Sacrifice by John Everson Read Free Book Online

Joe had no doubt as to her sex.
    “Depends where you’re going,” Joe said, a little apprehensive about picking up a hitcher, no matter how innocent this kid may have looked. The cardinal rule of journalism was to distrust everyone—if your mother told you something, check it out. The cardinal rule of the street was trust no one if you don’t have a gun. And right now, Joe didn’t even have a rusty nail file to protect himself if he was ambushed somehow.
    “Denver. Or at least a few miles closer. It’s a long walk.”
    “That it is,” Joe admitted.
    “You mind some company?”
    Joe considered the fact that he’d almost gone off the road a couple times in his struggle to stay awake, and finally shrugged. The last road sign he’d seen still said more than 100 miles to Denver.
    “Get in.”
    The kid tossed her backpack in the backseat, and slid into the shotgun seat with a smile.
    “Thanks, mister. I’ve been walking for days, it seems.”
    “Where you coming from?”
    The kid blanched.
    “I don’t think I should tell you that.”
    Joe shot her a glance.
    “If I tell you, you can always call back there and tell people where to find me. If you don’t know, you can’t send me home.”
    There was some intelligence to that. Joe let it be. For now.
    “Can I at least have a name?”
    “Oh, sorry,” the kid grinned, showing two buckteeth and a spread of freckles in the process. She held out her hand. “I’m Alex.”
    “And why does a kid called Alex, from Somewhere, U.S.A., want to hitch to Denver?” Joe asked.
    “Actually, I’m going beyond Denver,” she said. “I’m headed up into the Rockies.”
    Joe looked the kid over again, taking in the pug nose and freckled skin, and the curly red hair struggling to escape its confinement beneath her hat. She looked no more than 15, and hardly seasoned enough to go hiking alone in the mountains. Maybe he could help. Or at least wheedle out some more information so that he could call someone who could.
    “Buckle up, then, my girl. We’re heading to the mountains!”
    Alex grinned, and settled back in the seat. After a minute, she stared at the radio, currently pumping out an old slab of Deep Purple. She reached around the seat and dug a hand inside her backpack and Joe froze, split between watching the road and watching what she was pulling on him.
    “Do you like Blink-182?” she asked, and he let out a breath.
    “Go for it.”
    His road trip suddenly had a lot more noise to it.

Chapter Seven
    Joe regarded the girl next to him from the corner of his eye and wondered if he was doing the right thing. He hadn’t carried her over state lines, and wouldn’t, even if he took her with him all the way up to the Rockies. But should he be helping her at all? What if there was an APB out on her, and the police picked him up? Would they accuse him of kidnapping? Aiding and abetting?
    “So what are you running from?” he asked at last. After smiling her way into his car and taking over his CD player, the girl had clammed up, staring out the passenger’s window in silence.
    “Does it matter?” She looked at him with suspicion. “You don’t have to care; I won’t bother you. Just let me ride with you, huh?” She held her arms across her chest as if to form a protective coat.
    “I think it does matter,” he said. “What’s up?”
    “If you don’t want me in your car, just say so. I’ll walk.”
    “Whoa, whoa,” Joe said, stifling a laugh. “I didn’t say that. I’m just trying to figure out why you’re in my car. Is that so strange? I mean, I pick you up in the middle of nowhere, alone and underage. Seems like I’d be an idiot if I didn’t gather a little information.”
    She glared at him a moment, then shrugged.
    “You really wanna know? I’ll show you.”
    Alex clutched her yellow T-shirt at the waist with both hands and pulled it up, exposing the thin slit of her belly button and the clearly defined lines of her ribs. Joe could see the white