Chapter 39
Seven groups of new settlers had departed Wolf Branch since the nightmare of Mary’s exile. As always, a huge crowd filled the Square, happy and excited. Several families were sending their oldest children today, so Etan suspected he wasn’t the only one feeling a bit melancholy under the joy.
The biggest four-wheel-drive truck still in reliable working order was packed full of tools, supplies, and the few belongings that hadn’t already made the trip up the mountain. Several smaller vehicles that could traverse the damaged road to Maple Ridge waited behind it in a line along the road.
A few parents would join the new colony for the first few days, then bring most of the vehicles back down. Iris walked along the line of supplies and milling families, pretending to inspect or org
