Chapter 4.7

Moments later the girl returned empty-handed with a large burly man in toe. His skin was tanned and worn, and his clothes were faded and creased with sweat marks in certain areas. There was some dirt smeared across his cheek and his hands were caked in mud as if he'd just been dragged away from planting. Surprise flashed across his expression at the sight of us, "I hear you need some shelter for the night?" His voice did not match his appearance; he was soft-spoken and straight to the point without an incline of aggression.

Theo stepped forward, "yes, if it's no trouble. We just wanted a place to rest."

"It's no trouble at all. Come into the house. I assure you it smells much better." He beckoned us out into the yard and safely closed the barn door, clasping it shut. We followed him into the farmhouse through the back door which opened up into a large kitchen. There was a warm wooden table at the centre with six heavy set chairs. At the front was an ancient-looking stove and shelves filled with a mismatch of pots and pans.

"My name is Lilly." The little girl declared, plonking herself down next to Tommy.

"I'm Tommy."

"Ezra."

"I'm Theo."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Greg. We don't get many people out here. Where are you headed?"

"Just away from the city." I answered quickly before either of them could say anything.

"I can offer you some stew if you like? We have some leftovers from earlier. I could heat it up if you wanted."

"That would be amazing, thank you!"

"Do you want to see my dolls?" Lilly interrupted, bobbing in her seat.

"Your dolls?" Tommy asked, and as if it were confirmation, she leapt up and left through the interior door. She returned a moment later with four identical straw dolls.

"My dad made them. This one is called Margret, this one is Sally, this one is Ria, and this one is Kay." With each name, she handed the doll to Tommy, who was trying not the drop them as he got handed another one.

"How do you tell them apart if they all look the same?" he asked.

The little girl giggled as if his question was the funniest thing in the world, "You're like my brother. He's really funny."

"Your brother, where is he?" Theo asked.

"The men took him away. I miss him." She frowned and suddenly looked like she was about to cry.

Greg put three bowls of steaming stew in front of us with a little too much force, the gravy spilling over the edge. "Come on darling, let's leave them to eat in peace." Her dad patted her lightly on her head as if to comfort her, but his expression didn't quite match… he almost looked… anxious.

"Thank you!" Theo called as he led his daughter out of the room by the shoulder. When they were gone, she remarked, "to think there was someone left out here that was safe! I almost can't believe it!"

Neither could I. I didn't want to rain on her parade, but there was something wrong with this situation, but I could put my finger on it. I remained silent and stared down at the hot stew steaming in front of me. I felt too uneasy to eat. What did she mean by 'the men took him away'? Did she mean Garlantians? If so, how were they still here?

Tommy looked across the table, eyes darting from me to my plate, then seeing that I wasn't eating "Can I have it, if you don't want it?" he asked sheepishly.

"You're such a human dustbin!" Theo complained, and I slid it along to him.

Gregg returned just as Tommy was wolfing down the last of my portion. "I've just put Lilly to bed. She wanted to talk to you some more, but you guys must be tired, and she'll talk your ear off if she's given the chance."

"We don't mind. She certainly is energetic, isn't she?" Theo smiled warmly.

"She takes after her mother in that. Her brother was a lot more mellow. He was sick and he had to be taken to the city. When Garlantia invaded it was already too late, I couldn't get to him in time."

"That's understandable. No one could have predicted it."

He nodded gently. "We don't have any spare rooms, but you're free to make yourselves at home in here. I'll get you a few blankets."

"Thanks. It's much better than sleeping outside." Theo answered, when he turned away, she awkwardly drank from the bowl to get the last of the gravy, then quickly wiped her mouth of any residue. Theo took her bowl (and Tommy's two bowls) to put in the sink, then handed us each a blanket. "We should sleep." She stated, already yawning.

The blankets smelled of the farm, like animals and dirt, and they were rough, so it was uncomfortable against bare skin. I wondered if they'd been used for the animals at some point. Not that I really cared- we couldn't afford to be picky. I wrapped myself up, chose a bit of floor and let exhaustion pull me into unconsciousness.