With his head low and his strides long and rushed, he scurried through the bushes and trees on his way to Jade’s bunker, hoping to keep from getting spotted. He didn’t dare look back, but the fact that he couldn’t hear anything behind—footsteps, breath, gunshots—meant he’d live long enough to make it there.
NATHAN DIDN’T LIKE BEING ROUSED out of sleep for a late-night runaway—and an old one at that. After getting there, he wondered if it was worth it. The guys had him surrounded as he stood there, hands on his knees, black substance falling from his mouth, eyes drained of life. “Okay, old-timer. You dragged us out of bed pretty early. For that, you’re going to pay.”
The guys said nothing and did nothing. With his head down, he started back to the compound.
Zan walked up to him, stooped to meet his eyes. “Who else was with you, old man?”
The old guy said nothing, keeping his face stoic.
Nathan also stooped. “You know, Grandpa. I was going to kill you here and now, but I think it might be a good idea to wake everybody up and make an example of you. And when I say everybody, I mean everybody. The kids in that place, the women. Everybody. I think they all need to learn what happens when you try to escape.”
The old man tightened his jaw, eyes on fire. He clearly didn’t like the idea of exposing kids and women to a gruesome session of torture. But this only intensified Nathan’s desire to do it. He leaned in closer and spoke with an exaggerated pout. “What’s the matter, Grandpa? Don’t want to expose those delicate creatures to something… untoward?”
The old man spat on him, getting his weird-looking black spit on his chest. In a fit of rage, he shot the man twice. His elderly body shook for half a minute, then curled up into nothing. Nathan wasn’t happy that he had wasted the opportunity for public slaughter, but he couldn’t stop staring into the guy’s eyes. Something about the hardness of his face seemed calm, prideful. He shook his head, puzzled by it.
“Son of a bitch,” Nathan said casually. “I kind of liked this shirt, too.”
28
When Jade let Hatfield inside, her face seemed horrified, confused.
“I’m sorry to come back, seeking a favor so soon, but I’m prepared to make a trade.” He pulled out a packet of rice and a few containers of condensed milk.
“Anything you need is yours,” she said. “As always, we appreciate the help.”
“Great!” he said, moving through the dark hallway toward the cabinet where he spotted the medicine. “We could really use anything you could spare.”
“We can spare quite a lot,” she said. “It’s only the three of us, not like all of you in the compound.”
“Good.” He stashed bottles of medicine away, then headed back to the door, opening it to a sliver and stealing a glimpse outside. “Are your kids doing okay?” he asked, not taking his gaze away from the sliver.
“Yes, they’re just fine. They’re asleep right now, of course, but yes, they’re doing just fine,” she replied, her voice loaded with a little panic. “Were those men—those bad—after you? Is that why you’re being so cautious?”
He turned, wondered if she could take the awful news, then decided she could. “They’ve taken over the compound, Jade.”
She gasped. “My God!”
“They don’t know I’m here. And I’m not sure how I’m going to get back without them knowing what happened.
“Maybe you’re better off just staying here. That seems to me to be a lot safer than risking everything back there.”
“No. It’s safer, but I have to go back. The place needs me.”
“Well… good luck to you, but just understand that if you change your mind, we’re here. The food may have to be stretched a little, but we’re fine with that. We’re always ready to bring people in who need it.”
He gave her shoulder a soft stroke, then turned back to the door, taking another peek out. “That’s good to hear, thank you.” It was hard to tell with nothing but moonlight illuminating the horizon, but it seemed his path back to the compound was clear. He said, “Take care, Jade,” then jetted outside, ducking low in the tall grass before he could hear her reply.
He kept moving quickly and quietly, seeing and hearing nothing between him and the compound. Once there, he crept closer, paying particular attention to the guard by the fence.
It was the same guy as before. He looked exhausted and not happy to still be on duty, but for the moment, he was wide awake. Hatfield was stuck, unable to find a way past him. Climbing the fence without being noticed wasn’t possible. It was too loud and too difficult to do without being seen. He’d need another way.
In the distance, straight ahead and far to the guard’s other side, there was a tree that hung just over the fence. If there were any way he could get there without being spotted, he could probably climb it, then hop the fence and get inside the back door. But he’d need something to pull his attention away.
Hatfield pulled out his gun, thought about firing into the air to distract him. But the idea seemed less clever the more he considered it. The guard would probably be able to tell roughly where the shot was coming from. He needed something that could serve the same purpose but without the tell-tale noise.
A fist-sized rock bumping against his knee gave him the answer. He lifted the stone, aimed it for the compound roof near the front, far away from the tree hanging over the backyard, and threw it.
The toss wasn’t a strike, but it was close enough. It tagged the roof with a clank and—as he’d hoped—yanked the guard’s attention toward the front of the compound. When the guy scrambled over to see what that sudden sound was, Hatfield raced toward the tree. He climbed it faster than he’d ever climbed anything and swung himself over the fence, landing with a muted thunk.
From there, he sprinted to the back door, guessing it wouldn’t be locked because the gangbangers wouldn’t have bothered with the endless exchange of keys. He had guessed right. Hatfield slipped inside, then darted down a hallway into the bathroom, catching his breath.
Now came the biggest challenge. Getting back to the bedroom without being seen or heard. This would be tricky because he wasn’t sure who was up and who was asleep. It didn’t seem possible that the entire gang could be asleep so soon after they’d sent everybody after the captain.
Outside there were voices. They closed in quickly.
With the violent swing of the door, a new face was revealed. It was Nathan, their leader, his face stern as usual. A few others stood behind him.
Hatfield tried to stay calm, groping for words to explain his presence in the bathroom.
But it turned out he didn’t need to. Nathan said, “Here he is, guys! I guess this is where he was all along.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Hatfield said, “Where else did you think I was?”
“Don’t worry about that. You just make sure you keep doing as you’re told. We’ll always have more work for you. And as for your wife and daughter… we’ll make sure they have plenty to do as well. And I don’t mean digging in the garden.”
The rage ate at him. Nathan’s face suddenly looked like it needed a face buried in it. He got close to him and seethed, “What have you done to my family?”
“Nothing. Yet. But the more trouble you cause, the more likely you are to push us in that direction,” he said, sending Hatfield’s rage back to him. “Is that understood?”
No answer. It wasn’t easy to choke back his anger.
Nathan asked again, his tone mocking. “Is that understood?”