Sal recruited Julie and Byron to help him finish cooking, and the rest toured the cabin. With seven bedrooms, it was immense. There was another living room on the back with floor-to-ceiling windows to watch the wildlife, along with a smaller outroom that had a circular fire pit in the center with a hood several feet in the air for ventilation. Comfortable low couches lined the walls of this room, with ample seating for twenty. The back deck had two hot tubs and a children’s warming pool.
The bedrooms were on the second floor, with the master suite on the third. Sal had taken the smallest for himself, while three other rooms were furnished with two queen beds or two kings. There were two private rooms with California kings and the giant master suite upstairs. Polly and Stevie shared a room, but the rest got private rooms. Julie and Byron chose to take baby Hope with them.
After choosing rooms, everyone converged in the dining room, and Seth helped Sal bring out the food. Mikel and Nick served drinks. The food was freshly caught trout served on a bed of foraged greens and polenta. It was the best food they had eaten in days. The drinks flowed, the conversation was light, and there was a festive, almost party-like atmosphere.
Nick stood during a lull in the conversation and tapped his glass.
“Sorry, folks, but it’s time for tipsy guy to offer a toast.” Laughter and a few jabs came from around the table.
“So first, I wanted to thank you all for accepting me so welcomingly into your group of friends. You are an incredible group of people, and I’m honored to be among you.
“Second, I wanted to take a moment to remember those who couldn’t be here with us tonight, so here’s to those who fell before us. May we keep them in our hearts, and may we keep going forward and never quit so we can keep their memories alive.” He raised his glass, and everyone around the table joined in. A round of “Cheers” rang out, and everyone took a drink. Nick sat.
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“While we’re toasting, I figure I’ll say a few words.” Sal stood, gripping the back of his chair for support. He had been drinking like it was a challenge to get to the bottom of each glass before the pour had stopped moving.
“I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for coming to Sal’s. Thank you for eating my pizza and liking it. Thank you for drinking my backdoor hooch and not reporting it. I swear it never made anyone lose their eyesight. That was just a rumor.” More laughter.
“I also wanted to say that I think we messed up. I think we weren’t supposed to make it through this. Maybe, deep down, we all feel this way a little bit. What if we were meant to turn into wolves and live the rest of our days as apex predators with heightened senses and the ability to crawl on ceilings? I watched a wolf flatten its body to the point that it blended into the roof of a vehicle, then slowly lowered two limbs before decapitating the soldiers I was with. I was driving. It pulled the man in the passenger’s seat into the back without any obvious issue, then sat next to me as I drove. We had a discussion for over an hour. It didn’t kill me because of Hope. They know we are the surrogate parents of that little girl, and they aren’t screwing with us because of it. As I drove, the wolf would randomly reach in the back and tear parts of the bodies of the men and eat them like we would a piece of jerky. Fucking road snacks. That’s what we are to them. All of us. Except Hope. She’s special, and I don’t know why.”
“I asked what its name was, and it made a deep growling snarl. They have their own language, but apparently, some can speak English. Not well, and it hurts to listen to. I was constantly clearing my throat, and it brought tears to my eyes, but it got its point across. It said don’t go after David. It knew that was our plan. It even knew Jesse and Stevie went into the bunker first. It knew Mikel wanted to go back and kill the old man after the ambush in Lakewood. It wanted me to tell you that it ate him. Slowly. Feet first. He didn’t die until it was done with one leg and was in his body cavity. The point is, they have been following us, and we didn’t know it. They’re outside right now. I’m pretty sure we have a following of at least 30 - 40 at all times.”
“As far as I’m concerned, we might as well accept what’s been handed to us, hang out here, fish, drink, and live out our miserable lives right here at my family’s cabin in the middle of absolutely nowhere.”
The table was silent. Everyone just stared at him, unable to put thought into speech.