Page 33 of Ozzie

“We can’t stay here!” JB says. “There’s no food orcoffee.” He sits back down on his carpet. “Oh! We can have some delivered.”

Harding storms up to him. “Are you for real or fucking with us? Because right now, I’m not in the mood.”

The kid backs up, which is probably best for him. Pissing Harding off is not a good idea.

I step between them and turn to the kid. “I’m guessing you are used to getting what you want when you want it. Well, that ends now. First, the city is shut down, so no one is delivering jack shit. Second, even if they were, we will not call attention to ourselves. If there is a terrorist group out there looking for you, they will not stop until they have you.”

“Wait, terrorist group?” JB asks.

“Yes, now you know why we’re all so serious,” I say.

Harding stares out the window. “We need to get out of the city before all of this melts.”

“We’re not equipped to hike out in this weather,” I say.

“We’re surrounded by shops. We’ll find something,” she says.

Harding turns away from the window. “Lightning, you stay with the kid. Ozzie, you come with me. We’re going to get coats and boots. What’s your shoe size, kid?”

“Ten.”

Harding looks at Lightning. “Twelve,” he says.

“Okay, let’s go before sunrise so we aren’t seen by residents.”

The moment I step outside, I’m shaking. I calm my breath to try to keep it under control.

Harding glances back at me. “There’s a shop. It’s a block up.”

We move as fast as we can while sinking into the snow with each step. Harding goes to a door and has it open within a minute. Inside are racks of clothing.

“This way.” She leads me toward the back, where we find several racks of coats.

“Grab something for Lightning and yourself,” she says.

He’s about my size, so I grab two black coats. I spot shoes on a far wall and go to check them out. Next to the shoes are heavy boots. Harding comes up and sorts through the boxes until she finds two pairs. I do the same.

As we walk past the register, she puts a couple hundred-dollar bills on the counter.

By the time we make it back to our carpet store, I’m shivering hard. I drop what I’m carrying and work to get my wet socks and shoes off.

“We forgot socks,” I say.

Harding holds up several pairs. “Got them.”

My lower pant legs are wet, but I’ll have to deal with that until they dry.

“We head out in twenty minutes,” she says.

JB sits up. “Where are we going?”

“West. There’s a small airport we use. We’ll find another building to hide out in until a plane can be sent for us.”

While the three of us put on the new socks and boots, JB doesn’t move.

“Isn’t the airport north?” he asks.

“The one you likely flew into is north, yes,” Harding says. “Now, put on your socks and boots. It takes aboutthree hours to get there on foot on a good day. We’ll be out in the cold for a while.”

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