Part 22 (1/2)

The flashlight's fallen from her hand but it's lying right beside her and ironically the jolt seems to have done it some good, its beam is steady now. She picks it up. Almost afraid that if she touches it the beam will disappear again but it holds.

She locates Darleen who is in a panic, crawling around in the dirt trying to find her lost water bottle. She s.h.i.+nes the beam across the trail ”There it is,” she whispers and holds the light steady on the bottle. Her sister crawls over and s.n.a.t.c.hes it up and stands.

Peg needs to stand too but d.a.m.n! it hurts to put any pressure on that ankle or even to move it at all.

But they've got to get out of here.

There's a sapling a few feet to her left just off the trail. She crawls to it on hands and knees and hauls herself up. Darlin's at her side trying to help. Of course she's no help at all. The beam skitters through the leaves of the trees above as she pulls herself up hand over hand and finally she's standing. Limping back onto the trail again. Every time she puts the foot down pain rockets through her leg all the way to the hip. She wonders if she's broken something. But she can't just hop. Not on this surface. She'd be down again in no time.

Suddenly Darlin' is standing stock-still in front of her.

She hears a twig break and then another and points the beam to where Darlin' seems to be looking. At the same time Darlin' raises the water bottle and holds it out in front of her as though the bottle were some sort of talisman to ward off evil.

Or an offering.

The beam falls on the woman. The dress is gone and she's naked now and covered with dried and drying blood which gleams in the light.

The woman. And scampering at her feet, her other sister.

The child has never known this kind of freedom. The child is beside herself with pleasure, shuffling at the feet of her liberator, taking in the rich scent of her and all the other countless scents she has never imagined and has no ability to name. Even the air smells wonderful and new.

But then she catches other scents and these she knows. She can even roughly calculate the distance between them and a scuffle of feet betrays their location exactly. These scents belong to her captors, two of them. They have not treated her badly. But they are one with those who do.

She growls and lunges.

The Woman slaps the child with the flat of her blade. She yelps and whimpers and backs away behind her, pacing nervously.

The Woman is curious about something.

The little girl is holding something out to her so she steps forward to see what it is. A bottle. Inside, water A bottle. Inside, water. The little girl she would spit over a fire and roast for dinner is offering her water. And unlike her sister she does not seem to be afraid.

The girl withdraws the bottle and struggles to open it and when it's open, holds it out to her again. This time she takes it and drinks deep.

She wonders what kind of girl this is. If she will understand something.

She lifts her left index finger and puts it to her mouth, sucks it and tastes the blood and when it's clean, s.h.i.+fts the bottle to that hand and holds out the right index finger to the little girl. The girl takes a step forward.

”Darlin'!” says her sister. From the way in which she says it the Woman suspects that is her name. Darlin'. Darlin'.

The little girl says something back to her sister and takes another step forward and touches the finger with her lips. The lips are closed and pursed. This is not sucking and it is not biting. This is just a touch.

Interesting.

Peg doesn't know what to think of all of this but that's her family's blood this woman is wearing, d.a.m.ned though they may be. Darleen's just a child, just an innocent, but what she's done repulses and confuses her. How can she possibly offer this person a kiss?

She hobbles painfully over to her sister and wraps her arms around her and then s.h.i.+fts her back so that Darlin's behind her and she's standing between the two of them. She's the one who let this woman free. It's her responsibility.

She knows what the woman can do. She doesn't yet know what she she can do. can do.

But something. Maybe.

Darlin' thought, the lady's hurt. She's hurt all over.