Page 23 of Searching Blind

“Zelda’s trained to protect me at all costs, so don’t underestimate her because she’s cute. And as for my stick?” He swung it and Chuck flinched, which gave him the target he needed. He stopped short of actually hitting him, instead resting the tip against Chuck’s shoulder. “It’s specially made, reinforced with steel. I whack someone with this, it will do damage.”

“Whoa, okay, let’s all take a breath!” Lucy set a hand on his arm. “Sawyer,” she said more softly. “Lower the cane.”

After another moment, he relented, choking up his grip on the cane until his hand rested back on the handle. He stroked Zelda’s head, and she stopped growling. Chuck’s relief when they turned away was palpable, and he sorely wished he could see the guy’s bravado deflate like a slowly leaking balloon.

He’d always hated bullies.

Lucy, however, didn’t let it go. Her voice was sharp as she confronted Chuck. “We’re all scared. We’re all paranoid and on edge, and rightfully so. But lashing out at each other won’t help. It will only make things worse.”

Chuck grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but Sawyer caught two words: “…not blind…”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I said you’re not blind,” Chuck snapped, his bravado returning. “You all saw the way he looked at me just now. He’s lying. Maybe he killed Maya.”

Every gaze in the room turned to him. He felt the stares like the hairy legs of a spider skittering down the back of his neck. “Blindness is a spectrum, asshole. It’s not all or nothing. I can see colors and vague shapes and shadows. My eyes are fine; the problem is my brain can’t interpret the information it receives from them because a sniper tried to blow my head off in Afghanistan. But movement helps— so, yes, I can see you reaching for whatever it is you’re about to throw at me, and, yes, I can catch it.”

Chuck’s hand paused in mid-air.

“Chuck.” Lucy stepped between them. “Let’s be civilized. Put down the bottle. You’ll just waste water that we can’t afford to lose.”

For a long moment, the standoff continued, each man stiff with defiance. Finally, Chuck harrumphed, and the plastic bottle crackled as he set it back onto the table. He didn’t apologize, but Sawyer wasn’t expecting him to.

An uneasy silence filled the room, until Theodore finally broke it:

“If one of us is dead, and we’re all stuck here together, how long before the rest of us follow?”

“Well, damn, Theo,” Bea muttered. “That’s a cheerful thought.”

“It’s a legitimate concern, isn’t it? I mean…” He trailed off and didn’t finish the thought.

Sawyer sensed Lucy tense beside him, and he gently touched her arm, offering what little comfort he could. Paranoia seeped into the room like an insidious gas, filling every corner and twisting every shadow into something monstrous.

“We’re not animals,” Lucy said finally. “We’re not going to start tearing each other apart.”

“How do you know?” Joel asked.

Sawyer grimaced. The kid had grown up with Chuck as a father. It had to be difficult to see past the ugly parts of human nature when that was all you were exposed to. Still, Sawyer thought, he should try to offer some hope.

“I know because I’ve seen what happens when people turn on each other.” He motioned toward his eyes. “I barely survived it. But I’ve also seen what people are capable of when they are stronger than fear. We’re only animals if we choose to be. If we stick together and have each other’s backs until rescue arrives, no one else will die.”

Chuck snorted. “I don’t trust any fucking one of you.”

Before Sawyer could answer, a sudden gust rattled the windows. Sawyer put his hand on Zelda’s head to calm her, feeling her fur prickle against his palm. His sweet, laid-back girl was just as on edge as everyone else in the small room.

“Storm’s picking up.” Grant’s voice cut through the tense silence. “No one’s going anywhere tonight.”

“We’ll sleep in three-hour shifts,” Lucy added. “Grant, Sawyer, and I will take the first watch.”

Again, Chuck gave a derisive snort.

Sawyer hated that the man’s snide remarks bothered him. He’d dealt with worse. Hell, his own father had been a verbal bulldozer, always quick to tear down anyone in his path. Sawyer had built up a thick skin from an early age and learned to wield self-deprecating humor like a weapon to deflect the worst of the barbs, but something about Chuck’s dismissive attitude rubbed him raw. Maybe it was the parallels he saw between Chuck and Joel’s strained relationship and his own fractured relationship with his father, or maybe it was the way Chuck’s words were like splinters under the skin of the group’s already fragile unity.

He bit back a sharp retort, reminding himself that his role was to maintain harmony, not stoke conflict. He needed to keep the peace, for everyone’s sake. He couldn’t let Chuck’s toxic attitude poison their survival efforts.

“It’s eleven now,” Lucy continued as if Chuck hadn’t made a sound. “At two, Bea and Theodore, are you good to take over?” They must have nodded their consent because she finished, “Then at five, Ethan, Chuck, and Joel will finish out the night. Once we’ve all had some rest, we can figure out our next steps, okay?”

There was a murmur of agreement and a reluctant grumble from Chuck. Tension still crackled in the air as everyone returned to their makeshift bunks, but it was less like an imminent lightning strike now and more like static electricity.

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