When the World Came Crumbling Down

Sarah looked around her at the group of terrified people huddled in the bushes.

Everywhere she looked was agony and grief, horror and shock.

Everyone had lost someone, everyone had lost their homes and possessions, and everyone was now wet and cold, huddled together in the bushes, trying to hide from the rain and the people who hunted them.

Many were still in shock, and all of them seemed to look to her for comfort and support.

Nobody seemed interested in returning the favor – Zagna would, but she was still missing; Rin would, but she was in some sort of wakeful coma – she wouldn’t talk to anyone, hardly ate, and stared off in space or glared at trees.

Sarah hadn’t seen her close her eyes since the attack on the village.

She was always watching, always listening for any sign of danger.

Already she had killed three men, with Kip’s help.

And that was another curiosity - Kip was never far, ever since he had joined their group with Rin on his back he hadn’t left her side.

He watched her like she watched the woods.

He, at least, talked – he even seemed to be trying to lighten the mood by joking every now and then.

Sarah admired that, even if nobody ever laughed – they never seemed to hear him.

Kip’s a handsome man, she thought as she stirred a bowl of herbs used to treat burns.

His hair was sandy blonde, cut to just above his ears, his eyes a soft hazel.

He was stocky in build and strong – she could see the muscles in his arm bulge as he lifted his backpack onto his shoulders.

His skin was a deep golden tan – most everybody’s was, what with all the time they spent outdoors.

He caught her staring at him and smirked, making her blush and turn away, crushing the herbs with more force than necessary.

She smiled and started to distribute the medicine.

Nearly everybody had one sort of burn or another.

After the cabins had all been lit on fire, a few of the raiders had lit parts of the forest on fire in an attempt to flush out any survivors.

When it started to rain it put most of the fires out and the men started hunting them on foot.

That was only a few days ago, but it felt like ages.

When she came to Kip, he smiled at her and placed his warm, large hand in hers.

Even though she knew he just wanted her to apply the treatment, her stomach flopped and she blushed, thankful for once that she was covered in ash and dirt – perhaps he wouldn’t notice the blush through all the filth.

It must be that face of his – at eighteen it was still slightly boyish, but his strong chin was covered in a shadow of stubble and his nose was slightly crooked, likely from a break, both of which made him look older and tougher.

His eyebrows weren’t thick and bushy, but they brought out his eyes all the same – besides, she didn’t like it when people had eyebrows that hid their faces.

Avoiding his gaze, she tilted his face up and applied some of the medication to a burn just below his ear.

Finished, she stood up and went to the next person, trying to resist the urge to see if he watched her go.   

When she was finished, she lifted a pack onto her shoulders and took the baby she had rescued from Katrina, a woman in her mid thirties, urging everyone else to get ready to move.

They had to keep moving – even if they couldn’t leave until they had a chance to check the wreckage, which wouldn’t be until the raiders left.

Feeling the lightness of her pack, which held the majority of their food in it, she thought to herself grimly that if they didn’t find food soon, they would never get to look for loved ones and remaining possessions.

But perhaps that was the better fate – she didn’t know what she would do if she found Zagna…and she wasn’t alive and well.

She was the closest thing Sarah had to a mother, ever since her own had gone slightly insane and abandoned her family in the middle of the woods.

Her father had died as well, long before they found this camp.

He had saved his children from a desperate grizzly bear.

Her brother, John, and Rin were all she had left – and thankfully John was hunting winter goods with the crew and wasn’t due back for weeks.

He, at least, was safer than she was.

It rained for the rest of that day and most of the night, stopping sometime after midnight.

Fog was thick and frost had formed on every surface, crunching underfoot.

Everyone was huddled together, trying to stay warm, underneath a large cedar tree.

 Rin had come out of her trance long enough to pull a few things out of the tree – a short knife, a water container, a basket, a sling shot, a tarp, and a leather bag of hickory nuts.

She had fallen asleep not long after that, and slept for hours.

Despite this, she was gone when Sarah woke the next morning, and so were the slingshot and the short knife.

She came back at midmorning with a baked squirrel and some persimmons; Sarah guessed she had put the squirrel on some hot coals left from the forest fire, but didn’t ask.

It didn’t really matter – it was food, and everyone was grateful for fresh food.

After Kip reassured her that he could watch the camp, she slept until nightfall, when Sarah woke her up to treat her own wounds.

It was now more than a week since the raiders had attacked.

If they were going to look for survivors, they had better do it soon.