doesn’t seem to buy my excuse so I change the subject. “Hey, thanks for bringing in the wood. The fire was about to go out.”
He eyes me for a second longer before he stands up and breaks the connection. Crossing over the sleeping bodies, he pokes the fire with the iron rod.
“ It’s cold out there,” he says, making small talk. “Looks like we may get more snow.” He can tell I’m hiding something but, thankfully, he doesn’t pry.
Claire stirs next to me, followed by Connor. Soon, everyone is sitting up, rubbing their eyes. Connor’s hair is sticking up every which way, with a handprint left on his face from how he slept.
“ Hey hot stuff,” I say, shooting him a grin.
The confused look he gives me is priceless. Claire seems confused until she looks at Connor. Pretty soon, we’re giggling like schoolgirls. This wakes up Alec and Marya, which makes us laugh harder because Alec’s hair mimics Connor’s. Everyone is looking at us like we’ve lost our minds. Marya grins at us, understanding our inside joke. She playfully pats down Alec’s messy bed head. He gives us a grimace when he sees we were laughing at his hair, the annoyance never reaching his eyes.
After a few minutes, the laughter dies down and w e all fall into a quiet silence. My dad and brother are still heavily asleep. I stare at my dad with concern. His breathing seems labored and I can see his eyes moving back and forth under his eyelids. Every few seconds, he makes a spastic movement.
Eventually, my dad ’s unrest wakes Sebastian up just enough to crawl into my lap. He falls back asleep as he curls into my arms. I rub my hand across his curls. His hair is a lot longer now and I notice that it’s losing the tight ringlets it once possessed. Now his curls are looser, making him look older. Like the five year old he’s about to become. The thought reminds me—if today is December 12 th , then that means Sebastian’s birthday is in three days, on December 15 th . I make a mental note to find a way to make it special for him.
With a heavy intake of air, my dad shoots up into sitting position. He breathes heavily as he looks about the room frantically from side to side. His eyes are glowing with intensity. They are a fiery pit of melted copper. His gaze finally lands on my brother and me.
“ What happened? What did you see?” I ask in alarm. Knowing that a startling wake up like he just had has to mean he was in a deep vision entrancement.
“ We have to go now! They’re coming.” With that, he jumps to his feet and grabs Sebastian’s coat. I wake Sabby up and he gives us a grouchy look but doesn’t say anything.
We don ’t wait to ask more questions. Within seconds, the room is one huge blur of frantic activity. Tony, who is already dressed for the cold weather, is stuffing food supplies, blankets, and flashlights in a duffle bag. “How much time?” he calls out to my dad, who is helping Sebastian get on his shoes.
I throw on my coat and take over , helping Sebastian so my dad can focus on answering.
“ I don’t know. With it being overcast outside, I couldn’t tell the time of day. I know they will come when the sky is filled with snow. So much snow that we won’t see them coming through the windows,” my father says.
“ Was it the soldiers, Dad?” I ask.
He blinks his eyes rapidly as if trying to put some pieces together. “No...” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “No, at least I don’t think it was. They didn’t have on any uniforms like the ones we saw last night. This was a smaller group but they came...” His eyes nearly fill with tears but he swallows the emotions down. “They came for you, Willow. They don’t plan to take hostages. They just wanted you and were not going to let any of us stop them. They will use lethal force if necessary to achieve their goal.” His gaze lands on Sebastian and I can only assume that something happened to my brother in that vision.
My heart
He eyes me for a second longer before he stands up and breaks the connection. Crossing over the sleeping bodies, he pokes the fire with the iron rod.
“ It’s cold out there,” he says, making small talk. “Looks like we may get more snow.” He can tell I’m hiding something but, thankfully, he doesn’t pry.
Claire stirs next to me, followed by Connor. Soon, everyone is sitting up, rubbing their eyes. Connor’s hair is sticking up every which way, with a handprint left on his face from how he slept.
“ Hey hot stuff,” I say, shooting him a grin.
The confused look he gives me is priceless. Claire seems confused until she looks at Connor. Pretty soon, we’re giggling like schoolgirls. This wakes up Alec and Marya, which makes us laugh harder because Alec’s hair mimics Connor’s. Everyone is looking at us like we’ve lost our minds. Marya grins at us, understanding our inside joke. She playfully pats down Alec’s messy bed head. He gives us a grimace when he sees we were laughing at his hair, the annoyance never reaching his eyes.
After a few minutes, the laughter dies down and w e all fall into a quiet silence. My dad and brother are still heavily asleep. I stare at my dad with concern. His breathing seems labored and I can see his eyes moving back and forth under his eyelids. Every few seconds, he makes a spastic movement.
Eventually, my dad ’s unrest wakes Sebastian up just enough to crawl into my lap. He falls back asleep as he curls into my arms. I rub my hand across his curls. His hair is a lot longer now and I notice that it’s losing the tight ringlets it once possessed. Now his curls are looser, making him look older. Like the five year old he’s about to become. The thought reminds me—if today is December 12 th , then that means Sebastian’s birthday is in three days, on December 15 th . I make a mental note to find a way to make it special for him.
With a heavy intake of air, my dad shoots up into sitting position. He breathes heavily as he looks about the room frantically from side to side. His eyes are glowing with intensity. They are a fiery pit of melted copper. His gaze finally lands on my brother and me.
“ What happened? What did you see?” I ask in alarm. Knowing that a startling wake up like he just had has to mean he was in a deep vision entrancement.
“ We have to go now! They’re coming.” With that, he jumps to his feet and grabs Sebastian’s coat. I wake Sabby up and he gives us a grouchy look but doesn’t say anything.
We don ’t wait to ask more questions. Within seconds, the room is one huge blur of frantic activity. Tony, who is already dressed for the cold weather, is stuffing food supplies, blankets, and flashlights in a duffle bag. “How much time?” he calls out to my dad, who is helping Sebastian get on his shoes.
I throw on my coat and take over , helping Sebastian so my dad can focus on answering.
“ I don’t know. With it being overcast outside, I couldn’t tell the time of day. I know they will come when the sky is filled with snow. So much snow that we won’t see them coming through the windows,” my father says.
“ Was it the soldiers, Dad?” I ask.
He blinks his eyes rapidly as if trying to put some pieces together. “No...” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “No, at least I don’t think it was. They didn’t have on any uniforms like the ones we saw last night. This was a smaller group but they came...” His eyes nearly fill with tears but he swallows the emotions down. “They came for you, Willow. They don’t plan to take hostages. They just wanted you and were not going to let any of us stop them. They will use lethal force if necessary to achieve their goal.” His gaze lands on Sebastian and I can only assume that something happened to my brother in that vision.
My heart
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