Chapter 5

Ai stood behind the tree, body pressed up against the rough bark. Looking around it, she saw yet another back yard. Was it hers, finally?

... No. The house was red, not the white of home. She pulled her head back, turned around, and slid her back down the tree until she was sitting in the snow. The sheet, now a bit dirty and with some tears, protected her bottom somewhat. Ai leaned the shovel against the tree, made sure the keys were secure in her hand, sighed, and considered her options.

She was lost.

That, at least, was obvious. It had taken her awhile to recognize that fact. She had been focused so much on running, and not falling, that the fact there had been no thicket and path but instead just more trees, a ditch, and more trees didn't set off alarms. It wasn't until she saw bushes before her with a strange back yard beyond it that uncertainty entered her thoughts. Ai had followed the bushes for awhile, hoping to find either of the two fields she knew of, but all she saw were strange houses, and the end of short dead end roads. A short rest, and bout of thinking, resulted in an attempt to retrace her footprints, but after awhile she found those filled in and blown away by the wind. Now, she had to reconsider her options.

What to do?

The first question was, what would her Bill do? Ai brought her hands to her locket, opening it to gaze at her love. Bill's strong eyes gazed back at Ai, filling her with hope, strength ... ideas. Bill would come for her. He'd come to the woods, probably with friend Julie and sister Betty. He would go to the shelter, see she wasn't there ... and search. He knew this area. So, the question was ... how could Ai make herself easy to find, yet still hide from others? For others WERE in these woods. Ai had seen four children, pulling a sled, heading towards the start of a dead end road. She had dropped to the ground and let them pass, trusting to Jenny's magic sheet of hiding to protect her. It had worked. Now, though, how could she hide, yet not hide?

The shovel.

Ai stood, gripping it. It was big, with a thick, hollow black shaft and large plastic curved green blade. She could put it somewhere, and when Bill came by he'd notice it and know she was close and begin calling. Then she'd come out of hiding! It was a wonderful plan! Bill would be so proud of her, he'd hug and kiss and fuck her! Ai shivered in happiness at the thought. Now, where to put it?

Following her tracks back away from the houses, Ai came again to the ditch. She had crossed it twice so far. Or she had crossed two ditches. It was hard to tell. But, THIS one had been crossed at least once. The area around her was somewhat clear of trees, so would make a good spot for her sign. Turning the shovel upside down, Ai pushed the handle down into a large drift. There. Stepping back, Ai tilted her head and gave it a critical look. Bill should be able to see that. A gust of wind hit, causing Ai to stagger a bit and the shovel to tilt backwards. That wasn't good. Considering the matter, Ai stepped up to it again and turned the shovel so the wind passed on either side of the blade. There. Much better.

Now, where to hide?

About twenty feet away was a clump of leafless bushes with a bare patch inside them. Ai got down and crawled through a gap in the branches, coming up in a spot out of the wind and somewhat hidden. She could just barely see the shovel from there. Perfect.

Ai settled in, bringing up her locket again.

Bill.

Things would have to change. Ai knew that. She was usually silent when others spoke, exchanging information and making plans. Ai listened, though. Listened as if her life depended on it, for perhaps it did. This world was dangerous for her. That much had been proven. Bill, and Julie, had ideas about what the future might be like, with the three of them older and together. Ideas that sounded wonderful to Ai. Julie wanted to marry Bill, have his babies. Ai had been unfamiliar with the idea of babies, or how they were made, so while they were at school she had used the books and computer as Bill had shown her to look it up. She couldn't understand many words, but a search had brought up enough pictures to get a good idea. When Bill squirted his love into a girl, it normally would make a baby. Someday, he'd put a baby in Julie that way, but ... could he do that to Ai? Could SHE have his baby? Ai wanted it. Listening to Julie talk, and seeing pictures of babies, made her want one. It would make Bill happy too, she thought. Only problem was, babies were made the same way she ate. When Bill shot his love into Ai, it turned into food. Could she ... change that? Tell her body not to eat his love, but to turn it into a baby?

Ai didn't know, but she was distracting herself. Before babies, she had to be made safe. Bill had to hide her, keep her safe. That could no longer be done at the house. What could they do...

Bill walked through the woods, eyes everywhere. Ai could be lying down, hurt, or hiding, or ... or just walking around. Hard to say. Julie and Betty were spread out on either side of him, ten to fifteen feet away but still within visual range. There was no point in getting separated in this storm, even if civilization was literally all around them. Go far enough, you'd hit a house or road. Only this fact of geography was keeping Bill in a reasonably good mood: Ai literally couldn't be that far away.

It was for this reason he let his mind wander. So much was going on ... and, regretfully, Bill had to admit he was too young for all this. Too young to have someone like Ai to take care of, too young to be having a serious relationship with Julie ... every day was a new crisis. He just wanted a month, or even a week, with nothing more important going on than having to study for a test.

God, did he just think that?

"Bill!"

Betty's shout brought his attention to the task at hand. Seeing she was excitedly pointing, Bill's gaze followed her finger forward ... and saw their green shovel. He grinned. Ai was smart, when she wanted to be. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted her name. Julie and Betty did the same as all three converged on the marker. Bushes twitched, moments later giving birth to a dirty white sheet containing Ai. She leapt forward, slamming herself into Bill.

"Bill! Bill! Bill!"

He held Ai tight, nothing existing at that moment except her. She was safe.

Bill looked up at Julie, who already had her phone out.

"Let's go home."

It was four PM before the four of them arrived back at the house. Bill had decided just to walk back, since Ai was well rested and unaffected by the cold. There was no point risking first finding a street then having to run up to the front of the house with Ai, especially as the snow was lighter now and visibility rapidly improving. They entered through the back door to find Mrs. Cutter already there in the kitchen getting things ready for her stew, and Jenny out front starting on shoveling the driveway. This guilted Bill and Julie to ignore tired legs and go help, while Betty put herself on cook's assistant detail. Ai, wanting to be useful, asked to help.

Mrs. Cutter looked at Ai thoughtfully.

"Hmm ... think you can use a knife?"

Ai considered, looking at the one in Julie's Mom's hand. It looked ... sharp. Ai glanced down at her own hands, flexing her fingers. Food, she had learned, had to be cut, so if Ai ever wanted to help...

"I can cut," Ai finally said, nodding. "Show me how?"

Gretchen, smiling, brought the blue girl over to the cutting board and introduced her to the world of cutting carrots.

Bill and the two sisters, shoveling done, entered the house to find an excited Ai waiting for them.

"My blood is orange!"

Shirley found herself home a bit before seven. Turning the engine off, she let herself collapse back against the seat. It had been a long time since she'd had to deal with hospitals, apart from trial runs and other assorted research ties. That could be bad enough, as bad as any bureaucracy, but to have a loved one there? She hated it.

Well, of course she hated it. That was a silly thing to think. Shirley gave a tired chuckle. God, she was tired.

Stepping out of the car, she reached back in to grab the thick folder on the passenger seat. Pamphlets. Instructions. Insurance forms. In home nursing options. All to be gone over and dealt with before her love, hopefully, came home Saturday.

She was taking the rest of the week off from work, that's all there was to it.

The smell of simmering stew hit her as soon as she opened the door into the den. The second thing to hit her was Betty, the twelve year old running up to hug her like she hadn't in years. It was nice. Bill came up to give a more manly, mature hug, which Ai then more than made up for. She saw Gretchen coming out of the kitchen, waving a ladle to shoo the children away from her.

"Let her sit down and get some food," Gretchen told them, smiling. Once the kids were clear, she moved in and gave her old friend a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Come on. Dinner's still hot."

Bill had put a leaf into the kitchen table, so for the next hour all seven were able to sit comfortably, Ai taking her place on the counter, as Shirley ate and talked. Tom had woken up not long after they dropped her off from lunch, much too both their delight, and the couple had reaffirmed their love before moving on to less pressing matters.

"He wanted to make sure you knew, Bill, that he took care of our 'ghost hunter' problem. They won't be back, so Ai should be safe here." Seeing the looks among the gathered kids, Shirley's shoulders slumped as she put down her spoon. "What is it now?"