Page 22 of Cora

Tracking the sounds to the kitchen, I watched as Isaac boiled some water for tea. He had quite the collection of tea, but mine was more extensive. That was one thing Isaac and I had in common: a love for tea. I quickly ran downstairs to brew my cup,returning with the steaming liquid just as Isaac brought his cup to the living room and sat with a book.

I timed my sips with him so that he didn’t hear them. This was one of my favorite morning rituals that I shared with Isaac, though I enjoy all of my morning rituals.

With Isaac, we sat quietly, sipping our tea while he read a book. This week, he discovered the woodworking manual I had left on the bookshelf and was reading through it.

From watching them, I felt I had gotten to know each man fairly well. Isaac was the leader, even if Derrick wasn’t always happy about it. The pressure of leadership got to him, though he hid it from the others. In quiet moments like now, when he was alone, he let his guard down, and worry clouded his eyes.

Otherwise, he kept a calm, confident demeanor with everything he did, internalizing any doubt he might have in himself. Isaac loved his brother and fully supported his relationship with Remi, and even if they rubbed each other the wrong way at times, I knew he cared for and respected Derrick as well.

Derrick’s morning routine wasn’t anything like Isaac’s. To start his day, Derrick enjoyed a good workout, which meant I spent my mornings with him drooling. By the time he was done with his workout, we were both soaked. After his shower, he would start breakfast for everyone. Not that there was much variety to cook with, but he’d figure out some sort of meal for them to start their day with.

Derrick growled a lot, but he cared about his little family. He also enjoyed poking at them, especially Isaac. I could tell how much he respected Isaac, but part of him still liked to push back at the man, almost like he had moments of resentment about being told what to do.

When it was Trent’s turn to stand guard, I was usually up before him. He tended to fall asleep just as the morning hoursstarted to sneak by, then would wake when he heard the others stir and quickly hurry into the kitchen to get the coffee started.

Trent loved his coffee, but I wasn’t much of a fan, so I stuck to tea. I’d run down and brew a cup once he got up and I couldn’t watch him sleep anymore. Usually, Remi was the first one up when Trent was on duty and vice versa. They would sit together in comfortable silence or quiet murmurs while sipping their coffees before the others woke up.

As the youngest of the men, Trent struggled with his place in the group. I think he also sometimes struggled with his relationship with Remi. Sometimes, he came off almost indifferent toward the other man, even though his eyes never left Remi when nobody was looking.

Remi was the sunshine of the group. He was never broody and always found humor in everything. Mornings with Remi were upbeat and cheerful. He’d spend the early morning hours whistling as he cleaned the house. Then he’d start brewing coffee and tea for everyone and throw together a nice meal— well, as nice as can be expected with their dwindling food.

I would say out of all of the men, Remi hid the most pain behind his smiles and jokes. I got the impression that he felt the most out of place, as if he wasn’t sure he was wanted or welcome. Or that he expected to be cast aside at any moment, so he did his best to be cheerful and agreeable and not make any waves. Remi didn’t understand his value to the group or how much he was needed.

I had become obsessed with watching these men live out their days. If they were awake and moving around the house, so was I. I hated when they all went outside together because I couldn’t watch them anymore. After getting spotted once, I wasn’t taking any chances of getting spotted again. Then they’d know I was here, and I had a lot to answer for that I wasn’t quite ready to deal with yet.

Today was one of those mornings where they all left as soon as breakfast was over, much to my disappointment. I returned to the bunker to bide my time until someone came back inside. All the things that once kept me entertained bored me now that I had a live-action play to keep me occupied.

Chapter ten

Isaac

As I stepped outside, I saw a squirrel scurrying up a tree. What I wouldn’t give for some fresh meat right now, even from a rodent. The cool breeze and the changing leaves reminded me that fall was coming. We needed to stock up on as much meat as possible, and now that we had electricity and a working refrigerator, we wouldn’t have to dry it all.

The problem was that we didn’t exactly have the necessary weapons to hunt effectively. We used to have a bow and arrow, but we ran out of arrows a bit back and hadn’t come across any to restock. This house was great in many ways, but one disappointing aspect was that it didn’t have any weaponry. No guns, ammo, or arrows. Nothing that could help us get meat.

Trent and Remi went foraging in the woods for berries and other edible vegetation while Derrick and I finished examining the rest of the property’s buildings. We were hoping one of them would have something worthwhile.

“How long will you make us stand watch at night?” I asked him as we walked to the final shed on the edge of the property. We had almost missed it because it was so thoroughly tuckedaway into the mountainside that Mother Nature had started to swallow it whole.

“Until we figure out what’s been eating the food,” Derrick replied. “Have you noticed it hasn’t happened since the night watches started?”

“Yes, I noticed,” I sighed.

We reached the shed and began clearing the vines and saplings away from it so we could pry the door open.

“Now, this is more like it,” I said when we finally got inside.

Animal traps lined the walls, along with sharp-looking knives. A large metal table sat off-center in the room, and meat hooks on a pulley system hung over the larger empty area. This was a meat processing building! Now if only I knew how to work the damn traps, Or what type of animal they were for.

“I don’t feel like this has gotten us any closer to getting meat,” Derrick commented.

“It hasn’t hurt our chances,” I replied. I grabbed the nearest trap off the wall and laid it on the table. How hard could these be? I pried the two halves of the spring-loaded trap apart and held them flat as I fumbled with the lever to set the trap and keep it open. When I thought I had it, I had to yank my hands back at the last second as the trap snapped shut.

“You were almost too slow,” Derrick cackled. “Try not to lose a hand, would you?”

“You could help me,” I suggested with a light growl.

“I’m rather fond of my hands,” Derrick replied. He stepped up to the other side of the table and helped me anyway. After a few more mishaps and close calls, we set the trap. “There has to be an easier way,” Derrick huffed.

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