Ven: Part 1

Ch. 20: Houses! As Far As The Eye Can See!

We all ride in silence.

Jacob is driving, he'd had a rocky start but got the hang of it quickly. I sit beside him in the front seat, Marney had leant herself against the back doors of the van. She'd been overly chipper in the morning which had been greeted with grunts and silence.

We're alone again, the bustle and movement of the town behind us.

I miss it.

I think we all did.

I yawn widely, the nightmares had kept me up most of the night.

The monster under my bed had been joined by another standing over me dripping black.

We drive onwards.

The silence begins to weigh on me.

I should say something.

Start a conversation.

Get us talking, get it all out there.

But how to start?

How blunt is too blunt to start it?

Yesterday was pretty messed up, raise your hand if you nearly died!

That's terrible.

So, who wants to talk about what happened yesterday?

What's there to talk about? I was there for all of it.

And what I really want to know I need to ask Jacob. I get the sneaking suspicion that Marney isn't going to tell me what really happened.

Maybe if I ask where we're going?

That could work.

"Any idea where we're headed next?" I ask them both.

"I remember seeing a lot of houses being built past the border near my home, but that was all the way on the other side of where we started," she clambers her way to the front of the van, "Right, Jacob?"

"Huh? Were you guys talking to me?" Jacob says with a start.

"Yeah, dude, we were," I frown at him, "and I'm sitting right next to you as well."

"Oh, okay," he nods dismissively and fixes his eyes back on the road ahead.

Marney and I stare at him.

I jerk my head at the back of the van and climb back with Marney.

We sit up against the back of the van.

"So, yeah, the only other part of the country I've seen had a lot of houses built in it," Marney continues.

"We aren't going to talk about what just happened?" I stare at her.

You don't want to talk about it either.

Yes, I do.

Why do I think these things out of nowhere?

"He lost his horse, he has every right to be sad," she says simply.

Was that a dig at you?

Was it?

"Was that a dig at me," I shoot at her, itching for a fight.

"No, not at all," she shakes her head quickly. "Why would it be?"

My eyes go wide and I stare at her.

I never said it to her.

I said it in my head.

"No reason," I say quickly. "Even so he could be less rude."

Smooth moves.

"You been talking about me behind my back?" She gives me a probing look.