Page 130 of His to Burn

It was nothing in the grand scheme, but it felt meaningful. Like a way for us to hold onto something of what we had been before.

After another moment, she met my eyes, hers completely dry. “Let’s go.”

She followed me back to the house where the others waited. I looked at Miles. “Anything happen?”

“No,” Miles said.

“Then let’s get everything and go,” I said.

“Shouldn’t we stay? This place isn’t bad,” Caitlin said, looking around and clearly impressed.

I might have considered it before, but I saw how badly Asia wanted to leave.

“No. Let’s go.”

We set off, somber now.

There was none of the easy banter from earlier. Just shared silence, heavy with what we’d seen.

A few hours later, Mother Nature decided to match our mood.

“Knew we should have stayed at that house,” Caitlin muttered.

No one answered.

They didn’t have to.

The driving rain was answer enough. I decided it was safer to wait out the rain, so we were now huddled under a tree.

Draped in two garbage bags, I sat next to Asia, who had her arms wrapped around Bridget, who was shivering.

Lourdes did the same to Miles, even though the boy was taller by a foot. Elliot and Caitlin huddled together under a tarp.

A shiver wracked Asia’s body. On instinct, I pulled the garbage bag tighter around her. She didn’t flinch or even seem surprised. She just leaned in closer and eventually drifted off.

I couldn’t see anything, but still kept watch, hoping for the rain to end. Thinking how lucky we were so far, but that wouldn’t last forever.

But it didn’t matter.

I wouldn’t let anything happen.

Not to her.

Asia

“I thinkthe flashlights and lighters stayed mostly dry,” I said the next morning.

“Well, that’s good fortune,” Bridget said.

I smiled at the old woman. She tried to smile back, though it was hard.

Last night was hell.

There was no other way to say it.

But we made it through.

That felt like something worth holding onto.