“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he says.
My face burns. “Still.”
He shrugs. “Whatever.”
“Do you…” I cough. “Would you like me to clean your clothing too?”
“Nah, that’s okay.” Jack plops down onto the sofa. “I want to be able to make a quick getaway if I need to.”
I want to tell him he’s being silly, but it’s hard to say that with any conviction when there’s a dead man within throwing distance of the cabin.
“Listen, Claire.” Jack looks up at me with those brown puppy dog eyes that I thought I had fallen in love with. “If anything happens, scream as loud as you can. I’ll come help you.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” I mumble.
Jack rests the rifle down beside him on the sofa. “Damn straight.”
Chapter 38
CLAIRE
Somehow it’s even more strange to wake up in the cabin.
Because in the woods, we were a long way from home. But here, I’m in a bedroom. I’m lying next to Noah. I’m even on the same side of the bed that I sleep on at home. But I’m not home. I’m in a stranger’s home. A dead stranger’s home.
Also, Noah’s arms are wrapped around my body, his left arm protectively resting over me. We haven’t slept that way in a very long time. Like spoons.
Our clothing is hanging on the dresser. My shorts and T-shirt look dry by now. I carefully disentangle myself from Noah’s arms and walk over to the dresser to check. My shirt feels stiff but dry.
I get dressed and do my best to comb out my hair with my fingers, then gather it back into a ponytail. I put on my clean socks, and then my dirty sneakers. The last thing I do is sift through the top drawer for Noah’s pocket knife. It’s not like I would use it, but it would be comforting to have it.
But when I feel around inside a drawer, the knife is gone.
Noah is still snoring softly in the bed. Did he take the knife back? If so, why? Or did somebody else come into the bedroom and take it while the two of us slept?
I look at the door to the bedroom. Would I have heard it if somebody crept inside during the night?
No, I’m being paranoid. Nobody came into the room while we were sleeping. Noah probably found it and put it somewhere safe. As soon as he wakes up, I’ll ask him about it. But I won’t wake him now. I’ll let him sleep in. I’m jealous—I wish my thoughts weren’t racing a mile a minute. I might be able to sleep in.
I bet Jack is awake.
I carefully open the door to the bedroom, trying not to let it creak too loudly. My sneakers thud softly against the ground. As I shut the door behind me, my eyes go straight to the couch where Jack spent the night.
He’s gone.
“Jack?” I call out.
Unsurprisingly, there’s no reply. If he were in this tiny living space, I would see him.
I walk over to the sofa. His shoes and socks are gone. So is the rifle. Maybe he went to take a walk again.
Except somehow, I don’t think so.
I sprint back to the bedroom, not bothering to be quiet this time. I shake Noah awake. He yawns, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. “Claire, what’s wrong?”
“Jack’s gone!” My fingertips are tingling. I might be hyperventilating. “I can’t find him!”
“Calm down.” He sits up in bed and rubs his eyes again. “He probably went for another walk.”
“I don’t think he did.” I squeeze my hands together. “This is just like what happened with Michelle. And then Warner. We woke up and they were just… gone.”
Noah doesn’t seem to be taking this seriously enough. He does swing his legs over the edge of the bed, but he makes no move to get up and get dressed. “This is different though. We’re in a cabin. It’s not like some wild animal came in here and attacked him.”
“This is just like what happened the last two nights,” I say again.
There were six of us when we started. And one by one, each of us has disappeared. And now there’s just me and Noah.
A little voice in my head tells me that I must be next. That I should make a run for it. While I still can. But where could I go? And anyway, if Noah and I are the only ones left, that means that he must be responsible for the other people disappearing. And I know that’s not the case.
Noah finally drags himself out of bed and puts his clothes on so slowly, I want to shake him. He follows me out of the bathroom, but he seems very unimpressed when I point to the sofa.