Wolf sat upright on the bed, looking at Lena's blood painted all over his palm. He looked up, gaping; he could do nothing but stutter, "Lena..!"
Upon a closer look, the left side of the woman's head was matted with crimson, and it also dappled part of her neck and shoulder. Her usually bright and cheery eyes stared at him, though now they had seemed to have instantly aged by many years.
Wolf turned his head sharply to look at Simone. Although she was standing several yards off, he was able to see the ashen hue to the woman's face.
"Simone," Wolf said, as if commanding her attention. She turned to face him obediently; however there was still that air of defiance about her when she responded to his words. Wolf was careful as he spoke next.
"Tell me what happened. I need details."
Lena took the opportunity to move out of the way and tend to her injuries. She passed quickly by Simone, and out of the room to allow them time to discuss.
Simone pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed as she wrapped a bandage around a minor wound on Wolf's forearm. As she dressed the injury, she tilted her head only slightly upward as her mind traveled to the earlier events. Her mouth opened slightly and a soft murmur of, "Oh, where to start…" came out.
Wolf's eyes were fixed on her intently. "The feast. MacWright and his group at the table. Go from there," he told her.
At that moment Simone's head turned to look at him. "Yes, where you turned down the pirates' offers. Now I remember."
"No?" MacWright bellowed. A few startled whispers waved through the colony as the pirate jolted to his feet, nearly knocking the table over. His band took the hint and also rose, hands instantly on their weapons.
Simone was the first to stand, and she grasped Lena's arm, pulling her within earshot. As other colonists leapt away from the table and crowded together, Simone hissed, "Start getting the young ones into hiding." Without hesitation, she shoved Lena off into the crowd, where she was met by a shaken Fiona.
"Mama..?" came Fiona's trembling whisper as Lena embraced her protectively.
Lena and Simone both looked around wildly as the pirates began to throw dishes at the colonists in an attempt to scatter them. Women screamed, men roared, and children began to wail. The clatter of falling dishes blended with those made by weaponry being unsheathed by both the pirates and the colonists.
Simone dove into the crowd, nudging the mothers and nodding to them as she ushered the children from their sides. She slunk away from the crowd, with Lena and a few other mothers having rounded them up. It was a tightly-knit crowd, as the women had formed a circle around the children as they slunk away from the violent outbreak.
One of the pirates noticed their departure and leapt from the table to make chase, but he was met by a powerful wave of the armed colonists. His cry was cut short in an instant, and they continued their rushes at the invaders.
"Miss Simone, where are we going..?" came a question from one of the eldest children.
But Simone shook her head. "Not now. Just follow me."
Roars and crashes became distant as they ventured into the swamp. Only Simone's confident urges of "Hurry. This way," kept the children from bursting into tears during the escape.
Lena would momentarily look back and make sure everyone was still there, and she had to contain herself from bolting into a full run as a familiar, comforting sight came into view.
Nestled in a clump of cypress trees was a low-built structure. There were deep pools of water and sinkholes all around, disguised as solid ground by the thick shrubbery that carpeted the earth. As the group neared it, Simone and Lena came to a sharp halt and shot a wary glance to the others. Seeing the signal, the entire group ceased to a halt.
"Why are we stopping?" one of the younger mothers asked, "It's right there..!"
"You want to be careful here," Simone replied coolly, "if one doesn't know just how to make it there, they could end up trapped."
The children whimpered, and they were soothed by the mothers as Simone picked her way through the grass. She looked back at Lena, and said two words: "Keep watch."
"Right away," Lena replied, crouching into the tall grasses. She crawled stealthily back down the way they had come, and took a post near a rotting log. She noticed that they had torn a path through the vegetation, and she instinctively began to push the bent stems back into position to hide their tracks. She hurried with the task, and then crouched back into position to keep watch.
Simone bent over slightly for balance, her green eyes darting this way and that. She grabbed a fallen branch from the ground and as if she were blind, began to make herself a path, using it to jut into the ground to test for quicksand or mud. She moved slowly, but with great determination. Step by step, jab by jab into the earth, Simone traced a clear path toward the deserted building.
The other mothers, the youngest being Winifred, then Sarah, and a Native half-breed named Brightcrow, watched their leader and smiled in silent cheers as they saw her form standing on the porch of the settlement. Simone pushed open the door, and seemed to look around the inside a moment then turned back to them. Using her stick, she began to jab back down the path toward them.
Simone met the group at the mouth of the path. She was greeted with excited smiles from the mothers and squeals of happiness from the youngsters, who had crowded that her feet.
"Follow me. Children first," were Simone's only words as they all walked down the path, single file, towards the front door. She instructed them all to walk slowly. It seemed to take an eternity, all of them feeling their hearts in their throats. One of the children even got her foot caught in some mud, eliciting a yelp, which in turn, sent the adults into a brief panic before freeing her and carrying her the rest of the way. All of them heaved a sigh of relief as their feet came to rest on the porch.
Fiona's gaze averted to Simone. She approached the older woman and tugged at her sleeve. Simone knew the signal ever so well as she bent down to meet Fiona's gaze.
"We forgot Mama..!" Fiona whimpered.
Simone had forgotten about Lena in the frenzy. She was taking post somewhere by the trees, Simone knew that much. Winifred, Sarah, and Brightcrow all exchanged glances, and the youngsters whimpered Lena's name amongst themselves.
"We can't leave her, Auntie Simone," Fiona pleaded, "Please, I want my Mama..."
Simone gripped Brightcrow's shoulder firmly. They met each other's eyes and Simone said, "Make yourselves hidden. I'll be back with Lena."
Fiona was reluctantly tugged inside as Simone moved back down the path. As she neared the area where she had seen Lena go, she crouched lower to the ground and called Lena's name in a harsh whisper. She paused every now and then to peer around.
"Lena. Lena…!" she hissed over and over, until finally she neared the log where Lena had stood guard.
Simone jumped as she saw a shadowy form heading in her direction. Simone sighed with relief as Lena made herself visible and emerged from a curtain of grass. Lena stopped a few feet off. She was panting, her expression wild.
"Miss Lenoir..!" she yelped, "I heard them out in the swamps. They're looking for us."
Simone couldn't hear a thing. She listened closer, looking toward the distant shadows cast by the slender tree trunks. Lena followed her gaze, although nervously. Just then, the dark-haired woman couldn't wait anymore. She grabbed Simone by the arm.
"Let me distract them. I don't want them to find that house..!"
"Lena, are you insane? But Fiona..!" Simone was cut off by a remarkably cold stare from her younger companion. At the mentioning of her daughter's name, Lena had shifted from her standard passive nature to something Simone had never seen.
"Just get back to the house. Please, Miss Lenoir. I trust you."
Lena's face was hard, but her voice was pleading; Simone mulled the thought over for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Take them up the bog trails," Simone instructed, "You know them well enough, but they don't."
With a nod, Lena bounded from the spot and headed out of the trees to meet the attackers. It wasn't long before the calls and yells of several gruff males called out. It made Simone shiver. She crouched low, her chin almost on the ground as she watched a female shadow dart past the entrance.
It was none other than Lena. She ran up the specified exit that Simone had specified. Her scream echoed through the trees, and Simone's eyes widened. Catching her breath, she hoped to the gods that it was just her trying to lead the marauders away. Several more shadows passed over Simone, and their yells faded down the bog trail, until they were barely audible.
Simone found herself almost too frightened to move. She glanced back to the building. Slowly, she gripped her walking stick and clutched it to her chest as if it were a weapon. Treading slowly on weak legs, she moved back down the path, always stopping to look around or to crouch in hiding. As pushed open the door and heaved a sigh of relief as she was met by the others.
Fiona was the first to greet her at the door. She wrapped her arms around Simone's neck, shaking when she didn't see her mother return with her. The girl expected the worst, but Simone grasped her by the shoulders, demanding the girl to meet her eyes, which she did.
"Your mother is playing a trick on the pirates."
Giggles and cheers erupted softly from the children. The mothers' faces still looked ashen, as if expecting the worst. But nonetheless, Simone continued.
"She's going to get them lost in the swamp, and then come back here."
Simone hoped that what she was saying was what will eventually happen; those screams haunted her mind as they all crowded together in the dark. Fiona insisted she get to sit, cuddled up to her auntie. Simone wasn't usually so fond of touch, but she was feeling that same gut-wrenching terror as Fiona. They best they could do was wait.
The wait dragged on, until the sunlight began to fade. The children were either cranky from the wait or asleep near the mothers. Fiona was dozing against Simone's warm side, while Simone herself was still wide awake, watching the door.
CREAK! CRACK! SCREECH!
The youngsters mewled and whined in distress as the adults ushered them to hide under the furniture. Simone did the same to the protesting Fiona, who insisted on helping fend off the intruder. A light scold from Simone and Fiona resented, grumbling as she joined the others in hiding.
Evening light streamed into the room, though it only reached the tips of Simone's toes as the door trembled. It swung weakly on its hinges, as a lone figure stood before them. Simone held up the stick as the stranger came into the room, but as their eyes adjusted, they made out the exausted, tattered form of Lena as she stumbled inside.
She cast one quick glance to Simone, and smiled weakly before crumpling into a heap at their feet.
"We waited until the morning," Simone told Wolf, "and then a search party came and got us. They took Lena and yourself to this bunkhouse to get medical attention, and Winifred took the children to stay in a house on the other side of the island."
"What about the pirates?" Wolf asked.
Simone shook her head, many long strands of hair dangling from her mussed ponytail. "I recieved word from the search party that MacWright and his crew had departed at sunrise."
"But still," Wolf told her," We have to make sure they didn't leave any of their shipmates behind."
"And if there are?" came Lena's voice. Both of them looked up to see Lena re-entering the room, a cold cloth pressed to her head.
"If we find any member of any of the crew still on the island, we kill them," Wolf said.