We walk due north, guided by the sun. We’re not even attempting to use Jack’s compass anymore.
The map is gone. Even though Noah said the map was wrong, I can tell both of them are uneasy navigating without it. We are walking forward into the unknown. We’re just hoping we find something before we collapse. The food is gone. We finished the last of it before we set off. And now
I’m getting hungry, but I’m afraid to even think about what the options are. If Jack tells me we have to eat bugs, I think I’d rather starve. But I might feel differently by tonight.
We find a small stream and fill up the water bottles. Fortunately, the stream isn’t too muddy, so we don’t have to filter the water through a shirt. I watch it swirl around inside Jack’s water bottle, and I practically salivate.
“So I’ve got some bad news,” Jack says.
Bad news? We’ve been trapped out in the woods for two days. We don’t have any food left. How much worse could it possibly get?
“This is my last purifying tablet.” Jack drops the tablet into the water bottle. “So we really need to ration this.”
My stomach sinks. This is pretty bad news. How long can a person live without water?
Noah puts his arm around me, but it doesn’t do anything for the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmurs in my ear.
How is it going to be okay? How?
We all take measured sips from the water bottle and Jack puts it back in his bag. As we start walking again, I wonder if Penny has contacted anybody about us. Surely by now, she knows something must be wrong. We would never have gone two days without calling to speak to the kids. I’m sure Emma is freaking out.
Penny knows the name of the inn. She could call them and find out we never checked in. There could be a search party looking for us right now.
I squeeze my eyes shut. I just have to hang onto that hope. Somebody is surely looking for us by now. I have to get through this. I have to get back home to Emma and Aiden.
“Look!” Jack’s voice interrupts my tortured thoughts. “Up ahead!” If it’s another coyote, I don’t want to know.
I open my eyes. And my jaw drops open.
It’s a cabin. About a quarter of a mile away. I can just barely see it, but it’s real. And it doesn’t look abandoned either. At the very least, we can go inside and get supplies.
“Oh my God,” Noah breathes.
For the last hour or so, the three of us have been chugging along slowly, but now we all get a burst of energy. We practically sprint over to the cabin. I feel like there’s a chance it’s a mirage and will disappear when we get too close. But it doesn’t disappear.
It’s real. We’re saved.
As relieved and happy as I am to see the cabin, I get this uneasy feeling as we come closer. This is a lone cabin in the middle of nowhere. What sort of person would live out here? What if it’s somebody who is violent or crazy? Jack has the rifle, but it doesn’t make me feel that much better.
The cabin is small—only one story high, probably only one or two rooms. The wood is old and splintered, and it’s rotting away in patches. There are no lights on inside the cabin, but that doesn’t mean nobody’s home. Maybe the cabin doesn’t have electricity. Jack raps on the door, and we wait. Then he knocks again.
Noah walks around the side of the cabin and looks through one of the windows. “I don’t think anyone is home,” he says. “I don’t see movement inside, and there’s no vehicle around.”
“It might be a cabin somebody just uses for vacations.” Jack clears his throat. “I think we should break in. It’s an emergency.”
He looks at us for confirmation. We both nod vigorously. There’s no way I’m walking away from this cabin.
“Noah, check if the window is open,” Jack says, but right as the words come out, he puts his hand on the doorknob and it turns. Looks like we
won’t have to break in after all. “Well, that was easy.”
A little too easy. That terrible feeling in my stomach returns.
“Wait.” I grab Jack’s arm as he starts to go inside. “We need to be careful. What if somebody is lying in wait for us?”
“Lying in wait?” Jack’s eyebrows shoot up. “Claire, the cabin is empty.
There’s no light inside and there are no cars here. Nobody is inside.” I hold my breath as he pushes the door open to the cabin.
