Page 106 of The Outsider
A second later, the radio buzzed again. “Resident safety confirmed, Ghost. No fire near the farmhouse. Awaiting orders from command.”
I let out a long breath.At least they’re okay.
“Stay with the residents, Star,” Danny answered, and when I looked over my shoulder, he was coming up behind me. “Ghost, go home for now. I’ll investigate further.”
Good.I needed to see my family, orders or not. There was no saving the woodshed, no point in risking our lives for a pile of ashes. Letting the fire burn itself out was probably safest; the shed wasn’t close enough to the other buildings to spread.Thank fuck for that.
I rode to the farmhouse, where the lights were on, and Star waited outside. I slowed Ghost to a trot, then left her beside Star before running up the porch steps and bursting throughthe front door.
Sadie was in the foyer with Claire and Kimmy. Kimmy had her winter jacket on over her linen pyjamas and winter boots on her feet. Claire stood beside her in her nightgown, wide-eyed, a wool blanket from our bed wrapped around her shoulders. To my surprise, Asha was also there, fully dressed. I hadn’t seen her in a few days.
“John,” Kimmy said on seeing me. “What’s going on?”
I crossed the room to reach Claire before answering. “The woodshed’s on fire. We don’t know how it happened yet. Doesn’t seem like anything else is burning, though.”
I took Claire’s hand in mine, and she squeezed it. She looked afraid.
Sadie lifted her radio and said, “Star to command. Do you need help out there?”
“Star and Ghost, head to the woodshed,” came Danny’s reply. “Bring residents with you. There’s something you should see.”
That couldn’t mean anything good. Claire shot me a worried look, and I kissed the top of her head before releasing her hand.
“Bundle up,” I told her, keeping my voice calm. “Ghost is outside. Sadie and I can take you all there.”
A few minutes later, we were on horseback again, heading towards the charred remains of the woodshed. When we got there, Danny was standing beside Bolt, holding a misshapen object, blackened by fire. The fire had mostly died out on its own, with only a few hot spots left.
I dismounted, then helped Claire down. Behind us, Sadie, Kimmy, and Asha did the same.
“Think I found the source of the fire,” Danny said, holding up what looked like a partly melted lantern. “Any of you leave a lantern in the woodshed?”
Oh, fuck.I glanced at Claire, who’d turned as white as the snow around us. It was only a quick look, but I knew Kimmy had noticed it, because she frowned.
“I did,” Claire said, in the smallest voice I’d ever heard her use. “But I blew it out first.”
“You sure?” Danny said skeptically, but not unkindly. “I know I’ve forgotten a candle or two in the past myself. It’s easy for that to slip your mind sometimes, especially if you’re just going through the motions.”
“I—” Claire started, but she faltered. “I don’t know.”
“You could’ve burned down the whole Valley,” Sadie snapped, accusatory, and that got my back up immediately.
“Hey—” I started, but Asha interjected, “We don’t use candles in the compound. We never used anything with an open flame like that. It’s understandable that Claire would forget. It’s not her fault.”
I wracked my brain, but I couldn’t remember if Claire had extinguished the lantern earlier. I should’ve paid better attention, but I’d been preoccupied.
“So, the compound robs you of common fucking sense?” Sadie shot back, throwing up her hands, then turned back on Claire. “You’re supposed to be convincing us that you won’t pose a threat here. This is not a good look.”
Claire put on a brave face, but I saw the slightest tremor in her hands.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said quietly, “but I know I blew that lantern out.”
“Look, Claire,” Kimmy said, “it’s okay if you just forgot. People make mistakes.”
“But I didn’t!” Claire insisted, wringing her hands.
Sadie moved toward Claire, and she instinctively took a step back.
“So, the woodshed just burntitselfdown—”
