Oden by Jessica Frances Page B

and I’m exhausted. Even Ival appears to be suffering, and his limp is more pronounced now, his arm glued to his side. He was speaking easier before, given our slower pace, but even now, it doesn’t matter. He can’t catch his breath enough to speak, which is a good thing. Everything he says isn’t helping us; it only adds fear, resentment, and anger to any discussion.
    Logan and Hope have three various states of mind, which are whining, distressed, or sleeping. Neither of them has the energy to walk, subsequently we take turns carrying them, except Ival. Seeing Logan suffering is driving me mental. I feel useless and like a failure watching him ask for food and water. We didn’t have any time to get supplies before we came here, and now we are suffering because of it.
    Mattie hasn’t complained, but I know she’s suffering, too. She often winces when she thinks no one is looking, and she refuses to say no to Logan when he wants her to hold him. I know his added weight is too much for her. I don’t comment about this, though, because the one time I did, she snapped at me that she could handle it.
    Now we are all tired, and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight. We’re walking at a slow pace, and twice, Hannah has nearly fallen asleep standing. It’s during the third time this happens that I insist we all sit down and rest for a short while. Even with the looming threat of drowning in here, no one appears currently too concerned in the face of their exhaustion. I think, right now, we would welcome the water to drink.
    Ival grunts and grumbles, but he does sit down, leaning against the wall then wincing as he jolts his side. Whatever has been done to him, he hasn’t had time to fully heal from it. Our bodies heal a lot faster than humans, but it doesn’t help when we’re sleep deprived, starving, and dehydrated.
    Mattie has been holding Logan, and she keeps him in her arms. The tunnels are cold, but with our constant moving, we’ve been able to keep the chill away. As soon as we sit down, however, I feel it creeping up.
    Once she’s settled, I sit down next to her, moving in close enough that her head rests against my chest and I wrap my arm around her and Logan. I kiss the top of her head as she instantly falls asleep.
    I close my eyes, too, feeling myself drifting off to a much needed sleep when someone taps me on my arm.
    I reluctantly open my eyes, seeing Hannah crouching down beside me.
    “What’s wrong?” I ask her, glancing around us to find Ival passed out farther down, and in the opposite direction, Lisa is holding Hope, both already asleep.
    “I want to talk to you about Mattie,” she whispers in reply.
    “Now?”
    “This is the first time Mattie’s been asleep. Now is as good as any, I think.”
    “Okay, what do you want to know?”
    “Mattie likes you, a lot. I can see it, and I know you probably can tell, too. She’s never liked a guy before, and I don’t want you to mess her up. So I need to know your intentions.”
    “My intentions?”
    “Yeah, like, what is your long term plan with my sister? And if you say you have no long term plan, I’ll kill you right now.”
    I frown at her, not understanding why she’s threatening me. Or at least, why it’s not a threat caused by me not being from Earth.
    “I plan on spending forever with Mattie. I love her, and I want us to be a family,” I say honestly.
    As she stares at me for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly, I feel sweat building up over my forehead. I suddenly have the impression that this conversation is important and I’m taking a test, one that will affect my future with Mattie if I fail.
    “Good answer. How did you get her to notice you? Boys have tried and failed before you. What did you do that was different?”
    “I don’t know. I saw your sister and something inside me lit up. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and I knew I had to keep her safe and protect her. I first saw a beautiful woman, but then I saw