Battle Hour [Impact Series, Book Four] (Impact Hour 4) by Harley Vex

Author:Harley Vex [Vex, Harley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

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Pat didn't try breaking away as they walked, but it wasn't as if he could. The long trip had weakened and stiffened him, as they only allowed him to void his bladder or sit in Mally's restaurant. He took on a shuffled gait along the road's white line. The air remained mild, chilly instead of cold, and a distant ocean breeze rolled over them, dry but soothing. Though the sky here was an odd pink instead of a tan, it almost lifted Tessa's spirits. It was only them, an occasional guardrail, and the trees.

Larry may not have expected them to show up here. As Alex would say, she had to hope.

Alex, meanwhile, seemed to deflate as he walked along the shoulder. His shoulders slumped forward, and not because he was hiding his gun.

"Hey, we're going to get Brett out of here," Tessa said. "If he stays for too long, they'll ruin him."

"Brett wouldn't believe the crap they spout," Alex said.

"That's not what I mean." Tessa swallowed and eyed the curving road ahead, hating the lack of a view. Some trees lay fallen on each other from what must have been a shock wave from the north. Mikey and Louie described swaths of burned forests and several vehicles that didn't escape the flames in time.

She was glad Alex never saw that.

Alex cleared his throat. "You're worried Brett's going to lose it."

"Either at me or at Larry, and I don't want him to deal with that." She still wasn't sure how Brett felt about her, but they had to try something, or it would haunt her for the rest of her life. Brett seemed to have suppressed all his memories of his past life with his bio family, and they might roar back once he got stuck in Modern Truth again.

Alex said nothing to her words as they rounded the fifth curve, hugging the guardrail and crunching the dry pine needles on the road.

They stepped over another fallen tree, which didn't bode well for the town's state ahead. Voltstown was nearby, according to Pat, but he needed to figure out the exact location, and Tessa believed him on that part. Only insiders could have that knowledge.

She wanted to send Pat to scout, but he'd ask Modern Truth for shelter. So guarded, he would remain.

Bardsley appeared abruptly around the next curve.

Tessa froze, slapping her hand over Alex's chest.

It wasn't a big town, and entirely hidden in the trees. A downtown of connected, old-style buildings spread out a half mile away. Milling, dark figures walked up and down the street with purpose.

Tessa's gut screamed at her to hide, and she seized Alex's arm and pulled him into the trees, and the others followed. Several tense seconds followed, and Steven shoved Pat to the forest floor while Louie and Mikey seized a tree trunk.

Steven lowered his voice. "Did you see something?"

Nerves entered Mikey's voice. "There's a town ahead, so Pat was right."

Now hidden, Tessa could process what she'd seen. She took a breath, waiting for shouts that didn't come.

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