The raiding party never came back two days ago. The three people who went to look for them yesterday haven't returned either. You can taste the fear in the air now, and it's not all coming from us prisoners. When seven people in power just disappear, the rest of the powerful people start to get nervous, too.
Ed is edgy and told me not to come here tonight. I did anyway, and personally, I think that shocked him into speechlessness. I even managed to snag Daniel on my way out the door. I haven't been this alone, with my own son, in weeks. He's coming with me tomorrow, come hell or high water.
Olivia's trying to engage Daniel in a game of cards, but he's really not into it. He's quiet, not the same exuberant 10 year old he was before this started. He'll still carry on about the frogs and turtles (and snakes, ew), but it's lacking the enthusiasm he had at the beginning. It's obvious that the adults' moods are affecting everybody, even though a great effort has been made at keeping things as normal as possible under the circumstances. Children aren't stupid, they know when something is happening, and they know it's serious, even if they don't know the particulars.
Tonight, Olivia is ... scarey. I don't know how else to describe it. She seems very satisfied, almost smug, and even though she was out with the wood crew on Tuesday and yesterday, I can't help but feel she knows something about the disappearances.
Playing cards with Daniel, she looks like she always has - Aunt Ollie, Jess's wife, off-beat city gal. But when I first stepped into her camper, towing Daniel behind me, she looked like a stranger, and not a friendly one, either.
