After Humanity

Chapter Two

Rachel

The individual screams in the distance had quickly turned into a dull roar of indistinguishable sounds peppered by the accent of gunshots. Mama grabbed up Rachel in her arms again, holding on to her in a painfully tight embrace.

"I can't loose another, Arthur," Mama said, her voice cracking in desperation. "I can't lose her!"

Papa wrapped his arms around both of them for a moment before stepping back and taking Mama's hand, his eyes fixating on hers.

"I won't let them take her, Martha," he promised. "We are going to be alright. You just need to trust me."

Mama nodded. Rachel looked up to see tears dripping down her cheeks as another particularly loud scream of anguish rang out through the air. The smell of burning soon followed, drifting through the cracks in the windows. It reminded Rachel of bonfires the village gathered around in the winter, but the smoke she smelled now was acrid.

"The smell Mama," Rachel said, trying to keep the tremble of fear from her voice. "Why does it smell like burning?"

"Hush, Rachel," Mama said, pulling her even closer, tears still streaming down her face. Rachel could feel them, cold and wet as the woman bent down to kiss her cheek. "Just be quiet and be a brave girl now. Can you do that for me?"

Rachel nodded silently and Papa placed a strong hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile.

"I think you and Rachel should hide," he said, smile fading as he addressed Mama again. "They might not even make it outside of the main village but if they do..."

"Arthur no!" Mama protested. "We can hide together."

Papa shook his head. "If they do come here, they will never believe the house is abandoned and if they don't find any inhabitants they will look all the harder."

Rachel watched as Mama bit her lip, fighting back her protests as she nodded.

"But Papa, what about you?" Rachel protested as she broke free of her mother's grasp. Papa gripped her arms tightly.

"I'll be fine," he said. "But you and Mama have to hide now."

Hide? Rachel thought to herself. Where could they possibly hide? They had barricaded themselves inside their small home. There was nowhere to run now.

"Under the bed with you alright?" Papa said. "It's only a precaution, but you have to stay there and be as quiet as possible. No matter what happens." He gave her a quick hug before going for his rifle that hung by the door.

"Papa no," Rachel said. Why couldn't he just hide with them? How could he possibly stand up to the terror outside their door all alone? Her mother's hand clamped down on her arm dragging Rachel back towards the bed and pulling her to the ground before she had the chance to protest further.

"It's going to be alright just as Papa said," she whispered as they crawled into the darkness and lay on their bellies, pressing their bodies to the wood floor. "Everything alright." Mama's arm lay on top of Rachel's back.

Rachel watched as her father positioned himself by the door. In the flickering candlelight she could see little more than his legs, standing slightly apart, firmly grounded. Stretching the range of her vision she could just see the butt of the rifle he held in his hands.

 In the distance, the screams continued. Rachel tried not to imagine what terrible things might be eliciting such cries. The smell of smoke had only grown stronger, mixing with the scent of dirt and pine of the floor. Her heart beat unevenly in her chest. A raid. A sibla raid. She'd never really believed it was possible. How had they been found out? Would they really be safe as Papa said? The room grew subtly darker as the candles they'd lit burned down.