“It’s not. I was nervous and pulled the trigger fast because of that, I guess.”
“Where can we go now?”
“Let’s get up on a rise and see if we can spot our car.”
“Okay.”
Kelly wept again, and Hunter let her. “I really miss Consuela,” Kelly sobbed.
Hunter nodded but didn’t speak, instead she let the girl get it out and recover. When Kelly tapered off on the crying, fading to weeping, Hunter stayed beside her, touching her small back. A few minutes after that, the crying became intermittent. She took a deep, shuddering breath, steadied herself and said, “Okay, I’m ready now.”
She had dark circles under her red-rimmed eyes, and Hunter knew Kelly would sleep like a dead thing when they finally stopped for the night. Hunter pointed at a rocky ridgeline on the next hill and said, “Up there. We can see from that place pretty good.”
They walked steady, side by side, and worked their way up the next slope to finally reach the rocks that resembled the bony-plated spine of a stegosaurus. They found many places to hide and look beyond the hill and not expose themselves. Hunter pointed in the distance, “There it is, almost to the gate on the highway.”
They watched as a black Suburban rolled down the pavement and stopped at the gate. Hunter had an ominous feeling.
A man hopped out and opened the gate to let the Suburban through, then he stood by the SUV as the Lincoln approached. “No, no,” Hunter said, “Don’t go up there.”
Kelly looked at her with alarm, then both of them watched the two vehicles.
The Lincoln stopped forty feet from the gate, and Ike exited.
In a flash, a Suburban door opened and another man stepped to the road. He looked to be a twin of the first one, but Hunter couldn’t tell from this far off, even with her excellent vision. They put their rifles to their shoulders and motioned for Ike to come forward.
Ramona made a motion with her hand to him. He hesitated, then dove into the passenger seat of the Lincoln as both men fired.
The sound delay was a good three seconds before Hunter and Kelly heard the distant, hard, pow-pow-pow sounds mingled with the whacks of bullets striking metal fenders and rubber as they destroyed the tires.
Ramona backed the car for fifty yards and spun the wheel, sending the Lincoln into a dusty slide so it faced the road to the barn. She floored it, sending dust and rocks flying from underneath as she made for the only shelter she could think of, and all the while the tires deflated and pieces of rubber flew off the rims.
Hunter said, “Come on, we need to go and help them.”
Kelly rose, then stopped and pointed at another hill not far away, “Look, it’s Suretta and Nadine.” Those two hadn’t spotted the former prisoners, intent as they were on the men at the gate.
> Hunter thought about creeping up on them and shooting the two women, but decided it was too risky with Kelly at her side. “Let’s follow them.”
Hunter kept to the far side of the ridges and kept Suretta and Nadine’s vehicle in sight, and they closed on the Lincoln where the tires flattened and shredded, leaving it unable to move over the rough road. They watched as Ramona, Ike, and the children were marched at gunpoint to her vehicle and crammed inside. The other suburban arrived from the gate. She motioned for them to follow her, and the two vehicles drove toward the barn.
Kelly said, “If they put them on the plane, the girls are lost.” Her eyes pleaded with Hunter.
“I know.” She said, “I have an idea, but we need to hurry and beat this group there. Can you run?”
“Yes.”
They ran at a steady trot, taking shortcuts through the hills rather than following the road that curved around them. Hunter and Kelly, conserving energy as they ran over the rocky ground and up and down the small hills. They ate up the distance, and did it without making much noise.
When they reached the rise behind the barn, Hunter peeked over it and saw no one around. She said, “Stay here, I have to go do something, and it would be best if you don’t have to watch me.”
“I know what you have to do, and it’s the only way. But I’ll stay here.”
Hunter raised her eyebrows in surprise at Kelly’s words. This girl is no child in her thinking. “What do you believe I have to do?”
Kelly looked straight at Hunter, “You have to shoot the pilot so they don’t have anyone to fly the plane.”
Hunter nodded, “Yeah, and you don’t need to see something like that.”
“If it will save my friends, shooting him is the right thing to do.” She thought about the pilot’s rough hands on her naked body, squeezing and rubbing, and all in front of a leering Carl. Her skin had goosebumps from the memory, and she felt queasy. She took a breath to clear her mind and push the thoughts away. “He’s not a nice man. I know you don’t feel right about shooting him, but it’s the only thing we can do. We can save my friends.”