Cargo (The Reservation Trilogy Book 1) by Castleberry Jen

Author:Castleberry, Jen [Castleberry, Jen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-16T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Two men dismount from the jeep and approach us. They have guns at their sides, like the one Karsci pointed at me. There's a dog trotting at their heels. I think he's the same dog from earlier, but I can't be sure. Maybe all working dogs look the same.

The men wear slacks and long-sleeved shirts like Nathan, like me. All of their clothes are the color of sand. The jeep is khaki-colored, too. I don't think we would've seen it beneath the white light of the sun.

Their hair is cut short, like Nathan's, like the dead men’s hair. Nathan pulls up his sleeves and I realize I haven't seen his bare arms before. I haven't seen any of his body before. He's been covered up from ankle to wrist all this time.

There's a tattoo inked on each of his forearms, a series of dashes. A bar code, like the bar code I saw on my ticket. He folds his hands behind his head. I cross my arms over my heart and hug my chest.

"Squatters?" one of the officers says. He's speaking to Nathan like they might know each other. The dog bumps his nose against the boots of the dead men and whines.

"Not like squatters to take more than guns and reservoir packs," Nathan says. "But who else could it be, way out here?"

I wrinkle my brow. Nathan knows who did this. Why is he pretending to be so unsure? Am I safe with Nathan? What do I know about him, really? That it’s his job to bring me to the Reservation? That he runs errands for murderers? Maybe Nars was right to be leery of him.

"Cargo?" one of the officers says, nodding at me.

"I have a name," I say.

"She has a name."

The officers exchange a glance and a grin. I don't think we should be grinning when there's men decomposing not two feet in front of us.

"How about a ticket?”

I take out my yellow envelope. I know they're teasing me. I don't like them, and I don't like Nathan right now either. Maybe I should've run back to the crater with Nars.

The officer closest to me takes the envelope. He waves me on towards the jeep with a flourish. "After you," he says. I don't budge. "You got any Ace in that pack?" he says, and Nathan shrugs.

"You think I have any left?" he says. "She's a spitfire."

The three of them laugh. I haven't heard Nathan laugh before. I don't like the fact that he's laughing at me.

"Go on," Nathan says. He nudges my hip with his hand.

The sky is lighter now; it fades to yellow by degrees. Day is coming, and with it, the heat. I wonder if Nars will make it back to the caves before the sun comes up.

I know that Nars said I have choices, but he was wrong. There's nothing I can do at this moment but get into the backseat of the jeep. It's either that, or stay in the desert and die.

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