Flashf0rward

Chapter 25: Planting Roots

Wren

Blearily, I woke up, having gotten no sleep yet again the night before. I had stayed up for a while on the wall with Sparrow and Jude, watching the camp as the sun went down. They seemed to be just going about their business, and made no indication they knew we were watching them. But I knew better than that. Matthias knew for sure.

Getting back up, I brushed down my messy hair, and knew that I needed someone to talk to. Someone to get everything off of my chest. Everything that had been happening the past few days, Ivy going missing, the new arrival, Matthias showing up, Ivy and I fighting, it was something I needed to unload. I could only think of one person to do it with.

After dressing in something relatively warm, since it was a bit chilly out, namely my bomber jacket and jeans, I walked out of my cabin and walked through the town square and marketplace. I noticed that fewer people had shown up today than usual. Maybe they just thought it was too cold to be out shopping. But I wasn't sure...something didn't feel right.

"Morning, Wren!" I turned to see Ms. Schumacher, one of the bakers waving and smiling at me. I smiled back and walked over to her. "Good morning." Immediately as I got within speaking distance, I could smell the warm scent of freshly baked bread wafting out onto the street from behind her.

She saw the look on my face and smiled. "You like it? Just made a fresh batch this morning." I nodded, then thought that I could possibly take one of those as a bit of a present. "You mind if I get a small loaf?" Ms. Schumacher nodded. "Of course dear, coming right up!" She walked back into the kitchen, her hands wiping some flour on her apron absentmindedly.

She came back with a paper bag that held the warm loaf of bread, and gave it to me. "There you are, sweetheart." I nodded, then reached into my pockets, looking for the items I usually used for trade whenever I bought something from the shops. Ms. Schumacher saw it and shook her head. "Oh, no, no, please! That's on the house." I laughed a little. "Thank you, but I honestly can't take-" Putting her hands on the bag, Ms. Schumacher looked at me. "Yes you can. It's the least I can do."

Finally giving in, I nodded. "Thank you. I'll pay you back, I promise." Walking away with the bag, I got the feeling someone was watching me from the crowd, but I couldn't tell who, and I didn't bother to stop and look around. I had gotten used to the feeling ever since I started leading this place.

Heading across town to the greenhouse that was right next to town hall, I knew she would be in there. The sun shone down on the glass building, filtering sunlight onto the plants, and casting it over her platinum blonde hair, making it shine even brighter somehow. I smiled and gave a quick knock on the door.

Katrina looked up, and her smile brightened as she saw me standing there. Carefully stepping over the plants onto the stone path, she opened the greenhouse door. I could see the sweat and dirt on her face from working inside. "Hey, you." She said, and I smiled. "Hey." I showed the bag I had. "I brought you a snack, since you were working so hard."

After she invited me inside, we both awkwardly sat cross-legged on the ground, sitting on the stone path and eating the bread. "Ms. Schumacher makes the best stuff." Katrina said, mumbling in delight with her mouth full. Nodding, I smiled and took another hunk off. "So, I know you, Wren Sawyer, and there's a real reason you came here today, and it's not just to give me bread. So spit it out." She said with a sly grin.

The way she said that made me blush a little, and I cleared my throat. "Well, um...I just needed someone to talk to, is all." The playful look went off Katrina's face, and she moved closer to me, looking into my eyes. "I'm here." I felt her hand on my shoulder, and that alone gave me the confidence to speak.

I spilled everything that I had been feeling over the past few days. My fight with Ivy, meeting Matthias, finding out he was here, and just my general feeling of stress that I had with being responsible for everyone in this town. It took a good few minutes, and Katrina sat there, listening the whole time.

When I was done, she stared at me for a bit, then wrapped her arms around me tightly and closed her eyes, holding me in her arms. I held her back with no hesitation this time, and found that I'd missed her embraces, since they usually made me a lot calmer. After we broke off, she looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry this has been happening to you, Wren. If there's anything I can do to help, I will..."

Looking into her eyes, I gave a small smile. "Well, you kind of already are. Why do you think I came here in the first place? You just...really make me feel better." She seemed to look away at that, not meeting my gaze. Was she embarrassed? "I'm...glad I do." Katrina said lowly. We both sat there in silence for a moment.

A thought came into my mind. "Do you remember the first time we met?" I asked her, and she turned back to me, a smile coming back over her face. "Yeah. I was part of that group you guys rescued on the highway." I nodded. "You, Harold, and the Parkinsons, right?" She nodded. "We'd just entered Seattle after coming up from Oregon."

I remembered that day clearly. Jude and I had been doing a routine patrol along the highway about 2 years after we defeated Gerrard. We saw what appeared to be movement, which we at first thought were hypermorphs, but we discovered it was a group of survivors. One of them was Katrina.

"I had gotten separated from my family after we tried to get on a train out of the country to escape everything. Most of what I did was just hiking and trying to get other people to help. That is until I met the Parkinson family and Harold. They were from Oregon too, and were trying to cross the border. I figured they were as good to trust as anyone." Katrina shrugged.

I smiled. "That was the night you told me about your ability." She laughed. "Oh yeah. I can't tell you how weird it was to wake up in the morning sometimes being surrounded by vegetables and flowers. At least I had a lot to eat." I laughed with her, but I knew that she could be a valuable asset in helping people. So, she became one of the most important people in the village, and we'd grown closer since then.

Katrina brushed some of her hair behind her face. "It was weird at first. It felt like I was at a homeless shelter or something. But meeting you, Ivy, Sparrow, Jude...it started to feel like I was part of a family again." I looked at her, instinctively taking her hand in mine. "You are...and the promise I made yesterday extends to you."

She smiled up at me. "Thank you, Wren..." She said, and I nodded, smiling back. "You're welcome, Katie." I felt a warmth from inside start to grow, and I knew it wasn't from the sun or my powers. Katrina leaned against me, her back against my chest as she closed her eyes, sighing. I blushed and noticed she hadn't let go of my hand.

"Hey, Wren?" She said a little sleepily. I spoke quietly. "Yeah?" She moved back into my arms a little. "You mind if we stay here for a bit?" I rested my head on top of hers. "Um...sure." Katrina smiled, and closed her eyes, laying against me. I brushed a bit of dirt off her cheek and held her close, the two of us staying still in the middle of her garden.