I’m startled awake, one of the girls’ begins to rustle in the hay. It feels like the sun should be coming up soon, until I look at my watch and realize that it’s only 3:30. Luckily, the moon is bright and I can see the fog rolling in off of the hills; Stephanie steps out from the shadows at the back of the barn. I set my rifle down a she draws closer to me; she lets out a shiver as she sits down beside me. I motioned for her to come over and sit on my lap, as she slides over I cover her with my blanket, trapping our body heat against her skin. She sighed as she began to warm up, and look out into the dark field. At this point, I only had one question for her. I asked her why she didn’t put on anything besides her underwear. Absent mindedly I began to slowly rub her side as we talked. She told me that after Elle had shared her story, she wanted to thank me for keeping her safe. I told her that keeping her safe was one of my top priorities at the moment, but she needed to go and rest up for tomorrow. She stuck out her lip, in a playful pout and pulled my hands to her hips as she leaned in to kiss me. Her tongue darted quickly past my lips and she lifted herself up slightly for a better angle. As I held her hips, my thumbs gently traced circles on her sides. She lightly bit my lip as a soft moan escaped hers. I was enjoying her company so much, but we had to stop. I pulled away and looked around. I didn’t hear anything, but I needed to make her think that I did so I wouldn’t offend her. I told her to take my blanket and go lay down. I took a quick walk checking the snares that I set yesterday. There was a rabbit in one of them, so I dressed it and headed back to the barn just as the sky was beginning to lighten. I started another small fire, and put some water on to boil the rabbit. When it was done, I put the fire out and camouflaged its presence; then headed back to wake the girls. I packed up our things as the girls washed up and started to reluctantly eat the stew.

We begin our second day of walking just as the sun starts to peek through the trees. Amber picks up her pace leaving Stephanie and Elle a few yards behind her. She wraps her arms around mine and lays her head on my shoulder as she begins to whisper to me. The girls wanted to know how much farther we had to walk, “we should be there right after nightfall” I replied. Then she went started going on about how they felt that the three of them thought that they would never be able to repay the kindness that I showed to them. I replied “The next few months are going to be very hard; the only thing that I ask is that you three do your bet to help me and the others as best you can.” She lifted her head from my shoulders and stopped in her tracks “others?” she said with a puzzled tone. I turned around and said “Yes, there are others headed for my family’s land. We will be there in seven days, but first I need to head home and grab my remaining supplies.” Amber looked hurt, like she had been betrayed. I tried to comfort her but she pulled away and stepped behind Stephanie and Elle. I continued walking home, hoping that they would follow. I felt relief when I could hear the tall grass moving behind me, the girls taking high steps over it rather than trudging through it.