Homestead Harem 2, page 12
Ellen, to her credit, considered what I said.
“What if you don’t come back?” she finally asked.
I had a flash of her crying in my arms the other day, begging me to go off on my search for fuel. Despite not knowing what we’d find, we had set off with hope in our hearts. It paid off. Perhaps I’d have to take that as a lesson.
“If I go, I’m coming back,” I declared. “Or you’ll drag me back.”
Ellen blinked.
“I’m going too?”
I smiled a little, making the decision I’d been mulling in my head since the moment Blossom made me her offer.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “As are you, and you, and you, and you.”
I looked at each girl as I said it, watching their faces light up with the invitation.
“We’re a family. Either none of us go, or we all go. We show Maven that we’re a united front. Besides, something tells me she might not take me at my word that I’m a good man. Maybe if the four of you, plus Sophia here, can try to explain the freedom you have here, she’ll hear it from the horse’s mouth and actually believe.”
Looking at the girls before me, I could tell Sophia was ecstatic at the plan, Jordan happy to be invited to the front lines, and Charlotte and Ellen passively on board. It was only Alexis who looked furious.
“How many times have you tried talking sense into these girls?” she asked. “And how many times do we have to learn they’re ten steps passed nutso? I say we use this invitation from Blossom to infiltrate their camp and take Maven and anyone who defends her down. Tonight. Be done with it.”
A silence fell over the room. Sure, we could doublecross Blossom—use peace talks as an excuse to get close to Maven and strike. But what would that make us?
To my shock, it was Ellen who responded.
“We never claimed to be the most vicious or bloodthirsty community,” the rabbit-girl said, slowly working out the words as she spoke. “We’re not the most well-defended, nor do we have the most weapons. The only difference, as far as I can tell, between us and most other people existing out here, is that we actually care about each other. We don’t kill lightly. We keep one another safe.”
Ellen’s big blue eyes met mine then.
“You’re right, Jonas,” she declared. “If we don’t meet with Maven, if we don’t at least try for peace…we’re no better than she is.”
I nodded, the decision officially made.
“We leave at dusk.”
Chapter
Eighteen
There was a nervous energy in the air as the six of us left the farm. Daylight was fading fast, and the lightning bugs were beginning their sporadic dance across the fields.
I carried a gun.
With our limited bullets, I counted on not using it. But I’d be remiss if I wasn’t prepared to take Maven out tonight, should all our discussions lead nowhere. I just hoped there wouldn’t be any collateral damage.
Lord knows what I’d be liable to do if one of my girls got hurt.
Still, I knew bringing everyone was the right call as we traveled across the edge of our property and into the treeline, myself and Charlotte leading, Alexis and Sophia behind us, Ellen and Jordan at the rear. We were strongest together, that much had been proven to me time and time again. Besides, despite the naive, huckleberry notions in Blossom’s head that one good speech from me could change her mother’s mind, I couldn’t picture this Maven woman taking a man on his word. But Charlotte? Charlotte the glowing, loving, pregnant commander of mutant women? Charlotte could talk a grizzly bear into rolling on his back for a belly rub if she so wished.
With all my girls standing with me, maybe–-just maybe–-it would be enough to end the madness. Tonight.
It didn’t take long to reach the Northern bend of the river, where Blossom had told me to meet her. We could hear the rush of the current before we reached it, and I was plunged back into the memory of diving into the water last year to escape George and his band of mutants. A shiver ran up my spine.
“So?” Ellen asked, her brusk voice masking her fear. “Where is she?”
We stood on the river’s edge, six pairs of eyes peering into the darkness. I hadn’t yet let go of the idea this could be a trap, and my hair stood on edge as I listened for any snap of a twig—any rustle of leaves to indicate we were surrounded. Of course she had to meet us by the river, where the sound of the current would mask any noises.
Charlotte squeezed my hand, and I pulled her body close to mine, placing my other hand instinctively over her belly. Inside, I felt a kick.
“Let me try something,” Sophia said. The squirrel girl stepped forward, looking smaller and paler than usual in the rising moonlight.
Suddenly, she began to whistle.
It was a high-pitched, eerie tune that could easily be mistaken for a bird call—were now the time of day that birds were actually calling.
Within ten seconds, Blossom jumped down from a nearby tree, landing in a low crouch along the riverbank—responding to her friend’s song. I opened my mouth to greet her, but before I could get a word in, her and Sophia were running at each other, meeting in a hug so intense I almost thought they were trying to tackle each other to the ground at first. Sophia started crying first, and Blossom the wolf-girl soon followed, until the two best friends were holding each other and sobbing while the rest of us just watched on.
“Are we—” Alexis started, but Charlotte shushed her.
When the two friends were finally good and through with their hug, they turned to face us hand in hand.
“Everyone, this is Blossom,” Sophia said, wiping her eyes with her free hand.
There was a moment of silence where polite introductions should go that would have earned me a whooping from my West Virgninian mother, were she here to witness it. I knew the girls were wary, but manners should never be damned. Luckily, Charlotte stepped in for the group.
“So nice to finally meet you, Blossom,” she said warmly, holding her pregnant belly—which Blossom seemed to be hyper-focused on. “My name is Charlotte. This is Ellen, Alexis, and Jordan. And, of course, you’ve already met Jonas.”
I nodded.
Blossom, suddenly outnumbered, looked less intimidating than she had earlier that day in the forest—despite her height and powerful stature. She was still barefoot, looking more like a forest spirit than a girl. I could picture her now as the timid twin to psychopath Lara, the sibling overshadowed by her sister’s intensity. I’m sure Maven preferred the child with more bloodlust. Maybe being surrounded by other mutant girls made her nervous—for I’m sure their little tribe wasn’t as friendly to each other as ours. Sophia’s bruises upon arrival had proven that much.
“Alright,” I said, breaking the awkward silence. “Enough introductions, let’s get moving. Blossom, you lead the way. Jordan, I want you in the back. Charlotte in the middle.”
We took our positions and set off. I could tell it was taking everything Alexis had not to open her big mouth and say something snarky about how this plan was doomed to fail, and every so often I’d glance back at her to make sure she wasn’t about to overflow. Her amber eyes flashed with fiery resistance to the whole situation, but she kept her mouth shut. Thank God.
We hiked West for a half an hour, saying nothing. Sophia stood behind Blossom and I, and I could tell she was dying to catch up with her friend—but now wasn’t the moment. Like most girl best friends, it seemed they were waiting to be alone, huddled together somewhere secret where their stories and gossip and feelings could pour out unhindered.
All the while, I felt for the gun tucked into the back of my pants, not sure if its presence made me more or less nervous. I rehearsed what I would say to Maven over and over in my head, how I would approach her slowly and begin with humility, how I would appeal to her as a mother, and show her I was soon to be a father. This world has forced us into a pattern of senseless violence, I would say, speaking plainly and clearly like law school taught me. But we can rise above it.
Suddenly, Blossom stopped walking, forcing a small pile up of bodies behind her as we all broke out of our silent trances, bumping into one another.
“What is it?” I demanded.
The wolf-girl looked around, her long braid whipping back and forth.
“Something’s not right,” she declared.
Sure enough, at that moment, Lara and her two favorite cronies—the horse-girl and orange cat-girl—jumped down from the trees in front of us, causing Blossom to back up into our group, her arms outspread to protect us. I stepped beyond them, ready to face this crazy wolf bitch once and for all.
“How did you know I was here?” Blossom demanded of her twin sister.
“You think you can leave the compound and I won’t notice, Bloss?” her sister replied, her voice a low snarl. “I’ve been on to you for weeks. I knew you were a traitor—I could smell it on you since Sophia escaped. And now mother will know too.”
“Escaped?” Blossom replied, stepping forward with more confidence. “You told me she was kidnapped by Jonas and his people. Has everything you and mother told me been a lie?”
Lara laughed—a low, humorless chuckle you reserve for only the lowliest of scum.
“You could never handle the truth, sister,” she stated. “You’ve always been too soft. Mother knows it, and so do I.”
“Does mother even know you’re out here?” Blossom shot back.
“No, and she never will,” Lara replied. “It would break her heart to see you betraying her like this. After all she’s been through, one of us has to protect her, sister, and I can see now it will never be you.”
“Mother doesn’t need protection, she needs mindless servants—a role which you’ve so passionately stepped into. Let us speak with her, and we’ll see what she really thinks.”
“Ha!” Lara laughed, her wide, terrifying smile revealing her sharpened teeth. Behind me, I heard Ellen gasp. “That will never, ever happen.”
“What are you going to do?” Blossom demanded, moisture filling her eyes again. “Kill me?”
Lara paused for a moment, her upper lip curling in anger.
“If I have to, sister,” she replied darkly.
The silence that followed was full of static electricity. Blossom was speechless, clearly faltering on how to move forward, her lower lip trembling with hurt.
“Lara,” I said, stepping forward. “Your sister risked everything to find me and arrange this meeting with Maven. If you really respect your mother, allow her to decide her next course of action herself. You’re only standing in the way of what could be a peaceful alliance between our two communities.”
Another mirthless laugh escaped Lara’s sharpened teeth.
“My father spoke like you do,” she said, hatred oozing between her words. “So articulate, so clever. He used to lock me in the garden shed for days when I was disobedient. I wonder…what will you do to your child?”
She looked at Charlotte’s pregnant belly then, and I stepped forward again, placing my body in her eye line so she couldn’t even look at the mother of my future child. Anger bubbled underneath my skin, and I clenched my fists at my side.
I could kill her right now if I wanted to.
But, unfortunately, it occurred to me that shooting Blossom’s sister in front of her might shift her allegiance to us.
“Do not ever speak about my child,” I said through my teeth. “Now, I’m giving you one chance to get out of our way—before we have to make you.”
Lara smiled again, but kept her mouth closed. I watched her size up our group, realizing that, even with her two mutant girls for back-up, she was outnumbered. Finally, her eyes caught on Sophia, who had moved to hold Blossom’s hand.
“You,” she snarled, shaking her head. “This would all be over already if it weren’t for you, betraying us and poisoning Blossom to be a traitor just like you. I bet you’ve got her convinced this man is a saint, haven’t you? I bet you think just because they’ve given you a bed and a few meals, they won’t toss you in the trash the second you’ve helped them kill us off. You fool.”
Sophia kept her mouth clenched, her eyes forward, not engaging with Lara’s nonsense. The wolf-girl looked from me back to Sophia, her dark eyes flashing.
“You’re a rotten traitor, Sophia,” she seethed. “I bet you’ve even let him inside of you, you disgusting whore.”
At that, all six of us lunged—but it was Sophia who got to Lara first, attacking blindly and viciously. Lara welcomed the attack, digging her long nails into Sophia’s neck and instantly drawing blood while Sophia’s momentum pushed them both to the forest floor. As I ran forward to help, the ginger cat-girl buried her hands in my shirt and pulled me backwards with a sudden lurch.
I turned around and knocked the cat-girl out with one single backhand, leaving a red welt on her face that would most likely last for days. When I turned around, I saw Jordan on the horse-girl’s back, wrestling her back while Lara and Sophia continued to roll and claw at each other on the ground. Meanwhile, Ellen was physically holding Charlotte from the fight.
“Keep her back!” I shouted to Ellen as I ran towards the scuffle, thanking the Lord I asked Ellen earlier if she’d be in charge of keeping Charlotte from making stupid decisions while pregnant tonight. Charlotte hissed with anger, but I ignored it, running at Sophia and Lara.
“Get off my fucking friend!” I heard, as, out of nowhere, Alexis dove at Lara and tackled her off of Sophia. In the moment of shock, I dropped to my knees and inspected Sophia, who was bleeding from the neck and bruised around her chin.
“I’m okay,” the squirrel-girl assured breathlessly. “Help Alexis!”
I nodded, getting up and running at a scene I never thought I’d witness—Alexis, the freckled fox-girl who hated fighting and actively avoided hand-to-hand combat at all costs—going blow for blow with the psychopath trained-warrior-from-birth Lara.
A strangled whinny echoed behind us as Jordan sunk her teeth into the horse-girl. As Lara turned to look, I seized the opportunity to place my hand around her neck, pushing her away from Alexis and into a nearby tree trunk, lifting her up by her neck and scraping her skin into the bark.
“Help Sophia,” I said calmly to Alexis, staring into the dark purple eyes of Lara while she struggled and kicked me with her writhing legs. I wondered, for a brief moment, how she could have the same exact violet eyes as her twin sister, yet they could look so different. I guessed it was the hatred in Lara’s eyes that made her purple look so muddied.
Suddenly, as the rush of adrenaline began to fade, the sounds around me leaked back into my senses. Someone was saying my name.
“Jonas!” Sophia was shouting. “Jonas, please! Put her down!”
The words made sense in my head, but my right arm, holding the writhing, purple-faced Lara up as she choked out her last breaths, didn’t respond to them. I wanted Lara to die for all she’d done—and why shouldn’t she? I’d let her live too many times already. Sure, killing her would destroy any chance for peace in the long run—but wouldn’t it feel so good?
“Jonas.”
This voice broke through the fog. In an instant, reason rushed back to me, and I woke up from my rage and set Lara back down on her feet, still holding her against the tree.
Charlotte stood next to me, her gentle hand on my arm. Bringing me back to myself, as she always did.
I turned around and saw Blossom standing in paralyzed fear. I was killing her sister in front of her.
I dropped my hand from Lara’s neck.
“Go,” I demanded, backing up from the tree. The wolf-girl coughed into the forest floor for a while, regaining her breath.
The orange cat-girl had woken up from her stupor, and Jordan, who had the horse-girl’s arms pinned behind her back, shoved her towards the rest of her group. The three of them limped off, but not before Lara turned around and leveled one final look of pure hatred on Blossom.
“Everyone will know you’re a traitor to our family,” she declared, her voice as cold as ice. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Chapter
Nineteen
Blossom was shell shocked. Rightly so—she snuck out that night hoping to save not only her family but ours, and had ended up being exiled from her home, labeled a traitor, and watched her own sister come damn close to being killed.
Needless to say it was a long walk back to the farm.
We hiked in a semi-circle around Blossom and Sophia, who clutched each other within the walls of our protection. The wolf-girl quietly cried as she walked. Alexis, for once, seemed to have no desire to say I told you so.
After a while, I noticed Charlotte eyeing me. I gave her my attention, and we had one of our silent conversations while we walked.
As far as I could tell, she was saying something along the lines of: Don’t you think you should apologize to Blossom for almost murdering her sister in front of her?
My reply: I have mixed feelings about that.
It didn’t take a mind reader to interpret Charlotte’s reply. Sighing at my defeat, I turned to Blossom at the center of our little pack.
“Blossom,” I started, breaking the long silence we’d endured. “I just wanted to say, I’m real sorry tonight didn’t go as you planned. And I’m ashamed for how far I took things with Lara. But we’ll find a way to meet with Maven, I promise you. We just have to…get around your sister somehow.”
“We have to kill her,” Blossom replied plainly.
We all stopped walking, Sophia staring at her friend like she’d just yodeled the national anthem.
“What?” Sophia gasped.
Blossom swallowed, squaring herself.
“I’ve been thinking about it this whole time,” she said, her voice wavering but strong. “My mother might be capable of change, but I know that Lara isn’t. My sister will die before she allows us anywhere near Maven—before she allows peace between us. She’s so terrified of anything changing, I think she’d do just about anything to stop us. Tonight proved that. I never, ever wanted to reach this point…but I know now that we’ll never have peace while Lara is alive.”
