\u201cYou should have tied him to the bed,\u201d Thordin said for the eighth time that evening.\u00a0 The sun had slid beyond the horizon and they clustered near a campfire for warmth; the clear night sucked what little heat was left in the world from the day\u2019s sunshine faster than life faded from the eyes of a decapitated man.\u00a0 The broad-shouldered man was moody, staring into the flames of the fire with the same fascination Rory did, though likely not for the same reasons.<\/p>\n
Thom exhaled a sigh, his breath steaming in the still air.\u00a0 \u201cToo late to change that now, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 We didn\u2019t think he was fit enough to risk it, anyhow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should have known,\u201d Jacqueline said, her knees hugged to her chest and a blanket drawn around her slender form.\u00a0 \u201cWe all suspected he\u2019d try something like this.\u00a0 Thordin\u2019s right, we should have taken precautions more quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s too late to change that now,\u201d Thom said again, staring at the sky. \u201cAll we can do now is hope that another day\u2019s riding will put us on top of him.\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe he\u2019s gotten this big of a head start.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we did start going in the wrong direction initially,\u201d Rory pointed out, poking the logs with a stick, shifting them so the fire would stay strong and burn throughout the night.\u00a0 \u201cStill not really sure how that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cMy doing, my fault.\u00a0 I thought for certain I was reading the signs wrong at first.\u00a0 He\u2019s got no reason to go south.\u00a0 He should have gone west, toward Aoife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Phelan we\u2019re talking about,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s unpredictable at best.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we know that he didn\u2019t bother to stop at that settlement we passed,\u201d Jacqueline said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI guess none of us are really surprised by that, right?\u00a0 Since he left us to keep us safe, he wouldn\u2019t be making contact with any other groups.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom\u2019s lips thinned.\u00a0 He still wasn\u2019t happy about them<\/i> stopping in that settlement, but the people there had seemed harmless, they\u2019d had a much easier time of It since the end of the world.\u00a0 Too bad we\u2019re not so lucky.\u00a0 I guess they\u2019re not <\/i>special like we are.<\/i><\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t sure how much be believed that, but it was nice to know that they had neighbors that wouldn\u2019t be out to kill them come spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut where is he going<\/i>?\u201d\u00a0 Thordin wondered out loud.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago,\u201d Thom said, the word grating out of him.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s going to the ruins of Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 But when we find him, we can ask him.\u00a0 That\u2019s the only way we\u2019ll find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re sure we\u2019re going the right way this time?\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline asked softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of the fire.<\/p>\n
A wolf howled in the distance as Thordin said softly, \u201cYes.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cYou should have tied him to the bed,\u201d Thordin said for the eighth time that evening.\u00a0 The sun had slid beyond the horizon and they clustered near a campfire for warmth; the clear night sucked what little heat was left … Continue reading