The Lightkeepers

11

4. Hunted I stood shivering by the tailgate of the once prideful SUV. I had my back to it, watching

the landscape in front of me as Henry dug through the back for more ammunition and another

quiver of arrows. I heard him shift and the hatch clicking shut. He came to stand beside me, the

winter light flashing off his mirrored aviator sunglasses.

“ You wanna lead this time? ” Henry whispered.

“ Nah. I ’ ll watch your six, ” I replied, slipping on my fraying fingerless gloves. I turned in

time to see Henry ’ s lips quirk into a bemused smile. “ What ’ re you laughing at, chuckles? ”

“There’s no way those are actually going to keep your hands warm. ”

“ That ’ s why I have these. ” I dug the Hot Packets out of my battered utility belt and handed

a pair to my bested brother.

We set out across the crumbling parking lot toward the shambles of buildings and the

narrow roadway. We marched on, the sun partially blinding me every time I turned to look back.

Turning slightly, I glanced at Henry. He moved straight ahead, swiveling his head from side to

side, much like I was doing. We marched, passed crumbling bunkers with weeds that grew between

the concrete. The road was littered with potholes that could swallow a person whole. We silently

skirted around a fly-infested carcass of an unidentifiable animal. Maybe it was mauled by one of

them . Or maybe it just croaked. I fought the shudder that ran through my body and glanced away.

The wind blew fiercely, kicking up dirt and sand and leaves. Branches groaned and creaked,

sometimes scratching against the remaining buildings.

Was that moaning? Were they nearer than I thought? My eyes swept left and right and I

focused with a new intensity to keep my footing just right as I walked, turning around every so

often to make there wasn’t anything sneaking up behi nd us. The sun shone, but highlighted

nothing.

Not a soul in sight.

At the edge of the woods between Knox Road and Kearney Road, I heard Henry stop, so I

turned to look. He held up a hand, and I drew closer to him, closing the gap. Again, I turned back

to observe the trail we had come from, my eyes gliding over our surroundings.

Methodically, we swept the area. We searched for signs of life, any sort of animal tracks.

Through the trees, I could see the buildings that stood close to Kearney Road. It all seemed too