The granola lost some of its sweetness following that description. “Why are the gods such fucking assholes?” I said.

“Because,” Cassie said, “love would be worthless if it wasn’t so hard to attain.”

I contemplated that as I chewed. “Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe God just got bored after being alone in space for a few billion years and it made Him grumpy.”

There was no way to tell time in the windowless room with its overhead light. After a while we lay back in the bed with its lace sheets, holding damp hands, our legs intertwined. The cotton pillows were cool and smelled like fresh air. Fear is exhausting. So is hiking in the heat. We slept for who knows how long. And woke to the sound of someone knocking on the front door.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

The overhead light was still on so the room looked exactly as it did when we lay down. I’ve woken many times to rooms having no idea where I was or how I got there, and this was like that, but worse. Those rooms I could up and leave. In this one I felt trapped, and wasn’t sure why until the full weight of memory slammed into my brain like a cannonball. Somewhere nearby our terrified son was being held hostage, and here we had slept comfortably in this dainty bed with its frilly duvet. Drinking our bottled water.

I heard another series of staccato knocks from the front door of the cabin and sat up, my head pounding, my vision swaying. I didn’t feel rested at all. Cassie was still breathing evenly on the bed beside me, and I wanted to let her sleep. Go away, I thought, like it was just some Jehovah’s Witness out there who would soon take his religion somewhere else. But whoever it was may be here to lead us to our son, or even have Rox with him. Or her. Maybe it was Malia.

I nudged Cassie as gently as I could. She woke during the next series of knocks and gasped to a sitting position. She jumped out of bed before I could say a word and stopped at the opening to the hidden panel when I shouted her name. From the corner of my eye I saw the word OBSIDEO scrawled on the framed mirror.

“Wait,” I said. “I go first.”

I could tell I had about two seconds to take the lead or she would go on without me. “Don’t rush into this,” I said. Silly, as I didn’t have a plan or anything to protect us with. So, what? My strategy was procrastination?

Cassie was pushing up against my back as I maneuvered through the canted hallway, eager to answer the door. The door was solid wood so I couldn’t see who was on the other side, but a glowing amber light was shining through the windows. It was night outside.