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Of all the ways to rest, what could be better after a hard week of work than meeting with friends? Millie was too angry, too tired, and too covered in dust after spending a week exploring the newly found hidden labyrinth beneath the castle alongside Stephen and Glynn, so she wanted anything to distract herself from it. So, an idea came to her. To spend a summer Saturday night, she called her friends over for a sleepover.
So now, she, along with Emily, Rosie, Caitlin, and Mavis, was sitting in one of the small castle rooms. They talked about everything in the world. Time flowed past midnight. Soon, the conversation smoothly turned to another topic.
"...and so it was terrible. Terrible!" Millie complained, braiding Rosie's hair. "I now think that dust and stone powder filled my lungs instead of air. Oh, Mavis, I can’t understand how you work at the quarry all day long. It must be horrible."
"It's perfectly fine," Mavis laughed. "Got used to it, though."
"And more than that - there were spiders the size of a palm!" she continued. "Ah, I'd better stop. Let’s talk about something more interesting."
Suddenly, Millie's face became cunning.
"Caitlin," she narrowed her eyes, "tell me something. Caitlin, Caitlin - what’s going on between you and Connor?"
"Whew - what?"
"Well, don’t pretend," Millie continued. "I saw the way you looked at him. And the way he looks at you. So what are you going to tell us?"
The more Caitlin blushed, the wider Millie's smile grew. Finally, she gave up.
"Eh, heh, uh... huh... You caught me - we're not just old acquaintances."
"Gotcha! Well then, what about you, Emily?" Millie turned. "Do you have, like, someone in mind?"
"Ew well, I don’t think so."
"At all? I can’t believe it."
Emily rubbed the back of her head. She was comfortable with herself on her own, so she almost never thought about it.
Almost.
***
Next Monday, Emily arrived at Brendam Docks. Handing a package to Salty, she suddenly shivered from a gust of cold wind that came out of nowhere, carrying the smell of algae and something unsettling.
"Arr, what a wind," Salty shuddered. "It will bring us adventures tonight, mark my words!"
"Just a wind, I think. Okay, never mind it - I’ll be back here in the evening. I have to pick up another delivery."
"You’d better be careful."
This last line belonged to Murdoch. He stepped away from the piles of crates and headed toward them.
Emily was of average height, and Murdoch was almost two meters tall, second only to Cranky. He always looked calm. In Emily's memory, he had lost his temper only once. There was something monumental in his appearance and, at the same time, something about him that Emily personally found irritating.
"This night its going to be rain," he said.
"I know."
"And possibly a very strong one," Murdoch continued. "You should at least have an umbrella with you, or leave this delivery until morning."
"Ah, you worry too much," she waved him off impatiently. "It’ll be fine! I’m not made of sugar, a few drops of rain won’t melt me. Bye, guys!"
Emily left the docks, cheerful. However, later, her iron confidence was shaken.
It was evening. Emily had just left the small town and was heading toward the docks. The way was not far; she expected to get there in an hour at most. Everything was fine until, suddenly, the weather began to deteriorate. Clouds covered the sky, and the damp sea wind she had felt in the morning returned. Emily began to feel uncomfortable.
Like that wasn’t enough.
She reached the place where the forest began. Emily stopped. The rational part of her mind told her to continue along the road, even if it would be longer. She looked at the wall of trees. It would be shorter through the forest. Much shorter.
Emily made her choice and headed for the trees. But the choice was horribly wrong.
The rain poured down. For the first few minutes, the tree crowns were enough to shield her, but soon they were not. Emily cursed and ran. Now she had only one task - to quickly find any shelter, anything with a roof to hide from this freezing rain and wind.
And she was lucky. For the tenth time she slipped on the wet grass, and found herself in a clearing with an abandoned sawmill.
"Oh, yes!"
She entered the barn. Inside, the space was very small. It seemed like it had once been used to store logs and planks; some whole tree trunks were stacked in a pile near the wall. Emily looked around, still hoping to spot something like a stove or, at least, a metal barrel to light a fire. Unfortunately - nothing.
"Eh. What a mess!"
She said it out loud, frustrated. The cold night wind swept into the barn, making her even more irritated, and the prospect of catching a cold because of her own mistake only made it worse. Emily growled and kicked the pile of logs.
Which was definitely not something she should have done.
The old, long-rusted supports could not withstand the sudden hit and broke under the weight of the wood. Emily barely had time to scream before the logs began to fall. She made a desperate attempt to jump away, but she had no chance. Emily stumbled and fell painfully. A pile of logs crashed down on her; some rolled aside until everything finally settled and the rumble faded.
Emily jerked, trying to get up, but she couldn’t. She found herself sitting on the floor, almost unharmed, except her legs were pinned under a massive log.
"Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no...!"
She made a few unsuccessful attempts to pull her legs free, then to move the log, but it didn’t budge even an inch. Emily was stuck.
"I can’t believe this!"
To her own surprise, instead of panicking, she grew angry. Then it started to rain harder. To make matters worse, the barn had a leaky roof, and now the water was pouring right onto her. She felt the anger drain away, replaced by something else - sadness.
No one will find me here, she thought in despair. No one knows where I went. I bet no one even knows this place exists... Even if the search and rescue team be sent out at the morning, they’re unlikely to find me...
The rain continued. Emily had never felt so alone in the world.
***
Murdoch was busy stacking crates when thunder rolled. He looked up at the cloudy sky. Of course, such heavy, lead gray clouds did not bode well for the night. It was late evening. He placed the last crate, turned, and headed toward the shed, from where Salty was waving to him.
"Come here, matey! The oceans are bringing us a terrible storm today."
"It seems so."
Porter was already working on lighting a fire in a small metal stove. Cranky, as usual, was leaning against the wall nearby. Soon, the fire was burning steadily. Murdoch stared at it in silence for a while.
"People," he asked finally, "does anyone know where Emily is?"
"Huh?"
Salty and Porter turned to him, then exchanged glances. They had completely forgotten about her.
"Emily?"
"Yes," Murdoch continued. "She said she would return in the evening. She was supposed to be here an hour ago."
Outside, another clap of thunder rumbled, and rain began to pour. A heavy atmosphere hung in the air. Salty, Porter, and Cranky felt uneasy; all three of them were thinking the same thing - this was the worst possible night to get into trouble. And if Emily did...
"Wait for me here," Murdoch said, turning toward the doors. "I'll go and check for her."
"Alone? In this weather?"
"It needs to be done."
His tone put an end to any objections, and Murdoch left the warehouse, stepping out into the wall of pouring rain in the night.
***
The downpour showed no sign of stopping. For Emily, time seemed to drag incredibly slowly in this dark, wet place. She had lost her voice an hour ago, trying to cry for help, but the only thing she received in response was the roar of thunder. However, at last, a voice cut through the din of the raging storm. It was calling her name. The thunder made it impossible to recognize who it was, but Emily was overjoyed beyond words.
Her joy, however, was almost immediately replaced by disappointment. She tried to shout back, but found herself unable to produce any sound other than a weak wheeze. The fear returned. Her voice was gone. Panicking, desperate to attract attention by any means necessary, she looked around, grabbed a piece of metal lying nearby, and began banging it against the floor.
Footsteps were heard approaching. Then the door creacked open.
In the doorway stood the last person she had expected to see - Murdoch. He glanced around, spotted her, and immediately hurried over.
"Oh... hi, Murdoch," she whispered, while he, without words, examined the situation. "I, uh... having some problems right now-"
The long sentence made her wheeze and cough. While she struggled to catch her breath, Murdoch was already inspecting the logs. Then, without any visible effort, he grabbed one and moved it aside, then another, until Emily was free.
She made an attempt to stand up. It was, of course, a very bad idea. Her legs hurt too much to even stand, let alone walk.
"Stop. You’ll make it worse."
Murdoch crouched down beside her, then took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. It was large, thick, and waterproof, giving her the warmth she had been longing for. Then, again with seemingly no effort at all, he lifted her into his arms.
"Wait, Murdoch-"
"No. You can’t walk."
"But-"
"It’s going to be alright."
He carried her outside. As if by the wave of an invisible hand, the rain had stopped, and the sky was almost clear, revealing a bright moon. Murdoch carried Emily all the way to the docks. He never stopped to rest or showed any signs of fatigue. Emily knew he was strong, but even so, it surprised her.
And she was also glad that it was night. No one could see her blushing.
After some time, they reached the docks. Murdoch headed to the warehouse. He carried her inside, into the warm dry air of the building.
"Oh, wow!" Salty turned toward the creaking doors first. "My, my, pals, you look like a mess. Come here, come here!"
Porter moved to give Emily space near the stove. Murdoch lowered her onto a crate. She leaned back against another one behind her, wrapping herself tightly in his jacket, feeling safer than ever.
Salty was already fussing around, making them tea. Cranky, meanwhile, exchanged a silent, meaningful glance with Murdoch; there was surprise and respect in Cranky’s eyes.
You did it. I admit, it’s impressive.
Yes.
Soon, a steaming cup was in Emily’s hands. Cold and fever were no longer a threat. She took a sip. It was the best tea she had ever had; the severity of the adventure made it taste special.
Emily looked at Murdoch, who was watching the fire in silence. As he always did.
This silent care was the reason she was here, safe. Emily suddenly saw him differently. Murdoch could have simply called the rescue team and stayed in the safety of the warehouse for the night, she was not his responsibility. But he had chosen another option.
"Murdoch."
"Yes?" he turned.
"I..." she hesitated before continuing. "I’m very grateful. Truly - thank you. Without you, I would have been stuck there for hours... maybe even days. And worse. Thank you for taking care of me."
Murdoch smiled a little. Then he reached out and adjusted his jacket around her.
"Just don’t do this again, okay?" he said. "I was worried."
"Sure, Murdoch."
Time passed slowly. The warmth of the stove and the tea lulled Emily to sleep. Murdoch watched her for a while longer, then gently lifted her and carried her into a side room, it was a better place to rest. He sat nearby, watching over, before eventually drifting off to sleep as well.
With the end of the rain, the wind also fell silent. And with its final gust, it turned a new page in Emily’s life.