Page 21 of Last Destination

I wished she hadn’t said those words. It had been an invitation to fate herself.

The next morning we woke, still in our pajamas, under the shade of a broad elm in the middle of nowhere. My mouth felt like I’d sucked on cotton all night, and a violent ache spread from the back of my eyelids to my temple.

“He fucking drugged us!?” Charlie shrieked, although it was slow and muffled, like we were caught underwater. “He DRUGGED us, Marley!”

It wasn’t the first time, although it had been a while. I hated I knew what this feeling was, and hated even more that I loved the perpetrator.

“What is the lesson this time?” I wondered out loud, the sound of my own voice funny in my head.

“I don’t give a shit,” Charlie snapped and pushed herself up to a seated position. “What was the point of training us to withstand poisons, if he was just going to drug us with something different?”

Several blinks cleared the cobwebs in my mind, and I assessed our surroundings. We were in a forest — woodlands, at least — and the sharp scent of rotting leaves and pine needles overwhelmed my senses.

The smell of diesel fuel also lingered in the air. He’d taken us in by ATV. How long had he been planning this?

The morning autumn air chilled my skin, even through my flannel pajamas. Papa hadn’t even left us a coat, which was more concerning for Charlie, who only wore shorts and a t-shirt to bed. Had he left us anything at all?

My gaze searched the ground, but other than dirt and leaves, I saw nothing — nothing at all to help us get home. Beyond the tree though, a small white plastic bag stuck out like a sore thumb. I reached for it and the sudden motion brought on a powerful wave of nausea.

With shaking hands, I pulled out a single water bottle, a protein bar, a pocket knife, and both pairs of our raggedy slippers. No note, no explanation.

My watch — a gift from Papa more expensive than Charlie’s riding lessons — was strapped to my wrist, and I frowned. I’d taken it off before bed last night. Had he refastened it before dumping us here?

“It’s another test,” I confirmed while I laid out each item between us. “What’s the last time on the clock you remember?”

“I got up around three to pee.” Charlie’s voice could have cut glass.

I eyed the watch, grateful Papa had been generous enough to include it. “It’s 7:05 now, so wherever we are, it can’t be too far away from home.”

“That’s still fucking hours, Marley! We could be in the middle of the Boreal Forest by now!”

My face lit up despite the terrible circumstances. “That’s exactly where we are! Good work, Charl. Okay, so our best bet is to head south.”

“How are you so fucking calm in all of this, Marley? This is literally insane.”

My sister pushed to her feet and paced the trees while I gathered up our meager possessions and checked our positioning on my watch. “Because as much as I hate Papa’s games, I trust him, Charlie. He would never put us in real danger. He knows we’ll get out of here. This is a day’s worth of hiking at best.”

I said the words with confidence, but my gut churned while I considered his methods. Papa had never been dangerous, but reasonable was a different story altogether.

Why had he felt the need to drug us? Preparing us to survive an apocalypse was one thing — weird and unorthodox — but somewhat rooted in sanity after he’d served in two wars and endured three tours abroad. This — this was different. But I had to be strong for Charlie.

“Let’s get moving before you freeze,” I said instead, pointing southward.

“I’m getting emancipated after this,” Charlie swore as she tugged on her slippers and marched forward.

“But you’ll never leave me, right?” I joked, though her statement had landed hard like a blow to the belly. I couldn’t live in a world without my twin.

She turned back to me and smiled, her expression soft. She only ever looked at me that way, even when she glared at the rest of the world.

“Never, Marley. I’ll never leave you.”

Warmth enveloped me on all sides, my side nestled against a heated hard body, my head — despite one thousand drummer boys behind my eye sockets — was tucked into the comfort of a rounded shoulder.

Fabric rustled along my torso as my human pillow shifted weight and pulled me in closer. The faint smell of leather and not-unpleasant man sweat was an instant comfort to my swimming thoughts.

“I know you are awake, ángel.”

Madman’s declaration sounded soft against the trill of tree frogs and the faint rustle of leaves. My eye muscles twitched as I fought to get them open. Darkness more soothing than daylight’s sting. It was the middle of the night, and I’d been sleeping in Madman’s arms.