B. E. V. (11 page)

I was the last one up. As I wandered into the lab searching for everyone, Kat, Hank and Mr. Brennan sat at Doc's workbench eating cold cereal. They glanced up when I entered. Doctor Krumboton continued to shovel down his cornflakes.

"The zombie walks!" boomed Mr. Brennan. He wore a neat cast on his right forearm, the color was back in his face, and he acted as his old self. "Maybe now I can have some answers." He pointed at Kat and gave her a sorta frustrated nod. "This one keeps telling me to wait for you."

I scowled at Kat. My head hurt, I felt groggy, and didn't know what to say. Kat knew she was better at this thing than I was. She just didn't want to take the heat alone. I grabbed a coffee cup, stirred in some crystals, and flooded the whole thing with hot water, sugar and powdered creamer.

"Uh, well, it's this way, sir," I stammered as I stirred my coffee, "we kinda snuck up here one night –"

"I thought as much!"

"– and we met Doctor Krumboton –"

"I'm still trying to figure out who he is."

"—and the town was attacked," I finished. I took a sip of my coffee. "The rest you know."

Mr. Brennan appeared ready to explode. "I thought you kids understood you were not supposed to come up here by yourselves. This place is dangerous. Why you could have –" He stopped, his face purple, and exhaled deeply. "Teenagers!"

Kat and Hank were busy examining their cereal bowels. The doctor poked his head up at the mention of his name, confused by the ruckus, and returned to slurping his breakfast, dripping a glob on his chin. Mr. Brennan said to him, "You have been down here since the Greys attacked?"

The doctor glanced up, nodded politely, and wiped his mouth.

"Krumboton," Mr. Brennan repeated the name. "The only Krumboton I recall is a Russian Physicist who defected about twenty years ago. He was accused of –"

The doc picked up a glass of water, stirred some powdered orange juice into it and replied, "Oh, no – must be a different Krumboton. I'm a government employee —always have been." He took a long gulp of juice and returned to his bowl.

"Mr. Brennan, you said they might have my pop captive?" I asked. "Where would they take him for reorientation?"

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Black Morgan's main base is way west of here." He waved his hand. "Morgan City it's called. If your dad was not killed, and he wasn't at the prison camp with the rest of us, they would have brought him there." He sighed and said softly, "I know how you feel, Hunter, but there is nothing we can do for him now. He is lost."

I stared straight ahead and said nothing.

Kat reached out a hand and placed it on my forearm. "You'll live with us. We'll rebuild the farmhouse and everything. It'll be okay, you'll see."

I sat and thought about my pop, how he was always there for me, and what he'd do if things were reversed.

"NO!" I slammed my fist on the table and choked out, "He's my pop and I'm gonna find him." Tears ran down my cheeks, but I didn't care.

"Hunter, you will never forget him but –"

I didn't stay to hear more. I stood and walked into Bev's garage. Her hatch was still open. I sat in the opening and thought.

"What's the matter, soldier, lonely?" Bev's voice hovered by my ear.

"No, thinking."

"About what?"

"My pop," I said. Talking to her made me feel better somehow and I wanted to tell someone how I felt without being a baby. "He was taken by Black Morgan, and I want to rescue him. Everyone says it's impossible, I should forget about him, but I can't. He'd move Heaven and Earth if I was captured – I won't leave him to whatever Morgan's planning to do."

"Hey, you're my BFF right? Any pop of yours is a pop of mine," she replied stoutly, "and I won't let anyone take my pop! Let's go. I've wanted to try soda for a long time."

"Soda?" I said, confused. "What soda?"

"Your soda pop, aren't we talking about soft drinks? I've always wanted to taste one. Let's go – I'm ready."

"BEV!" I twisted around and shouted into the cabin, "I'm talking about my father, not some dumb drink!" She was so aggravating. "I want to rescue him."

"Oh – I thought you meant – well, yeah, let's do it, too. Maybe we'll find a soda on the way. I don't see what the problem is."

The more I sat and thought about saving Pop, the more reasonable it appeared. Bev and I would just leave and get him. I didn't need anyone else, and no one was around to tell me I couldn't.

I rushed back into the lab and said to Doctor Krumboton, "May I borrow Bev again, sir?"

He surfaced from his cereal and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Of course, but you have to ask her, remember?"

"It's settled," I said firmly to Kat and Mr. Brennan. "Bev and I will head west and find Pop."

"I'm leaving with you, then." Kat leaned over to me said, "You helped me rescue my dad; I'll help you find your pop."

"Now wait a minute, young lady," Mr. Brennan shouted. He rose from his chair and shook a finger at her. "I may not be able to stop Hunter, but I can certainly forbid you from running off on a suicide mission and getting yourself killed. You stay here!" He slammed his cereal spoon down for emphasis.

Kat swung to face her father. I've seen Kat become angry, but this time her face clouded up and
she
slammed her spoon down also. "I'm going, and you can't stop me!" she yelled back. "You can't watch me every minute of the day. If I have to, I'll sneak off and follow him!"

Mr. Brennan's face mirrored his shock. Before he could reply, Kat softened her tone and said, "Don't you see, Dad, I've got to do this – for Hunter, for us. If people don't start sticking together, the skels, scavengers, and Morgan have won, and Hunter is my friend, maybe more. I won't let him down."

I stared at her with amazement. What did she mean "maybe more?" We were friends, always had been, always would be.

Mr. Brennan's face burnt red, but you could tell he was thinking about what Kat said, because he drummed his fingers. At last, he exclaimed, "Okay, but I am going with you. End of argument."

Kat shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, but do you think it's a good idea?" She pointed to his arm. "You're kind of banged up, you might be more of a hindrance than a help."

"Kathleen," Mr. Brennan said quietly. "If you think I will allow you go running around the countryside with some
boy
in a crazy machine, you are sadly mistaken."

I bit back a remark about how she'd been running around with a
boy
for the last week, and the boy and crazy machine saved him, but I kept my mouth shut.

During this conversation, Hank was strangely silent, his eyes bugging out of his head, face chalky white. I followed his gaze, which locked on Doctor Krumboton's white skull. Two botic snakes had crawled up on top of the doc and curled around each other into a double halo. They stared across the table at Hank, their forked tongues flashing in and out reminding me of little flames.

"Hank? Hank! Are you coming with us?"

His eyes flickered to me. "I don't think so. If you don't mind, I'll stay in Paradise Cove and try to help out." His eyes drifted back to Doc's head in fascinated horror.

"It's okay," I assured him. I was being polite anyway, and didn't want him along, but I figured I'd ask. The way he was acting, he wouldn't be much help. I'd never realized he was the nervous type.

I began plotting in my mind what we'd need. I didn't have a clue. "Doctor Krumboton? Do you have anything such as guns or bombs we could borrow?"

Doc had listened with polite interest to our discussion, his eyes darting from face to face as we argued.

"Weapons?" His eyebrows rose in surprise. He reached up, took the two snakes off his head, and cuddled both in his lap. "Heaven's no! What would I do with weapons?"

"Well, you made Bev. I thought –"

"Oh, her." He laughed. "Yes, as you probably know by now, she is fully equipped. I thought you meant sitting around in my shop."

"She has lasers," Kat said, puzzled, "and machine guns, but we didn't see –"

"Did you ask?" the doctor countered. "If you do not ask, you will never know." He nodded to himself as if he'd settled some point and picked up the snakes. "We always follow this rule," he cooed to the two serpents. "Ask and it shall be given."

The snakes stared back and bobbed their heads.

Mr. Brennan asked, "What other weapons? I don't recall any turrets onboard."

"Oh, the usual kind," replied Doctor Krumboton with a flick of his hand. "Long range Tasers, high intensity lasers, rockets, artillery – those things. All the standard military gear, but you cannot see anything on the outside," he added proudly, "I designed her to be inconspicuous." He appeared smug. "I was a pacifist, you know, I did not believe in fighting when I built Bev. Besides, the government never included inventing new weapons in my job classification. They hired me for surveillance equipment and a battle evasive vehicle."

Kat was beaming. I said, "We'd better hurry if we're tracking down Pop. Doctor Krumboton, thanks for all your help."

Mr. Brennan said seriously, "I want to thank you for all you have done, too, Doctor. I don't know how we will ever repay you."

"Think nothing of it," the doctor replied with a flick of his wrist and a modest smile. "Glad to help out when I am needed."

"Well kids," said Mr. Brennan, "I guess we'll be on our way. He stood and shot a laugh at the doctor. "If your 'Bev' allows."

We drifted back into the hanger – Bev was as we'd left her. As we approached, she said, "Well, looky-looky who's coming. Remembered old friends, did we?"

"Sorry Bev, we stopped to eat, we're humans, you know. We feed ourselves sometimes." I glanced at Mr. Brennan, "The three of us had some things to work out too."

"I suppose so, you high maintenance types always need something or another," Bev grumped. "Probably be obsolete in a few years when the new models arrive." She sighed. "Oh, well, I deal with what I have. Did we make plans for today?"

"How about a ride," I said. "We found Kat's dad, but we still need to locate mine. Wanna lend us a hand? Might take a couple of days."

Bev didn't answer at once. I could see the little electrons zipping through her computer brain as she thought. "ROAD TRIP!" she shouted. "I've got snacks all packed. Let's go. We'll find our pop on the way, too, while we search for your dad."

"I take this to be a yes," Mr. Brennan beamed, "but what's this about pop?" He regarded me with raised eyebrows.

"Don't ask," I groaned. I said to Kat, "Anything here we need to take?"

She shook her head. "No. Everything we brought is still –"

"Wait." Doc Krumboton floated in, leading a troop of more bots. His flying ball circled his head as busy as a fly. "You still have to field test these." Just as some mad Pied Piper might do, he waved his creatures into Bev. "You too," he ordered the orb sternly. "If you survived last time you must have been slacking."

The globe shot forward, paused at Bev's hatch, and rushed back to him. Doc shooed it on as if herding a frightened chicken. "Oh, no you don't. Go, GO." He said in a whisper to us, "Actually, I am glad to get rid of the lot. They were creating such havoc in here I could not accomplish any work."

"Uh, thanks, Doc." I asked Hank, "We'll drop you off in town, okay?"

Hank shot a dubious glance inside the cargo bay — the bots marched around in circles causing a racket.

"Bev, settle them down," I ordered. The bots lined up in rows and fell silent. "Better?" I asked Hank.

"Uh, yeah, thanks," he replied, sliding in and strapping himself into one of the rear pilot couches. "Save me a walk, I'm glad for the ride." He peeked behind him at the mechanical animals glaring back. "I think."

The rest of us took our seats. "Okay, Bev. First stop is town."

"Can do, handsome," she sang back. "Oh, this is gonna be fun!"

 

 

The town hadn't changed much. The gate was still broken and unmanned, but the bodies had disappeared. Most of the fires were out, replaced by the smell of smoke, and the stench of rotting garbage filling the air. As we rolled in, Mr. Brennan and Hank surveyed the destruction in dismay.

"I did not realize it was this bad," Mr. Brennan breathed. "I only saw what happened in the dark."

Hank commented, "Jeez, they wrecked this joint."

Bev stopped and we piled out on the edge of what had been the business district in front of the bank. No one was around. I left her in stealth mode. "Don't go killing anyone, okay?" I added. "We'll be right back."

"Love me and leave me, huh?" she complained. "Is this the bad part of town? What if someone tries to abduct me? I'm quite a catch, you know."

"No one is gonna steal you." I checked the street. "Do you see anyone here? You'll be fine."

"Aw shucks," she replied in a melodramatic voice, "I was hoping to battle robbers, one against ten, my virtue and honor at stake."

"Yeah, right, Bev. Keep dreaming. If bandits come along and try to steal your virtue, go right ahead and defend yourself."

"Well, maybe I won't kill anyone, but if someone bothers me can I tickle them a little?" she said, trying to sound reasonable. "You know, an electric shock if they get too close – Buzzzz, in their rear?"

I thought about it. "Yeah, but only to keep people away, understand?" I hurried off to the others before she started in on me again.

Mr. Brennan, Hank, and Kat waited, staring up at the bombed-out buildings. We wandered along the street, peering into the broken store windows; broken glass was everywhere, making crunching noises beneath our feet.

A man in a soiled, grey business suit trudged up the road walking our way. As he grew closer, I recognized the mayor. When he saw who we were, he began a waddling run, his mouth arching up on his unshaven face.

"John, glad to see you've returned!" The mayor skidded to a stop out of breath and grabbed Mr. Brennan's hand. He pumped it vigorously while mopping the sweat off his face with a rag. "You've brought the children, too." He beamed at us as if we were three-year-olds. "It's coming together," he huffed, still wheezing. "Now we can start to rebuild." He measured the crumbled buildings with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Glad to see you, too, Mr. Mayor," replied Kat's dad, snatching his hand away and wiping it on his shirt, "but we're not staying, only Hank."

"Wa-wa-what?" The mayor flinched and his lips drooped. "You can't leave now. We need you – the town needs you. Who will start the machines working again?"

"What's not working?" Mr. Brennen pivoted in a slow circle, gesturing vaguely around him. "I know the buildings but –"

"The stores aren't it." The mayor rubbed his forehead and wiped his face again. "The electrical grid is down – no steam, water's not running. No sewage," he listed the broken utilities. "I cannot send messengers down river asking our people to return because nothing works. I tell you, John, the place is a mess – you can't leave," he blubbered. "What people remain are becoming ill and dying!"

"Who's sick?" Kat asked.

The mayor bowed his head solemnly. "Everyone, little girl – the water is polluted. Soon I'm afraid a typhoid epidemic will break out, and we will have real trouble."

Kat's face blanched. "People will die then, won't they?"

"Yes, they will," replied the mayor. He said to Mr. Brennan, "More of our noble citizens are deserting every day. I hear rumors they say the town is dead," he stopped and sniffled, "and if we do not act soon, it will be." The mayor studied us sadly, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes, trickling down his dirty cheeks, making tiny rivulets.

"Might get the water and sewage systems up and running," mused Mr. Brennen scratching his chin. "They have backup power packs," he touched his arm, "need someone to aid me with the bull work, though." He glanced at Kat and me, indecision written on his face.

"Dad, stay here," Kat said. "We can't help the town, but you can. These people need you." She said to Hank, "You'll lend my dad a hand, right? You'll be doing the city a favor, too."

"Yeah, sure." Hank said to Mr. Brennan, "If it's all right with you, sir."

For a moment, Mr. Brennan's face brightened. "Of course – we all must work together to solve this mess." He said to Kat and me with a deep sigh. "I can't convince you two to remain for a while?"

"I want to, Mr. Brennen," I said, "but I gotta learn what's happening to my pop. It might be too late as it is. Kat can stay if she—"

"I'm going with you."

I took a step closer to her, reached out, and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, Mr. Brennan, I won't let anything happen to Kat, I promise. Bev and I will make sure she's safe."

Kat threw her arms around her father in a tight hug. "It will be okay, Daddy. We'll be back soon." She spun and strode back up the street. I hurried after her.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah."

We walked to the bank, the empty shells of buildings leering down at us. "Hey Bev, open up, it's us," I shouted.

No answer.

Kat crept forward, waving her hands in front of her. "Bev? B-E-V! Where are you?"

We searched the whole area in front of the bank and crossed the street, doing the same on the other side.

"Nothing." Kat dropped her arms, lower lip sticking out, eyes narrowing as she scanned each vacant lot. She slumped to the curb and exclaimed, "
Where is she
?"

"I told her to stay here," I complained.

"Are you sure you told her not to move?" Kat said.

"Well. . ." What had I said? "I didn't exactly say to stay
here
." I pointed to the pavement. "I told her not to kill anyone, but she knew what I meant."

"Oh, great, why didn't you tell her not to go anywhere? You know how she is." Kat scuffed her foot and kicked a chunk of rock across the street. "She could be anywhere!" Next, she picked up a brick from the gutter and hurled it with all her strength. The block wobbled halfway across the road, and bounced next to the stone. "Where can she have wandered off to?"

"Dunno." I sat next to her, gazing around while trying to think. "If she'd driven our way we would'a heard her," I said at last. "Nobody stole her, you can bet your life for sure. Maybe she was bored and snuck off to the edge of town."

"Ooooh, I am so going to scold her," Kat muttered. "This is no time to start playing games."

"Ditto. Let's keep checking. She has to be somewhere."

We moved toward the edge of the village, yelling Bev's name and pausing to hear any reply. I kept searching for signs of her passing; Bev left a mighty big track – crushed vehicles, snapped trees, and broken dwellings, but the wreckage of the battle made everything a mess anyway.

We passed the ruins of the main gate. I was growing desperate. In my mind, I pictured us walking all the way to Morgan's headquarters alone, trying to drag Pop away with soldiers shooting. Worse yet, what if his men had come along and somehow captured her? Bev with us, not trying to harm anyone, was bad enough, but Bev with those scavengers? I shuddered at the thought of what she could do.

Kat stared at the empty road leading out of town in dismay. "Where the heck did she go?" she wailed.

A jumble of smashed woods and bushes about a quarter of a mile away caught my eye and I pointed. "I bet she's over there. Those wrecked trees have Bev written all over them. Let's check it out." I started hurrying as best I could, Kat running ahead of me, casting impatient glances behind when I slowed.

We reached the woods and I yelled, "Bev? Bev – are you here?"

I heard a rustling in the snapped branches.

"Bev – we've been searching all –"

Four men emerged.

Skels.

They were dirty and unkempt, wearing ripped clothes scavenged from some garbage heap. They smelled as if they hadn't taken a bath in a year.

"Well, see what we found," the leader exclaimed, "Little Raggedy-Ann and Andy."

"Don't seem much," declared another, drawing close and peering at us. His breath reeked. "Not even worth the time to strip." The two others circled behind to cut off our escape.

"Oh, I don't know," the first one replied, "might be fun to watch 'em scamper around in their tidy-whities. What do you think?" All four gave muted chuckles.

"Hey, don't get any ideas," I snapped back, trying to act as if I wasn't scared out of my wits. I took a step in front of Kat. "We start screaming and every man over there will be out hunting for us." I gestured back to the ruins of the town. "They've got guns – they'll shoot you."

The four paused. "Morgan's men don't leave no weapons," the leader spat out at last. "We've been tailing 'em in this direction for a month and haven't found a single rifle – good pickin's though," he added thoughtfully.

The second man said, "Yeah, and ya shouldn't take an attitude, sonny. We wasn't gonna hurt ya none." He stepped closer. I felt the others closing in from behind. "We're just lookin' for some new clothes, maybe a trinket or two. Right boys?"

Kat started taking off her sneakers. "Here." She tossed them over. "They won't fit, but maybe you can trade them for some which will." She slipped off her socks next. "I don't know what you'll do with these, but they're yours."

I bent over to untie my sneakers and felt hands grab my shoulders. "You can do better than those dirty shoes, buddy." Putrid breath flooded my nose. "Strip!"

One of the others wrapped his arms around Kat. "I bet we can have some fun with this one," he grunted. "Tell ya what, Red. Keep the clothes and we'll take ya along with us. You'll be our mascot. Sounds good, huh?"

Kat let out a short "Help!" before he clamped his hand across her mouth.

"Take your hands off'a those two, you scoundrels!" Branches cracked and trees flattened, leaving a huge "U" shaped depression in the middle.

"What the –"

Beams of light shot out from the center of the empty space, hitting the skels on their feet. They leaped backward, keeping us in front of them as shields, while little puffs of smoke appeared on the exposed parts of their shirts. The men dropped us, howled, and swatted at the flames appearing on their clothes. They finally bolted; pinpoints of red lighting up their pants, as the skels tripped over each other in their rush to scramble out of range.

A shimmering ruffled the space between the fallen trees and our wayward friend appeared.

"Bev!" Kat ran up and threw herself on the nose of Bev in a hug. "You naughty girl," she exclaimed, "You had us so worried. We thought we'd lost you."

"Ain't none of those varmints gonna hurt my friends," Bev declared stoutly. "I showed those four."

I picked up Kat's shoes and socks and walked over to Bev. "We wouldn't have this trouble if you'd stayed put." I handed Kat back her footwear. "Where've you been?"

"I was bored," complained Bev, with a whine. "You guys took so long – I figured I'd take a walk." She added in her little girl voice, "Am I bad?"

"Yes, you were bad," I scolded. "We might have got ourselves killed. What if they'd been scavengers instead of skels?"

"Waaaa!"

"Hunter!" I swear Kat's eyes shot knives at me. "Now see what you've done." She said to Bev, "You're not bad, Bev. Hunter was being mean, just don't wander off again. Okay?"

"I-I promise," she sniffed. "This has been a bad day. It's the worse day of my life!"

"Hunter was afraid you'd been kidnapped, too, or hurt." Kat nodded vigorously to me and mouthed the words,
say something nice, will you.
"Weren't you?"

"Oh, yeah," I said quickly. "I meant to say, I was afraid you'd been stolen."

"Thanks, you guys are so sweet." She paused and asked in a meek voice, "Would you mind if I erased this memory, or at least filed it away in spam?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," I said.

"But remember you're not supposed to wander away," put in Kat.

"And you found a neat way to save Kat," I said. "Remember, guard Kat."

"And Hunter," Kat added, "Defend both of us, okay?"

"Sure, guys, I'd protect you anyway. You're my BFFs, right?" She fell silent, and then said, "Hi, what's up?"

"Open your hatch and let us in," I said in a tired voice, "we've wasted half the day searching for you. Let's not stand here talking."

We got in.

"Which way?" Bev said. Her front waved back and forth imitating a confused caterpillar.

"Everybody been appearing from the west," Kat said. "Didn't those skels say they followed Morgan's men for a month?"

"Yeah," I said darkly, "probably every skel and scavenger for a hundred miles is trailing them by now, picking through the pieces, targeting us. People keep saying Morgan City is the same way, too. Head west," I decided, "but stay to the north to avoid strangers."

"West it is, boss." Bev had reverted to her old chipper self, the last few minutes forgotten. She swung in a semi-circle and headed off.

****

We stopped in the evening beside a small stream and made camp. I would have let Bev continue driving through the night, but was afraid she'd get distracted and we'd wind up in the ocean. As the sky grew dark, and the stars twinkled above, the Greys' eye-in-the-sky passed overhead.

"We're being watched." I pointed upward. "Still there."

Kat tracked its slow progress across the heavens. "Yeah. It never goes away, does it?" She shook her head and stared at the fire. "They sure messed up this planet."

"Not according to Doc," I reminded her, "but even with New York and New Orleans going under, and Florida disappearing, I bet we could'a kept things together and rebuilt. We did when California broke off from the continent – remember? We read about it in history."

"Do you think your dad is still alive?" Kat asked suddenly.

The same thought was in the back of my mind all day. I put on a brave face and said, "Who, Pop? You couldn't kill him with a sledgehammer," I joked. "He survived the Canadian War right, didn't he? So did your dad. This can't be any worse than what they went through."

"What will we do when we find Morgan City?" Kat asked. In the firelight, her face filled with shadows. "Walk in as you did at the army camp of his and pretend you belong there?"

I shook my head and threw more sticks on the fire. "I don't think so. They were disorganized, and no one knew anybody else." I watched the sparks drift into the sky and mingle with the stars. "Morgan City is probably well guarded. I can't march in and pass myself off as one of his men."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know."

The next morning we climbed into hills following an old road, which twisted its way into the mountains. By the end of an hour I was so confused about where we were going, I almost decided to turn around.

When I asked Bev if she knew our location, she replied, "Not to worry, handsome, my map may be twenty years old, but it says right here construction will be completed –"

I groaned.

The going was slow and in some places, rockslides blocked the way and someone moved enough for a single vehicle to squeeze through. Even so, we were lucky we didn't meet anyone driving the other way, because we crept from one side of this miserable excuse for a highway to the other. The pavement heaved up from the snow and rain, pot marking the surface with holes; every time we hit one, Bev would yell, "Ouch! Son-of-a—! Why doesn't someone fix these things!"

"Just take it easy, Bev, will ya?" I advised. We had a mountain on one side, and a hundred foot drop-off on the other. "You keep trying to dodge those ruts and we're gonna find ourselves in freefall."

"Bev will be careful, won't you honey." Kat patted the instrument board and crossed her fingers. Rocks tumbled down from the slope above. Kat let out a wild squeak and grabbed the control panel until her hands were white and face pinched.

"Cautious Lisa is my name, tightrope walking is my game," quoted Bev. She hit a rut and her end tipped over the drop-off. "I've never lost a passenger yet."

"Let's not start," I muttered. Tension in my back and neck was killing me, blood pounded in my temple from gritting my teeth.

"Hunter, do you see what I see!" We topped the mountain highway. An access road led off the main path into a hollow on the other side. "Let's stop here and take a break," Kat suggested. "I think all of us need a chance to unwind."

"Sounds good," I agreed. "I want to stretch my legs anyway and catch my breath. Bev, rest time."

The access road was even bumpier and narrower than the main road, not paved at all. Instead, traces of gravel once lined the surface. More hazardous drop-offs flanked us on both edges. As we crunched along, rocks cascaded away to disappear into the tops of trees, poking up on either side. This was worse than driving on the main road and I would never have agreed to attempt this killer path if I'd known.

Kat's fingers tried hard to dig themselves into the armrest of her couch, and my heart pounded in my chest until we hit the flat. Bev kept rolling until we settled at a wide even swath of grass, which once was a rest area or turnaround for ground vehicles.

"There's a village," Kat exclaimed. A few dilapidated buildings peeked out from the bend of a dirt path, "and the place isn't wrecked. Maybe people live here and they'll give us directions to Morgan City."

Bev opened her hatch and we stepped out.

"Should we put Bev back in stealth mode?" Kat breathed as she stretched and touched her toes. "We don't want to scare anyone."

"Too late," I said, gesturing down the road. "We've got a reception committee – people coming."

A group of men and older boys trooped along the path and fanned out into a scrimmage line. They carried guns.

Big guns.

"What do we do?" Kat whispered.

"Stay calm. Their weapons can't hurt Bev. They're being cautious," I hoped they were being cautious. I said to Bev, "Keep us covered."

I strolled forward, raising my hands in the air. "Hi! My name's Hunter, this is Kat," I yelled. "We just pulled off the road to take a break and stretch our legs. Hope you don't mind."

They were dressed in overalls, many barefooted. I expected to hear banjo music playing in the background. They eyed us with suspicion and a tall man with a busy beard spoke up. "We don't hanker to foreigners in these parts, son." He kept a shotgun leveled at us.

"Sorry, I didn't know. If you want, we'll leave – didn't mean to bother you." I lowered my hands slightly, took Kat's arm, and whispered, "Let's get out of here."

"Didn't mean to scare ya none, son," the man called back. "You have anyone else in this contraption of yours?" He squinted and peered at Bev. "What in tarnation is this vehicle, anyway? Why ain't you home with yer parents?" His shotgun pointed toward the ground.

"I'm searching for my pop," I shouted. "He was captured by Black Morgan. We're trying to find him and get him back."

"Yer pa, huh?" The villagers whispered among themselves. The spokesman for the group nodded slightly to the others. They lowered their weapons. "A party of Morgan's men came yonder a couple of days ago heading west along the main road. Might have been yer pa was with them. They had a lot of prisoners." A mutter of agreement rose from the others.

"Gee, thanks for the info," I said and dropped my arms. Kat lowered hers with a sigh of relief. "Do you mind if we get some water, stretch our legs?" I asked. "We've been riding for hours."

The leader pursed his lips and nodded. "I reckon it won't hurt. We're First Creed here, usually don't let anyone in unless they take the oath, but ya be harmless enough –." He tucked his shotgun under his arm. "Expect ya can come in and rest a spell; maybe find ya some vittles." He strode forward. "My name's Jeb." He extended his hand.

I took it. "I'm Hunter, this is Kat," I said. The others crowded around, giving names I didn't catch as we walked along the path toward the village.

The houses reminded me of oversized chicken coops, and the chickens running around didn't help the picture any. Jeb led us to one of the larger shacks with a dirt front yard, where a rocking chair and old couch, with its stuffing poking out, rested on the front porch.

"Set." Jeb waved his gun at the couch.

The balance of our escort wandered off, two of the older boys separated from the others and sat with us. Three little girls tumbled out of the house and stared at us wide-eyed.

"Be right back," Jeb said. He entered the shack leaving us with the kids.

One of the boys leaned forward and asked "Where ya from – the big city?"

"Uh, a place called Paradise Cove, but it's not much of a city." I replied.

Kat beamed at the girls. "What's your names?"

The oldest of the three, maybe ten years old said, "My name's Reanna. You're pretty." The other girls giggled.

Jeb returned carrying two glasses of water and handed them to us. "Fresh from the pump," he said, "Told Mama we got two more fer supper." He settled in the rocking chair with his gun across his lap. A troubled expression crossed his face as he appraised us and then he said, "You two young'un running all over the country in your vehicle by yourselves. Yer married, ain't ya?"

"Huh?" I took a quick glance at Kat. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "No, we're friends, nothing more."

Jeb shook his head. "T'aint right, young'uns living in sin." He paused and slapped his knees. "No helpin' it, I guess. We'll have to marry you two." He stood and walked back into the house.

"Huh?
Wait.
" It was too late; he'd disappeared again. I said to Kat, "What the heck is happening?"

Kat shook her head, worried, "I don't know."

The oldest boy laughed at us and said, "Yer gonna get hitched." He bent close to the other kid and whispered something in his ear. They both laughed.

The three girls shouted, "Ya'll gonna have a wedding – wait right here!" and scampered off. They returned carrying flowers. Reanna tied a string around the stems of a bunch and presented it to Kat. "Here, ya'll need this." One of the other girls pushed a daisy into Kat's hair.

The oldest boy stood. "You'll be needen a best man, too." He strolled over to me carrying his gun and waved us up. "You two stand right here." He gestured to the steps of the front porch. "Pa will be right out."

Kat rose, giggling hilariously, and faced the door. She waved at me. "Hurry up, Hunter."

Events were moving too fast. One moment I was sitting, drinking water, the next . . . "Now wait a minute," I said, putting my glass down and standing. Happy faces surrounded me. I stared back in horror. "I don't know what's going on but –"

Kat took my hand. "Oh, Hunter, I'm sure it's a joke, don't be so serious."

Jeb walked out carrying a worn leather-bound book. "I see ya'll ready, huh?" he said with a smirk and nod of his head. "You two must be eager, I reckon." He opened the book, thumbed a few pages, and began to read:

"A boy shall leave his father, and a girl shall leave her parents. The children shall be joined, so they will not stray through life, but be faithful to one and other in their old age. So Mote it be!"

Jeb shouted the last words and slammed his book. "There, yer'll married now," he stated in satisfaction.

"But I –"

Jeb nodded his head toward Kat. "Well, don't stand there, son, kiss her." He pointed to Kat who was red in the face from laughing so hard. "She's yer bride."

"Go ahead, Hunter, you heard the man." Kat stood on her toes and threw her arms around my neck.

I sorta put my hands on her hips and whispered in her ear, "You know this doesn't mean anything, don't you?"

Kat murmured back, her eyes twinkling, "Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, Hunter. This is our wedding day."

I puckered my lips and closed my eyes, meaning to give her a quick peck and get it over with in a hurry. Kat transformed it into a much longer kiss, and when I opened my eyes, I saw her gazing at me. I jerked my head away in confusion.

Jeb's family was clapping. The girls shouted at Kat, "Throw the bouquet!"

"All right, here we go," yelled Kat. She spun around while the girls ran into the yard. "One – Two –
Three
." She heaved the flowers over her shoulder.

Jeb placed his arm around my back and guided me out into the yard. He gestured down the street. "Now you're all married we're gonna have to find a place to build yer house." He pointed to the last chicken coop where a man in overalls and a woman stood. They waved. He waved back. "Right down thar next to Uncle Bob would be fine, got lots of room for the babies to run around in."

This was becoming stupider by the moment, and I didn't enjoy the direction things were heading. "Jeb, I'd want to," I stuttered, "but as I told you, I gotta rescue my pop."

"Can't leave now, son, yer First Creeders, you were married by his book." Jeb replied. "Don't worry. I know what yer wondering, us being strangers and all—"

"But we're –"

"Ya don't have to thank me, son," he said, patting my shoulder. "Tomorrow we'll start on yer house and you'll feel right at home – ya can spend the night with me and the family."

We passed crazy, and I didn't intent to stick around. "Ah, yeah, sure, Zeb. I, er, we'd better get our stuff out of my truck," I said, hoping he'd let us go back to Bev, "if we're gonna stay."

I rose on my toes, searching for Kat. A group of girls and women, who had emerged from the other chicken coops, surrounded her, jabbering away.

"Kat!" I waved. She glanced around and waved back. I hurried over and took her by the elbow. "We'll be right back, folks," I called out, dragging her toward Bev, "wanna be alone with my honey for a minute and fetch our stuff – be a few minutes." I walked her down the path.

"Hey, what's the matter?" exclaimed Kat as I pulled her along. "I thought we were having fun?"

"Yeah, some fun," I said. "They want us to stay and start building a house tomorrow. We're First Creeders now, or something." We entered the turnaround with Bev waiting, and I nodded back to the chicken coops. "You want to stick here for the rest of your life, live in one of those, and make babies?"

She opened her eyes wide and said in alarm, "Oh, my no. I didn't think –"

"Hey, wait up, ya'll!" Jeb and the others hurried behind us. "We'll lend ya a hand with your things."

"Mighty friendly of ya," Bev's voice boomed into the turnaround. "Neighborly, real country folks."

The quills of a startled porcupine wouldn't have popped up faster than those gun barrels.

"Who's there?" Zeb and the others stared suspiciously around the clearing.

"Oh, this is Bev," Kat said, pointing behind us. "She won't hurt you, she's trying to be friendly."

"This gizmo talked?" Zeb gestured with the muzzle of his shotgun. "Ya'll better git back into your creation of Satan and leave. We don't cotton to no spirits in these parts." He made a sign between us, pinky and index finger out making horns, and backed away.

"But –"

"GIT!"

He raised his shotgun and let out a blast. Kat and I dove back into Bev, accompanied by another shot in the air.