Sudden Independents

“Demon,” Raven said. She shivered and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat. “I didn’t come back here for that. I’m not interested in that kind of stuff anymore.”

“Why did you come back?”

“This is my home. I wanted to see you.”

“Chase said you’d be different if you came back. He said I’d notice it. He was right.”

“I don’t care what Chase says!”

A tingle crawled up Scout’s back and settled on top of his scalp. The air grew heavy with the surrounding cold. He wished Raven would get away from Kessie before things escalated out of control.

“I’m sorry, but I have to take you to him.”

“What? I don’t want to see him.” Scout heard the fear in his girlfriend’s voice.

“He said you’d say that.” Kessie beckoned the shadows on the opposite side of the house.

Three raggedy boys rushed at Raven, who dropped the first one to reach her with a solid punch across the jaw, but the other two dragged her down quick. Kessie watched quietly.

Scout charged around the corner of the house, but Raven caught sight of him before the others and yelled, “No!” He slid to a stop and rolled behind a thick evergreen tree, with the sweet sticky scent of Christmas filling his nose as his heart hammered in his chest. He’d missed his chance to surprise Kessie and her group while their back was turned. When he peered underneath the boughs, Kessie was staring his direction.

She shrugged and bent next to Raven. “Chase is going to be so happy to see you again. You’re still a part of our crew no matter what you want. We’re not some afterschool club you can just quit.”

Kessie kicked the boy who still lay on the ground shaking his head as if dazed. “Get up and help.”

As the three kids forced Raven out of the backyard, Kessie faced the bush Scout hid behind and smiled. Scout stopped breathing until she left after the others. Then he swore and jumped the fence to follow.

There was some kind of lump in the middle of the couch, or at least that was Molly’s excuse for rolling on her side again. The back of the couch smelled funny, so she turned once more, staring up at the ceiling for the sixty-fifth time that night. Not that she was counting.

Her mind raced with worry about Scout. She’d given Vanessa her word that she would watch over him, but some promises were impossible to keep. Especially when dealing with a teenage boy used to doing whatever he wanted.

Jimmy and Molly tried to keep Scout and Raven from their night wanderings, but Scout played on Jimmy’s fear to find Catherine before he contracted the plague. It was manipulative and low. Molly thought Scout wasn’t being hurtful intentionally.

Raven knew the city, and Scout knew about being sneaky. Maybe that was a function of the Boy Scouts, but Molly wasn’t sure. She just hoped his survival skills were in perfect working order out there in the night.

Molly left Hunter to sleep alone so he could get a good night’s rest, since these thoughts kept her rolling at night. During the daytime, she allowed Jimmy the bulk of the worry waiting at the window for Hunter and Ginger, while Molly rolled restless and awake in the back bedroom.

After another revolution, she was back on the lumpy side of the couch. Ginger sat in the worry chair facing the window. Her arms were crossed as she stared out into the dark hours of early morning.

Molly swung her feet to the floor and stretched. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”

Ginger’s head turned around and her tired eyes glanced Molly’s way. She didn’t smile like usual. Instead, Ginger sighed and pulled at the large sweater she wore. Her hair showed no signs of mangled sleep the way Molly knew hers did after all her spinning on the couch. Molly reached up and tried to smooth the rat’s nest into place.

“I gave up,” Ginger said, “I keep tossing. I didn’t want to worry Jimmy anymore tonight, so I thought I’d sit out here and wait for Scout and Raven to come back.”

“Job’s taken,” Molly said, bringing the hoped for result; a tiny smile cracked through Ginger’s restlessness. Molly could appreciate those tender smiles a lot more now.

She walked over to the window for a look. The stars were much closer here and filled the sky. Jimmy said it was because of Denver’s high elevation.

A series of loud noises rumbled from one of the bedrooms and reverberated through the house. Molly smiled, and shook her head.

“Does Hunter always snore that loud?” Ginger asked.

“Always.”

“How do you sleep at night?”

Molly shrugged. “You get used to it. Luis said he might be able to remove Hunter’s tonsils and adenoids in a couple of years.”

“What’s an adenoid?”

“You got me, but it sure sounds loud.”

“I bet Catherine could fix him.”