The Gatherer Series, Book 1 by Colleen Winter

Author:Colleen Winter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2019-07-29T14:44:14+00:00

EIGHTEEN

Storm searched for obstacles in the shallow river, the splash of the raindrops preventing her from seeing much of anything on the agitated surface. They swept downstream, the motor rumbling behind her in warning as if the occasional bite of its electromagnetic field on her back wasn’t enough to keep her pinned to the windshield. She adjusted the throttle, searching for a balance between her fear of being pursued and the field that pulled the hairs on her neck whenever she pushed too far.

Maria said something that was drowned out by the rain. She lay with a lifejacket under her head, the space beneath the bow just big enough to keep her out of the rain. Storm bent her head below the dashboard, grateful for the momentary break from the rain’s onslaught.

Maria had pushed aside the sleeping bag and had the rifle in her hand with it open to where the bullets slid in. She was removing the bullets and placing them into her pocket. She nodded towards a long metal box, a shining silver padlock locking it shut.

“There could be something useful in there.”

She handled the rifle with precise controlled movements, her discipline leaving her functional, if looking pale, her mouth set in a tight grimace. The only sign of distress was the fast rhythm of her breath through clenched teeth. She tucked the final bullet into her pocket and snapped the rifle shut.

Maria lifted the rifle to smash the stock against the lock and Storm returned to the wheel, steering them back towards the centre of the river. She braced herself on the top of the windshield against a wave of weakness as the driving rain muffled the crash of the rifle against the lock. She shook with cold, her body shrunken and drawn inward as it tried to shelter its core. They needed shelter, food, and warmth, and none of that was likely to come anytime soon.

Maria’s banging had stopped, and when Storm looked underneath, she was lying back against the lifejacket, her hands gripped around the rifle. The remains of the smashed lock hung from the bent clasp.

The bow swung suddenly to the right and Storm stood to find the boat sideways to the current and being pushed downstream. She jerked the wheel and with a smooth sedateness the bow tracked back upstream. A curse came from beneath the bow but Storm resisted looking, steering around a fallen tree that reached far into the river. On a relatively straight stretch she ducked her head back under. A colourful tangle of lures, hooks, fishing line and sinkers lay inside the box. Maria leaned back on the lifejacket again, the red square of a tiny first aid kit held in her hands along with the cylinder of a flashlight.

Storm drew the kit from her hands and opened the small red bag to find a couple of useless band aids the size of a thumbnail and the shiny packet of an emergency blanket.

Maria’s eyes had turned to a dull gray.

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