Runaway by Donna J. W. Munro

Author:Donna J. W. Munro [Munro, Donna J. W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Zombies
ISBN: 9781958414163
Google: _F0F0AEACAAJ
Amazon: 1958414166
Publisher: Hydra Publications
Published: 2023-06-29T23:00:00+00:00

Ellie, Finn, and Thom sat in the hidden cask, shivering. The girl’s teeth clattered in the silence. Thom didn’t seem to mind the cold. He just continually petted Finn’s hair, running his fingers through it and braiding it into fine little rows. He’d done most of her hair and, though Finn seemed to enjoy the attention, Ellie was sure he was beginning to get on the younger girl’s nerves.

“Thom,” Finn said.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled on her braids, drawing them together, then apart. He wasn’t doing a particularly good job. Maybe that’s why he was moaning and fretting as he worked.

“Thom, I don’t need you to braid anymore. Thom?”

Thom’s hands dropped, thick knuckles unwinding from her curly hair. He moaned like he was in pain.

“I’m sorry, Thom. I don’t want to be in here either. But we have to hide. They know we’re here somewhere.”

Thom stood and paced back and forth, as he had in bursts for hours.

“How long do we have to stay in here, Ellie?” Finn asked, watching Thom as he made his slow circuit in the tiny space.

“I don’t know, Finn. Sorry.”

Thom pulled Ellie over to the doorway. “Ellliiieee, goooo. Sssseeeee.”

“Thom, I…I can’t. I mean, we’re supposed to stay hidden.” Thom shook his head. “Musssst knnoooww. Elllieesseeee.”

Ellie stared into Thom’s brown eyes, so sharp with some understanding that she couldn’t even guess at. The pinch of his nails against her forearms and the press of his palms on her elbows, steering her toward the door. If she were caught, it would be terrible but not the end of the world. Of the three of them, she’d be the quickest. She could cover her head and go see.

“Sseee, comminngg hheeerrreee?”

Ellie understood. They were trapped in the cask. If they needed to bolt, no one was here to tell them. She nodded and put her hand on the handle. Finn jumped up, but Thom grabbed her. “Fffinnn, sttaaayy w…witthhh Thhomm.”

Finn squirmed loose from him and considered it, twitching her pursed lips back and forth in a study of young concentration. A quick jerky nod, and she headed back toward the cushions and sat.

“Come on then, Thom. Get my hair up or down, one or the other.” Finn grinned up at Ellie for a moment and said, “Better hurry, or I’ll be bald when you get back.”

Ellie went through and pushed the door back into place. Her own little frontier family. Thom and Finn both made her feel necessary, like she’d never been in Santelouisa. Moving through the long storage barn, Ellie whispered to the darkness, calling for Ruby or Saya or anyone friendly. The darkness curled around her, and she stubbed her foot on unfamiliar angles and odd bricks that made up the cave-like storage under the long shed.

Soon, she found the door to the outside and peeked out. The vineyard sat empty in the lengthened shadows of night. Tea light lanterns hung in glassed domes to protect the fragile grape vines, but the little lights were enough to make the path back to town less frightening.

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