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“Okay, okay. Shoes, purse, keys,” I mutter to myself as I slip my sneakers on and grab my purse from the kitchen table. It's right next to Flopsy and Hunter's sunglasses. I grab both of those and stuff them into my purse before I throw it over my shoulder. I run across the kitchen to the key holder on the wall in the back hall.
“C'mon, honey. We gotta move,” Dixie yells. She's not being unkind, but her voice has this wobble I've never heard before. And that scares me more than I can let myself think about right now.
I grab both sets in my fist and run to the patio door. I hustle Hunter out the door, slamming it closed behind me when I hear the first rumble. It sounds almost like thunder in the distance, the ominous deep bass that raises the hair on the back of your neck.
“What was that?” I murmur, looking at Dixie.
Her lips pinch together and she shakes her head once. “Hunter, you're with Evangeline, yeah? It's hard for Nan to drive this with one arm.” She gets on the blue UTV closest to the backyard, and I toss her the blue keychain.
“C'mon, muffin. Let's go for a ride.” I put him on the red UTV and slide his helmet over his head. Adjusting my purse so it lays against my back, I swing my leg over and put the key in.
“You ever drive one of these, Eve?”
“Yep.” Once, but I don't tell him that. I'll figure it out.
“Ready?” Dixie asks, pressing the start button. The UTV growls to life instantly. She eases it away from the house slowly.
“Let's go,” I say, just as another rumbling boom rolls through the air. My adrenaline perks up at the sound, sending another wave of jitters through my body.
I press the start button and nothing happens. I pull the key out, put it back in, and press the start button again. Nothing happens.
“What's wrong?” Dixie calls over her shoulder.
I expel a breath and try once more.
“Did Dad fix this one because he told me Uncle Nova broke, so that's why I couldn't go on any rides with him for a while,” Hunter says.
My heart stops. Just fucking stops beating right inside my chest.
“Okay, change of plans. You're going to ride with Nan, okay?” I hop off the UTV and help him down. I scoop him up and run him over to Dixie.
“What's going on?” she asks.
“The red one is broken, so Hunter is going to ride with you, okay?”
“No. You ride with him on this one, and I'll see if Bane has one,” she says, pushing to stand. But then we hear it.
The unmistakable sound of motorcycles.
Only I know it can't be our motorcycles, because I watched them all leave in cars and trucks this morning.
My eyes meet hers, and for the first time, I finally have one of those silent conversations that I actually understand.
You have to take Hunter, I tell her.
No, I'll stay here and you go with him. You don't understand what's happening, she says.
True, but I know something bad is happening, and your right arm is still in a sling. You can barely drive that thing.
Exactly, which is why you should take him instead, she says.
You're his grandmother, and he needs you, I tell her.
I place a hand on her shoulder. “Dixie, I need you to take Hunter.”
She shakes her head, but she sits down. “Then I need you to take this.” She reaches inside her purse and pulls out a handgun and a handful of ammo.
My hands shake as I accept it from her. I'm not that familiar with guns. I've handled them before. I meant to make Bane teach me, but I didn't think I'd need that knowledge so soon.
