I pull the pack over my shoulders and it feels like it weighs more than it did a couple of hours ago. I don’t say anything to Jamie as he dumps some of the water on the remains of our fire and we set off in the direction of the fireworks.
They’re only a quarter of a mile away, but the walk there feels like millions. I hear them now. People talking. Laughing. Cheering.
There are a lot of them. The handgun is in my pack, the rifle over Jamie’s shoulder. He looks back at me, orange lighting up his face asanother firework explodes. His eyes ask for permission to continue. To walk out and see if these people with the explosive devices are safe.
And I can’t tell him no.
He deserves to be happy. Not that I know this is what will make him happy, but it’s a step in that direction. It’s other people and not just me and my baggage. Maybe he can find a nice girl and I can go down to Florida on my own only to find out Henri’s daughter is dead and there’s nothing good left in the world.
Yikes. That just got real bleak. Hell, maybe webothneed these people.
So I nod at him. And we step out into the clearing with our hands raised.
Jamison
I COUNT AT LEAST SEVEN MEN WITHguns. The weapons are holstered, but when the men see us, their hands instinctively drop down to the butts of their handguns. I put my hands up higher.
A firework, the fuse already lit when we step into the open, shoots up into the sky and explodes, but no one looks at it. Everyone’s eyes are on us.
My jaw hangs open. There’s gotta be close to forty people here. A dozen are kids. It’s more people in one place than I’ve seen in almost a year.
A large, white, barrel-chested man with thinning gray hair steps toward us. Four men flank him, two who look to be a little older than Andrew and me, the other two almost middle-aged.
“We saw your fireworks,” I say. “We just wanted to come say hi and...”
And see if you were people we wanted to know, see if we could all be friends. They have fireworks, so they aren’t worrying about food taxes.
I shrug. “See if we can watch.”
The large man’s face softens and he smiles. He puts a big hand out to me and I lower my arms to shake it. He speaks with a slow South Carolina drawl.
“Danny Rosewood. Head selectman of Fort Caroline.”
“Fort?” Andrew asks. “Are you military?”
Danny Rosewood turns and holds out his hand to Andrew, who shakes it. “Naw, not military. Though some of us did have some experience in the armed forces.”
Danny Rosewood spins, looking around at the people behind him. He points to one of the men whose hands dropped to his gun.
“There he is. That over there’s our sheriff, Grover Denton. What branch were you in, Grover? Army?”
“Air force,” Grover Denton answers. Denton isn’t southern, but he has an accent I can’t place. Midwest, maybe.
“Flyboy, that’s right.” Rosewood nods and brings his attention back to us. “And his second-in-command used to be a marine. Agirlmarine at that!”
He says this like it’s supposed to be shocking and I can practically feel the dam of Andrew’s self-control bursting as he remains quiet. I can’t look at him because I know we’ll start laughing.
“I didn’t get your name.” Rosewood says.
“Andrew, sorry, sir.” The sound of his voice tells me I’m right—Andrew’s barely keeping himself together. He doesn’t say “sir” sarcastically, but I know he means it that way, and I smile politely, trying not to laugh.
“Come on then...” Rosewood smiles broadly and steps aside.“By the grace of God, you’re here, so let’s keep the show going and you boys can make our acquaintance. Get to know some people.” His eyes flit briefly to the rifle on my shoulder but he doesn’t say anything. Maybe because he’s confident their people would end us before we could try anything.
Everyone behind Rosewood seems to settle as he pats Andrew and me on the shoulders. It’s as if they were waiting for approval from their leader before lightening up. Another firework is lit and this time mostly everyone is back in the celebratory mood.
Andrew takes the explosion as a moment to whisper into my ear. “Hear that? They gotladymarines in these parts.”
I snort and whisper back, “I hate you.”
