The First Twenty

by Jennifer Lavoie

  Peyton sighed. Evidently she wasn’t going to listen to reason. She shook the slender young woman again, shifting her hands from her arms to her face and locking her in place.

  “I mean, Faulkner never even trusted me to leave the camp without a guard”—Nixie continued, undeterred—“let alone act on my own. I can’t believe I—”

  “Stop,” Peyton repeated, but this time instead of letting her ramble on, she pulled her close and did the only thing she could to shut her up: she pressed her lips to Nixie’s mouth.

  It worked.

  Nixie gasped, her mouth pulling into a firm line before going slack under Peyton’s. Her whole body went limp and Peyton found herself holding the Scavenger up. Her lips were deceptively soft and smooth and tasted sweet. Nixie tensed up at first, but then relaxed in her arms. Peyton wanted to stay there all day. After a few breathless moments, Peyton released her enough to look into her eyes. They were wide, but the fright had faded to curiosity. “Are you done?”

  Nixie nodded.

  “Good.” She released her gradually, making sure she would be able to stand on her feet before taking a step back. She cleared her throat. “Cooper has a map. We’re not lost. We can reference it and figure out where we are and then backtrack to the field.”

  “I’m sorry I got us lost,” Nixie stuttered. Her face colored a shade of purple Peyton hadn’t thought possible on a human, and she worried she would pass out.

  “It happens.” Peyton tried to ignore it. She needed to focus on the task at hand, not what had just happened, and definitely not how it made her feel. What the hell had she been thinking, kissing her like that? She had enough problems without adding to the list.

  “But what if the sun sets?” Nixie sounded breathless. “I suggested we make the camp before we set out.”

  “And I listened. It will be on me, not you.”

  Nixie wasn’t having it, apparently, because she continued to argue, her voice rising in pitch. “How will they trust me after this?”

  Peyton shrugged. “We’re here. We’ll keep looking. Things go wrong sometimes. We’ll just pick ourselves back up and keep moving.” It’s what Dad would have done. Maybe I’m more like him than I thought. The idea warmed her, and she smiled. “Now, eat something and rest up. Cooper and I will figure out where we are and we’ll go from there.”

  Nixie nodded and sank to the ground behind the rubble. She looked like she wanted to be alone for a while, and Peyton could respect that. After all, she had preferred to pass her time that way, too. Until recently, at least.

  Pressing her fingers against her lips, Peyton rounded the corner of the rubble to find Cooper and Jasper looking up at her expectantly from their seats on the ground. She joined them, digging into her pack and pulling out the dried meat and berries. She studiously avoided looking them in the eyes, worried they’d see what she’d just done and realize it had affected her more than she wanted to admit. She could still feel Nixie’s warmth against her lips and the gentle tingles it sent through her body.

  “We need your map,” she said to Cooper after she’d kept them waiting long enough to pop one of the berries into her mouth. With considerable effort, she forced thoughts of Nixie from her mind. She’d deal with the kiss later.

  He grumbled. “I figured as much.” The map came out of his pocket and he unfolded it and then set it on the ground between them. “I’ve been trying to keep the turns she’s taken us on straight, but I’m a little mixed up.”

  “Me, too,” Jasper chimed in. “Wish she’d have just told us before that we’d taken a wrong turn,” he grumbled, “rather than leading us on a wild goose chase.”

  “She’s nervous. Doesn’t want to let us down.” Peyton defended her, but there didn’t seem to be a need. They just shrugged it off and put their heads together to look at the map.

  “This is the field we were at before,” Cooper said, gently poking at the map with his index finger. Let’s see where we ended up.”

  They tried to trace their first route but ended up searching over the entire map before finding the street they were off. Jasper let out a low whistle. “Damn. We’re pretty far out. But at least we know where we are, right? We can make a straight line back to the park and go from there again.”

  “What are the chances of us making it back before dark?”

  “To the river?” Peyton nodded. “Not a chance,” Jasper said, peering up at the sky. The color was still bright blue and clear, but the light had faded just enough to let them know it was late afternoon. “But we should be able to make it back to the field by then.”

  “What do you suggest? Should we camp at the field and try to correct our course in the morning, or push to get to the river in the dark?”

  Cooper and Jasper stared at her silently for a moment before Jasper chimed in with, “You’re asking for our advice?”

  Peyton shrugged, recalling the words her father had said to her. A good leader doesn’t just lead. They ask for help when they need it and work with their group. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t explicitly asking for help, but it was kind of the same thing, right? She’d asked Nixie for her help earlier, without dire consequences. She needed to let more people in, and she would. Starting today. “I’d like to know what everyone wants. If you think it best to make it to the camp for the night, even if it means traveling in the dark, then we do it.”

  Cooper nodded and glanced over her shoulder to where Static rested. “Traveling at night in this unfamiliar area wouldn’t be the wisest choice. Even with the light of the moon, it would be too dark to see clearly, and we could end up getting hurt.”

  Jasper nodded. “True, and it would be just as easy to camp at the field. But a majority of our supplies are at the riverbank. Do we want to spend a night without them? In the end, it’s your call, Peyton.”

  Peyton agreed. Didn’t she know it? “We camp at the field, then. Map out our route. We leave in ten minutes.”

  “Ten?” Jasper asked. “We could leave in five.”

  “I know, but I want Static to rest as much now as possible.” She glanced back at him. His head had drooped and his chin was propped on his chest. The four of them might be able to make it back to the river uninjured, but frankly, she didn’t think Static would.

  And he couldn’t afford an injury on top of his burn, dehydration, and exhaustion.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  It wasn’t much of a camp, but it would have to do. As things stood, it wasn’t the best Nixie had spent a night in, but it also wasn’t the worst. Besides, she couldn’t complain. It was her fault, after all. If she had just admitted that they were lost when she’d first realized it, they could have turned around and made it back to the field well before nightfall. But no. She had to keep going, pushing herself further, just in case she was mistaken.

  What an idiot.

  She sat alone off to the side. The others weren’t angry, but she felt terrible about the situation, especially because of Static. He looked so miserable with the burn covering his face. Jasper dipped his fingers in the salve, glancing into the jar and at what covered his fingertips. With a sigh, he gently eased it on Static’s face.

  “The burn will fade into a nice tan,” Jasper teased. “Maybe you’ll finally get yourself a girl and not scare them off looking like a ghost.”

  Static snorted loudly but didn’t respond.

  Cooper tended to the small fire he had built. Like the camp, it wasn’t much, but it would heat their food and keep any animals away from their site.

  Nixie glanced at Peyton, who sat off to the side. When Peyton had kissed her back in that alley, all thoughts had completely fled her mind. It had felt nice, once she’d relaxed into it. She’d never been kissed before; she had to smile at that. Her first kiss had come from someone she used to hate. It might have been used as a way to shut her up, but she’d felt something deeper in that kiss. Something different. Peyton could have pulled away long before she did—she could have, too—but they’d both wanted to prolong the
contact. She glanced at where Peyton was looking at the map and then back down at the scribbles she’d scratched in the dirt. She’d wanted a connection with someone for so long and it was just her luck the person was a Settler. A beautiful Settler, with long blond hair, who was fiercely protective of her friends.

  The ground was hard beneath her, but she lay down anyway, using the pack to cushion her head. She’d eaten a small portion of her food to regain her strength and sipped at her water enough to keep her hydrated. She would have liked more, but her idiocy had ruined that. Stop. Stop blaming yourself. Peyton doesn’t, and neither do the others. Nixie sighed and turned her back to the fire, closing her eyes. Even when she tried to block it out, she could still feel the press of those lips against hers. They’d been dry, and just a little cracked. Nixie worried Peyton was dehydrated, but she couldn’t exactly produce water to solve that problem.

  That’s good. Focus on Peyton’s physical well-being rather than how the kiss felt.

  As if she could actually do that…

  Peyton tasted like blackberries. Had she been eating some as they walked? Nixie couldn’t remember. She’d been too busy freaking out over getting them lost. But that sweet taste had been as unexpected as the kiss. She turned her face into the pack to muffle a groan. Who was she fooling? Certainly not herself. If she was honest about everything, she’d admit she was falling for Peyton. And if that didn’t just beat everything, she didn’t know what did. What would Ranger think if he knew what was going through her mind right now? What about Faulkner? She shuddered to think about that one, so it was best to push it from her mind. Ranger, on the other hand…she didn’t mind thinking about him. She missed him. As stubborn as he could be, he’d always been decent to her. He looked out for her on missions, and knowing him, he’d probably laugh at the lunacy of her situation.

  Good. Think about Ranger instead of the kiss.

  That’s distracting enough.

  Had it really been nearly a month since her mistake had separated them? It didn’t seem that long, now that she thought about it. She could only assume the others made it back okay and that the water filtration system was working. They would have figured out how to run it, right? It didn’t seem so difficult once Cooper had shown her the method.

  Why hadn’t they come back to check on her?

  She hadn’t heard a single person mention having seen Scavengers in the area. Had her people given her up as a lost cause? Had Ranger figured she’d make it out on her own? Or had Faulkner told them to forget about her and move on? A thought struck her then—what if they had left? What if Faulkner had gotten what he wanted and ordered them to break camp? It would make sense. With her captured, maybe he thought the Settlers would torture her to get information, and Faulkner probably figured she’d break and spill their secrets. Moving everyone was the safe thing to do. Better to lose one than the whole group, right? But what secrets did he have that he would want to keep, aside from her abilities?

  And why did the idea of being left behind hurt so damn much?

  *

  A blind man could see Nixie had nightmares that night. At first Peyton had been concerned when she chose a spot on the other side of the fire from the boys, alone, but then realized it might be for the best once her thrashing began. Once or twice she let out a short whimper, but that was it. Her limbs, on the other hand, were weapons flailing through the air.

  “Should you wake her up?” Jasper whispered as he rose to take her place for the rest of the watch.

  “I don’t know. Dad always said to let sleeping dogs lie.”

  “Does that look like sleeping to you?”

  “Not really.”

  “Besides, she’s not a dog.”

  “No,” Peyton assented, “but she is fierce enough to bite.”

  Jasper chuckled. “That little thing? I doubt it. You’re getting soft on her.”

  Peyton looked at him in alarm. Could he see? Did he know how her feelings were changing? Had changed?

  “Nice way to shut her up, by the way. I’ve got to try that myself sometime. Hmm…I wonder who it would work best on.”

  He had seen. Damn. Peyton punched his arm lightly. “You go kissing the boys and you won’t get the same reaction I got.”

  “Not if they like me.” He paused. “Because she does, you know. Like you.”

  “Of course she must like me,” Peyton said, getting up to stretch and mask her discomfort with the subject. She didn’t want to discuss personal issues with Jasper, even if he was one of her best friends. She didn’t do the whole personal thing. Even if she was trying to trust him more on other matters, discussing her bewildering feelings for Nixie was a step too far. “She wouldn’t have agreed to this mission if she outright hated me.”

  “You’re not an idiot, Pey. You know what I’m talking about.”

  She knew, all right. Which is why she waved him off, dismissing him for the night, and paced to the opposite side of the fire from where he sat. She wouldn’t sleep near Static and Cooper, but as much as she would have liked the warmth of sleeping next to Nixie, she was going to be sleeping alone tonight. I just don’t want to get hit with flailing limbs, she reasoned.

  Of course.

  That made perfect sense.

  When she looked across the fire to see Jasper grinning at her, looking like a demon with the fire in his eyes and brightening his teeth, she merely flipped him off with a huff. What the hell did he know, after all?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Nixie woke before the others. Jasper was on watch but was doing a poor job of it as he sat slumped over with his head nearly in his lap. When he woke up he would have a terrible crick in his neck. Quietly she rose and crept out of their site. She wanted to try to get her bearings. This time she wouldn’t make a mistake. She wouldn’t lead them down the wrong path again. As the sun rose, casting an orange glow over the land, she stopped and sniffed the air.

  Rain.

  Again, there was that tantalizing smell, teasing her, just at the edges of her abilities. It was stronger here and almost called to her. She wanted to follow it, follow the scent, and dance with her arms raised up in the rain.

  Closing her eyes she opened her senses completely and let it wash over her, bathing her in the cool crispness. She could almost feel the tiny drops dancing down on her skin, hammering a light staccato beat in time with a roll of thunder. She took one step, then another. Turned. Spun. Allowed herself to become part of the distant storm, wanting it to be closer. If only she could pull it closer, pull the clouds to her and part them over her head. She would gladly drown in the drops, allow her mouth to fill with precious, life-giving liquid and take her away.

  “Nixie.”

  The hand on her shoulder shook her and she forced her eyes open abruptly. The voice sounded urgent, as if it had been calling her for some time. When she turned to face Peyton, she saw the others standing behind her, their eyes fixed to the sky.

  “What?” she asked, her voice coming out breathless.

  “What did you do?” Peyton demanded. She looked above her, also at the sky.

  What was the big deal with the sky? It was always blue. What could possibly be so fascinating? She frowned and tried to pull Peyton’s hand from her shoulder, but her fingers had locked into a grip that was unbreakable. Her nails started to dig in and Nixie winced. “Peyton, let go. You’re hurting me.”

  “Nixie, what did you do?” she repeated.

  “I didn’t do anything! What are you talking about? I was just going to…” She finally followed Peyton’s gaze. Rather than a clear bright blue sky tinged with the glow from the rising sun, Nixie stared into the face of the darkest storm cloud she’d ever seen. “Oh, shit.”

  “Where did that come from?” Static asked, cowering behind Cooper.

  Peyton looked down at Nixie, her eyes boring into her.

  She couldn’t move. “What?” she asked in a whisper.

  “Did you do this?”

  “No. I don’t think s
o. I’ve never before—” The low rumble of thunder cut her off. She gaped in awe at the clouds and shivered as the wind picked up.

  “We need to move,” Peyton barked as the rumble died down. “That storm is going to hit and who knows what it will do. Can you get us to the shop?”

  Nixie nodded. “Yes, yes definitely.”

  “Then let’s move!”

  “But the fire—”

  “Is almost out. Kick some dirt over it, Cooper, and let’s go. The rain will take care of it.”

  Cooper nodded at Peyton’s order and the rest scurried to gather their few supplies. Nixie moved, too, but at a slower pace, almost as if she were in a trance.

  Where had the clouds come from? The storm? She breathed in, closing her eyes as she shouldered her pack and was nearly overwhelmed with the scent of the rain. Had she done this? Called the storm down on them? But how?

  “Move!” Peyton ordered, looking up at the sky. “I don’t want to be in the middle of the field when lightning strikes.”

  That got Nixie’s feet moving. She darted forward with the others, out of the field. When they looked back to her for directions, she took the lead. “This way.” Nixie stayed straight on the road, pushing them in a flat-out run as the slow roll of thunder chased them. No houses remained standing on this street, but she could see just ahead, and at the intersection, the road turned residential once again. If they could make it to the first house before the lightning struck, they could hug the buildings the rest of the way to the store and avoid being out in the open.

  A flash lit the sky, obscuring everything around her. Nixie stopped in her tracks. The thunderclap that followed deafened her. She saw Peyton’s mouth move but couldn’t hear the words she spoke. Static’s face was distorted, his mouth open comically wide. What had she done? Peyton grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. The momentum nearly pulled Nixie off her feet, but she found her bearings and joined in the stampede.