Page 10

TEN

THEO

THE SHED

Day 464

“Come on!” Farron signs eagerly, walking backward with a bounce in her step. Her hands are still a little slow and unsure, but her excitement feels contagious. I trail behind, grinning as I watch her. She’s gotten so much better at signing over the last few weeks, constantly practicing her hand movements while she speaks out loud, especially when it’s just the two of us alone. The idea that soon there will be no need for scribbled words or someone else to interpret for the two of us anymore is an indescribable feeling.

It’s overwhelming sometimes. The realization hits me at odd moments, like now: I love her. So deeply. It’s not a revelation, not exactly. I’ve known for a while. Maybe since the first time she made an effort to communicate with me instead of focusing on the other two. Maybe since she smiled at me like I mattered. It’s just always been easy with her. Like finding a place where you belong after years of searching. She’s my home.

Her smile today is brighter than the sun cutting through the gray clouds above us. There’s a new lightness to her lately, a glow that’s been growing ever since that day at North Star. She decided to put herself first, and it’s been like watching a flower bloom after a harsh winter.

Farron stops suddenly and turns to me, hands moving. She starts by pointing at me before bringing her two index fingers to the center of her bottom lip and then extending them upward as she smiles at me. “You’re smiling,” she tells me, before continuing. She stutters and stumbles with some of the movements, but I can understand the gist of what she’s saying to me . “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” I sign back by simply pointing at her, my expression soft. Her cheeks flush, but she only laughs, shaking her head before motioning for me to follow her. She’s practically glowing. The joy I feel for her as she’s slowly choosing herself every day has healed some part of me. I feel like I’m whole when I'm around her. I’d fight every day to keep that light in her eyes.

We round the corner of the barn, heading toward the storage shed a short distance away. After she showed Adrian when he returned from his supply run, we all took a look and I couldn’t get over how massive and stocked it was. Everything from medical supplies to canned and dry goods. Batteries, weapons, matches, you name it—all extremely organized to the point where I just had to poke fun at Farron a bit.

The crisp morning air smells faintly of a brewing storm, but when the breeze picks up, I’m overcome with the scent of coconut and jasmine. My favorite scent in the world. She pulls out her keys, the metal jingling with the movement. Her grin grows, and my curiosity spikes. Farron came to me this morning telling me she had a surprise after breakfast, and then refused to give any other information. Sitting at the table this morning had been tortuous. I was fiddling with her hands under the table the whole time, feeling like a kid on Christmas who couldn’t wait to just get to the presents.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask, laughing softly. She refuses to give me even a hint, only shaking her head in mock seriousness as she continues toward the shed. What the hell is she hiding in there?

But my smile fades when I catch sight of the shed’s door.

Something’s wrong.

I step forward, my hand brushing against Farron’s arm to stop her. She looks up at me, confused, but I point to the shed. The door hangs awkwardly, the top hinge barely clinging to the frame. Deep scratches gouge the wood around the lock, and the door itself looks like it’s been pried open. Supplies are scattered at the threshold, and there is a mess of cans, fabric, and debris.

Without a word, she strides forward, her shoulders stiff, her jaw set. There’s a fire in her eyes now, burning away the excitement from just moments ago.

“Stay here,” she orders, her movements sharp. But I follow anyway, staying a step behind as she pushes the broken door open with more force than necessary. Inside, it’s worse. Shelves are upended, and supplies are strewn across the dirt floor. Cans of food and tools are all over the place, not in their neat little spots like they should be. My gaze locks on the empty spaces where the most valuable items usually sit: medicine, some radios, weapons, and batteries. A lot of it is gone.

Farron doesn’t cry. She doesn’t collapse. She doesn’t even look at me. Instead, she inhales sharply, her hands curling into fists at her sides. For a moment, I think she’s going to hit something, but she doesn’t. She just stands there, vibrating with restrained fury. Her anger isn’t wild or chaotic—it’s controlled, like a storm gathering strength.

“Who the hell would do this?” she growls, her hands following the words falling from her lips. Her green eyes flick toward me, sharp and demanding. “I can’t believe no one heard this happening.”

I step closer, signing cautiously. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s go find the others and talk to them.” I reach out my hand for her, and though she heaves a big sigh, she doesn’t hesitate before putting her hand in mine.

I lead her out of the shed and towards the main house, hoping the guys are still in the kitchen where we left them. As we make our way there, I feel the unease slither down my spine like a slimy and unwelcomed shadow. My mind is racing, the same way I’m sure Farron’s is. Someone broke into the shed, and it was either one of our own or an outsider. Neither possibility is a good one.

As we make our way into the kitchen from the back door, we find it full. Kenji, Adrian, Nora, and Henry are laughing, probably over something Adrian said, but their smiles vanish when they see our faces. Adrian is up in a flash, signing quickly as he looks between us.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

Farron starts speaking, relaying what we found to everyone. She’s trying to sign along, but she’s not exactly fluent yet and her frustration is getting the best of her. I watch as everyone takes in what she’s saying. Adrian’s expression darkens, Kenji’s jaw tightens, and his posture is rigid as a board while he listens to her.

“We need to figure out what happened.” I say and take a seat at the table, hoping that if we sit down, the tension will come down a bit, too.

Everyone joins me and Nora starts speaking while Adrian interprets for me. “We need to do a check around the community and make sure everyone is accounted for and not hurt.”

“Someone might be once I get my hands on them.” Henry speaks up as he stands up. He heads over to the cupboard by the door and grabs his shotgun. Kenji is already standing next to him, ready to go on this manhunt. He hasn’t grabbed anything, but I know my brother well enough to assume he’s got a handful of knives on him right now. Even in a sling, his aim is dangerous.

Farron rolls her eyes at him and he scowls back.

“Oh, sit down you two loons,” Nora speaks up. “You’re not going to solve anything by stomping around like bulls in a china shop.”

Farron squeezes my hand before talking. “We need to call a town hall and get to the bottom of this, but running off with guns in your hands isn’t going to solve anything. In fact, if it was someone here, all you’re going to do is scare them. We need to tell everyone when we are together to reduce panic. Anyone who doesn’t show up will be…noted.” Her expression hardens briefly as she finishes speaking.

“See Starbust, this is why you are my favorite.” Adrian leans in on her other side and lands a kiss on the side of her head. “Smart and pretty.”

Kenji and Henry exchange sideling glances while scrunching their brows, and I can’t help but chuckle at what I hope is quiet. Nora stands, moving to take Henry’s shotgun away from him and back into the closet before she begins pushing Henry out the backdoor. “Come on, knucklehead, let's take a walk to get you to calm down. They have this handled, and they’ll tell us the plan when we get back in a bit. Farron, we’ll do a round to make sure everyone’s okay.” She sends a wink our way and closes the door. The second the door closes, the three of us turn our attention back on Farron, and I can see the panic starting to settle in her eyes.

“Deep breath in. Hold for three. Deep breath out, ” I say, mimicking the actions. We do this together for a few times before her shoulders finally seem to loosen and relax a bit.

“What are town halls? And will people be confused if you call one out of nowhere?” I ask, seeing Kenji’s lips likely repeating my words to make it easier on Farron. I can generally guess what a town hall is, but in all our time here we haven’t heard the mention of one.

She tucks a curl behind her ear before explaining. “We used to have them a lot more in the beginning when everything happened. We all get together at the Alden farm and discuss important matters that involve everyone,” she says. Her hands move along, but Kenji continues to interpret for me. Her hands are shaking a bit from the adrenaline, and she seems to just give up on signing right now. She gives me a sheepish grin, and I give her a soft smile in response to tell her it’s okay.

“It was super helpful in the beginning as we were figuring everything out after the world ended. But it eventually devolved into an absolute shitshow from the peanut gallery, and the main topics started to be things like who stole Miss Mabel’s potluck hash at the last potluck. Though, we were grateful to whoever did because there wasn’t any that month for her to try and shove down our throats.” She lets out a laugh and continues. “After that, I called an end to them unless something serious came up. Didn’t see a point in keeping it going if it was just wasting everyone’s time.”

“How do you think everyone’s going to handle the news?” I ask her.

She grimaces before responding. “Not well…” she trails off from speaking, and I watch as her mind whirs forward. Her warm complexion is now pale, her lips turned down into a frown, and she swallows roughly. “I…I have to tell you guys something. It’s something I haven’t talked about before, but I’m worried it could be related to the shed break-in. I don’t want to not open up about something that could impact the rest of the community.”

All three of us all have our eyes trained on her, silent, waiting to hear what she has to say.