Ford shook his head and genuflected.
“You were right, Stella. I am so, so sorry I doubted you.” Karen passed a trembling hand across her brow. “They know. She called Moira a green blood. Said they couldn’t let her go because of it, and then—” Her words broke off as she sat heavily on her cot and sobbed.
Mercury went to her and rested a hand on her shoulder as she told Ford and Stella. “And then fucking Amber wrenched Moira’s head back and slit her throat. You know those delicious tomatoes we’ve been gorging on? Moira bled all over them. And she couldn’t have been the first person—the courtyard was filled with bed after bed of supersized vegetables.”
“Did you see the mounds?” Karen looked up at Mercury as she wiped at her cheeks.
“No, I was too busy staring at Moira,” said Mercury.
Karen shuddered and rubbed her golden crucifix between her thumb and forefinger. “There were mounds all over the courtyard—body-sized mounds. It’s where they’ve been burying people.” She looked at Stella. “The mayor said even the green bloods’ meat is valuable. She was talking about women—about the bodies of women.”
“We go. Now,” said Stella. “Ford, I know you’re feeling a lot better, but trade packs with Mercury again. We can’t afford you getting dizzy and weak. We need to move fast. Mercury, get that pistol out of your backpack. Is it safe to put it in your jean’s pocket?”
Mercury nodded as she opened her backpack and fished out the revolver. “Yeah, it’s holstered and the safety is on, but it’s better in my jacket pocket.”
“As long as you can access it easily. Ford,” Stella said, “how do we get out of here and back to the truck?”
“We return to the park and keep going past it, heading east. Eventually we’ll come to Willow Creek. It winds through Madras. Three years ago there was a drought, and I used the dry bed of the creek as a hiking trail through town. The creek isn’t dry now, of course, but it’ll take us to where we parked the truck—and on the off chance someone notices we’re gone and comes looking for us, they definitely won’t think we’re walking along the bank.”
“Are we ready?” Mercury asked as she exchanged backpacks with Ford and put the holstered pistol in the deep pocket of her jacket.
Everyone nodded. Stella turned to Ford. “We’ll follow you.”
“Amber said it’s an hour before sunrise,” said Mercury.
“That’s enough time for us to get to the truck and be well outside Madras before it’s light,” said Ford. “They won’t even know we’re gone for hours, but just in case, I think we should stay off the main roads.”
“Agreed,” said Stella. “Show us how to cut cross-country on the access roads, like we did to get to Madras.”
“Where are we going to go? Back to Timberline?” Karen asked hopefully.
“No. We need to head east,” said Stella.
“Okay, east it is,” said Ford. “Stay close and try to be as silent as possible. The lack of electricity is on our side. Surprise is on our side. But don’t forget that Ron and Wes are armed.”
“Ron bled out in the courtyard,” Mercury said. “Fucking Amber discarded him like he was trash.”
“I thought she was a nightmare from the first moment I glimpsed her, but Ron’s no loss. One less goon,” said Stella. “Let’s go.”
Together, they moved quickly and quietly down the hallway to the front doors of the school. There they paused.
Ford slid Mercury’s backpack from his shoulders, handed it to her, and spoke softly. “I’ll go first. If anyone’s around, I’ll say I needed some air. If you see me go left instead of right, that’s because someone’s out there. Don’t worry about me. Just give me a few minutes to distract whoever it is, and then get to the park. I’ll circle around and meet you there.”
Mercury touched his arm. “Be careful.”
“Always, Bellota.”
The women waited in the shadows just inside the front doors and watched Ford expectantly. He walked to the middle of the sidewalk and made a show of stretching and yawning as he turned in a slow circle. There was no Suburban parked in front of the school. Nothing appeared to stir. In moments Ford was back. He took the pack from Mercury. “All clear!”
The women followed Ford outside. They took a right and walked briskly toward the park. Dawn was just beginning to turn the sky from coal to deep sapphire. The town was silent and dark. No lights glowed from any building. Nothing moved except the limbs of the trees in the chilly breeze.
Mercury felt as if she walked through a crypt.
The park was deserted. The strands of lights had been turned off, and the firepits gave off a feeble orange glow as wood embers slowly died.
In the shadow of the pavilion, Ford huddled them up and whispered. “The street that runs along the north side of the park there”—he pointed—“is B Street. If we turn right onto it, we’ll eventually come to the edge of town, where Willow Creek runs parallel to Madras. All we have to do is follow the creek north to where we left the truck.”
“I don’t think we should walk on B Street,” whispered Mercury. “That’s one of the main roads in town, and from what we saw today, they have roadblocks on the main roads.”