Chapter Fifty
The bastards! Using his tongue, Trent shoved at the gag in his mouth. Did they think they could just leave him? He was Trent fucking Powers. As soon as he got the gag out of his mouth, he’d yell for Stuart.
Stuart would help him.
That loser didn’t like being under a woman’s heel. They were kindred spirits. And Trent would use him until he regained the use of his limbs again. That asshole who’d dumped guts on him would pay first.
Then that bitch, Audra.
A door slammed shut.
Fuck! Stuart must be done shitting his brains out. Trent rammed his tongue into the gag swelling in his mouth. Fabric looped around his tongue. When he tried to yank free, the material slipped deeper into his mouth. Son of a bitch!
The wind carried the scent of crap and the voices.
He picked out Stuart’s from the lot. What was the bitch and her lover telling him?
Sweat pricked his temples when he tried to raise his head. Dead grass met his eyes. Dammit! If he couldn’t see them, Stuart wouldn’t be able to see what those two had done to him.
Stuart had to see him!
Trent couldn’t end this way. He was too smart, too good looking, too talented. He dug the back of his skull into the embankment. Maybe he could pull himself up. Maybe then Stuart would see him.
Engines started.
What the fuck? Trent’s heart beat faster. This wasn’t happening to him. He worked harder but didn’t seem to go anywhere. His eyes burned and his vision twisted. Fine. He didn’t need Stuart. The man was pretty much useless anyway.
More people would come through this site. The soldiers had set it up as one of the points on their stupid evacuation routes. Someone would find him. And they would be worthy of his leadership.
Worthy of him.
Soft footfalls sounded near his head. Ah, so Stuart hadn’t left him after all.
A shadow stretched across his legs—sharp ears pointed above the head.
Trent blinked. No. He turned his head. A coyote sniffed the air then lowered its head. Golden eyes fixed on Trent then slipped to the steaming entrails on his stomach. He shook his head. No. Get away!
The gag stifled his commands.
The coyote closed the distance and dug into the pile. Pressure built on his groin.
He felt that. He was getting better. Now if he could just move his hand… He tilted to the side. Yes, he—
Another coyote had his hand in its mouth. Red blood streamed down his arm, spotting his sleeve and the ground.
His eyes bulged and terror ripped through him. A scream tore out of his throat as a third coyote chomped down on his other arm and snapped bone.
Chapter Fifty-One
Colorado
Mavis stood under the awning dug into the side of the mountain. Clean air scoured her lungs. People filed into the tents set up in the valley then snaked up the trails to the various mine shafts. The afternoon sunshine sparkled on the snow capping the jagged peaks. It was beautiful. It was damn cold.
David pressed a cup of coffee into her hands. “We made it.”
“Yes, we did.” Sunnie was over the worst of her sickness. Trent had been dealt with. Life was good. She inhaled the sweet aroma then took a sip. Bitterness exploded across her mouth. Lister must have brewed it. She scraped grounds off her tongue and watched more people register.
“Eddie Buchanan.” The young man in army fatigues set his gas mask on the table. “If it has a motor, I can fix it.”
Leiutenant Sally Rogers tapped in the information then fingerprinted him. “We can always use a good mechanic.”
“Audra Silvestre.” The slim woman next to Eddie offered when Sally turned to her. “Teacher.”
Sally beamed at her. “We definitely needs those as well. Now would you like to stay with your group or a small bump-out in the cave?”
Audra glanced at Eddie who nodded. “With our group. After everything we’ve been through, they’re family. And family sticks together.”
David blew on the steam dancing over his mug. “That group is the mother lode. A couple of teachers, a principal, a deputy, lots of kids, and, get this, a registered nurse.”
It was a good day. Really. Yet those who weren’t here nagged at Mavis. She’d made so many mistakes. She hoped sending Papa Rose, Brainiac and Falcon into the field wasn’t one of them. “Any word from our men?”
“Not yet. But they’ll wander in.”
Maybe. Background radiation was slowly increasing. Someone’s nuclear power plant had melted down. More would follow. People had days, maybe hours, to get here and hide underground.
Sally burst out of a tent, looked around and jogged up the trail to Mavis. A man in a blue Royal Air Force uniform chased after her.
“You’re not going to believe this, ma’am.” She shook a handful of dog tags at her. “It’s the British. They’re invading.”
The British airman behind her shook his head. “Not an invasion, mum. We had to draw lots for places underground and…”
And some people had lost.
She couldn’t imagine would it would be like to have only half a family saved.
“We figured we’d come here since we’re poor, tired and wretched. Fortunately, we didn’t huddle en masse upon your shore but landed safely at Durango airport.” He finished the reference in case she didn’t recognize the words etched onto to base of the Statue of Liberty. “There were Germans and Poles following our exhaust.”
“Register them, Lieutenant.” They couldn’t afford to turn anyone away. Mavis checked her tablet. Three thousand two-hundred twelve survivors. And they weren’t clear of the anthrax yet. She hugged the computer. It had to be enough.
“More will come.”
“I hope so.” Five thousand would be a nice number. Surely the human race would survive with that many people.
“I have something that will cheer you up.” David eased the computer from her hand. He flicked through apps then tapped on the screen. Spinning it around, he showed it to her.
Mavis peered at the smear on the desert floor. She zeroed in on the image. A head came into view then a torso. So did the murder of crows pecking at it. “A corpse?”
“It’s Trent’s.” David smiled. “Or what’s left of him. Given that he made it back to camp, the bastard hooked up with another group. They didn’t stand for his bullshit.”
She noted the lack of hands and feet. The dark trails leading away from the body. “Looks like coyotes got him.”
“Yup.” David caressed the picture. “I hope he didn’t give them indigestion.”
Black humor seemed a fitting tribute to the asshole. “I’m sure he did.”
“Is this our new home, Papa?” A small voice squeaked. “I’s afraid of the dark.”
“I’ll be here, Toby. Papa Rose will keep you safe.”
Papa Rose. Mavis whipped around at the sound. What are the odds of two men having the same nickname?
The bald man huffed into view. A preschooler perched on his shoulders.
“I’m not afraid of the dark.” A nine year old girl tossed her dreadlocks over her shoulder. She released a lanky African-American man’s hand and skipped after Papa Rose. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Falcon, too.
David leaned down and whispered into Mavis’s ear. “Told you.”
“I’m not afraid of the dark either.” The blond haired girl holding Falcon’s other hand looked up at him. Shadows clung to her pale eyes.
“Of course, not Jillie. You’re very brave.” Falcon ruffled her hair.
Mavis rose on tiptoe to peer around them. Where was the third man? Where was Brainiac.
Papa Rose paused. He dipped his hand in his pocket. Metal jingled then clunked against the table. “We bought you thirty more hours, ma’am.”