The Dead and the Dark(95)

Logan hugged him. “I’ll buy you, like, a thousand new pairs. I’m so happy you’re alive.”

“Whoa,” Elexis breathed. He looked over Logan’s shoulder. “Mr. Woodley, are you okay?”

Brandon cradled his injured arm and offered a pained smile. Blood stained his hand and soaked into his frayed jeans. It was worse than Logan had realized; guilt knotted in her stomach like a clenched fist.

She’d done this. She’d pulled the trigger.

“I’m fine.” Brandon glanced at his arm. “But … maybe we should get out of here?”

Logan nodded to Elexis. Slowly, they hoisted Brandon from the ground with his good arm over Logan’s shoulders. Brandon winced at the pressure, but slowly, they hobbled out of the cabin.

The sky was splashed with pale dawn and the trees were quiet, leaning in the wind like they were forming a way out. Logan’s breath stung her chest with the effort of keeping Brandon upright. In the distance, the trees flashed red and blue. The gravel turnout was littered with state police, and at the front of the pack, Logan recognized Ashley, Alejo, and Gracia.

It took everything she had not to break into a sprint.

Logan and Elexis hauled Brandon the rest of the way to the gravel before Alejo rushed to meet them. He pressed one hand on Logan’s back and used the other to hold Brandon in place. Brandon slumped into his shoulder, breath rasping. He threw his head back against Alejo’s arm and laughed into the dawn.

“What happened?” Alejo asked. “There are paramedics. Someone will—”

“It’s gone.” Brandon lolled his forehead against Alejo’s neck. Blood from his shoulder painted Alejo’s denim jacket red. “It’s gone.”

Alejo didn’t speak. He stared, knuckles turning white as his grip on Brandon tightened. He looked into Logan’s eyes, silently begging her to confirm it.

She nodded.

“Oh my god,” Alejo breathed. He inhaled sharply and covered his mouth with a shaking hand. When he blinked, he was crying, too. The morning wind was cold and bitter, but Alejo pulled them together in a hug tight enough to block out the chill. He shook until his tears melted into laughter.

“It’s okay. It didn’t take her,” Brandon croaked. “We’re finally gonna be okay.”

Logan looked over Alejo’s shoulder. Gracia had swept Elexis into a hug so tight she was shocked Elexis could breathe. Gracia peppered his face with kisses, muttering inaudibly in his ear. Ashley stood behind them, hesitant like she wasn’t sure if she deserved to celebrate. Her eyes were red and swollen. She looked at the horizon with a smile that was relieved and pained at once.

“I’ll be right back,” Logan whispered.

She made her way to Ashley. Paramedics quickly swarmed Brandon, working to patch up his shoulder. It was a surreal scene—for the first time since she’d come to Snakebite, it was like there was a world outside. There were people beyond this little town. Someone in the real world cared about what happened here. They weren’t stuck in a cage. They hadn’t just come here to die.

“Hey,” Logan said.

Ashley blinked away from the horizon and focused on Logan’s face. She wiped tears from her eyes and smiled wearily. “Hey.”

“I hope your night was a little less eventful than mine,” Logan mused.

“I don’t think it was.”

Logan gestured to the crowd of police cars. “Did you call the cavalry?”

“I did. Actually, I think Fran called them first.” Ashley looked at the ground. “I, uh … we found Tristan.”

Logan’s eyes widened. She knew better than to ask, but she couldn’t help herself. There was still a piece of hope lodged in her chest, small and trembling. “Alive?”

Ashley gave her a tight-lipped frown. Slowly, she shook her head. Her lips quivered and the tears she’d clearly been fighting resurfaced.

“I’m sorry,” Logan said. She felt selfish for a moment for being so happy that her family had survived this. Logan took Ashley’s hand tentatively. “I’m so sorry.”

They both looked out at the hills in silence. Earlier tonight—or yesterday, Logan guessed—she’d thought this place was a prison. And it was, in a sense. But without the Dark, there was beauty in it. There was hope.

Ashley took Logan’s face in her hands. She pulled Logan to her and kissed her like they were the only people in the turnout. Like they were the only people in the world. Logan held Ashley’s shoulders and kissed her back. She didn’t know what they would do next—where they would go—but Logan kissed her and kissed her.

They were alive.

For now, that was enough.





39


Only Homesick Ghosts


It was a quiet morning in Snakebite.

It had been two weeks since Paris’s basement. Two weeks since Snakebite learned their sheriff had killed three children. Two weeks of people asking questions before promptly realizing they didn’t want the answers. Two weeks since Ashley had seen Tristan for the last time. His funeral was a quiet, hard thing. But it was a relief. Winter would come again and Tristan would still be gone, but at least he wasn’t lost.

At least he was home.

Ashley wasn’t sure she could ever call Snakebite home again.