“He already did,” Annie said when King asked for her father to send more search parties out. She explained that waterborne teams had gone out north and south to the toward the nearest communities. "It will be a couple of days before we hear back.”

King was delighted at this news. At the same time, though, he was disturbed. He knew it was more likely that they'd find more corpses than survivors, if either were found at all. He looked back out at the sea again. It was a clear day with no fog or low-lying clouds, enabling King to see far beyond the ground-level horizon of 12 miles from here up the hill. It all seemed so peaceful and perfect, so unlike the pre-apocalyptic world that had led them all to this time and place.

"I'd like to just sit here a while, if that's okay," King told Annie. If he wasn't required to return to the quarantine hut, he wanted to get some more fresh air, enjoy the scenery, and -- if Bran allowed it -- even climb the trail to the pass and look down into the interior of Greenland. He mused, "I like it here. It's nice."