Page 28 of Hero

I’m not exactly sure what she means by network, but the purpose of the trip makes a kind of sense and seems harmless. I wonder what kind of resources they have if they’re able to take off on such a trip for anything but basic survival.

“There are no communities around here,” I tell her. “Not for miles. There’s no one but my… my family. As far as I know. And I move around in this region quite a bit.”

“Okay. That’s good to know. We’re going to keep heading west. There are supposed to be larger developed communities out there.”

“That’s what I’ve heard too.” I’m interested in these people now, and I’m also interested in what they can tell me about the surrounding territories.

Maybe it’s something Zed and I need to know.

So I ask, “So where did y’all—” I break off the question when I hear other voices off to my right side and slightly behind. I raise my gun instinctively and aim it at the new voices.

My eyes are fixed on two more people approaching, but I can tell from my peripheral vision that Cal has aimed his rifle at me again.

“Cal, don’t,” Rachel says, stepping in front of him. “She’s outnumbered. You can’t blame her for being careful. Mack and Anna aren’t going to hurt you. They’re with us.”

Another white woman is walking toward us beside a black man. They both appear wary, but they don’t pull any weapons or make any sudden moves.

With four of them, there’s no way I could defend myself if they decided to attack. I could take down a couple of them if I was lucky, but not all four.

But it feels like I can trust Rachel, and the other man approaching is clearly no pushover, but he doesn’t give off the ruthless vibes that Cal does.

“Mack,” he says, putting a hand on his chest. “And this is Anna. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

Maybe I shouldn’t, but I believe him. I lower my gun.

Cal does the same.

“It’s nice to see someone at last,” Anna says with a warm smile. She’s pretty and freckled with curly red hair. “It’s been really empty around here. I guess we probably scared the hell out of you since you weren’t expecting anyone to be around.”

“I’m not scared.” I’m mostly telling her the truth, although I’m definitely on guard. “But no, I didn’t expect anyone to be around here.”

“Are you by yourself?” Mack asks.

“Yes.” Then I add, “For right now.” I don’t want to give the impression that I’m all alone in the world.

“Is that safe?” Anna asks. “To go around by yourself?”

I shrug. I’m not sure how to answer that question. It seems genuine. Not like the woman is judging me. And although I’ve gone off by myself all the time for years, it’s never been entirely safe. “We do what we need to do.”

“I guess so. Do you have any time? Can we talk for a while? I’d love to hear about your experiences, and we could tell you about the communities where we come from. We’ve got food. Are you hungry?”

I’m nearly always hungry, and I do want to hear about these communities.

Zed, Rina, and I need to migrate somewhere, and I’d rather it be somewhere where we know what to expect.

I glance up at the sun. It’s starting its descent, so it’s got to be going on one in the afternoon. But maybe I can take thirty more minutes to hear what these people can tell me. I’ll still be back around four.

That’s got to be close enough to midafternoon to satisfy Zed.

* * *

More than two hours later, I’m still in Givens.

The five of us have moved into a building that used to be the one local restaurant in town. It’s one of the few structures that weren’t destroyed by the tornadoes and is probably the most secure spot to spend the night, which the others have decided to do.

When I was hemming and hawing over when to start back home, wanting to talk to them longer but also worried about Zed’s response if I failed to come back when he was expecting me, Mack offered to drive me back in their truck.

It feels like such a huge favor that my first instinct was to object, but none of them seem to think it’s a big deal. They’ve got a large transfer tank of gas in the back of their truck and aren’t worried about taking a short detour. So I finally agreed, relieved about finding an easy solution to my dilemma.

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