End Game by Proxii Bleu
V
"That's a big hole." Mal, Jayne, Simon, Wash, and two of Kaylee's brothers stood staring up at one of the livestock barns examining a vast cavern that had formed in the middle of one side of the roof. While beautiful, Carousel was known for its violent storms, the barn was the most recent victim of the planet's Mercurial temper.
According to Marcus who was Kaylee's cousin , about a month ago they had one of the biggest windstorms on record. Trees were blown down, homes were destroyed, but the most exciting part (at least from his point of view) was when Hank Combs - their neighbor - looked out the window of his house at his cattle who were huddled against each other to weather the storm, and saw one of his heifers get picked right up off the ground.
Well not being able to do much about it, he'd gone back to bed, but just two miles over the Frye family (the part that lived on the old homestead where the crew was at) had been awakened in the middle of the night by a terrible crash that sounded like the whole sky had fallen down.
Worried that one of the barns had blown away Marylin, Hannah, Kaylee's oldest brother John, and Marcus had gone out there to look and saw Hank's cow sticking up out of their barn roof. At this point in the tale Wash and Simon had started snickering until a look from Mal cut them off. If that hadn't been shocking enough, the poor cow had survived, and if no one believed him they could look right over there at the brown and white heifer who was sleeping under one of the nearby trees.
One look at her would tell anyone with a brain that she was the cow in question. All along her left side was a huge scar from here she had been cut up by the shingles when she crashed through the roof, but they hadn't butchered her because Hannah who was superstitious believed that it was bad luck to slaughter a cow that had fallen out of the heavens. Normally Marylin would have ignored her, but Hannah had made such a stink about it that they let the cow alone to roam the pastures unharmed.
Now, they had their very own lucky cow.
The boys had already fixed the trusses, but they hadn't done the roof itself because their Uncle Paul refused to give Marylin the shingles due to the fact that his new wife Jennie wouldn't let him after learning that the family she had married into had Readers in it, and said that she wanted no part of helping Witches.
"I know it's a big hole, but like I was tellin' ya Aunt Jennie won't let Uncle Paul give Marylin the shingles."
"I thought Paul didn't like Marylin because Marylin doesn't like him for putting roofing pitch in her hair, so he thinks that to get revenge she made sure that Kaylee and her siblings have the family name, instead of his?" Everyone one turned to look at Simon who was sitting neatly on a fence rail.
"And how do you know that?" asked Mal. Last time he checked, only the senior crew knew the whole Paul / Marylin saga. Simon just shrugged.
"Kaylee told me the night before we arrived so that I would have a better understanding of her family relations."
"Well last month they put that whole thing to rest," said Marcus. "But now Aunt Jennie is stirring it up again."
"And she don't even believe in witches." That was Denny, the youngest of the three, and two years older than Ben. "My cousin Danica heard her say so, she just doesn't like Marylin because Marylin gets to have all the say-so."
"That so?" asked Simon as he thought to himself. Wash, Mal, and Jayne looked at Simon who was frowning as he thought.
"What's going on that head of yours Doc?"
"Well," Simon got up from his seat. "I'm just remembering a phrase River taught me once. What you don't know can't hurt you. Paul already promised Marylin the shingles right?"
"Yeah." said Marcus looking at his brothers.
"Then it can't hurt really if Paul doesn't give them to her."
"I think the sun's bakin' the Doc's brain." said Jayne. Mal shook his head. He had a feeling where Simon was going, and so did the boys.
"Ah, you're saying we should collect what's already owned?" Simon smiled, and folded his arms neatly in front of him.
"And Aunt Jennie doesn't have to know anything about it." Marcus clapped Simon on the back.
"You know, I'm beginning to think you'll fit right in out here." Walking Simon over to a spot in the dust, the men began drawing up plans for collecting the shingles.
***
"Hello?" It was later in the afternoon, and River was feeling slightly bored. She had spent most of the morning playing with Kaylee and her other brothers, but after awhile the constrant noise began to get to her so she decided to go return to the quiet.
Even thought it wasn't really quiet.
Back around the buildings of the farm she could still hear mumuring, sense things that others couldn't, but it wasn't as overwhelming. Inside she had been slowly opening the last gate to her ocean, letting pieces slip in, but there were still things missing, Mainly the knowledge on how to make the noise stop like Marylin had, or only hear one voice.
Wading through a patch of daisies she came over to the side of a long red building, and peered into the open door. What was this? Inside were grow lights, shelves filled with plants of different species, and all neatly labled with small cards. One look let her know that they were herbs, but their uses were a mystery to her. Stepping into the darkened structure, she looked around at the drying clusters of plants, and then stopped to look at a low bookshelf with a glass front.
A tug told her that it was locked, but inside were dozens of books filled with secret knowledge. For a minute she considered picking the lock, until she turned around and saw more books in a shelf that wasn't guarded. Waking over, she plucked one off of it's resting place, and opened it. Inside were sheets of light blue paper, copies. The locked books were the originals.
Sitting down on a nearby stool, River thumbed through the pages reading about the different uses of the plants growing in the neat little pots. Smiling she set down the volume, and chose another one. This one was about setting bones, another talked about common ailments, and the one she finally held was written about the healing properties of music. She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't notice the figure standing in the doorway.
"Do you think that could fulfill your purpose?" River shot out of her seat, as Marylin came walking into the room. Over her arm was an empty basket, her long fingers curling around the tome as she picked it up off the floor where River had dropped it. Putting it back, she set the basket down, and sat across from the girl who was pressed against the wall.
"Don't worry, I don't bite - hard." River smiled a little, and watched as the woman looked at a list on her desk before rising to go back outside.
"Are you coming?"
"You want me to walk in your footsteps?"
"Well you can't learn about being a Healer otherwise. Besides, I have more to teach you." Coming out of her corner, River followed behind Marylin who had slready started down a long trail that wound down into the woods. It was cooler in the shade of the pines than out in the open, but the two could still feel the heat as they went in search of the plants Marylin needed to replenish her stock.
"So, yesterday you wanted to know how I create silence." River looked down at a small red-leafed vine curling next to her foot, and stooped to pluck it. Marylin's drawings were very detailed, and it looked like one that she called Cat's Blood. The older woman looked at the girl's find, and put it in her basket.
"Good eye, but you didn't answer my question."
"Silence evades me," said River picking her way over some roots. "It slips from my fingers whenever I find it." Marylin frowned as she listened. Most likely the girl's speech patterns had changed after they had gone in through her frontal lobe in order to reach her amygdala. Odds had it that it had been a mistake, a result of the technicians not doing their jobs properly. Shaking her head, she stooped to gather some more of the red vine.
"It's not hard to find. Here, stand there, and tell me what you hear." River stood for a moment. She could hear muttering, many voices jumbled together into one. Some were Simon, others were Mal, but never could she catch just one.
"I hear everything."
"Good, now focus on everything fading away growing softer and softer until it is gone." River tried, at first the voices boomed, and then without realizing it the only thing she heard was her own mind, and the calls of the birds. Marylin smiled as she saw River grasp the concept.
"It's so easy."
"Many of the most difficult things are. Now try to keep the silence for a while, I want you to be sure of it, before I teach you how to seperate." River concentrated, the task not taking up much effort, but still requiring her to stay apprised of the actions of her mind. As they went Marylin explained how over time it would become second nature to her, but for now it required conscious effort to make it happen.
"Is this Preacher's Eye?" River held up a small clump of fungi that was a pale white. its body was round, and grew in long spiraling tracts that swarmed all over the forest floor. Marylin examined it carefully, her eyes looking for a tell tale mark.
"No, this is Judas' Silver. You can tell the difference between the two because Preacher's Eye has a soft sulfur smell, and has a large blue spot underneath. This smells like ammonia see?" River sniffed the mushroom, and made a face. Marylin still dumped it into her basket.
"It's not good for eating, in fact it'll make you sick, but if you grind it up you can use it as an antibiotic to treat wounds so long as it's in a thick paste that's been heated first."
"What happens if it's not?"
"If its not heated the spores will take root in the wound, and grow out of it." River shrieked, and hopped up onto a nearby stump for safety. Marylin laughed, and motioned for her to get down.
"It won't kill you if that happens, in fact it makes a prety thick scab, but for the person with the wound it can give them a bit of a turn."
"A 'turn' is what a ship makes, I believe Simon would die of fright." Marylin opened her mouth to say something when she heard a ruckus through the trees.
"What the hell is that?"
***
"This is a stupid idea," hissed Jayne as he crept through the bushes next to Mal. "There is no gorram way this is gonna work."
"It's gonna work," growled Mal. "Just keep quiet, and remember what to do." For the past thirty minutes Mal, Jayne, Wash, Simon, Marcus, and Denny had been sneaking through the woods over to Paul's house which was just over the hill south of the homestead. Paul himself was in the field for the day with his older sons, while the rest were busy with various chores getting ready for the big family dinner.
As a result the only person that would be standing between them, and the shingles was Jennie herself. The only thing they needed to do was have Wash and Marcus create a distraction while Jayne and Mal loaded the goods onto an AG cart that they were currently lying on, and sneaking through the bushes with. Denny was on lookout, and Simon was currently making his way over to the pig pen in case Wash and Marcus got caught in the chicken coop.
"We're gonna get shot!" said Jayne emphatically. "You heard what that boy said 'bout that woman, she's got a rifle, and I ain't gettin shot over no gorram shingles."
"The only person who's gonna shoot you Jayne is me if you don't shut the hell up! Now start moving your side towards that hole over there."
"What hole?"
"That hole that leads right down to the damn porch where the shingles are!" Jayne started moving his end, the two men creeping over the lawn like a large flat snake as they pulled themselves over to the stack still wrapped in it's burlap. Easing themselves off, Jayne and Mal started carefully loading the cart. Moving quickly, they were down to the last sack when Jayne accidentally kicked a small pail that he hadn't noticed.
"Damnit!" Mal closed his eyes as the merc noisily kicked it off into the bushes. Inside the house a woman's shrill voice called out.
"Paul is that you? You'd better not be messin' with them shingles!" Mal looked around the porch, and noticed a hoe leaning against the wall.
"Uh, no Jennie, I just came back to get the hoe."
"All right. You sound a little funny. You okay?"
"Just fine, workin that's all."
"I sent Mark up with a pail of cold milk for you and the boys, I'll be askin if you had some."
"Don't worry I will." The two men let out a sigh of relief as they heard the woman retreat to some other part of the house, leaving them in the clear. Dumping the last sack on the cart, Mal grabbed an end, and started moving it back towards the trees. Now, having been a scavenger and part-time thief for so long, Mal knew that there were times when the best laid plans could go awry.
This was one of those times.
While the men were making their way back up the hill into the woods, Paul's son Mark had come back to the house with his empty pail of milk. Jennie who was inside cooking lunch, smiled at her son as he set down his empty container.
"I'm going to have to send you back out with some more milk."
"Why?" asked Mark as he watched her stir together the ingredients for some biscuits.
"Because your father was just down here for the hoe, and seein how the pail is empty there won't be any milk for him when he gets back to the field." Mark frowned at his step-mother.
"I don't know how, Papa was in the field with a hoe, and he already had some milk." Jennie dropped her bowl in the sink. Her black eyes narrowing as her angular form snapped around to look at the back door.
"I KNEW IT!" Grabbing the rifle off of it's hook over the sink, she threw open the back door, and spotted Mal and Jayne heading into the woods.
"Get back here you dirty thieves!"
"Shit!" Mal and Jayne picked up the pace as a tree splintered into a thousand pieces over their heads. By the chicken coop Wash and Marcus heard the commotion and decided to get out of there before Jennie decided to use them for target practice. Speeding away from the birds, Marcus was already heading for the woods, but Wash had gotten caught by the fowl who had flown into a frenzy at the pair's sudden movmements, and like any scared chicken they started pecking anything they came across.
Yelling Wash crashed straight through the gate of the coop, the whole thing flying apart as he ran for the trees. A hen holding on firmly to the back of his shirt cawing, pecking, and beating him with her wings for all she was worth. Jennie saw her coop fly to pieces, and from her angle it looked like Wash was escaping with her prize birds. Pumping more shells into the chamber, she took out three saplings as she tried to hit the pilot.
"Get back here you son of a bitch!" she screamed. Gripping the gun, she took off after the three, murder in her eyes as she crashed through the brush.
Now while this was going on, Simon had taken refuge next to the pig pen wondering when would be a good time for him to get out of there. He heard the shots, the nail-on-chalkboard screaming of Jennie, and now was wondering if his situation could get any worse. Running his hand through his hair, he looked over to his left and saw a pair of red eyes looking at him through the slats in the pig pen. Frowning he turned to get a better look at the hog, his blood running cold as he saw the spiky tufts of sharp black hair sticking up off of it's large body.
Jennie Cook had a pen filled with brush pigs.
Letting out a wild yell, Simon backed away just as the boar who didn't appreciate the doctor's intrusion exploded through the wood fence. Pawing the ground with it's sharp hooves, the hog shook it's tusks at the younger man, and charged.
Screaming, Simon ran for the trees the pig hot on his heels as he cannoned into trees, fell down hills, and was occassionally sprayed by tree splinters as Jennie shot at his comrades. The boar in the meantime was unwilling to give up the chase, it's jaws snapping at thin air as it tried to catch the poor man.
In the woods Marylin and River stood watching as Mal and Jayne came tearing down the trail, gunshots exploding behind them as Jennie continued to give chase. The two just watched them run by, along with Wash and the hen, Marcus, and finally Simon with the pig on his heels. All of which were followed by Jennie who was hastily trying to reload while giving pursuit.
"HELP! ZOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Now while all of this had been going on, Zoe had been enjoying her pregnancy by lying on her back on the front porch, and napping in the shade of the afternoon sun. However, her quiet was broken by the sound of gunshots, and Wash bursting out of the woods with a chicken on his back. Inara who had been sitting in the porch swing reading took one look at the spectacle, and immediately wondered if she was hallucinating from the heat.
Hefting herself up from her seat, Zoe watched as Wash danced around with the chicken on his back. Waiting for the right moment, she picked the bird off of him, and let it flap off into the bushes.
"What the hell is going on?" Wash didn't get to answer because at that moment Jayne and Mal came running, their hands slipping off the AG cart as they dashed for the side of the house with Marcus. A piece of molding flew off the wall as Jennie narrowly missed Jayne.
"We stole some shingles." said Wash simply as Simon came racing through the bushes the pig still after him. Taking one look at the pair, Inara hopped out of her seat right as Simon cleared the porch rail, and dove in through the window. The pig never slowed down, the railing flew to pieces as it tried to barrel right into the window after the doctor.
Jennie came out of the woods, her eyes spotting the backside of what she thought was one of the men, and fired. The huge animal collapsed ontp the porch with a loud thud, much to the surprise and horror of everyone present. Seeing the animal go down, Jennie held up the gun, and crowed her victory.
"I GOT HIM! I GOT HIM!"
"You got a pig." Jennie spun around as Marylin jerked the rifle out of her thin hands. The older woman's eyes were blue coals as she glowered at her in-law, the gun shaking as she tried to keep her temper in check.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Shooting up MY house, and trying to kill MY guests?"
"They stole from me!"
"Paul promised me those shingles, and you damn well know it!" River who had been following behind Kaylee's aunt, stood off to the site watching the scene. Her eyes wandering back and forth between the two as they argued.
"I'm not giving a damn thing to a bunch of witches! You should all burn!"
"Just like your brother in the fire with the ducks?" Jennie stopped her ranting, and looked over at River who was staring at her fixedly. What Marylin Lee Frye didn't understand was that River possessed an above average IQ, as a result once she found the secret to holding on to her hard-sought silence, she already began experimenting with seperating. Her mind for once only hearing one other voice instead of dozens.
"He burned in the fire with Marylin's ducks with Carl, but he wouldn't have if Carl had never called to him." Jennie's black eyes widened, her body shrinking away from River as the girl advanced a step. "You say she's a witch to cover your anger, but in truth her heart is purer than the shard of coal you carry. You wouldn't hate her so if you could just let Ned go."
Marylin blinked at River while Jennie shrank away from the girl like she was a leper. The woman sputtering as River simply picked up her basket, and walked over to the porch to see about Simon who was audibly complaining from his spot on the other side of the window. Mal who had come over to see if Marylin needed help just stared at Paul's wife as she ran back through the woods, not even stopping to retrieve her precious rifle as she fled.
"Something tells me River hit a nerve." said Mal as he turned to look at Marylin who was just standing with her eyebrows raised. The older woman shook her head, and started walking over to the house.
"I've been persecuted for a lot of things in my life Mal, but this is a new one for me. There are over five families of Cook on Carousel, I never knew that Ned was Jennie's brother. If I had-" She stopped and instead stared at the missing chunk of molding, the shattered railing, and the dead pig denting her porch. Moved only by River who was examining it's massive tusks.
"On second thought," said Marylin drily. "She's lucky I don't shoot her."
V
"That's a big hole." Mal, Jayne, Simon, Wash, and two of Kaylee's brothers stood staring up at one of the livestock barns examining a vast cavern that had formed in the middle of one side of the roof. While beautiful, Carousel was known for its violent storms, the barn was the most recent victim of the planet's Mercurial temper.
According to Marcus who was Kaylee's cousin , about a month ago they had one of the biggest windstorms on record. Trees were blown down, homes were destroyed, but the most exciting part (at least from his point of view) was when Hank Combs - their neighbor - looked out the window of his house at his cattle who were huddled against each other to weather the storm, and saw one of his heifers get picked right up off the ground.
Well not being able to do much about it, he'd gone back to bed, but just two miles over the Frye family (the part that lived on the old homestead where the crew was at) had been awakened in the middle of the night by a terrible crash that sounded like the whole sky had fallen down.
Worried that one of the barns had blown away Marylin, Hannah, Kaylee's oldest brother John, and Marcus had gone out there to look and saw Hank's cow sticking up out of their barn roof. At this point in the tale Wash and Simon had started snickering until a look from Mal cut them off. If that hadn't been shocking enough, the poor cow had survived, and if no one believed him they could look right over there at the brown and white heifer who was sleeping under one of the nearby trees.
One look at her would tell anyone with a brain that she was the cow in question. All along her left side was a huge scar from here she had been cut up by the shingles when she crashed through the roof, but they hadn't butchered her because Hannah who was superstitious believed that it was bad luck to slaughter a cow that had fallen out of the heavens. Normally Marylin would have ignored her, but Hannah had made such a stink about it that they let the cow alone to roam the pastures unharmed.
Now, they had their very own lucky cow.
The boys had already fixed the trusses, but they hadn't done the roof itself because their Uncle Paul refused to give Marylin the shingles due to the fact that his new wife Jennie wouldn't let him after learning that the family she had married into had Readers in it, and said that she wanted no part of helping Witches.
"I know it's a big hole, but like I was tellin' ya Aunt Jennie won't let Uncle Paul give Marylin the shingles."
"I thought Paul didn't like Marylin because Marylin doesn't like him for putting roofing pitch in her hair, so he thinks that to get revenge she made sure that Kaylee and her siblings have the family name, instead of his?" Everyone one turned to look at Simon who was sitting neatly on a fence rail.
"And how do you know that?" asked Mal. Last time he checked, only the senior crew knew the whole Paul / Marylin saga. Simon just shrugged.
"Kaylee told me the night before we arrived so that I would have a better understanding of her family relations."
"Well last month they put that whole thing to rest," said Marcus. "But now Aunt Jennie is stirring it up again."
"And she don't even believe in witches." That was Denny, the youngest of the three, and two years older than Ben. "My cousin Danica heard her say so, she just doesn't like Marylin because Marylin gets to have all the say-so."
"That so?" asked Simon as he thought to himself. Wash, Mal, and Jayne looked at Simon who was frowning as he thought.
"What's going on that head of yours Doc?"
"Well," Simon got up from his seat. "I'm just remembering a phrase River taught me once. What you don't know can't hurt you. Paul already promised Marylin the shingles right?"
"Yeah." said Marcus looking at his brothers.
"Then it can't hurt really if Paul doesn't give them to her."
"I think the sun's bakin' the Doc's brain." said Jayne. Mal shook his head. He had a feeling where Simon was going, and so did the boys.
"Ah, you're saying we should collect what's already owned?" Simon smiled, and folded his arms neatly in front of him.
"And Aunt Jennie doesn't have to know anything about it." Marcus clapped Simon on the back.
"You know, I'm beginning to think you'll fit right in out here." Walking Simon over to a spot in the dust, the men began drawing up plans for collecting the shingles.
***
"Hello?" It was later in the afternoon, and River was feeling slightly bored. She had spent most of the morning playing with Kaylee and her other brothers, but after awhile the constrant noise began to get to her so she decided to go return to the quiet.
Even thought it wasn't really quiet.
Back around the buildings of the farm she could still hear mumuring, sense things that others couldn't, but it wasn't as overwhelming. Inside she had been slowly opening the last gate to her ocean, letting pieces slip in, but there were still things missing, Mainly the knowledge on how to make the noise stop like Marylin had, or only hear one voice.
Wading through a patch of daisies she came over to the side of a long red building, and peered into the open door. What was this? Inside were grow lights, shelves filled with plants of different species, and all neatly labled with small cards. One look let her know that they were herbs, but their uses were a mystery to her. Stepping into the darkened structure, she looked around at the drying clusters of plants, and then stopped to look at a low bookshelf with a glass front.
A tug told her that it was locked, but inside were dozens of books filled with secret knowledge. For a minute she considered picking the lock, until she turned around and saw more books in a shelf that wasn't guarded. Waking over, she plucked one off of it's resting place, and opened it. Inside were sheets of light blue paper, copies. The locked books were the originals.
Sitting down on a nearby stool, River thumbed through the pages reading about the different uses of the plants growing in the neat little pots. Smiling she set down the volume, and chose another one. This one was about setting bones, another talked about common ailments, and the one she finally held was written about the healing properties of music. She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't notice the figure standing in the doorway.
"Do you think that could fulfill your purpose?" River shot out of her seat, as Marylin came walking into the room. Over her arm was an empty basket, her long fingers curling around the tome as she picked it up off the floor where River had dropped it. Putting it back, she set the basket down, and sat across from the girl who was pressed against the wall.
"Don't worry, I don't bite - hard." River smiled a little, and watched as the woman looked at a list on her desk before rising to go back outside.
"Are you coming?"
"You want me to walk in your footsteps?"
"Well you can't learn about being a Healer otherwise. Besides, I have more to teach you." Coming out of her corner, River followed behind Marylin who had slready started down a long trail that wound down into the woods. It was cooler in the shade of the pines than out in the open, but the two could still feel the heat as they went in search of the plants Marylin needed to replenish her stock.
"So, yesterday you wanted to know how I create silence." River looked down at a small red-leafed vine curling next to her foot, and stooped to pluck it. Marylin's drawings were very detailed, and it looked like one that she called Cat's Blood. The older woman looked at the girl's find, and put it in her basket.
"Good eye, but you didn't answer my question."
"Silence evades me," said River picking her way over some roots. "It slips from my fingers whenever I find it." Marylin frowned as she listened. Most likely the girl's speech patterns had changed after they had gone in through her frontal lobe in order to reach her amygdala. Odds had it that it had been a mistake, a result of the technicians not doing their jobs properly. Shaking her head, she stooped to gather some more of the red vine.
"It's not hard to find. Here, stand there, and tell me what you hear." River stood for a moment. She could hear muttering, many voices jumbled together into one. Some were Simon, others were Mal, but never could she catch just one.
"I hear everything."
"Good, now focus on everything fading away growing softer and softer until it is gone." River tried, at first the voices boomed, and then without realizing it the only thing she heard was her own mind, and the calls of the birds. Marylin smiled as she saw River grasp the concept.
"It's so easy."
"Many of the most difficult things are. Now try to keep the silence for a while, I want you to be sure of it, before I teach you how to seperate." River concentrated, the task not taking up much effort, but still requiring her to stay apprised of the actions of her mind. As they went Marylin explained how over time it would become second nature to her, but for now it required conscious effort to make it happen.
"Is this Preacher's Eye?" River held up a small clump of fungi that was a pale white. its body was round, and grew in long spiraling tracts that swarmed all over the forest floor. Marylin examined it carefully, her eyes looking for a tell tale mark.
"No, this is Judas' Silver. You can tell the difference between the two because Preacher's Eye has a soft sulfur smell, and has a large blue spot underneath. This smells like ammonia see?" River sniffed the mushroom, and made a face. Marylin still dumped it into her basket.
"It's not good for eating, in fact it'll make you sick, but if you grind it up you can use it as an antibiotic to treat wounds so long as it's in a thick paste that's been heated first."
"What happens if it's not?"
"If its not heated the spores will take root in the wound, and grow out of it." River shrieked, and hopped up onto a nearby stump for safety. Marylin laughed, and motioned for her to get down.
"It won't kill you if that happens, in fact it makes a prety thick scab, but for the person with the wound it can give them a bit of a turn."
"A 'turn' is what a ship makes, I believe Simon would die of fright." Marylin opened her mouth to say something when she heard a ruckus through the trees.
"What the hell is that?"
***
"This is a stupid idea," hissed Jayne as he crept through the bushes next to Mal. "There is no gorram way this is gonna work."
"It's gonna work," growled Mal. "Just keep quiet, and remember what to do." For the past thirty minutes Mal, Jayne, Wash, Simon, Marcus, and Denny had been sneaking through the woods over to Paul's house which was just over the hill south of the homestead. Paul himself was in the field for the day with his older sons, while the rest were busy with various chores getting ready for the big family dinner.
As a result the only person that would be standing between them, and the shingles was Jennie herself. The only thing they needed to do was have Wash and Marcus create a distraction while Jayne and Mal loaded the goods onto an AG cart that they were currently lying on, and sneaking through the bushes with. Denny was on lookout, and Simon was currently making his way over to the pig pen in case Wash and Marcus got caught in the chicken coop.
"We're gonna get shot!" said Jayne emphatically. "You heard what that boy said 'bout that woman, she's got a rifle, and I ain't gettin shot over no gorram shingles."
"The only person who's gonna shoot you Jayne is me if you don't shut the hell up! Now start moving your side towards that hole over there."
"What hole?"
"That hole that leads right down to the damn porch where the shingles are!" Jayne started moving his end, the two men creeping over the lawn like a large flat snake as they pulled themselves over to the stack still wrapped in it's burlap. Easing themselves off, Jayne and Mal started carefully loading the cart. Moving quickly, they were down to the last sack when Jayne accidentally kicked a small pail that he hadn't noticed.
"Damnit!" Mal closed his eyes as the merc noisily kicked it off into the bushes. Inside the house a woman's shrill voice called out.
"Paul is that you? You'd better not be messin' with them shingles!" Mal looked around the porch, and noticed a hoe leaning against the wall.
"Uh, no Jennie, I just came back to get the hoe."
"All right. You sound a little funny. You okay?"
"Just fine, workin that's all."
"I sent Mark up with a pail of cold milk for you and the boys, I'll be askin if you had some."
"Don't worry I will." The two men let out a sigh of relief as they heard the woman retreat to some other part of the house, leaving them in the clear. Dumping the last sack on the cart, Mal grabbed an end, and started moving it back towards the trees. Now, having been a scavenger and part-time thief for so long, Mal knew that there were times when the best laid plans could go awry.
This was one of those times.
While the men were making their way back up the hill into the woods, Paul's son Mark had come back to the house with his empty pail of milk. Jennie who was inside cooking lunch, smiled at her son as he set down his empty container.
"I'm going to have to send you back out with some more milk."
"Why?" asked Mark as he watched her stir together the ingredients for some biscuits.
"Because your father was just down here for the hoe, and seein how the pail is empty there won't be any milk for him when he gets back to the field." Mark frowned at his step-mother.
"I don't know how, Papa was in the field with a hoe, and he already had some milk." Jennie dropped her bowl in the sink. Her black eyes narrowing as her angular form snapped around to look at the back door.
"I KNEW IT!" Grabbing the rifle off of it's hook over the sink, she threw open the back door, and spotted Mal and Jayne heading into the woods.
"Get back here you dirty thieves!"
"Shit!" Mal and Jayne picked up the pace as a tree splintered into a thousand pieces over their heads. By the chicken coop Wash and Marcus heard the commotion and decided to get out of there before Jennie decided to use them for target practice. Speeding away from the birds, Marcus was already heading for the woods, but Wash had gotten caught by the fowl who had flown into a frenzy at the pair's sudden movmements, and like any scared chicken they started pecking anything they came across.
Yelling Wash crashed straight through the gate of the coop, the whole thing flying apart as he ran for the trees. A hen holding on firmly to the back of his shirt cawing, pecking, and beating him with her wings for all she was worth. Jennie saw her coop fly to pieces, and from her angle it looked like Wash was escaping with her prize birds. Pumping more shells into the chamber, she took out three saplings as she tried to hit the pilot.
"Get back here you son of a bitch!" she screamed. Gripping the gun, she took off after the three, murder in her eyes as she crashed through the brush.
Now while this was going on, Simon had taken refuge next to the pig pen wondering when would be a good time for him to get out of there. He heard the shots, the nail-on-chalkboard screaming of Jennie, and now was wondering if his situation could get any worse. Running his hand through his hair, he looked over to his left and saw a pair of red eyes looking at him through the slats in the pig pen. Frowning he turned to get a better look at the hog, his blood running cold as he saw the spiky tufts of sharp black hair sticking up off of it's large body.
Jennie Cook had a pen filled with brush pigs.
Letting out a wild yell, Simon backed away just as the boar who didn't appreciate the doctor's intrusion exploded through the wood fence. Pawing the ground with it's sharp hooves, the hog shook it's tusks at the younger man, and charged.
Screaming, Simon ran for the trees the pig hot on his heels as he cannoned into trees, fell down hills, and was occassionally sprayed by tree splinters as Jennie shot at his comrades. The boar in the meantime was unwilling to give up the chase, it's jaws snapping at thin air as it tried to catch the poor man.
In the woods Marylin and River stood watching as Mal and Jayne came tearing down the trail, gunshots exploding behind them as Jennie continued to give chase. The two just watched them run by, along with Wash and the hen, Marcus, and finally Simon with the pig on his heels. All of which were followed by Jennie who was hastily trying to reload while giving pursuit.
"HELP! ZOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Now while all of this had been going on, Zoe had been enjoying her pregnancy by lying on her back on the front porch, and napping in the shade of the afternoon sun. However, her quiet was broken by the sound of gunshots, and Wash bursting out of the woods with a chicken on his back. Inara who had been sitting in the porch swing reading took one look at the spectacle, and immediately wondered if she was hallucinating from the heat.
Hefting herself up from her seat, Zoe watched as Wash danced around with the chicken on his back. Waiting for the right moment, she picked the bird off of him, and let it flap off into the bushes.
"What the hell is going on?" Wash didn't get to answer because at that moment Jayne and Mal came running, their hands slipping off the AG cart as they dashed for the side of the house with Marcus. A piece of molding flew off the wall as Jennie narrowly missed Jayne.
"We stole some shingles." said Wash simply as Simon came racing through the bushes the pig still after him. Taking one look at the pair, Inara hopped out of her seat right as Simon cleared the porch rail, and dove in through the window. The pig never slowed down, the railing flew to pieces as it tried to barrel right into the window after the doctor.
Jennie came out of the woods, her eyes spotting the backside of what she thought was one of the men, and fired. The huge animal collapsed ontp the porch with a loud thud, much to the surprise and horror of everyone present. Seeing the animal go down, Jennie held up the gun, and crowed her victory.
"I GOT HIM! I GOT HIM!"
"You got a pig." Jennie spun around as Marylin jerked the rifle out of her thin hands. The older woman's eyes were blue coals as she glowered at her in-law, the gun shaking as she tried to keep her temper in check.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Shooting up MY house, and trying to kill MY guests?"
"They stole from me!"
"Paul promised me those shingles, and you damn well know it!" River who had been following behind Kaylee's aunt, stood off to the site watching the scene. Her eyes wandering back and forth between the two as they argued.
"I'm not giving a damn thing to a bunch of witches! You should all burn!"
"Just like your brother in the fire with the ducks?" Jennie stopped her ranting, and looked over at River who was staring at her fixedly. What Marylin Lee Frye didn't understand was that River possessed an above average IQ, as a result once she found the secret to holding on to her hard-sought silence, she already began experimenting with seperating. Her mind for once only hearing one other voice instead of dozens.
"He burned in the fire with Marylin's ducks with Carl, but he wouldn't have if Carl had never called to him." Jennie's black eyes widened, her body shrinking away from River as the girl advanced a step. "You say she's a witch to cover your anger, but in truth her heart is purer than the shard of coal you carry. You wouldn't hate her so if you could just let Ned go."
Marylin blinked at River while Jennie shrank away from the girl like she was a leper. The woman sputtering as River simply picked up her basket, and walked over to the porch to see about Simon who was audibly complaining from his spot on the other side of the window. Mal who had come over to see if Marylin needed help just stared at Paul's wife as she ran back through the woods, not even stopping to retrieve her precious rifle as she fled.
"Something tells me River hit a nerve." said Mal as he turned to look at Marylin who was just standing with her eyebrows raised. The older woman shook her head, and started walking over to the house.
"I've been persecuted for a lot of things in my life Mal, but this is a new one for me. There are over five families of Cook on Carousel, I never knew that Ned was Jennie's brother. If I had-" She stopped and instead stared at the missing chunk of molding, the shattered railing, and the dead pig denting her porch. Moved only by River who was examining it's massive tusks.
"On second thought," said Marylin drily. "She's lucky I don't shoot her."