Revolution (28 page)

             
"
You're lying," I said, but I could tell that he wasn't. Why would he do that?

             
"All truth, scout's honor," he said and flashed the Boy Scout's hand signal. "I got called to the warehouse and figured I'd trail the roads to see if I found anything suspicious. A Jeep full of boxes heading away from the scene is pretty suspicious."

             
"I didn't do it," I found myself stammering. "I didn't…kill those people."

             
"I figured that when you got out of the car. I just radioed in to get them off my track, so they wouldn't come out this way. They'll be busy with the warehouse for a while."

             
I could stand it no longer. "Why are you helping me?"

             
"No offense, ma'am," he took my arm in his and ran his fingers over the bones in my hand that were prominently more defined over the past few weeks, "but you look like you could use a little help."

             
I jerked my hand back, embarrassed. It wasn't my fault that my family was practically starving. It was the Lighter's and the Taker's and Piper's. He seemed to understand the look on my face.

             
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Listen…this is going to sound like a serious line…but you need to stay with me tonight." I rolled my eyes at him to let him know that, yes, that was a total line. "I know," he held his hands up,
"but it's almost dark and they'
re on a massive manhunt right now for rebels. They do most of their searching at night because they figure that's when they'll be moving the most." He waited, but I didn't say anything. He went on. "You can come and stay at my house tonight, and in the morning, you can be on your way. I'll even give you an escort to…wherever it is you're staying."
             

             
He wasn't lying…again. "Why are you helping me?" I repeated.

             
"
I used to be a cop," he said
and crossed his arms over his chest
.
He stared at the dirt as he spoke.
"When all this started happening, I was on board, all the way. I was one of the first ones to join the Enforcers back w
hen
. I was under their compulsion pretty bad." I jolted and looked at him. "But I had an accident. A head injury when my old partner
and I
were on a call for a suspicious vehicle. When I woke up in the hospital, I could remember everything that had happened. I remember
ed
the words they said to get us to follow them, I remembered what had actually happened and what they had made me to believe had happened. I remembered…all the horrible things I'd done." He shook his head. "From then on, I understood everything. And the first time I saw one of those things…the dark guys, I knew something wasn't right and we were no longer alone on our planet."

             
"
So why are you still working for them?"

             
"
Situations such as these." He smiled, showing two rows of perfect teeth. "They never noticed anything was different with me. As long as I don't look at any of them, they don't pay me any attention. And I have others who I've told. Others who know the truth now. We try to help out rebels when we can." He nodded his chin at me with a grin in place. "But you wouldn't know anything about rebels, now would you Miss Poppins?"

             
"It's Sherry," I muttered.

             
"Thanks."

             
"So, what now?"

             
"Why don't you follow me to my humble dwellings?"
             
I thought hard. It
was
almost dark. And we had told Merrick and the rest that we might have to spend the night out. They weren't expecting us until morning.
That reminded me. "Hey, you didn't see a van, did you? A white van with a few men inside?"

             
"Not today, but believe it or not, white vans have become pretty popular lately. All the rebels drive them." I grimaced. "Why?"

             
"My friend was with me," I whispered. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I hoped he was all right. "The men who…shot everyone. They took him."

             
"Why?"

             
"I don't know. He was trying to stop them, I guess."

             
"Well that explains a lot."

             
"What?" I asked.

             
"I was wondering what a little thing like you was doing on a food supply trip. So…how many people you got back where you stay?"

             
I eyed him. He was just being curious. "Thirty, roundabout."

             
"Thirty! Whew…" He rubbed his head. "That's a nice little group you've got there. The biggest rebel camp I've found was twelve."

             
"And what did you do to them when you found them?" I asked and looked him right in the eye.

             
He grinned. "Gave them a crate of Honey Nut Cheerios."
             

             
I laughed. I couldn't help myself. I looked up at his young face and held my hand out to shake. "
Sherry..Finch." I grinned. "Nice to meet you."

             
He shook my hand firmly. "Mark Chesser, but everyone calls me by my last name. It's an Enforcer thing that stuck with me. Nice to meet you, too. Are you ready to come home with me?" His smile grew.

             
"Sure!" I said brightly. "I can tell you all about my husband over dinner."

             
He groaned. "Dang, man." He shook his head and made a
That's a shame
noise out of the side of his mouth. "Well, let's go and in the morning
,
I'll get you back to him."

             
"Thank you," I said sincerely and we walked back to the cars. I followed him just a few miles up the road to a trailer park.
Everything was a bit run down, but I had no room to talk about accommodations.

             
He got out and came to my door. After opening it, he said, "These places were abandoned. After we learned what was really happening, me and my buddies thought it was a good idea to all stay together." He looked around. "So we found this place and all moved next door to each other."

             
"I can understand that," I answered and followed him up the stairs. He knocked, so I assumed it wasn't his house. "Hey, McDonald! Open up!"
             
"I'm coming! Hold your ponies!"

             
Chesser chuckled and looked back at
me
briefly. "I will not be held responsible for what comes out of these guy's mouths."

             
"Deal."

             
The door opened to reveal another Enforcer, of the pot-bellied variety. "How now, brown cow. What have we here?"

             
"This is Sherry, a rebel I found on the highway. She's staying with me tonight. And she's married and off limits," Chesser said sternly.

             
I cringed a little. Should I be worried about this?

             
The man smiled good naturedly. "Thanks for that, Father. Like I can't
make my own decisions or anything."

             
"Back off," Chesser said and shoved the man as they laughed. I shook my head. If I ever told a girl to back off and shoved her shoulder, we'd have an all out cat fight on our hands. I swore I'd never understand men.

             
"Come on in, girly!" he said and I tried not to frown at him.

             
I hadn't been called girly since… I sighed when my stomach rumbled. Of course it had to be at a mo
ment when everyone was quiet. I l
ooked up embarrassed to see if they heard. They did.

             
"Sorry," I mumbled.

             
Chesser's eyebrows jumped. "Are you apologizing for being hungry?"

             
"Now you sound like my husband," I told him and slouched into the little dinette bench seat. A wave of exhaustion hit me. I realized I hadn't eaten one thing all day.

             
"Hey, here," Chesser said and moved around McDonald to the fridge. He grabbed me a glass of something. I drank it quickly. It was apple juice.

             
I looked at him. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had apple juice?"

             
"We only hav
e a couple jugs left ourselves.
There's not any of that kind of stuff left at the warehouses anymore. All gone."

             
That statement sent an unexpected wave of sadness through me. It was one thing while going through boxes of food to speculate that certain things would never be available again, ever, but it was an entirely different thing to hear it straigh
t from the horse's mouth that it
was so.

             
I let my fingers collect the condensation from the side of the glass as they spoke in the kitchen. Something smelled like Hamburger Helper, but my mood had plummeted. Cain was gone, who knew where, and I knew everyone
at home
was worried about us. I imagined Me
rrick pacing, Danny bugging Merrick about being worried, Lillian fretting by the elevator for Cain…

             
I laid my head in my hands and closed my eyes to the dark of my palms.

             
"Hey, Mary Poppins," I heard. Then a chuckle followed and I lifted my head to see Chesser leaning over me. I'd fallen asleep with my face in my hands. I
grimaced at the light above me and t
hen looked down as he set a plate in front of me of the stuff he'd been making and a side of garlic bread.

             
I took the fork as slowly as I possibly could and took small bites. Even though there was no meat, it tasted like heaven on the end of that fork. I groaned loudly and he chuckled again. "Sorry," I mumbled again.

             
He sat down across from me and scooted in when McDonald sat beside him. "You keep apologizing," he said and grinned. He took his own heaping bite and watched me eat. "So, what’s the deal with your…people?"

             
"What do you mean?"

             
"Is everyone else as
…hungry?"

             
I nodded and spilled the beans to him, no pun intended. "Rice and beans is all we have left. And we only manage that twice a day. Sometimes we have oatmeal for breakfast, but not every day."