Sleepwalker

Chapter Twenty-Five: Delayed Fears

“Amy, there are some sort of mud people in the barn!” A voice yelled with a western twang in his voice. His boots crunched the hay beneath him.

My eyes flew open, a pitchfork inches away. “Ah, hello,” I mumbled.

“What the hell are y’all doing in my barn?” He roared. “Amy! Mud people!” He called again, turning back toward the door. “What the hell are y’all doing here?” He inched his pitchfork closer to my neck. “What’s your name?”

Nonchalantly, I jabbed Dill’s side. “Dill,” I murmured. “Dill, wake up. Wake up.” My voice strained in desperation. “It’s morning….” My voice trailed off.

Armadillo’s eyes fluttered, just as the pitchfork turned on him. “Hell!” He gasped, flailing into a sitting position. “Ah, good morning, sir. You’ve a lovely barn here.”

“Yeah, and I’d like to know why you’re in it.” His hands clasped the wooden handle even tighter. “Now gimme an answer, boy ‘fore I gotta beat one outta you.”

“Rod!” A soft voice called from further out. She came into view, her eyes wide with horror, her stomach swollen with life. “Rod! They aren’t mud people! They’re vagrants. Poor dears.” She reached out to stroke my face gently.

I peeled back. The feel of her hand against my cheek would feel all too foreign. At her hurt look, I stuttered, “I’m sorry. I…we’re not—”

Armadillo interrupted me, “We’re not vagrants. We’re traveling to Eirodin. The mud…we seemed to have dozed off on the side of the road earlier and a carriage came by. My name is Armadillo Green.” When they raised an eyebrow at one another, he offered, “Or Dill, if you’d like.” He pulled a strand of straw out of his hair.

“Jenny,” I introduced myself quietly. After standing, I dusted off the britches.

Rod lowered his pitchfork, but still kept a tight grip on it. “Where you two from then if you ain’t got no family ‘round these parts?” He leaned the tool against the wall.

Vaguely, I replied, “The south.” I grabbed the thick leather strap of my knapsack. “I’m so sorry that you found us like this. And I’m sorry that we trespassed. I’ll… help out in anyway that I can. What do you need?” Guilt dripped into my stomach.

Dill grunted, “Jenny…I thought you wanted to get to Eirodin quickly. You can’t keep putting it off.” He lifted his own bag over his shoulder.

“I’m not putting it off, Dill. We were sleeping in their barn. We might as well do something nice for them.” I refrained from saying the next words that threatened to spew from my mouth. Smiling, I turned back toward Rod and Amy. “Well?”

Rod eyed me distrustfully. “It’d be nice if you both took a bath. You smell like a stable. If you really feel badly about it, I could use some help in the fields.” He tossed a rake at Dill. He turned to me. “Can’t you see my wife is pregnant? You help her out around the house. Then maybe, you two can actually have beds tonight.” He gestured for Armadillo to follow him outside of the barn.

On his way out, Armadillo shrugged at me. His face was a nervous and awkward grimace. “Jenny…” His voice trailed off when Rod rushed him along.

Amy turned to me, her eyes soft. “He comes off a bit harsh. He’s really sweet beneath it all. Come on inside. It’s cold out here, isn’t it?” Her hands rested on the bulge in her stomach; I squirmed a bit. “Youngest child, huh? Or an only child? Never saw your mother pregnant?” She teased, noticing my confused and slightly unsettled expression.

“Never saw my mother at all.” I held the door of the barn open after pushing on it with my shoulder. After she looked at my clothing, I stated, “I don’t normally dress like this. It was a strange incident that occurred. And my hair doesn’t look like this at all.”