them to stop. However, the thought of using my power like that didn’t reassure me. It disturbed me as much as the idea of going back outside. Yes, I’d used it like that before. But the situation at the gym had been different. I hadn’t put myself in that situation on purpose. I’d only used my ability instinctually. And I hadn’t hurt anyone.
If I wasn’t willing to use it here, where did that leave me? I couldn’t stay inside forever.
“Maybe you should give her a little more room,” Mary said.
She watched me just as closely as they did. I felt weak and stupid. Clenching my teeth, I took a deep breath and stepped forward.
They moved around me like gnats before a storm. I tried to ignore them as I made my way across the yard in the early morning light. Those still on four legs watched me with interest.
When I reached the shed, I found it was bigger than I’d thought. I glanced back at the main building and noted all the broken windows in the daylight. It was a good thing the shed was big; we would need many of the boards.
I scanned the men around me and patted one of the shed’s walls.
“These boards,” I said. “If you pull them off carefully so they don’t crack, I want to use them to board up some of the broken windows. Actually, if you can take apart the whole shed, I’m sure we can find a way to reuse all the wood.”
The men nodded, and Anton went inside the building.
“Don’t break the glass in the window,” Mary said from somewhere behind the men. “We want to reuse the unbroken panes, too.”
I was glad she’d followed. I stepped away from the building and heard the screech of nails pulled from dry wood. A board popped away from the wall, and I caught a glimpse of Anton before he moved out of sight again.
A younger man with light blonde hair stepped in front of me, stealing my attention.
“Is there anything else?”
“Um…” I tried to find Mary in the bodies crowded around me but couldn’t. The urge to start backing away took hold. Yet, I remained where I was. I didn’t have a choice. Another man stood behind me.
“Yeah,” Mary said, her voice floating around us. “The rest of you can go to the junkyard and look for useful things.”
The men shifted so I could see Mary. She reached through, wrapped a hand around my wrist, and pulled me out of their circle.
“Like what?” one asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Useful things. Like… a bathtub. She doesn’t wash in a stream.” She tugged me toward the main room’s door as she spoke.
“A bathtub?” I asked under my breath.
“Ask Winifred,” Mary said over her shoulder as she nudged me through the door. I wasn’t sure if she was telling me to ask Winifred or the confused men behind us, but as she quickly closed the door, I didn’t care.
I breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and threw my arms around her. “Thank you.”
She awkwardly returned the hug. “Wini suggested the bathtub.”
I pulled back, confused. “Is she listening to everything?”
“No. I’ve been talking to her, so she knows what they’re doing,” she said, nodding toward the closed door. “When they started crowding you, she suggested we send them to the junkyard since this place could use a few things, and you don’t like stealing. They’ll reach out to her, and she’ll help them figure out what’s needed.”
“How exactly does that work? Her connection to everyone, I mean. Is it like little mental strings that connect her to everyone?”
Mary was quiet a moment. “She says it’s like a two way radio. You just need to know the right frequency.” She gave me a puzzled look. “What’s a two way radio?”
I grinned. “Your head, apparently. It’s far out you can talk to her like that. But doesn’t it get a little noisy in her head?”
This time Mary laughed.
“No. It’s usually pretty quiet for her. We keep to ourselves unless there’s a problem our leaders can’t resolve.”
“Leaders?”
“Yeah. Men like my dad. Typically, heads of families. I don’t know if there are any non-family packs. Wait. Wini says there aren’t.”
I had no idea what she meant but didn’t ask any further questions. I didn’t want to know about their hierarchy. Not yet anyway.
“Let’s go start on the windows,” she said after I remained quiet for a moment.