Page 54 of Hero

I meet Zed’s eyes, and he gives a slow nod. I nod back at him—silently agreeing. There’s absolutely no reason not to trust these people. We trusted Mack, Anna, Rachel, and Cal, and that trust got us all the way here.

It feels like our journey is almost done, and we’ll end up somewhere better. Safer. More promising for the future.

Three of the men and the woman who’s been talking to us fall into step beside us on the road as we start off. Rina had been walking, but Zed hefts her back on top of the cart.

We walk about a mile, making relaxed conversation about where we’re from and the conditions there and the various communities in this area. These people talk like they’ve been living here a long time, and I continue to relax even more although I never put away my gun.

The first thing that sets off tiny warning bells in my mind is when I mention meeting Mack and they have no idea who I’m talking about.

Maybe it’s not rational. Even as sparsely populated as this region is now, there’s no reason to expect someone to know everyone else. But one thing I learned in the hours I talked to the four of them back in Givens was that Mack is at the center of an assistance network in the region, so nearly everyone settled there knows him now.

I might have shrugged it off, but the woman must see my surprise and hurries on with an excuse about how she thinks she does know who I’m talking about after all.

It’s the excuse more than the initial surprise that worries me.

I smile through the conversation so I don’t give away any suspicions, but I’m suddenly on guard in a way I wasn’t before this moment.

Zed is near the back of the group because he’s pushing the heavy cart, so I gradually slow down until I fall into step with him.

I wasn’t sure if he heard the conversation and took away from it what I did, but one glance at his face proves that he did.

The woman is still chatting in her friendly way, and I keep up my side of the conversation as much as I can.

But I no longer trust them. As the minutes pass, I get more and more nervous.

Zed, Rina, Buddy, and I need to get away.

I have a few silent conversations with Zed made up of facial expressions and discreet hand motions.

I understand what he’s trying to tell me. There’s no point in trying to pull away from them unless we have a fortified position. There are four of them and two of us. We’ll end up killed if we try to fight them now.

But if they are up to something, they’re trying to take us somewhere. And it’s likely to be some sort of choke point where they can ambush us without any of them getting hurt. They might have done this before. Maybe many times. Just wait for travelers and attack them and steal all their possessions after first pretending to be friendly.

Maybe they aren’t what we think. Maybe my anxiety is going into overdrive and making up threats where there aren’t any.

But I never doubted my decision to trust Mack, Anna, Cal, and Rachel. My instincts always confirmed my first impression.

My instincts are screaming like crazy right now, warning of danger.

Zed has been gradually slowing his pace, acting like he’s having trouble pushing the cart uphill. I hope the others would pull ahead, but they don’t. They slow down too, always flanking us.

This is wrong.

This is bad.

We need to get out of this.

But I have no idea how.

If I start shooting, I could maybe get two down before the others react, but the other two would get off shots and probably not miss. Zed and I would both be killed, and then Rina would be in their clutches. I can’t take that risk.

When we crest the hill, I can see an abandoned van with no wheels on the side of the road about halfway down. It’s parked at an angle half blocking a smaller road intersecting this one.

That’s probably the best fortified position we’re going to get.

I shoot a covert look at Zed and see that he’s had the exact same thought.

We don’t have a plan, but there’s only one real option for us here.

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