Page 79 of Into the Mist (Into the Mist 1)

“Are we having a war?”

“From what we’ve heard there’s no one left to fight us, but that doesn’t mean that it’s safe out there. Hey, do you have any family that live close? Like grandparents or maybe an aunt or uncle?” Stella asked.

Georgie shook her head. “No. It takes a long time to get to our Meemaw and Peepaw’s house in Portland. And Gramps and Gran are even farther away—over by the ocean, with Aunt Gertie and Uncle Sam. They live right next door. It’s pretty there. We were there until a little while ago when Daddy finished building our cabin. Daddy builds houses—log houses—he’s real good at it, and—” Her words broke off and her brown eyes filled with tears. Her voice dropped to a shaky whisper. “He was good at it.”

The boys cried harder.

“Hey, Georgie, have you and your brothers eaten recently?” Mercury said.

“I, um, opened all the cans of ravioli Sunday, but it was pretty gross because the electricity is off and the microwave and stove don’t work.” Georgie sniffled and wiped her face with the blanket. “Yesterday I opened cans of soup and we had crackers. We ate it, but it was gross too. This morning we had cereal, but the milk smelled really bad—like everything else in the fridge. The boys ate all the cheese, but it gave them tummy aches and the poo-poos.”

“Well, we have sandwiches already made and ready to eat at our truck—and a camper shell on the back of it, so it’s kinda like camping,” said Mercury. “How about we go inside and pack bags for each of you, and then you can come with us?”

Georgie narrowed her eyes. “Where?”

“We’re going to Madras. Have you ever been there?” Stella asked.

Georgie nodded. “We went to the movies there with Mommy and Daddy.”

“Well, that’s where we’re going,” Mercury said. “We think you and your brothers should go with us.”

Georgie stared at her so long Mercury thought she wasn’t going to answer, but finally the little girl said, “We can’t stay here by ourselves.”

The little girl didn’t frame it as a question, but Stella answered. “No, you can’t.”

“We could if I was older. I’d stay here and take care of Jayden and Cayden myself.”

“You’d do a good job of it too. You’ve taken care of them by yourself for three days.” said Stella. “But now it’s time for us to help you.”

“Us? Are there more teachers?” Georgie’s gaze swept behind them.

“Yeah, there’s another science teacher and a history teacher back at the road with our truck. And there’s also a teenager with us who just lost her parents too,” said Mercury.

Georgie’s gaze found her. “We didn’t lose our parents. They died.”