LUNA'S BAGGAGE

Chapter 2

Alison

For the third time since Eugene had left, I found myself looking around. I could almost swear I felt someone or something watching us from the surrounding forest. The gaze was extremely piercing. I had goosebumps all over my hands and, honestly speaking, I was very close to crying.

'Just how long was the taxi going to take to get here?' I thought to myself, starting to feel scared. This was a new town and should anything happen to us here no one would care, not like anyone would in my old town either. Yea, my life was that pathetic. I had long expected it.

There it was again, that feeling of being watched. This time it felt different. I could feel the hairs at the back of my neck standing on end. I quickly walked to my babies, hugging them as tightly to me as possible. Whatever was out there didn't seem friendly. I know hugging them didn't protect them from danger, but at least it helped me calm down significantly enough to have rational thoughts.

Was this going to be our end?

What would rational thoughts help me with in the middle of nowhere though? It wasn't like I had a means of transport out of this place. The train had long left and so had Eugene. 'It will be OK, it will be OK.' Was I trying to console my babies or myself?

'Wait a minute, for such a small town, it didn't make any sense that the taxi hadn't arrived yet. My research had told me one needed roughly thirty minutes to transverse from one end to another, but it had been almost an hour since Eugene had left, and yet here we were still standing outside in the cold.

'Maybe I should call Eugene back to come to pick us up,' I was beginning to doubt my decision to move away from civilization as my phone told me 'no signal' right when I went to make the call. Was this going to be our end? Mauled by wild animals in the middle of nowhere? I shivered just thinking about it.

When would things actually ever go well for me?

It seemed that everything I touched turned to dust. Was Luca right all along?

"Mama, hungry!"

"Mama potty."

Two voices called out simultaneously. My little girl dreaded diapers but I was too scared to even find out if the train station had a bathroom. "When we get home babies, hang in there for mama."

Just when I was about to burst into tears of frustration, the revving sound of an engine could be heard coming in my direction. That was definitely not a taxi. How could I not know? Living in the city, I could almost tell different vehicles by the sound of their engines. Besides, I used to work at a carwash too.

I was quickly proven right when a mud-encrusted jeep showed up around the corner. That couldn't be the taxi I was waiting for? Right?

I guess all my predictions today were off as the jeep driver introduced himself as Mason, our interim taxi driver. What kind of place uses jeeps for cabs? Everything about Thompson Springs was proving to become more and more bizarre.

"You're the huma- people I have been tasked to bring into the pa- into town?" I quickly noticed all the times he had started speaking but quickly stopped himself and said something else coupled with his questioning look did not make any of my concerns go away. "Eugene made a call to have you guy picked up, sorry I took too long I was still running errands for the Al- boss." he had slipped up one too many times for it to be a coincidence.

Despite knowing about Eugene sending him, I did not move an inch. "You're Alison, right? The new secretary? Get in the car. I'm supposed to send you to your new living quarters." He didn't offer me any help with my bags and even watched my kids with disdain as I helped them into the car. He stepped aside like we would contaminate him with something.

I could almost swear his look was filled with hostility. I hadn't met the man before, so it made no sense why he seemed to almost hate me, no, not me, my children. That fresh start wasn't looking any good at the moment.

After about five minutes of me fumbling about, the jeep pulled away before I had properly sat on my seat, ending up with my bottom lip caught between my teeth and the window. Ouch! I tried so hard to stop myself from wincing, but that didn't stop tears from pooling on my lashes. I could feel the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth, there was a small cut.

Did Mason apologize for making me get hurt? Of course not.

'Had Thompson Springs gotten wind of my 'reputation'?' I asked myself. I can't think of an instance where I have offended anyone from here. Besides, the only reason people hated me was because of my 'adulterous' behavior. Maybe they had done a background check on me? Thanks for nothing, Luca!

My thoughts were running a mile a minute so that when the vehicle stopped I couldn't even tell the direction we had taken, "We are here." Mason said as soon as the vehicle completely stopped pulling out my luggage. He handed me a different set of keys and just as I thought he'd finally become a gentleman, he got back into the jeep and drove away, leaving us coughing from all the dust.

What a jerk!

I didn't want to dwell on his mistreatment though. He was not the first person to treat me like garbage, he probably wouldn't be the last either. I had grown desensitized to such trivial matters. What had me worried was that if the first person I met in this new place was already prejudiced against me, then what was the difference between here and where I was before? Well, at least I had a job. That was the best consolation. With a job, I could support my children and provide a good future for them. That is currently the only thing motivating me.

"Mama, is this our new house?" Joy's tiny voice broke my train of thought. I hadn't looked at our new house yet, but with the ugly look I had just gotten from Mason, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a shoe-box apartment. I was prepared for the worst, but guess what? I was wrong again. Before me was a two-story house.

Could there have been a mistake? No one had been welcoming, at least the person I had met wasn't, but for some reason, they had given us a house better than the one I had grown up in. Don't ask me how, but I was 100 percent sure this wasn't the original arrangement made by Eugene.

Someone had changed the address. Why?

For now, though, it was getting late and that feeling of being watched had gotten worse. I felt more than one pair of eyes watching, but I couldn't see anyone. Apart from Eugene and Mason, I hadn't met anyone yet. Just how small was the population of Thompson Springs? Was it like one of those weird towns like in horror movies?

I quickly ran to open the door, almost forgetting my bag, seriously! Why couldn't the people watching us offer a helping hand? But on second thought, maybe it was best that they stayed away. Go superwoman! Three babies and a bag all in one go. I was beginning to get paranoid.

The keys from Eugene did not work, they didn't even fit in the lock. Instead, the new keys from Mason were the ones that worked. I was right, someone had changed our accommodation at the last minute, but why? Who in the hell gave a mere secretary a house this size? Not to mention just how unqualified the secretary in question was. I suddenly felt guilty.

There were several rooms in the house, but as soon as I locked the door all the exhaustion hit me like a truck. My feelings overwhelmed me, it had been such a long week. I hadn't realized I was crying until Jayden reached out silently to wipe my tears. I couldn't be bothered with the house tour. I just needed rest and so we settled into the first room that had a bed.

Feeding my kids the left milk and cookies from our train ride, we prepared for bed but I quickly made a mental note to go shopping during the day.

Blissful sleep was soon interrupted by loud howls, my heart practically leaped out of my chest! Those were wild animals and it sounded like a whole pack of them. Why hadn't I read anything about animal sightings here? They sounded like they were right by my window. Was this why I was given this house instead? Some sort of hazing ritual for newcomers?

Was glass strong enough to shield an animal attack?

Just what had I gotten us into?