Joshua spoke, unafraid to answer their questions. “Your town was on a map back at Haven.” The large man, likely a guard, dragged me to the other side of the car beside Joshua as the leader stood in front of us. I noticed Joshua grimace as he stood on his foot.
“Adam needs medical attention!” I announced pointing at his foot. “He’s injured. The least you could do is help him. Then we’ll leave.”
“That isn’t an option,” the older man retorted as he and one of the guards dragged Joshua into the nearest building.
“Adam!” I screamed watching as they dragged him away. I tried to break free, pulling myself from their grasp, running towards him only to feel my feet pulled out from under me. I hit the ground hard, groaning in agony, tasting dirt in my mouth.
The guard that had pulled me out of the car snickered. “Little good that did you.” He helped me to my feet, his grip tight on my forearm. “You’re coming with me,” he insisted, dragging me towards another building on the opposite side of the road.
“No!” I screamed as loud as I could. “Adam!” I shouted, “Please! Let me be with him!” I begged.
The leader paused and turned around. “Fine, go ahead and bring her in,” he gestured. “She’ll wake the entire community, otherwise.” The guard let go of me and I rushed to Joshua, following him up the final porch steps and inside the small cabin.
My eyes scanned our surroundings. I reached for Joshua, finding his hand and gripping it gently. “How are you holding up?” I whispered.
“Sore,” he admitted.
“Sit,” the older gentleman pointed to the bench at the end of the wall, and Joshua willingly obliged. The candlelight illuminating the small cabin gave me a better look at the older, more distinguished-looking man. I guessed he was in his sixties with distinctive wrinkles around his eyes and down to his cheekbones where his gray mustache and beard covered his face. He had a harsh look to him, thin and muscular as though he still exercised even at his age. “I’m Chancellor Collins,” he informed us. “I’ll have a nurse take a look at Adam’s foot,” he said before walking out of the cabin. I heard a clasp and knew he’d locked us in.
“So, what are you thinking?” I asked Joshua, scanning the cabin. I wandered toward the far wall, trying to find what I could. I saw nothing that could be used as a weapon, not even silverware in the empty drawers. The room itself held a wood burning stove on the side wall and a door to the left of Joshua that I assumed led to a bedroom. My fingers moved over every crevice, wondering if I could find a way to escape.
“Other than we’re probably not welcome here?” he joked. “I don’t know why they won’t let us leave, but I’m sure they have their reasons.”
“You’re not worried?” I turned to look at him.
Joshua shook his head. “Not yet. After everything we’ve already been through,” he stared at me, “I’m just glad we’re together. “He always had a way of being optimistic even when everything seemed to be falling apart.
“Yeah,” I sighed, sitting down with him on the bench. Across from us was a long wooden table, situated in the center of the room. I wondered if anyone lived here. It didn’t seem like it. Which made me even more curious, where had they gone? “Do you think I’m out of line if I suggest something?”
“Don’t know until you tell me,” Joshua remarked.
I sighed. “I’m worried they’ll separate us. Like back in Haven,” I admitted.
Joshua shook his head. “They won’t do that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
A hint of a smile played on his lips. “I won’t let them,” he promised.. “So, what was your suggestion?” He brushed me with his elbow.
I glanced at him, biting down on my bottom lip. “What if we let them know we’re already together? Maybe they won’t question it and won’t find the need to separate us?”
“Now that you’re Jacqueline,” he reached out pushing a strand of red hair behind my ear, “I don’t think anyone will care.” I knew he had to be right. The only reason Haven’s council had obsessed with who I should marry was because they knew my true identity. I could never let the people here find out I was Olivia Parker.
He softly kissed my lips, and my fingers trailed to the nape of his neck, pulling him tighter. “Whatever happens,” he breathed, “I love you.”
I laughed softly against his lips. “I know.” The grin spread across my face, matching his.
I pulled back hearing the latch on the front door unclasp. I quickly glanced at Joshua, wondering who it could be when a woman in her thirties opened the door. She stepped inside the cabin, looking Joshua over as she saw the messy bandage affixed to his foot. I could only assume she was the town’s nurse. “How did this happen?” She glared at him, then me as if I somehow had caused his injury.
Joshua sighed. “We were bathing out in the river before we found our way into town. I slipped on a rock.”
“Right.” She shook her head as she removed the first piece of cloth and saw the blood had seeped through the second. “This doesn’t look like a little slip.” her intense stare landed on me.
“It is if it was caused by a knife,” I remarked eyeing Joshua. Why was he lying to her? Even if he’d killed the outlaw, he’d done it to protect me. It was our life or the stranger’s.
“You did this to him?” she accused.
My eyes widened. “What? No! Of course not.” I shook my head, vigorously, “We were attacked by the river bed. We’d just finished swimming and some stranger demanded the car keys. He came at me with a knife.”
She raised one eyebrow, curious by my behavior. “And you thought it was a good idea to fight him off?”
“I thought we’d die out there,” I answered sharply, defending what we’d done. “The man threatened to take me with him. He would have killed us both if we hadn’t stopped him.”
“Stopped him.” She nodded. “I see.” She grabbed a candle, handing it to me. “Hold this for better light.” I didn’t object. I held it, careful not to burn anyone as she unwrapped the last bloody bandage and examined the wound. “It’s pretty deep. I’ll put on some ointment and wrap it for you. Don’t put a lot of pressure on your foot, and it’ll heal faster. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on your bandage.”
“Thank you,” Joshua breathed. She was careful and precise as she tended to his injury.
“Don’t thank me just yet,” she replied. The nurse finished wrapping his foot and without another word from her, she stood and headed for the door.
I glanced at Joshua wondering what was going on. Could we leave? The keys had been in the car. If we were lucky, it was still outside.
A moment after the nurse left, Chancellor Collins returned. I was grateful the gun wasn’t in sight. “Now that we have that taken care of,” his temper seemed short, abrupt. “I want to know everything about where you’ve been and who you are,” he stared intensely at us.
“I’m Jacqueline, this is Adam.” I offered. “We’re from a town east of here, Haven,” I repeated eyeing him skeptically. I didn’t feel like confiding in him would help us, but I also knew we didn’t have much choice. At the moment, we were prisoners, whether we wanted to be or not. I sighed, finally answering him, “The government came in to Haven, drones bombed the city and soldiers arrived on foot. We managed to escape by stealing a vehicle.” I wasn’t entirely proud of what we’d been through but we did what we needed to survive.
The Chancellor narrowed his eyes. “And you found us? A city not on any map?”
Joshua spoke out, “Not true! I have the map in the car. We found it at the museum in Haven.”
Chancellor Collins considered his words, quiet for a moment. “Why are you here?” his tone more than just slightly suspicious, and I wondered why he cared. What did they have to hide?