Chapter 4

CHAPTER 6

 

The few hours had been drawn out to twilight.

Mary walked alone, with a comfortable smile on her lips. She had enjoyed the day more so than any she could remember. Spent it all with the closest friends of her life. The two energetic men had decided it would be a good idea to exercise her body, which was decidedly less robust than those of a former Japanese Naval Officer and a Caribbean capoeira practitioner, somehow. The result was them dragging her on a walk through the farmlands, for several hours, far beyond the limits of her comfortable endurance. Exhaustion was only what she felt in the first hour. By the fourth, she had degraded into some kind of babbling, giggling fool, unable to keep herself from making silly comments, which only amused the boys more. They always were more active, and had more energy, than her.

Then she had dinner with them. Kobi claimed he had usually only cooked Japanese cuisine, and there was decidedly a lack of Asian vegetables, rice noodles, fish, soy and seaweed. That left Drakken, his head filled with Caribbean recipes, and Mary, who usually cooked Cuban-Miami style meals for them in their previous life. The result was a spicy Caribbean inspired vegetable stew cooked with pot luck over an open fire, a rustic experience which seemed to both invigorate and relax her at the same time, though she was starting to dislike the smell of smoke in her hair. The three of them had all contributed, and the feel of a team effort to create such a lavish country feast had a strong bonding effect. Before the end of the night she found herself using Kobi’s legs as pillows while the three of them watched the sunset. She was infinitely glad to be a part of such a close circle of friends. 

She had left them to seek a decent night’s rest, and had believed that she would be soon exhausted, but her thoughts kept her alert, with an almost caffeinating effect. The good people they had left behind made an appearance in her mind, with Mary wishing that she had had a chance to say goodbye. She also contemplated the turn their lives had taken, and couldn’t avoid a shivering chill of the unknown when she considered what kind of wonders or horrors existed in the time she now inhabited. There was also that one particular subject, the one whose frivolous nature did nothing to curb the enthusiasm with which she considered it.

Her thoughts drifted to Michael.

She had to admit she was, maybe more than a little, attracted to him. Drakken and Kobi were able to pick it, in a way that made her feel like an open book. That annoyed her, but they always seemed to know her better than she knew herself.

Then again, what was wrong with a little fun?

She never had any problems attracting men, into her life or her bed. They were always easy to deal with. It was as easy as showing a little interest. She couldn’t ever remember having to make the first move, aside from being somewhat receptive. Once they discovered she was interested, she just had to let them go ahead and spoil her, and the seduction part was inevitable. She figured Michael may prove to be an interesting plaything to distract her from her unusual situation. Besides, she hadn’t had sex in like, what, more than three hundred years?

 

The cabin, nestled on the shoulder of the picturesque hill and enshrouded in forest, appeared both ominous and comforting at the same time. As she walked up the dirt path, her eyes squinting in the star light to see where she was going, she saw the soon-to-be object of her lust exiting the front door, his eyes hidden in the fading light. She watched him approach her, reaching her proximity a few metres from the stairs to the patio.

“Where have you been?” he asked. It was a question, not a demand, but his concern was obvious.

“Around,” she snapped, her defensive nature rising to meet the criticism he seemed to be about to deliver. “What do you care?”

“Becky is awake. She woke two hours ago.”

Mary blanched, and her mouth dropped open. In her mind, she saw a terrified, pre-teen girl awaking, alone in a strange place, her young mind filled with images of her gruesome death, not to mention her mother’s.

She privately cursed to herself. A grown woman, out hanging with friends, completely forgetting a child left all alone at home with only a single well-meaning stranger to help her deal with a completely mind-altering realisation. She had no problem holding herself responsible, but she wasn’t about to allow Michael to see her humiliation.

“Well, I did ok with just you around, surprisingly,” replied Mary sarcastically.

“Out of necessity,” remarked Michael, firmly. “I knew you would wake first. You were first to be treated.”

Mary felt her face go red as Michael fixed her with an intense stare. He didn’t look angry, but there was a definite warning in his demeanour.

“We already discussed the importance of your presence, for Becky’s sake,” he continued. “She hasn’t seen anyone she knows, yet.”
“An expert on child rearing, are we?” Mary rebuttled. Attractive as he was, the man was getting on her nerves.

“Please,” Michael reasoned. “Just go to her, and give her support. It would be far better coming from you than from me.”

“Well, a lot of help you are,” Mary said, frustrated. “I thought you would be trained for this sort of thing, people waking after death, and all.” It felt good to suggest that Becky’s potential lack of mental well-being wasn’t entirely her own fault.

Michael’s patience was unrelenting in the face of her arbitrary arguments. 

“I’ll be in the cabin down the road if you need me,” he responded calmly. He gave her a final, somewhat quirky grin, which seemed to say good luck.

“Just get out of here…”

Michael’s mysterious eyes remained on her, the blue tinged glint eerily obvious in the dim light. Then, he meandered off, passing her on his journey to the building at the foot of the hill.

He was leaving, and for a sudden, shocking moment, Mary felt more alone than she ever had in her life. Suddenly, she was practically a parent, and on her first day she may have allowed a kid to be scarred for life. Michael’s steadfastness felt like the very floor she stood on in that moment, and he was vaporising away, leaving a massive void of potential failure, only she wouldn’t be the one she failed. Becky would be.

“Hey, wait!”

Michael paused, and turned to look at her. “Yes?”

Mary’s mouth worked like a fish, struggling to find an excuse for him to stay, but all she had was mediocre conversation topics.

“I saw a lake nearby,” she mentioned, feeling slightly idiotic. “When we were walking to the farm…”

“Aah,” replied Michael, smiling. “They call it ‘Net weed water’ in the local language. They fish there sometimes. What about it?”

“Weeelll…” Mary drawled dramatically, trying to fill the empty conversation with as much time as she could. “How about…if we’re not doing anything tomorrow, we all go…swimming?”

Michael stared at her.

Mary went bright red. You sound like a dimwit, she accused herself.

“That’s an idea…” remarked Michael, apparently giving fair consideration to her impulsive, somewhat idiotic, suggestion.

Mary’s thought processes accelerated, her attitude shifting from insecurity to self-assurance.

“Yeah, uh, I guess, you know it’s a fun activity, and well, we’ll all feel safe and not weirded out or anything…”

“Good idea,” Michael said. “I’ll make arrangements for some local assistance. Until tomorrow…”

“Hey, you realise I’m going to need a swimsuit, right?” she tapped her foot impatiently. “Becky too…”

“Relax, I’ll take care of it,” Michael grinned at her, and she hesitantly returned it. She hadn’t met a man who didn’t lust after her when she wore the right swimsuit.

Michael continued, and the loneliness continued to creep in. Mary found herself shaking slightly. She quite suddenly bolted after him.

“Michael…”

Michael turned, again. He now possessed a quizzical expression, and Mary was starting to wonder if her self-doubt was becoming obvious. She decided that hiding it wasn’t going to help anymore.

Mary struggled for words for a few seconds, then she took a deep breath.

“Becky…Is she ok?”

Mary had realised what she was scared of most. If anything were to defeat Mary’s spirit, it would be to walk in on Becky being an absolute mess, screaming, crying. Reliving her own grisly death, over and over, and seeing her mother splattered in the ice whenever she closed her eyes. And more than that, permanently alone, even when those who cared for her were inches away.

Seeing an innocent child, an angel by her own admission, damaged beyond repair, and knowing that she could have done something to prevent it.

Michael looked at her, silently. “Not really…” he eventually remarked quietly.

Mary closed her eyes, cramming the sadness deeper inside herself. She didn’t want to cry, not in front of him. It was surely his fault anyway, more than hers. How was she supposed to deal with any of this? How was she supposed to take responsibility for a young person’s life, a person who wasn’t even her flesh and blood, under these circumstances?

The silence continued, and she wondered if he even remained there, until she felt Michael’s hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll say this, though,” he said, gently. “You weren’t ok, either. Neither was Drakken and Kobi. No one here, least of all me, imagined this to be an easy process. But I personally spoke to her, asked about her thoughts and memories, and explained to her what was happening, and who she was here with. I asked her about her friends, and family, and how she feels about what has happened to her. I have an inkling how strong she is, and she’s tougher than she looks. I have not met a person who seems more psychologically resilient than Rebecca Long. She’s not ok, but she will be, one way or another.”

Mary looked at his blue eyes, and couldn’t stop a tear from leaving hers. She hurriedly wiped it away, and stared at him defiantly.

“You’re going to do fine, Mary,” Michael finished, smiling.