Page 15 of Last Light

Travis looks uncomfortable but not particularly blown away by whatever he sees down my shirt.

“Sorry.” I try not to be embarrassed. I like to think of myself as a mature, no-nonsense person, but I can still feel my cheeks flushing slightly. “I can’t stop sweating.”

“Yeah. Me too.” He lifts the bottom of his T-shirt and wipes his wet face with it.

I’d like to do the same, but the amount of skin it would expose would probably cause Travis to leap out of the car and run for the hills.

I giggle at the mental image. I can’t remember the last time I’ve done that.

He shoots a quick look at me.

“Sorry.” I giggle again.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” I cover my mouth with my hand in an attempt to hold back the laughter, but it doesn’t work.

“What the hell? You havin’ hysterics or something?”

“Maybe.” I choke back another laugh. “Sorry. Just thought of something funny.”

He starts the engine and begins driving. After a minute, he asks, “You gonna share what’s so funny?”

My lips part slightly. Does he really want to hear what made me laugh? He obviously doesn’t know how to smile, so what’s he going to do with the information?

I shake my head. “Better not.”

That might be a bit awkward since I’d been laughing at him.

***

AN HOUR LATER, WE RUNinto problems.

Several communities along this road haven’t left or abandoned their towns. And, quite understandably, they don’t want strangers driving through their protective perimeter. They’ve set up roadblocks and won’t let us through.

They’re decent people, just like Travis and me. They’re trying to stay safe and live their lives in the best way they can. We don’t argue or try to convince them to change their minds about letting us through.

But it means we have to go off-road for more than thirty miles to get around them.

One guard we talk to tells us about an old mountain trail that runs through the woods and will eventually take us back to our route, beyond all the roadblocks. After searching for almost an hour, Travis and I eventually find the trail. It’s rough going, covered with dead branches and curving tightly up and down mountains. It’s a hell of a lot slower than the road, and I don’t even want to think about how much gas we’re using.

We’re only halfway down the trail when it starts to get dark.

There are no houses around. No structures of any kind. Nothing but the half-dead woods that surround us.

“We’re gonna have to camp,” Travis says at last.

I’ve already come to the same conclusion. “That’s okay.” I swallow. “You think we’ll be safe?”

“Think so. Not a soul around. Can’t imagine anyone else’ll be coming through here.”

He keeps driving for a few minutes until we find a good spot, level and with easy access to the creek that’s been running alongside the trail.

After he parks, we both get busy.

He digs a hole and builds a small campfire in it. I check the water in the creek, and it’s cleaner than anything I’ve found in a long time. I fill up the one big pot in our supplies and start to boil the water over the fire—as extra step to make sure we don’t get sick from any bacteria lurking. Once it’s boiled and cooled, we can fill up all our empty water bottles. While it’s boiling, I open a can of baked beans and pour it into the one smaller pot we have.

We warm up the beans and eat them with venison jerky. I drink two bottles of water, one right after another, and Travis does the same. Since we’ll have water to fill them up afterwards, it’s an indulgence we can afford.

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