Mommy Snatchers

Judy pulled a wet stone over the sword blade. It made little difference really she so rarely used the weapon. It was Mathew that insisted that all weapons be kept ready. He seemed certain that there were brigands waiting in every shadow to overtake a caravan like theirs. She really didn’t like to think about using her twin blades. They were only half length because she had never had the constitution to heave a broad sword the way the boys could.

            The stone made the sharp edge sing with each pass. She held up the sword and watched as the fire light played along its length. The set had been given to her as a gift from her father before all the parents disappeared. Her father had told her that there was a time when such things weren’t necessary. People use to be able to live however and wherever they wanted. Then things changed, now they have to move every day, they have to be on constant guard, they have to be afraid. Judy pushed the blade back into its sheath before removing its mate from a second. At least sharpening gave her something to do during her watch.

            Mathew emerged out of the darkness from his rounds and took a seat next to her at the fire’s edge. He looked so much older in the flickering light, the weight of the last four years alone in the world was starting to wear on him. His weariness was glazing over his eyes. Judy tried not to stare, but it was hard to not stare at a fifteen year old boy carrying a six foot broad sword across his back even in such times.

            “Sit back, rest a bit,” Judy told him as she went back to her sharpening.

            “If only I could,” he said as he pulled his gloved hand over his hair. He was all wrapped up in coats and blankets and leathers. It was cold enough that little clouds of vapor leaked from his mouth and nostrils. “Aren’t you cold, Judy?”

            She looked down at her bare mid-drift and scarcely clad arms and legs. She had been cold, but she put it out of her mind. If she did have to fight she didn’t want baggy sleeves and long pants getting in her way. She shook her head and gave a coy smile. Mathew always asked about her being cold, she thought that after two months he might get tired of hearing the same answer.

            It had been after the parents disappeared that she had joined up with Matt and his caravan. The oldest among them had been about seventeen at the time. They slowly swapped members, some would disappear out into the world others would wander in so no one bothered to keep close track. Judy watched his eyes search deep into the flames as though seeking out an answer. She was nineteen now. She was scared that soon she might disappear too just like the parents. No one was really sure what had happened and it worried everyone who, if any, would go next. Everyone in the caravan thought it would be her. They avoided her just for that reason. If something was going to come steal her away they didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire. They were children, they weren’t stupid.

            Mathew didn’t care, though. Judy had two good sword arms and a willingness to help, and that was more than enough for him. She also gave him that sense of parental supervision that he wanted. She was still young, but she had a depth of wisdom that made it feel like the entire weight of the world didn’t rest on his shoulders.

            She looked over at him again, “Rest, I won’t let the Mommy Snatcher get you.”

            “No time,” he said putting his hand on her shoulder, “I need your cat eyes out in the dark for rounds.”

            She bowed her head in assent as she pocketed her stone. Her blade disappeared back into its sheath as it spun up onto her back. She pulled the harness straps tight across her chest before disappearing into the liquid darkness.

Matt always felt more at ease when Judy went on watch. It wasn’t just that she was an exceptional fighter, stealthy like a cat, or that she never seemed to get weary. It was more the fact that she seemed to be able to see in the dark. He wasn’t sure if it was true or not, but if she were to come right out and say it, he wouldn’t doubt her for a minute. No one else could spot danger in the darkest most miserable nights the way she could. He leaned onto his fist and watched the fire dance against the black forest around him. The sway of the light began to swirl ever more decadently in his vision before he couldn’t fight his weariness any longer and nodded off.