Page 20 of Sanctuary

“Cuddle in close for warmth,” she said.

With their hands in the middle, they formed a half-circle. Paige rubbed Misty’s fingers and Sarah’s to bring the circulation back. When she finished, she pulled a candy bar from her pocket.

“Turns out Mrs. Sanders is a candy junkie. There was an entire box in her desk drawer. The sugar will give us energy, and we all need to eat one. I put several in your jacket pockets. Fish them out.”

Cold and miserable, Misty pulled out one of her bars. She slowly peeled back the wrapper and took a bite. It tasted wonderful.

“I haven’t had candy in a long time,” said Sarah before she shoved the rest of the bar in her mouth.

Misty ate slower and savored every bite.

“Run,” yelled Paige as lights flashed into the bus stop.

Chapter Fourteen

Escape, Misty

The firetruck slowly rolled past, the lights blinding them in their hiding spot among the bushes. Even with the bright lights, visibility was nil and Misty didn’t think they’d been seen.

“They’re probably checking on the people who didn’t evacuate,” Paige whispered. “We need to keep moving and it will help us stay warm.”

Misty didn’t think she would ever be warm again. She no longer felt her toes though there was a slight burning sensation when she walked. Completely miserable, she slogged along behind Sarah, who made slight whimpering sounds, but didn’t stop or put her complaints into words. The rain fell harder, adding to their misery, but they didn’t stop.

“That’s the river,” Paige said, pointing ahead. “We follow it and I’ll find us a place to get warm.” For the first time, there was a slight shiver in Paige’s voice.

They lowered their heads and moved forward. Water dripped past Misty’s jacket collar and rolled down her back. She wanted to cry.

“We’ve got this,” Paige encouraged.

They continued on until the sound of the river meeting the ocean was louder than the storm. Misty didn’t see a shelter of any kind. There were houses in the distance, but they were too big and fancy. The first thing the owners would do if they saw them was call the police. Her heart dropped. Had this all been for nothing?

“Look out there,” Paige said, pointing beyond the shoreline.

Misty saw a blinking light in the distance.

“What is it?” asked Sarah.

“It’s where we’ll hide during the storm. The lighthouse will be warm and get us out of the rain.”

Misty looked at the light then back at the growing waves. “How do we get there?”

“That’s easy,” Paige said. “We steal a boat.”

“I don’t want to steal anything from anyone,” Misty said but really, she didn’t want to take a boat onto the water.

“The candy bars, the money I found, what do you think that was?” Paige countered.

Theft. Misty went silent while she tried to control her fear of getting into a boat.

“I’ll help steal a boat if we can get out of the cold,” Sarah said, her voice trembling harder.

She was right, and Misty felt she would die if she didn’t get warm. She looked at the large waves, and wondered if they would die. The main part of the hurricane wasn’t supposed to hit until dawn, but Misty couldn’t believe the waves could get higher. She followed Paige, who seemed to know where she was going. A short distance later, Misty heard a heavy knocking sound. It turned out to be boats hitting the dock.

How Paige knew which boat to choose was something Misty would never figure out. The girl had an unbelievable survival instinct.

“This one will do,” Paige declared.

Misty looked at the decrepit craft and didn’t share Paige’s confidence.

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