I just feel like my story is taking too long to get nowhere. So, I'm speeding things up. If you hate it, just let me know. I changed my blog name to the-beginning-of-us on tumblr. So, if you feel so inclined, you can go check it out!
I really will update soon! A couple of you are getting on me for not updating more often! Hahaha. Thanks for reading my story! Leave a review if you have any thoughts! Good or bad, I really don't mind! :) Enjoy!
...
The next few days flew by in a blur. Jemma got sicker and sicker, but she still tried to maintain a normal lifestyle. Ellie ignored Joel, and spent most of her free time with the horses. By Sunday, Joel was grateful to see everyone at the town dinner.
He sat down with Ellie. Slowly, other residents came in. The cold wind flushed their cheeks, and everyone sat close to keep warm. Jemma had stayed behind for a while, and she still hadn't shown up.
"Hey, Joel. How you doin'?" An old man, about twenty years older than Joel stood behind the two. Joel couldn't recognize his face or voice, but he went with the conversation, anyway.
"I'm surviving. How bout yourself?"
"Dam happy, we're having turkey tonight."
Joel tried to hide his excitement. "Turkey?"
"Yes. Dale found a few of them downriver."
Joel's mouth watered as he thought of the taste of turkey. It brought him back to fall nights, when his family would gather around the table for Thanksgiving. Back when everything was happy. Cranberry jelly, which he hated, but he craved it all the same. Stuffing, and warm rolls, with butter melting over. He stomach growled.
The man walked away, and Joel wondered who he was.
...
Jemma felt like shit, but made herself go to dinner, anyway. She smeared makeup on her face in a poor attempt to look half human, but she didn't feel like herself. As she walked down an empty sidewalk to the city hall, she watched a few birds in the sky.
The sun was setting, and they were silhouettes, but she admired their grace. They seemed to be unaffected by the current events. Their lives were controlled by the weather, and they knew only one thing: survival. In some ways, Jemma envied their ignorance, but at another turn, she found there was more to life than mere survival.
She saw Tommy and Maria coming towards her. They were holding hands.
"Hey, Jemma. Are you headed over to dinner?" Tommy asked.
"Um, yeah." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I don't just walk this street for fun."
"Not in this weather."
The three walked together for a short while, but Maria ran ahead when she remembered she was in kitchen duty.
"How are you?" Tommy asked, still walking.
"I'm fine," she said. Jemma didn't want to reveal too much. She didn't know what Joel had told him already. She wanted him to ask her directly what he wanted to know.
"No. How are you, really?" Tommy looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You can tell me."
Jemma stopped walking. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah."
"I don't want you thinking the wrong thing here. I- he's your brother, and I know that affects things, but..." She hesitated. "Joel has been lying to me since day one. I don't know if it's because he doesn't know me, but I don't think I'm the only one. I trust him, in ways, but in so many others, I don't.
"What I'm asking is, do you trust Joel?"
Tommy was surprised that she'd ask that.
"Well," he started. "I'm gonna put it this way. I'd trust Joel with my life, but I sure I hell don't trust him to tell me the truth."
"Okay."
"Is that it?" He asked.
"I'm actually having a hard time. With everything."
Out of nervous habit, he looked down the street to see if anyone was around. "What are you talkin' about?"
"I remember when I found out I was pregnant, how scared shitless I was. I couldn't stop thinking about raising a child in a world like this. And, I honestly knew I wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Every day, I prayed that I would have a miscarriage. I prayed that the next man would beat me so hard I would die. But that day never came. After a couple of months, I found that began to love my baby. I hated how it came to be, but I loved it.
"When he was born, for a few seconds I wanted nothing but to love him. But when I saw that, that monster, I was filled with hate. It was burning through my body. I wanted nothing more than to see him die. It was really fucking stupid, you know. To have the one thing in life I'm supposed to love, turn into the thing I've learned to hate."
She took a few steps toward Tommy. "But the horrible thing is, I don't feel guilty about it. And I feel bad that I don't feel guilty."
"I'm not sure what to say." He said.
"Nothing, I'm just conflicted." She smiled.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Can I have a hug?" She asked.
Tommy opened his arms, welcoming her. Jemma wrapped her arms around him. She smelled warm, if there was such a smell. He tightened his arms around her. She was standing on her tiptoes, but the comfort of his touch kept her there. They embraced for several long moments.
"I'm sick," she said, and pulled away.
They parted, and began walking again. Tommy's steps were sporadic as his mind wandered. Jemma walked slowly and carefully, although she was as lost in thought as he.
They were both thinking the same thing: Jemma was crazy as a bat.
...
The dining room was packed. There were three long cafeteria tables, each filled with the town residents. Smells of the upcoming dinner filled the air, and Joel anxiously waited for the turkey.
He saw Tommy come in. He was about to wave him over, but he saw Jemma come in behind him. He looked away for a brief moment, but turned back to watch them. He ushered her to a seat next to him, and as she sat down, her gaze met Joel's. He averted his eyes to the nearest person, who happened to be Ellie.
She was tracing lines on the table, bored out of her mind.
"Hey, Ellie. Want to watch a movie when we get home?"
She shrugged.
"Have you ever seen Indiana Jones?"
"An Indian what?" She asked, looking up.
"Indiana Jones," he explained. "Was a history teacher who went around and looked for world treasure."
"Sounds lame," Ellie said, looking away.
"Did I mention he has a whip?"
"A whip? I guess I can give it a try."
Joel looked up again at Jemma. She was talking to a few people seated near her. Her hands were in the air, wildly moving. Her eyes were wide open, and she was talking fast. Suddenly, the group erupted into laughter. Jemma didn't laugh, but her lips formed a small smile.
He noticed that she looked different. It was something on her face. Something was different. He couldn't place what, but he found himself staring at her again. He closed his eyes.
...
Jemma was a crowd pleaser. She was so full of facts and puns, everyone wanted to listen. Tommy admired her for that. She was so young, but she rattled off like she had been living in the past world. She was a welcome addition to the town.
The food came in, and a certain silence fell over the room. The turkey wasn't what he had been expecting. They were small and quite dry.
"Yuck," Jemma whispered. She pushed the meat around her plate, drowning it in gravy. It was still pitiful tasting, and she laughed to herself.
"Not like what I remember," Tommy said, motioning to the food. "I wonder why it's so bad tonight."
"Don't blame the bird," she said, and pushed her plate forward. "Blame the person who cooked the damn thing. Can you pour me a glass of water?"
Tommy waited for her to hand him her glass, but she wouldn't. He poured her water, and watched her lift her glass. She was shaking so badly that she almost spilled water down her front. Jemma set the glass down quickly, and saw that he was watching her.
"Are you alright?"
She put her hands in her lap. "No, but can we talk about it later?"
Tommy stood up. "No, let's go talk to Maria."
...
Jemma cringed as Tommy and Maria kissed. The three of them were in what used to be a break room, but it had since been converted into an office. Maps of Wyoming were pinned all over the walls, and she felt like the room was getting smaller every minute.
"What's up?" Maria asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Jemma was intimidated by her.
"Um, I don't know."
"We can help you out," Tommy said.
Jemma pulled her hair over her shoulder. "Look, I'm really sick. It's not normal, I can just feel it. And, there's this clinic in Idaho. Just on the other side of the Tetons. If I have a car, I can get there in two hours. Do you have a car or something?"
"Can't you take a horse?" He asked.
"I don't think she'd make it," Maria answered. "The weather's been pretty bad. I don't think we should risk it."
Tommy gestured toward a map. "Where in Idaho?"
Jemma pointed to a city. "Here. I went there when I was pregnant. They take people from the tri-state area. They'll remember me."
"Can you trust them?" She asked.
"Yeah, definitely. It's two sisters. They really helped me out before."
"Are you taking Joel?" Tommy asked.
Jemma scoffed. "I don't know."
"Did you even talk to him about it?"
"No way." She answered.
"Well," he shrugged. "He's the last one to use a working car. You need to talk to him."
She groaned. "Whatever."
...
Joel watched as Jemma leaned over the engine of the SUV.
"Is there anything you don't know how to do?" He asked.
"I can't sew," she muttered, and pulled a belt from the inside. "This." She held it up for him to see. "It came loose. That's why you couldn't get anywhere."
"I don't think sewing is that big of a deal."
She closed the hood. "Well, I can't shoot a bow thing."
"What? A bow and arrow?"
Jemma nodded. "Yeah, like something, notching, or..." She trailed off.
It was early in the morning, and their breath formed clouds. Joel shivered as a small breeze blew cold air up his jacket.
"I'll go get Ellie," he said.
Jemma drove. She was silent, keeping her eyes on the road. Joel looked out the window at the landscape. The bright reds and oranges made the mountain look like it was on fire. He wanted to make conversation, but Jemma had been holding him at a distance.
Ellie flipped through her comics. She had read them all before, but she tried to reinvent the story in her head. She was soon completely absorbed in the other world, and she started to drift off into sleep.
They soon arrived to the city Jemma told him about. It was small and deserted looking. She turned down a series of unpaved roads, and the "clinic" came into sight.
...
It was an old optometrist's office, but there were white tarps hung over the building signs. A crude red cross was painted on each of them.
Jemma walked confidently through the front doors. Immediately, Joel pulled out his Shorty, but tucked it away when he saw an old woman sitting at a desk.
"Oh, dear, you're back." The woman had a heavy accent, but Joel couldn't place what it was. Jemma walked to her, and the woman stood. She was several inches taller than Jemma, and about a hundred pounds heavier. She wore white doctor scrubs and had her hair pulled back into a net.
Jemma said something to the woman in another language. It sounded either Italian or French to him, but didn't know for sure. Jemma was fluent in it, though, and Joel wondered how she managed to learn it.
He watched their body language, and Joel understood. She was telling her about her baby, and how she lost it. Or, so he thought. The older woman had a worried look on her face, and kept saying the same phrase over and over.
"Incroyable, c'est incroyable."
The woman walked down the hall, and called for Jemma. "Are you coming?" She asked, and disappeared into a room.
Jemma turned to Joel and Ellie.
"I'll be done soon. Don't worry."