Survive the Journey (EMP by Grace Hamilton

Author:Grace Hamilton [Hamilton, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-09T16:00:00+00:00

19

Staying awake was his biggest struggle. The crackling fire and the dancing lights on the trees were hypnotic, and a few times, he found himself swooning, on the verge of drifting off. Each time, he gave himself a vicious pinch, and it helped rouse him yet again. Soon enough, his whole left forearm hurt.

The fire sounded inordinately loud, the crackling of wood carrying out into the quiet night. Greg’s vision was fixed on the shadows beyond the fire, scanning between the trees for any strange movement at all. He was careful not to make any sound of his own, careful to keep his gaze fixed on the dark places.

The long quiet stretched out, the minutes feeling interminable, and gradually his sleepiness was replaced with a mounting unease. The stalker was out there somewhere. He knew that. He’d heard another footstep while making the fire. Where was he now? How close had he come? Greg had the gun hidden behind his right leg and the fingers of his left hand sunk into the pile of dirt.

Come on, you skulking coward, he thought. Show yourself. Do something.

But the silence persisted. Another tense minute stretched by, and another. Greg tried to breathe as quietly as he could, waiting for some sound, any sound.

And then it came. A single, loud click, which he recognized as the cocking of a hammer. From the sound of it, he thought it was a single-action revolver, some old gun, maybe an antique. So that was it, then? He’d just wanted to get close enough to take a clear shot? The stranger hadn’t said anything, hadn’t made any demands, hadn’t shown his face. He didn’t want anything but to kill and loot. Now, it was clear, and Greg didn’t have to wonder any longer. He knew what needed to be done.

His left hand was still sunk deep into the dirt pile, but he swung it back, flinging the dirt onto the fire. The flames were immediately dampened, if not entirely put out, and the clearing plunged into darkness. Immediately, Greg fell to one side, throwing himself into the shallow hole he’d dug. The guttering fire cast up a great cloud of smoke, further hiding him.

Somewhere to his left, in the direction of the trail, Greg heard a muffled voice cursing. Since he’d been sitting with his back to the fire, his gaze on the shadows, he wasn’t fire-blinded. He could only hope the same was not true of his pursuer. Greg dared to raise his head, thrusting the rifle out in front of him as he looked in the direction of the voice. He soon spotted a shape there, moving behind the veil of smoke. It looked like the man was stepping to one side, as if trying to find a better approach to the camp. He seemed short and stocky, but otherwise Greg couldn’t make out anything about him.

I’ve got you now, Greg thought.

He rolled out of the pit toward the trees, as smoke continued to fill the clearing.

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