I rewrapped Clara's ankle when we got home and gave her more painkillers.
"I'm going to find you some new clothes," I said.
She just grunted. Her eyes were distant.
I went to my room and dug through my drawers. All of the clothes were old and faded. We didn't get new things in Innsmouth very often. Everything I owned was a hand me down from the previous generations— clothes, dishes, furniture, beliefs.
But I found Clara a few pairs of pants and a couple of blouses that I thought would fit her and brought them back to her room.
"Thanks," she mumbled, grabbing a pair of pants from me. I left to let her change and went downstairs to make myself lunch.
Most of what we had in Innsmouth was fish. There just wasn't much else to be had. Akeley occasionally went to town to purchase other supplies— canned vegetables, beer, and cigarettes.
I got out a can of peaches and mixed some of them in with cereal. Sometimes, I just didn't feel like fish. When the air smells like salt, sometimes you want a change.
To my surprise, I heard Clara's door open and her limping steps come downstairs. I stood awkwardly, awaiting her.
She came into the kitchen.
"Hey." She slumped down into the chair across from me.
"Hey," I replied. Once again, I couldn't meet her eyes.
"You have any breakfast around here?" There's a forced casualness to her voice.
"Oh!" I startled to my feet. "Yeah, sure, of course."
I went back to the kitchen and pulled out the cereal, holding it up for her approval. She gave me a quiet nod, and I poured her a bowl.
"No milk, I'm afraid," I said. "Akeley hasn't gone to town in a while."
"That's fine."
She sat down at the table across from me and started spooning the dry cereal into her mouth. I went back to eating my own breakfast, silence lying heavy between us.
"They're going to come looking for me, you know."
I looked up at her. "Who? Delta Green?"
"Delta Green, eventually." Her eyes flashed with fire. "But my family will come, first."
"Your family had better not come," I said, a little sadly.
If her family came, Akeley would either kill them or enslave them, too. I didn't want to see that happen. Yes, it was good for Innsmouth— so I wouldn't stop it. But that didn't mean I wanted it to happen.
She shook her head.
"They will," she said. "And when they do, you had better watch out."
I let out a little laugh. "Why? Are they bringing guns?"
Guns had come to Innsmouth before. But it took a lot of bullets to fell a deep one. And if those below heard gunfire, they'd come above— and numbers quickly outweighed a few pistols.
But Clara smiled enigmatically.
"You'll see."
In spite of myself, a shiver ran down my spine.
#
The week passed slowly. Clara didn't say much else to me, and I found that I had little to say to her. I took care of her ankle and made sure that it was healing properly. I fed her and gave her her medicine.
