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  I wanted to know why Emma Lee was so insistent that they were on their way here. I know she believed they wanted to live in a world that was low on population and high in resources but that could be a lot of places down here, couldn’t it? I even suggested that, maybe, they would head south before they were to ever head north. After all, it was much warmer towards the equator and would be a lot easier to survive. Emma Lee said that may be so but she was sure she had heard the men talking about the mountains to the northwest. She had also heard rumours on her way here and every one of them centred around the Blood Demons coming this way. She was scared for all of us and wanted us to be prepared.

  "I’m afraid Nicole is correct; the trek will be dangerous in this weather young man," added Robert.

  "I've been on worse adventures, believe me," Max avoided my eyes as he said this, knowing how much I didn't want to hear about his past escapades. "I know what I'm doing."

  "Oh, I believe you do," said Robert. "After all you are a pirate."

  "That has nothing to do with it," Max was angry at Robert. He wanted everyone to forget that he was once a pirate.

  "But it has everything to do with it," Robert smiled at him. "I imagine the life of a pirate is dangerous, with its own penalties and rewards."

  "So?” he asked.

  “I was just...” started Robert.

  “Just what? Do you think I’m too evil? That I can’t be trusted to collect information properly? Do you think that I might join them?"

  "On the contrary," said Robert, throwing up his arms in defence. "I believe you to be the perfect man for this job. I was just letting you know that it's going to be cold so bring warm clothing and warm shoes. I think you should be prepared to be gone for a long while. If this is the start of winter, you may be stuck somewhere with no way to get back here. It is important that you take the right supplies with you."

  "Yeah," he was surprised that Robert was on his side and was actually encouraging him to go. "Maybe you can help me with that."

  "But Robert, don't you think he should stay?" I, too, was surprised at Robert but for very different reasons.

  "Nicky, he is a grown man. If he wants to go, there isn't a damn thing any of us can do to stop him." Max turned to me and smiled a cheeky smile that I wanted to smack off his face. Robert was right, though, not one of us could stop Max from doing anything. I let out a sigh and sat back on the couch, Barker curled up at my feet.

  "Well I, for one, am glad that someone is going to scout out the Blood Demons," said Emma Lee who, until now, had been quiet. "Thank you Mr. Maxwell for doing this. I think we are all thankful for your bravery."

  "Yes, Max," Cornelius had finished stacking the wood by the stove and was now standing next to Emma Lee. "We all bow to your braveness."

  "If I were you, I'd keep my mouth closed," Max seemed irritated with his old friend. "Or I'll be requesting a certain Englishman who knows how to chart the skies accompany me on my trek."

  "I told you mate," laughed Cornelius, "anytime you want my company just let me know."

  "I don't think Mr. Max meant that he wanted..." Emma Lee had no problem sending Max out to scout the Blood Demons but felt differently if it involved her new boyfriend leaving. That angered me even more. I guess I couldn't blame her, though, she had already lost one man to these men. It would be unfair for her to lose another. Besides, Max was unattached. Even if he showed an interest in me, I was trying real hard not to reciprocate.

  "Don't worry lass, I have no intention of bringing Cornelius with me," laughed Max. "He's not built for danger. He's built more for stargazing and moonlit walks."

  "That would sting if it weren't true," Cornelius said. "I have not an adventurous bone in my body. I do wish you luck however, friend."

  "Thank you, but I don't need luck," said Max. "Either I find the Demons or I don't. Luck, fate or whatever you want to call it, has nothing to do with it." He reached out and shook Cornelius' hand, letting him know that it was all right if the Englishman didn't want to come with him. "Now, I should pack my supplies and change my clothes and be on my way before the snow gets any heavier."

  "Let me help," said Robert and the two of them left the room, listing off items that he definitely needed for the winter weather.

  I watched them leave and felt something sink to the bottom of my stomach. I guess that was it, Max was leaving and I didn't know if I was sad, or angry, or relieved that I wouldn't have to face any of the emotions that stirred inside of me every time he so much as looked at me. Barker must have sensed my uncertainness because he started to lick my hands and I pat him behind the ears to assure him that I was okay and was reminded of Colonel Al and his plans to leave this dimension. Should I say something now or wait until after Max left? I decided it would be better to wait. If Max knew there was a man out in the woods, hiding in an old mine, concocting potions he would probably go out there and cause trouble of some kind. So, I kept my secret for the time being.

  Within an hour Max had everything he needed and was ready to go. Everyone gathered in Marshal's living room to say goodbye. Billy and Kitten said goodbye quickly because they wanted to get back to the game of jacks they had been playing in Robert's newly built house. It didn't matter how long they'd been down here, their minds had stopped at ten and this was where their attention span was. They had no concern for Max and what dangers he could be facing, not when they were in the middle of a cutthroat game of jacks. I envied them and wished I could be ten forever.

  Marshal, who never showed any emotion except happy obliviousness, smiled and shook Max's hand, wishing him luck, luck, luck. Emma Lee and Cornelius took a little longer, Emma Lee explaining again how careful he should be if he did happen to run into the evil group of men that had killed all the people she loved and cared about. Max brushed here warnings off, saying he could handle himself. When it came time for Cornelius to say goodbye, Max pulled him over to the corner and spoke quietly to him. I could see Max look into Cornelius' eyes with a somber expression on his face. Cornelius nodded and glanced over at me than back at Max and nodded again. I knew they were talking about me and it made me feel uncomfortable. Then they gave each other a quick hug, pat each other on the back and shook hands.

  "I guess that leaves me," I said, feeling a flash of heat rush to my face. I stepped towards him with my hands in the back pockets of my jeans.

  "I guess so," he said. "Would you mind walking with me outside for a bit?"

  "Ok, just let me get..."

  "Your coat?" He held up my coat which he had somehow retrieved without me knowing. He helped me into it and opened the door for me to go outside. I noticed immediately that the temperature had dropped significantly and the wind had gotten stronger. I pulled up the collar of my coat and tucked my chin inside.

  "Wow, it's getting really cold. Are you sure you want to do this?" I noticed the sky was still white. That meant the snow was far from over.

  "I'm sure," he answered. "I'll be okay. I have food and water, warm clothes, a sleeping roll that can withstand cold temperatures, matches, cooking utensils, water and a tent that I'm told is good to -40 degrees Celsius, which, I assume, is damned cold."

  "Yeah, pretty cold," I laughed. "It's a good thing Marshal likes to collect things. Who knew that a hiker's backpack would come in handy."

  "Yes, it is quite efficient at carrying all of my gear."

  "Well, that is what it's made for," I didn't know what else to say. We were walking south, in the direction of where the Blood Demons were supposed to be but, still many, many miles away. I felt awkward and at a loss on how to say goodbye.

  "Nicky, I'm glad you have your dog again. I know how much his absence saddened you," he said, stopping and turning to face me.

  "Thank you," I said, sniffing as my nose started to run in the cold air. "I am happy to have him again and I'm sorry I was so obsessed with finding him. I guess I haven’t been thinking too straight over the past few months."

  "It’s okay, I understand," he smile
d and I felt the butterflies dance around my stomach again. "I know you believe that I’m leaving to be away from you and I can’t lie, that is part of the reason. I think we both need to be apart to figure out where our feelings for each other stand. I, for one, can't stand to be in the same room with you and see you turn away from me." I looked down guiltily at the ground. "But that’s not the only reason I want to go."

  "No?" I gulped down air as I felt my heart start to race.

  "I'm also leaving because I believe that there is a real threat that these men will come here and continue their killing," he said and I could see how serious he was, "and there is no way that I will ever let anyone come here and harm you. I know that you have questions in your mind that are clouding your heart but I also know that, when I kissed you that very first time, it was your heart that responded. You kissed me back. I know what your true feelings are even if you don’t. Soon, you will too and, when you do, I’ll be waiting and you’ll realize how much time you’ve wasted denying what’s meant to be." He stroked his thumb across my cheek and tilted my chin up to his face. I felt his breath, a rush of warmth in the cold that surrounded me, as he softly kissed my lips and a tingling sensation ran through my body. "Goodbye."

  "Max...?" Should I explain to him where Barker had been these past four months? Should I tell him about Colonel Al? No, I couldn't. What if Emma Lee was right? What if the Blood Demons were really on their way here? They could be marching towards us right now. If so, there was no better person to scout them out than Max. Wasn't that the reason I didn't trust him? He had the ability to fit in with the worst down here and I didn’t like it.

  "Yes?" he asked, looking expectantly at me.

  "Be careful," I said and he smiled and tilted his head to the side.

  "Always am, love." Then he turned and walked into the falling snow, his backpack strapped across his back, winter boots replacing his fancy leather ones. I pulled my coat tighter around me and tucked my face deeper into my collar. I stayed like that until he disappeared in the snow. As my hair filled with the soft, white flakes and I stared at the falling snow a thought came to me.

  "Colonel Albert Young is wrong, we do have time," I said out loud and then ran in the house. Tomorrow, no matter how cold it was, I had to go visit Colonel Al. I had something very important to tell him.

  Chapter 4

  I got up early the next day so I could get out of the house and off to the abandoned mine before anyone else got up. The room was dark but I didn't dare light the kerosene lantern. I'd gotten up in this room every day now for the past four months so I knew exactly where everything was. I put my clothes at the bottom of my bed last night so, now, I could reach them easily and get dressed. Barker, who had slept curled up on my bed, was up too. He sat patiently waiting for me to get ready.

  This room was the second room in Marshal's house and was dubbed the 'girl's room' because this is where myself, Emma Lee and Kitten slept. It's a good thing there were only three of us, too, because we needed all the room we could get. The guys slept in two groups now that we had added on an addition to the house. Marshal still slept in the ‘stove room’, along with Billy and sometimes Max. Robert and Cornelius slept in the new addition. The two had become good friends. Cornelius had not always like Madge and was often sarcastic and rude to her but he liked Robert and felt that he needed to be there for him after his loss. Robert never spoke of Madge or their life together, not once. I was afraid he was keeping it bottled up inside of him and knew that one day that bottle's cap would fly off and all that pain would spill out and probably not in a good way.

  It only took me a few minutes to get ready and I slowly tiptoed out of the room, making sure not to bump into anything. I got to the 'stove room' and grabbed my coat and boots. Right now it was pitch black and very quiet. Marshal and Billy were quiet sleepers, neither one snored. I figured they were probably wrapped up tightly in their blankets sound asleep. I put my coat on and laced up my boots. I had no idea how much snow had fallen through the night and hoped it wasn't too much. As long as the wind had died down, I would be okay. I placed a note I had written last night onto the table for someone to find when they woke up. It said that I had gotten up and taken Barker for a walk and went in search of firewood. I tied a scarf around my face and pulled a toque down over my ears. I got up, put on a thick pair of mittens, and headed for the door. Hopefully I could sneak out without letting in too much cold air.

  "You're up early." I jumped. I didn’t think anyone else was up.

  "Marshal?" I asked. "What are doing up?"

  "I couldn't sleep," he said. He sounded sad which was unusual for him. I knew he liked Sarah and her betrayal came as a shock and he was completely devastated when Robert killed her but he was good at hiding his feelings. Nobody else noticed how it had affected him but I did. I also knew that he wasn’t over it yet.

  "Are you okay?" I asked.

  "I'm fine, Nicky," he sounded irritated. "Where are you going so early?"

  "I'm taking Barker for a walk," I explained, hoping he wouldn't hear the lie behind my words. "It's all in the note. I'm walking Barker and looking for firewood."

  "Firewood?" I could hear the doubt in his voice. "I thought the others were taking Cocoa and getting wood later."

  "They are..." I tried to think quickly. "...but I thought I would go out to the trees, see if the snow covered the forest floor yet. Maybe it's still dry in there and we can get some dry firewood."

  "I think they can do that with Cocoa, Nicky," he said.

  "Yes, but I could scout it out first and be back before they even get out of bed."

  "I see," he said and I could sense the doubt in his voice.

  "Okay? Just let me get the lantern and I'll be on my way," I tried to get out before he asked me any more questions. "Barker probably has to pee really bad."

  "That’s mighty good, good, good of you Nicky. Now, tell me where you're really going." Now he sounded angry. I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes. What was I going to do? Marshal was not going to let me go without some kind of explanation and I wasn't ready to tell anybody about Colonel Al. I turned towards his voice again; I had to tell him something.

  "All right, I'm going to the woods because I found something really important yesterday."

  "Really?" His curiosity was starting to overtake his anger. Barker started to growl and I put my hand on his head, patting him to keep him quiet.

  "I know, Barker." I reassured him quietly and then addressed Marshal. "I can't tell you what it is right now but it has something to do with Barker and where he's been all this time. You have to trust me, Marshal. I know what I'm doing and I promise you'll be the first one I tell everything to when I can."

  "Nicky, Nicky, Nicky, how can I know that you'll be okay?" he asked and I realized he wasn't really angry with me; he was concerned. It made me feel good, knowing he cared so much but, at the same time, I felt guilty not telling him everything. "That boy, Ryan, could be..."

  "What? Out hiding behind a rock? Ready to jump out and kill me?" I laughed. "Marshal if Ryan wanted to, he would have done it by now. I seriously think he's gone, I don't know where, but he's not around here anymore. He lost everything he was working for," I was careful not to mention Sarah's name, "and I think he just took off."

  "I think you're right, right, right Nicky," he said. "I've thought that for a long time but the others are so insistent and I didn't want to argue with anyone."

  "Marshal, are you okay?" I asked. There was a long pause before he answered.

  "Yes." It was only one word and I knew he meant it. Maybe his grief for Sarah was fading after all.

  "I'm glad," I reached out to him, but the darkness wouldn't allow me to find him. "I'm here if you ever want to talk, okay?"

  "Thank you, Nicky," he said. "Now, let's get you gone, gone, gone. I don't think you should be gone too long, though. I may be able to wait for your secrets but the others aren't so patient. Here, I have the lantern. It's all fueled and ready to go." I
could smell the scent of sulphur as he struck a match and lit the lantern. I reached for it and saw him sitting at the table. He was dressed in his ever present green clothing and I wondered if he slept fully clothed. “It shouldn’t take long to slip a bridle on Cocoa.”

  "You knew I was leaving?" I asked.

  "I had an idea," he smiled, probably the first genuine smile in a long time.

  "You're smart, Marshal," I laughed. "It's one of the things I like about you."

  "Yes, yes, yes Nicky I'm very smart," he laughed sarcastically and waved me out the door. "Now, hurry before anyone else wakes up."

  "Okay, I'll sneak out quickly so the cold air doesn't wake up Billy." I pulled my hat down over my ears and pulled my mitts on.

  "No worries, Nicky," he said. "Billy's not here."

  "Where is he?" I asked, surprised that he wasn't in the room.

  "He's at Robert's," he explained. "They played poker last night and he fell asleep while they were counting their winnings."

  "He lost eh?" I figured he got bored with everyone else winning and dozed off.

  "No, no, no, Nicky," he laughed. "Billy won. Actually, he won quite a bit but he doesn’t care. No, no, no, he just got tired and went to sleep."

  “Cool, so I guess they’ll all be sleeping in a bit today?” Marshal shrugged his shoulders. “Well, it would be nice if they did; gives me more time to do what I have to do. I’ll see you later Marshal.” I heard a short ‘bye’ as I opened the door and walked out into the cold, Barker by my side, lantern in my hand.

  It didn’t take as long as I thought to get to the old abandoned mine. Having Barker lead the way made the trek way easier. The snow had stopped but not before covering the fields with about three centimeters of cold, white flakes. I didn’t care; it wasn’t enough to even make my feet cold. I was wearing so many warm clothes that I was actually sweating by the time we reached the forest. I was right though, the denseness of the trees had let very little snow in.