HOPE’S WORDS TOOK US by surprise.
“If Maddox has gone back to the Eagle’s Nest,” Hope said, “then I’ll just go there too.”
“One against an army?” Goodman Dougherty asked. “Good luck even getting up there.”
“I did it before. No reason I can’t again.”
“And this time there’ll be two of us,” I added.
Hope gave me an I can do this on my own look.
“It’ll be easier with some company,” I said.
She opened her mouth to protest but realized there was no point. I was coming along, whether she wanted me to or not. Still, there was something in her eyes I couldn’t read. Something she wasn’t saying.
“How’re you gonna get there in time?” Cat asked.
“I don’t know,” Hope said. “But we’ve gotta try.”
Goodman Dougherty tugged at the place where his beard once was. “Might be that I can be of some assistance with that.”
He led us to the hollow where we’d first stopped, and as we neared, Flush, Red, Diana, and Twitch rushed from the aspen grove and greeted us. Of course, none was faster than Argos, who burrowed his head in my arms.
As everyone exchanged hugs and handshakes, Goodman Dougherty went to a pile of tree limbs and began flinging them to one side. Buried beneath the branches was a military Humvee.
“How’d you get that?” I asked.
“Guess I just look trustworthy, now that I’m all clean cut.” He rubbed his bare, razor-nicked face. “That and the fact I stole it when no one was looking.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the map of the United States we’d been passing back and forth. He spread it out on the vehicle’s hood.
“You’ll want to follow these roads. They aren’t great, but they’re the most passable ones.” His finger snaked along a series of thin blue and red lines.
Hope and I studied the map. “Is there enough gas?” she asked.
“I put some spare cans in the back. Should be enough to get you there. I can’t promise about the return.”
Hope didn’t respond—it was like she didn’t care about that small detail—and Dougherty went on.
“I picked up some more weapons, too—knives, bows and arrows, slingshots. Figured we’d be needing ’em.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m not kicking you out or anything, but if you hope to stop her in time, you better get going.”
There was an awkward moment as the eight of us looked at one another. Here we’d just reunited and now we were splitting up again.
Once more, we exchanged handshakes and hugs, but this time ones of farewell. When I went to shake Cat’s hand, he waved me off.
“I’ll see you again,” he growled.
We’d had our share of good-byes before, but this one felt different—maybe even permanent.
As Hope, Argos, and I climbed into the Humvee, Dougherty said, “I never asked. Do you know how to drive one of these things?”
Hope shrugged. “If Brown Shirts can do it, how difficult can it be?”
She put her foot on the gas and we peeled out, flinging mud. I glanced out the side window and saw the other six standing in the shadow of the ridge, waving good-bye. I had a feeling I would never see them again.