Free The Sentinel by Jeremy Bishop Page A

until we’re rescued or dead, starting—
    —now.
    I pick up the two backpacks, feeling their weight in my hands, and hand the lighter one to Peach. She takes the yellow backpack and puts it over her shoulders. I throw Chase’s dark gray backpack over my shoulder. “We’re on a peninsula, so we’re going to head south to the mainland, and then follow the coast. I’m going to set the pace. I’ll try not to go too fast, but we’re not here because we met on a dating website, so don’t expect a romantic walk along on the beach. The terrain is rough, but clear. If we stay close to the water, it will be fairly even, too. Good enough?”
    Peach gives a furtive nod.
    Jenny says, “Whatever. I just want to get out of here before Mr. Snuggles comes back.”
    “You named the bear that almost ate you, Mr. Snuggles?” Peach says.
    Jenny shrugs. “He was cute.”
    It’s hard for me to not join in, but we need to get serious and I want to reach the Bliksem wreck sooner rather than later. If any of the crew made it to shore, I’d prefer to deal with that confrontation before I’m starving, dehydrated and lacking the energy to flip them the bird. I wrap the cloak around me, turn my eyes south and start walking. “Peach, bring up the rear. Keep an eye out for the bear.”
    Jenny falls in line behind me.
    “The bear?” Peach asks. “You think it will come back?”
    “No,” I say, “but I’m not a bear psychologist, so who knows. Better safe than sorry. Should I aim to kill next time?”
    When she doesn’t answer, I know the answer is yes. She’d be offended by the act, but could stop worrying about being eaten alive. What I don’t mention is that we are in the land of the polar bear. Odds are good that we’ll run into a few more before we find civilization.
    I don’t look back, but I hear two sets of feet behind me. Our expedition is underway.
    An hour later, we stop at a one hundred foot tall rise.
    “Well,” Jenny says, her face pink and covered in sweat, “this sucks.”
    I consider giving a pep talk, but decide to save it for when one of us dies—assuming it’s not me. I start up the hill and Jenny groans.
    “Really?” she says. “Not even a quick rest before we head up?”
    I continue up, but speak over my shoulder. “Somewhere behind us is a bear that would like to eat you. Every second you stand there, you’re further away from the woman with the gun.”
    She starts up the hill after me and says, “Bitch.”
    Peach follows in silence.
    Despite the hill’s height, the grade is forgiving and the footing is firm. I reach the top in a minute and take a seat. When Jenny reaches the top and sees me sitting, she feigns a half-serious gasp and says, “Double bitch.”
    Then she sees what I’m looking at. She sits on a bolder next to mine and says, “What is it?”
    Rocks clatter behind us announcing the arrival of Peach. “The Bliksem ,” she says.
    Jenny squints at the smoldering hull in the distance. I hand her the small binoculars. A moment later she says, “Damn. They sank.”
    “And burned,” Peach observes.
    “Think any of them survived?” Jenny asks.
    “Yup,” I say with a confidence that turns both of their heads toward me.
    The Bliksem sits about one hundred yards out and to our right. Jenny and Peach are so fixed on it that they’ve failed to notice the aberration to our left. I lean back so they can see the smoke drifting up toward the sky. Somewhere to the south, someone has a fire going.
    “Think it’s the Bliksem ’s crew?” Jenny asks.
    “We should avoid them,” Peach says.
    “We can’t avoid them,” I say. “Whoever they are, they’re in our way. And if it is the Bliksem ’s crew, we owe them our help.”
    “We can’t trust them,” Peach says.
    “They might see things the other way around,” I say. “Our ship sank theirs. We have a good amount of supplies. They might have injured. And they’re innocent in this.”
    “They were killing whales,” Peach