Chapter Seventeen
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SLEEPING ON THE HARD stone floor was as uncomfortable as Zoe had expected. Her sleeping bag hadn’t done much to cushion her. “We should have slept in the tank,” she grumbled.
“No kidding,” Grace agreed, stretching inside her sleeping bag. “The seats in the pickup are a lot more comfortable than sleeping on the floor.” She poked her head out and winced. “Brr, it’s cold here,” she complained.
“I forgot to shut the window and door,” Zoe said in a pathetic attempt at a joke.
The teen snickered as she unzipped her sleeping bag. They’d both gone to bed fully clothed, so at least they had some protection from the cold. “I’ll need thicker tights,” Grace said, shivering as wind gusted through the window.
“Why don’t you wear jeans?” Zoe asked.
“They’re always too long,” she said. “Besides, I like tights.”
She could buy jeans for petite women, or roll them up, but it was obvious she liked her own quirky style. “You’ll have to wear something a lot warmer once it starts to snow,” Zoe warned her.
“I know. I grabbed thermal gear from the sports store,” Grace replied.
Zoe couldn’t sense Amaros in the building, but she knew he was somewhere close by. They ate a quick breakfast and went in search of him. The strange link she felt with the knight led them through the trees deeper into the mountains. They’d only walked a short distance before the trees ended.
“What a view,” Grace said in awe as they gazed at a large lake. Taller mountains surrounded the valley Amaros had found. He was hunkered next to the water.
“Is it clean?” Zoe asked when Amaros turned his head.
“I believe so,” he replied. “One of you will have to test it.”
“Can’t your kind eat or drink at all?” Grace asked.
“We can, but it all tastes bland to us,” he replied.
“I’ll taste it,” Zoe volunteered. Kneeling beside the warrior, she scooped up a handful of lake water and drank it down. “It tastes pure,” she said in relief.
“We’d better wait a few minutes to make sure you don’t get stomach cramps and other intestinal problems,” Grace figured.
“I can see fish swimming around in it, so I doubt there’s anything deadly in the water,” Amaros said.
His eyesight was even keener than theirs if he could spot the fish swimming beneath the water.
The valley was sheltered from the harsh wind.
Zoe could hear animals roaming around in the forest that surrounded the lake.
“We could live here indefinitely, if we plant vegetables and maybe some fruit,” she mused.
“There should be deer and other animals we can hunt for food.”
“We should have grabbed bows and arrows from the sports store,” Grace said. “Guns will chase them away.”
Amaros wiped his hand on his jeans, standing up as Zoe rose to her feet. “We can return to the store and retrieve everything else we need,” he said.
“I feel fine, so the water must be safe,” Zoe figured.
Grace tried it herself and wiped her chin dry with her sleeve. “It tastes better than tap water,” she said in approval.
“How far is New York from here?” Amaros asked, leading the way back to their base.
“I’ll have to look it up on the internet,” Zoe said. She’d only skimmed through the information about the Adirondack Mountains when she’d realized they were heading this way.
“Do you have reception up here?” Grace queried. “I don’t have a cell phone,” she added.
Taking her cell phone out, Zoe checked it. “The internet is still working, so we need to get as much info as we can before it shuts down.”
The signal was weak and the connection kept dropping out. Amaros sat in a folding chair next to her, peering at the screen. They were sitting in the kitchen, since it was the warmest room in the main building. Grace made the girls some coffee, using a propane fueled hotplate and tin cups.
“It’s a long drive to New York City from here,” Zoe reported as she brought up a map. “It’ll take four or five hours to get there.”
“What about Boston?” Grace asked. “It’s closer, isn’t it?”
Zoe shifted the map enough to see Boston to the east. “It’s closer, but it’ll take longer to get there due to the mountains in our way.”
“Your instincts told you my team will probably be in New York,” Amaros said. “Is it possible any of them could be in Boston?”
“Anything is possible,” she replied. “But I still think the majority of them will end up in Manhattan and the surrounding areas.”
“You mean the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island?” Grace asked.
“Maybe even New Jersey,” Zoe added.
“The tank will get us there and back, but it’ll guzzle a lot of gas,” the kid pointed out.
“I’ll build a structure to store our fuel in,” Amaros said. He took Zoe’s phone from her hand to study the map. “Today, we’ll head back to the town and grab more equipment. Tomorrow, maybe we’ll head to New York and see what the conditions are like.”
“I predict utter mayhem and madness,” Gracelyn said. “New Yorkers were already a bit crazy. Now, they’ll be able to go full on nuts, since the entire world is in such a mess.”
They’d mostly managed to avoid people on their long trek to the mountains. From what they’d seen so far, Zoe was pretty sure Grace wasn’t exaggerating. “We should take weapons, just in case,” she suggested.
Amaros nodded. “Can either of you shoot a gun?”
“Hell, no,” the teen scoffed. “I only just turned eighteen and I don’t even have an ID.”
“You could have stolen a gun,” Zoe said.
She screwed her nose up. “I could, but it seems dangerous to try to teach myself how to use a deadly weapon.”
“Good point,” Amaros agreed. He’d never used a gun before either, since they hadn’t even been invented the last time he’d been embroiled in a war. “I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it quickly,” he said with supreme confidence.
“We’ve got plenty of space here to set up a target range,” Zoe said, gesturing at the building and surrounding area.
Amaros handed her phone back and stood up. “Let’s head to town,” he said. “We should make it back here by lunchtime if we hurry.”
It was a two-and a half hour round trip to the town now that he knew the route.
Amaros took the wheel, handling the precarious path past the gigantic boulders with enviable skill.
He drove at a safe pace, just in case more landslides had occurred.
The town seemed just as deserted as when they’d arrived.
“Where to first?” Zoe asked.
“I’ll fill up the tank and load the truck with spare fuel,” Amaros decided. He pulled into the gas station that was directly across the street from the sporting goods store. “Why don’t you ladies see if you can find bows and arrows? We’ll need more ammunition for target practice as well.”
“We’re on it, boss,” Grace said with a mock salute.
They’d all chosen a gun to bring with them. Zoe had picked a small pistol that she’d managed to insert a magazine into. Grace’s gun looked similar to hers and used the same type of ammo. Amaros had a rifle slung over his shoulder.
Feeling far too conspicuous, Zoe crossed the street with the teen at her side. Their heads swiveled, searching for threats. The store was empty when they walked inside. They’d switched the lights off and no one had been here in their absence.
“The bows are over there,” Grace said, pointing near where they’d found the guns.
“After you,” Zoe replied. They didn’t bother to turn the lights on this time. There was enough sunlight pouring in through the doors at the front of the store.
Choosing several bows and crossbows, they grabbed appropriate bolts and arrows and quivers to store them in. Next, they found targets for shooting practice, then piled more ammo for their guns into duffle bags.
“We could supply an army with the number of guns and ammo we’ve got,” Grace said, grunting with effort as she shouldered her duffle bag.
“Twenty Knights of Order is an army,” Zoe figured. “You saw Amaros in action. Imagine what his whole team could do against their enemies.”
“He is pretty impressive,” the teen agreed. “You could barely tear your eyes away from him. You’re staring at him right now,” she said teasingly.
“I know and it’s really annoying,” Zoe agreed, forcing her gaze away from the warrior who was filling containers with gas. “It’s strange, but I feel a weird sense of being drawn to him.”
“That’s called lust,” the kid said with her typical eyeroll.
“It’s different from normal desire,” Zoe insisted. “It’s like there’s something magical between us.”
Grace looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Oh, boy, you’ve got it even worse than I’d realized,” she said. “They won’t be here for long, remember?” she said. “Eventually, Amaros and his team will leave. Don’t fall for him, because you’ll just end up getting your heart broken.”
Zoe nodded, knowing she was right. That didn’t stop her from devouring Amaros with her eyes as they returned to the truck with their stolen goods.