Elle nodded and took a deep breath. I could imagine she felt similar to the way I did. We’d spend so long trying to get to Whitehorse, we were finally on our way.[156]
Jade glanced at me and looked at Elle as she handed her something wrapped[K157] in old, discolored paper and tied with string. “For when you get to your new home,” she said, her eyes gleaming.
“Aww, Jade . . .” Elle eyed the gift. “You didn’t have to do this.” She held it against her chest. “Thank you.”
Jade smiled and peered around at the rest of us. “I know, but I wanted to. It’s for all of you, so open it later when you get settled.”
“Thanks, Jade,” Jackson said, and he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
She patted his arm and walked overlooking at me. “My Sophie girl. I’ll sure miss you. It looks like I’ll have to rely on my dad to help me with the cooking again.” She grumbled the last part, but smiled as she took a step back. “You take care of yourself and make a list of all the wonderful things you can tell me about the next time I see you.” She wrapped her arms around me, and I couldn’t help but squeeze her back.
“I will,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.
She brushed the side of my cheek and looked at Alex, standing beside me. “Alex . . .” She rumpled his hair. “You’re so special, I hope you know that. You’ll keep an eye on my girl,” she said, pointing to me, “won’t you?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said.
“And you remember how to make the salve I showed you, right? You will need it with all that practicing. I feel it in my bones.” We hadn’t let Alex practice yet. He needed to funnel Elle’s power and mine if he wanted to try it and I wasn’t ready, and she definitely wasn’t.
He nodded. “Yes, and Sophie knows now too, in case I forget.”
“Good.” Jade smiled and squeezed his shoulders.
Took and Del shook Jackson and Alex’s hand, and they said their goodbyes to the kids. “Remember now,” Took said. “Those wolves will keep you safe. Keep ‘em close. You’re a young man now, you got your own pack to look out for.” He pointed to the five of us, and Beau nodded.
“I know.”
Thea cried when Jade gave her a hug and Elle tried to keep herself together. It was like saying goodbye to a second family, but I wouldn’t let myself cry. We would see them again in June. There was no reason to get sentimental, at least that’s what Jade had told me.
“All right you guys,” Jackson said. “We’ve got twelve more hours of daylight[SF158], let’s make ‘em count.” He shook Took and Del’s hands one last time. I helped the kids into the back seat of the 4-Runner as Alex climbed into the truck, looking at me one last time with a smile.
I rolled my eyes and climbed into the car with Elle.
Jackson came up to the window of the 4-Runner. “You’re good to drive?” he asked. It could’ve been because of her injured rib or because the last time she drove we had a detour.
“I’m fine,” she promised and patted my leg. “Sophie can drive if worse comes to worst.”
“Just let us know if you need to stop for any reason.”
Elle nodded. “You too.”
There was a silent exchange between them, and I knew exactly what it was. A chaste look that meant they finally stopped fighting everything that drew them together.
Jackson tapped the side of the car. “See you in six hundred miles.” He winked at her then climbed into the truck in front of us.
“Is everyone buckled in?” Elle asked wincing as she tried to turn back to look at Beau and Thea.
“Yes!” they said, Thea clutching her duck stuffed animal closer, and we started the car.
“Drive safely!” Del called, and when we looked back, the three of them were waving goodbye as we looped around toward the road, sadness filled their eyes.
“See you in the spring!” I shouted, waving out the window, and Elle honked the horn as they disappeared behind us.
“How many days until June,” Thea asked.
“A month[MOU159] or two,” I told them.
“How many days are there in a month?”
“A lot, now will you stop asking questions,” Beau grumbled.
When I looked at Elle, she was smiling, a glimmer in her eyes I hadn’t seen before. “Here we go,” she said.
I settled back in my seat. “Here we go.”
Chapter 56
Elle
It was twilight by the time we reached Whitehorse. We’d been on the road for nearly ten hours and had stopped only three times, which given there were six of us, wasn’t so bad, refueling only twice.
It was as a sprawling city but it was the mountains that surrounded it we were heading towards. I was content to leave the city behind. We’d learned a long time ago cities meant more people, which meant more danger, so, eagerly we continued south.
I knew Whitehorse was a place of deep-rooted, native Alaskan culture, and I wondered how many other remote villages and homesteads along the way hadn’t been infected by the outbreak, or even knew about it. It made me think about Jade, Del, and Took, and I hoped we really would see them in June. We had a long road ahead of us, no matter what awaited us at the lodge, and it would be nice to have familiar faces to look forward to seeing.
“Elle?” Alex’s voice came through the CB radio.
Sophie clicked it on for me and held it to my mouth. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“We’ll follow the Yukon River through the city,” Jackson said. “Keep to the highway. The fewer people that hear or see us coming, the better.”
“Got it.”
“We’re looking for signs for Midnight Sun Lodge, it should be about a half hour off of Klondike Highway.”
“Okay, we’ll keep our eyes out.”
“And Elle,” Jackson hedged, his voice grave. “Don’t stop for anyone, okay?”
I nodded, realizing he couldn’t see me. “I won’t.”
The radio went silent, and Sophie and I exchanged a look of growing uncertainty. We were outside a city with most likely a larger survival population to worry about. I would not take any chances.
Glancing back in the rearview mirror, I was glad to see the kids were asleep. I didn’t want to have to worry about what might happen or what they might see along the way.
“At least we’re almost there,” Sophie said. “I could use a nice leg stretch.”
“Tell me about it. My fingers are stuck like this.” I smiled and held up my hands, fingers bent like claws.
I followed Jackson down the highway. Snow covered the mountains surrounding the town, but the roads were clear enough. “What do you know about Jackson’s friend?” Sophie asked, kicking her foot up onto the dash. “I mean, other than they worked together?”
“I know nothing about Ross,” I admitted. “Other than he’s all Jackson has left from his life before, and he’s important to him.”
“He’s his wife’s brother,” she added. “They met when he and Hannah dated, Ross was something like a mentor after that.”
I glanced at her. “You saw, or he told you?”
Sophie dipped her head. “Jackson doesn’t talk to anyone about anything. I saw that. Don’t tell him I told you.”
“I don’t think he would mind that,” I said, but I didn’t know that for certain. We hadn’t talked about the rules, other than safety first and don’t hurt people on purpose until you were in danger.
“Well, anyway, I am a little nervous.” It had been just the six of us for so long. We were lucky to meet Jade and the others, but luck runs out, and we’d have to trust ourselves to strangers once more, and it was impossible to predict the outcome.
“Back in Slana . . . Do you remember what the intruder said outside the house?” Sophie asked, and I stiffened in place. I hadn’t realized she’d heard our conversation outside. “When I was at the window, he said he could smell your fear, that’s how he knew you were lying about how many people were in the house.”
“I remember,
” I told her. Just like I had remembered the sneer that engulfed his face right after.
“Do you think he was being serious?” she asked. “Like, that was his power. He could smell fear?”
“Yes, I do, but he can’t hurt us anymore, Soph—”
“I know, I just . . . I’ve been thinking about it.”
“Superheroes, good guys and bad guys,” I said. “I remember.”
“We can rely on one another now, and the stronger we get, the better off we’ll be. For now, we’ll just have to be careful and pay attention. Thea and Beau know not to practice until we know it’s safe.”
I hoped it was, for Jackson’s sake. He had a vision for this place and I wanted it to be everything he needed to find a semblance of peace.
“It’s his power,” Sophie said. “Knowing things. He has feelings he can’t explain, they’ve steered him the right way so far. We just have to look to him.”
It was a lot to carry, the fate of six people on one man’s shoulders. “We have to help him where we can,” I told her.
“We will.”
We sat in silence for the rest of the drive, taking in the dark roads that were lit only by our headlights. The sky was clear, and the world had a moonglow about it, even if we couldn’t stop to appreciate the stars.
The sign for Midnight Sun came into view. “Wake the kids up, would you?” I asked, eyes scanning the signs ahead.
Sophie twisted in her seat, half leaning in the back as she shook Beau awake. “We’re almost there. Don’t you want to see our new home?”
I glanced in the rearview mirror, just as Thea shook awake. “We’re here,” Beau told her, and she gripped her stuffed duck closer and stretched.
Her eyes blinked open languidly. “I’m tired,” she whined, and even though they’d been cooped up in the car all day, the week was tumultuous.
“You guys remember what we talked about, right?” I asked. It was imperative they remembered.
“No talking about powers,” Beau said.
“Or the wolves,” Thea added sleepily.
“And,” Sophie prompted, “we stick together[160] until we’re comfortable around our new friends, right?”
“Yeah,” they agreed in unison.
“If you see anything strange,” I warned, “tell me or Sophie or Jackson, okay?”
“What about Alex?” Thea asked.
“You can tell Alex too, but tell one of us.” I could tell my words were worrisome to her, but better Thea and Beau be overly cautious than not nearly cautious enough.
I followed Jackson down a muddy road and saw the lights on in the lodge before I could make out the building.
“They have power?” Sophie asked.
“Or generators, maybe.”
“That’s . . . nice.”
Or wasteful, but I kept that part to myself. I didn’t want to give the kids a bad taste in their mouths before they even met up with everyone. I was just scared, and I needed to remind myself that not everyone was evil outside the six of us. Jade, Took, and Del had proven that.
When we got further down the drive, two other vehicles were parked behind the building. A van and a lifted Chevrolet truck. Jackson pulled off to the side, and I followed next to him, nervous about what the next twenty-four hours would bring.
You are formidable. It was a necessary reminder. I wasn’t helpless; I hadn’t been for a long time even if I was still getting used to it.
I waited for the cue from Jackson, and when I got a hesitant thumbs up I shut off the engine. “All right.” I pushed the driver side door open. “We’re here, but remember the rules.”
The kids climbed out of the back seat.
“Put your jackets on,” Sophie told them, stretching her legs. With the sunset and heat of the car escaping, it felt like the arctic again. The lodge was huge compared to anywhere we’d stayed during the six months, and it was modern. There was a detached building a few yards away with four doors, which I assumed were suites.
Jackson and Alex stretched and groaned as they walked over to us, Jackson’s gaze shifting between us and the house. “It doesn’t feel wrong, but it doesn’t feel right,” he said without ceremony. I wondered how much of his reluctance had to do with his wife over the people that waited inside.
“I guess we’ll see,” I told him. “This place looks great.” There was land surrounding us, mountains and forests spreading as far as the eyes could see, and he wouldn’t have chosen it if it were too far away from a water source. It was large and sprawling, perfect for what we needed now. And for what it could be. I stretched out my neck, stiff from gripping both hands to the steering wheel.
“That was the longest car ride I’ve ever been on,” Thea said. “Haw, Beau? Mom and dad never took us anywhere far.”
But Beau was too busy peering around the property to answer. We were nestled in the forest; the wolves would have plenty area to hide.
“Are they here?” I asked him, wondering if they wouldn’t follow.
He shook his head. “Not yet, but soon, I think.”
“Good.” His connection to them increased daily, and I knew he wouldn’t settle in until they were. I’d feel better once they arrived too.
“Well, should we go look inside the house?” Alex asked, taking Thea’s hand.
The door flung open. “God damn, it’s been a long time.” A man’s voice boomed in the crisp night air, and he stepped off the porch with his arms wide and welcoming.
“Brother,” Jackson breathed, I could feel his relief like it floated in the air.
The two men embraced, and I took the famous Ross in as they patted each other on the back. Ross wasn’t as tall as Jackson, but he had broad shoulders and filled out his clothes just as well.
“I thought your ass would never get here,” he said with a final squeeze.
“You and me both, brother.” Jackson gestured to the five of us. “Meet the gang. Gang, this is my best friend, Ross.”
Ross’ smile widened, and he leaned forward and offered his hand to Thea first. “Well, little lady, my name’s Kyle Ross, you can all me, well, Kyle or Ross, I guess.”
“I’m Thea,” she said happily. “And this is my brother, Beau.” She pointed to Beau who eyed him carefully.
“Hey little dude. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m not that little,” Beau replied, and Ross chuckled.
“No, I guess you’re not are you.” He straightened and looked at Alex, offering him his hand.
“I’m Alex,” he said with a quick shake.
“I like it,” Ross said, peering down at their clasped hands. “Young and strong.” He clapped Alex on the shoulder and looked at Sophie, next in line.
“Sophie,” she said and waved a hello. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s good to see another ginger in the group,” he said, jokingly. “And a better lookin’ one, even than me.” He winked at her with a chuckle.
Then, Ross’ eyes met mine. They widened ever so slightly, but I wasn’t sure if it was in surprise, or if he knew what I could do. “And you must be Elle.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you.” I offered him my hand, and his grip was soft but strong. I could smell alcohol on him, and I wondered if his smiles were covering what the alcohol couldn’t.
“Jackson made it sound like he was palling around with a bunch of kids,” he added, in awe. “You guys look like warriors.”
“Sometimes,” I joked, glancing at Jackson. He eyed his friend with a smile.
“Well . . .” Ross put his hands on his hips and scanned all six of us. “Aren’t you a big happy family? You always wanted one of those, aye, Jackson?” He pat him on the back, and I saw instantly that Jackson’s easiness faltered.
“Jackson mentioned you have travel companions as well?” I prompted, eager to change the subject. Ross didn’t realize how hard the last six months had been for Jackson.
“Yep, that would be old Bert, he’s passed out on the couch. He’s a lush, just to forewarn you.”
Ross laughed. “That’s not a kid-friendly story,” he said, pointing to the back of the truck. “Best we save that one for another time, if you know what I mean. Should we get your things unloaded?”
“Why don’t you show us around the place, and we can figure out sleeping arrangements and where to put our things after.”
“Good point. Follow me.” Ross headed back into the house.
“So,” I said as we all trailed after him and Jackson into the lodge. “What is the situation here? You have electricity?” All the lights were on though I didn’t hear a generator anywhere inside. “Yeah, for now. And look at this place,” he said, gesturing to the large industrial kitchen as we stepped inside. That would be helpful, depending on how many people lived there. It was updated and modern with rustic-chic everything, exactly what I would expect to see in an upscale lodge for tourists, even if upscale was useless now.
“Don’t mind the mess,” he said, as our gazes swept around the dirtied kitchen. “Some of us are still celebrating that fact we finally got here.” He walked further into the house. Everything was clean lines and welcoming, warm tones with light wood and landscape photography lining the walls that made me envious to see a sunset like the images hanging.
“You got a community space here, and in there is another one,” he said, pointing to a formal living room and a game room or den. There were large vertical windows everywhere draped with gray linen.
“There are two bedrooms down here and two upstairs, and then there are a few in the adjacent building.” We made our way down the minimally decorated but wide hallways and looked into the narrow rooms, there were bathrooms all over the place.
“Do the bathrooms work?” Sophie asked exactly what I was thinking.
“Yes, for now anyway.” Ross pointed to a closed bedroom door. “I’m in one room down here, but the rest are open.”
The loft area was an office, with a large shaggy rug to cover the cold, dark hardwood.
“It’s big in here,” I mused, “plus the detached building.”
The Darkest Winter Page 30