Page 64 of Into the Mist

“It’s harder to leave than I thought it would be.” She kept the lodge in view as long as possible before turning around.

“It made me feel safe.” Karen spoke softly. She’d taken her place on the bench seat near the door.

“I think that’s it,” agreed Mercury. “Reasonable or not—the lodge seemed a sanctuary.”

“It is for the people who remain there,” said Stella. “Just not permanently, and not for us.”

Carefully, slowly, Stella followed the one-way exit from the lodge that wound around and eventually joined the two-lane Timberline Highway that they’d driven up just two days before. The truck’s headlights pierced through the dawn gloom, but it was still slow going.

“At least I don’t recognize any new cars—or see any more dead people than I did driving up,” Stella said.

“The road’s still crappy,” said Mercury. “I hope there are no more earthquakes.” She gave Stella a side glance. “Will there be?”

Keeping both hands on the wheel, Stella shrugged. “No clue, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were.”

It seemed that it took less time to make their way down Timberline Highway than it had to go up it, which Mercury realized was because Stella could drive a little faster without having to worry about jostling wounded people in the bed. The headlights illuminated the stop sign that signaled where the road to Timberline emptied into highway 26—east and west. Stella had begun to slow when she suddenly stomped on the brakes, narrowly missing a heavily pregnant doe who dashed across the broken two-lane. She put the truck into neutral and let it idle while she wiped the sweat from her palms on her jeans.

“Shit!” Stella sounded shaky. “That was close. I have to remember that with hardly any traffic, wildlife will be more likely to cross the highway.”

“Is there a rush to get to Madras?” asked Mercury.

Stella opened her mouth to answer, paused, and then blew out a long breath before she answered. “Actually, no. I can calm down. The rush was to get off the mountain before the snowstorm hit, and we’re on our way, so we should be good.”

“So, just relax and take it slow.” Mercury bumped her friend’s shoulder with hers. “Plus, our truck bed passengers aren’t injured,but I grew up riding in the bed of my dad’s ranch trucks, and I promise you that going fast is going to jostle them like crazy.”

Karen pressed her thin lips into a thinner line. “Children riding in the beds of trucks is so dangerous. It’s one of the few things I ever spoke against Michael about.”

Mercury and Stella turned to Karen, brows raised.

“Do tell,” said Stella.

“Yeah, spill the tea, girl,” added Mercury.

“The tea?” Karen’s brow wrinkled.

“It means to give us all the gory details about—” Mercury jumped and yipped at three sharp knocks on the glass behind her. She turned to see Imani looking at her.

“Gotta pee!”she shouted through the muffling glass.

Stella nodded and made the “okay” sign with her right hand. She pulled beside the broken “Timberline Lodge” sign that used to point up the highway and put the truck in neutral.

“Sorry, guys,” said Imani as she and Gemma crawled out of the bed of the truck with a roll of toilet paper.

“Too much coffee,” Gemma said around a yawn.

“Hey, no problem,” Mercury told them, remembering the big deal Mr. Hale had made about Amelia needing to stop for a pee—which had probably saved their lives.

Mercury stretched and walked a little way into the middle of what was left of the highway. From there she had a decent view of the bottom slope of the mountain. The sky had become light enough that it allowed her to see the broken trees and torn land that was dotted by the orange glow of uncountable fires. She wanted to look away. It made her sad and angry and frightened to see evidence of how much her world—the entire world—had shifted in just a couple days, but it also pulled her attention, like passing a bad wreck. She had to look.

“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Stella said from beside her.

Mercury jumped. “Goddess! Make some noise, would ya? You move like a cat.”

“Thanks. That reminds me of how much I miss my house panther.” She hooked her arm through Mercury’s.

“Cash Money was an awesome house panther,” agreed Mercury.

“I’m glad I’m as between cats as you are between dogs. I’d hate to think about what woulda happened to them.” She lowered hervoice. “It sounds strange, and unintentionally callous, but you know my parents and my older sister have been gone for years, so my fur babiesaremy family. Glad I got to say goodbye to Cash Money and didn’t lose him in this mess.” When Mercury didn’t say anything, Stella added. “Hey, I didn’t mean to make it seem like I’m comparing my cat to your mom and dad and brothers.”