The Bird and the Garden 2: Restart!

Chapter 38: Sasha, Part One

"Cover 'em."

The children obeyed, but Sasha didn't press down hard like her brother. She wanted to know what had startled her parents.

And then she heard them. Gunshots from the neighbor's home, just a few houses down where the strangers had entered. Nikita jumped where he sat, and Sasha froze up. Their mother was peeking out the window, and stood there for well over an hour before she let out a sigh of relief.

"They're gone..." She whispered. Their father mumbled something under his breath, and Sasha could have sworn it was a prayer. He sat down on the floor, his head in his hands. Nikita looked terrified, but Sasha was practically hopping up and down.

"What happened, what happened?" She asked. The sound had gotten her excitement up. She didn't understand what just happened.

"Sasha!" Her father shouted. The little girl stopped, pausing for a moment. And finally, she sat back down with Nikita, staring at her father curiously.

And the next day, when Sasha woke up to tend to the crops, she didn't see the Copper family. They had a daughter, one of Sasha's friends and the same age as her. But she never came outside. And whenever Sasha tried to visit, Nikita would quickly lead her away, always telling her they were sleeping.

What Sasha realized as she got older, was that day when she saw the strange people who entered her nieghbor's home, murdered the family who lived there.

...

"Come on, Nikita!" Sasha shouted.

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." He called back. Nikita was lagging behind, struggling to carry the jar of water they had collected from the river, panting heavily. Sasha rolled her eyes. She had one jar tucked securely under each arm, while Nikita only had one, and was struggling to lift it. "I'm carrying more than you!" She pointed out.

"You're also almost a hundred and seventy centimeters! And you weigh a hundred and sixty pounds!"

"You calling me fat, Nikita!?"

"No, just very, very muscly!"

Sasha was ten, and Nikita had just turned eleven. In the beginning of a growth spurt, she had rocketed past him in height, already standing a eleven inches taller. Her muscles were becoming more defined throughout the years she spent helping her father on the farm, sweat rolling down her forehead as the hot desert sun beat down on them. Nikita finally reached her, setting the jug down. A bit of water splashed onto the sand, sizzling dry in a matter of seconds. "Be careful," Sasha warned. "We need everything we can get."

She loaded the jugs to her camel, climbing on top with ease. Nikita hunched over to catch his breath, coughing lightly before struggling to get the jug on his own camel's back. Sasha rolled her eyes, hopping down and helping him out. Nikita flashed her a tired grin. "Thanks, Sasha..."

The unnaturally tall girl just laughed. "You really need to exercise! Drink some water! Lift heavy stuff!"

"You lift too much heavy stuff," Nikita joked as he climbed on his camel. Sasha chuckled as she returned to hers, giving him a small smile before they began the two hour journey home. The sun was relentless, and Sasha even tied her hair into a pony tail, rather than letting it fall down her shoulders like usual. Nikita frowned.

"You made a mess of your hair..."

"I don't have a mirror," Sasha replied cheerfully. Nikita sighed, stopping his camel. Sasha followed his lead, hunkering down to her knees as her brother pulled out her hair tie, fixing what she messed up.