The sun was gone by the time they were done. Thankfully, Dakota had tended to the fire so that by now there was a solid bed of coals. Now just about anything they tossed in would burn nicely.
Some time later, they were sitting in the warm glow, quietly eating a dinner of canned tuna and green beans, when the silence was broken by the sound of howling. Nearby, the horses began to whinny and stomp their hooves into the snow.
Nate perked up, his fork still in the act of stabbing at a stray bean. It was impossible to tell the distance between them and the beast. Dakota scanned the frozen river beside the highway.
“You see anything?” he asked, setting down the can and picking up his AR.
She shook her head, looking almost disappointed. “I’m waiting to hear if there’s any kind of answer.”
Then came the sound of movement through the trees. Nate sprang to his feet, aiming his rifle at the sound. “Draw your weapon,” he ordered Dakota. Reaching into her coat pocket, she withdrew the Glock she’d taken from the thug who’d imprisoned her.
Whoever this was, they were getting closer, their movements slow and lumbering. If it was Shadow, he had one hell of a way of making an entrance.
“Don’t shoot,” a female voice called out from the darkness.
Nate hesitated and Dakota tensed. It seemed she was more wary of people than she was of wild, predatory animals.
The slender form of a woman stepped into the light. Her tight-fitting cream-colored jacket was dirty and she had a scarf wrapped around her face.
“Who are you?” Nate asked.
“My name’s Brie,” she replied. Her voice had a slightly raspy quality to it.
“All right, Brie, you mind uncovering your face?” Nate told her, in that deep authoritative voice he saved for situations such as this.
The woman unwrapped the scarf. She was attractive, with strands of blonde hair poking out from beneath her beanie. “We’re friendly,” she said. “I swear.”
“We?” Dakota asked, a touch of alarm in her voice.
“I’m here with my husband Ed and my brother-in-law Dylan. We were heading to Byron when we saw the glow from your fire against the trees. Do you think we could warm up for a minute before we carry on? We could pay you.”
Nate’s expression remained impassive. “Let me get a look at your husband and your brother-in-law first.”
Two men came forward into the light and removed their hats.
“This is Ed,” the woman said, pointing to the man on her right. He was above average height, with striking eyes and nice features. The winter hat he was wearing had messed up his hair, revealing the beginnings of a receding hairline. Dylan was the other man, shorter than his brother by maybe six inches with a fuller head of hair, but with much bigger ears. The two men nodded.
“You can put the guns down,” Ed said, in a soft, non-threatening voice. “We mean you folks no harm.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Nate assured them. “Are you armed?”
Dylan shook his head. “Between the three of us we got a Remington hunting rifle and a half-dozen bullets.”
Bullets were what fired through the barrel of a weapon. Cartridges were the entire assembly, which suggested to Nate that these people didn’t really know what they were doing.
“Then I’ll ask you to kindly unload the weapon and lean it against one of those trees,” Nate instructed them.
“No problem, mister,” Dylan said, swinging it off his shoulder and doing as he was asked.
Nate’s rifle was still in the low ready position. “Just so we’re all clear, if I find out any of you lied about being armed, I reserve the right to start shooting.”
“Hey, we just wanna get warm,” Brie said, frightened.
“Believe me, I’m not trying to be that guy,” Nate told them. “I’m sure if the tables were turned you’d do the same.”
Dylan returned from setting down the rifle. “We probably would.”
Nate threw another log on the fire. Sparks flew up as the others gathered around, warming their hands by the flames. Dakota shuffled closer to where Nate was sitting, her Glock resting on her lap.
“Did I hear you right when you said you were heading to Byron?” Nate asked, his pulse beginning to settle. “You do know about the meltdown, right? If I were you, I’d avoid Byron like the plague.”
“Yes, sir, we were warned,” Ed told him, rubbing the tips of his fingers together. “Truth is, we’re heading to check on my folks. I got a sneaking suspicion they didn’t evacuate along with everyone else.”
That got Nate’s attention. “Did you come from Rockford?”
Brie nodded. “Yup. Left a good five hours ago. Hiking through this mess has been the toughest thing I’ve ever done.”
“Tough is the understatement of the century,” Ed spat. “Closer to a nightmare if you ask me.”
“Where in Byron do your folks live?” Nate asked, thinking of the farming couple they had met and how many others might have also stayed behind.
“Canyon Street, I believe,” Dylan replied.
Dakota stared into the flames of the fire, mesmerized.
“Over by the Safeway?”
Dylan nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Nate watched as the brother-in-law removed the backpack he was wearing and began to unzip it. “Easy now,” Nate said, a bolt of electricity running through his nervous system.
Dylan grinned widely. “I’m just getting a drink, man. Something to warm us up.” Slowly, he reached in and came out with a bottle of Grey Goose vodka. “Nothing, but the finest for our new friends.” He removed the cap with his teeth and then took a swig, offering some to Nate, who turned it down, then to Dakota. The girl looked over at Nate, who shook his head, indicating it wasn’t a good idea.
She seemed to go back and forth in an invisible tug-of-war before saying, “One little sip can’t hurt.” She took the bottle and tilted it back, then wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Whoa, that’s strong.” She offered it to Nate, who again refused.
“Come on, man,” Dylan said. “It’ll help you stay warm.”
With strangers in their camp and a wolf on the loose, there was no way in hell he was gonna start knocking back shots of the hard stuff. “Thanks, but I’m gonna pass.”
“Your loss,” Dylan lamented, passing the vodka over to his brother, Ed.
The bottle made the rounds a few more times before Ed pointed with his finger. “What’s that scratched into the side of your handgun?”
He was talking to Dakota. She glanced down at the Glock in her lap, seeming to notice the strange marking for the first time herself. It looked like a trident, etched into the slide with the tip of a sharp blade. “No clue,” she said, truthfully. “I took it off some thug bastard who put me in a cage.”
Brie was in mid-sip when she spat vodka into her lap. “A cage? What? Are you serious?”
Dakota nodded, her eyes a touch glassy and unfocused. She held up three fingers. “Not a word of a lie. Even locked me up next to a wolf.”
Dylan burst into a wild cackle of laughter. “Should have stayed put. They might have sold you to the circus. Those French guys. You know, Serk due Soley.”
The others bellowed laughter, their voices starting to carry. The sound was making them vulnerable. And as far as Nate was concerned, these travelers had more than worn out their welcome.
“What do you say we wrap this up?” he suggested. “The girl and I have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Oh, come on, Nate, not yet,” Dakota protested, reaching for the bottle. “I’m having fun.”
In spite of the cold, Nate felt the blood rush into his cheeks. “First of all, you’re too young to be drinking.”
“Chill out, ma―” Dylan began before Nate cut him off.
“We’re done,” he insisted, his voice low and menacing.