Regan laughed. “You have a very good point. I think it is safe to say that none of us are gourmet cooks. Before any of this, I was lucky if I could boil water.”
Fred muttered something unintelligible.
“It is a good point, Dad. She is a great cook. And this could be good for her. She’s felt isolated here by herself. She’s been working hard to keep herself and Travis safe, but it’s clearly been difficult on her. After all this, I really think we owe it to her,” Wolf suggested.
Fred sighed, but Regan watched as he accepted the change to the group. “Fine,” he muttered.
“Then it’s settled,” Wolf said, clapping his hands together.
Geno shrugged, clearly not willing to put up any more of a fight.
“So, now what?” Regan asked.
Wolf opened his mouth to answer, but stopped when Tabitha and Heather came out of the house together. Regan looked back at them, happy to see Tabitha being friendly, the earlier slight already forgotten. It was one of the many reasons Regan liked Tabitha. She was such a kind, easygoing person, she could get along with the grumpiest person in the world.
“Hey,” Tabitha greeted everyone, giving her husband a stern look.
“Hi,” Regan replied, smiling at them both.
“What are you all talking about?” Tabitha asked.
“Our next move,” Wolf replied.
Heather nodded, pursing her lips. “I forgot to ask earlier—did you find someone to sell the boat to?”
Wolf shook his head. “Not yet, but Dad got a couple leads. We’ll get what we can out of it, or if not, we’ll leave it behind. We don’t need it where we’re going.”
“What about the van? Did you check it out?” Regan asked.
“It runs great,” Geno said, grinning proudly.
“We’ll need to start loading it, preferably there and not out front here. It will draw too much attention,” Wolf said.
“Is it safe to load it ahead of time, with no one watching it?” Heather asked.
“It’s been sitting in the same spot for weeks and no one has bothered it,” Wolf reasoned.
“But now there’s this new sheriff in town,” Tabitha pointed out.
Geno moved to stand by his wife. “I think we need to have someone guarding the van if we’re going to be filling it with supplies.”
“Fair enough,” Wolf said, nodding his head.
Fred sighed. “How are we going to get supplies to the van without drawing attention?”
Wolf shrugged. “We do it at night or take a little at a time. There are enough of us that we could carry a bag or a box here and there without drawing undue attention.”
“When do you want to leave?” Heather asked.
“Soon. Within a day or two. As soon as we can get our supplies moved over there. I don’t want to stay here a day longer than we have to. I don’t know who this Damien is, but he can’t be good. Sticking around isn’t a good idea now that we have a plan,” Wolf stated.
Regan lifted her now shoulder-length hair off her neck, letting the breeze wash over her as she thought about the journey to come. Clearly, tonight would be a day to plan since the sun was already setting in the sky, casting the area in a soft, orange glow and dipping the temperature a little more. Tomorrow, the work would begin.
“We should head in and get some sleep. I want to get up with the sun and take over the first load of supplies,” Wolf said.
“I’ll try and get some things put together tonight to make the packing and loading easier,” Heather volunteered.
“I’ll help,” Tabitha offered.
Regan nodded at Wolf and followed him inside. The others joined them shortly after. Lily and Travis were still at the table chatting away like they hadn’t seen each other in years, which made Regan smile. It was good to see Lily acting like a kid again. She hoped the rest of the group could be patient with whatever problems arose with Heather, for Lily’s sake if for no other reason. Having Travis alongside her was important to Lily. They could all deal with a little irritation if it kept her happy.
Sending a signal to the teens that it was time to wind things down, Heather and Tabitha started pulling out the blankets and pillows for everyone. Regan soon took over making the beds while Heather and Tabitha grabbed some garbage bags and headed for the bedroom to start packing items, taking advantage of what little sunlight still leaked through the windows.
With the house darkening, it wasn’t long before everyone was ready to turn in for the night. Regan settled in next to Wolf. Thinking about the discomfort of sleeping on the floor even as she lay down, she realized it could be their last night in the house. And while she didn’t know what was coming next, she determined that she’d appreciate this hard floor tonight, at least, knowing there were many far more uncomfortable nights in front of her.
3
The sun was already high in the sky when Wolf began walking back to Heather’s house after his long morning in town. He had taken a circuitous route away from her house, making lots of circles and even passing her house on one occasion, and he did the same when he returned, watching his back to make sure he wasn’t being followed. He wore his backpack, now filled with the supplies he’d managed to trade the sailboat for, along with the Smith and Wesson 380 he’d practically had to beg the man to get. It wasn’t as powerful as the nine he’d attempted to trade for, but it was better than nothing at all. His haul was nowhere near what the boat would have been worth in a monetary sense, of course, but the gun, paracord, and three new tarps he’d gotten were far more valuable than money.
In his hand, he carried a simple plastic grocery bag with what look liked dirty laundry— and, technically, it was, but more to the point, it was actually a few shirts for Lily. They’d need to be washed, but he hoped the shirts would brighten her day. What teen girl didn’t like new clothes?
He knew the decision to bring Travis and his mom with them had really made her happy. It was the first time he’d seen her truly happy since he’d returned from the swamp all those weeks ago, in fact. And maybe this would be a new start for them. She had been pushing back against his relationship with Regan, though he wasn’t sure why, but having Travis and Heather nearby might be the change she needed. Wolf knew Lily’s displeasure over his relationship was straining things between him and Regan. Regan kept quiet about it, but it bothered her.
Hopefully, all of that could be put behind them. Maybe this was the silver lining he’d been trying to find since the night the island had burned, when years of his blood, sweat, and tears had gone up in flames in front of his eyes. This was their chance to start fresh, and build their own home in a new place together—as a family.
Wolf glanced behind him, looking down the dirt road that led to Heather’s home. It was lined by palm trees and sparse vegetation. Weeds were growing rampant in her long driveway. It was a good thing, he’d told her, and helped conceal her home a little more.
He stopped walking, and waited, tuning all his senses to his surroundings. It was a trick he’d learned as a kid and continued to hone through his years in the military, and then as a survival expert. He let everything about what he thought he should be hearing fade away and truly let himself become one with his environment. The only sounds he heard were the birds on the hunt for food in the hot sun. Further away, he could hear water in the distance, lapping against a dock.
Confident there was no one near him, he opened his eyes and looked around, noting the sweat dripping down his back. The humidity had jumped in the last hour, indicating that another storm was coming in. His gaze went up, noticing the clouds coming in from the ocean. It was the typical afternoon rain, both a blessing and a curse. It gave them fresh water and a brief respite from the heat, but the muggy feeling and the influx of bugs and mosquitoes that followed the rain were a pain to deal with.
Plastering a smile onto his face, Wolf walked up to the house and pushed open the door. But he was immediately assailed with thick tension in the room. He set his smile ha
rder in place even as he groaned inwardly, knowing things had yet to mellow out and that he needed to serve as a grounding, positive force. The idea of turning and walking away occurred to him only briefly, though it was too late for that.
“What’s going on?” he asked Fred and Heather, who were clearly at odds.
“She wants to put all the heavy stuff on the bottom,” Fred grumbled.
Wolf shrugged, not understanding the problem. “Makes sense to me.”
Fred shook his head. “Yes and no. We need items that are most frequently used at the top of the bags. That’s a rule you established,” he said with a great deal of satisfaction.
“It is.”
Heather sighed. “The bigger items should go on the bottom, so they don’t smash all the other things. Plus, how are we going to get to the lighter things if they’re under the heavy things?”
“In most cases, yes, but Fred’s right, Heather. The bags should have things like fire-starting equipment, a flashlight, a few bandages, and water purification tablets placed where they’re easily accessible, regardless of weight. We don’t want to dig through a bag to find those items,” he explained.
“Fine,” Heather grumbled. “It makes no sense to me, but whatever.”
Wolf shrugged out of the backpack he’d had on and put it on the table. “I’ve got a few more things to add. Are the rest of the bags packed?”
Fred grimaced. “No.”
“What?” Wolf asked, irritation raising his voice. “I asked you to have those ready to go.”
Fred turned to look at Heather, his look telling Wolf everything he needed to know. Obviously, they had been squabbling all day about how to pack—and had accomplished nothing as a result.
Heather looked guilty. “I’m going to check on the kids. They’re packing up the clothes,” she said, quickly excusing herself from the room.
“What happened?” Wolf asked with a sigh.
Fred shook his head. “We’ve packed the bags several times, and then ended up unpacking each other’s work. This is stupid. We’re getting nowhere. I don’t know why she’s being so difficult.”
Wolf closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and counting to three, searching for patience. “Fred, we need to make another run to the van. We can’t very well walk out of here in the middle of the night carrying backpacks and boxes of supplies. We’ll have no way to explain it. I need those bags packed, and soon. We need to get them to the van,” he pointed out, holding his temper in check.
“I know, I know,” Fred groaned.
Regan and RC walked through the front door before more could be said, both of them sweaty and looking exhausted. Regan’s cheeks were red and her bangs were stuck to her forehead. And his dad looked off. Wolf couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something wasn’t right.
“How’d it go?” Regan asked, using a handkerchief to wipe sweat from her brow before dabbing at her neck.
But Wolf was watching his father, who was dragging his feet across the worn carpet.
When she called out his name and repeated her question, Wolf finally looked at Regan and shrugged. “I got rid of the sailboat and got a few things. What about you guys?”
RC had already headed for the kitchen, where a pitcher of lukewarm water sat on the counter. “We took over two loads. The kids came back without us. They’re supposed to be packing suitcases with extra clothing. We’ll take those back in a bit,” he said, slightly out of breath as he drank the water.
“Where are Geno and Tabitha?” Wolf asked, looking around the house in case he’d missed them.
“They’re guarding the van,” Regan answered.
“With what?”
“The rifle,” Regan replied.
Wolf nodded his head with satisfaction, noticing the butt of Luke’s gun stuck in the waistband of Regan’s pants. They hadn’t gone out unarmed, per his instructions. With the extra gun, that gave them four. Still, he wanted a couple more. He didn’t like leaving Heather unarmed at the house. Hopefully, that would no longer be an issue after today.
Travis and Lily walked out of the back bedroom, both of them looking just as drained as the adults. Lily’s cheeks were flushed as she waved to her father, a small smile on her face. And in that moment, with her casual greeting, Wolf realized they weren’t going to be ready to leave before dawn if things didn’t change—drastically.
“Did you get the suitcases packed?” he asked her.
Lily nodded. “Yeah. We’re just getting a drink and then we’ll take them to the van.”
“Hold up. We’ll all go.”
Regan looked at him. “All of us? Is that a good idea?”
He shrugged. “We’ll make this the last run of the day. Come back, cool down, eat, get some sleep, and then leave around four. We need to be fully rested for a long day tomorrow.”
“Four in the morning!” Lily groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding, Dad.”
“We need to move when everyone is asleep,” he said simply. “If we drive down the street, it’s going to draw a lot of attention. I don’t want that Damien guy coming after us. We need that van and everything we can haul in it. If we could move out of here a little earlier, that would be even better.
Lily looked horrified at the idea of leaving before dawn, and he would have laughed if he hadn’t been so tired and frustrated with the situation.
“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things,” RC volunteered.
Wolf looked at his father, surprised to hear him volunteer to sit on the sidelines. But then he noticed the paleness in his skin tone, despite the heat of the day. His naturally dark complexion looked wane. They had all been under a lot of stress, and that combined with the strenuous activity in the high humidity took a lot of RC’s usual stamina down by more than just a notch. It was wearing his father down, no question.
“Thanks, Dad,” Wolf agreed quietly. “I’ll leave the new gun I got with you, just in case.”
His father nodded his head, but didn’t say anything.
Heather came down the hall then, two suitcases trailing along behind her. “Ready,” she said with a satisfied smile.
“We need to get those backpacks packed. We’ll make sure to leave one here for us to walk out with in the morning and put any last items in,” Wolf instructed.
“I’ll pack them,” Fred snapped, snatching one of the bags.
Heather smirked. “I have a few more things to gather from the kitchen. You go right ahead; I won’t bother you.”
Wolf got busy helping Fred while the others rested. Wolf was far more used to the humidity, as was Heather. It wasn’t as taxing on them as it was on Regan and Fred, he knew. Geno and Tabitha weren’t used to it, either, and he’d have to remember that. He was prepared to take on a little more of the responsibility in order to keep from wearing them down and potentially making everyone ill. They’d adjust eventually, but not anytime soon.
With the bags packed, they divided into groups. Travis and Lily were going to leave first, taking the path that went around the back way. If anyone asked, they would say they were going to wash their clothes in the park.
Wolf and Regan would walk together, each carrying a backpack and a small bag of goods. He’d carry the gun. If they were stopped, they were prepared to hand over what they had. It would hurt, but it wouldn’t be impossible to survive without the gear. It was why they had been taking small loads over with a series of trips, and why they were taking separate routes now. They were doing all they could to safeguard what they had—using different routes, carrying different bags, and doing their best to avoid attracting attention.
Heather and Fred would use her little red wagon to cart some of the heavier canned goods, a few gallons of fresh water, and some of the kitchenware Heather insisted they have. The wagon had been Travis’ when he’d been a boy, and Heather had laughed over the fact that she still had it around. He was just glad she did. Meanwhile, Fred would be carrying. Wolf was confident in the man’s ability to protect Heather.
“If anyone gets into trouble, blow your whistle three times,” Wolf ordered the group.
“Got it,” Lily said, nodding once.
“You two go first. Regan and I won’t be too far behind you. Don’t go to the van if you see anyone around you. Pay attention to your surroundings,” Wolf lectured them.
“I know, Dad. Situational awareness, I get it,” Lily intoned with a grumble.
He nodded and waved as they headed out of the yard, happy she remembered the term he’d taught her. The rest of the group waited in the living room of Heather’s home.
“Situational awareness?” Heather asked.
Wolf smiled. “It’s an important skill, especially for teens. I taught Lily early on to keep her eyes open and stay moving, and her ears on high alert anytime she was walking to the bus, hanging out at the mall… doing anything at all, really. I warned her not to wear both her earbuds when she was out, too, and that was a hard sell—she could have one in, but she needed to be able to hear what was happening around her. Same with her vision. If she was focused on her phone, she could miss something important, like someone watching her or following her home.”
Heather nodded, smiling sadly. “That’s very smart. Before all this happened, those kids would move around like zombies, hyper-focused on the phones in their hands.”
Regan laughed. “That is an apt description.”
“I always told her to know how she was going to get out of a building in case of an emergency, too,” Wolf added.
“What do you mean?” Heather asked.
“If she walked into the mall, the school gym, or even her classroom, I wanted her to know how she was going to escape if there was an emergency. We used to play a game when she was younger. We’d plan escape routes as we shopped—every aisle in the grocery store, I would ask her which way would she run. Things like that,” he explained.
“You don’t think that’s a lot for a little kid?” Heather asked.
“I never made it about fear. It was a game. It got her in the habit of looking around and paying attention,” he defended himself.
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