*****
It was now the second week of the month in Z-city, and even though everything seemed peaceful there, it looks like there also seemed to be some sort of cold chilling silence and eerie tension spreading in the atmosphere, making it appear like the calm before the storm or something ominous like that.
Eden seemed to think that way as her whole being showed the same tension as she had seen or felt upon sensing it, and it looks like a few others are starting to notice or feel the same way as she does, which these specific people are only Ryu, Daiyu, and Mark. That's including Eden's loyal wolf-dog Luna, who kept sticking around by her side worriedly like its keen canine senses also felt the tension and the dog was very overprotective with its master and the children.
Fortunately, the others, even the kids haven't noticed the tension yet from their four guardians of the whole group, but it looks like it won't be long before they start noticing it, despite that the four of them are doing their best to hide it from them for protecting the kind of quiet peace they're content in feeling through since the last few days in Safe Haven.
But Eden and the three men should have known better than to get their hopes up so that the others won't find out what's going on with them, for something happened during one of the days that has gone on the second week, which almost caused alarm to the group, frightening them slightly, and had gotten the protectors on high red-alert when it did.
Luckily, it's not something terrifying or something horrifyingly unexpected that will catch them off-guard, but after that certain 'incident' of sorts, Eden and the three guys were being hyper-aware and on high alert since then. Mark had Homer working almost over time to get busy modifying, improvising, and fixing the security monitors and alarm devices to ensure the safety measures of their new home in Safe Haven.
Ryu and Daiyu started to intensify more of the fighting lessons and training with Eden, and despite that the two men are tiring the poor woman to the point of over-exhaustion, the lone survivor of Z-city continued to endure through it and was determined to learn and know everything from the two expert martial-arts fighters to be a better fighter and survivor for her two children and the group.
Sahara and Nadia were trying their best to not show their anxiety and nervousness to their little ones after the small incident that happened before, and Talia is also doing her best to not show the fretful expressions on her very being upon caring and looking after the kids, as well as the two old women she's also doting on and caring for.
The six children and Homer were the only ones not aware or concerned at all as they were unaware and oblivious to what happened in the incident before because they were left out of it by their protective guardians. But then Homer became aware of it already when Mark got him alongside working too much on fixing up the alarm devices and getting busy onto them swiftly so that the security measures will be increased into better use.
The two elderly women, Talia, and the growing puppy dog Archer did a good job of distracting the children from any other worries in case they might notice it sooner than later. But it looks like the others weren't getting too concerned or worried too much over the incident as they try to relax more throughout the next days as time passes.
It was exactly four days later that has gone on the second week as that time passed by, and Eden had just finished another round of sparring and training with Ryu and Daiyu, as she went downstairs, twisting around her shoulders slightly like she was trying to relax her bruised numbing being or removing some kinks inside her body.
Eden glanced around and about when she slowly went downstairs and inside Safe Haven, and saw that Mark and Homer are working busily on the devices, the children were being looked after by Talia, Mother Ying, and Ole Bessie, and finally, Sahara and Nadia were busy cooking for their dinner later on as it is the late afternoon, nearing sundown that day. Ryu and Daiyu were following down right behind Eden and she moved aside to let the two men pass as they went straight to check on their young child and little brother Haru, then Eden went to her room to rest for a moment there until they were all called to gather for dinner later on.
When Eden made it and got to the bed, before her very being radiated with exhaustion from the bruised hits and numbing strikes she suffered through the two men's training and such, she laid her whole body on the bed over the blankets and looked up the ceiling silently for a minute or two, before she reached out one of her arms to where she hid the journal and took it out. She went on to write a new entry to update what has happened and explain more about the incident that went on before.
Eden didn't mind that the only companion she was within the room, is Luna her loyal dog when it comfortably laid down beside her after it followed her master when she came down from the rooftop after finishing training with Ryu and Daiyu. The female dog just watched its master as Eden went to write in the journal.
*****
JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY UNKNOWN, 10TH MONTH OCTOBER, YEAR 2XXX
Hey, it's Eden again.
Ever hear of the saying that goes 'the calm before the storm'?
Sometimes, I wish that I never heard of it as well as knowing its meaning, despite that, I might be overthinking it and went overly paranoid about it.
Truthfully, nothing much has happened in a bad or worse way, but then after the 'incident' that went on the previous two days of the second week of the month, I went on full-on red alert and rd hyper-aware, looking out for any other dangers or threats that might happen.
Even though the previous incident was only minor before, I knew better than to lower my guard and have to be on high alert about it because I have new people to worry about and be concerned, about even more, even though there are additional guards among the men, specifically to Ryu and Daiyu.
Though there are potential fighters and guardians among the group, who are Mark, Homer, Talia, and Sahara, it's still not enough to protect our whole group something even worse happens next and it will endanger the lives of all of us if we don't do something about it and increase the safety and security measures in Safe Haven.
Anyway, I'm rambling on. Here's what happened in the small incident before, but it will bring more preparations and planned precautions that needed to be made because of it.
Two days ago, that were the first days of the new second week of the month, there in Safe Haven, we were all gathered together merrily, eating lunch and praising the cooks who made the grand meals, who were Talia, Mother Ying, and Ole Bessie. The three women made a combination of delicious meals from each of their cultures of American, African, and Asian cuisine.
And we all enjoyed it leisurely upon eating them while I tried to stop myself from stuffing my whole mouth with each of the three kinds of meals, almost making myself look like a big silly chipmunk upon trying to bask in the delicious taste of them all.
Just as all of us were enjoying our time eating together while chatting a bit of small talk between each of us, that's when the incident happened that got me and the other two specific protectors and guardians of the group on sudden high alert over it.
I was the one who noticed it first and I instantly tensed and looked readily prepared to leap off from my seat and grab for my weapon, but I waited for a moment as I stared with fierce focus, watching straightly at the homemade modified intruder alarm I set up that will alert me of any threat or danger that comes to Safe Haven.
Besides the ringing small bells or noisy rattling string soda cans that I set up in places where intruders will break into Safe Haven and might miss the lethal fatal-kind of traps that I fixed up outside and inside around our safe secure home, I also invented and set up small fans that will alert me when the trigger wires got tripped or pulled upon the strings and it will whirl the fans, showing me the kind of intruder alarm that's breaking inside our safe place.
It started with one small turning whirl from the fan when I first noticed it, and then two more whirling turns happened next as I stared at the intruder 'fan' alarm intently. Then the next few seconds as Ryu and Daiyu finally noticed my tenseness and turned around to see what I'm gazing at, the fan suddenly twirled at very fast turning speeds, and I instantly leaped up from the chair without warning and took the others by surprise and I ran swiftly, grabbing one of my favored weapons, a crossbow and went dashing straight to the spot where the fan alarm has been tripped.
Ryu and Daiyu snapped out of their sudden surprise from my sudden actions and reacted by following right behind me, also grabbing weapons with Ryu taking a katana sword-blade that he greatly favors wielding, and Daiyu took one of the double-bladed homemade spears that he had a keen interest upon using it always.
They came right on time and readied their weapons when they found me slowly going down a flight of stairs into a dark room below where I placed the intruder alarm on there and I was fully on guard and ready to shoot with the crossbow in position to anything that's going to come at me lurking in the shadows.
When there was a sudden movement that caught my eyes, I reacted in record time and shot rapidly with three arrow bolts at the moving target and on the second shot, it struck true with a faint cry of pain that I heard with my keen senses before the third one followed, instantly killing it out of its dying misery. I made a gesture to the two men behind me that I have been aware of them when they stood guard at my back, telling them to stand down and back for a moment while I go forward bravely to check on it and see what was the intruder.
It was a few tense seconds later that I came back to Ryu and Daiyu and showed them what I had killed, as it turns out the intruder is another annoying rodent that barged and broke into Safe Haven, scurrying about for any food it could munch on. I told Ryu and Daiyu of a few irritating rodent-type intruders that broke into our secure place usually a few times since I set up the traps, but I also warned them that the intruder alarms are still set up in their usual places because I believed that something bigger and more dangerous than annoying rodents will break in and harm the residents living inside Safe Haven.
Ryu and Daiyu heeded my warning and the two men went upstairs to tell the others about the false alarm while I went off to throw away the dead rodent I killed into the trash, instead of storing it as food since I studied the animal intruder closely and discovered that it has rabies, so it's unsuitable to keep it for food.
After I was done and finished throwing it away, the dead thing tied up in a plastic bag and thrown far away from my long-throwing skill, I returned upstairs and went back to the others, and Ryu and Daiyu told me that they reassured the others about the incident but they're asking me about what's going to be done about the alarms and traps in case they might miss another possible intruder or threat that might break into Safe Haven next time.
I reassured and comforted the two men that Mark and Homer will be working on it, and Mark agreed when he came to join in our private conversation and listen in, and he promised that he and Homer will get busy working on and fixing the devices so that I and the other two protectors won't have any problems on being fully alerted of any other dangers if it might come to our safe house and so on in the future.
And that's what happened and all there is to it. Hopefully, there won't be any more worries or concerns next time in the future, but I know very well and better that I shouldn't let my guard down and be prepared for anything that's going to happen next, and will be brave to face it on when it does.
Hopefully, Mark and Homer will be able to make it on time in improvising our devices, monitors, and alarms to newly increase our security measures here in Safe Haven. By the next update on the new entry for this journal, it will be about the progress about it or something else that might happen, and I pray that it won't be something bad or anything worse that will endanger my group here.
Until the next time then, this is Eden signing off.
*****
After Eden finished writing the new entry into the journal, she hid it away, stretched her arms up a bit before she settles comfortably lying down on the bed, and takes a nap for a short time. It didn't take long until she was woken up abruptly by her two kids Michael and Annie when they went to rouse her from her little slumber as they were being gathered and called for dinner when two of their group were done cooking and preparing it for them.
Eden smiled at her children in thanks for waking her up and slowly got up to join them with the two kids instantly dashing off to sit with their friends and Eden followed behind them right after, coming to the gathering of their entire group and sitting next to Sahara who wanted her beside her seat.
Eden offered to do the respectful prayers and they let her, and after that, they went on eating a fulfilling nutritious dinner before cleaning up, washing, and then settling themselves into their rooms to get to bed. For the night-watch duties, Eden didn't mind when Ryu and Daiyu volunteered to do them as usual since they already settled and agreed on a fixed schedule they made upon switching duties and such.
Eden nodded and greeted them good night but when she turned around to get to her room with her two kids and dogs, she doesn't seem to be aware that Ryu was staring behind her with a distant thoughtful look on his face and Daiyu was looking at his brother weirdly upon noticing it.
As Eden got into the room, tucked her little children onto the bed, and read them a short story to put them to sleep, she watched her kids for a silent moment when they fell instantly asleep from reading half a story. Archer joined into sleep between the two kids as usual and Luna stayed in her position right beside Eden as she relaxed back in a seated upright position on the bed, looking deep in a faraway gaze like she was thinking of something deeper.
It seems that Eden is thinking and wondering about something on how to deal with it, as well as hoping and praying that nothing bad or something worse is going to happen in the next few days in the future.
*****
*****