“We are going to find Liz first. Then and only then we will help you find your people.” Raven thought that was a very generous offer considering. Her fist wrapped tightly into Monique’s hair. The other woman frowned.
Monique opened her mouth to respond but Henry touched her hand. She glanced at him and nodded. “Thank you,” she said to Raven.
Raven released her and turned away. “Come on Rocky,” she said. “Let’s get packed. We’re leaving in half an hour,” she declared and headed to the storage room. She frowned; dried brains and blood making her skin feel stiff. In that moment she didn’t care.
Monique and Henry spoke together in low voices but Raven couldn’t understand what they said. She didn’t give a fuck as long as they were ready to leave in thirty. Raven was pissed at her brother for bringing this stranger among them, this stupid fucking woman that couldn’t even keep watch over a child.
She swung the door of the storeroom open and it banged against the wall. “Goddamn it!” Raven screamed and slammed her fist into a crate of vegetables. She rested her forehead against the stack of crates and let her hands fall to her sides. Rocky sighed and lay down at her feet, resting his head on his paws. Tears stung the back of her eyes and she didn’t try to stop them. A sob escaped her lips and then another. Raven slid to the ground and landed on her knees. Hunching in on herself, she put her face in her hands and cried.
Liz
Liz woke to the smell of diesel. There was something draped across her face and she felt movement beneath her. For a moment her brain couldn’t make sense of what was happening then it hit her. She remembered the man in the truck and how he’d pulled her inside. Fear gripped her belly and she swatted frantically at whatever it was on her face. She flung it aside and the gunnysack fluttered to the truck bed. Liz sat up and looked around.
The interior was dim and she could see that a canopy, kind of like a tent enclosed the space. There were boxes stacked against the side and bags of guns carelessly left open on the floor. The thought flitted through her mind to grab one but she quickly banished it.
I don’t know how to use a gun, she thought.
“I see we’re awake now, missy,” A cold voice whispered.
Liz let out a shriek and scooted until her back hit a stack of boxes. They shifted behind her, but did not fall. The voice was coming from a man, sitting with his back against the tailgate. There were flaps in the canvas behind him that led outside, but they were tied shut. Very little light leaked in.
“He will be glad of that,” the man spoke. He rose to his knees and gave Liz a Cheshire grin. His skin was dark and his eyes flashed in the dimness. The man had close-cropped hair and wore camouflage pants and a black t-shirt. Liz could see a matching jacket draped across a large blue bag.
“W-what do you want with me?” Liz stammered, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.
“Me?” the man asked. “I don’t want nothin’.” He grinned and his teeth were very white in the darkness.
Liz knew she was in trouble. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep or knocked out or whatever but it felt like a while. “What time is it?” she questioned.
The man continued to grin and pressed a button on the side of his watch. The face lit a pale green and he answered. “Nearly nine.”
Fear twisted in Liz’s belly like a struggling worm. “At night?” she squeaked.
“Oh, yes, honey bunch,” the man answered. “We’ve been driving quite a while.” He leered at Liz.
Be brave, she told herself. Be brave like Raven and Henry. She missed them desperately and she was terrified, but was determined not to let those feelings control her. Liz took a deep breath and when she spoke her voice was steadier.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To meet the President,” the man answered, snapping off a salute.
Liz couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. She pressed her lips together. “The real president?” Liz inquired, skeptical. She thought she remembered hearing something on the news when she was still with Daddy about the President being killed.
“The only one we’ve got,” the man answered.
Liz didn’t know what to think of that.
“We’re nearly there.” He tossed a bottle of water and a granola bar at Liz. “Eat that.”
Her stomach rumbled and she tore open the wrapper and gulped down the water.
“Easy there,” the man said. “You’ll make yourself sick. I ain’t cleanin’ up that mess.”
Liz glanced at the man then back down to the truck bed. Her mouth was full, cheeks puffed out with food, and she took a moment to swallow. Liz felt ashamed for eating her captor’s food but what choice did she have? She had to keep her strength up if she wanted to escape, and she did want that. Her fear threatened to swallow her again at the thought of running through the world alone but it was nothing compared to what could happen to her here. Wherever here was?
Think about Raven and Henry, she instructed herself. What would they do right now? She thought they would probably fight their way out but that wasn’t an option yet. Liz was small and people didn’t take notice of her. That would be her greatest advantage. She would have to wait and as soon as they left her alone she would make her move.
I need to act frightened and stupid,
