Page 9 of Wanted
Knox patted the dusty floor in disbelief, but then let out a manic laugh, resting his head on Liv’s chest. It thudded with a furious heartbeat.
“We’re in!”
Liv rubbed the back of his head, resting as the floor shook under them, and the train sped up. “Yeah. Let’s keep our heads down. It’s going up north.”
Knox groaned, for once not fighting the comforting touch. He was too tired. “So much for our dream of Mexico. It’s gonna be fucking cold, isn’t it?”
Liv moved his hand down to Knox’s back. “We’ll be fine. It’s not winter yet. We’ll just have to huddle up together.”
Typical Liv, always looking on the bright side of things.
Knox sighed. “We do have your fuck blanket. It’s in my backpack.”
“Ooh, good memories will keep us warm,” Liv said with a chuckle, but for now Knox didn’t want to consider whether the thing hadeverbeen washed.
For now, he would just enjoy what they had.
Chapter 5
Liv
It was fucking cold,and the fuck blanket, whilea covering, hadn't kept them sufficiently warm last night. The constant drizzle tapping on the car roof not only didn’t help them stop shivering, but also turned the landscape outside into faded gray mush. Liv saw nothing of note about any of the little towns, woodlands, and fields they passed by, but one thing was certain.
They were heading north all right, because this definitely wasn’t California.
At some point, they’d been joined by an old dude who claimed to have train-hopped for the past fifty years. Whether he just wanted the railcar to himself or genuinely tried to help, he’d suggested they change to a different train in the middle of the night. Since neither Liv nor Knox felt comfortable sleeping with the stranger around, they chose to follow his suggestion.
On the upside, the stopover offered them a chance to break into a drugstore with very poor locks and steal nearly thewhole supply of Knox’s meds, along with T-shirts advertising a blood drive from two years ago. The design they featured was pixelated, as if whoever ordered them hadn’t paid attention to image resolution requirements when submitting the picture for printing, but the ugly tops offered a chance to change out of dirty clothes. And neither Liv nor Knox could afford to be fussy.
Now that their second train neared its final destination, the question was: should they risk showing their faces at the station? Maybe it would be safer to disembark someplace more discreet?
They were both still coming to terms with their new position in life. Homeless, with barely a few dollars to their names, they couldn’t plan beyond the next few hours. Following their drugstore raid, which didn’t include trying to break into the safe, as that felt far too risky, they chose to buy themselves a warm meal. But the pleasant fullness of its aftermath was now only a memory.
“That burger was one of the best I ever had,” Knox mused, looking out of their train car with longing painted all over his face. “The fries were perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy inside,” he muttered, hugging his knees to his chest to conserve warmth.
Liv sighed. His stomach felt so empty his head wasn’t working quite right anymore, but all that was left from the stolen provisions was a single protein bar, and he wanted to save it for a time of utter desperation.
“Loved that spice they used on them. It wasn’t just salt. It had some kind of flavor. Almost like… chicken soup concentrate, or something.”
A small smile pulled at Knox’s lips, and he rested his cheek on his knees. “And the ketchup they came with wasn’t watery at all. Thick, tart, but a little sweet. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was homemade.” He glanced out again when the train started slowing.
Liv groaned, staring out into the rain. They’d gotten rid of their phones, so he didn't know the time, but it had already been getting dark when they passed the last station. “I think we’re nearing the last stop.”
“We shouldn't be seen there,” Knox said, mirroring Liv’s own thoughts. He pointed outside. “Look there, in the valley, beyond the trees. There’s like old cars, a shed? No lights. Might be good shelter for the night.”
Liv squinted, grinning when he noticed the blurry shapes. “That’s our chance,” he agreed, putting on the backpack containing all of their belongings. “Careful.”
“I’ll be fine. I think the wound on my forearm is healing well. Just hurts like a motherfucker.”
The undercurrent of their fight over Amanda kept nagging at them both, but they pretended that wasn’t the case. If Liv could have his way, he would erase it from his mind altogether. They had bigger fish to fry than petty jealousies and Knox’s weird-ass sex rationing.
“I’m off!” Liv said and jumped out of the railcar.
The small rocks making up the side of the track were disturbed by his sudden landing, but he managed to keep his balance. Within seconds, water dripped down his face, and his denim jacket started soaking in the rain. But there was no alternative to walking, so he turned and watched Knox follow his lead as the train continued its lazy glide through the woodland. He somehow managed to make the jump much more graceful, but this wasn’t a gymnastics championship and what mattered to Liv was that he didn’t break anything.
“My jacket’s waterproof. I’ll take it off and we can both put it over our heads,” Knox said, already unzipping the front.
Liv shook his head. “Nah, my hair’s so short it’ll dry the moment I'm under a roof.” He took a step away from the passing train, in the direction of the structures they’d seen earlier. Hismuscles felt unusually weak, but when he thought about the lone protein bar waiting in the backpack, he figured he might as well enjoy it once they were in a dry place.
