Forager (9781771275606) (24 page)

At the bottom of the stairs I turned left down another
hallway. On either side of me, faded pictures of landscapes and
flowers blurred by. The pounding steps behind me were closing
in.

I burst through the surgery’s double doors like a lightning
bolt with a tornado on its heels. Sawyer was strapped to the
operating table, and Dr. White stood over him. Brooke, the doctor’s
wife, was pedaling the generator that provided the lights. Lights
that reflected off the mirrored surface of the scalpel Dr. White
held in his right hand.

“
Stop!” I yelled.

Behind me the doors flew open. Frank and the mayor, both more
winded than I was, stood panting in the doorway.

“
What’s going on? Can’t you people see I’m in the middle of
surgery here?” Dr. White said.

I took a deep breath. “Stop—I’ve got the medicine!”

“
Everyone slow down!” Sawyer said. “You two,” he pointed at
Frank and the mayor, “out!”

The mayor nodded. He walked to the door and held it for Frank.
I guess they figured I wasn’t going anywhere, especially since the
double doors were the only way out of the room.

Setting everything on the floor, I brushed past the doctor and
began unbuckling the straps that held Sawyer to the
table.

“
Dillon, what are you doing?” Sawyer asked.

I pointed to the floor. “I’ve found the medicine. It’s in
there.”

“
You left last night?” the doctor asked.

“
Yeah, I just got back.”

“
You know those medicines might not work?” Doctor White
asked.

“
That’s a chance I’ll gladly take.” The relieved smile on
Sawyer’s face was all the justification I needed. I’d done the
right thing.

The doctor sifted through the contents of the pot
first.

“
Be careful,” I warned. “There are knives in there.”

Dr. White pulled his hands back, and then gingerly began a
more careful examination of the pot’s contents. He searched with an
eagerness I’d never seen. I’d heard the expression “like a kid in a
candy store”, and now knew what it meant.

“
What’s this for?” With two fingers low on the handle so that
it hung upside down, the doctor held up the pistol.

I looked at Sawyer and saw him recognize the gun. “That and
the bullets are for Sawyer.”

“
And these?” The doctor held up two knives in one
hand.

“
For Millie.”

“
And batteries too! Did all of this come from the pharmacist’s
house?”

“
Yes.”

Dr. White’s eyebrows lifted as he spilled the contents of the
sack on the floor. “Dillon, are there more meds?”

My knees went weak. Had I spent all night for nothing? “I
didn’t bring the right one, did I?”

“
What? No—No. Several of these will work on Sawyer. At least if
they’re still good they will. But…are there more?”

I nodded. “Lots more.” I told him about the room in the
basement.

“
Let’s hope they work, then. If I can get Sawyer here back on
his feet, then we can send a real Forager out to get the
rest.”

It shouldn’t have bothered me. I’m sure the doctor hadn’t
intended his words unkindly, but they stung. Regardless of my
successes, I wasn’t a real Forager.

Sawyer sat up on the bed, one hand pressed to the wound on his
leg. “What are you waiting for? Give me some of those pills and
let’s see if they work.”

The doctor took one of the packages of bubble-wrapped pills
and opened two. He gazed thoughtfully at the packages, opened
another, and handed three pills to Sawyer. “You realize we won’t
know for at least two days if these are going to work.”

“
They’ll work,” said Sawyer.

“
If they don’t…” Dr. White trailed off.

“
They will.” Sawyer dry-swallowed the pills.

A wave of exhaustion washed over me. I hadn’t slept since
yesterday morning. I wanted a bed, but consequences were waiting
for me on the other side of the double doors. “I guess it’s time to
face the mayor.”

“
Dillon,” Sawyer said.

“
Yeah?”

“
Thanks.”

At that moment, I didn’t care that I wasn’t a real Forager. I
didn’t care that the mayor was waiting for me. All that mattered
was the honest gratitude Sawyer put into that single word. A smile
stretched across my lips as I slipped through the double
doors.

The mayor and Frank leaned against the opposite wall. When I
stepped out of the surgery room, Frank came forward and shook my
hand. “Dillon, even though we told you not to go, I’m glad you did.
I take it you were successful?”

I nodded. “You should know that the place where I found the
medicines, it also has batteries, guns, and ammo. Lots of
ammo.”

“
As soon as the Forager’s healed, we’ll send him out,” he
replied.

“
Did you see any of the Scavengers?” the mayor
asked.

“
No. None.” I wanted to sit down. My legs hurt, my back hurt,
everything hurt. I was exhausted, and my thoughts were foggy, like
my head was stuffed with cotton.

The mayor shook his head. “If the governor ever caught wind of
this, you’d be in serious trouble. You know, I have the authority
to banish you for that stunt you just pulled.”

I was too tired to care, but I was smart enough to simply nod.
Saying anything would only make things worse.

“
I’m glad we understand each other. Because if you don’t get
back on that Forager’s horse and get out there and find where those
Scavengers are holding my daughter, that’s exactly what I’m going
to do.”

For a few seconds the weights lifted from my eyelids. The
mayor wanted me to go back out. “Can…can I get some sleep
first?”

A small chuckle escaped Frank’s mouth. “I don’t think Dillon
cares about anything but a bed right now. Let’s give him a few
hours rest and try this again when he’s a little more
alert.”

“
My daughter might not have a few more hours!”

“
Harold, look at him. He can barely stand. If we send him out
there like that, the Scavengers will kill him if he even gets
close. You know as well as I do those Scavengers aren’t going to
hurt Chane. Not as long as they think we’ll pay her
ransom.”

A heavy breath rushed out of the mayor’s nose. “Fine. Four
hours rest, and he better be ready.

“
Give him at least six. He’s been up all night. Besides, I
think it might be better if he waited until nightfall. There’s a
lot less chance of them seeing him.”

“
There’s a lot less chance of him finding my daughter in the
dark, too!”

Frank looked at me. “You know the general area where they shot
at you, right?”

I nodded. I was only half following their conversation. I’d
moved myself to the side of the double doors so that my back was
against a solid wall. Keeping my eyes open was too much
work.

“
I’ll see if there’s an open bed here,” said Frank.

With my eyes closed, I heard the slight swish of the double
doors as he slipped into the surgery room. I guessed the mayor was
standing there scowling at me, because his breathing was heavy and
irritated.

I may have fallen asleep, because the next thing I remembered
was Frank putting his arm around me and walking me down the hall
into a room. He sat me down on the softest mattress ever made. My
eyes stayed closed the whole time. I didn’t know where the mayor
was, nor did I care. I lay back on the bed and let Frank pull my
shoes off.

“
Sawyer’s horse…she needs tending,” I mumbled.

“
I’ll see it gets done. Now sleep. I’ll be back in six
hours.”

Later, I woke to the sound of hushed voices and the ache of an
empty stomach. Bright sunlight lit the room. Sitting up, I rubbed
the sleep out of my eyes. Frank, Josh, and the mayor all sat on
chairs, quietly arguing about something.

I let them talk. Their murmurs were too soft to distinguish. I
wasn’t interested, anyway. I noticed Josh’s bandaged nose and the
twin bruises around his eyes. They faded from black in the center
to purple and around the edges to a light brownish
green.

Face-planting him into the asphalt might not have been one of
my smarter ideas.

I yawned loudly enough to attract their attention. Frank
looked up. “Good, you’re awake. It’s a bit past midday, but you’ve
got time for a shower and a meal before you need to leave.” He
tossed me some clean clothes.

It took me a moment to remember what “leave” meant. A
yard-long stake of fear streaked down my spine. Naturally, I wanted
Chane back, but I definitely didn’t want to go looking for the
people who had tried using me as target practice.

The mayor stood, walked to where I sat, and held his hand out
to help me stand. I’d always thought of him as a strong man,
probably because of his large frame. When he pulled me to my feet,
though, his grip was weak, like his strength had disappeared with
his daughter.

“
You can use the shower in this room. When you’re done, we’ll
all go to the Dining Hall.”

“
Yeah, Orphan Boy, you stink,” Josh said, as he waved his hand
back and forth through the air.

The mayor frowned, but didn’t speak.

Stepping into the bathroom, I peeled off my clothes. My pants
were so stiff from all the dirt and dust that when I pulled them
off, they were like a cardboard suit. The cold water rained down on
me in sheets of icy pinpricks.

When I emerged ten minutes later, Frank stood and asked, “All
set?”

I nodded. I wasn’t looking forward to sharing my meal with
Josh or the mayor, but I was hungry, and wanted to get outside and
let the sun warm me up. “Where’s Fred?” I asked when the four of us
walked out of the building.

“
Who’s Fred?” the mayor replied.

“
The Forager’s horse,” Frank answered. “I took her down to the
stables.”

“
The horse’s name is Fred?” Josh asked. “I thought she was a
mare.”

“
She is,” I said flatly.

Josh and his father started laughing. I didn’t think it was
all that funny. Josh let Frank and his father get a few steps ahead
of us. Then he grabbed my arm, pointed at his face, and harshly
whispered, “You’re gonna pay for this. No one does this to me. You
hear me? No one.”

Jerking my arm free, I did my best to keep the fear out of my
eyes and stayed quiet in case my voice wavered. Sure I was scared,
but it was nothing compared to the terror of those Scavengers
shooting at me.

Maybe that was all bravery really was. Maybe it was having
something else that scared you more.

Josh wouldn’t be intimidating me again. A reckoning was
coming. It wouldn’t be now, not with his father a few steps away,
but when it came, I’d be ready.

We walked to the Dining Hall in tense silence. The smell of
tomatoes, peppers, and onions cooked with a fragrant spice lingered
in the air. It made my stomach rumble and my mouth water. The few
people seated were eating spaghetti.

Millie looked up when she saw us enter. “Dillon, it’s good to
see you’re okay. Thanks for the stockpot and the knives. Frank
brought them to me earlier.” She pointed the ladle she was holding
at a pot of tomato sauce. “I’ve already put the pot to good
use.”

“
I can tell. It smells great in here!” I said.

“
You can thank my spice garden for the smell, but without this
pot, there’d be people missing out, including yourself.”

Millie heaped the spaghetti on a plate. I hoped it tasted as
good as it smelled. Without waiting for the others, I carried the
heavy plate to an empty table and began shoveling the fantastic
food into my mouth. It was my first real meal in three
days.

The mayor, Frank, and Josh joined me at the table. “Let’s get
down to business,” the mayor said.

I swallowed. Before I put the next heaping bite in my mouth, I
said, “What’s to talk about? You want me to go back out there and
find out where they’re hiding Chane, right?”

I took another bite while the mayor said, “There’s more to it
than that. The most important thing is to remain
unseen.”

I thought that was kinda obvious.

“
Let me explain,” said Frank. “We need you to find the
Scavengers’ base. They know where we are, it’s time we did some
reconnaissance of our own. We need to know not just where they’re
holding the mayor’s daughter, but everything you can tell us about
their camp. Are they in a building? If so, what kind? How many
doors and windows? How many are guarding Chane? Is she tied up?
Where? How many guards on the road? What’s the best way to sneak up
on them?”

“
I get it—we’re going to kidnap her back,” I said.

“
She’s my daughter. We’re rescuing her!” said the
mayor.

A few of the nearby diners turned and stared at the four of
us. I lowered my voice. “Sorry, bad choice of words.”