chapter 79

The first day of walking had been awkward and quiet. Thankfully, the rough terrain gave us all an excuse to stay quiet. From what I could tell, our group was in decent shape, but our route was all uphill, over rough and unstable ground. By the nightfall, we were all exhausted.

A fire crackled in the center of our makeshift camp. I dug through my pack and found a blanket I could use to protect myself against the cold, night air. When I pulled it out, a package of cookies came along with it. I grinned and held them up for the others to see. “I take it Greta knows what we’re up to?”

“I never told her, which means, she knows everything,” Alec said.

I opened the package and offered them around the group. Everyone took a few and chewed them quietly. We’d already eaten some of the food from Alec’s bag, but jerky and canned fruit left something to be desired. The cookies were a nice treat.

“We should get some rest,” Alec said. “I can take first watch.”

“We should have a pair on watch,” Kyle s