The Garden of Darkness

“Go to the bedroom,” Jem said to Mirri and Sarai. “We’ll call you when it’s safe.” He turned to Clare. “Do you think it’s safe?”


“Don’t know.”

“Maybe we should have a gun.”

“We have Bear. If we had a gun, we’d end up shooting ourselves by mistake.”

They watched, half-hidden by the curtain, as the largest of the strangers began knocking lightly at the door.

“They’re very polite,” said Jem. “That’s something.”

“I’m going to open the door,” said Clare. Bear stopped barking and walked with her, not at her heel, but with his head in front of her and with his teeth bared.

Clare pulled the door open, and three strangers dusted with snow filled the doorway. She felt Bear relax when he saw them. He even stretched his neck out over the threshold to sniff the smallest traveler who, Clare realized, was a little girl who must have been about Mirri’s age. The tallest of them held out his hand to Clare.

Bear went back to attention.

The two boys seemed to be a year or two older than Clare. The one they learned later was named Rick carried a string of what looked like dried meat wound around his pack. He stared at Clare’s face hard before he turned away and put down his pack. The other boy, who was called Noah, carried the heaviest gear. He was loaded not only with a pack and sleeping bag, but a tent. Tilda, the little girl, carried a knapsack almost as big as herself. Clare doubted that they were related; Pest made new families.

It had stopped snowing but there were several inches on the ground. Still, Jem and Clare didn’t invite them in, even as the introductions were made.

“We don’t mean you any harm,” said Noah once they had exchanged names. “Maybe you could tell your dog that. He’s—large.”

“He bites,” said Clare.

That was when Tilda started crying.

“Hey,” said Rick. “Just tell the dog to stand down.”

Clare felt abashed. “All right.”

“Klaatu Barada Nikto,” said Jem to Bear in a stern tone. Clare stifled a laugh.

Tilda stopped crying and stared at him.

“What’s that mean?” asked Noah.

“It’s from an old movie,” said Clare. “The Day the Earth Stood Still. The remake’s awful, but the original’s a real classic: in it—”

“It means that Clare won’t let her dog hurt you if you’re good guys,” said Jem.

“We’re law abiding,” said Rick. “We don’t even jaywalk.”

“We won’t stay long,” said Noah. “We’re headed south. For now.” He spoke quickly.

Clare put her hand on Bear’s head, and she felt him relax again. Jem’s voice hadn’t made him change his stance at all, but he was attuned to Clare’s moods. She looked the travelers over one more time, slowly and carefully, then she opened the door wider and let them in. She saw Jem narrow his eyes as he watched Rick closely, and she wondered what that was about. Maybe later Jem would tell her.

They called Sarai and Mirri from the bedroom, and it was only minutes before Tilda went over to them, and the three began playing with Mirri’s Pretty Ponies. Then Tilda looked up at Clare.

“Can we stay with you here tonight?” she asked in a quiet voice. “It’s nice and warm in here.”

“We wouldn’t impose on you; we’d go in the morning,” said Rick. “And we have some food we can share. If it’s all right, Clare.”

“Jem’s the boss,” said Clare.

Rick laughed as if someone had made a particularly funny joke. And Clare saw Jem narrow his eyes again. But all he said was: “You can stay.”

“We’ll set up our little tent in here,” said Rick. “It’ll give us all a little privacy—plus, it’s warm.”

“I’ll get you some food,” said Jem.

“You won’t believe what we had for dinner,” said Mirri to the general company.

“But I bet you’re going to like it,” said Sarai.

Clare put her hand on Bear’s head again, and he gave a great sigh as if he had been looking forward to putting his teeth into someone and had now lost the chance.

Jem cooked up steaks and heated up some tomato soup for the three.

“This is terrific,” said Noah. “I mean it’s really, really good. We’re so tired of dried meat and flat bread, I can’t tell you.”

“I like flat bread,” said Mirri.

“Maybe we could do some trading,” Clare said. “We have a surplus of moose.”

“You have a deal, young lady,” said Rick.

Clare felt Jem bristle.

“‘Young lady,’” Jem muttered. “Give me a break. She’s almost as old as you are.”

“I don’t think she’s quite my age yet,” Rick said. “All right if I call you ‘young lady,’ Clare? I don’t mean any harm.”

“It’s all right. But age doesn’t matter any more. Here Jem’s in charge.”

Later, Clare and Jem snatched a moment to take Sarai and Mirri aside, to discuss the newcomers.

“They seem all right,” said Jem.

“Bear gave them a good vetting,” said Clare.

“Let’s be clear,” said Jem. “Bear’s response was a little ambiguous, especially when they came to the door. But Rick’s straightforward enough. Noah’s something of an enigma.”