Chapter 1: Oats&BrokenGlass
The cold water splashed every where. Soaking the two girls and their dresses as the littlest giggled in glee and the other glared down at her sister.
"Sorry..." she said smiling up at her big sister with adoration. She couldn't help but smile back down at those big blue eyes and she sent a playful splash of water back on the little girl even though she was already soaked. Her little sister squealed and giggled more as they continued to splash each other.
"Hey" said a deep voice from behind, "I'm pretty sure that's not how you clean dishes"
"Sorry, dada" the little girl replied, looking down at her toes. The man smiled down at her, coming over he placed a kiss atop both of his daughters heads,
"Just clean up when you're down" he said giving a stern glance to the eldest girl.
"We will" she said trying to not to smile as her father glared down at her. After he left the small, bright yellow kitchen the little girl grabbed a dry towel from one of the drawers and tried to wipe up the water on the floor.
"Sky" the little girl said looking up at her big sister, "When are Derek and Isaac going to be back"
"They're still hunting, they'll be back in a few days. You know that, Lilly" she replied as she got down on her knees to help her sister.
"What if they don't come back? What if militia gets em'"
Her voice was small and scared as she looked hopelessly up at her. Skylar sighed and looked down at her with a tired glance,
"They'll be fine. They always are, they're smarter than that"
"But what if they do" she asked again.
"Lil, I promise it'll be okay"
She only nodded as they wiped up the rest of the water from the floor then finished cleaning the dishes. When they finished Lilly skipped down the skinny hall to her room, Skylar following more slowly behind, so they could change out of their drenched clothes. She watched her little sisters exceedingly bright blonde curls bounce as she disappeared up the stairs. When she made it to their room Lilly was already pulling a long sleeved white cotton shirt over her head, struggling to fit it through the hole.
"That's the sleeve silly" Skylar said as she helped fix it so her sisters head popped through the right hole. Lilly just giggled and grabbed a pair of dark green corduroy overalls from the trunk at the end of her bed. Since the blackout, Lilly had to make due with Skylar's hand me downs and being much smaller then her at the age of seven everything was slightly loose on her.
Nine years ago, when Skylar was only seven, a world wide blackout struck. Leaving everything in darkness. Anything and everything that needed electricity to function even cars, planes and plumbing had went out. Leaving the world in a state of panic, confusion and desperation. Since then, the once United States was split into several nations. The Georgia Federation, The Monroe Republic (to which they resided), The plains Nation, Texas and The California Commonwealth. But then there was also The Wastelands, an unruly, desolate place. As her father put it, 'It's not a place to go wondering. It's dangerous, more dangerous then even General Monroe and Matheson'...
Although it was now a fleeting memory, Skylar could recall the days before the darkness. What she remembered most of all was the colorful cartoons that flashed across the screen of their old tv and the taste of rich and creamy ice cream. But Lilly had no memory of any of these things, she only knew of what her older siblings would tell her. Their brothers Derek and Isaac were twins, being only two years older then Skylar's sixteen. Lilly didn't know but she had been a twin too...Her sister and mother both died in child birth, having no real doctor there was nothing their father could do for either of them. Her father doesn't want to tell her, she probably wouldn't understand at least not now...But she does know about their mother, having asked when she was old enough to do so after seeing the pictures of the women all over the house.
"But I thought you were my mommy?" she had replied with the most innocent expression. Skylar smiled through the tears and ever since she would tell her stories of the amazing women that was their mother. How her laugh, so loud and perfect that it could get even the coldest man to smile and laugh right along with her. How everything about her could make anyone smile and feel that much better. She was like a ray of light in this darkness, something Skylar had always missed most. She was never afraid then, of anything. Without her here, even with her father and brothers to protect them, Skylar was always more on edge, always worried about the littlest things.
When Lilly had pulled on her boots and ran from the room, her mess of curls flying right behind her, she closed the door to their shared room and started to change. She pulled off the shear, pale blue dress and changed into a pair of dark washed jeans and a black muscle tank. Her father hated it, said that it showed to much from the side and that if any militia soldier or bandit saw it would be like she was asking for it. But he wouldn't argue anymore than that when Skylar rolled her eyes and ignored his comments. She pulled on her own brown leather boots, taking a while to strap up all the laces as there were too many holes to count. To save time she ended up just wrapping the laces around the entire boot then triple knotting the thin string back in front. She braided back her short dirty blonde hair, it only fell just at the shoulders when down but it was for her thankfully long enough to braid. Only leaving a few pieces of hair hanging along the side of her face which she would pushed back behind her ears. Skylar made her way back downstairs and found Lilly was sitting on the red paisley rug in the living room, playing with her dolls and pink teddy. She watched her for a moment, smiling as she pretended to marry the worn doll with the missing eye to the dirt stained bear. Then made her way back through the kitchen and into the mud room, pulling the tan jacket off the hooks along the wall beside the back door she slipped her rather muscular arms through and headed outside. The early winter chill, nipping at her face as she made her way back towards the large red barn. Sliding back the doors and heading towards the back, she grabbed a bucket and filled it with only two scoops of the oats and brought it over to Hugo, the shaggy brown Shire. He poked his head over his stall and when he saw the bucket swinging in the girl's hand his ears perked forward and he shook his head up in down impatiently. Before Skylar could even lift the bucket over the stall door to hang it on it's hook his muzzle was already shoving inside to eat away the treat waiting for him.
"You are such a pig" she told him as he had already gobbled up the oats.
"Start rationing it" her fathers voice rang out as he entered the barn, lugging the hand plow with him,
"We have to be more careful with taxes coming up"
"I know. I'll turn him out more often" Skylar replied stroking Hugo's muzzle as he searched her with his nose, hoping to find more treats.
"Do you think Isaac and Derek will catch anything this time?" she asked as she helped him pull the plow into an empty stall.
"Thanks...I hope so" he answered. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and wiped the sweat from his forehead after closing the stall door behind him and locking it up, "Listen...I'm sorry. I know how much you wanted to go with them"
"It's all right. I understand" she smiled up at him, trying to show that she was okay with it and she truly was. Someone needed to be there to look after Lilly while he worked to get the harvest ready and she could be a handful even on her best days.
"Next time. We can make Isaac stay home" he laughed, knowing that Isaac hated watching Lilly ever since she put make up on him when he fell asleep on the couch.
"I'm sure he'll be thrilled"
He threw his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to the house. Lilly came running up to them as soon as they stepped inside, she had tears streaming from her eyes as she held a bloody hand up to her sister.
"Lil! What did you do!" Skylar exclaimed as she knelt in front of her to look over her bloody palm.
"I dropped the glass of water...I wanted to clean it up myself" she answered through tears and sniffles. Their father sighed and went over to the cabinet above the old washer and dryer as Skylar picked up Lilly and carried her into the kitchen. She set her on top of the kitchen counter near the sink and waited for him to bring the medical supplies.
"How deep is it?!" he called from the other room. Skylar examined the cut, it was pretty deep,
"She'll need a few stitches!" she yelled back. He came back into the room, a metal tool box in his hands,
"We're running low on medicine" he said as he placed the box on the counter next to Lilly. Opening it up, Skylar pulled out a needle and thread for stitching, the tiny green vile of antibiotic and bandages.
"No!" Lilly screamed when Skylar threaded the needle, "I don't want stitches!"
"Lilly" she said sternly, "Maybe you shouldn't have played with glass then"
"I wasn't playing with it!" she said wiping the tears from her eyes with her uninjured hand.
"It'll be over like that" Papa said, "Here, you can squeeze my hand"
She wiped her sleeve across her runny nose then took his hand, squeezing it tightly she shut her eyes and braced herself as Skylar cleaned the wound with the antibiotic. She cried in pain as her sister tried her best to quickly stitch up her cut. When she finished Lilly continued to have tears run down her face as they wiped away the blood and wrapped it in a clean bandage.
"There, that wasn't so bad was it" Skylar said lightly kissing her sister's forehead.
"Yes it was" she mumbled through tears. Their father cleaned up as Skylar lifted Lilly from the counter and held her tightly in her arms, humming her favorite lullaby as she swayed back and forth across the kitchen and into the living room. She moved over to the couch, still cradling Lilly she sat down on the large, squishy cushions and stroked her sisters hair trying to soothe her as she continued to cry.
"You're okay, Lil. You're okay" she whispered to her as she still had her arms wrapped tightly around her neck. Lilly's tears subsided as Skylar calmed her down, Lilly looked up with those blue puppy dog eyes and wiped her nose on her sleeve again.
"It still hurts"
"I know, it will for only a little while. They it'll be all better and you won't even remember, I promise" Skylar replied.
"Hey!" a voice yelled from behind making Lilly and Skylar jump from the couch. They turned to see a boy, dirty and lugging a rope with two dead rabbits tied to it over his shoulder,
"There's my favorite sister!" he smiled as Lilly's face lit up, already forgetting about the pain of her cut as she ran to her brother.
"Derek!" she shrieked happily as she hugged him, "LOOK! I had to get stitches!"
She said it proudly with a beaming smile as she threw her hand up so he could see the bandaged cut. Skylar shook her head and rolled her eyes as she was able to get over it so easily.
"And I only cried a little!" she said as he examined her bandaged hand.
"That's because you're my tough little nugget" he replied then looked up to Skylar who was trying to stifle a laugh.
"That bad, huh?" he mouthed to her when seeing her amused stare and she nodded in reply.
"Where's Isaac?" Lilly asked taking her hand away from Derek as he moved into the kitchen with the dead rabbits.
"He's putting Sparky and Ginger away" he answered her, talking about their two quarter horses. She followed him into the kitchen, skipping behind him as he brought the rabbits over to father to skin for dinner.
"That's all we could get before Isaac started complaining" he said as their father shook his head from the scarce game they brought back.
"Hey now! I was not the one complaining!"
"ISAAC!" Lilly shrieked even louder and jumped into his arms. He spun her around, then looked down at her bandaged hand,
"What happened Lil?" he asked looking up at the others with concerned brown eyes.
"She cut it trying to clean up broken glass" Skylar replied going over to help with the rabbits.
"You gotta be more careful Lil" Isaac said sternly.
"I know..." she mumbled.
"Let them go clean up Lilly" Skylar said as Isaac was putting her down. She gave them both one more hug before bouncing back into the living room to play. Isaac waited till he could no longer see her when he turned to Skylar and his father.
"We almost had a run in with militia..." he said, sending them to whip their heads away from the rabbits.
"What?"
"They were leading away some kids, looked like they were headed towards town" Derek said as he rubbed the dirt from his skin with a wet cloth.
"Did they see you?" their father asked, more in anger then worry.
"No, it was too dark and we hid in some bushes before they could"
"You're both lucky, they would have snatched you up"
"Who says they won't when they come for taxes?" Isaac argued.
"Then we'll just have to make sure you aren't home when they come" he replied.
"We could do something you know" Derek said angrily.
"Derek don't" Skylar scorned softly.
"What? What doesn't she want you to say?" their father asked. Skylar glared up at her brother, shaking her head and mouthing 'no' to him but he ignored her.
"There's rumor about...about a resistance" he said, his voice low as if militia could be listening right outside their door. A long silence fell over the kitchen. Skylar, Isaac and Derek all held their breath as he stopped skinning the rabbit and turned to face them.
"I know, i've heard" he finally spoke, placing the knife down on the counter gently.
"I want to join" Derek said firmly and held his father's hard gaze. Skylar and Isaac exchanged glances, Sky bit her lip waiting for their father to explode in anger. But he didn't...he just continued to stand looking at Derek with that all too familiar scolding glare. The one he gave when they fought with each other, or got into trouble or disappointed him in some way...
"The only thing the resistance will get you is a bed six feet deep"
"This is something I want to do. Something I have to do! I want to fight back!"
"Derek" Skylar said firmly, grabbing his jacket sleeve to hush him.
"No Sky! We can't just stand by and watch Monroe take our crops, our people! Boys my age and years younger are being brain washed and forced to work as slaves for Monroe and his militia" he continued to yell, slurring the word 'militia' like it was some gross, despising creature.
"So what are you going to do? Join the resistance? Leave your family? Leave your sisters who need you here!" their father yelled back.
"I'm doing it for them! To protect them!" he yelled back, facing his father firmly. Not taking his eyes from him as Lilly walked into the kitchen from hearing all the yelling.
"Derek," she said, tears in her eyes again, "why are you leaving. I don't want you to go!"
He only looked away from his father to look down at Lilly as she stood in the wide archway between the kitchen and dining room. He went over to her and got down on his knees so he could look into her eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere kiddo" he whispered to her and picked her up in his arms.
"We aren't done with this" their father said as Derek walked away with Lilly in his arms, her face buried in his shirt.
"Yes...we are" Derek replied without looking back as he walked through the dining room and out of their sight.
"Finish these damn rabbits" their father said angrily and walked past Isaac.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Into town" he replied, grabbing his jacket he slammed the back door behind him and headed for the barn to grab one of the horses. Isaac moved next to Skylar to help finish preparing the rabbits for dinner.
"So what about you?" she asked after they cut off the meat and threw it onto one of the plates.
"What about me what?
"Are you going to join too?"
"I want too...But I won't"
"Because of Dad?"
"No, because of you and Lilly" he said softly, looking down at her. She just nodded as they brought the meat outside. They skewered the rabbit meat and cooked it over a fire. They did it in silence as Skylar contemplated what would happen if her brothers went off to fight in the rebellion...and Isaac contemplated what would happen if he didn't...While Derek and Isaac were twins, they didn't look exactly alike. It was called being 'fraternal' twins their father said. They both had the same dirty blonde hair, not as bright and blonde as Lilly's but not nearly as brunette as Skylar's either. Derek had blue eyes and was a lot taller, which he argued was from being the eldest (even though he was only older then Isaac by a few minutes). Isaac had those piercing dark brown eyes and despite being shorter, he was a lot more muscular than Derek. Derek also had a thick stubble since he hated to shave while Isaac was always had a clean cut look. When they finished cooking the rabbit they brought it inside and set the small dining table.
"Should we wait for dad?" Skylar asked.
"No, he'll be back too late" Derek answered as he and Lilly joined them. Skylar grabbed a little bread and cheese and they sat down to eat, once again in silence. Lilly looked back and forth in between the three of them, still worried from the fighting earlier and now their father having left in a hurry into town.
"What's the resistance?" she suddenly asked. Skylar glared at Derek and he ignored her gaze as he turned to Lilly to answer.
"It doesn't matter. But Lil, you can't ever mention it again. Ever. Not to anyone, all right?"
"All right"
"Are you sure you understand? It's very important Lillian Martha Jones " he said, he only ever used her full name when he was being stern with her.
"Yes! I understand" she exclaimed as she waved her fork at him. When they finished eating, Lilly helped Skylar clean up as Isaac and Derek went to finish cleaning the dirt from themselves and change clothes. As they set the dishes into the sink to leave to wash tomorrow, the sun was setting and it grew dark inside the house forcing Skylar to light the candles and lanterns. She looked down at Lilly as she dragged her feet across the kitchen floor and rubbed her drooping eyes.
"All right it's time for bed"
"But i'm not even tired" she said with a large yawn.
"I beg to differ" she smiled as she took Lilly's hand and led her back up to their room. She helped her change into her white night gown as she just barely forced her arms over her head, heaving out another long yawn.
"Will you sing me Hush-A-Bye Mountain?" she asked as Skylar tucked her underneath her pink striped comforter.
"Of course" she smiled, handing Lilly the pink teddy bear she loved so much.
She began to sing in a soft whisper as she stroked back Lilly's thin blonde curls;
"The winds of the night, so softly are sighing.
Soon they will fly your troubles to sea.
So close your eyes on hush-a-bye mountain.
And wave goodbye to cares of the day.
Watch your boat from hush-a-bye mountain.
Sail far away, from lullaby bay"
Lilly drifted off before she even finished the song, Skylar kissed her cheek before quietly leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. She made her way down the hall, passing the open door of the bathroom she caught of glimpse of her brother. She doubled back and knocked on the door frame,
"Can I come in?" she asked quietly.
"Of course" Derek replied as he brought the razor over his cheek.
"Are you really going to leave?" she asked, sitting on top of the long counter as he continued to shave.
"I don't know" he replied, slightly glancing at her before splashing cold water on his face. He rubbed his smooth skin, looking over his work in the mirror.
"I didn't mean to yell at you before" he said.
"It's okay. I just don't want you to go. It was hard enough when mom died. I don't want to know what would happen to us if you died too"
"I just can't sit around anymore. I can't watch them continue to hurt people. It's killing me Sky"
He turned around and pushed himself up on the counter and sat next to her, being careful not to fall back into the sink as he did. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her.
"Hey," he said squeezing her arm gently, "It'll be okay"
"You don't know that" she replied.
"Yes I do"
"How could you possibly know?"
"Because I know everything" he smirked. She smiled up at him and he kissed the top of her head before jumping down,
"Come on, you look tired you should get some sleep" he told her as they walked out of the bathroom.
"Wake me when dad gets back?" she asked as they walked to her room.
"I don't know if I want to be awake for that myself" he whispered.
"Just please try and understand what you're putting him through with this" she answered with pleading blue eyes.
"Fine. Fishing tomorrow?"
"Sure" she replied with a smile and quietly opened the door to her room. She changed into pajamas and tip toed over to the bed adjacent from Lilly's. She crawled under the blankets and turned out the small flame in the lantern on the bedside table between her and Lilly.
She fell asleep quickly, dreaming of a red, white and blue flag flying in the sky.
