Page 148 of Darling Wildfire
“Thank god—Mace—men—”
“I can’t hear you, Finn.”
“They’re—down the valley—headed for you. Run—”
“Are you hurt? What happened?” No answer. “Finn!”
She turned wide eyes to me. “I think something is wrong.”
“How far away is his property?”
“Five miles, maybe?” Macy said.
“Do not stop this truck no matter what,” I commanded.
I pulled my gun around and checked it as the truck bumped along the road at a steady pace.
“They’re after you,” she said, glancing at me.
“Yeah—watch for drones!” I called out over my shoulder.
Atlas already had his rifle up and ready while Nyx looked out over the forest surrounding us.
“Are you guys criminals?”
I watched the road ahead as it wound through the trees.
“No, it’s not the law that’s after us.”
“Who is it?”
“Something worse.”
“And now you dragged me into it?” Her voice was borderline hysterical now.
“You heard your friend,” I said. “They would have come through this valley looking for us anyway and done god knows what to you.”
“So, what, I’m lucky it was you?” She scoffed. “The lesser of two evils or something?”
“Last I checked, I’m the only one who got hurt in the last twelve hours,” I said dryly.
Her mouth snapped shut at that and pressed into a thin line as she focused on the road. Besides urging her faster, no one spoke for the rest of the drive down the dirt tract. When we pulled out onto a two lane paved highway, Macy pushed the truck well over the speed limit and we sped off towards town.
The drive into town was a nerve-wracking hour where any moment I expected a drone to come down on us but we made it without incident. The town of Banks was a sleepy backwoods town with two street lights and aquaint downtown strip with stores, restaurants and one gas station.
Macy pulled into a vacant lot behind a store before entering the main streets.
“Everyone knows everyone, you’ll stick out,” she said.
I got out of the truck and slung a backpack over my shoulders. Nyx and Atlas hopped down and I walked around to the driver’s side.
“Is there a place you can stay for a few days? You shouldn’t go back to the house right away.” She frowned at me but after a moment nodded. “Thank you for the help, Macy.”
“Sure,” she sighed. “Sorry about all that,” she grumbled, gesturing to my side.
I flashed her a quick smile and nodded back at Nyx. “He’s right—I deserved it.”
I grew serious again. “You should forget you ever saw us. For your safety, we were never here, understand?”
