“The library?” James said. “I don’t think I’ve been to a library since middle school.”
Katie sighed, clearly already regretting being stuck with James and Rocky. “Can you two do that?”
“Aye, aye,” James said with a mock salute, surprised and slightly annoyed at how quickly Katie had jumped into a leadership role. Like always, she acted like she was much older than them, despite the one-year difference. Not that James had any better ideas of what to do.
“And what will you be doing while we’re reading books?” Rocky pronounced the last word like it was something supremely unpleasant.
“There’s someone I want to reach out to,” she said, looking at her hands.
“Well, that’s vague.” Rocky slapped the table and stood. “No point in dallying. Let’s get to work, team!”
They left the bunker and closed the trapdoor safely behind them. The sky was overcast, and a light drizzle filled the air. James was relieved to see Rocky’s car untouched behind the warehouse, though he thought the bullet hole in the back would surely be conspicuous.
“So where are we actually going?” James said, settling into the passenger seat, knowing Rocky had no intention of going to the library.
“The store?” Rocky put the car in drive and pulled onto the gravel road.
“You’re already hungry?” James said, though he admitted his bean breakfast had been very unsatisfying.
“Well, yes,” Rocky said. “But also, my phone’s nearly dead. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather just search online for info than go to a library.”
“Oh.” James checked his phone, which was at eight percent battery. “Right.”
Rocky drove to the nearest convenience store, a small, local chain on the edge of town. James kept his eyes peeled for cop cars or black SUVs as they drove, but the edge of town was empty that morning. They made it to the store without incident.
They walked inside, heads down, but nobody so much as gave them a second glance. Rocky took two phone chargers off the rack, then headed for the snack aisle, grabbing a bag of chips and a package of fake-looking cookies. Next, they went to the clothing aisle. They each grabbed several shirts, a pair of pants, and plenty of underwear and socks. They couldn’t go to their houses, which were surely being watched, so all they had were the clothes on their backs. As they were dumping the clothes into the cart, James reached over and grabbed two baseball hats from the rack. Rocky raised an eyebrow and James shrugged.
“Anytime someone’s hiding from the cops in movies, they wear a hat,” James said.
Rocky grinned.
It happened when they were checking out.
As the old lady scanned their items, her mouth moving constantly as Rocky politely nodded and smiled, James glanced around the store. There were only a few other customers milling about. As he watched, the front door swung open and two men in black suits walked in.
James whirled around, bowing his head, hoping they hadn’t seen him. He nudged Rocky, who was in the middle of paying, and nodded to the doors. Rocky glanced back. His eyes widened and he whipped his head back around.
“Thank you very much,” James said to the old lady. He brushed past and grabbed a hat before she could put it in the bag, then squeezed it on his head. Rocky nodded his thanks and followed suit, grabbing the bag of purchases.
James lowered the brim of his hat and glanced at the front door. The two men in black walked into the store, trying to look casual despite their appearance, hands in pockets, eyes scanning the aisles.
They didn’t see James and Rocky as they continued deeper into the store, their backs to the doors. James held his breath and walked quickly, keeping his head bowed. He pushed through the door, Rocky right behind him, cringing at the welcoming twinkle of the bell hanging above it. They sped across the parking lot. It wasn’t until James closed the car door that he risked a glance back. The parking lot was empty. He let out a deep breath.
“We’ve got to be more careful,” Rocky said as he started the car and pulled out.
James leaned back in the seat, his heart still pounding. “Do you think they recognized the car from last time?”
“Let’s not stick around and see.”
As they sped away from the store, James reached into the bag of purchases and pulled out a phone charger. He ripped it out of the plastic casing and examined it, dumbfounded.
“Rocky,” he said, holding up the two-pronged end of the charger. “These aren’t car chargers.”
“Are they supposed to be?”
“Wh... Yes, of course!” James said. “Now we have to go somewhere to charge them.”
“Right... otherwise we could’ve just stayed in the car. Oops. Where should we go?”
“A coffee shop?” James suggested.
“Nah, too public. We need somewhere quiet, where we know there won’t be many people.”
They looked at each other. James sighed, and Rocky threw back his head and laughed.
He changed lanes and headed for the library.
OF COURSE, THE LIBRARY was nearly deserted, with only a few cars in the parking lot. They walked in, smiled at the librarian behind the front desk, and found a secluded table near the back. James positioned himself so that if he leaned to the right, he could see the front doors. When their phones were plugged in and charging, they went to work.
“So,” Rocky said, eyes on his phone. “How about rhododendron meaning? Thank God for spell check.”
While he searched that, James typed in the phrase In the abode by the foot of the mountain, wish for wisdom and receive great power. The first link, titled The Abode of the Blessed, seemed promising. It led to an ancient-looking site with a wall of text about Egyptian gods and heaven. It was hard to follow and didn’t seem at all relevant, so he backed out. The rest of the links on the pages
