The Killin' Fields (Alexa's Travels Book 2) (11 page)

Standing in front of the barn, Merrik ignored his men and concentrated. What was she doing? What did she hope to gain by drawing them out? Weakening their numbers? To get their supplies? Maybe for Brian. She’d shown too much interest in the kid, as if she knew they were holding onto him for someone.

“Get that damn wagon ready!” he bellowed.

The soldiers rushed to comply but with the covers on, none of them noticed that two of the wooden vehicles now had occupants.

6

Edward grabbed Paul by his jacket and jerked him forward until they were nose to nose. “Don’t ever do anything like that again!”

Paul squirmed, trying to get free, and Edward gave him a harsh shake, being careful not to rock the wagon. “Well?!”

Paul’s head bobbed furiously. He pulled away as Edward let go, falling into the side of a stack of boxes.

The boxes slid over, jarring the wagon.

Edward’s hand went to his gun as he glanced toward the driver’s seat.

The eyes staring at him were not a comfort.

The driver of their wagon was at least sixty, with grizzled features set into a gray and black beard full of wild curls. His oversized hat blended into the cover of the wagon perfectly as he glared at the stowaways.

Edward slowly held up a hand, and then moved it toward his pocket. He pulled a pouch of dust free and held it out. “I have coins if you’d rather.”

The driver grunted, still studying them. “What are you buying?”

“A ride, nothing more,” Edward bargained.

“And will I be shot in the back or hit by accident?”

Edward’s voice was a cold copy of Alexa’s. “Not by mine. We’re better than both of those.”

Edward held out the pouch, hoping the driver would make the right choice. Behind him, Mark was doing the same.

The driver of wagon One looked at Edward’s pouch for a long moment. “I didn’t see anything, hear anything, I don’t get killed?”

Edward nodded. “Agreed, but no man can speak for fate. You understand?”

The driver appeared to accept that and turned around to spit. He didn’t look back for a long time. When he did, the pouch was on the edge of the wagon bed and Edward’s hand was on his gun.

“Don’t steal anything. Keep your pay and owe me something later.”

Edward didn’t like owing a debt, but didn’t feel he had a right to argue. “Done.”

Paul grabbed the pouch and spent a minute examining the powder inside before handing it back to Edward.

Edward allowed it, hoping he wasn’t the one who ended up killing the scientist. He didn’t want to be on Alexa’s bad side, but as sure as his skills were guns and horses, Paul wouldn’t be alive by the end of this trip.

Instead of more argument, Paul rested his head against the boxes and tried to consider his options. He needed a way to prove to Alexa that he belonged at her side. There was a way, he knew. It would involve saving one of her beloved pets, but even that wasn’t too much to ask in return for what he wanted.

Edward peered through the cover to wagon Two and found Alexa’s hand giving the all clear signal. Her driver was snoozing and the Edward settled into a thickly packed corner next to Paul. He used his hands to position the scientist so that he wouldn’t be seen and ordered him to get to sleep.

Paul did it eagerly, worn out. He couldn’t wait for this day to be over and it wasn’t even noon yet!

Edward leaned his head against the wagon, exchanging looks with Mark and Daniel. It was a stunning moment that only they understood. One day of living on the edge like this with Alexa was worth years of their old lives. They’d never quit this quest.

Small Favors

1

The travelers were jolted from their drowsy boredom by a rear man, Private Peters, calling a halt and Merrik refusing the order. Those inside the wagons listened in anger.

“We are not stopping.”

“But their horse is injured. They’ll fall behind.”

“Not my problem. They’re not on my list.”

“What list?”

“Those who matter and those who don’t.”

“Sir, I think—”

“Get moving, Dick!”

“Yes, sir,” Private Richards grumbled and the travelers kept going.

Inside Edward’s wagon, he waited for a signal to go help the family. When it didn’t come, he worried over it. Alexa would send someone and he was once again missing a chance to earn more of her affection.

Mark and Daniel felt the same way and all of them blamed Paul.

“Who will she send?” Paul asked, not picking up on the hostile tension.

None of them had thought Paul was smart enough to realize Alexa would help the family, and it stopped them from being nasty.

“Probably Billy. He’s good with people,” Mark answered, sighing. “She loves him for that.”

“She doesn’t love him,” Paul denied quickly. “Or any of you.”

“You have no idea, little man,” Edward drawled.

Paul’s cheeks bloomed with color, but before he could respond in kind, Edward peeled up a corner of the tarp.

“She sent Billy,” Edward told them.

“What did she say for us to do?” Paul wanted to know.

“She didn’t,” Edward nearly growled. “We’re babysitting. How hard is that?”

Paul opened his mouth.

“Shut up there!” the driver snapped lowly.

Silence fell in the wagon.

After a moment, they realized the man had likely just tired of their bickering. He was a lot like their fearless leader-quiet and effective. It was comforting

2

Billy found the small family a few minutes after leaving Alexa’s side. They reacted the way he’d expected them to-fearfully.

The man stood up and ushered the children behind him, while the two women raised guns to keep him away.
The females were clean, with pants that fit and coats that provided protection. Their slave on the other hand, wore a dingy white robe and bare feet that announced his status. If Billy had to guess, he’d say they came from the south.

“I came to help. I’m with Alexa.”

The words allowed a bit of the tension to ease and Billy carefully skirted around them to view the horse. Normally Edward would have been sent to do something like this, and he was determined to do as good a job.

He knelt down by the mare and spent a minute listening to her. He examined her gently, noting the colors and conditions that Edward had drilled them on.

“What did she have to eat over the last day?”

Billy got the information from them as quickly as he could, aware of the two women now standing over him with guns and leers. Leaving might be a little harder than getting in. Thanks to Alexa, he was ready for that.

“I think it’s a sore ankle,” Billy offered as he stood up. “Walk her all the way and a friend of mine will come by when things settle down. He’s much better with horses than I am.”

The women were still viewing him as if he was water and Billy flashed the asshole inside. “I’ve killed women before. Won’t bother me to do so now.”

They both retreated from the barely bridled rage in his tones.

“I’ve done you a service,” Billy pointed out. “You owe me a debt. How do you intend to pay?”

“We’re letting you go without a fight,” the younger of the two women stated coolly. She clearly hated men and was likely the one who was abusive. “That’s all you’ll get here.”

Billy helped the slave male get the horse onto its feet. “I’d take everything you have if I wanted it. Be grateful my mistress isn’t evil. I’d beat you both, and then slit your throats in payment for the bruises on your males.”

Billy didn’t wait for them to respond. He padded to the front of their group, leaving all of them no choice but to follow. He strode down the path made by the other travelers, shoulders set in ridged anger. Male slavery was something he would never submit to and he loathed women for it.

But aren’t you Alexa’s slave?
his heart inquired.

Billy nodded. “Until I die.”

3

The day was hot and long for most of the travelers, with insects buzzing maddeningly out of reach and the smell of the corn distracting them. It was hard to stay awake, let alone alert and those with carts or wagons dozed miserably in the heat of the day.

Inside the two mule wagons, Alexa’s group wasn’t suffering the same way. They were used to the heat and trying to breathe through it. Getting a ride was a gift. They joked quietly, taught Paul and the two newest men needed rules, and slept comfortably with their hats over their faces.

Traveling stayed that way for the first five hours. It wasn’t until the day was at its hottest that Alexa felt the need to get them ready.

“They have us park away from the group to minimize losses. Stay down and still,” her driver warned.

The mule drivers were dressed in the same brown pants and long brown coats. The only difference was in the long hair of the three men and the crew cut of the only woman. All dark skinned, rugged, and quiet, they were a relief to ride with.

Alexa used her hands to deliver the message to Edward and they all did as instructed. If the driver was wrong, they would come out fighting. They didn’t need to exchange messages for that.

“Let’s pick a spot!”

Merrik’s call, much too early in Alexa’s opinion, was repeated by the soldiers patrolling the long caravan.

“Make camp! Set us up! Camp time!”

The shouts continued long enough to make Alexa and her men nervous. They never made so much noise, but to do it so openly in such a dangerous area was a level of incompetence they hadn’t expected.

“He hasn’t done this before,” Alexa muttered. “That changes things.” Alexa had planned to travel with the group, much like they were with the mule wagons, but Merrik wasn’t going to be able to handle what was coming.

“Why do they keep sending these idiots out into hell?” Alexa sneered.

“A fine question, lady,” their driver agreed.

She leaned toward the front of the wagon, sending her scent over the man. “There’s a set of buildings an hour further along. Any chance you can get him to go there?”

The driver broke out into a sweat and quickly took a swig of warm water. “Not likely. My boss says never argue unless it endangers the haul.”

“Who is your boss?”

The man spat off the side of the bench and wiped his mouth on his coat sleeve. “At the moment, Roscoe.”

Alexa considered. Fate was setting them up to cross paths. She would get a plan ready for that challenge.

“Thank you.”

Alexa’s gratitude sent a bolt of hope into the driver’s dark heart and he grunted. “Men can be bought.”

“Aye. A good thing, too, otherwise people like Merrik might rule the wilderness.”

The driver wheezed out a chuckle and climbed down from the wagon. “Wouldn’t that be some new hell?”

“What of your previous employer?” she asked. She’d recognized his original profession easily. Old Army men were easy to recognize if you knew what to look for.

“There’s two bunkers holding that I know of,” the driver said. “One east, one west.”

“Fully staffed?”

“Not even by half. This apocalypse has taken a toll on them as well.”

“Is that why they’re sending the bunker babies now?”

“Yes,” the driver confirmed. “They’re down to almost nothing in manpower. The hunters you ended coming here are another example of that.”

Alexa nodded in agreement. Those bounty hunters hadn’t been a speed bump on a quiet street.

Alexa listened to the convoy stopping. It wasn’t calm enough to steal peeks with so many people in the middle of making their camp, but the sounds would tell her where everyone was and how much security was used.

“Get those wagons into the center! That’s an important shipment!”

“Slide those slaves down! Make room for the wagons!”

“Get on there, mule!”

Alexa’s group tried to disappear into the wood and boxes.

“Now spread out those sites! Give everyone some room!”

Alexa’s lips tightened.
Idiot!

In the wagon ahead, Edward made sure Paul knew to stay awake. “She won’t stay still much longer. He’s putting us in too much danger.”

“If it interferes with the quest, remove it,” Paul whispered. It was one of the rules he’d learned, accepted as truth.

“Exactly. Be ready.”

“What will she do?”

Edward didn’t answer. Paul should know it was nearly impossible to predict Alexa’s moves. That was a large part of why she was so hard to capture.

“Perimeter patrol A, get on it. Everyone else get fed and settled in for the night.”

Edward very slowly lifted a larger corner of the wagon cover. He’d been glancing through a tiny rip, but the feeling of needing a clear view was strong.

“What’s going on?” Paul whispered.

Edward was glad he’d remembered to be quiet, but they needed to be silent right now and he glared. When Edward looked out again, the driver of Alexa’s wagon was standing a foot from him. The man leaned down to check on the wheels, speaking in a quick blur.

“She said one hour further, on a straight line.”

“Many thanks,” Edward said, relieved.

The driver grunted as he straightened up and went to the other wheel, doing the same fast check. “For her? It’s my honor.”

4

Billy left the family as soon as the noises of their fellow travelers echoed, no longer as angry. During the walk, he’d had a chance to talk with the women a bit more and to realize they were following a pattern of behavior that was expected, but it didn’t excuse the cruelty and he told them so.

The convoy came into sight and Billy blended into the corn without a word.

The family didn’t give him away when he joined Alexa’s wagon while everyone was distracted with their arrival. The slave among the relieved family stared Billy with tired longing and gratitude.

Billy held out a pouch to his mistress. They usually kept individual rewards and gifts that were given in moments of aid, but in this case, Billy wanted her to handle it.

“Are you sure?” Alexa asked after peering inside. “We have no rules for our luxuries.”

“It’s been a while,” Billy stated almost harshly. “I’d rather share.”

Alexa ran a loving ran her hand along his jaw, letting him feel her approval. “Take a rest now.”

Alexa stowed the pouch after letting the others view what was inside. It was a handful of chocolate kisses, something that was worth a full night with a woman in any town.

5

Merrik’s men made camp along one side of the wagon train. A few of the soldiers made fires, ate, and then immediately crashed. Merrik himself disappeared into a large tent with the two blue robe-covered females that had made the trip inside a large crate on the rear of a buckboard.
With his sunglasses atop of his dark hair, the Captain appeared to be getting set for a party.

Alexa’s men felt the rage building over that and knew I wouldn’t stand longer.

Jealous, Merrik’s remaining men leered at the traders, but those traders had protection. Five extremely large females wearing black coats with spikes and short, bobbed hairdos stood outside the slave tent.

“Their bulk comes from the protein powders they’ve consumed. They used to be jocks, like wrestlers and basketball players, but now, they’re called powder protectors.”