“That’s assuming we survive this trip.”
“Yup. Assuming we survive this trip.” Hatch slowed the truck and eased to the shoulder. “I haven’t seen any Zulus in a while and we have a lot of flat land around us. I’m going to check the truck for damage from our escape.”
Jason opened the door and climbed up the back of the cab. “I’ll be able to see farther from up here.”
Bren stepped down and went to the back. “I need to pee.”
Hatcher made the rounds on the truck, paying special attention to the front bumpers and the axles. The drive shafts were clear, and nothing seemed to be dripping from under the truck. As he pulled himself from underneath the rig, Bren called out, “Hatcher. You might want to come back here.”
Hatch glanced up at Jason, “I’m not sharing my toilet paper.”
“She can use your sleeve,” Jason deadpanned.
Hatcher rounded the back of the truck and froze in his tracks. Bren stood at the back of the truck, Skeeter by her side. She ran up and wrapped her arms around his middle, squeezing him tightly. “Surprise.”
“Sur-surprise?” Hatch stammered. “How the hell did you get here?”
“I snuck into the back of the truck before you left.” She beamed up at him. “I knew you’d be happy to see me.”
Hatcher clamped his jaw so tight he feared he would break a molar. “Damn it, Skeeter!” He pushed her away and stared. “You knew better than to follow along on this trip. There’s no way I can watch after you and them.”
“Why not? You watched after all of us back at the park. There were a lot more of us and you…”
“And I knew that place. I don’t know this area. I don’t know the terrain, who’s out here, what to expect. This whole trip is a crapshoot.” He planted his hands firmly on his hips and stared down at the girl. “How could you do this? You’ve jeopardized everything.”
Skeeter’s face fell and she backed away slowly. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
“No, you didn’t Leslie. You knew exactly what I expected of you.” Hatcher glanced back the way they came and then at his watch. “And we’ve come too far to turn back. Not to mention all the Zulus are stirred up. We couldn’t get back inside the compound now if we had to.”
Skeeter’s bottom lip began to quiver and she slid in next to Bren. “I just wanted to be with you when you got to the Free Zone.”
Hatch turned a shocked look at her and shook his head. “Skeeter, there is no Free Zone. That’s just a fairy tale they tell little kids as a bedtime story. For crying out loud you’re eleven years old…nearly twelve. You should know better than to…” He sighed heavily and stepped closer to her. Reaching out, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I thought you knew that.”
She gave him a wounded look. Her hopes had been destroyed. Her dreams dashed on the broken asphalt with his words. How could he have said such a thing? “You’re lying.”
“No, kiddo, I’m not.” He pulled her to him and she resisted at first. He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Skeet. There is no Free Zone.”
“This is heartwarming and all, but I still need to pee.” Bren raised a brow at the pair. “Can you take it to the cab?”
Hatcher pulled Skeeter reluctantly to the cab of the truck and helped her up. “It’s gonna be tight up there. You’re gonna have to keep your head down when we tell you, and do exactly what we tell you, when we tell you. Got it?”
“I got it.” Skeeter scooted across the vinyl bench seat and watched as Hatch stepped up into the cab and shut the door. A moment later, Bren was sliding back in, then Jason slipped down off the cab and into the truck with them. When the passenger door clanged shut, Hatch fired the engine back to life and pushed the truck into gear.
“Jason, keep your eyes open. We’re not just looking for the Zulus, we need to be watching for renegade people, too.” Hatcher steered the truck around a dead car and back onto the road.
“Renegades…are you serious?” Jason shot him a questioning look.
“Deadly. We don’t know this area. There’s a good possibility that groups of people have established a stronghold and are acting as warlords or gangs or heaven knows what else.”
“Great. This trip just gets better and better.” Jason slid forward in the seat and placed his hands on the dash, eyes scanning the horizon.
“Just keep your eyes peeled for anything that doesn’t look natural.” Hatcher shifted gears and pushed the old truck harder.
“Define natural.” Jason cocked his head to peer out the side of the truck.
“Stacks of dead cars, blockades, pits dug into the ground, anything that just seems out of the ordinary. I mean, you used to drive, didn’t you?” Jason nodded as he continued to watch. “Anything that didn’t look like it used to.”
“So, everything?”
“I think you’re smart enough to grasp what I’m getting at.” Hatcher pointed to a line of dead cars. “Like that. We’re used to seeing dead cars on the side of the road. But if we saw them coming together to form a funnel and cars turned to where they could be pushed to block the road at the narrowest point? That’s not good.”
“Okay.” Jason nodded. “I think I’m catching what you’re saying.” He spotted the decaying bodies of livestock in the pasture to their right, carrion birds flying overhead or sitting atop the bones and picking at what little was left. “I’m guessing that is natural.”
“It’s not a trap.
