Chapter 133 The Signal on the Hill

Chapter 133 The Signal on the Hill
Tessa's POV
Samuel didn't take his eyes off the distant hillside.
The light had vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving only darkness behind.
Dylan walked over to him.
"You've seen that signal before?"
Samuel nodded.
"Years ago."
"Who used it?"
"Travellers."
Renwick frowned.
"That doesn't sound dangerous."
"It wasn't."
Samuel folded his arms against the cool night air.
"Before the Voice began drawing people away, families used those lantern signals to guide loved ones home after sunset."
Grace looked puzzled.
"Then why are you worried?"
"Because that wasn't a family's signal."
His answer drew everyone's attention.
"The pattern was wrong."
Caleb stepped closer.
"Explain."
Samuel pointed toward the ridge.
"One light means you're safe to approach."
"Two means you've arrived."
"Three..."
He hesitated.
"...three means the person you're waiting for has appeared."
Anthony looked from one adult to another.
"So somebody was waiting?"
"Yes," Samuel replied.
"They were."

Gideon unlatched the barn door and disappeared inside.
When he returned, he carried an old lantern with polished brass sides.
"I haven't used this in years."
He handed it to Dylan.
"It burns longer than the others."
Dylan accepted it with a grateful smile.
"Thank you."
"You'll need it more than I will."
Ruth watched the exchange quietly.
"I don't like the thought of anyone leaving tonight."
"We aren't," Dylan assured her.
"We travel at first light."
Renwick nodded in agreement.
"Moving through unfamiliar ground after dark gives away too many advantages."
Samuel seemed relieved by the decision.
"That's wise."

The children were sent inside soon afterward.
Grace curled up beside Ruth with a blanket around her shoulders.
Daniel and Anthony shared the small room at the end of the hallway.
"I still owe you a goat," Daniel reminded him.
Anthony laughed.
"I haven't forgotten."
"It'll be better than the last one."
"The potato?"
Daniel grinned.
"Exactly."
Anthony reached beneath his pillow and pulled out his carving knife.
"I'll make one too."
"You should sleep."
"I carve better when I'm thinking."
Daniel rolled his eyes.
"You also stay awake longer."
Anthony couldn't argue with that.
A few minutes later, the knife had been tucked away, and both boys were talking about what Red Pack might look like.
Their voices gradually softened until the room finally grew quiet.

Outside, Dylan joined Renwick and Caleb near the gate.
The lantern hung from a wooden post, casting a warm circle of light across the yard.
Caleb unfolded the map Miriam had shown them earlier.
"If we leave at sunrise, we'll reach the watchtower before evening."
Renwick traced the route with one finger.
"This stretch worries me."
"The valley?"
"Yes."
"There isn't much cover."
Samuel stepped beside them.
"There used to be an orchard here."
He pointed to a spot just south of the road.
"Storms destroyed most of it."
"What remains?"
"A few stone walls."
Caleb smiled faintly.
"Stone walls are better than open ground."
"They'll give us somewhere to stop if we need to."
Dylan studied the map one last time before folding it carefully.
"Then that's our route."

Miriam found Tessa sitting alone beneath the fig tree.
"May I?"
Tessa smiled.
"Of course."
For a while they simply watched the lantern sway gently in the breeze.
Miriam spoke first.
"You've changed him."
Tessa looked surprised.
"Who?"
"Dylan."
She laughed softly.
"I think he'd argue he's exactly the same."
"He isn't."
Miriam smiled.
"The man I met years ago believed every problem could be solved by standing between danger and the people he loved."
"And now?"
"He still stands between them."
Her eyes drifted toward the farmhouse.
"But he also lets others stand beside him."
Tessa followed her gaze.
Samuel was speaking with Caleb.
Renwick was helping Gideon secure the horses.
Even Ruth had joined the women preparing food for the morning journey.
"We've become a family."
"You have."
Miriam's smile warmed.
"Families aren't always built by blood."
"They're built by choosing each other."
Those words settled gently in Tessa's heart.

A sudden bark shattered the calm.
Every head turned toward the pasture.
One of Gideon's sheepdogs stood near the fence, staring into the darkness beyond the fields.
It barked again.
Then another dog joined it.
Renwick reached for his bow.
"They've noticed something."
Caleb lifted the lantern.
"I'll check."
"I'll come with you," Dylan said.
The two men crossed the field while the others remained near the farmhouse.
The dogs didn't advance.
They simply watched.
Caleb raised the lantern higher.
The light swept across the tall grass...
...and stopped.
A small bundle rested against the fence.
Wrapped in a faded blue blanket.
Dylan hurried forward and knelt beside it.
"It's a basket."
"What do you see?" Renwick called.
Dylan carefully folded back the blanket.
Inside lay a loaf of fresh bread.
Beside it rested a wooden flute carved with tiny flowers.
Nothing else.
Caleb examined the ground around the basket.
"There are footprints."
"How many?"
"One adult."
"They came from the eastern road."
He looked over his shoulder.
"And they left the same way."
Dylan picked up the flute.
Something had been carved into the smooth wood.
Not a warning.
Not a threat.
Just four simple words.
Children deserve to laugh.
He turned the flute over slowly.
The handwriting wasn't familiar.
Neither was the carving.
Yet the message didn't fit the Voice.
It felt... human.
As Dylan considered the strange gift, Samuel approached from behind.
The moment he saw the flute, recognition flashed across his face.
"I know who made this."
Every eye turned toward him.
Samuel's fingers trembled as he reached for the instrument.
"This belonged..."
He looked toward the eastern road, disbelief written across his face.
"...to Eliza's younger brother."