SAFE by Dawn Husted Read Free Book Online Page B

deeper
than the others, and coarse, left no doubt about what he thought should happen to
us. I stuffed the vials back into my pack and quickly zipped it close.
    He
didn’t think we deserved—James deserved—to be helped. He thought we would only
bring trouble and they should make us leave, let us take our chances without
their help. He didn’t know us, I didn’t know any of them either, but the
gunshot to James’ shoulder proved we were in trouble. And whatever kind of
trouble we were in, he made it clear he didn’t want any part of it.
    He
was probably right; this couldn’t lead anywhere good.
    But
weren’t they killers themselves? The trail of bodies. Why would they care if we
brought any trouble upon them?
    The
voices continued for a while until, finally, four people, three men and one
woman, all with bright, piercing green eyes and hair as straight as a board,
entered under the curtain. As they walked towards me, the last person stood
blocking the only exit, forcing me to stay in the house. I took a few steps
towards James, guarding him the best I could.
    Each
of them, except the last guy guarding the entrance, stared at me. I assumed he
was the one with the lower voice who thought we should leave. The other peoples’
eyes had speckles of brown in them. I stared back—astounded. None of them had
vines. The man carrying James wasn’t anywhere in sight.
    The
tallest one was a woman, and she stepped closer to me.
    “What
is your name, child?” the woman said, her voice refreshing, like a cup of
coffee on the days you need it most. She had an irrefutably pleasant way about
her and I instantly felt calmer, more at peace. Most of all, she didn’t appear to
be a person with plans to kill me; her hands were locked gently behind her
back, head tilted to one side as she spoke.
    The
two men on each side of her stood in a similar manner, eyes glued on me. They
had on long sleeves and light colored pants.
    “My
name is Penny Evans,” I replied.
    Then
the woman nodded towards James lying on the ground.
    “His
name is James Garak.” I didn’t say anymore. I stood there with my arms at my
side, chin out, shoulders back.
    “We’ve
decided to help him. If you will allow us to, we’ll take him to our healer,”
she offered.
    I
wasn’t sure if we should be separated. What if getting us alone was exactly
what they wanted? It didn’t seem like a good idea. However, I didn’t know what
else to do. What other options did I have? Again, I found myself at the end of the
road. I had no first-aid supplies and no choice but to accept their help.
    “Okay.”
A one-word answer was all I managed. She wasn’t aggressive, but I no longer
knew which instincts to trust. So instead, I tried to be logical about the
whole situation. At least as logical as I was able to be in a situation such as
mine. There were two options: fight and lose against the massive amount of
people probably waiting outside in case of an attack, or let them take James
willingly, without causing an upheaval. Let them think I was good, someone who
didn’t want them harmed. Which I didn’t. And I am. I just wanted this nightmare
to be over.
    The
two men from either side of the lady walked over. In one swift motion, they
picked James up and slowly carried him outside. As they passed, James’ jabbering
had stopped again and my hands instinctively reached out for him, passing over
his chest, unsure if he was going to make it.
    I
grabbed my pack and gun, and then followed the men outside. I passed in front
of the lady and the man, both who stared at me as I went out the door. People
with torches stood near our car and others walked down the trail in the
direction of the dead bodies I had driven passed.
    The
people with the torches, near the car, were inspecting it; a couple of people clamored
around inside with the trunk open. I wasn’t sure how they opened anything without
using the fingers, which were still inside my pack. Four people held torches around
the