"So you think we should take our chances on the logging trail?" Megan asked.
"I do."
"He's right," Isaac said. "If we stick around, we're just target practice."
"Then what's our next move, Jack?" Jon asked. "Are we just going to walk out of here in broad daylight, knowing that lunatic is probably watching us as we speak?"
It was one of those times when I really wished someone else would have a brilliant idea instead of always relying on me to figure things out. But I already had an answer.
"We need to gather up anything useful that we want to take with us," I said. "We'll cram into as few of these buildings as we can tonight. Then, we'll leave before first light. Hopefully we'll get a good head start before the killer even knows we're gone. Just remember—no one goes anywhere alone or unarmed."
"Unarmed?" Melanie spoke up. "What should we carry, Jack? Pointy sticks?"
Rob put his arm around his wife and gave me an apologetic look.
She was right, though—we weren't exactly well-armed. "We'll have to do the best we can. Barricade the doors and windows. Sleep in shifts. Then, just before sunrise, we'll head out."
"And after that?" Jon asked.
"We take our chances on the logging trail."
"That didn't work out so well for Roger," Isaac said.
"We'll stick to the woods just off of the trail," I said. "One person stays close enough to see the trail. Everyone else stays deeper in the trees. If we're lucky, that should at least keep us from being such visible targets."
"And if we're not?" Jon asked.
I didn't say anything. I was pretty sure I didn't need to.
"Hey," Isaac said, looking around. "Shouldn't Steven have gotten back with Amelia by now?"
I cursed and bolted toward Amelia's building. A few seconds later I burst into the shack, but it was empty. It only had one room and a bathroom, and since I knew the two of them wouldn't be in the bathroom together, I didn't bother checking. I ran out and circled the outside.
Nothing.
I shouted their names.
Nothing.
For the next hour, we searched in pairs, never venturing more than a few yards into the surrounding forest. I took the area near the bodies so no one else would have to see them, but we didn't find any trace of Amelia or Steven. There was the possibility that Amelia had stormed off and Steven had followed until they'd both gotten hopelessly lost, but I wasn't willing to take a chance by going deeper into the woods. I hated the thought of leaving Steven out there, but my gut instinct told me he was already dead . . . and Amelia too.
Finally, I called everyone back. Everyone was freaking out over what had happened, but the best thing we could do for Steven, Amelia, and ourselves, was try to keep our senses about us as best we could. And that meant keeping ourselves nourished as best we could. I heated up the leftover meat from the previous night and passed it around. This was a far more subdued meal than before. We were all aware that there were extra portions, but none of us wanted to touch them.
Once we finished, we split up into the two sturdiest buildings and agreed to be ready to leave just before dawn. Six went one way, and the rest of us went the other. Rob and Melanie took first shift for my group, but it took a long time for Lilly and I to go to sleep. I wondered if it was taking Mom and Kieran just as long. They were going to take the middle-of-the-night shift, while Lilly and I would take the last one. We figured that would be better, so we'd have plenty of time to make sure Les was all ready to go when it came time to move out.
Burning Down the House
Start from the beginning
