Sudden Independents (25 page)

“Yeah, but that was a while ago.”

“Remember how it goes through a town every ten miles or so? Lots of good places for another ambush.”

“Then we’ll have to play it safe and stay sharp when we pass through them, but I doubt they’re stopping for anything. They got to figure we’re coming after them.”

The hidden sun left Scout without any clues to the time of day. The miles passed quickly with the flat ground providing a smooth ride next to the broken road.

Roads were reminders of the ruined world that no longer functioned. People, or rather the surviving kids, didn’t function the same way either because they were also broken, cracked and filled with holes. Molly was the leading example, but Scout knew a lot of kids suffered. You either dealt with it or you exploded from the pressure building up over time. Molly had popped her top like a Roman candle.

Scout refocused his attention when they approached the first town. His fingers tapped the brake and Hunter slowed next to him. The wind blew dust and half a dozen tumbleweeds through the empty streets ahead. This place could have been Independents, instead of a lifeless ruin. Its Main Street buildings stood dull and forgotten. Sometime ago, a roof had collapsed and reduced one building to rubble.

Scout tucked his stocking mask into his collar. “What do you think?”

Hunter removed his goggles, snorted and spat with the wind. “A bulldozer would make this place look real nice.”

“Are you worried about an ambush?”

“No, this town is dead.”

Behind them the SUVs rolled closer and stopped. “What’s the discussion? We’re losing daylight!” Mark yelled.

Hunter responded. “Give us a break! We’re not sitting in front of a heater!”

Scout lowered his head.

The passenger door flew open and Mark leapt out. Hunter hopped off his bike and Scout did too, knowing he would have to buffer the situation.

Samuel followed quickly after Mark. Everyone else stayed in the SUVs.

Mark stalked over with his fists clenched, his jaw leading the way. “What did you say?”

“You heard me,” Hunter said. “I’m out here freezing my ass off, and I don’t need you yelling at me.”

“We need to pick up the pace. My sister’s out there and we’re never going to find her if we keep stopping.”

Scout silently prayed for Hunter to bite his tongue, even going so far as to look heavenward only to find black, unfriendly clouds.

“My brother has a concussion and broken ribs because of her! So screw your crazy-ass sister!” Hunter yelled.

Mark barreled into him, flailing erratic blows. Scout and Samuel pounced on the pile and dragged Mark off kicking, screaming and spitting.

“I’m going to kill you!”

Hunter wiped blood off his lip and returned to his motorbike. He rode off through the empty town alone.

“Mark, this isn’t helping anybody,” Scout said. “We can’t keep separating you from Hunter and we can’t concentrate on tracking the kids who took Molly and Catherine if you’re yelling at us every time we stop.”

“Scout’s right,” Samuel said. “You got to take it easy, man.”

“Let’s just go. I trust you guys to find her.”

“What about Hunter?” Scout asked.

“Him, too.” Mark walked away and settled in the SUV.

“This is messed up, isn’t it?” Samuel asked.

“Which part?”

Samuel turned back to the SUV. “Pretty much all of it.”

Scout rode through town. A couple of skeletons lay on the sidewalk like a museum display showing the affects of a simple life interrupted by an uncontrollable disease. He guided his bike down the broken road to where Hunter waited.

“Are you all right?” Scout asked.

Hunter smirked with a bandanna pressed to his split lip. He pulled his ski mask and goggles back down as the SUVs caught up and they all left the town as a group. Hunter led, picking up the trail again on the other side and ripping through the miles at a faster pace. This time Scout didn’t object to his recklessness.

They continued following US 36 West. Their winter gear kept Hunter and Scout warm on their motorbikes for the most part, and the feeling of urgency did the rest. They didn’t stop for conferences anymore because there wasn’t any time. The path lay clearly ahead and they needed to catch up.

They passed through two more ghost towns. The fourth town they arrived at classified as a city, expanding in all directions around the highway with a McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell that all the boys looked upon with unbridled hunger. Scout placed the Wal-Mart on his to-do list for the spring and wondered if this city had a Boy Scout troop six years ago.

They siphoned fuel out of some vehicles near an old warehouse that backed a set of railroad tracks. Hunter and Mark stayed in their respective corners during the pit stop. Samuel handed out Chef Brittany sandwiches that didn’t carry the same appeal as a Happy Meal, but squelched their rumbling stomachs all the same.

After the quick bite, everyone loaded up their vehicles just as big fat snowflakes spiraled out of the sky. Scout looked at Hunter and they both lowered their heads. It took two minutes and a white blanket covered the ground. In three minutes they couldn’t see the other buildings across the street from the intensity of the whiteout.

The boys piled out of the SUVs and hurried into the warehouse, followed by Scout and Hunter, pushing their motorbikes inside. Samuel came through the door with a snowcap sitting on his head.

“Where’s Mark?” Scout asked.

Samuel hooked a thumb at the SUV. “He wants to keep going.”

“He would,” Hunter said.

“Keep that talk quiet,” Scout growled at him. “We’re going to be stuck here for a while. I don’t want to pull you guys apart every five minutes.”

Hunter moved to the back of the building. Scout watched him clear a spot and lie down, using his backpack as a pillow.

“We can’t ride in this weather,” Scout told Samuel. “We’d get stuck in the middle of nowhere and freeze to death. We’re lucky we were here when this storm hit.”

“I know.” Samuel turned toward the SUV that was barely visible through the snowfall. “We just need to convince him.”

“You kept the keys, right?”

Samuel jingled them at Scout.

“Good news is Chase and company won’t be able to drive in this either,” Scout said.

“Any bad news?”

“Only if they didn’t find shelter. Or they might be out from under the storm and leaving us behind. It doesn’t really matter. We’re stuck.”

The snow piled up around the SUV where Mark sat alone. Finally, even he gave up and waded through the drifts into the building where the search party had found refuge.

M
olly was freezing in the truck bed with the pack of five boys. They finally came to the realization that she wasn’t putting out and huddling with them was easier ever since. The ride was smoother once Kessie started following the old road that stretched behind them like a broken ribbon of black asphalt through the withered grass. Every time they passed an abandoned town, Molly hoped they would stop. But the towns quickly faded in the distance like unimportant memories and still the brutal trip wore on and on.

That’s when she started thinking she’d made a mistake. A vision of Hunter leading a column of Independents boys coming to her rescue kept popping into her head. She shook the thought in agitation.

“I don’t need rescuing.”

A sleepy boy next to her lifted his head. “What?”

Molly didn’t bother responding. Why would she talk to the pawns of this little party? Still, she hated showing any type of weakness, and it was getting tougher with every mile. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as her eyesight blurred.

She woke from a sudden shift in momentum. Her eyes hurt as she opened them in the wintry air. The engine stopped and both doors to the cab opened.

“Wake up, girls!” Patrick yelled. He stretched and yawned, loud and obnoxious, and shook the nearest boy. “Grab that fuel we left inside and fill us up.”

They scrambled out of the truck, leaving Molly cold from their absence. Even her bones felt coated in ice. They had arrived in some forgotten town that resembled all the others previously passed, except for the trees that lined both sides of the street like tall, leafless guardians. Molly stood and the blood rushed to her head. She steadied herself on the cab until she found her balance. She threw her leg over the side of the truck bed and fell to the ground because her stupid foot had gone to sleep.

Patrick grabbed underneath her arms and helped her up. “Cold out here, isn’t it?” He leered at her with his big, dumb face.

Molly started walking, wanting to get far away from him. Her feet waded through the piles of leaves that littered the main street of this Podunk town. She hoped her internal heater would kick in before she became a permanent Popsicle. After a couple minutes, her legs still quivered, but they were a little warmer and she was still standing.

She found Chase staring at her with his creepy eyes. He watched her all the way like she was putting on a show just for him. Molly circled around him and kept moving. There was nothing to say; he already proved himself useless.

One of the boys ran up and handed her some food. She swallowed the bread, cheese and dried meat in less than two minutes. When no other food was offered, she sulked in silence against the rough bark of one of the nearby trees.

A small hand gripped hers and Molly felt warmth traveling throughout her body and limbs immediately. She looked down into Catherine’s blue eyes and a stirring of guilt crept over her. She hated the unfamiliar feeling.

Catherine gave Molly’s hand a squeeze. “You didn’t know.”

And then it hit her. She didn’t even know what “it” was, but she lowered her gaze as tears raced down her face.

A light glowed in the grip of their hands, as though their connection were fueled by a power source. The light seeped between the laces of their fingers and Catherine’s strange power surged through Molly. Part of her wanted to pull away, but the cold, tired portion of Molly refused. A replay of the events from the night before flipped past in her mind: the fire, hitting Jimmy and kidnapping Catherine. Was it possible that she had been responsible for all of it? Molly couldn’t turn away from the fact that she’d played a critical part.