The Gift of Chaos

13 - Family instincts

I was woken by a fist knocking my jaw. I yelped in pain and realised it was Lucas. We'd fallen asleep with him still curled up on my lap, and he was now wriggling wildly. His face was covered in sweat and he was clearly scared about something.

"Lucas! Lucas, wake up!" I said, wrestling him into relative stillness. "Lucas!"

His eyes snapped open and he stopped flailing, blinking up at me.

"Are we dead?"

I couldn't help a small chuckle.

"No, but we will be if you're counting on that punch to beat the monsters," I teased, though I rubbed my jaw because it still hurt to get a fist in your face.

"Sorry," he said, looking at his feet. "I didn't mean to..."

"I know," I said and rested my head against his. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so... I had a bad dream... those monsters were after us, again..."

I simply smiled soothingly. What else could I do? He was frightened enough as it was without me telling him everything was my fault. Because as painful as it was to admit, it was the truth. I had written that book. I had – somehow – brought the monsters in the book to life. I had endangered all of Hollybridge and possibly more than that. If I hadn't found that book...

"Riley? What's wrong?"

I jumped slightly. Lucas was looking at me, concern in his big green eyes.

"Uh... yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we have to keep moving."

A new silence fell.

"What d'you think's going on?" Lucas asked eventually.

I pricked my ears for any sound, but all I could hear was the river flowing outside.

"I don't know... I hope Scott and the others are okay..."

"Me too..." Lucas said. "Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss Grandma, Mum and Dad."

I heaved a quiet sigh. I could relate only too much to that statement. I looked away so he didn't see the pain in my eyes.

"I know... me too..."

I glanced at his injury.

"How's your leg doing?"

"It still hurts, but the splint helps," he shrugged.

I studied his face to see if he was lying. He never liked admitting his weaknesses. But it didn't seem like he was. I hoped my splint would be enough to keep his leg from getting worse. I didn't think I could ever forgive myself if he found himself unable to walk normally again... but I did my best to keep that off my face.

"Good. Can you move it so I can get up?"

It took some effort, and a bit of wincing, but eventually, I was free. I helped him sit in the chair so he didn't stand on his bad leg.

"Okay. Now, sit tight for a minute while I look for something you can use as a crutch."

"But how are we going to get up the hill?" he asked as I crouched to search.

"There's a stone staircase that was set up to avoid accidents just a little way from here," I said. "We passed it last night, but it was too dark to see... Aha! Perfect!"

It was an actual crutch. It was dusty, but not rust as far as I could tell.

"Aren't there usually a pair of those?" Lucas asked.

"In theory, yes..." I agreed, rummaging around.

"Lucky you found them... wonder why they were left here..."

"Probably so injured wanderers could use them to get back to civilisation," I said. "Hm... they might be a bit big... but it'll have to do."

I lowered them as much as I could, then helped Lucas to his feet so he could try them. I was prepared to carry him again if needed, but would rather avoid it if I could.

They were a little high for him, but he could still manage to stand up in them. He could just about move with them. I pushed the door open. A bright sunlight blinded me. Once I'd grown accustomed to the light, I looked at my watch. It was well after noon! I hadn't realised we'd been there so long... or perhaps the run in the woods and the events of last night had worn both of us out more than we'd realised.

My stomach growled grumpily, reminding me we hadn't eaten in at least twelve hours. We would have to try and get something from the house if we had a chance. I found myself wishing I had my phone with me, but I'd left it in my bag, which I'd left at the Millers'. At least there was the river for water... it was ice cold, naturally, but it was better than nothing.

"How you holding up, Luke?" I asked after a while of silence.

I had to force myself to walk more slowly than I normally did so he could keep up without going too fast. It was a little frustrating, but it helped to admire the scenery, which even if a little repetitive, was soothing and peaceful.

"I'm okay... but I'm cold, and hungry..."

"I know, me too. Just try and think about something else. Like... what d'you think you'll get for Christmas tomorrow?"

That did it. He was off describing in vivid detail what he was hoping to get. That tried my patience to the limit, but it kept his mind off the situation, which was mattered to me.