Regardless, he’d have to tolerate Trevor for now. If he was the loser Andy thought he was, sooner or later it would surface, and Missy would discover it for herself. Until that time, Andy would watch him. Missy’s safety was his responsibility, and he would do whatever was needed to protect her.
After helping themselves to some clean clothes, they went to the far corner of the gym and spread out the blankets the priest had supplied. Missy sat with her back against the wall, and Andy lowered himself next to her.
“Hey, I’m gonna go look around, okay?” Trevor said.
Missy smiled. “Sure.”
Andy said nothing. Maybe Trevor would get lost and not return at all.
Trevor tapped the top of Missy’s head. “Be back in a few.”
Andy watched as Trevor wove around and through a maze of makeshift beds and living spaces.
“He’s nice, isn’t he?” Missy said.
Andy didn’t answer.
“You don’t like him.”
“It’s not that I don’t like him,” Andy said. “We don’t know him. Not really.” On the far side of the gym, near the door to the outside world, Trevor shook hands with another man of about the same age and build, then hugged him, slapping the guy hard on the back. “I don’t trust him. Not yet.”
“He seems trustworthy.”
Trevor and the other guy stood close, their faces just inches apart. Trevor motioned toward the door.
“I think it’s too early to tell.”
Trevor glanced over his shoulder at Andy and Missy, noticed he was being watched, and threw Andy a smile and nod.
Andy scanned the room. Most of the inhabitants were older and appeared weak. They’d probably been on the road the entire ten years since The Event, wandering about in a nomadic trance. Following those initial days, weeks, and months, those who had means re-established themselves in the new world. Those who couldn’t became wanderers—like Trevor—moving from shelter to shelter, finding beds where they could, transportation where it appeared, food where it was available. News sources had estimated that a full forty percent of the country was jobless, and of that group nearly seventy-five percent were homeless.
Trevor shook his friend’s hand again, turned, and zigzagged through the sea of cots and blankets. He arrived smiling, thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans. “Hey, Missy, come with me. I want you to meet someone.”
“Who is he?” Andy asked.
“His name’s Jordan. He’s an old friend of mine from North Carolina.” Trevor turned his attention back to Missy. “You’ll like him, Missy. He saved my life once near Greensboro.”
Missy turned her face toward Andy as if seeking his approval, but Andy said nothing. He didn’t want her to go, but if he balked, she’d go anyway, and he’d be left looking like the jerk.
When he didn’t respond, Missy extended her hand toward Trevor. “Okay. Sure.”
Trevor grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. He took her by the arm and led her through the room. Andy watched every step.
At the far end of the gym, Trevor made introductions, and Missy shook the new guy’s hand. He smiled and dipped his head so he could look into her eyes. Had Trevor told him Missy was blind?
Trevor turned and glanced at Andy, then redirected his eyes across the gym, toward the end where one of the basketball hoops hung suspended from the ceiling. Andy followed his gaze and found a young boy no more than six or seven standing in the middle of a circle of sleeping bags. His worn, faded shirt hung loosely on his shoulders. His hair was mussed and shaggy. The boy stared at Andy, a blank expression on his face. Andy expected the kid to begin to cry and point, directing the attention of the entire room to the freak by the bathrooms. But he did neither. Instead, he lifted a small hand and gave a weak wave.
Andy tipped his hat to the boy and smiled, then turned back, looking for Missy. But she was gone. Trevor and his friend were gone too.
Andy stood, scanned the room. His heart thumped hard and fast all the way up to his neck. His palms went sweaty. He’d lost her.
Andy hurried through the room, stepping over sleeping bags and around cots. A man his size moving at such a rate drew attention. Folks whispered and pointed. If he had any hope of blending in and remaining invisible to people who themselves had been invisible, he was only fooling himself.
Finally, he made it to where the threesome had been standing. A small man with deeply rutted skin and a spotty gray beard met his eyes.
“Did you see where they went?” Andy asked.
“Two men and a woman?”
“Yes.”
The man pointed out the door, to the darkening evening.
Andy cursed. He’d lost her.
.......
The man enjoyed watching the events unfold. A master of blending in, he took pleasure in his voyeuristic endeavors. The kid was doing okay so far. He was following the plan, which was all the man could ask at this time.
Panic had overcome the freak and it amused the man. But so much more was to come. His panic would turn to fear, then to anger, then to rage. And that rage would be the end of him and the girl. He would self-destruct and take the girl with him. Genius, really. He was so ripe for the picking. A little push here, a harder push there—that’s all it would take. His true nature was itching to bust out and have its way.
The man sat back against the wall and watched the freak move through the crowd. People stared and murmured. He was such a monster; everyone could see it.
He smiled and felt a certain sense of elation. The kid had turned out to be vulnerable and pliable. When the time came, he would prove useful. And disposable.
Chapter 9
The sun slid toward the western horizon. A smattering of pink clouds dotted the purplish sky. If he weren’t in this place at this exact moment, Andy would stop for a moment and admire the handiwork.
But this was no time for gawking at a sunset. Missy was gone. Outside, a few stragglers mulled around aimlessly, nursing cigarettes. One couple argued loudly; two small children cowered behind their mother.
But there was no Missy. No Trevor. No Jordan. The truck was still there, parked about twenty yards away. They couldn’t have gone far.
Andy rushed around to the left of the building. He’d circle the entire school and scan the fields surrounding it. If they were out there, he’d find them. It had been only minutes since Trevor had directed his gaze away from them.
.......
“You should come with us,” Jordan said. He had a nice voice, smooth and friendly. His handshake had been firm but not too strong. Missy could tell a lot by someone’s voice and their handshake.
“Yeah, we could break out and make our own path.” Trevor touched Missy’s arm. “Come with us, Missy.”
“But what about Andy? He—”
“What about him?” Trevor’s voice held no sharp edges. He was always kind. “He’ll be fine on his own. He’s a big guy, can take care of himself.”
“I need to go north.”
“We’ll go north.”
“Yeah,” Jordan said. “All the way to Maine. I’ve been there. I know the way.”
Missy bit her lip. Though she’d only known Trevor a day, she trusted him. Something about the way he spoke, his gentle ways—like a big brother she didn’t know she had who finally walked into her life and picked up right where they’d left off.
“Look,” Trevor said. “Did Andy invite you to join him? Did he want you along?”
He hadn’t. In fact, he’d balked at her tagging along. He would have sent her on her way all alone if she hadn’t insisted.
“No.”
Trevor touched Missy’s cheek. His hand was soft. “I’ll protect you, little sister. I won’t ever leave you alone. Andy’s cool and all, but I think he’s looking out for himself first. There’s something he has to do, and you’re in the way.”
“You wanna go north?” Jordan said. “We’re the duo to get you there.”
.......
Andy headed around the west side of the school; his heart still raced, sweat dotted his forehead. When he found them—
There they were. All three of them. Missy had her back to the brick wall. Trevor stood beside her. Jordan faced them, hands in his pockets.
Anger clawed into Andy’s chest. He wanted to lift Trevor by his skinny neck and pin him to the wall. But that would do no good. They hadn’t seen him yet. He stepped quickly, purposely keeping his hands loose. He drew in a deep breath, held it for a second, then slowly let it go.
When Andy was about thirty feet away, Jordan spotted him. “Uh-oh.”
Trevor turned to face Andy, a smug smile curling the corners of his mouth.
Andy stopped ten feet away and forced his voice to sound calm. He didn’t want to cue Missy he was upset. “Hey, what’re you guys doing out here?”
Missy spoke first. “I asked them if we could get some fresh air. It was getting stuffy in there.”
Andy shifted his eyes between Trevor and Jordan. Both stared back at him, cocky, careless.
“Missy, why don’t you come back inside?” Andy hoped she heard the concern in his voice and not the irritation. “We need to be careful, you know?”
Missy hesitated. Her eyes darted around his face. Her expression was defiant. “I’d like to stay out here a little while longer.”
“We’ll take good care of her, boss,” Jordan said. He was a thin guy, tall and scrawny. The greasy type. Sharp lines to his face. Dark hair pulled back into a bun.
“Relax, Andy,” Trevor said. “You’re among friends.”
“Missy, please.” Andy’s concern was real now. These guys set off so many alarms in his gut. “Come inside. You should probably get showered for the night, you know?” He stepped closer, reached past Trevor, and put his hand on Missy’s shoulder, hoping she would sense his concern through his touch. “Please.”
Missy’s face relaxed. “Okay. It’s probably best. I’m filthy and tired anyway.”
Andy shot Trevor and Jordan a look that warned them not to follow. He took Missy by the arm and gently led her back to the gymnasium.
.......
Missy slept on a stack of folded blankets while Andy sat with his back against the wall. He’d taken a quick shower while Missy was in the women’s locker room and returned to the gym before she arrived. The lights in the gym had been turned off at ten, and the only illumination now was the moon filtering in through the rectangular windows near the ceiling. The hushed sounds of nearly a hundred people sleeping or whispering quietly filled the gym. Andy had not been able to locate Trevor or Jordan since the lights had been turned off. He assumed they were in the gym somewhere, but they hadn’t made themselves known since Andy had given them the warning look.
Andy was determined to stay awake through the night, watching over Missy like a shepherd guards his sheep. The wolves were out there, and he needed to protect her, to keep her from harm.
.......
The man had little difficulty seeing in the dark. He had embraced the darkness at an early age and had found comfort there, freedom even. The freak was still awake, his mind churning. He was afraid. He’d never admit it, but the man could tell. Fear was obvious to anyone who knew what he was looking for.
The man sat across the gym from the freak. Far enough away to remain unnoticed but close enough to do what he’d come to do.
And he’d come to do what he did best: destroy.
.......
Andy found some comfort in the freedom darkness allowed him. He could move about without staring eyes, whispers, and frightened looks. In the darkness, he was no different from anyone else. Except he was different, wasn’t he? His mangled exterior reflected the state of his soul. There was darkness there too. He knew it, felt it, fought it every day. At times, though, he wanted to embrace it. The pull was so strong, in fact, that resisting it became almost nonsensical. A futile effort. Like a wolf resisting the natural instincts and desires of his . . . wolf-ness.
Andy looked at Missy sleeping peacefully. She was an attractive girl. Woman, really. Sweet too. And innocent. Her innocence stirred something within him, something more than a protective concern that any big brother might have for his sister. Suddenly, a thought entered his mind. He could have her. He could earn her trust, earn her respect. She would grow to love him. She could be his.
Or he could skip all the relationship struggles and just force himself on her. It would be so easy. And he could do it now. He wanted to. And maybe she wanted it too.
Andy shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Where had those thoughts come from? He forced them from his mind. He would never hurt Missy like that. She meant too much to him. She trusted him. It was his duty to protect her, not use her.
Sometime after midnight, Andy’s eyelids grew heavy. Keeping them open became more difficult as if someone had sneaked in and tied fishing weights to them, and no matter how hard he struggled to fight the pull, he couldn’t keep them open.
Several times, he allowed his eyelids to fall only to flip them open when he realized he’d become unaware of them being closed. Sleep had slipped in unnoticed. This tug-of-war went on for over an hour until Andy finally lost touch with his will and drifted along on the sea of slumber, riding the dark waters into the darker night.
And there he dreamed of monsters, beasts, and monstrosities of all kinds, surfacing in the waves and groping at his limbs. He tried to fight them off, to free himself from their attack, but it was useless. They came at him with such fury and intensity, with such lust for violence and gore. They wanted not only to torment him but also to claim him as their own, to make him one of them. He knew this.
As the night wore on and the waters churned, the assault intensified until the waves became flames and the creatures became images of his mother. She spoke to him beyond the black veil of death. Her voice was strained and edged with urgency.
“The girl. This is about her. All of it. She’s something special. Andrew, she’s something special. You must protect her.”
The fire roared louder and louder until it drowned out his mother’s voice.
Then he was on the sea again, riding the crests and troughs of the black water. Something loomed beneath him. He couldn’t see it but he could sense it. Menacing. Gliding past him silently, a few feet from the surface. It would strike at any moment and snatch him, pull him down to depths he could never escape. Only a matter of time . . .
Andy awoke with a startle. The first beams of early morning sunlight filtered through the windows and cast the room in an orange tint. People milled around with bedheads and sleep-glazed eyes. The kid who last night waved at Andy stood in the same spot and watched him with curiosity.
Andy rubbed his eyes, ran his fingers through his hair.
Missy was gone. Again.
Chapter 10
Andy stood and shook the fog from his head, wiped the sleep from his eyes. He looked over the room, noting every sleeping area, every person rummaging about. He scanned the entire room twice. No Missy. No Trevor or Jordan either.
Stepping his way through the crowded room, careful not to plant a foot on any sleeper, he crossed the open space as quickly as possible. Maybe they were outside again. Catching some fresh air. He wished Missy would stop leaving him like that. At the doorway, he paused and surveyed the property surrounding the school. Across the street lay a vast expanse of open field, a flat run of brown grass, and beyond that a barren forest. The sun was awake. The sky was clear and blue.
But there was no Missy. Andy adjusted the Stetson on his head and ran left. He’d circle the building. Maybe they’d gone for a walk. Behind the school was a playground area and beyond that more barren forest. The school sat about a mile outside the town on a campus that must have been beautiful at one time. Now it was unfertile and bleak, browns and grays everywhere.
Andy circled the perimeter of the building and returned to the gym door. Maybe they were still inside. Maybe they’d decided to explore the rest of the school. Tim had t
old him last night that the classroom wings of the building were off limits, but that it didn’t stop curious guests from finding a way in.
And that’s when he noticed the empty space where the truck had been parked. Once again, anger clawed into Andy’s chest. He felt betrayed. How could she leave him? How could she take their truck and abandon him? He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, then rubbed the stubble on his chin.
A voice from behind startled him. “You lookin’ for the girl?”
Andy spun around. The voice belonged to a girl, no more than thirteen or fourteen. She was thin and bony, her hair long and tangled. She wore a faded black Twenty One Pilots T-shirt and jeans with a hole in the right knee. Over her left shoulder, she carried a black backpack. “Yes. Did you see them leave?”
“Yup.”
She shoved her hands into her pockets and tilted her head to one side.
“And? Did you see which way they went?”
“Yup.”
Andy took a step closer to the girl, but she held her ground and lifted her chin, held him with narrowed eyes.
“What do you want?” Andy said.
“To go with you.”
Andy took another step closer. “I can’t take you with me. I don’t even have a vehicle.”
“I can get one.”
“I’m a freak.”
She smiled. “I can see that. And you don’t scare me.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirteen.”
“Got parents?”
“Nope.”
“You’re on your own?”
“Yup. Have been since I was ten.”
Andy surveyed the growing crowd around the school. The occupants were awakening and making their way outside for air and sunshine. He didn’t have time for this.
“You can get a car?”
“Better than that.” She ran her eyes over the parking lot. “How about an SUV?”
Andy crossed his arms. He didn’t want to get involved with this girl. He didn’t need her tagging along, slowing things down. He didn’t need more responsibility. He had one responsibility—Missy—and look how that turned out.
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