With morning brought sorrow. Chanel made it through the night, to my relief, but Kendall was located about a mile from home. She suffered a much worse fate, having been partially eaten and turned, searching aimlessly for a meal. The newcomers accompanied our own people in search of both her and Brenda as well as their scouting team. The truck we had come across, abandoned and covered in blood, was their scouting vehicle. The duo who had occupied it never were found. The conjoined twins in the ice chest were brought back for a proper burial. No one knew who they were or how they got there, but one of our own decided they needed to be buried.
Gus and I discussed the future, however long it may be. The ocean called to me. The beach was the last place I held Molly. Puget Sound served as the grave of my best friend, Emilie. I needed to sit and reflect. Together, we decided to leave the settlement and head northwest until we got to the sea. After describing the Hags to my husband, going to colder land seemed the best option. If we could get there before winter hit, we might be lucky and find something already stocked and secure. Maybe on another island.
***
Traveling, just the two of us, we grieved our lost children and friends. We found each other once again. We told one another that someday we’d go back to the settlement. The dead became sparse the farther north we went, but traveling also grew increasingly difficult. We carried what we could on our backs and rode bicycles until the terrain grew too difficult to ride. After that, our feet carried us.
We knew we’d found our new home when we reached a rocky beach with a lone dock leading to a small lake. A modest wood cabin sat tucked into the tree line and in the distance I could hear the nearness of the Pacific Ocean as waves rolled onto the beach.
“We could make it work,” I said.
“Ayup.”
“I’m tired.”
“Me too, darlin’. Me too.”
We stood hand-in-hand looking at the lake. It was a calm day, the sky overcast and threatening to snow. A fish jumped, leaving ripples in the otherwise still water.
