I laid my hand on his gently. “Just let it go,” I told him. “I can take care of myself. And like I said, I’m fine.”
“You’re leaving,” he pointed out. “That doesn’t say ‘fine’ to me.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” I told him. “My place was not ready for winter. I’m cold and I’m running low on food. It’s time to quit being such a loner and join a pack … I’ll have more than just Roomie to watch my back.”
Rivers turned his hand over to clasp mine tightly and looked into my eyes. “Come with me,” he said earnestly. “I can look out for you.”
I shook my head. “You can’t be with me every minute,” I pointed out gently. “And you know that Eddie and his buddies would not just cheerfully accept me into the pack. Not after Eddie got torn up and Dirty Jin died. It wouldn’t be safe for me there.”
Rivers’ shoulders slumped. “I know,” he admitted. “You’re right. Otherwise I would have tried to convince you to come back with me weeks ago.”
“And you still can’t leave?” I asked hopefully. “You could come with me. With two we might not even need a pack; we could watch out for each other.”
“I can’t,” Rivers said sadly. “I’m the one who makes sure that no one goes hungry and that the pack stays safe. I have responsibilities, and I can’t just leave. Eddie and his friends are the minority; most of our pack members are good people. They need me.”
I was disappointed but not surprised. I knew that Rivers felt very responsible for his pack. I’d never really expected him to be willing to leave. I sighed.
“I know. I understand. I’m going to go looking for Sharra. I talked to Leeza a while back, and she was able to tell me Sharra’s general neighborhood is north and east of here; but she doesn’t know which pack Sharra joined. At least I have a starting point, so I figure if I head northeast I’ll eventually run into someone who can tell me where to find Sharra. The blue and pink hair is memorable. Someone is sure to recognize the description.”
Rivers nodded. “It’s a good strategy,” he agreed. He let go of my hand to point at a road that split off Kalamath circle to the north.
“Follow that road,” he told me. “It runs northeast through Wolf territory, and it’s a pretty safe area. Follow it until you hit a guard checkpoint for Liberty territory. It’s just a couple of guys on mag-lev bikes, but they’re pretty cautious in Liberty. They have a lot more elders, kids, and general noncombatant types than most packs and they’re very protective of them. Let them know I sent you that way; they’ll recognize my name. Just tell them who you’re looking for. If they don’t know her, they should be willing to give you directions and an introduction to the next pack.”
“Liberty is Mat’s pack, right?” I asked.
“Right. He never said anything about recognizing your description of your friend, did he?”
“He said he didn’t, but I think maybe he was lying,” I admitted. “I didn’t push. It seemed too much like asking a favor and I didn’t want to owe him anything, I guess.”
Rivers bit his lip. “I’m kind of worried that Sharra is Liberty Pack,” he confessed. “From everything you’ve said, it sounds like she was well-funded and very well-connected. Those are definitely words that describe Liberty. They’re the biggest and most successful pack. What are you going to do if you find Sharra and she’s in Mateo’s pack?”
“I’m going to ignore Mateo and watch my back,” I assured him. “That’s pretty much my plan no matter which pack I connect with. And on that note…” I got to my feet, careful not to jostle Roomie too much. “The day is moving quickly. I’d better get going.”
Rivers stood as well and walked over to the bike with me. After I climbed onto the bike he leaned in and brushed a light kiss onto my cheek. It wasn’t the kiss we’d almost had earlier, but Roomie had thoroughly broken the mood for that one.
Rivers took the helmet from the handlebars and gently settled it onto my head. “Be careful,” he told me seriously. “Even the safe areas have some iffy spots.”
“I will,” I assured him. “I’ll try to come back to the circle in three days to check in, okay? To let you know where I end up.”
He squeezed my hand on the bike’s grip, and then stepped back. “See ya later, Little Bit,” he told me softly.
“Later, Laughing Boy,” I agreed with a smile. I started the bike and raised my hand in a wave as the bike’s magnets grabbed the rail and started pulling me away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I followed the road Rivers had indicated. It was slow going as it wound through cluttered neighborhoods and decimated business districts. I had to detour from the main road more than a few times when the street was impassable; sometimes I had to go several blocks out of my way before I could find a way to get back to the road I needed.
My growling stomach told me it was well past lunchtime when I came to the remains of an enormous building of some kind that completely blocked my way. The wreckage stretched so far that I was afraid I would lose my way completely if I tried to go around. I decided to take a break while I considered my options.
I climbed off the bike with a wince. My backside and legs felt stiff and sore after riding for so long, but the discomfort eased quickly once I moved around a little. I set my backpack on the ground with the flap open so Roomie could climb out. He wandered off for a minute to find a place to relieve himself; I did the same.
Another of the small streams that were so common in this city ran alongside the road; it looked clean, if a little gritty. I cleaned my hands in the stream and discovered that the water was so cold it made my fingers tingle.
I retrieved the little bowl from my backpack and got myself a drink. I could taste a little silt in the water, but I was thirsty enough to not complain. Roomie didn’t seem bothered either and lapped up the water thirstily.
When we’d both drunk our fill, I pulled out the last of our food supplies. Roomie had obligingly left the remaining rat alone overnight, so I was able to share it with him now. Cold and greasy rat meat was not exactly appetizing, but it did ease the gnawing hunger. A little looking around the edges of the stream produced a handful of dandelion greens to accompany the meal. I offered some of the dandelion greens to Roomie, but he just stared at me disdainfully and turned his nose up at them. Looking at the wilted leaves, curled and browning at the edges, I couldn’t blame him; but knowing I needed the fuel, I shoved the greens into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed as quickly as I could and went back to the stream to rinse the lingering bitter taste from my mouth.
Bio needs taken care of, I returned my attention to the problem of how to get past the fallen building, I studied the area before me, hoping to spot a path around the jumbled wreckage. Unfortunately, the rubble stretched as far as I could see in both directions. I didn’t want to move so far off my route, so it appeared that my only choice was to find my way through the remains of the building.
Roomie had already settled himself back into the backpack. My shoulders ached from carrying the big cat, so I decided not to wear the backpack for the moment. Instead, I picked up the bag and twisted the straps around the handlebars to fasten it securely to the bike. Roomie didn’t appear to care; he was probably already sleeping, enjoying his relaxing trip through the city.
The ground was not clear enough to ride, so I grasped the bike by the handlebars and pushed it instead. Ahead of me, a large sign had fallen from the building to lie across the stream and form a bridge. I read the sign as I rolled the bike across the water and learned that the building had once been a hotel and convention center which accounted for its size.
To find my way through, I had to carefully look for the clearest path and then remove enough obstacles to make the route passable. It seemed that every inch of progress was a struggle. I was sweating and breathing hard by the time I had muscled the bike over a pile of lumber and shingles that seemed to be the remains of the roof in one area and wound my way through half-standing walls in another
.
Bizarrely, at one point I encountered a mountain of tangled metal and plastic piled higher than my head and covering most of a city block. I cocked my head to the side, wondering if looking at it from a different perspective would cause the strange sight to make more sense. After several long minutes of study, I realized that the strange heap was made up of hundreds of chairs jumbled together and piled high, then rusted into place with the passage of time.
It looked as if one of the floods that had hit this area had swept through the building, bringing down walls, destroying rooms, and collecting the chairs that must have been set out in preparation for some large event. Now all those chairs had fused into an odd sort of sculpture. Strange.
I moved on, continuing to pick my way through the detritus of the ruined building. After a long, hard trek, I finally reached the other side of the debris field and found a clear rail. I rolled the bike over to the exposed rail and wearily climbed on.
Clicking on to the rail, I headed north again, hoping that I was still on the right path. Nighttime fell early in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, and it was already starting to get dark. If I didn’t find the border soon, I would have to make camp somewhere here in Wolf territory.
Five minutes later I learned that I was indeed on the right track when my progress was blocked by two men on bikes that looked a lot like mine. My heart jumped in my chest with nerves, hoping that these were decent Liberty pack guards rather than gangers from MS-13 or unaffiliated Roamers, who could be dangerous. Of course, I supposed I myself would currently be categorized as an unaffiliated Roamer, so I really shouldn’t judge.
I came to a stop, as they obviously intended, but stayed on guard and ready to take off again at a moment’s notice.
“You need to turn back, Miss,” one of the men said sternly. “This is Liberty territory, and no trespassing is allowed.”
Relieved to learn that I found my way to Liberty territory, I pulled off my helmet so I could talk more easily and gave them a wide, sunny smile. My years in the political realm meant that I was used to dealing with suspicious or unfriendly people and turning their attitude around. After so much time alone lately, my skills felt a little rusty, but I did my best to exude a non-threatening, trustworthy vibe. The dimples helped; who could distrust a girl with dimples?
I could see the defenses start to fall immediately. I had gone from an unknown, possible threat in a faceless visor, to a small girl with a big smile. The man on the left was a tall, broad-shouldered blonde with a short military-style haircut. He relaxed his stance a little and smiled back at me.
Continuing with the sweet, girly persona, I blew out an explosive breath of relief and exclaimed, “Oh good! I’ve been looking for you guys!”
“For us?” the second man asked, a little confused. He was tall also, but lean where his partner was muscular. His hair was an explosion of tight brown curls standing out from his head for several inches in every direction, and his skin was darkly tanned from plenty of time outdoors. Physically the two men were completely unalike, but the way they stood, moved, and reacted similarly told me that they were well-trained and disciplined. It might take a little work to convince them to let me through.
I turned my high-wattage smile on him and maybe batted my eyelashes, just a little. “Well, not for you specifically, of course. I didn’t know you would be here. But I was looking for someone from Liberty pack. My friend Rivers from Wolf pack sent me this way to find you. He thought you would be able to help me find someone.”
Both men looked bewildered at the flood of words tumbling from my mouth, but they had both relaxed now. Neither of them viewed me as a threat anymore, which was the first step in getting them to let me pass through their territory. I kept talking before they could gather themselves to interrupt.
“I’m looking for another friend of mine; her name is Sharra. She’s four or five inches taller than me and pretty skinny. And when I saw her last she had bright blue hair with a couple of pink streaks.”
I saw surprised recognition in both their eyes. They knew who I was talking about. But there was suspicion, too. They weren’t going to help me find Sharra without a little convincing that I was not trying to cause trouble. The dark-haired man gave the tiniest glance to the right, making me think there just might be someone else back there. I raised my voice just a little to be sure that everyone could hear me clearly.
“Sharra and I met in Goodland a few months … no … Cha! It has to be more like six months ago now! She helped me out of a jam and brought me back to Denver with her. But as we were headed to her home base we got ambushed by Eddie the Dandelion Man. We both got away okay, but we got separated.
“Eddie the Dandelion Man?” the blonde guard asked, obviously amused.
I laughed. “A little habit of mine,” I admitted. “I tend to assign nicknames to people based on something I notice about them. Eddie has all that fuzzy hair and a crazy beard standing out all around his face; it made me think of a dandelion gone to seed.”
A deep laugh echoed through the canyons formed by the battered buildings and piles of rubble surrounding us. A mountain of a man stepped out of the shadows, just where I’d suspected someone might be waiting. He walked toward us, still chuckling. His teeth were a bright flash of white in the deep chocolate of his face, and his shaved head gleamed in the small bit of sunset light that made it to street level.
He spoke, his voice a bass rumble deep in his massive chest. “A dandelion gone to seed; that’s about the best description of Eddie that I’ve ever heard.”
He looked me over with shrewd, dark eyes before nodding in satisfaction.
“Short redhead with blue designs all over her face … you must be Poppy?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “You know Sharra!”
“I do. She told me all about making a new friend in Goodland back in May and then losing you when the two of you were ambushed. She came back to base and took a rescue party back to find you, but there was no sign of you by the time we got there. We knew you were okay at that point because there were enough witnesses to the whole thing that I think everyone in Denver has heard the story of how you let Eddie beat himself up and then fed him to a Shadow.”
He grinned, “Sharra was pretty proud of you for that one. Since we knew you’d kicked loose of Wolf pack we had patrols watching for you, hoping to bring you in to base, but no luck. After all this time, we’d started to think … well, that bad things had happened. Where have you been hiding?”
“Not hiding, really. There just wasn’t anyone much around to see me. After I got away from Eddie’s crew I managed to get myself pretty thoroughly lost. I ended up way south and west of here in an area that’s pretty much deserted.
“I found myself a safe place to hole up. Just for a day or so, you know, until I figured out how to track down Sharra. Then I got poisoned by some carnivorous vines.” I held up my left arm with its long red scar as demonstration. I could tell from the look their faces that they knew the plants I was talking about.
“Nasty things,” the big man agreed. “We call them creepers. We try to burn them out whenever we can because they’re pretty toxic. It looks like the creeper got you pretty good; you’re lucky you survived.”
“It took a while to recover,” I admitted. “By the time I finally felt better I’d pretty much settled in to my little place and felt safe there. I decided to stay there on my own and take some time to get my feet under me.”
I met his gaze squarely, and if my knees weakened just a little when I started into his gorgeous, deep brown eyes - well, that was no one’s business but my own.
“Since you know Sharra,” I said, “then you may know that I have had some fairly major life changes recently.” He nodded, and I could see in his face that Sharra had told him exactly who I was and why I had run to Denver.
“I’m aware,” he confirmed briefly.
“Well then, I’m sure you understand that I felt like being alone for a while.”
&nb
sp; He folded his arms over his wide chest. I was distracted by those arms for a minute, wondering if I could manage to circle one of those massive biceps even with both hands. I was pretty sure I couldn’t manage it. I realized he was speaking and pulled my attention back to his words in time to hear him ask,
“What brings you looking for Sharra now?”
I answered honestly. “It’s cold. I managed okay during the summer, but for winter,” I shook my head, “I’m just not equipped.”
He looked at me searchingly for a moment and then nodded. “Reasonable enough,” he agreed. “I can’t blame you for looking for someplace warm and safe.”
He held out his hand, and I shook it warmly, feeling a little thrill as our hands touched. “So you know I’m Poppy,” I said. “I’m going to make a wild guess that you are Lucas?”
“I am.”
“So why is the pack leader hanging out in an abandoned building on the edge of your territory? Just hoping to run into me?”
He laughed and gestured to a mag-lev bike sitting in the road behind him. “I like to make the loop through our territory once a month or so to see for myself how things are going. I was just about to head back home when you drove up. So just a happy coincidence I was here, I guess, since these guys would have sent for me to come talk to you anyway once they realized who you were.
“So, you want to follow me back to base? I’ll take you to Sharra.”
Everything I’d heard about the leader of Liberty pack told me Lucas was trustworthy, so I didn’t hesitate to go with him. I slung my leg over the bike and reached to turn it on when a thought struck me.
“Wait, Mateo is in your pack, right? Did he ever say anything to Sharra about knowing me? I mean, he knew I was looking for her.”
Lucas raised one eyebrow, a skill I wished I had. “You’re friends with Mateo?” he asked.
“I know him,” I clarified. “I wouldn’t say we’re friends.”
“And why is that?” Lucas asked. I hesitated for a moment, but decided to keep silent. With no proof of Mateo’s behavior, I didn’t want to start a match of “he said/she said” before I’d even set foot inside pack headquarters. I was going to do just as I’d told Rivers and ignore Mateo as much as possible.
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