Dying light from the sunset turned the valley a warm, fiery orange colour that overwhelmed the senses. There was a stark beauty to this barren land with an alien air about it, as though you were transported to a parallel dimension that hadn't suffered a nuclear war over 200 years ago. But there was no time to admire the surroundings as the chill of the night was waiting for the last rays to fade behind the horizon; and especially when fleeing a recent altercation with the Legion and the cannibal tribe of the wastes. Ash held her son tightly in her arms, fearing that if she let go someone would try to steal him away from her again. Gael was her pride, life, and joy; the last remaining memory of her late husband.
Weary and suffering the after effects of her abuse and the adrenaline rush of their escape, she knew they needed to find shelter fast before last light. It was fortunate that she stumbled by an outcropping in the ground that was downwind and just big enough for her and Gael to huddle down in. It wasn't much, but it would protect them from the evening wind's chill and hide them should anyone come looking for them.
"We'll rest here for the night", she spoke softly to Gael, wrapping him up in the crimson cloak she took from the Legionary soldier who helped them escape. For a moment she wondered where he was now and, more importantly, why did he help them escape? No doubt he was long gone by now or caught by the cannibals. The thought made her screw up her face in disgust. Shaking her head from the memory, she curled up next to Gael and let him wriggle to get into a more comfortable position. Watching her boy relax in her arms and drift off to sleep, she mouthed a silent prayer for God to keep them safe.
A cold sunrise woke Aelius from his slumber, making him shiver underneath his thin cloak. Condensation formed from his breath, floating steadily away from him in the still air. Though he'd managed to get maybe an hour or two worth of sleep in the night, he couldn't fully relax as every little noise shook him awake; though thankfully he was still alive. No one had found him, no one came looking. He wondered if everyone from his scouting party had successfully pushed back the attack from the cannibals or if they were dead; he hoped for the latter as they were not good men.
Squinting in the bright morning light while surveying the area, wrapping his cloak tightly over himself, Aelius was at a loss as to what to do next. He certainly couldn't stay where he was or he would perish from exposure, and he couldn't bring himself to go back to the Legion.
'What about Olivia and Hannah? Are you going to leave your sisters in the Legion to suffer and die in misery?' a remorseful thought came to him, making him freeze in panic. How could he just up and leave, deserting his sisters and mother to a horrific fate. He promised himself that he would get them out. A panic started to spread from his mind that made him spiral into despair. Going back would mean certain death, whether it was because word had gotten back to the Legion about his desertion or further down the line when his superiors send him to fight another battle with a savage and brutal tribe. Life expectancy as a Legionary under Caesar's rule was short and a brutal death came for everyone eventually. If he did go back and no one knew about his actions here, he'd still be faced with the difficult task of finding his family; getting them out unnoticed would be practically impossible. For years he had held out hope that he could save them one day. Now, tears streamed down his face as he came to the realisation that he was probably never going to see his sisters or his mother ever again; he had to accept that.
Gasping for air and angrily wiping the tears off his face, he secured his machete to his belt and began carefully traversing down the rocky face, backtracking his way to the last spot he was with Gael and his mother before they split up. He had to do something and a gut feeling was telling him to go back and find Gael. Aelius could survive on his own in the wilderness, especially in this harsh environment; but it would be extremely difficult for someone who isn't familiar with the land and with a small child in tow to navigate their way through the Canyonlands. The least he could do was try to find them and guide them somewhere safe and away from the Legion's long shadow.
A cool and refreshing breeze drifting into the room from a small open window carrying the sweet scent of food and the soft sound of a windchime in the distance, brushed over Joshua's cheek enough to make him stir. Weakly blinking his eyes open, it took him a moment to recognise that he wasn't in a dream. He was lying on a clean bed in someone's room, his body wrapped in bandages; there was a faint astringent smell of medicinal herbs. Lifting his arm to examine, he found that there were indeed leaves stuffed under his bandages.
'Where am I?', he thought curiously, his mind recollecting the last memories before he lost consciousness. Taking some time to absorb his new surroundings, he found the room to be rustic though quite beautiful. The bed he was on was pushed up against the right corner of the room and at the foot of the bed was a wooden trunk with his clothes folded neatly on top of it on one side and a new set of clothes folded next to them. In fact, it looked like someone had gone through the trouble of cleaning and mending them for him. It seemed that whoever took him in meant him no ill will, though it did give Joshua a pang of guilt; if his hosts only knew the ferocity he unleashed on countless innocents, they may have reserved their kindness for someone more…deserving.
Joshua winced, propping himself up so he could try to get a glimpse out of the open window. It looked to be early in the afternoon with a gloriously blue sky all the way to the horizon. He glimpsed other houses around the area, and as he listened, he could hear children playing in the distance. Everything felt almost too good to be true.
Pulling the sheets back he observed the handiwork of his healers. It seemed the burns he suffered around his midsection and for 2/3 of his thighs weren't as bad, which made sense as the armour he wore when he was set alight offered the most protection. Moving still felt excruciatingly painful and it didn't help that he was in a severely weakened physical state. Managing to sit up on the edge of the bed with a silent groan, he noticed a blue metal jug with a short clean whiskey glass on a bedside table next to him. It was quite delicate, with folk style hand painted flowers on one side; but what caught Joshua's eye more than anything was the dripping condensation on the surface. He leaned toward it, examining the contents curiously. Until he saw the clear liquid in the jug, he hadn't realised how thirsty he was. Just as he had a mind to reach over and pour himself a drink, the sound of soft footsteps outside the door to his room immobilised him. In walked a woman whose presence took Joshua's breath away. She opened the door gently in an attempt not to rouse her guest, but when she looked up and saw Joshua sitting on the edge of the bed, his grey blue eyes wide in surprise, she was startled.
"Oh! I'm sorry, hope we didn't wake you", she apologised, still holding on to the door in hesitant anticipation, "I keep telling the kids to keep it down, but they are a playful bunch. Did you want me to give you some privacy?"
Joshua simply stared at her at a loss for what to say. She wore a patched button-down faded denim dress with mid-calf cowboy style ankle boots, and her lightly tousled hair was the colour of white desert sand. There was a warmth to her that seemed to stagger and render him mute.
The woman teetered on her heel while she patiently waited for Joshua to give her an answer, her eyes darting awkwardly around from him to the floor and door. When he didn't reply, she tilted her head to one side and simpered, "You must be thirsty. Here, let me pour you some water", she helped herself in and pushed the door close behind her. He watched her as she pulled up a chair close to him, poured the cool water in the whiskey glass and lightly placed it in his hand. Every movement of her body was graceful, though there was a slight quirkiness to her that kept him guessing.
Recognising that he was being rude to his generous host, Joshua took a drink of the cold water, savouring the sweetness of it, "Thank you, miss…."
"Mary", she smiled, revealing two dimples in her cheeks. Joshua didn't realise it at first glance, but she had two different coloured eyes. Her right eye was bright green and the left an icy blue; it made her every more fascinating and beautiful to look at. "How are you feeling?"
Joshua broke his gaze from her and slowly looked himself over, "Much better, thank you. I must thank your doctor, or healer, for these bandages. It is…soothing".
"Ah! Well, you're welcome", she took his empty glass and set it on the bedside table and crossed her legs.
"You did this?" Joshua asked somewhat embarrassed. He could feel himself blushing as he wondered how much of his exposed skin did she see.
Mary nodded, "Yeah", she looked him over, focusing her attention on the areas where some of the bandages were moved and the medicinal plants were poking out, "We'll have to change your dressings before dinner though".
"Where… Where am I?" Joshua asked, "And how long have I been… here?"
"New Canaan", she answered, "We're at my cabin. It's about a ten-minute walk outside of the town. Daniel and Gregory found you a couple of days ago while out hunting for geckos. Brought you straight back. Can't imagine the stir your arrival caused in town".
Joshua's eyes widened in surprise and almost welled up with tears. He was home.
"You wouldn't happen to know if Dawn Graham is still around?" he asked.
Mary smiled and nodded, "She is. She took to running the town after William passed a few years back. She'll be glad to know that you're awake".
Mary's response puzzled Joshua for a moment, until he figured that she must have known who he was.
"…Do you know me?"
"I know of you, Mr. Graham", Mary answered, the smile waning slightly from her features, "But we've never met. I'm…not a local. I moved here almost a decade ago from another settlement in the North. Your people were kind enough to take me in and help me build this cabin".
"I see…", he answered, mulling over her answer and feeling himself getting swept up by old memories that came flooding back in waves.
"You must be starved", Mary uncrossed her legs and stood up, pulling the chair back to its original spot, "I have some hot food on the stove, would you like me to bring you some?"
Roused from his rambling memories, Joshua nodded, "That's very kind of you". Just as Mary left to bring him some food, Joshua noticed embarrassingly that he must have looked a sight dressed only in his dark grey boxer underwear and his burned skin wrapped in bandages. Grabbing hold of the bedside table for a little support, he forced himself to stand up, biting back a pained yelp as he felt his sore legs strain to get him fully upright. Taking deep breaths in, he slowly walked over to the trunk where his new clothes were folded and put them on. When Mary walked in carrying his plate of food shortly after she almost dropped it in surprise.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I should have helped you with that", she blushed, feeling daft that she didn't think of helping him into his clothes first before getting his meal.
Joshua shook his head, "I managed", he sighed, the weight of the clothes feeling uncomfortable on his still sore skin, "I thought I'd join you at the table for the meal; if that's alright?"
Mary's features lit up in delighted surprise, "Of course! I will just go set the table". She turned to move then stopped and looked him over as if to ask a question, but thought better of it and quickly went into the dining area; busying herself with setting up the table.
Joshua made his way out of the bedroom, down the short hallway and into a spacious room that was a combined living and dining room, with the kitchen nestled in a separate room at the back. A table was already set next to a large open window overlooking the small town of New Canaan, and what a beautiful view it was. It appeared that the whole cabin was made from sturdy wood,perched just a few feet away from a drop in the rocky over cropping that it was built on, looking down the hill with a clear view of the horizon. All around them were green fruit bearing bushes, trees, and crops. Mostly corn, wheat, and some root vegetables from what Joshua could discern.
Mary hastily walked to the table, setting down a basket filled with small bread loaves and a glass jug filled with liquid next to their plates filled with what looked like a vegetable stew, before going back into the kitchen to fetch them some glasses.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right there", she called as she rummaged in some cabinets.
Joshua sat down at the table with a wince, wondering whether this pain would ever subside.
"This smells delicious", he commented, catching whiffs of the food that made him salivate.
Mary smiled as she came back into the room carrying two metal cups for their drink and sat down opposite him, "Thank you. The harvest has been good to us this year".
Joshua poured them both full glasses of drink, which looked like slightly murky yellow water. Noticing the doubt and confusion in Joshua's eyes, Mary explained that it was a drink called lemonade.
"Did you make it?" Joshua asked, intrigued as he took the cup to his nose and sniffed the aromatically sweet yet biting liquid in his cup. The aroma was refreshing, clean and comforting.
"Yes, though it is a bit of a process", Mary chuckled, "I had to grow my own lemon trees to make it. It's taken four years to get enough lemons to make a jug of lemonade".
The taste took Joshua by surprise. It was acidic, yet sweet and strongly aromatic and drinking it made him feel more alert and awake. "I like it!" he exclaimed.
The meal they had was equally delicious and rich, which was surprising as it only consisted of vegetables. The bread loaves that Mary brought in was also freshly made corn bread, still warm in the centre from their bake in the oven. Joshua had to slow his pace to avoid wolfing the food down; he would have hated for his host to think of him a savage.
"If you are feeling up to it later, we can go down into town before dinner time. I know your family are eager to see and speak with you", Mary suggested, handing him another loaf of corn bread after watching him in amusement as he eyed the basket hungrily but refrained from taking seconds.
'My family…' Joshua thought longingly, his eyes straying at the view of his home out of the window.
"I would like that", Joshua answered with a sore longing in his heart. He didn't know how his family would react when he reveals to them his sins against mankind, but he hoped that they would see that even though he was a sinner, he had been saved.
