“There it is!”she exclaimed so quietly that she could barely hear herself.The stag sat on the coffee table where the thief could admire it.She peeked inside a wastebasket to see wood shavings inside from whatever he was working on.
Seeing a backpack lying on the floor, Oaklie picked it up, then shoved the stag inside.She slung it over her shoulder and hurried back downstairs.“Uh, oh,” she breathed when she sensed the squatter moving closer.She let herself out and closed the door just as the front door opened.Her magic flowed into the frame and she returned it to its original thickness.The intruder had reached the attic by now.She checked to make sure the door was locked.It was, so she darted over to the trees.It wouldn’t be wise to use her magic to fuse it shut and give away her talent.
She knew the moment he’d noticed the stag was missing when he suddenly flashed downstairs.Oaklie panicked, knowing he was faster than she was.Putting her head down, she sprinted as fast as she could, heading towards the town.She distantly heard the doorknob snap off when her pursuer reached the back door.
Knowing she was leaving footprints behind, Oaklie couldn’t do much about it.She reached the road and picked up speed.She made it to town far faster than she’d ever forced herself to run before.Using a trail that led into the woods, she took a long, circuitous route to get home.
“He’s definitely the source of the weird sensation in the back of my head,” Oaklie said as the gate opened for her.The sensation had grown far stronger when she’d only been a short distance from him.He hadn’t sensed her in return.She had a feeling it was because she’d clamped down so hard on her magic.
The logs fused together again, barring anyone’s way as she strode over to the house.Her power commanded the door to open and she carried her prize inside.
“I’m glad I visited the boutique to take back my other special pieces of art first,” she said as she gazed at the sculptures she’d retrieved earlier.She’d crafted a wooden pedestal for the stag and had placed it in a corner of the living room.Her other pieces were perched on the furniture, in the bookcase against one wall and on some shelves her dad had added years ago.
“There,” she said in satisfaction when she took the stag out of the backpack and put it on the pedestal.“You’re back home where you belong,” she murmured, stroking the smooth back of the animal.Her magic flowed into the wood.The deer’s head turned, bent its neck in acknowledgement, then returned to its original position.
“Now I need to hunker down and hope the squatter doesn’t find me,” Oaklie said.“With luck, he’ll move on soon.What’s he doing here anyway?”That was a question she wasn’t about to learn the answer to.
She’d intended to move the statue she’d carved of the stranger to her yard today, but it would have to wait.The log fence would keep him out if he managed to find her.It would be far safer to stay right where she was for now.
Oaklie was too restless to stay inside.She left the house and entered the toolshed.Finding a pair of old gardening gloves, she pulled them on and grabbed a hoe.The sky was cloudy, but the weather was stable.It was eerily quiet as she crossed to the decimated vegetable garden.Birds were few and far between.Insects were still in abundance.She could hear crickets in the grass as she began tearing the dead plants from the ground.
Performing a menial task like this allowed her mind to roam free.She thought back to her earliest memories and sighed in wistful melancholy.Everything had been perfect for a few years.By the time she was five, she’d become good at hiding her talents.Stronger, faster and with enhanced senses, she’d had to be careful not to accidentally hurt her adopted siblings.
“Eli was born a monster,” she muttered as she viciously hacked at the ruined vegetation.Her brother had become abusive to her and their younger brothers and sisters after he’d turned four.Oaklie had tried to tell her parents he was bad inside, but he always acted like an angel around them.
“He was a devil, not an angel,” Oaklie said with a scowl.“Mom thought I was jealous because Eli was dad’s favorite.”There might have been some truth to that claim, but she hadn’t been lying to get some attention.
Eli had been the sort of kid who’d tortured animals for fun.He’d taunted his siblings verbally when their parents weren’t around.He used to slap them and pinch them, except for Oaklie.She’d shoved him down the first and only time he’d tried to hurt her.He’d learned she couldn’t be intimidated, so he’d focused his abuse on the others.
All four of their younger brothers and sisters had suffered his torment right up until the Rapture.They’d all complained to their folks, but they’d refused to believe them.Eli had been a good actor, somehow turning the tables on them constantly.He’d made lying an artform and was an expert at gaslighting.
Working from row to row, Oaklie pushed the memory of the day after the Rapture away.It wouldn’t do any good for her to dwell on the past.She needed to concentrate on survival.Wildlife was scarce and she had to travel far and wide while hunting.Her supplies of canned food were almost gone.Spring was coming and she needed to find viable seeds and plant them when the time was right.
“What if the blight comes back?”she said, straightening her back to study the now empty rows.All of the diseased plants were piled off to the side.If the blight returned in the spring, then she probably wouldn’t last long.No one could survive on meat alone and remain healthy for long.
“I’ll deal with that problem if and when it happens,” she figured dourly.
Her property was far enough away from town that it should be safe enough for her to burn the plants.No one would spot the smoke from this far away.The wind would sweep it away as well.She returned the hoe and gloves to the toolshed, then headed inside for some matches.Grabbing a shovel from the shed on her way back out, Oaklie lit a few matches and tossed them onto the pile of vegetation.Flames took hold and began devouring the pile.
“I’m lucky it isn’t storming today,” she said as she held the shovel ready to toss dirt on any unruly embers.It took an hour for all of the diseased vegetables to burn to ash.She piled dirt on the embers to smother them, then put the shovel back.
Filthy by now, Oaklie took a shower and changed into fresh clothes.So far, she hadn’t sensed the stranger, which meant she was still safe.Only the locals knew where her house was.It was doubtful he’d stumble across it all the way out here in the woods.
“He won’t get inside even if he does find me,” she said smugly.Her magic would make sure of that.
