Outnumbered

Too many questions and not enough answers. I’m exhausted, and that isn’t good for logical thought. I snuggle against Seri’s warmth and take a few deep breaths as I close my eyes.

As I start to drift, Seri shifts in her sleep. She pushes my hand away from her and slowly gets out of the bed. I watch as she gathers her underwear and shirt in shuffling, zombie-like steps, and then dresses herself before climbing back into bed. She presses her back against my chest and reaches for my hand again.

“Seri?” When I get no response, I try again. “Netti?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?”

The woman beside me is silent. I raise myself up enough to look at her face and find that her eyes are closed. She’s breathing easily and steadily, undoubtedly asleep.

Remembering what happened the last time, I slip myself out of bed and pull my shorts back on before crawling back in beside her, wrapping my arm around her, and closing my eyes again. I swallow past a lump in my throat and wonder how the hell I’m supposed to deal with this.

In the morning, I wake sooner than the woman in the bed. Solo immediately jumps up on my lap and demands food, so I get up to feed him. After he’s eaten, I build up the fire. The woman in my bed—whatever her name is—wakes shortly after.

“Good morning!” She sits up in bed, yawns and stretches.

“Morning.” I watch her out of the corner of my eye as Solo paws at her feet until she picks him up. She cuddles him briefly before placing him on the bed and excusing herself to the bathroom. Solo scratches at the door until she comes back out.

“Silly thing!” She laughs and picks him up, rubbing her cheek against his head. She walks back to the bed and sits on the edge, still cooing at the cat.

“Seri?” I watch closely, hoping my guessing skills are up to par.

“Yeah?”

“Uh…do you want to finish off the eggs for breakfast?” It’s the only question I can think of off the top of my head. I really just want to confirm who she is at the moment.

“Sure! Shall I cook?”

“If you want.”

“I do! I saw some red peppers. Is it okay to use those in the eggs?”

“Of course. Use whatever you like.”

Seri cooks while I rearrange firewood. I’m getting low on the dry stuff inside, which means I need to make a trip outside to bring in snow-covered wood today so it has a chance to dry out a bit before I have to use it. I relay this information to Seri.

“How far away is the barn?” she asks.

“It’s only a few hundred feet. It just takes a little time to get the wood on the sled and haul it back up here.”

“Could I help?”

“I suppose so,” I say. “I don’t have an extra pair of snowshoes though. I’d give you mine, but you’re lighter and less likely to drop into a snow bank. If you do, I can haul you back out. If I fall in, I’m more likely to get stuck.”

“I might not be able to get you out,” she says with a nod. “I could use a shovel maybe, but it’s probably best you keep the snowshoes.”

“We’ll wait until afternoon when it’s warmest, and I’ll go outside first to see how stable the drifts are.”

“Sounds good.”

The morning passes quickly. I haven’t seen any signs of Iris or Netti all day, and I

’ve been watching closely. I listen for cursing or emotionless recounting, but I hear neither. During the day, it’s all Seri.

Is Iris a vampire, only coming out at night?

I shake my head to clear the ridiculous thought. The actual situation includes more than enough insanity, and I don’t need to add any more to it. What I do need is more information about Seri’s sister so I can try to determine if she is or was a real person. As Seri sits down beside me by the fire, I decide on a somewhat straightforward approach.