1841 Boston Ma.
    The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the train pulled to a stop. The passengers in car B were mostly still sleeping or just waking up. A gentleman dressed smartly in a brown business suit had his head heavily on the window, his breathing still even. A large woman sat directly across from him, her head leaned back so far it looked painful. A child was stretched across her lap, his eyes barely open.
    One woman however, a Miss. Caroline Elliot - formally of London, was wide awake. She sat at the edge of her seat with her back rim rod straight. Her usually vibrant eyes had dulled and appeared sunken in her pale face. She looked directly in front of her, not really seeing anything.
    “Last stop,” a man called from down the aisle, “everyone has to get off here.” Caroline clutched her small bag even tighter to her chest. The skin on her knuckles stretched to the breaking point. Her bottom lip threatened to quiver but she forced herself to stay calm. “Last stop,” the man said more gently once he was close to her seat.
    “Oh!” The plump woman hurried into action. She grabbed her bag and the child’s hand. With a sharp wrap to the man’s knee she pushed her way out of the car. “Come on, hurry up!” she called in a motherly fashion. Caroline didn’t move her head to watch the man follow behind.
    “Ma’am, everyone ahs to get off here,” the man was uncomfortable. “If this isn’t your final stop, you’ll have to check the train schedule for the next one.” He could see that the young woman was terrified. She was probably traveling on her own for the first time. He hated to leave her so helpless.
    “I need to get to Boston,” she said quietly, without looking at him. “In Massachutes.”
    She missed the smile that lit his eyes. “You are in luck Miss. This is Boston.”
    This declaration made her swing her eyes to his face, but only for a moment. “Okay,” she said after a minute. She stood up stiffly and looked uncertainly down the aisle.
    “Maybe there will be someone waiting for you at the platform,” the man offered kindly. His own daughter was near the same age as this young woman, and he would never think of putting her on a train all alone.
    Caroline nodded and without a word brushed past the kind man. She kept her breathing even and her panic at bay by intense concentration. It wasn’t being alone that scared her, in fact Caroline considered herself an extremely independent woman. But things in this country were so confusing.
    After almost three months on a ship, Caroline had been all to eager to been the train that would take her to Boston and to her uncle. She laughed at her own folly when she got off at the first stop and it wasn’t Boston. She had to sit on the platform for three hours waiting for the next train. The second time aggravation had set in. by the fourth time however, she was almost overcome with emotion. Her fatigue made her uncharacteristically unsensible.
    She had sat unmoving, refusing to get off the train for two days. Even when the kind man had assured her that she had time to go get something to eat she had refused, choosing instead to eat what little food she had with her.
    Now, with shaking legs, Caroline stepped onto the platform. She scanned the crowd nervously. How would she even be able to recognize her uncle?  Would he look like her father? They were brothers after all.

    Evan Calloway leaned lazily against his wagon, watching the passengers from the train. It appeared that the elusive Miss. Elliot was still not there. He shook his ehad in disapointment. His wife Haley had her ehart set on Miss. Elliot. He was not looking forward to disappointing her again.
    Evan had learned from his mother that women were prone to strong emotion when they were with child, but it seemed like Haley was beyond the norm. if he suggest they look for someone else… he winced when he thought of the last time he had suggested it. Evan loved his wife but he had never fancied a woman who liked to cry.
    He sighed and pushed himself upright. No point in wasting the day looking at the train, the passangers had stopped coming off the train a while ago. His foot was already on the wagon, prepared to take him to his seat, when he turned back to take one last look. That’s when he saw her.
    She was a small woman, she’d probably barely reach his shoulders. Her rusty colored hair was pulled back and covered with a hat but it wisped wildly by her face. She was pale and looked as if she hadn’t slept in weeks. Despite her haggard appearance, Evan couldn’t help but notice her loveliness. He had to stop himself from thinking that she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
    He worked at controlling his thoughts as he made his way towards her. This was no easy task, she was even lovelier up close. She craned her slender neck every which way, obviously searching for someone. “Miss. Elliot?” he asked, stopping in front of her. She swung weary eyes to his face. The fear he saw in those pale green orbs was nearly his undoing. His desire to protect this young woman caught him off guard.
    “I am Miss Elliot. Who are you?” she asked in a low voice.
    He forgot his name and just stared open mouthed at her. He shook his head, remembering that he was a married man, and took the young woman’s arm. He tried to guide her to his waiting carriage but the fragile Miss Elliot dug her heels into the ground and refused to be moved.

    Caroline watched the handsome young man through lowered eyes. His dark looks were nearly breath taking, but no way was she going to allow herself to be carried away by a complete stranger. He wasn’t dressed like the other men she had seen on the platform. Where they wore suits and attire similar to what she would have seen at home - he was wearing tight fitting pants, a button down shirt, and a cowboy hat.
    She had heard about these kind of men, these cowboys. They were rogues with no gentleman ways. Mrs. Patterson, who was her father’s dearest friend, had warned her not to trust them under any circumstance. But Mrs. Patterson had also told her that there would be no cowboys in Boston. They lived out west where the cows were.
    This cowboy didn’t let go of her arm and he stared down at her with his deep brown eyes. His skin was several shades darker than her own and he was tall. He towered over her, making her feel small by comparison.
    “Who are you?” she repeated her question.
    “Name’s Calloway. Evan Calloway ma’am,” he said with a slow drawl.
    “Well Mr. Calloway,” Caroline pulled her arm free of his grasp, “I am here waiting for my uncle.” Her voice had become hoarse and raspy due to fatigue, anxiety, and hunger. The fact that she had a voice at all pleased her. “”I’ll just wait here for him,” she said dismissively.
    “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this ma’am,” Evan lowered his voice, “but Teddy Elliot died, not two weeks ago.” He watched in alarm as her already pale face went even whiter. “But he was good friends with the pastor,” Evan was quick to assure her.
    Caroline tried to focus on what Evan was saying. Was her uncle really dead? What would become of her now? This was her only option. She had no family now, no family in all the world. She was too shocked to even cry.
    “And pastor announced at church a few months back that you were looking to be a governess here,” Evan was still talking, “so I have come to take you to his house.” He couldn’t explain, even to himself, why he didn’t tell her that she would be coming to be a companion to his pregnant wife.
    Caroline was sure that she missed most of what Evan said. She tried to look up at him but all she saw were spots of black. She swayed on her feet.
    “Miss Elliot?”
    “I need to get to Boston,” she murmured before everything went black.

Chapter Eight
Accidents Happen
    I flung my backpack on one of the long couches on my way to the kitchen. I hadn’t been given the chance yesterday to check out our supplies but I hoped they had gotten orange juice.
    “You’re home,” a gruff voice greeted me.
    I turned slowly. I hadn’t forgotten about gage exactly, but I could more easily picture him as the huge black wolf. His grey eyes watched me through he mess of hair on his face. He really needed to shave. “I am home,” I finally responded after I realized he was waiting for me to say something.
    “How did today go?”
    “You know, usual high school stuff.” I continued my trek to find orange juice.
    “I never went to high school.”
    “Never?”
    “I was young when I changed. not as young as you and your sister, but young enough. Besides, when I was a boy we didn’t have high school.”
    I was afraid to ask him when he was a boy. Then it would be even more weird to talk to him. “Ah.” I bit my bottom lip and quickly turned to the fridge. I was happy to see that they did get orange juice.
    “Did the boys behave?”
    I reached for a glass but they were too high. I clicked my tongue. Inconsiderate jerks. Suddenly gage was way to close to me. He reached above my head and brought a glass down for me. I tucked my hair behind my ears. “Thanks,” I  mumbled. Once he was a safe distance away I was able to answer his question. “Well, Jed locked me in a supply closet and forced me to be his girlfriend,” I gushed. “But other than that they behaved very well. They have  a lot of self control for being so young.”
    “So you’ve chosen a mate?”
    “No! What?” I blushed furiously, so flustered that I almost spilled my orange juice. “It’s not…I mean it wasn’t…” I cleared my throat nervously. “No.”
    “I would have thought Rueben would be your first choice.”
    “Rueben has a girlfriend,” I said quickly. “Besides, it’s just some stupid…high school thing.”
    He nodded and turned away. “If you say so.” I rolled my eyes. If Gage hadn’t run with the dinosaurs, maybe he would understand the hierarchy of high school. It was worse than the pack.
    I puffed my cheeks out and let my breath out quickly. “Um…I was thinking I’d go by Bella’s today. Ivy wasn’t at school. Maybe she’s sick or something.”
    “Bella’s gone.”
    “Gone where?”
    “Females are fickle creatures,” he mused.
    “Gone where?” I repeated.
    “She only came here to deliver you to Blake.”
    “She enrolled us at school. Ivy too.”
    “She was told to. I have not heard much about Bella. She tends to fly under the radar, being careful to not bring much attention to herself.”
    “That’s a good thing though.”
    “Yes.” It didn’t sound much like an affirmation though, not with his eyes narrowed like that.
    “Will she come back?” I don’t know why I asked it, it made me sound like a child; and I already knew the answer.
    “No, it is unlikely that you will see them again.”
    Them? He had said them but he couldn’t have meant Ivy. Ivy would be coming in a few months to take over the pack. Gage must have meant Bella and her pack of course, the temptation to fight would have been to strong with two packs so close. It was better that she left, but sadness still managed to creep into my heart.
    “Will you hunt tonight?” Gage asked.
    “Uh…no, I don’t think I will.”
    His eyes narrowed again, an expression I was coming to know well. “The pack will need to hunt.”
    I took a deep breath and shrugged. “Yeah I know.” We stood there for a long moment of awkward silence before Gage ducked out the front door.
    I gulped my orange juice down quickly and prepared to retire to my room so I could work on my paper for English. Maybe if I was lucky I wouldn’t have to deal with the pack tonight. I flinched guiltily when I remembered the resolve I had made at lunch. As the day progressed, my resolve slowly faded. Who was I to tell them how to live? No one was getting hurt. By the time the final bell rang I had convinced myself that the boys were fine. They had lived this long without a leader. What could go wrong?

Rani took a deep breath to calm herself down.  The raspy sound echoed in the small space.  She knew that Constantina only did what she thought was best, Rani never should have spoken out to her.  She bit the inside of her mouth.  Would the leader of Ortec be angry with her?  Should she apologize or just keep quiet?  She peeked out from under her lashes, but Constantina was not looking her way.  Before she could gather enough courage to say anything at all, they heard Dais coming back up the steps.
     “They said they are looking for survivors and not to be afraid,” he told them.  Rani grasped his hand in hers.  How brave he was, she thought, tears were almost in her throat.
    Constantina glanced briefly at what was left of her people.  In the brief moment before she made their decision Constantia remembered.  She recalled her first days as leader and how scared she had been to make even the simple decisions.  She remembered the girls when they were little.  Their laughter echoed in her heart.  Every building and every path in Ortec was precious to her.  This was her home and she didn’t want to leave.  However,  she knew they wouldn’t be able to just stay here.  Visitors never came, and who here had ever left?  She closed her eyes, she alone had left.  That had been so many years ago.  For good or bad, there was very little choice.  She nodded as she came to the decision.  “We’ll go see what they want.  If they want us to leave, we shall go.” 
    Angali couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped her lips.  They would leave Ortec?  Where would they go?  What if Lee came back looking for her?  He would not just leave her here, all alone.  She placed her hand on her belly, what would become of their baby now?  Things were supposed to be perfect.  She took a small breath, all she had left now was her baby - Lee’s baby.  And when he came back looking for her they would all be happy again.
Sonya raised her chin slightly and tightened her lips.  She knew this would happen, they had to leave Ortec to find their people.  They had to be somewhere.  It was doing them no good to sit around and wait.  She was glad that they were leaving, as long as they came back after they found everyone else.
    There was a small gasp, but no one objected.  The eight walked as one down the empty stairs, and out into the sun. 
    Two men stood in the narrow street just outside of the council building, waiting for the people of Ortec to emerge.  They didn’t have to wait long.  The two looked anxiously at the group, craning their necks to see past them.  The six women huddled together; joining hands and linking arms.