“Where are they?” She couldn’t listen anymore. She needed them—Miig and the twins and even Wab. They would know how to put her back together.

“Rose, they had to leave. We got word that Wab was in imminent danger, so they—”

No. Not this. Not now. She dropped her bag by the cave and took off running to their campground.

“Rose!” Derrick shouted after her. She didn’t falter for a second, running as hard as she could, pushing past startled kids and quiet couples, not even noticing the empty circles on the ground and bundled belongings where people had started packing up.

She heard footfalls behind her and was determined to outrun them. She had to get there. She couldn’t be alone for one more second. She wouldn’t make it without Miig telling her she’d be okay. That was the only thing she needed to hear.

She burst into the clearing, her chest lifting and falling with the demand for air. She put her hands on her knees and swallowed hard, finally taking in her surroundings.

Nothing. Not one tent. Firepit buried, branches moved back to cover any signs of occupation. She spun. Had she gone the wrong way?

Then Derrick was behind her. “Rose, they left. They had to leave,” he pushed out between heavy breaths. “Had to get Wab across the border.”

“What are you saying?” She got in his face. “What the hell are you saying? Where is my goddamn family?”

He looked away, then back into her face. He wouldn’t let her down, not now. He’d tell her the truth, no matter how much it hurt her. He would always tell her the truth.

“They’re gone. It’s just us now.”

Watching her unravel was harder than he had ever imagined it could be, because there was nothing he could do to make it stop. She just lay there at the bottom of someplace dark, feeling every sore spot on her body all at once.

✦✦✦ ✦✦✦ ✦✦✦

“They had to go,” Clarence explained. “The nurses were here, and the time was right. But they didn’t leave you. The rest of us waited for you to come back. That’s the only reason they agreed to leave so they could make the arranged pickup.”

Rose didn’t answer him. She just stared straight ahead, somewhere over the low fire, a blanket wrapped up over her shoulders. Nam sat quietly on her other side, holding a mug of tea in case she needed a sip. Derrick had brought her to the Council meeting area. He thought she’d feel better being by the lodge, huddled in the corner of the space like a sleeping child under layers of blankets. And she did. But not all the way through; there were parts of her that remained untouched, unreachable. She wasn’t sure they would ever open up again.

“They know about French?” Her voice was monotone.

“They think he’s dead. We all did until Derrick told us about the nurses at the school. Our informant told us his name was off the register, and we assumed the worst.”