Page 22 of Famine

The horseman is still lying next to me. The green glow from his markings illuminates his face; his eyes are open. He’s already aware of them.

I glance out the window, straining to hear what’s going on.

“… all the men … dead …”

I glance down at the horseman. If I heard that correctly, then this manmurderedpeople before I stumbled across him. A shiver runs through me.

The horseman meets my gaze. I wish he didn’t look so damn vulnerable.

It must’ve been in self-defense, I tell myself.I saw his wounds with my own eyes. I’d probably kill whoever did that to me too.

“You’re safe,” I repeat, my heart beating madly. I’m not going to give him up now.

The room we’re in is illuminated in the horseman’s soft green light, and unfortunately for us, this house is not so far from the main road. Eventually, those men are going to notice the light coming from this place—if they haven’t already.

Making a quick decision, I pull off my shirt and throw it over the horseman’s chest. The fabric mutes the glow almost completely, making the room too dark to see.

The two of us sit in the darkness, listening.

“… can track him … can’t be far …”

I feel myself go cold all over.

“… pointless … rain … tracks … morning …”

Maybe the rain washed away all evidence that I dragged the horseman here. Maybe we got lucky.

I think of how little luck I’ve had in my life. Best not to assume it will suddenly save the day now.

The voices move off, and they don’t come back. Whatever they decided, it doesn’t lead them back our way.

Maybe we’re okay—for now.

After that, I can’t sleep, too afraid of those people finding us.

My gaze creeps back to the horseman’s dark form. I can’t get that first image of him out of my head. He was so mutilated … the thought still takes my breath away. It doesn’t help that every so often I hear a gasp of pain in the darkness. I can no longer tell if he’s sleeping or not. I go back to stroking his hair, and the action seems to calm him.

As the night wears on, the chilly air pricks at my bare skin. I don’t dare take my shirt back from the horseman, even though I’m freezing. I begin to shiver, my teeth clicking together.

“You’re cold.” His husky voice seems as though it’s pulled from the darkness itself. It makes my skin prick, though not in an unpleasant way.

“I’m okay.”

I’m in such deep trouble it’s not even funny. If I don’t get caught in the crosshairs of those men who are looking for the horseman, men who might not mind hurting a teenage girl, then my Aunt Maria is going to disown me.

I can hear her shrill voice even now.Thought you could spend the night with some boy, you little idiot? Well, if you think you’re old enough for sex, then you’re old enough to live on your own.

And that would be that.

Or maybe she’ll just beat the living shit out of me.

Not all my shivering is from the cold.

“Lay next to me.”

The horseman’s voice drags me from my thoughts.

I stare at where I think his eyes are as his words coil low in my belly. I can tell he doesn’t mean to make the offer sexual, but between that rough voice and the fact that our torsos are both bare, my mind can’t help going there.

---