Race for Existence by Jennifer Haskin

Chapter 12

"Psst. Miss." Bryer felt the fabric of her sleeve pull as she roused from a happy memory of Grams. She wanted to lash out, but she looked up and saw the woman from earlier, crouched in front of her.

"Did you bring her?" Bryer asked.

"Yes." The woman moved to the side as Bryer sat up.

Standing at the edge of the ring of light stood a small girl in patchwork clothes. She held a backpack strap with both hands and shifted nervously from foot to foot.

"How old is she?" Bryer whispered as close to speaking as she dared.

The woman raised her eyebrows in apology. "She's nine. I'm sorry I didn't explain before. I want her to be protected, and I can't do that here." She held her face and made a soft sob.

Bryer laid a hand on the woman's arm. "It's okay. We won't hurt her."

The woman's face was covered with her tears. Bryer gave her a minute.

The woman nodded. "I believe you. I could tell your dad was a good man right away. I watched your family. I knew by how he cared for the special boy, he would keep my Lille safe."

"He's not my- never mind. It doesn't matter. He is really good at this survival stuff. And I'll watch out for her." Bryer waved the girl over. She had shiny black hair, straight as paper. It hung almost to her elbows, like Bryer's fringe keychain, swaying when she walked.

"Please tell him I said thank you." The woman put her palms together like she was praying. "I brought you all the supplies I could. Lille really likes the ramen noodles, so there's a lot of that."

"Do you want to tell him yourself?" Bryer reached a hand in Philip's direction.

"No," she said quickly. "Don't wake him. I can't risk it."

Bryer nodded. She was feeling unsure of her own survival. She knew the anxiety, so she pretended to zip her lips together.

The woman smiled and stood to hug her daughter. She whispered in the girl's ear as she ran a hand over her hair. They were both crying and the little girl was shaking her head. Her fists full of her mother's shirt, she clung to the woman like a life raft in the arctic ocean.

When she finally let go of her daughter, the woman limped between the trees and disappeared.

"Are you okay?" Bryer asked Lille.

The tiny girl pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head no.

"Okay, well come lay down over here by me. Do you have bedding?" Bryer rolled onto her side as the girl came next to her. Lille pulled a thin blanket out of her bag and a small feather pillow. Bryer was instantly jealous of the pillow, but she felt sorry for her and let it go. Lille lay down on the pine needled ground and pulled the blanket over herself. She faced away from Bryer, but her shoulders shook like she was crying.

"You'd better get some sleep. We get up way too early and walk all day. He's not going to slow down for us." Bryer whispered to Lille. She already felt responsible for the girl. "I lost my family, too."

The girl sighed but continued to face away. Bryer rolled onto her stomach, the only way she could sleep, and willed herself to fall from the edge of consciousness.

~*~

"What the hell is this?" Philip's yell was loud enough to wake the dead. Bryer opened her eyes to see Philip looking at Lille with his hands on his hips. "We are not taking an infant. This is ridiculous. I love you, son, but we cannot pick up another stranger. We have a purpose, you need to remember that."