Page 2 of Found on the Prairie
It’s different than it was before, I’m sure of it. Cleaner, almost, more pure. And not just in the way that it would be compared to the choking pollution of the city, no, this is something else, something more, something...
Something I can’t explain.
I reach the spot where I left the car – not only is it not there, but the grass isn’t even flattened to indicate it ever was. Gazing at the ground, it hits me that the road doesn’t look the same, either – it might not have been the best-kept road in the country, but it looks to be little more than dirt now.
What the fuck is going on?
But, before I can linger too long on that thought, a sound catches my attention. I look up just in time to see what looks to be an old-fashioned horse and cart appearing on the horizon, a dark brown mare hooked up to a wooden cart that seems to be carrying a passenger, along with someone holding the reins to drive it in the right direction.
Without thinking, I raise my hand to draw their attention. I don’t know how long it might be till someone else turns up here, and I am not willing to risk being stuck out here with no phone and no car with such craziness taking place around me.
As the horse approaches, I can see a man perched on the edge of the cart, the worn leather reins wrapped around his hands – he tugs on them slightly to draw the horse to a halt beside me, and I frown up at him.
He looks to be around my age, maybe a little older, with dark brown hair streaked through with a lighter red; he’s clean-shaven, but that’s about the only thing about him that looks like it could come from this day and age.
He’s wearing a light cotton shirt that’s clearly well-worn and a pair of leather pants held by a tie at the waist, along with some beat-up boots balanced on a pair of footrests beneath him.
A girl’s face pops up from behind him – judging by the matching hair color, I’d say that they were siblings, though she looks a little friendlier than he seems to be.
"What are you doing out here?” she asks, as she hops from the cart and down on to the road beside me. Just like him, she seems to be dressed for another era entirely, with an earthy brown dress that’s laced up the bodice and a broad skirt that nearly trails along the ground.
"Uh, my – I got stranded," I tell them awkwardly. I don’t know why, but something in me warns me not to mention my car to them, like it might not make a whole lot of sense.
"Well, we can’t leave a girl out here all alone," she remarks, and she jerks her head back towards the cart. "Come on – we'll give you a lift back to town."
I can feel the man staring at me, his eyes pinned to me as though he’s not entirely sure if he agrees with that. I glance over to him, those sharp gray eyes cutting right through me in an instant.
"Cade, stop looking at her like that," the girl protests, waving her hand at him. "You’ll have to forgive my brother. He’s in a rush to get home."
"Do you mind...?" I ask him, gesturing to the cart. Something tells me that it’s his permission I need to get, even though the girl seems keen to help me out. He stares back at me for a moment, his gaze trailing down my clothes, taking me in like he’s not entirely sure he likes this idea at all.
But then, much to my relief, something in him seems to shift. He grunts his agreement, waving for me to get in, and the girl claps her hands together and scrambles back into the cart, offering me a hand.
"Here, let me help you up," she remarks. "I’m Lucy, by the way."
"Kim," I reply, slightly weakly. I’m still utterly baffled as to what’s going on here, but at least I’m not going to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no transport and no phone for the forseeable future.
Though I get the feeling, as the cart rumbles to life below me once more, that even if I did – getting out of this place might not be as simple as all that.
CHAPTER 1
Kim
As the cart finally pulls to a halt, I stare up at the house before me.
It looks like it could have been plucked straight from some historical drama from the nineteenth century about life out on the prairie – the uneven, sloping roof, the wooden door with the heavy iron knocker, the extensions that have clearly been tacked on by whoever’s been living here at any given moment.
If I had to guess, I’d say that it’s not exactly up to building regulations, but I sense that it doesn’t matter much to the people who live here.
We had to pass through a small town nearby to get to this house, and Lucy, in amongst her good-natured chatter, asked if there was anywhere I wanted to be dropped off. I was too gobsmacked to come out with anything in response – the town was pretty much a perfect historical reenactment, people bustling back and forth from a couple of small shops and chatting in the midst of a dirt road that served as the main street.
It seems like Lucy and Cade aren’t the only ones living their lives as though it’s another era entirely – no, everyone here is doing the exact same thing.
And that has me starting to worry. As in, starting toreallyworry. That this isn’t just some weird game that they’re playing, and that there might be more to this than I am willing to accept.
When I told Lucy that I had nowhere in particular to go, she had offered up a room in their house – told me that they weren’t using it anyway, and that it would do them good to have a little life in the place. I could have sworn that I saw Cade’s shoulders tense when he heard her say that, but he didn’t so much as turn around to look at me, as though willing this to be over sooner rather than later.
I don’t have much choice but to accept, really, so I went along with her offer, and now we’re at their place and I’m staring at the house as everything starts to click into place. My head spins. Whatever is going on here, it’s not as simple as some people playing at times past. No, there’s something far more serious going on, and I don’t know if I can make sense of it.
