Page 61 of Last Light

“No,” I say at last. “Thank you. I really... appreciate you. All of you.” I look around at the others, all of whom are watching. “But I’ll stick with him. We’re from the same town. We’ve been doing all right so far.”

I like Maria even more when she accepts my decision without challenge. “All right then. Good luck to you. Where are you heading?”

“Fort Knox. Have you heard anything about it?”

“They say the military still has control of it, so it might be worth trying if you’re looking for sanctuary.” She frowns thoughtfully. “But you’re going to have to avoid the roads that way.”

“We’ve been staying away from the interstates and highways.” I’m still speaking. Travis hasn’t moved or said a word since I made my decision. “We know those are dangerous.”

“Not just the main routes. There are a few nasty groups between here and Fort Knox.”

“Droves?”

“Not big enough to call a drove. But big enough. Nasty.”

I glance at Travis, giving him a silent question. When he nods in wordless response, I pull out the piece of bloodied paper with the message on it and hand it to her.

She reads it, and I see her body go still as the words process. “Where did you get this?”

“Off a man who was almost dead. Shot. Back a long ways.”

“Fort Bragg falling is news to me. Bad news. You taking this to Fort Knox?”

“Yes. If we can.”

“I’ve heard of the wolf drove. They’re particularly bad. But they haven’t passed through this way yet, although they might take a more direct route since they follow the interstates.”

“We’re hoping we can beat them to Fort Knox.”

“I know some people who like to help. I’ll see if we can get some more people going with the message so it doesn’t all rest with you.” She doesn’t have to say it, but I know she’s calculating the chances of Travis and me making it there alive.

She nods in the direction we’ve been traveling. “You’ll be fine until you get to the next town that way. But after that, stay off the road. Ditch your vehicle if you have to. Just the two of you... No, you better stay off the roads.”

“Okay. Thanks. We will.” I look over at Travis, but he’s as frozen as ever. I hook my hand in his arm and move closer to him. “Thank you again.”

Maria nods and makes another gesture to the women. They all move to the road and start walking in the opposite direction as we’re traveling. Quickly. Silently.

Maria turns to look at me one more time before she leaves. “I hope your man is as good as you think.”

Travis and I stand where we are until all the women have disappeared.

Then I turn him to face me, fisting the gray fabric of his shirt in my hands. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Sure.”

“You look strange.”

He shakes his head like he’s dispelling a fog. “No. I’m fine. Just surprised. Why didn’t you go with ’em?”

“I didn’t want to.”

“Yes, you did. I saw your face. Part of you did.”

“But the rest of me didn’t. I’m going to stay with you.”

“Why?” The word is spoken in the same hoarse astonishment he used when he asked why I wanted to have sex with him.

I shrug, oddly self-conscious. “I don’t know. We’ve stuck it out so far, so it didn’t feel right to leave you now.”

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