Shattered (Alchemy Series Book #3) (25 page)

"We're about ten miles outsi
de the border of the senator's territory," Cormac said by my side.

"I
t could be worse," I said in a voice loud enough that Crash's men could hear over the sound of the car.
Holy shit, we're completely fucked,
was a more accurate description of my inner monologue.

"T
hey must have crossed into the senator's territory by now," Crash said.

I looked at Cormac
, silently asking if we believed him, and he nodded in response.

B
oth trucks pulled over before we got much further, everyone knowing instinctively it was time to regroup. I stepped out of the truck, taking a swig of water and not the whiskey I craved. I'd need all my wits about me for this, and contrary to popular belief, I didn't
have
to drink.

Crash nodded his head over to the side and I followed him
as he ducked behind the back of one of the trucks and out of sight. I stepped around the truck, knowing in my gut what was coming.

"I've got to leave.
"

"I figured."
I let out a long breath.

"T
hat cluster of buildings up there is a border town. Find a guy called Lizard Man. He can get you across."

"What are we going to find on the other side?"

"It's not much different to here, but the senator has spies everywhere." He leaned over and peeked around the truck. "I can't have the rest of the guys see me helping you again. Trust me, it's better for us to split now. Once we cross over, if you want any element of surprise then you don't want these guys with you. I think some of them might already be feeding information back to the senator."

A noise caught both of our attention and he started walking in the opposite direction. "Good luck,
" he mouthed to me, right before he moved out of sight.

I walked around the opposite corner of the truck
and saw Cormac waiting there, not looking too happy.

"It was business."

"I know, I was listening."

"Do you not want to go? But then…" I didn't need to finish what I was thinking. Trap or not, we might not be able to find them if we didn't continue. "I think we have to."

"I agree."

We walked back over to where the group was forming. The few people that had moved
out of sight for a moment, to handle needs, were filing back. Crash was already explaining to the group that he and his men were parting ways with us at the entrance of the border town.

They drove us the last
short distance and parted ways with barely a goodbye. We walked into the small town that was as much rubble as anything else and I was amazed at the tenacity of the human spirit. People walked here and there, and even in the midst of so much destruction, it still felt like a community.

They passed
by us as we walked into their city, and except for a few skeptical, worried glances, they left us alone. When I heard the click clack of horse hooves approaching, I knew they were heading for us. This is why nobody bothered us. They had alerted some sort of vigilante police force that was keeping the peace.

A man and a woman, bo
th on dark brown horses, turned the corner and came into view. They both cradled rifles in their arms but they weren't pointed at us, not yet anyway.

"What can we do for you folks?" the woman asked.

They weren't in uniform but they had yellow stars made of fabric sewn to their shirts. I relaxed after hearing her question and seeing their still at ease postures. These people weren't looking for trouble. They were trying to keep it out.

"
We're looking for the Lizard Man," I said.

The couple didn't reply right away as they spoke to each other.

"Why?" the woman asked.

"Safe passage, that's all. We mean him no harm."

I wasn't sure why this seemed funny to the two of them but they laughed for a couple of seconds and then gave us directions to where we could find him. They left with a quick warning not to disturb the peace.

Walking through the town streets was strange. The deeper we got in, the more activity
there was. There even appeared to be a school, or maybe a daycare. A couple of adults watched about ten kids playing in a field with an intact swing set.

Further down at the next intersection, a
few make shift tables were set up with vendors and people bartering for food. I pulled an energy bar from my pack as my stomach started growling at the smells. One table was laden down with vegetables and the other with breads. How were they doing so well here? There were no farms around, so I wondered where their food source was coming from. We didn't have fresh vegetables and we had more resources than it looked like they had. We all looked at each other in bafflement.

Every so often
, a
changed
would walk by and I'd have to stop myself from gawking. It would be easier if they had all turned into something similar, but there didn't seem to be anything uniform about the mutations.

The one approaching us was covered in what looked like alligator skin
and had yellow eyes; another flew overhead with fluffy white down wings, looking like a cherub. It was going to take me a long time to adjust to this.

"That's
it," I said. It was a small yellow ranch house on the outskirts of the main town. It was surprisingly intact, compared to the rest of the buildings. It made me wonder if Lizard Man was a VIP of the town, or just among the lucky who had always resided here and whose house managed to fare better.

We kept Dark to the back of the group
, if not completely out of sight as he was still in werewolf form. Then it was left to Cormac and I to bicker over who knocked.

"No one is g
oing to answer the door for you," I said to him.

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Because you've had your scary face plastered on for the last two days."

A couple grunts in agreement came from our group.

"Now, will you back off and let me do it?" I asked.

"You should. If he's one of the
changed
, he'll like her more," Colleen offered.

"What do you mean
?" Cormac and I asked at the same time.

"Me and some of the others were talking about it a couple of days ago.
There's just something about you we all feel drawn to."

I was a
bit stunned by that admission and the door swung open to the Lizard Man before I could reply. There was no doubt who it was. He stood on two legs but his torso was freakishly elongated. His skin was a mottled yellow-black and he didn't greet us with words but with a forked tongue tasting the air.

"How can
sss I help yousss?" he asked, his words blending into hissing noises at the end of some of the words.

His eyes roved over the
group of us and I saw a different glint when they landed on me. Colleen was right; the
changed
were drawn to me. Cormac must have recognized it too, because he actually let me take the lead, instead of doing our normal arm wrestle for control.

I st
epped a few inches nearer without getting too close. "Give me Sabrina's picture?" I asked Cormac.

He
dug into his pack and handed me a now well-worn photo of her.

"Have
you seen this woman?" I held it up to him.

"I seesss no one," he replied staring forward, refusing to look.

"She's in trouble. We don't mean her harm."

He looked down at the picture and then back to me. "My business isn't to tellsss people'sss secretsss. If I
did
seesss her, I notsss remembersss for certain."

It w
as as much of a yes as we were going to get. "We need to get across. You're supposed to be the man that can help us."

"What do youssss have to paysss?"
He eyed up our few supplies suspiciously.

I did a ment
al inventory. I doubted water canteens and proteins bars were going to cut it.

"Wh
at do you want?" Cormac asked when I sputtered and stalled.

"Gunsss."
Lizard man pointed to Cormac's holster.

"We'll give you five when we return."

"No. Nowssss." He shook his head adamantly.

"No."

"Yousss might not makesss it back."

"You can have mine now, theirs on our return," Cormac countered.

"Whensss?"

"How long will it take to cross?"

"One hoursss."

"We'll meet back here at nightfall
."

We
settled down in an abandoned building that was on the very outskirts of the town, taking turns keeping watch. Even though this little town looked to be about the safest place we'd seen since the destruction, it was all relative. Safe wasn't what it used to be. Not having the imminent threat of being shot or ripped apart was great and all that, but if you were smart, you still slept with one eye open.

I was half in an
d out of sleep when Dark got up from his place by the window and jolted me fully into the here and now. He was still in wolf form, which burned more energy and needed more sleep. That he still hadn't felt comfortable switching back to his human shape said it all.

I tensely watched him, not able to hear what he
could. Then he relaxed and gave me a nod. Whatever he'd heard wasn't a threat. It took another minute before I heard the footsteps that alarmed him.

Cormac stepped into the room, food cradled in his arms. We were all starving by now. We'd packed for a quick raid, not a camp out.

He'd gotten bread and some sort of smoked meat, there was even cheese.

"How did you get all this food?"
I asked.

"If we make it back, we aren't going to have a gun or
bullet between the lot of us."

"Did you find out where they're getting all their supplies?"

"They're bartering with the people on the other side of the wall."

"What do they have to barter with?"

"They wouldn't say."

If you didn't have food, and
money meant nothing, there weren't too many things left to trade. If I had mouths to feed, I'm not sure what I'd be capable of doing to see them eat. No one judged, anymore. You couldn't. If you went down that road, you wouldn't have too many people left you could talk to. People did what they had to and no one talked about it.

What really struck me was
how did the people on the other side have things to give?

We split up the chow, each making a sort of makeshift sandwich. Back in
the day, this would've been smothered in mayonnaise. Now? I was just happy I had water to chase it down with.

I slowed down eating after a couple of bites, looking at how thin Colleen was.

"Don't you dare," Cormac said as he sat beside me.

"But look at her,
" I said under my breath.

"There's been enough food at
the casino," he said.

"If you get your ration
, there is. It doesn't look like she's been getting hers."

"She's with Dodd and Dark
now. We'll get her fattened up when we get back."

If
we get back, I thought to myself.

"You try and give away your food right now and I swear I'll take you down before you even get to her."

"I got it. I'm eating."

I knew he was bluffing but I didn't feel like expending the ener
gy to argue. I'm either becoming mature or I'm beyond exhausted. I covered the yawn that came with that thought.
Yeah, just tired.

Cormac
stood and grabbed his bag, pausing by Colleen and handing her the rest of his. She hesitated but he shoved it in her hand, forcing her with one of his scarier looks.

We packed up our few
belongings, mostly just shirts used as makeshift pillows, and headed back over to Lizard Man's house. The town that had been bustling before was now deathly quiet and it showed how insecure everyone still was in their environment. Didn't matter if the rippers weren't here right now, you still knew they were out there, waiting. And maybe one night, if they got hungry enough, the tornado wall wouldn't keep them at bay any longer.

Our feet crunched along the ground as we walked down the streets. Flickering candle light allowed me glimpses of families trying to persevere in this harsh new world an
d occasional laughter proving they could.

Lizard Man was waiting outside of his house when we arrived.

"Gunsss?"