A Candle in the Dark

He couldn’t find Eden. Ezra searched the camp, praying to God that his sister hadn’t gone off alone. Or worse, with Javier. But he found the man by his tent and breathed a sigh of relief. Then it occurred to him that although he wasn’t with her, Javier might know where Eden was.

“Have you seen my sister?” Ezra asked, his voice cold.

Javier turned amused eyes on him. “She’s not here.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“She went off with the new girl. Toward the river.”

Ezra didn’t thank him. He didn’t bother grabbing a weapon and set off on the path they’d made themselves on numerous trips to the river for water. Everyone in the camp bathed in it too, but because of the constant flow they didn’t have any qualms about drinking from the same place.

Without pausing to think why they were at the river, Ezra came out of the trees. He saw Eden first, with her back to the water. Then his eyes drifted past his sister and fell upon Astrid. She was wearing a pair of underwear and nothing else. Ezra’s jaw went slack and Astrid quickly covered her breasts, her face going as red as her hair.

“I’m sorry!” Ezra exclaimed, and spun around.

Eden slapped him upside the head. They stood in silence for a minute, and every second felt like a millennia to Ezra.

“You guys can turn around now,” Astrid said sheepishly. She held a bundle of clothes in her arms, and was wearing a shirt that looked slightly cleaner than the one she’d had on before. Her eyes were on Ezra’s, her cheeks still flaming red.

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

“It’s fine,” she said, and walked up to him. Monroe was already heading down the path after Eden, who’d started walking after Astrid finished getting dressed. When she reached his side, they started down the path together. “Just forget it happened, okay?”

The image of her shocked face and naked torso wasn’t something he was likely to forget. “Sure,” he said. “Never happened.”

They walked in silence, and Ezra contemplated whether or not it was an awkward silence. He decided, after twenty feet, that it was not. Astrid probably wasn’t used to a constant stream of chatter, and that was why she’d remained so quiet in the car when Maddie rambled on and on. It was comforting, really, not having to say anything just to fill the void. Sometimes silence was better.

“Your sister is nice,” Astrid said, as they reached the boundary of the camp.

Ezra glanced at the girl by his side. With her bundle of clothes under one arm, she was braiding her crimson hair while they walked into a plait that began at the top of her head and ended past her shoulders. She tugged a band around the loose ends, letting the braid fall against her back.

“You’re the first girl that’s close to her age that we’ve seen in a while. I think she feels the need to befriend you.”

Astrid smiled. “I don’t mind. Friends are hard to come by, these days.”

He couldn’t help but agree. “You’ll find that the people in this camp will always be there if you need a friend. Most of them, anyway.”

“Does that include you?” she asked, her voice dangerously soft. Her blue eyes flicked to his. They’d reached her tent.

“Of course.”

“Good.” A strand had fallen loose from her braid. Astrid tucked it behind her ear. “What else is there to do around here?”

She had crouched by her backpack, and was putting her old clothes inside of it. When she was done, Astrid stood and looked at him expectantly.

“Not much, really. Sit around the fire, read, wait for dinner.”

“I’m not really one for idleness.”

“There’s about an hour before sundown, and I think Emily’s going to start dishing out dinner soon.”

“Well, Monroe needs another walk. I don’t want her wandering off at night to do her business.” Astrid slung her quiver over one shoulder and picked up her crossbow. “You’re welcome to join me.”

He nodded, and they passed by the Jeep so he could grab his machete. It was never a bad idea, even though Ezra knew Astrid carried her bow and a hunting knife, not to mention the pistol she was trying to hide by tucking it into her jeans. He’d caught it almost immediately, when he’d been looking at something else.