Hungry Independents (Book 2) (24 page)

Jimmy rested his hand on her arm. “You aren’t
alone in this, Ginger. I’ll help.”

“I will too.”

Scout had entered through the door with
Catherine leaning on him. She was wearing a khaki buttoned shirt
with patches on the sleeves. The shirt hung past her knees. Her
forehead had seen better colors in the past. The current purple
blotch wasn’t one of them.

“I mean if that’s okay?” Scout said.

“Of course it is,” Ginger said.

Jimmy hurried over to help with Catherine. He
wrapped his arm around her waist and she did the same around his
shoulder for support.

“You don’t look so hurt,” Jimmy said.

Catherine lolled her head sideways at him.
“Shouldn’t you be dead?”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. He looked at Ginger and
laughed nervously. “You’re such a kidder, Catherine. I think you
hang around with Samuel too much.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Samuel
said, carrying a sleeping Molly. “Where do you want me to put her,
Luis?” He looked around the clinic for the missing doctor. “Never
mind, I’ll take her out to the couch. We need more beds in here so
I can take a nap later.” Samuel disappeared back through the
door.

Jimmy helped Catherine into the chair next to
the bed. The little girl smiled at the baby before resting her head
on the edge of the mattress. Jimmy worried about her injury and all
the stuff she’d been through today.

Scout moved to the other side. He was giving
Jimmy a funny look. Jimmy wondered how many funny looks he was
going to rack up before the day ended. Maybe he should’ve worn a
mask to give everyone a reason to look at him so funny.

“What?”

“You really messed things up for me. I didn’t
kill Jimmy.”

“Of course you didn’t. That’s dumb. Who was
saying that?”

“You were, Billy,” Scout said.

It was Jimmy’s turn to hand out a funny look.
“I was?”

“Raven left me because of all the trash talk
you were spreading.”

“She did?”

Scout’s strange expression dropped. Jimmy
didn’t care for the new one, because it appeared like Scout wanted
to pound him in the face.

“I’m sorry, Scout. I haven’t been myself
lately.”

“What does that mean?” Scout’s voice grew
louder.

Catherine lifted her head off the mattress.
“It means he was possessed by a demon. He’s all right now and he’s
sorry. Can we keep the shouting down? My head hurts.”

Scout stared at Billy for a long
uncomfortable minute. “Is that true?”

“Yes,” Jimmy said. “I don’t remember
anything. I apologize if that caused Raven to leave you. I never
would have wanted that.”

Ginger took Scout’s hand. “I’m sorry she
left.”

Scout smiled down at her. “I don’t think she
was very happy here with me.”

“Oh, I don’t believe that.” Ginger kissed the
back of his hand. “Thank you for saving my baby, Scout.”

Scout’s smile grew across his face like a row
of Nebraskan corn.

Jimmy shifted his feet. Jealousy crept up his
unfamiliar spine and festered in his mind. This wasn’t the
homecoming he wanted. How could he be this close to his family yet
so far away?

Birds whistled from somewhere above. Hunter
felt warm, and he rested with Molly lying in his arms. Nothing else
mattered. Birdsong, sunshine and the girl he loved—he couldn’t
start the day off any better. He opened his eyes and looked up into
the deep green boughs of a cottonwood tree. A robin hopped from
branch to branch. Hunter had no idea where he was and, at the
moment, he didn’t care. The horrible nightmare he’d had about the
dogs was a fuzzy memory. He closed his eyes and listened to the
chirp of the robin.

Something tingled in his mind. Some weirdness
he couldn’t quite shake. He opened his eyes again—both of them.

He bolted straight up, shedding Molly, and
touched his left eye. He waved and saw his hand clearly. How did he
get his sight back?

He looked down at Molly, only it wasn’t
Molly.

Barbie lay on her elbows, arching her eyebrow
at him. “Well?”

“Well what? What happed last night? Did
we…?”

“Did we what?”

“You know?”

“I know what?”

Hunter walked over to the tree, rubbing his
head. He noticed the large knobby bark first. Then he spun around
and realized where he was. “This is Catherine’s tree. Why did you
bring me here?”

“I didn’t bring you anywhere. It was the
other way around.”

“How did I bring you here? I can’t remember a
thing.”

“What do you remember?”

Hunter stared off into the distance and
noticed the huge swath of dirt that cut through the prairie and he
recognized the path of destruction the grasshoppers had left. He
tried to figure out where he last was in relationship to
Catherine’s tree. Yesterday had been the longest day of his life.
This one was shaping up the same, except that he was better rested
and could see out of both eyes again. All he needed now were some
straight answers.

“What the hell happened last night? I
remember the dogs then my back felt like it was ripping apart.”
Hunter reached and touched his naked shoulder blade. “Where’s my
shirt?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you lost it somewhere in
the fight.”

He looked at the open prairie as if expecting
a pack of black salivating dogs to come rushing out of the tall
grass and launch for his throat. “I guess we won.”

“Yes, we won,” she said. “Then we came
here.”

This time, Hunter arched his eyebrow. “And
then?”

Barbie stood and wiped her jeans free of dirt
and grass. “You don’t remember?”

“No,” Hunter said. “I blacked out. How would
I remember?” He pointed to his eye. “Did you do this?”

She folded her arms and looked away. Hunter
knew his tone was a little rough, but really, she had no right to
do whatever she did to him. He was unsure how to feel, but mostly
he was upset for having lost control if he and Barbie had... He
loved Molly. How could he hook up with the first girl who threw
herself at him?

“There are things here you don’t
understand.”

Hunter walked over, grabbed her hands, and
held them firmly. “So tell me. I’ve got nowhere to be.”

That wasn’t true. If the bugs headed to
Independents, Hunter couldn’t hang around talking about the
forgettable sex he may or may not have had with Barbie. Not to
mention the whereabouts of the Winnebago full of Cozad kids.

Hunter lowered his head. “Maybe we should go
see if the others are okay?”

Barbie shook his hands. “It’s okay, you know?
Not to understand everything. I don’t get it all myself, but I know
His will guides us.”

“Who’s will?”

She gripped his hands tighter. “When you
figure that out, everything else will be easier.”

Hunter nodded. He had a good idea who “He”
was, or at least who she meant. Hunter never gave God or religion
much thought. He attended church service because his girlfriend
made him wake up for it every Sunday morning. Scout was good at the
whole preaching thing, but to be honest, Hunter would rather sleep
in.

The return of his eyesight bothered him the
most. He didn’t deserve to see out of that eye. He lost it after
Patrick had beaten him to death. Hunter received the miracle that
should have saved his brother. The least Hunter could do was walk
around blind in one eye for the rest of his life.

“Why did you heal my eye?”

“I didn’t. You did, when you
transformed.”

He blinked both eyes. “Transformed? What, did
I become a robot or a jet plane?”

Her eyes watered like she was about to spill
a big bag of emotions. Instead she drew in a deep breath and
released a long sigh. “You transformed into an angel.”

Hunter stared at her as if marbles had
tumbled out of her ears. “You’re shitting me.”

She pulled her hands away and reared back
with the right, bringing it around quickly. Hunter blocked the
punch with his left arm, thankful he could see them coming now. He
grabbed hold of her hands again.

“I told you to quit using that bad
language.”

“Why? What do you care?”

“Because you’re beautiful,” Barbie said. Then
she lowered her voice. “Talking like that makes you ugly and taints
the gift inside you.”

Hunter wanted to pursue this topic and give
her a few more choice phrases, but then the sound of a motorbike
broke across the prairie and his big KTM came rolling their way,
followed by the Winnebago. Henry handled the big motorbike
cautiously over the flatland. Wesley drove the Winnebago, steering
back and forth over every bump he could find, wearing a bright
smile that reflected the morning sun. Henry killed the engine. He
regarded Hunter with his head down, searching through the length of
his bangs like he was afraid to look Hunter directly in the
eyes.

“You guys made it out all right?” Hunter
asked.

When Henry’s head came up his mouth dropped
open, but he remained silent. He looked at Hunter and then at
Barbie.

“He doesn’t remember,” she said.

“I don’t remember what?”

“What we were just talking about.”

“My cussing? I really don’t understand the
big deal.”

Barbie shook her head. “Not that. The other
thing.”

Before Hunter could remember what the other
topic was, Wesley shot out of the Winnebago. None of the other kids
followed but they did crowd up to the front windshield, staring out
at Hunter like he was a lion on safari.

“Let me see them!” Wesley shouted with
excitement. “Where are they? Folded down behind your back?”

“What are you yelling about?” Hunter
asked.

Wesley circled him. He came to the end of his
search and frowned. “Where are your wings? I wanted to see them up
close in the daylight. I couldn’t believe when you flew over and
killed all those dogs trying to get at us. That was awesome! Are
you really an angel? How does that whole flying thing work? Is it
scary up there? I heard about planes, but I never got to fly in one
before the plague. Can you take me flying sometime?”

Hunter was still working through Wesley’s
ramble when the talking stopped and he realized it was his turn.
How could he respond to that? “I have no idea what you’re talking
about. What wings? I can’t fly.”

“See, he doesn’t remember,” Barbie said with
a hitch in her voice. She turned and faced the opposite
direction.

“You had these giant, brown, feathery wings
shooting out your back. How can you not remember?” Henry asked.
“It’s not like you were flying around dropping dogs in your sleep.
I even heard you talking to Barbie, but you sounded different.”

The dull ache pulsed in his shoulder,
reminding him that it was still there. Henry and Wesley had clearly
lost their minds. “Look guys, I don’t know what you saw last night,
but I’m no angel. Shit, I’m the farthest thing there is from an
angel.”

“Please, don’t,” Barbie said softly without
looking back.

Hunter sighed and placed his hands on her
shoulders, squeezing them to offer some type of comfort even though
he had no idea why she was upset. Her mood swings were
frighteningly similar to Molly’s before Catherine healed her mind.
Hunter didn’t want any part of that craziness, but this was
different. Barbie was upset about something Hunter couldn’t
remember.

“Look, the last thing I saw was a bunch of
those dogs going after the RV. Then I had this incredible pain in
my shoulder and back and I blacked out. Next thing I know, I woke
up next to you under Catherine’s tree with my shirt off. So you’re
telling me that I was flying around with wings, dropping dogs out
of the sky. Am I the only one who thinks that sounds crazy?”

Henry walked back to Hunter’s bike and
unzipped his backpack. He brought out the shirt Hunter was wearing
the night before and threw it at him. Hunter caught it in one
hand.

“I didn’t lose it after all.” He flapped the
shirt out, tucked his arms inside, and then he noticed the two
holes evenly spaced in the back. “What happened to my shirt?”

“That’s where your wings popped through.
After you finished up with all the dogs, you asked me to help take
it off because you said it was restricting your movement. Then you
flew off with Barbie. We may be scared, hungry and tired, but we’re
not crazy. You grew wings and flew around up there in the sky. I’m
sorry you don’t believe us or remember. It was pretty cool.”

Wesley stood in the morning sunshine with a
mixture of excitement and depression fighting for the right to
exist on his face. The keys to the Winnebago jingled in his
hands.

The rest of the gang watched from behind the
safety of the windshield. All eyes bored into Hunter like he was
about to perform a neat trick. Sprouting wings and flying in the
sky would certainly qualify.

Barbie was still turned away.

Hunter walked over to his bike. Wesley and
Henry stepped back. Hunter sighed and opened his backpack. He dug
out a dirty shirt that didn’t have any holes in it and slipped it
over his wingless back. The torn shirt he tossed on the ground. He
returned for Barbie and grabbed her elbow, guiding her into
motion.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked.

“You and I are going to have a little
question and answer time.” Over his shoulder, Hunter yelled back to
Henry and Wesley. “We’re going to be leaving in a couple minutes. I
want you guys ready to go when we return.”

“Who gets to drive the Winnebago?” Wesley
called after, but Hunter decided they could figure out that one on
their own.

He led Barbie away from the others, thinking
that all the stupid secrecy stopped here. This was where he found
out what’s going on. First, he needed to know who was crazy in the
group. For some reason, he thought it might be him.