Ash opened the door and stepped into a narrow hallway with three other doors. To his left a door at the end of the hall led outside. To his right, the corridor opened into a large living space, as well as a kitchen. He walked into the living space. The room was gloomy, the light from outside fading. He’d thought it was morning, but apparently it was dusk, not dawn.
He opened the front door and stepped out onto a covered porch. Several similar-looking buildings were visible nearby, as well as a larger building that looked like a meeting hall. He’d had said “church” except that it lacked a steeple. Lights shone from the windows of the meeting hall.
A breeze carried the scent of a barnyard, along with the grunting of pigs. He thought her heard the cackle of chickens too.
“Swell,” Ash said, “a farm.” Temujin didn’t deign to answer.
Ash looked around, considering his options. A few lights were on in other cabins. Presumably they were occupied. Still, he didn’t particularly care to start off by pounding on a stranger’s door. Who knew what they were like? They might be prickly about their privacy and a stranger turning up unexpectedly could lead to trouble.
That left the meeting hall. It wasn’t a private home, so the occupant or occupants were less likely to get their hackles up if approached. Ash stepped down off the porch and strode through the gathering dark toward the larger building.
He walked up a few steps to a porch. Tried one of the double doors. It opened onto a small foyer the width of the building. The foyer was dark, the lights out. Nonetheless, he could see plenty of hooks on the wall, for coats and hats, presumably. He saw another set of closed double doors directly ahead.
Ash moved closer to the inner doors, then paused. He leaned closer. He heard…music? Yeah, definitely music. Earth, Wind and Fire? He tried the doorknob, which turned easily beneath his hand. He eased the door open just enough to peer into the next room.
Overhead lights blazed, illuminating a large open space. Wooden chairs and several large wooden tables lined the walls, pushed aside by the room’s sole occupant, who commanded the open center of the room as she danced.
Ash whistled softly to himself. She was young, not yet twenty if he was any judge. Shoulder length brown hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore a pair of denim shorts and an oversized ratty t-shirt. Her feet were bare, though a pair of sneakers lay on the floor by a backpack under one of the tables she’d pushed aside.
She danced like her life depended on it. It took Ash a moment to spot the source of the music. It came from a glossy black tablet on top of the table. The sound quality wasn’t great, but clearly it was adequate for her purposes. She segued from one song to another on her playlist without a pause. Ash watched unabashedly for several minutes. She was obviously in exceptional shape. She was more flexible than Ash had ever been, much less now; she moved like she had ball bearings for hips. Her bare arms and legs moved with obvious strength and control. She was flushed and breathing deeply, but clearly nowhere close to being out of breath.
“I’m liking my neighbors more already,” Ash said quietly to Temujin. Then he scowled, finding it odd that he felt so comfortable already speaking to a winged tiger cub he’d only just met.
Temujin brushed against Ash’s leg. Ash grinned, thinking Temujin was just being affectionate. Then the cub slithered through the gap between the doors and into the next room. Alarmed, Ash tried to grab him. Too late. “Dammit,” Ash muttered.
“Who’s there?” The woman’s voice was firm, curious but not alarmed.
A moment later the music stopped. “I know you’re there. Who is it?”
There was nothing for it. Ash pushed the door open and stepped into the room. He held his hands out and empty, trying for nonthreatening.
The woman was standing by the table now. She was breathing deeply still, slowly. Her face was expressionless. Whoa, talk about a Poker face, Ash thought. One hand was out of sight behind her back, and Ask was ready to bet big money that she had her hand wrapped around the butt of a handgun.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, sweet thing,” Ash said. “Let’s not do anything hasty. You don’t wanna kill me, and I don’t wanna be dead.”