“No, Robby,” his father said. “Hold tight.”
Brandon put his palm against the window and pressed his forehead to the glass. Robby ducked and bobbed, trying to see what Brandon was looking at. Against the charcoal sky, black shapes moved across the rooflines, keeping time with the Jeep.
“Mom,” Brandon whispered. He reached down and unhooked his seat belt.
“Brandon?” Robby asked. “Brandon?” He touched the older boy’s arm.
Brandon spun and glared at Robby—“What?”
“Did you say something?” Robby asked. “You took your seat belt off.”
Sam watched the exchange from between the front seats.
Robby glanced to his dad and then back to Brandon—“It sounded like you said something.”
“I didn’t,” Brandon said.
“Put your seat belt back on, Brandon,” Sam said.
“No need,” Sarah said. She pulled the Jeep to a stop in the side parking lot of the schoolhouse. A few spaces down, two other cars sat covered in snow.
Sam leaned forward and looked over the building. There wasn’t much to see on this side—just a long wall dotted with a few windows. Everyone dropped off their kids on this side.
“I’ll go in, you guys stay here,” Sam said. “Keep it running.”
“In and out,” Sarah said.
“In and out,” Sam replied.
Sam’s door swept a flat surface through the snow. He plunged his foot into the powder. After closing his door he pointed down and mouthed, “Lock it.” The snow drifted deep here, against the southern edge of the building, and Sam waded through it to get to the door. He expected the school door to be closed, but the door to the Lion’s club was around the other side, so he thought it worth checking.
The handle turned. He pushed his way inside. The hall to his left housed all the cubbyholes where the kids kept their gloves and boots. With all the boots at home, the cubbies currently held their Japanese house slippers. Sam pulled a flashlight from his pocket and pushed through the curtain to the main schoolroom. He didn’t need the light. The skylights and windows provided enough ambient glow for Sam to navigate. He turned off his flashlight and crossed the room.
On the opposite side, the curtain that led to the other outside door was fluttering. He pulled it aside and found snow drifting in through the door to the playground. The door stood open about a foot. He looked through the window out to the playground. He didn’t any tracks or signs of life, just a snow-covered jungle gym, swing set, and benches. He pushed the outer door shut and headed back for the main room.
Past the wood stove, Sam used his light to see down the hall. He shined his light in the teacher’s office, and then into Robby’s study room. Robby had his own study room away from the rest of the kids. His teachers discovered years before that Robby needed several hours a day to study independently. Without his alone-time to read, research, write, and figure problems, Robby tended to zone out and not interact with anyone at all.
Sam found nothing out of the ordinary in either of the rooms, so he continued down the hall to the utility room. The far end of the schoolhouse shared a wall with the Lion’s club, and the only door between them connected a dressing room with the school’s utility room. Flashing lights lit up one corner of the utility room. An emergency power supply for the furnace flashed to announce it was out of juice. Sam read the LCD display. It read, “Batt. Fail - 2:37:12.” The twelve counted to thirteen and fourteen as he watched.
“Yeah, how much battery does it take to tell me you’re out of battery?” Sam whispered.
A clank made sam whirl around. He circled his flashlight around the room to the two doors, and to the racks of janitorial supplies.
“Hello?” he called.
He crossed to the Lion’s club door and swung it open. Sam made quick loop through the Lion’s club. It didn’t have many rooms—just a big auditorium, some backstage area, and the bathrooms. He stopped behind the bar at the back of the auditorium. The booze should have been all locked up, but on the floor behind the bar he found a spilled bottle of rum. He set it upright. He touched the floor around the puddle of rum. The floor felt sticky for about an inch surrounding the puddle.
Glass shattered at the other end of the room. Sam stood up and flicked off his flashlight in one motion. His eyes adjusted quickly, but he didn’t see anything but the empty meeting hall. One of the curtains fluttered and snow blew in through a broken pane. Sam quickly moved towards the outside door to look for footprints. The door was shut, and he didn’t see any footprints outside when he opened it.
“This is Sam Pierce,” he shouted. “Come on out if you need help.”
He heard no response. Sam turned his flashlight back on and moved fast backstage and then through the schoolhouse. He suddenly wished he hadn’t left his wife and son in the car. He threw open the door, expecting to see the Jeep gone, or worse—the Jeep still there but empty.
The Jeep still sat there with just a dusting of snow accumulated on the roof. The wipers swished and he saw his wife, turned around and talking to the boys. Sam waded back through the snow. Sarah unlocked the doors as he came up to the side of the Jeep.
“Anyone?” she asked as he slammed his door.
“I couldn’t find anyone,” Sam said. “Let’s head for the shore.”
“I want to go back to my house,” Brandon said.
“Brandon, I thought we agreed you should go to the mainland so we can look for your dad,” Sam said.
“My mom is still here,” he said.
“And she can take care of herself, right?” Sam said. “Drive, honey,” he said to Sarah.
Sarah backed up the Jeep, following their tracks.
“No!” screamed Brandon. “I have to go home.” He grabbed for his door handle and yanked. Robby had set the door so it couldn’t be opened from the inside.
“Brandon, calm down,” Sam said. “Your mom knows we’re leaving this morning. If she wants to come with us, she’ll be at the dock. Otherwise we can just assume she’s staying here with Jim.”
“If she’s staying then I am too,” he said. Brandon pushed the button to lower his window. He started climbing out as soon as the window opened. The rear window in the Jeep couldn’t descend all the way, so Brandon struggled against the top of the glass.
“Brandon,” Sam yelled. “Sit down.”
Brandon still had the length of rope tied around his waist. It dangled behind him. Robby grabbed it and held as Brandon’s torso disappeared out the window.
“Stop for a sec,” Sam said to Sarah. She had already started to slow down.
Sam jumped out of the Jeep and grabbed Brandon by the shoulders.
“You’re my responsibility right now, Brandon, and I’m going to see you stay safe. You’re under eighteen, and until we find one of your parents, or you turn eighteen, you’re going to do what I say. We’re getting off this island, and then we’re going to find your dad.”
Robby removed his seat belt and slid closer across the seat to hear what his dad was saying.
“But my mom,” Brandon protested.
Sam lowered his voice, “Your mom might already be gone, okay? We didn’t see any footprints, remember? She’s not in the house, and there were no footprints. There’s no sense in us continuing to look—we have no clues where she or anyone else went.”
Some of the tension seemed to slip from Brandon.
“Let’s get back in the car and go find your dad, okay?" Sam asked.
Brandon didn’t reply, but he started to shimmy back through the window. Robby moved back to get out of his way. The window caught Brandon’s jacket and it bunched up around his shoulders. Sam got about halfway into his seat when Brandon stopped him.
“Mr. Pierce?" Brandon asked.