Page 13 of Bait
“Fuck.” That pretty much encompassed how I felt.
“There’s a whole lot our fearless bunker leaders never bothered to tell us, but we’ll enlighten you, Almita,” Candela said, before sending a fond glance at Torch, then winked at me before leaning back on her seat. I wanted to ask more questions, but I didn’t want to be a nuisance, and in truth I had more than enough to keep my head spinning for a while.
Again, I wondered if Torch and Candela were an item. They had to be something more than just friends. They seemed to almost know what the other person was thinking. And this place was very small. It could be they only were together when they travelled on the rig, but even that seemed like something they did as partners. Maybe they were a couple, it’s not like they owed me an explanation of what they were to each other. Instantly my mind was hijacked by an image of them together. Candela naked on a bed while Torch kissed her small breasts, his fingers inside her pussy while she writhed on the mattress.
“Did you hear me, Alma?” I was so lost in my very inappropriate fantasies that I clearly hadn’t heard Torch the first time. He sounded like it might have been a couple times that he’d asked, and I’d ignored him.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“We’re stopping soon to check out a spot where we might find some supplies.”
“There are still places where you can find loot?” It had been so long, I would’ve thought everything had been taken. Torch sent me a look that said, “do you ever ask non-asinine questions?” but he did answer.
“There’s some areas that were hidden by the ash but have cleared up recently. We go in and take a peek in case we find anything that is still usable.”
“Car parts or car maintenance stuff is especially useful.” I nodded at Candela’s words. That made sense. It was also exciting to get to explore a bit.
“No,” Torch snapped out. He actually turned around and glared at me. What the hell was his problem? “You cannot go off on your own.” Could he read minds now? “Stick by one of us and don’t do anything dumb.” I stuck out my tongue, which he did not think was cute or funny. Candela did, though, and her sexy grin made something very nice happen in my chest.
“What am I going to do?” Again, he just glared.
“Something like whatever you did to get pushed out of the bunker?” That was uncalled for.
“I was giving women suppressors to delay their cycle,” I told him defiantly, because despite everything, I was not sorry for that.
That seemed to knock the sails out of him. He actually looked a little embarrassed, if Mr. I’m Always Right could even feel that way. Then he went silent, his jaw clenched like he was even more pissed at me. But it was Candela who spoke.
“Holy hell, Brains. Were you trying to get yourself killed?” She seemed genuinely spooked. Torch looked like he wanted to tear the head off something.
“I wasn’t thinking about the risks so much.” Which wasn’t exactly true. I thought about them, just not enough to stop. “My mom showed me how to do it, and I did for as long as I could.”
“You were doing that while I was still inside?” Torch’s voice came out rough. I knew it was probably taking everything he had not to yell at me.
“I was.” Back then I was just starting, not that it made a difference to Torch.
“You need a keeper, Corvado.” That pissed me off. Because where did he even get off, when he’d left me to my own devices after Gregorio was killed.
“Are you offering Bernal?” I shot back, with all the sarcasm I could manage. Torch didn’t react, but he did hit the breaks hard enough to jolt me in my seat. Candela high-fived me and I sat back smugly. Until I remembered the question I was going to ask. “Do we just stop for the night, or do we have to find a place to hide the rig?” I assumed raiders could come for us easier while we slept.
“There’s a township in between the ski lodge and the bunker. We’ll stay there tonight. I knew it was useless to ask him for more details, so I didn’t. Candela would tell me if I asked, but I’d pestered her enough already.
We drove for a few more minutes in silence until we came up to a very small building with glass doors and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. There was also a large awning that seemed to house some kind of pumping station. I ran through my mental catalogue trying to identify it. It was all white, and I couldn’t make out the sign. But the abandoned cars gave it away.
“An old gas station!” I called out, earning an approving grin from Candela—and a cold shoulder from Torch, but what else was new.
“Very good, Brains,” she said, high fiving me again. From where I was, it seemed like it had been cleaned out, but Torch pulled to a stop anyway.
“You can stay here,” Candela said when she saw my hesitation, but I shook my head and unlatched my seatbelt.
“No way, I want to see.” Torch made us wear our goggles and gave me a pistol. He made a show of demonstrating how to undo the safety and how to holster it, like an ass. I tore it from his hand and reminded him he’d taught me how to shoot when I was fifteen. He still had me unlatch the safety twice before he let me get out.
“I know The Burst took out a lot of the population, but I didn’t think there wouldn’t be anyone around.” The cracked road we were on spanned as far as the eye could see. The colors of the chaparral blended with the blue of the sky in a striking manner, but the solitude was overwhelming. After life in a place where there were always people, it was eerie to be the only ones around for miles.
“More survived than you’d think, but the population is about half of what it was pre-Burst. Most people are in communities where water is accessible a bit easier too.” That made sense.
“But people still pass through here,” I gestured to the mostly empty gas station, and she nodded.
“This is one of the few roads that are still usable in this area.” I glanced over at Torch who seemed to be scowling a little less than usual but decided not to press my luck by drawing him into the conversation.
