“Come, Bethi,” she said lifting my bag and holding out a hand.  Lethal hands, I thought still dazed.

We walked through a quiet compound.  A sense of cold anticipation filled the halls.  Doors to apartments stood open.  Small things like lamps and blankets were missing.  The large pieces of furniture remained.  What had I started?  They all trusted me.  They’d listened.  For the first time in all the lives I’d recalled, the people around me had run before it was too late.  Did it mean things would change this time around?

Outside, the remaining cars left the parking lot in an orderly fashion.  Sam stood on the porch watching it all.  Three cars waited nearby with their doors open.  Gabby stood near one, her eyes unfocused.  Clay stood just behind her, a hand on her shoulder.  They both faced the Compound.

“The Urbat have turned,” she said when I stepped onto the porch.  “A small group, though.”

“I’m not surprised,” I answered distractedly.  I couldn’t see Luke.

Nana nudged me aside, and I watched Carlos stride past carrying Joshua.  I hadn’t even known he’d been following us.  He stepped off the porch and headed for the woods.

“Where’s he going?” I asked.  We didn’t have much time if the Urbat were headed toward us.

“Taking him to the woods.  Charlene put her heart into this place.  Maybe they will leave it be if he’s found out there,” Nana said moving past me.

She slid into the backseat of one of the cars, sandwiching two little boys in between her and Jim.  Michelle and Emmitt sat in the front.  I doubted they’d been given the time they wanted to cement their Claim.  Emmitt started the car forward as soon as Nana closed the door.

“Sam,” Gabby said, “we need to leave now.”

Carlos emerged from the woods at a run with Luke at his side.  My heart went crazy.  Deep down, I’d thought he would leave without me because of what I’d done.

Sam held out his hand and helped me from the porch.  He, Clay, and Gabby climbed into his truck while Luke, Carlos, Grey, and I quickly filled the remaining car.  Luke kept his distance from me, leaving the space of the middle seat between us.  I hugged my arm to my stomach, not so much for the stitches, but for the emotional maelstrom of doubt that lived there.  We left in a hurry.  Everyone followed the same road heading south.  From there, cars in the caravan started taking random turn-offs.

“Does everyone know where to go?” I asked.

Grey answered.  “Gabby gave everyone several safe locations where the Urbat population is low.  The Urbat are mostly in the north-east so everyone will avoid that area.”

“Tell Gabby we need to find somewhere safe enough to stop for a few hours.  We need to plan how to get Peace before the Urbat find her.”

Grey nodded but said nothing.  Hopefully, he was talking to Sam.

I glanced at Luke and found him watching me.  It hurt to look at him.  My eyes burned, and my lips trembled.  I struggled to keep it all in.  I didn’t think a simple apology would make up for what I did to him but said it anyway.  He gave the barest of nods and reached across the seat to clasp my hand.

His touch, the light rumble of the tires over the road, and an already long messed up day did me in.  My eyes fluttered closed and a single thought floated to the surface before a dream pulled me under.  I hate car rides.

Chapter Seventeen

I woke with a gasp. Luke’s hand was stroking my cheek.  My head lay back against the seat.

“You all right?” he asked softly.  He’d turned toward me, but he still kept his distance.

The tires still rumbled over the road as I lifted my arms.  I flexed my hands and wiggled my fingers as I swallowed hard.  “They cut off my fingers.  One by one.”  I let out a shaky breath and closed my eyes again.  “Can we stop for an energy drink or something?”

The car remained quiet, and I opened my eyes just in time to see Luke and Grey share a look.

“What?” I demanded looking between the two of them.

Luke picked up one of my hands and started massaging the fingers.  After what just happened to them, it felt great.  But, he looked out the window while he did it without answering me.

Grey gave me a wink.  “You were only out five minutes.  Gabby said the Urbat seem to be tracking us.  We’re heading for the interstate.  She’ll let us know as soon as it’s safe to stop.”

I groaned and dropped my head back to the seat.  Even with Luke holding my hand, I’d dreamt of death.  It wasn’t enough.

Shifting my position often and rolling the window down to let in the cold air helped, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to fight off the dreams while sitting still like this.

*    *    *    *

Five deaths later, we finally pulled into a nice hotel crawling with people.  Our four vehicles parked close together.  Michelle’s brothers tumbled out of the car, climbing over a laughing Jim.  Emmitt quickly walked around the front to open the doors for Michelle and Nana.  Thomas did the same for Charlene.  Clay opened the door and stood aside while Gabby slid out.  She looked tired, too.

As soon as Carlos put our car in park, I flung open my door and scrambled out.  My skin still crawled from the last dream.  Charlene and Thomas walked ahead to book us rooms.  I hurried after them.

“No credits cards,” I said to Charlene, walking beside her.  She nodded and approached the desk.

I waited for Michelle to enter the lobby.  “How much cash do you have?”

She looked at Emmitt.  “Three hundred,” he said.

Shaking my head, I glanced at Gabby who had joined our group.  “You said we needed to go east.  We need enough cash to make it there.  I don’t know how deep the Urbat are into the human world. If they have any connections, they could use credit card transactions to track us. ”

“I have no doubt Blake could,” Michelle said, keeping her voice soft.  Her eyes followed Jim as he took the boys down a side hall to check the pool.  “I have someone I trust who can wire me some money.”

“Good.”  I turned and almost ran into Luke.  He caught my arms before I could walk into him.  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

Just behind him, Charlene turned away from the desk.  “They only had five rooms,” she said joining our group.  “One is the honeymoon suite.” She handed a key card to Emmitt with a smile.  “The others are double queens.”

She held up the remaining cards.

“Sam can room with us,” Gabby quickly offered.  I didn’t miss Clay reaching up to sooth her back.  She looked over her shoulder to give him a shy smile.

“I thought you and the boys could sleep with us, Nana,” Charlene suggested.  Nana agreed, and Michelle looked relieved.  Her brothers would be well protected.

“Jim can join us,” Grey said, looking up at Carlos.  “Right, darling?” Grey teased.

Carlos stoically agreed.

Luke grabbed the remaining room card without a word.  A room to ourselves.  A room with two beds.  Yeah, I didn’t let my hopes get too high.

“Let’s meet in the suite first,” I suggested.  “If they catch up to us, I want a plan laid out.”

Five minutes later, we gathered in the suite minus Jim, the boys, and Nana.  They splashed in the pool.

“I’ve been all over the board with my explanations.  So let me be clear with what I’m trying to avoid.  Dying.  It’s not fun,” I said.  “We need to stop their power trip.  I don’t mean just in this life and cycle but future lives and cycles, too.  We need to rob them of their chance to control us in this life.  We need to make their search hard and their goal nearly impossible.”  I did not want to live through another brutal death in my next life.  Old age would be a new experience for me.