Chapter 16
Stella
The visit to New Emberwood had been a lively one for Fae. In addition to playing with Sage, Lazlo had taken her out to the fields to see Minnie, the dairy goat that stayed with us to feed Fae when she was a baby. On top of that, we had the long ride on the back of a quarter horse either way.
When we finally returned to the Barbarabelle, Fae was exhausted, and I put her down to sleep in her nursery.
“How was the trip?” Edie asked, poking her head in the room just as I finished tucking Fae into her little crib.
“The grizzlies and the zombies avoided us, so it wasn’t that bad, all things considered,” I whispered and gave her a tired smile.
I motioned for Edie to step out, so we could talk without disturbing the baby. The lanterns hanging on the walls doused everything in a warm amber glow. Down the hall, Harlow gave us a wave as she walked toward us.
“I heard you all made it back,” Harlow said as she reached me, and she toyed absently with her layered necklaces. “Did you get a chance to talk to Lazlo?”
“Yeah, we did. But let’s get Boden. He understands more about what’s happening than I do,” I said.
“What’s there to understand?” Harlow asked. “Do you know where Remy is or not?”
“Maybe,” I said, then walked a few doors down the hall to Boden's room.
When I knocked, he shouted a muffled, “Just a minute!”
“What does ‘maybe’ mean?” Harlow asked.
Boden opened the door, his hair damp from the shower, and he was still pulling on his threadbare army t-shirt.
“Oh, wow, I didn’t expect a whole party,” Boden commented, his eyes bouncing to Edie and Harlow on either side of me.
“You know that you’re not the only ones who care about Remy,” Harlow reminded him.
He nodded once, looking momentarily chastened, and he stepped back into the room so we could get by. “Come on in, then. We don’t have much to talk about, but we do have a few things.”
Boden’s room was a mirror of my own, although his did have a different set of wear-and-tear since he’d shared with Remy and a lioness for over a year.
Scratch marks on the walls, bite marks on the bed frame, and one of the brocade curtains was shredded in half.
The carpet hadn’t been great to begin with, and now it was torn up in a few places.
The bed was neatly made, but the plethora of gear and dirty laundry from his backpack had been dumped out on top of it. In the corner, next to a sitting chair, a pile of Remy’s clothing was folded and collecting dust.
“I wasn’t expecting to entertain any visitors today, but I have some tepid water and a room-temp bottle of wine.” Boden moved ahead of us, and he opened the sliding door, airing the room out.
“That’s fine,” Harlow waved off his attempts at hospitality. Edie and I sat on the edge of the bed, while Harlow stood with her arms folded across her chest. “Will you just tell us what you found out?”
“It seems like Remy is heading to Glacier Valley,” Boden explained. “She wants to donate… herself to finding the cure with Cold Shore.”
“Donate herself?” Harlow wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “What are you talking about? There is no way that Remy would let anyone experiment on her after what was done to her and Max in that last quarantine zone.”
“Well, obviously, she’s not in her right mind,” Boden said. “Which is why I’m going after her.”
“We’re going after her,” I corrected him, and he shot me a weary look.
“Stella, we’ve already gone over this – ”
“I know, and I told you that we’re not splitting up anymore,” I reminded him firmly. “The outbreak on the boat proves that nowhere is safe, so all that matters is that we’re with each other. Wherever you go, I go, and wherever I go, Fae goes.”
“Just because nowhere is completely safe doesn’t mean that some aren’t safer than others,” Boden argued.
“I keep you safe, too,” I persisted. “The zombies don’t bother you when I’m around.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked away from me. “Zombies aren’t the only dangers out there.”
“Are you sure this isn’t all a moot point? Do you think Remy even wants to be found?” Harlow asked. “Or that it’s not too late?”
“That’s a shit thing to say.” Boden glared over at her. “And I already told you that Remy clearly isn’t thinking straight, so it doesn’t matter what she wants.”
“So are you going to drag her away kicking and screaming?” Harlow asked.
“If I find her, and they’re dissecting her like a preserved frog, then yeah, I will,” he said. “But … I need to find her and make sure she’s okay, and that this truly is what she wants.”
“How will you know if it’s ‘truly’ what she wants?” Harlow asked.
“I don’t know. I just will,” he said finally. “Why are you so against me going after her? Haven’t you known her the longest?”
Harlow bristled a little. “I’m not against you going after her. But I just know what she’s like. She leaves people. It’s what she does. And the only reason she didn’t leave you all for so long was because Max was there, but now he’s not. He’s the only one she never left.”
“Jesus, Harlow, why don’t you tell us how you really feel?” Boden asked bitterly.
“I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” she insisted. “I’m only trying to get you to understand why I think it’s pointless to go after her. Remy is going to do what she wants.”
“And so are we,” I shot back. “We can talk about what Remy would do all day, but it doesn’t change what’s happening right now. She’s out there, and I can’t pretend that doesn’t matter to me.”
Edie, who had been quietly watching the exchange so far, finally spoke up. “If Stella and Fae are going to find Remy, then I want to go, too. This boat doesn’t feel safer to me than anywhere else, and I want to be with the people I care about.”
“Thank you, Edie.” I reached over and squeezed her hand as I smiled at her. Not only had she become someone that both Fae and I relied on, but she had medical training and she was an avid hunter. With her, we’d all be safer.
“Fine,” Boden said, sounding resigned. “Whoever wants to go can go, whoever wants to stay can stay. I won’t be the one to decide what’s safe or what path is right for anyone.”
Harlow hesitated, arms crossed, her gaze flickering from each of us before she finally exhaled. “Well. I wish you luck, I really do. But I’m heading back to New Emberwood. That’s where Kimber and I are making our home.”
He nodded. “We should rest up and gather supplies over the next day or two. If we travel quickly, we should make it to Glacier Valley by August.”