Dawn of the Others

Chapter 4

As worried as I was about leaving some stranger all alone in a place I considered my own, I couldn't just tell her to get out either. I desperately had to get back home though, she had taken longer then I expected to wake up and if I didn't get back soon people would start to think I was dead. I headed down to the side of the road where I had stashed my bike and pulled it from the pile of leaves with ease, dusting it off and steering it back onto the road. It started with a jolt as I jumped on, sending me off down the empty streets and back to town. The ride was short, but still a nice break from the tornado of thoughts and worries that constantly occupied my brain.
I slowed as I neared my turnoff and Beckett opened the large gates to me as usual, allowing me to roll inside as I cut the loud engine. "You almost had me coming to find you!" He yelled down to me. I knew he meant it as a joke, just teasing me as usual, but his protective nature meant that he probably had been a little worried even if it was almost normal for me to disappear for a couple days.
"Bike wouldn't start and I didn't wanna leave it, so I had to fix it on the road." I lied easily, trying to ease him a little. I felt bad but that didn't mean I was gonna say anything about what I'd actually been up to. That would've earned me a lecture and a half and I definitely didn't need anyone else telling me what I should be doing. The only times I had ever seemed to make the wrong choices were when I was being pushed towards them.
Beckett rolled his eyes, mumbling something about the unreliability of my father's cheap, old bike as I rolled away. He had briefly known my father before he had left, though it was clear that he hadn't liked him from the first minute. My father had been a good man when he was actually there, funny and caring and a pretty decent parent when he wanted to be, but he had walked away so I guess none of that mattered now. I dismissed the thoughts of the past and my focus shifted on to the many questions my brother was going to ask and if I was going to lie to him too, just as easily as I had to Beckett. I reached the house all too quickly, still unsure of my excuses, and pulled my bike into the back shed before heading up the steps and inside. I barely had time to pull my arms out of my jacket before I heard teasing from the other room.
"Look who finally decided to come back." Chris called out dramatically. Unlike the unique name I had received from my father, Christopher had been named by our mother leading to the lawyer man name, as we liked to call it. It suited him though, with his broadening shoulders and dark shaggy hair, he was growing into the name well and was becoming quite the charmer. "Here I was thinking you might've forgotten about me." he pouted childishly.
I shook my head at him, deciding there was no point in lying, he had already proved over and over that he was mature enough for this world and if I couldn't tell him then who could I tell. "I know, I'm sorry, I really am. Things got a little... complicated a couple days ago." I sighed, coming into the living room to settle down on the couch with him for a minute.
He raised an eyebrow at me, "Go on." He probed.
I rubbed a hand down my tired face and tried to simplify everything that had happened over the last couple days. "Okay, I already know how stupid I am so please just try to listen." I began, earning a smirk from him as I went on. "I was out by the mill the other morning when you weren't home and when I was going through some of the houses I found a woman, she was real hurt but still alive so I took her back to the cabin..." My brother groaned, already disagreeing with my choices. "I couldn't just leave her to die." I defended. "She's there now and I fixed her up the best I could but it took her awhile to wake up so I couldn't come back till now. I'm going to head back and take her where she needs to go as soon as she's good enough to leave, I swear."
Chris sat there for a while, taking in all that I had said. "Just be careful please." He conceded with a sigh and a simple shake of his head, "You're such a simp." He chuckled.
"I am not!" I defended. "Well, not in this case." I added upon second thought. Even though Riley was beautiful and we seemed to have some sort of spark, at least in my opinion, I was still doing my best to keep looking at things rationally and I planned to get rid of her as soon as I possibly could.
"What's she like?" He asked with interest, waiting patiently for me to give him details.
I jokingly gave him a little shove but conceded nonetheless. "I don't know much but she doesn't seem crazy or anything. She's quiet so far but she only just woke up today and the last thing she probably remembers is being beaten. She seems like she can take care of herself and I think she came from a community of her own somewhere." He listened intently as I spoke. "Oh and her names Riley." I added. "You tell me about your nightly adventures now." I said pointedly.
He rolled his eyes at my lack of detail but still began talking nonetheless, "Don't worry, we didn't get into too much trouble. We just headed over to the old lake house and spent the night hanging out talking and the morning fishing."
I nodded, glad that things had gone smoothly for him and his friends. The lake house was beautiful but rather hard to get to, the hike in taking at least a few hours on a good day and deterring most everybody else. The fishing there was great though, way better than the smaller lake down the road that most people used. "Catch anything?" I asked.
He nodded excitedly, a smile growing across his still boyish face. "Ya, a couple bigger ones and like five average ones... I got one of the big ones." He grinned proudly.
His smile was contagious and I bumped shoulders with him before standing, "That's great Chris, I'm glad you guys were okay and had a good time." I commented, "I'm gonna go get some stuff and then head back to the cabin. Are you good here?"
He frowned a little, "I wanna meet your new friend though." He complained.
I shook my head before he could even finish, "Listen I'm sorry but there's no way that's gonna happen. I don't know or trust her enough to let anyone near her, hurt or not." I explained.
He pouted yet again but knew I was right, "Fine, but you're bringing me next time." He demanded.
I waved him off as I headed towards the door, grabbing my bag before turning to the stairs, "Ya, whatever." I dismissed as I went, hoping that I had Riley returned to wherever she came from before I saw him again, there was no way he'd forget about his request if not. He was even more stubborn than me.
I climbed the stairs easily and made it to the room in a few strides, pushing open the door and heading for the closet first. I grabbed a few things from the closet without much thought; some sweats, a warm sweater and some fresh socks and underwear. I had always meant to leave extra supplies at the cabin and there was already some there, but definitely not enough now that there was another person to take care of for at least the next few days. I shoved all the clothes into my backpack and moved on to the bathroom, tossing in a stick of deodorant and a spare toothbrush before walking back out. With a quick glance around and nothing more coming to mind, I moved back towards the stairs and down to the kitchen.
"Are you up to anything the next couple days." I called to Chris as I walked past the living room where he still sat, now looking at the outdoor magazine that had been left on the side table.
"Nah, not much." He responded, "Most of the guys are busy so I might just head over and see if Taylor needs any help."
I stopped looking through the cupboards for a minute to stick my head out at him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Is it really Taylor that you'd be helping?" I teased, causing his cheeks to grow red. Taylor was the lovely, middle aged lady that tended to most of the large garden plot built near the front gates. She was part of the reason that we were able to get through the three to four month winter when growing wasn't possible. I didn't doubt that he was going to help Taylor and she'd definitely need it during this time of year, I just didn't think that was the only reason and his blushing cheeks confirmed it for me. He had always had a thing for Taylor's daughter, who was only about a year older than him.
"Whatever." He mumbled, ducking his head and turning back to the magazine. I laughed quietly to myself as I chose a handful of cans to stick in my bag, a few cans of spaghetti, some stew and a can missing part of the label but seeming to contain some sort of fruit. It was nice that he found someone he liked and of all the people in this town Taylor and her daughter, Marlowe, were people that I didn't mind spending time with. They were kind and Taylor had spent years working in the city as a doctor before returning here when Marlowe was young, wanting to raise her in a quieter, more caring place. They were both extremely open minded and never seemed to have a problem with me, unlike most of the other town folk.
I zipped up the backpack with a smile on my face and started for the door. "Hopefully I won't be too long but I dunno." I told him with a shrug as I walked to the door. "Stay outta trouble while I'm gone." I said authoritatively, with a point of my finger.
He rolled his eyes and dismissed me with a wave of his hand over the side of the couch. "I always am." He replied, matter of factly.
"Ya, right." I muttered to myself as I opened the door and headed back out to the shed, pulling the backpack over both shoulders and zipping my jacked as I walked. Hopefully, Riley was okay alone for the last half hour, I thought.