Sawyer left Rebekah standing speechless on the porch and returned to the main house to find Jacob and Mason sitting downstairs, eating in silence. Sawyer looked over at Mason and smiled. While the boy was still thin and wiry, he seemed to grow taller by the day, and Sawyer could not help but take notice that he was not the same scrawny kid that he had first met. Sawyer slapped him on the back and smiled.
“How’s it going, buddy? You’re getting tall. Pretty soon Jacob will be looking up to you.”
The boy allowed a small smile, and Sawyer continued.
“It looks like the sun’s finally out to stay—you think you can do me a favor and go check the traps for me? I’ll owe you one. I need to talk to Jacob about something.”
Mason looked over at Jacob. The man nodded.
“Go ahead, Mason. But I will need your help once you are finished.”
Mason gave Sawyer a small smile and jumped off his chair, throwing on his unlaced boots and heading out the door. Jacob turned to Sawyer and frowned.
“What is it, Sawyer? I don’t have all day.”
Sawyer rubbed his chin and sighed.
“Fine. I’ll make it quick. Benjamin crossed the line and said some exceptionally rude things to Sara the other day. I just went over to talk to him, but Rebekah says he’s been sick for a couple days, and I didn’t get a chance. I thought you might care, as her father, but I guess I’m probably wrong.”
Jacob stood up from his chair. He had a perplexed look on his face.
“No, I do care. Rebekah did mention something about it to me, but I haven’t spoken to her for several days. I also had a rather rude interaction with Benjamin, but are you certain that he is sick? I am almost positive that I saw him out by the east gate just yesterday morning.”
Sawyer shrugged.
“I don’t know. That’s just what she told me. I didn’t see him lying in bed with a fever or anything if that’s what you mean.”
Jacob shook his head with doubt.
“Whether he is sick or not, I would like to know exactly what he said to my daughter.”
Sawyer had no interest in rehashing Sara’s unpleasant exchange with Benjamin.
“It doesn’t matter what he said. All you need to know is that it was way out of line, and I plan to have a talk with him about it. Maybe you should do the same.”
Sawyer had said all that he needed, and he left Jacob to go find Edward. As usual, the man was in the workshop, and he put down his tools when he saw Sawyer.
“Good day, Sawyer. How are things going?”
The boy nodded.
“Things are going, that’s for sure.”
Edward nodded as if he understood.
“I see. What’s on your mind?”
Sawyer sighed.
“Look, you know that Sara and I like you, and don’t take this the wrong way, but I just had a bizarre conversation with Rebekah, and I can’t shake the feeling that you all aren’t telling us something.”
Edward shook his head.
“I can’t say that I know what you’re talking about, Sawyer. What do you mean?”
Sawyer thought for a moment as he stared across the workbench. His voice was quiet.
“I want to know two things. Why did you really come to the Mission? And what do you know about the Cult of the Crow?”
The man looked up at the boy and stared into his green eyes.
“You’re a smart young man, Sawyer, and you deserve as straight of an answer as I can give you. The truth is that we all came here for different reasons, besides finding something to eat. For me, it was about finding good people and making up for past choices that I’ve made. But for Rebekah and Benjamin, it’s always about faith, and about fulfilling what they think is a mandate from God.”
Sawyer raised one eyebrow.
“What kind of mandate?”
Edward shook his head.
“That I cannot tell you for sure, but it does have something to do with the Crows. Or at least Rebekah thinks it does. You see, Rebekah believes that there is a war coming, a war between good and evil.”
Sawyer nearly laughed out loud.
“A war? With the Crows? There is no Cult of the Crow anymore. Hell, there is only a handful of people left on the goddamn planet. How can she think there is going to be a war?”
Edward shrugged.
“I don’t rightly know, Sawyer, but that’s what she’s preparing for. The truth is that Rebekah may tolerate my existence, but we rarely see eye to eye, and I’m not so certain that I fit into her long-term plans. If you ask me, there’s two notions of how to get along with a woman like her, and neither one is worth a damn.”
Sawyer nodded.
“Well, just do me a favor and tell her to back off. Like I’ve said before, I have no problem with whatever anyone wants to believe, but Sara and I don’t like being judged every time we step out the goddamn door.”
Edward looked up at Sawyer. For a moment, it seemed like he wanted to say something more to the boy, but in the end, he simply nodded and agreed.
“I understand, Sawyer, and I’ll make sure she gets the message.”
Sawyer was not necessarily satisfied with their conversation and he returned to the main house with more questions than answers. Jacob was gone but he found Sara sitting at the kitchen table, sharpening her knife. He leaned in to kiss her, but as soon as he came close, the girl pulled away. Sawyer took a step back.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Sara’s mouth was pinched tight, and it took her a moment to speak.
“I saw you talking to Rebekah from the upstairs window. I thought you went over to talk to Benjamin, not his sister.”
“I did. She said he was in bed sick for the last few days. What was I supposed to do?”
“Sick? I saw him skulking around yesterday morning, and he looked perfectly fine.”
“Your father said the same thing, but that’s what she told me.”
Sara ran the edge of her knife along the sharpening stone and frowned.
“And did she have to run her fingers through your hair to tell you that?”
Sawyer shook his head and sighed.
“Are you being serious right now? You know I don’t want anything to do with Rebekah.”
Sara slowly set the knife down on the table and walked to the foot of the stairs.
“Sorry, that’s not what it looked like to me. And it’s not the first time I’ve seen her flirting with you.”
Sawyer shook his head and laughed out loud.
“You’re acting insane right now, you know that?”
Sara clearly did not find any humor in being called insane, and her eyes narrowed.
“Is that right? Well, if you think that, why don’t you go hunting by yourself today? And maybe you can find somewhere else to sleep tonight, too. Have a good day, Sawyer. Goodbye.”
Sara stormed up the stairs and slammed a door behind her, leaving the confused boy with his mouth hanging wide open. He stood there for a moment, debating whether to follow her up the stairs or not, but in the end, he decided against it. Instead, he grabbed his backpack and the Mossberg and walked out the door, muttering sarcastically under his breath.
“What a fun day so far. Wonder who I can piss off next?”
Just as Sara had so kindly suggested, Sawyer spent the day hunting by himself, traversing the muddy trails north of the Mission. Game was scarce that day, and although he was excited to come across the clearly outlined paw prints of a dog or coyote in the mud alongside one trail, his traps were empty, and he was only able to bag one rabbit before dark. Having decided to sleep under the stars for the night rather than return to the Mission, he found a mostly dry patch of ground beneath a massive oak not far from the compound and set up camp. He sparked a fire, and after roasting the rabbit over the open flames, he stretched out on his bedroll with a full stomach. For the first time in several days, the night was clear, and the moon was full, and the boy fell asleep thinking of Sara, the not-so-distant howl of an unknown canine echoing in the dark.