Chapter 84 - Eighty Three - As The Winds Died Down (1/2)
The strong winds had died down by the following day and the air now carried a stillness to it, as if echoing the atmosphere in the first mansion. The occupants spoke in hushed and somewhat joyless tones for the most part, shaken by the events and perhaps the realisation of how vulnerable they all still were hitting home. They had lived too well and securely under the protective umbrella that Ren Zexian had formed along side their little landlord and later Chang Min. True, they had worked hard, creating the wall, developing their strengths and abilities, but without Ren Zexian guiding them from behind with his gentle manner and vast knowledge, where would they be right now? Only once the umbrella had broken had they noticed that he was no longer able to always be there to shelter them.
Plus, as the next two weeks slowly dragged on, the precariousness of their living situation became more apparent.
Autumn skimmed the sc.u.m from the surface of the pork rib soup as it boiled its contents to tenderness. In all honesty, she hadn't felt like cooking, this haven of hers actually was doing little to make her feel balanced and comfortable as it always had in the past. Of course, she was not the only one feeling the increasing strain.
Behind her, Dexter sat at the table, stretching his legs out underneath it as he shelled the first harvest of broad beans from their pods. It was an arduous job, but while he might have jokingly complained as he had the previous year as he shelled peas that time, he was in no mood to banter about it today.
Little Lucy walked through the kitchen to the open backdoor holding her small watering can while Aslan trailed behind her. Autumn watched as she disappeared into the garden, sighing. The child was equally effected by the solemn atmosphere, yet everyday she would take her small watering can to the cottage in the gardens, knock on Nathan's door and wait patiently for him to answer. She waited a little longer everyday.
”We should probably encourage her to speak to Tyler for water in the future,” Autumn said softly as she removed the last of the sc.u.m before moving the two large pots to a cooler place on the range cooker in order to simmer for a prolonged time. She seasoned the soup then placed on the lids.
”Tyler did offer, but was rejected,” Dexter replied, tossing a bean that had escaped the bowl back into it.
Patrick entered from the garden at that point, carrying a basket with some radishes and a mix of stubby and long thin carrots. He scratched his temple sheepishly as Autumn questioned the selection with an expression. ”Ah, we weren't sure which ones to harvest,” he admitted; such things had always been guided by Nathan. The young man always knew which were ready for harvesting and which needed longer, but he'd not left his cottage for the past three days now and before that, he had lingered in his home for longer periods of time. Patrick picked out a carrot that had a wide top, but was no more than a couple of inches long. ”We thought to look at the tops first, but as you can see, that didn't really work either.”
”Never mind,” Autumn sighed. She, too, had been enjoying the fruits of Nathan's labours to the point where she could forget the state of the world. After all, every cooks dream was to work with fresh produce as excellent and delicious as Nathan's vegetables. She took the basket from Patrick so she could clean the vegetables before putting them in the soup pots.
”I take it Nathan's nowhere to be seen again,” Dexter mused. He stretched his taut back as the last pod was emptied of its fruits.
”Actually, I did see him,” Patrick admitted. ”But he was heading in the direction of the third mansion.”
Dexter's eyes widened as he registered those words and he leapt from his lazy sitting position to his feet. ”Why didn't you stop him?”
”Chang Min was with him,” Patrick replied, stepping back a pace, surprised over Dexter's reactions. The Cultivator had actually followed the youth, as he and little Lucy with her empty watering can watched on.
”Isn't it fine?” Autumn asked worriedly, drying her hands so she could comfort her man. Nothing had been easy since they had settled their relationship, yet instead of creating a distance between them, they'd actually grown closer instead. ”If Ren had... if something serious had happened, Chang Min would have mentioned something.”
Dexter rubbed his temples and wrapped his other arm around Autumn's waist. ”You're right, you're right. Sorry, I'm more messed up about this than I realised.” Since little James had been born, Dexter had taken on more of the role of leader than before as Jonah had to care for his son in the wake of Brooke's indifference. Dexter hadn't felt uncomfortable about the growing weight on his shoulders, until the pillar supporting him vanished. He worried constantly about being strong enough to protect them, worried about their food supplies as each day another plant seemed to wilt; its leaves yellowing. He had Chang Min as an effective sword, but at the end of the day, he was still just one man and couldn't be everywhere at once. Plus there was the dissidence in the second mansion.
In the opinion of those five soldiers; Ren Zexian took the virus from Jimmy's blood by whatever means, that simply meant he would zombify instead. In conclusion, he should have been killed before he could turn. They had not witnessed his strength personally, but seeing that Chang Min called him Master suggested that he was no less weaker than the other. He'd likely turn into a deadly zombie and kill them all if he was not dealt with. Chang Min had tried to reassure them, just as Dexter's first squad confessed that Ren Zexian had been bitten before and survived, but the soldiers were not all convinced.
Or rather it was Thomas that remained unconvinced and loud in his opinion.