Page 96 of Mountain Void

He’s circling.

He wished he hadn’t asked Charlie and Théo to close the shutters. He couldn’t see outside now, not without calling attention to his precise location.

Lorenz felt Charlie behind him before she touched his arm.

“What is he doing out there?” she whispered.

I wish I knew.

And then … then Lorenz smelled it.

Gasoline.

Every muscle in his body locked. He knew exactly where the gasoline came from. Most mountain huts had a stash of wood and fuel in the back—usually locked, but not hard to get to.

“No,” Charlie breathed. She’d smelled it, too.

Moments later, they heard a new—terrifying—sound. The crackling of fire on dry wood.

“We need to get out of here,” Lorenz said. But which way was safer? Front or back? He didn’t have any weapons, and Pelletier still had his revolver.

Théo made a frightened sound.

“Lorenz—“

The hut was old, dry timber. The walls would catch fire quickly. Then the roof. Once the roof caught, they would have minutes at most before it caved in on them.

Charlie brought Théo against her and held on tightly to the boy. Her fear was written plainly in her eyes.

“We’re going to die,” he whimpered.

“No,” Lorenz said firmly.

A lick of smoke drifted under the door.

“We can’t stay here,” Charlie said.

“No.”

“But if we go outside—“

“I’ll go out first,” Lorenz said.

“You’re weaving,” she said. “You can barely stand.”

“I’m standing.”

“For how long?” she snapped. Her hand rose to press against his cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just … I don’t want you to risk your life. We should stay together.”

“You have no idea how much your life is worth to me, Charlie.” Lorenz said.

“It’s not worth your life,” she said, her tone rising.

A hundred times over.

The thought hit him instantly, but he didn’t say that part out loud. If this was to be their last moment together, he didn’t want it to end in a fight.

“You stay with the boy. I will call you when it’s safe.”