Near the Bone by Christina Henry (ebook reader color screen txt) 📗

She wanted to rush out to the storehouse right away, but she needed to think this through. First, she should continue with the plan to bring William a sandwich. Whether she was opening the storehouse or opening the trunk, she still needed to be certain that he was gone from the immediate area.

It had taken him at least two hours to dig the nearby pit, so if he’d moved on she would have at least that long to make her preparations. Mattie finished assembling the sandwich, wrapped it in a clean white cloth and tied a knot in the top. Then she pulled on her coat and wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck. Before she went out she made certain to close the cracked-open window, because even the small amount of cold air coming in had chilled the cabin. If William found the window open he would be annoyed, especially since he’d built up the fire and left enough wood for the cabin to stay warm while he was gone.

Mattie put on her boots and stepped outside the cabin. As she pulled the cabin door closed she noticed her hands were trembling. She’d never defied William so openly before.

You can’t be afraid. You have to be brave, or at least try. William’s in such a good mood today that he’s unlikely to punish you if he finds you outside.

But finding her out of the cabin might cause his mood to change. And she knew his mood could change without warning, could flare up like a summer storm.

You’re only taking him a sandwich. You haven’t done anything wrong. Not yet, anyway. If he finds you in the storehouse . . .

Mattie would have to come up with some excuse for the storehouse. She could say she wanted to make him a special dinner. As long as she was behaving like a good wife then it would be all right.

And what if it isn’t? What if he beats you so badly that you can’t walk or run?

“Then I’ll have to get better, and try again,” she whispered. “I have to try.”

She followed the path of William’s footsteps in the snow, past the garden, past the outhouse and on. There was a little clearing after the outhouse, the fresh snow broken only by her husband’s boots. Mattie continued in his steps until she reached the cool dark of the pines.

Her eyes took a moment to adjust, especially the left one, which still wasn’t focusing as quickly as her right. She could still see William’s trail in the snow. A little farther ahead she discovered the pit.

He’d chosen a place where there was already a depression in the ground—Mattie could see the shape of it in front of and behind the pit. Then he’d dug through the layer of snow and into the hard earth to make a hole about five feet long and the same distance deep.

Mattie knew that the creature was much, much larger than this tiny pit, and she wondered how William expected to catch it. Perhaps he only wanted it to stumble, to break a limb. She supposed that the pit was close enough to the cabin that William could run out and shoot the creature if he heard it fall in.

The dirt from the pit had been spread all over the path, covering the snow. Mattie thought this was to obscure the pit at night, when the snow seemed to glow white. If there were several feet of dark earth before the creature reached the hole then it was more likely to fall in.

She supposed that he might put some meat out to lure it, and then would cover the hole with pine boughs or some such thing. It seemed very cruel to her, almost as cruel as the shiny silver trap with its snapping mouth. Both were meant to hurt, to cause suffering before death. Mattie was afraid of the creature in the woods but she didn’t think it should suffer. She didn’t think they ought to be bothering with it at all, really. It had warned them and they should take that warning seriously.

It was clear that William had moved on from this area. She should go back and investigate the storehouse while she had the opportunity.

But what if he’s only gone a little way farther? You’d better be certain.

She would walk only a little bit more, just to be sure that William wasn’t just around the bend of the path. She knew she only had a short amount of time and she needed to use it.

Mattie followed the trail William had broken in the snow, the cloth-wrapped sandwich gripped tight in her hand. She didn’t see any sign of him except his footprints, and after about a quarter of an hour she decided it was safe and she could turn around.

That was when she heard the voices.

CHAPTER NINE

It wasn’t just voices. It was men shouting—no, William shouting, and two others speaking loudly, but not as loudly as William.

Griffin and C.P. Oh god, what are they doing so close to the cabin? Didn’t I warn them? Didn’t I tell them they needed to go far from here?

Mattie didn’t want William to see her, so she stepped off the path and into the cover of trees, moving slowly and carefully between the trunks until she was close enough to see. She was just behind the group, with William’s back to her and the strangers’ faces visible.

William stood in the center of the path, the shovel in his hands, and it was clear from his posture that he might swing it at one of the other men any moment now.

Griffin and C.P. stood side by side, and at C.P.’s shoulder was a woman nearly as tall as he was. She had long black hair spilling out of a red cap and her lips were pressed together so tightly that they were practically white.

That’s