World Ashen

Chapter 13 - Jensen

My trip trading with Angel's parents was worth it because Heather became New Haven's teacher. Atticus helped wherever we needed him, and Cameron helped defend New Haven. "Jensen, we need you now! It's Shane," Kenneth yelled, rushing into my office.

Instantly, I shot up from my desk and ran toward Uncle Shane's room. "Don't touch him," I hissed. He was dead. Both August and Kenneth just stared at me. "He's no longer in pain."

"That's true," August said slowly. "Katrina, Haley, and Thomas already know." I began tearing up, but started taking deep breaths in an effort not to cry.

Clearing my throat, I sighed, "the ground's way too frozen to bury him." Of course, we all knew that. Even though we couldn't properly bury our dead, we still made headstones. I placed Uncle Shane beside Ash's when we had the Yellowstone-style funeral. This involved burning the body in one of New Haven's many warehouses. When we finished, we'd place the bones in a metal container with the person's name. We'd bury the bones in July when the temperature was around 56 to 33 degrees.

Aunt Katrina melted into a puddle of tears. "Mom, are you going to be okay?" Haley said, clearly afraid of losing her mother, too. Aunt Katrina shrugged, so August tried comforting her. August's consolation seemed to help a little. I began turning to leave when someone tapped my shoulder.

Cameron stood behind me. "I've got some great news, Jensen."

"Alright, what is it?" I asked eagerly.

"There's a hospital nearby and an airport, too."

"Cameron, the nearest airport is Atlanta, and that used to be an hour and a half drive from here."

Cameron grinned. "No, no. There's a small private airport."

I nodded. "Right, and what are we going to do at a small private airport?"

"Clean it out, so to speak. August told me we were low on meds and stuff, so if we go to the hospital, we could see what we can get." It was a brilliant plan, but we were now one man short. My uncle was a good planner. Since he was no longer with us, someone had to replace him. Who would? Wyatt and Cayler were both smart, but they had families, and I didn't need more families to get shattered.

I guess I'd take volunteers as I've done in the past. Taking a deep breath, calmed me down a little as I clapped my hands. "May I have everyone's attention, please?" Almost everyone turned to me except for my aunt. "I know we're all in mourning, but I have an important question to ask. Cameron has brought it to my attention that there is a hospital and a private airport nearby. I would like to restock, so I'm looking for volunteers."

Everyone was still at first, but soon enough, both Tony and Jack stood. Wyatt, Alex, and Dan all followed suit. Piper and Amy refused to let me or Jace go because they didn't want their children to lose their fathers. Haley and Thomas were both not in the shape to go. Angel just said she wanted to stay here with her husband. Cameron and Atticus went because they knew where to go, and wanted to do so because Atticus was in charge. "Alright, if you aren't back in two weeks, I'm going to come to look for you myself. Take the sleigh, it'll be faster. Sarah and Angel will make a new one while you're gone." No, I wasn't forcing Sarah or Angel to make another sleigh. They just said there were enough supplies for a second one. It would have to be pushed until they found something to make it move.

Once they packed and went to the hospital, I walked back to my room and began pacing the floors. There had to be a way someone could guard New Haven, like notifying everyone an attack was coming without hoping they all heard and making sure they did. There was one way to find out what would notify everyone, so I went to find Brianna. She sat in the living room on the couch, knitting a blanket, and smiled upon seeing me. "Hey, Jensen."