have been too optimistic for them to think they could travel thirty miles in a day on foot
Elleny nodded. “Scarlet wouldn’t do that. They’ll be back in the morning.” She took a small bite of mashed potatoes.
“Exactly,” I said.
Ashley nodded. “Maybe they’ll send Cooper back tonight to tell us. He can make it back faster than the rest of them.”
“Maybe,” Miranda said. “But don’t freak out if he doesn’t. Let’s not worry until we have something to worry about.”
Miranda’s voice was calm, but the look she shot me said that she was only trying to help me keep the others calm. She didn’t know if they would come back any more than we did.
Just as I took my first bite, the power went out. Zoe and Elleny screamed.
“Sssh!” I said. “We knew this was going to happen eventually, don’t panic. Everyone sit tight.”
I felt my way over to the cabinets and reached under the sink, grabbing two flashlights. I turned on one, and handed the other to Miranda.
“I’ll get candles,” she said. “Come with me, Elleny.”
Ashley sat at the table with Zoe, holding her hand. I smiled at them. “This is no different than any other night. We always sleep with the lights out.”
“But if we needed to turn them on, we could,” Zoe said, shaken.
Ashley hugged Zoe to her side. “Don’t worry. I’m right here with you.”
“I’m here with you, too,” Zoe said, patting Ashley’s hand.
Scarlet
“IN HERE!” I SAID TO Joey and Bryce, holding open the door. Cooper had led us to the house they’d stayed in before. It was already boarded up, and, according to the boys, was only a few houses away from another house full of guns and ammo.
Bryce and Joey had attracted the attention of a large group of teds to divert them away from the house, and then backtracked. Once they were inside, I tried to flip on the light. Nothing.
“Power’s out?” Joey asked. He slipped off his pack and pulled out a small flashlight. “There’s candles under the sink, but I don’t have any matches.”
“I do,” I said, unzipping my pack.
We all sat on the floor in a circle, sipping our water and breathing hard. By the time we’d reached Shallot, we only had an hour to work with before we would need to head back. Shallot was so overrun, we all lost track of time, and then it was too late to even think about going home. We cleared until nearly dark, and even then we still had more than half to eliminate.
Joey didn’t rest long before he stood up again. “I’m going to go check the windows and doors. Make sure all of our boards are holding up, and see if we still have a second exit.”
Bryce rolled his eyes, and when Joey was out of sight, he grumbled under his breath. “G.I. Joe to the rescue.”
“Hey,” I said, taking a sip of water. “He saved our asses more than once today. Be nice.”
Bryce rested his arms across the tops of his knees, unhappy.
“Uh . . . guys . . . ?” Joey said, walking into the room with his hands up. With only the candles to light the room, I could only make out Joey and the end of the rifle that was against his head.
Cooper, Bryce, and I all stood up quickly, pulling our guns. Joey stood in front of the man holding him hostage.
“Didn’t your mothers teach you not to walk into someone’s house without knocking?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We’ll leave.”
“How did you get here?” he asked. “A car?”
“No, we walked,” I said. “We’re sorry. Just please let us leave.” I lowered my weapon. “See? We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“Too late for that,” the man said. Joey closed his eyes tight, but nothing happened. I grabbed my flashlight, and shined it in the man’s eyes. He recoiled from the light. His hair was shaggy, his nails and fingers black with dirt, and his camouflage overalls and coat were stained with blood. He towered over Joey, and I wondered if we had a chance if we all charged him at once.
“Skeeter?” Bryce said.
The man struggled against the beam of my flashlight to see who called his name. “Who’s that?”
“It’s me, Bryce! Coop’s here, too! I can’t believe you made it!”
I lifted the flashlight so the light bounced off the ceiling and cast a dim glow over the entire room. Skeeter pulled his gun away from Joey and shook Bryce’s and then Cooper’s hands.
“Holy hell, boys!” Skeeter said, pulling his hat off his head.
“What are you doing here?” Cooper said, a wide grin on his face.
I was completely confused. Bryce and Cooper seemed to know this man, but Joey didn’t.
“Skeeter McGee, nice to meet ya,” he said, shaking Joey’s hand. “Sorry ’bout that. I’ve had some run-ins with some assholes. You know how it is.”
Joey shook his hand, bewildered.
“I knew the girls’ old man’s place was out this way. I thought I’d try to catch up to y’all, but I got stuck here. This place is crawlin’ with creepers!”
“Creepers,” Cooper said with a chuckle. “I like that.”
“No,” I said. “It’s ted. Zoe wouldn’t like it if we changed it.”
Skeeter’s face fell, and turned white. “What’d you say?”
I glanced around the room. No one else seemed to know why his mood had suddenly changed, either, and I worried the boys didn’t know him as well as they thought. Whether the boys knew this man or not, we needed to protect everyone we left at home. “We just made a group decision on what to call those things. It’s pretty silly, actually . . .”
“No, ma’am. You just said Zoe. Like little Zoe, ’bout yay high. Light brown hair?” he asked, karate chopping his chin to show the length.
“How do you know Zoe?” I said, instantly suspicious.
Skeeter ran over to me. “She’s my niece. You’ve seen her? Where is she? Is she with her dad?”
“Your niece?” I said, wondering why Nathan had never said anything about a brother.
“Aubrey is my sister. Nathan’s wife. Have you seen them?”
“Yes, we’ve seen them,” Bryce said. “They’re at Red Hill Ranch. They’re safe.”
Skeeter laughed once, and then stumbled backward, falling onto the couch. “Oh, thank God,” he said, flattening the palm of his hand against the side of his face. After a moment, he covered his face in his hands, bent at the waist, and then the big, burly man began to cry.
We all traded glances, unsure of what to do. The one thing I was sure of was that as of that moment, there were ten of us.
“Skeeter?” I said. I touched his shoulder. “Skeeter. We’re heading out tomorrow after we clear. You’re welcome to come with us.”
“Clear?”
“Yes. My daughters are meeting me at Red Hill, and we’re making sure they don’t run into trouble.”
He nodded. “Then I’ll help you.”
• • •
THE NEXT DAY WAS HOTTER than the day before. Two hours after sunrise, and it was already muggy. The hairs falling down from my bun were sticking to the back of my neck, and the waves of heat were dancing just above the asphalt. I didn’t think it was possible, but the rising temperature made the pungent smell baked into our clothes waft into the air and blend to form a potpourri of rotten food and bad breath. I could barely stand to smell myself, so I tried to keep my distance from everyone else.
