Road of Stars

by Ariel Bonin

  "What?" he asked.

  "That was a little harsh."

  He was about to launch into the same rant he'd given her at the school, about how she wasn't a parent, but stopped himself. He wouldn't make that mistake twice. Lindsey was his partner in this—kids and all. She may not have birthed her own children, but she knew a thing or two about teenage girls. He'd be stupid to ignore that.

  "What should I do? Please, tell me," he said in exasperation—desperation.

  "I understand where you're both coming from. She needs independence and wants to help the group. You want to keep her safe. She's your little girl. You're just doing your job as a father." Her eyes twinkled as she said, "I'm not going to tell you what to do—even if you ask me. I can only make suggestions."

  "Then what do you suggest?"

  "Give her that independence. Let her help the group. But in baby steps. The smallest changes will let her know that you care, that you're trying. I know you have important things to worry about, like protecting an entire group of people." She laughed softly. "But your kids take priority. I know you already know that—I'm just here to remind you."

  "So, should I let her take watch?"

  Lindsey shrugged. "Maybe next time you can take it together—show her how it's done," she said, smiling.

  Andrew sucked in a breath and quickly blew it out. "Okay, I can do that… Thanks."

  She nodded. Shifting Jacob to her hip, she walked toward the backseat and laid him down on the floor, which was padded with a folded blanket. Zoey glanced at her and then rolled over to face the seat. Turning away, Lindsey ignored her brushoff and closed the door.

  In the early morning, Andrew heard rustling and one of the back doors clicked open. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Zoey sliding out.

  "Where are you going?"

  She started and shot him a glare. "I'm going pee. Is that all right with you?" she asked, her voice filled with teenage loathing.

  Andrew tried to ignore the accompanying eye roll. He released his frustration as a sigh. "Just don't go far."

  "Yup."

  The door slammed and Lindsey stirred, but didn't wake. Andrew exhaled another tense breath and closed his eyes. He allowed himself to rest, but stayed close to the surface. He wanted to make sure Zoey got back okay.

  Andrew's eyes fluttered open again and noted a change in sunlight. Gone were the first rays of dawn. Anxiety burrowed into his chest. Something wasn't right. He twisted to look in the backseat.

  No Zoey.

  "Lindsey…"

  The woman in the seat beside him shifted and barely opened her eyes. "What, baby?"

  "Zoey's gone."

  Lindsey bolted upright. She wiped the sleep from her face and asked, "What do you mean she's 'gone'?"

  "She left to go to the bathroom. I fell back asleep and she's not here."

  Lindsey peered through the windshield. "I think some of the others are up. Maybe she's with them…"

  Andrew forced open his door and Lindsey stopped to retrieve Jacob from the backseat's floor before she followed. He jogged over to the small group. They were stretching out their stiff limbs as Charlie started a campfire nearby. Andrew asked about the missing girl.

  "We haven't been up long, but I'm sorry, we haven't seen her," Kat said with a sympathetic shrug.

  Everyone began to examine their surroundings.

  Charlie pointed into the woods as he said, "There are some snapped branches and crushed leaves over here. A few boot prints, too. I would say she went this way."

  Andrew brushed past everyone to join his friend at the tree line.

  "These are her boot prints, here," Charlie said, indicating the smaller than average indents.

  Andrew noticed another trail of prints—prints larger than Zoey's. "What about these?"

  Charlie hesitated before he answered. "Those belong to someone else."

  "Jesus. Somebody took her. Someone took my baby girl… Oh, shit…shit…" Andrew drew in a ragged breath and bent over, overcome with same emotions he felt when Jake disappeared. He swallowed hard and lifted his head. His cerulean eyes glistened with unshed tears. "We gotta find her. We have to. Oh, God…"

  Charlie sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think she was taken."

  Andrew pinned the other man with his tortured gaze. "What are you talking about?"

  Charlie didn't back down. "I think she left. Left with someone…"

  He shook his head. "She wouldn't."

  "I see no sign of a struggle—no drag marks, no blood."

  "I don't give a shit what you see! She wouldn't just leave! I'm going to find her!"

  Lindsey handed Jacob to Nadie and stepped forward to rest her hand on Andrew's shoulder. He jumped back as if she'd burned him. His steely expression fractured and she moved to cradle his face within her palms, then hugged him.

  "We'll find her, okay? I promise. We'll help you." She took in the rest of the group. "Right?"

  Charlie, even though Andrew had lashed out at him, was the first to agree. "She's family, man. Of course we'll help."

  Andrew sniffled and used his shirt sleeve to wipe his damp eyes. "Okay…okay. I appreciate it." He shook his head and said to the other man, "I'm sorry…"

  "Don't worry about it, Andy. This is your kid we're talkin' about." He started to raid his bag for extra ammo and picked up his rifle. "Let's move out—gotta hit the trail while it's fresh."

  "We'll go with you," Kat said, gesturing to Nicholas.

  Andrew nodded. "Thanks."

  "Don't worry about Jake," Nadie added. "Caren and I will take care of him. Just bring back Zoey safe and sound, all right?"

  Andrew and Lindsey gave her a grateful hug. "Don't panic if we're not back before dark. No matter what, we'll check in sometime tomorrow," he said.

  After donning their weapons and packing a supply bag, the five survivors headed into the forest.

  _____

  They followed the trail for hours, stopping a couple of times to rest. At one point Charlie started to turn to the right, but shook his head.

  "Something's not right."

  "What do you mean?" Lindsey asked.

  "The trail ends here," Andrew said for him, motioning at the undisturbed forest.

  Charlie spun around and walked back to where he had turned. "It goes the other way."

  "They tried to throw us off," Andrew said, and swallowed his discomfort for that fact.

  "Yeah, well, we'll find 'em," Charlie replied, continuing ahead.

  After about fifteen minutes, he held up his hand, halting the group.

  "What is it?" Kat whispered.

  "Do you hear that?" he asked.

  Andrew closed his eyes to concentrate. A moment later, he heard it: distant voices.

  They moved quietly through the brush and emerged into a clearing. Before them, a twenty-foot wooden wall rose up from the dirt.

  "Stop right there! Don't come any closer!" a young man yelled from atop the wall.

  On the opposite side, a teenage girl aimed her rifle at them. "Drop your weapons!"

  No one budged and kept their guns trained on the strangers. Then, Andrew holstered his Beretta and put his hands into the air. He stepped forward and said, "We're not here to cause any trouble. We're just looking for someone."

  The guards stared at him.

  "Please, just give me a minute of your time, and then we'll leave." He gestured at the others to put away their weapons. No one was particularly happy about it, but they knew it needed to happen to make any headway with these people.

  Once disarmed, the man on the wall lowered his own gun. "Come up to the gate."

  He disappeared as Andrew walked over to meet him. The double-door gate, also made out of wood, was covered by an archway with a sign that read: Bear Creek. A slot in the door slid open, revealing the man's face. Up close, Andrew could see how young he really was, mainly from his overabundance of acne.

  "So who're you lookin' for?"

  "My daughter, Zoey.
Do you know if she's been here?"

  He shrugged. "It's possible."

  Andrew cleared his throat, feeling some frustration seep into his bloodstream. "Well, can we come inside and check? I just need to know and then I promise we'll get out of your hair."

  The young man appeared to think about it, then said, "In order to come in you have to give up your weapons. You can have them back when you leave."

  Andrew looked around at the others. Lindsey and Charlie agreed to go with him, but Nicholas and Kat were hesitant.

  "We'll wait out here—just in case," Nicholas said. "We'd be dumb to make ourselves defenseless."

  Andrew nodded. Turning back, he said, "Okay. Three of us are coming in."

  The man snapped the slot closed. With a groan, the gate opened. Charlie walked in first. Lindsey stayed back for a second, then followed Andrew in.

  Chapter 5

  Andrew handed over his Beretta and knife to the young man who had let them in, which were then hung on pegs on the wall. As Charlie and Lindsey did the same, he turned around to survey the structures that made up the community. A row of log cabins lined the left and right, with canopies set up between each one. Beneath the canopies it looked like people sold goods and services. One stand had apples, another, firewood. The person directly to his right was working with fire and metal like some kind of blacksmith.

  Taking it all in once more, Andrew was struck by an odd observation.

  The inhabitants were all young. Very young.

  He studied the man who had let them in and guessed that maybe he was sixteen or seventeen. The boy in the blacksmith tent was even younger—maybe fourteen?

  Frowning, he glanced at Lindsey and wondered if she had noticed the same thing. She seemed to still be taking it all in.

  "Wait here. I'll get Pete," the young man said, and walked up the dirt road that traveled through the center of the commune.

  Staring straight ahead, Andrew wondered how he could have missed it before now. At the end of the road was a wide, two-story lodge. A covered porch stretched across the first floor and two bears were carved into the posts of either side of the steps. Another sign over the doorway reiterated that they were in Bear Creek.

  "How's it goin'?" a voice asked from next to them.

  Andrew looked over and saw another young man, this one in his late teens. He had tousled brown hair and soft green eyes, which only enhanced his boyish good looks. He extended a hand and Andrew shook it.

  "I'm Pete."

  "Andrew." He noted the firm handshake; it didn't match up with Pete's wiry frame, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

  "What're you doin' all the way out here?" The boy's southern accent oozed with charm. He added to it by giving them all a bright smile.

  "We're looking for my daughter, Zoey. Have you seen her?"

  "'Zoey'? Nope, we don't have anyone here by that name."

  Andrew huffed out a panicked breath and placed his hands on his hips. Lindsey stroked his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

  Charlie leveled his gaze with Pete's and said with a hint of menace, "We have reason to believe she's here."

  Pete narrowed his eyes by a fraction. "Well, let me show you around. Maybe she'll turn up."

  Charlie and Andrew exchanged an uneasy glance and then followed him down the main street.

  "This is Bear Creek. Used to be a summer camp for fat kids—now it's a place of real, significant, change. We use the cabins as living space and the outside as a marketplace. We trade goods, like in the way olden days. The lodge up here is for those that have earned a private room. We also use it for dining and entertainment. If you come this way…"

  A nearby giggle floated on the breeze. When it met Andrew's ears, he froze. Directing his gaze to the lodge's porch, he saw Zoey sitting on a swing with another girl.

  "Zoey Ann Flynn!" he roared and started up the steps.

  She bolted to her feet. "Dad?"

  Before he got her, he stopped and grabbed Pete by his collar. "You lied to me!"

  Pete held up his hands. "No way, man! She said her name was Kelly!"

  Andrew swallowed hard and, as he let the boy go, turned to stare at Zoey, his eyes blazing.

  "I'm sorry! I had to get away and didn't want you to be able to find me…"

  Hurt replaced the anger in his eyes. He worried his bottom lip between his tongue and teeth.

  "Daddy, please, don't be mad."

  "I- I'm not. I just want to know why you think being with a bunch of strangers is safer than your own family. And what about Jake? He needs his big sister..."

  Guilt flickered in her expression. She shifted nervously and looked to Lindsey. Lindsey shook her head, as if to say, I can't help you with this one.

  "Why don't you and Zoey use my office to talk and work this out?" Pete interrupted. "I can get some coffee for these two."

  Lindsey and Charlie accepted the invitation, so Andrew did too. They passed through the lodge's front door and into a large room with rustic, wooden floors and walls. Thick beams lined the high ceiling. The living room sat to their right with a sitting area and ping-pong table. To their left was a long dining table and benches. Pete motioned for Lindsey and Charlie to take a seat in the living room, while continuing to guide Andrew and Zoey to a door straight ahead. He propped it open and allowed them to walk inside.

  "I'll join your friends out here. Take your time," he said with a quick smile, then shut the door.

  Andrew took in the room's appearance: an old desk covered in maps, metal bookshelves with faded binders and a couple of chairs by the dirty fireplace. He didn't sit down.

  "What the hell were you thinking, Zoey? You had me so worried."

  She stood by the door, biting her nail and most likely plotting another escape. Finally, she dropped her hand and shrugged. "Pete was scouting for people to add to his community. He heard our conversation last night and figured I might like to go with him. At least here I have a purpose."

  Andrew blinked at her. "You do have a purpose, honey. I was ready to give you a chance to help out the group. I may reconsider that now if you keep making reckless decisions like this. He could have killed you—or worse."

  "Why do you think everyone's out to get us? Not every person is like that asshole Samuel! Maybe, just maybe, there are still some good guys left out here."

  "That's not the point…"

  "Pete is good to his people. He fed me, welcomed me in. Why would he do that if he wanted to hurt me?"

  Andrew scoffed. "And you're sure of this after knowing him for a whole ten hours?"

  She rolled her eyes. "If that makes him a monster then what are we? Huh?"

  "Enough, Zoey."

  "No! Answer my question."

  "Would you drop the attitude?"

  "I will when you stop treating me like a child!"

  "Okay, fine. You want me to talk to you like an adult? Here it is. Some people might have good intentions, but you can't be a good guy and survive in this world. Not anymore. It's kill or be killed. Marcus, Samuel, Dean…they knew that well before I did. They accepted it. The dead? They just want to eat you. There's no swaying them. But the living? They're much, much scarier—capable of anything." Andrew glanced toward the door. "I see something in Pete that's not right. I can't put my finger on it, but I know it will surface soon enough."

  "And then what? Are you gonna kill him?" she taunted.

  "If I have to."

  Zoey shook her head. "And you can't figure out why I want to stay…"

  _____

  Meanwhile, Lindsey and Charlie occupied two leather armchairs in the grand living room. In front of them, a stone fireplace stretched all the way to the ceiling. It was warm enough inside not to be lit, but Lindsey still found it wonderful to look at while they waited. She studied the amazing stonework until Pete returned with their steaming mugs.

  "Thank you. We appreciate your hospitality. Once they've had some time to talk, we'll be on our way."

  Pete sipped his own
beverage and smiled. "What's the rush? We don't get guests very often. You're more than welcome to stay for the night—get a fresh start in the morning. It's going to be dark soon anyway and we've got an awesome meal planned for dinner."

  It all sounded good. Too good.

  A girl wandered into the living room, her feather duster moving over various knick-knacks like a magic wand. She was young, like just out of diapers young.

  "This is my sister, Daisy. She's four," Pete said, reaching for her so she could sit on his lap.

  "Where're your parents?" Charlie asked. Lindsey scowled at him for asking such a personal question.

  Pete sighed and ran his hand over Daisy's brown curls. "They died about a year ago."

  "The skeletons ate them," Daisy said in a sad voice.

  Her statement left Lindsey stunned, but not surprised. "I'm sorry, sweetie. We know what that's like."

  Pete shrugged it off and continued to stroke her hair. "But we take care of each other, right?"

  "Right," Daisy said, emphasizing it with a flick of her duster.

  "So, anyway, it would mean a great deal to us if you all stayed tonight. We don't know much about the outside, but we do know not to go out after dark," Pete said.

  "I don't know…" Charlie began.

  "We'd love to," Lindsey said, shooting a look at the other man. He glared back. "The rest of our group knows we might not be back until tomorrow. We do have two more outside, though. I hope that's not a problem."

  "Not at all. We have plenty of room."

  The office door opened and Zoey walked out, her shoulders hunched and arms crossed—still looking dejected as ever. Andrew followed her out and closed the door behind him.

  "Good news, Kel—, I mean, Zoey," Pete said over his shoulder, "you'll get to try out the accommodations after all."

  Her eyes lit up. "I will?"

  "She will?" Andrew asked suspiciously.

  "Yeah, we're stayin' the night," Charlie grumbled, setting down his empty mug and standing up.

  Lindsey met Andrew's searching gaze. "Pete has a nice dinner planned for us. We can head back in the morning."

  Before he could reply, Zoey squealed and clapped her hands.

  Gone was the miserable teenager.