“Maybe by then the stench will have faded.” Stella turned to spit again.
“If you’re done puking, can we go?” Mercury said, but her attention turned from Stella to Khaleesi, who had suddenly stopped lapping up water. The pitty’s body had gone rigid under her hand. She was staring past Stella. A low, warning growl came from deep in her chest. “What is it, girl?” Mercury followed Khaleesi’s gaze to see a sickening wave of green rolling its way up the highway toward them. “Fucking fog!”
Stella whirled around and gasped. “Go! Now.”
“Come on, Khaleesi!” Mercury and Stella hurried down the stairs and back to the road, where they sprinted to the truck, with Khaleesi running beside them.
Ford was emerging from the side of the feed store. He saw the dog and a smile filled his face.
“Green fog!” Mercury shouted. “Grab some dog supplies and let’s get the hell outta here!”
“On it!” Ford yelled and ran into the feed store.
“Don’t break the glasses. Don’t break the glasses. Don’t break the glasses.” Stella spoke the litany like a prayer as they raced for the truck. “I’m going to shove this bin in the back!”
Mercury opened the passenger door while Stella ran to the rear of the truck and pulled the tailgate down. “Come on, Khaleesi! Get in!” Just like she’d been listening to Mercury her whole life, the pit bull jumped into the cab.
Ford raced from the feed store with huge bags of kibble over each shoulder and a long leather leash hanging like a tie around his neck. Mercury heard him load the dog food into the truck and then shove the tailgate closed. He and Stella jogged around to the cab—and then they stopped like they’d run into an invisible wall.
Mercury frowned at them and opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when a deep, sarcastic voice came from behind her.
“Well, now, I’ve been looking for this truck everywhere. Imagine running into you girls again. Isn’t that just a spot of good luck—for me, that is. Definitely not for you.”
Mercury turned to see Alvin Rutland, an assault rifle gripped tightly in his hand, step from the narrow alley that ran between the Wheeler County Trading Company and the post office.