Page 5 of Shattered Home

“Who are you?” His usual jovial voice was tinted with a threat, his posture staying stiff as he kept his gun raised and my body behind his.

“Please. We’ve been walking for days, we don’t want any trouble.” The man on the right, with what I assumed was red hair, although it was covered in dirt, held up his hands.

Murphy assessed the situation, his gaze bouncing between the two men, when I leaned forward slightly to whisper under my breath. “We can at least take them back to camp. Give them some food.”

The sight of them made me think of myself when Rainer and Murphy had found me. How much more of a mess was I? And where would I be if they had decided to not help me? I couldn’t live with myself if we left them here. It was clear by their appearance that they wouldn’t make it back to town without some food and water.

A few more moments passed before Murphy finally nodded, dropping the gun and tucking it back into the waistband of his pants. He told the two men to follow us, and although he was willing to let them come, I knew he wasn’t letting his guard down when he didn’t pick back up the wood. He wanted his hands to be available at a moment’s notice.

Leaning down so that his lips nearly pressed against the shell of my ear, he spoke low so the strangers couldn’t hear. “Don’t leave my side until we’re back at camp.”

Nodding, I stood as close to him as possible as we started walking back. Murphy’s shoulders were tense as we traveled and I knew the right reaction would be to be apprehensive, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything but a flicker of hope. Because maybe they had knowledge about what was going on. And maybe that meant my time out here would come to an end.

Chapter Four

If I thought Murphy’s reaction to the strangers was intense, I should have prepared myself for Rainer’s. The second we stepped into the clearing, the two men trailing behind us, Rainer was on high alert. His shoulders stiffened, his chest puffing forward, and his hand reaching behind him.

With wide eyes, I glanced at Murphy, hoping he would calm his friend down. Everyone knew my words would have no effect on him, except possibly making him decide to kick me out with the two new men.

“What’s going on here?” Rainer asked, his voice strong as he approached us.

Subtly, I saw him tilt his head to the side, and I watched as Emmanuel and Elizabeth scurried off with the twins. Whether Rainer decided they were a threat or not, he wasn’t going to let the kids be around to find out. And even though I often bit back the urge to rip his head off, I had to respect all he did to protect us.

“We were gathering firewood when we ran into them in the woods. We figured we could give them some food and then they could continue on their way.”

My head snapped toward Murphy at his words, frowning slightly. I knew I had suggested that we could at least get them food and water, but I figured once we made it back here, they would end up staying with us. I mean, where were they going to go? They didn’t seem like the Murphy’s and Rainer’s of the world, more akin to me, which meant they most likely wouldn’t survive out here on their own.

However, I knew I wouldn’t speak up. In the real world, I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind and voice my opinion, but I knew my place out here. I was on the bottom of the totem pole. When it came to my opinion, I was possibly even lower than the twins.

“There’s some venison and rice. Help yourselves.” Rainer nodded toward the two pots by the fire and the two men hurried over.

Murphy left my side then, his face serious as he and Rainer took off together, mumbling under their breaths. Mina and Sasha were nowhere to be found, Elizabetha and Emmanuel still gone, which left me alone with the strangers.

Apparently, no one thought they were that much of a threat if they were willing to leave me alone with them. Or they cared that little about what happened to me. Considering the two options, I realized it was probably the latter, especially in Rainer’s mind.

But I didn’t dwell on how that made me feel, knowing this was my opportunity to question them about what was going on back in the towns. Slowly making my way over, I lowered myself to one of the logs around the fire.

Both men stared at me as I sat, but neither said a word, too busy stuffing their faces with food. I knew the feeling of hunger well, but now it was just a part of life. As I considered how to approach the conversation, I took the two of them in more closely.

The redheaded man not only had mud caked through the strands of his hair, but all along his clothes as well. There were plenty of creeks running through the woods and as the rest of the snow had melted, the areas were slick with mud, most likely the reason for his appearance.

His friend looked worse for wear, his skin paler than I would expect, making him look sickly. Add on his sunken eyes as he shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth and I was glad we had found them when we did.

“Where are you from?” I finally asked, figuring that was the best place to start.

If they were like Murphy, only in the area to visit, they probably wouldn’t have any idea on what was going on around here.

“We’re both from Bountiful. I’m Matthew and this is Brett.” Matthew gestured at his pale friend, who continued to devour the food, barely glancing up.

I bit my lip as I watched him scoop more onto a plate, wondering if I should say something. He needed food, but so did we. And I worried what Rainer’s reaction would be if everyone came back to camp and there was no more food.

“Bountiful is near Summit, isn’t it?” I asked, forgoing the thoughts of the food. I wouldn’t say anything. At least not yet.

“About an hour away. Is that where you’re from?” Matthew asked, and I nodded.

“And the others? Are they all from Summit too?”

“No,” I said, leaving it at that.

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