Farryn

Chapter 1- Part 3

Farryn woke with a start, her chest heaving. It took her a moment to remember where she was. It was raining- not too hard, but still raining- and she pulled herself out from between all the sacks.

She untied her apron and pulled it over her head to protect herself from the rain, and checked to make sure her money and newspaper were still intact. Everything was where she left it, so she sat up, looking around.

It was already dark, and the clouds on the horizon made it even darker. How long have I been asleep? She propped herself up so she could see the driver.

"Do your passengers not get shelter?" The rain was picking up and her apron wasn't going to do much if it got torrential. The man simply laughed. He had a small roof built into the cart protecting him so of course he didn't care.

"That's extra, Missy."

"I'm already paying you extra!"

"We're almost to the station. 'Bout an hour or two more." He reached behind him suddenly, and pulled a folded tarp out from underneath his seat. "Put these over the sacks, would you?"

Farryn grumbled to herself as she struggled to spread the tarp, nearly tumbling right out of the cart a few times. The rain was growing heavier and she had to keep wiping cold rain water off her face. Still, she would be there soon. It would be fine.

The rain only worsened, and Farryn bundled underneath the tarp as lightning cracked the sky in half. After a while, she felt the cart suddenly stop.

"What's happening?"

The driver was hopping down from his seat and coming round to the back of the cart. "The damned wheel is stuck," he hissed. He bent over and grabbed the wheel on the right, and he yanked it as hard as he could. That didn't do much, though. The road was a mess of mud and the wheel was slick. It slipped from his hand and he slid backwards. Farryn would have laughed if she wasn't so panicked.

"Wait, let me help." She said, climbing down into the ankle-deep rainwater, and tried to tug at the wheel too. But it stuck fast. The mud sucked at it every time it moved, pulling it in more.

There was no one else on the road. They were all alone.

The driver stood from where he had fallen and brushed himself off, grumbling. Farryn watched him make his way to the front of the cart where he unhitched the donkey and took his bag.

"What are you doing!?" She yelled, over the roaring of the wind. He wasn't going to leave her here, was he? "Stop! Where are you going!?"

"Into town!" he yelled back. The donkey brayed, and he pulled it close to him. "We just passed a small village and I've got a few friends there. I'll send someone to fix this up..." Lightning streaked the dark sky again, and he nodded at Farryn. "I advise you find somewhere to stay for the night."

Farryn stood there, trembling with indignation, and shivering from the cold. She couldn't just go to town. "How long is it on foot?" 

"What?"

"To the station. How long is it on foot?"

He blinked at her, like she was joking. "That's a stupid plan." 

"How long!?"

 "You'll get yourself killed!"

She stared at him, stubborn. "Stupid plan. It's 3 hours. Just come to the village."

"No." She snapped. She fixed her apron over her head, hitched her skirts up, and started walking towards him. "Here's the rest of your Passes."

"Keep them!" he grunted. "I don't wanna rob a dead lass."