Page 73 of The Final Storm
“The group of officers you had go to the island over a month ago,” Sam repeats. “Are they still there? Maybe they can help.”
Padmoore scoffs. “No one from the Galene has gone to that fucking island except Fenn.”
“Is that Caleb?” I rush out.
Padmoore nods. “And that certainly wasn’t months ago. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turns on his heel and leaves, unconcerned with what we’ve just told him.
“They were there,” I tell Sam. “I saw them leave the Galene. The islanders saw them.”
“I know,” Sam agrees.
“So, does he have it wrong?”
Sam shakes his head. “Dean’s been looking for you for a while, it seems. All the more reason to leave.”
Chapter 25
Predictable
Backinourcabin,Sam and I pack. The rest of the family is out collecting supplies. We leave in the morning, and it couldn’t come soon enough. I feel Dean’s presence here, and it makes me look over my shoulder even when Sam and I are alone in our room.
Lori took the baby, thinking it will help their cause. Her family is packed and ready to leave, but we had to meet with Gemma first. She begged us to help Milo get back on a boat to the Galene. There’s a chance the men Dean sent left the island, and it makes sense Lindell was among them. He’s definitely somewhere on this boat, but everyone is more preoccupied with this storm.
There’s death and danger at every corner, and sometimes you pick the worst and deal with the rest later.
We agree to help Milo, but I’m nervous that I’m slamming us right into a premonition, and a bad one. “I want to talk about my vision with the boys in the water… where I toss them in there. There’s also the dead body,” I tell Sam.
“We have to leave. Dean has men here, and we need the supplies from the island. We’re picking a lane with the information we’ve got.”
“Every decision feels wrong,” I admit. “When will this be over? When will I know I’m making the right choice?”
“Well… don’t throw our children into open water,” Sam jokes. “That’s a good decision.”
“I want to help Gemma, but…” I trail off.
“We have to go to the island,” Sam repeats. “Padmoore won’t give me a weather scanner. And we have some medicines there in case Luke and Lori can’t steal enough.” He shoves a few more things in a bag and grabs the gun case from under the bed.
“We don’t need that,” I argue. “No gun. Lindell took it with him.”
Sam pulls a handgun from the back of his pants and shows it to me, placing it inside and closing the case.
“Where did you get that?” I ask.
“Does it matter? And there’s more on the island. Milo has weapons stashed there we could use.”
I decide he’s right, and it doesn’t matter. We need a means of defense. Lori and Luke’s search for supplies is stealing, anyway. I’m not standing on a moral high ground. I’m trying to keep my family alive. “Tell me more about the underground,” I say, changing the subject.
“It’s land just north of here,” he says.
“The north pole?” I question.
“No, baby. That ice is gone.”
I zip up a bag, and my jaw hangs slack. “So, the north pole wasn’t…” I trail off, feeling dumb for my lack of geography knowledge.
“The north pole was ice. That’s long gone. Think Greenland, Canada.”
My face contorts in confusion, not knowing where we are. But the world has changed, literally. Maps don’t look the same. It’s not cold on our island. It felt the opposite most days, and I’m astonished by what we’ve done to this planet.
