“You heard me. He’s gonna skin your fat bitch of a wife. No more fucking her from behind.”
His eyes grow wide, and although he might not fully believe me, there’s enough doubt there for me to scream,“Stop them, or your wife is fucking dead!”
He sprints toward the bushes, yelling at his men to stop. I watch anxiously as they drag Josh back, his shirt torn and his pants loose, but it seems I managed to stop them in time. He’s bleeding from little cuts across his face, as if they dragged him through pointy branches.
When I kill them, Joshy, I will make it hurt. That’s a goddamn promise.
They shove us back into the buggies, sneaking worried glances my way. They must know there’s something strange about Hector if they believe he and I can communicate out here.
We drive for hours under the hot sun, but the wind is strong enough in the open buggy. I can’t bring myself to calm down, knowing that once we reach Denver, my ability to protect Josh will be gone. I try telling myself that he’s a capable fighter and a tough motherfucker, but I can’t erase years of instincts to protect him. It’s rooted in my blood, though it’s ironic since Ican no longer trust my own blood. I’ve no idea how any of this is possible, but at least I’ll get some answers in Denver.
Early in the afternoon, we begin to slow down. I’m at the back of the buggy with two of the Raiders, while Jay’s at the helm. He looks around in concern before slowing to a halt.
“I think I saw smoke from the trees over there,” he says.
“Like another buggy?” the Raider to my right asks.
“Yeah, a big one.”
They exchange worried looks. From behind us, one of the Raiders from the second buggy calls, “Why’d we stop?”
Jay stands up, still in the driver’s seat. “I saw something! We’re gonna spread out until I can be sure we’re not being followed.”
“Alright. We’ll take the left and you—”
The sudden sound of a roaring engine shuts him up. It comes from the side of the road, though I can only see clustered trees from that direction. With my hands bound in front of me, I rise to my feet to get a better look. A pillar of dark smoke seems to be moving toward us, cutting down trees that stand in the way. Birds fill the sky as they escape, but a buggy can’t possibly cause trees to fall, right?
“It’s them!”Jay shouts. “We need to split up. Drive back until you lose them. We’ll meet you in Denver!”
Like hell I'm letting them split me from Josh.
Still on my feet, I send my bound fists into Jay’s face. The two other Raiders hurry to force me back down. I fight like a wild animal, kicking and smashing my head into their faces to stall their escape, even though I’ve no idea what the hell is comingafter us. I can only hope that whatever they’re so afraid of is good news for Josh and me.
By the time they manage to hold me down and Jay is back at the wheel, it’s too late to escape. The roar of the approaching engine is deafening, and once the last line of trees gets toppled, I can finally see what’s causing this chaos.
Calling it a buggy would be a massive understatement. Ten people can easily fit in there. An iron front loader is what they’ve been using to smash their way through the woods, with sharp-looking round blades attached to the sides. It’s a monstrous sight, even more so when I realize who the passengers are.
Mutants.
“Drive!” a Raider next to me shouts to Jay as the buggy holding Josh turns the other way.
The driver of the mutants’ vehicle turns his head from side to side, likely debating which one to follow. It takes me a moment to realize I’ve seen this large mutant before, with his messy beard and green scales on the side of his thick neck. I’ve never spoken with him, but I fought him and his Raiders on the hill when Finn and I lost Josh. Months later, I heard all about his actions during the final days of Las Vegas.
As Jay begins to drive, I shout as loud as I can,“Josh is in the other buggy! Buck, go after Josh!”
I don’t get a chance to see his reaction because a fist smashes against the back of my head, filling my skull with lightning. I try not to throw up with the rocking ofthe buggy as we speed away. A few minutes later, Jay says, “We’ve lost the fuckers.”
Which means that Buck has gone after the other buggy. I tell myself I’ve made the right call, but I can’t help but fear I won’t ever know for sure.
Chapter 14
Finn
Despite my refusal, River insists on using the jetpacks to cover ground, so I find myself once more flying in the air after I almost crashed to my death. But these jetpacks aren’t built for long journeys, and soon we’re out of fuel, forced to continue north on foot.
We end up leaving the jetpacks behind, since they are too big to carry comfortably. The following evening, we stop at a small settlement to spend the night. Unfortunately, they don’t have a way for us to pass a message to Unity. We spend the next few days walking north without coming across any other settlements. I know I’m holding River back by being much slower than him, but I’m going as fast as I can and not asking for breaks even when my feet are killing me.
The temperature drops on the fourth evening of our journey. River goes to hunt rabbits, then he cooks them on the campfire. I’ve always appreciated how he skins the animals away from camp without getting blood on his clothes.
