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Theresa ran toward her, her eyes round in fear.
“Are you and Grace alright?”
“Yes. Just a bit scared. What happened?”
“I heard some guys talking and they said there was an explosion down at the base.”
Elena’s hands flew to her face. “Oh no.” Her heart fluttered and her stomach tightened.
Theresa nodded. “They can’t find Ramsay.”
Craig entered the center of their community and started barking out orders.
“Brenner, go find Ramsay. I told you little shits to stop using explosives down there.”
Craig turned and ordered everyone else to their cabins. “Go to bed. Everyone.” Then his eyes landed on her. “Elena, you have a busy day tomorrow. Get some rest.”
She patted Theresa on the shoulder. “Go on so you don’t get in trouble. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Theresa moved toward her cabin off to the right of Elena’s. Elena turned and silently entered the cabin, dropping the lock in place.
After she hung her coat on the hook, she turned to see her mom sitting up in bed, waiting for news.
“It seems some of the boys were using explosives down by the base. They’re looking for Ramsay.”
“Oh dear. All this antagonism is going to start a war. We barely slipped away from one last fall. The townspeople aren’t going to tolerate all of this nonsense for long.”
“I know, Mama.”
Elena poured some water into the pot over the fire. She dropped rosehips inside to steep then pulled a chair away from the table and sat down. She fought the urge to go and see what happened. What if Aidyn had been hurt? She knew he was a target. Most of the folks up here blamed him for Everett’s death. And Craig liked to use it as a way to incite violence when it was convenient. Secretly, Craig had coveted his father’s position for a long time and made no bones about wanting things to change. He thought his father had gone too soft and let the new mayor cut them out of earnings they could make with the purpose of eventually disbanding them and making them live by townie rules and laws. Craig had no intention of following their laws. Ever.
The water came to a boil and Elena pulled her cup from the counter. Glancing at her mom, who still sat upright in bed, she shook her head. “I can’t sleep now. See if you can, Mama.”
Her mom scooted down and laid her head on her pillow once more and Elena poured some tea into her cup and sat once again. She’d give them about an hour or so to settle down outside, then she was going to sneak down and check the basket for a note from Aidyn, and then see if things were alright at the base. She’d be busy tomorrow beginning a new batch of elixir so she’d be busy for the next few days.
Voices grew louder outside and she went to the window and lifted a corner of the fabric slightly to see if she could see anything. She saw Brenner and Ramsay walk into the center court. Craig hit Ramsey in the face, causing him to fall back into Brenner.
Ramsay put his hands up to stave off anything more, but Craig got into his face and sternly said something, though she couldn’t hear what. Craig stalked off toward his cabin and Brenner and Ramsay skulked off to theirs.
She briefly wondered why Kent wasn’t involved, but she had seen him and Craig talking a couple of times recently and suspected Craig had Kent working on some secret project that was no doubt going to cause trouble below.
Dropping the fabric, she sat heavily and stared into the fire. All this hate and violence made her stomach twist. What would finally be the end of it all?
As she finished her second cup of tea, she quietly pulled her jacket from its hook, pulled on the old, ripped gloves she wore, and grabbed her sack from beside the fireplace before silently slipping out of the cabin.
She quickly stepped around the side of her cabin, then slipped down the mountain from behind. Moving slowly until her eyes further adjusted to the darkness, she followed her usual path, so noise was minimal. As soon as she dropped down far enough to be seen from above, she adjusted her direction slightly toward her basket. Her senses were keen as she moved stealthily through the familiar woods. She’d been slipping out for years. This was her favorite time to explore the mountain. It had started when she began foraging, but over the years, she found a love of the quiet. No hatred. No disruption as the earth slept for a couple of hours before the sun appeared in the sky and changed the landscape from dark to light.
Easily creeping through the trees, she found her tree, the one where her basket hopefully had been replaced. The air in her lungs seized until they burned and she dragged in a breath. What if he didn’t respond? Of course, he didn’t owe her anything. But she found such happiness in conversing with him. Squaring her shoulders, she inched forward and lifted the vines. Her heart pranced in her chest when she saw her basket. He’d brought it back!
Her body shook with anticipation as she neared it. Lifting the handle, she felt some weight in it and her excitement grew again.
She scrambled to her path, then changed her course and found the little patch of mandrake she’d been growing and nurturing. Snapping some of the leaves and putting them into her basket, she added a few more fresh plants she’d use in her brew today. If she was questioned, she’d say she couldn’t sleep and wanted to get ahead of the brewing for the day.
She continued up the mountain, finally arriving at her cabin. Slipping inside, she set her basket on the counter and took her jacket off. The first rays of the sun peered over the mountain, but her excitement wouldn’t let her wait any longer. She filled her cup once again with tea, checked that her mom was still sleeping then brought her little basket to the table. She scooped the plants off the top, then lifted the material to see two cookies like the ones she’d seen in Lara’s bakery the couple of times she’d looked inside. She stared at them for a long time. They were the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. Light-blue frosting topped with white frosted swirls graced the cookie. It looked like fancy lace. Like she’d seen in books.
She opened the cellophane as quietly as she could and bit the very end of the cookie. It was sweet and a cross between chewy and crispy. It was delectable and the best thing she’d ever eaten in her life. The closest thing she had up here for a sweet treat was when they had some leftover sugar from brewing and they browned it, then put it in a pan and let it cool. Their own homemade suckers. Sometimes they’d flavor it with herbs for something different.
She took another bite of her cookie and closed her eyes as she ate it.
