We Lay Strangers

Chapter 1

Carter tied off the rope, securing it around the log. She stepped back, pulling on the knot a few times, making sure it would hold. She blew a stray piece of hair out of her face. 

"Alright Ore!" She called.

Ore took his end of the rope, running with it until the slack pulled tight. He began to turn the pulleys, pulling the log upright. The log stood up, landing in the indent they had dug for it a few hours before.

"You're good!" Carter called again. Ore stopped pulling, letting the rope fall to the ground. He looked up at the log.

"Now we just gotta get the roof on." He said.

Carter looked over at the roof, laying to the side. "I mean, I was hoping Wiggins would be back by this point, but I guess we could try."

Ore walked over, cracking his back. "Didn't he leave instructions?"

Carter looked down at Wiggins journal, which was sitting on top of some scrap wood. "I don't think he thought we'd get this far."

"Matter of fact, I didn't even expect you to have all the logs up."

Carter and Ore turned around. Wiggins was jogging down the hill, grinning like an idiot. He came to a stop in front of the logs, placing his hands on his hips.

"What'd Ernie want?" Ore asked.

"Nothing important." Wiggins deflected. "You guys did a great job, thanks for covering for me Carter." 

"No problem." Carter smiled.

"With this done, we can get the roof up tomorrow and then this pavilion'll be done." Wiggins said. "This looks great, Marie and Vic can move all their supplies down here, and we wont be cramped in the main one anymore."

Ore crossed his arms in front of his chest. "The pulleys worked great, Wig. It was a lot easier to get the supports up this time."

"Perfect." Wiggins said. "Thanks again Carter." 

Carter clapped Wiggins on the shoulder, starting up the hill. "Anytime Wig."

"Oh! Ernie wanted to see you too!" Wiggins called. 

Carter flashed him a quick thumbs up, cresting the hill. The gardens were spread out before her, and in the near distance, pavilions were scattered around the area. The Butcherblock clung to the east wall, keeping all the animals as far away from the main pavilion as possible.

Carter started down the hill, heading towards the main pavilion, presumably where Ernie was. He almost never left the maps side anymore, and had constantly been pulling Wiggins from his job to do who knows what.

"Carter!"

Carter spun around. Hambone was waving from the tool shed by the gardens. She jogged over, careful not to crush any of the seedlings. 

"I just need a hand with these barrels." Hambone said. 

"Sure thing." Carter said. "Where's Cleo?"

"Off to get some fertilizer from the Butcherblock." Hambone said. "You get that side? I just need to stack them."

Carter slipped her fingers under the near side of the barrel.

"On three." Hambone said. "One... two... three!"

Carter lifted, gritting her teeth under the weight. They placed the barrel down on top of the others, taking heavy breaths.

"What... was in that?" Carter breathed.

"Water." Hambone said. "We're bringing it over to the back field tomorrow, gotta water the carrots. How's the new pavilion coming?"

"Good, Ore and I got the logs up." Carter said. They moved over to the next barrel, getting ready to lift. "Wiggins is planning to put the roof on tomorrow. One...two... three!"

They lifted, sliding the barrel onto the pile. Hambone almost slipped in the wet dirt, catching himself on the already stacked barrels.

"One more." He said, looking down at the last barrel. "Then dinner. Who's making dinner tonight, by the way?"

"Marie is, I think." Carter said. She slid her hands under the edge of the final barrel. "One...two...three!"

They hefted this barrel up on top of the others. Carter felt her arms shake under the weight of the water, and some drips fell through the cracks, blotting Carter's pants. They slid the barrel on top of the pile.

"Thanks a million." Hambone smiled. "Gotta go find Cleo, make sure she hasn't gotten lost again. See you at the fire tonight?" Hambone raised his eyebrows.

"Of course." Carter said. "I've gotta run too, Ernie wanted to see me."

Hambone nodded. "Catch you later then."

Carter waved, running off to go find Ernie. She passed Marie and Victorie, sitting in the medical pavilion, sorting through piles of bandages for the wash. Victorie waved as she passed, smiling. 

Carter knocked on a log of the main pavilion. Ernie was standing over the map table, looking down at scattered pieces of paper, all layered over one another. He looked up when Carter knocked. 

"Hey. How's the pavilion coming?" He asked, setting some papers down.

"Great, we got all four supports up today." Carter said. She walked over to the map table, taking a closer look at the scattered pages. Some of them had come from Wiggin's notebook, she could tell from his hasty scrawl and lined pages.

"Whats all this?" Carter asked.

"Actually, what I wanted to talk to you about." Ernie said. He cast a glance around him before speaking, and then only in a soft whisper. "We think we found a way out."

"Shut up." Carter said. "Is this what you and Wiggins have been working on for the past month?"

"Yeah."Ernie said, grinning. "Wig figured it out actually, with that computer in his head. Lemme show you."

He grabbed a flashlight, turning it on. He held it under the maps, causing the light to shine through the stack of papers. From above, the paper turned transparent and the lines overlapped, forming a single letter. F.

"What even..." Carter gazed at the letter. "Of course Wig was the one to figure this out. They're all like this?"

Ernie switched off the light, nodding. "They spell out words, six, by section." He rummaged around in the piles of paper, coming to grab one, handing it to Carter. Six words spelled out letter by letter on the sheet.

Float.

Catch.

Bleed.

Death.

Stiff.

Push.

Carter read down the list, grimacing. "Bit morbid, isn't it?"

Ernie chuckled. "A little. But what I wanted your opinion on, is should we tell the others? I mean, of course Wig knows, but I told him not to say anything just yet."

Carter pursed her lips. "Have you talked to the Searchers yet?"

"Amelia knows." Ernie said. "She actually thinks she found a way out. The Stalkers have a den of sorts, and she thinks it might be the key."

Carter nodded. "Then I vote we tell the rest. We can get their input, make a plan, and maybe get the heck outta dodge."

Ernie nodded. "Wig said the same thing. I'm going to let Amelia and Kenny look over it one last time, and then maybe announce it at the fire tonight."

"Perfect." Carter broke into a wide grin. "It's exciting isnt it? We might have a way out. We could get our memories back... our families... and Cleo's only been here a month! She'll be-"

"Don't go running your mouth now." Ernie warned. "I want to announce it at the bonfire for everyone."

"Right." Carter said. "I'll keep quiet."

Ernie smiled. "It is exciting though. We very well may be free by the end of the week."