Gleeson The Defender: Part 4

It’s almost dark when Jake walks through the door holding a couple of snow hares. He slaps them on the table and looks at Gleeson. “Have you ever skinned one before?” Gleeson looks up at him expecting something different.

Jake is large for a settler. Most settlers are scrawny from not having enough food, but Jake seems capable. Gleeson only nods his head. Jake pulls out a knife and hands it to him hilt first.

Gleeson takes the knife and starts cutting away at the skin, making delicate slices. Jake walks over and dips his hand in the basin and scrubs his hands. “Where’s Mary?”

“She left a while ago, I don’t know where to though.”

“She’s probably at her dad’s house with Adeline.”

“I can cook if I need to.”

“That’ll be fine. I have some stuff to do in the barn. Once you get the hare on, come out and help me.” Jake walks out the door, closing it behind him. Gleeson finishes skinning the first hare. He grabs the other hare, putting it in front of him. It’s nice having a blade in his hands again.

He holds the knife up in the air spinning it back and forth in the light of the lantern he lit before Jake got back. The light bounces off the blood covered metal in his hand. He twirls it into the air catching it as it comes back.

He stands up flipping it around catching it with his other hand. He flips it again, this time catching it with a slashing motion at the hare. He cuts at the hare again, this time faster. He spins the knife behind his back catching it in front of him.

He finishes skinning the hare with a smile on his face. He puts the pair in a large pan that fits nicely into the wood stove. He grabs a fur off the rack and goes outside into the freezing snow.

The sight of the snow makes him freeze. Flashes of the night so long ago flash before him. Running down the hill, the sound of the wolves howling. He envisions the wolves tearing apart his frozen men. He shudders grabbing the post next to him.

He closes his eyes, regaining his strength. He opens them again and walks down the steps into the snow. He follows Jake’s foot prints around back to the barn. The door is partly open and a small light burns inside.

He makes the distance surprisingly fast in the knee deep snow. He puts both hands on the door and pulls it open with a hard tug. It glides open a lot easier than he anticipated. The door crashes at the end of the run.

Inside stands several men and a few women in a half circle facing the door. “I know.” Jake looks at him. “Mary, go check on the hare.” Mary looks at her husband and walks by the door. Gleeson reaches out and grabs her arm gently.

“Mary?” She only looks at him out of the corner of her eye and walks off.

“Let her go. She’s already done enough.” Gleeson lets her arm go and she walks out the barn. Gleeson turns his attention back to Jake. His eyes are cold as steel, looking at all those around him.

“This is how it’s going to be then?” Gleeson looks at all of those confronting him.

“It is, but you should have known this is what would happen. What did you expect to happen, that you and Mary would be by yourselves?”

“So be it!” Gleeson growls at Jake. He shrugs off the fur with his shoulders and it falls to dirt floor of the barn. Several men come forward with pitch forks at the ready. Gleeson eyes each one, ready for their first move.

Jake shoulders between two of them. “These men are all capable fighters. They will stand by your side when the orcs come.” Gleeson looks at Jake, cocking his head slightly to the left.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean, is, this is the resistance.” Jake smiles.

“Well, I won’t need them at first unless there are more than about four. I want to use the element of surprise when they come.”

“Agreed.”

“Also, it would be wise if nobody else knew of this little group until I truly need you, for your own safety.”

“I agree.” A familiar voice comes from behind Gleeson. Mary walks in behind him over to her husband. She wraps her arms around his arm and turns back to face Gleeson. She has a soft smile on her lips. “Can you train them?”

“I can, but you must first answer some of my questions.”

“I can do that.” Jake looks at him.

“Why all the secrecy? Why were you coming at me like you’re going to kill me?”

“Well.” Jake pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. “We wanted to make sure you had the killer instinct before we allowed you to train us and lead us to our possible deaths.”

“And the secrecy?”

“We can’t let my father know what we’re planning on doing.” Mary answers before Jake can.

“You’re father? You mean Lord Gregory?” Mary nods at Gleeson.

“Very well. When was the last time they attacked?”

“Before the snow fell several cycles ago.”

“What?” The look of shock spreads all over Gleeson’s face. “I thought I’d only been here for one moon cycle.”

“You’ve been here for almost three.” Jake confesses. “Look at your bandage.” He points to Gleeson’s side. Gleeson looks down and pulls up his shirt. The bandage is still dry. Mary walks over to help him with the unwrapping.

She touches his abs delicately with her fingertips. Her thin fingers brushing at his muscles under his bandages as she unwraps. He can feel her breathing on his stomach when she reaches to the back to transfer the bandage from one hand to the other.

She looks up at him with joyful eyes. He refrains from smiling at her, with her husband standing so close. He looks at Jake staring back at him. When Mary finishes she makes her way back to Jake, rolling up the bandages into a tidy ball.

Gleeson looks down at his side. It’s almost healed. “There’s going to be one hell of a scar.” Jake smiles at him. Gleeson lets his shirt drop.

 “I guess there’s only one thing left to do.”

“What’s that?”

“We set up a schedule to train all of you without drawing any attention. So, anybody have any suggestions on how we do this?”

“Yes. You help them in their shops. When you are there, you train. Others will want your help and you give it to them so you don’t raise any suspicion.”

“That’s why you wanted me to tell Lord Gregory that.” Mary only nods her head.

“My wife is cunning.” Mary blushes a little with her husband’s proclamation.

“I want my family safe, and I’ll do anything to make that happen.”

“We start training tomorrow. I will start in here, with you.” Gleeson points at Jake. Jake shrugs his shoulders, not really caring he’s first.