Chapter Twenty
––––––––
MONICA WATCHED NAZAB pore over the map he’d spread out on the coffee table. “We’ll need a car if we’re going to search for your squad,” she said. “They could be anywhere and it’ll take forever for us to find them if we’re on foot.”
Nazab glanced at her and nodded. “I’ll look for another town close by where we can search for vehicles that still work.” Neither of them wanted to steal a ride from the town they’d already visited. Most of the survivors had gray souls and they didn’t want to get on their bad side.
They examined the map and the knight tapped it with his fingertip. “It looks like this town is a bit bigger than the other one,” he said. “With luck, they’ll have several operational cars or trucks for us to choose from.”
“You’ll take me with you,” Monica said. It wasn’t a question.
“If you wish, female,” he agreed. “It’s only about thirty miles away, so it won’t take us long to get there.”
She snickered at his casual tone. “Being an alien has its benefits,” she joked, then turned wistful. “I bet I could run almost as fast as you if I had both of my legs.”
“You’re still fast,” he said. “You just need a better prosthesis.”
“We should go now,” Monica decided. “I’m sure we’ll be back in time for lunch.
” That was still a few hours away, since they’d gotten up so early.
“I’ll just pack a couple of things to take with us,” she added.
She grabbed a backpack and stuffed snacks, a bottle of water and binoculars he’d found while scavenging the other town inside it.
Nazab had memorized the route, so he led the way outside. He picked her up and took off, racing down the driveway and taking the roads rather than leaping over fences. She figured it was easier to stay on the asphalt than to cut across fields while he was encumbered with her.
They reached the town a few minutes later and Nazab stopped half a mile away beneath some trees. “May I have the binoculars?” he requested as he put her down.
“Sure,” Monica replied and handed them over. “Can you see many people?” she asked. She peered through the foliage and spied someone on patrol.
“They have male guards just like the other town,” the warrior reported. “I can see a pickup truck pulling into a garage. Several men are talking in the middle of the street.”
“You can only see men?” Monica asked, getting a bad feeling about this place. “There aren’t any women walking around?”
“Not that I can see,” he replied and handed the binoculars to her.
Monica scanned the street and didn’t see any females either. “We should be on our guard,” she said.
“Wait here and I’ll scout the town,” Nazab requested. “Try not to sneeze this time,” he added wryly.
Monica gave him a rueful look. “Those sneezes came from out of nowhere,” she said defensively.
“Wait a second,” she said before he could leave.
Reaching up, she ran her fingers along his jaw.
“Your beard does feel softer now,” she said.
His hair was still a bit damp, but his beard was dry.
His eyes became intense and they were drawn together.
Impulsively, the cambion went up onto her tiptoes and drew him down to kiss him.
It was brief, but it offered the promise of so much more.
“What was that for, female?” Nazab asked huskily. She didn’t need to glance at his groin to know he was hard again.
“It was for luck,” she said, blushing like crazy. Monica never made the first move when it came to men. She’d never felt like this before, but she was going to stick to her rule that had never led her astray.
Grinning like a fool, her knight sped off towards the town, remaining under the cover of the trees.
Monica watched through the binoculars, keeping her distance this time.
She didn’t see Nazab as he scouted the settlement, but she could distantly sense him.
He returned a few minutes later with a grim expression.
“You were right to feel uneasy about this place,” he said.
“What’s going on in that town?” Monica asked.
“Every guard on patrol has a black soul,” he reported. “So does every other male I detected. I sensed several people with gray souls in the police station. They appear to be captives.”
Monica heaved a small sigh. “I wish I could say I’m shocked, but I’m not,” she said unhappily. “Do you think they’re eating them?”
“That would be my guess,” he agreed gravely. “I saw a firepit in a park with a huge spit resting over the flames. It’s big enough to roast a deer over it.”
“Except they’re cooking their own kind instead of deer,” Monica said, feeling sick to her stomach. “I bet cannibalism has become really popular all across the country by now,” she figured. “Especially in the areas that were hit with plagues.”
Nazab didn’t disagree with her. He hadn’t been back on Earth for long, but she bet he’d seen some pretty savage things in the past. Technology might have advanced, but humans would never change on a fundamental level. They would always look out for themselves and their loved ones first.
“What are we going to do?” Monica asked.
“The marauders need to be taken down,” Nazab said. “I can’t let them continue to imprison innocent men and women. I intend to wipe them all out and release the captives.”
“It’s going to be dangerous,” Monica surmised. “I should go with you and be your backup.”
“You’re not armed, female,” he reminded her. “I don’t want to risk your life.”
“We can fix that by stealing some of their guns,” she said. “It’s about time I learned how to shoot. It isn’t like the world is going to become safe anytime soon.”
“I’ll teach you how to use weapons after I’ve destroyed the bandits,” her knight said. It was obvious he wasn’t going to be swayed.
“If you won’t let me fight with you, then you can at least let me give you a boost of energy,” she said.
“You weakened yourself when you gave me your energy the last time,” he said.
“I’ll just give you a small bit this time,” Monica said. “That was the first time I’ve ever used my own energy to boost someone else. I’ll get better at it with practice.”
Nazab glanced at the town, then caved in. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to have a slight increase in my abilities,” he conceded.
Monica placed her hand on his firm chest and sent a small amount of her energy into her warrior. He took a deep breath and instantly seemed more imposing, not to mention sexy. Or maybe he just seemed even more attractive because it felt like their link had increased slightly.
“Can I have another kiss for luck?” Nazab asked.
“Okay,” she replied and he bent down to press his lips against hers. His hand went to the small of her back and she splayed both hands on his broad chest. Desire swirled between them, momentarily making them forget that he had a task to do.
Raucous laughter came from the men who were clustered together in the town, snapping them out of it.
“I’ll be back as soon as I’m done, female,” Nazab said.
“Be careful,” Monica cautioned him. Her bad feeling had grown worse, as if something dire was going to happen to him soon. He took off before she could warn him about her hunch.