More Road

Chapter 14

Ode on Life’s Journey pg227
I began life’s journey when I was young, And the glitt’ring prospect charmed my eyes;
I saw joy after joy successive rise Along the extended plain.
But soon I found ’twas all a dream, And learned the fond pursuit to shun,
Where few can reach the purposed aim and thousand daily are undone.

There are more tearful goodbyes, as we start out early the very next day. Howle and Liss stand with Nev at the edge of their home stead. Nev, saying she was needed at home but she would never forget us. We, in return, give promise of help if they should need it. All this heart felt tears and more, with a dozen or so cousins watching from the side.

“Well, you girls take care now. ” Howler says as he shakes our hands good bye for, what seems like the hundredth time.

“And you girls come back, make sure you eat enough.” Mother Liss gives all of us tearful hugs.

“And if you need help come to the Compound,” Diana says. “I think we could handle your few dozen people.”

“And learn to fight better,” Catherine adds.

“If nothing else,” I say. “Make sure we stay friends.”

“I’ll never forget you Chronos,” Nev says, as she gives me one final fast hug.

Before we can leave, it seems we must say something to everyone. I sigh and hold back my impatience. Catherine goes off to talk with some of the young defenders while Diana jokes with Cousin Mints. I can see Clade trying to wave me over, but I choose to ignore him.

“Now Chronos,” Clade says as he makes he way over to me. “There ain’t no call for you to be so cold. I’m just trying to be friends. Like you asked us.”

“The offer of friendship was for all of the Killmick, not just you Clade.” I say coldly to him.

“And I’m here to take you up on that.” He smiles charmingly at me.

“No Clade,” I say bluntly. “I have no interest in you, or your charms. I have enough…” I pause to think about the saying I am trying for. “In my dish right now.”

He looks puzzled by my words. “You got a dish?”

I roll my eyes in disgust. “That does it, we are leaving.” I turn to Diana and Catherine. “We need to be going, before we lose all of the daylight!” With that I grab Alys and Brin and start to march away.

“Hey, Chronos, wait up!” Diana calls out as she jogs to catch up with us. “You want me to take point don’t you?” She flashes us a good natured smile and passes us to take her place in the line.

I glance behind us to see Catherine is catching up with us too. But she seems just as happy to be leaving as I am.

…

By night time we are exhausted but there is a feeling of friendship among us now. Much to my delight, Mother Liss has made sure our packs are full of new food and notes on how to cook it. It has been a whole 7 days of travel for us. I am no longer on unfriendly terms with the Protectors. We are down one girl, who, we have left at a happy farmstead. We also have more new mappings for the area and we know someone has taken over the Brutes prison.

It is an easy two day walk north to Brin’s family farm. She tells us what to expect.

“They ain’t like the Killmick folks,” She tells us. “We have been scratching a dirt farm living from the same rock since before I was born. It ain’t much.”

Brin also reminds us about her brothers. “Stay in a group, they is less likely to try anything if there is a bunch of ya’s. Don’t wander off on your own. That is always when they is likely to sneak up on you.”

Catherine gets more disgusted with each new instruction.

“And you call these people family?” She huffs at Brin. “They are nothing more than barbarians.”

“Enough!” I yell to cut her off. As it is, I have resisted hitting Catherine, because she is being such a stick in the mud. “These are Brin’s people, if you do not like it then use what we are as an example to them.”

“No she is right, I saw how it was with you Kindred and at the homestead. I wished it was like that.” Brin sadly agrees with Catherine.

“We will do what we can.” I say kindly to her. Brin may have a tough girl facade, but that doesn’t stop her from crying when she is hurt, and I can tell she is still hurting. She may continue to hurt for the rest of her life.

There is no neat cultivated fields or even a shed or two that tells us we have arrived at the farm. Rather an old stone wall that is mostly covered by grass and moss. Brin points it out to us.

“That’s the start of our farm. We should be getting to the house real soon.” She says half excited and half in dread.

“Hang in there Brin.” Diana says and gives her a pat on the arm.

“My Pa ain’t the most friendly of folks.” She says unhappily. She shoots me a quick, worried glance that I take to mean I should be extra careful. I put up the hood of my cloak, so it covers my hair and most of my face. Diana and Catherine do the same thing.

The house, and I am giving far more credit than it deserves, was once a two story ranch with far too many windows that now are boarded over. The paint has mostly peeled off after a hundred years of neglect, and the front steps have a decided list off to one side.

But, it is the man standing in front that draws my eye. Shaggy brown hair the same color and texture as Brin’s. A sour expression clouds his face making it hard to read him. He is dressed in a very patched shirt, that I can’t tell what the original color was and the buckskin trousers that everyone around here seems to prefer. What stands out about him is the way he doesn’t try to catch anyone’s eye. He is very carefully to glances around us. It is odd.

It is like Brin said, we will not get a hero’s welcome when we show up. But rather a sullen huff from her father.

…

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