“Come on, little girl,” Daddy Gage says, interrupting my thoughts as he helps me to my feet. “Let’s get you some dinner.”
“Okay, Daddy Gage.” I pretend to look out the window as we exit the living room. Even if he notices something is wrong, I don’t think I could adequately put what’s worrying me into words.
He wraps an arm around me, guiding me into the kitchen, where Daddy Nash is washing the dishes.
“Good evening, sleepyhead.” His warm smile soothes my spirits and I find myself returning his grin. “Sit at the table and we’ll get you a plate of roasted chicken. Daddy Erik cooked tonight, but while he’s not as good a cook as me, at least he didn’t burn it this time.” He waggles his eyebrows at me and I laugh, surprised by his playfulness.
Daddies Erik and Axel soon join us and they all sit around me as I dive into my dinner, sharing funny stories about their childhood, tales from before the outcasts came and killed their mother and fathers. I can’t help but laugh as Daddy Gage tells me about the time they decided to try living in the trees like monkeys after reading an old book about the exotic creatures.
“Daddy Axel climbed the tree first, but he got stuck and didn’t want to admit it, and when we finally convinced him to try climbing back down—it was almost dinnertime and our parents would look for us soon—he fell and got caught on a large branch. He was hanging from it by the waist of his pants, his arms and legs flailing around as he screamed.”
Giggling, I glance at Daddy Axel, the very idea of my sternest mate getting into such a predicament leaving my sides aching with endless laughter.
“I don’t remember flailing around, or screaming,” he says with a perfectly straight face. “I remember being quite calm.”
His claim, so seriously spoken, only makes me laugh harder.
“How did he finally get down?” I ask.
“When he started slipping off the branch, the rest of us hurried to make a large pile of leaves beneath him. We moved out of the way just as he fell from the tree, screaming all the way down. It was at this moment, of course, that our mother and three of our fathers happened upon us in the forest.”
“Did you break anything?” I ask Daddy Axel.
He shakes his head. “No, but there was a piece of an old security fence under the pile of leaves that got me,” he says, pointing to the scar on his face. “My mother stitched me up and promised me I still looked handsome.” A wistful look enters his eyes, followed by a rare smile.
“Well, she’s right,” I say. “You still look handsome.”
To my utter shock, the tips of Daddy Axel’s ears pinken and the color of his cheeks soon rises. My heart skips a beat when I realize he’s blushing. He coughs several times and covers his mouth, obviously trying to hide his reaction to my compliment.
I think it’s a pity they lost their parents at such a young age, but at least they seem to have fond memories of their mother and fathers. They regale me with more humorous stories, including a few that took place after they went to live with the kind widow who later adopted them, until my sides hurt from constant laughter.
When there’s a pause in conversation, I suppress a sudden yawn. A glance at the clock hanging above the sink shows it’s after midnight. Have we really been sitting here talking and laughing for three straight hours? I can’t recall ever enjoying a more pleasant evening.
After I yawn a second time, Daddy Nash stands up and reaches for my hand. “I know a little girl who’s up way past her bedtime. Come on, Josie, and we’ll get you ready for bed and all tucked in, snug as a bug.”
Before I can stand, a scream echoes outside, momentarily drowning out the screeching of the nighttime insects. A second later, shouts ring out and a horn is blown.
“Outcasts,” Daddy Erik mutters. He races to the kitchen window, which faces the street, and peers into the night.
“Did the scouts who were sent out to look for them return yet?” Daddy Gage asks.
“No,” Daddy Erik replies, “the last I heard, they hadn’t.”
Daddy Axel pulls a key from his pocket and moves to a cabinet I never realized was locked. He opens it with the key and starts pulling out what I believe are rifles. I’ve never seen one before, but I’ve read about such weapons in old books and I know they are deadly. He passes a rifle to each of his brothers. “Erik and Gage, get Josie to the bunker. Both of you stay with her. Make sure she doesn’t leave. If anything happens to me or Nash, at least she’ll be safer having two mates left.”
Coldness descends upon me. Before I can ask any questions, Daddies Erik and Gage usher me through the back door and beyond the greenhouse. I can’t see much in the dark, but I hear the sound of a door being flung open. A light flickers on at my feet and I look down to see a steep staircase that descends into the earth. More shouts and screams pierce the night, and I turn around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Daddies Axel and Nash. I don’t see anyone and I wonder which part of the village the outcasts have entered.
“Down,” Daddy Gage says, gripping my arm as he guides me into the depths of the underground shelter. “We must keep you safe.” The seriousness of his tone makes my stomach flip.
Daddy Erik closes the door and locks it before joining us at the bottom of the steps. I glance around the small area and spot two beds, a small kitchen area that appears well-stocked, and a tiny bathroom in a corner that has a curtain drawn partway across it. There are also jugs of water on the floor next to a large box of candles. How long will we have to stay down here?
Fear clenches my heart when I think of Daddies Axel and Nash.
Will I ever see them again? Tears burn in my eyes and for several long moments, I can’t draw a breath against the emotion that’s tightening in my chest.
Please let them survive the night. Please please please.
