Page 117 of Last Light

Maybe I’d be better off with Anna, heading into West Virginia, joining up with Maria.

Maybe that’s the only place I can belong now.

We make pretty good time and don’t run across any trouble during the morning except a wide expanse of swampy ground. Our wheels will sink and get stuck if we try to drive through it, so we’re forced to go out of our way to get around.

We stop at around noon to eat, rest, and go to the bathroom. Anna, Maisey, and Jenna are thrilled by the tuna and crackers we share with them. I throw a stick for the dog, and Mack goes off on his own to scout ahead. Travis paces with his gun propped against his shoulder.

He’s on guard. I know that, and I can hardly resent the fact that he wants to keep us safe.

But he feels very far away from me now.

Mack doesn’t return for almost thirty minutes, and I know immediately that something is wrong.

He calls us over. Anna and I exchange glances as we hurry over after Travis.

“Let me show you on the map,” Mack says, spreading out a map on the hood of the pickup. He’s got a larger map of Kentucky than the pages that Travis and I have been using. He points at a spot near Fort Knox. “We’re here. The caravan with the Meadows folks will be taking this route here.” He traces a line with his finger. “They’ll be going real slow since they got a few hundred people to move. We’re aiming to meet up with ’em around here.”

I lean over to look, absently holding on to Travis’s arm as I do. He adjusts slightly so I can see better. His attention is focused on Mack.

The other man runs his finger over a section of the map. “So we need to get through this valley right here to intersect their route.”

“That doesn’t look too far,” Anna says.

“It’s not. But I just checked it out. And there’s a big group camped out in that valley.”

“The drove?” Anna’s green eyes are wide now.

“Not the whole thing. About a hundred and fifty of ’em. But some of them had the sign of the wolf, so they must be an advance group or something. They’re acting like a drove. Real ugly. And they’re camped out in the middle of the valley we need to cross.”

“Shit,” Travis mutters.

“Can’t we go around them?” I ask.

“Not with the interstate right here and the river on the other side. We’d have to go days out of our way to find a safe crossing in either direction. We need to get through right here.”

“Maybe we can wait for the group to move on. Won’t they be heading for the fort?” I’m trying to be hopeful, but the expression on Travis’s face is bleak. It’s not encouraging.

“I’m sure they already know it’s been evacuated, and there won’t be much there to scavenge. Looks like they’re just waiting for the rest of the group. Don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon.” Mack is shaking his head, his eyes on me. I like the man a lot. He looks at me like an equal. Like an intelligent human being. Not as a helpless, brainless appendage like a lot of men do. “I think they must’ve just raided somewhere along the way, and they’re hanging out, eating and drinking and partying until the rest of the drove catches up.”

“How spread out are they in the valley?” Travis asks, leaning over to peer more closely at the map. “Can we get by on the edges without ’em seeing us?”

“They’re right in the middle, but there’s a clear view all the way around. There’s a thin row of trees along here, but not enough for us to hide in.”

“Unless we cross at night,” Travis says.

Mack nods. “Yep. That’s what I was thinking too. It’ll have to be night. Only way.”

My stomach clenches at that conclusion.

You never travel at night. Everyone knows it.

All the worst things happen to you at night.

And you can never see them coming.

Travis meets my eyes. “You up for it, Layne?”

I nod. “Yes. I’ll do it.”

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