Ravenous

   “It’s a little bit more than a tree house,” Aiden said softly.

   “I’m not dying in a tree house,” Je

   “We spent a lot of time on it; it’s more than a tree house,” Aiden insisted. “It’s actually pretty well equipped for a tree house.”

   “We haven’t been there in years Aiden, you can’t possibly know what condition it’s still in,” I reminded him.

   He shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve been there recently.”

   I started slightly, my mouth parted in surprise. Aiden and I didn’t tell each other everything, but we shared more, and were closer than most siblings. We looked out for, loved, and protected Abby, but the two of us were closer in age, bonded by more shared experiences, and truly liked each other now that we were older. Going to the tree house didn’t sound like something Aiden would do, he was not a nostalgic person, and it definitely seemed like something he would have told me about.

   I didn’t know if I was more stu

   “It will be a good place to hide out for tomorrow. We can come up with a better plan then.”

   “Cranberry isle is a good three miles away,” Je

   “Then we had better get moving,” Bret said softly. He slipped his hand into mine, squeezing it gently.

CHAPTER 10

   It was a tree house, and I still refused to go inside it. I sat against the tree, my knees drawn up to my chest, surrounded only by the forest. There was a small stream about thirty feet away, I couldn’t see it, but I knew its location from childhood memories. The sound of ru

   I could only hope that it was our presence that had scared the animals away, or that they still had not awakened in the early morning hours. I rested my forehead on my knees, trying not to think about it, trying hard to just block everything out but it was almost impossible. Aiden had been right; the tree house was in good shape, excellent even. I didn’t think it was the new home owners that had kept it in such good condition, Aiden and I had not disclosed its location when we moved from Cranberry isle. This was ourtree house; neither of us could stand the thought of anyone else playing amongst its walls.

   Abby had been too young for the tree house at the time, she had come out here with us once, but I highly doubted she had remembered how to get here on her own. Abby was many things, but adventurous and handy were not amongst her vast list of attributes. That left only Aiden to keep up the maintenance, and he had done a wonderful job of it. I just couldn’t believe that he had kept it from me all of these years, but then there was plenty that I had kept from him also.

   I lifted my head, gazing up at the wooden structure thirty feet above my head. It was nestled in the crook of four massive branches in a large maple. There were three ways to escape the structure, and two ways to enter it. A long metal ladder stretched from the ground up to a hole against the trunk of the tree. The hole was usually left open, but it could be closed and the ladder thrown away if such a thing was required, or wanted. We had thrown it aside often as children, when we had been escaping the imaginary creatures chasing us. It was not lost on me the complete circle that our lives had completed from then, until now.

   Another ladder hung from the other side of the tree, the one closest to the stream. It was a rope ladder that dangled down to the ground. It could be pulled swiftly up, and had been many times when we were younger and under the attack of trolls and other nefarious creatures. The third and final exit was a metal pole that had rusted slightly over the years, but still appeared stable. It had always been my favorite way to exit the fort when in a rush to escape from the fiends that had breached our security.

   The exits had been for fun when we were kids, now I was glad that we had decided to build so many emergency escapes. I stared at the bottom of the fort; I sensed no movement up there. They must all be asleep. Even Bret had climbed into the leafy bowers, curious about the elaborate fort. I had told him to stay up there for awhile, I needed to be alone. I was enjoying the quiet. I was surprised that he had actually listened to me. He was terrified for me, I could see that, but thankfully he seemed to understand my need for solitude.

  I had no doubt that he would return soon though. I rose to my feet, stretching as I walked to the edge of the small clearing. Long ago we had cut the woods back, creating a large area to play in, and a nice path to traverse through the forest. The woods had reclaimed most of the path. Just as the wilderness would reclaim everything that was going to be abandoned, and forgotten when this was over. The world would change, it hadchanged already. Houses may very well be a thing of the past; the forest would regain the wood it had lost over the years, animals would be the new residents of homes. I shuddered at the thought; there would be much for the wilderness to reclaim when this was all done. Maybe even our bodies.

   I hated my morose thoughts, but they wouldn’t go away. Neither would the heart wrenching agony of losing my mom. Now that we were stopped, now that I was alone, now that I was not focusing upon inane little things like Cade’s interaction with Je

   This was not the trauma and shock of my father’s death. Losing my mother had been shocking, and yes this whole thing was traumatizing, but I had not seen her. I had not been with her at the moment of death. I had not seen the suffering and fear. I had not seen the worry for me, for her family. I had not seen death clouding my mother’s gaze, as I had with my father.

   I veered sharply away from the thought; it would only lead to dark places that I did not want to travel to ever again. Dark places, and an even darker and despondent version of me than I ever wanted to know again. I launched abruptly to my feet, unable to sit still any longer. I paced anxiously to the edge of the clearing, tugging slightly at my hair as I wrapped it around my finger. The honey color of it was nearly brown with dirt, sweat, and residue from the antique store. I would have given anything for a shower as I could barely stand the smell of myself anymore.

   My last memory of the stream as a child told me that it was small. I imagined it would seem even smaller now that I was an adult, but at least it was something. I glanced up at the tree house, they were all inside. The small shutters had been drawn over the three windows, blocking out the sun so they could make an attempt at sleep.