To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis (2014) by Andra Watkins

Author:Andra Watkins
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Word Hermit Press
Published: 2014-06-13T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“We’ve got to get off the bus.” Merry whispered in my ear. “Have your stuff ready and follow me when I get up.”

My whole body clenched. When I tried to turn around in my seat, Merry’s hand stopped me. My heartbeat hurt my chest, and I hugged my pack and scooted closer to Merry. If one of the Judge’s men got on the bus, would he stop us from leaving? Make a scene and try to take me with him? I squeezed my eyes shut to block out bad thoughts and tried to think about doing everything right when Merry gave the signal.

Help me, Daddy. I whispered it as low as I could.

Merry waited until the bus slowed down at an intersection. When he jumped out of his seat, he pushed me into the aisle in front of him and followed me to the door. I veered into a bank of seats because the bus was still moving, but I ignored the pain in my shoulder and kept going. It was what Merry would do.

The driver looked at us with tired eyes. “Gonna be a rough night to be out there. Sure you want to get off here?”

Merry nodded. “We’re sure.”

I tried not to look at the people on the bus when the driver slid a bar, and the door squeaked open. My feet slipped on mud, but I picked them up and ran beside Merry. While the bus rattled, I pushed my hair out of my eyes and ran as fast as I could. As long as I could stay with Merry, I would be okay. He wouldn’t let anybody take me away from him.

We hurried toward a thick line of trees. Before I got there, I stopped and looked back. The headlights of the bus made spooky shadows on the road. I shuddered. It’s only your imagination, Silly. There are no ghosts.

When I looked at the bus again, the door was blocked by a man.

He watched me, and I scraped my arm against a tree when I turned to run. With every splat of my feet, I could see the man’s slow, lopsided smile.

The man on the bus worked for the Judge. He was still after me. I just knew it.

I felt Merry’s hand on my shoulder. His voice encouraged me to keep going. He told me I was doing well.

My feet slipped in ruts on the dirt path, and my legs burned inside my wet jeans. My lungs ached from trying to keep up with Merry. He ran next to me, almost like he had night vision power, never missing a step. Every few feet, he told me to hurry. With almost every footfall, puddles sucked at my shoes, and roots tripped me. Once, I fell hard on my knees, and I bit my lips together to keep from crying.

“Hurry up, Em. Keep moving.”

I stood up and brushed mud off my jeans. “I saw the man on the bus, Merry.”

“Yeah. He followed us on. I didn’t want to stay and find out his intentions.

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