5.Vanish by Tess Gerritsen

Author:Tess Gerritsen [Gerritsen, Tess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-09-18T12:00:06+00:00

NINETEEN

Mila

Neither Olena nor I know where we are going.

We have never walked through these woods, and we don’t know where we will emerge. I wear no stockings, and the cold quickly penetrates my thin shoes. Despite the Mother’s sweater and turtleneck, I am chilled and shivering. The lights of the house have receded behind us, and glancing back, I see only the darkness of woods. On numb feet, I trudge across frozen leaves, keeping my focus on the silhouette of Olena, who walks ahead of me, carrying the tote bag. My breath is like smoke. Ice crackles beneath our shoes. I think of a war movie I once saw in school, of cold and starving German soldiers staggering through the snow to their doom on the Russian front. Don’t stop. Don’t question. Just keep marching was what those desperate soldiers must have been thinking. It’s what I’m thinking now as I stumble through the woods.

Ahead of us, a light suddenly twinkles.

Olena halts, holding up her arm to make me stop. We stand as still as the trees, watching as the lights move past, and we hear the whoosh of tires on wet pavement. We push through the last tangle of brush, and our feet hit blacktop.

We have reached a road.

By now my feet are so senseless from the cold that I am clumsy and floundering as I try to keep up with her. Olena is like a robot, trudging steadily forward. We begin to see houses, but she doesn’t stop. She is the general, and I’m just the dumb foot soldier, following a woman who knows no more than I do.

“We can’t walk forever,” I tell her.

“We can’t stay here, either.”

“Look, that house has its lights on. We could ask for help.”

“Not now.”

“How long are we supposed to keep walking? All night, all week?”

“As long as we need to.”

“Do you even know where we’re going?”

She suddenly turns, the rage so apparent on her face that I freeze. “You know what? I’m sick of you! You’re nothing but a baby. A stupid, scared rabbit.”

“I just want to know where we’re going.”

“All you ever do is whine and complain! Well, I’ve had enough. I’m done with you.” She reaches into the tote bag and pulls out the bundle of American money. She breaks the rubber band and thrusts half the cash at me. “Here, take it and get out of my sight. If you’re so smart, go your own way.”

“Why are you doing this?” I feel hot tears in my eyes. Not because I’m afraid, but because she is my only friend. And I know that I am losing her.

“You’re a drag on me, Mila. You’ll slow me down. I don’t want to have to watch out for you all the time. I’m not your fucking mother!”

“I never wanted you to be.”

“Then why don’t you grow up?”

“And why don’t you stop being a bitch!”

The car takes us by surprise. We are so focused on each other that we do not notice its approach.

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