Crumbs (Sappho's Fables: Lesbian Fairy Tales) by Elora Bishop

Author:Elora Bishop
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay, queer, zombies, lesbian, speculative fiction, glbt, fairy tale, hansel and gretel, lesbian fairy tales, spec fic, lesbian fiction, fairy tale retelling, lesbian fantasy, glbtq, queer fiction, lesbian fairy tale, gay fairy tale, queer fantasy, queer speculative fiction
Publisher: Elora Bishop

*

I poke Han. I poke his face with my finger, but he keeps on sleeping. I kick the side of the bed, not even gently. "Han!" I yell. "Hey, Han, wake up!"

He doesn't stir.

I lean down and put my ear next to his mouth, real close. There's a gentle shush of breath, even though his chest doesn't rise and fall much.

He's still smiling, but he's been sleeping an awful long time. Days. My stomach clenches with worry. I mean, he tired himself out something fierce to get away from those Ragers. I know that. He's likely still sleeping off his tiredness. Maybe. I don't know.

Sabine says not to worry. Says he just knows he's safe now. He knows he can finally rest.

I try to believe her, but there's a nagging feeling inside of me, and I try not to think about it, but it pokes at me like a sharpened stick.

"I want to be helpful. Can I do some chores?" I ask Sabine when she comes in to find me sitting on the edge of Han's bed. She cocks her head and folds her arms.

"You'll be helpful soon enough," she tells me. "Don't worry about that now."

"But…" I begin, frustrated, but she's smiling again, shaking her head, and there's another tray of cupcakes in front of my nose, still warm and wafting sweetness.

This is real crazy, I admit it…but I'm getting a little sick of cupcakes.

"I don't think I'm hungry," I tell Sabine, and her forehead wrinkles up.

"You have to keep eating, Greta," she says. "You're skin and bones."

I stare down at my skinny arms, and then I hide them behind my back. "I mean, I'm awful grateful that you keep feeding me. But it seems real wasteful. What if we run out of food--"

"We won't." Sabine sinks down beside me, leans forward, and whispers, "Just keep eating the food, Greta. Just until we know."

"Until we know what? Wait--who's we?"

She's rising, and she looks nervous, and I suddenly realize that what I said might have sounded kind of mean, and I'm getting up, too, but she's backing away, smiling a hurt little smile.

"It'll be all right. You have to trust me." Sabine turns, taking the cupcakes away.

I go to my own room, flop on the bed and sulk.

They're not telling me something. That's obvious enough. I may not know much about this place, or cities—or anything, really, outside of the Heap--but I know enough about people to recognize when someone's keeping a secret.

Should I really trust these people? Okay, they've given me food, and I'm grateful for it, but am I that desperate for crumbs that I would trust any stranger who offered me some? And I'm worried about Han—not like a little worry, but a big worry, a big worry curled up in my stomach around all those too-sweet cupcakes.

All I've done since we arrived at the metal forest is eat, eat, eat. And all Han's done is sleep. It's not natural.

I mean, after all we've been through, can

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