The children nodded with zeal.
She laughed to herself as she crossed the tracks toward Robert’s waiting train engine. None of it was planned, but she’d fallen into what she hoped would be a convincing explanation for the children to provide. The kids would speak of park rangers toting heavy weapons and grenades, and strange ladies dressed in black, but who would believe them? Their stories would be seen as embellishments of an already-exciting car accident. The police might not even notice the damaged fence and torn-up yard.
Once on the train, watching the flashing lights in front of the tiny house, she felt as if they were on the way to something bigger and better. The Crow Nation was on her side. Her dad was on the way. Nerio was in retreat. Nothing stood between her and the fallen Yellowstone rock.
Asher stood close as they watched the town of Rawlins fade into the distance. Neither of them had said anything about Misha or his sneaky way of pushing them to be more open about their feelings. For the moment, while catching their breath from the day’s challenges, it seemed enough for both of them to simply be next to each other.
“We’re going back to where it all started,” she said in a tired voice.
“You and I are going to finish this,” he said with confidence, reaching for her hand.
It had been less than a week, but she could hardly remember her normal life prior to the asteroid strikes. If they did finish their fight with Petteri Tikkanen and his hit squads, what would life look like for her going forward? What would normal be like after a near apocalypse? At that moment, she couldn’t imagine it, but it didn’t trouble her as an unresolved feeling might have done in her past.
“Don’t get too comfortable. I don’t care what Misha said back there. You’ll still need to ask my dad’s permission to date me.” He’d joked about talking to her father before, so she tossed it back at him in a friendly way. It was, she admitted to herself, a distraction for expressing her emotions, but she had to stay true to her mission. If she got all slobbery with Ash as her heart was constantly asking her to do, she might miss Nerio or a hundred other threats. For now, her focus needed to remain on finishing their battle. Then she’d worry about the peace.
She really looked forward to it, however.
Grace clasped his hand and squeezed.
Kansas City, KS
“You can’t do this,” the leader of the roadblock said, putting his carbine down.
Haley and Butch swooped in and took their weapons and phones. Then they herded the three TKM guards into an open area on the highway.
“After what you guys did, you should be worrying more about what we can do, rather than what we can’t.” Ezra laughed. “We can make you walk up this highway to meet the people injured by the rock blast. We can make you go into the surrounding neighborhoods and apologize for keeping them in the dark about what’s really going on in the city. Or, I guess, we could put bullets in you here and now, saving everyone a lot of trouble.”
Haley seemed uncomfortable about his acting, but he didn’t blame her. They hadn’t planned what he would say once she and Butch had made it to the roadblock, but he hoped they knew him well enough to know he wasn’t capable of shooting anyone in cold blood. However, he did want to scare the men.
They raised their hands in surrender.
Ezra pointed his rifle at their feet. “I want you to walk away.” He pointed behind them, toward the city.
“Don’t shoot us,” one of them begged.
“I ain’t planning on it, unless you turn around and make a run at me. All I want to see is you walking in that direction. What you do when we’re gone is your decision. But don’t you dare turn around until you see the sign welcoming you to the state of Missouri.” He assumed there was a Missouri sign close to where he’d spotted the Kansas billboard with the sunflower. It was at least a mile away.
“We will,” the leader said, slowly backing away from Ezra and his armed friends.
“Go!” he ordered.
The three TKM men trotted away for a few seconds, then slowed to a brisk walk. He wasn’t going to nitpick. As long as they moved away, he would allow it.
“Well, now what?” Butch asked, stoically watching the men retreat.
Ezra got to work searching the three trucks. He found food, water, ammo, and a gun-cleaning kit. The men had made few preparations for helping the locals, but they came prepared to grease and clean their own weapons. It was the TKM way in a nutshell. When he tossed all the valuable gear into the middle truck, he came up for air to respond to Butch’s question. “Guys, I know where Grace is going to be. I have a pretty good idea what we’re going to find when we get there. I also have a clear idea on how we’re going to get ourselves there.”
They gave him blank looks.
He patted the door of the truck. “We’ll drive there posing as a jolly crew of TKM assholes.”
“To Yellowstone?” Haley asked.
“Close to there, yes. Grace told me she’s going to TKM’s Wyoming dig site, so that’s my destination. There are two other trucks here. If either, or both, of you wants to turn around, I give you my blessing to take a truck and go your own way. For me, my path lies there.” He pointed west.
Butch and Haley shared a friendly smile. Butch looked back to him. “I think we’d like to stick with you.
