Hawk in the Rowan (The Rowan Harbor Cycle Book 4) by Sam Burns

Author:Sam Burns [Burns, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-02T16:00:00+00:00

5

Lost

If one were going to be stuck in a cave, it seemed that they had found the ideal cave to be stuck in. There was a hole near the back, perfect for venting smoke from a fire. He suspected the hole had been made deliberately, since it was almost perfectly rectangular and facing to the side so rain and snow didn’t pour in through it.

There were also scorch marks on the cave floor as though there had been fires there in the past. The floor was hard-packed dirt, which was just about the best they could hope for, since it didn’t hide rodents or who knew what else.

What it didn’t have was any wood they could burn, which left them with the rowan. He told the kids to keep back and went to help Vera harvest as much of it as possible. There were lots of sticks the bushes had shed, which were the best for their purpose since they were dry, and they gathered all that they could before testing for dead branches.

“It’s not going to be enough to keep a fire going for more than a few hours,” Vera whispered. “If we have to go for the greener parts, it’s going to smoke.”

“And the more we burn, the more we cut into our protection. I know.” He looked up and found the troll hovering, watching them avidly with its tiny black eyes. Devon wasn’t prone to violence, but he thought he might be able to hurt the troll without feeling bad about it. What kind of monster specialized in eating helpless, innocent creatures?

He grabbed a still-attached branch that felt dead and pulled at it. It came away from the shrub whole, three feet long, a few inches in diameter, and a little sharp at one end. It looked like a weapon. He glared at the troll, and it backed away a step as though he might throw it.

Vera reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “We’ll be okay. There’s wood to burn, and they’re looking for the children already. They’ll get here sooner or later. I just hope you know how to start a fire, or we’re going to have some disappointed kids in there.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the lighter nestled next to his phone. “I had a clue something bad was going to happen, so I came prepared. Well, as prepared as possible. I didn’t carry any firewood on me, unfortunately.” His gaze drifted back to the troll, but he yanked it away and focused on gathering branches. Most of them were thin, but since they were looking to build a small fire anyway, that seemed okay.

He thought about telling Vera that he was going to be okay, but he knew better than anyone that his own wellbeing didn’t necessarily translate into the wellbeing of others. As long as there was a chance that he was the only one who was going to survive, he wasn’t going to say a word about it. He just had to spend all of his effort making sure everyone made it.

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