There was a wooden fence out behind the house, about six feet high, separating the subdivision from the woods out back. Six feet. He could hop that easily and be in the woods before Steve even knew he was gone. Despite the presence of darkening clouds, there was still enough light out there. A few hours’ worth, at least. He could find Jordan, hiding somewhere out there, and go…someplace far from here.
So what was stopping him?
“You can leave anytime?” he asked.
“Anytime,” she said.
“And they won’t try to stop you?”
“No.”
“How do you know?” He looked back at her. “How can you be sure?”
“Keo, what do you see out there?”
“Trees.”
“Right. Trees. If you want to leave, go ahead. They’re not going to stop you. Why should they? That’s why all this fighting is so unnecessary. People are dying out there for no reason. It’s not perfect in here, but it’s worse out there.”
“They brought you here against your will, Gillian. They killed Mark and Rachel and her daughter in the process, remember?”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that?” She looked visibly frustrated, maybe even angry with him. “I’ll never forget what happened to them. But I can’t change the past, or dwell on it. I can’t afford to.” She put her hands over her belly again. “I have to think about the future.”
And where do I fit into that future?
He knew the answer without having to ask it, without having to hear her say it. He could see it in the way she caressed her stomach, as clear as day. Gillian couldn’t afford to dwell on the past, and that was exactly what he was-the past.
“Keo,” she said.
He met her eyes and watched her get up and walk over to him.
“I’m really glad you’re alive,” she said, and he wanted desperately to believe her. “Seeing you here, safe and sound, is a miracle. I didn’t think I would ever see you again, get to touch you again…”
She placed her hand against his cheek, over the ugly scar that Pollard had left behind. Her skin felt warm and welcoming, and he couldn’t help himself and closed his eyes and leaned into her palm.
“Keo,” she whispered, and he had never heard such a wonderful sound coming out of another human being as his name from her lips.
When he opened his eyes, she was crying, but not making any sounds.
“Keo,” she whispered again.
He kissed her.
He expected her to push him away, to tell him there was only (fucking) Jay now, but she didn’t. Instead, she kissed him back and pressed forward until Keo felt her growing belly, filled with another man’s child, rubbing against him. He should have been disgusted, even angry, but he wasn’t.
He wanted her. Desperately.
Maybe it was all the months alone, with only Norris’s complaining for company. Then, later, almost dying on Song Island. Though, he thought it was more than that. It was a primitive longing for her, for this woman he had been searching for, for so long now, never really sure she was even still alive.
And to finally find her again…
She began pulling away, and even though he didn’t want to let her go, he had no choice, and did.
She was gasping for breath as she stepped back. “Keo…”
The way she said his name drove him crazy and he reached for her again, but she pushed him away and took another step back. She wiped at her tear-streaked cheeks and smiled at him, but he could tell it took her a lot of effort just to do that much.
“Jay’s a good man,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
She turned and walked away, and he watched her go up the stairs until there was just the sound of her footsteps.
Then, seconds later, a door opening and closing softly.
“Shit,” Keo said to the empty room.
*
Five houses.
Then ten.
They all looked the same. Mostly. One was two stories, one was one story, then he found another two story. One had three stories, and a woman in one of the bedroom windows watched him walk by along the sidewalk. She looked young, maybe in her late teens, and she was combing her hair. He didn’t see a belly, but there was a good chance she had one.
…just like Gillian.
The people who had been cleaning the streets when he first showed up were now gone. Maybe they had moved on to the next subdivision, or maybe the work was done. He didn’t think so, though. A place this large, with this many streets and homes, had to have plenty of trash even without the trappings of what civilization once had to offer.
The sky above him had also gotten noticeably darker since the last time he was outside. Rain was definitely coming. And soon.
He had been walking for an hour and was still no closer to the front gate. He didn’t recognize any of the streets, mostly because they all looked identical. Had he taken a wrong turn somewhere? Or had he been walking in a straight line this entire time and missed a turn? Did Steve even make a turn-
Honk!
A car horn, so small that he thought it might have come from a toy, blared behind him.
Keo turned around as Jack drove up in a golf cart. It may or may not have been the same one in which his brother had driven Keo here a few hours ago. Keo’s mind was still too clouded from his visit with Gillian, and he couldn’t be sure one way or another.
The younger Miller stopped in the street next to him. “There you are. Someone said they saw a weirdo walking around the neighborhood. I thought it had to be you.”
Keo grunted. “I thought I had a few more hours until you picked me up.”
“Change of plans.” Jack patted the seat next to him. “Climb in. Steve wants to see you now.”
“What about?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“What is it about you Miller boys and surprises?”
Jack grinned. “Hey, if there weren’t surprises, life would be awfully dull.”
Keo climbed in and Jack drove them off.
He made a mental note of Jack’s gun belt and a revolver in the holster. It was similar to Steve’s setup.
Like brother…like brother.
He peeked out from under the cart’s roof at the slowly darkening horizon. It wasn’t just a sign of gathering precipitation, but night was also coming. A double whammy. His watch ticked to 4:56 P.M.
“What happens when it gets dark?” he asked.
“Everyone heads home at five.” Jack glanced at his own watch. “So, soon. I know what you’re thinking: ‘But what about rush hour traffic?’ Lucky you, I know how to avoid all of that.”
“Yeah, lucky me.”
“Oh, what’s the matter, sport? The reunion didn’t go as planned?”
Keo glanced over at him. “You knew.”
“That she was preggers? ’Fraid so. I’m the one who got her off the fields and brought her home for ya.”
“That was awfully nice of you.”
“She wanted to know why, but I didn’t tell her. I figured you’d like to do the honors. You can thank me later.”
“I’ll do that. Later.”
Jack laughed. “Perk up, sport. There’s plenty of women around. We did a survey last month. There are five women for every guy. Tell me you don’t like those odds. The best part? They don’t expect you to put a ring on it.”
The younger Miller was still very amused with himself as he drove, and it was all Keo could do not to reach over and snap his neck. It was tempting. It was so tempting, but he was still walking (or riding, now) in a fog, unsure of how to proceed.
He thought about Jordan, somewhere out there, and hoped she had found shelter for the night, because darkness was coming faster than normal today.
*
After exiting T18A1, Jack turned left and took Keo back through the agriculture fields for a second time. Keo watched the multiple-and seemingly endless-streams of people returning home. They were talking, laughing, and looking for all the world like they belonged here, that all their life had led to this moment.
“I’ll never forget what happened to them. But I can’t change the past, or dwell on it. I can’t afford to. I have to think about the future.”