For a moment, I stared in open astonishment, my mind trying to piece together this new development, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt someone watching me. I shot a look over my shoulder to the hotel window again, but it was bare. If the girl was spying on me, it wasn't from that window. Scanning the front of the hotel briefly, it seemed impossible to find her if she didn't want to be seen, so I turned back to the open door in front of me.
Tentatively, I stepped inside. The air was musty and stale, and the tables were set for guests. Menus were stacked neatly at the front podium, along with silverware wrapped tightly in yellowed napkins that sat in a bin next to them. The scene had remained undisturbed for the past five years. The restaurant trapped in a pocket of time.
"Hello?" I called out softly, listening for any sign that I might not be alone. It was quiet. The big room was divided into sections, and since I didn't have a clear view of the entire room, my guard remained up. Glancing back outside to the bonfire, the pressure of time bore down on me. The fire wouldn't distract the freaks forever, so I made a hasty decision. I made a quick circuit of the café, and then ran back outside to fetch Joss and Stephanie when my quick search came up empty. This café was definitely a better place to be instead of a dumpster.
Joss was standing inside the dumpster, watching for me as I rounded the alley. He visibly relaxed when he saw me but gave me a glare that I chose to ignore. I figured I deserved it. I did owe him an explanation once Stephanie was safe.
I began my stumbling climb over the floor of dead freaks and said, "I found a safe place."
Joss's eyebrow shot up, and he stared at me. Stephanie moved from within the dumpster, and Joss quickly bent to help her stand.
"We have to hurry. The freaks won't stay distracted for long." I said as I drew near to the dumpster.
Stephanie rose over the rim just then and gave a sharp gasp as she took in the carnage. Her face paled. "How could there be more?"
"There's always more." I grumbled bitterly, motioning for Joss to help her out. There was no point in shielding her from how dirty the world had become. Maybe it would help her live a bit longer if she knew. I preferred this mess over the slave camp we'd freed her from, but by the look of horror on her face, she might be wishing she'd never left.
"I think we should carry her over this." Joss said as he braced himself to help her climb out. I nodded, agreeing with him completely. All it would take was one freak that wasn't quite dead to wake up and bite her.
Even pregnant, she was small. Between Joss and I, we were able to lift her out effortlessly despite our aching muscles. I held Joss steady as he carried her. He had one arm hooked under her knees, and the other supporting her back. She had both her arms wrapped around his neck, and she clung to him. I thought her grip on him was so tight that if Joss let go, she would stay dangling from his neck.
Joss set her down once we made it past the bulk of the gore, but Stephanie refused to let him go. She continued to cling to him, her hands wrapped around his bare arm as she trembled. I shook my head, ignoring the implications for the time being and leaned close to whisper to Joss. They would both see the fire.
"We're not alone here."
"What?" Joss snapped quickly, surprised.
"Someone helped us out. Drew some of the freaks off so we could get into the café over here." I pointed at the bonfire as it came into view, and Stephanie cringed in fear as she let out a startled squawk. The sight of the milling freaks terrified her.
"This way." I said. "And stay quiet." I steered them toward the restaurant door. Both were eager to follow. All three of us were nervous with the freaks so close, and I cast uneasy glances over my shoulder until we had Stephanie safe inside.
Next to the door, a padded bench sat in the waiting area, covered in a fine layer of dust. I indicated for Stephanie to take a seat, but she stepped further into the café, shaking her head fiercely. Having released her grip on Joss, she wrapped her arms around herself, and her dark eyes darted everywhere as she paced in a nervous circle.
I took Joss's arm, pulling him close so I could whisper. Stephanie eyed us warily before her eyes returned to the window. "I haven't had a chance to check everything in here yet..."
He nodded firmly and broke away from me, leaving me standing there with instructions still on my lips. I huffed as I watched him head straight to the back corner.
"Where's he going?" Stephanie whined, panicked that her hero had left. I ground my teeth briefly in annoyance before answering her.
"To make sure the restrooms are clear."
Stephanie drew quiet, watching Joss's back until he disappeared. Then she nervously looked out the window again to watch the freaks on the other side of the plaza. She couldn't stop looking at them. I shook my head and wondered again how we were going to keep her alive.
I paced, and Stephanie didn't seem to mind my nervous movements. There was a kitchen area we hadn't checked, but I wasn't going to leave her alone until we were sure it was clear. Every few moments, my gaze fell on the hotel across the plaza. The front of the hotel faced a different street, so the side facing us was nothing but a wall of windows. My eyes searched them all one by one, but there was nothing there to see.
Joss emerged from the bathrooms, only to disappear again into the kitchen. When he came out a second later, he shrugged. "It all looks clear. I think we're safe for a while."
I heaved a sigh of relief as I walked deeper into the café, Stephanie on my heels. Joss intercepted me before I got far. "Who helped us?"
It was my turn to shrug. I pointed across to the open window were the curtains spilled out into the daylight. "She was there. All she did was point over here, and the door was unlocked."
"She?"
"She." I nodded. That seemed to relax him.
"Is she alone?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. She was the only one I saw."
Joss stepped closer to the door and crossed his arms over his bare chest, staring up at the open window. He didn't bother to turn back to me when he asked his next question. "Is she like us?"
She had to be, although I couldn't know for certain. "Maybe. Not sure I like this."
"Same." He answered quickly. "What do we do now?"
"Rest while we can. Get cleaned up. God, I can't wait to get out of these clothes and burn them." I muttered to myself at the end, but Joss was nodding. I continued "Maybe I can find a car here."
I hadn't really thought about it until I'd said it, and I immediately brightened at the thought. Joss gave me a rueful grin over his shoulder, obviously jumping to the same conclusion. If I could find a car, that would make getting out of here easy. If Reed was still looking for us, he would never catch up.
Then a twinge of guilt hit me when I looked at Stephanie. We hadn't told her about Reed, and now I wasn't so sure it was worth giving her something else to worry about. She had shrunk back even further into the café and wore a terrified expression. Joss noticed it too and backed away from the window, moving to stand closer to her. Her attempted smile was barely more than a grimace, and I suddenly felt like I was intruding.
"I'll go get the packs." I mumbled and turned to the door. Joss needed to have that talk with her soon. It would feel like I was nagging him if I brought it up again, but the look in that girl's eyes whenever he was near her unsettled me.
The four-wheeler idled where we left it, and I struggled with the cart to get it turned upright again. Surprised to see all our packs and even Stephanie's blanket in easy reach, I loaded up the cart and looked at the four-wheeler skeptically. I gently pressed the thumb switch under the right-side handlebar, and the four-wheeler roared. It jumped forward and I leaped back, narrowly avoiding getting my foot ran over. The weight of the cart jerked the four-wheeler to a stop, and I grinned.
"That doesn't look so hard." I said to myself, gingerly mounting the four-wheeler. A quick glance back at the bonfire told me some of the freaks were starting to lose interest, and it would only be a
matter of time before I caught their attention. In a rush to get back, I gave the four-wheeler a little gas and angled the handlebars toward the café.
It took a little getting used to, but I learned the feel of it quickly. Driving the four-wheeler to the door, I rolled several feet before I found the break by my foot. Once I got the four-wheeler stopped, I saw Joss watching me from the window, grinning. I sniffed, gathered the packs and dragged them inside.
"Not bad for your first time out." He said mockingly when I walked in. I glared, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him, and tossed him the key. He snatched it deftly out of the air. No point in leaving it in the four-wheeler and letting our mystery helper steal it, however unlikely it seemed at this point.
"You need any help with that?" I asked, pointing at the scrape across his chest.
"Nah." He said, already digging through his pack, hopefully for a shirt. "It's just a scratch. Got it when I turned the cart over."
I rolled my eyes, but no one noticed. Turning my attention to our surroundings, I made a full sweep of the café before settling somewhere, making sure to inspect all the cabinets and drawers. I found a few things that could come in handy, but the biggest find was a few cases of Dasani water bottles.
The afternoon quickly turned into evening, and the bonfire was fading to embers. There was no electricity, no running water, but we had found a safe, semi-comfortable place to rest. After changing our clothes, and using the bottles of Dasani to wash up, I still wished for a shower. Even though my hair was shorter now, I couldn't get all the blood washed out, and my boots would be forever stained a rusty brown.
After recovering her blanket, Stephanie retreated to a booth in the back corner, and it seemed as if that's where she planned to stay. Joss rummaged through the same cabinets and drawers I'd already searched, and I lingered by the windows, keeping watch. I spent as much time staring at the open window of the hotel as I did at the freaks on the other side of the square. They all seemed bored by the dying fire, but they didn't stray far from it. The plaza directly in front of our building remained clear.
The idea of exploring the hotel and our surroundings nagged at me, but I couldn't leave Joss and Stephanie alone for long. I chewed at my bottom lip as I stared off into nothing, lost in my planning.
"I can go." Joss said, breaking into my thoughts. I glanced over my shoulder, startled. I hadn't even heard him approach. My immediate reaction was to tell him no, but the calm, level look in his eyes gave me pause.
He continued, "You can protect her better than I can."
I wanted to argue. True or not, he had saved her more than once today, and I had failed. My thoughts were whirling when he grabbed his yellow-handled hatchet and looked at me expectantly. The seconds dragged out.
"Don't be gone long." I whispered, and in my head I heard, don't go at all, but I couldn't stop him. He had proved himself today, and I had to let him go. "Just get a look around and stay away from that hotel."
One corner of his mouth curved slightly, and he slipped out the door. A moment later, he was jogging across the plaza, away from the freaks at the bonfire. Stephanie left the security of her booth and joined me at the window. We both watched him as he scouted out the surrounding buildings, and then disappeared into the parking garage.
I let out a nervous, pent-up sigh and saw my emotions mirrored on Stephanie's face. It was a short scouting trip, and he would be back in no time, but I couldn't get the words out to reassure her. Instead, I sat at one of the tables against the window and kept watch.
Stephanie was not so bold. She sat down again, but at a table deeper in the café, away from the window. The thin pane of glass separating her from the outside world probably didn't seem to offer much protection to her. I could understand that.
"How are you feeling now?" I asked, unsure of what to say, and the silence was stretching out to awkward lengths.
"Tired." She replied almost absently. When she continued, her voice was uncertain. "He's very brave... So are you."
I eyed her carefully. I wondered if she was trying to compliment me or stating what she thought was fact. "It's easier being brave when you know they can't hurt us."
"No. I don't mean the red-eyes." She said. "Well, I guess them too, but I meant what you did back in Boulder."
"Oh." I didn't know how to respond. I didn't see what I had done as brave. "I just did what I needed to do to keep Joss and I together."
"When they found me, I wasn't brave." Her voice was low, and she was no longer looking at me. She was staring down at the table. "I was living in a school with one of the teachers and some classmates. We were all that was left, but we were doing okay. When Reed showed up, we didn't even think to fight."
Sadness flooded me at the sound of her flat voice. She was free now, but the scars she carried were even worse than what I had been through. There was nothing I could say that could possibly give her any comfort. I fumbled, and finally replied weakly, "You couldn't have known what was going to happen."
"No." Stephanie agreed. "I was scared, but I thought we would be safe. I just didn't want to die or become one of... them." She finally looked up to nod toward the milling freaks outside, and then fell silent.
I looked back to the window, watching for Joss as I spoke. "There are other people out there. Good people."
My thoughts turned to Sundown. If we could find another community of good people out here like them, then Stephanie would be safe. She could have her baby and raise it in peace.
And then what would Joss and I do?
I frowned and chewed on my bottom lip. What would Joss want to do once we found a safe place for Stephanie? Nothing good would come of staying with her. Before I could become mired in my new contemplation, Stephanie interrupted my thoughts, and I was glad of it.
"There were good people in Boulder, too." She said. "A lot of kids. I hope they're all okay."
"How many people were in there?" I asked, and Stephanie quickly started to rattle off names. I couldn't keep up. They all blurred in my head.
"I don't know how many girls were in the pits. Sometimes, once they went down there, I'd never see them again. Maybe they're still there. Maybe not. Probably not." Her eyes turned glossy, and she sniffled before she continued.
"My classmates tried to escape. I was too scared to go with them. When they didn't come back, Breck said the red-eyes got them, but I don't know. Mrs. Gracie, my teacher, went down in the pits the day after we got there, and I never saw her again."
Slim fingers flicked the tears from her cheeks, but her voice never broke. It remained flat and monotone as she went on. "Mick was the only one who ever touched me. He threatened to kill anyone else who did. I guess I was lucky for that much."
My gut twisted. What a horrible thing to consider luck, but I quickly realized the truth of it. Mick had managed to keep her out of Russell's hands and anyone else in the hotel that might have been worse. I couldn't stop the shiver that ran through me.
Stephanie sighed heavily, and then started again in a much lighter tone. "So, Joss says you guys are from Oklahoma."
I chuckled lightly but felt guilty shortly after when I caught the confused look she gave me. "Joss is from Oklahoma. I'm from Washington, D.C."
"Oh." Her brows furrowed together. "Are you brother and sister?"
"No. They just assumed." I shrugged. "Never felt the need to correct them."
Her head cocked to the side as she continued to stare at me uncertainly. "Are you even related?"
I smiled slightly and shook my head. "Not by blood, but he's all the family I have left."
Stephanie caught my meaning and nodded. "I understand. I miss my mom. I think about her every day, but it seems like it was so long ago. My memories are all fuzzy."
"I know. It's the same for me." I looked down at the table, my fingertips absently tracing the wood-grain pattern of the table top. Several moments passed in silence. When Stephanie spoke again, the quiver in her voice shocked me back to attentio
n.
"Uh... Ali?" Stephanie stood, standing so quickly her chair toppled behind her. She was pointing out the window. I leaped to my feet, instantly seeing what had startled her.
Joss was walking back to us slowly, both hands held high in the air. The girl I had seen at the window earlier was walking behind, a rifle pointed at his back. As I rushed out the door, Stephanie took my place at the glass, heedless now of the freaks that might see her.
"Everything's okay," Joss was already yelling before I'd made it outside. "She just wants to talk."
"Okay. Let's talk." I said, throwing my bare hands in the air in imitation of Joss. Panic was already pulsing through me. I could see more clearly now. She wasn’t as young as I’d thought, and her jaw was clenched in anger. A bad sign.
"Why are you here?" she said as the distance between us closed.
"We were just passing through." I tried to sound friendly, but my voice was taut with anxiety. "You really helped us out back there."
"I didn't do it to help you." She snapped, allowing Joss to continue walking toward me while she held her position.
My head shook in confusion. "Then why?"
There was a moment of silence before the girl lowered the rifle and pointed sharply at the café door with her other hand. "Her."
Stephanie?
Despite myself, I started to turn a look over my shoulder but managed to pull my attention back to her. I wanted to ask her why, but she was already talking again. "This is my home, and you're intruding. You came here uninvited and made one hell of a mess. What am I going to do when those bodies start stinking?"
"Sorry. I'm sorry." I stammered, completely caught off guard. "We didn't know anyone else was here." My hands were still up, and Joss was almost to me. The woman began to take slow steps backward toward her building.
The Phoenix Curse (Book 3): After Page 9