“If it’s by the shore, someone might see it,” Claire said.
“Or they’ll just think we’re toasting s’mores,” Mariana said. “I really think we should go back to the house and wait for rescue there.”
“If we hear an airplane, we’ll have time to make it back to the airstrip,” Claire reasoned. “But a boat might pass us by and if we’re not down here, we’ll never know.”
“Stay by the dock or return to the house,” Reyva said. “Now is the time to decide. Vote? All those in favor of the house, raise your hands.” Mariana raised her hand. “And by the dock?” Claire raised her hand. “Deciding vote to me, then. By the dock.”
“Fine,” Mariana said. “Anyone know anything about camping?”
“I know I wish I’d packed a tent,” Claire said. Also, sleeping bags. She’d expected to be living inside a house, sleeping in a bedroom. She’d worried about how she’d manage having a roommate and not being able to have a minute alone to compose herself when she needed to. She hadn’t worried about...this. She really, really hoped all the people had made it out.
“Let’s go retrieve what we did pack, and figure out how we’re going to do this,” Mariana said. She started up the trail, andReyva and Claire followed her. This time, there was no need to rush. None of them were eager to see the burnt house again.
When they reached it, they didn’t linger. They picked up their packs and Mariana’s suitcases and filed back onto the trail. Before it was obscured by trees, Claire shot one more look at the remnants of the Lake House. She had a feeling she’d be seeing that sight in her nightmares for a very long time.
The shadows were noticeably thicker this time through the woods. Claire turned on her phone’s flashlight and held it in front of her to illuminate the trail. All of them were silent as they walked, each locked in their own thoughts, and when they reached the lakeside, Claire thought it almost looked peaceful.
The water was a glassy black, with ripples that were silvery. Above, the sky was a deepening blue. The hills still glowed with a yellowish blue to the west, but to the east, it was already dark.
“Anyone have matches for a fire?” Claire asked.
Mariana shuddered.
“For the signal fire,” Claire clarified.
“No matches,” Reyva said.
It wasn’t a disaster, Claire told herself. There were other ways to light a flame. All they needed was a spark, and she had a Swiss Army knife. It was just a small one, but any blade would make a spark if you struck it on the right kind of rock, wouldn’t it? “I’ve watched enough survival shows—my parents love them—that IthinkI know how to make a fire, but I’ve never actually done it.”
Reyva shrugged. “Can’t be that hard. Cavemen did it.”
“First, we need tinder. Dried moss, or dried bark. Cottonwould work. Anything dry that will catch a spark.” Crossing to a birch tree, Claire stripped bits of bark off. Reyva began gathering sticks and fallen branches and pulling them into a pile by the shore.
“I think I have cotton balls in my makeup kit,” Mariana said. Kneeling next to her suitcases, she began rooting through them. “You know, I’ve never slept outside in my life. Not that I’m not fine with it. I totally am. I mean, adventure, yay!” Her voice was shaky, but Claire appreciated that she was trying. “So how do we do this? Just find a patch of dirt we like? Oh, I know! We can spread out my clothes and use them for cushioning! I have spares. As you noticed, I’m an overpacker. Everything but the kitchen sink, as my mom would say.”
Mariana’s babble was almost soothing.
She continued. “Speaking of kitchens, what do we do about dinner? And water? I know there’s a lake, but we have to boil it, yes? I feel like I heard that. Can’t drink unpurified water. Anyone pack a pot or kettle or whatever?”
“Definitely can’t drink the lake water,” Claire said.
“We can go back to the house in the morning and search for additional supplies,” Reyva said. “There might be useful items that survived the fire.”
“You want to raid the place where people have, potentially, died?” Mariana asked.
“Um, yes?” Reyva said.
“If we can find any kind of metal container,” Claire said, “or anything that can withstand the heat of a fire, we can use that toboil water for drinking.” She liked that idea. If she could keep solving problems, then she might be able to keep her thoughts under control.
“And what do we do if we find someone”—Mariana swallowed hard—“dead?”
Reyva scoffed. “Be glad it’s not us. Practically speaking, that’s all we can do.”
Mariana sucked in air as if she were about to launch into some kind of speech, but Claire interrupted her. “Back to the food question. I did pack some snacks.” Kneeling, she opened up her backpack: a few granola bars and dried mango slices, her favorite. Mariana and Reyva both sorted through their packs and pulled out their snacks, adding several Hershey’s Kisses, a half-eaten bagel with cream cheese, a yogurt granola bar, and a snack-size bag of Cape Cod potato chips to the pile, as well as a pack of gum. It made a nice stack. Almost enough for a meal.
It won’t last, Claire thought.
In fact, she doubted it would last much more than a day, split between three of them. If they were stuck here for longer...We’ll need to eat somehow, she thought. Learn to fish. Or hunt.
