Link To The Past

Chapter Thirty-Three

Thomas had been up all night. At times, he would catch himself dozing off, but his head would snap back up and he'd be alert again. With his shotgun firmly in his hands, he sat in a chair next to the window where he spied upon the town for anything out of the ordinary. The night was unusually quiet; not even the crickets sang nor the owls who often flew by to grab a mouse for midnight snack made any attempt to visit the little town. Thomas stole a glance over at Kristine; she was sleeping peacefully. He watched as her chest calmly rose and fell, even her belly was showing signs of movement.
Almost six months. Thomas thought to himself. In a few days Kristine would be six months along. They would need a safe place to stay and raise their baby together. He grinned. Together.

As the morning sun started to rise, Thomas finally closed his heavy eyes—by accident, of course. It was never his intention to fall asleep, and as Kristine woke, she let him sleep. She carefully took the gun from his hands and placed it down on the bed. Next she took one of the spare blankets and draped it over Thomas. The mornings could get chilly and she didn't want him catching a cold. It was charming, him watching over her and the town at night, but also worrisome. She was concerned about his health. If he was exhausted, how would he be able to fight off the enemy?
For now, she would let him rest, and when he awoke she would make him something to eat. Kristine had spent enough time here to learn the basics of cooking from scratch. Thinking of that led her to wonder about things she had strayed from doing, putting them off almost indefinitely. Somehow she would have to contact her parents and tell them everything. She hadn't told Thomas yet, but Kristine planned to stay...for good. This was her home; she had made a life here for herself long ago, and she wasn't going to say goodbye to it.

Kristine went on with her day as normal. She helped Anne in the garden, prayed at the church, and helped some of the children learn how to read and write. Life was simple, but it was also scary how unprotected they all were. In the future, you had police patrolling the town; most apartment complexes required you to have a key or some other device to even get through the first door. People had house alarms; women off all ages carried pepper spray or a taser, or both. But here, there were less things in which to protect oneself from danger.
"What are you thinking about?" Anne asked.
Kristine was brought out of her deep thoughts and looked over at Anne, her new sister-in-law, and gave her half a smile. They were walking back to the house with a basket full of vegetables. "I'm thinking about the others back at the camp. Little Susan, Nathan, Samuel, Margaret, and William."
Anne rested a steady hand on Kristine's shoulder. "Don't worry. They're in good hands."
Kristine was ready to return the kindness when suddenly the door to Anne's home swung open quickly. Thomas rushed down the steps, his head turning right and left. Finally, he turned around, relief washing over his face when he saw Kristine and Anne.
"Goodness, Thomas!" Anne chuckled. "What seems to be the matter?"
"I was...I was worried. No one was home." He took the basket of vegetables, not giving Kristine a chance to protest, and carried them for her.
"You should be sleeping." Kristine told him. She started counting her fingers. "You've only been asleep for four hours. That's not enough. Go back inside and double that amount."
In response to Kristine's demand, Thomas gave her a devilish smile. "I'm fine. Besides, I can sleep when I'm dead."
That comment stopped Kristine in her tracks. She didn't think his clever comeback was very smart. In fact, it upset her. "Don't talk like that." Her voice was low; the look on her face a mirror to how she was feeling.
"I'll see you back at the house." Anne quickly made her escape.
"I...I'm sorry." Thomas immediately stopped his tomfoolery. "How can I make it up to you?"
With one brow raised, Kristine said, "Oh, I'll think of something." She walked past him, following after Anne.
Thomas let out a puff of air, his bangs flying up as he glanced around. A little ways down the road was a rider, and then another, and another. With the basket still in his hands he walked over to the rider fast approaching. It was one of the militia men.
"Gabriel told us to come here. We received your letter and sent help as soon as we were able. More are on their way."
One nod came from Thomas. "Great."
The rider got off his horse and so did the rest of the men. "Where's the traitor?"
Thomas motioned his head to the side. "In that shack."
The man eyes the shack and then the basket of vegetables. "Taking up gardening while away from the war?" He joked.
Thomas tolled his eyes. "You would know." He quickly changed the subject. "Head on over to the shack, but don't go inside. It's locked anyway and I have the key." Thomas walked off into the opposite direction to take the basket back to Anne's house and to let the others know that help had arrived.