Water

Part 2

By the time the sun began to rise, she was barely moving. The muscles in her legs had seized up and her back ached abominably. She was as close to exhausted as she could remember being, and, worse than that, was the knowledge that even when she reached the bottom, she wouldn't be able to stop for long.

It surprised her how quickly things had turned bad. It didn't seem possible that she could need water so suddenly. Then she thought about how she had been sipping to conserve water for the last few days and tried to remember when she'd last been able to drink her fill.

Her throat itched, her mouth was dry. It was fucking ridiculous. She wasn't going to just lay down and die. She forced herself to keep moving and as the sun rose she saw her first miracle of the day.

The building was larger than any house she'd lived in; there were windows and a chimney with smoke coming out of it. She couldn't imagine why anyone would light a fire in this weather, but the sight of it comforted her.

She slowed down so that she could get a better look. Leaning against a tree to catch her breath she saw a fence that extended as far as she could see from left to right. The land beyond it was grass which had recently been cut. She could hear sheep baaing in the distance.

Was it possible that she had found people again? How long had it been since she'd seen so much as a wanderer, let alone a settlement? She didn't like to think it, but in the last few years there had been fewer people around as more of them died from disease, injury or... lack of water.

She lowered herself to the ground in a position that allowed her to see the cottage easily. Already, she was beginning to think of it as a farm and her mind filled with all the things that could mean; fresh meat, vegetables, water, safety. It was too much to hope for, but the thought was there now and she couldn't put it away.

Who lives there? Are they people I can trust? There were so many questions to answer and she had only herself to confer with. Of course, her options were limited, even if she didn't like the look of them she had to do something.

The morning wore on and she was soon sweating, even as she crouched motionless beside the tree. It was, she estimated, almost mid-day by the time the first person walked towards the cottage.

He was a big man, his shoulders were hunched and his dark hair hung limply across his back. From a distance he gave the impression that he was young. Although he had done nothing to make her distrust him, he was still a man, and Trevor had taught her a long time ago that they could not be trusted.

How much easier it would have been, she thought, to have seen a woman first? Better yet, seeing as she was daydreaming, evidence that it was only women living there. A part of her knew that even that wouldn't gurantee safety, but it would be easier to make herself do what she must.

The muscles in her legs were tight and uncomfortable as she stood up, leaning against the tree for support. She still had the option to walk away without revealing herself, but of course she wouldn't do so. The only reason to delay now was fear, and that was unlikely to abate of its own accord. She took a deep breath, tried to make herself feel courageous, and walked the last few hundred metres to the fence.

As she approached the cottage another man appeared from over the hill. He was so similar in appearance to the first that, for a moment, she wondered if it could be the same person. If he was startled by her appearance, he didn't show it. He raised a hand and waved to her.

Louise waved back and came to a stop on the other side of the fence. Now that she was closer, she could see that the man was in his mid-twenties, and muscled from hard labour.

'Hello there,' the man said. The smile that crossed his face looked forced, but she tried to tell herself that this situation was as strange for him as it was for her. It couldn't have been common for strange women to walk out of the forest towards his farm.

'Hi,' she said.

The man rubbed the back of his neck. Searching for words to say, she thought.

'I was wondering if you have some water to spare?' she said.

The man frowned. She should have said something else, something light hearted and friendly. He was the first person she'd spoken to in months.

'My name's Louise,' she said.

'Shawn,' he said.

'It's nice to meet you Shawn,' she said. But was it? She was uncomfortably aware that she was a woman and that so far she had ony seen Shawn and another man in the farm. No one would come to help her if she got into trouble here.

'Where are my manners?' Shawn said, shaking his head. 'Come in, gate's along here.'

He started walking along the fence and Louise matched him step for step. Regardless of her nagging intuition, it seemed, her body was willing to do this to get the water it needed to stay alive.

Shawn unocked the gate for her and held it open. She stepped through, thinking that the lock was pointless considering the fence was only a few feet high. Anyone with the slightest interest in doing so could have climbed over easily. She smiled and thanked him.

'Shawn?' called another voice from the direction of the hill. Another man came towards them. He was a little older, but bore the same long dark hair and heavy build of the other men she had seen.

'What do you want Bradley?' Shawn said. There was animosity in his tone, Louise wondered if there had been a recent argument, or if this was how they always spoke to one another. Neither would have surprised her.

Bradley ignored Shawn and held his hand out to Louise. 'And you are?'

'Louise,' she said. She didn't want to shake his hand, but recognised that she was in a dangerous position. Three men, all of them bigger than her, they could do anything and she wouldn't be able to stop them. She reached out and took his hand, if he noticed her reluctance, he didn't seem to care.

'Well, Louise, it's a pleasure to meet you. Are you alone?'

Tell him no, she thought, but her traitor body was already nodding. Bradley licked his lips and she forced herself not to look away.

'And what brings you to our little farm?'

How many more of them were inside the cottage? Could she outrun them? Even if she'd been well rested and not dying of thirst, she doubted it. She shook her head and tried to get a grip on herself. Neither of them had done or said anything to justify her worry. She was jumping to conclusions. 'I need some water,' she said.

Bradley nodded and turned to Shawn. 'Go and get Marlon,' he said.

Shawn turned and walked away without a backwards glance. As ridiculous as it seemed, Louise found herself wishing that he hadn't gone. She didn't want to be alone with Bradley.

'Walk with me,' Bradley said.

Louise hessitated. 'Do you have water?'

'We have a well. It's fresh, clean and cold.' He started walking and, after a moment, Louise followed him. He led her slowly towards the cottage.

'Is it just the three of you living here?' she said, failing to sound as casual as she would have liked.

'And the girls,' Bradley said.

'The girls?'

'Mmm-hmm, our sister Sandra and a few of her friends.'

His sister! Louise sighed with relief. It was no guarantee, of course, but she thought that if their sister was here then they couldn't be as bad as she feared.

'Would you like to meet her?' he said.

'Oh, I don't know. I don't want to impose. Just the water will be fine.'

They rounded the side of the building and she saw thatit was much bigger than she'd previously thought. Shawn and the other man,Marlon were standing there waiting. Suddenly she knew that there was no sister,it was all a lie.