“I know I speak for Emily when I say we couldn’t be any more appreciative. But…don’t you all have family to fill up this community?”

“Many do. Some were close enough to make it here. Others were not. We were all allotted the same number of potential guests. Some who didn’t need them gave their allotments away to others who did. We’ve tried to be very fair. And we’ve saved a small amount of space for family members who arrive at a later date. No one could stomach the thought of turning them away.”

That must be how Leon had been able to secure a spot for my parents should they need it. My shoulders dropped a notch lower. In the back of my mind, this had almost seemed too good to be true, but it wasn’t. These were just good people with big hearts and a solid plan.

Leon came back in the room with four glasses of water on a tray and set it down. Layne and I picked up a glass and both drank thirstily. “Thank you,” I said when I set my mostly empty glass back down.

“Is your family here, Mr. Winchester?” Layne asked.

“I don’t have children and the family I have is not close by. But, when Leon arrived pretty immediately after the event, I thought it must be fate. Here I was with a handful of guest allotments and Leon with nowhere to go and the capability of bringing other souls here who’d been abandoned in Los Angeles.”

I glanced at Leon, who looked vaguely uncomfortable. “That was very generous.” I was surprised he’d given his precious spaces away so easily. Perhaps Leon felt that way too, hence his discomfort.

“Leon’s father saved my life in that jungle in Vietnam when we were only boys and paid the ultimate price because of his sacrifice. I didn’t think there was a way to ever truly repay that debt, but then Leon showed up, and I wondered if his father had guided him to me and it was my chance to even the score,” Merrick said as if hearing my unvoiced thoughts.

I felt a pinch in my chest. I related to questions of fate. We’d experienced so much of what I thought could only be that. And I was painfully familiar with men who felt they needed to repay a debt. It was a good quality; it spoke of honor. But I also knew it sometimes obscured vision. Thankfully, Mr. Winchester hadn’t had to choose whether to leave others behind in order to settle a score he believed needed settling.

“It’s almost like you’re starting a mini government here,” Layne said.

“It’s essential,” Merrick answered. “Or what we are fortunate enough to have won’t last and none of us will benefit. Rules will keep us from sinking into anarchy.”

I stifled a yawn.