“Wait!” Mariana called. “You shouldn’t go in there! It’s not safe!”
Ignoring her, Reyva stepped over the crumbled remnants of the doorframe. Swearing under her breath, Claire also shed her pack, then jogged after her and stepped over the threshold.
Inside—if one could call it inside, since there was no roof anymore—was a pile of debris. Part of the roof was piled on collapsed stairs. One wall, partially standing, had bits of flowered wallpaper, which had been scorched sepia-colored. Charred electrical wires and broken pipes were exposed. A blackened mirror still hung, though several framed photos had fallen. Their glass had shattered, and the photos were shriveled like dead leaves.
“Help me with this?” Reyva asked.
Together, they tried to shift a chunk of the roof. Grunting, they maneuvered a section of shingles and then dropped it. Ash mushroomed into the air, and they fell back, coughing. Claire’s eyes watered. She wiped them and blinked rapidly.
“If anyone’s in here...” Claire let the words trail off.
To destroy the house this thoroughly, it had to have been a huge blaze. The smoke would have choked anyone who had been trapped long before the walls collapsed. Either they made it out, or...Or they’re beyond caring if we find them, Claire thought.
Safely beyond the doorframe, Mariana said, “They must have escaped. See?” She pointed to the airstrip. “No plane. They could have taken it, if there was one. Or a boat.”
Claire let out a yelp. “The boat! We have to get it back!” She pivoted and ran out of the house and across the singed lawn. Jack had already been speeding away when they’d begun their hike, but he might not be out of sight yet....
She heard footsteps behind her. Glancing back, she saw Mariana frowning at her feet as she ran. Flying over the trail, Reyva passed her, then Claire. “He’ll be too far away,” Reyva said, but she didn’t slow.
“We have to try.”
“Obviously.”
Then they didn’t speak. They just ran.
Avoiding the rocks and roots, Claire half hopped and half jogged down the trail. She was acutely aware that at any moment, she could trip and twist her ankle, but she also knew that with each second, the boat was speeding farther away.
And it wouldn’t return for weeks.
Don’t think, she told herself.Just run.She forced herself to count her footsteps, every stride, to thwart the litany ofWhat if, what if, what if...
They burst out of the woods and ran onto the dock. In the distance, the boat was still visible, but so small that it looked like a toy. Its wake was a V-shaped ripple behind it. Jumping up and down, Claire shouted and screamed, “Jack, come back! Help! Help us! Fire!”
Beside her, Mariana and Reyva yelled and waved too.
Sound traveled well over water. Maybe Jack would hear them; maybe he’d see them; maybe he’d turn the boat around and check on why they’d returned to the dock.
With the others, Claire shouted until her throat ached, but the boat vanished around the bend in the lake, beyond a granite rock face. Gone.
She dropped her arms down. They felt heavy and limp. Her heart was beating hard.
Reyva swore under her breath.
“Exactly,” Claire said.
Reyva swore louder and punched at the air. “He isn’t due back untilAugust.”
“I am aware of that.”
“It’s June.”
“That it is.”
“And there’s no cell phone coverage.”
“Also aware,” Claire said. “And trying not to panic.”
“This isn’t a great situation,” Reyva said.
