Forager (9781771275606) (28 page)

I liked her honesty, and that she was trusting me with it, but
it gave me the opportunity to gather more information. “You
couldn’t just admit that you made a mistake?”

“
It’s the same thing. Leaders don’t make mistakes. No one
respects you. If I lose their respect, I’m done.”

An idea began to worm its way into my brain. “You said you
needed compensation for Chane. Does it have to be
supplies?”

“
What are you getting at?” she asked.

“
What if I could get you a doctor and some medicine for your
wounded?”

Her eyes flickered. I took it for a telltale sign of interest.
“Medicine? You can get real medicine, and a real
doctor?”

I was confident Dr. White would be willing to trade his
services to secure our release. What I didn’t know was whether or
not the medicines would work. I decided it didn’t matter. I wasn’t
promising they would, only that I could get them.

“
Yes,” I answered with as much confidence as I
could.

“
In that case, I can send Chane on one of your horses and keep
you and her brother here as hostages.”

That wouldn’t work. I was the only one who knew the location
of the medicines. I didn’t want to tell her that, though. If she
knew our town didn’t have most of the medicines, I’d lose half of
my bargaining power.

“
You could do that,” I said.
“But wouldn’t it make your position stronger if
you held on to Josh and let me take Chane back?”

“
Don’t try and get clever with me. I saw how you looked at him.
You could care less what happens to him.”

“
True, but if Chane and I go back, you still have Josh. The
mayor will be so happy to see his daughter that he’ll be more
likely to agree to the terms.”

“
That doesn’t explain why you have to go. I could send Chane by
herself.”

Quickly, I tried to think. What could I tell her that would
allow me to get back to town without having to reveal the cache of
medicines? My mind went blank.

“
You’re hiding something. Out with it.”

It was no good to lie to her. “I’m the only one who knows
where the medicines are.”

Rasp studied me, her deep green eyes searching every detail of
my face. “Ah, you found the medicines while you were Foraging.
Where are they?”

If I gave up the location of the cache, she’d take everything.
The mayor would kill me, but what choice did I have?

“
If I tell you where they are, you have to let us all go free,
right now.”

“
No. Even with the medicines, no one here knows anything about
them. We’d still need a doctor.”

With no leverage against us, there would be no reason for Dr.
White to come. He, like the rest of the town, had no love for
Scavengers.

“
Here’s what I’m willing to do,” Rasp said. “You will lead a
small party to the medicines. When we find them, Chane will be
released to you. Chane’s brother will remain here until your doctor
has treated the wounded. Do we have a deal?”

“
One thing,” I said. “It won’t be pretty, but Josh needs to
know. He’s not going to be happy about being left
behind.”

She nodded her agreement.

Rasp led me back through the house, past the wounded again.
Their moans and cries were easier to tolerate now that I might be
able to help them. My whole life I’d been taught that Scavengers
were lower than animals, that they were a plague on our town. Now,
after seeing them, talking with Rasp, and feeling the pain of their
wounded, I wondered why.

Josh called me an idiot three times and only threatened to
beat my face in twice when I told him our plan. All in all, he took
the news surprisingly well.

We met up with Chane over where Fred and a horse for Rasp were
waiting.

“
I don’t want to go back to town. I like it here,” Chane said
when Rasp told her she had to leave.

“
There won’t be a
here
if you don’t go back. Your father and all
the townsfolk are preparing an attack. We can’t stand against them.
If you stay, it will only be to watch the rest of us
die.”

Chane’s eyes filled with tears. “Can I come back?”

“
Only if your father approves. I won’t harbor you against his
will. I’m sorry. It’s not safe for the rest of us.”

I refused to acknowledge Chane and stared at the horses
instead. “Where’s Bonnie, the horse Josh rode?” I asked.

“
I could care less about the loudmouth, but the horse can be
put to good use. Don’t worry, as long as you deliver, you’ll get
both of them back.”

Fred gave me a look that said,
What have you got us into this
time?

After patting her neck, I prepared to mount. It was then that
I noticed Fred carried nothing but her saddle. “Where’s the
saddlebags and weapons? Those belong to the Forager.”

“
Very well. Marsh—” she called to one of the men working in the
coral. “Get the saddlebags and everything that was in them. The
weapons, too.” To me she said, “I don’t need an angry Forager on
top of everything else.”

While Marsh collected Sawyer’s belongings, Chane stood next to
me and stared at the ground. I could have spoken to her, but I
chose not to hear her excuses.

Fred tossed her head and snorted. I think she was impatient to
be off.

When everything arrived, I fastened the saddlebags to Fred’s
saddle. Rasp unloaded Sawyer’s rifle. When it was empty, she handed
me the gun. Then she unscrewed the broadhead tips from the arrows
and placed them in a leather satchel she wore around her neck. When
she was done, she handed me both the bow and the shafts.

I had Sawyers weapons, but unless I wanted to use them as
clubs, they were useless. It reminded me of the one thing I hadn’t
told her. “Rasp, medicines aren’t the only thing in the
cache.”

“
Yes?”

Fred stamped her hoof.
Let’s go already
.

Reaching up, I rubbed her behind her ear. “There’s a small
arsenal in there—rifles, shotguns, handguns. There’s lots of ammo,
too.”

“
And you’re telling me this now, because?”

“
You’ll have plenty of weapons. I’d like the broadheads back.
They’re scarce.”

“
If everything is as you say, I will return the arrowheads,
provided you wait until you are a least a mile away before screwing
them back in.”

It was more than I hoped for. I nodded my head in easy
agreement.

“
Are you ready?” she asked.

I mounted Fred and pulled Chane up behind me.
“Ready.”

Fred snorted.
It’s about time.

It was evening, but we had a fair amount of daylight left. It
would have to be enough.

It was hard to ride Fred with Chane behind me. I was glad four
other Scavengers and a team of horses pulling one of the big grain
wagons accompanied us. They’d be there in case I got us into
trouble.

The uneventful trip took about half of our daylight. It gave
me plenty of time to consider all the ways the mayor was going to
kill me.

Leaving Chane and Fred with Rasp’s guards, I headed for the
bushes. It was easier to get behind them in the daylight, but I
still suffered more scratches squirming my way between the house
and the thick shrubs. The rock was right where I’d left it. Bending
down to get the key, I saw the pry bar I’d lost.

I picked it up and bounced the tool in my palm. The weight of
the cool steel twisted my thoughts. A solid hit on the back of the
head when Rasp wasn’t looking would solve a lot of my problems. It
wouldn’t work out here in the open, though. I’d have to wait until
she was inside, away from her guards. Once she was down, it was
straight to the basement, load a gun, and take out the guards. Then
I could take Chane and the Scavengers’ horses and wagon back to
town where I could gather the townsfolk to rescue Josh.

I shook my head and let the pry bar fall. Hating myself for
even thinking I could do something like that. Rasp was decent
enough, and she seemed sincere about our deal.

I collected the key from under the rock, climbed out of the
bushes, and unlocked the front door. Rasp followed close on my
heels. I couldn’t blame her for staying behind me, especially after
my brutal thoughts—she had to figure I’d try something, given the
chance.

I led her to the basement. The light coming in from the
walk-out door showed me the furniture and frizzy brown carpet,
which were only shadows in my poorly lit first visit. Rasp pointed
at the hole in the cinderblocks. “You do this?”

I nodded.

“
You went through a lot of work.”

“
Yeah.” Keeping my eyes on her face as I pulled the door open
and ushered her inside. Her expression remained stoic and
unreadable. “Can I have the broadheads now?” I asked.

She handed me her leather satchel. I fished out the arrowheads
and handed it back. She never took her eyes off of the contents of
that room.

“
I’ll be back in the morning with the doctor.”

Rasp still didn’t say anything. I left her standing in the
doorway. I opened the sliding glass door and walked around to the
front of the house where Chane and the Scavengers were
waiting.

Marsh, Rasp’s hostler, held the reins of the horses pulling
the grain wagon. “It would be easiest for you to move the wagon
around to the back of the house,” I said. “There’s a door there
that will make loading easier.”

Chane stood next to Fred. She twirled her right index finger
through her long hair while the fingers on her left hand drummed
against her leg. “I don’t want to go back. Dad’s gonna kill me,”
she said in a small and fearful voice.

You and me both.

A tiny piece of me pitied her, but mostly I was too hurt and
angry to care. I climbed on Fred and sat there looking straight
ahead, waiting. A few moments later Chane let out a heavy sigh. The
saddle jostled slightly as she climbed up and settled in behind me.
Nudging Fred into a walk, I pointed us back to town.

The great orange ball of the setting sun filled the sky, too
low on the horizon to provide light the entire way home. A few days
ago I’d have jumped at the opportunity to ride with Chane. I’d have
given anything to spend some time alone with her. Now all I wanted
was to take her home. I’d finally seen past her pretty face to the
selfish, immature, and devious girl she was. I couldn’t wait to get
back to town so I could dump her on her father.

“
You’re not going to tell my father I ran away are you?” It
sounded like something an eight-year-old would say.

“
I won’t, if you tell me why your father has made it illegal to
hunt,” I said.

“
Dillon, I can’t. My dad…he made us
promise. I…I can’t.
He’d kill me if I
told.
You
don’t know what he’s like when he’s mad.”

I had a pretty good idea.

I decided to let it go. I wasn’t going to force it out of
her. Besides, I’d rather hear it from the mayor.
He needed to be honest with me
, and everyone. If things
returned to normal, I’d be getting my jolts in a day or two. I
resolved to make sure I left the town square with the
answer.

“
Please, Dillon, you can’t say anything to him about me running
away.”

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. The mayor deserved to
know the truth. The whole town did. To buy some time I asked, “How
did you even manage to find the Scavengers in the first
place?”

“
It wasn’t hard. I waited until nightfall when they came to
collect their dead and wounded. It was easy enough to follow them.
Dillon, if you keep quiet, I’ll go to next movie night with
you.”

I’d sooner take Fred.

She must have sensed my indifference. “I’ll ask my dad to drop
the charges. It’ll be like a reward for rescuing me.” Her voice
rose with excitement, like she expected me to jump at a deal like
that.

A few days ago I would have. Now, the jolts didn’t scare me as
much. It was pain, discomfort, and public humiliation, but what of
it? Once I was through it, it would be over. In time, people would
forget it happened. In time, I might too.

“
I’ll think about it.”

“
How did you know there were medicines in that house?” she
asked.

I reveled in the chance to tell her what had happened in town
the last few days and didn’t try to sugarcoat it. She should know
how much trouble she’d caused. I started with the search for the
alternator, which was made more desperate by the ransom demand she
and the Scavengers cooked up. Then I told her about the town-wide
search for her, and how it cost us most of a day’s work. My voice
cracked when I mentioned Sawyer, the infection in his leg, and my
quest to see him healed.