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“Hands up, asshole!” the guy yelled.

“I was just getting my wallet for you,” Cody explained.

The youngest looking one, who had his shotgun aimed at my gut, said, “Money’s useless. We want your weapons.” He looked at me pointedly. “Slowly reach down and throw your gun on the ground.” I complied.

The man inside the minivan shouted, “They’ve got ammo, gas, water bottles, and more weapons!”

Young guy grinned. “Sounds like we hit the jackpot.”

I snapped to attention when the guy across the street started dragging Iggy again. “Where’s he taking her?”

“Relax. Just cooperate and everyone walks away.” He took a few steps back. Iggy and the man holding her ended up in the back of the pickup. The man who was watching Cody headed back to the truck to retrieve a gas can and two plastic tubes – one long and one very short. He returned to the minivan and started siphoning out the gas.

“At least leave us the gas in the tank,” I said.

“Shut up.”

I looked back at Iggy, propped up in a sitting position against the back of the cab. The guy had a gun to her head, but he’d found some kind of rag and was pressing it to her nose. His partner grabbed an armful of our weapons and loaded them into the truck bed. A minute later, our two spare containers of gas followed, along with the rest of our ammo. Then the gas can holding the contents of our tank joined the pile, and the guy nearest me started backing away.

“Here’s how this is gonna work,” he began, keeping his gun trained on me and Cody. “You two are gonna get back into your car. We’re gonna drive to the end of the bridge, and we’ll dump the girl there. If you get out before we stop at the end of the bridge, we’ll dump a dead girl instead of a live one. Got it?”

“Yeah,” I bit out. “We understand.”

While this guy ran to get into the driver’s seat of his truck, one guy joined him up front, and the other two stayed in the truck bed. The one pointing his gun at Iggy yelled, “Go on! Get in the minivan! Don’t get out until I let her go, or I’ll put a bullet through her eye.”

I slid in behind the wheel while Cody walked around to the passenger’s side. We watched them leave, taking off at an easy speed. I stared, unblinking and angry, wondering if they were really going to do what they’d said. The further away they got, the angrier I became, and I squeezed the wheel until my knuckles were white. Then, at the end of the bridge, brake lights lit up and the truck stopped. The two guys shoved Iggy out like she was a sack of potatoes, and then they burnt rubber taking off.

I jumped out of the van and ran.

By the time I got to Iggy, she was sitting up and wiping her face with the cloth that had been used to soak up the blood from her nose. I dropped to my knees beside her and grabbed her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Cael.” She swatted my hand away and struggled to get to her feet. I reached out to pull her up. I slipped an arm around her to make sure she didn’t fall, then I took the rag from her and started wiping her face, careful not to hurt her. But all I was doing was smearing blood like I was a finger-painting preschooler. “You might have a concussion.”

“I’ve been through worse. Believe me.”

Cody finally arrived, breathing heavily. “You okay, Iggy?”

“Yeah. I’m sure I look worse than I feel.” She pulled away and pointed to what looked like a park area to the right of the bridge. “There’s water access down there. I’m going to go wash up.”

Cody and I stayed on either side of her on the walk down to the river. When she knelt down on a sandy area, Cody said, “I think your nose is broken.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” she responded. Then she started washing her face and arms in the water. She rinsed out the rag, squeezed the pink water out, and scrubbed at her face again.

I sat down beside her and watched. I started to apologize for having slammed on the brakes, but then again, what choice did I have? It would have been worse to rear-end the truck because she may have gone through the windshield. If she’d just worn her damn seatbelt, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

Cody rubbed Iggy’s back and said, “Let me take a look. I’ve broken my nose more times than I can count.”

I stood up and started walking, refusing to listen to them bond over broken noses. Cody asked where I was going. “Nowhere,” I snapped. “I’m just thinking.” I paced about twenty feet and then turned around. I walked back and forth, trying not to be angry while Cody examined Iggy’s face. I couldn’t even pinpoint exactly why I was mad, but walking around wasn’t helping ease the tension I felt. And every time I looked at Iggy, it got worse. I wanted her to go to a hospital. If I’d had a car with gas, I would have driven her to one.

“I’m not going to try and set it,” I heard Cody say. “It’s not obviously dislocated, and it’s too swollen to mess with.”

“It’s no big deal,” she told him. “I can’t even feel it.”

“I think that gash on your forehead needs stitches. No, don’t put that on there. You’re making it bleed more. Just…lay back and rest for a minute, otherwise you’ll never stop bleeding.”

Iggy told him, “We need to get going. It’s a long walk to Sweetwater, and we ought to get there before dark.”

“We’ve got time. You should rest a minute so you can clot.”

I whirled around. “No. She’s right. Let’s go. We’ve got hours of walking ahead of us. Iggy’s tough. She’ll be fine.” I started back up the incline toward the road. Cody was protesting, but both of them caught up.

I set a fast pace – a brisk walk that was just short of jogging. Cody complained, “At least slow down, Cael.”

“What for?”

“Because Iggy face planted into a windshield a few minutes ago. That’s what for.”

I glanced back at Iggy. Though she was much shorter, she was keeping pace and staring straight ahead while holding the wet cloth to her forehead. Her nose was dripping. “She’ll be fine, like she said. After all, anyone who’s willing to ride in a car without a seatbelt has to be able to tolerate the consequences.” I knew it was a mean comment, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Come on, Cael,” Cody said. “That’s harsh.”

“It’s taking responsibility for her actions. I told her several times since we started this trip to wear a seatbelt. She chose not to. Shit happens.”

“What the fuck’s gotten into you?” Cody asked. “You’re not usually such an asshole.”

Iggy interjected, “He’s right, Cody. It was my decision. And if I had it to make all over again, I still wouldn’t wear a seatbelt. So let’s just go. I’m fine.”

For some reason, Iggy’s easy acceptance of my comment, along with her confession that she wouldn’t have worn a seatbelt anyway, just pissed me off even more. I kept ahead of both of them, and all that could be heard for miles was our labored breathing and the sound of raindrops hitting pavement. The chill in the air was another reason to keep moving. The temperature, combined with the rain, would have us shivering if we didn’t keep a fast and steady pace. Besides, the sooner we got to Sweetwater, the sooner Iggy would see a doctor.

No one spoke for a long time. Any abandoned cars either had no gas or were wrecked. And no cars passed by. I wasn’t opposed to hitchhiking, but the opportunity hadn’t yet presented itself. I turned my cell off and on again, hoping to regain a signal, but I had no luck with that, either. I not only didn’t have good luck, fate had dealt me a shitty hand; a penalty for stupid decisions. I’d dragged three people with me to look for my parents, and what had come of it? Iggy had been kidnapped by Granger’s people, I’d shot at cops and FBI agents, we’d stolen two cars, found out nothing conclusive about my parents, we’d been robbed at gunpoint, and Iggy’s face looked like it had been used for a punching bag. I had succeeded only in finding out my parents were still alive. And the sacrifice others had made to help me get that piece of information wasn’t even worth it.

This had been a completely selfish endeavor. I should have gone alone. Or maybe I shouldn’t have gone at all. If I hadn’t, we’d all be safe and sound on the farm right now, behind a secure fence with plenty of food. Instead, I’d gotten people injured and robbed. And now Iggy’s best friend was gone. She wasn’t going to be able to do anything about it. Wesley was as lost to her as my parents were to me. This whole trip had resulted in taking one step forward and ten steps back. I hoped Iggy and Cody were pissed at me, because I deserved nothing less. Still, they couldn’t possibly be as angry and disappointed with me as I was in myself. Cody was right. I really was an asshole.

Cody called out, “Car’s coming!”

I turned around to see possible help approaching at top speed. I stuck my thumb out. Iggy and Cody jumped up and down while waving their arms wildly. The car merely moved into the other lane and sped up. All we got from seeing the first car in hours was a spray of filthy road water.

“Son of a bitch!” Cody yelled while shooting the bird at the car, which disappeared around a bend. But realistically, what could we expect? I wouldn’t pick up any hitchhikers, either. It was too risky.

I started to move on, but Cody asked, “Can we take a break, Cael? Five minutes.”

“With these clouds, it will get dark a lot sooner than usual.”

“Come on, man.
Five
minutes.”

“Fine.” I followed him and Iggy to the guardrail on which we all sat.

Cody leaned over, bracing his elbows on his knees. He mumbled at the ground, “Maybe we should consider stealing a car from the next house we come across.”

“That’s a big gamble,” Iggy said. “Everyone is probably ready to defend their property with weapons. What if someone shoots at us?”

“What about just asking someone for help?”

“I really don’t think anyone is going to give us a ride or let us borrow their car.”

I studied her face. She’d apparently given up on wiping away any blood. Her head wound still bled, blood mixing with rain and trailing pink down her face. She didn’t even bother to wipe the rainwater out of her eyes. Some of her hair had come out of the braid, and wet tendrils clung to her face, looking like roadways on a map. I wanted to push the hair out of her eyes, but seeing her look so worn out made me tense, and I looked down at the ground instead. I said, “After what just happened to us, I’m inclined to agree with Iggy. And if we steal someone’s only method of transportation, we’re no better than the guys who just stole all our gas and left us stranded.”

“That didn’t bother any of us before,” Cody pointed out.

“Well it does now,” I told him, trying to check my patience.

Iggy sighed. “If only the phones worked. I could call dad and Kim to come pick us up.”

“Well they don’t. So there’s no sense in talking about it,” I snapped.

She looked at me and wrapped her arms around her middle. “Are you still mad at me? Is that what your shitty attitude is about? God, Cael, I’m sorry I don’t wear seat belts. I never will. Deal with it.”

“That’s stupid, reckless, and childish.”

“Shut up, Cael,” Cody said.

“I’m scared of them! Okay? I can’t be strapped down.” She stared at the ground, pushing around a pebble.

I said, “Well that’s a really dumb excuse coming from a grown woman. Maybe you should see a psychiatrist about your irrational fears.”

“I have!” She jumped to her feet. “You have no idea what I’ve been through!” She took off down the road.

“Why don’t you just keep your mouth shut on the rest of the way back?” Cody snapped and jogged to catch up with Iggy. “Slow down!” he called to her.

“I’m sick of being wet! I’m sick of walking! And I’m sick of
him
! I just want to get home.”

I was about to earn the first place award for making people feel like crap. Part of me wanted to leave things alone, but the better part of me hated to cause Iggy pain. I ran past Cody and fell into step beside her. “I’m sorry.”

“Go away.”

“You’re right. I don’t know what you’ve been through. I had no idea you’d actually seen a psychologist.”

“There are a lot of things about me you don’t know. And making fun of people who see psychologists is really low, Cael.”

“I’m not making fun of you or anyone else,” I denied, trying to face her while keeping pace. Cody was hanging back, giving us time to talk. “And I’m not mad at you. Well,” I amended, “maybe a little.” I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, but she shrugged it off. “Will you please stop a second so I can talk to you?”

“Go away.”

“Iggy…dammit…I hate this. I want to talk about –”

“Oh,
now
you want to talk. Not hours ago when you could have asked me why I feel the way I do about seat belts. Instead of giving everyone the silent treatment, you could have tried talking
then
. Now all of us are tired and irritable, and
I
don’t feel like talking to
you
.”

“Tell me why, Iggy. I want to know.”

She sighed gustily. “Really, Cael. Don’t worry about it. We’ll all feel better in the morning, after a shower, some food, and a good night’s sleep. If we get that far.”