The Early Years of Martha Johnson (Special/4th book of the Almaire Series)

Chapter 4- Two Years Later

Two years went by, and nothing interesting happened to the Johnson family, and Martha slowly but surely started to grow into a smart, little girl. She was active and very smart, even though she hadn't said a word or started to want to learn how to talk.

However, that hadn't stopped the little girl from starting to communicate in other ways, including sign language, which she had picked up on quickly, much to her parents' amazement and also relief.

And much to her parents' gratefulness and relief, her siblings learned sign language too so that they would be able to communicate with her, or at least know what Martha wanted when she was with them and wasn't near her parents.

Her main protector became her oldest brother, John, much to her parents' relief, and they weren't even shocked. She turned to him when she needed something, even though her parents never made him her "other parent" because that responsibility was laid on their shoulders as her parents.

John would watch her back and make sure that she stayed safe while she learned about the world around her. He would play with her and teach her things, trying to get her to talk, even though she never did, but he didn't care and would continue to try and get her to talk or just talk to her about anything and everything with her listening intently.

He would make her feel needed and wanted, something that her parents did as well, and she never felt unwanted or unloved, growing up with strong family ties.

So when she started to climb or do whatever an older child would do, because Halftons were built differently than normal humans, her brother was there to make sure that she stayed safe and let her do what she wanted within reason.

"Careful, Martha," the now six-year-old, John, said while she climbed up a tree without a care in the world. His brows were furrowed, and his lips were pressed into a thin line while he watched her from the ground. "Don't go too high. You know that Mama doesn't like it when you do."

Martha didn't say a word and rolled her eyes. She grabbed another branch and climbed up that branch and started to reach for another branch. She wanted to go high, high into the tree or into the clouds, not caring what her brother or mother wanted.

Be careful...

It was challenging for Martha to do this, but she still climbed the tree with her brother following her on the ground.

"I'm serious, Martha," John said with a soft scowl on his face. He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest while he watched her climb, moving around the tree to keep her in his sights. "Be careful. Is that understood?"

Martha grunted and nodded while she looked at where she was going. She climbed up another branch before she looked toward the ground and her brother, unafraid. She grinned and waved at her brother, clutching the branch she was on with a tight grip with her other hand.

"Martha," her brother said with a small smile on his face before he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Would you go ahead and grab the other branch with your other hand? I don't want you to lose your grip on the tree because you want to wave at me and then fall and hurt yourself. That would be really bad."

She rolled her eyes and nodded before she did what she was told to do and grabbed the branch with her hand.

"Atta girl," John said with a small chuckle in his voice, and she looked at him again with a grin on her face. He cocked his head and studied her, raising an eyebrow in question. "Are you going to come down, now?"

Martha shook her head and started to reach for another branch, wanting to go higher.

John bit back an annoyed sigh and moved around the tree some more before he shook his head and let out another annoyed sigh. He didn't say a word while he continued to watch her climb, praying that she would be safe.

Unbeknownst to them, someone, or something, had worked on one of the branches of the tree to make it break if the little girl stepped on it and to have her come crashing down to the ground. It had done this to a few branches, but for some reason, she had been able to miss every single one, much to the annoyance of the creature.

However, her luck ran out when she stepped on one of the branches that this creature cut, and it broke as soon as she stepped on it.

Crack! went the branch with Martha tumbling down after it, flailing around with her heart skipping a beat before it started to pound faster in her chest as it jumped into her throat.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

"Martha!" John exclaimed with shock and fear when he saw his little sister fall from the tree and not be able to catch herself on any of the other branches on her way down. His heart fell into the pit of his stomach, while he watched her fall and ran toward the tree in hopes of catching her before she hit the ground and hurt herself further.

And thankfully, he was able to catch her before she hit the ground with a small "oomph," kneeling to the ground because of her weight and the speed that she fell. "Got ya," he said, biting back a small sigh of relief while he held her closer to his chest, closing his eyes a little before he opened his eyes again while he looked at her. "Are you ok?"

He looked around the area when she didn't answer him, the worry in the pit of his stomach growing larger with each passing second they were out in the open, knowing full well what his father told him was true.

His sister was in danger, and there was nothing he could do to stop it...

Martha blinked and blinked again, clutching her brother's shirt, her heart pounding hard in her chest, shaking with fear and shock. She didn't say a word but made a small whining sound, silently indicating that she was hurt somewhere but was also scared, and John instantly looked at her with furrowed brows.

"Where are you hurt, Martha?" John asked, furrowing his brows while he shifted her a little so that he could look at her and see where she was hurt, hating the small whine that came from her, silently indicating that she was hurt.

He bit back a small gasp when he saw that her leg was crooked and instantly knew that it was broken, and dread and fear settled into the pit of his stomach. "Oh, no," he said, his voice barely above a whisper and shook his head. He shifted and cleared his throat while he looked around before he looked at her again. "This is bad, Martha, and I mean, this is really, really bad..."

He sighed and shook his head while he stood, offering her a grim smile with sad brown eyes. "And I do not know what to do."