Tent #12

Unnamed Town

A woman wearing a dull-grey attire stood by the entrance of the shared residence and watched the downpour outside. Her youthful, pretty face carried an expression of worry while her mouth continually uttered prayers.

“The Lords, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom…” Her eyes stayed unblinking as she stared into the misty darkness veiled by the rain. She seemed to be awaiting someone’s arrival through the storm.

“Anna.” A voice called her name.

The woman, however, did not react. The loud drumming of the rain and the muttering of prayers from her lips were the only sounds entering the woman’s ears.

“Anna!” The voice repeated, this time with increased intensity. It seemed to have worked as Anna’s shoulders trembled slightly.

Stopping her prayer, Anna turned around and replied to the caller, “Yes?” Her snappy tone showed her dissatisfaction at being interrupted.

“Lass…” the voice, a middle-aged woman, heaved a heavy sigh. Shaking her head, she asked, “Did ya go to bed last night, dear?”

“Not until my husband comes back,” Anna shortly replied and turned around to continue her earlier practice.

“You standing by the door isn’t gonna do anything, ya know”

“It keeps my heart from worrying too much,” Anna replied, unfazed.

“Ah, you…” The middle-aged lady heaved another sigh and shook her head. While she couldn’t approve of Anna’s methods, she more or less understood and shared her worries.

An entire night had passed and none of the miners had returned. Their shared residence, which could comfortably house ten people at full capacity, was currently half empty.

The middle-aged lady walked up to her bed and removed the blanket covering it. She then went up to Anna and draped the young woman with the blanket.

“At least cover yerself with something. You wouldn’t your husband to come home and find ya sick now, would you?” The lady half-angrily, half-caringly rebuked.

“Better?” She asked after she finished draping Anna.

The young woman nodded her head and showed gratitude on her face. She never stopped muttering her prayers though and continued to speak them with renewed vigor.

The middle-aged woman sat at her bed and watched the young lady. She then looked around their shared residence, finding the three other people immersed in their own activities. While each did something different to keep their mind from worrying, the expression of distress on their faces was all the same.

The middle-aged lady sighed once again. Truth be told, she was worried about her husband and her son, the former being a miner that hadn’t returned the previous night and the latter being a patient at the Medical Center. Being separated from the two of them with little to no information about their conditions greatly distressed her heart.

‘If only this cursed rain would let up. I’d at least be able to visit Lil’ Gail and see how he’s doin.’ But alas, the pouring rain made it very difficult for her to travel through half the town to the Medical Center.

She’d make the journey easily in her youth. However, with old age came old age problems. Her legs weren’t quite what they used to be.

Time crept by with unbearable slowness while the rain outside continued to pour with unceasing fury. If anything, it slowly turned heavier as time went by.

As she continued to stand by the entrance and watch the outside through the half-open door, Anna suddenly exclaimed, “Gunter!” She saw a dark figure, roughly her husband’s height and stature, make their way through the rain and towards their tent.

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Her rising hope quickly turned into disappointment when she realized that the dark figure wasn't her husband as he approached closer. It was a familiar youth.

Running towards Tent #12, the youth quickly entered the door and slammed it behind him. Rapidly shaking his head to get rid of the water on his hair, he then proceeded to squeeze at his clothes to get rid of the dripping wetness. Of course, he remembered to mumble curses during the entire process.

His arrival, however, seemed to have roused the spirits of the people within the residence as they quickly gathered before him. The middle-aged woman also arrived and recognized the youth upon seeing him.

“Axel? What’dya come here for?” The newcomer was Axel Lynch, one of the Feeding Shack/Canteen workers.

“Mrs. Linda? Axel also recognized the middle-aged woman and smilingly greeted her. “Fancy seein’ you here!”

“Ya haven’t answered my question, silly boy,” Mrs. Linda spoke with increasing intensity. “What're ya doin’ running around in this weather? Do ya wanna fall sick and put yer mother through more work?”

“Calm y’er fury, ol’ woman! I’m here by the Baron’s orders!” Axel hurriedly replied. Sweeping up his wet hair, he then recited with a deeper tone.

“Lord Baron and his highness, the Prince, ha’v decreed that all the townspeople remain inside their tents for t’day! Work will be on hold ‘til this damned weather goes away. Ye’r rations will be delivered to y’er tents.” Axel then stopped and looked at the people. “Ya get that?”

Everyone nodded their heads.

“Great, I’ll be go’in then. Got five more tents to visit.” He turned around and prepared to leave.

“Just a moment!” Anna suddenly yelled and stopped him from leaving. She then looked at him without concealing the worry in her face and asked, “Did the lords say anything about the miners? ‘Bout why they haven’t come back yet?”

“Are ya crazy, Anna!? How can anybody come back in this weather?” Another resident of the tent scoffed.

“Oi, watch yer mouth,” Mrs. Linda immediately bit back. She then looked at Axel and repeated Anna’s query. “Have ya heard anything, brat?”

“Well…” Axel’s face suddenly turned awkward at her question. His eyes began darting around while his fingers began to uncomfortably shuffle. “Err, no. I haven’t heard anything.”

Saying so, he quickly turned around and sought to leave the tent.

“Hold y’er horses!” Mrs. Linda exclaimed and grabbed him by his collar. “I hear ya lying!”

“Let me go, crazy ol’ woman!” Axel screamed yet the middle-aged lady showed no signs of letting him go. For a middle-aged woman, she seemed to have an unnatural amount of strength.

Pulling him closer, Mrs. Linda menacingly stared into the eyes and spoke, “Ya better tell me what you know, brat. ‘Lse, I’ll make good on my threats!” She then balled up her right fist and squeezed tightly.

Terrified by her low tone, Axel stared into the eyes before looking at her balled fists. He then alternated between the two for a few seconds, before taking a huge gulp and submitting.

“Okay, I’ll tell ya! Let me off first!” Axel cried while struggling.

Mrs. Linda immediately let go of his collar but continued to stare threateningly into the eyes.

Adjusting his wet clothes which had wrinkled uncomfortably, Axel then lowered his voice before speaking, “Now, I can’t tell ya if this is true. I haven’t he’rd anythin’ from the lords.”

“But. Ya kno’ that I like Jess, right? Yesterday, I ‘eard from here that…” He spilled everything he knew.

To summarize his confession; Axel’s crush, Jess, was the workmate of another young lady, who was neighbors with one of the relatives of the returned scouts (Scout Team #2). Through this connection, Axel had learned some broken, incomplete information about the wolf den and the wolf tracks.

“Heavens! There’s wolves!?” The residents of the tent gasped in unison. The worry on their faces immediately compounded.

“Are ya certain of this, brat?” Mrs. Linda cautiously asked to which Axel shook his head. He was certainly not sure of the information since it had passed through many ears before being heard by him.

“Do the lords know ‘bout this?”

“They mus’ve, right?” Axel replied with uncertainty. “I ‘eard that the scouts were called to the Baron’s manor ‘fter they arrived.”

The group then sunk into silence as each pondered their thoughts. Their expression cycled through worry, uneasiness, uncertainty, and confusion. After a dozen or so minutes of silence, Anna suddenly stood up.

“I’m going to go see the lords.” Announcing as such, she immediately threw away the blanket draping her and walked towards the open door.

“What’reya goin’ to ask the good lords about?” A resident asked.

“The truth,” she replied. Staring into the pouring rain, she reaffirmed her thoughts and stepped out.

Why was the news about the wolves not shared?

Why were the scouts kept within the manor?

Why were they asked to remain inside their tents without going out?

What had happened to the miners?

These were just some of the questions that Anna wanted to ask the lords. And she wasn't alone.

At a similar time to her venture through the rain towards the manor, a dozen or so other townspeople also began their journey through the hellish downpour.

All of them wanted to hear some answers.