Chapter 42: The Greatest Gift, Part 2

We were almost at the cave when Brolin softly said, "Let me go in first." Then, he looked at Brandon. "You might take them by surprise."

"There's more of you?" Brandon asked, looking at me, clearly amazed.

"Yeah," I replied. "There were nine of us that got out, then we found Lisa, but that's another story."

"Ah," Brandon replied, smiling, as his curly brown hair fell lazily over one eye. "I definitely sense there's more that you're not telling me," Brandon replied, unknowingly referring to the story of Eric. Funny how Brandon always seemed to be able to read my mind.

"There is," I replied, slinging my M-16 onto my back. "But you're not going to hear it tonight. You need some rest."

"You could rest with me," Brandon mischievously replied. I knew he was joking, but I also knew he would jump at the chance if I took him up on his offer.