Jamie hands me the laminated letter and I read it quickly. The final paragraph confirms Chris’s story. Benjamin Wilson was getting sick so he grabbed the documents he had and came here hoping to let people know what really happened. I tuck the letter back into the binder and hand it to Chris, who passes it to his sister. Desiree heads up the stairs past her little brother to the jet cabin.
“He wanted to make sure other people knew the truth,” Chris said. “Poor sucker was probably the last government official left standing. Hell, if the whole line of succession was gone, he might have been the president. So he came all the way here with those documents....” He turns to look back at Benjamin Wilson’s body. “Sorry we don’t have better news.”
Jamie runs his fingers through his hair, looking up at the sky.
I feel numb. Hopeless and numb. Jamie lets out a frustrated sigh and turns to me. His eyes ask me what we do next, but I don’t have an answer for him, so I turn back to Chris.
“How long have you been here?” I ask.
Chris turns back to look at Desiree. “’Bout... four months?”
“Three months and two weeks,” Desiree corrects him.
“Have other people come through?” Jamie asks.
Chris nods. “Plenty. Then when they heard no one was coming,they kind of went off on their own. Maybe back to their homes or to find someone else?”
Because what else is there?
“Why haven’t you?” I ask.
He turns back to Desiree and says, “Why don’t you go get lunch started for you and Keith?”
Desiree frowns and starts to turn before saying, “You gonna ask them?”
“Yeah, Des.” The subtle annoyance in his voice makes me smile because it reminds me of how my sister and I used to talk. This whole time he’s been acting so much older than he probably is—he really couldn’t be older than eighteen. But now that facade, that need to be the parent-slash-guardian, is slipping. Then all at once it’s back up. “Stop being a pain and get going.”
She rolls her eyes but does as her brother says, pulling Keith’s arm as she goes back into the cabin. Keith finally gives us a quick wave, which I return before they head into the dark.
Once they’re inside, Chris turns back to us. “Our parents died back in September.” We don’t need to say how sorry we are to hear it and he doesn’t stop long enough for us to do so. “It’s just been me and them since. We’re from North Carolina.”
Again, my eyes flick to his empty hands; to the belt around his waist with no holster. They traveled all this way without a weapon to protect themselves?
“A long way to travel for no reason,” he continues. “By the time we got here, all these planes were already parked and abandoned.” He motions around us. “Guess they weren’t able to refuel. Or they landedand lost hope or were never coming here forthemanyway.” He nods in the direction of Benjamin Wilson’s body.
“Where are you hoping to catch a flight to?” Jamie asks.
Chris turns back to the doorway; then his attention moves to two of the windows, where his siblings are watching. He flicks a hand at them and their faces disappear into the cabin.
“Our aunt is out in Chicago. It’s a long way to travel on foot, especially...” His eyes flick over to Benjamin Wilson’s body again. Especially if it’s all for nothing. Then he nervously pats the side of the stairs. “Don’t suppose either of you know how to fly one of these suckers?”
I chuckle. So that’s what Desiree wanted him to ask us. The smile on his face tells me he doesn’t actually expect an answer. But wouldn’t it be fun if we did know how to fly a plane?
“You might be waiting a while for someone who could fly this,” Jamie says.
Chris nods. “Yeah. I figured we’d stay a few days past the tenth and do what we gotta do. What about you guys? Where you headed now?”
Jamie turns to me and I have no idea what to say. We could go back to the cabin, risk it with Howard’s crew. Go back to Henri and help her fend off lions.
“I already took what supplies I could from the other planes,” Chris says. “There wasn’t much left. The airport didn’t have a lot in the way of shelf-stable items either. I was out looking for more this morning and didn’t find much.”
I shake my head. “We’re good for now, thanks. We’ll find something on the road.”
“Good luck,” Chris says. “Sorry you had to come all this way for nothing.”
“Thanks,” I say. “You too.” All the way to Alexandria for nothing and now Reagan was a bust as well. There was no reason for any part of this journey.
Chris heads up the stairs into the cabin of the plane. Desiree and Keith are back at the window, so I give them another wave before their heads disappear into the dark again.
