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I could hear the undertones in his words, though.
“Why don’t you want to go there?”
“My gut is telling me we should go to Parsons.”
The place where we started.
I tipped my head back to look him in the eye. “Then we listen to your gut.”
“We found a hound there the last time,” he said.
“Did you kill it?”
“We did.”
“Well then, it’s not there anymore. And the chance there’s another one there is just as high as one being at any location we pick. I am curious what we’ll find there, though. Maybe an easy place to fuel up.” I pulled completely out of his arms and took his hand. “How far would it be from Parsons to your people? If we reach Parsons by midday, could we reach your people by nightfall?”
Molev looked out over the buildings, considering my questions.
“If I were traveling alone, yes. But not with vehicles that must use the roads.”
“Okay. Then I’m going to go look at our atlas and see if there are any likely places near Parsons where we can hole up overnight.”
I placed a quick kiss on his cheek and tried to leave. His fingers tightened around mine and he swung me back toward him like we were dancing. I landed against his chest with an “oof” and looked up at him.
“Take a guard with you.”
“I’ll compromise with you and have a guard escort me and check the room before returning to their position.”
He grunted, kissed my forehead, and released me.
“I like my method better but will accept yours.”
I grinned at him. “That’s so big of you. Thank you.”
He actually inclined his head at me.
“Yes, I am big.”
“Big and adorable,” I said, waving and walking away.
I did as I promised, and once the guard agreed that no infected lurked in the small space, I spread the maps out on the table. It took hours to study the route and locations near Parsons and compare them to Rick’s notes. My back started to hurt from my pronounced slump, and I stretched my arms over my head.
Nothing stood out to explain why Molev’s gut was telling him to go to Parsons. There weren’t any bases along the way or noted surpluses of supplies. Nothing to warrant a veer toward Parsons instead of heading in a more northerly direction to Iola, Kansas.
While I didn’t doubt Molev’s intuition, it did worry me to head toward an area without a secure location waiting. If there were only twelve of us or even forty of us, I wouldn’t be as concerned. Rotating guard shifts and sharing beds usually meant plenty of room for everyone. Over two hundred people was a different story, though.
The doorknob rattled and startled me.
“If you’re alive, you better say something,” I said.
“I am alive. Did you eat?” Molev asked through the door.
I hurried to unlock it as I glanced at the time. Still two hours until sunrise.
“No, I didn’t eat,” I said. “I’m still trying to figure out what we’re going to do once we hit Parsons. Where do we house everyone overnight? Where are we going to get more fuel so we won’t run out before we get to Whiteman?” I sighed. “I trust your gut; I just hate unanswered questions.”
He tilted his head as he studied me. “Take your clothes off?”
