Page 65 of Everything Under the Sun

“I came alone,” Edgar said. “Do you see anyone else here other than us? I followed you earlier today when you went to talk with Granger about the horse. I knew you’d probably leave with the girl before the week was over, and most likely in the middle of the night, so I made sure to be here so I wouldn’t miss you. And I heard the soldiers talking in the bar; heard them planning something tonight”—Edgar’s eyes swept over my injured face—“I see they pulled that off, at least.”

I released Edgar’s throat the rest of the way and stepped back next to Thais, but kept the gun trained on him. He coughed again; massaged his throat with his fingertips.

“And that’s exactly what I fed Wolf: a lot of bullshit,” he went on. “The Southern Faction is twice as large as what I told Wolf it was—bigger than Wolf’s army. And they’re definitely not weak—it’s the fucking South, Hunt. What do you think went on down there before The Fall? They had more guns than the rest of the country combined. I told Wolf only what he needed to believe: ‘They’re nothing down there’; ‘Their armies are a bunch of kids with slingshots and BB guns’; ‘Don’t waste the time and energy going south when you have the North-Central Territory to worry about before it gets any bigger’; ‘Go toward Ohio and Illinois and the Great Lakes’; ‘Worry about the South later.’ As much as Wolf pretended to be annoyed by me in front of everybody else, he sure asked for my opinion a lot when no one was around.”

I didn’t want to, but I was beginning to believe Edgar. Had Edgar been playing a role for nearly a year since he’d come to Lexington City? Was he that good at manipulation that he could fool someone like Overlord Wolf? I hoped Edgar wasn’t so good I was the one being manipulated right now.

“Now, why are you here?” I asked one last time.

“I wanted to tell you and the girl to head southwest from here,” Edgar answered promptly. “Don’t go through Memphis—there’s nothing but chaos there—but find your way to Shreveport. The girl will be safe there; she can have a real life. Tell them I sent you.”

“I’m taking the girl east,” I lied; I didn’t know where I’d take Thais, but thought I’d at least tell Edgar I was heading in the one direction I wouldn’t go.

“There’s nothing east and you know it,” Edgar reasoned. “There are cracks and savages all over Virginia. You take her east and through the Appalachian Mountains and she’s as good as dead. Not to mention the U.Z. waiting for you if by some miracle you make it past Appalachia.”

U.Z. was short for ‘Uninhabitable Zone’. A portion of the East Coast was a wasteland of failed nuclear power plants, and the only people that lived there anymore—if they were still alive—were those who didn’t get out before the meltdowns.

“Listen,” Edgar said, stepping up closer. “I’ll do what I can to keep Wolf’s men from following you. I’ll tell them I saw you going west, that I overheard you talking to the girl about making it to Topeka, or something—whatever; I’ll make something up. But please, if you want to help this girl, then you need to head for Shreveport City.”

I made eye contact with Thais standing beside me. Her eyes were soft and pleading, but mostly she looked frightened. What should I do? Should I trust Edgar? Edgar, of all people?

After battling with my thoughts, I reached out and grabbed a fistful of Edgar’s shirt. “If you’re lying to me,” I growled, our noses almost touching, “you’ll regret you ever met me.”

Edgar’s neck-fat jiggled as he nodded.

I released him.

Voices rose on the air, and the three of us glanced nervously at one another.

I hooked my hands at Thais’ waist and hoisted her onto the horse’s back; she grabbed hold of the neck and mane for balance.

“Tell them whatever you want,” I told Edgar as I slipped one backpack on my back, and then grabbed the other.

“Southwest,” Edgar recapped. “Gordon Brant—and stay away from Memphis.”

As the voices of soldiers moved closer, Edgar hurried through the dark parking garage and slipped out through the back side.

I jumped onto the horse behind Thais, grabbed the reins, and we took off, heading southwest, together as fugitives.

PART

II

~DARKNESS & LIGHT~

23

THAIS

We made it to Harrodsburg by morning.

“We have to find a place to hide until nightfall,” Atticus said. “We can’t travel out in the open like this.” He pointed at a small house just off the highway. “It’s as good as any. Hopefully no one’s home.”

Yes, hopefully, I thought as we went toward it.

When we were in full view of the porch, Atticus hopped down from the horse.

“Stay here,” he told me, and then walked up the creaking steps.

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