Chapter 19 Lissa
Lissa dropped to a fast walk, her arms swinging, her throat dry, and muscles shaking.
A glance over her shoulder toward the fiery orange glow of the setting sun told her she’d been on the run for hours.
She hoped she was still headed in the correct direction.
Each time she tried to catch her breath, the pursuing men had reappeared, closing in.
Daylight had faded into twilight, leaving deep shadows as potential hiding places.
Soon she might find a place to hunker down.
She glanced from side to side searching for a spot. She needed to rest. The temperature had dropped, though she remained hot from exertion. She fanned herself as she strode while the breeze ruffled her hair.
She couldn’t stop yet, because she wasn’t in the clear.
The jeeps had driven perilously close to where she’d crouched three times, and she worried they’d catch up this time as well.
They must be more familiar with the countryside and the web of roads—an advantage.
The men on foot had come closer still, but she’d evaded them, so far.
Her luck couldn’t hold much longer unless she found somewhere to stop once full darkness descended.
She slipped from one grove of spindly, leafless trees to the next, always scanning for men on her trail.
A panicky feeling rose, threatening to drown her in fear.
Nothing to climb, nowhere to hide. It felt like a matter of time before she was intercepted.
On her right, the road branched as her map had shown.
She chose the fork patched with packed dirt and gravel.
It appeared to be in better shape than the broken highway she’d crossed not far back.
Maybe xTerra maintained it. Maybe she should risk traveling along it. She shook her head. It was too exposed.
Her hackles rose. She couldn’t stay in the open. She willed herself to move faster.
Her chest heaved as she accelerated, her breath still puffing and her cheeks hot.
Behind her, in the distance, came masculine voices carried on the evening breeze.
First from one direction, then another as her pursuers worked together, closing in.
Her chin trembled. She couldn’t run anymore. It had to be dark enough.
She cast around for a last-ditch place to hide off the road. Dark gray outlines of boulders loomed in the dim light. They stood two hundred yards away and might be her best chance.
Lissa took a breath and altered her course.
She trotted toward the outcropping and circled around to its rear.
One of the tallest rocks had split, a jagged crack running upward at an angle for the first twenty feet.
Without further deliberation, she scaled the craggy surface.
The cold, prickly stone scraped her hands as she gripped for fingerholds.
It wasn’t easy to climb with hiking shoes and her heavy pack, but she kept trying until she’d clambered about fifteen feet. Just a little farther. Her abused fingers ached, and several knuckles bled, but she struggled upward, desperation adding to her remaining strength.
With one last heave, she swung onto a thin ledge under an overhang, which ran the length of the perch and narrowed at one end.
Above her, the rock formation rose another dozen yards in a spire.
She lay gasping on an uneven bench about two feet wide and several yards long.
The outcropping disappeared into the shadow beneath the overhang.
Perfect. She zeroed in on the long, shadowy section.
There wasn’t much room underneath, but it might give her some protection.
It would have to do and was better than remaining on the ground.
She unclipped her pack and shoved it deep into the blackness.
Her backpack was black and navy blue, which should make it difficult to see from below as dusk deepened into night.
It might even be mistaken for part of the boulders.
She wiggled foot-first, stomach down, into the end of the overhang beside her pack, pressing backward and scooting along the ledge until her boots hit the narrow back where she didn’t fit.
She held still, waiting as she tried to regulate her breathing. If only her heart would slow.
Footsteps crackled below as someone stepped on a stick. They had a light.
Lissa held her breath. Beaded sweat ran down her face, causing her to shiver.
“She came this way.” The tired voice seemed more resigned than excited. “I caught a glimpse.”
Pursuers nearby. Her heart smashing against her ribs, she covered her mouth and closed her eyes, willing them to move on. The stone chilled her tired muscles.
“What’s one chick matter?” said a deeper voice. “I doubt she was even armed.”
“The Boss said, ‘No one in or out of xTerra.’ Where else could she be headed? We can’t let her mess this up.” The men stopped just below where she lay against the cold rock.
She sank lower, melded to the stone digging into her hips, praying for them to leave.
“She knows nothing. The guys are certain she came from the south.”
“Her timing is suspicious,” said the deeper voice. “Look. Her tracks disappear here.”
Shit. She must have left footprints in the half-dry mud.
“Well, if she jumped from stone to stone, she could be anywhere. I say we call it for the night.” Good.
At least that one seemed inclined to quit searching.
“We’ve lost the light and can’t go farther.
The countryside opens up, and we’re already too close to their gatehouse.
We’re supposed to stay beyond their regular patrol distance. ”
“I tell you, she’s close,” the one with the deeper voice insisted.
There was a pause, then the other said. “Maybe.”
A scraping sound came from below. She bit her lip. Someone was climbing the rock face. Like she had. Hot tears pricked her eyes. She became rigid, unable to move. There was no escape.
In the distance, there was an odd fizz then a loud pop. Her eyes snapped open as a flare of neon pink filled the sky, the flare almost blinding in intensity. She blinked several times, trying to regain her night vision.
“That’s the signal. Told you we’ve come too far. We’re done tonight. Let’s go. I don’t want to miss our ride.”
“She could be right here,” said the deeper voice. “Let me check. I’ve already climbed halfway.”
Something scratched against the rock again. Probably boots scrabbling for a hold. She swallowed, praying the low light conditions made her invisible.
A man-sized head and shoulders appeared level with the rocky ledge. He wasn’t much more than a sinister black shadow.
“I think I see something,” he called down, excitement in his voice.
“Shoot her already. Hugh will be pissed if we’re late.”
The man’s arm stretched over the ledge. She shuddered, pressing her hand over her mouth as she tensed.
A handgun, aimed to her right. He fired two shots, the blasts setting her ears ringing.
They missed. The third caused her to flinch as the bullet struck close enough that rock chips sprayed outward.
A flake hit her forehead, leaving a hot, stinging patch.
The fourth shot hit the stone higher and ricocheted.
Time slowed as her upper arm exploded with fiery pain.
Her shoulder burned where the bullet struck, its heat blinding as she almost passed out.
Despite her intense agony, she didn’t move or make a sound.
To do anything would mean her death. The taste of blood flooded her mouth as she bit her tongue with clenched teeth.
Remaining still was her only chance to survive.
“Anything?” The man on the ground called.
“Na. Guess not.” The second man retreated, dropping from sight.
“Hurry. We can’t be here if an xTerra patrol investigates your shooting.”
Fear and shock kept her from moving as the climber dropped to the ground with a thud. Their voices faded, becoming faint echoes as they strolled toward the road, taking their light. She let out a single breath, trying not to sob. They hadn’t gone far enough. Not yet.
The heat and pain in her shoulder radiated down her arm, while spreading warmth seeped downward, pooling underneath where she lay. Her right hand touched the rock beneath her to find blood spreading around her chest—a lot of blood.
Lissa closed her eyes again, pressing her flaming cheek to the chilled stone.
The night pressed down harder as the men’s voices disappeared.
In the distance, an engine roared to life, fading as it drove away, its sound growing fainter as they left.
She could rest. It would be so easy just to sleep.
Her eyes fluttered closed, and her limbs felt heavy.
Her mind couldn’t grasp what to do next.
Everything seemed fuzzy. The only thing keeping her awake was the expanding pain.
Her whole body prickled, hot and on fire.
For a second she gave in, riding the wave of agony.
Then, her eyes popped open. She needed to stop the bleeding. The men had mentioned that xTerra’s gatehouse was close. She just needed to go a little farther.
She had to try. For xTerra’s sake. For Cam.
Gritting her teeth, she used her good arm and her legs to wiggle toward the open where she would have room to deal with her wound.
She sucked in a breath each time she jarred her left shoulder.
But she kept inching. Once her head and shoulders were past the edge of the overhang, she pushed to sit, her back against the rough stone.
One-handed, she unzipped her pack and removed her first-aid kit. The cold air helped clear her mind. The bullet had missed her arteries, or she’d have bled out already. She had a chance.