Page 23 of Atone in Darkness
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Chase woke just as the sun had reached high enough to lighten the shadows in the depths of the narrow gully. He took care of his own personal needs before prodding his keeper to wake her up.
She groaned as she rolled over onto her back and covered her face with her forearm. “What time is it?”
“Time to get out of here. If they are going to send in ground troops, we want to be as far awayfrom here as we can get.”
That got her up and moving. He watched in silence while she did a few stretches to work out the kinks and then tried to dust the dirt and leaves off her clothes. Next, she pulled a brush out of the side pocket of the pack and used it to smooth her hair back into a tidy ponytail.
When she was done, he pointed to a thicket of small trees about fifty feet from where theystood. “If you need some privacy, head upstream to those trees, but don’t go any farther. When you get back, we’ll have whatever you want for breakfast as long as it’s a granola bar and some water.”
As she headed in the direction he’d indicated, she muttered, “I’d kill for a cup of coffee.”
“Wouldn’t we all.”
He knelt by the creek and scooped up handfuls of water to wash his hands and face.The chill of the water didn’t work as well as a shot of caffeine to clear out the cobwebs, but it came close. By the time Marisol returned, he was sitting back under the overhang with the promised granola bars and water ready and waiting.
She’d evidently taken time to wash up before returning to their pitiful excuse for a camp. There were wet streaks on her jacket, and her skin had a damp sheento it. Neither said anything while they consumed their meager fare. Once they finished the water, he refilled the bottle at the creek.
“So what’s the plan?”
He’d given that exact matter considerable thought. “We still have no idea where we are, so other than not heading back the way we came, one direction is as good as another. I think we should follow the creek as far as possible. At the veryleast, it means we’ll have water to drink. But it’s also bound to run into a larger stream at some point, maybe even a river. One way or another, it should eventually lead us back toward civilization.”
After tightening the lid on the bottle, he turned to face Marisol. “Unless you have a better idea.”
Her dark gaze studied their surroundings in much the same way he had. Finally, she shook herhead. “I’ll follow your lead for now. You’ve gotten us this far.”
He picked up the pack and slid his arms through the straps. “We need to cover as much ground as we can. But ifyou need to rest, say so. I’d rather we have enough energy left for at least a short burst of speed if it should become necessary.”
“Okay.” She shuddered as the import of why they might need to run sank in. They werebeing hunted by people who didn’t hesitate to kill.
“Start walking, and I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes. I want to do what I can to hide our tracks. Hug the edge of the water as much as possible.”
She hesitated as if wondering what he was up to or maybe doubting he really meant to come after her. Finally, she started walking, picking her way along the edge of the water until she stoppedone last time to look back before disappearing around the bend. Once she was out of sight, he retrieved the rocks he’d carved and arranged them on the log to spell out his name along withOKat the end. Granted, his friends wouldn’t be the only ones hunting for them, but that didn’t matter. The bad guys already knew who he was, and he desperately needed any Paladins on their trail to know theywere on the right track.
That done, he did one last sweep through the area to make sure they weren’t leaving anything important behind and then headed downstream to catch up with his keeper.
•••
THE DAY GREWwarmer as they trudged along. There were times when they had to climb to higher ground when the stream cut through terrain too rugged to cross safely. Good to his word, Chase stoppedto rest whenever she needed tocatch her breath. She tried to keep those occasions to a bare minimum, though.
The way Chase paused every so often to listen and study their surroundings was a constant reminder that the enemy was still out there, not to mention helicopters had flown overhead twice already. Each time, they’d heard them coming early enough to take shelter under the heavy canopy ofthe trees.
For the moment, all was quiet. The ground around the creek had also leveled out enough for the two of them to walk side by side. While she had the chance, she asked a question that had been on her mind since they’d heard the series of explosions the night before. “How many others do you think got away?”
Chase gave her a sideways look before once again doing another three-sixty sweepof their surroundings. “Not many. Some people may have known what the plan was, but most seemed oblivious to the danger and followed orders like a bunch of damn sheep. Those buses were nearly full before we took off.”
She’d worked up a sweat hiking, especially once the sun was high overhead. Right now, though, she shivered despite the warmth of the day. “What kind of sick people do somethinglike that?”
Chase actually laughed, but he was clearly not amused. “Seriously, Doc? You saw what they did to me over and over again, not to mention they called me Number Five. Most likely, I wasn’t the first, or at least not the only poor bastard they played games with. How could you see all of that and not know the caliber of person you were working for?”
It made her physically ill to realizeshe’d been that blind, that stupid. “You have to believe I would’ve never taken the job if I’d known how it was going to turn out.”
He kicked a handy rock and sent it flying into the water, his frustration and anger all too clear. If she’d been hoping for absolution, she didn’t get it. Instead, he kept walking fast enough that she had to trot to keep up. She did her best, but eventually she slowedto her former pace and let him do as he wanted.
When he disappeared around a bend in the creek, she felt the sting of tears. She’d been worried since the start that he’d eventually abandon her. After all, he wouldn’t be the first person to simply walk out of her life, which was why she’d pretty much been on her own since she was a child. She’d been taking care of herself and making her own decisionsfor far too long to want to give control over to someone else now. Besides, she hadn’t forgotten that he almost had left her back at the camp. Maybe would have if she hadn’t charged out the door after him.
They both knew he didn’t owe her a damn thing. All she could do was continue on the path they’d chosen and hope the stream would lead her to someplace safe. Once there, she’d contact the authoritiesand report what had happened. They’d probably think she was crazy, but somehow she’d find a way to convince them to check it out for themselves.
