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I held up my hands and ambled forward with a meek smile on my face.
“See?”
Through the blackness, I made out the portly shape of a middle-aged man, his hand curled around something. As I neared, I saw it wasn’t a gun at all, but a bat. My shoulders sagged. He was probably just as scared as me. This was Forny, after all. No one was safe.
“Where do you work?” the man asked suspiciously.
He saw my pack, and I realized my lie was a mistake. My mind raced.
“Uh… the cannery,” I fumbled.
“Which one?”
Dammit.
“Uh… the fishing one.”
He raised the bat higher, but I’d had enough of this conversation.
“I’ll be on my way.”
“What’s in the pack?”
I ignored him and whirled around to run, but as I did, a teen boy appeared, blocking my path.
“Pa, you got trouble?”
“Stop her, Mason!”
I backed up, hands still in the air, as my heart exploded in my chest.
“Hold on there, boys,” I chuckled nervously. “You don’t want to hurt me. I belong to Jesse.”
They both froze on the spot, giving me the opportunity I needed to bolt. Even then, I recognized it hadn’t been the smartest announcement to make, but it had been the only one I could think of on the spot. I was alone, unarmed, and unprotected. The only defense I had was my voice. The element of surprise had been enough to give me escape, but it would also keep me safe if they did get their hands on me.
My feet beat against the grass as I rushed in the opposite direction. I had no idea which way was which, but I knew I had to get as far away from those two as I possibly could.
“Get her, Mason! Call out to your brothers!”
Shit! There were more of them. I’d have to be more careful.
“Pa! She went south!”
“If she’s one of Jesse’s wives, he’ll pay a pretty penny for her return!”
“Dang bitch. If she ain’t one of his wives, I’ll make her mine,” Mason sniggered.
I winced at my own stupidity. Why had I said that? Fear, obviously. But for now, I had a running start, and despite not knowing the terrain, the voices were falling behind me. I still didn’t slow down, not for miles. My legs radiated with pain, and my chest felt like it was going to burst, but I needed to be sure I was alone before I paused long enough to down the last of the water I had taken from Atlas’ kitchen.
By now, dawn peeked over the horizon, illuminating the eerie Forny landscape before me. Sweat dripped down my back and into my underwear as I drew in a sharp breath of horror.
The wall separating Covale City and Forny stood directly in front of me. In my panic, I’d run full circle back to where I’d started from—and much too close to Jesse’s encampment.
I had to get the hell out of there before someone saw me!
* * *
Things were even moreterrifying by the light of day. I tried to cover as much ground as possible, but my sense of direction was skewed. I really didn’t know the area well enough. All I knew for sure was that Pa and Mason were over to the north, and Jesse was on the south side. Heading east seemed safest, but that would eventually lead me back to the sea.
