The Untouchables

Chapter Nineteen: Luke

We all fell into a steady rhythm for the next month. We'd all wake up, and Lynn would disappear for an hour or so to train, then come back and we'd continue the day. I'd get an assignment every so often, but that was the only deterrent from our days, or making the occasional trip to town.

I'd see Wylda every once and a while as I would be hunting, but amidst all of that, Lynn and I seemed to be drifting apart every so slightly. Not much, but either I'd go hunting and she'd watch the kids in my place, or she'd go train by herself, or sneak into the houses of the town, out of the way of cameras and Rangers, leaving me with the kids instead.

Honestly, all of that would've been fine.

Except for the rain.

The.

Nonstop.

Rain.

Every single day, rain poured from the sky for almost a solid month. The gallons and gallons of water that fell from the sky formed large puddles on the ground where the grass wasn't growing.

Every day, our stuff got more and more soaked. I'm glad that we made the tents when we did, because a short, few days after, the relentless downpour started. At least we didn't have to worry about the kids being soaked while they slept, I only had to get Lynn and I tarps to cover the gaps in the roots we were sleeping under. We also covered the tarps with pine needles and leaves to disguise them better.

But even despite all of that, Lynn went to train every morning. I admired her dedication to improve her skills.

Even the kids seemed to grow closer to each other, even though they couldn't spend too much time outside of their tents without getting immediately soaked. They haven't complained very much, which I was thankful for. I could tell they certainly wanted to, but I think they knew that Lynn nor I could change anything about that.

~~~

"Sage!" The kids yelled. "We're bored!"

Well, so much for that.

I wiped my sopping wet bangs out of my face, tired of the wet strands sticking to my forehead. Lynn hadn't come back from her morning training yet, and she wanted to forage and hunt to gather more food during the absolutely torrential rain we've been having, and probably wouldn't be back until this afternoon. She's the one that usually takes care of this sort of thing.

"We're wet!"

"We're hungry!"

"Our clothes are dirty!"

"I don't like the rain!"

"I'm so wet!"

"I'm so hungry!"

"I don't wanna sleep on the ground!"

"Yeah! The ground's wet!"

"And dirty!"

"I want my Mommy!"

"I want my Daddy!"

"Mommy!"

"Daddy!"

They kept on moaning and moaning about everything that was wrong.

And truly, I couldn't blame them. Everything has been terrible for weeks. Soaking wet and miserable. It's a lot for anyone, especially kids.

I rubbed my face with my hands as the kids cried in front of me. They whined and wailed for longer than I thought was possible for little children.

I couldn't take it.

They started pulling on my sleeves, trying to get my attention, just as I pressed my hands over my ears.

I didn't want to engage with them, but I completely understood what they were feeling. I just didn't know what to tell them, and I didn't want to tell them the rain would stop soon, or everything was going to be fine, because I didn't know for sure.