I nodded, wondering what he was getting at.
“But you came out,” Caleb said, his gaze flicking to the disturbed earth behind me. He padded up, staring into my face, his eyes hopeful. “You came out, so maybe…Ruth will come back, too? We could wait. We could wait until she comes back, just like you.”
“No, Caleb.” I shook my head sadly. “I’m different. I’m a vampire.” I paused, to see if that frightened him. It didn’t. Kneeling, I took his hand, staring at the grubby fingers. “Ruth was human,” I whispered. “Just like you. And Zeke. And everyone. She isn’t coming back.”
Caleb’s lip trembled. Without warning, he lunged at me, striking me with his small fists, beating on my shoulders. “Then make her a vampire!” he sobbed, as tears began welling in his eyes again. I flinched, more startled than anything, not knowing what to do. “Make her come back!” he screamed at me. “Bring her back right now!”
“Hey, hey! Caleb!” And Zeke was there, grabbing the boy’s wrist, swinging him into his arms. Caleb wailed and buried his face in Zeke’s shoulder, still pounding his chest weakly.
Zeke held him until the tantrum quieted, then lowered his head and murmured something in his ear. Caleb sniffled.
“I’m not hungry,” he mumbled.
“You should go eat something,” Zeke insisted, brushing back Caleb’s hair. His own eyes were red, and dark circles crouched beneath them, as if he hadn’t slept at all. Caleb sniffled and shook his head, sticking out his bottom lip. “No?” Zeke asked, smiling faintly. “You know, Teresa found apple jelly in the basement. And peach jam. It’s really sweet.”
A tiny gleam of interest from Caleb. “What’s apple jelly?”
“Go ask her to give you some,” Zeke said, putting him down. “Everyone is in the kitchen. Better hurry, or Matthew might eat it all.”
Caleb padded off, sullen, but at least his outburst seemed to have run its course. Zeke watched until he vanished around the corner, then sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
“Have you slept at all?” I asked.
“Maybe an hour.” Zeke lowered his arm, not looking at me, gazing over the tangled, choked fields beyond the fence. “Found some fuel in the garage,” he said, “and there’s about a dozen cans of preserves in the cellar, so we should be good for another night.” He sighed, bowing his head. “You told Caleb that Ruth wasn’t coming back?”
I stiffened, then nodded. “He needed to hear it. I didn’t want to give him false hope, that his sister could still be alive. That would just be cruel.”
“I know.” Zeke finally turned, and the bleakness on his face shocked me. He looked years older, lines and circles around his eyes and mouth that weren’t there before. “I was trying to tell him earlier, but…” He shrugged. “I guess he needed to hear it from you.”
“You know this wasn’t your fault.”
“Everyone keeps telling me that.” Zeke hunched his shoulders against the rising wind. “I wish I could believe it.” He raked his hair out of his face, shaking his head. “I wish I could believe…that we’re going to make it. That Eden is still out there, waiting, after all this time. That there’s anywhere on this godforsaken earth that is safe.” He turned and kicked a bottle lying in the weeds, sending it smashing into the side of the house. Green shards exploded, flying everywhere, and I blinked, watching him sadly.
Zeke tilted his head back, glaring up at the clouds. “Give me a sign,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “A hint. Anything. Anything to tell me I’m doing the right thing. That I shouldn’t give up and stop looking for the impossible, before everyone around me is dead!”
As expected, there was no answer except the wind and the approaching storm. Zeke sighed, dropping his head, and turned to me with eyes that had gone completely blank. “Let’s go,” he muttered, starting forward. “We should get on the road before the storm hits.”
I glanced back at the wall of clouds rolling in off the lake. Something glimmered against the black, a brief flash of movement, and I squinted, waiting for it to reappear. “Zeke,” I whispered, gazing over the fence. “Look.”
He turned, narrowing his eyes. For a moment, we stood there, the wind rising around us, forks of lightning slashing across the horizon. Thunder growled threateningly, and the first drops of rain began to fall.
Then, far in the distance, a beacon cut through the darkness, a beam of light, scuttling across the clouds. It vanished momentarily, only to reappear again a few seconds later, a spotlight turned toward the sky.
Zeke blinked. “What is that?”