Exodus

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

They passed through Saginaw (population 51,230, and the home of the Saginaw Sting), Saint Ignace (population 2,435, with the best view of the Mackinac Bridge, this side of the US border), and tiny Rudyard (population 1,315, named after the English poet and writer, Rudyard Kipling).

By the time they crossed over the US–Canadian border for the third and final time, the towns and villages along their route had become smaller, sparser, but no less empty than every other place they had driven through. They spent nights in hotels, homes, offices, and the back of the Durango. In Prince George they stopped for the night at what had been a railway museum, sleeping in the relative luxury of a refurbished coach car.

Gradually, with each new day and every mile farther north they traveled, Emily and Rhiannon began to feel the temperature outside the air-conditioned SUV drop, and the alien forests that had become so prevalent begin to grow thinner and sparser, a final indication that Jacob’s theory was correct. And yet, despite the slowing of the alien incursion, they saw no one and nothing to indicate that anywhere north of the border between the two countries had suffered any less of a tragedy than the rest of the continent, or the world.

The space between towns and cities began to grow larger the farther north they traveled.

And they saw not one other soul.

For the majority of the journey, Emily and Rhiannon had sat in relative silence, each numbed by their own despair, a sharp splinter of pain buried deep in each of their hearts.

When they reached Calgary, Emily pulled the SUV to a halt in front of what had once been a store of some kind but was now just a burned-out ruin of blackened beams and melted glass; the soot-strewn interior was littered with the unidentifiable skeletons of what could have once been furniture.

Emily climbed from the driver’s seat into the back next to Rhiannon, staring at the young girl, who seemed to be patently avoiding her gaze.

Emily paused as she collected herself; she wanted to get the words in the right order before she spoke them, so Rhia understood exactly what it was that she was saying. So there could be no mistake in her intent, because she knew she would only get one shot at this speech, so it had to be right.

“I’m sorry,” she said eventually. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t save your dad. And I’m so very sorry that I could not save Ben. If I could have traded places with them, I would have. But I promise you, Rhiannon, that I will never let harm come to you. I promise that I will always be there to help you, and that I will never leave you. We’re all each other has now. We are each other’s family, and we have to protect each other from now on.”

Emily wasn’t sure what she was expecting as a reply, but what she got was something as uncomplicated and yet as confusing as this girl on the waning edge of childhood.

“I know,” Rhiannon said softly, her lips parted in a sad slight smile as she finally lifted her eyes to Emily. “I know it wasn’t your fault, but it doesn’t stop me from being mad at you. Even though I don’t want to be. Is that stupid?”

Emily choked back a sudden flow of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her ability to even talk. “No, sweetie, no. It’s very normal,” was the best she could manage.

“I just wish…I wish you hadn’t found us. I wish you had just kept riding. Sorry, but I do. ’Cause then Daddy and Ben would still be alive and we’d all still be together.” Rhiannon’s hand crept across the space between them, grasping Emily’s. “But I know that won’t happen, and I know you’re sorry, so I just want to be safe.”

Emily squeezed Rhiannon’s hand in return, leaned in, and kissed her gently on the forehead. “I do, too,” she replied. “I do, too.”

They took advantage of the unscheduled stop and allowed Thor out to stretch his legs. Ten minutes later, as Emily climbed into the driver’s seat, she heard the front passenger door open, then Rhiannon pulled herself up into the leather seat and fastened her seat belt into place.

Emily turned and smiled at her. Neither said a word; none were needed, so Emily just slipped the Dodge into gear and drove.