The barn was pitch black.
All she heard upon entering were sounds of the wind soughing through the cracks of the sadly-in-need-of-repair roof overhead and the sobbing of a young boy from the hayloft.
"Jimmy?" She aimed her flashlight overhead, flicking it across the hay bales piled there, and waited. After a moment, she heard the hay rustling.
"Here," came the familiar, trembling voice.
Without hesitation, Casina moved to climb the wooden ladder leading to the loft, with a blanket and jacket over her arm and some plastic food containers in the crook of it.
"Cas?"
"Yeah, it's me," his sister responded, shining the light over him when she reached the top. It broke her heart every time she had to see her eight-year-old brother shivering in the dark, huddled alone in the hayloft. "Here, take these." She held out her hand so he could remove the containers and set them aside. Climbing into the loft, she settled herself beside him in the hay.
"I'm glad you brought a jacket."
"I have a comforter for you, too. Here, stand up."
Rising, Jimmy remained quiet as she helped him into the jacket then wrapped the comforter about him, hugging him a moment until he stopped shivering.
"What was the reason this time?" she asked, still mothering him.
Jimmy shrugged. "Oh, you know. The usual. I took a few minutes out to play with Jaspar before chores. Only...Only, Norman caught me.
Told me if I liked him so much that I should sleep in the barn with him for a few days, to see if he was worth keeping around."
"I'm so sorry," Casina said, trying to steady her own voice.
The outrage she felt toward her foster father was all-consuming, and his cruelty toward them, especially toward Jimmy, had grown worse every day.
Only a corrupt person would make a small child sleep alone in a cold, drafty barn in the middle of a New York winter, all because of a kitten.
She gave Jimmy another squeeze, before directing him to sit. "Here now," she said, trying to remain upbeat.
"Let's get you something to eat. I've brought some leftovers, since they kept you from dinner, too. I even brought you a big piece of apple crumb pie.
The best I've ever made, if I do say so myself." She smiled to herself in the darkness, as she opened the containers and handed him a fork.
"Sorry I couldn't bring you a glass. You'll have to drink the milk from the container."
"That's okay," Jimmy responded, his tone brightening. She kept the light on him so he could see what he was doing.
"I've brought your homework, too," she said, pulling forth the backpack she had slung over her shoulder.
"Come daybreak, I'll help you get it done. But then I'll have to return to the house before the Zacks wake up, so I can get breakfast on. I'll try and save you some for later."
"Are you going to...stay with me...tonight?" he managed between starved gulps of food.
"Yes. I'll remain awake most of the time so you can sleep, then I'll be sure to get you up come sunrise. We can't let the Zacks know I'm out here."
"I know," the boy said, sadness evident in his tone. "But it's so much better having you here with me, Cas. There...there's rats up here."
"I know, sweetie. That's why I'm here," she told him, trying not to shudder at the thought.
"But I won't let anything harm you."
Later, after he was settled in, Casina snuggled next to her brother, keeping a protective arm about him as she shifted to a more comfortable position beneath the hay.
She would have done anything to be in her own warm bed, but she knew she would never allow her brother to suffer as he was.
Bugs or rats, come hell or high water, she was going to suffer with him, regardless of what the Zacks thought of it.
No matter how frightened she was either.
She had to remain brave, for Jimmy's sake. If only they could find a way to escape...
* * * *
Casina gave herself an abrupt shake to clear her head of her painful memories, then stood there a moment, brushing away a stray tear, before again making sure no one was around.
When she saw the way clear, she sat down atop the wall, breathed a quick prayer for safety, then shoved herself off of it. She landed with a painful thud in the tall weeds and thorny bristles bordering the wall.
Grimacing at the stabbing pain of new cuts and bruises, she lay there a moment, trying to recover.
The fall had knocked the breath out of her. But, thankfully, she had survived it.
Now, if she was fortunate, she might be able to make it to an unattended spaceship before anyone even discovered her missing.
Seth Jeiel Vernier, best friend of Kaanig Altair, was standing in one of the cargo bays, overseeing the unloading of the large barrels of pontarial compound from the planet Ulstra, when he observed something peculiar.
Someone was scrumptiously sneaking across the field from TrCasinaar.
He stepped into the sunlight for a better look, his lips soon curling in recognition.
Chuckling to himself, he moved back to relay some orders to his men, then took it upon himself to monitor the young woman's movements. He easily recognized her.
He had helped to unload the cargo from the vessel that had brought her to Konatha. Selecting a few choice men, he pointed out the problem, then issued more orders.
"Keep her in sight," he said in Kathian, the common language. "Be certain she doesn't see you.
I intend to confront her myself, so keep a safe distance. If she runs, then await further orders."
"Aye, Seth," they chimed in unison. Rounding Casina from two different directions, north and south of the landing strip, the men did as ordered, while Jeiel darted along the stream of vessels lining the east side of the strip, moving in and out between various crafts.
Many of the crews were outside doing ground clean up or maintenance and were pretty much ignorant of the woman trying to sneak up on them.
Nothing like this had ever happened before, so it was only natural for them not to be paying attention.
That Casina was trying to escape again was clear to Jeiel, but he couldn't stop grinning at her audacity.
There would be all hell to pay when Dammen found out that she had managed to sneak past his usually tight security and make it even this far. The girl was tenacious, that was certain.
* * * *
Casina was halfway across the field of wild grass, intent on her purpose, when Jeiel spotted her.
Keeping low, she moved up and over the slight incline that bordered the airstrip. Quickly ducking behind the huge barrels sitting on the tarmac, near the ships, she was convinced she was making headway.
Although it was broad daylight, she didn't think anyone had seen her. Still, she couldn't turn back now.
She was so close to stealing one of the aircrafts, she could almost taste the challenge of it. A while ago, she hadn't thought about the repercussions if caught, but that didn't matter.
She wasn't about to change her mind. Her main concern was to escape the aliens and go home.
Crouching behind a barrel, she peered about, confident no one had spotted her. She waited, trying to decide which vessel would give her easiest access.
Unbeknownst to Casina, Jeiel had alerted more of the crewmen to the approaching intruder, giving orders to ignore her for the moment. He wanted to see just how far she would go before he stopped her.
He didn't have to wait long. He halted at sight of Casina scooting from behind one of their compound barrels.
She hurried over to one of the larger vessels, darted up a boarding ramp, and in through an open door. At this, he let out a big belly laugh, certain the Kaanig would find this amusing.
But what he hadn't counted on was the sound of the engines flaring into readiness not long thereafter.
At this, his jaw dropped with astonishment. Panicking, he dashed over to the ship, hoping he had time now to prevent her from launching it into space.
Without ground control to approve the launch, there could be serious problems, what with the amount of air traffic flying in and off the base.
"Maka!" he cursed as he gave a flying leap, just skimming the gangplank.
He tucked himself into a ball and rolled to a standing position, landing directly inside the ship mere seconds before the doors whirred shut behind him.