The Lightkeepers

1

1. Fortress I stared out across the water, the salt air stinging my cheeks. The ocean ’ s tangy scent tickled

my nose. My eyes flicked to study the ground below.

I had a duty, a responsibility to my family, to the survivors. I briefly wondered how high

up I was, as I often had. I flexed my one hand around the bow and spun an arrow between my

fingertips.

How many times have I been on this tour, and I can ’ t even remember how tall it is? I

silently laughed.

Sandy Hook had always been a place of abandoned tranquility. The way the sun ’ s rays

glittered and rippled over the water in the bay. Or how you could lay on the beach and bask in the

sunlight, or let the waves roll over you. Or, if you weren ’ t the beach type, you could drive around

and explore the decomposing military bunkers, a quiet reminder of the site ’ s history. It used to be

peaceful and alive in its own silent way.

Now, it was unsettling, eerie even. There were no cars creeping by, the low hum of the

engines and exhaust clouding the air. There weren ’ t any bikers, their wheels buzzing along the

pavement. People. There were no people except for us. For all we knew, we were the last.

My hand flitted over the locket at my neck, nerves hissing and tugging at my insides as I

thought of that possibility. I moved around the lighthouse ’ s catwalk and observed the ground

endlessly sprawling out before me.

We ’ d built a few structures in our time here, including a shabby fence that Dad or Henry

always seemed to be repairing. Within the first few months, once any hope of rescue had

dissipated, we ’ d even managed to construct a greenhouse by using scavenged windows from the

ferry. It was an a-frame construction with sliding doors, which also came from the ferry, on either

end that could be opened to allow better airflow on hotter days and keep the heat in during the

winter.

It had taken a while to build, not because we had to use hand tools, but rather due to the

amount of time it took to gather and find materials. We managed to find seeds and fertilizer in a

house in the Highlands. We were pleasantly surprised when our plants started growing. Now, when

we harvested our bounty, we dried their seeds and planted them when the others died off.

Next, I took stock of the tarp held up by wooden frames that collected rainwater and

deposited it into an old 55-gallon barrel. We were now on our third barrel. It had rained all week.