Layne's clear, ocean-colored eyes shone in disbelief as Al stuffed his face on a small bounty of vegetables and rabbit meat. She felt a little sad that the venison wasn't ready yet. They'd hung it to cure and she had a strong desire to be a good hostess; in a way she wanted to show Jax that she was still a civilized person underneath it all. He seemed to notice; his dark eyes occasionally glimmered when she offered Al more to eat, and began packing him a basket of rations to take with him when he went back on the road, heading south.
“How do you know my brother?” Jax asked him, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer. He had done his best to wait until Al was finished eating. He could remember the days of being hungry.
Now, they were having a glass of Layne's home-brewed beer and snacking on the fresh peaches that were growing in the small orchard near the house. The season was almost over and winter was coming quickly. It wasn't a safe time to be on the road and they'd been doing their best to stock up for the winter. They were both well adept at surviving in harsh climates, but because most of the tribes had headed south believing it was much easier to survive in warmer climates, they had followed suit. It made sense; survival was hard enough without having to worry about winter.
“Jonathan spoke fondly of you. He was sure you'd make it out of the tribes. But just in case, he asked me to look for you in Hex and recruit you to our community. Thought if I knew him, you'd be more likely to come.”
“Why didn't he come back for me himself?” Jax asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
“As I said, he's a wanderer,” Al said. “He was sure there was a better place; called it a gut instinct. Never seemed to want to slow down or stop moving. We heard rumors about an area that the government was building for their own shelter; an underground city to protect them from the virus. He thought there might be supplies there and got a few guys to head out with him. We haven't seen him since then, though. One of the men with him made his way back, saying they got separated after a violent attack. He doesn't know what happened to your brother.”
“Do you know which way the underground city was?” Jax asked, standing up at the table. Layne's heart thudded. Was he thinking of going right that moment?
“Somewhere to the west of our community,” Al replied, glancing out the window. “Thank you guys for all your hospitality. I should probably get back out on the road before it gets too late. I should have made it down to the borderlines by the end of the day. I have people waiting to meet me, somewhere between the Jackals and the Klaws. They have glasses lenses there.”
“Oh, good,” Layne said, relieved. She would have worried about him otherwise.
“Hey, if you go after your brother, be careful, okay? There are a lot of difficult trails, and winter is coming. I wouldn't leave such a comfortable establishment. Someone might take it over while you're away.”
Layne sighed miserably at the thought of all her hard work going to waste. Still, she knew that there would be no stopping Jax from looking for his brother now. There was a hard gleam in his eyes, and he was fidgeting restlessly, unable to finish any more food.
“Good luck on your travels,” Layne said. “Be sure to fill your water bottle before you go.”
“Thank you,” Al said, nodding gratefully. “If you don't mind a visitor, I may stop by on the way back.”
“Sure, we'd love to see how you're doing,” Layne said.
“Yes, but if you have recruited anybody and they're joining you, maybe you shouldn't let them know about us. We want this settlement to be free of encroachment whenever possible. I'm sure you understand. You can't necessarily trust anyone from a tribe.”
“Of course,” Al said. “Hey, why don't you let me show you the way back to our community when I return?”
Jax's heart filled with excitement at the thought of being the last place his brother had been. It would take him one step closer to his only remaining family. He had to go.
“How long will it be?” he asked.
“Who knows,” Al said, shaking his head. “I have a long way to go. And I was told to make a trail so any other recruits will know which way to wander should they choose to head to a better civilization and escape the warfare between the tribes.”
“A path?” Jax asked, suddenly very interested.
“Yes,” Al replied. “I tear a piece of bark on the north side of trees in the shape of an ‘L’.”
“So that will lead to your community?" Jax asked.
“Yup,” Al replied.
“He might not be here when you get back," Layne said, laughing nervously.
Jax glanced over at her and pursed his lips but said nothing. How could he leave their homestead? And with winter coming it would be dangerous for Layne to come with him. Winter survival was hard enough for one person, although it would be nice to have the extra body heat to share. But if Jonathan was in trouble, he knew that he would have to get out there to look for him soon.
“How long has it been since you saw my brother?" Jax asked, walking Al to the door.
“Oh, it's probably been two weeks by now," Al said looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
“Only two weeks?" Jax asked, his heart thudding. This was his chance to find Jonathan, finally, after all this time. “Do you think he's in trouble or do you think he just took off on his own? You don't seem too worried."
“It doesn't do me any good to worry about anything," Al said wisely, his face serious. "Although, I have to admit that I am concerned for your brother. When he didn't come back with Roger it made me wonder. Me and everybody else. When the group was under attack, Roger just ran for his life. The other two stayed behind. It's impossible to tell what happened from there, but maybe they found the underground city after all and have come back with supplies to the community by now.”
As they say goodbye to Al, Layne put her hand on Jax's shoulder, and Jax looked down at her, his face perturbed.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
Suddenly, his love for this woman overwhelmed him. She didn't ask what he was going to do, she asked what they were going to do. If he was going to go out and look for his brother, she had every intention of going out with him. She didn't think twice; she didn't want to leave him alone in the dangerous wilderness.
But if they both went, they would be sacrificing the only security that they had ever known. At least, the only real security and freedom they'd had since the virus hit and everybody had been wiped out. The domestic life had been comfortable, almost so comfortable that neither of them seemed to be able to remember the realities of the outside world, and didn't let the memories come in and disturb them. But now that Jax had a clue about where Jonathan was, that was going to change everything.