Taken

Chapter Four--DENNY

          “Where are we?” I asked. 

          We had been trampling through the woods for hours now and I was getting tired.  It had been a day since Jeremiah found me drowning at my one person pity party. I don’t know why I wasn’t eating, it was all a haze.  I just remember that I was really tired and depressed.  A given, obviously.

          “We are only a few miles south of where we started.”

          I rolled my eyes and sighed.  At this rate we’d never get to Oklahoma City to find Grady.  “I don’t know how we can go any faster.”

          He didn’t answer, instead continued hacking at the brush with the new machete he picked up from a store that used to sell hunting supplies.  I say ‘used to’ because they don’t sell anything now. It’s all free for the taking, but when we stopped by before leaving town, it was all picked over—hardly any ammo or guns left.  Jeremiah initially only picked up a cheap brand shotgun, a few packs of shells, the last bow, and a quiver of arrows with broadheads, but then he saw the machete and couldn’t help but get greedy.

          Now, a day and hours later, the brush was getting thinner and thinner, and before I knew it we were in a clearing.  A cabin stood on the other side, but the windows were dark and the chimney wasn’t emitting smoke.  The paint was peeling off the shutters and the whole place seemed run down and abandoned. I was still wary of someone being inside, waiting to get us.  Paranoia, I thought, but expected paranoia.  Our lives had been turned upside down. 

          I stood back, as Jeremiah stepped up on the porch and knocked on the door. The boards creaked and bent under his extra weight and I held my breath.  Nobody answered, so he withdrew the shot gun and loaded it.  He took off the safety and held it ready, then kicked in the door. 

          All was quiet and nothing stirred except the creaking of the boards as we made our way through the house.  The bow was heavy on my back as my fingers itched to grab it for security.  I didn’t want to waste any of the arrows though, because I only had a dozen, and I knew since I was so jumpy I’d shoot it without thinking and lose one.

          You’re probably thinking: How does some city girl know how to shoot a bow?  But I was I’m in archery, or was.  I had even placed in most of my tournaments.  I had my own bow, but I didn’t even think to bring it when we set out.  I was really wishing I had now.  Only there was no turning back.

          A couple of the windows we had seen so far had been either cracked or completely out so I knew there couldn’t possibly be anyone living there. If they were, though, it couldn’t be healthy. I had already seen a mouse dart across the floor once and I bet there was a whole colony in the walls.  I wondered if whoever was here was in the same situation we were, only there was more of a fight, or if this place had been abandoned for some time.

          The last door we came to in the back hallway was locked.  I looked over at Jeremiah with a look that clearly said, “What now?”

          He shrugged and kicked in this door too.  There was a shrill scream as the door splintered and fell. He looked at me with a surprised expression.  “That was a little girl,” I pointed out and helped him push it away.  Then after a pause: “Where did she go?”

          There was a loud gunshot, a bang against the wall from the kick, and the mirror behind me shattered.  I ducked down and Jeremiah pushed me behind him.  The little girl was about six or so. She held an oversized gun out in front of her, pointing at us with unsteady hands. 

          “We aren’t here to hurt you!” I cried out from over Jeremiah’s shoulder.  “I promise!  Drop the gun!” I held up my hands and she did as I ordered. She stared at it as if she couldn’t believe that she really had it in the first place.  I couldn’t believe it either.

          “I’m sorry,” she whispered, then started to cry.

          “It’s fine,” Jeremiah said, then coughed. It was kind of dusty.  “Did your parents get taken too?”

          She nodded and took a deep breath, drying her eyes. “My grandmother.”

          “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

          She shook her head.   

          Jeremiah looked at me with a sideways glance.  “Well,” he said, clapping his hands together.  The girl almost jumped out of her skin.  “Sorry.”

          “Is there anyone else here?” I asked for him.

          She shook her head again.

          We stood there for a long while, staring at each other.  Then my mouth spoke before my brain could catch it.  “Would you like to come with us?  We are headed to Oklahoma City.”

          Jeremiah grabbed my wrist and held up a finger to the girl, signaling for a private moment.  Once in the hallway he whispered sternly, “Are you kidding me?  We only brought enough supplies for two people!”

          “So what, we just leave her here?” I glared back at him.  “ 

          “She will slow us down! I didn’t plan on having another mouth to feed, Denny!”

          “Yeah, just like we didn’t plan on our parents getting taken.”

          That shut him up, not because he didn’t want to say anything but because it was true.

          “Sorry,” I backtracked guiltily.  “That was a low blow.  But the food is going to spoil or run out eventually.  And we can’t leave her behind.”

           He sighed and gave me a thoughtful stare.  “Fine,” he said icily.  “But I’m not waiting around on her.  She can keep up or find someone else to tag along with.”

          I grabbed his shoulder before he could walk off. “You’re going to be nice to her.”

          He shrugged me off and headed back to the front of the house.