Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella (22 page)

She shook her head, brought Halle’s hand to her mouth, and gave it a kiss. “We’ll never be apart again.”

“You promise?” Halle asked.

“I
promise
. You are so brave,” Mom said before kissing Halle’s forehead. Then, she looked into my eyes and touched my cheek. “So brave.”

Mom sat in a chair in the corner of the room while Halle and I lay quietly, waiting to fall asleep. She stared at us as I stared at her. I was almost afraid to close my eyes. I was afraid I would wake up in Shallot, and it would all be a dream.

I had spent the last four months with one goal in mind. Now that we were finally with Mom, after fighting so hard and surviving so much, the fear that it would never happen was replaced with the fear that it would be taken away.

Soon though, my eyes grew heavy, and I drifted off to sleep. The last forty-eight hours replayed, swallowing me, and then spit me out into the halls of Bishop Middle School where I was giggling with my classmates and teachers and then waving to my dad as he arrived to pick me up after school in his dress blues. This time though, Mom was with him, and I knew everything would be all right.

My eyes peeled open, and I blinked. The sun was pouring in through the top half of the window, and I reached over for Halle, feeling nothing but wrinkled sheets and a pillow.

I sat up fast, my heart slamming against my chest in a panic. My shoulders relaxed when I saw Mom watching me from her chair with Halle curled up asleep in her lap.

“Good morning,” she cooed.

I sighed and then lay back down, my head propped by the pillow. “Oh, thank God.”

Mom smiled. “I know. I woke up afraid it was just a dream, too. But you’re here, and I’m here, and we’re all okay.”

“Is everyone still asleep?” I asked.

She shook her head. “The boys are outside, burying Miranda and Bryce. We’re going to have a little funeral when Ashley feels up to it.”

“Miranda was her sister,” I said, more of a statement than a question.

“Yes,” Mom said.

“Do those cars outside have gas?” I asked.

“A little. Why?”

“We left people behind in Fairview about a month ago. They have little kids there, toddlers, younger than Halle. I was hoping, if we had enough gas, we could go get them.”

“I’ll talk to the others. I bet we can.”

I breathed out a long breath of relief. “Things have been bad for so long. It feels strange for it to be okay.”

“I know.”

“I just wish Dad were here.”

“I know you do, honey. I’m so sorry. I’m
so
sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that was for you, how hard it’s been for you being alone and taking care of Halle.”

“I can’t explain it.”

“If you ever want to try, I’m always here to listen.”

“I know,” I said.

A quiet knock sounded on the door.

“Come in,” Mom said softly. “Hi, Elleny. This is Jenna, my oldest.”

“Hi,” Elleny said with a reserved grin. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She reminded me of Chloe, and I remembered how much I missed my friend.

“Nate said Ashley’s ready.”

Mom nodded and then shook Halle gently awake, kissing her temple. “Baby girl, it’s time to wake up.”

“What?” Halle said, looking around with wide eyes.

Mom helped Halle put on her glasses. “Hi,” Mom said, smiling.

Halle threw her arms around Mom’s neck. “Mommy!”

Mom closed her eyes tight and hugged her back. “We’ve got to go outside and say good-bye to our friends. Will you come outside with me?”

Halle climbed down off of Mom’s lap, and then we followed her and Elleny outside in our bare feet. The T-shirt I wore was nearly to my knees, and Halle’s shirt almost dragged against the ground. Our clothes were still drying from when Nathan had washed them the night before.

Ashley, Nathan, Zoe, and Skeeter were standing next to two fresh mounds of dirt.

Ashley’s eyes were swollen and red, but she smiled when she saw Halle and me. “Hi, girls,” she whispered.

I mirrored her expression, but I knew exactly how she felt, and I questioned how she could do anything but cry. Then, my eyes drifted to the other graves. Her father was buried there, and so was her boyfriend. I wondered if there was a point when loss stopped hurting so much. Maybe she was just used to the pain, or maybe we were a distraction.

Nathan spoke about Miranda and Bryce and about how they’d died saving Halle and me, and then everyone told funny stories about them. Ashley, Nathan, and Zoe put flowers on each of the graves, and then we walked to the porch, everyone finding a seat.

“It feels strange to sit out here and not watch the hill for the girls,” Mom said. She was sitting between us and hugged us both to each of her sides.

The wheat waved in the cool morning breeze, hissing gently in harmony with wind blowing through the trees. Mom rested her cheek on my head as Halle climbed onto her lap. A peaceful expression on her face hinted at utter bliss. We had finally found her. When she reached over and intertwined her fingers with Nathan’s, I knew that we had completed the happiness that she’d somehow found at the end of the world.

The End

THANK YOU for reading
Among Monsters
! This was a difficult and deeply personal novel for me to write, and I’m so thankful that you let me share it with you. If you’ve yet to read
Red Hill
, please click on the link below to get the full story!

RED HILL

There are two kinds of authors—those who make plenty of time for a release, gliding in with everything in place weeks prior, and then those who are flying one hundred miles per hour toward release day by the seat of their pants with windblown hair and a missing earring. Thank you to my publicist, Autumn Hull; editor/formatter, Jovana Shirley; and cover designer, Sarah Hansen, for not quitting on me for being the latter.

Thank you to Danielle Lagasse, Kelli Spear, and Jessica Landers for leading one hell of a good group of strong women (and three men). The MacPack is an enormous group, and you three manage to keep it clean, keep it positive, keep it real, and keep it focused even if that means you have to be the bad guys once in a while. I am forever grateful to you and the members for being so supportive and keeping a smile on my face on the tough days.

Thank you to author Eden Fierce for inspiring and consulting on the character of Jenna and for helping me with some of the teacher’s names. I know you included them because they mean something special to you.

That said, thank you to Mrs. Stuckey, Mr. Hilterbran, and Mrs. Siders for making a difference.

Thank you to Chloe-Beth for the use of your name!

Thank you to Miss Katy for keeping Babyspawn busy while I’m writing and wearing the many hats of a writer.

Thank you to my husband for being understanding about sleeping alone most nights when I’m writing against a deadline.

Thank you to author Teresa Mummert. Some days, quite honestly, I feel like you’ve kept me sane. You keep me strong. You keep me smiling. You keep me focused on what is important. Thank you for being a best friend.

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with the international bestseller,
Beautiful Disaster
. Her follow-up novel
Walking Disaster
debuted at #1 on the
New York Times
,
USA Today
, and
Wall Street Journal
bestseller lists.
Beautiful Oblivion
, book one of the Maddox Brothers books, also topped the
New York Times
bestseller list, debuting at #1. She has also written apocalyptic thriller
Red Hill
; the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy; and several novellas, including
A Beautiful Wedding
,
Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella
, and
Happenstance: A Novella Series
.

Jamie lives on a ranch just outside Enid, Oklahoma, with her husband, Jeff, and their three children. They share their thirty acres with cattle, six horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.

Find Jamie at
www.jamiemcguire.com
or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!