Scars Of Time

Buried In The Snow

As the storm raged on outside, the team had done their best to get Harriet to speak about Bloodstone. She refused. There seemed to be no force on Earth that would make her speak of them. She seemed nervous though, that much they could tell.

Jacob, Rufus, and Flynn were in the other room, looking out the windows at the storm. Flynn asked softly, "What is Bloodstone?"

Jacob shook his head, quickly glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Harriet wasn't nearby. He turned back to the men. "I don't really know. Like I said before, they came into town about two or three months ago. They started hanging their posters around the town, talking to some of the shop keepers..."

"Who'd they kill, do you know?" Rufus asked.

Jacob raised his shoulders briefly. "There was talk a few weeks back about one of the plantation owners being murdered after a visit from them."

"What for?" Rufus prodded. "Why kill a plantation owner?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jacob admitted. "All I know is that whenever you're in town, they're watching you. Don't matter who you are. They stare you down, waiting for you to do something they don't like."

"How many of them are there?" Flynn questioned.

Jacob thought about it for a moment. "I think there's four, maybe five of 'em. They stay at the hotel...took all the rooms too."

"How many rooms are at the hotel?" Rufus asked.

Jacob shrugged. "Maybe ten? I've never stayed there, but I know the owners. They're good people."

Flynn questioned, "Are they expecting more to arrive?"

"Look," Jacob started. "I don't know much more about them. I just know that if you even look at them sideways, they kill you."

"Are you speaking from fact or," Rufus paused.

Jacob glared at him. "It's a small town. Word travels fast around here, even if we don't see it."

Flynn released a heavy sigh. He felt like he was listening to someone with a wild imagination. Nothing was fact-based. He hated listening to those kinds of accounts. It left too much to the imagination, and people who lived in the town were certainly using theirs to fill in the gaps. It was dangerous.

Rufus stated, "Looks like the storm is starting to slow."

Jacob glanced outside the window. "Might just be a break from the storm. If you're hoping to get to town, now's the time to try before the storm comes back." Flynn nodded.

The women sat in the main room. Betty was working on her needlepoint design, Harriet was sitting by the fire grimacing occasionally as she rubbed her belly. Lucy had tried to get them to share anything about what was going on in town with them, but Harriet refused, which made Betty clam up as well. Tenley sat quietly in a chair studying Harriet's movements and facial expressions.

"Please, it's very important, not just for us," Lucy begged. "But for your baby."

"Why won't you let it go?" Harriet spat. "If I tell you anything about them and they find out it was me, what do you think would happen to me and my baby?"

"We can stop them," Lucy pleaded. "But not if we don't know what we're up against!"

Harriet released a sharp gasp, placing her hand onto the small of her back. Tenley's eyes narrowed as she asked, "How long have you been in labor?"

Harriet's eyes flitted up to meet Tenley's. "A while."
Tenley raised her eyebrow at her. "What does that mean, a while?" She turned to Betty. "How long?"