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“Seems like it, anyway,” I said.

“Well, everything just got a lot more complicated, didn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I think it did.”

41

Remy

The three of us took turns sleeping, so someone was always awake to keep watch and tend the fire. Just before dawn, Eden woke up to say we’d run out of firewood. It was still too dark to go out, so we huddled together with the wolves, and we managed to keep warm.

As soon as it was light enough, we gathered more wood. Over the night, at least two feet of snow had fallen, and with temps hovering around freezing, it was a heavy, sticky snow that clung to everything.

The branches and the bear hide kept it out of the shelter, but we had to scrape it off to keep from collapsing. The snow was too deep for the mule to hike through – and us, honestly – and we’d have to wait until some of it melted to make the trek back to town. I only hoped it wouldn’t take too long, since it usually didn’t snow this early in autumn.

Nova came back from getting firewood with the backstraps of meat she recovered from the bear she’d killed last night.

“Are you sure that’s safe?” I asked.

“We need to eat something, the cold kept it nearly frozen, and I always cook bear meat thoroughly because they have roundworms,” Nova said, and she sliced it thinly with her knife and cooked it over the fire.

“How was it walking around out there?” Edenasked. “Do you think we’ll be able to leave soon?”

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Nova answered noncommittally.

I didn’t like being trapped in a small shelter, so I went out and tended to the mule. He was happily munching on grass he’d rooted out underneath the snow. As the sun rose, warming the air, the snow began to melt. It dripped down from the branches like rain pouring from the sky.

“Should we pack up camp and head out?” Nova suggested as the snow turned to slush around us.

“We won’t make it home by dark, so we’ll have to camp out again,” Eden said. “Or we could wait until morning and make the trek in one day.”

“I want to get back to my daughter,” Nova said. “I’ll take another campout if it means getting home earlier tomorrow.”

“Me, too,” I agreed, because I didn’t want to spend more time in that tiny shelter. Moving sounded better, and I wanted to get away from the zombies who could plan and plot against us.

So we packed up our campsite, taking the hide and bear meat on the mule, and we headed home. The snow was still thick in places, and all the melting made it slipperier. That meant it was slow going, trudging through the slushy mess, but I still preferred that to sitting in the shelter or even the house in Emberwood.

Late in the afternoon, I heard a soft humming sound. We all did, even the wolves stopped to cock their heads, and it was only growing louder.

“What is that?” I asked uneasily.

Nova suddenly brightened. “Rescue snow mobiles! They’re charged by solar panels, but they are only used in emergencies or special circumstances. They must be looking for us!”

She ran ahead, toward the sounds, and the wolveshowled as they chased her. I couldn’t run because I was holding Vince’s lead, and the mule still couldn’t go fast in the slush. Eden stayed back with us, presumably because she didn’t want to fall either.

“They have snow mobiles?” I asked her. “Why are we out here walking when we could be using them for our hunting trips? We could go farther, or not camp out so much and reduce our risk.”

“Because the town has five electric snow mobiles, and we used to have a dozen,” Eden replied. “Some crashed, one was lost in a lake when someone tried to travel over weak ice, another was stolen, and two have just broken down with frequent use and lack of materials for proper upkeep. They won’t last forever, so we only use them when a situation truly calls for it.”

“Fair enough,” I said.

The wolves started barking excitedly, and then I heard the sound of men’s voices. We rounded the trees, and I saw them in a small clearing. A snow machine pulling a trailer behind it, just large enough for a mule. Between the trailer and machine, it carried three men – Boden, Lazlo, and Eden’s boyfriend Alek.

Nova and Lazlo were already reuniting, and Eden ran over to greet Alek. I quickened my pace as much as I thought the mule could handle, and Boden jogged over to me.

“I am so glad you’re okay!” He threw his arms around me and embraced me tightly.

“Of course I am. You know I’ve survived much worse.”