I realize my flashlight is pointed toward her so I can see her, but my flashlight is attached to my gun. I drop the tip toward the floor. “I’m sorry. I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Her shoulders relax slightly, but just as quickly stiffen when we hear Reece shout, “Julia!”
“In the back! I found someone!” I hold my palm up to the girl. “We won’t hurt you. We want to help.”
Reece rushes up behind me and jerks to a halt when he sees her. “Julia, stand up and let’s go. Now.” His voice rumbles from his chest, low and tight.
I stand but whirl around to face him, my anger rising. “You seriously don’t plan on leaving her, do you?”
Reece studies her for a moment then pulls me toward the door and leans into my ear. “Something is off here, Julia. Why is she gagged in the middle of nowhere? Why didn’t she let us know she was here a few minutes ago?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t just leave her here like this.”
“Whoever took her will be back here at any minute. We don’t have time to waste. Let’s go.”
“What if that was me, Reece? Would you leave me here?”
Frustration furrows Reece’s brow. “Julia, you have no idea why she’s here. What if she stole something? Or killed someone?”
I take a step toward her. “What if she’s been kidnapped?”
Reece reaches for my arm, but I take a step backward. “I’m not leaving her here. And that is not negotiable.”
His chin lifts in defiance. “It’s one against one. Evan gets to cast the deciding vote.”
I shake my head with contempt. “You know that Evan won’t agree to leave her here. But if you want to waste your time asking him, go ahead.”
Reece curses under his breath. “The people that live out here are wild and vicious. They aren’t to be trusted. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He shines his light in the corner and the girl blinks at the sudden brightness.
I move slowly toward her, and crouch when several feet away. She seems less anxious than before, but wariness fills her eyes.
“I’m going to untie you, okay?”
She nods, then looks up at Reece.
“He won’t hurt you. I promise.”
She holds her hands toward me and I fumble with the rope. The knots are tighter than I expected.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Reece mumbles.
The girl’s eyes widen with fear, then narrow. Reece drops beside me, a small pocketknife in his hand. He saws through the bindings and then grabs the cloth over her cheek and slices through it.
She shakes off her rope and pulls the gag from behind her head, but it’s tangled in her shiny black hair. It jerks loose and she tosses it to the floor.
“Who are you?” Reece barks.
“Reece!”
“Jo. Jo Duncan.” She stands, rubbing her wrists.
“Duncan doesn’t sound very Asian.”
Cocking her head, Jo shoots Reece a withering glare. “Aren’t you the perceptive one? Perhaps my dad wasn’t Asian.”
“How did you get here?”
“I was kidnapped, you imbecile. Or do you think I like sitting in corners with my hands tied up?”
“Of course you’re going to say that.”
Jo walks past me and rolls up several of the blankets on the floor, and stuffs them into a bag on the floor. “It’s been nice chatting with you, but I’m outta here. I suggest you both leave while you can.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Reece asks.
She looks up at him and shakes her head. “It means the guys who tied me up will be back soon, and they’d love to get their hands on your government-issued guns. They won’t blink an eye at killing to get them.”
Evan is sitting out in the truck alone. Reece must think the same thing because he catches my gaze. “Let’s go.”
I turn to leave but remember the metal boxes against the wall. If the men who took Jo are really evil, then I don’t feel bad about raiding their supplies. I cross the room and lift a lid.
“What are you doing?” Reece asks.
“Looking for medicine for Evan.”
“Medicine?” Jo asks, slipping her arms through her pack. “You won’t find any in there.”
“How do you know?” My suspicious tone slips out before I can stop.
She releases a chuckle. “Smart girl. Your friend is right. Don’t trust anyone out here.” She nods her head sideways toward the boxes. “Because they’re looking for medicine themselves.” With a determined look, she heads for the door.
Reece blocks her path, holding his gun across his chest. “How do you know that?”
They have a momentary standoff before she answers. “They’re thieves, robbing anyone they come across. When they attacked us, they were looking specifically for medicine. It brings a fortune on the black market and several settlements are having outbreaks of infections so it’s worth even more now. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have any.”
I look in the top box anyway. The chest is filled with blankets and pouches.
Reece refuses to budge. “Us? Where’s the rest of you?”
“Dead.” She shoves his chest with her shoulder. “Now get the hell out of my way. I have no intention of sticking around and ending up like the rest of them.”
I lift one of the bags, surprised by its weight. “What’s in these bags?”
She spins around and looks at me, but her face has turned into the shadows so I can’t see her expression. “Where the hell are you two from?”
I know what she’s asking. We’re obviously out of our element. “Springfield.”
“Well, Miss Springfield, I don’t know how things are done in your fancy, high-tech world, but we don’t have money out here. We barter. And seeing how the two guys who live here have a whole building to themselves, I figure they’re pretty good at what they do. Those pouches are the result of their thievery. Beans, flour.”
“It’s food?”
She snorts. “Yeah, last I heard beans and flour were food.”
I glance up at Reece. “We should take some of this.”
Jo shifts her weight. “You might as well take the whole case. When Smith figures out what you’ve done it won’t matter if you took one bean or his whole stash. He’ll come looking for you.”
Reece leaves his post and closes the lid. “Not if he doesn’t know who we are.” The box has handles on the sides and he picks it up. “Check what’s in the other one, Julia.”
I lift the lid. “More of the same.”
“I’ll take this out to the truck and be back for the other. Look around and see what else you can find.” He leaves, and I’m surprised that Jo is still standing across from me.
“Help me carry this.”
She puts a hand on her hip. “Why should I?”
“Because I helped you. Now you help me.”
She snorts and shakes her head. Several strands of hair fall across her face. “You really haven’t been out here long, have you?”
“It doesn’t matter how long someone’s been out here. You should still do the right thing.”
“After you’ve been in the wilds for a few months, check back with me, and we’ll see how righteous you are.” But she grabs one handle and lifts anyway.
“Where will you go?” I ask as we cart the box through the storeroom, moving at an awkward pace.
“I don’t know.” The gruffness is gone.
I look into her face, surprised to see her eyes are glassy with unshed tears.
“Who were you traveling with?”
She’s quiet for so long I’m sure she’s not going to answer. We move into the store and toward the front doors.
“My family.”
I let the weight of her admission press into my heart. I can’t imagine losing my family like that. And then I realize that I have lost my family. Not the way she has, but I’ve lost them all the same. There’s no guarantee I’ll ever get home. I’d be completely alone if it weren’t for
Evan and Reece.
We cart the box through the doors and walk to the side of the truck. Evan gapes, but I ignore him. If Jo is right, I don’t want to stick around for her captors to show up. We need to get out of here quick.
Reece is in the truck bed when we reach the back and lift the box up to him. He grabs the handles and slides it into the back.
I stand up straighter, digging in as I prepare for a fight. “Jo’s coming with us.”
“What?” Reece looks like I just announced that I was going to set him on fire.
Jo shakes her head. “Oh, no. I’m not going with you.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Then where do you plan to go?”
She looks stumped, then her scowl returns. “Colorado. I think I have family there.”
I glance up at Reece. “Are we going through Colorado?”
“Probably at some point… but we don’t have enough radiation tablets.”
Jo releases an ugly laugh and looks away. “Radiation tablets. Damn, you two are something else.”
Even though the boys have told me there are vicious mutants out in the wilderness, Jo doesn’t appear to be either. Has the government lied to them about this too? It’s obvious that Jo knows about the environment we’ve been forced into. And while Reece and Evan are resourceful, why flounder around when we can reach a mutually beneficial arrangement?
I square my shoulders, refusing to back down on this. “Jo knows what it’s like out here. We can use her, Reece. And in exchange, we take her to her family.” I give her a syrupy grin. “That’s how you do things out here, right? Barter?”
I’m amazed when she grins with a look of appreciation. “Yeah, you pick up quick.”
“That settles it.”
“The hell it does.” Reece hops out of the back of the truck. “I don’t trust her.”
“What do you think she’s going to do? Rob us? Murder us?”
Reece runs his eyes up and down her body with a frown. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“Well, it’s one against one. We haven’t asked Evan.”
She slams her hands on the truck bed. “How about we ask me? Maybe I don’t want to go with you.”
Her stubbornness is getting under my skin. “Exactly how do you plan to get to Colorado? Walk?”
“Walking is how most people get around out here.”
“You’re going to walk out here in the wilds full of barbarians? A girl by herself? Do you have a weapon?”
She glares in defiance. “You could give me one. I’m sure you have one or two to spare.”
“Not a chance.” Reece snorts.
For once, I agree with Reece. “You don’t have a weapon so you’ll be right back where you started. And you said that Smith would be looking for us. If we’re driving at forty kilometers and you’re walking at”—I look at Reece—“How fast can someone walk?”
He shrugs with a grimace.
“About four kilometers,” Evan says as he rounds the back corner of the truck. “And Julia is right. They’ll find you within the hour. Or less.”
“You must be Evan,” Jo sneers. “And I don’t need your pity.”
Evan’s back stiffens, but his face is a pasty-gray. “I assure you, it’s not pity. It’s a trade. You know how to survive out here, and you can help us. In return, we drop you off in Colorado. Sounds more than fair to me. Are you stubborn enough to turn it down?” He looks down at her with condescension.
My mouth drops in surprise at this side of Evan. Reece appears speechless as well.
Jo’s mouth twists into a sardonic grin. She looks out into the deserted landscape as she shakes her head.
“Whatever you decide, you need to do it quick.” Reece picks up his gun. “We’re about to have company.”
Chapter Four
I whip my head to the direction Reece is staring. A plume of dust grows larger in the distance and heads our direction.
Evan grabs Jo’s arm. “Julia, you drive. You,” he tugs her sleeve. “You sit up front with us. Reece—”
“I hang out back here. Got it.” He jumps back up into the truck and pulls the tailgate up.
My heart leaps into my throat. “Reece, be careful.”
He laughs, and it sounds genuine. “You’re the crack shot. Maybe we should have you back here.”
For a moment, I’m paralyzed with fear that he’s serious.
Reece rolls his eyes. “I’m joking. Now get going.”
I climb into the truck and turn over the ignition. We’re about to experience our first real face-to-face danger, and it’s all tied to the girl who sits next to me. I cringe. Reece and Evan could say the same thing about me.
“Which way?” I ask Evan.
But Jo answers first. “Head west. There’s a dry creek bed there that’s bound to slow them down. Head to the left.”
I wonder if I should take her word for it, but Evan doesn’t refute her suggestion. While I know she doesn’t want to get caught any more than we do, Reece’s skepticism has made me leery. He raised some valid questions. What if it’s a trap? Still, I have no idea what we are outrunning, and I have no desire to find out so I steer in the direction she tells me.
“What are they driving?” Evan asks, leaning sideways out the passenger window.
“An old army jeep.”
“Where did they get the gas?”
I shoot him a look of confusion. The truck we’re driving is completely solar powered, which is why we never have to worry about running out of a fuel source out in this desert.
Jo shrugs as though his question is an annoyance. “It runs on ethanol, further proof these guys are powerful. That stuff is like lead and copper.” She pauses. “You need to head more left.”
“Lead and copper?” I glance into the side mirror. The dust cloud is still following us. I know that thieves steal copper from air conditioning units back home, but I have no idea why.
“Copper has the value gold used to have.”
I want to ask her why, but escaping seems more important than reasons for metal acquisition.
But Evan’s mind has not only followed my own train of thought, but blown past to come up with the solution. “Ammunition. They use it to make ammunition.”
Jo gives a sharp nod.
Evan’s breath comes out in a whoosh. “So much for thinking they only have primitive weapons.”
“Most of us still do. Only the powerful have guns and explosives.”
“And the guys behind us?”
“What do you think?”
The gunshots behind us confirm Jo’s assertion.
“Evan?” My voice rises in pitch.
“Just keep driving.” Evan curses under his breath. “I should be back there with Reece.”
There’s still no sound of gunshots from the back of our truck, and I’m unsure what it means. Does Reece have a plan?
Jo points to the windshield. “The dry creek bed is coming up. See? There’s a gap between those fallen trees up ahead.”
“What I am I supposed to do when I get there?”
“Drive through the opening. But you’ll need to slow down first and let me out.”
I turn to her, my mouth dropping. “Let you out? Are you serious? Why?”
“You’re going to have to trust me.” Her eyes hold mine for a second before I turn back to the windshield.
Even though everything in me is telling me not to do as she says, something deep down trusts her. I nod and turn back to the fallen tree line, which we are fast approaching. “Tell me what to do.”
“Drive down into the gully and slow down enough to let me jump out. Hopefully, they won’t see me. Then keep going.”
My heart beats so quickly I can hardly catch my breath.
Evan braces his hand on the dashboard. “This could be a trap, Julia.”
I give Jo another quick glance. She meets my eyes, steady and sure. “No. It’s not.”
Evan sucks in a deep breath and lets it out. “Okay.”
&nbs
p; I aim the truck for the entrance, but I’m not prepared for the steepness of the hill we descend. I grip the steering wheel and hold tight, hoping we don’t topple forward. Jo calls this a creek bed, but it’s obvious it used to be a river.
Slowing down to a crawl isn’t a problem, and she climbs over Evan with an agility I don’t expect. Opening the door, she looks back at me. “If you decide to come back to get me, I’ll be waiting.”
“How will I know when to come back?”
She gives me a playful grin. “Listen for the boom.” And then she jumps out before I start up the incline.
I look in the rearview mirror and see no sign of the vehicle behind us, nor any sign of Jo. “Do you see her?” My panic rises. Did I just let her kill herself? Did I aid her in getting us killed?
“I hope Reece doesn’t shoot her.” Evan mumbles. “But the fact that he hasn’t yet is a positive sign. She’s heading back to the hill.”
“Do you think she’ll really help us?”
Evan takes a deep breath. “No, but you do. You’ve spent more time with her so I’m trusting you.”
“Yeah, about three minutes more.”
“I trust your judgment.”
That’s more than Reece has given me. I hope Jo doesn’t make me out to be a liar.
The truck’s tires spin on the dirt, but it still inches upward. The dust cloud behind us comes into view.
Evan turns to look out the window. Whatever he sees tenses his body. “Get over this ridge, Julia.”
“I’m trying!”
“Give it less gas. You’re losing traction.”
I ease off the gas pedal, and the tires seem to find their footing and push us to the top. A quick check of my side mirror shows a jeep at the top of the riverbank on the other side. A shot rings out behind us.
“Go!” Evan shouts.
Accelerating, I steer the truck forward through a dense thicket of brush that lines the riverbed on both sides, as far as I can see. It’s now apparent that this is a trap, probably set up by the bandits behind us. Is Jo driving us into it or helping us out of it?
A loud explosion shakes the truck. I instinctively duck as Evan covers my head with his hand. I slam on the brakes and sit up, listening to the sound of raining dirt. “What was that?”
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