All The Dark Places

39. Darkness Falls

        A plume of smoke swirled black into the sky, and Arnav and Rosalind rode faster on the horses that Noel Leeky's men left behind. Something was burning in Thornwood, and the smell of it burned her nostrils and dried her throat. Arnav was an awkward rider, having ridden a horse only twice before. He wobbled in the saddle and yet he pressed on, bravely trying to keep up with her gallop without falling off. Rosalind rode ahead and reached the village several minutes before Arnav. An entire row of houses burned, the houses behind the West Gate toward Osterley Field. The fire had not jumped to the other houses yet, but if it took to Osterley field, it would spread and burn down their crops. A team of people frantically ran back and forth to the lake to gather buckets of water to try and put out the fire, but it was impossible. The fire burned too strong. She wondered if the fire was deliberate, if Winston Abrams was capable of such a thing. She remembered Felicia's story of his three-year-old son and a cold chill spread over her skin. Yes, she thought, he is capable of anything.

Rushing past the fire, she slung her bow on her back with her quiver, and she found Diane Tillydaff and Doctor Elkins, both of them tending to burn victims with first aid. Diane made a capable assistant with the doctor's instructions.

"Diane, have you seen Scott or Ethan, or Hannah?"

"I saw Ethan with Scott. They were looking for Hannah and couldn't find her anywhere. The last I saw them was just a few minutes ago at the church."

Rosalind saw Arnav close behind her now and did not waste time before she sprinted toward the church, the ash in the air burning her lungs. In the street, they saw the servants from the castle who all lived in Athelgate but stayed in Thornwood when The Crush happened. They were crying and frantic; all of them rounded up by Winston's militia and marched into the street. A young man with a hunting rifle and another two with razor tipped spears harassed them and forced them out of the village with nothing but the clothes on their backs. She saw militia members forcing their way into homes, roughly pushing aside docile home owners and taking what goods they had to pile into the wagon she and Scott had made and left by the West Gate.

The house that was Hannah's foster family's home was burning, almost burned to the ground, and Rosalind felt the punch in her gut, worried that Hannah might have been inside.

"Arnav, look for Hannah!" she yelled, and he sprung into action, running toward the house.

"Rosalind!" Tess Yearling cried. "Roz, I can't find Martin anywhere! Have you seen him?"

Felicia was with her mother, clinging to Tess's side, her journal clutched in one hand. Rosalind felt a tinge of relief seeing that Tess and Felicia were alive.

"No, I haven't. Where did you see him last?"

"He was throwing water on the fire. He is on his crutches. I ran to help someone, and he was gone!"

"We'll find him, Tess."

"Roz, they're taking everything! They're forcing half the population out of the town, even the elderly and the children! And they have Mrs. Elkins held hostage, and Barbara Linley, and Rebecca Downes and Song Han... they're holding them hostage to get people to cooperate. It's sick! They must have gotten hunting rifles from the lodge and now they're just taking everything from everyone! And now Martin is gone and I can't... I can't breathe!"

"Tess, Tess! Breathe, that's it, easy and steady." Rosalind put her hands on Tess's shoulders and tried to steady her and prevent an emotional break down.

Suddenly, Felicia began to scream.

"Mommy! Mommy! It burns! He's burning!"

"Where, honey? Where?"