suspect some part of their communications had been compromised. Bryan had texted him right after they’d boarded in Richmond. Leland was the only one who knew he and Sassy were on this particular train. Barring outright betrayal, corrupted communication was the only explanation for this cluster. So what Bryan was thinking was beyond all reason. He couldn’t tell anyone yet, or they just might put him in a straightjacket.
But first things first.
He had to get them out of here before he could do anything about his suspicions. He studied the darkened field. People were rushing in all directions, away from the wreckage, while a few were gathering behind the train about forty yards beyond where he and Sassy were.
Bryan’s instinct was to go to ground, but Sassy needed help. He glanced at his watch. It was 1:00 AM .
Sirens sounded in the distance. They must be near a town. He just wasn’t sure which one. Sassy’s head worried him. He needed to get her looked after before he did anything else.
“Let’s see if we can join those other folks,” he said. “Think you can walk?”
“Of course I can.” She tried to sit up and snorted a grim laugh. “If you help me up, that is.”
They started toward the knot of tattered travellers, passing the more extreme devastation along the way. Bryan put his arm around her waist and held on across the uneven ground. Acrid-smelling smoke was thick in the air. They approached two bodies, a man and a woman. It looked as if they’d dragged themselves to this point and just stopped.
“I have to check them, Sassy.”
He bent down and put his fingers on the woman’s neck, then the man’s. Neither had a pulse. He shook his head and sighed. God, this all felt so horribly familiar.
Without speaking he straightened, put his hand back around Sassy’s waist, and kept walking up and down over the furrows in the field. The remains of whatever crop had grown there this fall stuck up from the cold surface of the dirt like an old man’s stubbly beard.
A little farther ahead, a dozen passengers huddled together. Four others were either sitting or lying on the ground beside the group and being tended. Several of the survivors were staring off into space. One was cradling an ominously silent toddler. The sirens grew louder; lights splashed color across the field from a distance.
“Where are we?” Bryan asked as they approached the group.
An older man answered. “We’re outside Kingstree, South Carolina, near as I can tell.”
Kingstree .
The name tickled the back of his memory, but Bryan couldn’t recall how he’d heard of the place.
The man smiled at his blank look. “It’s a small town. Population’s a little over three thousand. Agriculture community mostly. Tobacco and cotton. We’re near the Francis Marion National Forest.”
Bear Bennett. That’s how he’d heard of it. Damn. Of all places. But Bear was the last person Bryan needed to be worrying about right now.
Bryan nodded to cover his surprise. “You sound like you know the area. How far are we from Charleston?”
“I work for the South Carolina Board of Tourism. I know all the little towns. We’re about seventy-five miles up the road from Charleston.” The man pulled his coat more tightly around himself. “You and your woman okay?”
Bryan started at the man’s question, but beside him, Sassy didn’t respond. His woman? He’d never thought of her that way before, having shied away from possessive thoughts of any kind where Sassy was concerned. Tonight he found the idea comforting and fitting. Sassy remained silent as the older man waited expectantly.
“She was unconscious for a while. I expect she’s got a concussion,” said Bryan. “We were lucky.”
The man nodded. They watched the burning wreckage. The man’s voice shook when he spoke again. “What in God’s name happened here? Seemed like we crashed and after that initial chaos it was all over . . . then all hell broke loose.”
Bryan
But first things first.
He had to get them out of here before he could do anything about his suspicions. He studied the darkened field. People were rushing in all directions, away from the wreckage, while a few were gathering behind the train about forty yards beyond where he and Sassy were.
Bryan’s instinct was to go to ground, but Sassy needed help. He glanced at his watch. It was 1:00 AM .
Sirens sounded in the distance. They must be near a town. He just wasn’t sure which one. Sassy’s head worried him. He needed to get her looked after before he did anything else.
“Let’s see if we can join those other folks,” he said. “Think you can walk?”
“Of course I can.” She tried to sit up and snorted a grim laugh. “If you help me up, that is.”
They started toward the knot of tattered travellers, passing the more extreme devastation along the way. Bryan put his arm around her waist and held on across the uneven ground. Acrid-smelling smoke was thick in the air. They approached two bodies, a man and a woman. It looked as if they’d dragged themselves to this point and just stopped.
“I have to check them, Sassy.”
He bent down and put his fingers on the woman’s neck, then the man’s. Neither had a pulse. He shook his head and sighed. God, this all felt so horribly familiar.
Without speaking he straightened, put his hand back around Sassy’s waist, and kept walking up and down over the furrows in the field. The remains of whatever crop had grown there this fall stuck up from the cold surface of the dirt like an old man’s stubbly beard.
A little farther ahead, a dozen passengers huddled together. Four others were either sitting or lying on the ground beside the group and being tended. Several of the survivors were staring off into space. One was cradling an ominously silent toddler. The sirens grew louder; lights splashed color across the field from a distance.
“Where are we?” Bryan asked as they approached the group.
An older man answered. “We’re outside Kingstree, South Carolina, near as I can tell.”
Kingstree .
The name tickled the back of his memory, but Bryan couldn’t recall how he’d heard of the place.
The man smiled at his blank look. “It’s a small town. Population’s a little over three thousand. Agriculture community mostly. Tobacco and cotton. We’re near the Francis Marion National Forest.”
Bear Bennett. That’s how he’d heard of it. Damn. Of all places. But Bear was the last person Bryan needed to be worrying about right now.
Bryan nodded to cover his surprise. “You sound like you know the area. How far are we from Charleston?”
“I work for the South Carolina Board of Tourism. I know all the little towns. We’re about seventy-five miles up the road from Charleston.” The man pulled his coat more tightly around himself. “You and your woman okay?”
Bryan started at the man’s question, but beside him, Sassy didn’t respond. His woman? He’d never thought of her that way before, having shied away from possessive thoughts of any kind where Sassy was concerned. Tonight he found the idea comforting and fitting. Sassy remained silent as the older man waited expectantly.
“She was unconscious for a while. I expect she’s got a concussion,” said Bryan. “We were lucky.”
The man nodded. They watched the burning wreckage. The man’s voice shook when he spoke again. “What in God’s name happened here? Seemed like we crashed and after that initial chaos it was all over . . . then all hell broke loose.”
Bryan
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