Glasshouse: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure (Insularity Book 2) by Stephanie Mylchreest

Author:Stephanie Mylchreest [Mylchreest, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

A soft but persistent tapping wakes me. I open my eyes and am momentarily disoriented. I’m staring at a stone ceiling and Abigail is curled up next to me, her wiry black hair touching my bare arm. For an instant I think we are back on the island, but then I remember with a rush where we are.

I prop myself on my elbows as the tapping continues. The room we’ve been sleeping in is darker than when we fell asleep and has a strong, sour smell of unwashed bodies. I am the first to rouse and climb the spiral staircase quickly to open the door to the outside.

The silhouette of a lean, tall man greets me. I brush past him as he steps aside to let me out of our underground refuge. The forest is dark and we stand face-to-face in the deep shadow cast by the oak.

He opens his mouth into a broad smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Well, thank you. We were all exhausted. None of us have stirred since Kahri left us.”

“I can understand that. You’ve come a long way. Some of you further than others.” He grins at me again and I realize he is talking about Ada. “Kahri sent me with this.” He passes me a wrapped package. I can tell from the aromas coming from within that it contains food. My stomach rumbles.

“Thank you.”

“Be ready to go when the sun has set fully, please,” he says to me. It is dusk, and the sun is casting brilliant shades of pink and orange where it peeks through the lush canopy above.

“Where are our horses?” An image flashes before my eyes—Oriole sinking beneath the water of the Hudson River—and melancholy sweeps unexpectedly over me. First Lucky, and now Oriole.

“We have them,” the man says briefly. “We’ll bring them when it’s time to leave.”

I return to our underground shelter and wake the others. We emerge into the cooling air and share the food between us. There is more flatbread, a little cheese, and some cooked yams. I put the yams and cheese together and wrap it all in a piece of flatbread. It’s a simple but satisfying meal. Once we finish eating and pack our few belongings, we wait by the massive white oak for our escort.

“Hey, Apollo,” I say casually. “Where is the silver prism?”

“We lost it in the river when you disappeared,” he replies. I stare at him and he blinks once, slowly, and smiles at me.

“I don’t know how I am supposed to communicate with the station, even if we get to Washington,” says Ada. She sounds utterly dejected.

“We need to push on regardless,” says Sally in a kind voice. I can tell they have had this conversation already.

“It’s lucky that these people are helping us,” says Abigail. “Otherwise we would not have made it to Washington without the silver prism to help us navigate.”

I ignore Abigail and Ada and move closer to Apollo. “I’m sure I passed you the pack,” I say to him.

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