“Don’t worry, Cayden. I clean up real well. And as soon as I do, I’ll need that hug, okay?”
Cayden wiped at his eyes and nodded again.
“Here’s some water.” Imani handed her a bottle of water, which Mercury chugged gratefully. “They’re gonna pull over in a sec. I think they need to find a spot that’s not too muddy. It’s been raining all day.”
Mercury wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then touched what was left of her sweatshirt. “All day? How long have I been asleep?”
“Well, you guys showed up at dawn, and it’s sometime in the early afternoon right now.”
Mercury struggled to sit. Imani leaned forward to help her and then propped a backpack behind her. Hesitantly, she lifted her right shoulder. It felt stiff and sore, like she’d worked out too hard and then had flu-like aches in her shoulder joint. With her left hand she reached back to trace a smaller version of the exit wound scar.
Imani handed her a baggie filled with slices of apples and cheddar cheese. “Want some bread too? We ate all the sandwiches, but we still have some loaves of bread and a bunch of cans of beans and tuna and stuff like that.”
“I’ll eat this and then see if I’m still hungry,” said Mercury around a mouthful of apple and cheese. She squinted to peer out the dingy side window of the camper shell. “Where are we?”
“East of Madras?” Imani shrugged. “Ford’s been showing Stella how to cut across country. You would not believe the amazing canyons we’ve been winding around. It’s like something out of the Wild West.” She handed Mercury another bottle of water, which she drained in just a few chugs.
“Or a racist John Wayne movie?” Mercury asked.
Imani grinned at her. “Or that.”
“Who’s been getting the gates?” Mercury said.
“Ford,” said Georgie. “He says his head hardly hurts.”
“That’s good.” Mercury’s gaze found Gemma again. “She’s incredible.”
Imani nodded. “That’s for sure. You should’ve seen her shoulder right after she healed you. It looked awful—covered with nasty purple bruises the exact size of your bullet holes. Last time she woke up, it had faded to almost nothing. It’s crazy.”
The truck slowed and stopped, and in an instant the tailgate was wrenched open, and Stella’s head appeared through the rain.
“You’re alive for real?”
Mercury grinned. “For real.”
“Jesus, you scared me,” Stella said.
“And me,” Ford said as he appeared beside her.
“Me, too,” said Karen as she held her cardigan over her head to try to keep the rain from her.
“You look terrible, though. All pale and bloody and very zombie-like,” said Stella.
Cayden gasped.
“Stella’s just kidding,” Mercury assured him hastily. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah, totally. Mercury is fine.”
“Hey, uh, I just realized I need to pee. Really badly,” said Mercury.
“It’s dumping rain. Think you can wait until we find shelter?” Stella asked.
“Not a chance, and I need to take off these bloody clothes. Stella, if you help me outta here I think I can kill two birds with one stone.”
“If you hurt yourself again I’m going to be really pissed.” Gemma’s voice had everyone grinning at her.
“My hero!” Mercury leaned over and kissed the teenager loudly in the middle of her furrowed forehead.