บท 48: Solo mission

"What are you doing?" Sofie asked in her tiny voice, her mouth stuffed with bread.

Kia sat alone close to the parked SUV, away from the rest who were gathered around a fire they had set up for warmth, with the two kids running around it.

The sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the desolate landscape. Kia glanced at Sofie, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, her innocent eyes fixed on him.

"Just thinking," he replied, his gaze drifting back to his watch and then to his hand, which was clenched in a fist.

Sofie swallowed the bread and tilted her head. "About what?"

"Everything. Training, getting you to your mom. It's a lot."