“Hiyaaaa!” Samuel called from the front of the wagon, striking the poor horse. She feared for what would happen when the horse collapsed. It was inevitable with how poorly it was fed. Samuel was of the belief that the good Lord would provide. Out here with no one else in sight.
“He will take us to paradise,” a soft voice said.
As if she had read Hannah’s doubts, her mother tried to comfort her. Hannah’s eyes lifted to the woman who had birthed her. Regina had always been a feeble woman, left with a four-year-old daughter, after the death of her husband. For most of her life, Hannah had cared for her mother, protecting her from the harsh realities of life. Then she had met Reverend Samuel, a widower, who had two children, Thomas and Mary. She had opposed the relationship, because she had seen Samuel as a manipulator, who heard nothing from God, but Regina had been in love.
It was this love that had made her marry Samuel. The same love that had made her bear his child which now suckled on her, on a journey they had no idea how long it would last. The love had made Regina leave her home to follow her husband on this adventure towards the wild lands to an unknown land. Just as the Israelites had followed Moses, her stepfather was fond of saying.
Hannah turned away from her mother. Her anger strengthened each day they were on this path. It was because of her they were out here, in the middle of nowhere. Worse, Regina was sick. She had developed a cough that made her lungs rattle every time she coughed. It had started two weeks ago, and it only grew worse. Her brother, John, cried every day, and had managed to survive a fever. He was still warm, and she feared for what would happen if the fever returned.
Their supplies were thinning, and they had to ration their meals, although she had caught Samuel eating in the middle of the night. He had patted his stomach and said, “The head of the home needs to be nourished”. She was angry with him for bringing them on this journey. If they did not find any form of civilization in a few days, she feared they would all die from hunger, mauled by wild animals, or worse, from the wild Indians, who she had heard terrible tales of.
Regina’s body shook as she coughed. The sound made Hannah wince. They would set up a fire when they set camp in hopes that the warmth would help her. She carefully stood up, dropping the basket which had her balls of yarns and pins.
“Get back in there lass!” Samuel yelled, throwing his eyes at her, before they looked back on the road.
The road ahead made Hannah gulp. Desolation was all around. Anything could happen to them, and no one would know. She gulped. “We should stop. Mother is tired, you should be as well.”
“I am not tired! We must get to a town by nightfall!” Samuel said, as he struck the horse with a whip.
A town? There was none out here! He was just so stubborn. He listened to no one but himself. “We have been riding for days and have—”
“Shut up lass and get back in there! I don’t have the time for your ramblings!” Samuel shot.
She glared at him. He treated her with disrespect, while she tried to respect him. After all, he was her mother’s husband. A glint caught her eyes and she stared at the mountains. A shudder ran through her body, and she hurried back into the wagon.
“What is it?” her mother asked.
Her hands shook as she carried the basket. “Nothing,” she mumbled. It was just her imagination, but for a moment it felt like she had seen something. A horse? A face? Whatever it was, it had been watching them. Despite being covered by the shelter of the wagon, she felt unease, and felt a sense of being watched. One thing was clear, they were not alone.
“We should go faster. See if there’s a town around,” she said.
“Now the lass speaks well!” Samuel said from the front, as the horse’s pace increased.
They didn’t know their way around the terrain. All they followed was the trail. Her eyes closed as she made a quick prayer. She prayed for their path to be guided to safety. But as she opened her eyes, that feeling of forbearing returned. It had begun when they first started this journey, and she had hugged Penny Sue, her best friend like she was never going to see her again.
“Mama…” she said in a tiny voice, looking at her mother.
“Yes Hannah. Is everything…”
The first alarm came as the wagon lurched forward in an alarming speed. Then came a cry from Samuel.
“Barbarians! They are after us!” he yelled, as he struck the horse.
Hannah shoved her head outside the wagon and gasped. Samuel was right. Like lightning, their horses leapt, headed towards them from the mountains. She had never seen them before, but she had heard dreadful tales of these strange beings.
“Faster papa!” Mary cried from behind the wagon, her face going pale with fear.
“Fetch the shotgun Thomas!” Samuel yelled.
Thomas hurried to the back of the wagon and pulled two shotguns. He threw one at his father, a silly move, as Samuel was a horrible catch. The gun sailed out of the wagon.
“Idiot!” Samuel swore.
Now the riders were on to them. Fear flashed in Hannah’s heart at the first sight of them. They were so… big… and scary on their horses. They were barbarians like the tales said. They wore no shirts, and she looked away from their chests.
Everything happened so fast, Hannah had no idea what really happened. Samuel grabbed the shotgun from Thomas and shot. The barbarians must have attacked because the wheels to the wagon let loose and the wagon detangled from the horses. She reached for her mother, pulling her into a protective embrace just as the wagon fell to the ground.
There were more gunshots, and she heard Samuel shouting. And then his screams. Her eyes closed as her heart raced in fear. They drank people’s blood, she had heard. And they ate human flesh, she remembered.
