The Survivors: Point of Origin (book 2)

Tikka Masala, pt. 2

EVERETT KNOCKED ON THE DOOR A FEW MINUTES LATER. “SADIE?” HE SAID. There was uncertainty in his voice. I sensed he didn’t know what to do.

“Yeah?” I asked. I was pacing.

He looked uneasy. “Hey, princess,” he cooed. He put his hands on my cheeks.

“I need to go back to Montana,” I said. This was less than optimal, but where else would I go?

“Okay,” he said. “When do you want to go?”

“I’ll go now, I think. It isn’t snowing too badly. I’ll drive.”

“Now?” he asked. “You couldn’t wait to get away from there.”

“Yes, but now I’d like to be away from here,” I said.

Always running, he said in his mind, a thought I likely wasn’t supposed to hear. I pulled away from him.

“You can stay here if you want. Or maybe you should go back to Pacific Grove. I know the weather is killing you,” I said, flinching at my word choice.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, pulling on his coat and picking up a suitcase neither of us had unpacked. “I’m a big boy. I can handle myself here, in Montana, or wherever else you are,” he said. It was a lie, of course. I knew he was aching with need. But he wouldn’t let me out of his sight. He knew it. I knew it.

We went downstairs, and I was surprised to find Ginny and Adelaide standing in the entryway with coats and boots on. “We’ll come with you, if that’s all right,” Adelaide said. I nodded.

Mark came up beside me and swung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him. “I’ll be along soon,” he whispered into my ear. “After I have a good talking-to with the warriors in there.”

“Set them straight,” I whispered back.

“That’s what I’m here for, little one,” he said, giving me a tight squeeze before he bolted out of sight.

From the blowup at the dinner table until the time we got in the car, no more than fifteen minutes had passed. I handed Everett the keys and let him drive so I could check out completely.

WHEN WE ARRIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WE PARKED OUR CAR AT THE end of the last mountain road just up the mountain from Swan Lake where we always left it.

Lizzie was waiting for us at the gate. “Welcome home,” she said.

“Thank you,” I said. I managed a small smile, but it was half-hearted. Though it had been my home for the most of my life, the world inside these walls never felt like home to me.

“Might I take Sadie with me?” Lizzie asked the Winters.

“Sure,” Everett said. “We’ll be at the house.” He and Ginny took off with our things toward their new home on the square. Lizzie and I walked on toward the church, away from the others without another word. Adelaide followed.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked sweetly and walked in step on my right side, Lizzie on my left.

“No,” Lizzie and I said in unison, though I was certainly more uneasy about this than Lizzie was.

“Sadie has had a hell of a time these last few days, Lizzie,” Adelaide said. “She had a strange experience, almost like an intrusive vision. We’ll need to speak with Andrew and Hannah about it. Regrettably, we’ll need to tell John and the other elders about it, too, but maybe we can hold off on that.”

“Certainly. We can meet in the room off the church. Should I get them now?” Lizzie asked.

“It would be best,” Adelaide said. Lizzie nodded and flitted off toward Andrew’s home.