“Damn me for a fool.”
From a patch of ink in a corner came a squeal of delight.
“You’re alive! That knock on the head didn’t kill you.
“Space?” Ben’s tongue felt inches thick. He blinked and realized something was wrong with his left eye.
“Who else?” She wriggled out of the dark, her arms and legs tied as his were. “I’m sorry they got you, too. It’s my fault.”
Ben remembered now. He had woken up in the truck and found her gone so he had gone looking for her. He’d called her name over and over and when she didn’t answer he had gone from door to door. No one answered his knocks. He was starting to think Smelterville was deserted when he came to an old factory. He’d almost passed it by, but he had glimpsed movement at a window and went to investigate. He had knocked and tried the door. It was unlocked so he had poked his head in—and that was the last he remembered until now. “How long have I been out?”
“A couple of hours. They dumped us here and said they’d be back later.”
Ben tested the rope around his wrists. There was slack but not much. He set to work moving his forearms back and forth.
“Who’s this ‘they’ you keep talking about?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t say a whole lot.” Space continued to wriggle toward him.
“How did they catch you?”
“I was exploring. I know you told me to stay in the cab, but I was bored.” Space frowned. “I didn’t think it would hurt if I took a look around.”
“Now you know better.” Ben gritted his teeth against the pain he was causing himself.
“I couldn’t find anyone. Then I saw a grocery store, a mom-and-pop deal, and figured I’d buy a Three Musketeers. I love Three Musketeers. They’re my favorite candy in all the world. I could eat a whole box at one sitting. I’d be in heaven.”
“Space, damn it.”
“What?”
“Forget the stupid candy and tell me how they caught you.
“Geez. You’re a real bear when you get a knock on the head.”
Space was almost to him. “But it was like this, see. I went into the store and there was no one behind the counter, so I helped myself. I was coming back out when half a dozen of them closed in. I ran, but they know the town better than I do and I got trapped in an alley with no way out.”
“What can you tell me about them? Anything at all will help.”
The Marines—and Ben—were big believers in “know your enemy.”
Space stopped. “They’re guys with guns. A whole lot of guys.
One of them said I was an outsider and from now on outsiders don’t get to come and go as they please.”
Ben wondered if he could bribe them. He had a roll of bills hidden in Semper Fi.
“A young one whispered to me that he was sorry about what they were doing, but there was nothing he could do.”
“Did he tell you his name?”
“Roger.”
Ben filed the information for future reference. It might come in handy; it might not. The important thing was that at least one of their captors had a conscience.
“What do we do? Do you have a plan to get us out of here?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” “What is it?” Space eagerly asked.
“We get in my truck and ride like hell.” Ben tried twisting his right wrist and paid for it with a spike of a pain. “You’re not taking this serious.”
“I always take dying serious.” Ben felt wet drops trickle down his wrist, but he kept at it. There was no telling when their captors would return.
No sooner did the thought cross his mind than feet tramped toward them and the door was pulled open. A hand reached in and found a switch. Light from an overhead bulb flooded the room and in filed four men. They wore everyday clothes. One had on a Mariners baseball cap; he couldn’t have been more than twenty and he had more freckles than a beach had sand. He came and stood over Ben. “Good. You’re awake.”
“Who do you think you are, treating us like this? Let us go or I’ll report you to the law.”
The young man laughed. “Do you hear him, boys? This here darkie is threatening us.”
“What did you just call me?”
“Listen up, darkie. My name is Hardin. I’m one of Myron Croft’s lieutenants. We’re setting up a new order with laws of our own.” Hardin drew back his leg. “This is what I think of you and your kind.”
Ben tried to roll out of the way, but he was much too slow. A steel-toed boot caught him in the ribs. Sheer agony coursed through him, but he refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing him in torment. Holding his head high, he put on his best poker face and said, “Is that all you’ve got, punk?”
Hardin grinned. “We’ve got us a tough mother. Good. You’ll last longer. We’ll have us more fun.”
“Leave him be,” Space said angrily. “We never did anything to you, you little twerp.”
Hardin had ignored her, but now he turned and bent low so his face was above hers. “The slut speaks.”
“Slut, am I?” Space tried to butt him with her forehead.
“Dressed the way you are, what else would you be but one of those city girls who gives it out for free?” Hardin nudged her with his boot. “But you’ll learn. You and your black friend, both.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Haven’t you guessed? It’s the end of the world, girl. We just heard that New York City has been nuked. San Diego and maybe Seattle, too.”
“What does that have to do with us?”
“You sure are dumb. Pretty soon there won’t be any government. It’ll be every dog for itself. Now Myron, he’s real smart. He saw this
