Page 113 of Last Light

“Yes! Oh my God, Layne, I can’t believe it’s you. Who’s with you in there?”

Travis has turned to me, giving me a questioning frown.

“It’s Miss Jenson! My ninth grade English teacher. She was with the group who left from Meadows.” I call out the window. “Is there anyone else from Meadows out there?”

“No! It’s just four of us. Can you please let us inside?”

I have no more doubts about the people outside, so I run to the door. I do shoot a glance at Travis first, and he gives a reluctant nod.

I swing open the door and step out into the darkness.

Miss Jenson, the teacher who taught me to love poetry, runs over to hug me.

She’d just been teaching for two years when I was her student, so she’s only in her late twenties now. She’s medium height with curly auburn hair and a bright smile. I can see her smiling in the glow of the headlights.

There’s a man just behind her. He must be the one who was talking. He’s a big black man with broad shoulders and a shaved head, and he’s wearing Army fatigues. He’s got a gun still poised against his shoulder.

So does Travis when he steps out with the dog.

I roll my eyes at him. “Would you guys stop? No one means any harm here. You can put the guns down.”

“Who else is with you?” Travis asks, looking at the other man.

“Just me,” the man says. He nods at Miss Jenson. “Anna there. And we got two more women in the pickup. They’ll come out when you put down the gun.”

“Travis? Please?”

He meets my eyes and then finally lowers his shotgun.

The other man does too. He steps into the cabin, obviously making sure it’s empty. Then he gestures with his arm.

Two other women step out of the pickup.

“I’m Mack,” the man says. He doesn’t sound particularly friendly, but he doesn’t sound as hostile as he did before. “Guess you know Anna. That’s Maisey and Jenna back there.”

“Travis.” He steps over beside me, putting a hand on my back in a protective gesture. “This is Layne. And that’s the dog.”

“Travis Farrell?” Anna asks, turning to him. “I hardly recognized you.”

“Been a while.”

“Can we go inside now?” I ask. “I don’t like being out in the dark. Maybe we can share the cabin for the night.”

That seems like an agreeable plan to everyone, and we all crowd into the one small room.

Maisey and Jenna look like sisters. They’re in their thirties and don’t say much. They huddle together on the bed.

Mack is a handsome man and not nearly as intimidating as he seemed at first. He’s got dark, intelligent eyes and a low, pleasant voice when he’s not standing his ground.

“We use this cabin as a rest stop,” he explains after the rest of us sit down on the floor. “We got a kind of network. To keep people safe who want to make it to Fort Knox.”

“So that’s where you’re headin’ too?” Travis is sitting beside me, our backs to the wall, so close our thighs are touching.

Mack shakes his head. “We were just there. Trying to get away now.” His mouth twists. “Guess you wouldn’t know. Had to give up on Fort Knox.”

I gasp, and Travis stiffens beside me. “We had a message to give you about a drove comin’.”

“Yeah. We got the message.”

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