“Looks like they’re all out.” Mama’s voice was soft, and I could hear the smile in it. She looked over at the group of girls huddled together near the fire. Her and the boys still lingering at the table. Their soft voices blended into the warmth of the night.

“Yeah, even Jo,” someone murmured. “Which is good.”

“She’s strong-willed,” another added.

Mama laughed quietly. “Yeah, she is.”

I heard the chairs shift as they settled in.

“She was there even before I was,” Mama said.

“Is that all she’s ever known?” one of the boys asked.

“I heard the guards talking once while they were going over their ledger,” she answered. “Jo was born in a community. They didn’t like the birthmark on her collarbone, but they could cover that easy. It was when a servant cut her neck that they sold her.”

Nothing I hadn’t heard before. I kept my eyes shut and pretended to sleep.

“What? They sold her because of a scar?”

Mama didn’t answer right away, but I imagined her nodding.

Silence stretched between them for a while.

“She’s the strongest person I know,” Mama said. “It took a couple of years before she even spoke to me after I got there. The other girls came and went. But Jo… she stayed. She got bolder as she grew—more resistant.”

I heard the smile in her voice. “She even stole from the guards once, while they were out. Nothing big. Just bold.”

A pause. Then a quiet sigh.

“She never gave up in that place. I think that’s why I took to her so fast. I saw a bit of myself in her.”

“I couldn’t imagine living my whole life down there,” someone said.

“It was rough,” Mama said. Then I heard her shift a little, her voice lifting just enough that I could tell she was looking around the cabin. “The guards didn’t like her because she was silent and the defiance in her eyes, it burned into them. But you saved us. You pulled us out before it was too late. That means something.”

I risked a peek and saw her looking my way. When she caught me watching, she winked.

“Thank you,” she said. “We owe you our lives.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t just supplies this time,” Brennen said. “Feels like we brought back something worth more.”

“It’ll make the Borough better,” Jamie added. “Gives us all something to look forward to.”

“Once you’re all not skin and bones,” Micah grumbled. I smiled against the blanket. That had to be him.

“I’ve been worried,” Mama said. “But I’m glad they’re not getting too sick. We’re keeping it simple.”

“Small meals help,” Aiden said. “Fruit. Broths. Herbs for digestion and immunity. They’re gonna get sick—malnourishment does that—but we’ll manage it.”

“I saw some wild veggies by the creek,” Cory said. “Could mash them into the grain, make something heartier.”

“I’ll prep a few things for the next run,” Brennen added. “We’ll need bedding, pillows, pots. I’ll trade for what I can.”

“You boys didn’t sign up for this,” Mama said, “but thank you. Truly. Especially for Jo. I think she’s taken a liking to you.”

“We found you,” Jamie said. “That means we protect you. All of you. You’re part of the Borough now.”

Mama’s voice dropped to something softer—warmer. “That’s the plan then. Tomorrow, we rest. Then we’ll hunt, gather, and get everyone strong again. We stay a few more days. Long enough to get everyone steady on their feet.”

I smiled to myself. They really had no idea what it meant to be seen, to be cared for like this. For the first time in forever, I felt safe. I let the warmth of their words carry me into sleep.

When the light came in through the windows, the whole group was up and ready to go. The littles complaining about being hungry, some wanting to go play in the water, some want to go check out the fields of flowers again. It’s been boring the past two days cooped up in the cabin. The boys were whispering to each other, probably trying to decide if it’s safe for us to go out again.

“I supposed it’s okay again.” Cheers from all the girls. They open the front door and figure out who is going where to stay by the girls. I hang back for a few minutes to talk to mama while the girls run out the door.

“Mornin.”

“Morning mama.” I rub the sleepiness from my eyes. “What’s the plan for the day?”

“Stretching, breakfast, then I’m not sure. We’ll see what the boys have on the docket.” She smiles and ruffles my hair. I scrunch up my face and wave my hands, trying to get her to stop. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you brush and braid it later.”

I nod and follow her out the door to the porch. Jamie and Micah are starting the fire to cook breakfast. The really hungry girls are patiently waiting around the fire. Cory is down by the spring with a few girls playing in the water. Looks like he’s searching for something along the ground. Aiden is picking herbs and with the girls in the flower field. We left Brennen at the table, looking over papers and making lists.

“Where should we stretch?”

“We?”

“Yeah, we all need to get stronger right?” She ruffled my hair again.

“Let’s go down by the spring. There’s some flat areas down there.” She smiles and we wander on down.

“Now, some of these are going to be difficult and hurt at first. It’s good to get the body moving before trying to do a lot during the day.” She cuts her eyes at me. “Especially as we try to take it easy and get healthy. No over doing it.” She raises her eye brow at me and I just nod back at her.

We spend what feels like forever doing stretches. She was right, I feel so sore now. I hear Jaime call everyone over for breakfast.

It is delicious and it doesn’t take us long to finish it. It’s not just broth this time, grain, I think they said. We help tidy it all up after eating and go right back to what was happening before.

“I’m going to go hunting.” Micah, always short and to the point.

“I’ll go with you. I’ll grab the supplies from the cabin.” said Cory. Micah nods and get everything else ready to go.

“Jaime, what can I do to help?”

“You can all go take a nap, then snacks, then we’ll work on doing something else.”

I make a disgruntled face at him. I don’t want to sleep more, but I can feel the tired seeping out from my body. Mama rounds up all of the girls and decides to join us in the cabin. She needs to rest and recover too.

Before I sit on the couch, I go over to the table. Brennen is still looking over papers, looks like he’s writing some letters, and pondering the maps.

“What has you so lost in thought?” He jumps. I didn’t mean to scare him.

“Goodness, I didn’t know you had all come back in!” We all got a good chuckle from him being startled. He points to a location on the map. Has a big letter B on it. “This is the Borough, our home. I was just writing some letters and trying to figure out the best places to barter for some supplies. There’s a place near here that might have some stuff.” He just continued to mumble on, thinking out loud to himself. I think he forgot I was there again. Eventually my eyes started to feel heavy, so I left him at the table again to join mama and the others for a nap.

I was panicked as I woke. Sweating, breathing shallow, heart racing. I took a long look around me and realized I was safe. I wasn’t there anymore. I let myself breathe nice and deep, slowing my heart like mama showed me.

Nightmares are still present here and there. I can’t seem to shake them, but it really hasn’t been that long since we were rescued. Maybe a week or two. Could be a little less or a little more. Some of our days blur together as we have traveled so far from there.

We were asleep for awhile, it’s mid afternoon. It looks like Cory and Micah were successful on their hunt. I wonder what they do with it now? How does that turn into food? I see Jamie and Aiden walk over to them. Clapping them on the back. They all look excited. I see mama is still asleep with some of the younger girls, so I quietly sneak out to see what it’s all about.

As I approach, they get quiet and stand like a wall in front of the animal. I guess they don’t want me to see what’s going on. “What did you bring back?”

They cautiously look at one another. Aiden speaks up first. “Jo, you might not want to see this. There’s blood.” I look around. I can tell it’s heavy from the drag marks.

“Why would that be bothersome?” I peer at them quizzically. “Everyone, everything bleeds.” They look at one another again and burst out laughing.

Micah comes over to me and pats me on the shoulder like the others did to him. “You’re something else.” They all moved away.

“We caught a deer and a turkey.” He points to the smaller one, it’s a large bird. “This is the turkey.” He points to the other one, “this is a deer.”

“Now it’s important that we use as much of these animals as we can, that way we don’t waste anything.” Jaime was very serious. “We can use the skin, feathers, meat, antlers, bones. We can use it all for items we need like cloth, food and tools.”

“We caught these not too far from here, so we have to do all of the processing here at the cabin.”

“We will do it in that shed over there. That way the girls don’t freak out too much.”

“Not everyone is like you Jo. Some people can’t stand the sight of a dead animal, blood, and the process is quite grisly.”

“Brennen doesn’t like the sight or smell of blood, so he will stay away from the whole thing.” Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” I look back at the animals. I wonder why it doesn’t bother me. “Can I watch or do anything to help?”

“It’s going to take awhile to process all of this. We’ll need a fire for cooking dinner tonight, and for smoking some of the meat when it’s done.”

“Some of the meat we will store in the root cellar. That way we have some on hand to cook the next few days.”

“Yeah. Most of it we should probably dry though. At most we would only be here for three or four more days I would think. Then move to the Borough.”

“Smart.”

“Okay…” I nod and they seem to be okay with that response. “Who am I going with for firewood then?” I look between them.

Aiden and Jamie step forward, smiles from ear to ear. “Smart lass. We’ll go with you!”