Page 80 of Into the Mist

“I gotta pee too. Like, bad,” said Gemma.

Mercury raised her brow. “For how long?”

Gemma shrugged a shoulder. “Awhile.”

“Next time only hold it if we’re fleeing for our lives,” said Mercury. “The last thing any of us needs is to deal with a UTI.”

Stella shuddered. “The scourge of womanhood.”

“Seriously,” muttered Mercury.

“Oh, hey! That looks like a river ahead!” Gemma pointed to the left side of the road.

“Good eyes, kid,” said Stella. “And the rain has finally let up. We can stop by the river so everyone can wash their hands and whatnot before we head out.”

Stella pulled to the side of the road in an area clear of stalled cars. There were no homes anywhere around them, and as they sat in the cab studying the land, they could see no movement except scrub and junipers swaying in the breeze. The highway was above what, upon closer inspection, looked more like a deep gulch that was swollen with rain than a true river, though they could see a rickety wooden bridge several yards away, perched over the rapidly moving water.

“Does anyone see any green fog?” Stella asked as she rolled down her window and peered through the gloom.

“I don’t,” said Gemma.

“Neither do I. What does your gut tell you?” Mercury asked.

“That we should stop here. That’s it. Right now I can’t tell if it’smeworried about the green stuff and bands of marauding assholes, or my intuition.”

Mercury scanned the area around them as she spoke. “I say let’s all get out, have a bathroom break, confer with Karen about where we are, let the kids stretch their legs, and then head into the last stretch without stopping.”

“My gut says that’s a decent plan,” said Stella.

They climbed out of the cab and went to the rear of the truck to let down the tailgate and lift the camper shell window. Karen crawled stiffly out of the bed of the truck, with Imani and the three kids following closely.

“’Kay, huddle up for a sec,” Mercury said, and the small group clustered around her. The twins held their sister’s hand and remained silent, though they didn’t look as wan as they had when she and Stella had plucked them from their porch. All three kids, as well as Gemma, gravitated to Imani, which didn’t surprise Mercury at all. “So, we’ll stop here to go to the bathroom and whatever else you need to do.” She pointed down at the river. It flowed well below the level of the road, and the current moved so quickly that white caps lifted around boulders and hunks of dead trees. The steep bank that framed it gave way to a wide, rocky shoreline. Just a few yards to their left was a small cluster of junipers and shorter, gnarly-looking vegetation Mercury thought might be sagebrush. “You can have some privacy over there by the junipers, but y’all need to listen up:Be vigilant.” She paused when Georgie raised her hand. Mercury called on the girl. “Georgie?”

“Jayden and Cayden don’t know what that means.”

“Oh, sorry.” She smiled at the silent boys. “It just means not to get distracted. Keep an eye on what’s going on around you.”

“Like, in case there are more bad men?” asked Georgie.

“There are no bad men close to us right now,” said Stella.

Mercury nodded. “If Stella says that, you can be sure it’s true. What we’re mostly worried about is the green fog. You know it’s dangerous, right?”

Georgie nodded somberly.

Mercury drew a deep breath before she continued. “So, you and Jayden and Cayden understand how important it is to stay on the lookout for it, right?”

Georgie nodded again and the boys mimicked her.

“Do not let it touch you,” said Stella. “If you see any, get away from it as fast as you can, and holler for help.”

The kids stared from Stella to Mercury with wide, frightened eyes.

“Hey, I have to pee. How about I go with you three down to the river?” Gemma made a show of squinting her eyes and peering at the bank. “I see some crazy big boulders down there. We could each potty behind one—no problem.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” said Imani. “I’m going to talk to Mercury and Stella for a sec, then I’ll join you down by the river. It’ll feel good to walk around a little. Jayden and Cayden, I’d love for you to help me with one of my favorite hobbies. Can you two guess what that could be?”

The boys didn’t say anything, but their eyes brightened as their gazes lifted from scanning the riverbank to Imani. Slowly, both shook their heads.