Chapter 10.2

They worked for the rest of the day building the platform. It was hot sweaty work. Georgi’s arms hurt, her head hurt and she wanted to stop. She was becoming more and more worried about the noise they were making. Neil was very encouraging so they continued until it was completed. It wasn’t the prettiest piece of construction, but it was sturdy.

“Something is coming,” called Alex. She was pointing into the woods.

Chapter 10: Building from a Barn

Neil led Georgi to a run down old barn. It once was a two story building with a staircase leading up the side of it. The wood had turned a shade of dark grey from weathering. An old wooden wagon sat decaying outside the barn. It was sad and beautiful at the same time.

“I see why no one told us about this,” Georgi said. “My brother and I would’ve been climbin’ all through this thing.”

“Yeah, pretty dangerous for kids,” said Neil. “You want to get some boards now?”

Chapter 9.3

“Uh...I don’t know what this means,” said Alex. She was holding up a seed packet. Instead of being labeled with the plant name there was a series of numbers.

51211.3-2

   

“Hmm...I’m sure we can figure out what will grow from it,” Rosemarie said. “Maybe not the variety. It will be a surprise.”

“A code?” asked Alex. She was looking at the packets with excitement.

“Looks like it,” said Georgi. “You get to break it.” She smiled warmly at her daughter.

Chapter 9.2

Murphy was barking in the distance. Rosemarie’s heart started pounding. Georgi scrambled up to look over the railing. She relaxed.

“It’s just Neil,” she said.

“Afternoon, ladies,” Neil called up to them.

Georgi let the stairs down so that he could climb up.

“What have you been up to?” Rosemarie asked.

“I was just checking the area. And looking for a good fishing spot,” he said.

His boots were muddy. His hair was plastered to his face. He sat down and dangled his feet off the side of the treehouse.

From the notebook of Georgiana: Composting Toilet

Chapter 9: Treehouse Living

All Rosemarie could think about was Mark. His dead eyes. His head exploding. Her stomach kept turning over and over. No one came to save him. No one was going to save them. She couldn’t eat. It would just come back up again.  

She laid in the treehouse looking up at the underside of the half finished top floor. She could hear Georgi and Alex talking, but she wasn’t paying attention until she heard Georgi say, “Bye Randy.”

“Where’s he going?” Rosemarie asked.

“Hunting,” Georgi said.

Chapter 8.4

On her way back, Randy and Neil appeared at the edge of the clearing. They gave her such a fright that she jerked backwards almost tripping over her own feet.

“Sorry,” said Neil. “We didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Just jumpy,” Georgi said. Her face started to burn.

Randy looked up at the treehouse.

“What are they doing?” he asked.

“They are restin’,” Georgi said, trying to edge past him.

He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Resting? They didn’t do anything,” he said.

Chapter 8.3

Randy and Neil dug a grave fifty yards to the east of camp while the the girls stayed huddled in the treehouse.

Once they moved the body, Georgi went down and removed as much of the blood as she could. It was amazing how little of it there was. Maybe it just seemed that way since most of her experience was from TV or movies. She swallowed down her nausea. After heating up some water, she scrubbed her hands and arms till they turned pink.

Breathing in shaky breaths, she sat down for a moment before beginning breakfast. Neither Rosemarie nor Alex came down.

Chapter 8.2

“Momma, momma wake up,” Georgi heard Alex whisper.

She peeled her eyes open. “What is it, sweetie?”

“Somethin’s wrong with Mr. Somerset,” she said. Her voice was shaking.

Georgi could hear Murphy’s low growl as she pushed herself up out of the blankets.

Mark was standing in the middle of the clearing. His head was tilted to the side.

Chapter 8: Life Will Never Be The Same

When Georgi handed Mark the notebook, he looked like he was getting worse. His skin was hot to the touch and he was shaking so badly that he couldn’t hold the pen.

“I’ll write the letter, if you’d like,” she said.

He tried to smile and nodded.

Georgi took down the names and addresses of a few of his family members as he struggled and failed to sit up.

“When we get the chance, we will get the letters to them,” she said.