Wren hadn’t realized how hungry she was until the offer of dinner was on the table. In the week since she left Bellamy, she’d been surviving on forest scraps. Her bones had begun to stick out in the same subtle way she was used to. But her stomach still remembered the full feeling it experienced during her captivity. It ached and complained in a manner similar to a spoiled child angry that its toys had been taken away.

Wren latched a hand over her belly to calm the growling. Em, ever the gentleman, must have simply pretended not to notice the noise and gestured for her to follow him out of her room and to the dining hall. “You sure slept a good bit, Ms. I sure am awful curious about your journey before you got here.” He spoke in that same smooth way that he’d greeted her with just a few hours ago. Subconsciously, the lulls of his voice relaxed Wren. It was so contrasting to Bellamy’s rough tone. Oh my God, awake for ten minutes and she’d already thought of her captor countless times. She waved a hand around her head a bit frantically as if to wipe away any thoughts of the Exposed woman. “Trust me, Em, it wasn’t all that interesting.” She sighed gently, rubbing at the area of her neck that had been left bruised after her request to be let go. The mark was long since faded, but she still found herself scratching at it often.


The boy flashed Wren a skeptical smile. It seemed smiling was the only expression he was capable of. “I doubt that, Ms.” He trilled with a raised eyebrow before he turned on his heels and continued to lead her through the muddy walkway of his village. The sky was dark, which made it rather hard to get around without knowing the way. She’d seen lights last night, but now there wasn’t even a torch to outline where they were going. “Boring journeys don’t grant such a fine blade. I really would love to hear the story behind it.” Wren raised an eyebrow at his words. Why did he care about her knife? Bellamy’s knife. It was just a knife made out of a cool red oak tree, nothing more. An odd sense of possessiveness stirred through her. Wren’s fingers brushed over the place on her pants where she’d strapped the dagger to her thigh. “I could have sworn I saw lights last night when I was looking at the village. Why not light them tonight?” Wren asked instead of answering his question.


Em accepted the change of topic with another smile and gave a little shrug of his shoulders. “Ah, we don’t have them every night. Only during celebrations or parties and whatnot. Can’t afford to attract too much attention. Isn’t that right, Ms?” Wren nodded almost instantly. This village was just outside Exposed territory; there was no doubt that being discreet was useful. Not to mention the light was bound to attract mutants. It did make her wonder: why was the village set up so close to the Exposed? Why not go further away from them? Did they even know? Wren was shaken from her thoughts when Em’s laughter filled the silence. “Besides, if it was bright, I wouldn’t get to hold a pretty lady's hand.” Wren glanced down at where their hands were entwined just in front of her. It was a necessary precaution she’d only agreed to once she realized she couldn’t see even a foot in front of her. “You are kind of annoying, Em,” She hummed out with a roll of her eyes. “It's my pleasure, Ms.” He responded, no doubt with a smile. 

The dining hall consisted of a large wooden building filled with rows of long wooden tables and a central buffet-style selection of food. By now, it was practically empty, and the food was thoroughly picked through. A few random village dwellers whispered in Wren’s direction as she passed. She imagined the kind of stir her presence must cause. This was a rather secluded village; it must be rare for them to get a newcomer. “Don’t worry, Ma’am,” Em hummed, resting a hand on her shoulder. He must have noticed Wren’s unease about being watched. “Tomorrow you’ll meet the lot of us and soon enough you’ll be just an average joe like me.” That reassured her a little, but the staring still left a shiver up her spine. 

Wren grabbed a plate and followed Em’s example of filling it in a way that would still leave her belly half empty. She recognized there were a lot of mouths to feed, so did everyone else. Most likely everyone in this village had at one point lived in a bunker where they were forced to make a single day's ration last weeks. There seemed to be a mutual understanding to leave food for the next person. 

“Is there ever leftovers?” Wren asked through a mouthful of boiled potato. Despite her lack of manners, Em swallowed his bite and patted his mouth clean with a napkin before responding. She pondered if he was from an affluent family before the fall. “Sometimes, but never much. If there is, we give it to the livestock.” Wren pictured a barn full of pigs and a field of cows. It must be deep into the village ‘cause she hadn’t seen anything of the sort on her initial tour. 

By the time they finished eating, Wren was ready to go to sleep again. Her eyelids weighed down with the lull of finally being safe. She could barely keep herself awake as Em once again pulled her through the village by her hand. She had every intention of abandoning him the second she could see her tent and sleeping for the next few months. That was, until she caught the glint of something red off to the side. She straightened and narrowed her eyes in its direction. It was a soft, glowing red light that seemed to emanate from the cracks in the church doors. People seemed to move inside, making the light flicker before her. “What’s going on in there?” She couldn’t imagine going to church before bed. Wren was really, really hoping he wasn’t going to say mandatory worship.


Wren was shaken from her thoughts as she looked up at Em for an answer. For a fraction of a second through the dim glow of the church she could have sworn she’d seen an expression on his face other than a smile. But it was whisked away with a little giggle before she could decide what emotion plagued him. Em scratched the back of his head and gave a soft shrug. “Oh, nothin spectacular, Ms., just midnight service. You don’t have to go. It’s mainly the elders who were rather into the Lord in the old world. There is a much more popular service at noon every other day. Once again, it’s completely optional.” Wren breathed out a sigh of relief at not being forced to go. She didn’t mind religion; she honestly found it a bit fascinating. But she had no commitment to any particular one and was not too keen on being forced into these people’s.

“Before you go on to bed, can I show you a surprise, Ms.?” Em asked with a slightly mischievous grin.