He drove out of the garage and stopped to lock the door behind him. Then he mounted the sled and brought it to a stop at the Land Rover. He pulled the rifle and the zippered bag from the cab and stowed the bag on the sled. The rifle he carried across his back. He walked around and opened the trunk. The dry box had shifted slightly during the drive. No sound came from inside. He heaved the box out of the trunk and let it thud to the ground. Clump of weight. Dead quiet.

He opened the cargo compartment and lifted out a double-braided nylon rope. It had plenty of strength and a bit of stretch. He looped the rope through the rear bumper of the sled and pulled the slack end to the box’s carry handle and tied a square knot. He stood and examined the length of rope. Snow gusting. The wind wailing away between the pines. He walked to the idling sled and got on and drove into the woods, dragging the box behind him.

XIV

I sometimes watched Jack.

I did it without him knowing. I don’t think there was a person on Earth who understood loneliness better than him.

They pulled into Last Chance General Store and parked in front of a gas pump. Jack sat looking out. The parking lot was empty save for one truck: an old Ford with a bumper sticker. LOST YOUR CAT? TRY LOOKING UNDER MY TIRES. Snow stacked on the windshield. Powder shreds wafting down. The gas station standing in the quiet white veil, and the ground untrodden. In the window was a sign: BEER.

Ava shut off the engine. “We need gas.”

He nodded.

“You’re covered in blood,” she said.

He looked down. It was true.

“You go in and patch up your shoulder while I fill up. Try not to let anyone see you. And we should find you something to eat.”

He looked at her.

“It’s just—you’re acting a bit off,” she said.

“I want to find Matty.”

“Me too. But it’s not going to do us any good if you keel over before we get there.”

This made sense. “Okay.”

He reached down and opened the briefcase and withdrew a hundred-dollar bill and stuck it into his pocket. Then he went inside. The smell of fried food hung in the air. The man at the register watched television. Jack turned and went down an aisle. He found Krazy Glue and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. A folded T-shirt at the top of a stack. He stuffed these things in his coat when the clerk wasn’t looking.