Chapter 23
It didn’t matter how hard she tried to fall asleep or how exhausted she felt.
Sarah was restless the entire night. After five hours of staring at the ceiling and listening to the thunder rolling outside, the sun finally started to peek over the mountains in the distance.
At least Adam had gotten some sleep and would be rejuvenated for their ride that day.
Sarah could manage without much sleep; she had been doing it for years.
Listening to the leaves rustling outside, she tried one last time to doze off but couldn’t get her mind to rest.
Instead, she sighed and sat up. There was something outside, a noise different than the normal rustling of horses and critters as they moved through the forest. Instantly, every one of her senses was on high alert.
She listened quietly as she moved closer to the edge of the cabin.
Her instincts had been spot on. With the new position, she could hear two people whispering right outside the cabin.
She didn’t know how many more there were, but she wasn’t going to wait around to find out.
Crawling over to where Adam was still snoring away, Sarah knew she had to be careful how she woke him.
If he freaked out, it might alert whoever was outside to their presence and awareness inside the cabin.
They couldn’t lose the horses. The packs on the animals had nearly everything they’d brought with them for the trip.
Gently tapping on Adam’s arm, she put her hand over his mouth as he jolted awake.
In the pale rays of light that reached inside the cabin, his eyes flew open and darted to her.
She motioned for him to be quiet and moved her hand as soon as he nodded in understanding.
Adam kept low to the ground as she moved closer to whisper to him.
“There are people outside,” Sarah said. “I don’t know how many people there are, but I just heard two whispering to each other.”
Adam reached for his gun, and she motioned for him to stop.
If there was a chance that they could stop them without more violence, she had to try.
For all she knew, they could be a couple of teenagers just trying to find their way in the new world.
Luckily for her, he slowly took his hand off the gun and looked at her for direction.
“What are we going to do, then?”
“We have to get rid of the horse thieves without using our guns.”
“Why would we want to do that?” Adam asked. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just dispatch them and get out of here?”
“Well, it’s not just because of taking people’s lives, but the fact that using the guns might spook the horses. Then, we’d be stuck trying to track them down. Gunfire could also attract other unwanted attention.”
“Fair enough. You just tell me what we need to do, and I’ll follow your direction.”
“I’m going to try to do something. I need you to back me up. If you have to use the weapon, I will let you know.”
“I thought you just said we weren’t going to use them,” Adam replied.
“I said we were going to try not to use them. There’s still a big possibility they won’t go quietly, and we’re not going to let them get those horses under any circumstances. Just wait for me. I’ll let you know what to do.”
“Okay. I’m with you. How you want this to go, just let me know?”
Sarah poked her head over the edge of what was once a window but now only held rotting wood and broken glass.
She could hear them over by the horses, but something stopped her from shooting.
Despite her instinct telling her they were stealing the horses, she hesitated to fire at them or the animals unless it could be helped.
As the sun moved a little higher in the sky, she saw who the horse thieves were for the first time and had to stifle a gasp.
The two creatures couldn’t have been older than ten.
There was a boy and a girl in tattered clothing with no shoes.
They were whispering to each other as the boy tried to untie the knot she’d used on the horse’s lead lines.
Sarah had tied the knots intentionally, not wanting to make it easy on anyone who might want to take the valuable creatures.
While her plan to stall them had worked, she was still shocked the culprits were so young.
Adam gave her the same look of disbelief she knew was on her face.
They still couldn’t let them take the horses, no matter how small they were.
Creeping out first, Sarah pointed her gun at the distracted children but kept the safety on.
As she slowly approached them, Adam moved away from her and through the trees to cut them off if they tried to run.
Now that she was outside, Sarah could see the poor kids scarfing down everything they found in their packs as they worked on the knots.
Had they not been starving, Sarah wasn’t sure they’d have been distracted enough for her to approach without being heard.
Her heart broke for the pair. Suddenly, a twig snapped under her foot, and they both jumped, spinning to face her as they did.
“I know you must be frightened,” Sarah said. “There’s no reason to be scared, so don’t run away. Okay? I just want to talk to you for a minute.”
They both looked scared to death, and Sarah couldn’t imagine the fear running through their minds.
She slowly lowered the gun just slightly, trying to gain their trust and also to let them know she meant them no harm.
Both children moved closer to each other and watched her carefully as she tried to think of what to say.
Her mind flashed back to when she was scared as a child, and she knew what she needed to do.
Finding out who they were and what they were doing was the only way she knew to do it.
“What are your names?”
“My name is Jamie, and his name is Eric.”
“Shut up, Jamie. We don’t need to tell her anything. We don’t know who she is, and she doesn’t need to know anything about us.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re both okay.”
“I’m not afraid of you, lady,” Eric said. “I know how to protect us, and I have a knife.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of anyway,” Sarah said. “I’m glad you have a way to protect yourself. I wouldn’t want you to be out here all alone without a way to defend the two of you.”
“You can’t tell me anything that’s going to make me trust you. We don’t need your sympathy.”
“Fine. You don’t have to trust me. I just want you to know we’re not a danger to you, and there’s nothing to worry about. We are not going to hurt you,” Sarah said.
“What do you mean we?” Eric growled. “Shit, Jamie, she’s not alone.”
Before she could stop either child from panicking, they both darted for the woods. Seconds later, she heard them scream, but before she could follow, Adam emerged with one child locked in each arm. They were struggling against him but weren’t going to get free any time soon.
“What the heck are we going to do with them?” Adam asked.
“Well, we can’t leave them here to fend for themselves. We’ve seen the sort of people who are out there. They have to come with us,” Sarah said.
“I don’t think either one wants that,” Adam muttered.
Sarah sighed. She couldn’t argue with him there. They were still trying to get free from him. If they were going to try to sneak away every second of the day, it was going to make the trip take three times as long. Sarah wasn’t going to take them prisoner if they didn’t want to be there.
“You’re right. Let them go. They don’t want to come with us to a place with unlimited food, safety, and the ocean just yards away; that’s on them,” Sarah said.
Adam shrugged and set both of them down. Instantly, Eric darted for the woods, but Jamie hesitated just long enough for her brother to pause and yell for her to hurry up. Her eyes met Sarah’s.
“Are you some kind of creep?” Jamie asked.
Sarah shook her head. “Nope, we are going to my family home in Maine. They have a greenhouse, livestock, and a fishing boat. Have you ever had lobster?”
Now, both children were listening to her as she continued to tell them everything the homestead had to offer. By the time she was done, neither was in a hurry to leave anymore.