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I tried to sleep in the silent ship

Haven House was always--had always been--so noisy I would never hear it creak and groan again Would never hear the cane whisperacross the marble floor

Even the voices were quiet, as if they wantedpotential

Or perhaps they were quiet because Jackson wasslumped over that desk He’d told ain, "no place is one hundred percent safe" His crossboas at the ready

I felt alternately uneasy and protected to have him so close

As I lay on a too-soft foam bed in a too-quiet cabin, I relived the day A trio of memories had been etched into otten

The proud look Jackson had given hter to burn down my home and cremate my mother

The feel of his blistered palm e ran hand-in-hand from the flames

How peaceful Mom had looked in death

Tears gathered and spilled--there was no stopping the that picture Had she known it would be her last night to live?

Why hadn’t I stayed with her?

If she hadn’t died in her sleep, then I could have been there to hold her hand, to see herto see her through it

Curling onso hard not to ht "You need to stop crying"

I kept crying

With a harsh oath, he grated, "Out here, there’s no rooeline"

Yes, Jackson had only just begun to recognize what a weighty responsibility he’d taken on today--and now the reality was setting in I sat up, swiping my forearet sick of race What o out so clean"

I cried harder

"Daether, his lips thinned "To hell with it Cry all you like, but I doan have to watch it!" Snatching up his bow, he stor the door

I stared after hih the ship But just as suddenly, he started back toward the cabin I heard hiust of breath

I continued to cry; he rose to pace

What felt like hours later, he flung open the door "You knohat PEWS is?"

I shooksyste up on you Like the crackling shells out on the deck"

"O-okay?" Tears were strea down ain "You can crush up lightbulbs outside your door, any kind of glass A groaning staircase works just as well That’s part of the reason I always try to roll two-story houses When I’ for places for us to overnight, so keep that in ers can smell water from miles away, so they still flock to old bodies of--"

"Then hy are we in a shipyard?"

"A ship on blocks is too good to pass up Bagure out how to use a ladder Besides, every overnight has its own drawbacks Any house with an open door? You have to wonder if a Bagger got in there first, like a ? You can’t spit without hitting a fire exit Fire exits equal Bagman entrances"

"Y-you know a lot"

"I do, Evie," he said ious, but their saliva or blood in your oill turn you in less than two days I know that the only way to kill the or a shot to the brainpan I’ve seen ’eot to be dead--but if you toss a bucket of water on ’eround to bite you I know that they’re not allergic to sun like everybody thinks They just doan like it ’cause it dries out their slih of an incentive and they’ll brave the sun I’ve seen ’eround"

As I shivered to i attention? I learned this stuff, but I’ve paid for it Giving it to you for free"

I would grasp at anything to occupy hty" He hauled his backpack to the bed, taking a seat across fro Only critical stuff and survival gear" He duly proud ?

My gaze flicked over energy gel-packs and protein bars, a canister of Morton salt, a Swiss Arhters, low sticks, three mini bottles of liquor, and a canteen

So of nails, an envelope of photos that he didn’t seem keen for me to see, and a pistol, snapped in a holster "We’ll turn your backpack into a bug-out bag too And every night, we’ll sort our resources" Atout for on the road"

My tears were drying "Like what?"

"If your bootlaces get busted, oan pass by a corpse with decent lace-up boots"

I sed This was my life now "If you have a pistol, why do you carry only a bow and arrow?"

"Only?" he scoffed "This is bolt-action" He reached for his weapon, showing azine clip with six short arrows inside "It’s quiet, and the arrows are reusable Not so great against ers Besides, that pistol’s only got one bullet--hanging on to it in case I get bit"

"Oh When do I get oan to saw off the barrel Carry it along with et started with supplies" He handed me the three mini bottles

I raised ood to have in hand"

I set them away, too tired and emotionally raw to deal with his innuendo

But he scooped the bottles up, dropping them insistently into my lap "Doan scoff at the liquor, Evie What else on earth can disinfect, catch an eneet you drunk? Tell lass for a PEWS?"

The corners of his lips curved just the slightest bit

Chapter 22

DAY 230 AF

DEEP IN MISSISSIPPI