Revenant

Violation (3.3)

"I..." I closed my eyes, trying to remember, and when I did, I burst into tears. "I dreamed about what he did... but it was worse... Everyone was turned... They were standing around us, like a wall. Everyone was turned, except you. You couldn't get through... you saw him do it, and couldn't do anything." I sat up, sobbing.

He threw his arms around me and pulled me into him. "It is okay. It was just a dream."

"How could someone do that?" My words were muffled by Johnathan's shirt.

"I don't know. But the main thing is, he can't do that to anybody ever again. He is gone, Willow. You don't need to worry."

We sat there for a while, in the quiet. It must have been quite early in the morning, as the sun wasn't up yet, and everyone was asleep already. Before long, we were laying down together again, letting the silence lull us to sleep again.

This time, I didn't dream at all. Not that I can remember, anyway. Sleep was wonderful.

The next morning I woke to see Johnathan staring at me intently. "Good morning, Willow. How'd you sleep that time?" His voice was soft, but filled with concern.

I yawned, and stretched before I spoke. "I slept alright. I don't remember dreaming about anything." I felt myself shaking- residual negative energies from the day before. "Thanks for staying with me all night."

"Of course, Will." His smile was warm, and sincere.

All day, I had to deal with everybody staring at me, as if I had grown a second head over night. I could hear most of them whispering. "What do you think happened?"

"I think she killed Collin, because she felt threatened by how skilled he is."

"Maybe she forced herself on him, I mean, did you see how she was dressed before she went down there? And when he refused, she screamed, and made it look like he was hurting her."

"Maybe she and Johnathan are sleeping together, and when he caught them, he did it."

I wanted to scream at all of them, and tell them what really happened. But I couldn't. Just thinking about it, made me tear up, and want curl up in that bed again. But I have to be strong. We're officially five people down, and these people can't survive without me.

Instead of speaking up, I just glared back at anybody who dared look my way, or utter my name. No matter how much I wanted to just kill the lot of them for their ridiculous accusations, I couldn't. It goes against the rules we made in the beginning.

I made my way to the barn, and opened the door just wide enough to slip through undetected. I wanted to be alone. Once inside, I was greeted with the aroma of old straw, and the faint scent of manure. After spending two weeks in the shelter of these four walls, it was almost comforting. Taking my time, I walked over to my corner. Scanning the area I was so used to, I found a backpack lying in the hay I used as a bed for so many nights before. That is Collin's back pack. I had half a mind to just throw it all into the fire pit outside. But then, I heard it- a crackling noise inside the bag.

Hurriedly, I opened the bag, and lying on top of all sorts of things, was a cell phone, with a sticker on it with the words: satellite phone. How much more obvious could it be? Why would anybody have a cell phone kicking around now? The towers went down a month into this hell.

I picked up the phone and went through to check the last number dialled, and the last number that called. They were the same. The name that came up beside the number was "General White".

I placed the phone back in the backpack and then closed it up. I need to get this back to the group, and see what Jerry thinks. I slung the backpack over my shoulder, and ran to the barn door, barely taking the time to push it open before running through. As I made a steady pace for the house, one of older children of the group called to me, but I didn't have the time. "No time to talk, kid, I have to speak to Jerry!" I called out, not taking notice as to which child it had been.