The fat man swore and tore off as fast as his meaty legs could carry him. The wolf gave chase.
And judging by the blood-curdling screams which quickly followed, it was safe to say he didn’t get very far.
Chapter 25
In spite of what had gone down in the school’s gymnasium, Nate was in no hurry to rush back out into all that cold and thigh-deep snow.
Searching the bodies, distasteful as that was, had proven useful. Among the spoils was Ugly’s AR, Gabby’s Glock 21 and a box of rounds for each of them. A couple cans of Bud Light couldn’t hurt either, nor could a bag of Doritos and some canned corn and beans.
He turned to the young girl and tossed a can of tuna her way. She fumbled and nearly missed it in the low light.
“Thanks,” she said, heading over to Ugly’s body and peeling the knapsack off his back. Rather than going through it item by item, the girl turned it upside down and gave it three or four good shakes. A clump of socks, underwear and porno mags came spilling onto the floor.
“Eww,” she said, kicking them aside. She then began collecting items of her own, stuffing them into her new bag.
Nate set aside the AR, held out his hand and properly introduced himself.
“Dakota,” the girl said, shaking back.
“That’s quite a grip you’ve got.”
She smiled sheepishly. “I get it from my dad, I guess. He was known for his hard shakes.”
“I have to admit,” Nate said, “you’re the first girl I’ve ever rescued from a cage.”
“That’s too bad. How did it feel?”
Nate paused to think. “Pretty necessary. I mean, I felt bad enough finding that wolf locked up. Speaking of which…” He grew quiet and heard nothing, apart from the sound of his own breathing. Had the beast left or was it still around? he wondered.
“If he has any sense,” she said, “he’ll find a way out and head back into the wild where he belongs.”
She was right, but Nate would keep his weapons handy all the same. “Where are your folks?” he asked.
The corner of Dakota’s mouth twisted into an expression somewhere between sadness and anger.
“I see. Well, listen, I need to rest a couple hours. Either way, we should get out of this gym before any more of Ugly’s men come back.”
“The four we killed were the only ones I ever saw.”
For the record, Ugly had killed two of his own men, Nate had got one and the wolf had finished off the last. But what did details like that matter at a time like this, right?
“How about we find a spot on the other side of the building?” Dakota suggested. “Give you a chance to rest your old-man legs.”
Nate wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be offended. “These old-man legs just helped you out of a cage.”
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” she said, and he could tell she was being honest. To most teenagers, anyone beyond their mid-twenties was practically a senior citizen.
“No harm done,” Nate said. “What do you say we head out?”
She agreed.
Nate led them past Ugly’s corpse―splayed by the double doors―and then along a darkened corridor brimming with shadow. Lockers ran along both sides of the wall, punctuated by the occasional classroom. They soon found themselves at the front of the school where Nate had encountered the locked doors. He pointed to a room with the words ‘Principal’s Office’ stenciled on the door.
“Oh, great!” Dakota moaned. “The world’s coming to an end and I’m still being sent to the principal’s office.”
Nate smiled. “You’re not the studious type, I take it.”
“Not for boring things, no.”
He let that one go, too. Nate kept the AR in the low ready position as he swept the reception area followed by both offices. The one on the left was the principal’s. The other belonged to the vice. One had to pass the reception area to reach the offices. That gave them two layers of defense, much like a castle with concentric walls, two or more curtains of fortification an attacker would need to defeat in order to get inside.
With Dakota’s help, they barricaded the main door by stacking furniture against it. When they were done, he waved a hand to the office on the right. “Madam Vice Principal,” he said, ushering her inside.
She entered laughing, but didn’t close the door.
Nate took the principal’s office. There wasn’t a couch. That was his first observation. As a consolation prize, he found a plush leather chair behind a large oak desk. He dropped his bag, set the AR against a bookshelf and fell into the seat. A tiny blast of air hissed out from under his weight. He pulled at the metal release and reclined, propping his feet on the desk. Nate basked in the warm glow born of simple pleasures. Within ten seconds, he was fast asleep.
Chapter 26
Day 4
Nate came awake to the sound of giggling. Early morning light streamed in through the windows. Slowly the room came into focus. A young girl was standing at the doorway, bent over, covering her mouth.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
She shook her head, her thin body twitching. “I’m not sick, I’m laughing.”
“Oh, well, what’s so funny then?”
Dakota straightened and leaned against the wall, the traces of a smirk still on her face. “You snore. Did you know that?”
“That right?” Nate said, shrugging. He remembered Amy mentioning something about snoring one or two million times.
The young girl folded her arms. “Well, as snoring goes, you’re the GOAT.”
“The what?” He sat upright.
“Greatest of All Time. GOAT. I’m not making fun of you. It’s a compliment.”
“Doesn’t sound like one. Did I wake you up?”
Her left eyebrow rose. “Me? Hell no. I sleep like a corpse. Can sleep anywhere at anytime. It’s one of my gifts.”
He recalled finding her in that cage, curled up in a ball sleeping. “I’ve never heard someone call sleeping a talent,” Nate said. “But I give you points for creativity.”
“Fake it till you make it, right?”
That one made him laugh.
“Hungry?” she asked.
“Famished.”
“Good,” she replied, smiling. “I made breakfast.”
“Really?” Nate was impressed.
She handed him a can of beans, a fork sticking out the top. “I would have made eggs and bacon, if we had either of those things and a stove to cook it on. I make a mean Egg McMuffin, I’ll have you know.”
Nate scooped some beans into his mouth. “Stop teasing me. Right now, I’d run naked through the snow for an Egg McMuffin.”
Dakota beamed with a devilish smile. “And I’ll film it and put it on YouTube. ‘Naked Old Guy Versus Winter.’ A million hits guaranteed.” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Oops, sorry. I said the O word.”
Nate fought a smile. “I just love how you think people my age have one foot in the grave. But I guess I shouldn’t complain. There was a time I was the same way.” He waved his fork at her. “How old are you anyway?”
“Fifteen,” she said.
“Huh, hope you don’t mind me saying, but I took you for younger than that.”
She nodded. “I get that a lot. I’m skinny, that’s probably why. I have a fast metabolism, what can I do?”
“When I was your age, I was desperate to hit eighteen, then twenty-one, then twenty-five. Growing up seemed to take forever. Far as I was concerned, the days couldn’t fly off the calendar fast enough. But the older you get, the faster time seemed to speed by. Call it nature’s cruel joke. Not much you can do about it, except focus on making sure tomorrow is better than today.”
Her expression darkened. “Yeah, well, none of that matters anymore.”