Time Castaways by James Axler Page B

question, then her skin color would not be a problem.
    “And I can’t go because of these,” J.B. added, touching his wire-rimmed glasses. “I’m not blind yet, but near enough to matter in a fight.”
    “Besides, we’ll need to keep watch in case Ryan and Mildred get into trouble,” Krysty stated. “Always have to prepare for the worst, as Doc likes to say.”
    “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst,” Doc corrected her. “Ben Franklin was a very wise man.”
    “You…you want me to help guard him?” Liana asked in frank disbelief, staring up at the one-eyed man. Ryan was easily twice her size, with hands that looked capable of squeezing a kraken to death.
    “Anybody can get captured,” Krysty commented sagely. “Besides, we never divide the group unless absolutely necessary. Those coldhearts could have friends. Left here alone you’d be easy pickings for them. Best to keep everybody together.”
    That would also remove the possibility of her running ahead to tell the baron about the companions to earn her freedom, J.B. noted privately. He didn’t think that was likely, but he had been fooled before. A pretty face sometimes hid an ugly mind.
    “At the very least, you will need to show us where the ville is located,” Doc said with a gentle smile.
    Eagerly, Liana nodded. “I can do that easy.”
    As if unaware that there was anybody else on the lakeshore, Doc beamed in unabashed pleasure at the younger woman and she responded in kind.
    “Any good with crossbow?” Jak asked teasingly.
    In a blur, the woman turned and fired, the arrow flashing past the teenager so close that it shook the feathers along his jacket. A split second later, there was a small cry of pain and a squirrel dropped out of the branches of a pine tree to land twitching on the ground, shot directly through the head. Almost instantly, a swarm of black beetles converged on the body and began tearing it into pieces.
    “She-et,” Jak drawled, giving the word two syllables. “Do fine!”
    Already reloading the weapon, Liana preened under the unaccustomed praise.
    “Breakfast before anything else.” Mildred yawned. “Empty bellies make empty minds.”
    “Well, it’s my turn to cook,” Ryan said, rubbing a hand across his unshaved jaw. He would have liked to shave, but it would be better if he looked rough when negotiating with folks who didn’t have any metal. “Is there any of the stew left?”
    “Nope,” Jak said with an apologetic shrug.
    Knowing the appetite of the teenager, Ryan accepted that. “Fair enough. I’ll use some of the MRE packs.”
    “Be glad to help,” Liana offered. “I’m a very good cook.”
    “Me, too,” Ryan replied tolerantly. “This time you watch, learn how we do things, then you can make lunch. Fair enough?” The man understood her eagerness to be seen as a valuable member of the group. But he wasn’t quite ready to trust the newcomer enough to consume anything she made out of sight.
    “Done and done,” Liana said, and offered a hand, as if sealing a deal.
    The smiling man and serious woman shook, then got busy gathering more driftwood, while the others took their turns in the bushes and washing in the cold lake.
    Seeing his refection in a tide pool, Doc decided to shave. Using a scrap of soap recovered from a distant redoubt, he worked up some lather, then used his belt knife, running the flame of a butane lighter along the edge first to make sure it was clean. Over the years, the blade had been thrust into far too many bodies, both norm and mutie, to risk using without sterilization.
    Soon, the time traveler was freshly scraped, his face shiny pink, with only a small cut on his chin. A single red drop of blood fell into the water and faded away from sight into the murky depths.

Chapter Six
    Chapter Six
    Leaving the cave behind, the companions trundled inland, going high into the foothills then across a woodsy glen.
    Breakfast had been MRE envelopes of pancakes and syrup, French