Her brows creased.
Where am I? What happened?
That man confronted us and…and I had a seizure.
Where’s Danny?
Alarm flooded Adalynn; her only concern was for Danny. Was he okay? Was he here? She turned her head and shifted to rise. “Danny?”
“Addy?” Suddenly, Danny was beside her, his face filling her vision as his wide, worried eyes scanned her face. “How do you feel? You okay? You scared the shit out of me.”
“Don’t. Cuss.”
Danny laughed. “You are okay.” His laughter faded as quickly as it had come. “Really though, you okay?”
Adalynn opened her mouth to tell him she was fine purely out of habit—she was never without some sort of pain or discomfort these days—but it occurred to her that she really did feel fine. Her seizures were usually followed by disorientation, anxiety, and physical exhaustion, but she felt none of that now—only an odd but undeniable sense of rightness. Her mind was clear, and she felt like she’d just had a solid ten or twelve hours of restful sleep.
“I…feel good. Really good, actually.” She sat up slowly, not wanting to push her luck, and Danny shifted back to give her space.
She looked around, her gaze moving from the crackling fire in the grand fireplace to the old-fashioned wallpaper, from the antique, upholstered chairs and sofas to the expertly carved coffee table, finally landing on the patterned rug. With a little light, the place was even more immaculate than it had seemed earlier.
“You sure?” Danny pressed a hand to her forehead. “You don’t feel…strange? Weak? Anything?”
She offered him a smile and reached up to guide his hand away. “No. I feel fine, Danny. Don’t worry.” She glanced around the room again, brows furrowing. “Where’s that man?”
“Upstairs, I think? I’m not sure.”
“Did he say who he was? If he’s…going to hurt us?”
“No. He just carried you in here and left.” He leaned closer and narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you sure you feel okay?”
Adalynn laughed and nodded. “Yes, Danny, I’m fine. Why don’t you believe me?”
Danny shrugged and sat back on his heels. “I don’t know. It was just weird is all.”
“What was weird?”
“I mean, you’ve had seizures before, some pretty bad ones—and this one looked real bad—but when he touched you, you just…stopped.”
“Stopped?”
“Yeah. You kinda just went limp. You looked like you were just sleeping, almost like it never happened.”
Adalynn frowned. She hated the worry in her brother’s eyes and voice—it tore her heart to pieces knowing she was the cause of it. A kid his age shouldn’t have had to worry about much more than schoolwork and getting his chores done. Instead, Danny had been forced to deal with the sudden loss of both parents, the inevitable loss of his sister, and surviving in a harsh, unforgiving world.
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Danny. He embraced her without hesitation.
“It was probably just a coincidence,” she said. “You know the seizures vary in length. Maybe this one was just shorter and happened to end when he touched me. But I’m okay, really.” She pulled back. “I’m assuming since we’re both still here and he made the effort to carry me to a couch that he doesn’t intend to kill us?”
Danny snorted. “So long as we don’t touch his peanut butter.”
Adalynn chuckled. “Then I guess we better not touch it.”
“I grabbed our water though.” He dragged his pack closer, unzipped it, and pulled out one of the bottles, handing it to her. “You should drink some.”
“Thanks.” She unscrewed the top, lifted it to her mouth, and drank the whole thing in a matter of seconds. There was no need to conserve right now; this place had running water! They’d just refill everything before they left; so long as they showed respect to their host, she didn’t think he’d deny them that.
After she handed the empty container to Danny, she studied the room again, frowning. It was dark, aside from the gentle light coming from the fireplace. Rising from the sofa, she walked to the nearest window, drew back the curtain, and looked outside.
Night had fallen. The sky had an eerie gray glow, a result of the halves of the shattered moon backlighting the clouds, and everything below it was varying shades of black and gray. The cleared ground behind the manor led to the impenetrable darkness of the surrounding forest—though there was something different straight ahead. It looked like an overgrown wall of hedges, but it was difficult to tell for sure in the gloom.
“How long was I out?” she asked.
“A while. At least a few hours.”
Adalynn released the curtain and returned to her brother’s side as he stood up and stretched. “And he hasn’t come back?”
“Nope.”
That had to mean he wasn’t going to hurt them—or she hoped it did, anyway. If he’d planned to do them harm—and he had reason to, considering what they’d done—he could’ve done so several times over. She’d been helpless for hours, but he’d left her and Danny alone.
Adalynn sat on the sofa, grabbed her bugout bag by the strap, and dragged it closer. She opened it and rummaged through its contents until she found a couple protein bars.
“Here,” she said, offering one to Danny. “Eat.”
Danny groaned, his posture sagging. “Those things taste like cardboard and sand, Addy. I know he’s got real food in the kitchen.” He held his empty hand up, palm toward the ceiling and fingers slightly curled. “I had peanut butter right here, in my hand.”
She smiled. “But this is our food, and that’s his food—food he didn’t offer us. Do you really think it’s a good idea to press our luck?”
With a comically exaggerated sigh, Danny accepted the protein bar, tore the wrapper, and slowly—so slowly it almost seemed to pain him—peeled it down. He lifted the bar to his mouth and nibbled the corner, shuddering as he chewed.
Adalynn opened her protein bar and took a bite. It really did taste like cardboard and sand. She chewed anyway, forcing herself to swallow—it was better than nothing. Supplies were scarce, and their stores were limited; they couldn’t afford to be picky. Food was food. Survival trumped taste.
She’d only eaten half of the bar before she curled the wrapper around it and stuck it back in her pack. Danny finished his despite his complaints and followed it up with a big gulp of water.
He wiped his mouth with his arm and grinned. “We should check this place out.”
Adalynn shook her head. “We should stay here and wait for that man to come back.”
“Addy, it’s been hours. He might not come back at all until morning. Why not explore the place?”
“Even if he doesn’t check on us until morning, this is his house, Danny. He’s being gracious enough to let us stay for now, despite everything.” She looked her brother over and frowned; his clothes were tattered and filthy, there was dirt smudged on his cheeks, and his hair was a tangled mess. She probably didn’t look any better, but at least she’d had a few hours of rest. “You need to get some sleep, anyway.”