The Taken

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam's face lit up. "That's amazing! So we can catch up with what's happened since we left our times!" She cheered, following Sylvie into the kitchen. "What's a car?" she added, with a slight pause in the doorway, looking confused again. "Can we bring sweet tea?!"

 

[Stormee Fae]

"We'll get some at walmart. Actually, we'll get everything there. Let's tell Dad we're ready to go." She chuckled and headed to the bottom of the stairs, "Dad come on!"


The soft pounding of footsteps and creaking wood rang in a cadence, increasing in volume as Eugene approached the stairs, holding a couple blankets and pillow in a neat stack, "Let's go."


"Outside." Sylvie waved them both over the the front door and opened it, exciting onto the front porch. She walked down the creaky stairs and to the dirt driveway where a dark green truck was parked along with Sylvie's motorcycle and a car covered in a tarp. She opened the back door and put things in as well as swung them over into the bed.


Danny slowly approached, Watching Sylvie, his mind running a million miles a minute, "Is this... Like a wagon? You know wagon?"


"From Oregon Trail days, ya I know. This is the modern day equivalent. Like own private trains... Or wagons that don't need oxen to pull it." Sylvie channelled her playing of the Oregon Trail games from childhood.

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam followed excitedly. "So this is a car?" She asked, touching it with one hand. "It's pretty. Green is my favorite color." She admired the truck, smiling. "So what's Walmart?" She asked, afraid she was getting on their nerves with all her questions.


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[Stormee Fae]

"A market basically. It has anything you'd ever want or need to buy." Sylvie explained, "but you can't bargain or trade. The prices are set." She opened the door, "You'll see, it'll blow your mind."


Eugene opened the driver's door, "I don't know about that, Sylv."


"Idon't know? What do you mean?"


"Don't you think it'll be a little overwhelming?"


Sylvie looked at both of them and theb back to Eugene before she opened the back door and waved them in, "Maybe..."

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam got into the car. "I want to see! Oh please?! It sounds wondrous!" she cheered, sitting down in a seat. "Okay what is this?" she pointed to the seat belt. She pulled on it, and after realizing it moved she began pulling and releasing it constantly for fun. Then she noticed the buckle. "Ohhhh....it's for safety!" she clicked the belt into place across her chest. "This is amazing!" she bounced in her seat.

 

[Stormee Fae]

Danny sat and watched Miriam buckle, his eyes scanned her shortly before he followed her lead, pulling the belt awkwardly across his chest and attempting to lead it into the buckle. With a few misses, he eventually had success followed by his reflection on the strange motion shortly after, he said, "These are dangerous then? How dangerous?"


Eugene and Sylvie both in the front seat looked at one another with a hint of sorrow and urgency in their eyes. They knew how dangerous these could be, but then again they also knew they didn't want to raise alarm. Sylvie was about to answer before Eugene reached his hand out to her in a motion of blocking her speech, signaling her to stop, "They can be when not used correctly. Accidents can happen, but don't worry, they're normally pretty rare."


Eugene turned around and started driving out of the dirt driveway under magnolia and pecan trees, the dirt kicking up behind as they moved about 25 miles an hour.


Danny spun left and right, looking through all the windows he could as scenery moved around him. Looking out the back, he saw Scout's ears flopping about, a happy look on her face as she enjoyed the warm breeze. He smiled softly, "Dusty would have loved this." He mumbled.

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam nodded at Eugene's comment. "I see." She looked out the window and smiled. "Wow! Okay I have another question. What's other words for amazing and wondrous that are used now? I do not wish to sound weird in the Walmart." She grinned at Sylvie.


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[Stormee Fae]

"Cool!" Danny called remembering Sylvie's lesson.


Sylvie laughed, "Yeah, cool is one of them. Amazing is still used fairly consistently. Awesome is another one."


"Rad." Eugene chimed in as he turned off the neighborhood ride and onto a main street out of Europa and toward Winona, picking up speed.


"No!" Sylvie laughed, "do you want people to think they're from the 80s?"


Eugene chuckled, "Sorry... That's what people said in my heyday."


Danny pressed his face up against the window watching the road fly by. He reached for Sylvie's arm and squeezed it, "Sylvie, how fast are we going?"


"60 miles an hour." She said after checking the speedometer.


"Faster than a train." Danny marveled, "If we could have taken this out west..." he stopped abruptly looking down at his hands.

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam laughed. "I like it. Rad. Maybe I'll use it too." She grinned. Miriam looked over at Danny and smiled. "I bet they're there now." She stared out the window. "60 miles per hour. Cool."


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[Stormee Fae]

Danny continued, "We stopped... we suffered too many losses. We were shooting for California, we stopped in Kansas." He explained as he pushed his long shaggy hair out of his face. He looked out the window, nibbling at his nails.


Sylvie didn't know what to say in response. She didn't want to pry... she didn't want to ask about his losses, but her curiosity overwhelmed her. She wanted to know what people died from back in the 1800s, what it was like to fear those things as a potential death. When hearing about it today, it seemed so far away.

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam nodded. She too didn't want to pry. The boy still seemed fragile and in pain. Like a wounded animal. She decided it was best not to ask about his past life, but focus on this new one. "I'm sorry for your loss." She told him, leaning against the window as she turned to address him.


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[Stormee Fae]

Eugene felt the air in the truck. He knew Sylvie and Miriam didn't know what to say, out of respect and fear they may upset him. Everything was happening so fast and while Miriam was coping unbelievably well (at least from what she allowed the others to see), Eugene could tell Danny was more the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve, to tell someone exactly what he was thinking and feeling, not to bottle it up. The opposite of his daughter. Breaking the silence abruptly, Eugene asked, "Tell me about what it was like, traveling out west."


"Well we had to save for years. Before you leave, you must buy nearly 6 months of supplies and still have a large amount of funds to continue to buy goods along the way. Not only were goods used up quickly by your family and people in your train, but they parished, got stolen, and even fell when traveling more bumpy trails or fording streams. We were good at getting across the rivers and streams... usually. We only had one accident and it was because it had stormed the previous night and the water was deceptive. It appeared... not calm, but not out of control. Manageable. Instead however, there was an under current." Danny paused. Sylvie turned around to looked at him, his bright green eyes darted around his feet as his eyes swam withe memories. He was recalling it. She waited, curiously as he continued, "That was our first loss, my little sister, Patsy. She was only seven. The wagon tipped and fell on her. She knew how to swim but unfortunately, we just couldn't get her out on time. Mom made sure we all knew how to swim from the time we were young. She wanted to avoid accidents such as that."

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam had turned around and was watching Danny as he spoke. She listened to his story and frowned when it had ended. ((I have no idea what to do here so just keep going I guess.))


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[Stormee Fae]

Sylvie didn't want to offend Danny in anyway, but she couldn't help the words coming out of her mouth, she was just so curious. She wanted to know about the past, about America's history and what it was like to live in it, "Among drowning, what other dangers did your family face on the trail. Did you ever lose adults, what to? What were you all scared of most while being out there?"


"Err... well," Danny paused, thinking about all the questions she asked. He drew in a steady breath before beginning to answer, "We did see adults die. No one in my family, just in our train, "We were afraid of getting lost and getting trapped somewhere... running out of food and having no fresh water. And aggressive injuns."


"Wow and teenagers now days worry about the dance next Tuesday." Sylvie said as she rolled her eyes.


"What?" Danny was confused.


"What else?" Sylvie asked craning her body around in her seat peaking around the side of the back rest.


Danny explained, "There was an abundance of disease. It seemed the possibilities of which deadly sickness one could catch were endless. That's actually how we lost Aideen and Collee. Two of my sisters. Aideen was just two years but she got alkali sickness from bad water. Everything you ate and everything you drink could kill you, then again it would definitely kill you if you never ate or drink." Danny began to relax as he talked, feeling at ease, the words kept coming, "At least every single one of us except my mother and my brother Mick fell ill at one point or another with anything from a cold to something real serious." Danny liked the questions, it was nice to share, to talk about it with people who were disconnected from the hardships.

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam just sat there in horror. Her family had seen it's share of deaths and sickness but they hadn't had to travel anywhere. Their colony was well established and didn't have the need for going far to find food or water. They dug wells and ate game from nearby as well as small farms helping to sustain them. Miriam just stared at Danny but then realized she was being rude so she looked back out the window.


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[Stormee Fae]

Danny cleared his throat a few times, balling his hand into a fist and placing it in front of his mouth, "Do you need some water?" Sylvie handed him her water bottle from the cup holder next to her.


Danny nodded and took the bottle carefully, taking a drink before saying, "Yes, Thank you."


Sylvie took the water bottle back and spun it slightly in her hands as she asked, "So did you ever get sick?"


"A few times I did,"


"With what?"


"Cholera and Typhoid Fever." Danny replied.


As Sylvie took a drink, her eyes grew big. She put the bottle down and slowly closed the lid, "Oh My God..." she was stunned, "And you lived both?"


"Yes." Danny said with a shrug.


"How long were you sick from them?" Sylvie asked.


"About two weeks with cholera and about four with typhoid fever." Danny was now wondering what people in Sylvie's time knew about these diseases, if there were cures of some kind.


Eugene put on the brakes suddenly and pulled off to the side of the road, putting on his hazards.


"What is it Dad?"


"Don't drink after them!" He got out of the truck and went around back.


Sylvie looked down at the water bottle in her hand... 'too late' she thought before calling out, "Dad!" but he shut the driver door before she could say anything.

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam jumped at Eugene's sudden exit. "Will you get sick?" She asked, confused. "What's going on?" She began to panic.


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[Stormee Fae]

"I... I don't know." Sylvie's mind was swimming. Surely her father wasn't freaking out over non existent bacterias. These diseases didn't even exist in today's society. No one got cholera, typhus, or small pox, or anything like that. Not anymore. Not even scurvy. These diseases became extinct as hygiene, food safety, and medical advancement appeared in the early 1900s. Sylvie just hoped Eugene wouldn't do anything drastic.


Nerves began to eat at his stomach as Danny felt sick, He knew when someone was thinking of him as a lower entity, someone beneath them, and that was the message he was getting now, "But I..." Danny didn't know what to say. He didn't think he would get Sylvie sick. He wasn't sure how he would or what was going to happen in that case. He just knew that if he did get her sick, he'd feel awful. He didn't want to be responsible for getting anyone else killed. He already felt responsible for Collee's death, "No." Danny spoke sadly as he felt his eyes sting with tears. He could not get a handle on himself. His emotions were running rampant since he appeared in this crazy future world. He felt so out of place, and if anything Eugene was showing more of how he didn't belong. Eugene came back with a box of face masks, "Put these on." he handed them to Miriam.


Before she could grab them, Sylvie smacked the box out of his hand and they fell to the floor of the back seat, "Dad!" Sylvie snapped, "What is wrong with you?! You're scaring them!"


"They have sicknesses and diseases that don't exist anymore in our society. Our bodies have no immunity to these. You're telling me that Miriam has never come across anyone with small pox. It was an epidemic in the early colony days and it ran rampant."


"Oh my god, Dad! Small pox? Please. I'm vaccinated for that!" Sylvie cried, "And even if I wasn't, do you think the doctors wouldn't be able to cure it? I would come out of it fine and they wouldn't even need to blink an eye! And all these cholera and typhus Danny was talking about, they're foodborne illnesses. You cannot transfer them from person to person. It doesn't work that way!"


"It doesn't?" Danny asked.


"I'm not an idiot, Syl. I know typhus is but what about flus and cholera?" Eugene asked urgently.


"Yes! Flu is a flu is a flu. There is no difference. Flus aren't a big deal anymore. Cholera is a food borne illness. The vast majority of diseases on the Oregon Trail were because they were keeping food in hot wagons with no refrigeration and drinking water from anywhere they could get it with no clue of what died up stream." Sylvie crossed her arms. She knew her father was well educated and smarter than her, but she also knew parents panicked easily when their children were at risk and especially when their only child was all they had left.


Eugene was silent for a second, looking from the two in the back to Sylvie. Danny had gotten control of himself and wiped his eyes dry. He had heard his father complain to his mother that Danny was too sensitive or his age. That he needed to stop being treated like a baby. His mother always said he was an intellectual and that there was nothing wrong with it. Still, Danny felt embarrassed by himself.


"Also, the fact that we have vaccinations." Sylvie pointed to herself and Eugene, "Means we aren't going to give them anything, so they're safe, too. Not as safe as us, but still pretty safe. And if they get a cold or flu, in today's environment, their over developed immune system would get rid of it so easily it would be funny."


Eugene shook his head, "It makes me nervous Sylvie."


"Look at the Amish! They're basically Amish." Sylvie retorted.

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam grabbed Danny by the hand and held it tightly, frightened as well and noticing he was tearing up. She was going to take a mask but was stopped by the box flying across the floorboards. As she listened to Miriam her eyes widened. "We treated tons of people with small pox but my mother was careful. We never got it." As they continued she looked confused. "Vaccinations? Immune systems? What are these things?" She asked, still holding Danny's hand tightly.


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[Stormee Fae]

Danny cleared his throat, "If an immunity is an inability to get sick, an immune system is like the digestive system right? An system in your body that keeps you immune to ailments?"


"Close Danny." Sylvie said supportively as Eugene explained,


"Your immune system is made up of the parts of your body that work toward fighting off foreign infections or as you said ailments. It fights to keep you healthy. It is like a muscle in that practice allows it to be stronger and more effective in fighting off disease, and both of your immune systems have had more practice than ours." He began driving again, merging back onto the high way.


Sylvie answered the next question, "Vaccination of shots of serums straight into your veins. They stay in your body for years and keep you from contracting certain diseases." She looked at her dad, "We really should get them a check up when we can." She said.


"They have no records, but I suppose the free click in Winona could suffice, and like you said... we could just say they were raised Amish." Eugene said.


Sylvie giggled, "Works for me."

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam looked impressed. "Wow. Clearly a lot of knowledge has been discovered about illnesses." She let go of Danny's hand. "Sorry." She apologized to him, in case she had hurt it from squeezing. "What's Amish?"


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[Stormee Fae]

Danny smiled, "It's alright." He was happy he had ended up with these people. They seemed nice and genuinely cared about them. He was happy Sylvie went into the mill and found him. Not missing a beat, Danny jumped at answering the question, "The Amish is a new... well not anymore religion based off Christianity. They started forming their own settlements through Missouri and Kansas. They believe hard work honors God."


Sylvie laughed silently, shaking her head. Eugene couldn't hold back a smile.


"What?" Danny asked, "Are they not that now?"


"No you're right Danny, but you are just a know-it-all aren't ya?" Sylvie teased, "You're that kid in class who always raises his hand desperately to get called on."


"I do raise my hand often." Danny said slightly confused of whether or not Sylvie's comment was an insult or a compliment, "I like to read."

 

[KateMurdock92]

Miriam smiled at him. "I think it's a good thing. I never much liked school. I loved to read but I always wanted to learn things hands on when I read about them. I didn't like someone telling me how to think. I wanted to learn how to think for myself, not how to think the way everyone else does. I never really had someone to teach me that. Except mama." She looked down at her hands, a pang of sadness in her chest.


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[Stormee Fae]

"My mother was a school teacher. So she taught me my whole life. Her and a few others. I think they did a great job. I loved school. My favorite was math and history." Danny said with a nod, "I liked those, and I liked when we had debates about stuff. My mother always encouraged us to read all the newspapers and attempt to figure out which side we were on and why. There were a lot of political and social issues going on in 1865. That's when the war ended." Danny shared.


"And I hate school, but love learning. I'm with Miriam. I bet you're mom would have been a great lady to meet and was an excellent teacher." Sylvie said with a smile to Miriam.


"What do you like learning about, Sylvie?" Danny asked.


"Not math that's for sure." She laughed, "Math is really hard to learn without a teacher and I am home schooled so."


"Hey, now." Eugene spoke up, "I always am available to help you with your math and teach you concepts you aren't understanding."


"Yeah, but it's confusing the way you do it." Sylvie snapped, "But anyway, I like history, writing, and philosophy. I love philosophy."

 

[KateMurdock92]

My favorite was always science. After that, literature. Science requires alot of math too and luckily my mom was really good at it. Although by today's standards maybe not." Miriam laughed. "But she taught me how to add and subtract and give the correct doses of medicine by estimating someone's weight. She was pretty amazing."


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