red hill - jamie mcguire

Chapter Twenty-Six
Nathan
“NEED MORE WATER” MIRANDA CALLED.
I poked my head over the edge. “Sure,” I said. It was hard to guess on top of the roof, but I was
willing to bet the temperature was easily over a hundred degrees.
Miranda climbed the ladder with another large glass, taking my nearly empty one.
“You know what I miss” I said. “Ice.”
Miranda smiled. “Oh my God. I do, too. But I’m sure we’ll get some this winter, and then we
won’t miss it so much.”
I laughed. “You’re probably right.”
Miranda climbed back down, and I squinted from the glare. Scarlet and the others had been
clearing for three days, and I hoped they would be back soon. I’d seen a pillar of smoke earlier that
morning in that direction, and I hoped it wasn’t some sort of signal from them that they needed help. I
didn’t bother telling Miranda. We couldn’t risk taking the girls, and it was too dangerous for one of us
to go alone, anyway.
I ate lunch on the roof, and then climbed down, waiting to make sure Miranda got situated up top
before I went inside. Elleny was tidying up after lunch, and Zoe was coloring on the few nubs left of
her crayons. I hoped that if Scarlet had time to stop at the store in Shallot, she would think to pick up
Zoe some more—if they had any—and then I laughed at how oddly normal that thought was.
“Nathan! I see them!” Miranda yelled. Her voice was muffled, so I wanted to be sure I heard her
right.
“You see them” I said, stepping out onto the porch. She didn’t answer, so I crawled up the ladder.
She was looking through her scope, her lip quivering.
“What is it What do you see” Miranda looked at me then, her eyes red and threatening to fill
with tears.
After they got a little closer, I squinted in their direction. “Don’t panic,” I said, realizing what had
her so upset. “It might not be what you think.”
I turned, watching the group cut across the yard. I crawled down the ladder, with Miranda right
behind me, and met Scarlet just in front of the porch. It was obvious the news wasn’t good.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking to Miranda. “I’m so sorry.”
Miranda’s hands shook as she covered her mouth. “No.”
“We were pinned down. He was going to lead them away, but he never came back.”
Miranda sucked in a breath. Elleny and Zoe came outside. Elleny hugged Scarlet tightly, and Zoe
hugged Skeeter.