Night
Chapter 1 – Enter dawn
Procreation is the most basic need and drive for all creatures. This is something we are all taught at a young age. It is the purpose behind our existence, the justification of our war and the reason for our imminent extinction. This need to survive is the mantra that has been ingrained in the back of my mind every time I fight; for my life, the lives of my strange little family but mostly for the survival of my son.
“Breathe... just, breathe,” I told myself quietly, suddenly inhaling sharply. If they are capable of climbing up here, they could probably hear you even when you whisper; even through the windows’ wooden slats. There was not much in the way of a window there now. Glass was such a commodity.
I heard it creeping closer, breathing heavier. The moan of agony sending goosebumps up and down my arms. I chanted my mantra, silently in my mind:
You will NOT have my baby, you will NOT have my baby.
Inhaling deeply, I turned to the rotting, moving terror on legs... or what were most likely legs at some point. I knew the thing was close, yet not quite close enough to strike. The sun would be up soon, and most of them would be gone, this one was different. Nos was busy in the bedroom with the vampires, and Bronwyn had the kitchen lookout position. She was the one who had alerted me in the first place, that the bastard had somehow made it to the roof.
As soon as I saw the monster creep toward me, I hastily thrust one of my katanas out a window slat and through the zombie’s chest. The vile stench found its way into my nostrils and I struggled to contain my dinner. I also made every effort to continue holding my weapon.
“Fuck!” I swore under my breath. Remembering I needed to sever its head, I wriggled the blade out from where it was wedged between the creature’s ribs, somehow accomplishing a full swing. The action took longer to achieve than I preferred, but my weapon eventually, successfully pushed through flesh, bone and sinew. The rotting pile of humanoid remains fell as a lump on the rooftop below our window. I sighed relief as the sun began to peek slowly but with certainty, over the horizon. Finally, peace until night time. Unless of course another zombie figured out how to climb but just one zombie was nowhere near as threatening as many zombies with a chance of vampires.
“How did you guys do?” I panted. It was in the form of a question aimed at my little family, as soon as the threat was gone.
“I got six!” Replied Nos, tired, but still pumped with adrenalin, clutching his longbow tightly in his hand. His expression was somewhere between a smirk and a frown. Six was a so much more of a threat than we were used to, but killing that many also made a bigger dent to the vampire community, or what ever they called themselves as a whole. The victory was bittersweet to say the least.
“They’re gone Lilith, want me to check Aiden’s room?” Bronwyn said, as she could faintly see drifting shadows retreating almost instantaneously into the small forests and buildings beyond.
“I’ve got it, he’s my responsibility after all.” I replied. Before Nos could say “our” I was half way down the hall, heading into a small room that had its window boarded, and bricked years ago. In this day and age, when you had a child, you did more to prepare for their arrival than expecting parents used to.
Back before the vampires the decisions new parents had to make were between which crib or change table to purchase, which toys to put where, and decorations. That was for those who couldn’t afford the rocking chairs and other extravagances. My mom told me this when I was small, her mother used to tell her stories of when she was born, and how she had gotten prepared for a new little family member. I missed my mother. This was a world where people did not generally grow old. I lost her years ago, along with my father. It was something I was not willing to think about at this exact second.
I got to my son’s room, and checked for the usual signs of distress. The bricks were solid, the wood braces were in place and last, but most importantly: Aiden was still breathing.
Returning to the living room, I looked to each person in the room; my friend and the father of my child. They were wonderful. Sweaty, tired and obviously in need of bathing, but wonderful. I was also sure I was worse in all the unglamourous departments. Nos must of realized this, because he pointed toward the ceiling, and said “I need to check the roof to clean, and attain the official all clear. You should have first bath.” The end of his sentence consisted of an adorable expression struggle in my general direction. He tried so hard not to look disgusted. I could hear in his voice that he was also breathing through his mouth.
I did not protest. I knew how repulsive I looked and more-so how nauseating I smelled. Upon reaching the bathroom, I grabbed a fresh bucket of water from the large basin we had beside the tub. To the untrained eye, it seemed as though we had two bathtubs, although one did not look the least bit comfortable. I grabbed the bath tongs, picking up a few of the heated rocks we kept on a coal bed at all times. Throwing them in to heat the water, I swore to myself that it never really worked. It was still barely summer however, so I was not yet worried about the temperature of the water. The cool touch would actually be somewhat refreshing. Sinking into the tub, I used my old loofah to scrub the grime away. Sometimes I thought that ragged old thing was dirtier than I was. Today was not one of those days. I let my waist length, deep violet hair float around my face, like a halo. Laughing at the image, I pulled my torso out of the water, and put a detergent of sorts into my hair to wash it. Detergent was a pretty fancy word for the sand and flower oil concoction that this comprised of, but it worked. I went into the water smelling like rotting flesh and would come out smelling faintly of lilac, my favourite flower.
As I sat in the water, I finally let the nightly anxiety wash off of me as did its grime. Daytime, a chance to relax. Only the zombies were awake now, and they were no where near smart enough to climb to our exit. Well generally speaking they were not. All of the original exits and entrances to our apartment had been boarded up, plastered and bricked long before Nos and I were conceived. Unfortunately wear and tare on the place made it so we had to stay guard at night. For some reason tonight was particularly active. It is not often that all three of us were needed to protect Aiden.
The lukewarm water was a comfort to my aching joints and muscles. I examined for scratches, while subconsciously holding my breath. I didn’t think I had anything to worry about, but they were automatic post battle reflex. After confirming I would not become that which I feared most, I decided it was time to towel off, and replace the holding tub’s water.
Our primary and secondary bath system was in place in the event of a water shortage. The military base where Nos and I had been raised kept the town’s hydro systems running, although they were unable to provide a constant stream of electricity. In the apartment, Nos and I had used our survivalist instincts to come up with a basic water preservation system using limited resources. When Dru, Bronwyn’s father had passed away we knocked down the walls to the connecting apartment, effectively joining the two bathrooms into one. We found a permanent plug for their tub, and kept it filled with water at all times. To avoid stagnancy, the water was transferred from the holding tub to the bathing tub after every wash (or second wash if the person bathing was not especially enshrouded with zombie goo). We had experienced three to four water shortages since Nos and I had moved from the military base four years ago. The first failure had left us believing we would not be able to live in the city ourselves. We had been in our new apartment for three months when the hydro had been primarily withdrawn. This was something we had not been prepared for. The base, and our parents while they were alive, provided us with extensive combat training, including and excluding weapons; extensive outdoor, wilderness survival skills and social adaptation skills; All of which were useless when trying to find drinkable, usable liquid in a city that remains in shambles. Panic began to set in just before the water returned to our pipes three hours later. At that time, we scoured abandoned buildings for any kind of bucket or basin that was small enough to carry, yet big enough to store a few days worth of water. We started by seeing what the neighbours were doing for water. There were two apartments in this building, above an empty old abandoned store. This was when we first met Dru and Bronwyn.
I almost did not notice the secondary bath had filled, as I reminisced. Realizing I had hogged the room for over an hour, I figured my family would probably like to use the room. After dressing in my sleepwear, I informed the others I was finished. Nos came in to the apartment, giving us the all clear. As I headed for bed, I could see him take over the washroom. I barely felt my pillow in the time it took me to fall asleep. Some time later I vaguely remembered feeling Nos plop down beside me before being unconscious once more.
I awoke to blood curdling screams.
Both Nos and I awoke instantly, jumping for our weapons. It took seconds before I realized once again what what going on.
“Uhhhhhg” I said, as I dropped back onto the bed, rolled over and barely brushed his arm with my fingers. “Aiden is awake. I can’t wait until he grows out of this.” The sun had not set yet, and one of us could technically acquire more sleep. I was hoping to be that person.
“You do it.” He moaned, head hitting the pillow once more. He had good reason. I was a very stiff morning person, and often got Nos to get up with our toddler. I grumbled in disapproval, but felt guilty and got up anyway, making sure to head to the kitchen first for the milk he would undoubtedly ask for. Enough light filtered through the cracks of the lookout window that it brightened the room significantly. I grabbed the milk from the icebox, poured it in his cup and brought it to his room.
Aiden was the happiest child, normally. Well, he was when he was not facing the evil villain called sleep. I got him out of his crib, letting him play in his room. I changed his diaper, then turned on his dim but effectual overhead light. The little one’s room was sealed off entirely from the outside world, so this was the only way he could actually see the toys he was playing with. The light flickered then extinguished, signalling that our individualized energy production system (or IEPS) needed to be examined. Plopping Aiden back in his crib with one of his small toys, I explained to him that I had to fix the light. I gave him his mason jar lidded cup with small holes poked in it, that I had previously filled with milk.
Milk was one of the things the base still provided us with. It was a known fact that children needed the nutrients in cow’s milk and that children were the most important resource we had. The military base was a three hour drive from our apartment. It comprised of four large circles in the sky, held up by a multitude of thin supports. These braces were effective, making it impossible for any monsters to reach, let alone attack us. There were makeshift pastures below the base, where goats, cows and chickens were kept. Mostly for their milk and eggs, although once they got old enough, they would become protein. Meat was easily obtained through hunting, so they were not farmed for that as a central purpose. There were fences surrounding the pastures, with sentry lined up with bows and axes set to guard them at all hours. They needed much less guards during the daytime, however. Zombies were easier to destroy than zombies and vampires combined. Although either would be ardours in large groups.
I left Aiden in his room, grasping one of my two Katanas on my way out. I headed for what was once a window, that we now used as a door. Disassembling the heavy wooden latch, I stepped out onto the ledge, finding the IEPS unit. It only usually took a few cranks if it was not truly broken, for the small machine to kick back in again. I readied my muscles, as I always did while stepping outside the house. It was still light enough outside to curb the vampires, but zombies had no set timing. With my foe from the night before as any kind of illustration, I was ready for any sort of unlikely situation.
The apartment was built so that what we assumed used to be a kind of sitting room was in the front of the house where our “door” was. We had converted that particular space into a sewing, skinning and storage room. Our accommodations were on the second floor of the building. The roof to the store below us jutted out giving us a platform just outside the main window. The massive almost balcony served two purposes: keeping zombies from being able to get into the apartment, and a way for us escape to the outdoors when necessary. What used to be the window was generally boarded up during the night, so monsters could not get in. It still needed to be watched, seeing as vampires were seemingly intelligent creatures, and would try tampering with it whenever they could. The previous night’s zombie scare was a major exception. Somehow death’s creature had gotten on the roof, and I needed to destroy it before it kept trying to get in. This was the second time a zombie had ever threatened us so severely. Usually they were the easier targets of the two. I sighed at the realization that Nos had missed cleaning the mess during his sweep. I guessed he was only looking for live threats. I shoved the zombie off the roof, correctly assuming my time outside would be limited. Walking over to the generator I pulled the breaker up, pushing it down again. At first I heard the hum of electricity, then came the unmistakable groan of a barely sentient being. Luckily this one seemed to be struggling with the concept of being on a lower level than its prey. I peered down, watching the mangled corpse repeatedly limp into the side of the wall a few times before looking back up. I sighed, but never dropped my guard. The vampires should be out soon, and I had no time to spend on a brain dead monster. Wishing I had competency with a ranged weapon, I reluctantly left the monster to his self mutilation through stupidity. I re-covered the window with its boards, locking it in place with the large slab of wood before returning to my son’s room.
On my way, I grabbed a stuffed animal that somehow made its way into the hallway, then proceeded to lob it at Nos. He was still asleep in the bedroom, it was only fair.
”Vampire scouting time darling” I said in a mock singsong voice.
“I’m pretty sure the words you’re looking for are wake up, my gorgeous wonderful protector”. Nos mumbled slyly. Well as slyly as one could while having half a pillow covering their face. I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. Either way, he looked adorable, and sleepy; not gorgeous nor ready to protect even his own head from the second projectile being lobbed his way, as plush as it may be. I smiled warmly at the back of his head. We had a complicated relationship.
Nos was a battle genius. He constantly worked on honing his skills. He was capable of missing a target but it was not often that he did. The young man was an archer god in his own right, deadly as they come. Growing up at the base had given him a healthy respect for his weaponry and combat skill training sessions. Nos’ deadliest weapon, however was his mind. He was quiet, and calculating, when dealing with any threat to his family. His battle tactics were sound on a bad day, and pristine all others. Our makeshift family members were the only beings still alive to see his sleepy adorable side. Aiden more-so than even I.
“Either way” I turned to head toward Aiden’s room once more, as he started getting fussy again about being in his crib, “It’s time for his sexiness to get up now.” I made sure to keep the snark in my voice. It was a rare thing for Nos to be cocky, so I wanted to carry the joke as far as I could. Not that he was not sexy, nor gorgeous, wonderful, protective... He was all of those things. He was just the only one who did not see it.
“Hey buddy!” I cooed at Aiden.
“Hey buddy” he replied. I smiled at his repetition skills outweighing conversational.
“Oh you’re done your milk already? I’ll get you more. What would you like to play with today?” I asked, tugging the cup from his outstretched hands.
“Trains?” Aiden said, with a sleepy toddler smile. I fluffed his golden blond hair, and put a few of his wooden trains in his crib. Those trains always made me a little sad. They once belonged to Bronwyn, who’s father was a carpenter. I let Aiden play with them mostly because it was a constant reminder to protect the people I love. The fact that trains were his favourite kind of toy played a lot into it as well; not to mention they were his only toy that was not made out of fabric. I was capable of making some awesome stuffed cars with button wheels, mind you, but trains were not my forte, and they came as an expensive trade. Not everyone needed expensive garments.
Nos came into Aiden’s room to let him out of the crib as I retrieved water for the little one. I heard stirring outside the slatted kitchen window, and saw it was dark. Not full darkness, but enough for the stronger vampires to be out.
“Nos, vamp check!” I yelled down the hall, attempting to keep a calm voice. It was difficult but after almost three years of pretending vampires and zombies were not nearly half as threatening for Aiden’s sake, was a passable act. It would not do well to alert the monsters more to the fact that there was a small child within the confines of our apartment more so than they already knew. By default, our child was semi spoiled, so he rarely got a chance to scream before being placated. Mornings excluded to this rule of course.
Honestly, the first year of Aiden’s life was the most difficult we had ever gone through. Vampires have superior senses to humans by a long shot. Because of this heightened sense set, humans have put a lot of effort into being quiet and well insulated, along with eliminating excessive smells, and light. It is near impossible to live without any of these, so we cook only during daylight, to eliminate the amount of monsters who can track us by the odours. We also would attempt to keep only one light on in the house in the night. It is easy to imagine how all of these safeguards go out the window entirely while caring for a newborn. Infants are smelly and loud as a default, the only peace is that lights are not as necessary. For the first five months of Aiden’s life, I was practically his sole caregiver. I had a makeshift bedroll that I had created out of fabric and anything I could get my hands on, to stuff it with. I slept beside the crib that Nos had retrieved from the military base as soon as we knew I was pregnant. Every time Aiden would make so much as a peep, he was in my arms to be fed. I could not risk attracting unwanted attention. However, even with that precaution in place, Nos was just outside the room with an arrow nocked. He got even less sleep than Aiden than I. Nos had his own bedroll where he was set up with his bow, to be able to sleep when we did. Every entrance we had was sealed off completely, and we still had the odd break in.
The setup, and lack of sleep was the easy part of this operation. What complicated matters was our need for food. Luckily our water continued to run without incident for most of that first year, but Nos still had to go hunting. In those times, I would have to seal him outside. These times were terrifying. I would spend days sitting in that room, holding my son, repressing tears for my potentially dead love. The last thing I wanted was for Aiden to think his mother was unhappy. I knew at the core of my being that these outings were specifically for our entire family’s survival but still broke down every once in awhile. During this time, day in and day out I would hold Aiden, carefully keeping him away from the swords I needed to keep in reach in case of an emergency. Waiting for his father to return home.
Once I heard a moan coming from outside Aiden’s door. I knew full well that Nos had not yet returned. Sheer terror rose from the pit of my stomach, right up to my face. I could feel the fear like a plague of shingles and cold sweat. It took me a few moments to realize it was not from behind the door that the noise was emitted, but the window. The very secure, near brick wall sealed window. I swallowed the horror that had crept into my throat, and knew in my heart what I was about to hear, and there it was. Three simple knocks, in a way that indicated Nos’ return. I dropped Aiden into his crib gently as I could and prayed to no one in particular that he did not wake up; and that I got to Nos first.
I knew he would be tired from hunting and although I trusted he would be alert, it was the first time a zombie had made it up to our floor. I closed the door and locked Aiden in his bedroom from the outside, in case mommy and daddy didn’t come back. I screamed like a banshee inside my head and rage filled my eyes. Diving for the inside lock on the exit window, I shoved an unsuspecting Nos out of my way. He stumbled sideways before seeing the Zombie closing in faster than they usually did. I was prepared, enraged and terrified. This is when I initially adopted my mantra...
“You will NOT have my baby, you will NOT have my baby!!” I roared.
For a fleeting second the zombie actually looked something like afraid or confused. Fleeting because I wasted no time relieving him from the burden of a head. Nos was smart enough to step away from the scene. While in this state of mind all I could see was “threats” and “things in the way of my sword that needed to be killed”. Anything that got too close to me would have been turned to stewing meat.
“Lilith...?” Nos started while still backing away. “Lilith, look at me, put your swords down.” He may have been a better combatant with his bow, but I was still superior when up close and personal. I was raised on the same military base after all. I just preferred to be directly in front to the thing that I believed needed to be removed from this world. That was when I noticed he only had his archery set on his person. The thought of his missing melee weapon was what pulled me from the battle stupor I had seemingly fallen under.
“Where’s your weapon?” I asked. Nos lifted his bow so I could see it. He held that special expression on his face that was reserved for when my sanity was in question. “No no,” I shook my head clearing some of the cobwebs. “Your spear,” I specified. Suddenly I realized it was still dark out, and we were not only talking outside, but the baby was alone in the house. I motioned Nos toward the house where we secured the lock back on the window. That was when we heard a noise coming from down the hall. That particular noise was not one an infant would make. I noticed every muscle I had tensed as one. Nos had already acknowledged the sound. He said a few calm and random nonsensical words to me, and I caught on immediately. He was trying to trick what ever monster had managed to trespass, into believing we had no idea they were there. I replied to keep up the ruse as he went through the doorway. The over six foot archery god just barely got the jump on a vampire who we had not noticed slip into the apartment. Its chance had come while we were dealing with the abnormal zombie. He managed to get an arrow into the vampire’s chest but it was not deep enough for a kill shot. My left blade was not far behind the barely audible sound the arrow emitted when released. Swiftly, the steel bit into the monster’s flesh, severing the head from its body.
Panting, I checked the locks on the door to Aiden’s room. I was ultimately able to relax when it was apparent that the monster had not succeeded. I heard a faint cry come from the behind his door. I entered, stepping over the body to let my son feed, and boyfriend clean up the gory mess in the hallway.
Back in my present mind, I turned the tap on, lightly rinsing Aiden’s cup out before refilling it with water. Nos, finally awake and out of bed, headed for his bow. He would be on guard duty until it was time for Aiden’s nap.
The previous night’s battle was far busier than usual. It was rare, even for our group to be capable of making such a dent in the vampire community. Bronwyn had taken the lookout position, which meant she had had to hang up her shovel. That particular boarded up opening had been slightly split in the middle, where it allowed us to peer out. The blond bombshell could see the entire back parking lot and neighbouring, mostly abandoned houses from that location. Our building had the individual apartments, with a store beneath them. The dwellings were attached, two units to a column but parted by rows. This particular design feature created small lane-ways at the same level as our outback platform that rested below the window in the common room. The same makeshift balcony where I had killed the previous evening’s zombie. The six vampires had made it to the lane-way somehow, leaving Nos to shoot them from our bedroom window. We had boarded that specific window in such a way that nothing could get in or out, minus Nos’ arrows.
The previous night I had been stationed at the front window. This was not my usual post but Nos had a better shot from the bedroom window, it had made a good vantage point last night. It was unexpected for anything to come in the window. Not only was the opening very well sealed most of the time, but vampires were relatively rare and zombies could not climb all that easily let alone well. Apparently we now needed to revise the concept of “could not”. Our family meetings were generally during Aiden’s naps, we could discuss it then.
I could hear Nos opening the first layer of protection on the back window. Although without that innermost section it was a bitch for a vampire to get through, it was still possible. The removal revealed a hole just large enough for him to peer out of. These were highly intelligent creatures we were forced to deal with; They could enter most openings if not watched properly or sealed by a stone/brick/concrete wall. Unfortunately for humans, we need fresh air ventilation every once in an all the time. Every once in awhile we would waken Aiden in the middle of the “night” so he could go outside and see how beautiful the sun illuminated the world around us. We were protective parents, as you pretty well had to be in these times to confirm the survival of our race. Humans could no longer afford ignorance nor stupidity.
I could hear the unmistakable sound of an arrow in flight. This was a harmony I had grown very accustomed to. The monsters would detect both the grinding thud of the wooden peep hole followed by the vibration it made with Nos’ ammunition. This process was a warning to these creatures that what ever had opened the door was armed. I consciously spent the morning with my son but part of me would forever remain with Nos. He never needed to tell me the number of kills he got unless I was busy with the same gruesome task. I had had a subconscious ear out for the unmistakable sound of flying wood and feathers since the first time I heard it. I was a mere child of seven years old.
I came back from the world of death to concentrate on my daily duties; Namely raising my son. I may have been a seamstress, but I had a small talent for writing. I had made, and sewn many small children’s books while I was pregnant. Once my son was born I spent most of this time reading them with him. Children’s stories were not a very marketable talent. Most of the literature children were exposed to had been written or scribed by scientists and people working at the military bases. These writers worked in military bases all over the world. Or, rather as much of the world we had contact with. Not one member of our circle of friends really knew how far our war spread. War, that was how our government referred to the monster problem. It is a war on the undead.
Survival of your children was top priority, survival of self was second, take out as many of those fuckers as you could was third; then you could worry about breathing. This had been ingrained into as many of us as they could get a hold of. It was interesting to hear some of the theories from friends we had made along the way. Those specifically who were not influenced by any base personnel.
Four, I counted in the back of my mind, while showing Aiden a picture of a star. I was teaching him an old classic children’s song: “Twinkle, Twinkle little star.” He tried singing, in his adorably broken English. I sang with him, reassuring my body that there was no need to tense. It was useless, I was conditioned to react no matter how calm I told myself I was. I knew that not every arrow meant a threat, it was usually an animal Nos had killed in hopes of obtaining more meat. Our icebox was running low and four was a fairly high number so I hoped for the best. That was when I remembered I had yet to retrieve breakfast for my son.
“Remember love, we need to be quiet ok?” I smoothed his hair, caressed his cheek and tilted his chin so he could look at me. Smiling, he glanced at me briefly before being distracted by his trains once again. “I’ll be right back, what would you like to eat?”
“Sannich.” He decided, never shifting his attention from his toys. I turned and locked him in his room, pausing a few moments on the other side of his door so I could sure he was content. There were no discontent noises coming from his room, so I continued on my course.
The kitchen was beside the living room, so I had the chance to get details from Nos as I compiled Aiden’s sandwich.
“How many of those fou... five now dead things are trying to kill us?” I asked upon hearing a that last arrow mid sentence. I heard Bronwyn walking toward Aiden’s room, so I decided to prepare the largest meal of the day. I shovelled some coal into the stove to be able to cook our meal before the sun could set. Cooking sometimes attracted zombies, but by that point we usually had Nos at the window. With Bronwyn taking care of Aiden and me cooking, everything was taken care of.
“One... maybe.” Another arrow flew. “Nope, that was a noisy raccoon. Probably got bitten, and was a zombie, just not a humanoid zombie. Damn them! They take perfectly good meat, and spoil it before it even dies.” This was a usual Nos rant, so I just carried on as though he was not annoyed.
“At least they don’t bite us.” I heard Bronwyn groggily wander into the kitchen. “I’ll take care of Aiden as soon as I’ve had my tea.” This sentiment was also a daily ritual. “You can start on your sewing, make something nice for Nix, I need more tea.”
“She’s bringing some next month as it is. I am behind in her tea diffuser bags, so I think I will take you up on that offer. I have a feeling, however that I know what my birthday present will be.” I said with a wink. I finished up cutting the vegetables, throwing them in with the meat already boiling in the stove top stewing pot.
While that cooked, I finished making Aiden’s sandwich, or what mostly resembled a sandwich, with lettuce on each side, and meat and cheese in the middle. Bread was a luxury long forgone. There were still wheat seeds contained and hidden from the citizens in the event we could tend crops without them being spoiled by the decay. The odd plant or field could be found as well, although nowhere near us. Not to mention one person usually could not harvest enough grains to make anything significant. As a result, humans as a whole had little made from these resources. It was discovered long ago that grains were of little importance, so they could be eliminated entirely as long as the consumer was adding more fruit to their diet. We obtained our dairy products from the base whilst growing the fruit and vegetables grew in a small patch on our roof.
Bronwyn and I made it back to Aiden’s room, tea and sandwich in hand. There was a small table in the far corner of his room that had a cup ring already etched into it. It was as though the very wood its self were reminding her of how to properly stash her hot beverage, where it would obstruct Aiden from being scalded.
“Hi aunty Wyn.” Aiden called. “Hi, Hiii” he added to get her groggy attention. She glanced in his direction, meeting his gaze as he and he beamed up at her. They were truly the best of friends. I nodded in her direction. Bronwyn accepted this gesture as my leave.
“Be good for aunty Wyn while I’m sewing okay lovey?” I handed Aiden his sandwich on the wooden plate which he carefully placed on his own little table forthwith.
“Bye bye mama” Aiden graced me with a hug and a kiss before I locked the two of them in the room behind me. It was still emotionally challenging for me to leave Aiden in someone else’s care. The whom mattered not. I was so accustomed to spending every minute I had in his presence that it was almost more difficult for me to let go than it was for him. I paused once again in an attempt to detect any fussing before forcing myself to breathe and walk away. It was important to spend time away from my son. We could never grow as individuals otherwise.
Sitting down to sew Nix’s pouches was always relaxing. I was the kind of person who revelled in tedious work. This particular activity always gave me time to think. I could do so while letting my hands and foot create while on autopilot. This order called for three hundred pouches about the size of my palm, sewn on three of the four sides. I had small hands, so each copy took little to no time to complete. Checking my storage bins for pouches, I decided to count them. Calculating the forty-five pouches I had previously finalized, I reassured myself that there were enough squares cut to pin and sew the remaining amount. I was in the same room as Nos, but not willing to disturbing him while he was so focused on his work. With as many as I needed it was difficult to keep track.
Nodding to confirm an accurate assessment, I threaded my machine. As if on it’s own my foot began to rock. Allowing my mind to wander, I began memorializing my parents. They were a pretty common focus of my attention when I lost myself in work. This particular thought also kept me appreciating everything I loved about Nos. He had been with me my entire life; the only real constant. Nos was two months older than I was so he thought it was his duty to protect me. Even before I realized how much I loved him, I looked up to him.
From the age of four, Nos was convinced he was going to marry me. His parents tried explaining to him that marriage was outdated, as people could no longer afford the kind of parties that weddings used to entail. As a boy, he would simply shake his head, swearing up and down that he did not care for the monsters’ agenda, and that we would, in fact get married one day. I smirked at the memory, knowing he still believed firmly that he was right. It was almost as if every thing he killed was one more step toward his goal. I was not as stubborn, happily set with the knowledge that we would never be apart.
As teenagers, we began to discover what physical attraction entailed. Since we were trained well enough to sneak without producing too much in the way with noise, we would fall asleep in each others arms rather often. Our parents would usually reprimand us in the mornings, although I was sure I saw hidden smirks under their scorn. I always had this impression they wanted us to watch over each other our entire lives. I tried to stop my mind wandering before I got to what was the worst day of my life. Unfortunately it was too late for that. A tear rolled down my cheek. Once again, I mentally relived watching my mother getting shot by one fellow scientists.
I could not see very much of the room, the windows were set too high for me to see what was really happening. I vividly remembered the massive hole in the side of the building however, that and a billowing amount of smoke. I ran up to the door, trying to gain entrance only to be stopped by Nix.
Nix was our best friend. She was seventeen at the time, and old enough to be given the task of explaining the horrible accident to a couple of twelve year old children. I will never forget her words that day.
“Guys, I’m...” that was when the tears began “your parents... all of them... I’m so sorry.” We were so confused that we patted her on each shoulder while she cried. I began to tear up sympathetically, but was still in shock of what I saw happen to my mother, and wanted to know if she was okay. I just wanted to talk to my dad, and Nos’ parents. I just... then I got it.
“She’s dead isn’t she?” I asked. “He fucking killed her...”
I teared up, I tried to force the emotion away, to be strong. I tried, until Nix all but blurted out:
“They’re all gone...” or it would have been blurting, if not for the fact that she was barely audible. Raising her voice some, she repeated “I’m sorry, your parents, they’re all gone.”
“Wait... mine too?” Was the first word we heard from Nos. Nix nodded, and that was when I saw something I had never seen before, I had never seen since.
Nos was fast, the fastest twelve year old boy I had ever seen. It seemed the man in charge of my parents though so too, as the child pushed the up against the wall, knife to the much larger man’s throat.
“You were supposed to protect them.” Nos said, clearly, calmly, quietly, deadly. “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM!!!” He repeated with a roar, pushing the knife further to his neck.
“Nos... it isn’t his fault” Nix began, but it was a lost cause. He heard nothing but his own thoughts. There was only one thing that could pull him out of his rage.
“Nos.” I sobbed. “Killing him won’t bring our parents back, it will just add to the count.”
Nos dropped the weapon, put his head on the older man’s shoulder and cried.
Thinking back, I realized the man was just a kid himself. Probably only a couple years older than Nix. Nineteen, my mind provided for me. He was only nineteen. I tried to recall his name. This was the first time I ever had since that day.
“Draven.” I said out loud to no one.