Hope in Ruins Book I: The Burning of West Six

Chapter 9: Bad Dreams and the White Mountain

BEN

It had been a good morning. Cassandra had managed to spill half the milk, fall off her stool, and get hit repeatedly in the face by Celia's tail. Much to Ben's satisfaction, Celia had decided to leave a nice warm pile behind her and flick some of her offerings onto Cassandra, who gagged easily. By the end of it, Cassandra was covered in dirt and splattered with warm milk and manure. Success.

A bit before noon, Peter returned while Cassandra was washing up in the house from morning chores with Ben. Peter handed Ben a new lock for the broken window with a smile, and then he and Cassandra disappeared into the barn. Ben watched the barn from the kitchen window, waiting to see if Peter and Cassandra slinked away somewhere. Nothing.

He waited a few minutes more and then slipped outside, determined to find out what they were up to.

Ben paused at the barn door, listening. Nothing.

He waited, holding his breath, trying to hear. The barn was quiet, and all he could hear was the sound of Celia rustling hay. Carefully, he opened the large door with his free hand, letting in the warm and the bright and the light, and limped inside. Dust motes floated in the sunshine.

He blinked in surprise. The barn was empty.

Celia looked at him and swished her tail. Ben walked in circles around the barn, absently pushing at hay with his crutch, wondering where they were. He fumed at himself for losing them again. He had no idea how they had managed to get out of the barn without his seeing. Secrets, with her hand over her mouth, stood in the corner just out of sight, stifling a laugh, but Ben heard her.

Frustrated, Ben spent the rest of the day going over their meager budget, fixing the broken window, and absently searching for the vanished Peter and Cassandra.

*

Ben dropped a pile of dripping vegetables on the counter. Anda and Mica weren't back yet, and he was hungry and angry. It wasn't his turn, but he would start supper anyway. He pulled a knife out of the drawer and began chopping a carrot. Behind him, a door opened and closed. He turned and found Anda standing with her back to the closed door, watching him.

"Hey. Get a pot going for the potatoes," Ben said and scraped a pile of carrots into a bowl.

Anda did not move.

Ben paused his chopping and looked over his shoulder at her. Her white hair seemed brighter against the dark wood of the door, and her eyes were wide.

"I have to talk to you," she said.

"Sure."

"It's... important."

"Okay." Ben put the knife down and turned to face her, leaning back against the counter for extra support. Fear bubbled in Ben's stomach. Anda never wanted to talk, so whatever it was must be important. He hoped it was about that family of deer she was trying to befriend, but he knew it wouldn't be anything that easy. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She rubbed her right palm with her thumb. "I... had a bad dream last night."

"What was it?" Ben asked when she didn't say anything else.

"I dreamed... I dreamed...." she said slowly. Then her words tumbled out all at once. "It's been the same dream, over and over again. I have it almost every night. And now it's getting worse, and I don't know what to do," she said, exasperated, looking down at her hands.

"What's this dream?"

Anda looked up at him, her eyes wide and white and gray. "Something... terrible is going to happen, and I can't stop it."