One By One by Freida McFadden(18)

“Under some circumstances.” Warner nods. “But nobody is going to be looking for us in the near future. We’re not expected back home for a week. And we’ve got a map showing us exactly where to go. It would be stupid not to try to find this place.”

Lindsay frowns. “Yes, but…”

“Trust me on this, Lindsay.” Warner pats her shoulder. “You just don’t know better.”

I don’t like the patronizing way Warner is speaking to her. Ever since he kept her from getting the burger she wanted at the diner, this guy has been getting on my nerves. Once I get her alone, I’m going to have a talk with her about him.

“I can’t sit in this car waiting for somebody to rescue us for several days,” Michelle says firmly. “I’ve got a lot of work to do, people.”

Yes, we know.

“Also,” Warner adds, “we don’t have much food. Or water.”

That last comment makes my heart skip a beat. He’s right. Aside from maybe a bag of chips or some beef jerky bought at the convenience store, we don’t have any food. Noah’s got a half-full water bottle in the cupholder, but that’s about it. The six of us aren’t going to be able to survive here for several days if we stay put.

My stomach lets out a low growl. I only ate about a third of the burger at the diner. I lost my appetite after Noah stormed out. Now I wish I had finished it.

“I’ve got my compass,” Jack volunteers. “It shouldn’t be difficult to navigate there.”

Lindsay shakes her head and hugs her chest. “I don’t know. I really think we should stay put.”

“You can stay in the car if you’d like,” Warner tells her. There’s a bit of an edge to his voice that I hadn’t heard before.

Her blue eyes dart around the car. She leans forward in my direction. “Claire, are you going to go?”

“I don’t know…”

She grabs my wrist with her long, skinny fingers. “Let’s stay in the car. It’s safer here.”

I look out the window of the minivan. The path ahead of us is littered with branches and rocks and God knows what else. Why oh why did we have to take the road less traveled? What a mistake. Stupid Robert Frost.

But I don’t want to be left behind in the car. What if everyone else reaches the inn, and they can’t find the car again? I don’t want to be stuck here. If Lindsay and I stay behind, we have no chance of finding our way there. Neither of us has the slightest clue how to navigate through the wilderness. Warner has the only map, but even if I had a copy of that confusing guide to the inn, I doubt I’d be able to follow it.

And we have almost no food or water.

“I think we should stay together,” I decide.

Lindsay frowns. “Are you sure?”

I nod, even though I’m far from sure. But it seems like the better of two bad options. Jack will make sure nothing happens to us.

“Okay,” Lindsay says, but she doesn’t sound thrilled.

Warner swings his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry, babe. We know what we’re doing. It’s only two miles.”

Two miles. It’s two miles from our house to the children’s school. When I walk it, it takes me an hour. But it’s got to take longer to walk through the forest. It’ll probably take two hours. So in two hours, we’ll be at the inn. I’ll be able to kick off my shoes and take a long, hot bath in my private bathroom. I can’t wait.

For the most part, we leave all our bags in the minivan. It’s going to be hard enough to get through the woods without carrying a bunch of junk. I bring my purse, and Noah gives me his water bottle to put inside, which I nestle next to my phone. On the off chance we get a signal somewhere, I want to be prepared. Also, I want to make sure to send Penny a text the second we get there so that the kids know we’re okay—especially Emma. Jack brings a backpack with supplies he brought for hiking, including a large water bottle that’s nearly full. He stuffs his compass into his jeans pocket.

It’s hot outside the car. Sweltering. Before the battery went out, the temperature gauge from outside the vehicle read eighty-nine degrees. We haven’t even started walking yet, and I already feel hot and sticky. While I feel lucky to be the only one wearing shorts, my bare legs are too exposed. What if I step in poison ivy? What if a snake bites my ankle? I sort of wish I were wearing jeans instead, but my luggage is at the bottom of the pile and I don’t want to go through the hassle of changing inside the minivan. The shorts will be fine for a quick hike.

The dirt road disappears rapidly and is barely a road anymore—I can’t imagine how the minivan would have made it any further, even if the battery hadn’t died. But the men seem confident as they lead the way. Jack has his compass and his Boy Scout experience, and Warner has the map and is the only one who has been here before. The three of us women bring up the rear.

“I’m sure it won’t be too far,” I say. I’m not by any means sure of that, but I’m trying to be optimistic for Lindsay’s sake.

Michelle shoots me a look. “Don’t you ever service your car, Claire?”

I flinch. “Yes. I service it regularly.”

“Well, it seems to me,” she says, “if you were going to take your vehicle on a trip out into the wilderness, you might want to bring it to the mechanic first to make sure it doesn’t break down in the middle of nowhere.”