“Jesus, dad,” I said.
Eva was making her way through the room, shaking hands and giving out smiles. I hated that I spotted her in the massive crowd.
“Did Eva get a vote?” I asked.
My dad pressed his lips together. “Why does that matter?” He lowered his voice. “It was unanimous. We’re going through with the plans. It’s to keep everyone safe. To keep you safe. I thought I lost you once already, I’m not going to let that happen again.”
“Let’s go home,” Leah said pulling on my arm.
My shoulders fell with my slow exhale. I didn’t take in a full breath of air until I was back inside my cabin with the door locked.
Leah didn’t say anything. But after my dad left us, she hugged me. I instantly knew she was nervous.
I leaned back, looking into her eyes. “Are the bags packed?”
18
Stevie
The next few days went by like any other day, except Shawn avoided me almost completely. He hadn’t come back to our room.
Gage noticed. They all probably could feel the tension.
“Trouble in paradise?” Gage asked one morning when no one was else was around. He was on watch but didn’t seem even a little tired.
“Paradise doesn’t exist.”
“Ouch,” Gage said squinting one eye.
I let out a heavy sigh and blinked repeatedly. “Look around. This isn’t paradise. It’s nowhere near here.”
“Yeah, well, he really likes you so it’s a bit weird,” Gage said.
My blinking stopped and I stared at him.
“Right. Okay. Sorry, I’ll mind my own business,” Gage said holding up his hands. “But if you do want to talk about it—”
“I don’t,” I said sucking in a quick breath when someone banged a fist against the front door. My eyes narrowed as they met Gage’s.
Concern filled his eyes and wrinkled his brow. He grabbed the shotgun and stood at my side as I peered out between the curtains.
“It’s them,” I whispered.
“Who’s them?” Gage whispered back.
“Henry and Clara. The ones who came to rescue us,” I said before yanking open the door. “You’re back already?”
Maybe the base wasn’t as far off as they initially thought. After all, they had come from the east and said they’d gotten a bit off course as they searched for survivors.
I wasn’t met with smiles. Clara kept her eyes down. Something was wrong. Not only could I see it… I could feel it too.
“We need to talk,” Henry said flatly. “May we enter?”
I stepped to the side. “Sure. Where’s Winter and Becki?”
“That’s what we need to talk to you about,” Henry said. Henry always seemed to do most of the talking. The few times Clara had spoken, Henry stared at her. “There has been an accident.”
“What kind of accident?” I asked feeling a chill move through my body.
“It was a crazy freak accident,” Henry said. “One of the girls slipped and fell into the river. The other went after her. There wasn’t anything Clara or I could do for them. The waters were raging and flowing so quickly.”
Clara pressed her lips together, barely flicking me a glance. “They were pulled away from us. I tried but… they were pulled under.”
“Holy crap,” Gage said.
“We ran along with the water. Clara screamed their names for hours,” Henry said.
“Maybe they’re still out there,” Gage said locking his eyes with mine. I knew what he was thinking. He wanted to see if there was anything we could do.
Henry twisted his fingers together. “I’m afraid they didn’t survive. We came upon their bodies in some brush. Neither was breathing.”
“White as ghosts,” Clara said. She looked up for a second. “Sorry. My condolences. They seemed like very sweet girls.”
Lucy couldn’t hold back her cries from around the corner. Seconds later, her feet pounded the floor as she bolted through the living room and up the stairs.
“Sorry,” Henry mouthed. He cleared his throat. “With how quickly the water is moving, I think we should get moving with the next group as soon as possible.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“Very serious.” Henry pressed his palms together and laced his fingers. “The longer we wait, the harder it will be to pass. We’re going to have to take a longer route now due to this section being impassable.”
My mouth dried. I couldn’t send another pair of people out there if things were so dangerous. It would be irresponsible.
“No drawing straws this time,” I said. “I’ll go. If this isn’t safe, I’m not going to send my people out there.”
“Stevie,” Gage said lightly touching my arm. “You need to be here.”
I shook my head. “You and Shawn can manage while I’m gone.” I looked at Henry. “I will come back here. Hopefully, that won’t be a problem.”
“Not a problem at all. The more people that know the route, the better,” Henry said. “Maybe we’ll be able to work twice as fast. But of course, we’ll still want two. Who will join you?”
“I’ll go,” Shawn said from the top of the stairs.
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me was glad it was Shawn that would join me but the other part of me wanted him to stay behind and watch the others.
Shawn should stay with Gage to help keep everyone safe… to keep each other safe.
“Perfect,” Henry said. “We’ll leave in the morning.”
“You don’t want more rest than that?” I asked.
“We don’t need it,” Henry said. “We’re used to this life. Right, Clara?”
She didn’t bother to look up. Clara simply offered a nod with a tight-lipped grin.
“Should be
