Chapter Two

The girl frowned, shaking her head, eyes teary.  “No.  I can’t leave.”  I looked around frantically, my head pounding.  I tried to calm myself, knowing that I needed to convince the girl to come with me.  She would not be safe alone here.

“Why do you need to stay?”  I winced at another crash.  This time, I heard a yell along with it.  The girl yanked her hand out of mine and took off running towards the sound.  I followed, desperate not lose sight of the girl.  Suddenly, I had to stop short as the girl had ceased running and was standing perfectly still, staring at two men fighting.  They were rolling around on the floor, cans of soup falling to the ground in the after effects of them crashing into the shelf. 

One of the men, slim with light blond hair, pinned the other to the ground. The man currently having his face pressed to the floor was a man of relatively average size.  His short brown hair was damp with sweat as he strained against the weight of the other man who was keeping him pinned to the ground.  The brown-haired man suddenly managed to twist his body around, while simultaneously throwing the blond man off of him.  The blond man yelled in anger and pain as his back collided with the metallic shelf behind him.  He scrambled towards the brown-haired man, smashing his fist into his face.  The girl cried out and the man who had just been hit, looked towards her.  “No!  Amy!” He yelled desperately just as the blond-haired man hit him in the face again.  Blood began pouring from the brown-haired man’s nose.  Suddenly, the blond-haired man pulled a knife from his pocket and was bringing it down on the other man’s chest!  I screamed and the girl, I assumed her name was Amy, as the man had called out, suddenly went limp beside me.  Shakily, I hurried to pick her up.  I began backing away.  This was something that I wanted nothing to do with.  

I watched in horror as the blond man stood and turned towards me, the knife that had been in his hand, now protruding from the brown-haired man’s chest.  I nervously shifted the limp girl in my arms.  Don’t drop her.  I felt light-headed.

“Let me take her.”  An almost desperate look was in his eyes. “I’m her father.”  

I wanted to throw up.  “You just killed him.”  I said, unable to take my eyes off of the bleeding corpse that had been a living, breathing man just moments before.  I barely noticed as he lifted the girl from my arms.  “I had to.  He was stalking her.  Trying to kidnap her.  I had to stop him.”  

Nothing felt real.  I felt like I was in a dream.  A really awful dream.  

“We need to leave.”  The man urged, and I knew he was right.  “Do you have a home.  Somewhere you’ve been living?”   

I tried to focus. “Yeah” I started slowly, “Yes.  I’ll show you the way.” 

We arrived at my cave some time later.  I honestly do not remember much of the walk.  Everything felt so… fuzzy. 

“Where can I put her?”  He asked, looking around. 

“On my bed.  Over here.”  I motioned for him to follow.  

He gently laid her on the bed. Crouching, he placed a hand on her forehead, a worried expression creasing his face.  

I watched, touched by the care he displayed for his daughter.  Eventually he stood, extending his hand to me. “I’m Max.  I’m sorry we had to meet under such unfortunate circumstances.”

I manage a nervous smile, still incredibly aware that I had just watched this man stab someone to death. “I’m Katherine.”

“Beautiful name.” 

“Thank you.” 

A moment of silence hung between us.  I could not meet his eyes for more than a moment, but I could feel him still staring at me.  It was unnerving. 

I broke the silence, “I am going to make something for all of us to eat.  I think Amy will be hungry when she wakes up.”

“Good idea.”  Max agreed.  “I will go keep an eye on Amy.”  He turned, taking a few steps before looking back, “Katherine?” 

I looked him in the eyes. “Don’t tell Amy that I killed that man.  She is too young to handle it.  I will tell her when the time is right.”  I nodded, curtly.  My gut twisted and I knew it was not because of what Max had asked, but the way in which he had asked it.  Calmly.  Too calmly.   

But perhaps he has had experience with this sort of thing before.  I tried to rationalize, as I heated some beans over the little fire pit at the mouth of my cave.  Maybe he was in the army or was a first responder or something.  I kept trying to justify his calmness as I poured beans into three little mugs.  

Max’s voice echoed softly from across the cave.  I turned to look in Amy and Max’s direction and saw that Max was talking to Amy.  She must be awake! I thought.

Relieved, I cleaned up my cooking area, trying to give the two a little bit of privacy.  After a few moments, I placed spoons in each of the mugs and brought the first two to Max and Amy. 

Amy’s face was pale and tear stained.  “Hi Amy.”  I handed her one of the mugs.  “How are you doing?” She sniffled. “Good.” 

“I’m glad.” I smiled. “Do you want to eat some of these beans? They are pretty tasty.  I picked the ones with molasses, because those are my favourites.”  

Amy looked at me “Molasses is sticky and black.” 

I nodded, smiling, “Yes, and it’s also sweet.  Do you like sweet things?” 

Amy nodded, quietly.  

“Well, give the beans a try.  You’ll probably like them, then.”  

Amy tentatively scooped up four beans from her mug and stuck the spoon in her mouth.  “They’re a little bit yucky.” She said, “But mostly yummy.”  

I laughed, “Well that’s good, then.  I am going to go get mine.”

I came back with my mug of beans.  Max was staring at me.  “You and Amy seem to get along well.”  

I shrugged, smiling a little. “Yeah, we seem to.”

We finish our meal (I use the word “meal” lightly) and I listened to Max as he told me how he had spend the last eleven months.  When my turn came, my stories were not nearly so interesting as his, what with his trying to keep his family alive, loosing his wife, and trying to keep Amy’s stalker, the man he had killed today, at bay.  There was a sincerity in the way he told his story, one that, despite everything that I had seen take place that day, made me believe him.  His desperation in the recounting of his family’s difficulty in surviving the first several months, his grief at the memories of his wife’s death, and his coldness in the discussion of the stalker made me see a truth in his stories. 

You may think that I was crazy for allowing a murderer into my home, but after hearing his story, I was convinced that all he wanted was to keep Amy and himself safe.  And, I had reasoned, if I had a child, would I not do anything in order to keep them safe?  I was, and still am, convinced that I would. 

“It’s really nice to be with another person again.”  Max said, interrupting the silence that had followed our tales.  It was evening now, and we were sitting by the fire at the mouth of my cave, Amy asleep on my bed.  

He read my mind. “Yeah” I answered simply, looking out across the field, partially illuminated by the last bits of light that were disappearing along with the sun.  “I haven’t seen anyone for so long.”  A light fog traced my breath thanks to the cold, autumn air.

Max turned to me.  “You should come with us.”  I felt a stab of fear.  Leave my home?  “It could be a new start – for all of us.”  He hurried to continue as my face betrayed my apprehension.  “Both of us have lost family members in this town.  Why stay and be haunted by bad memories?  We can travel and find a better home, one near a bigger town, or even a city!  Just think!  We would have access to far more supplies than we do here.”  

I looked down at my hands, felt my clammy skin as I gripped them together.  “I don’t know.  I mean, we know this town – the dangerous spots, the good places to get supplies -“ 

“Katherine.”  Max shifted slightly closer, lowering his voice, “Have you noticed how low supplies are getting in this town?  You can’t live here forever.”  

I pulled back, suddenly angry.  How dare he say all of this?!  He doesn’t know anything about me or my plans!  “I don’t even know you!  How dare you act like you know what the best plan is?  How dare you assume to know what I plan to do?”  I pause, trying to catch my breath, but I could not.  My heart was beating so fast, I knew I was panicking, exhausted from the day and taking it out on him.  

Max stood, looking down at me.  “Hey, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for it to come across like that.  I just think that it would be better if you stayed with us.”  His blue eyes shone earnestly.  “Please don’t be angry with me.”  He ducked his head, tilting it, trying to get a look at my face, which was surrounded by a shield of my hair and blocking it from his view as I looked at the ground.  

I lifted my head, and was momentarily transfixed by his intense stare.  I turned away, putting my hands on my hips and let out a deep sigh.  “No, I am sorry.”  I said, running a hand through my hair.  “I lashed out.  This day has just been – a lot.”  I turned back to him with an apologetic expression. 

“I understand.” He gave me a slight smile, “And it’s okay.”  This time, he sighed.  “But please, consider coming with us.  It is the safest way.” 

I nodded, looking out towards a place that I have always called home.  It was so dark that I could not see even the outskirts of the town.  Had it been eleven months ago, warm lights would have illuminated the area, making it easy to spot different parts of the town, even from the foothills.  My eyes burned with threatening tears as I came to the realization that my home was not longer my home.  I was trying uselessly to hold onto a place in hopes that I could somehow keep some semblance of the life that I used to have.   It was time to move on.  Create a new life.  I turned back to Max.  “I’ll go.”