The darkness of the night had always been Molly's favourite thing in the world. She loved the stillness of it and how she would sit for hours and stare at nothing in particular and not be shamed for it because no one would simply ever know. It was the beauty that she had been denied for so long and yet, she didn't mind that. Now, however, the night was not something she welcomed with open arms as she once used to.
Night meant darkness and darkness meant that it was not all that easy to see what might be going on around you. With the dead that roamed the Earth, that was not something anyone exactly needed or welcomed anymore. Not being able to see when you were being hunted was alarming.
Molly sighed, pulling the torn curtain back and taking a look out into the darkness. She could vividly make out that of the trees that surrounded the cabin but that was about all.
She dropped the curtain and turned to look back at Sophia who she had left curled up in the corner with a few blankets she had raided the house for once she had fallen asleep. She had also insured there were things in front of the doors so that if they were to be opened, she would know about it.
It wasn't as though she was expecting the doors to be opened; Molly more so hoped they would. She hoped that one of the group would manage to find them and lead them back to where Jacob was and finally, she would be allowed to let her guard down a little.
Hope wasn't on her side that night. Molly forced herself to wake up every time she dozed off throughout the night. She checked the window periodically and made note of anything that seemed as though it had moved it's original spot which thankfully, nothing seemed out of place in the darkness that slowly began to lighten.
Molly's head shot up from where it had been resting against the wall at the first sound of noise she had heard since Sophia had fallen asleep. She was suddenly, more alert than she had been all night, if that was even possible. Her eyes filtered the room, landing on Sophia who was still sleeping soundly in the corner.
She sat there, in the front room of the cabin, next to Sophia's makeshift bed where the girl was still quietly snoring, and for the life of her, Molly just couldn't take her eyes off Sophia's form. Her head tilted to the side as she studied her, letting her gaze drift up and down the length of her as she slept.
It was as she was looking at Sophia that the noise that awoke her erupted again. For a micro-second, Molly panicked. Her head whipped to the side so that her left ear was not against the wall and free to listen to the noise that had startled her. As quick as the panic had arose it had all but turned to dust. The noise was a familiar one, a noise she welcomed
The chirps came in bursts, bringing a small smile to Molly's face. The birds were calling to one another in that beautiful way they do, the songs coming from different distances.
Slowly, Molly pushed herself to her feet. She moved around the cabin with a light foot, not wanting to wake Sophia. She moved to the window and pulled the same curtain back she had looked out of throughout the night. A little bird, in a bold cap of golden feathers, alights upon the blossomed twig from the large tree she had been unable to see due to the darkness last night.
It was as she was smiling up at the chirping bird that her eyes zeroed in on something behind it. She focused on it, trying to figure out if her eyes were deceiving her or not. When she was sure they weren't, she frowned.
A billow of smoke was disappearing into the early morning sky. Molly could easily tell what it was as it wasn't all that light due to it still beating early. Molly based the timing around six in the morning, from her experience, that's is.
For a fleeting moment, she longed for her cup of coffee she would enjoy on the porch as she watched the sunrise. Molly quickly shook her head and followed the smoke down to where it was coming from.
A lone cabin, almost identical to the one she was currently in sat a good couple yards away, the black smoke wafting from the chimney. The first thought that crossed Molly's mind was, how could I have missed that? The second was thoughts on how the smoke had got there and the third and final thought was that if she was lucky, someone would be over there.
The third seemed to appeal to her most and though she knew the risks, she also knew that she couldn't just not check it out. If someone was over there, maybe they'd be able to help. With her mind made up, Molly moved away from the window. She walked to the open planned kitchen and began to search the drawers.
The first drawer she opened was full of unopened letters, the second, full of hat Molly could only describe a junk. The third drawer she opened, was the one she was looking for. Her hand reached in and she pulled out a knife, frowning at the thought of leaving the cabin with the knife in the first place. Shaking her head, she pushed the drawer shut and moved back to the first drawer, shoving the knife through her belt loop.
Pulling out a letter and a pen, she began to scribble on the blank side of the letter. Be back soon, DON'T LEAVE! Molly. Once she had wrote what she wanted to, she dropped the pen and picked up the letter and moved quietly to Sophia. Molly placed the letter beside her head on the floor, reaching out to brush some hair behind the young girls ear.
For a second, Molly doubted what she was about to do. Leaving Sophia behind was her best chance at keeping her safe and though she hated it, that was all he wanted to do; Keep Sophia safe.
Deciding to move before she changed her mind, Molly pushed herself to her feet and eyed the barricaded door with a tilt of her head. She frowned, deciding to leave it in place, she moved back to the kitchen and reached out to pull the window open. With a little bit of struggle, she hoisted herself onto the counter and pushed both her legs out the window before sliding her whole body out, her boots crunching on the gravel below the window.
She was quick to set of, wanting to get back before Sophia had a chance to wake up and be sat alone waiting for her to return. The sun shown down on her and she allowed herself a few moments to bask in it before she nodded and carried on towards the cabin. Too many things to do and too many distractions to appreciate the warm breeze and that bright sunshine.
Her boots crunched against the gravel as she walked closer to the cabin, noticing that the smoke was beginning to disappear. She walked up towards the steps, her eyes open for anything as she reached to grab the knife from her belt loop. Molly came to a sudden stop on the third step from the front door.
A set of keys with a fluffy blue keychain lay haphazardly on the gravel, right next to the door; The door that was just barely ajar, like someone had opened it in a hurry and the door bounced back just out of reach of the latch. Molly stared at the door for a beat too long. And then, on pure reflex, with her heart pulsing through fear-tinged adrenaline, she knocked a balled fist against the door, leaning in to listen for any sign of movement behind it.
There was nothing. Nothing to be heard.
She tried again, her fist hitting the wood a little louder this time and yet, no one made a noise on the inside. "Hello?" She tried, calling out through the crack in the door. Who was she kidding, if no one answered the first time, she highly doubted that they would answer the third.
With a deep breath, she reached out and pushed the door open, listening as it groaned and croaked it's way. She stepped in, mindful of the noise encase she drew in any unwanted attention.
Her boots left muddy footprints on the carpet as she walked through the narrow hallway. Picture frames were littered on the wall, most of them containing an old man who was surrounded by different people within them. Some had children while some grown adults. If Molly had to bet, she'd say the old man was the owner of the cabin.
As she made it into the living room, her eyes instantly landed on the fireplace, the cause for the smoke she had seen. The fire itself was out, some of the coal used were slightly orange, meaning that the fire had been put out no longer than a day ago. She eyed it, her hope for someone being here slowly leaving her and yet, she continued through the cabin anyway.
As she moved through the kitchen towards the lone bedroom, she grabbed the red pocket knife on the kitchen side and slid it into her back pocket. just encase.
The bedroom door, like the front, was slightly ajar. She gripped her knife tighter in her hand and lifted her leg, kicked out gently at the door to push it fully open.
Instantly, she was on alert. Laying in the bed was the same old man she had seen in the photographs. It was as she was about to open her mouth to wake him that she noticed five empty pots of pills. It was clear to her in that moment what he had done and though she hated herself for it, the only thing she could think of was that she was glad she left Sophia back at the other cabin.
"I'm sorry I didn't realise you were here sooner… Maybe you'd still be alive." Molly found herself muttering. "Maybe we could've helped each other out..."
She stared and stared until finally, she couldn't stand to be anywhere near a dead man. She winced and spun on her heal, taking note of the raided cupboards and left the same way she had entered. She pulled the door closed, said a little prayer for the man and set of back to Sophia, her eyes slightly wet and full of annoyance that she had let herself build up her excitement.
The kitchen window was still open and for a moment, she berated herself for not shutting it. She reached out and climbed in much easier than she had climbed out. Once her feet were on the kitchen floor she sighed and decided that they needed a plan.
Speaking of they, Molly looked over at Sophia's form, a frown coming to her face when she noticed the young girl sat up and awake, her eyes wet with tears as she clutched at her bear. "Sophia What's wrong?"
Molly dashed forward, kneeling down. "Y-you left me! You were gone when I-I woke up!" The girl cried.
"Okay, okay, okay," Molly muttered under her breath. "You're fine, you're fine." Sophia took a few deep breaths, clutching at Molly like her life depended on it. "I'm so sorry, Sophia. I thought it would be less scary if I left and got back before you even woke up. I'm so sorry, I did what I thought was best."
Molly felt bad for thinking it, but for a moment, she wished it was just her lost and not her and a child who was clearly scared to be left alone, let alone be away from her mother.