Page 19 of Sheltering Instinct

“Of course, you did the calculations. So what?” Gwen looked over to Otto, who was showing off to the others as if he were a bushmaster, and this was a mere inconvenience for him. “We double the time when walking in the sand?”

“Right. So, say we start walking at seven. We could possibly get there while it’s light, which I prefer.”

“Here comes my shuttle.” Gwen ran out and did exactly what Tess had done. “Hey, we’re out of water. Do you have any to spare?”

This transport was moving faster than the other, probably hoping that the briefer its wheels pressed into the sand pit, the less he’d sink in.

Two water bottles flew out the sides, and Gwen tracked after them.

“Okay, you’re winning two bottles to one. I’ll take the next vehicle,” Tess said.

“You were telling me about a time you all pulled out of something like this? Mud?” Gwen pocketed a bottle and opened the other one. “If I’m hiking three hours in the sand, we can’t be wrung out.”

“The others?” Tess asked.

“I’m not a mama bird. Look at them. We said shade. Are they in the shade? No. Do they think this is inconvenient? Yes. Do they understand this could be life-threatening? No. We could share any water we beg from the next vehicle. Maybe.”

Tess accepted the bottle and took a drink.

“I’m feeling a bit resentful toward the group, to be honest. But that could be the first stage of dehydration.” Gwen accepted the bottle back. “You were telling the story of getting the car out?”

“Yeah. It was the same scenario in that there were no strong trees to use with the winch. Different because it was mud. The guys went forward and dug a hole as deep as they could get it and then a trench between the hole and the front of the vehicle.”

“Okay, I have the visual.” Gwen pulled off her hat and stuck it between her knees as she dragged the elastic from her bun and gathered her sweaty hair into a ponytail.

“They tied the winch line to our spare tire and put the tire in the hole. The line was in the trench.

“Got it.” Gwen put her ball cap back on her head.

“Then they filled in the dirt. They got the three heaviest guys to stand on the ground over the tire. Mmm.” Tess paused, trying to remember. “Maybe that’s not right. As I say that out loud, that seems too dangerous. Maybe the three heaviest guys happened to be standing close to the area where they buried the tire. Either way, that configuration was enough that they could run the winch and get our tires out of the mud. Took them ten, fifteen minutes?” Tess handed Gwen the bottle. “Otto’s calling us over to push again.”

“Necessary and dangerous.”

“Yup.”

The two rejoined the group. The metal on the vehicle, painted a dark olive, was heating up in the sun, and it burned Tess’s hand as she tried to find a good place to turn her effort into forward momentum.

Everyone did. Everyone tried.

The tires spun. That was a no-go.

Tess and Gwen moved back under their tree.

“You know, for such a dry and scrappy tree, the temperature is remarkably different under here.” Tess looked up at the sound of a motor. She saw a young couple heading their way. The woman was rolling down her window. The guy was slowing down. “Don’t slow down,” Tess yelled as she began to run alongside them. The woman leaned out her window, twisting her body to keep Tess in view. “What can we do?”

“Go to the ranger station at the front,” Tess yelled. “Tell them we’re in real trouble. We have no water. Eleven people. No water. Tell them to send someone. We need help!”

Chapter Six

Levi

Cerberus Tactical Headquarters

Northern Virginia

When Levi and the others pushed through the door at Cerberus headquarters, they found Team Alpha’s tactical coordinator, Noah, in the conference room, mapping out possible strategies for a mission they had spooling up.

Multi-colored lists filled the whiteboard behind Hailey, a logistics specialist they’d scooped up from her job at WorldCares when she and a fellow Cerberus team member, Ares, got engaged.

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