Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)(23)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

I pulled her to the door. “Let’s go.”

“Wait. Our stuff.” She yanked me back to grab our packs before I fumbled with the lock and opened the door.

Outside, the storm was still going strong. Linking arms, we fought the wind and snow to make our way down the stairs. We slipped several times as we clumsily tried to find the slick concrete slabs. We didn’t talk—although I wouldn’t have known if Samantha had been trying to speak to me over the howling wind.

The other rooms were located just below ours, so we didn’t have to walk far once we got downstairs. I knew immediately that something was wrong. Even in the dim moonlight, I could see that the doors to both rooms were off the hinges.

The overhang blocked some of the storm, and I gestured for Samantha to stand to the side while I walked into the first room. Of course, she didn’t listen. I felt her on my heels but decided it wasn’t worth arguing with her. Besides, she might have been in just as much danger outside. The room was completely empty—every part of it upturned. The bed was pushed against the wall, the sheets torn off and balled up on the floor. Every drawer had been pulled out of the nightstand.

The next room was the same. I kept waiting for other doors to open—someone had to have heard the noise—but nothing. The owner had said they only had three rooms available. That meant the place should have been full. We made our way to the office. It was empty, too. The scene was beginning to feel like a horror movie, and as much fun as those were to watch, they sure as hell weren’t something I’d ever wanted to experience firsthand.

Another howl and a scream assaulted my ears as the bright light filled the night sky again. The slightly green tint was different.

I looked over at Samantha. “We should get changed.”

“Are you now glad I grabbed our packs?”

Another piercing scream caused me to run outside without thinking. I stopped midway through the parking lot and reached behind me, knowing Samantha wouldn’t have waited in the office. The snow stung my bare skin, but I didn’t care. We had to find them. Part of me kept expecting to run smack into Dad or Monty, but I also feared that we’d run into a dead body.

Samantha tugged on my arm. I forced my head up into the wind, and my chest tightened. Despite the storm, the splash of crimson in the white snow piling up on the road was impossible to miss. Blood.

Samantha leaned in to speak into my ear. “This does not mean anything.”

I nodded. Samantha led me back in the direction of the motel, where I noticed another splash of red in the parking lot. We moved toward it, and I spotted an object sticking out of the puddle of blood. I bent down to see what it was.

“Car keys.” I picked them up, doing my best to ignore the fact that they were covered with someone’s blood. “My dad left the keys for us.”

We walked back to the snow-covered parking lot. We’d never changed, so I was still shirtless. I was too overwhelmed by the situation to reach into my pack for more clothes. Most of the vehicles were trucks, so it didn’t take long to find Dad’s Yukon. I clicked the Unlock button on the key fob before using my hand to dig out the driver-side door.

“We have a vehicle. We can do this.” Samantha’s confident words were more necessary than ever.

I opened the door for Samantha. She climbed over the console to get to the passenger seat, and I got in to sit behind the wheel.

When I closed the door, she said, “You cannot drive in this weather, so let us take some time to plan.”

“What’s there to plan? We’re screwed.”

“Not necessarily. Don’t you know how to use the equipment?” She gestured to the back of the SUV where we’d stowed the gear.

“The gear! You’re right. We never brought in any gear, so we have it all.”

“All we have to do is find the Onyx and the gate home.”

“All we have to do? I wouldn’t make it sound that easy, but theoretically, it’s possible.”

Samantha slapped me.

I brought a hand up to my cheek. “What the hell?”

“Snap out of this. Man up. Whatever it is you call it. Where is the confident man you usually are?”

“I’m sorry, but this is pretty crazy stuff to snap out of. You do realize who might be behind all of this?”

“I never should have told you about my dream.”

I turned to look at her. “You needed to. I still can’t believe Uncle Monty had anything to do with it, but—”

“How else did they find us?” She touched my arm gently. I could have sworn she had multiple personalities sometimes. A second ago, she’d slapped me. “We were so careful.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. If Monty wasn’t the man I thought he was, if he wasn’t good, then how could I believe anything? How could I trust anything or anyone again? I thought of how much trust we’d placed in him over the years—and then the worst thought came to me. Charlotte! What if he’d put her in danger, too? I hoped like hell that Calvin could protect her as well as he thought he could.

“He was not the one to suggest the Onyx. It was Tomas, your mother, and Charlotte thought it sounded right, too.”

“Charlotte also trusted Monty.”

“And he might be good. Besides, I think the Essence’s judgment could be off when it comes to family. That is why your mother would not have known.”

“I can understand that. Could Charlotte ever believe I was bad?”

She pretended to mull it over, but then she smiled. “No.”

I looked out through the small cleared space in the snow I’d made on the window. “I think it’s finally slowing down out there.”

“You need to rest.”

“Rest? Now?”

“We both do, but I can sleep as we drive. Close your eyes, and I will look through the gear as best I can.”

“We don’t have time. Plus, do you really think you can figure out a GPS?”

“Fine, but you will have to stop eventually.” She crossed her arms. “And what is a GPS?”

“My point exactly.” I climbed into the back and pulled out a duffel bag of stuff Dad already had before we went shopping. I returned to the front and rifled through the bag. “Here.” The GPS was a far cry from the one I used in my car back home, but as long as Dad had already programmed in the coordinates, we’d be fine.

“I really do not think you can drive yet. Just rest while we wait.”