Page 24 of Guarded By Them

Chapter Eight

Rue

––––––––

“WHERE ARE WE?” I ASKED, peering out the window, trying to get an idea of our location. We were still on the interstate, the white lines of the road passing in a blur. “How long was I asleep?”

Kodee twisted in his seat to face me. “A couple of hours.”

“A couple of hours? Really?” His reply surprised me. No wonder I’d had time for such an elaborate dream.

“Yeah, we’re just passing Cleveland now, then it’s another two hours or so to Detroit, and then we’ll be leaving the interstate and taking some smaller roads.”

We still had a fair amount of time left in the car, then. The horrors from my dream slowly faded, but there was no escaping our dangerous reality. A part of me wished we could just carry on driving, never stopping anywhere for too long, not giving anyone time to catch up with us, but I knew that wasn’t possible. We had to think of Ryan. He was going to need to settle down sooner rather than later, to be able to continue with his treatment and get the help he needed, but he wasn’t going to be able to do that on the road.

The hours passed by, and we finally reached the outskirts of Detroit.

We took another comfort break on the other side of the city, and then we left the interstate and built up area behind us. Trees became more frequent than houses, and we only passed a car every few minutes, the times between growing longer.

The road wound through the forest, with more curves than straights.

Kodee leaned forward in his seat, his neck craned. “There’s going to be a turning coming up on the left. It’s only a dirt track, and it’s pretty well hidden, so keep an eye out.”

Obediently, we all shifted in our seats, watching the side of the road.

“There!” Ryan spotted.

Sure enough, the turning was barely visible from the road. If we hadn’t been looking out for it, we’d have gone right by. Dillon pulled the car in without bothering to signal—there weren’t any other vehicles around to worry about notifying about our change in direction—and then we were moving deeper between the trees. The sound of the tires against the ground changed now we’d left asphalt, and the ride became a little bouncier.

Barely a minute had passed before the road opened up, revealing a single-story wooden cabin, with a porch attached to the front. An old truck was parked outside, and Dillon pulled the car up next to it. Unsure, he kept the engine running.

“Here we are,” Kodee announced, opening the door and climbing out.

Dillon let out a resigned sigh and switched off the engine.

Whoever we were here to meet must have noticed our arrival, as the cabin door opened.

The man who stepped out of the cabin could have been anywhere from fifty to seventy years old. Most of his face was covered in a thick white beard, and he had a full head of hair as well. He was weathered and slender, the muscles in his arms lean from years of physical work. I wondered how he survived out here in the winter. It couldn’t have been an easy life.

This wasn’t what I’d been expecting at all. Maybe Kodee’s contact was a prepper? I’d thought we’d end up back with rich men in a city. I’d been expecting high-rise apartments or maybe a condo. Expensive cars, and guns. This man had a gun, but it was nothing like the smooth, sleek weapons the guys were carrying. He held a shotgun at his side instead.

“Well, well, Kodee Tharp,” the man said as he crossed the porch and took the steps down to greet us. “There’s a face I didn’t think I’d see this far out of town.”

Kodee strode over and shook the man’s hand. “Good to see you again, Timmo. Thanks for doing this for us.”

He looked over Kodee’s shoulder. “And who are these folks?”

“That’s Dillon,” Kodee introduced, and Dillon lifted a hand in a wave. “And Ryan.”

Ryan nodded his greeting. “Good to meet you, sir.”

Timmo cocked a bushy white eyebrow at me. “And the young lady.”

“This is Rue,” Kodee said. “She’s the one we need you to do the work for.”

---