After seeing Dylan walk down the hill with a limp and disappearing out of view, Hugo quietly walked back to the boat.

“What am I gonna say?” he thought. “Carmen’s gonna freak out.”

Upon creeping closer to the boat that was still tied to an exposed root, Hugo overheard Jacob and Carmen talking. He crouched behind a rock to listen.

“Come on. He’s going to get you killed,” Jacob whispered.

“I don't think this is right,” Carmen whispered back.

“You’ll be fine. Hurry up,” said Jacob.

Hugo heard them stepping off the boat and silently stepped back a bit from the rock. Just before Jacob and Carmen came into view, Hugo began walking to make it seem like he had just gotten back.

“You’re up!” Hugo greeted, nodding his head.

The two stopped with a surprised expression on their faces.

Hugo looked at Carmen. “I found your dad.”

Carmen stepped closer, “You did? Is he okay?”

Hugo tilted his head. “He had a limp.”

“Oh,” said Carmen. “Where is he?”

“Not here,” Hugo answered. He began walking back to the boat, passing Jacob and Carmen. “We're on the island, by the way.”

Jacob and Carmen looked at each other with concerned looks and followed Hugo back to the boat. There, Rosy was still asleep in her nest of spare clothes. Hugo was about to untie the rope when Jacob and Carmen approached. They stopped just before entering and looked at Hugo.

Hugo looked up at them, seeming confused. “Are you getting on?” he asked, almost annoyed.

“Oh, right. Yes,” said Carmen. She stepped on board with Jacob following after.

Hugo untied the rope and pushed the boat away from the island, toward the area where Dylan was spotted. He began digging through the spare supplies once more with his back to the others. It was silent.

“So…” Carmen started, “...are we going to find my dad?”

“Yeah,” Hugo answered. He pointed to the hills where the boat was drifting.

“Do we have an oar?” Jacob asked, starting to sit down on the captain’s seat.

“The water’s still right now. We'll get there eventually,” said Hugo. He started handling the rope, trying to untangle the knots.

Jacob leaned slightly over the side of the boat, looking down. “It seems like we’re slowing down. Oh wow, I can sorta see hands down there. It’s like they’re reaching for us.”

Carmen looked over to see, “Ugh that's comforting.”

Hugo looked over the boat, seeing his reflection in the water. His face was plain, but something sparked in his mind. Turning back to the boat, he tied the rope around his waist and to the metal hook on the other side of the craft.

“What are you doing?” Carmen asked.

Jacob turned to look at Hugo, almost with disgust but he didn’t care.

Hugo leaned over the side of the boat, the rope holding him up.

“Woah! What the- Hugo!” Jacob shouted, holding onto the seat.

Carmen quickly snatched up Rosy.

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Hugo glared at the water below, seeing sunken hands reaching up into the light. A shiver went across his body, but he stood firm.

“Hugo! Stop!” said Jacob. The side of the boat was inches over the water. A rotted hand began to rise out of the water and grabbed onto the boat, tugging at it. “Dammit!” Jacob shouted. He stepped to the hand and stomped at the fingers. The hand flung back into the water and Jacob pulled Hugo back into the boat. It rocked for a moment before going still. “Hugo what was that?! Are you trying to kill us?”

Carmen was breathing heavy; holding onto the boat with one arm and Rosy in the other.

Hugo looked over the boat once more, seeing the hands fade into the depths below.

“Are you even listening to me?” said Jacob. “See, this is what I’m talking about. All you’re doing is getting us killed.”

Hugo still hadn't turned around, but Jacob stopped talking. Hugo’s eyes looked beside him into the boat. He swiveled around to see Jacob about to push him overboard. Hugo snatched Jacob’s arms and leaned him over the back end of the boat.

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” said Jacob. He fearfully stared into Hugo’s plain face. Carmen watched with shock and interest. “Please!”

“What happened to you?” Hugo asked. He looked into Jacob's eyes, remembering the last time he saw Jacob. “The last day of school, you had to leave early,” said Hugo. He noticed hands reaching up from the depths. “We were fine that day.”

Jacob grabbed onto Hugo’s wrists tightly. “We were fine,” he said.

“So what?” Hugo continued.

“You don't remember?” Jacob asked. “My mom went into labor.”

Hugo lost his stance, almost dropping Jacob into the water. The hands had surfaced and started to nudge the boat forward. Jacob’s face went from scared to cold.

“You didn't tell me,” said Hugo, with an easy breath.

—

“Sir, you need to take your son and go,” said a nurse to Jacob’s dad. The hospital was filled with blood curdling screams and hungry moans.

“I’m not leaving her!” said Jacob’s dad.

“Sir, please!” the nurse insisted.

“Honey please just go,” said Jacob’s mother, weakly. She was in a hospital bed with the newborn in her arms.

Jacob could see the shadows of people running up and down the hall just outside the delivery room.

“Dad?” Jacob asked, nervously. He saw his parents hold each other, forehead to forehead. Then his father took the baby from his wife's arms.

“Sir, you shouldn't do that,” said the nurse, stepping closer to Jacob's dad.

“Jacob, come on,” said Jacob’s dad. He pulled Jacob out of the delivery room and into the hall.

“Jacob, go!” said Jacob’s mother, “I’m right behind you!” She weakly got up from her bed, the nurse shuffled between the two, unsure of what to do.

Jacob was tugged by his dad, and the two ran down the hall. He looked back to see his mother stumble out of the room. A couple nurses stopped by trying to help.

“Dad?” said Jacob again. Together they ran down the hall. The newborn began to cry.

“Dad?” Jacob asked again. They were stopped at two locked double doors.

“Here, take your sister,” said Jacob’s dad, handing the baby to Jacob. It was almost surreal to him to hold his sister for the first time, and in such a situation too. He looked down at her, seeing a good life quickly fade as things felt to fall apart around him.

“Look out!” said Jacob’s dad. He looked up to see a wanderer stumble toward him. Its face was cut in half, as if it was in the middle of a surgery. Jacob’s dad swiftly punched it in the face, breaking in its skull and it fell to the ground. As it fell out of Jacob’s view, it revealed a hall full of wanderers behind it.

The baby wailed louder.

Jacob’s father kicked the door open, revealing a way out. He pulled Jacob through the doorway, but a wanderer took hold of the arm that Jacob used to support the baby. Unwilling to drop the baby, Jacob stretched his other arm out, holding the baby in front of him. She was taken by the wanderers as Jacob’s father pulled him harder.

The door closed behind them, locking them out of the hospital.

“Jacob, where is the baby?” his dad asked.

Jacob looked at him with an open mouth and still eyes.

—

The hands rising out of the water pushed the boat even more.

“I’m sorry,” said Hugo. He pulled Jacob into the boat. Jacob stood up to catch his breath, glancing over to Rosy.

“Are you happy?” said Jacob to Hugo.

TINK

The boat hit the edge of the lake and they looked up to the hill before them.

Abandoning the boat and taking the rope with them, they climb up the hill to see Dylan sitting on a rock at the top.

“It’s about time you got here,” said Dylan. Carmen gave Rosy to Hugo and ran to hug her dad. She checked his leg, to find no bite marks.

“I was so scared,” she said with an exhale.

“I scraped my leg on a rock. I'm gonna be okay,” Dylan said. He smiled at his daughter. “Everything okay with you two?”

“Yeah,” Hugo said.

Jacob nodded.

“So, are we still going?” Dylan asked.

“Yes, to Bakersfield,” Hugo answered.