Isaac nodded. The two made their way to the cellar. It was small and rather full of various odds and ends, including most of the preserves they had found. They found an old quilt that had been stored away for the summer that they had first noticed during their scavenging and made a small area for themselves to lie down together. Isaac sat with his back to the wall, the rifle they had scrounged sitting beside him. He had never been one for shooting, even for hunting, as there were always other hobbies and work to be done and no severe lack of food to make him desperate enough to need to hunt for himself. He wished he had now.
Nat was lying beside him. She was lying on her side, with her back to the wall. At first, she tried to maintain a small distance between the two of them, if for the sake of modesty that had been drilled into her by the strongly patriarchal society of which she found herself a subject. But, as the minutes crept by, so too did she slowly creep closer, until Isaac finally noticed that he had moved herself so she had her head in his lap and his hand in hers.
In his defense, it was not that he was being careless and inattentive, but rather, the complete opposite. Isaac continually shifted his gaze between the two methods of entry could allow for the sudden entrance of one of the harbingers of their doom. There was the cellar door from the house, which an intruder would need to walk down the small set of stairs to get to the cellar floor. Hopefully, the opening of the cellar door would allow them enough notice to either attempt to flee or stand their ground. Perhaps the visibility of the stairs might be low enough that Isaac could prepare a fatal shot as the rider descended.
There was also a door that lead up to outside, which presented its own problems to consider. This door seemed to give the marauder a field of vision into the cellar when they opened the door, but it also allowed for a more direct shot for Isaac. Though, what if they had to flee? Could they be travelling in pairs to find them? Did the riders know that the two of them were needing to be found? Did they think they may have left already, running off into the desert? What if they just burn this place to the ground just in case the two of them might be there? Or what if they do it just for fun? What would Isaac do if two of the riders came, one down each method of entry? Isaacs mind flooded with countless scenarios inside his head, each one leading to thoughts of his and Nat's horrible deaths at the heads of the sadistic bastards who he watched burn his town and murder his townsfolk. He could see those deaths as they occurred. He could see the bodies they had forced him to witness. See the lifelessness of the eyes of his friends after the riders had snuffed them out so ruthlessly.
His eyes continued to dart around the cellar as he listened intently for every sound. Ever creak of the old house could be the footfall of his future murderer. Every breeze against the door to the outside could mean an impending egress and a bitter end. His heart raced, beat after beat after beat, like a Gatling gun winding up to serve its purpose as an instrument of slaughter. Isaac could feel his grip on the rifle tightening. He was a spring being pulled back, filled with potential ready to turn into the kinetic as soon as they release it, but until that moment all he could feel was the growing tension. He would not end up like the bodies in the streets, the sheriff, or the mayor. He would be ready. He would be ready to take action because all he could do was react. He had switched every other part of himself off. This is all he was in that moment. It was a moment that lasted the hours Nat slept as peacefully as she could, with her head in his lap.
When she woke, she switched places with him, ushering him to rest just as she had. As he laid his head down upon her, he felt her hand come down and place itself on his head. Slowly, it began to gently move back and forth. As it moved, he felt himself slowly unwind, his tension being relieved gradually until he somehow felt a heaviness in his eyelids. His heartbeat had come to a crawl as his breaths grew deeper. He slept for a feel hours, with a few spots of him waking up because of some noise he had thought he had heard in his sleep. Each time, Nat helped him fall back asleep once more, until finally, it was time for them to take their next steps.
It was daytime, and this meant that they could see into the town, allowing them to assess at least some of the situation. It also meant that they needed to be careful, lest they be noticed. Looking out of the second-story window through a small hole they cut through a curtain, the two could observe the goings on of the riders, who mostly seemed to be busy with the people still being held in the center of town. It seemed they were sending different families to different buildings, potentially as some temporary holding area. The dead were being rounded up before the town hall. Isaac wondered if the body of the rider Nat killed was in that pile. They would have to have found him by now. They didn't seem to be alarmed though. Isaac expected that they would search high and low for the two of them, but it seemed as if there was not even a whiff of concern, which concerned the hell out of Isaac.
"I think you're right, Nat. There really is something crazy going on here. We- okay, you killed their leader yesterday and now they just seem to act as if nothing happened? What in the hell is going on?"
"I don't know, but I hope to find out," Nat said resolutely.
The two made a breakfast of some of the Widow's preserves, only to find that perhaps she was not as adept at canning as one would have hoped. Once they ate around the mold, they could keep most of it down. Beggars could not be choosers. Then, the two gathered what they each would need for their respective missions before coming together for what could be their final goodbye. They smiled sheepishly at one another, unsure of what to say in this moment of such awesome significance.
"Nat I-"
"Isaac-"
They both softly chuckled in amusement and pain.
"I wa-"
"You ar-"
Another wincing chuckle.
"I love you," Isaac quickly let out before the same situation could play out for a third time.
"Isaac, I-" Nat faltered.
"Okay," Isaac said as he turned to make his leave. "Nat, I hope you can keep yourself safe. I don't want to find out you got yourself found and killed before I can get back here."
Nat quickly motioned towards Isaac to get him to stop. "Isaac, wait!" She rushed towards him, her hands embracing him as she put her lips against his. The world and all its troubles evaporated as the two of them kissed. In that moment, there was no danger, no missions, no risk of death; there was just a boy and a girl sharing one brief speck of time in perfect happiness. Then, as with all moments of joy, it ended, as the rest of the world reasserted itself upon them.
"I had wanted to say that I was wrong before, to let my father get between us. Life is too short for me to be trying to live my life under his control. I mean, who knows when the next band of ravenous bandits might come rolling through here?"
"I know what you mean. I'm hoping this doesn't become some repeating occurrence for our town. I barely think I can help save it this time."
The two made their way to the entryway, ready to say their final, or rather unfinal, goodbyes.
"I'll be back soon," Isaac promised.
"And I'll stay safe until you do," Nat responded.
"Until we meet again?" Isaac asked.
"Until then," Nat answered. "I love you, Isaac.
"I love you too, Nat," Isaac said as he made his way outside. He carefully watched for any eyes that could observe the two of them as he made his way towards the road that lead out of town, There was still no one there to notice them. Slowly, he made his way through the taller grass to avoid detection. It was then he realized that he was not in fact alone. As he moved, he quickly knew there was someone in front of him, eating some grass. It was the horse of the man who Nat killed hours ago, having apparently been left to its own devices. Isaac crept forward towards the steed, giving it a wide berth as he came around to the front. Then, he calmly gave her a gentle petting, finding her to be calm. He realized that this was one of the horses Mr. Davis owned. Isaac supposed the theft of a horse wasn't all that much of a surprise from a man who tried to slaughter an entire town. Either way, it saved Isaac from having to take one of Mr. Davis's horses himself. With that, Isaac began riding towards his destiny.
The play ended, and Isaac stood and clapped out of respect. Azrael did not. The gnomes seemed to take the respectful clapping as praise of the highest order, as the gnomes on stage began to excitedly hug one another and cheer. A gnome who ran onto the stage and seemed to be the director joined in the celebration, bear hugging his actors, even lifting some of them into the air. It was nice for Isaac to feel wanted by a group of people. Okay, gnomes, but still. Even in Eden Prairie, there was never this kind of a ruckus over anything he did. But he still couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt over getting sidetracked.
"We should get going. I'm sure the heat has died down by now," Isaac whispered.
Azrael nodded in enthusiastic agreement before yawning real loud. "Oh boy. It is getting late. We better skedaddle. We wouldn't want to impose on you fine people."
"Oh, leaving? No. Heavens no! I wouldn't hear of it," the old gnome said cheerfully. "You can spend the night as our guests of honor. Surely you will grant us that request, hmm?"
"No. We're good," Azrael responded as he raised his hands in polite protest.
"Absolutely not, gentlemen! I could never live with myself if the two of you were to leave now. There would not be a single one of us who could live knowing that we let you leave without you enjoying our hospitality for the night," the old gnome protested.
"Uhhhh, okay, I guess," Azrael shrugged in defeat as he looked to Isaac.
Isaac sighed before saying, "Yes, it would be rude for us to not stay."
"Okay then! Let us show you to your rooms!" The elder gnome said before summoning two gnomes with a clap of his hands. "Biffo! Zappo! Show these two to their rooms.
"Biffo?"
"Zappo?"
"Yes. I am sorry. Don't let their warrior names fool you. They are two of our finest caretakers. They will assist you in catering to your every need."
Soon, the two got whisked away through corridor after corridor towards their destinations. After who knows how many twists and turns, they ended up before two doorways on opposite sides of the hallway.
"Here is your room!" Zappo exclaimed.
"And here is yours!" Biffo echoed.
Isaac and Azrael both reluctantly opened their respective doors, moving inside only to be followed by their respective gnome. A tour regrettably followed. It had far too much geology for what they meant to be a tour of a bedroom. The word quartz was far too involved. The one plus side was that while the tour was high in the production of misery in the two adventurers, it had a soporific effect that allowed them both to drift off to sleep easily once it had concluded. Isaac dreamed of home. Of Nat and a future he hoped for. Azrael dreamed of pain. Of suffering and the past he ran from. It was no surprise to him he awoke in a start in what felt like an hour later. Anguish drenched him in sweat. He decided he would try to take a walk. He put on his pants and shirt before quietly making his way to the door. He didn't know why he was being stealthy. He was alone in his room that had heavy doors carved out of some impressive rock or whatever. Zappo seemed super proud about it. There was no one to disturb with his movement, and yet, there was an undeniable sense coming from somewhere deep inside that was telling him he needed to be careful.
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