Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 27 - Teaser (Patreon)

“Do you really think I’ll get that big?” Sarai joked, thinking she was as big as she was going to get.

“I don’t know. I’ve heard tell that some women just keep growing as they get older. Maybe that will happen with you?” Roland chuckled.

“I’ve also heard that they get bigger when a woman is… carrying,” Bahrt said as he blushed a deep green. Sarai’s mouth fell open, but she closed it quickly, not wanting to give away too much. She had heard both things herself, but the fact that the brother’s knew this shocked her! Shaking her head, Sarai quickly reasserted herself, and spoke out loud.

“Maybe… we can… discuss this at… another time?” Sarai asked, trying to move the conversation to why they were there to begin with.

“Oh, we will! But you are right. We need to get back to work,” Roland agreed as he nudged his brother in the ribs.

As they got back to clearing out the attic, their faces and loins cooled, allowing them to focus on clearing out the clutter. They kept at it, eventually removing every last box from the attic and piling it all outside. From there, they took what they were keeping and loaded it into the cart. The rest was put into the burn pile.

Once that was done, the trio went to work on the ground floor, taking any and all useful implements and packing them up as well. This included pots, pans and any silverware that was to be had. They didn’t fuss too much about the ceramics, as those were far cheaper to buy than the metalwork. The furniture was left alone, as it was all too much and any piece was way too cumbersome to take along with them.

“Well, that didn’t take too long,” Sarai commented.

“We still have the second floor to do, and the animals that we’re taking with us,” Bahrt reminded her.

“We’re definitely taking the chickens and the smaller pigs. They’ll give us less hassle to take along,” Roland stated, earning nods from the other two.

“Let’s do the animals last. Should tackle those three rooms upstairs,” Sarai told the brothers.

“Our room should be easy. Not too much left up there,” Roland commented.

“And the master?” Sarai wondered.

“The main room should be easy enough. It’s the adjoining room that scares us,” Roland told the woman.

“Why?”

In answer, Roland took off his shirt and turned around, showing Sarai his back. On it was a very large and gnarly scar that looked like whip marks. It was a veritable latticework of scars that crisscrossed his back. She then turned to see Bahrt do the same thing, with similar marks on his back as well.

“By the ancestors!! What happened?!?” Sarai gasped.

“We made the mistake of trying to go inside that room, once. The old man beat us, stripped us naked and tied us to those two posts out there,” Roland told her as he put his shirt back on.

“He then flogged us hard until we were bleeding like stuck pigs. Once he was done, he then used fire of the parts that were bleeding the worst. So, we wouldn’t die of blood loss, he said. After that, he then told us to get back to work and that if we were to try that again, he’d do much worse to us,” Bahrt shuddered.

“Hearing this makes me very glad that the old man is now being eaten by maggots! It’s no less than he deserves!” Sarai said vehemently as she walked forward and embraced both men, hugging them close.

The brothers hugged Sarai back, glad to have her there as they confronted this particular demon. While sleeping in the master bedroom was OK, even so much as looking at the side room was enough to give them bad chills. They remembered the day their father punished them for trying to go in there and would never forget it.

“Remember… he’s gone now. He can’t hurt you anymore,” Sarai told them.

“We know. It’s just… difficult to get past it,” Bahrt told her as he sighed heavily.