The Awakened World Boxed Set by William Stacey

Author:William Stacey [Stacey, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-12T22:00:00+00:00

Angie used her sleeve to wipe the stinging sweat from her eyes. She had left the Seagraves several hours earlier, and now the sun was above the trees, cooking her. It wasn't yet noon, but this was the end of August, when the temperature usually hit a hundred and ten to a hundred and twenty degrees. Even worse, there was no tree cover as she made her way along the Sunrise Highway as it wound its way up Mount Laguna. She pulled out her canteen and sipped from it, forcing herself to drink less than she wanted. She ran her tongue over her cracked lips. I should have planned this better, taken more supplies. But if I had waited another minute, I wouldn't have come...

And maybe I shouldn't have.

Pine trees dotted either side of the broken asphalt road, the land on her left sloping down to give an eye-opening view of the entire Pine Valley, including the still-burning settlement far below. By now, Erin and the others would be well on their way to the pass. By dark, they should be through it. Shielding her face from the sun with her hand, she stared up the mountain, guessing that she might be on the summit by early afternoon. If she found Tavi, she could warn her and then make her own way back down and to the pass, hopefully catching up to Erin and her brothers.

If the chupacabras didn't catch her first.

She heard Erin's words again, warning her that she was throwing her life away for a woman who wouldn't do the same—if she were even still alive. The smart thing, Angie knew, was to turn around right now and ride Cobble hard for the pass.

Instead, she kept leading the tired horse up the mountain road.

I really am an idiot.

An hour later, she heard soft gurgling in the pine trees on her right—another stream. Her canteen was nearly empty now. The pine trees were thick here, with gullies and tall brush blocking her view. She stared at the woods, wondering if there were bears. Going off the road was foolish, but if she ignored the stream, she’d run out of water long before reaching the summit. Water was life in the wilderness, and there was no way of knowing when—or if—she'd find more. Besides, it wasn't as if she were going to get lost. There was only one road, and all she had to do was move downhill to find it.

She climbed down from Cobble, adjusted her scabbard, and checked the action on her assault rifle, making sure a round was chambered and the weapon was on safety. "Come on, old girl," she said as she led the mare off the road and into the trees. Cobble whinnied, either offering encouragement or calling her an idiot, but either way, she came along.

As soon as she was into the trees and out of the sun, the temperature became slightly more tolerable. It was still bitterly hot, but at least she wasn't going to melt.

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