Monsters (2/?)
(pt. 1 here)
Penelope’s leg healed faster than I initially believed it would. Before I knew it, she was slowly making her way around the cabin, cleaning up various clutter that had gathered since Hudson and John’s leave some time ago. I dreamt of them during the day, when I was able to sleep. At night, I kept the two of us safe from the monsters that threatened our walls with every moonrise. I would try to protest Penelope’s insistence in moving, saying “You need to rest, your leg is…”
“It’s almost better,” Penelope would insist, shooing me away as she cleaned. Sometimes when I couldn’t sleep, I would watch her move. She was slow, but I could tell that with every passing day, she was growing stronger. Before I knew it, she was only limping a little bit. I wondered if she would always have that limp now, or if she had had it before the monster attack that brought her here.
Her red hair was in braids when the sun was out. Before I left the cabin every night, she would undo them, revealing long crimson waves. I would sit in the watchpoint, feeling my own hair, wondering if it was as soft as hers. Eventually, the monsters would come and I would put those thoughts away, choosing to focus on keeping the two of us alive. Now that Penelope was healed, the monsters weren’t as ravenous…but they still tried their best to break our fence and get inside.
One evening, as we cleaned up our dinner mess, Penelope said my name. She sounded pensive, as if she had been dwelling on something. “What is it?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious.
“What would you think about going to find your people? Hudson and John?” I looked over at her to see her there, standing next to the bucket of water we washed our dishes in, eyes serious. “I remember how to get back to Kittering. If they’re there, there’s got to be a reason that they haven’t returned yet. We might even run into them on the way!”
“Why would we leave this place?” I asked, brow furrowed. “We’re safe here. We don’t need to go looking for them, they’re fine.” Even though I said it, I didn’t believe it. Hudson and John had been gone for months. It wasn’t normal.
Penelope sighed, shifting her weight to her good leg. “I just think you might get some peace of mind knowing that they’re safe…and I kind of need to go back to Kittering eventually.”
Back to Kittering? I never thought about her leaving here. The thought made me uncomfortable. I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself, looking away from her. Outside the sky was orange. “I don’t think you…I don’t think you should leave yet. Not alone.”
“Accompany me, then. Protect me like you have been.” I couldn’t place the emotion in Penelope’s voice. “I know you don’t want to leave just in case they come back…but I think we’ll find them if we leave.” I couldn’t say anything productive, so I turned away from her. “Dawn.” I ignored the heat in my chest, grabbing my bow and quiver and going to the door.
Penelope’s voice grew louder. “Dawn!”
I stopped moving, hand on the door. “I’m not leaving. And neither are you.”
“You can’t keep me here,” Penelope argued, voice shaking. “I’m not your prisoner. I’m thankful for you helping me when I needed you, but now that I’m better…”
“You can’t leave!” I spat, turning to look at her. Her face was as cold as ice, unfazed by my shout. “You aren’t prepared to leave, you aren’t strong enough.”
“Yes I am,” she said. Her voice was trembling despite her stoic expression.
“No, you’re not,” I said, shaking my head. “You almost died out there, you can barely walk because of it, and now you want to leave? You want to go out there where you could easily get attacked again?”
“I’ve been fighting all my life,” Penelope’s voice raising as she tossed the dishes into the bucket. “You don’t know anything about my history, you don’t know where I’ve been.”
“No, I don’t, but I know monster food when I see it,” I said coldly, turning to open the door. “It’s getting late.”
As soon as I heard the door close behind me, I stood still, gripping my bow tightly. The heat in my chest was bubbling over, hot tears beginning to threaten my cheeks. I couldn’t leave. Hudson and John, they could be back at any moment with supplies and a thousand stories about their adventure. I couldn’t leave, not until they came home.
I didn’t need to be so callous towards Penelope but I just knew that this place was safe. I hadn’t truly left in so long…it wasn’t safe. As I climbed the ladder to the watch point, I ignored the racing thoughts in my head and focused on the task at hand. I had to protect the two of us. I had to protect the cabin.
All night, I obsessed over our conversation. I went back and forth between yes and no, barely registering the monsters I was killing as I debated and beat myself up. Panic aside, Penelope had a point…I would have to let her leave eventually. I would have to go find Hudson and John at some point if they never came back…The fear of leaving had me in a chokehold, but I knew it would loosen up if I forced it.
In the morning, I went to collect my arrows from the dirt, the monsters having already sunk into the Earth. As I pulled the last one out of the ground, I saw red in the corner of my eye. Penelope was standing in the gate entrance, arms crossed. Her hair wasn’t braided yet, and the rising sun caught the vibrant strands perfectly. She looked more intimidating like this. I stared at her as she walked forward, limping slightly but not wincing as she approached.
When she reached me, she cleared her throat. “I’m leaving tomorrow with or without you. I have to get back to my town and make sure that everyone is okay.”
I blinked down at her, unsurprised at her iron exterior. “You don’t have any weapons.”
“I’m about to go look for them now,” she said, gesturing to the left. I had found her not too far that way. “I suppose you’re going to go to bed now?”
“No,” I said slowly. “I’m going to hunt. We don’t have much meat left.”
“Well…” Penelope paused, looking a little thrown off by this. She straightened up after a moment. “I’m still going off to look for my weapons. I don’t expect you to come with me tomorrow.” I shrugged, and she made that same confused face. “What do you mean?”
“I…I feel bad for last night,” I admitted. “I know you were hurt badly, but according to you, you’ve been dealing with these monsters all your life, just like me.” Sighing, I added, “Plus you’re probably right. Hudson and John are probably on their way back. Meeting them in the middle doesn’t sound so awful.”
Penelope blinked up at me, the confusion clear on her face now. “I…uh…so you’re coming with me?”
“We can leave as soon as the monsters are gone tomorrow morning, but I’ll have to sleep at some point to stay alert,” I said. I knew she could hear the hesitation in my voice, but I had to back down. I couldn’t let my fear cloud my judgement.
Hesitation or not, Penelope’s expression softened. “Alright, that’s great. We’ll leave at dawn.”
“Yep.”
She smiled softly. “Be safe hunting.”
“Be safe searching,” I told her. We parted ways.
After the hunt, I slept through the day, dreaming of meeting Hudson and John in the forest. Hudson’s large frame enveloping me, John’s scratchy beard pressing into my skin as he showered me with kisses. They missed me, they said. They were on their way home, they said. So many supplies behind them. So many stories on their lips. Penelope’s red hair loose as she smiled at the reunion, wishing us luck as she left.
“Don’t leave,” I said, eyes opening. I looked over to see Penelope sitting on the floor, sharpening what I could only assume was her knife. She looked at me, confused. “Uh…” I cleared my throat and sat up. “Did I talk in my sleep just now?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, well that’s cool.”
I went to lay back down, but Penelope’s voice caught me. “You usually do. You knew that, right?”
“What?”
“Oh, yeah…you talk in your sleep a lot.”
I could feel my whole body heat up. “I did not know that.”
Penelope looked away, cheeks flushed. “Yeah, every day.”
“Everyday?!” I was mortified. What had I said?!
“Yes.” She smiled down at her lap. “It’s…interesting.” There was a pause. The air felt very warm despite the coolness of the wind through the windows. Finally, she spoke. “You mostly call for one of the men. It’s clear that they mean a lot to you. Sometimes, you…” She cleared her throat before pressing on. “Sometimes you say my name.”
That’s what I was afraid of. I let my head hit the pillow, closing my eyes. “That’s embarrassing.”
“I think it’s cute.”
“That’s even more embarrassing!”
Penelope just giggled and continued to sharpen her knife. I listened to the sound until she spoke again. Her voice was so quiet that I could barely hear it. “If it makes you feel better, I dream of you too sometimes.”
The rest of the day, and the night, went by too fast. I spent the time before sundown getting the cabin ready for us to leave, harvesting as much of the crops as I could and packing them away, reinforcing the wall and the gate, making everything extra clean and sturdy just in case. Penelope helped, the two of us on opposite sides of the sanctuary. I felt embarrassed after what happened, and I had a feeling that she didn’t want to talk too much about it either.
We ate dinner in silence, and then it was time to go to the watchpoint. “Goodnight,” I said to her as I left the cabin.
“Wait,” Penelope called, going to the doorway. I turned to look at her, wondering what she could want. “I…I’m sorry if I embarrassed you earlier today. I really do think you talking in your sleep is endearing.”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly, trying to dismiss her, but she held my gaze.
“What do you dream about most days?”
I could see that the light was leaving, and I knew I had to go. “Mostly just seeing Hudson and John again. I have to go now.”
“Oh, right,” Penelope said, looking around at the dimming light.
“Hey, tomorrow, on the way to Kittering. Will you tell me more about you?” I asked cautiously. “I don’t know much about your life.”
“I haven’t told you anything, that’s true…Yes, I think I can tell you about myself tomorrow. You saved my life, after all. The least I can do is tell you who’s been mooching off of you these past few weeks.”
“You’ve…not been mooching,” I said to her, but she just smiled and bid me goodnight as she shut the door. Turning to the watchpoint, I ignored the intense curiosity and excitement of getting to know her better and began the night’s watch.
Hello everyone! I hope you liked this addition to the short story I wrote last month. I’m excited to hear your thoughts on it, and I’m excited to write some more of Dawn and Penelope’s story!
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Thanks for reading!! I’ll see ya here next week with something new!
