After a minute, Dani was back and loomed over her.
Lynn swallowed and slowly tilted her head up. Had Dani seen her? Did she remember she was supposed to take Lynn’s weapons?
“Front or back?”
“Huh?” Lynn groaned internally. Very eloquent, Tanner.
“The stretcher. Front or back?”
“Back.”
“Fine with me.” Dani twirled her spear, then pressed something on the shaft. Instantly, the compartments of the metal tube folded in on themselves, and the spear shortened to half its original size.
Lynn raised an eyebrow.
Dani either didn’t notice or ignored it. From her pocket she produced a piece of rope with a loop on one end and a little pouch on the other. She slid the loop over the tip of the spear and pulled it tight, then settled the bud of the weapon into the pouch as if she had done it so often it’d become routine. It probably had. She hung the spear across her torso like a shoulder bag, then nodded at her backpack. “If you’re so adamant about keeping your weapons, keep one of ’em at the ready. If we get attacked, you’re not my priority.”
Lynn’s heart skipped a beat as she realized she’d been found out, but she set her jaw and looked up with defiance. “I can take care of myself, Settler.” She stood and hoisted her heavy backpack onto her protesting shoulders.
“Whatever you say.” Dani turned and walked over to the stretchers. The bloody tip of her spear bobbed over her shoulder.
“Bitch,” Lynn muttered under her breath. She followed and took her place opposite Dani between the two poles.
Dani bent down with her, and they lifted together.
Every single one of her muscles protested as she bore the stretcher’s considerable weight. “Damn.”
Dani’s shoulders squared. “Don’t you dare drop it.”
“Not going to.” Lynn adjusted her grip so the weight was more evenly distributed.
The muscles in Dani’s arms stood out under the skin. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure.” She wasn’t, but she would be damned if she was going to admit weakness.
Next to them, the others got ready as well.
“Everyone set?” Cody checked on the group, but his gaze slid over Lynn as if she didn’t exist.
Asshole.
“Set,” Dani and Ren said in unison.
“Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER 2
THE HOMESTEAD ROSE UP ABOVE Lynn like the last behemoth of the Old World. In an otherwise leveled city block, it stood as the sole reminder of civilization-that-was. Nature had left her trace; the marble façade had lost its shine, and of the letters above the entrance only two remained, one a C and one an R. They were specked with imperfection now, but Lynn could picture how they would have gleamed proudly in the sunlight when people had still come here to work. Would they have noticed, she wondered? Would the letters have given them a sense of pride? Of belonging? Did they now? She took in the small group of people around her. It must be nice to have a home.
To her, the Homestead felt like a lion’s den she was about to walk into. Lynn understood now why the group had felt comfortable leaving Kate’s youngest alone: the place was a fortress. The windows on the first and second story of the building had been fortified with wooden planks and metal plates. They had even hoisted some stripped car doors in front of them, nailed to the boards with strips of metal and leather or held in place with chains extended from the windows above. Each chain was secured to the ground by rocks. The building’s doors had been fortified with wood and metal as well, but Lynn was more impressed by the barbed-wire-wrapped piece of metal fence installed in front of the doors like a swing gate. It was a menacing deterrent for anyone and anything foolish enough to come close.
“Is this all yours?” she asked.
Dani shook her head. “No, just the fifth floor and the roof. We don’t use the rest. Well, we use that as a lookout point.” She inclined her head toward a rig that hung in front of a shattered or removed window on the third floor.
Not even knowing most of the building was deserted could lessen Lynn’s anxiety over entering it. Is Skeever really worth this? A sharp pain in her chest reminded her he was.
“Flint, put it down for a second.” Cody and the black man lowered their stretcher. He undid the wiring that held the panel in place and swung it out, then pushed one of the fortified doors open. The doorway revealed nothing but darkness. “Go first.”
Ren and Eduardo carried their load up the three steps to the door and disappeared inside.
Lynn looked up at the building again. Once inside, she would be completely at their mercy. She dared a glance to the side. How far would she get if she ran now? She still had her backpack and her weapons. They knew this area much better than she did, but maybe if she ran fast enough, she could find a place to hide.
I’m so tired. Just the thought of running made her limbs ache. She looked up again. And Skeever is in there. It was ridiculous to risk her life on something like that, but there wasn’t much more to her life than that dog.
Dani stepped forward.
Lynn tensed. Dani’s momentum pulled her toward the entrance. She leaned into the pull so she wouldn’t have to move her feet and could delay the inevitable, but the stretcher was too heavy. She took a step to avoid falling over. Then she took another. Her throat tightened as she passed Cody and stepped into the building.
The swing gate crashed against the stone of the building with a thunderous rattle. Lynn jumped. The noise echoed horribly in the building’s cavernous lobby until it died and left behind an oppressive silence.
She craned her neck to look behind her and watched Cody push the door shut.
Her fate had been sealed—at least for now.
She couldn’t linger on her fear long. The red light of the setting sun, projected from cracks between the boards covering the windows, didn’t illuminate much of the dirt-caked marble flooring, and she stumbled when Dani’s momentum caught up with her. Tufts of grass struggled for foothold in various larger and smaller cracks. Stepping on them upset her balance as Dani forced her along; just staying upright required all of her balance and brainpower. Their motions threw up dust and pollen, making it even harder to see. She blinked to help her eyes adjust. If she wanted to plan her escape, she needed to soak in every detail of her surroundings.
Once she could see again, she realized sunlight wasn’t the only illumination after all. Jars with crude, lit wicks in them had been placed on the floor, interspersed along the walls. They gave off just enough light so the group could make their way to the end of the hall. The thick smoke that curled up from them carried the heavy scent of animal fat into the air and made her eyes water. She tried and failed to wipe them on her shoulder and jumped when Cody and Flint pushed past her. They disappeared into a hallway off the entry hall.
Dani guided them deftly past a chunky receptionist station and several interlinked seats.
After a glance back at Ren, who fell in line behind her, Lynn underwent the torture of walking up five flights of stairs with limbs and a brain that had gone numb with the strain of the day, not knowing what would await her once she made it upstairs.
“Kate? It’s us!” Cody and Flint lowered their stretcher.
Eduardo and Ren followed their example, then sagged to the floor.
Dani guided Lynn past them and set down the stretcher.
Lynn gratefully complied. Her shoulders stung; her lower back felt compressed, and her feet were sore. Her arms were too numb to ache. Sweat ran down her neck and spine. Forcing her to carry the heavy stretcher with its unstable load had been the most diabolical and effective way to trap her: she had rarely been this physically exhausted, and her fighting spirit had been dampened considerably. She took off her heavy backpack and leaned against the wall for support.