His words of caution settled over us as the guys sat. We huddled closely, and all of us shivered with tremors of cold and exhaustion. We’d made it here, but we really had no clue what lay beyond. The signal for allies we’d heard on the radio could be legit. Or we could be walking into a trap. Looking around, it would be a good place for a trap. Not a single place to run or hide. The darkness would be our only hope.
Truth was, if this was a trap, it was the end for us. Even if we managed to escape, we had no more food. No more water. And the winter was about to get much worse. Our tents would be no match for the snow drifts and winds.
None of those thoughts needed to be said aloud. Judging by everyone’s bleak stares toward the horizon, I wasn’t the only person thinking it. This was it.
I licked my dry, cracked lips and tasted blood. I pulled my frozen lip into my mouth to try and moisten it. My whole face felt like it would crack just as my lip had.
The next hour passed in a state of delirium. When it was time to stand, I literally couldn’t feel my legs. I sat there, looking up at Rylen pitifully.
“I can’t move,” I whispered.
It took both Ry and Tater to pull me up and steady me. I wanted to cry, it hurt so bad.
“I can walk,” Remy assured Tater when he tried to carry her again. At this, he backed away and her face fell at the sudden distance. I took her socked hand in mine.
The ten of us shuffled forward like undead walkers, leaving trails of dragging feet marks in the pristine snow. Matt stumbled and fell to his hands and knees under the weight of his pack, but Devon and Mark were there to hike him back up by the arms. He gave his face a hard rub and kept going.
As we approached the solar panels, it truly was a remarkable sight. Acres and acres of fields filled with dark, rectangular panels tilted upward to catch sunrays. It was amazing to think of how much energy this could supply.
Past the field of panels I could make out telltale military fencing that ran around the base: tall chain link fencing with barbed wire circling the top. The main road was in sight, along with the gates to the base. This caused us all to slow, even though no people were in sight yet. It appeared deserted except for scattered boulders and rocks. Everyone readied their weapons. I took off my sock-gloves and got grandma’s gun ready in my hand. I could barely feel the handle.
We made it past the solar panels and Texas Harry motioned for us to spread out. We’d only taken about five tentative steps forward when Tater let out a loud hiss and seemed to turn into a statue. All heads whipped toward him.
“What’s wrong?” Remy whispered.
“Move away from me,” he said through clenched teeth.
I had no idea what was wrong, but my heart began to gallop. I grabbed Remy’s arm and pulled her back from Tater by a dozen feet.
Rylen began to jog toward him, but Tater growled, still like a statue, and said, “Get. The fuck. Back.” He closed his eyes and said, “My foot is on a landmine.”
