Please Remain Calm by Summers Courtney

Author:Summers, Courtney [Summers, Courtney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2015-01-20T08:00:00+00:00

“She’s quiet,” I say.

Lisa looks at me. She’s sitting on the ground with Ainsley in her lap. Ainsley digs through Lisa’s bag because I guess that’s what passes for kid entertainment around here. We walked until we started losing light faster than we were gaining ground and then Jess picked a spot for us to set up. I helped Lisa put the trip wires up around us. Before we hear that sick sound of the dead, we’ll hear bells chiming.

Jess pitched the tent, but I won’t be staying in it. They have a mat, a sleeping bag, and a bivy sack for me. Jess and Lisa will take turns on watch, but for now Lisa’s letting Ainsley wind down and then she’ll put her to bed with her father. Ainsley’s been distracting, but not for the reason most kids are. She doesn’t screech, doesn’t whine, doesn’t make any verbal demands for attention. She doesn’t talk. When she walks, she must have her hand held. If she’s not walking, she’s carried and whenever she’s carried, she twists her parent’s hair around her fingers and stares into the distance, her eyes intently scanning her surroundings.

“She’s my quiet girl,” Lisa says. She kisses the top of Ainsley’s head. “So how are you feeling?”

“I think I’ll be of more use to you tomorrow.”

She smiles politely. Doesn’t argue, doesn’t agree. After a second, Ainsley produces a small book. I glimpse its brightly colored cover in the dim light, but not its title. She holds it to herself like a kid would a prized stuffed animal.

“It was in the car,” Lisa says. “When we lost the car, we didn’t even know she managed to grab it to take with her …”

Ainsley holds the book out to me, surprising Lisa and me both. She wants me to read to her. I shake my head stupidly because I don’t know what else to do.

“Oh,” Lisa says softly.

She gently takes the book from Ainsley’s hands, then encloses her daughter in a hug, ducking her face against Ainsley’s curls so I can’t see it. If this was supposed to be story time, it never happens. Lisa stays frozen in that position for a long time, before finally taking Ainsley to the tent. When she returns, she doesn’t look at me. We sit in silence until Jess wakes up to take watch. He plants himself in the middle of the camp and stares into the darkness.

“How’s your head?” he asks.

“Down to a dull roar,” I admit.

He tells me to go to sleep. I feel this need to prove myself by keeping my eyes open. It doesn’t feel gracious, to close my eyes, but in the end, I can’t stay awake.

***

Get your mother, Rhys. This place isn’t safe—

My only boy.

I don’t want to hurt you.

What can you want from this?

The way Sloane’s voice works its way into my head, I’d swear her mouth was right next to my ear. I open my eyes and expect her to be there and she’s not. I expect to be in the school and I’m not.

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